Author Archives: Alex Foster

Perhaps we should welcome the rapid u-tuning we highlighted earlier.

It seems that knowing Angela Smith can have her cake and eat it too, by resigning and not resigning has prompted a further five junior ministers to speak out.

Yesterday, Vince Cable pointed out that soldiers are amongst the thousands who will be paying more tax this year than last.

Up to 66,000 armed forces personnel will be worse off from this week as a result of the abolition of the 10p income tax rate, according to research by the Liberal Democrats.

Members of the armed forces of private rank up to level 3, who have a starting salary of just £14,349, will be up to £90 a year worse off because of the change.

In total, up to a third of all armed forces personnel could

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Looks like the Independent want to re-run the leadership election…

The Daily Mail is hot on the heels of the “fewer than thirty women” that our leader Nick Clegg has apparently bedded.  It can exclusively reveal that Helena Bonham-Carter is not amongst the 30.  Well done, Daily Mail.  One woman down.  Only another 3,399,745,541 women left on the planet to rule out.

On another page of the same rag, columnist Amanda Platell roundly condemns the number, but somewhat glosses over her own sexual experience.  Since coy Miss Platell is unmarried, I can only assume she is either a virgin or a hypocrite.  A staggering number of those …

In an interesting move, the Paddick campaign is asking supporters to choose which ad campaign he runs. Over on his website, he asks whether you’d rather have a campaign button attacking Boris for being bad at every job he’s ever done, or attacking Labour for not getting on with Crossrail. The only way you can help choose is by making a donation on one ad or the other. I have expressed a preference and I urge you to do so too.  (Where could they have got the idea?)

And yesterday afternoon, he started answer the …

A new threat is emerging to the privacy of people using the biggest three internet service providers in the country, Virgin Media (formerly NTL), BT and TalkTalk.  They have all signed up with a company called “Phorm” which monitors net use so that it can send you adverts on web pages that it thinks you will be interested in.

It’s starting to become clear that BT have been engaged in secret tests of this system as early as last year, and plans to roll it out to thousands of customers over the coming months in a larger scale trial.

There’s been rather a lot of nonsense spoken about dope in the last day or so as some no-mark Labour MP calls on the PM to reclassify cannabis from Class C to Class B to “send the right signal”

Paddick gave a very brief answer on this subject in his Telegraph interview, but expands a bit further in a press statement today.

Our newsletter competition has come to a conclusion, and the envelope with the winner is before me.

Opening it, I can see our mug prize is winging its way to Southport Lib Dems and their newsletter editor Nigel Ashton. Congrats, Nigel – send us a picture of the mug in use!

Over at the Spectator Coffee House blog.

A recent Stonewall survey of gay, lesbian and bisexual people found that their respondents expected to find less prejudice from the Lib Dems than from either of the other two main parties, should they wish to stand for parliament.

The Guardian reports:

The poll also suggested prejudice is endemic in political life, with most lesbian and gay people expecting discrimination if they seek selection by a party to run for parliament. Nearly nine in 10 think they would face such barriers from the Conservative party, 61% from the Labour party and 47% from the Liberal Democrats.

It’s still a little concerning that …

Later today, party leader Nick Clegg will be launching the new Liberal Youth organisation – the new name for LDYS.

Here’s what the press release says:

Or so the headline in the local rag says.

Lib Dems in East Middleton are planning to ballot local residents about the future of controversial Councillor David Murphy. The ‘mini-referendum’ will simply ask the question – “Do you believe that Councillor Murphy should be residing in South-Western Europe at tax-payer’s expense?” The Lib Dems have also revealed that Councillor Murphy has less than a week to stand down to avoid a costly by-election.

Local Councillor Irene Cooper said: “People round here are quite rightly furious at Councillor Murphy’s behaviour. I feel he should stand down immediately. I know that local people

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