Welcome to this week’s fun-packed Something for the Weekend, looking back over the last week from a Liberal Democrat perspective with a squint glint in our eye.
Storming out of the Something for the Weekend chamber today: two by-elections in Louth; more from HMRC; witches, prostitutes and charlatans; and more!
» Good Week
It’s been a good week for Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary Ed Davey. He gained headlines and coverage for the Liberal Democrats’ position on the European Union referendum by standing up against what Nick Clegg called “clapped-out 19th century procedures” and leading a walkout of Liberal Democrat MPs.
He also gave an interview to a group of bloggers, one account of which can be read on Millennium Elephant’s blog.
» Bad Week
It’s been a bad week for market-dominating software company Microsoft, which was fined £681m by the European Commission for “defying sanctions imposed on it for anti-competitive behaviour”.
Microsoft lost its appeal against the original 2004 ruling last September.
» Also in the news
Mark Boyle, who planned to walk from Britiain to India without any money, relying on the kindness of strangers, was scuppered when he reached Calais because he can’t speak French.
Pakistan has restored access to YouTube. The country had attempted to restrict the site due to “blasphemous” content.
Robert Mugabe strikes almost as low as some Labour party campaign literature, calling opposition politicians “witches, prostitutes and charlatans”.
And The Sun helps us lower the tone with the headline OAP admits goat sex bid.
» When did HM last send no telegrams?
Each day, the Queen sends around 20 birthday messages to people turning 100. But which was the last day on which there no recipients at all?
The answer is eight years ago, on 29th February 2000. No-one turned 100 on that day because there was no 29th February 1900. (Hat-tip.)
» Who runs Wales?
If you know that Wales is governed by a Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition, you’re doing better than 60% of the Welsh population, according to a BBC Wales poll.
26% of those polled believed that Labour still ran Wales alone, and 10% thought they were still in coalition with us. 3% believe that Wales is run by the Liberal Democrats alone – a particular success for our “Liberal Democrats Winning Here” message.
» Fun on the web
Two amusing websites spotted by Lib Dem bloggers.
Mary Reid points us to the somewhat unhelpful HMRC website, that answers the question “What to do if you suspect or discover fraud”:
Bridget Fox meanwhile has found an unusual job title advertised by Manchester City Council:
While we’re on the subject of websites, we must return briefly to the increasingly long-running saga of the Boroughs section of Boris Johnson’s mayoral campaign website. Regular readers will know that in early January this section was “To be launched on 14 January” and since then has been due “later this month”. Today?
To be launched later this month
At least Boris is consistent.
» The first female Liberal MP
Pop fact: the first woman to sit for the Liberals in the House of Commons (and the second woman to take her seat) was Margaret Wintringham. She succeeded her husband Thomas Wintringham after his death, winning the 1921 Louth by-election with a majority of 791. Thomas himself had only been elected in a by-election a year earlier.
You can see a photo of Margaret on the National Portrait Gallery website.
» Facebook groups of the week
Earthquake groups have sprung up in the light of the week’s sudden tremor. I survived the great Leeds earth[quake|tremor] 27/02/2008 01:00ish on the Leeds network has 28 members; I survived the Quake! has 62 members; and I felt the earth move early on Wed 27 February has 85 members. I survived the febuary 2008 earthquake! is significantly in the lead, boasting 7,178 members.
A fairly steep challenge is set by the group Can we find 1 MILLION people that DO want smoking back in pubs?, which has made it 8% of the way; the rival Can we find 1 MILLION people that DON’T want smoking back in pubs? is leading, 13% of the way towards its target.
If David Cameron paid me £500,000, I STILL wouldn’t be his friend, apparently set up by the National Secretary of Labour Students, lampoons the Tories’ recruitment drive.
And if you’re looking for something to support on Facebook, why not become a fan of a fan?
» Coming up
Lynne Featherstone will be on tonight’s edition of The Westminster House from 10pm on BBC Radio 4.
Shirley Williams is due to appear on Thursday’s Question Time (which could be interesting), and Chris Huhne will be on Friday’s Any Questions?. PMQs is on Wednesday at 12pm.
» And finally…
Apropos of nothing, a short clip from Armstrong & Miller, with apologies to those in the profession.
* Something for next weekend, live from Liverpool? Drop us a line at [email protected]
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4 Comments
So considering 88% of the people want a refeendum, and supposedly Nick Clegg wants one too ( funny how politicians always change their minds when they are in a position to do something) What side of the fence will the lib dems be on ? And though he wants a vote what will the actual question be or will it be a fudged one ? Because the direct question most of us want , is do you want in or out of a european superstate and for the UK and namely England to be independent again, I can not see this being asked.
Oh wake up, Graham! It’s not a week since almost the entire Lib Dem parliamentary contingent walked out of the Commons because they weren’t allowed to debate EXACTLY the question you pose. It’s the Tories who are going for the half measure of a referendum on just the treaty rather than the whole membership.
What we’ll be forced to do now as a result of having our question – which unites Europhiles and Eurosceptics, for god’s sake, how often does that happen? – rejected by the cosy Commons Con-Lab club, I’ve no idea.
The Queen no longer sends telegrams IIRC. Probably because there’s now no telegram service or something. At least its not been replaced by an email 😉
And if you go by Microsoft Excel, there was a 29th Feb 1900. Its a ‘feature’ they even tried to include in some new standards until IBM put their foot down and told MS that they were being stupid.
Alix,
I am wide awake, have to be or work would sack me. But I am ever so synical when it comes to politicians.
In 1997 I was a foot soldier for the referendum party which canvassed at least 1 million votes in that election, and on several unanswered lettered occasion wrote to the then Conservative party HQ saying why not simply go into this election promising a referendum on Europe it would win you a million votes and would have stopped much of the blood bath which happened.
A lot of the people like myself who follow the nationailst parties are crying out for a party which would stand up and take this county out of the european superstate function.
It is all well and good saying the lib dems walked out in protest… what did it achieve? and if you do get a vote, you all represent the pro euro vote anyway. Which rides in the face of most of the nation.
What we do need in this country is a non xenophobic party , but which puts the country inhabitants before the rest of the world and insures we are all provided for before giving away ourselves to others who just hold their hands out. And out of the european superstate…
This can be proven by the votes cast for UKIP and BNP in euro and local elections.. the votes they get could be given to any party that could disown its own need to be part of the gravy train and actually put the country first.