Tag Archives: john thurso

The Voice

And the new Lib Dem peer is…

By The Voice | Tue 19th April 2016 - 5:28 pm

John Thurso…Despite failing to submit a manifesto
…Despite one of his opponents submitting a manifesto with the word “cupidity” in it
…the new Lib Dem peer is the old Lib Dem Peer and former MP John Thurso.

He won the strangest by-election ever, the election of another Liberal Democrat hereditary peer to replace Eric Avebury who sadly died in February.

There was an electorate of 3 to choose between a field of 7.

We don’t need the full STV rundown because all 3 of the electors voted for Lord Thurso.

The BBC has more information:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged | 22 Comments
Caron Lindsay

Hirsute “Hipster” Huppert, the Hashtag King, wins Parliamentary Beard of the Year with John Thurso in third place

By Caron Lindsay | Sat 14th December 2013 - 1:29 pm

huppert_caption compA couple of weeks ago, we brought you the news that Cambridge MP Julian Huppert had made the shortlist for Parliamentary Beard of the Year, a competition organised by The Beard Liberation Front. That’s an organisation that has always struck me as weird. If you liberate a beard, aren’t you left with a clean shaven face? Oh well, never mind.

Today it was announced that our Julian has won with 46% of the vote with Jeremy Corbyn coming in second place and another Liberal Democrat MP, John Thurso, coming third.

And he celebrated in style, inventing the hashtag of the year in the process.

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , and | 2 Comments
Newsmoggie

“Hipster” Huppert and Thurso make Parliamentary Beard of the Year shortlist

By Newsmoggie | Sat 30th November 2013 - 11:58 am

Julian Huppert, Lib Dem PPC for CambridgeJohn ThursoThe Liberal Democrats have 2 entrants in this year’s Parliamentary Beard of the Year shortlist.

Julian Huppert is described as the “rising star of hirsuteness”:

University lecturer. One of the few people in the Commons who has a clue about science. Supporter of real ale pubs. We’d be dissapointed if the MP for Cambridge didn’t have facial hair.

Flett tells us: “The Lib Dems have got the rising star of hirsuteness in Julian Huppert – it’s a

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged and | 1 Comment
Caron Lindsay

Lib Dems secure £35 million extra funds to help those affected by Bedroom Tax

By Caron Lindsay | Tue 30th July 2013 - 2:49 pm

The arguments over the so-called Bedroom Tax have been rehearsed on this site on many occasions and it’s been in the news today, with the judgement that it does not discriminate against disabled people.

The Department of Work and Pensions has separately announced extra money to help those worst affected. This will be given to Councils to give to those most in need. I understand that ministers did consider further exemptions but felt that it was fairer to allow councils to make the decisions because they were dealing directly with the tenants concerned and knew more about their circumstances.

The extra …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | 24 Comments
Stephen Tall

In other news… Thurso on banking, Ward on immigration, Swales on G4S & other stories

By Stephen Tall | Sun 15th July 2012 - 5:25 pm

Here’s a round-up of stories we haven’t had time to cover on the site this past few days…

John Thurso MP to lead banking inquiry (John O’Groat Journal)

CAITHNESS, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP John Thurso has been elected to lead an inquiry into how the banking system is run. The Lib Dem politician has been chosen as one of five representatives who will

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and | Leave a comment
Paul Walter

PMQs: Penguin in the menage à trois

By Paul Walter | Fri 9th December 2011 - 10:45 am

The first big subject at Prime Minister’s Questions this week was Europe. Tory MP Andrew Rosindell asked if David Cameron would show “bulldog spirit” at the forthcoming summit. Later, similar points came from various Tory Eurosceptic MPs, including the Father of the House, Sir Peter Tapsell. He is always heard with great respect, despite his long-winded, rather pompous and, in this case, halting mini-speeches which have barely inquisitive constructions stuck on the end of them.

Ed Miliband started on Europe as well, asking if Cameron would fulfil his promise that treaty change might give the opportunity to “repatriate powers”. The Prime …

Continue reading »
Posted in PMQs | Also tagged , , , , and | 4 Comments
Paul Walter

PMQs: Bits start to fall off Cameron’s wagon

By Paul Walter | Wed 22nd June 2011 - 7:53 pm

After last week’s Miliband success at Prime Minister’s Questions, this time we started off with Ed Miliband in softly softly mode. He asked about Libya and the service chiefs’ concern about an extended campaign. Displaying a becoming measure of gravitas, he also asked whether the defence review should be revisited in the light of the “Arab Spring” which William Hague has described as more important than 9-11. That’s a good question given that the review didn’t mention Libya, Tunisia or Egypt.

David Cameron said he has been assured by the military grand fromage that we could keep the campaign going as …

Continue reading »
Posted in Parliament and PMQs | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , and | 9 Comments
Mark Pack

Lords reform: the Liberal Democrat trio announced

By Mark Pack | Mon 6th June 2011 - 7:23 am

Over the weekend Mark Valladares blogged about the three Liberal Democrats being appointed to the Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny committee on Lords reform:

From the Lords, representing the constitutional wonk tendency (in a good way), Lord Tyler is the first of the two nominees. Paul has been leading calls for a complete overhaul of the Second Chamber for a very long time and is one of the Party’s foremost constitutional experts…

From the Commons, that rather unusual beast, a former member of the House of Lords, John Thurso. As he has already been abolished once,

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , , , , and | 12 Comments
Helen Duffett

LibLink: Moving house – the John Thurso story

By Helen Duffett | Wed 23rd February 2011 - 2:25 pm

BBC Politics yesterday profiled the life of John Archibald Sinclair, 3rd Viscount Thurso – better known as John Thurso, the MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross:

John Thurso has spent a decade as an MP, but still regards himself as “an entirely accidental politician”.

Living in the “ruins” of his family castle in the northernmost part of Scotland, he might appear a gentleman amateur in the careerist world of Westminster.

Yet politics is in the blood of this grandson of former Liberal leader Sir Archibald Sinclair.

Mr Thurso, the 57-year-old Lib Dem MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, was the first

…

Continue reading »
Posted in LibLink | Also tagged and | 5 Comments
The Voice

Lib Dems launch ‘Enterprise in a fair society’ plans to boost business

By The Voice | Thu 1st April 2010 - 11:00 am

Want to know what the Lib Dems will do to boost the enterprise culture here in the UK? Well, Nick Clegg and shadow business secretary John Thurso this week launched their programme in keeping with the party’s campaign emphasis on fairness, Enterprise in a fair society.

Here’s the party’s news release announcing the programe …

The proposals include:

    * Restoring a public interest test for regulatory authorities to consider when takeovers are proposed and changing the rules on which shareholders can vote on takeover proposals

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 2 Comments
Philip Young

What the papers say…

By Philip Young | Sun 13th December 2009 - 10:05 am

Over at the Daily Mail, is the shine coming off Brand Cameron, or, is this just a kick up the pants? First comes the big slap…then the boot, with a stiletto heel.

Daily Mail, leader-column, 12.12.09:

“At a time like this, it’s madness to ring-fence any budget at the expense of the rest. Even sacred cows can be hugely overweight.  Since 1977, billions have been poured into health and education, without the improvements in standards we’d expect.

“How can Mr. Darling claim there’s no scope for cuts in the NHS, on the day we learn it is spending £1 …

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , and | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

Liberal Democrats back campaign to free our postcodes

By Mark Pack | Wed 25th November 2009 - 8:51 am

Welcome news from the blog of Lynne Featherstone (who, apart from being a LibDem MP, is also chair of the party’s Technology Advisory Board):

We need postcodes to be owned by the public – not sold to the public. Postcodes are the basic pre-requisite for allowing services to be developed that support democratic accountability.

It’s an important issue because the Royal Mail’s decision to take a hard line in enforcing its legal rights means a range of useful public services – including ones to help unemployed people find jobs and to help residents hear about planning applications near them – have …

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Party policy and internal matters | Also tagged , , , and | 10 Comments
Stephen Tall

Jenny Randerson: Wales should have its own stock exchange

By Stephen Tall | Sat 17th October 2009 - 2:45 pm

A story we didn’t get the chance to cover this week was Nick Clegg’s speech to the National Liberal Club in which he gave his personal backing to an idea being developed by Lib Dem shadow business secretary John Thurso – the potential for a system of localised stock markets across Britain:

Regional stock exchanges are one way of getting vital investment directly to small and medium-sized businesses. They could give local investors – many of whom are disillusioned with the City – an opportunity to see business grow and keep jobs in their communities.

“Too many are struggling and many viable start-ups just cannot secure the finance they need. We simply can’t rely on wheeler-dealing in London’s Square Mile to keep the country afloat. It’s high time we look at innovative ways to spread growth across the country.”

Well, the idea has found early and firm favour in Wales, where the party’s economic spoksesperson Jenny Randerson has declared her support for the idea:

Continue reading »
Posted in Wales | Also tagged , , and | 5 Comments
Stephen Tall

Daily Mail urges readers, “Vote Lib Dem”

By Stephen Tall | Tue 8th September 2009 - 6:20 pm

Well, almost. But those were the two words which leaped out from the screen when I saw this headline on the Mail’s website:


To speak to a human being when you phone customer services… vote LibDem

Here’s the story:

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged and | 6 Comments
Mark Pack

Meanwhile, in local news…

By Mark Pack | Fri 17th April 2009 - 8:51 am

The South Yorkshire Times reports (via Liberal England):

Astonishing in-house ‘harassment and bullying’ row leaves:
* Entire Labour Party branch suspended for over a year
* Detectives drafted in, to probe financial allegations
* Labour fearing 2010 local election disaster
* Party bosses ordering wall of silence

Meanwhile, in the Highlands, Cllr Linda Munro has decided to join the Liberal Democrats:

The Lib Dem politics in action – what I have experienced, I like, understand and trust. Over the past twenty plus years, I have had occasion to seek the support of Robert McLennan, John Thurso and more recently Jamie Stone. They have helped

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News | Also tagged , and | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

NEW POLL: what’s your view on nuclear power?

By Stephen Tall | Thu 16th April 2009 - 6:59 pm

Yesterday the Government released a list of 11 sites in England and Wales where new nuclear power stations could be built, with the aim of having the first reactors operational within a decade.

The Lib Dems’ shadow energy and climate change secretary Simon Hughes was unequivocal in stating his anti-nuclear position on behalf of the party, branding this new generation of nuclear power stations a “colossal mistake”:

They are hugely expensive, dangerous and will take too long to build. There is a real danger that the Government is becoming too close to and the big energy companies.

…

Continue reading »
Posted in Voice polls | Also tagged , , , and | 27 Comments
Stephen Tall

In praise of ConservativeHome

By Stephen Tall | Thu 15th January 2009 - 7:01 pm

Yes, you did indeed read the headline right. To be more specific, I write in praise of Andrew Lilico’s grown-up article today on ConservativeHome’s CentreRight platform, Ridiculous assault or legimitate spin over “green shoots”? which invites readers to

Imagine a Conservative government minister involved in the following exchange:

Interviewer: “When will we see the green shoots of recovery?”
Minister: “…I wouldn’t want to be the one predicting it. I am seeing a few green shoots, but it’s a little bit too early to say exactly how they’ll grow.”

Now imagine that the Opposition and press attacked this minister for the “insensitive”

…

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged , , , and | 3 Comments
Mark Pack

John Thurso wins the annual award that matters most to proper liberals

By Mark Pack | Sun 28th December 2008 - 11:09 am

Yes, it’s the Parliamentary Beard of the Year award from the Beard Liberation Front (aka Keith Flett). If you doubt just how prestigious this award is, turn to today’s Sunday Times where the award basks in its national media coverage:

John Thurso, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, has been awarded the title of best parliamentary beard 2008 by something called the Beard Liberation Front. Thurso claims he grew it three years ago on holiday and couldn’t be bothered to shave.

Posted in Humour | 1 Comment
The Voice

Is John Thurso the sexiest man in the Liberal Democrats?

By The Voice | Fri 15th December 2006 - 1:35 pm

Thurso and Willott - the beautiful peopleAll round love walrus John Thurso MP is currently heading a poll to be crowned sexiest man in the Liberal Democrats on the blogger of the year’s site. It’s the ‘tache that does it. Lib Dem Voice unsucessfully lobbied for Jeremy Purvis MSP to be included on the list.

Jenny Willott is currently leading the field for the ladies and… look, I’m just not sure how much more I can say on this whole article without offending anyone, OK?  So …

Continue reading »
Posted in News and Polls | Also tagged , , and | 11 Comments
Advert



Recent Comments

  • Joseph Bourke
    In 1963, Harold Wilson, at the Scarborough Labour conference made his ‘white heat of the technological revolution’ speech. Wilson said bluntly: nostalgia...
  • Colin Brown
    Well said! I am pleased to have heard members of the Labour government speak up for music, standing up to the nonsensical charge of "elitism"....
  • Steve Trevethan
    As Mr Raw points out, chronic hunger, malnutrition and destitution have been a spreading plague since the introduction of Austerity in 2010. Who has gained ...
  • Jenny Barnes
    After going on and on about the £22 billion "black hole"in the new government's financial inheritance ( I do wonder if these people have any concept of what a ...
  • David Warren
    What @MickTaylor said!...