Tag Archives: www.libdemvoice.org

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.

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

Catchup to 11 May 09

Bloggers know that Catchup is made from only 7 natural ingredients!  And it’s been a slightly quiet week at t’Voice as our various contributors have been abroad or busy at work.

It was the week in which the party launched its new Party Election Broadcast, the Mirror tried to find ways in which supporting the Gurkhas is bad news for the Lib Dems and Mark Pack found fault with the timeless design classic that is the polling card.

My second entry into the Golden Dozen brought news (mainly good) from Sheffield and (not so good) Ashfield. Alix decided that blogs don’t need money (with my bursar hat on, I’d like to point out that this needs at least a couple of hundred quid a year to pay for hosting). And Lord Rennard had a problem with toilets and mice.  Or something.

Most comments this week was Stephen’s article gazing into the future to see what comes our way after June 4th, closely followed by Alix’s view that Gordon Brown should not resign.

Guest contributors this week included a monumental contribution from the internet’s favourite fluffy elephant, Prateek Buch on the Post Office and the co-op movement, Joe Taylor on the Tories going mad,  and Steve Pitt suggesting we stand for something other than elections. Lorna Spenceley gave a campaigning masterclass, and Andrew Lewin shared his thoughts on defending against a rising blue tide.

It’s not too late to join in the Weekly Meme – 7 Reasons I joined the Lib Dems, and in numbers – this week Golden Dozens #115 and #116 graced our screens. (I’m in #116 – did I mention?)

Just the one entry in CommentIsLinked@LDV: Caroline Pidgeon’s views on Boris Johnson’s first year.

BBC Question Time open thread: 7 May 09

Baron Steel of Aikwood will be flying the yellow flag on BBC’s Question Time tonight on behalf of the Lib Dems – BBC1 2235 and online.

He’ll be joined by the Tory MP the unkind call “Mad Nad”, Nadine Dorries; Labour leader in Scotland Iain Gray [ed please check spelling of both names]; Deputy First Minister of Scotland (and what an ungainly title that is) Nicola Sturgeon MSP for the Scot Nats; and Independent columnist and Cameron cheerleader Bruce Anderson.

A lively debate usually takes place on Twitter as well as in the studio – and you can watch that unfold on Twitter’s search website. And for those of you unable or unwilling to join the tweeting herds, our own comment thread below is open for your thoughts.

News from Sheffield and Ashfield

Two articles drop into my inbox this morning bringing news of Lib Dem administrations on two councils north of the Trent.

Firstly Sheffield where Lib Dems are celebrating a year in control of the Council, and where the local newspaper has written a long, balanced article about what has been done in that time.

So what have the Lib Dems done for Sheffield? They have certainly been busy and, at the end of the first year, have produced a list of more than 50 decisions, ranging from multi-million pound strategies to community projects.

It wasn’t long before they were deciding to refund drivers fined for going through the Hillsborough bus and tram gates and stopping a proposed wind farm at Westwood Country Park at High Green.

They have provided free green waste collections at the kerbside, appointed an extra 15 officers to deal with crime and anti-social behaviour, planted 5,000 trees and given parents a ballot on school changes.

The list extends to naming a road Derek Dooley Way, providing extra security for Bishops House in Meersbrook Park and giving a free book to every child starting school.

It also includes “securing £674m of Government funding to improve Sheffield’s streets over the next 25 years from 2011″

And secondly Ashfield, a council in Nottinghamshire in the constituency represented by Geoff Hoon, where the Lib Dems have spent two years in minority control running the council with a cabinet composed almost entirely of first-time councillors under thirty.

In an unexpected move, Conservatives and independents on the council chose the annual meeting to vote the Labour party back into power. Here’s the statement issued by former leader Jason Zadrozny:

“I am obviously disappointed that my group will no longer be forming the administration. Over the past two years we have tried to turn around the Council after many years of failure and neglect by the Labour Party.

“In 2007, Ashfield people rejected a Labour Party tired of ideas. Unfortunately for residents they have now found themselves with a Labour-led Council without having cast a vote for it.

“Many Ashfield residents will be angry and disappointed that when they backed Independent or Conservative candidates in the last elections to remove Labour from office, little did they know that they would vote them back in.

“Since the last election the Liberal Democrats have received several votes of confidence from Ashfield people. We have had landslide wins in election after election in Sutton West, Underwood, Annesley and Jacksdale. This has been a clear message from the people that they like the direction we have been taking Ashfield in. In all these elections, Labour and their allies have all seen their support crumble. The new administration is in effect a “coalition of losers.”

“My hope now is that the new administration will not undo the progress we have been making and scupper the plans we have put in place to make Ashfield safer, cleaner and greener.

“I wish the new Leader every success and the Liberal Democrats will continue to play the fullest role possible in Council affairs. We will be a constructive and effective opposition and we will hold the new administration to account.

“Liberal Democrat Councillors believe that local people need to come first and we will of course continue to fight tirelessly for the people we represent. We look forward to the County Council elections in a few weeks time where voters will have their chance to pass their verdict on which party they want to run the County Council. Residents now know there is only one chance for change in Ashfield and that is the Liberal Democrats. Votes for the Conservatives or Independents will mean that Labour will return to power.”

Bumper catchup to 5th May 09

Forgive me reader, for I have sinned. It’s been a month since my last instalment of LDV Catchup, the post that summarises the “don’t-miss” moments of Lib Dem Voice.

In the news this month: the G20 protests and policing. Video footage emerged of Ian Tomlinson’s last moments. The Lib Dems demanded a criminal enquiry. Stephen gave a summary of Lib Dem bloggers’ reactions. Alix investigated the disappearing CCTV whilst “Dr Pack of this parish tracked the IPCC through various dimensions of reality with the assiduity of a timelord.”  For our other stories on this, see this link.

Former Liberal MP Clement Freud died; Mark paid tribute.

Alistair Darling revealed his optimistic budget.  We had an open thread and Nick Clegg’s response.

The Lib Dems monstered the Government on the issue of the Gurkhas.  Tim Prater summarized the story so far (up to before this week’s vote); Alix brought you the news of the first Opposition Day motion government defeat in years; Richard brought you footage of Joanna Lumley with the Gurkhas.  Read all our Gurkha stories at this link.

MPs expenses continued to be a hot topic: we have the text of David Heath’s speech to Parliament and Brown’s “spectacular step in the wrong direction“.

Also in the news: Smeargate, which Stephen dismissed masterfully, and defended Clegg’s silence on the subject. When the story still wouldn’t die, he cast Paul Staines as “not the messiah, just a very naughty boy” and gave us a longer perspective with the meat of opinion polls to back it up.

In the category of “You couldn’t make it up?!” Helen told us of Government plans to replace a successful wind farm with a nuclear power plant.  And while we’re on Helen making stuff up, a quick nod to that post with the recherché neologism hashjacking.

Big, mad database catchup

Helen lists suspicious groups that include all of us.
Mark shows us what the future will look like. 
Chris Huhne warns about RIPA.
Helen is suspicious of anyone without a mobile.
Stephen gives a practical way of beating database Britain.
Helen found a lovely article showing “People fix society if you let them”
Chris Huhne won quote of the day for his remarks about Blunkett and ID cards

Hot topic catchup
Posts generating a lot of comments this month include:
In praise of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor by Joe Taylor
What’s your view on nuclear power? 
Lib Dems to raise personal tax allowance
Lib Dem PPC defects to Tories 
Should Lib Dems want Labour defectors to join us? 
What must happen for the Lib Dems to overtake Labour?

The month in “Independent View”
Lib Dem Voice have a strand of publishing where we invite people who are not Lib Dems to write an article on a topic of interest to the people who come and read this blog.  This month, the following people took us up on our offer:
Rob Smith on the politics of electoral reform 
Lucy Parsons on convincing politicians of the need for spending cuts
Emma Jane Cross on preventing child on child violence
Jim Killick on “Statebook” – Knowledge is power 

 Op-ed roundup
Here’s a full list of guest-contributors this month. All are welcome to submit articles – see here for more information
Chris Ward: Lib Dems must lead the way in improving scrutiny of council surveillance
Patrick Murray: Martin Salter put loyalty to Brown before loyalty to the Gurkhas
Prateek Buch: Just how free are we? 
Andrew May: We need a proper public debate on the future of protest policing in our country 
Kasch Wilder: He’s just not that into you (Or Why the Rt Hon. Oliver Letwin MP has to go)
Jo Swinson: Experiences of a Female MP: Overcoming the Ultimate Old Boys Club
Andrew Lewin: How the Prospect of a Hung Parliament could bolster a Liberal Democrat Election Campaign
Patrick Smith: What’s happening to our honey bees? 
Joe Bouke: Why the Liberal Democrats should propose a flat tax 
Huw Dawson: We must fight against the end of our internet 
Greg Foxsmith: Six lessons to be learned from the G20 policing 
Paul Walter: Cameron’s “mouse fart” proposals to reform democracy 
Geoffrey Payne: A question on the old economic model 
Edwin Loo: On Immigration and being yellow 
Geoffrey Payne: The great home care scandal 
Chris Ward: Chris Ward likes this… 
David Morton: Don’t drain us!
George Turner: Reform severance pay
Anthony Hook: Legal aspects of the McBride case 
Matt Wood: Dirty tricks politics is destroying democracy 
Edwin Loo: There is no Conservative Future in London  

The month at CommentIsLinked@LDV

Tom Brake reporting from inside the kettle
Brian Paddick on policing
Vince Cable on the 7.15 cattle truck
Chris Huhne’s Q&A
Nick Clegg’s greater test
Jonathan Fryer’s hope for the Middle East
David Howarth’s question about policing
Vince Cable’s budget
Ming Campbell on Ghurkas and Brown
Vince Cable doesn’t buy Darling’s miracle
Vince Cable is a Parliamentary Eunuch

See also
Golden Dozen #111 112 113 114 
Haggis Neeps and Liberalism #4
Y Barcud Oren #7 

A paean to Private Eye

Yesterday, the Telegraph’s “Communities Editor” Shane Richmond poked an hornets nest with a stick when he stooped to mock veteran satirical/news magazine Private Eye. The celebrated organ, according to Richmond

increasingly resembles an embarrassing dad at a disco, moaning that he can’t hear the words and the music is just a noise before launching into a lecture on how they had proper pop stars in his day.

As a decade-long subscriber to the rag, with piles and piles of the magazines still knocking around my house and the Eye’s way of looking at the world firmly lodged in my subconscious, Richmond couldn’t be more wrong.

And the day he chose to commit his drivel to electrons was perhaps a bad day to choose as at least two Eye stories hit greater attention.

Firstly, the CDC funding scandal which the Eye has been tracking for some considerable time now came before the Public Accounts Committee. Committee chairman Edward Leigh noted that the CDC has proven very effective at making money – rather less effective at fulfilling its ostensible purpose of alleviating poverty overseas.

Secondly, yesterday’s piano story that was been high in most of the Beeb’s radio broadcasts: Kemble, who have been making the instrument for two years short of a century and are Britain’s last remaining onshore piano creators, are to close their doors. A story broken by the Eye in their edition published over a fortnight ago.

Sometimes it seems that listening to the real news is like listening to an echo of the Eye.

Bloggers unanimous: Ghurkha champion Clegg aced PMQs

As I type, the Lib Dems are holding the Government to account on their stance on rights for Ghurka troops to settle in the UK.

But in PMQs this afternoon, Clegg launched a blistering attack on the Prime Minister on the Ghurka issue, despite following Cameron’s similar question.

And he’s been rewarded for his efforts with a round of ace reviews from bloggers across the spectrum:

Jane Marrick: Clegg’s finest hour

But it was Clegg who played the real blinder. This was the Lib Dem leader’s best performance at PMQs. Clegg has struggled to find the right issue to get the PM on, but this, on the Gurkhas, is the right one.

Guido Fawkes: Clegg Hits His Mark

Iain Dale: Clegg Shines and puts Brown on the Ropes

This was Nick Clegg’s strongest performance yet at PMQs in his 16 months as LibDem leader. Despite being pre-empted by Cameron, he put Brown on the back foot.

Gordon Brown 5
David Cameron 6
Nick Clegg 7

UPDATE: Andrew Neil has just said that the Daily Politics has never had such an avalanche of emails after PMQs as today on the Gurkhas. Furthermore, every single one of them supported the Gurkhas. Every. Single. One.

Caron’s Musings: Clegg slams Brown on Ghurkas

Brown gave a bit of a lacklustre answer, which, to be honest, it was hard to imagine he actually believed himself. Nick came straight back at him saying that “his answer was that of a man who knows he’s doing a shameful thing but doesn’t have the guts to admit it or change it.”

I want Clegg fighting on my side if I’m ever in trouble.

Paul Waugh: Clegg wins PMQs

[…] it was Nick Clegg who won the day. Many of us thought he would have to junk his Gurhka questions after Cameron majored on the subject. Yet as it happened, the Lib Dem leader was more passionate and more scathing than his Tory counterpart.

Final word to Jane Merrick:

PS I get the feeling this will be settled by the end of the week with another u-turn. At least two newspapers are running campaigns on the Gurkhas, including the Sun (which never loses campaigns). This is an issue where there is cross-party anger.

It’s a crying shame that on such an issue the Government has to be forced into providing justice for brave soldiers.

Supermajority back on the cards?

Over in the States, the Senate Democrats are currently three members short of 60, a magic number which means they can end filibusters and drive through legislation the Republicans are really unhappy with.

With the elections long over, most have assumed that’s that for the Democrats chances of getting to supermajority. We thought it possible, but unlikely, back last November.

Yet things still seem to be going their way. Firstly there’s an independent member who caucuses with the Democrats: 58. The 59th member is Al Franken, a senatorial candidate for the Democrats in Minnesota who should have won ages ago but is having to fight court battles to hold onto his seat. The latest is that the Minnesotan courts have declared him the winner, but his opponent Norm Coleman still has the right to an appeal and then to appeal further to federal courts. Talk about a sore loser.

But finally this week the 60th Democratic senator emerged in the form of defecting Republican senator Arlen Spector, who has crossed the floor in opposition to just how right-wing the Republicans have become recently. Claiming he is following the trend set by 200,000 Republicans in his home state of Pennsylvania, Spector says his philosophy is now more in line with the Democrats.

As the NY Times reports:

Democrats were jubilant about the development.

President Obama was handed a note from an aide at 10:25 a.m. on Tuesday during his daily economic briefing. The note, according to a senior administration official, said: “Specter is announcing he is changing parties.”

Seven minutes later, Mr. Obama reached Mr. Specter by telephone. In a brief conversation, the president said: “You have my full support,” according to the official who heard the phone call. The president added that we are “thrilled to have you.”

Last time we discussed this on’t Voice, a deal of discussion ensued about the value of strong government. Should the Democrats get the awesome power of a filibuster-proof senate? Or is their greater value in having to work for consensus?