MPfight: Looks like it might be interesting, but for me, the text version just crashes after the first input.  Will have a longer experiment when I’m not relying on battery. (via)

I’m really sorry, but I simply cannot be bothered to go to the Leader’s Speech this morning.

I will listen to what he has to say later on the radio, or I will download his speech, but this morning it’s not important to me to go and sit in the conference hall and listen.

Two factors influence my decision:

1. The conference appeal
2. My bags

Shortly before the Leader speaks, they pass buckets around and get delegates representatives to dig into their pockets, fill in credit card slips and donate, donate, donate.  If the leader is late, they keep on doing this for a long time.

I’m sorry, but I’m skint.  I have spent a considerable amount of money to be here, as will have most people here.  Anyone staying in the conference hotel will have forked out the best part of £1000 for their accommodation alone, without thinking of the expense of getting here or eating here, or provisioning oneself with the empty calories that make conference so convivial.  But the appeal is a big, big money spinner for the party, so they are not about to stop it any time soon.
And the issue of bags.  You can’t take suitcases into the conference hall.  I’ve been here a week with a lot of luggage (even my daily kit has been extensive: laptop, recorder, mobile, camera, paperwork…).  In order to go to the leader’s speech, I would have to leave my pricey gadgets with my hotel, walk the miles along the seafront to the conference centre, sit in the hall being bullied into clapping, then walk the miles back to my hotel, then walk the further miles from there to the station.

Instead, I’ve chosen to take a leisurely stroll through the lanes (with my bags) find a wifi hotspot, and sit out the length of my battery.  (This means relying on books for my train journey home)

Anyway, I interviewed Sir Menzies earlier in the week for the LDV podcasat.  Well, almost.

I’m really sorry, but I simply cannot be bothered to go to the Leader’s Speech this morning.

I will listen to what he has to say later on the radio, or I will download his speech, but this morning it’s not important to me to go and sit in the conference hall and listen.

Two factors influence my decision:

1. The conference appeal
2. My bags

Shortly before the Leader speaks, they pass buckets around and get delegates representatives to dig into their pockets, fill in credit card slips and donate, donate, donate.  If the leader is late, they keep on doing this for a long time.

I’m sorry, but I’m skint.  I have spent a considerable amount of money to be here, as will have most people here.  Anyone staying in the conference hotel will have forked out the best part of £1000 for their accommodation alone, without thinking of the expense of getting here or eating here, or provisioning oneself with the empty calories that make conference so convivial.  But the appeal is a big, big money spinner for the party, so they are not about to stop it any time soon.
And the issue of bags.  You can’t take suitcases into the conference hall.  I’ve been here a week with a lot of luggage (even my daily kit has been extensive: laptop, recorder, mobile, camera, paperwork…).  In order to go to the leader’s speech, I would have to leave my pricey gadgets with my hotel, walk the miles along the seafront to the conference centre, sit in the hall being bullied into clapping, then walk the miles back to my hotel, then walk the further miles from there to the station.

Instead, I’ve chosen to take a leisurely stroll through the lanes (with my bags) find a wifi hotspot, and sit out the length of my battery.  (This means relying on books for my train journey home)

Anyway, I interviewed Sir Menzies earlier in the week for the LDV podcasat.  Well, almost.

It’s true. Charles Kennedy did say

The British public are too thick to understand how to operate a proportional system of voting

But put the quote in context – it went something like this:
typed from memory, I don’t have the text or a recording to hand.

People used to say that PR could never be introduced in the UK because people would not understand it.  Is that really what critics of proportionality believe, that the British public are too thick to understand how to operate a proportional system of voting?  People are using PR in elections to the European Parliament, to the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament, and to select their London Assembly Members.  And they are using their proportional votes to hold their elected members to account in new an interesting ways that the politicians never envisaged.

My experience of counting PR public elections in this country has not been good.  I have observed Euro election and Mayoral election counts.  There are a higher number of spoiled ballot papers, particularly under AV when people don’t make the mark that the instructions tell them to.

It’s true. Charles Kennedy did say

The British public are too thick to understand how to operate a proportional system of voting

But put the quote in context – it went something like this:
typed from memory, I don’t have the text or a recording to hand.

People used to say that PR could never be introduced in the UK because people would not understand it.  Is that really what critics of proportionality believe, that the British public are too thick to understand how to operate a proportional system of voting?  People are using PR in elections to the European Parliament, to the Welsh Assembly and the Scottish Parliament, and to select their London Assembly Members.  And they are using their proportional votes to hold their elected members to account in new an interesting ways that the politicians never envisaged.

My experience of counting PR public elections in this country has not been good.  I have observed Euro election and Mayoral election counts.  There are a higher number of spoiled ballot papers, particularly under AV when people don’t make the mark that the instructions tell them to.

Will, Pink Dog and Alex have all eschewed the whirl of late night conference bar hopathons and are tucking themselves in early to phone this number

020 7533 5866.

It’s really not for the faint-hearted. It will change your life.

Three pictures above of some of the attendees at the Brighton blogmeet last night at the wonderful, but a-trek-from-conference Evening Star. The pub was very close to the station, however, for those who were joining us from further afield.

The evening was well attended, but not quite so crowded as the Bloggers Awards earlier in the week.

For a few worrying moments after my late arrival at 1905 I was there on my own worrying about spending hours there by myself with a pint in my hand and egg on my face. Thankfully, I was soon joined by Jonathan from Liberal England and promptly thereafter by lots of further people. We countermanded two outside tables and were variously joined during the evening by bloggers and bemused locals who didn’t necessarily even realise we were Lib Dems, let alone computery types.

The attendance list, I think was:
If you were there and I missed you, let me know

Liberal England
Simon Preston
Alex Wilcock (Spell it carefully or you get smutty jokes)
Daddy Richard
Rationale I
Tristan
Either Forceful OR Moderate from Forceful and Moderate
Steve from Bristol
Oliver from Islington
Chap from Bournemouth
After wide-ranging conversation at the Evening Star, three of us repaired to an excellent Chinese restaurant around the corner and variously ate vegetarian duck, roast meat and noodles and some rather alarming looking squid with leek.

Thanks to all who attended. A good time was had by all, I believe and there were calls to have another meet, outwith conference time, maybe in Central London, maybe even in Leicester.

Former leader speaks
Originally uploaded by nilexuk.

CK looks great. Thinner and healthier. No notes? Still an excellent speaker. His speech:

Addressing conf not media. Will stay loyal to leadership. Thanks to members and my wife for their support. Think we did well to get more MPs and a million more votes. This at a time when Lab lost 4m votes and Tory 1m. Ours only increase. Encouraging. Lib Dems are a catalyst – interaction speeds up process of change without changing itself. (not sure aldes will agree)

We hold true to principles whatever confronts us. Our principles will see up through:

1 social justice. Fair tax. Redistribution. Not unfettered markets.

2 political reform. PR for many elections. We kept pr alive, must keep house of lords campaign alive. More regionalism also important. Proper federal UK our aim. The road to Welsh parliament. Scotland – Willie Rennie, hooray. Scottish Parliamentary Party, wow. Outright victory for LDs on cards.

3 environmental agenda. Emphasis on consumption tax. Only a start. Vital issue for planet. We are greenest party and must do more

(timing light turned amber and was hastily extinguished)

4 international issues. Legacy of iraq. Vindicated in our decisions. Policy a tragedy that eats at our international integrity. Damnable closeness to Bush. On a good day, only 4/10 voted for Thatcher. Same applies for Bush who doesn’t command majority support in US. Must not become anti-Americanism. Meeting Russian politician who will address conference later. Russia vital geopolitically and for energy. Europe. Plea: speak confidently and persuasively. Lets not hold back, it defines us. Be more pro.

Our approach then, the best. Labour out of ideas. Tories making virtue of having no ideas. Labour – gone mad? I got better reception at Tuc than Lab PM. Should I talk to WI!? Brown faces poisonous inheritance. Like major or callahan. Deputy leadership of lab v entertaining. Prescott hard act to follow. To Cameron: one Blair is quite enough thanks. Cameron floats like butterfly on policy but local level still stings like bee.

A lot of commentators are trying to tell our story for us. They think we’ll lose seats and votes but gain influence. They do not have our long term interests at heart. but we independent and confident and will come out better and stronger next election. We owe it to ourselves, our children, and our country.

(standing ovation. Clip of Campbell applauding. Ck taps watch and leaves stage with delegates wanting more)

Don’t ask me why I was happening to browse Wikipedia’s Charlotte Church entry, but I was, and a line leapt out at me:

In 2006 media reported that Church was considering standing for the Presidency of the Liberal Democrats.

Strangely, this doesn’t appear to be attributed, which is against WP’s rules.

I wasn’t aware that Charlotte Church had been a member of the Lib Dems for the requisite period of time. And how has she found the support of 50 conference reps?

But is the lovely Welsh lass the mystery person who applied to get the ballot papers?

I’m on the record as wanting a president who isn’t London-based, or already a Parliamentarian, and we haven’t had a woman for a while… but do we really need another ex-chorister with a reputation for drink problems?

Liberal DrinksOriginally uploaded by nilexuk.

I’m not sure whether I’m guilty of mis-selling if the invite I send out for our “Liberal Drinks” event makes the evening look like a really hot date.

I don’t think we’ll have anyone that pretty in the Sal, 14th Sep, 7.30pm.

Blimey, after spending an hour knocking up the artwork for that, it seems a real shame to print it off the laser printer in black and white, and sacrilege to run it through a riso! But too expensive to print in full colour and there’s no way I’d get it back quickly enough to get it in the post to members over the weekend.

[fx cogs whir] I could have the photo printed as an ordinary photo and print the invite text and map on a 4-up label… That would still fit in a DL envelope…

If anyone would like the 15MB PagePlus file for that, please let me know.