I'll be posting my review of the Beach Boys shows tomorrow — I accidentally hit "post" on an unfinished draft just a minute ago, which some of you may have seen before I hid it, but it should be about twice as long when I've finished it. In the meantime, have links. Many people have [...]
This monument stands beside the main road a little to the south of Brixworth. It looks like a stray Eleanor Cross, but turns out to be a monument to Charles Cavendish, Third Baron Chesham. As the Brixworth History Society tells its story: It was hunting that was his passion. From 1883 until 1893 he was Master of the Bicester Hounds. Although his county seat was Latimer House in Buckinghamshire he rode all over the country, especially the Grafton and Warwickshire Hunts, but particularly enjoyed the Pytchley. ... On the fateful day he was riding with the Pytchley at Welton near ...
The Mirror reports: Ukip have slashed prices in their online store – including a book entitled "101 Ways To Win an Election." The book is available at a knock down price of just £5 – a reduction of 60% on the cover price of £12 – leading some to wonder if the party has given up on electoral victory. The book was written by Liberal Democrat writers Mark Pack and Edward Maxfield. A Ukip spokesperson said: "More fool us for buying in a book written by a Lib Dem." But Mr Pack shot back: "Eight times as many Lib Dem ...
A man who smoked, who famously refused to exercise, who even more famously drank way too much, who was middle aged, male and Scottish has died only 55. In a way, therefore, Charles Kennedy was a young death foretold. Yet, still it has been a heartbreaking day for those who admired him, or liked him or who knew him. I know that there have been a hundred "the Charles Kennedy I knew" pieces in every media outlet today. It is hard to offer anything more than cliche or stereotype. I have known Charles since I was 19, and he was ...
Charles Kennedy was a great David Bowie fan. I hope he likes this one up in heaven. (And thanks to Alex Wilcock for the prompt). * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is part of the Liberal Democrat Voice team and blogs at Liberal Burblings.
Tue 2nd
22:08
The delays to the repairs of the lift at Acocks Green Station are "extremely frustrating" and "unacc...
London Midland admit the delays to repairs of the lift at Acocks Green Station are "extremely frustrating" and "unacceptable". With the lift to the car park at Acocks Green station still out of operation I have now received the following email from the Head of Snow Hill Services, Brenda Lawrence: "Good afternoon Roger Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding to your email. I have had a number of conversations with our team to understand exactly what the problem is with the lifts. I am advised that the fault relates to the telephone line that is located in ...
Charlie Kennedy was our leader. A decent, well-loved statesman who was nearly always right on the political issues of the day. He was the most successful leader of the Lib Dems seeing 62 MPs elected in 2005. For a generation of us, Liberal Democrats who campaigned for the Liberal-SDP Alliance he was the great hope of that Alliance who was elected in a shock election win in 1983 in his twenties and someone who took Social Democrats into the new Social and Liberal Democrats. When he became leader in 1999 he then inspired another political generation with his principled opposition ...
"When I started at Lochaber High School, the prizes he had won as a school debater adorned the walls; as pupils knew, at university he had gone on to win the national championship for Glasgow. It was clear that he was a phenomenon." Danny Alexander pays tribute to Charles Kennedy. Affordable housing quotas get waived and the interests of residents trampled as toothless authorities bow to the dazzling wealth of investors from Russia, China and the Middle East, says Oliver Wainwright. Scottish Nationalists and English Tories obsess about the BBC because they want it to be more not less biased, ...
Charles Kennedy speaking in Glasgow, 2013 Like many of us, I was shocked and saddened in equal measure to learn of Charles Kennedy's passing. I didn't know Charles particularly well, although I would have liked to. He was someone I admired and, whenever I met him, I found him amusing, sharp-minded, warm and unusually interested in others. I last saw him at Conference in 2013, when he joined Bob Maclennan and myself outside for a chat about Europe...and the inevitable cigarette - but what stays with me was his genuine interest in my own life and various projects I was ...
Like so many others, I was devastated to learn this morning of the passing of Charles Kennedy. The memory of Charles that will stick most in my mind is of his speaking to voters at a parliamentary by-election we were both helping at and which the party had no earthly chance of winning. I remember thinking at the time that he had such a good way with people, a naturally engaging, warm person. I think Willie Rennie said it best today : "We have lost someone special. That cheeky smile, that cracking wit, that Highland lilt and those wise words ...
[IMG: condolence] The Liberal Democrat party has this evening opened a digital book of condolence for Charles Kennedy. Nick Clegg has written to party members as follows: The sad news of Charles Kennedy's death has shocked us all today. Perhaps you met him, worked or campaigned alongside him, or maybe you simply have memories of the great things he said and did. I personally valued his kindness, humour and generosity, and I know that our country will be the poorer without his courage and wisdom. A book of condolence has been opened online. If you wish to leave a message, ...
When David Penhaligon died so suddenly in 1986 the grief was widespread, reaching far beyond the Liberal Party. You hoped David had sensed how widely he was loved and respected. I feel the same about Charles Kennedy today. Despite his popularity and public persona of 'chatshow Charlie', I agree with David Boyle that Charles was a shy man. I wonder if this "the gap between appearance and reality" David identifies contributed in some way to his problems with drink. Charles's greatest service to the Liberal Democrats may have been his very first. When the party was formed from the debris ...
Saturday 15th February 2003 – Hundreds of Liberal Democrats joined over a million people in London to protest against the invasion of Iraq. At the post-march rally in Hyde Park, Charles Kennedy addressed the crowd. Click below to view. * Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist in Newbury and West Berkshire. He is part of the Liberal Democrat Voice team and blogs at Liberal Burblings.
I joined Twitter 8 years ago! From a mere place to chat about crappy TV (Big Brother, of course...) it became a place where I could interact with far cleverer people than myself and learn a little more about the world. I used it to get my message on marriage equality out to a wider audience which was an excellent way to vent some pent up emotions (and logic... lots of logic). But what a time drain it has become. I hesitate to use that overly used faux-medical term "addiction" but it is certainly a habit. This last weekend I ...
The trustees of the Assembly Rooms have submitted an application for planning permission for extensive work on the property (15/01958/FUL; 15/01959/LBC). This scheme is a winner for Ludlow. The trustees' plans are to move the main entrance from its current location on Mill Street to Castle Square - which was until recently the entrance to [...]
I heard at 7am the news that Charles Kennedy had died. It feels so terribly unfair. He had so many gifts and should have had so much more to give with them. And just as Liberal Democrats are starting to recover from the grief of the election, and find something to celebrate in such unlooked-for growth in our numbers (from 45,000 members to 60,000 since polling day), our family is plunged into the most appalling shared grief of all. My heart goes out to Charles' immediate family too. I knew Charles as Leader, much less since, but I'll miss him. ...
Recent controversies surrounding the public portrayal of science suggest that we are too reliant on its fragile findings The past few weeks have seen some remarkable episodes in science. Through a hoax, evocative of the Sokal Affair of the mid-1990s, John Bohannon showed how trivially easy it is to start a popular meme based on science. Bohannon ginned up a fake study showing that eating chocolate leads to weight loss, got it published and then was able to promote it onto the pages of several newspapers and television news outlets. Continue reading...
I can't say I knew Charles Kennedy at all well, but he was a shrewd political operator, a gentle and humane man and I feel terribly sad that he's gone. I've written a response to the news in the Guardian this morning that emphasised his key role, both in the formation of the Lib Dems and in its original ethos. It would never have happened if it wasn't for him. The House of Commons is something of a curse for those who enter it too young. It is terribly hard to escape its cosy, vacuous embrace, and spewing you out ...
This morning at 6, I looked over at my phone, it having just buzzed, to see from BBC News that Charles Kennedy had died at the much too young age of 55. It was such a shock I didn't believe it at first, I scrambled to pull up other news sites to see if it [...]
More comedy genius from Australia's Clarke and Dawe:
I am delighted to report that my colleagues now have a blog. Congratulations to Dan Lewis. The blog is on my blog roll on the right of this posting and can be found here. There is a very excellent posting looking at the successful referendum in Ireland on equal marriage.
From more that half a century ago comes news of membership surge. I know the world was different then. These were the days before lettraset and spray glue, well before DTP and yes it was an age when all the political parties had much greater memberships. The factors which caused that surge can be analysed and adapted to meet today's world. There was community campaigning but in addition there was an excitement over political ideas. Page 4 of this newsletter laid out the key Liberal messages. How often do we bemoan the lack of clear political identity that our party ...
We have forgotten since then how the ranks of the parliamentary Conservative party - though not all by any means - were cheerleaders for the war, and I can remember them standing in their seats baying, bragging and gesticulating at Kennedy as he walked in. I remember his dignity in the face of that. He was always an outsider - and Lib Dems are best led, in my opinion, by outsiders. But he was never quite such an outsider as he was then. David Boyle wrote the above as part of an article in The Guardian this morning. I remember ...
An open letter to Interim Mayor of Greater Manchester Tony Lloyd. Dear Tony, Congratulations on your appointment as Interim Mayor. As you know, I have gone on record to support your candidacy because I believe you offer a shake-up, a different vision, and now is the right time for that. You only have two years before the people of Greater Manchester elect your successor. My plea is to make them count. Everyone talks about the need for more transparency and scrutiny, for the Combined Authority to better communicate with the people it represents. You need to make that happen. How ...
I woke up to the news like others with a sense of shock. I woke up after a really strange dream that involved me killing Osama Bin Laden in the House of Commons with a former school colleague and being involved in a man hunt, that led to me being recognised by AFC Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe and him trying to apprehend me, yeah what on earth was my subconscious doing this morning? But still, I woke up, rolled over a flicked through social media and saw the news. I never met Charles although I brushed past him on several ...
Charles Kennedy. In his own words
Yvette Cooper's bid for the Labour Party leadership is starting to remind me of Gordon Brown's in 2007. Both started in a very strong position, both had people questioning whether they really knew what they wanted to do with being leader other than, well, be leader and both struggled to answer those questions. How far the parallels will extend we'll see, but the depth of Yvette Cooper's problems in defining what she is about are nicely illustrated by the relentlessly vacuous nature of her piece attempting to do just that on Huffington Post. Any one paragraph would work fine as ...
[IMG: The march against the Iraq War, February 2003] The march against the Iraq War, February 2003 I keep thinking back to 1994 this morning. It was in the run up to my final undergraduate exams and the news on the radio that morning said that John Smith had had a heart attack. By the time I came out of the library a few hours later, that news had changed and everyone was talking about his death. It was an odd time and felt almost like a period of national mourning as people processed the death of a man they'd ...
Many years ago when Charles Kennedy was leader and I was working at Lib Dem HQ, we had an IT contractor working in the building who didn't know much about politics but was always keen to get on with everyone and interested in learning more about politics. One day he was in the lift chatting with a stranger, to him, and asked "Oh, what is it you do here?" The modest, slightly baffled replied came, "Well, I guess I run the place" and out of the lift came the contractor, not embarrassed or feeling belittled, but charmed. That was the ...
Tue 2nd
12:30
Charles Kennedy on sparkling form about Europe at the Liberal Democrat conference in 2013
On this very sad day, there is perhaps no finer way to pay tribute to Charles Kennedy than to view him in action. Here is Charles speaking on fantastic form about Europe at the Glasgow Liberal Democrat conference on 17th September 2013. Passionate. Powerful. Funny. Pithy. Brilliant! Please watch this. It's great. What a great man! We will miss him dreadfully. Click below to view. https://youtu.be/4poB2T-ohVw
Politics has lost one of its most gifted and genuine communicators. Charles Kennedy, when on form, was a brilliant extempore speaker. He needed no notes or autocue to marshall his thoughts and wow an audience. In the TV studio he was fluent and unspun. His cheery demeanour won him friends across the political spectrum and [...]
As part of our tributes to Charles, we're republishing this piece, which he wrote for us just after the May general election. You can see the article in its original form here. Between 7am and 11.30am today this article has been viewed on Liberal Democrat Voice over 6400 times, as a result of being linked by the Independent and on Twitter. I am very fond of political history. If nothing else, we can all reflect on and perhaps tell our grandchildren that we were there on "The night of long sgian dubhs!" I would very much like to thank my ...
Few politicians inspire as much warmth as Charles Kennedy generated during his time as leader of the Liberal Democrats. But then few politicians are as engaging, witty and profoundly human — in their strengths and their weaknesses — as Charles was. He was a joy to work with, even if you couldn't always rely on [...]
[IMG: Charles_kennedy] I joined the Lib Dems in 1999, a few months before Charles Kennedy was elected leader. So, just as some folk identify with a particular Dr Who, so do I identify my party membership with him. Politics was his life; and yet his appeal was in particular to those who felt life wasn't just about politics. It was a paradox he implicitly acknowledged in one of my favourite of his quotes: "Politics is much too serious to be taken too seriously; equally, there are many aspects of it so laughable as to be lamentable." Paddy Ashdown, who had ...
I apologise that during the General Election I missed three centenaries of war poets. These will now appear on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Louis Pergaud was born on the 22 January 1882 in Belmont, in the Doubs department, of the Franche-Compte Region of France. His father was a school master, and Louis excelled at school earning scholarships which enabled him to continue at school completing his studies at the École Normale in Besançon. He married his first wife in 1903 after completing a year of military service and resumed teaching as Durnes which he had done for ...
After a couple of year's absence the Derwent Valley Partnership is set to run its third It's Up 2 U scheme in November 2015. It's the X Factor for local voluntary groups (though as yet we've not been up for text and phone voting) with the same principle. Put up your project for public view, sing its praises, and hope that the public likes your style so the votes will roll in for your project. If you went to the previous two you will remember that despite some issues – not least the problem that a vox pop scheme will ...
I'm not going to give these people the publicity they clearly crave by linking to their poisonous words, but those of you who think it's acceptable to use someone's death to rake over old coals or score cheap political points - Salmond, Oakeshott and (inevitably) Öpik among them - need to take a good long look at yourselves. A man has died. Even if he wasn't the much-loved person he clearly was, even if everyone hated him, it is not appropriate to use a person's death for your own ends, even if you think those ends are the noblest ends ...
Since the election more than 15,000 people have joined the Liberal Democrats nationwide, including dozens in our local area, showing that people want to campaign against the impact that a right-wing Tory government is likely to have on our public services and our communities. We will be running many local and national campaigns over the coming months and years and if you would like to be part of the team we would be delighted to involve you. You can join the party via the website at www.libdems.org.uk or by contacting any member of the local team. Now for this week's ...
Charles Kennedy 1959-2015 My colleagues and I have been greatly saddened by the news this morning of the untimely death of Charles Kennedy at the age of just 55. Our condolences and warm wishes go to his family. Charles Kennedy was a committed liberal, a highlander to his core and a man of principle. He was the only party leader to stand up in 2003 and oppose the Iraq war, and if his legacy is that the UK never again rushes into an ill-thought-out conflict that will be something to be immensely proud of. He was a hugely talented politician ...
This was put together with tears in our eyes. Scroll down to view. Hover your mouse over the image to see the caption and click on it to see similar pictures on Getty Images.
Since the general election, the Liberal Democrat team in the House of Lords has become rather more important. Not only are the Lib Dem peers the dominant part of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Parties, but with a Tory majority in the Commons yet a minority in the Lords, the house with the peers is the one where opposition parties will have the most power when it comes to votes during this Parliament. The team of Liberal Democrat spokespeople has now been finalised (and note that of the principal spokespeople, 43% are female – rather better than the party has done ...
Well the honest answer is not very much! I have been here 4 nights and 3 days and have spent most of that time at a conference and in meetings with Mayors and Ministers from the Arab Towns Organisation. You ... Continue reading →
Everyone in the Lib Dems (and many beyond) is feeling this one, and I'm no different. Like many others in the Lib Dem family, I couldn't call Charles Kennedy my best friend, but he meant a huge amount to me none-the-less. My first conference I went as a steward, because if you work conference you get in for free. One thing that most people outside the party (and even many people within) might not know is how Charles was revered among the stewards at conference - because even when he was leader and always after he always made time for ...
I'm possibly a rare beast in the world of Tech. I find Windows 8.1 easier to use than Windows 7. I got to this point by taking an early upgrade on much of my plethora of tech. I have rarely used Windows 7 since and, for all its strengths, I now prefer to stick with Windows 8.1 as my default Windows installation. I'm not saying I think it is better than Linux or OSX mind you. Though, again, I find it easier to use than both these excellent OSs. Some of this will be down to simple lack of practice ...
It's doubtful that audiences love shared universes as much as studio execs do. Just look at poor Spider Man. The not so amazing spider man Blockbusters often divide audiences and critics. Yet the Amazing Spider Man 2 managed to unite them in modestly hostile indifference. A Rotten Tomatoes score of 53% was enough for the [...]
In my study there is a framed Christmas card, from a decade or more ago, baring a Victorian image of the Houses of Parliament. I kept the card more for the image rather than from whom I received it, but inside it contains the signature of the then Liberal Democrat Leader, one Charles Kennedy. I was a member of the Welsh Party's staff at the time and, whilst it may only have been a Christmas card, it was nice to be appreciated. It is a small insight into the way in which Charles Kennedy seemingly valued everyone within the Party, ...
The Guardian reports this bizarre story from Southampton Itchen: Hampshire constabulary are looking into claims that Royston Smith, the new Conservative MP for Southampton Itchen, handed the constituency's Ukip candidate intelligence and a specially designed leaflet to help him target potential Labour/Ukip swing voters. Former Ukip candidate Kim Rose claims that two months before polling day Smith handed him an envelope marked confidential containing about 55 pages with maps, local election results broken down by area and addresses for traditional Labour voters who had indicated to Tory canvassers they were likely to support Ukip... Smith admits to giving Rose documents ...
I'll start by saying I'm not the best placed person to be writing this piece. I know several people who worked for Charles, some for a very long time, and they'd have more of substance to say about the man. Me, I only met the Rt Hon Kennedy a handful of times; usually at Westminster events or Lib Dem conference receptions. On the rare occasions that I did have a chance to chat with him, I found in Charles one of those rare politicians, Alan Johnson is another one who springs to mind, whose charm and humanity manages to cut ...
Just over 10 years ago on the 4th May 2005 I was standing in the ground of the Presontonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh in my suit and tie, just inside a fenced off area it was nearing 6:30pm. I wasn't alone so were all the other Liberal Democrat candidates in the Lothian region, although Marilyn McLaren the candidate for Edinburgh South was the sole one of us not wearing a tie. Charles surrounded by those 2005 MPs The reason was we were waiting for the leader of the party to finish his eve of poll press engagements before he, his ...
Following my request to Royal Mail for an additional post box near to the Morven Terrace/Tullideph Road junction to benefit the elderly sheltered tenants of Morven Terrace and Ancrum Place, Royal Mail has confirmed that this will be provided. The Deputy Head of External Relations at Royal Mail Group has advised me : "I have raised your enquiry (on behalf of your constituents at Morven Terrace and Ancrum Place sheltered housing) about additional posting box facilities in the Dundee area with our postbox strategy team. I am pleased to advise that after having taken into account all relevant factors, including ...
Pretty much everyone is paying tribute to Charles Kennedy and we'll bring them to you on here. Tim Farron was on Breakfast a while ago and sounded like he was fighting off tears as he talked about his good mate. I suspect that the tributes will take up several threads today. Feel free to add your own in the comments. Nick Clegg Charles's untimely death robs Britain of one of the most gifted politicians of his generation. Charles devoted his life to public service, yet he had an unusual gift for speaking about politics with humour and humility which touched ...
How penises killed Lego Universe (tags: ) The real reason David Cameron is sitting on a Commons majority - Rawnsley spot on. Again. (tags: ) Women: don't let the concern trolling of the mail on Sunday fret you (tags: ) The case for starting sex education in kindergarten (tags: ) Benefits officials tell Paralympic hero: You're not disabled enough to keep your car (tags: ) Meanwhile, in news that Normal People (not political obsessives) think is important (tags: ) Why this year's general election was the most unfair in Britain's history (tags: ) In which my wife blogs his recipe ...
I am absolutely devastated this morning at the tragic death of the former Liberal Democrats Leader, Charles Kennedy. He was a much-loved politician, both within and outside the party, a man of great political courage and huge talent. I remember going on a walkabout with him in Swansea City centre (above) and being astonished at both the ease at which he interacted with people and the recognition and affection shown to him by complete strangers. That he was not afraid to stand up for what was right was demonstrated firstly in the way he walked away from David Owen's SDP ...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-32970337 [IMG: index] Such sad news this morning. Charles stood against the war in Iraq when Tory and Labour Leaders were pressing for war, I was so proud of him. I feel the same sadness today that I did when David Penhaligon MP died. Such as loss for the Liberal cause.
[IMG: Charles Kennedy by Catch21productions] That's something I always hoped I wouldn't have to write. I was woken up a few minutes ago by my phone buzzing. "I just want to send you my condolences" said the message from an old friend. That made me sit up pretty sharpish. It didn't take long to find out what she meant. If you're reading this and feeling slightly disorientated and wondering what on earth is going on, the BBC has the facts: Mr Kennedy's family said in a statement: "It is with great sadness, and an enormous sense of shock, that we ...
