Author Archives: Helen Duffett

A great crop of Liberal Democrat victories last night, in council by-elections around the country:

There were Liberal Democrat gains in Fenham, Newcastle (from Labour); Valentines, London Borough of Redbridge (from Labour); Bury St Edmunds (from Independent); Axholme South (from Independent) and North and West Marlow (from Conservatives).

Didsbury West (Neil Trafford’s seat) is held with an increased majority.

Congratulations to our six new councillors and their campaign teams!

Best wishes (and a much-deserved rest) also go to talented Liberal Democrat candidate Karelia Scott-Daniels who came third in Stoke Newington, Hackney, ahead of the Conservatives.

An independent review to be published this month is expected to recommend that the 30-year rule on government secrets should be changed to 15 years. Under current rules, 30-year-old confidential government papers are released annually by the National Archives in Kew.

The review was commissioned by Gordon Brown in 2007 and the team, led by Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre, has already reported its findings to the Prime Minister.

From the Independent on Sunday:

“Secrets behind events such as the miners’ strike, the poll tax riots and Black Wednesday may be laid bare as early as next year. A new 15-year rule

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Sound familiar?

Under the 30-year rule, the National Archives released papers today showing James Callaghan’s determination to hang on to power in 1978. The Labour Prime Minister’s decision to delay a General Election (despite a shrinking Tory lead in the polls) was followed by a “winter of discontent” and defeat the following year.

From the Guardian:

As the Downing Street files graphically illustrate it all began to unravel once Callaghan decided to try to remain in power for a fifth and final year even though he lacked an overall Commons majority.

“The papers show that within a few weeks of his decision some of

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Once again, the Government are being far too generous with our data, our tax-funded laptops, memory sticks, hard drives, etc, etc.

Home Office Watch has the story.

Justice minister David Hanson has agreed to the continued use of deliberately painful restraint methods in young offenders’ institutions, secure children’s homes and training centres.

Despite the deaths of two teenage boys from restraint-related injuries and a ruling in July by the Court of Appeal that current restraint rules are unlawful, such methods have been approved for use over the next six months.

An independent review was commissioned after the 2007 inquests into the boys’ deaths and was published this week. Adam Rickwood (14) and Gareth Myatt (15) both died in privately-run secure training centres.

The Guardian reports:

Rickwood’s mother, Carol Pounder, whose son died in Hassockfield secure training centre in 2004, said: “I am disgusted that force is still being allowed to be used. At home, parents are not allowed to use any kind of force against their children. Why are children in custody treated differently?”

The court of appeal ruled in July that the existing rules on restraint were unlawful and exposed children to the risk of inhuman and degrading treatment. The review by Andrew Williamson and Peter Smallridge (which went to ministers in June but was only published yesterday), concludes that “a degree of pain compliance may be necessary in exceptional circumstances”.

PHI100, Politics Home’s politically-balanced panel of experts and insiders, have once again rated Vince Cable MP as their top politician:

Vince Cable maintains his position at the head of our top politicians league table and hits a new high with the experts and insiders.

The panel clearly think that the Lib Dem’s deputy leader and treasury spokesman is continuing to strike the right note in the wake of the crisis budget.

They give him a rating of 8.3, up from 7.8 last month and cementing his position at the top of the table.

We regularly ask the PHI100 to rate the effectiveness of

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