This is wonderful.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have our Headline of the Day. Well done to the East Anglian Daily Times.
Yesterday, after a Gateshead Council advisory group meeting, I went back to Sandhill in Sunderland to help with the Lib Dem polling day operation in the by-election. I was the voice of caution as members got excited about the figures coming through from the knock up. We knew we had done well on the postal votes which were the majority of ballots cast. The door knocking operation had the
The Liverpool Echo has the story – see link above You just never used to see this; Labour was if nothing else a sealed unit when it came to internal disagreements especially here on Merseyside. But what started off in Maghull, with more council resignations than you could count as Labour folk kicked lumps out of each other over a 5 year period, then recently spread to Prescot where more internal fall-outs have been taking place I understand. Now, at the very highest level on Merseyside, we see Liverpool's top Labour man attacking in public the Labour chap who ...
The former MP turned peer Alex Carlile has often been a controversial figure in the party, especially (although not only) over his views on civil liberties and freedom of information, which have often been at odds with the bulk of the party. He has now quit the party over those differences on civil liberties: Lord Carlile resigned the party whip and will sit as a non-affiliated peer after long finding himself "at odds" with senior figures on security issues. The former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation and Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesman has clashed with colleagues in the past over ...
The good folk of Stoke Central know what they want. And they know what they don't want. And what they don't want is... the EU. The electorate in the forthcoming by election voted 69% Leave in the referendum. We were 5th in 2015 - behind an independent. So we've got no chance in the by election, have we? Except.... We have historical strength in the constituency - we came second in 2010. So presumably there's still a party machine and some great activists in Stoke. And here's the thing. Labour is making all sorts of Leave noises in an attempt ...
What a set of results to get us set for the busy year ahead. Two fantastic gains resulting in 2 new councillors as well as majority control of Three Rivers District Council! Not even today's weather can stop the gains! The overall result confirmed recent trends: it was an excellent night for the Lib Dems with Labour's support continuing to fall everywhere, including places they've taken for granted for a very long time. In Sunderland, Stephen O'Brien gained a seat from Labour and joins Niall Hodson on the Council, doubling our group size! The gain from Labour came in the ...
[IMG: year-of-campaigning-web-image] For Liberal Democrat campaigners 'Working Hard All Year Round' is so much more than a slogan, it is how activist, candidate and councillors are hitting the doorstep, making calls and delivering Focus leaflets whatever the weather. Over the next 12 months we are going to give you a few of our tips for making the [...]
We hear regular assurances from our political leaders, that priority will be given to meet people's mental health needs. The opposite is currently the case. Many people with mental health needs receive Disability Living Allowance. DLA is ending and being replaced by Personal Independence Payment (PIP). DLA recipients, and/or their carers, were sent a letter from the Department for Work & Pensions dated 11 December 2016, informing them that DLA is ending, that they will not automatically be transferred to PIP, but must submit a claim by telephone by 8 January 2017. If the DLA recipient makes no contact, then ...
[IMG: website-richmond-victory] Today LDHQ are making artwork from the Witney and Richmond Park by-elections available online. You can find the files here. Hopefully, you will find examples here that can be easily adapted for use in your local area. If you have questions about any of the materials here, or if you want any other specific leaflets [...]
Embed from Getty Images Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end? "I wonder how many miles I've fallen by this time?" she said aloud. "I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be four thousand miles down, I think-" Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll The latest Trump episodes really mark a drop down the rabbit hole. We were in "post-Truth" mode, but now we have switched over into an alternative reality. I'll leave ABC's Rick Stein to sum up this week's events: Trump used a rambling ...
Well if you were a right wing Labour Party member still clinging on to the view that Labour is not in deep difficulties this latest resignation should be a huge wake up call. Having said that I take that with the vast majority of Labour's members being left wing these days they will probably have seen him as a 'Red Tory' so may well be quite happy he is leaving their fold? The Momentum is clearly with Labour's left as the right are seemingly starting to give up the fight.
Our first book review of the year and it's fair to say it's not your usual political fare. The 'Bad Boys' are Leave.EU chief Arron Banks (Banksy), his bagman and Head of Comms Andy Wigmore (Wiggy) and Nigel Farage (simply 'Nigel' – presumably 'Fargy' didn't work). The book, ghost written by Isabel Oakeshott of 'Call ... Continue reading BOOK REVIEW – The Bad Boys of Brexit
Welcome to the latest in my occasional series highlighting interesting findings from academic research. Today – a report in the Sydney Morning Herald on how looks can alter votes: A new study published in the Journal of Public Economics has found the attractiveness of political candidates correlates with political views, and that in Europe, the United States and Australia it's the conservative politicians who are better looking... The study's authors used rankings conducted by Dr Leigh and Dr King on the appearance of 280 candidates from the 2004 Australian federal election, as well as evaluations of the attractiveness of candidates ...
[IMG: 15965625_1368302363243158_1812021749086938745_n-790x593] What a set of results to get us set for the busy year ahead. Two fantastic gains resulting in 2 new councillors as well as majority control of Three Rivers District Council! Not even today's weather can stop the gains! The overall result confirmed recent trends: it was an excellent night for the Lib Dems with [...]
Embed from Getty Images As voting quickly approaches for the London regional executive, I fell that there has been very little time to scrutinise the candidates and quiz them on key issues that affect London Liberal Democrats. So, I have complied a short list of questions for candidates to answer (preferably in the comments). Which seats to target? What criteria should a seat or council have to pass in order to make them a target seat? Should this just be restricted to the seats we have held previously? Should seats have to meet certain targets to remain on the target ...
The local government by-election year started as 2016 had ended, with two more Liberal Democrat gains in different parts of the country. It is really difficult to overstate just how sensational the first of these is, in Sandhill ward, Sunderland. Starting from a base of just 3.5% our candidate Stephen O'Brien (above) increased the vote ... Continue reading Labour in Meltdown as Lib Dems GAIN Two More
Man, when it rains it really pours, doesn't it? Tristram Hunt has now resigned as MP for Stoke Central to take up the post of V&A Museum director. That means, you guessed it, another by-election in which Labour will have to defend a seat in a which Leave won in June by a thumping margin (69% voted leave in Stoke-on-Trent). When I heard about this I giggled first before looking into just how safe a seat for Labour Stoke Central happens to be. Before examining the data I would have guessed that Labour were sitting on a majority of at ...
Fri 13th
10:20
LibLink: Nick Clegg: Blaming liberalism for the world's political turmoil is just too easy
A powerful riposte from Nick Clegg to those who blame liberalism for all the evils of the world: My schoolboy history taught me that while Mill was a man of the 19th century he also espoused remarkably progressive causes — free speech, feminism, the environment and workers' councils. My guess is if he was alive today he'd be on the barricades in favour of a mass, state-funded housing programme while defending Britain's long tradition of internationalism, including our place in Europe. But I would say that, wouldn't I? For much of my political career people have either ignored liberalism, falsely ...
Today - 13th January - is the tenth anniversary of the Liberal Democrats' Local Focus blog, covering Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Dodington and the surrounding areas. In those ten years we've published around 1700 stories. Local information, campaigns, election results - you name it, we've done it. Just like our "big sister" the Focus magazine that our volunteers deliver to every house in the area. Our very first story was about Network Rail removing trees from the embankment near Rodborough.
And so it begins. Or at least it will on Friday January 20th when Donald Trump stands, on the steps of the US Capitol building, places his hand on The Bible and swears to protect and uphold the constitution of the United States. The US presidential inauguration is a celebration of American democracy and the peaceful transition from one administration to the next. There are parades, marching bands, waving flags, an inaugural ball and a bevvy of Hollywood stars. Not this time. Oh yes, all the above will occur as usual. But in addition a million-plus protesters are expected to ...
There were just two Principal Council by-elections last night and the Liberal Democrats won both of them, taking Sandhill in Sunderland off Labour from fourth place with a 41.5% increase in our vote and winning Gade Valley in Three Rivers off the Tories and taking overall control of the council with a 24% increase in our vote. The Sunderland result was all the more remarkable because at the Brexit referendum Sunderland split LEAVE 61% REMAIN 39%. That puts the Liberal Democrats gain in context. The last time the seat was fought Labour secured 54.9% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats ...
A West End constituent has kindly highlighted this great campaign with me : Charity Anchor is "Standing Up 4 Sitting Down" as it calls on shops to do their bit to reduce older people's loneliness and subsequent health issues by providing seating for those who need it. The new campaign aims to tackle findings that older people aren't getting out of the house as much as they'd like to, with one in five aged 70+ visiting their local shops less often, specifically because of a lack of seating. Boosting the economy, too, providing seating would help unlock up to £3.8 ...
Rogue One's a masterfully intense look at both the price and the necessity of war This review focuses on the final section of Rogue One. While there are few explicit spoilers – at least if you've seen a New Hope! – you can probably infer a lot. More or less from the moment that Rogue One's [...]
DUP likely to remain largest party, pollster suggests I am also quoted. (tags: Northernireland ) The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen A Russian trolling operation? (tags: Internet Russia ) The jobless world and its discontents @ChakhoyanAndrew speculates. (tags: economics ) 10 Discworld Quotes You'll Desperately Need for the Next Four Years Indeed. (tags: sf uspolitics )
