Tag Archives: portsmouth

“Where we work, we win” – will that Lib Dem maxim survive the 2015 test?

By Stephen Tall | Sat 5th January 2013 - 9:50 am

Chris Rennard Don’t splutter on your Saturday morning cornflakes, but the Guardian has today published two intelligent articles on the Lib Dems and the strategy which the party is hoping will see us through to the other side of the 2015 election intact.

First, there’s Patrick Wintour‘s analysis — Liberal Democrats bank on ground war to hold on to seats — which uses as its springboard an analysis by Lord (Chris) Rennard, the party’s former chief executive and elections guru:

insists it should not be ground down by low national polls. “The

Posted in News | Also tagged chris rennard, eastleigh, featured, michael white, patrick wintour and the guardian | 25 Comments

Gosport Lib Dem leader banned from council for two years

By Stephen Tall | Wed 8th July 2009 - 7:45 pm

Lib Dem Voice reported last week that Peter Chegwyn, Lib Dem leader on Gosport Council in Hampshire, would this week be facing a standards board tribunal following allegations he used a council vote to protect his music festival. Portsmouth.co.uk reports the result:

Controversial Gosport politician Peter Chegwyn has been banned from being a councillor for two years.

The Lib Dem group leader was ruled to have breached the councillors’ code of conduct after he voted to block a motion relating to his Stokes Bay Festival last year. …

Cllr Chegwyn, who has been a councillor for 26 years, said: ‘I will

…

Posted in News | Also tagged gosport, peter chegwyn and peter viggers | 13 Comments

Hancock to take £1,000 a year “tenants’ tax” protest to Parliament

By Stephen Tall | Tue 3rd March 2009 - 7:32 pm

Mike Hancock, Lib Dem MP for Portsmouth South, together with his fellow Portsmouth Lib Dems, has taken his campaign on behalf of council tenants to the highest levels, including Downing Street and Parliament. The issue? One that is faced by 156 councils around the country:

… council tenants are angry because each household will be paying £1,000 a year over the next thirty years directly into the Government’s coffers. The Government takes money from Portsmouth and 205 other councils. Some money is distributed back to councils. 50 councils benefit and 156 pay money to the Government but there is an overall surplus that the Government keeps of £194 million. Therefore a large surplus – £4.6 million this year from Portsmouth alone goes into general Government expenditure – effectively a tax that only council tenants have to pay. With large increases due in the amount taken in coming years, Portsmouth City Council estimates that unless it is reformed Portsmouth’s 15,000 council tenants will pay £500 million over the next 30 years to the Government – over £1,000 a year.

Mike presented the petition in Parliament last night – here’s Hansard’s (somewhat quaint) account of proceedings:

Posted in News and Parliament | Also tagged housing and mike hancock | 1 Comment

Social mobility: is the Coalition doing enough to encourage it?

Stephen Tall asks: "Did Nate Silver write in vain?"

Nick Clegg: "Of course the EU has to change"

"Mad, swivel-eyed loons": a top Tory on the Tories

Tag Archives: portsmouth

“Where we work, we win” – will that Lib Dem maxim survive the 2015 test?

Gosport Lib Dem leader banned from council for two years

Hancock to take £1,000 a year “tenants’ tax” protest to Parliament

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Social mobility: is the Coalition doing enough to encourage it?

Stephen Tall asks: "Did Nate Silver write in vain?"

Nick Clegg: "Of course the EU has to change"

"Mad, swivel-eyed loons": a top Tory on the Tories

Tag Archives: portsmouth

“Where we work, we win” – will that Lib Dem maxim survive the 2015 test?

Gosport Lib Dem leader banned from council for two years

Hancock to take £1,000 a year “tenants’ tax” protest to Parliament

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