Norman Lamb has released a video talking about why he wants to be leader.
"In this video (the first of two parts) we find a one-a-day train, an abandoned curve of track which could be re-instated, a disused viaduct, and show you where on the Overground you can pass through Zone 1 and not be charged for it."
Thu 28th
21:48
LibLink: Tim Farron: The best argument for the Liberal Democrats? A Tory Queen's Speech
Over at the Huffington Post, leadership hopeful Tim Farron has been writing about the Queen's Speech and why it shows that a strong liberal voice is needed. On Europe, the referendum on our membership of the EU is an issue already threatening to turn into a parody. Cameron has just barred two groups from voting – 16 and 17-year olds, who engaged fantastically with the Scottish referendum; and most EU citizens resident in the UK, who can already vote in local government elections. Probably two of the groups most likely to vote to stay in the EU! There is also ...
When people talk of reform of cricket's County Championship they normally have one thing in mind: a reduction in the number of first-class counties. As Leicestershire and Northamptonshire would be prime candidates for a cull, this makes me nervous. (My house is in Leicestershire, but was in Northamptonshire when it was built.) So it is good to read this article by Tim Wigmore: ECB discussions about whether the County Championship could be extended to include 21 teams in three divisions of seven have stirred the interest of Ireland and Scotland, who are eager to consider any opportunities to join England ...
Thu 28th
20:48Video: Elaine Bagshaw's pitch to be Mayor of Tower Hamlets: Decent social housing, opportunities for...
In just two weeks' time, voters in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets will choose a new mayor after the previous incumbent's ignominious removal from office. Our candidate is Elaine Bagshaw, former chair of Liberal Youth and one of the leading lights of this year's Team 2015. She explains in just 45 seconds what her priorities would be if she were Mayor. If you want to help her campaign, you can do so here.
A news report from 2010, when England was bidding to host the 2018 World Cup.
And still they come. Metro wins Headline of the Day.
Welsh Labour's controlling tendencies know no bounds, as Wales' voluntary and charitable organisations are finding out to their cost. The Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) is an essential part of a Liberal society: individuals and communities (of interest and place) rallying around a common cause to take direct action on issues that matter to them. They should be independent, able to advocate for their causes free from the interference of government, which would do well to sit up and listen to what they have to say. Funding for the VCS has always been a problem and in Wales it has ...
Here is the latest FOCUS newsletter from Meols Ward Liberal Democrats, which was recently delivered to residents of Churchtown, Crossens and Marshside.
Over at the party website, Tom Brake has been writing about the importance of the Human Rights Act. The Tories may have apparently watered down planned action to repeal it but they are absolutely desperate to do so. The last thing we should be doing is letting up our campaign to convince the public about the need for the protections the ECHR and Human Rights Act provide. He outlines some of the people who have been helped by the HRA. Take for example, 90-year-olds Richard and Beryl Driscoll. They lived together for more than 65 years until, in 2006, he ...
Yesterday in The Times (£), Daniel Finkelstein, former SDP member turned Tory, writes that it's all over for the Liberal Democrats. The best thing, he says, for those who wish to advance liberal ideas is to join whichever of the Tories and Labour they feel most comfortable with. I would be lying if similar thoughts hadn't crossed my mind, particularly after the 2015 general election. It's heart breaking to see the party you support make steady progress throughout your adult life, culminating in entry into government in 2010, only to be seemingly pushed back to square one. Do we need ...
Planning Dave Yates Resources Chris White Sports, Leisure and Heritage Anthony Rowlands Community Engagement and Localism Gerard McHale Environment Janet Churchard Housing Aislinn Lee
Thu 28th
12:15MSPs reject Assisted Suicide Bill - read two compelling speeches from Lib Dems McArthur and McInnes
I was sad that Holyrood rejected the Assisted Suicide Bill yesterday, but I was heartened by the fact that support for such a measure is growing and I think the debate will continue. It was also good to see that it was conducted in such a respectful and sensitive fashion. I thought you might like to see the two speeches our MSPs made, one on each side of the argument from Alison McInnes and Liam McArthur. Both were brilliant, thoughtful and liberal. If I had been persuadable, Alison's speech might have done it. Alison McInnes: I come to this debate ...
Yesterday in the House of Commons debate on the Queen's Speech Nigel Dodds said: "He is certainly proof that if we work at and fight for an issue that we believe in, we will get there in the end, especially if the cause is right." Now the comment was directed at Sir William Cash and in relation to the EU referendum that has been promised in Queen's speech, but as an LGBT campaigner in Northern Ireland I take this as encouragement. Because also later when responding to his colleague Sammy Wilson he said: "My hon. Friend raises an important issue, ...
The self-styled Islamic State shot to global prominence largely by its highly effective use of social media and video streaming to trumpet its egregious human riots abuses in Iraq, Syria and Libya, from the graphic beheadings of "unbelievers" and aid workers to the sale and rape of female slaves and pushing homosexuals off the top [...]
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. Giving the individual voter greater choice and voice - devolving democratic power to the individual and away from institutions - is integral to making the UK a truly liberal and democratic country. So I'm urging new - and existing - party members to join Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform (LDER) and help us campaign to make this essential change a reality. Take a look at our historic Parliament, supposedly the model for others to follow. ...
One of the lesser mentioned elements of this year's Queen's Speech is the Votes for Life Bill: The purpose of the Bill is to: • Scrap the current 15 year time limit on the voting rights of British citizens living overseas for UK parliamentary and European parliamentary elections, including provisions relating to the registration of overseas electors. The main benefits of the Bill would be to: • End the disenfranchisement after an arbitrary 15 years of British citizens living abroad, enabling them to continue voting in UK Parliamentary and European Parliamentary elections. • Make it easier for overseas electors to ...
Already you will have read from the right wing press that the first solely Tory Queen's Speech in nineteen years was a triumph or a tour de force or something else equally spectacular. The left wing press have meanwhile described it as the end of modern Britain. So I shall endeavour to clear the smoke. I'll start with the stuff we knew was coming. The EU referendum will happen before the end of 2017. On an interesting note, Philip Hammond popped up this morning saying that Britain will vote to leave the EU if there's no treaty change. Given that ...
I had to deal with the livestock early this morning, thanks to the BBC and Tim Farron! The goats, ducks, quails and chickens were fed at 6am so I could be in the Bigg Market in Newcastle at 8am for an interview about Tim Farron's university years. Tim was an undergraduate when I was at Newcastle University researching my PhD. In terms of Parliamentary campaigning, Tim was first bloodied in Hexham
If I lived in #OrkneyandShetlands would I fire a rocket at #AlistairCarmichael? – probably yes — David Ward (@DWard) May 27, 2015 Delightful! Carmichael, of course, as chief whip, was responsible for suspending Mr Ward over his repeated controversial tweets. Some see this as a little mild self-deprecating humour, others as more offensive than charm.
Independent seat. LD candidate- Chris Wiggin. Contact Details: 07974 127995, ortonwithhamptonld@gmail.com
The LlewBlog - Bloggage - 'Why don't you bring Scrapheap Challenge back?' (tags: ) BBC invites jobless ppl to compete in Hunger Games-style reality show 'Britain's Hardest Grafter' Serially considering applying, TBH (tags: ) A photographic journey through having an anxiety disorder (tags: ) NASA thought Sally Ride needed 100 tampons for 1 week "just to be safe." From what? (tags: ) I Fooled Millions Into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss. Here's How. (tags: ) The real story of the famous McDonald's Coffee Lawsuit (tags: ) The tragedy of the Commons: MPs are too busy to do their jobs - ...
After its electoral catastrophe followed by a surge of mostly younger members, the Liberal Democrats are struggling to create a new future. The immediate focus is on selecting a new party leader. I'm not going to comment on that further today. I think it is more constructive to think about the sort of party the Liberal Democrats should become. It has something like a clean slate to work with – which makes it an excellent moment to put the past into perspective and move on. As ever it is easier to see what should be left behind than the shape ...
[IMG: dictatorshandbook] The police have finally come for several FIFA officials, and yet the organisation seems set to re-elect Sepp Blatter for a fifth term as President. It appears to go against all our expectations of how the system should work – democratic processes should remove corrupt leaders – but it fits in with our wider experience of how the world works, where autocratic rulers and their regimes do tend to stay in power much longer than their democratic counterparts. So, why do corrupt, authoritarian and undemocratic regimes tend to survive longer than those that aren't? That's where the selectorate ...
This Government is illegitimate. We should resist it by all legal means possible. Apparently, according to Sir Malcolm Bruce, all politicians lie at some point. I don't accept this is a good thing, but we should not have been surprised when the Prime Minister came out with this little gem on the day of the Queen's Speech: "We have a mandate from the British people." No Dave, you do not. The idea of an electoral mandate is a simple one which I teach my A level Politics students. You win a majority in the House of Commons, you claim the ...
Thu 28th
08:55
New, bigger venue for Lib Dem leadership hustings in London as over 800 people sign up to attend
[IMG: Tim Farron and Norman Lamb - separate photos courtesy of Lib Dems] So great has been the demand for tickets to the Liberal Democrat leadership hustings being held in London on 17th June that it's been moved to a new, bigger venue (still in central London) and more places are now available to book. You can book your place (for free) at the hustings meeting and get further details of time and place here. At time of writing, 814 people have already signed up to attend, a mammoth number compared to previous leadership contest hustings. In fact, I wonder ...
[IMG: collini case] The Collini Case, Ferdinand von Schirach (trans. Anthea Bell) Not many novels are cited by a government-appointed committee to reappraise the mark left on the German ministry of justice by its Nazi past. What is as remarkable is that, for all its serious purpose, The Collini Case is also a gripping, taut whydunnit, an historian's Columbo in which the murder is committed within the first three pages but its suspense is maintained for a further 186 as the horrifying motive is uncovered. Why did Fabrizio Collini kill Hans Mayer? That's the question newly qualified defence lawyer, Caspar ...
From the Strategic Development Planning Authority Manager : The TAYplan Strategic Development Plan and associated documents have now been approved. An 8 week period for representations commenced on Monday 11th May and will close on Friday 3rd July. It is very important that representations are made within that period. A questionnaire will be used for representations to be made and online submissions will be encouraged. The online questionnaire can be accessed here. A guide is also available on-line. At this Proposed Plan stage you will be asked whether you wish a change to be made to the Plan or whether ...
Today's Guardian reports how an unshackled Home Secretary is looking to take advantage the absence of the Liberal Democrats from Government by promoting a "turbo-charged" version of the snooper's charter that will extend the powers of the security services. They say that the government is to introduce an investigatory powers bill far more wide-ranging than expected. The new legislation will include not only the expected snooper's charter, enabling the tracking of everyone's web and social media use, but also moves to strengthen the security services' warranted powers for the bulk interception of the content of communications. This is the sort ...
Five things we must never do again We must never again accept coalition with the Tories – Every time the party has entered into a coalition with the Tories it has come out seriously damaged. The one in the 1930s ended in a three way split and national irrelevance. This one might be worse. It is a near-death experience. We must never do this again. Why does this happen? Largely because we are a party built on values, not on protecting interests, and coalition with the Tories obscures the public's view of our values. We end up looking like a ...
I had a small wobble in the middle of the general election. It happened when I came home and found the Green Party's local election address gracing my doormat. I glanced at it, looked more closely and for a moment I felt myself lost. I agreed with it. I'm not saying I agreed with everything. But it was well-written and well-designed. It wasn't ruined by any of the offensive stuff that politicians like to say about their rivals in print. It was positive, far-sighted and ... well, what was I doing? I came back to the leaflet a few hours ...
