The latest Lib Dem Voice Podcast is an account of the Grosvenor Square to Trafalgar Square march, including a group interview with Chris Huhne, Simon Hughes, Ed Davey and Jo Swinson.
If you want to skip my guff, and jump straight to the interview it’s at 4:51 in.
This is my first serious attempt at Podcasting – so please be vicious in your criticism, and tell me bluntly what’s hot and what’s not!
You can find out more about the Lib Dem Green Tax Switch at www.greentaxswitch.com
After what looks like a recount, the 30 places on the party’s interim peers panel – the pool from which the party leader is expected to make most of his appointments to the House of Lords – have been filled. Once again, the 34 stages of surpluses and exclusions are detailed on Colin Rosenstiel’s site. Below is a list of those elected.
Thanks to Tim Prater for giving us a link to the new South East Regional Executive.
If other members attending regional conferences would like us to bring your new execs to wider notice, just e-mail [email protected], or post names / links in the comments.
The votes are in and the results are out for the federal committee elections (the interim peers panel result is still to come). Congratulations to the winners and commiserations to the losers, and thanks to Colin Rosenstiel for his sterling work getting the votes counted today. You can see the transfers, surpluses, exclusions and all manner of tables to please STV geeks at Colin’s site, but here is a list of the winners for the rest of us.
Podcast coming soon, just as soon as:
When the Podcast does come, it contains a nice interview with Chris Huhne, Jo Swinson, Ed Davey and Simon Hughes.
Then, given a choice between interviewing my fellow grass roots members to capture their thoughts in the cold, or retiring to …
The Liberal Democrats have published new research showing which areas of Britain emit the most carbon dioxide. The data has been released to coincide with the Stop Climate Chaos march and rally in Central London tomorrow.
You can see more here.
Do come along to the march if you can – there seem to be two choices. You can either:
…
A big victory in Tory-dominated Havant Borough Council last night where LibDem Faith Ponsonby took the Battins council seat from the Conservatives with a three-figure majority. That takes the LibDem group back up to four; we are defending another vacant seat on the 30th. In Stratford upon Avon, however, the result was the other way round with the Kineton ward seat we were defending falling to the Tories in a straight fight with no Labour candidate.
Two seats were up for election in Warminster, for West Wiltshire District Council and Wiltshire County Council following the resignation of the independent councillor …
If you were as hacked off as I was that last night’s Question Time had three Conservatives on it, do take the time to send in a complaint to the BBC.
Menzies Campbell did a good job on the panel, but both he and Charles Clarke were largely drowned out by Heseltine, Platell and the increasingly barmy Hitchens – a very unbalanced programme, even under David Dimbleby’s stewardship.
As happens on all blogs, there’s been a collective bout of grumpiness in the past few days in the comments.
I’ve just gone through the blog and deleted the variously abusive, rude, and fundamentally pointless messages.
Please think before you post comments, it’s not in anyone’s best interests that comment pre-moderation gets switched on, or that I have to force people to register before they can comment.
Visitors should note that even when you’re posting anonymously, the site records your IP address – so if you post under your own name one minute, and then post some abuse “anonymously” five minutes later, I know exactly who did it, …
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.
Iain Dale has pointed out an interesting exchange in Westminster Hall on Monday.
Mr. O’Brien: It has been reported to me, although the hon. Lady (Sandra Gidley) might want to suggest that it is a misquote, that at the last Liberal Democrat conference—amazingly, I was not there—the hon. Lady called her party’s policy of free personal care “dishonest”, because people thought that their accommodation costs would also be paid for, which is certainly not the case.
…
Sandra Gidley: The hon. Gentleman has quoted me correctly. I think that we should have been more open about what our policy did. That is …
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.
From reading Lib Dem blogs like Alex’s and Will’s, you might think that there are a lot of Dr Who fans amongst the Liberal Democrats – and indeed, the Brigadier himself has been a leaflet deliverer for Lynne Featherstone.
However, I’ve been perusing the lists of what people have purchased through the party’s affinity deal with Amazon (the party doesn’t get to see individual orders, but we do get overall sales totals).
Amongst DVD purchases, the most popular TV shows have been:
1. West Wing
2. Sherlock Holmes
3. 24
4. Star Trek
5. Inspector Morse
Not a Doctor in sight.
(And a reminder about …
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 …
In the event that the Electoral Commission, more than a year and a half after Michael Brown’s £2.4m donations were received, DO decide they must be repaid, then it seems likely following Menzies Campbell’s performance on Sunday A.M. this week that the party will appeal the accompanying court order.
The Times reports that the party is making arrangements to create a fund to help fight any such appeal.
One interesting line from the story: “The Lib Dem leader is privately furious with his predecessor for leaving the party with the damaging saga.” Clearly not that privately, as it’s …
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 …
Word reaches The Voice that the party has taken out bookings for press conference venues for a general election next year…
…which basically means, as they’re putting their money where their mouth is, that Cowley Street really think it’s a possibility.
This week we’ve added Tessa Munt in Wells, and others, to our list of PPCs standing in the next election. Know someone who’s missing? e-mail [email protected]
The following seats have recently announced they are seeking Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (people to run as the Lib Dem candidate for MP at the next General Election).
We list the constituency name, application closing date, and the contact details of the Returning Officer, whom you should contact for an application form.
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:
The 2010 local elections in Lewisham could be held under a system of proportional representation following widespread support to a Liberal Democrat proposal at a recent Council meeting.
Proposing the motion Cllr Mark Morris said “Lewisham Council have volunteered for various pilot schemes at previous elections, now that Scotland have agreed to fight next years local election by a fairer system, Lewisham should lead the way in England.”
The motion which had cross- party support agreed noted that the Scottish local elections were being fought by single transferable vote (STV) and called for the …
The main UK environmental campaign organisations have declared 4 November – on the eve of crucial climate change talks in Nairobi, Kenya – as a day of action. Thousands of people will be flocking to central London to join a march, rallies and festivities.
Play the video above to watch Chris Huhne speaking about the climate change march, and then sign up to tell the Lib Dem group organisers that you’re coming.
Today we’re launching our list of PPCs selected to fight the next election. The welcome recent news that Alison Smith has been selected to stand in Oldham East, a potential top target seat in the next election brings our initial list to 25. Who’s missing? E-mail me with details of candidates who have been selected.
Candidate selection is proceeding at a snail’s pace. Are selections being held up in your area for reasons within the party’s control? Please e-mail me the details. Senior figures in the regions are closing ranks and giving Lib Dem Voice the silent treatment – …
Britain’s Parliament was thrown in to chaos yesterday when three opposition MPs, taking the opportunity of being caught on television, launched in to an impromptu application to join the next series of hit BBC 1 series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
Conservative spokespersons Alan Duncan, George Osbourne and Oliver Letwin brought Prime Ministers Questions to a halt with an acapella rendition of “Hello, Dolly!” (pictured), before Sir Patrick Cormack produced a snare drum and led the trio in a performance of “The very model of a modern major general” from the Pirates of Penzance.
Rumours
…
The Government’s new proposals for local government sound like decentralisation. Councils will get the power to create their own by-laws, and public services will get more scrutiny from the public.
But on closer inspection, it’s the sort of decentralisation one would expect from Labour. Without a reform of local government finance, Westminster still plays the tune as it pays the piper. The by-laws are spun as a new way to fine people for anti-social behaviour, as if Labour haven’t realised that enacting more and more laws is not as effective a way to curb crime as better policing of the laws we have.
The party has announced today that Steve Webb will lead the group writing our next election manifesto.
Steve has pledged to use online consultation to engage as many activists as possible in the process, and according to the Guardian “He hopes that as many as half of the party’s 70,000 members will help to feed in ideas.”
Steve has told the Guardian: “There was a feeling that there was a lot of good policy in our manifesto, but it didn’t tell a story about the kind of party we are and the sort of society we want.”
At …
As Rob doesn’t do polls, I guess I better point out that today’s Guardian ICM poll makes the Lib Dems the most trusted party to run the NHS.
The net party ratings are:
+36 Lib Dem
+31 Labour
+30 Conservative
(Trust “a lot” or “a little” minus “do not trust at all”)
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