[IMG: AndyB] I was following the live tweets coming from Saturday's debate among the Labour leadership contenders. I could sympathize. Many moons ago I was quizzed at a couple of public events by Simon Fanshawe, the chair of Saturday's event. He's not backward in coming forward with the difficult question that gets to the heart of the matter. I think I've now just about recovered. This is already shaping up to be a peculiar contest. Dan Jarvis disappeared from the running before it even got started, but nonetheless has raised his profile enormously in the process. Chuka Umunna dithered a ...
Earlier tonight saw a lengthy session of City Council meetings. * At the City Council meeting, I spoke in a debate on proposed City Council ward boundary changes, supporting the position that the West End Ward boundaries remain as they are as they follow a mainly logical boundary. I have, however, written to the Secretary of the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland agreeing with one of the Commission's draft proposals in relation to making the boundary a bit more straightforward at the north end of Glamis Road. * At the Education Committee, I opposed the SNP administration's proposals to ...
Parliament met for the first time since the election today, for the Commons to elect their Speaker, and for peers to affirm or swear.new oaths of loyalty to the Queen. In he Lords there was the usual arcane procedure at the beginning of a new Parliament, under which Black Rod is sent to fetch MPs to hear a message being delivered on Her Majesty's behalf ostensibly by a Commission of Privy Councillors, but actually read out by the Clerk. The MPs stand at the bar while the the message is read, accompanied by Black Rod, whose function appears to be ...
The two candidates for Interim Mayor of Greater Manchester have very different ideas about what their role will be and how they'll carry it out. Peter Smith argues for more of the same while Tony Lloyd sees the Interim Mayor as doing something quite different. Wigan leader Peter Smith and GM Police & Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd are the candidates for Greater Manchester Interim Mayor In 2017 the people of Greater Manchester will elect a city-wide mayor as part of the massive devolution deal that will see many more decisions being taken locally instead of in Whitehall. You may like ...
Precious footage of these long-vanished railways in operation. This complex of lines tapped the ironstone of the countryside around the Market Hatborough to Northampton line. And you have to admit that Hanging Houghton is a great name for a village on the side of a hill.
A highly critical review by Cornwall Council has found that BT Cornwall are failing to deliver on their promises for more jobs and better services. Indeed, the only area where they are living up to their promise is in making savings - because the amount the council has to hand over is fixed in the contract. The deal with BT was agreed by the authority three years ago and formally started just last year. The company agreed to make savings in delivering a range of back office functions including document management and IT. They promised to create 111 new jobs ...
[IMG: Between the Storms flyer] Pavement Pounders CIC present a FREE "walk and talk" from Folkestone Town Hall on 23rd May 2015 starting at 2pm. The talk and walk are part of the "Between the Storms" project, exploring the heritage of Folkestone as a cross-channel port. Pavement Pounder CIC begun the project in April 2014, and it runs until the end of 2015. They are collecting memories of Folkestone's time as a cross-channel port, with the collection including spoken memories, writings, images and videos. The talk will include sound bites from oral history internviews and old photos and will be ...
Trouble in the Commons today as the massed ranks of new SNP MPs took over the bench where Dennis Skinner is used to sitting. But it really was nothing. This, from a 2005 Liberal Democrat News column of mine, shows what a real Commons skirmish is like... Picking a fight On 27 July 1893 the debate on the committee stage of Gladstone's second home rule bill ended. Joe Chamberlain compared Gladstone to Herod. T. P. O'Connor, the Irish Nationalist who sat for a Liverpool constituency, called Chamberlain "Judas". The division bell rang, but arguments still smouldered in the chamber. At ...
Leicester Crown Court, Wellington Street © Copyright Mat Fascione I passed a figure in robe and sandals on the way to work this morning and wondered. At lunchtime, when he was also furnished with an umbrella, I passed him again and was sure. It was the Homophobic Monk! Remember him? He even has his own label on this blog. The Leicester Mercury explains his presence in the city: A 'monk' who posted an allegedly homophobic leaflet and a letter to two women at their home in Leicester has appeared in court to face a harassment charge. Damon Jonah Kelly, 53, ...
If I had been an MP in the last Parliament (stop thanking deities I wasn't back there!) I'd have had many second thoughts about voting for the same-sex marriage bill. I went over my reasons for that repeatedly during the debates but they are summed up here. I state that as a way of saying I'm open-minded (a rare state for me, as you well know Dear Constant Reader) about those who may have had similar concerns about a very flawed bill and even those who abstained (but I'm far less open-minded about those who voted against it as it ...
New members have been asking about Lib Dem organisations that they can join. You are welcome to submit similar items on behalf of other organisations. [IMG: Social Liberal Forum] What we believe The Social Liberal Forum exists to foster debate within and beyond the Liberal Democrats, with the aim of developing social liberal solutions to the challenges facing the country, and which find popular support. The ethos that underpins the Social Liberal Forum has remained unchanged since its formation in 2009, and is best described as the belief that a democratic and open state has a positive role to play ...
Understanding what party membership and political volunteering really means to people in 2015 I have always felt that we have missed on all the learning from the voluntary sector about how to motivate and engage volunteers, but in 2015 we need to go even further than that. Just like the electorate we need to know a lot more about our members, their motivations, their skills and the ways they want to be useful. Technology allows to engage all our members in different ways that are not bound by geography (which bearing in mind our lack of organisation in many local ...
Monday: Today we witness the return of Parliament after the General Election, including all the traditions: the formal opening; the re-election of the speaker; the swearing at, sorry in of the MPs. We particularly welcome the surviving After Eight Liberal Democrats: Reverend Nick (Cap'n Clegg, retired); Tom (no) Brakes; The Laird of Carmichael; Shirley Williams; Pugh Pugh Barney McGrew; Greggs Pies; Norman Conquest; and Saint Timbo of Farron. We wish them well and hope they all remember to vote against the abolition of the Human Rights Act. Meanwhile, here are some totally unrelated pictures of fluffy sheeps (no relation)...
Cornwall Council's chief executive Andrew Kerr is to leave his post and take up the position as chief executive of Edinburgh City Council. Mr Kerr has been with the authority since January 2014 and is therefore likely only to serve around 18 months in Cornwall, depending on how much notice he works. Regardless of his performance capabilities, it is very disappointing that Mr Kerr should be moving on after such a short period of time. It takes around six months to recruit a chief executive at least. An interim might be appointed (as happened last time) and they may be ...
A by-election will be held for the vacancy on Central Ward of Launceston Town Council after ten local electors called for an election to be held. (Declaration of interest: I was one of the ten). The election will be held on 25th June and the deadline for nominations is 4pm on the 29th May. Election papers can be obtained from Cornwall Council by calling 01209 614298 Tweet
I'm a data analyst by trade - I'm no activist or political strategist, so I have little else to offer to the party other than analysis of the election results. And I have been playing with the data since the election, trying to figure out the most optimal way to stop the Tory juggernaut from taking over Britain. I found there was one way to win these elections (or the next, if nothing changes) away from Tories. Not for the Lib Dems - it was far too late for that – but for the nation as a whole. A way ...
The Liver Bird Must Soar Anyone who has ever read my blogs will know that I am not in favour of Elected Mayors. The effects of one in Liverpool have hardly been uplifting! However I am now putting my own ... Continue reading →
So, we've had a bounce of new members. The fight back begins and we're planning how to make the Lib Dems strong again. All great stuff. But hold on a minute. This is the biggest opportunity in my lifetime to change progressive politics for the better, and drag parties that were born in the 19th and 20th centuries into the 21st. But if we're to grasp that opportunity, surely we need to think beyond just our own party? I've written elsewhere about how the Liberal brand is weak – see: The Lib Dems need to appeal to people's hearts, not ...
[IMG: Paddy Ashdown presented with a hat after promising to eat one of the general election exit poll was right] Paddy Ashdown's famous election night promise to eat his hat if the exit poll was right was based on a genuine belief, soon shown to be horribly wrong, that the Liberal Democrats would do much better in the party's target seats. Why was the party's prognosis of the situation in the seats so far off; what went wrong with the party's polling and other sources of intelligence? The national polling One problem with the party's polling, only indirectly linked to ...
[IMG: boyle blog] I'm discovering a new affinity with the word 'gnosis' – not so much the spiritual side as that the 'g' is silent. And similarly, whenever I talk about the 'liberal centre', it appears only the word 'centre' is heard. I say this because one of the best, most thoughtful, Lib Dem bloggers around, David Boyle, has today (in the nicest possible way) hauled me over the coals: Now I'm all for moderation and compromise, as long as it is a small part of a greater ambition. At least, that's what I thought as I read Stephen Tall's ...
PizzaExpress An application has been submitted for listed building consent for new signage and repainting for the Marches on Castle Street, which will shortly become a PizzaExpress (15/01581/LBC). Proposed frontage for PizzaExpress I agree with Shropshire Council's conservation officer that many aspects of this scheme are wrong for Ludlow's historic centre. The black painted frontage [...]
As a Parliamentary Candidate I received innumerable emails on a range of issues. One said: Right, Kirsten. You've come into my house via your election pamphlet so here's me coming into yours via an e-mail. I have a very simple request and that is for you to describe your personal vision (not a formulaic party response) for our country in 10 to 15 years' time and your strategy for attaining that vision. Many of us are tired of the same old party political machinations which focus solely on 'buying' votes via unachievable promises. I want to be inspired by someone ...
I was shocked to hear that Lambeth Council has been judged as "inadequate" about how our children in care are looked after. Things like taking an average of 1,081 days – very nearly 3 years – versus the UK average of 453 days for Lambeth children in care to be adopted. it describes across the board failures. Lambeth has lamely stated it has started to address the issues – but the report effectively contradicts these. Only 3 years ago the service was rated as "outstanding" so an incredible deteriation of this crucial service for our most vulnerable children. Lambeth Council ...
[IMG: phoenix] We are rebuilding. Nick Clegg said in his resignation speech that we face the task of nurturing the flame of British Liberalism. But as we rebuild, what does – what should – British Liberalism mean? This seems like something worth discussing. We are a broad church with many roots: our forebears were Liberals and Social Democrats, but we incorporated the Pro-Euro Conservatives too, and many more of no former alignment. So, we've got this flame of British Liberalism, and if the attitude of the party members and our spectacular membership surge are anything to go by, it shouldn't ...
At Friday's Highways and Wast Management Cabinet Panel the ruling Conservative Group decided to press on with harsh, politically motivated cuts to bus funding. These cuts will mean that many bus services will stop at 7pm and not run at weekends. Tens of thousands of local people have petitioned the Council in two rounds of [...]
Early on polling day on 7th May, the above spoof election poster appeared on Sunniside Road, only a few metres from my house. David spotted it at about 6am when he was heading over the road to feed the livestock. I spotted another just up the road. We then got reports of a small number at the fire station in Swalwell and some on Ryton. The above photo of the ones on the premises of Swalwell
Over in Hillingdon, the Battle of Britain Bunker, from which the core part of the Battle of Britain was commanded, is open several weekends a year. It's a great, and free, venue: [IMG: Battle of Britain bunker - planes at entrance] Simple but effective: the angled display of the planes out front gives much more of a sense of them as swift moving machinery rather than a static lump of materials. [IMG: Entrance to Battle of Britain bunker] [IMG: Battle of Britain bunker - plotting table from the top level] Pictured at the bottom was the bonus of the visit ...
We have two horses in the starting stalls in the race to rebuild the Liberal Democrat party and they have two very different jockeys saddling up on them. First to clamber on to his horse was Norman Lamb, an MP I didn't really know. He's seen as the more 'Cleggite' candidate and has the support of Dappy from N-Dubz. Then Tim Farron jumped aboard a horse and was quickly dubbed the favourite. Farron is seen as more receptive to the grass roots but he has questions to answer about his faith in relation his LGBT issues. He has already come ...
Nick Clegg's resignation speech made me cry. It really hurt. As a result, I became part of the post-election #goldsurge. The speech made me realise that I needed to do more than just vote and join the party, in order to support the cause for liberalism. But wait... support "liberalism"?! I've never uttered that word before. Before that speech, I didn't identify with the word "liberalism". From a marketing perspective (my professional experience is in social media marketing and content branding), the key "Unique Serving Point" of the liberal democrats is our fight for liberalism. That's our contribution to the ...
I wrote last week about the experience if hearing the former Liberal Party president Adrian Slade, a former Footlight, imitating Roy Jenkins during the 1982 party assembly in Bournemouth. It was the first time I had been to any national Liberal event and I wasn't sure what to expect, had no idea that Slade had entertained successive assemblies with his songs, but I was hooked. It was also the first full year of the Liberal-SDP Alliance - hence Adrian's other creation that year 'Social democracy, what the hell is it meant to be?" This included the immortal and suddenly relevant ...
No more cuts, Tory councils tell George Osborne (tags: ) G. Willow Wilson Responds to The New Yorker's "A-Force" "Porn Star" Criticism (tags: ) Not all terrorists are brown people part eleventy billion (tags: ) Tony Blair's mother in law is the new mayor of todmorden :/ (tags: ) 5 Lesser Known Black Women Authors Everyone Should Be Reading (tags: ) There was an alternative: three things the Lib Dems could have done differently Genuinely recommend this post for any lib dem considering the way forward right now. (tags: ) Eurosceptic David Davis could oppose government on human rights reform ...
[IMG: trollope pm] The Prime Minister, Anthony Trollope A reluctant Prime Minister, Plantaganet Palliser, is called upon to lead a Liberal/Tory coalition ministry, a mission he accepts with great reluctance and performs with distaste. Meanwhile, the loving, eligible Emily Wharton is successfully wooed by an on-the-make adventurer, Ferdinand Lopez, and has to come to terms with the ramifications of her disastrous marriage. Trollope brilliantly interweaves these 'political' and 'social' elements. The chary PM — in spite of the exhuberant machinations of his wife, Lady Glen — finds peace once her efforts are exhausted by gradually reconciling himself to his office. ...
Mon 18th
09:06
Opinion: Though not a big presence in Parliament, our collective voice should be louder than ever
[IMG: membership] It is eleven days after the election, and the wounds are still very much present. We have lost great fighters in our parliamentary party: visionaries, firebrands, wholehearted devotees to the Liberal vision for our country. Though this loss has been devastating for our party and our morale internally, it has been even more debilitating for the country as a whole. Now, for the first time in 23 years, there is a Conservative majority government at our nation's helm, and we are already seeing their vision for our country: snooping on our own citizens, denying us our human rights, ...
A third story of problems with election results earlier this month, to add to the one of the wrong person being elected and the candidate getting zero votes despite voting for themselves. This time it is Stoke-on-Trent: Legal action is set to be taken by a defeated Parliamentary candidate over a 'shambolic' election count. Conservative Joe Rich came second in the contest for Stoke-on-Trent South, where Labour's Rob Flello retained his seat with a reduced majority of 2,539. But following a recount on Friday morning there was still a discrepancy of 97 votes which could not be accounted for, which ...
Yesterday, The Observer ran an interview with Burnham which beautifully illustrated everything I've been saying about the impending disaster of his leadership of the Labour Party. There's lots to talk about here, so let's begin. We'll start with the headline, which often times in a newspaper article is a little unfair on the interviewee since they have a tendency to be either an exaggeration of something said or a misquote. However, in this instance, it appears to be directly from Burnham's own mouth. "I was loyal to Tony Blair, loyal to Gordon Brown, and loyal to Ed Miliband. I have ...
Sign Keith's petition asking Barclays to think again about closing the last bank in Gatley. The Lib Dem team has been shocked to discover that Barclays have taken the decision to close their Gatley branch – the last bank in the village. Barclays say they will close down the branch on Friday 21st August 2015. [IMG: Lib Dems campaign against Barclays closing in Gatley] Keith Holloway holding the letter announcing the closure, with councillors Graham Greenhalgh and Iain Roberts The branch is in a key location in the village and, while there are other branches in Cheadle, Didsbury and Stockport, ...
We are growing concerned about the wellbeing of historic St Julian's Well on Livesey Road, Ludlow. The well is a Grade II Listed Building. A small number of stones at the base of the well cover have been damaged. The well is in the middle of the road and it is not clear whether this [...]
From the City Road allotments : "We have applied for an Aviva Community Fund award as we would like to upgrade our water facilities in the hut and toilet. Our application was accepted and now we need votes. I know that you have supported our Open Day before and I was wondering if you would be able to put the link to the voting page on your blog. This link will take you to our project but you can also search for Aviva Community Fund 2015 and then search for City Road. So far we have well over 400 votes ...
Mon 18th
08:29
Some practical questions about the Tories determination to repeal the Human Rights Act
Putting to one side the very strong moral and philosophical reasons why Britain needs to retain the Human Rights Act and stay signed up to the ECHR, today's Independent features more basic questions posed by former Tory Attorney General, Dominic Grieve. Mr Grieve's main question is what exactly the Conservative Party is trying to achieve through its plan to replace the Human Rights Act with a new British Bill of Rights? He has urged a period of consultation ahead of a review before any changes are made and has warned that the reputational consequences for Britain would be "very considerable" ...
Here at Lib Dem Voice we have finally returned to a semblance of normality after a very intense week. So many of you wanted to write about the results and the fightback and I'm afraid we had to turn down a number of perfectly good posts simply because they said much the same as previous ones. Thank you so much for wanting to use LDV as the vehicle for your thoughts, and for your good humoured patience. You will see that today is once again full of opinion pieces, but they are moving forward. Two writers want to start a ...
This is just one way of looking at General Election result. It now seems that the biggest mistake of the Lib Dems in government may have been to assume that English electors wanted the brakes put on nutty/dangerous right wing Tory policies. Sadly the opposite may be true i.e. what some living in Lib Dem/Tory marginal constituencies actually wanted was the Lib Dems out of the way so those right wing policies could see the light of day! Why else have the Tories been handed the keys to No. 10 other than because of our appalling electoral system of course? ...
In March 2,443 people spent over 12 hours in A&E, despite the Welsh Government's target to 'eradicate' 12 hour waits. A&E targets continue to be missed with figures published today showing that nearly 18% of patients waited over four hours in A&E. The Welsh Government's target is for 95% of patients to spend less than 4 hours in A&E departments. It's absolutely appalling that in March over two thousand people waited over 12 hours in A&E. This highlights how badly the Welsh Labour Government is letting down patients. Welsh Labour Ministers should hang their heads in shame. I am increasingly ...
