Author Archives: Alex Foster

Thanks, BBC, for that stunning insight.

As I write, a panel of experts is sitting on the platform and talking about social mobility and early years learning.

This is a bit of a difference from how policy making usually works. Although the experts have their place in our traditional policy making process, normally through submissions in the drafting process and holding together a policy working group. But by the time we debate those papers at conference, the mix of people who speak sometimes includes – how can I phrase this delicately – those who are not experts in the field. Sometimes, however, those inexpert voices …

No… not our nomination papers, but the ones for the leadership election for the Labour party.

Eagle-eyed prolific thread-commentor Hywel Morgan mailed [email protected] to point out that the BBC says

the Labour Party has confirmed they have had letters from a “small number” of MPs asking why no nomination papers for leader were issued ahead of the party conference. Labour sources said such papers had not been posted out for 10 years and were freely available on its website.

A quick two google searchs later shows that if the nomination papers are indeed on the Labour party website, they are …

Last night, a post from Stephen about our current survey degenerated in the comments to a rather ill-tempered argument about whether Clegg should be proposing now to cut taxes in general when he didn’t mention that he wanted to when standing for the leadership.

All that aside, the key interesting thing the comments generated from my point of view was the following list of times when Lib Dem leaders wanted one thing and Conference sent them packing.

1994 – party debates motion on setting up a Royal Commission to review drugs policy. Motion carried, despite clear steer from leadership. Ashdown storms

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As we reach the August bank holiday the news explodes across the political scene that the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has chosen this time of year, and this extraordinary economic climate, to switch allegiance.

It truly is the height of the silly season. Clegg has defected from Ocado to Sainsbury’s.

Janet Street Porter, for the Independent, is derisory.

Nick reveals that his wife is “gravitating towards Sainsbury’s from Ocado” in order to save money. WAKE UP LOVE! Haven’t the Cleggs heard that Netto, Aldi and Lidl are the shopping destinations of thousands of voters who can’t even afford Sainsbury’s, let

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