tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136466832012-02-02T11:18:57.658ZCrumbs from the breakfast table of an unreconstructed LiberalDavidnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4131100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-56343908215112349422012-02-02T11:12:00.003Z2012-02-02T11:18:57.666Z

Liberal England's advert for a meeting with Bill Newton Dunn reminds me of the late Sir John Betjeman's great poem about the MEP:A Prodigal’s Love SongIt’s Bill Newton Dunn, it’s Bill Newton DunnBanished and vanished from Lincolnshire sun,What marvellous motions put in committee,He in the Parliament, our MEP.First Tory, then Liberal, oh weakness of joy,Crossing the floor with the grace of a boy,

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-64446578460778679722012-02-02T10:24:00.004Z2012-02-02T10:33:31.326Z

A debate has started up on Liberal Democrat Voice on what Lib Dem policy should now be on tuition fees. Personally I would prefer a return to genuinely progressive taxation where all higher earners, not just graduates but footballers, models, rock stars, foreign exchange dealers, anyone with a higher income makes a greater contribution. However, I see that no political party is going to

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-88021899684857501162012-02-02T08:19:00.003Z2012-02-02T08:27:22.273Z

"Obesity is the elephant in the room"Thanks to Clare in the Community, Radio 4 Extra

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-82815965485849577992012-01-31T10:36:00.002Z2012-01-31T10:48:51.274Z

The Independent reports that David Cameron has now pulled off the remarkable feat of alienating both our European partners and his own party's Europhobes. Brilliant ! In December he managed to isolate the UK and fail to get anything he wanted out of the summit other than the temporary admiration of the europhobic press and MPs. Now the consequences of his incompetent negotiating are becoming

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-13265201471466269272012-01-29T23:28:00.004Z2012-01-29T23:38:51.086Z

This is the good news in the Independent. It confirms what I have thought since last October. For the minority party in a coalition, it is better not to have your hands tied too tightly. Liberal Democrat MPs have marched through the lobbies so often for illiberal policies since the coalition was formed that the public now has little idea of what the party stands for. Ministers have honoured

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-29805698934615526632012-01-26T22:14:00.004Z2012-01-26T22:22:26.757Z

I am told that the Liberal Democrats were overwhelmed by people wanting to join the party after Nick Clegg's appearance in the first of the leaders' debates. Sadly the party was not geared up to enrol them and by the time many of them were contacted after the election, they had changed their minds. This may be a Labour-inspired myth, but verily the party has always been rather hard to join. My

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-357929013624119792012-01-26T08:46:00.002Z2012-01-26T08:53:55.556Z

If you haven't yet, watch Jonathan Meades on France. If you have, watch it again. You will need more than one look to absorb the pith of his eloquence and admire the eccentricity of his televisual imagination.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-15283304498956398542012-01-24T10:27:00.006Z2012-01-24T11:07:56.077Z

Given the prejudices of his era, Francis Bacon probably didn't mean women as well when he wrote that but I'm not aware that he had anything against young people, male or female. (Indeed his essay, "Of Youth and Age" finds good and bad in both.) Nevertheless that is the problem today. Young people, it seems, are less likely to confer. As Susan Gaszczak points out, 40% of Liberal Democrat

Davidnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-88362915057623013942012-01-21T14:17:00.003Z2012-01-21T14:20:23.638Z

Thinking of watching 55 Days at Peking. According to the Radio Times "The film became notorious for closing down Chinese restaurants all over Europe since all their staff were in Spain as extras for the huge action scenes.".

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-46719146760734239302012-01-18T11:15:00.005Z2012-01-18T11:36:45.552Z

As soon as you see an article has been written by an ex-President of NUS, you know there's a fair chance it's bollocks. OK, that's my prejudice but it's born out by experience of this group of people which includes Jack Straw, Charles Clarke, Sue Slipman and David Aaronovitch all of whom supported the Iraq War. What is it about NUS ? In this case, Lorna Fitzsimmons condemns Nick Clegg for

Davidnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-16672578192607109472012-01-14T11:58:00.003Z2012-01-14T12:12:02.666Z

As Myles Neligan's article in Reuters shows, the UK is already beginning to pay the price for David Cameron's Brussels histrionics last month. After the EU Summit in December Cameron returned home to a hero's welcome in the popular press and the House of Commons. This was always a bizarre combination of xenophobia and myopia. Forget how you feel about Europe for a moment. You are a member

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-29044382909906103092012-01-13T15:18:00.004Z2012-01-13T15:30:40.051Z

I was pleased to read the Independent's report that the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Metropolitan Police Service are launching an investigation into "allegations raised ...concerning the alleged rendition of named individuals to Libya and the alleged ill-treatment of them in Libya...".I was delighted to read that "Former ministers in Tony Blair's government are expected to be

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-46573297491147460102012-01-12T20:24:00.002Z2012-01-12T20:27:58.318Z

Well said, Jenny, and well voted. Jenny Tonge on World at One today explaining why she voted against the government last night on benefit cuts. If you missed it, it's on I-Player here at 19 minutes 27 seconds in.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-62201541174008588302012-01-11T16:43:00.002Z2012-01-11T16:44:57.001Z

This pack of sausages had to be withdrawn from sale and redesigned. What do they pay these marketing people ?

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-13873759264169717102012-01-11T16:24:00.003Z2012-01-11T16:31:03.250Z

The following e-mail arrived today and needs wider circulation.Checking out at Tesco, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-56699405429277489952012-01-09T11:00:00.005Z2012-01-09T11:08:46.396Z

The great work of reforming the House of Lords, started by the last Liberal government in 1911,grinds slowly onwards. Paul Tyler, a member of the Joint Committee on Lords Reform, has posted telling arguments for more than 300 senators today. He also raise the question of the role of the reformed chamber. Here's a suggestion.Some years ago one of the think tanks, DEMOS I believe, suggested a

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-77949469789429012912012-01-08T22:55:00.005Z2012-01-08T23:03:00.988Z

Borgen is wonderful ! The party names are a little confusing but so are they in real life. One of the Danish Liberal parties is called Venstre which translates as Left but is actually right-wing and was part of the last right-wing coalition whereas the other Liberals are Radikale Venstre (Radical Left obviously) and now part of the left-wing coalition.To hell with reality. Watch Borgen.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-21044722359750153742012-01-08T16:03:00.003Z2012-01-08T16:53:51.125Z

I have recently discovered Google Earth's Street Level function. It's dangerously addictive as you spend hours looking for the photos of friends' houses or, as I did last night, searching for the rock in Cheddar Gorge in the cleft of which the Rev Augustus Toplady sheltered from a storm and composed Rock of Ages. I didn't find it because it turns out it was a few miles away at Burrington Coombe

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-32210418295202266402012-01-05T10:36:00.004Z2012-01-05T11:07:56.746Z

Watching the first episode of the new series of Sherlock on New year's Day I did note with surprise that we saw a nude dominatrix before the watershed of 9 pm. The excitement has proved too much for the Daily Mail whose classic prudery was displayed in an article attacking the BBC accompanied by pictures of the nude Ms Pulver (see above) playing Irene Adler. Strangely the series co-creator

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-35136802954204043672011-12-31T11:43:00.005Z2011-12-31T12:19:55.543Z

A kind friend has given me a subscription to the London Review of Books. The first edition to arrive by post includes a review by Jackson Lears of new biographies of Barak Obama's parents. The article (which is free on-line) has finally persuaded me that Kaps Komireddi may be right in at least some of his criticisms of Obama. Lears asserts that Obama has "retreated into politics as usual" and

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-58574104026013403942011-12-26T16:14:00.002Z2011-12-26T16:16:35.098Z

Off the air over Christmas and returned to find someone had changed my password for me. Have now recovered control and will reply to any outstanding comments.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-80170369368329498322011-12-11T18:21:00.005Z2011-12-11T19:05:42.947Z

A lot of nonsense has been promulgated by Tory eurosceptics and even by Liberal Democrat apologists for the mess our coalition government has landed us all in. They have tried several arguments which don't work. As usual, the mantra - "Blame the French!" plays well with the public. Let's look at them in turn.1. The government was protecting the City of London, the financial sector.This is

Davidnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-25094952052750539932011-12-10T00:40:00.003Z2011-12-10T00:54:29.657Z

I must put this ghastly day to bed, so here's joke from a local free magazine.The Pope summons three world leaders for an urgent conference, Barak Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron. He informs them that he has received a message from God who asked him to pass it on to them: the world will end in three weeks. It is their job to take the news home.Obama announces to the White House Press

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-16415903788517682762011-12-09T10:28:00.004Z2011-12-09T10:51:10.441Z

I joined the Liberals in 1974 for the party's views on the three Es: Economy, Environment and Europe. Now we are in government, we have abandoned our traditional economic ideas, most notably what Keynes taught the world. We have weakened our commitment to the welfare state bequeathed us by another great Liberal, Beveridge. We have compromised our environmental policies, particularly on nuclear

Davidnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-49187744711532525452011-12-08T23:09:00.004Z2011-12-08T23:43:55.291Z

For the good of my blood pressure I have missed most of Question Time and instead watched Yesterday's account of the battle for Normandy, in which hundreds of thousands died over three months. Early in the programme we saw soldiers passing a sign to Ouistreham. I was reminded of my trip to Pegasus Bridge in June 2004, the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day. I hired a bicycle in Ouistreham and as I

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-13689009698426805492011-12-08T11:40:00.002Z2011-12-08T11:41:48.285Z

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-48459862918286636632011-12-08T10:58:00.005Z2011-12-08T11:38:31.144Z

Worst Wednesday for years. It began with the publication of the National Centre for Social Research's survey of British Social Attitudes revealing what a stupid, selfish nation we have become. Item: Only 30% believe that taxes should be increased to fund higher spending on health, education and social benefits, compared with 61% in 2002. Gee thanks, New Labour. You really changed minds on that

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-90264158461444040392011-12-08T10:40:00.002Z2011-12-08T10:43:57.422Z

I hear there's a red squirrel Christmas card going around. This cat would be more appropriate.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-46203566220161013482011-12-02T17:04:00.002Z2011-12-02T17:07:09.037Z

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-13970893576401943182011-12-01T18:27:00.003Z2011-12-01T18:30:55.390Z

"As we approach the anniversary of the birth of Christ, does the hon. Gentleman agree that today Joseph and Mary would not be able to get to Bethlehem because of the walls, the shepherds would be ethnically cleansed and the three kings would not be allowed into Palestine?" asked Bob Russell in the Commons on Monday

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-59885090458596639272011-11-30T12:54:00.001Z2011-11-30T12:56:08.926Z

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-58426489576839644002011-11-30T12:42:00.004Z2011-11-30T12:53:01.531Z

Jonathan Swift wrote "Whoever could make two ears of corn or two blades of grass grow where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind than the whole race of politicians put together.". I was just watching one of my West Wing DVDs when they mentioned Norman Borlaug, the Nobel Prize winner whose semi-dwarf, high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties led to doubling yields in

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-56156966686405122592011-11-29T18:53:00.003Z2011-11-29T19:10:50.844Z

The Australian reports on the treatment of Palestinian children by Israeli soldiers and Israeli courts. This is a far cry from any system of justice we recognise. John Lyons, the reporter, was allowed to attend the court with an official Israeli guide but not allowed to photograph the Palestinian children walking in handcuffs and shackles. An Australian lawyer, Gerard Horton, who defends

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-30595386547725577302011-11-28T19:36:00.002Z2011-11-28T19:38:26.784Z

A sign of the times.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-56796157487354834152011-11-28T10:57:00.002Z2011-11-28T11:04:28.646Z

Like the press, I have mixed up two different stories. As Nick Clegg might put it, "Has the party retained external brand advisors ? Yes. Have I appointed Neil Sherlock as head of [something or other - press reports differ] ? Yes. Are these two events linked ? Er, don't know." That last bit's me. Always easier to answer your own questions than someone else's except when you don't know the

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-65164788648854853042011-11-27T20:13:00.005Z2011-11-27T20:26:07.156Z

The Mail on Sunday story based on leaked documents claims that Liberal Democrats are spending large amounts hiring Neil Sherlock (and others ?) to re-brand the party. The graphic above was to illustrate that the party should copy Oxfam. The only thing in common between the two diagrams is the shape. The rather vacuous messages in the balls labelled Vision, Roots and Behaviour convey nothing

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-30878613463583763422011-11-25T12:12:00.002Z2011-11-25T12:29:51.441Z

Remember the Rev Snuggs who cut down a tree for spurious health and safety reasons. Well, bach, he has a cousin in Gwynedd, isn't it ? Tywyn beach now has this sign saying "Don't climb on the rocks". It says it in Welsh too so no minorities will be offended (perhaps English is the minority language there ?). Reminds me of a sign I know in Cornwall which says "Warning. Cliff Edge" and another

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-14906909551943826262011-11-24T10:47:00.004Z2011-11-24T10:52:42.002Z

For some time now I have proclaimed myself as an atheist but I prefer Les Barker's term "Agnostic Fundamentalist". Have a listen to his Shipping Forecast and then The Church of the Wholly Undecided. If you don't laugh even once, you're obviously deeply depressed.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-1381905830243875582011-11-22T10:04:00.003Z2011-11-22T10:07:31.165Z

Despite being a devout atheist, I find this image of Christians linking hands to protect Muslims praying in Tahrir profoundly hopeful.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-43651787639502949572011-11-21T19:07:00.003Z2011-11-21T19:12:49.035Z

"Berlusconi", rare past tense form of Berluscere (cf. Burlesque) = to be absurd, thus "I have been absurd".

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-48955981258864877802011-11-20T23:22:00.004Z2011-11-20T23:33:17.447Z

A "Merkel" is when you pretend to give up something in negotiation in return for what you want and thereby (a) get something for nothing and (b) save your opposite number's face.Thus, Angela Merkel pretends that the UK can repatriate some powers (stupid idea anyway) in return for which Cameron agrees that EU can have tighter fiscal policy.See also the "reverse Merkel" in which A pretends to

Davidnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-583192974629109342011-11-18T23:57:00.003Z2011-11-19T00:05:21.336Z

The verb "to blatter" from the French "blatter" (rhymes with paté) means to say whatever is necessary to keep your job, even if you said the opposite yesterday.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-87636545011675174802011-11-17T00:13:00.004Z2011-11-17T00:45:24.209Z

Today's shocking figures show over a million unemployed young people, that's 1 in 5. The two graphs above show how a spike in the birth rate 20 years ago has combined with a recession and rising unemployment to produce increased demand for university places despite the impact of tuition fees and the burden of paying back loans. A BIS research paper on the impact of university finance on

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-60388698382545258812011-11-16T13:40:00.004Z2011-11-16T13:46:58.244Z

I came across this poster outside the Ritz on Saturday. I thought it was a demonstration which hit the nail on the head but it turned out to be a band filming a video.Mark Steel, on the other hand, sums it all up beautifully in the Independent.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-24222416330728397292011-11-14T21:56:00.003Z2011-11-14T22:01:56.245Z

Sunday morning found me walking across Hampstead Heath as 11 o'clock approached. I sat on a log for the two minutes' silence, which was nearly perfect in the silvan sunshine but for the distant wail of a police siren. Long gone are the days when the traffic stopped and even the trains paused on their journeys.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-25255885081358399552011-11-14T21:05:00.003Z2011-11-14T21:44:55.287Z

Thursday was a sunny, misty November day and I climbed Glastonbury Tor and attended the Wells Constituency Dinner (in Highbridge, NOT on the Tor). I always meet interesting people on the Tor and at the dinner. On the Tor there was a group with a peace banner planning a demonstration for the next day, the 11th of the 11th of the 11th. I wished them luck. Peace is the fundamental value of

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-76523439177706794252011-11-09T11:24:00.006Z2011-11-09T12:16:15.986Z

Jo Swinson recently reported on a briefing by God (Gus O'Donnell, Cabinet Secretary) on measuring wellbeing. I retorted by quoting from David Boyle's book "The Tyranny of Numbers": "You can't make the pig bigger by weighing it more often". Jo pointed out that it might be useful to weigh the pig at least once. Thinking about this in the shower (measurement not Jo) I recalled the great Liberal

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-46366689131553629542011-11-08T20:23:00.002Z2011-11-08T20:34:30.067Z

Just watching "The Golden Age of Canals" on BBC 4. Apparently it's a series which has been on since May but fortunately it's all available on the BBC website here. Tonight we heard of rows between Tom Rolt and Robert Aikman, founders of the Inland Waterways Association. We also heard about the great festival and rally at Market Harborough in 1950 (not, I expect, news to Liberal England).

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-14233361073510277202011-11-08T19:00:00.004Z2011-11-08T19:05:39.195Z

Has anyone noticed the amazing resemblance between Liberal Democrat Chief Whip Alistair Carmichael and Rab C Nesbitt alias Gregor Fisher. I wonder if perhaps they are related.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-83241024542760301002011-11-08T09:27:00.003Z2011-11-08T09:32:16.291Z

Just read Julian Baggini's interesting piece in the Guardian on religion and ineffability. I particularly liked:"Too often I find that faith is mysterious only selectively. Believers constantly attribute all sorts of qualities to their gods and have a list of doctrines as long as your arm. It is only when the questions get tough that, suddenly, their God disappears in a puff of mystery.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-70371556292721416302011-11-03T11:37:00.004Z2011-11-03T13:46:21.774Z

Shame on David Norgrove and the Family Justice Review which has rejected the right of children to a meaningful relationship with BOTH parents. As Ken Sanderson, chief executive of Families Need Fathers said, the review's failure to recommend shared parenting legislation or a statement on the importance of both parents in law represents "an abdication of their responsibilities to children and

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-69072646868396228372011-10-17T10:50:00.002+01:002011-10-17T10:58:45.242+01:00

"Today Nigel Ashton is the inheritor of that tradition which was founded on Methodism and temperance."I'm sure Nigel won't mind me quoting Iain Brodie-Browne's comment in his tribute to Southport's David Bentliff.I don't know about the Methodism but everything else is true and tells us how the world changes.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-81411927471970729902011-10-14T12:07:00.001+01:002011-10-14T12:09:27.117+01:00

Ask Oliver.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-8232565133039320532011-10-13T18:36:00.004+01:002011-10-13T18:43:50.171+01:00

Here's the image I have been looking for to illustrate the deficit reduction policy which inhibits growth and therefore reduces the revenue from taxation and makes the deficit harder to reduce. These men were installing bollards to stop vehicles going on the pavement. How are they going to get out now ?Go away and read Keynes, the lot of you !

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-16016363673145607082011-10-12T09:24:00.002+01:002011-10-12T09:35:49.239+01:00

The Liberal Democrats Conference Committee has an unfortunate habit of timing debates I am due to speak in for 9.00 am usually on a Sunday morning. A few years ago we were debating what is now called Ballistic Missile Defence (unless the military-industrial complex has come up with a new bit of camouflage / acronym / euphemism). It used to be called Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) or more

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-29886531999665234212011-10-11T22:34:00.004+01:002011-10-12T09:10:54.458+01:00

Lottery winner Angela Dawes said she and her husband woke up as ordinary people in the morning and now have over £100 million, adding, "It's mad". She's right. Millions of people bet money on the lottery every week (not the Daweses - they tried only three times) with astronomical odds against winning. Ask the same people to vote for a government that wants them to pay one penny more in tax to

Davidnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-12672809027017128312011-10-05T10:30:00.003+01:002011-10-05T11:31:51.311+01:00

Liberal Democrats are constantly reminded by their leaders of the concessions made by the Tories in coalition, most recently at conference. The Tory website Conservative Home also harps on about it. A more considerate assessment can be found in UCL's report "One Year On"The problem is that the width of Liberal Democrat policy gains is not matched by the quality whereas the party's losses in

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-51095116687131554612011-10-04T18:21:00.004+01:002011-10-04T18:38:50.496+01:00

Claws were out at the Tory Conference as Teresa May and Ken Clarke clashed over the Home Secretary's claim that courts applying the ECHR's Article 8 on family life allowed an illegal immigrant to stay in the UK because he had a cat. May has now admitted that this was not true. The judge was ruling on the veracity of the man's relationship with his partner, which was partly evidenced by the

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-53252020341035175282011-09-28T09:55:00.003+01:002011-09-28T10:00:05.679+01:00

If you don't yet own an iPad (like all the journalists at LibDem Conference did), Dan and Dan explain one of the reasons you might like to buy one (or not). (You have to scroll down to "iPad Head".)

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-65248728767677131892011-09-27T23:51:00.003+01:002011-09-27T23:54:49.201+01:00

Has anyone noticed the amazing resemblance between Ed Miliband and Ginger, the escapist chicken in Chicken Run ? I wonder if perhaps they are related or move in the same closed circles.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-79896142231742656452011-09-26T13:45:00.004+01:002011-09-26T15:19:08.155+01:00

As usual I have been to a different party conference from the one the media floated through or above. The Guardian led the pack who expected Liberal Democrats to be downhearted and when we weren't decided that instead we must be deluded. Setting aside the joy of meeting old friends, the curious pleasures of debating and voting, we had other reasons for not despairing. There is the Tim Farron

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-43141781535026651622011-09-14T08:58:00.004+01:002011-09-14T09:09:23.682+01:00

According to today's Guardian, a leaked No.10 memo outlines government plans to appeal to women. It cites "...an urgent need to up our game on communications about what we're doing". Well, they could start by learning to write in English and continue by basing policy on principle and evidence instead of trim and spin. Why do politicians always think the problem is communications instead of

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-51476155299943465332011-09-10T15:40:00.004+01:002011-09-10T16:02:26.407+01:00

Simon McGrath has published an article on Liberal Democrat Voice defending the Liberal Democrats' Federal Conference Committee's handling of accreditation. It contains many false assumptions and muddles and some language that is downright misleading. I have commented at length on LDV but I summarise here.1. Simon says that the party not the police take the decision to exclude representatives,

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-36786946583905558122011-09-09T10:19:00.005+01:002011-09-09T10:36:18.501+01:00

In a few days time the United Nations will decide whether to recognise Palestine. Listening last night to Richard Perle, Washington's "Prince of Darkness", on Question Time, I heard him lie many times. In particular he denied that Israel was in breach of any UN Security Council Resolutions. A member of the audience immediately cited UNSCR 242 as I shouted it at the television. There are

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-81669094491080984662011-09-08T11:01:00.003+01:002011-09-08T11:05:41.207+01:00

Clearly temperance has not reached all parts of Swedish society, as this story of a moose on the juice demonstrates.All captions and puns gratefully received.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-85523909085592079122011-09-07T11:06:00.004+01:002011-09-07T11:17:02.709+01:00

Excellent article on accreditation by Jonathan Calder in the Guardian's Comment is Free. Most of the comments that follow the article are by people with very short memories who think the Liberal Democrats are finished. Have a little perspective guys. Read some history. People have been saying we finished since the 1920s. They were wrong and it's still wrong now. However, I was amused by

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-16793395969357170562011-09-06T21:25:00.001+01:002011-09-06T21:28:31.614+01:00

I have heard the hackneyed phrase about striking a balance between security and liberty before - from Tony Blair, from John Reid, from David Blunkett, always in the name of some new restriction on fundamental freedoms which we as Liberals have opposed over the years. I do not take my stand against police accreditation on the inevitable inefficiency of this process. I would oppose it if it was

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-88637660338314757112011-09-05T22:55:00.004+01:002011-09-05T23:00:32.534+01:00

Much recent discussion about accreditation has been about the inefficient operation of the process. I wouldn’t care if the process was the smoothest I had ever experienced. It is simply wrong that an organ of the state has any say in who attends a political party’s conference. No Liberal should have any difficulty understanding this principle. It is also wrong if the party's Federal Conference

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-40466227873916293602011-09-04T09:33:00.002+01:002011-09-04T09:41:17.947+01:00

Thanks to Stephen Tall for drawing my attention to some old Liberal (not Liberal Democrat as YouTube says)Party Political Broadcasts. I particularly like Frank Byers and John Arlott answering questions from a businessman and a housewife in 1955. Unscripted, polite political dialogue unknown to us today. 56 years later we are still waiting for the spread of co-ownership and profit-sharing (

Davidnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-19991069128135958772011-08-28T09:16:00.005+01:002011-08-28T09:39:26.256+01:00

Today's Telegraph reports on the internal inquiry into the May local elections by the Liberal Democrat's Campaigns and Communications Committee. The committee says the party faced a perfect storm and identifies these factors: * public anger over university tuition fees and NHS reforms; * failure by Lib Dem activists to praise the Coalition Government during discussions with voters on doorsteps;

Davidnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-30910684547862891222011-08-25T11:01:00.003+01:002011-08-25T11:07:12.510+01:00

Just received the following from LibDem HQ: Dear Disgruntled, Just to confirm, we have received information from Greater Manchester Police that you have been successfully accredited for the upcoming Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference 2011. Your conference pass will be posted to you in September. In the meantime all conference papers, including the Agenda, Directory and Training Guide, are

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-20902053148559124812011-08-12T11:46:00.003+01:002011-08-12T12:22:05.799+01:00

The postman and I had a good chuckle as he delivered my conference papers from LibDem HQ addressed to Mr Disgruntled Grace. He asked if I'd fallen out with the senders. Apparently the sorting office had a good laugh over it this morning. I'm all for a lighter Chard and don't mind that party HQ or their contractors can't handle data entry accurately but I would like to know if I have been

Davidnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-86353298857147840172011-08-11T20:29:00.002+01:002011-08-11T20:42:57.349+01:00

The last few days have offered relief from contemporary images in the form of Carry on Constable and Radio4 Extra's revival of Dixon of Dock Green. How policing has changed.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-74665554464941354802011-08-11T08:04:00.002+01:002011-08-11T08:12:59.528+01:00

Party positions seem to be hardening ahead of today's parliamentary debate on the riots. The government - both coalition parties - seems to be focusing on punishment, including the nutty idea of making people homeless. The Labour Party is trying to blame the government's cuts whilst simultaneously condemning the rioters. This won't work as Harriet Harman found out on Newsnight. The media

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-21023470125537903572011-08-10T08:18:00.003+01:002011-08-10T08:47:01.881+01:00

"When I get home nothing is going to happen to me. I might get shouted at", young looter on radio this morning. I put this question to two law-abiding,sensible Guardian-reading friends. One hesitated and ducked the question. The other answered without pause that she would not. She stuck to this answer. I don't understand the dilemma. You expect even demand that other people's kids are

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-7152104491165614952011-08-09T08:59:00.004+01:002011-08-09T09:31:55.640+01:00

I have been looking at Facebook, Twitter and LibDemBlogs and listening to Radio 4. Radio 5 and BBC News 24 and trying to avoid my own anger and fear deteriorating into calls for the army etc. Comments fall into two categories: (1) condemnation of the rioters and looters and (2) searches for deeper explanations, usually involving government policy. For now, I settle on two points of social

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-74502792744967787742011-08-08T23:04:00.003+01:002011-08-08T23:16:55.584+01:00

We know it's not protest. We know it's crime, theft, arson and violence. What follows is not in any sense justification. In a society where MPs cheated on their expenses, where bankers remain immune even rewarded for their catastrophic mistakes with other people's money, where powerful and rich companies and individuals avoid tax, where the press hack into people's phones and are untouched by

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-87151565576238364642011-08-08T08:31:00.002+01:002011-08-08T08:37:36.832+01:00

"A financial system in which the face value flow of funds was vastly greater than the face value flow of goods traded is a bubble. The “bailout”, or payment of vast sums of ordinary people’s money to bankers to keep this crazed system going, could never make it sane.Allowing bad banks to go to the wall was not just possible, it was essential. Instead the poor are in deep hock simply to maintain

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-23809949887558093102011-07-25T23:04:00.003+01:002011-07-25T23:18:38.054+01:00

Someone recently described the Liberal Democrats as a centrist party. Here's what I thought of that in 2005 and it's still true.What’s left ?During the [2005] general election various journalists with self-satisfied smirks, indicating that they thought they were doing something clever, would ask a Liberal Democrat, “Are you left of Labour ?” as if the question meant something. As well ask, “

Davidnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-59021649743061129222011-07-25T22:49:00.001+01:002011-07-25T22:50:54.477+01:00

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-3568580529619640062011-07-24T19:45:00.004+01:002011-07-24T19:52:30.880+01:00

Good question for a pub quiz : Which American state flies the British flag (Union flag, only a jack when flown on a ship)? Hawaii. Listening to Radio 4's Excess Baggage on Saturday morning, I learned that at one point Hawaii could have become British. You have to wonder what chance would Obama have had of becoming Prime Minister ! Not much is my guess.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-90284279312100965332011-07-24T19:33:00.002+01:002011-07-24T19:35:49.840+01:00

Guess what ! There's more important things going on than Amy Winehouse dying. Nobody invaded her house, bombed it or shot her. I'm sorry for her, of course, but why don't we praise the rock stars who manage their artistic lives without substance abuse or wrecked relationships ? Now that would be a role model.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-54366729199894048492011-07-19T17:37:00.003+01:002011-07-19T18:01:51.287+01:00

The picture shows Jonathan May-Bowles (allegedly) in a check shirt attacking Rupert Murdoch with a custard pie. Wendy Murdoch (dark hair and red dress back to camera) is about to get up and clout May-Bowles, who apparently tweets as JohnnyMarbles. According to Lord Bonkers, Molesworth blamed the pie on Peason. Bonkers also avers that he twittersphere suggests that Rupert Murdoch's defence is

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-11816106767015754022011-07-19T14:03:00.001+01:002011-07-19T14:22:50.525+01:00

So what will the committee be asking Pamella Bordes ?

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-84260959340196257122011-07-16T09:08:00.002+01:002011-07-16T09:11:14.647+01:00

Has anyone notice the remarkable resemblance between Rebekah Brookes and Judge Jefferies ? Of course the difference is that one of them took bribes...

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-16585854910797090562011-07-15T08:42:00.006+01:002011-07-15T09:20:11.814+01:00

The European Parliament's Culture and Education Committee debated a motion on the European dimension in sport this week, UKIP salivated and the Daily Mail and the Daily Express foamed at the mouth.Here's the idea that shocked our great patriotic newspapers:"The European Parliament...26. Proposes that the European flag should be flown at major sports events held on EU territory and suggests that

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-79730555353897767492011-07-12T12:08:00.003+01:002011-07-12T12:35:43.104+01:00

Whilst I sympathise with anyone whose privacy has been violated by the Murdoch press, my condolence with Gordon Brown is attenuated by the consideration that he and his colleagues were in bed with the digger for years. I recall that one of Gordon's first foreign jaunts at our expense was to call upon Murdoch at his ranch. Nor in thirteen years of government did New Labour make any attempt to

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-70886313626453107432011-07-07T18:06:00.003+01:002011-07-07T18:11:20.422+01:00

So Murdoch has closed The News of the World. So what ! The website The SunonSunday has just been registered. The same old rubbish will be churned out under a different title and as long as people buy it, the advertisers will come back. Come on, coalition ! Legislate to restrict concentration of media ownership now. Don't waste a good crisis.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-60130150342984584002011-07-06T09:32:00.004+01:002011-07-06T09:45:29.733+01:00

Last night BBC's File-on-4 explained some of the games bankers play. Finally I understood what a naked Credit Default Swap (CDS) is. You take out insurance against your investment in a government bond (or whatever) failing because the borrower defaults. However, unlike the insurance that you or I take out on our homes, cars, lives, you can sell the CDS to someone else, who does not hold the

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-21380463271547491982011-07-06T08:51:00.003+01:002011-07-06T09:02:01.046+01:00

Rarely does the Today programme make me laugh out loud. Simon Greenberg, Director of Corporate Affairs at News International managed it this morning. This satrap of the Murdoch empire opined to Jim Naughtie, "You're reaching a judgement without knowing all the facts. That's speculation. I can't comment until the facts are in."

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-82744905717086919442011-07-05T10:34:00.004+01:002011-07-05T10:46:13.891+01:00

What a glorious weekend we had in Somerset ! The gravel beaches were full of white blobby bodies turning red. I walked up Glastonbury Tor in the sunshine where there was so little breeze I could light my pipe with a match.Not so glorious in Copenhagen. This film shows dramatic flooding in the streets of the Danish capital. Note how the Danes drive, cycle and walk through the floods with

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-32181037200113241552011-07-04T14:59:00.005+01:002011-07-04T15:47:15.953+01:00

So wrote George Dangerfield in the Strange Death of Liberal England*, but their house lives on. In the opening words of the Parliament Act 1911, it is written: "...whereas it is intended to substitute for the House of Lords as it at present exists a Second Chamber constituted on a popular instead of hereditary basis, but such substitution cannot be immediately brought into operation..."Mark

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-53517563159891606482011-07-01T16:53:00.005+01:002011-07-01T17:19:04.261+01:00

I asked Andrew Wiseman, Chair of the Liberal Democrat Conference Committee about exclusion of representatives from conference.He replied that "Conference Standing Orders allow us to exclude someone from conference. It is not something we would do lightly. As I have said given that the threshold of likely to cause a serious risk of harm to those attending conference or conference it is highly

Davidnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-78598160844250441952011-06-29T09:20:00.004+01:002011-06-29T09:32:40.723+01:00

Richard Corbett has posted about British press and BBC coverage of a newish building in Brussels. It's a small story but symptomatic of the distortions of our xenophobic media.While I'm here, may I also pour some cold water on the Eurosceptics' glee at Greece's problems, which of course they blame on the Euro. Greece's problems are endemic and caused by overspending and inefficient

Davidnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-24147599356458087262011-06-24T14:57:00.003+01:002011-06-24T15:08:03.700+01:00

That's "labour" at the beginning of a sentence not "Labour", the party which did nothing - that's right, absolutely zilch - to advance industrial democracy in 13 years in power. Birkdale Focus reviews "Unfinished Business", Matt Cole's biography of Richard Wainwright.Time for Liberals to remember what they are for and to tell everyone else. But who's going to tell Clegg and Alexander ? As

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-23123979786060947022011-06-23T13:56:00.002+01:002011-06-23T14:06:40.559+01:00

I am pessimistic about Lords reform. The coalition agreement only commits the government to bring forward proposals. The massed ranks of Tory backwoodsmen with the vociferous support of the old Labour dinosaurs (I see Betty Boothroyd has joined their ranks)are digging in to oppose reform and shamefully there are even Liberal Democrat peers (step forward David Steel) who will vote with them.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-19598689304633814702011-06-22T14:59:00.004+01:002011-06-22T15:03:10.844+01:00

As this is really a matter for Lib Dem members only, I'll keep it short. If you are a conference representative and are against the accreditation measures set up for our autumn conference contact me to get the text of my motion on the subject.

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-6245420911734545702011-06-19T20:27:00.007+01:002011-06-19T22:21:00.389+01:00

According to David Howarth's excellent essay in Reinventing the State we are all - even David Laws - Social Liberals now. David Hall-Matthews, Chair of the Social Liberal Forum, echoed Howarth's view when summing up the SLF conference. The SLF is not a movement on the fringe of the Liberal Democrats, it is the mainstream of the party. Nor are Social Liberals the same thing as Social Democrats

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-83260015849449179932011-06-17T12:14:00.004+01:002011-06-17T12:22:37.466+01:00

I confess I am NOT a fan of Danny Alexander, so I was ready to believe the BBC's quick summary of his remarks about Public Sector Pension Reform. In their headline news it sounded like old-fashioned union-bashing. Then I read the actual article on LibDem Voice and came away with a very different impression. I know politicians have to be aware of how they will be reported when they choose

Davidnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13646683.post-38035375726661785932011-06-17T11:57:00.002+01:002011-06-17T12:13:09.768+01:00

"The style of debate practised by the Today programme poisons discourse in this country. An arena where there are no positions possible except diametrically opposed ones, where nuance is not permitted, where politicians are forced into defensive positions of utter banality...none of it is any good for the national conversation." So wrote Graham Linehan in his blog.For those of us whose blood

Davidnoreply@blogger.com0