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Daily View 2×2: 5 June 2009

By Stephen Tall | Fri 5th June 2009 - 7:00 am

Let me let you into the hidden secret of the LDV Daily View – it’s usually written very late the night before, ready to go live at the crack of dawn for your breakfast pleasure. This poses a problem when, as I am now, you’re writing at gone midnight not knowing whether Gordon Brown will have anyone left in his cabinet by the time you, dear gentle reader, are pouring milk over your cereal. But here goes…

2 Big Stories

James Purnell quits cabinet: is this the end of Gordon Brown’s premiership?
The resignation of the work and pensions secretary was a …

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Posted in Daily View | Tagged james purnell | 1 Comment

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Lib Dems gain control of Bristol Council

By Mark Pack | Fri 5th June 2009 - 3:03 am

The first big electoral news is good for the Liberal Democrats: four gains from Labour in Bristol have given the LibDems overall control of the council. Labour won just 2 wards out of 23 on the night, compared with 10 out of 24 in 2007.

Posted in News | Tagged bristol council and local elections | 1 Comment

Local elections – overnight open thread

By The Voice | Fri 5th June 2009 - 1:05 am

Most local election results won’t be declared until well into Friday, but a handful of councils are counting overnight – so please use this thread to update Lib Dem Voice readers with what’s happening near you, or links to emerging stories elsewhere.

Update 3: Looks like solid results Eastleigh (no scope for gains given how many seats we already hold!). Bristol looking good with several gains.

Update 2: News of gains against the Conservatives in Eastbourne and Norfolk.

Update: News from Bristol sounds very positive for the Lib Dems and absolutely disastrous for Labour, with Tories making little progress.

Posted in News | Tagged local elections | 59 Comments

How small could the Cabinet be?

By Mark Pack | Thu 4th June 2009 - 11:52 pm

It looks like Gordon Brown might be finding it a bit hard to persuade people to serve in the Cabinet. But good news for him, there’s plenty of historical precedent of small Cabinets. George Grenville in the mid-eighteenth century had a Cabinet of just nine, whilst the Fox-North coalition of the late eighteenth century managed with only seven. So that’s Gordon, Ed Balls and er…

Posted in Parliament | Tagged ed balls and gordon brown | 5 Comments

Ending as I begun: unusual legal advice

By Mark Pack | Thu 4th June 2009 - 11:05 pm

I started working for the Liberal Democrats in 2000, just as the Electoral Commission was being created. Through the years a regular part of my job has been dealing with telegrams, phone calls or emails from people along the lines of “The Council says the Electoral Commission has told them that no-one with vowels in their surname is allowed to stand in our by-election. Is that right?”

It’s fair to say that generally things have got better: the Electoral Commission’s staff do get the law right much more often than they used to,* and councils and other bodies are much more …

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Posted in News | Tagged electoral commission | Leave a comment

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BBC Question Time – LDV open thread, 4 June ’09 #bbcqt

By Stephen Tall | Thu 4th June 2009 - 10:20 pm

Ex-Lib Dem leader Lord (Paddy) Ashdown is on duty for tonight’s BBC Question Time (10.35 pm, BBC1 and online), so we’re in safe – if lethal – hands.

Paddy will be joined by Labour leader of the House of Lords Baroness Royall (had you heard of her?), Tory shadow secretary of state for defence Liam Fox (y’know the one who tells those tasteful jokes about the Spce Girls), journalist and historian Sir Max ‘fusty-but-rather-wonderful’ Hastings, and ex-GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips.

If you’re tuning in, you can join the simultanous online Twitter debate here at #bbcqt, or the LDV debate …

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Posted in Lib Dem TV | Tagged bbc question time and paddy ashdown | 12 Comments

James Purnell quits and tells Gordon Brown his time is up

By Mark Pack | Thu 4th June 2009 - 10:06 pm

From The Guardian:

James Purnell, the work and pensions secretary, tonight dealt a monumental blow to Gordon Brown’s chances of holding onto office when he dramatically announced he was quitting the cabinet and asking Brown “to stand aside to give Labour a fighting chance of winning the next election”.

His statement, effectively declaring Brown as unelectable, will further weaken the prime minister’s waning authority and takes the challenge to his leadership to a new dangerous level. Purnell made his sensational move after polls closed in the local and European elections, informing Brown by phone tonight.

The prime minister had no inkling that

…

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Posted in News | Tagged gordon brown and james purnell | 3 Comments

Belfast’s new Lord Mayor is from the Alliance

By Mark Pack | Thu 4th June 2009 - 10:00 pm

With the polls closed and the first results awaited, here is some cheery news from our sister party in Northern Ireland:

Naomi Long of the Alliance Party is the new lord mayor of Belfast.

The east Belfast councillor defeated the DUP’s William Humphrey by 26 votes to 24 in a vote at a council meeting on Monday afternoon.

She takes over from Sinn Fein’s Tom Hartley and is the first woman to hold the post for nearly 30 years.

The 37-year-old is the deputy leader of the Alliance Party and represents the Victoria ward. She has been a member of Belfast City

…

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Posted in News | Tagged alliance party and naomi long | Leave a comment

Four confirmed candidates for Speaker so far

By Mark Pack | Thu 4th June 2009 - 5:11 pm

News from the Hansard Society via email:

The Hansard Society will be holding a hustings meeting for potential candidates for the role of Speaker of the House of Commons. Potential candidates will have the opportunity to make a statement and answer questions both from MPs and those submitted by members of the public via the Hansard Society website.

We have invited potential candidates for the position of Speaker to participate. Since the position will still be fluid then, it is not our aim to be exclusive. Confirmed participants in the Hansard Society Speaker Hustings thus far include:

Alan Beith MP

John

…

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Posted in News and Parliament | Tagged alan beith, commons speaker, frank field, hansard society, john bercow and patrick cormack | 3 Comments

A sure-fire way to bring a smile to your face…

By The Voice | Thu 4th June 2009 - 4:54 pm

Here’s London’s ~~comedy~~ elected mayor, Boris Johnson, stumbling in the river Pool in Lewisham, south-east London:

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Posted in Humour and News | Tagged boris johnson | 6 Comments

LDV election prediction competition: what you’ve said so far

By Stephen Tall | Thu 4th June 2009 - 4:37 pm

On Tuesday we published our Lib Dem Voice competition to predict the results of the local and European elections taking place today, 4th June, and win a copy of LDV’s own annual, The Tangerine Book, and a limited edition LDV mug. The thread is here, and, to date, we’ve received 14 entries from LDV readers (who may or may not be Lib Dem members).

Here’s the average of what you’ve so far predicted:

1. Predict the Liberal Democrat share of the vote in the European elections. YOU SAID: 16.5%
2. Predict the turnout in the European elections. YOU SAID:

…

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Posted in News | Tagged european elections, LDV competition and local elections | Leave a comment

Video: Nick Clegg on the European Elections

By Helen Duffett | Thu 4th June 2009 - 12:56 pm

Nick Clegg gets a lot of questions via Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Friend Connect, as well as through his website, NickClegg.com.

He’s just made a new YouTube video with answers to some of the questions he’s received through his social networks:

What does Nick think of compulsory voting? The Lisbon Treaty? Watch and find out:

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Posted in Europe / International, Online politics and YouTube | Tagged european elections, nick clegg and YouTube | Leave a comment

A final look back at the Euro polls

By Stephen Tall | Thu 4th June 2009 - 12:40 pm

Today is (in case you hadn’t realised) polling day – for much of England that means local elections, for everyone it means European elections – which means it’s our last chance to look at the polls for the Euros, and try and make some sense of them. There have been 11 polls in the last month asking voters to say which party they’ll choose on 4th June:

Here they are in chronological order:

>> Con 37%, Lab 22%, Lib Dem 19%, Ukip 7%, Green 4%, BNP 4%, Nats 5% (YouGov certain to vote, 10th May)
>> Con 34%, Lab 25%, Lib Dem 20%,

…

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Posted in Polls | Tagged european elections and yougov | 1 Comment

Reasons to vote Liberal Democrat

By Mark Pack | Thu 4th June 2009 - 10:54 am

The Voice has covered the succession of positive reasons to vote for the Liberal Democrats given in recent days by The Observer, Polly Toynbee, The Guardian and The Independent, so it seems only fitting to top that list today with a reminder of the party’s own choice of words (from europe.libdems.org.uk):

The European Parliament election is a big choice for Britain.

Labour’s arrogance has messed up Britain’s relationship with other European countries

The Conservatives and UKIP think that on its own Britain can face the economic storm, climate change, international crime, people-trafficking and terrorism

Liberal Democrats know effective cooperation creates prosperity – more

…

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Posted in News | Tagged european elections | 22 Comments

We would be “suicidal” to do a deal with Labour

By Alix Mortimer | Thu 4th June 2009 - 10:10 am

So say “senior party strategists” to the Guardian today:

Nick Clegg would resist overtures from a new prime minister as strongly as he would the current one, senior Liberal Democrat figures have told the Guardian.

The Lib Dem leader believes Labour is finished regardless of who leads the party, and as one close aide put it: “The sort of discussions they need to have can’t take place in government – they need to go into the wilderness to reflect where they stand.” The view damages the hopes of some on the centre-left who believe a change

…

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Posted in News | Tagged gordon brown, labour party, nick clegg and PMQs | 17 Comments

Opinion: Some notes from the doorstep in a weird election campaign

By Joe Taylor | Thu 4th June 2009 - 9:45 am

“This has been the strangest election I’ve ever fought,” one veteran Lib Dem councillor – first elected in 1974 – told me last week.

She was worried about the result of the local elections – not for her own sake (she’s almost certain to win), but for the political health of our county as a whole. The prospect of a lot of independent councillors running the local authority is a worrying one for all of us. And people are clearly in the mood to give mainstream politics a kicking.

Let me give you a couple of real examples from local doorsteps, where …

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Posted in Op-eds | 9 Comments

The Independent backs the Liberal Democrats

By Mark Pack | Thu 4th June 2009 - 8:35 am

Less surprising than the news from The Observer and The Guardian this week, but nonetheless a welcome leader today:

Only the Liberal Democrats have consistently put the case for Europe, doing so even when seeking to hold seats in parts of the country, such as the south-west of England, that are more euro-sceptic than others. Like his recent predecessors, Nick Clegg is unequivocal in his support for the EU. A strong vote for his party would show that parts of the electorate recognise the importance of Britain playing a positive role at the heart of Europe. On that basis alone the

…

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Posted in News | Tagged european elections and the independent | 10 Comments

Daily View 2×2: 4 June 2009

By Alex Foster | Thu 4th June 2009 - 4:00 am

Today is polling day, which means scores of Lib Dems across the country will be having an exhausting day from Good Morning leaflets before dawn right through to election count verifications beyond midnight.

Good morning!

We’ll be reminding people of the all important facts about the electoral process:

You do not need your polling card to vote (but it might speed things up a bit if you have it)
Polls are open from 7am to 10pm
If you had a postal vote, but haven’t returned it yet, don’t put it in the post, but take

…

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Posted in Daily View | Tagged european elections, gordon brown and local elections | 3 Comments

Opinion: e-Campaigning in Kent

By Alex Perkins | Wed 3rd June 2009 - 11:30 pm

So I’m sitting in front of my laptop desperately trying to think of some new way to campaign that will complement shoving pieces of paper through letter boxes and isn’t just having yet another website.

I’m quite convinced, by the way, that only a limited percentage of even the best leaflets get read on their way to the recycling bin – and many local party websites only get visited by activists anyway.

And then my mind goes back to the lecture I attended at City University by the bloke who did Obama’s e-campaigning – and suddenly the brains …

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Posted in Online politics | Tagged canterbury, facebook, kent, twitter and YouTube | 6 Comments

Opinion: what the heck do the Party President and Federal Executive do?

By Paul Walter | Wed 3rd June 2009 - 7:25 pm

For years the internal workings of the Liberal Democrat party have not been known to many party members. Thousands, in fact. I did think, stupidly as it now turns out, that the election of Ros Scott, who I supported as President and still support wholeheartedly, may make a little change to that. From my PC there seemed to be a chance that I would be able to start to understand what the heck the Federal Executive (FE) does and what the heck the President does.

The ideal opportunity then came along. Our Chief Executive was accused of expenses irregularities. He then …

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Posted in Op-eds, Party policy and internal matters and Party Presidency | Tagged federal executive and ros scott | 14 Comments

Official: Tory councils cost you more

By The Voice | Wed 3rd June 2009 - 7:12 pm

Whuch party costs you most in Council Tax? Well, according to the coming year’s figures, it’s Tory-run councils which are levying the biggest increases: a whopping 30 of the top 40 council tax rises have been imposed by the Conservatives. And one of the highest in the country was West Oxfordshire – where none other than David Cameron is the local MP!

And on what, you may ask, are these Tory councils spending these council tax increases? Here are a few choice examples:

· Conservatives on Leicestershire County Council spent £6,000 hooking up …

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Posted in Local government and News | Tagged conservative party and local elections | 6 Comments

David Lammy accused of misleading Parliament

By Mark Pack | Wed 3rd June 2009 - 6:03 pm

Being meaning to blog about this for a little while, but elections keeping on getting in the way … so here’s the story from The Times Higher Education Supplement from a couple of weeks ago:

MPs demand apology from Lammy as they learn there will be no new scrutiny of London Met crisis

The “independent inquiry” announced by David Lammy into the crisis at London Metropolitan University is nothing more than an ongoing exercise commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England,

…

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Posted in News | Tagged david lammy and london met | Leave a comment

Gordon Brown and expenses: he has a bit of form

By Mark Pack | Wed 3rd June 2009 - 4:40 pm

From The Times:

It’s the sort of pratfall performed so entertainingly by John Prescott. But who would have expected that acme of prudence, Gordon Brown, to become embroiled in an embarrassing court action over his failure to declare expenses …

has admitted in legal documents to the error – an offence under the Representation of the People Act carrying a maximum penalty of £5,000 or a prison sentence. However, the Scottish judge hearing the case is expected to take a lenient view of Brown’s behaviour.

(Oh ok, this story is from February 19, 2006. The judge was indeed lenient.)

Posted in Humour and News | Tagged gordon brown and john prescott | 3 Comments

Who’s winning the expectations battle?

By Stephen Tall | Wed 3rd June 2009 - 9:37 am

If there’s one thing which worries most party bosses before an election, it is how they manage media expectations of the results. For it is how the media reports this Thursday’s election results which will by and large determine whether the voting public believes the parties have achieved or failed.

Yesterday, PoliticsHome published its Phi100 Panel results of what a select group of politicians, journalists, think-tanks and bloggers think will happen on 4th June. You can see their findings here. I highlight it because it set some alarm bells ringing in my mind that the Lib Dems are being …

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Posted in Op-eds | Tagged european elections, local elections and media | 6 Comments

“Some of the Greens’ proposals are staggeringly extreme”

By Mark Pack | Wed 3rd June 2009 - 8:50 am

That’s the verdict of Mark Henderson in The Times, after taking a look at their attitude towards science:

Two examples stand out. It wants to ban all experiments on embryos, including those designed to improve fertility treatment as well as embryonic stem cell work. And its policies on alternative medicine are the height of naivety. The Greens’ spokesman told Robbins and Swain:

“We want the gradual inclusion of complementary therapies within NHS provision so that patients have access to all available and appropriate treatments. Complementary therapies can often prevent the situation worsening and thus save resources.”

There was no mention at all of

…

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Posted in News | Tagged ben goldacre and green party | 15 Comments

Daily View 2×2: 3 June 2009

By Alix Mortimer | Wed 3rd June 2009 - 7:05 am

2 big stories

“It’s not the wheels falling off the government.”

With these (deliberate?) words on Radio 4’s PM yesterday afternoon, Harriet Harman defined today’s big story. No, the PM’s reshuffle plans have in no way leaked throughout a thoroughly angry and demoralised cabinet, and they are not at all about to resign en masse. The government is not in the slightest on a course to imminent implosion and Gordon Brown is not reduced to kissing babies on the news and saying nice things about Susan Boyle in a farcically doomed attempt to court popularity. Honest.

Covered with varying degrees of glee …

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Posted in Daily View | Tagged gordon brown, harriet harman and mps expenses | 2 Comments

“Taunton Conservative Candidate Forced To Apologise For Slurs Following Police Investigation”

By Mark Pack | Tue 2nd June 2009 - 9:43 pm

From AboutMyArea:

Taunton Conservative Candidate Forced To Apologise For Slurs Following Police Investigation

The Somerset County Council election took a step into the gutter today when Conservative candidate in West Taunton, Nick James, was forced to issue a public apology for personal attacks on his Lib Dem opponent, Alan Paul, and non-political officers of the Council. The apology came after Police had warned the Conservative agent that a last-minute Conservative leaflet was illegal.

Hat-tip: Liberal England

Posted in News | Tagged alan paul, local elections, nick james and somerset county council | 4 Comments

William Hague’s sideswipe at Alan Duncan

By Mark Pack | Tue 2nd June 2009 - 8:01 pm

Over at ConservativeHome they’ve got an interview with William Hague, in which he makes this comment about Have I Got News For You:

I took the view that appearing on it is not compatible with being on the Front Bench.

Now, who’s recently appeared on that show? His fellow Conservative front bencher, Alan Duncan. Oops.

Or maybe not so oops, given the frequent political chatter that Alan Duncan won’t make it into any future Conservative Cabinet, his little expenses problem, his forgetfulness when it comes to policy ideas, his secret funding controversy and his donation from a …

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Posted in News | Tagged alan duncan, ConservativeHome and william hague | Leave a comment

Lib Dem MPs to vote for an early general election

By Mark Pack | Tue 2nd June 2009 - 7:50 pm

From the Coffee House blog:

The SNP and Plaid Cymru are tabling a motion calling for the dissolution of Parliament, and it will get debated in the House next Wednesday afternoon. The Lib Dems have come out in support of it, and William Hague has said that the Tories will too.

Posted in News | 9 Comments

One of the very best Conservative leaflets ever

By Mark Pack | Tue 2nd June 2009 - 4:41 pm

Feeling tired as we near the end of a hectic campaign? Well, here’s something to bring a smile to your face. Quite simply, one of the very best Conservative leaflets ever (though it’s headline isn’t in this class). It’s from 2000 I believe:

(Click on thumbnail for larger version.)

Posted in Humour and News | Tagged local elections | 7 Comments