URGENT ISSUE TOPIC SELECTED

The topic for the ‘urgent issue’ discussion at Harrogate this weekend will be gun crime. It will be at 17:10 on Saturday. This topic was chosen by Federal Conference Committee and Federal Policy Committee officers, from a wide range of issues submitted by conference reps, and will give conference-goers a chance to take part in a broad-ranging discussion on this highly topical issue

TRIDENT DEBATE
The debate on Trident takes place on Saturday morning. It is scheduled to start at 11:10, but we will bring the start time forward if we can, as we anticipate a large number of …

Jonathan Isaby has dug up a nice project of Mark Oaten’s – a book examining governing coalitions past, and future.  Sounds like an interesting project. (Shame he was researching it in Portcullis House when he should’ve been representing his constituents.)

Sky News is reporting that UKIP has rejected a local election candidate – the candidate is saying he was rejected because he is disabled.

UPDATE: A red-faced Nigel Farage is saying that they stopped him being a “priority” candidate as he couldn’t knock on doors or deliver leaflets, but he’s welcome to stand as a paper candidate. He also claims that the candidate, 65 year old Jack Biggs has attempted to “blackmail” the party.

Stephen Tall has been receiving crank calls from Rory Bremner claiming to be Nick Harvey MP (that’s how political phone calls work these days isn’t it?)

Text of motion below, article to follow in a couple of hours:

Amendment 1

Insert a new item (ix): “Notes that Britain’s current nuclear weapons system is dependent on the United States for technical and operational support and that dependency will remain if any replacement is based on the Trident missile system.”

Delete Article (C) and renumber accordingly

Article 3. – delete from ‘nuclear systems’ to end and replace with “with our European Union partners, in particular France, with the intent of securing a powerful and coherent European voice within NATO, subject to the constraints on such co-operation imposed …

Yesterday, former BBC Man Martin Belam wrote about the Daily Mail’s distortion of an NSPCC report.  Having then commented on the story on their website, he got quite a shock:

This is what they published:

If you actually read the report ChildLine issued, it does not say that suicidal five year olds called ChildLine. It says that there were 42 phone calls by children between the ages of 5 AND 11. The other 96% of suicidal calls were by children 12 and over – which whilst it is still very sad.
– Martin Belam, Salzburg, Austria

Sadly, I appear to trail off mid-sentence.

…

Nick Harvey tomorrow at 7am, and the Lib Dem European Group the day after.

£16k, so would suit someone starting out in politics and looking to get on the ladder.  Applications close tomorrow, to apply send a CV and covering letter to Neil Trafford.

Position is full time, working with PPC Alison Smith, along with the local party and the local council group.  Key skills: literature production, volunteer co-ordination, events organisation and press.

Just a curiosity – it’s probably nothing…

Every week at PMQs the PM answers his first question “Mr Speaker sir, this morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the house I will have further such meetings later today”

Today, he tripped over the sentence and said “Mr Speaker sir… I had meetings with ministerial” etc, omitting to say ‘this morning’.  Ruther Turner was questioned again by the police yesterday. Was the PM questioned this morning?

Press release from Burnley Lib Dems:

A sixteen percent swing to the Liberal Democrats saw local campaigner Allen Harris elected Councillor for the Brunshaw Ward in a Burnley Borough Council by-election last night.

Allen and the Liberal Democrats comfortably beat the British National Party for the former Labour seat. The BNP vote dropped from their May 2006 total – the last time they fought the Brunshaw seat.

Allen Harris’ win confirmed the Liberal Democrats in their leadership of Burnley Borough Council, which they took up following last year’s local elections, after many years of Labour rule in the town.