Author Archives: the founding editor

Lib Dem Voice is averaging about 2000 visits a week now. Which is nice, but not enough. More activity = more visitors = a stronger independent community for Lib Dem activists, run by Lib Dem activists.

I’m looking for volunteers to join the Lib Dem team as:

• Regular contributors – you would be prepared to churn out an article at a semi-regular interval on a subject on which you have specialist knowledge. All levels of commitment considered. Please e-mail Rob to discuss.
• Editors – I’d like to move to a position where all contributions are read by at least one other person

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From Jonathan Wallace comes the welcome news that the Tories lost 3% of their vote in yesterday’s Gateshead council by-election, dropping to just 6% of the vote.  The Lib Dems were up 4%, but clearly there are some parts of the North East that will carry on loving Labour… mind you, that’s what people said about Newcastle.

How did you fair in yesterday’s by-elections? Let us know.

UPDATE: Will reports that Fife saw an SNP gain from Labour with us in third (the Tories got 39 votes!). Blackburn with Darwen DC was won by …

Here’s some news you may have missed, via Hot Ginger & Dynamite.

David Cameron’s latest bid to copy Tony in every way may be to move his troops in to the Millbank Tower complex. Tory MPs will not be pleased. They’re occasionally forced to visit Conservative HQ, and Millbank Tower is 0.7 miles away from Parliament (their current offices are a mere 0.3 miles) – can you imagine what it’s going to be like?  You have 8 minutes to get to Parliament in a division, and you have to drag 17 stone of “good lunches” nearly a mile …

Multiple unofficial, but reliable, sources tell the Voice that Simon Hughes will not face an election for the post of Party President.

PS This time I am assured the Voice is right, unlike the other time. I really am right this time. 100%. There’s a press release coming, and everything.

UPDATE: The party’s official announcement is here.

For other elections (Federal Executive, FCC etc) the timetable now is as follows:

• The final opportunity for candidates to withdraw their nomination has passed
• The final opportunity for candidates to submit manifesto artwork has passed
• Ballot papers will be sent out on 16 October
• They should

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Michael Brown, who gave £2.4m to the Liberal Democrats at the last general election has been jailed for two years.

The Electoral Commission’s ruling on whether the party would have to pay back the donation, which it (the party) has always maintained was received in good faith, can be summarised thus: “No. You don’t have to pay it back………

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….or do you?” *cue Eastenders dum-dum-dum-dum-da-da-da-da-DA*)

…Tony B is doing a great job of nodding and smiling at his ol’ mate Gordo during his speech.

But someone should’ve told the cabinet they’d be on camera too – never have so many people looked so miserable. Like a group of kids who have been told tomorrow is their last day at Disneyland. Which, like Chris Smith, is probably where most of them will end up when Gordo rules the roost.

One thing that will certainly get the politicos tongues wagging was TB practically falling off his chair applauding when GB said he’d relish the challenge of taking on David …

Well, I can tell you what I thought, but I’m no columnist.

Tell me what you thought – e-mail [email protected] and I’ll publish a representative sample ASAP.

These just in:

“Loved it. Strong, compelling, and above all Liberal.”

“I though the speech was brilliant, and I really enjoyed the slideshows at the start, especially the Star Trek theme tune”

I’d just like to say a particular welcome to new members coming to Lib Dem Voice after seeing a leaflet at Brighton conference – welcome! You may find it useful to read this introduction to the site. There were 3500 visitors to the site in its first week, so you’re in lots of (and hopefully good) company!

As I write, the conference centre is sleepily awakening for its final day – and the highlight, the first speech to an autumn conference by Ming Campbell.  Delegates have been oiling their knees all night so we can leap to our feet the …

Endemol UK are trying to get hold of amateur video clips and photos of anything interesting/exciting that happens at the conference – if you have filmed anything on a mobile-phones/digital camera please drop me an e-mail on [email protected] and I’ll put you in touch

You will have heard that the Thai government has been overthrown by a manic despot and a few loose cannons.

It would be grossly inappropriate to link that with the fact that Mark Oaten is unable to be at conference because he’s in… Thailand.

I’m sat in the debate on the Meeting the Challenge paper. So is the ls the leader. But the hall is disappointingly empty.

This is a debate on the core principles of our party – the narrative. Perhaps the party at large feels that our narrative is sufficiently well established that it doesn’t need to be debated. Still, fingers crossed that more people turn up for the actual vote.

UPDATE: After a failed attempt attempt at a ‘reference back’ (an attempt to send the motion back to the Federal Policy Committee for further consideration), the motion was carried near-unanimously.

The Federal Conference Comittee took Simon Hughes off the agenda at the spring conference earlier this year, so this was our first chance to hear from the President following the leadership election.

Hughes gave a personal, and verging on the emotional, account of what was, by all accounts, a pretty torrid time. He congratulated and supported both Ming and Chris, and thanked those in the hall who had supported him.

His core message was that the party should be “ambitious for Liberalism”. In a typically charismatic speech, he disappeared off the stage at one time to bear-hug the former Deputy First Minister …

…am too hung over / alcohol poisoned.

Not really sure I could tell a microphone from a Mongoose right now.

Where am I? Who are all these people wearing yellow badges?

The son of Orange Book has been launched, and is previewed by the Times.

(Yes, I’m a day late, but hell, no-one else blogged about it and I was waiting to see what reception it would get out there)

A blog thus far unknown to me, The Daily, claims Short will not run again, and will use her new found independence to urge a coalition government with the aim of delivering Proportional Representation.

I haven’t seen this picked up by any of the conventional  media, and it strikes me she’s not the sort to announce her retirement quietly, but still – food for thought.

With friends like Clare Short…

UPDATE 14/09/06: Short confirms she is stepping down