Author Archives: the founding editor

From both the Sunday Mail and the Sunday Independent:

“Labour party officials tried to hide details of millions of pounds in loans from auditors examining the party’s finances, it emerged.

“Police believe the party went to extraordinary steps to conceal the fact that it had received £12million loans from businessmen nominated for peerages by Tony Blair.”

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The Labour party are allowing the entire British public to have a say in choosing the next Labour party leader and Prime Minister of Britain – all you have to do is join the party (for a minimum of £1pm unwaged) first.

Labour’s “Join up, join in” campaign says:

“Being a member of a political party means a lot and in the coming months our members will be asked to elect a new Leader and Deputy Leader for the Labour Party, and, for the first time in history, the next Prime Minister. Never before has the membership of any political party had such power to …

In a separate development, it’s emerged David Norman, newly appointed Director of Policy and Communications, has also handed in his notice.

Paul Rainger, director of campaigns for the Liberal Democrats, has announced he will retire at Christmas.

If you’re a conference rep who has received ballot papers for the federal party elections then today is your final chance to return them, but you must put a first class stamp on the envelope to have any hope that they’ll arrive in time to be counted.

The results are announced on Monday 6 November.

Today’s punch-up between David Cameron and the Speaker of the Commons is not the first procedural clash in Parliament this week.

In Monday there was a full seven minutes of procedural to-and-fro in the self-regulated House of Lords, culminating in the Government Chief Whip coming in to the chamber to try and bring order to the proceedings – failing, and then finally succeeding with the aid of the clerk.

The argument was between Lord Baker of Dorking for the Conservatives, who wished to move an amendment …

Early next year London Liberal Democrats will choose their candidate to take on Ken Livingstone for the post of London Mayor.

Naturally, Lib Dem Voice will be analysing the field of candidates as they emerge, but let’s first of all hear from you.

Tell us in the comments box who YOU would like to see running as a candidate in the selection. You can enter more than one name, and it doesn’t have to be the name of a person you’d necessarily vote for – just tell us who you’d like to see appear on the selection ballot paper.

Remember, you …

Today is an opposition day debate in Parliament, on Iraq. Speaking ahead of the debate, Michael Moore (Lib Dem shadow foreign sec) said:

“This is an important debate which ought to be the starting point for Government accountability on Iraq. It is unacceptable that the Government has not allotted time to debate this important issue for over two years and that we have had to rely on an opposition day debate before MPs can discuss this in Parliament.

“The US authorities responded to the failure of the current strategy by initiating the Baker review. The time has come for the British Government …

Something peculiar is happening in Tennessee.

Prominent Republican Senator Bill Frist, the leader of the largest party in the U.S. Senate, is standing down at the forthcoming mid-term elections on 7th November, and the choice for voters in this southern state is between grey-haired, white, self-styled “real Tennesseean” Bob Corker, and baby-faced black Democrat, Harold Ford jnr.

If you follow U.S. politics at all, you’ll know the result of this race already. The south is Republican territory. Every southern Senator since the end of the American Civil War in 1865 has been white, and they’ve usually been conservative Republicans.

You might be surprised then, to watch these two thirty second television adverts running in the state. First, the underdog’s attack ad – Hard Ford Jnr’s attack on Republican candidate, and former mayor of Chatanooga, Bob Corker:

And second, the astonishing return attack from the Republican national party:

BBC News website ticker. “The Lib Dems may have to pay back a £2.4m donation. More soon.”

More to follow.

UPDATE: False (ish) alarm. There’s still nothing concrete: