It’s very common to see local councils advertising in local newspapers, and they are often one of the main sources of advertising revenue for the local press. That can cause conflicts over whether there is improper influence at work and also over whether councils should shift money elsewhere, risking plunging the local press into enforced cutbacks in its news coverage as income shrinks.
But there is another question, which is whether many of the adverts are any good – especially those which are text heavy and laden with legal terms required by law. That’s the case that Bristol Council’s Peter Holt …
I’ve talked before about how slow and steady progress is usually the way to successful online politics (as in The secret to getting 1,000 ward residents to follow you on Twitter), but slow and steady progress often runs into a problem: where do you get the content from?
Whether it’s building up an email list, getting a decent readership for your blog or accumulating a good network of residents on Facebook, as you steadily build up towards large audiences you need a regular supply of content, and all the more so once you have got your large audience. Being seen …
Writing on Comment Is Free on Sunday, Professor Richard Grayson warns Liberal Democrats in government against ignoring the calls of party members to re-think elements of the planned NHS changes.
Here’s a sample of what he had to say:
If the Liberal Democrat leadership is wise (and they have said that they want to listen to the party), it will now act to the advantage of both the party and the NHS. Unless the leadership actually agrees with the reforms, why continue to support them now that they have such an opportunity to amend them significantly? The party leadership must tell the
It’s hardly surprising that Charles Kennedy and Ed Miliband would be appearing together to promote electoral reform. Kennedy has long been a supporter of electoral reform and by virtue of not being in government is seen by many in Labour as an easier figure to campaign alongside (even though one of Kennedy’s first acts on becoming party leader was to end the party’s then work in government with Labour). Ed Milband in turn is the author of Labour’s general election manifesto which not only pledged a referendum but also called for a change in the electoral system to follow from …
On Saturday I gave a guarantee to every party member that I, along with other Liberal Democrat members of the Government would listen to every word that you had to say. I completely stand by that. If there are ways in which we can amend the Health and Social Care Bill then we will work to do it. But what we won’t do is to allow our Spring Conference to be hijacked and used as a political tool by Labour. And that’s exactly what they tried to do today.
Today was one of Labour’s designated days in Parliament when they are …
Yesterday the Government published its draft Defamation Bill. This consisted not only of draft clauses but also a formal consultation on some key issues not included (yet).
This evening Labour leader Ed Miliband will urge his party and the public to say yes to fairer votes in this coming May’s referendum.
All of us in favour of electoral reform, and a voting system that puts more power back in the hands of the people, should welcome his personal backing for the alternative vote. Ed, at least, is staying true to what Labour’s 2010 general election manifesto pledged, specifically:
To ensure that every MP is supported by the majority of their constituents voting at each election, we will hold a referendum on introducing the Alternative Vote for elections
The Independent on Sunday carried an interview with former leader of the Liberal Democrats Paddy Ashdown. Among topics covered are his upcoming book on the Special Boat Service (in which he served), his 7oth birthday, the coalition, the MOD and the situation in Libya.
Here’s an extract from the piece:
“Being a party in government requires a completely different approach but I am astonished at the maturity that, by and large, the party has taken to that. There are some who still want to live in the cloud cuckoo, never-neverland of opposition. I have always said there is no point being
The Electoral Commission has just published copies of the booklets it will be distributing to every household in the UK as part of its public information campaign for May’s AV referendum.
In addition to the England, Scotland and Wales booklets below, there are also versions for Northern Ireland and in Welsh. Both of these, along with details of the research the Electoral Commission carried out in putting the booklets together, are on the Electoral Commission website.
Over the last few months, I’ve read (and mostly reviewed on this site) all the books I’ve found published so far about the 2010 general election and the subsequent coalition negotiations, not to mention a fair number about the political events leading up to the general election over the preceding years.
I’ve yet to read a book that is really bad, although many do have very similar content to each other. A few gems either have original content or present that common ground in particularly strong ways. So based on that here are my top four recommended books about the British …
Over on the Guardian’s Comment Is Free site, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has penned a piece to coincide with the government’s publication of a draft Defamation Bill, which proposes significant changes to Britain’s libel laws.
Here’s some of what he has to say:
London is the number one destination for libel tourism, where foreign claimants bring cases against foreign defendants to our courts – even when the connection with England is tenuous at best. It is a farce that has prompted Barack Obama to legislate to protect his citizens from rulings in our courts.
Sometimes a blog post that is nearly all just a long list of village names can be extremely effective, as Paul Walter demonstrated.
Gary Hunt has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of Leicester…
… and former Liberal Democrat candidate Vincent McKee, who has been at the centre of allegations of fraud, has been required to repay £1,000 according to the Coventry Telegraph.
Earlier today, the government published its draft Libel Reform Bill. It’s an issue that Liberal Democrats, along with many others, have been campaigning on for a few years now and one on which Lib Dem minister at the Ministry of Justice Tom McNally has said his reputation should be judged on.
So it is good news for both our freedoms and Tom’s reputation that the Bill published today proposes major reforms and has met with a warm response, including:
Major changes to Britain’s antiquated defamation laws will be outlined by ministers today with the publication of a bill to provide greater
Last night, Nick Radford — who stood for the Lib Dems in Salisbury at the 2010 general election — announced on his blog he would not be standing again, that he ‘finally felt comfortable describing myself as a “ex-politician”‘.
Before the media gets in too much of a lather (I can already see the headlines: “Top Lib Dem quits”, “Fresh blow to Clegg”, etc, yawn), Nick’s reasons are personal and varied — and as it happens, disagreements with the Coalition are the least of his issues: ‘this isn’t because of the disastrous press that the party has received since …
We reported back in December how UNISON was facing a fine for breaking election law. The trade union had completely failed to submit details of their general election expenditure within the legal deadline.
UNISON has now submitted its spending declaration several months late, but in a quirky twist of the law has not yet been fined by the Electoral Commission – because its return is still missing the signature of the ‘responsible person’. Assuming UNISON manage to get the piece of paper finally signed before 5 May (six months after the 5 November deadline), the fine required by law is …
In 1984 a young aeronautical engineer called Al-Sadek Hamed Al-Shuwehdy,an opponent of Muammar Gaddafi, was hanged in a basketball stadium in Benghazi. As he hung from the rope dying, he was grabbed round his legs and dragged down until he stopped moving by a brutal young woman called Huda Ben Amer. Ben Amer was appointed Mayor of Benghazi, and went on to terrorise the people Benghazi for the decades since. She escaped the Benghazi uprising, and is waiting to return if the Libyan army retake control in the next few days.
Continuing my occasional series on how election leaflets used to look, this one is a Labour freepost election address from the 1955 general election in Clapham constituency.
The front of the leaflet is a design unlikely to be used today:
Dated too is the right-hand side of the inside, with its appeal from the candidate’s wife to female voters – a common tactic at the time. Despite the old-fashioned typography, the layout is clear and easy to read …
Understandably the question of diversity amongst Parliamentarians gets a lot of attention in political parties, with it being the subject of another conference debate at Sheffield, but it’s by no means the only the area subject to such debate.
Diversity in Britain’s boardrooms may not have moved very far up the political agenda yet, but it is the subject of regular debate in business circles – with the Financial Times and Evening Standard in particular both regularly running pieces from contributors concerned about the topic.
It’s a subject the Evening Standard columnist Chris Blackhurst turned to this week. Here’s what …
Lib Dems thwart Tory hopes of human rights convention withdrawal
Decision will infuriate Tory rightwingers unhappy at what they believe is Strasbourg judges’ interference in UK rights
Those seeking a fairer voting system may be rather more dismayed if the Guardian is correct that there are difficulties getting Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg working together in support of the referendum. Political rivalry over other issues should not prevent all supporters of reform from campaigning for a cause on which they agree. Lessons should be learned from the Scottish referendum in 1997
Lynne Featherstone, Minister for Equalities, has launched Charter for Action – a set of principles to help stamp out homophobia and transphobia in sport and make sport a welcoming environment for LGBT people.
A groundbreaking gay sports charter which will invite national governing bodies of sports to commit to tackling homophobia was launched yesterday.
The announcement was made by Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone as she attended the Sheffield Eagles rugby league game – a match against Widnes Vikings which saw players take a stand against homophobia by wearing specially made kits bearing the slogan ‘Homophobia: Tackle
The next big event comes very soon and is nothing to do with the Liberal Democrats or the coalition per se – it’s the BMA’s Special Representative Meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) which they say “will form a key part of our activities to step up member engagement and lobbying”. I suspect it will also get a lot more publicity than the Liberal Democrat conference did.
There are some outrider motions of no confidence in Andrew Lansley and calls for “industrial action” which will result in a lot of press noise and no action, but there seems little doubt that the meeting …
In the Financial Times, Paddy Ashdown (former High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and former Leader of the Liberal Democrats) calls for a no-fly zone in Libya:
It is difficult not to feel a wearisome sense of déjà vu watching European leaders on Friday saying something needed to be done in Libya, but failing completely to say what.
Libya is not our backyard. But what happens there and in the other countries of the Maghreb matters to us Europeans very much. If those who have overturned dictatorships in Tunisia and Egypt (and hopefully Libya) in this “Arab spring” can create effective,
David Owen chose the weekend of the Lib Dem Conference to offer his advice for the AV referendum. Having attacked the ‘First Past the Post’ voting system so vociferously for many years, it may seem odd to some people that he now urges support for this system on May 5th. He says that he hopes for a referendum with an option of a Proportional Representation system instead.
Almost all those people who have consistently supported the cause of electoral reform for much longer than he has take a different view. It is very clear that voting against change on May …
Lord Hanningfield, a Conservative Peer, will appear in court charged with falsely claiming accommodation expenses.
Hanningfield, along with Labour MPs Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine, had originally tried to avoid trial, claiming parliamentary privilege. Chaytor was jailed in January, while Devine is awaiting sentencing. Morley is also due to stand trial.
1. What’s your formative political memory?
My first memory was a mock election at my primary school during the 1979 general election when I was one of about four people to vote Liberal. My most abiding memory is of David Penhaligon driving me home after a party fundraising event in about 1983. I only lived about 100 yards from the venue but he insisted on driving a group of youngsters to their various homes and dropped me off last. During the half hour or so that it took we had a great chat about all things political and he became my political hero.
2. When did you start blogging?
I had a couple of abortive attempts but started properly in February 2008.
3. Why did you start blogging?
I wanted to write about a combination of local and national politics as well as my own interests of football, rugby and horse racing. I also thought it would be a good way of getting across to a range of people who don’t read leaflets pushed through their doors and I had it in mind to stand for election to Cornwall Council (the election took place in June 2009). Since then the local politics has taken over and it’s regrettably rare I write about much else.
4. What five words would you use to describe your blog?
Robust, local, argumentative, frequent, did I mention local?
5. What five words would you use to describe your political views?
See above.
6. Which post have you most liked writing in the last year (and why)?
Probably the one about our council leader drinking in Downing Street on a Monday evening and then saying he had flu the next day when we had a full council. All brought about because I spotted him in the background of a photo on ConHome.
7. Which post have you most liked reading in the last year (and why)?
I’m terrible about not reading very many other blogs, particularly those by fellow Lib Dems. But I like reading a good rant – particularly if it’s one attacking Ryanair.
Any voter can apply for a postal (or proxy) vote in the usual way for May’s elections, including the AV referendum. However, people who have previously applied for a permanent postal vote may also be entitled to one without having to re-apply.
There are three categories:
1. People who have a permanent postal vote for a UK Parliamentary election – they will get a referendum postal vote too.
2. People who have a permanent postal vote for a local election and are on the register for somewhere that is holding an election in May – they will get a referendum postal vote too …
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 212th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere … Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (6th March – 12th March, 2011), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed.
Don’t forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging.
As ever, let’s start with the most popular post, and work our way down:
Here is a full podcast of our fringe last night, “Who controls the internet?”
Libel law reform campaigner and former MP Evan Harris, website pioneer Mary Reid, James Blessing of the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) and Jim Killock of the digital rights champions Open Rights Group debate recent issues about free speech and the internet with chair Mark Pack.
Chloe 'What is our offer to Leicester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham and Newcastle, to name but a few'
By the sound of it , rejoin the EU and we'll be the land o...
Mick Taylor There have been too few facts and far too much speculation. I do think we should be told exactly what has happened and why. Attempts to cast aspersions on indiv...
Mohammed Amin I agree.
Whenever I speak or write about Israel & Palestine, I am immensely careful about the words I use....
Iain Brodie Browne There is far too little talk of spreading wealth. Anyone interested in just how radical the party was should check out David Steel's essay in his book Partners ...
Miranda Pinch Simon Lytton. Thanks for pointing out the issue with the expense of going to conferences. I have given up on York and Brighton is now so expensive and shabby. B...
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An interview with Bodhana Sivanandan, the youngest woman grandmaster of all time
Does money buy votes?
Inside the refurbished library
Is the Labour government split on immigration?
Chloe
Mick Taylor
Mohammed Amin
Iain Brodie Browne
Miranda Pinch