Tag Archives: will howells

From Liberal Democrat Voice to Mastermind

Will Howells on MastermindWill Howells was one of the earliest contributors to Liberal Democrat Voice, helping to set up the site in 2006  The first post under his name, on an Unlock Democracy report about political membership and activism, came on 19th October 2006. He stayed with the team till 2008.

He’s taking part in this year’s Mastermind and was on the show broadcast on Friday.

You can watch him taking questions from John Humphrys on his specialist subject, the band Suede, here. The photo shows him in the famous black …

Posted in News | Also tagged | 3 Comments

Same sex marriage bill: how peers voted by party

We reported last night the historic decision of the House of Lords to approve the second reading of the Same Sex Marriage Bill by a hefty majority. 73 Lib Dem peers voted against Lord Dear’s wrecking amendment.

And if you were wondering about the breakdown across the parties — how many of each voted for or against? — then Will Howells (formerly of this parish) has posted this handy graph to Twitter:

equal marriage votes

Figures are from Public Whip, with one or two errors as noted here by Will.

Posted in Parliament | Also tagged , and | 3 Comments

What’s in the bag?

Hello from Liberal Democrat Conference in Sheffield.

Many of you will have been to party conference before. Many of you will have experienced the delights of the goody bag attendees receive. To help Liberal Democrat Voice bring you the true conference experience even if you can’t make it here yourself, Will Howells – you may remember him from such blogs as this one – has made us a quick video checking out his junk. Enjoy.

Posted in Conference and YouTube | Also tagged , , , and | 5 Comments

Blog of the Year Awards: The movie

The BOTYs were quite simply the glitteringest event of the whole Liberal Democrat conference last week, and Lib Dem councillor and blogger Jonathan Wallace was there to film them.

If you look carefully, you might just spot the tail feathers of the last flamingo, as it was startled away by popping flashbulbs. Alas, the heat of said flashbulbs also melted the ice sculptures before Jonathan could film those too, but the video’s well worth watching for the great speeches from winners and presenters alike:

Posted in Best of the blogs and Conference | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , and | 1 Comment

And so the media conference meme – Lib Dem leadership faces revolt – begins…

The Independent this morning reports:

Nick Clegg is facing a growing grassroots revolt as Liberal Democrat councillors quit the party in protest at the decision to form the Coalition with the Conservatives.

This follows the news that three Lib Dem councillors in Cheshire have resigned, apparently in protest at the cuts being introduced by the Coalition Government.

This brings to a grand total of eight (8) councillors who have defected from the Lib Dems since the special conference in Birmingham, where activists voted by an overwhelming margin to approve the Coalition deal. Or to put it another way, 99.8% of …

Posted in Conference and News | 22 Comments

Daily View 2×2: 18 December 2009

Whether you’re snowed in, or just snowed under, welcome to Friday. It’s 12 years since Donald Dewar unveiled the bill for a Scottish Parliament.

2 Big Stories

BBC apologises for asking: ‘Should homosexuals face execution’
From the Telegraph:

People were asked by the corporation to share their views on anti-homosexual legislation in Uganda which would see some sexual activities punishable by death.

The BBC website debate ran ahead of a feature on the World Service Africa Have Your Say programme.

Peter Horrocks, director of the BBC World Service, wrote on the BBC Editor’s Blog that the original forum headline on the website was in hindsight ”too stark”.

He wrote: ”You might have read some of the coverage about a World Service Africa Have Your Say debate yesterday …

”The original headline on our website was, in hindsight, too stark. We apologise for any offence it caused.

”But it’s important that this does not detract from what is a crucial debate for Africans and the international community.”

Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem spokesperson for Youth and Equality, had called on the BBC to apologise and wrote to the Director General.

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Daily View 2×2: 11 October 2009

It’s Sunday. It’s 7am. It’s time for the Daily View, today with an science fiction meets ukulele musical extra.

2 Big Stories

English Defence League takes to streets, violence follows

Perhaps someone should tell the English Defence League that the best way for them to defend the values they claim to stand up for would be to wind themselves up given how little of that traditional English value of tolerance its members display. But in the meantime, here’s the latest news:

More than 40 people have been arrested during two political demonstrations in Manchester city centre.

At least 2,000 people attended the protests, by the English Defence League (EDL) and members of Unite Against Fascism (UAF) on Saturday afternoon.

Witnesses said “ugly scenes” broke out between rival protestors and police.

Forty-eight people have been arrested, four among them were held on suspicion of affray. Most of the other arrests were for public order offences. (BBC)

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David’s paucity of ambition

David Cameron is talking this lunchtime, the news tells us, of his plans to reform Parliament by removing subsidised meals and shaving 5% off the pay of ministers.

Danny Alexander MP, Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Liberal Democrats is a) unimpressed and b) unfamiliar with the concept of run-on sentences:

There is a good argument to be made for cutting the cost of politics, the Liberal Democrats have proposed reducing the number of MPs by 150, but if the Conservatives seriously hope to convince people they are fit to govern it is time they stopped dodging

Posted in News | Also tagged , , , and | 12 Comments

Welcome to Will

Will Howells has started work today in Cowley Street as our new internet campaigns officer. Welcome Will!

Posted in News | 2 Comments

US mid-terms: best of the Lib Dem blogs

Here’s a quick round-up of the best Lib Dem commentary on the mid-terms

Posted in LDVUSA and News | Also tagged , and | Leave a comment
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