Nearly 1,200 Liberal Democrat members (many of them newbies) gathered in the Institute of Education's Logan Hall in Bloomsbury this evening for the London regional party's hustings for the party leadership, compered by Party President (Baroness) Sal Brinton. Having had quite a lot of contact with both candidates over the years, and being aware of [...]
Norman Lamb pulled off a surprise at the main London leadership hustings in the race to be Liberal Democrat leader when his opening statement got more applause than Tim Farron's by some margin. However, by the time we got to the final statements, Tim was back in the lead in the applause stakes, helped by a canny final line about wanting to lead the Lib Dems back into power... so that great people like Norman could be a minister again. That is really the leadership race so far in miniature. Norman pulling off the occasional smart move – including the ...
Neil Young's solo career began inauspiciously. At a business meeting with Buffalo Springfield, he'd screamed abuse at the band's manager Elliot Roberts, telling the band he would refuse ever to work with the man, and forcing them to split with him. A week later, he turned up on Roberts' doorstep — he said that the [...]
I've defined my Liberalism as being concerned with: freedom and a respect for the freedom of others; the opportunity to achieve one's full potential; the right to influence that which directly impacts on one's life; and the need to control and disperse power. Now I intend to spell out the six primary policy areas which I believe Liberals should concern themselves with in order to bring about a Liberal state and a Liberal society. The aim here is to give the 'headline', and my intention is to give each theme more detailed consideration in due course. So, in no particular ...
The 19th-century poet John Clare once walked from an Epping Forest asylum to Northamptonshire without food or money. Andrew Kötting and author Iain Sinclair have made a documentary about it, starring Toby Jones and a straw bear East End Review tells us more: A feverishly experimental documentary, By Our Selves sees Jones, Kötting and Sinclair ghosting through a middle-English landscape of hedgerows and wind farms, with Sinclair - dark-suited and goat-masked - reading excerpts from Clare's journal. Fragments of sound from other films and recordings add to a hallucinatory atmosphere. "John Clare was a minor nature poet who went mad," ...
Last Sunday (June 14th) was the 2015 Cosford Air Show. These are five of my favourite photographs from around 1,200 or so (yes, I know) that I took. 1. The Breitling Wing Walkers I'm still staring at the pictures I took of this incredible display as slack-jawed as I was when I witnessed it. The pilots and walkers are either ...
As other Liberal Democrat bloggers have pointed out, a video of a hustings with Tim Farron and Norman Lamb has been posted on Youtube by the party. You wouldn't know it from the details given there, but the event was held for new party members and took place at Queen Mary University of London on 27 May. Also of use if you are making your mind up how to vote are the interviews conducted with Tim Farron and Norman Lamb by Liberal Reform. Watch out too for an interrogation of the two candidates in the next issue of Liberator. I ...
Facebook is now giving you more reason to waste time on it by reminding you what you posted on this day in previous years. I'm mostly enjoying it. A random bit of cheek from the much missed Andrew Reeves made me laugh and cry yesterday. Today I was reminded about a post on my own blog from five years ago. Tom Harris, then MP for Glasgow South had been whinging something chronic about the (then) new IPSA, the body which administers parliamentary expenses, set up in the wake of the scandal. I wrote a post in response which said, basically: ...
Spent 13.00 to 17.00 in haematology outpatients to review status following Tuesday and Wednesday totally zonked. They couldn't see a direct cause. After that, a discussion with vascular consultant, who said the scan I had on June 10 showed left femoral artery is blocked down as far as the knee, and he recommends replacement by a venous graft. The only alternative would be to do nothing, which would mean that the artery blockage would extend still further, so that the leg would have to be amputated. He wants three further scans, which can probably be fitted in next week,so that ...
My last posting from the Southport Liberal Party newsletter of the 1960s made it to second place in LibDemVoice Golden Dozen of most read blog entries. This extract is by far the most interesting. Pacts in the north in the 1950's and 1960's were not unheard of-Arthur Holt in Bolton West and Donald Wade in Huddersfield West are the two best known. But there was another one in the north, in Southport and it was with Labour not the Tories. This developed into a strict pact which extended to helping in each others by elections. It is also interesting to ...
This caught our eye on Twitter this afternoon: On my way to Westminster, where two Deputy Leaders of the Liberal Democrats are to be elected this evening... — Mark Valladares (@honladymark) June 17, 2015 * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
But process of reorganisation offers chance of fair votes at local levelWelsh Liberal Democrats believe that the job of reorganising councils is a job for the independent Boundary Commission. They should be tasked to come up with a fresh map based on natural communities that actually works for local people. Peter Black AM characterises minister Leighton Andrews' proposals for reduction in the number of local councils as a party-political stitch-up in Labour's quest to hoard power in Cardiff Bay. However, he goes on, "this is so much more important than just lines on a map. This re-organisation process should be ...
[IMG: Looking at Green Belt & high grade agricultural land off Lambshear Lane in Lydiate which Labour-run Sefton Council is saying will be reserved as future building land.] Looking at Green Belt & high grade agricultural land off Lambshear Lane in Lydiate which Labour-run Sefton Council is saying will be reserved as future building land. Why do Labour want to do a Neighbourhood Plan for Lydiate? – this is my take on their plan proposals. Labour could not have less credibility when it comes to local planning as they have been the cheerleaders for developers who want to concrete over ...
Wed 17th
18:00
Chris Evans to be main presenter AND producer of Top Gear AND Radio Two breakfast show host....reall...
It doesn't seem to have been mentioned much, but, as he said this morning, Chris Evans will not only be the main presenter of Top Gear, he will also be its producer. I find this a little puzzling. Chris Evans works best when there is a producer keeping a calm eye on him, reminding him to breathe. And if he is to continue to be the regular five-days-a-week Radio Two breakfast show host as well as main presenter of Top Gear AND producer of the show....well, I think that, in about a year, something is going to blow. I don't ...
A few weeks ago I wrote a long post setting out the core reason the Lib Dems had lost so many seats at the General Election. I wound up concluding the problem was: ...we became too defined by the local to operate effectively as a party of national government. Our spines stiffened too much when [...]
Yesterday, Greg Mulholland held a Westminster Hall debate after constituents told him that the provision of drugs for their son was under threat because he has a very rare condition. You can read the transcript here. People with rare conditions not only have to fight their illness, but also, because it's rare, there is unlikely to be much in the way of research. Friends of mine have raised tens of thousands of pounds for research and to support other families after their baby son died of a rare neurological condition. Another friend set up a charity that brings together sufferers ...
Portsmouth have run tight council candidates approval and selection processes for many years, each year refining the process. They have helpfully supplied ALDC with the documentation they used in 2015. Feel free to plagiarise anything that may be useful to those of you who are starting your selection and approval process for next year's (or subsequent) [...]
[IMG: horse and farrier mirror] Keith Holloway writes: The Lib Dem team have long worked to improve the safety of the Church Road/Gatley Road junction in Gatley. We've made some improvements over the last couple of years but it's one we'd love to do more on. So we were very interested to hear of the plan from a local resident to put a mirror up on the Horse and Farrier to help. Anything that improves road safety has got to be positive. The mirror means cars on Church Road can see what's coming from the Cheadle side without having to ...
LBC Presenter, publisher and blogger Iain Dale and his husband John Simmons have recently converted their civil partnership to a marriage. Iain wrote about the day they got married here. He had some pretty fulsome praise for Lynne Featherstone, the Liberal Democrat minister who made it happen. Finally, when we were sitting in the register office going through the paperwork I had a moment when I thought of Lynne Featherstone. Lynne was the LibDem Home Office minister who, with the backing of Theresa May and David Cameron brought in the Equal Marriage Act. She lost her seat at the election, ...
Acocks Green's claimant unemployment level fell by 8 to 669 (5.1%) last month. Long term unemployment in the ward stood at 230 (down 15) and youth unemployment at 115 (also down 15). Across Birmingham as a whole, seasonally adjusted claimant unemployment fell by 910 to 29,849 (5.9%). The national level for this measure is 791,793 (2.4%).
It was inevitable really. The Guardian reports that Conservative party supporters have mounted a Twitter campaign to elect Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader in order to damage the party's future election chances. The paper says that new rules mean that anybody can pay £3 to register as a Labour supporter and vote for the new leader. What could go wrong? The campaign includes the adoption of the hashtag #ToriesForCorbyn, to call for people to vote for the candidate perceived to represent the left wing of the Labour party. Corbyn's candidacy has certainly displeased some in Labour. The Guardian reports on ...
On Monday, the Magna Carta - the oldest charter in British (and indeed European) history which protects civil liberties - celebrated its 800th anniversary. At a celebration in Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was sealed by King John in 1215, David Cameron pledged "to safeguard the legacy, the idea [and] the momentous achievements of those barons" who first signed the Great Charter. That's quite a bold statement to make, especially considering he's in the middle of damaging - not safeguarding - such a legacy by repealing the Human Rights Act 1998 (hereon the HRA). Like the Magna Carta protected civil ...
Here's the piece I wrote for May's CorpComms magazine about the impact of the general election on corporate communications: Phew, we're back to single party, majority government. Life is going to be easier for communications professionals now, isn't it? Wrong, it won't be. It won't be simpler for three reasons. First, small majority governments are vulnerable to small rebellions. Any backbench MP and a few mates can dream of leading a successful rebellion in the way only very few can only very rarely when there is a large majority. What's more, although David Cameron's status is currently boosted by his ...
Some time ago, I wrote an essay in Duncan Brack's book Reinventing the State. I'm not sure it was quite what the editors expected or intended. It was the only essay in the book which was as much about theology as it was about politics. I called it 'Liberalism and the search for meaning'. I thought about it today, given that practically every morning there are other stories about teenagers, families and now nine children, who have given the authorities the slip to go and fight for ISIS and build what they claim is an Islamic state. I took a ...
Tim Gordon as Returning Officer in the Leadership election is sending out a series of emails to party members on behalf of each candidate. We covered last week's here. There is information in the official email about when the ballot papers will be sent out: You should receive your ballot paper by post around the last weekend in June. There will also be a copy of both candidates' manifestos included with it. Our ballot counters must receive your complete ballot paper by 2pm on July 15th for it to count. To help you make your decision a number of hustings ...
Out today is Tim Farron's plan for rebuilding the party. I've been impressed with the detail in some of his other recent announcements – such as the excellent Festival of Ideas proposal. This document, however, is back to toplines more than details, as it provides a handy summary of Farron's overall intentions – which is useful for the (majority of) party members who haven't been following the race in detail each day. A sensible choice, but also one that hopefully will be followed by more detailed ideas under several of the headings. Download this document Keep up with news on ...
Well this one has done the rounds more times than any of us care to remember and I have posted about the saga previously on this blog site. [IMG: Could the new trains look like this?] Could the new trains look like this? So where are we up to? Well a presentation to members of Merseytravel on 4th June 2015 said this. I have added some explanations of weird rail industry terminology in [ ]:- Current Situation • Merseyrail Electrics is one of the best performing TOCs [Train Operating Companies] in the UK [makes you wonder about the others as ...
As a democratic party it is important that we have a fair, open and transparent process for choosing the people who stand for us in elections. The procedure is not designed to be complicated or onerous, but is intended to ensure we get the best candidates and that everyone who put themselves forward is given [...]
Wed 17th
11:55
LibLink: Edward McMillan-Scott: Tories might pull their hair out but they're not going to get a parl...
Former Lib Dem MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber Edward McMillan-Scott has been writing or Politics.co.uk about the Tories' efforts to ensure that national parliaments can veto EU laws that they don't like. Edward clearly knows a fair bit about how the EU works, arguably significantly more than your average Eurosceptic Tory backbencher. He's been in on the organisation within the EU that actually does represent the rights of national parliaments and it has asserted itself in recent years. He explains how the process works: The Lisbon treaty introduced yellow and orange card procedures, which allow a third or more ...
Together with my colleague Jade Farrington, I'm seeking answers over the failure to provide superfast broadband to shops, businesses and residents in Launceston town centre. The programme to bring superfast to Cornwall is a good one. It is partially funded by the EU and has so far provided access to 95% of Cornwall. But, despite pressure from Jade and myself and frequent requests from businesses, the town centre in Launceston has missed out. In part, this was because of the ancient nature of the existing phone system which mean new culverts and wires had to be put in. But that ...
Successful elections aren't just about running brilliant campaigns, they're also about choosing the right candidates. This briefing looks at the first stage of that, approval of candidates. Many areas have had robust approval procedures for a long time, but for others it is still new. Since 2009 all council candidates in England have had to go through [...]
Wed 17th
10:55
Woolworths should not be a role-model for political parties, but if often looks as if it is
In the commercial world, many examples of digital transformations – both successes that have seen companies bloom and failures which have seen them crash – revolve around leaving behind extensive, inflexible networks of branches with large resource overheads which used to be required to get the requisite geographical coverage and instead using the internet. Direct provision often makes those extensive geographic networks obsolete. Most obviously, it is the transition banking is moving through, with local branches being cut as more people switch to the internet. In both books and music, some physical outlets remain but the most successful sellers need ...
An old tradition of ALC has been revived at recent ALDC events . The Focus wall or Focus Fair where you can look at what other people are doing around the country both in terms of content and style had been a regular feature of events. Members bring their literature and we put one on [...]
A few weeks ago, Tim Farron and Norman Lamb took part in a hustings in London for several hundred new members of the party. The video footage has finally been put online. It's two hours long, so get yourself a cup of tea, put your feet up and enjoy. It's particularly useful for those of you who can't get to a hustings meeting. I'm particularly thinking of those in the Highlands who would have to travel to either Aberdeen or Edinburgh. The full list of official hustings events is here and there are other unofficial events where both candidates will ...
It is that time of the year when the police see a rise in cold callers, rogue traders and distraction burglars. The local team have issued the following top tips on staying safe: · Check the identity of the caller by telephoning the company they claim to be from. Use the telephone numbers listed in your local directory or provided independently by your service provider. · Genuine callers won't mind making an appointment for a date when you can have someone with you. This gives you time to check their identity too. · Never use companies who make unsolicited calls, ...
For the past few weeks, I and my party have been receiving complaints regarding a comment I made at NUS Women's Conference: after voting to remove the word "men" from a motion regarding VAT-free products and the tampon tax - as all razors are VAT-free - I made a joke from the podium that we should remove men from society. Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll also know that delegates to the Conference were subject to a massive amount of harassment, primarily from men. It is in this context that the joke was made. Clearly, the reaction to ...
Wed 17th
09:14
Don't listen to Alex Salmond - Labour abstaining on the purdah vote was excellent opposition politic...
"Labour have yet again chosen to abstain on a key vote," Alex Salmond declared in his usually understated manner. "They need to find a backbone and become an effective opposition in parliament." It will come as little surprise that I disagree with Salmond: in this case, it's because he happens to be objectively incorrect. Because Labour's collective abstention on the EU purdah vote was both good politics from a principle point of view, and very good opposition politics at the same time. This purdah issue is a red herring. It is nothing more than yet another in a long and ...
[IMG: Kath Pinnock] The Childcare Bill had its Second Reading in the Lords yesterday. Liberal Democrat peer Kath Pinnock, in her first major speech in her new role as spokesperson for Children, outlined her concerns with it. Her long experience in local government gives her an understanding of how these things work and who has to organise them that many MPs will not have. She also made a very important point. The Conservatives often talk about childcare as being a mechanism to get women back to work without looking at either the practicalities for the women concerned or the impact ...
Many users of our remaining children's centres in Prestwich are angry as midwifery services ended at the start of this month. Breastfeeding, antenatal and parent education services have been withdrawn from Butterstile and Sedgley children's centres in Prestwich. Toodle Hill Children's Centre on Cuckoo Lane was closed for all services by the Council at the end of May. [IMG: JS50855369] Butterstile Children's Centre – (c) M.E.N. Bury Council, which had previously allowed the midwife services to run at the centres without charging the Hospital Trust to pay rent, now they are being asked to pay £5,000 if they want to ...
Work is taking place at some Six Town Housing owned flats between 15 June 2015 and 10 July 2015. This is work being undertaken by a private contractor installing gas combi-condensing boilers, radiators and associated pipe work (where required). The work is taking place at certain flats at: Rooden Court (Park Street) Newtown Court (Newtown Street) Wilton Court (Simister) Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require any further information. Tim
Yesterday, I was able to attend part of the Dundee Economic Summit at the Apex Hotel, with some superb speakers and a very positive narrative about the city's economic development. Thereafter, I was interviewed by STV News about the opening of the new Seabraes Bridge (see right). The bridge looks fantastic and is of real benefit to the West End, greatly improving links between Riverside and Seabraes/Perth Road. In the afternoon, I look part in a very positive and productive Dundee Airport Consultative Committee meeting at the Invercarse Hotel. Last night, it was a great pleasure to be a guest ...
A new planning applications has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 58757 Registration Date: 28/05/2015 Location: 355 Bury Old Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1PY Proposal: Change of Use from Accountants (Class A2) to shop for Painting Pots (Sui Generis) Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information or help with this. The details will be on the Council's website here. Tim
A new planning application has been received in Holyrood Ward as below: Application Number: 58774 Registration Date: 26/05/2015 Location: 4 Willow Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 3DZ Proposal: Two storey extension at side/rear and single storey extension at rear; Porch at front and pitched roof to existing bay window Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you require further information or help with this. The details will be on the Council's website here. Tim
Leicestershire Police defend face-scanning of 90,000 Download festival-goers Johnny Depp: Christopher Lee was 'noble and gallant' [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
