A Much Happier Liberal Democrat

I didn't vote for Ming in the Lib Dem leadership election. There were three good candidates though, so I was taken aback by Ming's shaky start as leader. By the the finish of his first conference speech last year I was getting worried - where had the calm authoritative critic of Iraq and Guantanamo gone? It seemed like Ming was trying too hard to be funny and polished and succeeding at neither.

Harborough Results

I am putting these on the Harborough Lib Dems site as I get them from BBC Radio Leicester (sadly I can't be at the count)

Polling Day so far

Strange Borough elections for me this year as I am not a candidate this time - family and work take up most of my time at the momentTypically, Thomas (5 and a half months) chose Polling Day to have a very rare lie-in and so did his dad (not deliberately - who sets an alarm clock when you have 2 children under 3 years old?).10 am vote with Sarah - first time I've voted in person for many years but

Same old prejudiced Tories in the Lords

More Parliamentary voting patterns, this time from our unelected legislators in the Lords.Last night a move to throw out the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 was defeated by 199 to 68. The Regulations prohibit discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in provision of goods and services in Northern Ireland and have been in force since 1st Jan in the

Iraq Division voting

We now know a little more about two absentee MPs from last week's Iraq Inquiry vote.As I suspected, the Conservatives are not what you'd call united on the issueTory MP Quentin Davies abstained in the vote. The a former defence frontbencher described Conservative support for the motion as "absolutely crazy".According to the BBC, Mr. Davies "added the credibility of the party as an alternative

That Iraq Enquiry Vote in Full

So Labour won the vote to reject last night's motion in the Commons on whether to have an enquiry into the Government's conduct in the run-up to the Iraq war.But Labour's majority of 25 disguises several interesting voting patterns.Firstly, this was an Opposition Day debate. Labour MPs who do not agree with Blair are more reluctant to vote for a motion led by an opposition party. This was

Chips 'n' bins: liberals and environmentalism

I have been a little taken aback at some dissenting voices from fellow liberals on environmental policies such as:charging people for the weight of recyclable waste they produce;taxing high polluting cars;introducing a system to discourage a wasteful "standby" mode on electrical appliancesLiberals need to position themselves somewhere on the divide between allowing people to become voluntarily

Bromley By-election Today

Bromley & Chislehurst polls today, as does Blaenau Gwent. Both are electing new MPs to replace Eric Forth (Con) & Peter Law (Ind) who recently passed away. Blaenau Gwent is also electing a new Member of the Welsh Assembly.Blaenau Gwent appears to be a contest between the Independents and Labour, with the latter throwing everything they can into the constituency. The Lib Dems came 3rd in 2005 and

Lib Dems Gain West Lindsey District Council

This week's by-elections saw the Lib Dems gain Gainsborough Lea ward from an Independent. The result means that West Lindsey DC is now LD 19, Con 17, Ind 1 and the Lib Dems have majority control of a council that until May 4th was Tory.As the (volunteer) Local Elections Officer for the East Midlands Lib Dems I can tell you that the Lib Dems now have majorities on 3 councils in the region. Also

Targetting those..... Part 2

Back to the 4x4 /SUV issue (and I see the Lib Dem VED and indeed air travel policies have got some publicity today)I was accused of demonising all 4x4 drivers. Well I wouldn't quite call it that but perhaps I could have been more precise:- Not all 4x4s are the top polluters;- so it follows that not all 4x4 drivers are selfish. And of course some 4x4s are essential for professional use.But there