Ryan Coetzee has written an article in the Grauniad in which he details why he thinks we did so badly in the elections. Perhaps unsurprisingly his answer isn't "hanging on the every word of an overpaid soothsayer who sold us a pup of a slogan". You will be likewise be unsurprised I have some disagreements with his conclusions.About four weeks from election day it became clear that The Fear was hurting us. We tried everything we could to counter it: fear of a Tory minority government in hock to its own right wing, Ukip and the DUP; fear of Tory ...
The reopening of the Waverley route proceeds apace with the first test run along the entire length of the line. Borders Rail has some footage. An interesting question for any railway anoraks out there. The locomotive is number 37 604 and a quick check on Wikipedia says they were built between 1960 and 65 and were frequently used in Scotland. Therefore the question is - had 37 604 ever run over the Waverley route before this journey?
So of course all the actual goths are hiding. They wouldn't want to be associated with something so mainstream as World Goth Day. I (who, of course, am not a goth in the slightest) am working my way through my Hugo packet*. I am now decided how I am going to vote in 13 of 17 categories. The Graphic novels this year have some really, REALLY awesome stuff in - two of the four I've read have made me want to engage with anything else in the series. I need to read the rest of the novels to see if ...
Sorry for my absence for a few days. This has been an incredibly busy and stressful few weeks — since the election I've had a severe illness in my family, spent a couple of evenings with a friend over from California, and had various other bits that needed doing. One of those things, that's occupied [...]
I had intended to write a post this evening laying out how the Liberal Democrats can recover their fortunes. Instead I have posted this... "Monkey on the Car" Happy Friday https://t.co/931lCMC3df— Jonathan Calder (@lordbonkers) May 22, 2015
Ryan Coetzee is, rather like his predecessor Richard Reeves, likely to go down in the history of the Liberal Democrats as a rather controversial figure. But whilst Richard's controversy was mostly confined to being within the Whitehall bubble, for Ryan his close association with such a disastrous general election result means his likely to be the more talked about record. He's written a must-read piece for The Guardian giving his take on what went wrong. I doubt many others will agree with all of it, but it makes a coherent case that is well worth digesting as part of the ...
Just published this evening is the next edition of our eFocus newsletter for the Whickham area. This edition looks at the local election results and events happening over the next few days. You can view it on this link.
The Southport Vister newspaper has the story – see link above. [IMG: ABR_VIS_210515NEWMAYOR-01] Labour Councillor Steve Kermode is the new Mayor of Sefton and I wish him well. I have known Steve for 3 or 4 years now and he comes over as a decent and genuinely community minded chap. I would add that he also seems to break the mould of many in the Labour party who are wedded to tribal politics. Steve rises above such negative politics and I hope that he and his wife Gwen have a good year as ambassadors for the Borough of Sefton. ...
A friend has passed on to me a cutting from a ten yea old copy (21/01/2005) of the Guardian which reports the creation of a seven mile walk in York to celebrate the life and work of Joseph Rowntree (1836 - 1925). Rowntree, a Quaker, established the famous cocoa and chocolate business and the article cites him as "one of Britain's greatest and most interesting philanthropists." Rowntree was "far ahead of his time as a progressive employer, radical thinker and social innovator" who "was a pioneer in modern employment, from pension schemes to employee shareholding and works councils." Apparently he ...
Fri 22nd
16:55
More people heard from parties online than in person in election - and Labour ground game only had a...
From the TUC's 2015 general election post-mortem poll: [IMG: Voter contact during 2015 general election]
Every year I get frustrated by comments made about the Eurovision Song Contest and so I thought I'd collect a few together and dispel some myths: They're neighbouring countries so of course they vote for each other: Neighbouring countries are as likely to dislike each other as they are to vote for each other, after [...]
Labour 1,675 [38.3%; -2.2%] Labour 1,410 Conservative 921 [21%; +9.1%] UKIP 905 [20.7%; -2.6%] Green 802 [13.8%; -5.9%] Conservative 653 Green 605 LD Sarah Cunningham 272 [6.2%; -1.6%] LD Michael Sutton-Croft 204 Majority: 754 Labour Hold Percentage change since 2014
The election's over and it's time to indulge in a little geekery. Of our 8 current MPs, in the 2007 Leadership election, five supported Nick Clegg (Tim Farron, Norman Lamb, Alistair Carmichael, John Pugh, Greg Mulholland), one was Nick Clegg (and I suppose, still is), and the remaining two (Mark Williams, Tom Brake) supported Chris Huhne. So both candidates this time around supported Nick, and each has been endorsed now by one of the two remaining MPs that supported Huhne last time (Williams for Tim, Brake for Lamb). John Pugh and Greg Mulholland have also endorsed Tim while Alistair Carmichael ...
"Caron's test" for emails to Party members is good, but I think we can go further. The underlying problem, as I've written before, is that too many of the emails seem to be written by marketing professionals who are trying to achieve a specific result - often one that can be measured by funds raised. The reason it's a problem is that we aren't just donors - most of us see ourselves as members of an extended family who need to be reassured, engaged and spoken with directly in ways that relate to our own experience as Party members. It ...
I was a candidate in the 2015 general election in a seat we had no chance of winning. An election address was put out in my name that contained messages I had at best moderate enthusiasm for. The "3 great reasons to vote for me" were things that sadly sapped some of the excitement out of voting for myself. I've never thought about the Liberal Democrats as a party that just shuffled money around from one place to another, but that was my message to the people. Raising the personal allowance for income tax was great when we were letting ...
This week: Simon Pegg, Bernie Sanders and Vince Cable. Simon Pegg's Comic Book and Sci-Fi Movie Comments Aren't Entirely Wrong by Kyle Anderson (Nerdist) There are also many examples recently of science fiction movies being both smart and spectacular. Last year was what I considered the Summer of Good Sci-fi and it contained movies like [...]
Following the Cabinet Office's conclusions regarding the leaking of a Scotland Office memo to the Daily Telegraph, Alistair Carmichael issued the following statement: The Cabinet Office has today published the conclusions of its inquiry, after an internal account of the First Minister's discussions with the French Ambassador was published in the Daily Telegraph on 3rd April. I had not seen the document before it was published in the Daily Telegraph, however I was aware of its content and agreed that my special adviser should make it public. I should not have agreed this. It was an error of judgement which ...
[IMG: Southeastern train (Chris McKenna)] From Southeastern: "Major engineering work will be taking place over the late May Bank Holiday weekend, from 23 - 25 May, as part of the Thameslink Programme and to improve the signalling equipment in East Kent, resulting in significant changes to Southeastern services." By "significant changes" they mean: Throughout the weekend Charing Cross, Cannon Street and Waterloo East stations will be closed. Southeastern services from Folkestone, Dover and Ashford will also not serve London Bridge. Trains will be diverted to either London Victoria or London Blackfriars with some trains starting / finishing their journey at ...
[IMG: Norman Lamb Lynne Featherstone] Not for the first time in the history of the party, the Lib Dems are faced with adversity – after the crushing loss of a huge number of our dedicated and hardworking colleagues. But we are a party of survivors – and it has been incredible to see the surge of support for the party in the last two weeks. Over 13,000 people have signed up to the party since the general election. These new members have joined because they see the need for a liberal voice in our country. I know what it is ...
Labour 1,061 [31.5%; -1.1%] Labour 1,014 Conservative 749 [22.2%; +13.1%] LD Robbie Laird 580 [17.2%; -5.7%] Conservative 571 LD Paddy Kent 540 Green 477 [14.1%; -7%] UKIP 410 [12.2%; -2.2%] Green 384 UKIP 270 Independent 95 [2.8%; +2.8%] Majority: 312 Labour gain from Green Percentage change since 2014 (This was a differed by-election which ran simultaneously with a regular election in this ward)
Conservative 874 [32.6%; -2.6%] Conservative 804 Labour 593 [22.1%; +3.1%] UKIP 463 [17.3%; -21.2%] UKIP 430 Labour 420 Green 397 [14.8%; +14.8%] LD Catherine McLachlan 356 [13.3%; +5.8%] LD Peter Lewis 326 Majority: 281 Conservative gain from UKIP Percentage change since 2012 (This was a differed by-election which ran simultaneously with a regular election in this ward)
Conservative 1,911 [37.3%; +9.1%] UKIP 1,387 [27.1%; -10.3%] Conservative 1,356 Labour 748 [14.6%; -0.7%] Labour 699 LD Ted Lewin 642 [12.5%; -6.6%] LD Carole Roast 624 Green 284 [5.5%; +5.5%] Green 187 Independent 150 [2.9%; +2.9%] Majority: 555 UKIP Hold Percentage change since 2014 (This was a differed by-election which ran simultaneously with a regular election in this ward)
and sign the petition here...... And find out why you should protect it here And while we're at it - I'm still not clear which of the rights below the Tories find objectionable he right to life;the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;the prohibition of slavery and forced labour;the right to liberty and security of the person;the right to a fair trial;prohibition of punishment without law;the right to respect for private and family life;the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;the right to freedom of expression;the right to freedom of assembly and association;the right for ...
Many things are being written about the election we have just been through. I for one think this is great; everyone is engaged and wanting to examine what went wrong, how we can learn, what can we do next time. The key is that we're all committed to rebuilding and giving it all we have again next time. This is really encouraging, so I wanted to add my own little insight and raise a few more questions for our campaign teams, local and national, to address. My issue concerns the ever-dreaded 'negative' campaigning. It's something we as Liberal Democrats really ...
[IMG: Scaffolding] Following the earthquake this morning, KCC Trading Standards is warning Kent residents to be aware of rogue traders who might try to exploit the situation by cold calling at your door and offering to do unnecessary repair work. Say No to Rogue Traders! If you require work done to your home get a number of quotes. Use a reputable company who has been recommended by family or friends or use an approved trader via Checkatrade, where you will find traders that have the Kent County Council Trading Standards Approved badge. For advice and to report issues to KCC ...
UKIP 1,334 [37.2%; -9.4%] Conservative 1,199 [33.4%; +4%] Conservative 1,173 UKIP 1,101 Labour 490 [13.7%; -1.8%] Labour 417 LD Josephine Murphy 319 [8.9%; +0.3%] LD Phillip Thompson 273 Majority: 161 Conservative gain from UKIP Percentage change since 2014 (This was a differed by-election which ran simultaneously with a regular election in this ward)
Conservative 1,696 [50.4%; +2.6%] Conservative 1,432 Labour 1,018 [30.2%; -16%] Labour 973 UKIP 652 [19.4%; +19.4%] UKIP 604 [LD [0.0%; -6%]] Majority: 678 Conservative gain from UKIP Percentage change since 2014 (This was a differed by-election which ran simultaneously with a regular election in this ward)
Labour 3,072 [57.1%; -2.8%] Labour 2,650 UKIP 945 [17.6%; -5.4%] Conservative 920 [17.1%; +7%] UKIP 825 Green 442 [8.2%; +3.2%] Majority: 422 Labour Hold Percentage change since 2014 (This was a differed by-election which ran simultaneously with a regular election in this ward)
Labour 2,273 [36.7%; +3.85%] Labour 2,202 Community Action Not Party Politics 1,927 [31.1%; -9.8%] Community Action Not Party Politics 1,870 Conservative 1,492 [24.1%; +6.1%] Conservative 1,406 Green 506 [8.2%; +8.2%] Green 314 Majority: 346 Labour Hold Percentage change since 2014 (This was a differed by-election which ran simultaneously with a regular election in this ward)
Labour 929 [27.9%; -11.9%] Conservative 861 [25.9%; -14.9%] Labour 807 UKIP 615 [18.5%; +18.5%] LD Tim Nuttall 611 [18.4%; -1%] Green 308 [9.3%; +9.3%] Majority: 68 Conservative gain from Labour Percentage change since 2014 (This was a differed by-election which ran simultaneously with a regular election in this ward)
Party leadership candidate wants much bigger party membership. What's not to like? It's great that a leadership candidate is talking about rebuilding the party's organisational strength, and that it is high up his list of priorities. Yet there are two problems with the 100,000 target. First, is it really achievable? Taking an issue, throwing out a large numerical number and talking about it with morale-raising enthusiasm is one of Tim's great skills. As with his house building target (which I have doubts about - see Comfort food for the liberal soul: Tim Farron's William Beveridge Memorial Lecture), what's not clear ...
[IMG: Iconic scenes of Liverpool] Iconic scenes of Liverpool Click on the photo to enlarge it The photo is amongst my Flickr shots at:- www.flickr.com/photos/86659476@N07/
Conservative 967 [37%; +4.3%] Labour 884 [32.3%; -3.5%] Labour 803 Conservative 790 UKIP 608 [23.2%; -8.4%] Green 197 [7.5%; +7.5%] Majority: 164 Labour Hold Percentage change since 2014 (This was a differed by-election which ran simultaneously with a regular election in this ward)
Labour 952 [28%; +5.2%] UKIP 883 [26%; +2.1%] Labour 867 LD Lauren Bruce 834 [24.5%; -26.8%] LD Les Windsor 662 Conservative 386 [11.3%; +11.3%] Green 211 [6.2%; +3.6%] TUSC 135 [4%; +2.7%] Majority: 85 Labour Hold Percentage change since 2014 (This was a differed by-election which ran simultaneously with a regular election in this ward)
Labour 2,018 [39.3%; +2.3%] Labour 1,454 Green 1,058 [20.6%; -6.2%] Conservative 1,046 [20.4%; +7.5%] Conservative 1,031 Green 1,015 UKIP 628 [12.2%; -4.6%] LD Thomas Crisp 383 [7.5%; +2.9%] LD Samuel Neal 205 Majority: 960 Labour Hold Percentage change since 2014 (This was a differed by-election which ran simultaneously with a regular election in this ward)
I'm currently studying abroad in Salamanca, where, as in the rest of the country, there are municipal elections on 24th May. (Yes, polling day is on a Sunday.) My bedroom floor is covered in a variety of different party propaganda (yes, that is the word they use in Spain for it) that I've gathered for academic reasons, obviously. So, I was really excited to read Miriam's article in El País recently. It most certainly did not disappoint - if you want a lesson in how to drop truth bombs on political parties, look no further. Just to give a little ...
- he's a gut liberal. More than that: he's a heart and soul liberal. - he's a passionate and inspirational speaker, and we need passion and inspiration right now. - he recognises his fallibility and owns his mistakes. - he seeks advice on subjects he is not expert in rather than bluffing. - I have seen him change and learn; every time I have seen this happen he has been consistently, instinctively Liberal about how he applies new information. - he knows how the party works both structurally and culturally, and his time as president shows how well he connects ...
A couple of weeks ago Daisy Benson shared a video on twitter of a Tim Farron speech from 2010. In it he described our opposing parties as "soulless marketing operations". Five years on from then, it is clear to me that the Liberal Democrats had tried in this election to outdo the other parties with our marketing operation, and fallen spectacularly flat on our faces. In July 2013 we had a visit in Glasgow from Ryan Coetzee, our party's director of strategy in which he unveiled the great slogan we would be marching under and parroting for the two years ...
I'm not going to make predictions about my own party's leadership election, but I'm happy to guess the result of another's four month before the result: Labour's new team announced in September will be Liz Kendall as leader with Tom Watson as her deputy. I don't have any solid psephological or political scientific grounds on which to make this call, but it's a hunch that seems to fit with the facts at hand. Burnham and Cooper are increasingly portrayed as being part of the Miliband era which is now being routinely denounced as an aberration against the Party with all ...
[IMG: 2001 Lib Dem general election manifesto] As I wrote in my piece on what went wrong with Liberal Democrat polling in the general election, the party's policies weren't a problem – it was the party's overall reputation that cost us so dearly: Political scientists crunching the evidence over how people decide who to vote for (such as in Affluence, Austerity and Electoral Change in Britain) find that policy issues matter much less than 'valence' issues. That is, people don't decide who to vote for based on looking at policies and seeing how closely a party or candidate's policies match ...
[IMG: Tim-farron] I have a pretty appalling record when it comes to voting for party leaders. So you may be best to note the headline, which is after all the nub of what follows, and read no further. The first time I voted was in Labour's 1994 leadership contest: I chose Blair and Prescott as my dream ticket, and so did my then party. I think that's when I peaked, at least in terms of choosing winners. The next time I had a leadership vote, in 1999, I was a Lib Dem: I voted for David Rendel (on the naive ...
The Elected Mayor of Liverpool? We've just had the proposals for the way that the Labour Party intends to establish committees in the City Council for this municipal year. Chief amongst them is the abolition of the Mayoral Select Committee ... Continue reading →
Fri 22nd
10:10
LibLink: Catherine Bearder MEP: How can Britain celebrate Magna Carta and contemplate leaving ECHR i...
Catherine Bearder MEP has co-written an article for the New Statesman on the Conservatives' plans to abolish the Human Rights Act. She said: Fundamental rights, the rule of law and democratic principles are frequently violated in nearly all EU member states. In some cases, the violations are serious and systematic. The current Hungarian government is one of the most egregious offenders. In recent years we have seen critical media gagged, the electoral law changed to secure an absolute majority for the governing party, opposition parties weakened and the independence of the judiciary undermined. But there are many other examples across ...
Unemployment has been dropping in the Ludlow area for a while, but today there is bad news from the Eco Park. Capita Medical Reporting has told its staff that the company is making a round of redundancies. Up to 30 jobs are to go. This is a blow to the town and surrounding area, and [...]
The 10 most exciting species discovered this year (tags: ) Hollywood are such arseholes (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
David Cameron may well be seeking to pin the blame on the Liberal Democrats for spiralling immigration figures but it is hardly credible that a net influx of 318,000 people into our country can be laid entirely at the door of a Business Secretary determined to ensure that Universities are able to continue to recruit foreign students, that hospitals can get the skilled professionals they require and that business is able to fill the specialist roles it needs to generate wealth. As the Liberal Democrat spokesperson says: "The Tories promised to cut net migration to tens of thousands and failed ...
Here's some of the articles that have caught my attention this week... Theresa May's plan to censor TV shows condemned by Tory cabinet colleague | World news | The Guardian Here's Sajid Javid being a free speech dude, vetoing Theresa May's TV censorship plans last month http://bit.ly/1Fr0ovL What happened to the Lib Dems – and will they be back? "We should be encouraged by the fightbacks of the past but nothing is inevitable. We might fail" – a senior LibDem http://bit.ly/1dnvYSi Liz Kendall: Labour must ditch 'fantasy' that Britain has moved to the left | Politics | The Guardian Some ...
The Liberal Democrat campaign to bring Metrolink to Cheadle and Gatley is continuing apace. The Lib Dems are campaigning to bring Metrolink to Cheadle and Gatley "We need to build as much support as we can for an orbital Metrolink, connecting Rochdale, Oldham, Tameside, Stockport, Wythenshawe, Altrincham and the airport by covenient, fast trams." Cllr Iain Roberts explained. "Stockport's Rail Strategy got the line on the map and got TfGM's agreement. But there are always more projects around than there's money to deliver them so it isn't enough to get an agreed plan. We need to move it up the ...
An update to my blog about Darlington where suspected missing postal votes led the council to apply to the courts to recheck the election count. A new count has now been conducted and votes had indeed been missed: The inspection found that the declared result, which saw Conservative Lorraine Tostevin and Liberal Democrat Joe Kelley elected into the ward's two seats, would not change. Cllr Tostevin again topped the poll with 875 votes, increasing her majority from 71 to 116 votes, while Cllr Kelley came second with 759 votes, and his wife, Claire, in third with 622 votes.
Attention for many Lib Dems is now turning to the leadership election: the relative merits of the two candidates, their personal histories and political preferences. This reflects the traditional approach to leadership: what is it that makes an individual a 'great' man or woman? Particularly useful for understanding how leaders act is the dichotomy between 'transformative' and 'transactional' leadership. Transformational leaders tend to be seen as 'active': not only do they have a clear vision, but they also innovate by undertaking political change. In many ways they challenge their followers by acting independently of them; Paddy Ashdown's abandonment of equidistance ...
Yesterday, I took part in tenant consultation meetings at Blackness Court and at Sinderins/Pennycook Courts with Home Scotland representatives, about future scheme manager/support staff posts. This was the latest in a series of meetings with tenants I have attended with the tenants since last November and it was agreed yesterday that there will be further consultation meetings towards the end of the year to ensure that the changes to support arrangements are working fine and resolve any issues. After my ward surgery at Blackness Primary School last night, I attended the West End Local Community Planning Partnership meeting at Blackness ...
Someone tweeted at me yesterday: "The labels change but essentially our politics is always liberals vs conservatives. Party better at being one or other wins." This got me thinking again about the election, about the Tory majority, the Lib Dem losses, the SNP "tsunami". I found myself agreeing with the tweet completely upon reflection. The Tories appeared to offer the best of both conservatism and liberalism with only a few of the downsides of the conservative bit of the equation to have to contend with. Labour offered neither. The Lib Dems couldn't get a majority and so were deemed an ...
Dr Margaret Bennett From Sheena Wellington : Saturday 23rd May at 11am (doors open 10.30am) Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library Margaret Bennett, Gaelic and Scots song Dr. Margaret Bennett is a renowned Scottish writer, folklorist, ethnologist, broadcaster and silver voiced singer, equally authoritative in Gaelic and Scots. Her main interests lies in the field of traditional Scottish folk culture and cultural identity of the Scots, home and abroad. The late Hamish Henderson, internationally distinguished poet and folklorist, said about her: 'Margaret embodies the spirit of Scotland'.
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of the General Election results. Some 1065 party members responded – thank you – and we're publishing the full results. OK, so before we go any further, we all know how dreadful polling has been recently, and I'm also including our results on the Presidential election last year. Also these numbers are based on a sample of 1,065 out of 57,773 members, before nominations have closed, and any hustings have taken place. First Preferences Which of the eight Liberal Democrat MPs would you like to ...
It was full Council last night and the appointments to committees , election of Mayor etc. It is usual practice for one years Deputy Mayor to become the next year's Mayor, but last year's Deputy , Cllr Adrian Cartie is having some health problems, so Cllr Margaret Parker was elected as Mayor. Now Councillor Parker is long standing councillor, and has been part of the "Civic Party" before, so not unexpected. But her husband, Cllr Bob Parker becomes the Mayor's escort, which may lead to some embarrassment as he is banned from sitting on any Council committee due to previous ...
Tim Farron has, famously, compared the resilience of the Liberal Democrats in the face of discouragement to the supposed indestructibility of cockroaches even after nuclear war. Paddy Ashdown too, often praises the strength of will of the activists of the party. In the face of the worst general election result in more than half a century, the surge in membership applications for the Liberal Democrats is a small sign of optimism after the disaster. Yet the scale of defeat is so large that to rebuild in any conventional way will take many decades. Indeed, with the significant economic, social and ...
