Monthly Archives: May 2009

Tweets on 2009-05-15

  • http://twitpic.com/55dv5 – @johanneslebech in an impromptu meeting with Nottm’s Lord Mayor Jeannie Packer #
  • Phew, after chaperoning international guests, into ctte for swine flu briefing. #
  • Going by info from @normanlamb, more Nottm cllrs got briefed on swine flu than MPs. #
  • @hughmcguire package arrived today – and unexpected inclusion made me laugh 🙂 #
  • @tompearson that photo doesn’t do them justice, I should have warned them I was snap happy! #
  • Because I do weird things on a daily basis and I want to let people know about it 🙂 #whyITweet #
  • Grrr. Have frittered away my disco nap opportunity time on’t’internet. Will have to make do with coffee. #
  • Turning my collar to the cold and damp. #
  • Good turnout for Lib Drinks but have sadly had to send lords and MEPs on their various ways. #
  • Urgh. Too much hair gel on this bus window. #

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Tweets on 2009-05-14

  • @thoroughlygood Why isn’t it YOU on the Media Show on #bbcr4 giving your views on bloc voting? #esc #eurovision #
  • 200 tonnes of sand will convert Nottingham’s Market Square to a beach paradise for the summer hols: http://tr.im/leio #
  • Good god, Guido’s using phrases I first heard in drugs debates at #ldconf http://tr.im/lepz #
  • @libdemvoice a mighty inconvenient time to fall over after publishing an interesting story with that name… #
  • Oooh *squeal* just got a text message from Paddy Ashdown (about his book signing in Nottingham Waterstones tomorrow at 12noon.) #
  • Wondering if a GP cluster is like a Nut Cluster. #
  • Hmmm, yup, new Star Trek Film is top notch 🙂 “Are you out of your Vulcan mind?” #
  • @darrenram that’s not scary it’s cute? #
  • Watching Newsnight in anticipation of @edfordham ‘s big moment. #
  • Taxpayer telethon ftw! #
  • @owenblacker http://twitpic.com/555av – One of those #kittens is the wrong way round! #
  • Joined on the campaign trail today by two MEPs and a Lord. #
  • Derfor rejser den radikale europa-parlamentarika Johannes Lebech ud i Europa #
  • Taking @johanneslebech to meet Paddy Ashdown. #
  • Getting a lift in a Toyota Prius. #

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Tweets on 2009-05-13

  • @helenduffett Helvetica? Not moleskine? If it’s gonna be a font, I’m voting Caslon Old Face. #
  • Pondering the possibility of using typeface names as cursewords. Oh, helvetica neue condensed, late again! #
  • Suggesting #digitalbritain as a possible subject for Council scrutiny. #
  • Lib Dems publish manifesto. Unreadable to tritanopes or people who like good graphic design http://tr.im/lb6l #fontwonkery #
  • Well, whaddya know. The awful font they’re using for headers in the manifesto is… have you guessed it? Helvetica. #
  • RT @ianvisits I am struggling tonight – would MPs who abused their expense claims be cast into the 4th or 8th circle of Dante’s Inferno? #
  • Apparently newsreaders earn about as much as, erm, Lib Dem chief executives… http://tr.im/lbbz #
  • @owenblacker Twitter demands a daily kitten photodiary! #
  • As Lib Dem expense rows come out, remember “your vote is for the next five years, not the last five days” http://tr.im/lbuY #
  • Are you kidding me? Private Eye implodes as boring MP actually claims money for trouserpress? http://www.libdemvoice.org/?p=14420 #
  • @rfenwick it’s helvetica in the PDF I downloaded. Arial has slanty t tops. Both are too boring for principle headers. #
  • @rfenwick and doesn’t another party use light blue and wavy curves? #
  • @rfenwick PS I love the dotty map. Well done for remembering Gibraltar and the Orkneys and Shetland. #
  • @rfenwick we paid an agency for that? a *design* agency?! have they worked before? did we see their back catalogue? #

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Nicely pressed trousers

Chris Huhne displays his neatly pressed trousers image (c) Alex Folkes/Fishnik.com and republished here under the terms of the creative commons licence on Flickr.com

A small sigh of relief is audible in some Lib Dem circles as the Telegraph spotlight turns to the serried ranks of Lib Dem MPs.

So far, the scale of dubious claims by our MPs is not in the same league as those of the other parties. No moats, no pools, no tennis courts, no flipping of houses. Just some rather excessive interior design and a trouser press.

There has been a long standing joke in Private Eye about trouser presses, so it is more than a little odd to see one turn up in a more serious context.

Just a few more thoughts about the whole issue – cui bono? Well, the Telegraph for one – their publication of the expenses scandals over the last few days has bumped their circulation by nearly 100,000 copies. So it looks like forking out for the leaked information has more than paid its way.

There’s an excellent rant by Sarah Teather MP in the Guradina pointing out that this is essentially a problem of MPs’ own making – they had opportunities to fix the problem before it came to a head, but voted down reform, and nearly voted to conceal expenses altogether.

See also Ming Campell’s explanation of his expenses.

For those thinking like Norman Tebbit and considering backing a smaller party in the Euro elections – think carefully. The European Parliament is an important institution, whether you like it or not, and it needs members who will work. Do you want to be represented by a hard working Liberal Democrat with an excellent attendance record or a permatanned celebrity who will get elected for one party, quit it, form another party, quit that too, and not shown his face much in his constituency at all? Even the Nottingham Evening Post could not reach him for comment on his performance on his term in office over the last five years.

In other news, the Lib Dems launched their Euro manifesto today. I don’t like the design much, but I have high hopes for the content. We are the pro-EU party – and our key message is “stronger together, poorer apart.” But our manifesto is clear that Europe is not perfect and we have a checklist of problems that need fixing.

Tweets on 2009-05-12

  • Feeling a bit crumpled today. Can’t remember the last time I ironed anything. #
  • @stuartsharpe @himmelgarten I was more highlighting the spelling of hositing. #
  • Wondering if the lack of a Chief Exec at Full Council means we’ve sacked another one. #
  • Ah no, it seems the CX was just late. #
  • Really pleased Cllr Leon Unczur is going to be Sheriff of Nottingham this year. #
  • Enjoying a subtle barbed speech intro: “Council Leader, ladies and gentlemen…” #
  • @stephenbarker surely tweeting in meetings is only passing notes if someone else is reading them? #
  • @stephenbarker otherwise tweeting meetings is valuable way of engaging public in work of Council. #
  • @stephenbarker you should be listening to the leader when he’s criticising expenditure in your dept #
  • Giving an alarmingly on message quote to Evening Post. #
  • Good lord, Iain Dale wears £75 ties! http://bit.ly/1ScrD #
  • RT @ilovetypography: Thank you ILT readers. Win a red Helvetica Moleskine. Just retweet. Announce winner Thursday. #
  • Wondering how many people out there have twitter code words. #

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Work for the party

There are currently a number of jobs advertised on the party’s jobs page, so if you’re interested in paid employment with the Lib Dems, pop on over and see if your skill set matches what’s needed.  The job titles listed include:

  • Liberal Democrat News DTP & Production Coordinator
  • Project Support Officer
  • Press Officer for B&ME, Specialist and Regional Media
  • Press Officer
  • Web & E-Communication Technology Manager
  • Membership Development Officer (England) 
  • Information & Online Communications Officer

Brake on agents provacateurs

Sunday’s Observer quotes Lib Dem MP Tom Brake as pointing a finger at two plain clothes policemen he believes were acting as agents provacateurs at the G20 protests last month.  Tom Brake was, as readers will recall, acting as an observer during the protests, and is set to give evidence at a committee on human rights today.

“When I was in the middle of the crowd, two people came over to me and said, ‘There are people over there who we believe are policemen and who have been encouraging the crowd to throw things at the police,’” Brake said. But when the crowd became suspicious of the men and accused them of being police officers, the pair approached the police line and passed through after showing some form of identification.

Brake has produced a draft report of his experiences for the human rights committee, having received written statements from people in the crowd. These include Tony Amos, a photographer who was standing with protesters in the Royal Exchange between 5pm and 6pm. “He [one of the alleged officers] was egging protesters on. It was very noticeable,” Amos said. “Then suddenly a protester seemed to identify him as a policeman and turned on him. He legged it towards the police line, flashed some ID and they just let him through, no questions asked.”

Amos added: “He was pretty much inciting the crowd. He could not be called an observer. I don’t believe in conspiracy theories but this really struck me. Hopefully, a review of video evidence will clear this up.”

John Hemming is in a class of his own

John Hemming MP is in a class of his own. This, I suspect, will not be news to many.

The particular case to which I am referring today is that of expenses.  John is claiming via a blog post last week to be a net contributor to the public purse even after you take into account his parliamentary salary.

One of the interesting things to spot is firstly how many MPs earn more from outside parliament than from the tax payer. Then there is a question of how many MPs pay the taxpayer more than the taxpayer pays them. In calculating this it is sensible to take into account the Salary and probably the ACA figures (although you could consider the ACA as expenses), but probably not travel costs although you could include those.

Although I think I fit into this category – I am checking the figures – I am not sure that there will be that many more MPs who are net contributors to the exchequer.

A millionaire long before seeking high office, Hemming’s business interests are substantial. I look forward to seeing the results of his figure checking.

Tweets on 2009-05-11

  • Dear god, “Traditional Bride and Groom Just Married Toilet Roll 2pk” ???! #
  • Good grief, the 5th at St Peters is harder work than it need be. #
  • Wahey, I made the LDV Golden Dozen for the second time in my blogging life. Go me. http://tr.im/kZjT #
  • “It’s BRAHMS! BRAHMS THIRD RACKET!” Apparently there’s some Fawlty Towers I haven’t seen #
  • Glad @willhowells avoided spoilers. The suggestion that there some means presumably we should get on with seeing Star Trek? #
  • @miss_s_b I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. “HUMAN SLAVES! IN AN INSECT NATION! (ah-aaaaah-ahhh-aaah-aaaahhh)” #
  • Enjoying Brum’s Cllr Deirdre Lol http://lolitics.co.uk/ #
  • Cllr Deidre Lol: Hats! http://bit.ly/qq5WC #
  • Sampling latest batch of home-made vinegar. Incredibly vinegary. Slight odd smell – ketones? #
  • Not sure I’d want to be “hosited on my own petard.” #
  • @miss_s_b am I old enough to read your beards post? #
  • Standard leaflet prob: “Vote Lib Dem on June 4” comes out as “Vote Lib Demon”. #

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New collection of leaflets

A strategically hashtagged tweet brings an interesting new site to the attention of The Voice. It is being built by people with some connection to MySociety, who are responsible for the excellent non-partisan sites intended to improve how politics works, such as WriteToThem, PublicWhip and FixMyStreet.

The new site is intended as a repository of the leaflets that are routinely delivered by local political activists day in, day out up and down the country.  Whilst similar sites have tried to do this before – particularly for the bigger by-elections – no-one has really got a site together that works quite as well as new one before us today.  Built from a modern web perspective, it allows the grand publique to upload whatever is pushed through their letterboxes, and to tag it and comment on it.

Its first snag is that it’s only just arrived, and so far sums up the state of British political campaigning – in this election period – in just five leaflets, which are the only ones to have been submitted so far.  But their site is open to all and they are keen to see many more leaflets uploaded. The more there are, the more interesting the site will become.

Liberal Democrats are often accused of inconsistency from one area to another, so it will be interesting to see how national patterns emerge from all parties.  One of the first leaflets to be uploaded featured a Labour opposition criticising a Lib Dem council for losing money in Iceland.  I’m almost tempted to see how those Labour words go down on my own authority, where a Labour controlled authority lost the second highest amount in the country to the crisis.  Do Nottingham Labour believe, like Cambridge Labour, that the money is unrecoverable? Or that losing it is a sign of mis-management?

Finally from a Lib Dem perspective, there’s the name of the new site: The Straight Choice.  Ouch.  A blog post attributes the name directly to the Bermondsey by-election controversy, and links to the Wikipedia page about the battle.  Happily the Wikipedia page (at time of writing) is rather more LibDem friendly than the way the episode is described on their own blogpost.

For all that, the site will be useful once people start using it, so I urge our readers here to send in whatever leaflets they have knocking about.

See also: Matt Wardman’s review