Tag Archives: norman baker

Stephen Tall

Norman Baker: time to ditch the oath of allegiance

By Stephen Tall | Fri 8th August 2008 - 3:10 pm

For those who are surprised that Norman Baker should have come third in our poll of most-rated Lib Dem shadow cabinet members, much of Stormin’ Norm’s popularity is the result of his championing of causes just like this:

A collection of 22 cross party MPs are launching a campaign to end the tradition of swearing allegiance to the Queen when entering parliament. Led by Liberal Democrat Norman Baker, the MPs are calling for the choice to swear an oath to their constituents and the nation instead.

“This is a matter of democracy,” said Mr Baker. “I’m put here by my constituents

…

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Posted in News | Also tagged | 70 Comments
Stephen Tall

Norman Baker condemns Gordon Brown’s ‘take out the trash’* day

By Stephen Tall | Tue 22nd July 2008 - 6:46 pm

The Guardian asks the question Is Gordon trying to bury bad news?, noting:

At 2pm on the day the House of Commons rises for a 75-day summer break, Gordon Brown will publish 10 written ministerial statements on everything from the gifts received by ministers to the guests entertained at Chequers at the public’s expense.

The move has prompted claims that the prime minister and his government – which is due to publish a total of 30 written ministerial statements today – has broken it own code of conduct and is attempting to “bury bad news” by deluging parliament with such

…

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Posted in Parliament | 4 Comments
Mark Pack

The Government wants to know who you’ve been speaking to

By Mark Pack | Mon 14th July 2008 - 8:52 am

It looks like the Government’s plans to keep tabs on everyone’s mobile phone calls and email messages are moving on a little. As the BBC reports:

Government plans to collect more data on mobile phone calls and internet usage have been further criticised as an attack on civil liberties.

The government is considering a new system which will automatically retrieve communications information from a centralised database.

Liberal Democrat Norman Baker said it was another example of Britain’s “surveillance society”

The Home Office says intercepting data is vital to fight crime and terrorism.

At present, the police and intelligence

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Posted in Big mad database | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Norman Baker calls for independent parking regulator

By Mark Pack | Wed 28th May 2008 - 1:50 pm

From the party news release:

Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary Norman Baker said:

“Illegal parking must be tackled in order to ensure safe and clear roads and local authority enforcement is a very important part of this.

“The scale of the increase in parking tickets following decriminalisation is extremely worrying.

“Motorists need to have confidence in the system. The Government needs to introduce an independent parking regulator to ensure that appeals are dealt with fairly and impartially and to ensure that car parking operators, local authorities and private firms are all held to consistent national standards.”

Posted in News | 14 Comments
Mark Pack

Where are they now? Sleaze round-up

By Mark Pack | Mon 18th February 2008 - 6:25 pm

Wendy Alexander: although the Electoral Commission has decided not to report her to the Procurator Fiscal for accepting an illegal overseas donation to her Scottish Labour leadership campaign, the Scottish Parliament’s Standards Commissioner has reported her.

We await news of what the Procurator Fiscal decides. Meanwhile, she’s in more hot water for putting down a motion in the Scottish Parliament praising a local firm, but failing to declare the financial support she has received from it although the Parliament’s rules require such declarations to be made alongside motions.

Gordon Brown: the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is now investigating his apparent breach of …

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Posted in News | 8 Comments
Mark Pack

Derek Conway: still getting an extra £13,000 a year

By Mark Pack | Thu 14th February 2008 - 4:25 pm

The Independent has the story:

The disgraced Conservative MP Derek Conway will keep his place among a group of MPs paid a £13,000-a-year bonus for chairing parliamentary proceedings. Mr Conway’s political career was apparently in ruins after he was suspended from the Commons after being criticised for employing his son as a researcher.

But he has retained a prestigious and lucrative position as a member of the “chairmen’s panel” appointed by the Speaker Michael Martin to oversee detailed debates on Bills…

Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, said: “I find it very surprising he is still in that position and nobody

…

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Posted in News and Parliament | 2 Comments
Mark Pack

Monday morning miscellany of stories

By Mark Pack | Mon 11th February 2008 - 11:06 am

Nick Clegg has spoken out against moves to stop British Olympics athletes from speaking out over China’s human rights record, calling any such ban “a real abdication of our moral responsibility”

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott is introducing a bill into the House of Lords to require all its members to be British taxpayers. This will increase the pressure on controversial Conservative Party donor Lord Ashcroft, who promised to become a UK taxpayer when he was appointed to the Lords but hasn’t provided clear evidence that he has kept this promise.

James Purnell, he of the photoshopping and staff problems, …

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Stephen Tall

Cross-party peers back Baker’s calls for fresh David Kelly inquiry

By Stephen Tall | Thu 17th January 2008 - 7:45 pm

So the Bexhill Observer informs us:

Speaking in the Lords, Labour peer Lord Berkeley said the book contained sufficient evidence to warrant the opening of a new inquiry into the death of the government weapons inspector in 2003.

In his exchange with the Minister, Lord Berkeley highlighted the unsatisfactory, non-statutory nature of the Hutton Inquiry and the fact that none of the witnesses were obliged to give evidence under oath.

He was backed by Lord Martin of Gresford (Lib Dem) and Lord Stoddart of Swindon (independent).

Lord Martin also raised the matter revealed in Mr Baker’s book that Lord Falconer, then Secretary of

…

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Posted in News | 12 Comments
Mark Pack

Crikey, these special advisors are rather cheap

By Mark Pack | Fri 23rd November 2007 - 3:17 pm

Or perhaps there was something missing in my press cuttings this morning? After all, £6 doesn’t go very far…

Norman Baker cutting

Reading the full report reveals that the word “million” was missing. Ah!

Posted in News | 1 Comment
Stephen Tall

How the MPs are lining up (UPDATED)

By Stephen Tall | Thu 22nd November 2007 - 11:25 am

By popular request, here’s the current list of which Lib Dem MPs have declared for which leadership candidate so far. (Originally compiled with the help of Jonathan Isaby of The Daily Telegraph.)

The list shows that Nick has attracted two MPs who supported Chris as leader in 2006: Greg Mulholland and Stephen Williams; and eight who supported Simon Hughes (all listed below). Chris has attracted one former Ming Campbell backer – Tom Brake – and three MPs who supported Simon Hughes last time.

Eight MPs have stated they will not declare for any candidate; four have yet – so far as I’m aware – to state their intentions.

As we continue to note, the number of MPs who declare for any one candidate is, in one sense, irrelevant: we are a one-member-one-vote party. Clearly, however, MPs’ endorsements will carry some influence with party members, especially among non-activists.

The full list appears below:

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Posted in Leadership Election and News | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , and | 4 Comments
Stephen Tall

Five more MPs endorse Clegg

By Stephen Tall | Fri 2nd November 2007 - 4:53 pm

The list of MPs supporting Nick Clegg has grown to 33 with the news that party president, Simon Hughes, is among his backers. I understand the four other MPs who have endorsed Nick are: Norman Baker, Alan Reid and John Thurso (all of whom backed Ming Campbell last time), and Lembit Öpik.

The Hughes news is posted on Nick’s campaign website. The other names are courtesy Jonathan Isaby of The Daily Telegraph (who’s been keeping a running tally), apparently via a Team Clegg press release this morning.

LDV published the full list (as it was then) of how the MPs …

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Posted in Leadership Election and News | 27 Comments
Stephen Tall

How the MPs are lining up (UPDATED)

By Stephen Tall | Thu 25th October 2007 - 2:57 pm

I’m grateful to Jonathan Isaby of The Daily Telegraph, who has compiled (and allowed me to reproduce here) his up-to-date list of which Lib Dem MPs have declared for which leadership candidate so far.

Jonathan comments: “Below are my most up-to-date lists, which suggest that Huhne now cannot possibly overtake Clegg in terms of MPs declaring. Brackets state where they went in the 2006 election.”

The list shows that Nick has attracted two MPs who supported Chris as leader in 2006: Greg Mulholland and Stephen Williams; and seven who supported Simon Hughes (all listed below). Chris has attracted one former Ming Campbell backer – Tom Brake – and two MPs who supported Simon Hughes last time.

Nine MPs have stated they will not declare for any candidate; 14 have yet to state their intentions.

As was pointed out in the comments on yesterday’s thread, the number of MPs who declare for any one candidate is, in one sense, irrelevant: we are a one-member-one-vote party. Clearly, however, MPs’ endorsements will carry some influence with party members, especially among non-activists.

It will also influence how the media perceives, and then reports, the strengths of the respective leadership campaigns. Though, of course, being seen as the favourite is not always the most comfortable of positions, as Ming Campbell discovered last time. Lib Dems do love an underdog.

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Posted in Leadership Election and News | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , and | 26 Comments
Stephen Tall

Norman’s on the war-path again

By Stephen Tall | Thu 11th October 2007 - 6:03 pm

Norman Baker, Lib Dem Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, and scourge of the Establishment, has called for the head of Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, who’s racked up £365,000 travel expenses in the last three years:

“It is incredible that Sir John Bourn has seen fit to run up gigantic bills for largesse at the taxpayers’ expense. Even more serious is appearing to accept hospitality from companies such as BAE which compromises the independent and professional standing essential to someone in this post. The time has come for him to call it a day

…

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Posted in News | 8 Comments
Stephen Tall

Norman to fight Lewes again

By Stephen Tall | Mon 8th October 2007 - 6:18 pm

Congratulations to Norman Baker on being re-selected by his local party in Lewes to contest the constituency for the Lib Dems whenever Gordon dares to go to the polls. Norman was first elected in 1997, when he defeated Tory Tim Rathbone, and was returned in 2005 with a majority of c.8,500, with more than 52% of the vote.

Full story over at the Eastbourne Herald’s website.

Posted in News and Selection news | 39 Comments

Opinion: So just how strongly did the Lib Dems oppose the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill?

By Hywel Morgan | Sun 20th May 2007 - 12:34 pm

“This is unacceptable” said Ming Campbell in an email to party members and supporters on the eve of this bill being given its third reading in the Commons.

But having watched this bill progress through the Commons I’ve not been hugely impressed by the Lib Dem commitment to oppose it.

To take it in stages.  This bill received an unopposed second reading.  I’m not an expert on the minutiae of Parliamentary procedure but according to the committee stages of this bill, it could have been blocked if it had it received an objection from a single member.

The bill then passed to the committee stage.  You would expect that a bill which the party considered to be unacceptable would be strongly opposed at committee stage.

Yet not a single amendment was put.  Not a single vote was called for.

Indeed to read Nick Harvey’s comments there wasn’t even a Lib Dem MP on the committee.

“I agreed to serve on the Committee to provide some of the insight that I have gained through my work on the House of Commons Commission and the Members Estimate Committee. I am not here as a party spokesman; I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that this is a House matter on which Members must make their own judgments. I would not expect party Whips to seek to get involved in it.”

(Nick Harvey – Committee stage – 7th February 2007)

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Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , and | 20 Comments
Mark Pack

Freedom of Information Bill threatens to rise again

By Mark Pack | Mon 23rd April 2007 - 11:36 pm

Last Friday, Norman Baker and other MPs talked out a bill that would have exempted MPs from the freedom of information legislation. But now the bill threatens to make a return because there aren’t enough other things to debate instead, apparently.

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Norman Baker has a fan

By the founding editor | Wed 7th March 2007 - 9:31 am

Extend a welcome to the Blogosphere to Norman Baker Watch, everyone.

Quick tip – if you focus too much on Parliamentary questions it becomes clear quite quickly that you’re running the blog from an MP’s office when you should be looking after your own MP, not one of ours.

Posted in News | 2 Comments

Travel claims revealed

By the founding editor | Tue 13th February 2007 - 10:48 pm

Lib Dem MP Norman Baker has succeeded in forcing the Commons authorities to publish MPs travel claims.

Posted in News | 6 Comments

A tale of two marches. Plus: LibDems reveal most polluting areas in Britain

By the founding editor | Fri 3rd November 2006 - 6:00 pm

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:

  • Join the LDYS meeting point at the School of Oriental and African Studies at 11:00 – 11:30am, and then join the People and Planet Carnival of Climate Chaos march to Trafalgar Square.
  • Assemble 2 miles away in

…

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Norman Baker and Lib Dems to march against climate chaos, on 4th November

By the founding editor | Fri 27th October 2006 - 8:55 am

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.

Posted in Lib Dem TV and News | Also tagged | Leave a comment
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