Author Archives: Iain Roberts

Iain Roberts

Those Kennedy defection rumours

By Iain Roberts | Sat 21st August 2010 - 9:20 am

We at LDV Towers know nothing more than anyone else about rumours circulated by Ed Miliband’s campaign team yesterday of Charles Kennedy thinking of defecting from the Lib Dems to Labour.

According to Lib Dem sources, Kennedy has personally scotched them.

The most likely explanation would seem to be that tried and tested Labour technique of spreading unfounded stories about others to cover up bad news about themselves.

Whatever the reality, one thing would be very odd indeed were the story to be true: the timing.

The information clearly hasn’t come from Kennedy, but from the Labour Party. Yet if a party …

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 38 Comments
Iain Roberts

Clegg on independence and opinion polls

By Iain Roberts | Fri 20th August 2010 - 12:42 pm

Nick Clegg has recorded an interview for the BBC’s Westminster Hour on Sunday about the challenges facing the Lib Dems.

According to the BBC story, Clegg reaffirmed the blindingly obvious – that the Lib Dems are, and will remain, an independent party fighting elections against the Conservatives.

On poll ratings, Clegg says 

“I think it is one of the oldest rules in politics that parties in government… tend to get a dip in their popularity.”

“Do I think we are going to be able to defy those rules of gravity at a time we are taking very difficult decisions on deficit

…

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Iain Roberts

MP banned for driving whilst using her mobile

By Iain Roberts | Thu 19th August 2010 - 3:19 pm

The BBC is reporting that Yasmin Qureshi, Labour MP for Bolton South East has been banned from driving for six months and fined £1,250 plus costs for using her mobile phone whilst driving and driving without insurance. Qureshi already had nine points on her licence.

Qureshi, according to the report, said being uninsured was a mistake and she thought the policy had been renewed.

Given how many of us do use our mobile phones whilst behind the wheel, at least from time to time, this case should perhaps be more of the “there but for the grace of God…” variety …

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Posted in News | Tagged | 10 Comments
Iain Roberts

Cleverly disrepects Hughes – where will it end?

By Iain Roberts | Thu 19th August 2010 - 2:18 pm

If someone publically told you to shut up and called you a “dick” and a “fool”, would you feel that person was treating you with respect?

Most people would say not, and when it comes to standards boards, the rulings tend to agree. Perfectly OK to say someone’s idea is foolish, but not to call them a fool.

So how to explain a blog post by James Cleverly, who sits on the London Assembly as a Conservative?

Titled “Oh do shut up Simon“, Mr Cleverly lays into Simon Hughes who, it’s safe to say, he doesn’t quite see eye to eye …

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Iain Roberts

If you don’t like a system that can produce coalitions, how would you change it?

By Iain Roberts | Wed 18th August 2010 - 5:28 pm

We have a well understood way of electing MPs and forming governments for UK-wide elections. Not that you’d know it from the comments of some, particularly those opposed to the coalition.

Here’s how it works. We elect MPs by first past the post. Those MPs then decide who forms a government. If a Prime Minister can get the support of a majority of MPs, he or she can form a government. If the PM loses that support, the government will normally fall.

That system has produced some odd results over the years (as do all systems, depending …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged and | 18 Comments
Iain Roberts

Goodbye to rogue wheel clampers – another Lib Dem policy to become law

By Iain Roberts | Tue 17th August 2010 - 1:20 pm

Lynne Featherstone has announced that the Lib Dem policy to ban wheel clamping and towing away of vehicles on private property is to become law. The measure will bring England and Wales in line with Scotland.

As Lynne writes on her blog

There cannot be an MP in the land who has not had constituents come to them who have been clamped ‘unfairly’. The complaints that have come in to the Home Office are tales of exorbitant fees, abusive behaviour, signage being invisible and so on.

In a recent adjournment debate I recall that examples were given of a disabled motorist

…

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Posted in News | Tagged and | 35 Comments
Iain Roberts

Nick’s minding the shop – what are the papers saying?

By Iain Roberts | Mon 16th August 2010 - 8:20 am

David Cameron is on holiday so Nick Clegg, as Deputy Prime Minister, is minding the shop.

Most of the papers want to find an angle that rains on the Lib Dem parade and does Nick down. The problem is, none of them can agree on which invented line to take.

The Guardian wants to portray Nick Clegg as about to actually become Prime Minister and snubbed that he isn’t.

It is the most power a liberal politician has had since the 1920s, although Nick Clegg’s hopes of becoming only the second liberal politician in almost a century to run the country

…

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Iain Roberts

Pricier booze for Greater Manchester – a good idea?

By Iain Roberts | Fri 13th August 2010 - 11:20 am

The ten local authorities that make up Greater Manchester are considering imposing a minimum alcohol price of 50 pence a unit across the area – and David Cameron is certainly interested.

The move, planned for October, would see a standard bottle of wine costing at least £4.50, a 700ml bottle of whisky £14 and a six pack of lager at least £6.

Health officials are in favour, believing it will cut alcohol-related illness, improve life expectancy and reduce inequality.

One of the ten authorities, Stockport, is cautious, though. Stockport’s concern is not so much about the principle of minimum pricing …

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Iain Roberts

Edinburgh to London 30 minutes by train – is China leading the way on public transport?

By Iain Roberts | Wed 11th August 2010 - 7:35 pm

We’re used to some of our European neighbours, along with Japan, being ahead of the game on public transport, whilst car is undoubted king in the US and the UK struggles along as usual.

But there are signs China could leapfrog into the lead with some impressive plans.

Chinese scientists are working on a Maglev train the runs through airless tunnels (so no drag) at speeds of up to 1000 kph (over 600 mph) which could get you from Edinburgh to London in a little over half an hour, or Manchester to London in under twenty minutes.

For local transport the Chinese …

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Posted in News | 18 Comments
Iain Roberts

Twitter’s fun, but let’s not pretend it’s revolutionising democracy

By Iain Roberts | Wed 11th August 2010 - 10:20 am

As a local councillor, I want to reach my constituents and make sure they can reach me.

If I put out a leaflet it costs a bit and takes a while to deliver, and I can reach thousands of constituents.

I write a blog post and then let people know about it by email – that reaches a few hundred (and it’s much quicker and cheaper).

Or I can tweet and reach about ten.

Because, despite the promise of Twitter as providing a great two way link between politicians and those they represent, it’s a long way from achieving that.

The reason? Twitter for …

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Posted in News and Op-eds | Tagged and | 5 Comments
Iain Roberts

Daft speed camera story of the day

By Iain Roberts | Tue 10th August 2010 - 5:57 pm

The BBC is keenly promoting a story about speed cameras.

The cameras have been switched off in Oxfordshire: they still measure the speed of passing motorists, but no longer take pictures. Motorists can therefore speed with impunity and remain point-less.

The shocking news is that, after this change, the cameras have recorded more speeding motorists than before.

In Cowley some 62 people were clocked speeding, representing a rise of 88%.

And in Woodstock 110 drivers were over the 30mph limit, which is 18% more than the average for 2010.

Why daft? Because it tells us nothing useful.

We’d expect more people to speed …

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Iain Roberts

Daily Mail takes a tip from the BNP

By Iain Roberts | Mon 9th August 2010 - 3:55 pm

A story in today’s Daily Mail looks like the sort of thing you’d expect to find in a BNP leaflet.

The headline says it all

Revealed: The UK maternity units in which only 1 in 10 mothers is of white British origin

Of course there’s variation around the country – always has been, always will be.

Nationally the figures (which appear later on in the Mail article) are:
62% white British
7% other white
5% black
4% pakistani
3% indian
8% other
11% unknown

Concern about immigration is legitimate, but why is the Mail so worried about the mothers’ skin colour?

Posted in News | Tagged and | 11 Comments
Iain Roberts

Whither the professional journalist when we all write for free?

By Iain Roberts | Mon 9th August 2010 - 1:20 pm

The Guardian reports on the 19-strong “Facebook Users’ Union” which wants Facebook’s users to have more control over where the company’s money goes.

…people are effectively working for free to create wealth for Facebook’s shareholders. “Online tools really aren’t free. We pay for them with micropayments of personal information.”

Buchanan wants someone to calculate the value of each Facebook user, based on how much money Facebook (or Google, or MySpace) makes from advertising next to their information. “It may be a small amount but it adds up when scaled into the half billion. Thus I feel we, the users, should have

…

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Iain Roberts

Huppert v Tredinnick: the EDM homeopathy smackdown

By Iain Roberts | Mon 9th August 2010 - 10:20 am

The last couple of months saw a battle emerging between science geek MP Julian Huppert and homeopathy fan David Tredinnick, and one of the battlegrounds was the Early Day Motion – those petitions that only MPs can start or sign.

Five times, David Tredinnick put down an EDM such as 284 (BMA ANNUAL REPRESENTATIVE MEETING MOTIONS ON HOMEOPATHY) or 285 (EFFECT OF HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES ON BREAST CANCER CELLS), in each case singing the praises of homeopathy or lauding some study that generated a positive result. Five times Julian Huppert launched an amendment to the EDM pointing out what he saw …

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Iain Roberts

My favourite Early Day Motions

By Iain Roberts | Sat 7th August 2010 - 2:20 pm

A few days ago I wrote about Early Day Motions – the petitions that only MPs can start and sign.

Here are a few of my favourites from this parliament, starting with one for MPs not too familiar with the Internet.

EDM 629: That this House deplores the easy access children have to pornography by means of satellite and cable television; and calls on Ofcom, the appropriate regulator, to amend its broadcasting code in order to ensure that access to pornographic material is only available via a secure authentication system.

And who could begrudge Harlow its place in …

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Iain Roberts

3..2..1…and ContactPoint is gone

By Iain Roberts | Fri 6th August 2010 - 12:00 pm

ContactPoint, the Government database holding information on every single child in the country, was turned off at noon today.

Critics argued that the huge national database was disproportionate and the money spent on holding that information on children could better be spent on something else.

Supporters saw it meeting a need and if just one child was saved, who could say that was wrong.

Whether you think it’s the right or the wrong decision (and I’m in the “right” camp, on balance) there’s no denying it shows political bravery.

As an incoming government, it would have been easy to fudge the issue. …

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Iain Roberts

The predictable ranting over welfare reforms may be misplaced

By Iain Roberts | Fri 6th August 2010 - 10:30 am

Some of the most vociferous critics of current welfare policies, in my experience, live in social housing, or have bought their former council house.

They often don’t want more welfare – quite the opposite. They work hard, keep their properties in good order and generally behave as good citizens and they’re fed up with neighbours they see as sponging off the State and causing problems in the area.

The issue of welfare is a genuinely tough one. Clever people from across the political spectrum (and across the world) have wrestled with it for decades.

At heart, the problem is simple to …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged | 28 Comments
Iain Roberts

Top of the Early Day Motions

By Iain Roberts | Wed 4th August 2010 - 10:20 am

An Early Day Motion, or EDM, is  a petition that only an MP can start and only MPs can sign. By convention, some MPs (members of the Government and senior Opposition spokesmen) generally don’t sign them. Some MPs will sign almost any EDM that passes their desk – in some cases, we might suspect, having barely looked at it. Others are more sparing with their favours.

All of which adds up to Early Day Motions not really meaning much at all, other than being a useful way for an organisation to say “we’re campaigning for all policemen …

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Iain Roberts

Two for the freedom bill: seatbelts and drugs?

By Iain Roberts | Thu 29th July 2010 - 3:20 pm

Professor John Adams has submitted a Mill-esque proposal for the Government’s Freedom Bill.

Adams, author of “Risk”, explains on his blog:

The Cream Buns Act would remove all existing laws and regulations that proscribe behaviour that risks only the health or safety of mentally competent adult risk takers.

Two nominations for early repeal: the seat belt law and the set of laws criminalizing the sale or use of drugs. They merit priority not only because they pass the Cream Buns Test but, more importantly, because they have criminalized millions and can be shown to have had highly significant adverse consequences. The

…

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Iain Roberts

Happy ID carders nearly all government employees

By Iain Roberts | Thu 29th July 2010 - 2:20 pm

Back in the old days, before we had a government that cared about civil liberties, Labour were busy telling us how wonderful ID cards were. No-one was quite sure what they were useful for (beating terrorism? tackling benefit fraud? getting a drink in the pub? travelling to France without a passport?) but whatever it was, they were really good at it.

Now, thanks to some persistent questioning from No2ID National Co-ordinator Phil Booth, we know that of the nine people who featured in the glossy advertising telling us how ID cards had transformed their lives and possibly cured …

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Iain Roberts

Default retirement age to be scrapped

By Iain Roberts | Thu 29th July 2010 - 1:20 pm

The Coalition Government plans to scrap the default retirement age of 65 from October 2011, allowing people to work beyond that age if they choose.  Employers will not be allowed to dismiss staff simply because they’re 65 years old.
As the BBC reports:

Business group, the CBI, criticised the speed of the proposed changes saying it left firms “with many unresolved problems”.

The government’s timetable to scrap the default retirement age would give companies little time to prepare, it added.

However Rachel Krys of the Employers Forum on Age was delighted, saying it was “really unfair” that people had been forced out of jobs because of their age.

“We have to stop these blunt discriminators,” she added.

The charity Age UK, which has led the campaign to end the default retirement age, welcomed the government’s plan.

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Iain Roberts

Crime prevention? Just choose pink

By Iain Roberts | Thu 29th July 2010 - 11:20 am

Few disagree that non-violent crime has been falling since 1995, sharply at first and more slowly over the last decade.

One of the explanations for the drop is simply that it’s become more difficult to commit certain sorts of crime.  Improved security, with the spread of double glazing and stronger doors as standard, has made life more difficult for the opportunistic thief.

Car security has improved and, whilst the serious car thief may not be put off, it’s certainly raised the bar.

But car colour?

Research from the Netherlands suggests that cars and bikes in more unusual colours, like yellow or pink, are …

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Iain Roberts

TUC to Vince: it’s our ball and you can’t play

By Iain Roberts | Thu 29th July 2010 - 9:20 am

The Trades Union Congress has withdrawn an invitation to Vince Cable to speak at their Autumn conference.

The Financial Times (free registration required) reports that leaders of the big unions are upset about Government cuts (which might raise the issue of how they would have dealt with Labour’s £44 billion proposed cuts had they won the election).

As the FT reports:

A moderate unionist said: “It’s a serious embarrassment, a joke, I don’t know what they’re playing at.”

The TUC struck a conciliatory note, telling the FT that it would find an alternative mechanism to keep dialogue open with the

…

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Iain Roberts

Marks out of ten for the coalition?

By Iain Roberts | Tue 27th July 2010 - 11:20 am

The Guardian is running the latest ICM poll today.

The overall story is good for the Lib Dems – up three points to 19% (both Labour and the Tories are slightly down against the last ICM poll), and the Coalition remains stubbornly popular, still in the 55-60% range.

But this is just one poll (and there are others both significantly better and worse for the party), so let’s not worry too much about the headline figures.

More interesting is the line the Guardian takes and the “marks out of ten” for the Coalition Government.

First the line taken in the article. If …

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Posted in Polls | Tagged , and | 15 Comments
Iain Roberts

Coalition tension is good for the Lib Dems and good for democracy

By Iain Roberts | Tue 27th July 2010 - 9:20 am

Former Tory leadership contender David Davies believes the Coalition isn’t right wing enough and rumours are spreading of a “Brokeback Club” to make trouble.

Former Lib Dem Deputy Leader contender Tim Farron has referred to the “Toxic Tories” and Simon Hughes, who won the vote to become Deputy Leader, has said the party wouldn’t have supported the Academies Bill if it were in opposition.

In a sense, Hughes’ comment is stating the obvious. A coalition means voting for some of their policies you can live with but don’t like, because otherwise the other lot won’t vote for yours. It’s …

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Posted in Op-eds | 30 Comments
Iain Roberts

How dare she follow the rules, thunders Mail on Sunday

By Iain Roberts | Sun 25th July 2010 - 11:45 am

In a thundering attack this morning, the Mail on Sunday lays into Harriet Harman, acting leader of of the Labour party for…erm… doing nothing wrong at all.

Ms Harman, it appears, accepted money legally and properly given by a Labour Party supporter and then, as is one of the jobs of an MP, assisted the same person with a problem.

The whole affair, which the Mail on Sunday would really like you to think is some sort of sordid scandal, is summed up in the first few paragaphs of their story:

Harriet Harman was last night facing damaging claims that she lobbied

…

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Iain Roberts

Sloganizing the Liberal Democrats

By Iain Roberts | Wed 21st July 2010 - 10:20 am

Each of the two major parties enjoys the support of a substantial core of voters who are undisturbed by issues, candidates, meetings and literature…The typical voter is loyal to an “image” which his party has built up by annexing a limited range of sloganized issues.

Mark Abrams, 1951, reported by David Kynaston

The Lib Dem core vote has always been a lot lower than that of the other main parties, and has for some time stood at around 12%. Labour and the Conservatives have a core vote of around 30% of the population.

That gives those parties a huge advantage. …

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Posted in Op-eds | 20 Comments
Iain Roberts

Vince’s Graduate Tax is no easy win

By Iain Roberts | Fri 16th July 2010 - 11:20 am

Vince Cable yesterday floated the idea of a graduate tax to pay for university funding, as an alternative to top-up fees.

In the early 1960s, around 4% of young people went to university.  Today that’s nearly 50%.   Undergraduate education has changed beyond recognition over those fifty years and, with money tight, another government is having another attempt to sort out funding.  As Vince has made clear, a graduate tax is one option he wants considered.

Encouraging those with the ability

The UK has never quite cracked the problem of getting people from poorer backgrounds into higher education.   If you’re in the poorest …

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Iain Roberts

Time to scrap P.E. targets for schools

By Iain Roberts | Mon 12th July 2010 - 10:20 am

The SNP government in Scotland has come under fire – again – for missing its self-imposed target that every child do two hours of formal P.E. a week. Only 35% of primaries and 23% of secondaries have achieved the two hour goal.

But why have the target at all? What’s it actually achieving? Surely it’s sensible to only impose this sort of national target when there’s clear evidence of benefit.

Will two hours of P.E. make our young people more lithe and reduce obesity? Not according to the evidence.

A study published in the BMJ journal Archives for …

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Iain Roberts

No room for gays at the Daily Star

By Iain Roberts | Thu 8th July 2010 - 2:42 pm

The Daily Star is up in arms.  “No room for gays” it trumpets, in a bizarre throw-back to the worst aspects of 1950s society.

What’s the problem?  Two men – from Cameroon and Iran – had applied for asylum on the grounds that, as homosexuals, they would be in danger if they returned home.

Same sex acts are illegal in Cameroon – with prison sentences of up to five years.  In Iran, homosexual acts are punishable by up to 100 lashes or death.  There’s no doubt that homosexuals from those countries face a real, genuine and serious prospect of losing their …

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