We don’t do a Daily View 2 x 2 round-up on Saturdays, so instead here’s an open thread. What stories have caught your eye? What issues are on your mind? What do you think of our new Daily View 2 x 2 series? Discuss away in the comments below…
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- The Falklands are under threat again and we can’t rely on America to save us
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Op-eds
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An early win for affordable housing – now let councils build (Victor Chamberlain)
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Defining our future in Burnham Britain (Gareth McAleer)
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Andy Burnham – new messiah or naughty boy? (Mark Hunter)
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“Palestine should be run by Palestinians” so why won’t Britain reckon with what it did? (Alex Cole-Hamilton)
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You can’t defend your way to a World Cup… or No. 10 (Tom Reeve)
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Political history points against early general elections
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Working 9 to 5
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Django Django: Cameos
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Is Farage set to lose Clacton?
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Citizenship ceremony
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Welsh Lib Dems are short of peers and the Lords is weighted towards London and the South East of England
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Another myth exploded: Queen Victoria and the lesbians
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"Everyone carried a shopping bag": Muriel Spark on London, 1945
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Lloyd George Society Chair - Welsh Lib Dem Peers face extinction
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Saving the curlew from extinction in Shropshire
Recent Comments
Chris Cory
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For the record, I think that it's people like me who should accept that they have to be taxed more: that's better-off, but not enormously-wealthy, retirees with...
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22 Comments
Anyone got a view of this Sotomayor appointment in America?
From what I can see, she looks like an excellent appointment- not quite socially liberal enough for me, but then no one likely to get into any kind of office is 🙂
I’ve been keeping an eye on events in America, proper interesting it is.
The Torygraph reports that Brown is seeking to bring Lib Dems closer to the centre of power with suggestions of voting reform. Tread very carefully Cleggy.
The appalling opinion poll results for the Lib Dems in the Times. We are really being punished for taking an overtly Europhile stance in the election campaign because the EU is being seen as part of the “corrupt system”. Why hasn’t Nick Clegg made some strongly worded statements about sweeping out EU corruption and opening it up to public scrutiny. It is part of the manifesto, but Clegg doesn’t seem to have emphasised it enough. Soundbites now, please!
Also, the decision not to offer a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty was a really bad call. The public mood is dead set against it and Cameron’s non-policy of “we will offer a referendum except we won’t because Lisbon will already be in place” seems to have fooled voters.
Lib Dem policy is still on an in/out referendum on the EU.
Even though it was introduced in somewhat questionable circumstances, I’ve always thought it was a good thing (I was arguing for it before it became Lib Dem policy).
Whether we should be promoting it more loudly now? Tricky one.
does anyone know whats behind the story in the Torygruff?? are we really talking to Labour or is this some sort of internal manoeuvre ??
Does anyone else despair that UKIP might feasibly come second in the Euros? The record of their MEPs is pretty appalling and their selection procedures must be terrible, and yet otherwise sensible people will vote for them. I half wonder if the Telegraph (normally rabidly anti-EU) isn’t going as slowly as it possibly can with MPs’ expenses stories to do as much damage to the 3 larger parties at the Euro elections.
Oh yes, and I’m fed up of “Your leaflets haven’t had anything about the European elections” – you mean the Euro stories on at least 3 Focuses since January, a tabloid entirely about the Euros, a full-colour freepost entirely on the Euros, a postal voters’ mailing entirely on the Euros and an A3 Focus, one side entirely given over to the Euros isn’t enough?
Come on people, if you wanted to know what we thought about the Euros you’ve had opportunities to find out. And it’s not my fault you can’t be bothered.
Sorry, rant over. The elector is always right, obviously.
And lastly, according to the BBC:
“MPs who committed a crime by claiming for non-existent mortgages should face the “force of the law”, David Cameron says”
Really? David Cameron thinks that MPs who broke the law should be prosecuted? And that’s news why? I think that people who brake the law generally should face the “force of the law”.
I too am alarmed by the Populus poll, particularly in regards to the EU voting intentions.
I disagree that we are being ‘punished’ for our EU stance. Certainly this country is still awash with euroscepticism, but the reality is that these elections are turning into a referendum on the expenses debacle. To an extent, i think we are the victims of our own success. Once the Lib Dems were viewed by many as the most effective means to exercise a protest vote. Now we are seen as part of the ‘establishment’. In the long term, being depicted as part of a ‘big 3’ can only be beneficial, but for now it will undoubtedly lose us support.
I think Nick Clegg has been impressive in recent weeks, his call to ‘bar the gates of Westminster’ was a neat move and he has consistently been ahead of the curve on urging meaningful reform. Yet, no matter how assured Clegg’s performances we have had to be on the defensive.
When the expenses scandal finally subsides, we can go back to what our party does best- present a positive vision for a fairer, greener Britain.
For now, let’s brace ourselves for the expenses backlash. Come May 2010 this will be a distant memory and we can return to being the only member of the ‘big 3’ presenting an agenda for real change.
I like the 2×2 feature, even though I tend to disagree with some of your picks.
On my mind this morning is the thought that autumn can’t come soon enough. Stupid heat.
Does anyone else despair that UKIP might feasibly come second in the Euros? The record of their MEPs is pretty appalling and their selection procedures must be terrible, and yet otherwise sensible people will vote for them.
That’s because a vote for UKIP isn’t a vote for their policies, it’s a vote against the EU in general, as well as against the mainstream parties, none of whom have a coherent line on Europe.
Put it this way; if I wanted the UK out of the EU, and I voted for someone who wanted the UK out of the EU, then I wouldn’t really care if said candidate had a lousy record of attendence at the EU once elected. In fact, complete non-attendence would be acceptable.
“Come on people, if you wanted to know what we thought about the Euros you’ve had opportunities to find out. And it’s not my fault you can’t be bothered.”
My area hasn’t had any literature from the Lib Dems at all. Not one leaflet. So the only thing people here have seen is the party political broadcasts, which weren’t really about Europe at all.
Jennie: suggestions for inclusion in the 2 x2 are very much welcome. There’s only a relatively narrow time period in which to send them in, but there is always the comments thread on the 2 x 2 post if that’s missed.
Nick Clegg has stood firm to be counted on the important issue of required `constitutional reform’ and within 100 Days.
L/D`s are very hard working on fighting for ending the closure of our local post offices (in WF we have seen 6 Post Offices closed despite 37,000 public signatures), the enforcement of international police warrants,climate change and `credit crunch’ and the ludicrous fear of a Third Runway at Heathrow : all local and Euro issues for our residents to take to the ballot box on June 4th.
The incredible paradox with the UKIP and BNP are `wastrel’ votes, since neither actually recognise the importance and benefits of the EU to the lives of their residents.
These mavericks oppose membership of the EU and all they say runs counter to the principled ideals of the post WW2 Peace and Trade compact set out by the `Founding Fathers’ of the EU.
The BNP and UKIP oppose an integrated, open,sustainable and democratic community and one that is locally accountable to the EU, besides being part of a wider and more powerful Liberal International Family.
UKIP seek to be elected merely to waste even larger sums, to make a cause celebre negative challenge, to leave the European Union,without rhyme and reason.
UKIP would damn people to the hindmost, with loss of jobs,during the worst `Recession’ since the 1930`s.
UKIP are blind to the 50% trade that exists between the UK and the EU.
The UKIP candidates want to travel to Brussels,claim travel expenses, merely to create trouble and waste even larger numbers of taxpayers money?
UKIP has the right to stand in the EU Election,but the voters have the right to reject their flawed antediluvian anti- trade and ant-jobs message.
Their message would also put back by decades, climate change and international help and support on policing and stopping sex trafficking to the UK.
@ Mark 2.05pm, there are areas where it would be justified to criticise a party not for putting out any leaflets (but this takes time, people and money – who may quite easily be tied up somewhere else) but in other places there’s only so much you can do to take a horse to water . . .
I haven’t received any Lib Dem Euro-spam either. In fact, the only leaflets I’ve recieved from any party has been from the Tories, and I’ve had 6 from them in total – 3 at my current address and 3 redirected from my previous address in another part of the country.
On the other hand I am still getting dozens of emails per month from the Warwickshire Lib Dems mailing lists, in spite of the fact that I ceased to be a member of the party in September, ceased to be a resident of Warwickshire in December, and have clicked the UNSUBSCRIBE button 17 (count ’em) times since realising that I wasn’t going to be removed as automatically as I was added.
Far too many voters are still considering UKIP and BNP. However UKIP and BNP have supplied our last minute leaflet material for those voters:
Rally Want Dishonesty?
Vote UKIP for Members jailed and suspended for corruption!
(Quote the UKIP MEPs concerned.)
Or vote BNP for people who don’t exist!
(Copy from the exposés on BNP leaflet photos.)
Want honesty and competence? Vote for Clegg, Cable and the LibDems.
You’re totally missing the point. Those people considering voting for the UKIP and the BNP know perfectly well that UKIP are lying cretins and that the BNP are nazi scumbags. They just don’t care. They’re voting for them because it’s the only way they can give the mainstream parties a good kicking.
On the leafleting thing—some parts of the country, and some regions, are leafleting heavily. Others… aren’t.
In London, there’s an incredibly good chance that Jonathan will get in being 2nd on the list, and London based parties are campaigning heavily, especially in areas where they’re also targetting the Westminster seat.
Up here in Yorkshire? We’ve no local elections, and the odds of us picking up a 2nd seat are minimal.
As always Mark, whether you receive more than one leaflet will depend on how active your local campaigning team is, and how motivated they are to campaign. Guarantee those living in target wards that have local elections will have had many leaflets, those living in safe wards, or those with no elections?
Not so much.
Robert C
The polls are all over the place. We could just as easily get excited about this one:
http://politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2009/05/30/lib-dems-move-into-second-place-in-new-icm-poll/
What issues are on my mind?
Gold’s hit 980 again and the long dated US treasuries are spiking up.
Well you asked! 😉
It’s worth noting that in the Populus euro-poll in the Times that showed UKIP second on 19% and the Lib Dems in fourth place on 12% (and only 2% ahead of the Greens) the respondents were prompted with the names of the minor parties as well as the main three.
That may partly explain the differences from the new ICM euro-poll, which has the Lib Dems second on 20% and UKIP fifth (just behind the Greens) on 10%. But only partly, obviously.