Freedom of Speech

Geert Wilders holds extremly unpleasant views with which I disagree fundamentally and which many people will find very offensive.

He has produced a film which links various verses of the Qur'an with various terrorist outrages in an attempt to unfairly tarnish the Muslim faith as a whole with a belief in terrorism.

Unfortunately the Government appears to believe that because they find his views unacceptable and/or offensive, or they fear that some people may find it so, they have stopped him from entering the UK.

Strangely though they have not banned the film itself.

In my view freedom of speech is only worth having if one supports it for people one most strongly disagrees with.

The line we should draw, in my view, is when it comes to actual incitement to violence. If a film actually incites violence, or someone speaking at the showing of a film actually incites violence, then they should feel the full weight of the law.

However, offensive as it is, the film does not incite violence at all.

You can see it here and judge for yourself.

Please do let me know, if after watching the film, you have been incited to violence.

There was a very good debate on newsnight about this last night which you can see here. Maajid Nawas of the moderate Muslim Quillam Foundation argues the liberal case very effectively alongside Christian writer Rev Jay Smith.

As Maajid argues, I want to be able to hear arguments I disagree with, have the opportunity to argue against them, and have enough confidence in my arguments that they will prevail.

I do not want or need Government Ministers to decide what arguments I am capable of judging sensibly. I can decide that for myself, thanks very much.

(Oh - and Keith Vaz is an idiot.)

What planet are they on?

According to this mornings papers, Ministers are 'trying to negotiate' a cap on RBS bonuses of £25,000.

This is 'a bid to silence the public outcry over the City's culture of huge rewards and dangerous risk-taking'.

What planet are the Government on?

We OWN 68% of RBS. Ministers shouldn't be negotiating, they should be telling RBS to take a running jump, preferably from a very high floor.

The fact that RBS are even suggesting bonuses in the current situation shows that they still have not got the first clue about their culpability for the financial crisis nor any idea of how they are seen by the rest of the population who have had to bail them out.

The fact that a Labour Government thinks a cap on bonuses, set at a level higher than most people earn in a year, is in any way acceptable, shows how comepletely out of touch they are with reality too.

And is it really too much to ask that there might be at least a hint that the Government's motives might have something to do with what is right, rather than what is expedient?

Bankers should not be getting any bonuses at all, for several years if ever again.

Senior Executives, whose massive salaries were justified on the basis that high salaries were needed to attract 'the best people' have blown that theory right out of the water. They trousered millions in the good times, and they should be taking salary cuts now.

And we, or at least anyone who is still feeding the profits of these numpties, because we share the blame for letting them get away with it, should move our accounts to the nearest mutual building society.

Too Old to Rock 'N' Roll?

This BBC report made me smile.

And you can even turn the volume up to 11 ;-)

The Democrats have just about won another one

Despite Obama's victory feeling like old news, November's US elections are still not quite finished.

The recount in Minnesota has now been certified unanimously by the state canvassing board and this puts Democrat Al Franken ahead by a handful of votes.

But he is not home and dry. Republican Norm Coleman has issued a legal challnge (having previously opposed such tactics when he was ahead!) which means that Franken cannot be officially declared the winner just yet.

hat tip: MyDD

For me, it's about investing in people's potential

I was delighted to be amongst those supporting the retention of our position on tuition fees at last night's FPC meeting.

For me this issue is not about the detail, but about sending a clear message that the Liberal Democrats believe that it is the role of the state to help each individual fulfil their own potential.

Large levels of student debt, attached to the individual, make it hard for people to make a free choice about their own development.

Rather than saying that education is about personal fulfilment, individual debt makes it about repayment.

By taking a clear position on tuition fees, we make it clear that we are on the side of investing in people's potential, and that individuals should be able to make choices about their higher education based on their ambitions, not their bank balance.

It is also important for me that we should treat adults as adults, rather than base their entitlement on the income of their parents.

Our message on tuition fees at the last two elections, and on the penny on income tax for education before that, struck a real chord with people because it clearly identified the Lib Dems as the party that believed in investing in education and in opportunities for all.

I'm now confident that the raft of policies that are being developed from early years through to Higher education will do just that.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town ...

Jonathan over at Liberal England has already wished us a merry christmas with one of my favourite christmas songs - Solstice Bells by Jethro Tull - whose folksy sound is somehow appropriate at this time of year.

For anyone else still up waiting for children to settle down so that they can perform their Santa duties, here's another of my favourites:

Christmas Eve at the Fawcetts'

This was what happened when the sherry drinking got out of hand ...

Enjoy!

Will the real David Cameron please step forward

'Dave' seems a might confused.

Writing in The Daily Mail on December 8th he said:

"Work gives life shape. It gives people esteem and responsibility. It powers our economy. So we’re going to end the something-for-nothing culture. If you don’t take a reasonable offer of a job, you will lose benefits. No ifs, no buts."

But speaking earlier he said that it was 'not right' for the government to expect the mothers of pre-school children to be forced into work.

That sounds like quite a big 'but' to me.

Of course the more important point is that forcing single mothers of pre-school or primary school aged children into work by threatening to take their benefits away will do little to 'heal our broken society'.

Treating people with a bit of dignity might be a good start though.

Neil Trafford's Memorial Service

A series of videos of the Memorial Service which was held in Manchester on Friday is now up on You Tube here.

It is very moving and a wonderful tribute to Neil.

And these people think they can run the country?

For most of the 20 years I've been involved in politics I have never been able to work out how the party that has generally been the worse at managing its own budget seemed to believe itself best able to manage the economy.

Now it seems that despite having been doing better in the polls for many years, they have still managed to make a balls up of their own finances.

Conservative Home has the full story.

I particularly enjoyed this comment:

"The Board of the Conservative Party needs to start acting like a Board, not like (as former Australian Labor leader Mark Latham once said) a conga line of suckholes."

Hat tip: Lib Dem Voice

Sod politics, here' some rock n roll ...

The last fortnight for me has been dominated by the sad loss of a friend and colleague.

Politics by doom and gloom of various kinds.

But I spent Friday wondering if I was in the mood to go and see The Wildhearts who were playing at the Oxford Academy (or The Zodiac, as I like to think of it).

Well I did go, anf boy I'm glad I did.

The reformed A, with new addition John Mitchell on bass, were as superb as ever.

And the mighty Wildhearts were sensational.

They played a set chock full of their best live songs from across their career, starting with the more recent hit Vanilla Radio and ending with their classic mid nineties chart botherer, I Wanna Go Where The People Go.

The place was a sweatbox by the end of the gig and I felt a heck of a lot better for the experience.

If you like lively, loud rock you will love the Wildhearts.

There's still time to catch them at Wolverhampton tomorrow and in London on Wednesday.

In the meatime, here's one to liven up your Sunday evening:

Saying Good-bye to Neil Trafford

It is now eight days since I was told that Neil Trafford had died, and to be honest, I'm still struggling with the news.

I have made a few comments in other places but have found it quite difficult to write a full post.

I think I first met Neil in about 1994 when he was getting involved in the Lib Dem Youth & Students, who I then worked for. I have known him ever since as he worked in his various roles in the party and particularly these last few years as he worked as North West Campaigns Officer.

I can't really add much to what has already been said about Neil except to add my name to the long list of people who are proud to have counted him as a friend.

Neil's funeral was held yesterday in Swindon at Swindon Evangelical Church where Neil was and his family are members.

It was a bright sunny afternoon, just as it should be for Neil, and the Church was full.

Neil's parents, Mark and Lynne, spoke very movingly about Neil. They clearly loved him very much and were very proud of him. His father said that they had received many letters and phone calls and had seen the various comments posted about Neil online.

They spoke with great dignity, courage and compassion.

Hannah Trafford read from John 14.

Neil's close friend Emily also spoke about Neil, what a great friend he was, how much fun he was and how much he cared for everyone.

Neil's Pastor, Paul Williams, spoke about Neil and his memories of Neil's lobbying for a more democratic and inclusive church!

The hymns were some of Neil's favourites, Lord Be my Vision, My Jesus My Saviour, Great is the Lord and The Lords My Shepherd.

The service finished with a recording of 'Run' sung by Hannah Trafford, which beautifully sung and very moving.

The service was followed by a reception at a local hotel.

A lot of Neil's family and friends were there, along with many of us from the party. Several of the party's MPs were present, along with party staff, local members from the Swindon area and lots from Manchester.

I never find funerals easy, but it was good to see so many people that Neil had touched during his far too short but incredibly positive life.

If anyone would like to make a donation in Neil's memory please do so to the TEAR Fund - www.tearfund.org - a charity that Neil supported himself.

Good-bye Neil, and thanks for being you.

Doctor Who 45th Anniversary – Why Was 1977 Brilliant?

Alex - hope it's not too serious and you get well soon.

I was looking forward to your take on 1977 so I hope you don't mind if I put my two-penneth in;-)

1977 was a simply fantastic year of Who.

To this then eight/nine year old boy it was compulsive viewing and much playground talk each week would be about the previous Saturday's episode and the one coming up.

Having said goodbye to Sarah Jane Smith at the end of 1976 and seen off the Master, January 1977 saw the arrival of the lovely Leela. This scantily clad 'savage' was something of a contrast with previous well turned out companions but made for a great double-act with Tom Baker's Doctor.

The show was in good hands with Producer Philip Hinchcliffe and Script Editor Robert Holmes taking the series in a more gothic direction. Storylines and scripts were strong - it doesn't get much better than Robots of Death, Talons of Weng Chiang and Horror of Fang Rock one after the other. I can still remember the drama of every one of these stories. It was during this period that Mary Whitehouse's criticism of the show was at its most strident - clear evidence that the show was doing well!

The scripts did not lose their humour, however, and Leela, in particular, had some great one liners.

My favourite, in The Face of Evil (I think):

The Doctor : "Would you like a Jelly Baby?"
Leela : "It's true then. They say the Evil One eats babies."

What to watch:

I'd recommend getting the DVD of The Talons of Weng Chiang. A strong story and script, and if, like me, you've got kids who love the new series, they'll love this one too. (And it's cheap on Amazon at the moment too).

The Olbermeister does it again

I was delighted to read that Keith Olbermann's contract with MSNBC has been renewed for another cycle.

MSNBC in general, and Keith Olbermann specifically, have had a real impact during the last few years in rebalancing US news following an unhappy period when FOX dominated the airwaves.

Keith's best moments have been his Special Comments - hard-hitting straight to camera statements on issues of the day. On several occaisions he has taken Bush to pieces, and this time he has nailed those who support the ban on gay marriage in California and other states.

It's very emotional, very strong and very clear, and answers anyone who doesn't beleive there are real liberals in the US:

History is made

Well he's done it!

Possibly the most historic US Presidential result of all time, and he'll take office almost exactly 100 years after the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People.

This could radically change the perception of race across the US and of the US across the globe.

Let's hope so.

In the meantime, another beer, in celebration ;-)

How long would you wait in line to vote?

It seems pretty bizarre to me that the wealthiest country in the world doesn't seem able to organise itself to run an election properly - but such is the enthusiam generated by the campaign this time that it doesn't seem to be stopping folk from voting.

The Obama campaign have done a terrific job of making his supporters want to get out and vote for him, as the polling of early voters shows.

Such is the enthusiasm that 1,000 students in Pennsilvania were queuing up at 7am this morning ready to vote!

CNN's Jack Cafferty asked viewers how long they would stand in line to vote and I found the responses quite inspiring.

Amongst my favorites were:

Michelle from New Hampshire:

I am prepared and willing to wait all day. I have cleared my calendar to make sure I can spend the whole day. And the time I don’t spend waiting or voting, I will spend poll watching and holding signs. This is far too important not to make a personal sacrifice to make sure my vote counts. And, as an Army wife, one day of work loss is meaningless compared to the days my husband has and will spend on deployment. To all within the sound of your voice: Get out and vote!

LaShunda from Mobile, Alabama:

I am seven months pregnant and standing for long periods of time hurts my back tremendously, but in spite of my pain I plan on standing in line as long as it takes to exercise my right to vote, especially when those before me endured even greater hardships to have this right.

Joe St Louis, MO:

I have been waiting 8 years to vote…….

And this comment from a Candian reflects my own view:

Marie, Ontario:

Well Jack I’ve been voting here in Canada for over 40 years and can’t remember more than a half dozen people being in front of me in a line to vote.

This makes me wonder how a country that can send a man to the moon can’t organize and run elections without having so much turmoil and such lengthy delays at the polls.

Anyway to answer your question if I was an American I would wait all day and half the night to cast my vote for Obama as I feel it is just that important.

Well it rained, and it hailed, and it was freezing and windy but ...

Well we're now back from Cornwall after a largely cold, wet and windy week.

We were staying just on the edge of Bodmin Moor but because of the weather didn't get the chance for any proper walks there.

But despite the weather we had a great time.

Amongst other things we visited the lovely Tintagel and its castle, the Arthurian Centre near Camelford, Bodmin, the Eden Project, Padstow, the famous Jamaica Inn, Landhydrock House, Flambards Experience (the wettest and clodest visit to a theme park ever but with a fantastic end of season fireworks display), Healey's Cyder Farm, Futureworld, Lizard Point and Westward Ho!.

We also happened upon a very friendly Post Office in a lovely village called St Brewards which also has an internet cafe and hosts several other village activities - do visit it if you're in the area - they do a lovely mocha. (There is a lively campaign to 'save the Post Office' even though it isn't currently on the threatened list).

Everywhere we went we got an exceptionally friendly welcome and all the places we visisted were well geared up for children.

We rounded the week off with a fancy dress halloween party at Michaelstow Manor Holiday Park where we were staying.

We now have a list of just as many other places to visit that we couldn't get to this time and are planning to head back as soon as we can.

A new suite arrives & Heading for Cornwall for half term

Well, just one year, three months and a week after being flooded our new suite has arrived.

This was the last big thing we were waiting for to get our house back in order.

There is only a bit of 'snagging' left to sort out now.

Anyway to celebrate we're off to Cornwall at the weekend for half term.

We are staying near Bodmin (which I think must be in my former colleague Dan Rogerson's constituency?) and we're hoping that the weather won't be too bad.

Anyone got any ideas for good family things to do - our youngsters are 10 and 6.

(Yes - we already know about the Eden Project!)

$150 million in September

Exciting news for the ground-breaking Obama campaign that they have raised more than $150 million during September.

Even more impressively they received donations from more than 632,000 new donors and nowhave more than 3.1 million donors altogether who have given an average of $86.

This is very impressive on several fronts:

It once again demonstrates that Obama is creating genuine mass enthusiasm across the US.

It shows that it is possible to outraise the GOP's big donors and special interests by getting a large number of small donations.

And finally it means that Obama is going to be able to continue to out advertise and out organise McCain from now on in.

Are there lessons here for the Lib Dems? Yes - although we shouldn't pretend that it will be easy or that everything that works in the US will work here.

But it does reinforce what we already knew (and what a few of our seats alreay do) - money is out there if you can identify the right people to ask, put a convincing case that their donation will make a difference and demonstarte that you are spending money effectively.

One of the Local Parties I work for has a regular income (ie from Standing Orders) of nearly £3K per month now - enough to cover all the regular costs. 100% of anything else we raise from events, appeals etc. pays for extra campaigning.

All it has taken to achieve that - and there is still a lot of untapped potential - is to ask the right people in the right way and to build up over time.

Obama really is a fantastic speaker (and a personal link)

Surfing various American websites I realised that an Obama rally was about to be shown live which I am now watching.

He is speaking to a massive crowd in Kansas City, Missouri, and, after a relaxed start about the local sports teams, he is now in full flow on health care and the economy.

He has just been talking about health and his mother. I hadn't picked up that she had died of Ovarian Cancer at the age of 53, a year before my own Mum died of the same illness at the same age.

I am struck by the conviction with which Obama speaks, and the ease with which he mixes his personal story, real life examples, policy, philosophy and political rhetoric.

He has just built to a crescendo and finished and crowd has gone wild - rock start style.

He really is a fantastic speaker and is clearly attracting massive crowds, even in places the Democrats wouldn't have dreamt of winning just a year ago.

Thank You South Central

I spent today at South Central Conference in the excellent Town Council run Oakwood Centre in the middle of Woodley.

The Conference was buzzing and was the usual mix of debates, speeches, training, fringe and exhibition.

As ever it was full of familiar faces as well as some new ones.

The turnout was high - presumably because Nick Clegg was going to speak at the end of the afternoon. When he spoke many of us had to watch his speech on the screen in the cafe as the auditorium was full.

I was there to do two briefing sessions on plans for the European Campaign as well as to do ten minutes promoting Nick Clegg's Million Door Challenge in the main hall.

I was somewhat taken aback when, having done my presentation I was asked to 'hang on a minute' and was presented with a very amusing 'Focus on Fawcett' (featuring a set of those embarrasing photos that usually turn up on your wedding day) and a rather nifty HMV voucher along with some kind words from Regional Chair Steve Sollit about my work for the Region for the past ten years.

I was a little stunned and gabbled out a few words of thanks which I hope made some sense to the audience.

It has been a great ten years working in the region (which used to be Hampshire and Chilterns) and working with so many activists, many of whom I now consider friends, and it was with some sadness that I decided to drop back to a more local and less stressful role.

But I am very appreciative for the gifts, and for all the kind words I received from so many people today.

Thank you.

Obama does stand up

Enjoy!

Watford voters tell the Tories what they think of them

Voters in Watford's Tudor ward have today made it very clear what they think of Watford Conseravtives' 'it was nothing to do with us guv' stance on the Ian Oakley affair.

Excellent Lib Dem candidate Darren Walford held the seat with 50% of the votes cast while the Tory share plummeted by more than 12%.

The icing on the cake was that the BNP trailed in fifth place.

Given that the Lib Dems hold the vast majority of seats on the council, along with the Mayoralty, an increase in their share of the vote in a by-election held in difficult circumstances is a terrific result for the party.

And despite the fact that the by-election took place just days after former Tory candidate Ian Oakley was sentenced for his nasty and anti-democratic campaign of intimidation, the local Tories were still cuaght out telling outright lies on their leaflets and had to issue an apology and retraction yesterday.

At least it is clear that a good chunk of their (former) voters have some sense of decency even if the local Tory Party continues to refuse to apologise or look into what happened.

Is the credit crunch over?

Good News!

Just received a very reassuring email from the Halifax which tells me 'Your Halifax Credit Card is always there when you need it'.

So that's okay then, panic over.

Cameron = hypocrite, Watford Tories = shameful

As Sara reports, more evidence that David Cameron is a hypocrite.

Several of my good friends in Watford, and many others besides, have been subjected to a nasty campaign of hate and intimidation for the past three and a half years.

Their crime?

Showing their support for or standing for the Lib Dems.

This campaign was not just a bit of argy-bargy, it was serious, planned and sustained criminal damage, defamation and intimidation.

It was a deliberate attempt on the part of a Conservative Parliamentary Candidate to win election by means of intimidation and hate rather than by democratic means.

The court has rightly passed a serious sentence.

You might think, in the circumstances, that David Cameron might want to find out how this had come about and what the Tory Party could do to stop it happening again?

But no, not a peep from the man.

You might think that the local Tories might release some statement of apology, or tell us how Oakley got away with it for so long?

But no, not a single word of regret or explanation.

Watford Lib Dems have not only put up with the intimidation, but carried on working hard for the local community through it all.

They are an example to us.

You can help them though.

They are fighting a key local by-election this Thursday.

Please contact their office on 01923 238552 or the local party Chairman, Stephen Giles-Medhurst on 01923 893661 if you can help in any way.

Let's prove that democratic campaigning is the way to win, not criminal damage and intimidation, and send a clear message to cameron & co that their hypocrisy has been noted.

"They're like, 'Who's Springsteen?' "

Being a bit of a fan of The Boss I much enjoyed reading this account of the first of three rallies he is holding for Obama.

I tend to agree with Daniel Pearlman (quoted towards the end of the article) that Thunder Road is just about the best song ever. (Well that, Atlantic City, Born to Run and The River)

But I really was amused at the idea that some youngsters were bribed to attend a Springsteen gig on the promise that they might get to see Obama!

Given that it's unlikey that we'll see the great man doing a benefit gig for the Lib Dems in the near future, here's something to console you:

A fantastic speech

I saw this on a diary on Daily Kos and thought it a very powerful speech.



It says a lot about US politics that such a speech has to be made. But he makes it exceptionally well.

Why I'm 4 Ros

One of the quite reasonable limitations on federal party staff is that we are not allowed to publicly endorse candidates in internal party elections.

This can be frustrating. I had a firm preference in each of the leadership elections that took place during the ten years I worked for the Campaigns Department but had to be careful not to say anything publicly about it.

But now I'm free, and just as the party's Presidential election has kicked off.

I am firmly of the view that Ros Scott is the best person to be our new President.

Here's why:

1 Ros has set out a very clear view of how she sees the role of President and I think she has got it broadly right. Under our constitution the President should play an important role: representing the views and mood of the party to the leadership, chairing the Federal Executive and getting out and about supporting and enthusing the troops. I think Ros understands this and will be better able to fulfil all aspects of the role and balance them well.

2 Ros has very broad experience at many levels in the party and outside it. In particular she is a genuine listener and has a good understanding of our local government base. I beleive it is more important than ever that this and other parts of the party are represented effectively.

3 Ros has put more thought and effort into preparing for the campaign and working out her ideas.

4 Ros is not an MP. On its own this wouldn't necessarily swing my vote, but along with the other factors it is important. I believe we will be better served by someone outside the commons parliamentary party having the role than someone inside. Groupthink is a very powerful force and my preference is to have a President who is less likely to affected by the groupthink that sometimes affects the thinking of our parliamentary party and the leadership.

Those are my main reasons for supporting Ros.

And Lembit?

Well I have a lot of time for Lembit. I've known him since my first NUS Conference (many years ago!) where he was sitting as an Independent member of the NUS NEC. He was already popular and an excellent and enjoyable speaker.

He has worked solidly hard for the party since he joined it 20 years ago and is one of the few MPs who has taken membership activity seriously in that time.

He also understands the need for the party to connect with ordinary people.

BUT

I do not subscribe to the view that all publicity is good publicity and think there is a significant risk that if Lembit were to become President there might be a lot of publicity generated but it would be about him and his personal life and would not do anything to promote the party's values or policies.

I also think that the most important role of the new President will be as a refelctor of the views of members to the leadership. In my experience Lembit would be less good than Ros in this crucial role.

Finally Lembit does have many strengths and is a positive force for the party, but we will get those benefits whether or not he is President.

So I'm 4 Ros, but won't be hugely upset if Lembit wins.

Is this the way all bands will go?

More and more bands seem to be ditching traditional record company deals to go their own way.

Bands such as Fairport Convention and The Levellers run their own annual festival and even smaller events such as our local Truck Festival (also run by a local band) have developed strong reputations.

And bands are increasingly using the internet to provide a platform for their music and selling directly to their fans, cutting out the various middle men along the way.

Radiohead hit the headlines recently for giving away their new album as a download, asking fans to pay what they wanted. They apparantly averraged 'only' £2 per album in return, although as has been pointed out this is actually MORE than most bands will get for selling an album through a recording contract.

One band that has consistently blazed a trail of innovation is one of my favorites - Marillion.

Having ended their relationship with EMI after their 80s glory days the band went through a succession of contracts with smaller labels before deciding to go it alone.

They steadily built up an email list and website, set up their own studio and record company (initially releasing 'official bootlegs' and the like) and employed their own manager (the indefatigable Lucy Jordache).

They established their own 'Marillion weekends' - the first of which was at Brean Sands Holiday Park in Somerset. They are holding two next year - one in Holland and one in Canada.

For 2001's Anoraknophobia they asked fans to pay upfront for a special edition of the album. 12,000 of us did so and in the process provided the band with an 'advance' that allowed them the artistic freedom to do what they wanted with the album without any record company execs breating down their throat.

They repeated the excercise with 2004's Marbles and this time 18,000 of us paid up front for what turned out to be a classic.

As the Beeb have reported they are trying even more new ideas for the new album.

They are distributing their own advance bootleg of the new album in an attempt to beat the file sharers. It's free, but not as good quality, and encourages you to buy the real thing.

They've once again asked fans to buy in advance, and we've done so in our thousands.

And they've set up a competition to ask fans to produce their own videos for the track 'Whatever Is Wrong With You' with two £5,000 prizes for the most viewed and the band's own favorite.

This is my favorite so far:



There's a short video about all this here.

They do this so much better than we do ...

Paul Walter is full of praise for Bill Clinton's speech to the DNC.

I watched the introduction Beau Biden made before his father's speech and found it utterly compelling.

Their Conventions really are a very different beast compared to our conferences!

Off to get wet and muddy ...

I'm taking James off to the Cropredy Festival tomorrow and the forecast looks a bit wet.

Unfortunately we missed Cropredy last year - Fairport's 40th - in the aftermath of the floods.

It's a great line up this year with The Levellers and Supergrass headlining along with Fairport - excellent festival bands all.

The Family Mahone and Stackridge should provide a bit of light relief and there is also a performace of the folk-opera version of Lark Rise to Candleford.

The least Cropredyish act is probably Midge Ure.

For those of you not able to join us here's a taste of what you'll be missing:

A quiet 40th

Being 40 years and day old doesn't feel that much different to being 39 years and 364 days old.

I did have a nice birthday though: Breakfast in bed cooked by the youngsters, some DVD sets as presents (The Sharpe Collection and the first series of Starsky & Hutch), a lovely curry at Abingdon's excellent Dil Raj for lunch, off to the pictures to see the new Narnia film, and then home for the final episode of Doctor Who.

Life is good.

Up the Irons!

Iron Maiden were utterly fantastic at Twickenham on Saturday.

Their only UK date on their 'Somewhere Back in Time' world tour played to a full house, and their biggest ever UK audience for a Maiden tour date. (Although I think they played to a bigger audience at one of the Monster's of Rock Festivals I saw them at.)

Their setlist was picked from their eighties albums and included their epic take on 'The Rime of the Ancient mariner' amongst other tracks.

Maiden seem to be more popular worldwide than ever and, along with Metallica, have the ability to sell out stadiums on every continent. For the last few years they have been alternating between touring each new album and 'greatest hits' tours, which works pretty well.

Here's a bit of footage from someone's mobile phone. From the angle I must have been about 20 yards to their right:



Avenged Sevenfold and Within Temptation were also very good.

Thank you RTD

Some people really are very obsessed with Doctor Who. One is dear Lawrence Miles who writes very long and sometimes interesting things about the programme on his Doctor Who Blog.

My take on the new Who is that that Russell T Davies (RTD) has done an absolutely fantastic job. My test for this is that my youngsters are just as excited about watching the show each Saturday as I was when i was their age.

We went out for a curry for my birthday yesterday and Emma, my six year old, was telling me how she wanted her bedroom door to be painted like a TARDIS door, Doctor Who curtains, Doctor Who carpet, Doctor Who lightshade ..... you get the picture.

Both my youngsters spend each episode on the edge of their seats (with Emma occasionally hiding behind daddy in the scary bits).

The last few episodes have pulled together many strands that were left floating during the past four series and, in my view, did it well.

Trying to bring back so many previous companions could have been disastrous (The Five Doctors springs to mind) but generally worked well, and helped rather than hindered the plot.

Davros was brilliant and the Daleks back on frightening form.

And the ending(s) were great. Another goodbye to Sarah Jane Smith, still touching but a little more relaxed, Captain Jack leading Martha off to another series of Torchwood presumably, and Mickey coming along for the ride. Rose finally getting her man, and a very poignant end to the Doctor's relationship with Donna (and a critic defying performance from Catherine Tate.)

Bringing back Doctor Who could have gone very badly wrong. But RTD - primarily through his own skill, imagination and determination - has made the hit TV Series of my childhood into the biggest TV series of my children's childhood too.

RTD - I salute you!

P.S. My 3 point response to Lawrence Miles' '25 Ways to make Doctor Who more interesting' is:

1 Get writers who know the difference between 'less' and 'fewer'.

2 Trust Stephen Moffat to know what he's doing and let him lead the show his way as RTD did his.

3 Er ... that's it ...

Iron Maiden, Dr Who and being 40

I'm very excited about seeing Iron Maiden tomorrow. I think it will be about the 15th time I've seen them in 21 years and they never fail to rock like b***ards.

I also hope to hook up with a few of my rock loving mates which should make it even better.

This does mean I'll miss the final episode of this (excellent) season's Dr Who - but I'm sure the kids will record it for me and I'll watch it as soon as I get home.

I think I've been watching the good doctor for 35 years now and I still get excited by it. I was watching the excellent Inferno (3rd doctor) last night.

And then on Sunday I'm 40.

40!

Are 40 year olds supposed to get so excited about heavy metal bands and sci-fi?

Who cares!

Conservative confusion in Henley

Just been listening to the Radio Berkshire hustings for the Henley by-election.

The bit that stood out for me was when the Conservative candidate, John Howell, was challenged about whether the Tories were actually going to take legal action over the famous Lib Dem magazine as promised by David Cameron last week.

John Howell started by saying that Cameron hadn't specified that legal action would be on the magazine.

The show's host, who had done the actual Cameron interview in question, made clear that it was.

Howell then said that they were not pursuing legal action over the magazine but would be doing so over the Townlands Hospital leaflet.

This is the leaflet where we quoted the Chair and former Chair of the Save the Townlands Hospital Campaign as saying that they did not know John Howell or any campaigning he had done for the hospital campaign.

John Howell made the point that he was present at a meeting of the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee which discussed Townlands.

Whether this degree of support is sufficient to warrant John Howell's claims that his support for the Townlands campaign is 'one of his proudest acheivements' is up to local electors to decide.

The people who ran the Save the Townlands campaign clearly don't believe so.

Cameron can stick this!

Yesterday I pointed out that David Cameron had been a little hypocritical when he said this about one of our campaign magazines:

"I just think this sort of campaigning is absolutely appalling and as you say no mention on the newspaper that it’s from the Liberal Democrats sort of pretending to be a community newspaper eh I mean they should be really ashamed of what they’re trying to do"

I pointed out on the regional BBC News that the Conservatives had delivered a magazine of their own earlier in the campaign.

Well guess what we've picked up today?

That's right - "South Oxfordshire Life" - a magazine distributed by - you guessed it - the Conservatives!

But wait - in a green circle in the corner it says that it is "FREE from your local Conservatives".

But hang on a mo' - is it printed on the magazine?

No.

It is a sticker that has been stuck on!

Do I take it that the the Conservatives were planning their own magazine, but that following Dave's criticism of our magazine they had to stay up all night sticking stickers on every copy in order to avoid a charge of hypocrisy?

I do hope so ;-)

Me vs. David Cameron

It seems that David Cameron wasn't as impressed with our excellent Henley campaign magazine as I was.

He was on Radio Berkshire yesterday describing it thus:

"I just think this sort of campaigning is absolutely appalling and as you say no mention on the newspaper that it’s from the Liberal Democrats sort of pretending to be a community newspaper eh I mean they should be really ashamed of what they’re trying to do"

As I pointed out on BBC South Today yesterday evening his point would be stronger if the Conservatives hadn't themselves delivered their own campaign magazine 'People Talk' earlier in the campaign.

It is nice to know that Dave is worried though.

The best campaign magazine ... EVER!

Here in Thame we've just taken delivery of a very large pile of fantastic campaign magazines.

In my view they may be the best by-election magazines ever.

(Yes even better than the 'Sedgfield Whippet'.)

Come to Thame and pick up a bundle, but be warned, they are shifting fast ;-)

Three leaders in one day

It's 20 years since I organised my first Leaders' visit when the then relatively unknown Paddy Ashdown visited the small Lib Dem branch at Leicester University. (Those were the days when getting into double figures in the polls would have been considered a major success!)

Today, though, was a first for me with not one, not two but three leaders all on one visit.

Paddy, Ming Campbell and Nick Clegg were all in Thame to support Stephen Kearney's campaign in the Henley by-election.

Tory candidate John Howell was under further pressure today over his links with property developers.

There are genuine questions which need to be answered here.

An opportunity for those of you bemoaning the lack of a by-election in Haltemprice & Howden

A lot of people seem to be very upset that they are not going to be able to travel to Humberside for the next few weekends to fight a by-election.

But worry not, help is at hand.

Here in Henley (which is much nearer to Taunton than Humberside!) we have piles of leaflets to deliver and large amounts of canvassing to do every day until June 26th.

Now I'm sure Taunton Deane Executive spent as much time planning who could come and help here and when as they did discussing the other by-election, but in case they need more details they can be found here.

Well done Mark

Congratulations to new Councillor Mark Mills who won the Holywell by-election in Oxford last night and takes over from my good friend and all round good egg Richard Huzzey.

The turnout was low due to the election being on the penultimate day of term. (Richard resigned very quickly so that it didn't slip into the summer vacation).

Perhaps the most interesting part of the result is that the Greens fell to fourth place in a ward that they held until May 1st this year.

Back home, minus kitchen

We have finally moved back into our house, 10 months after last years flooding.

We do have a new floor, stair carpet, internal doors and it is all nicely decorated.

Unfortunately we are still without a kitchen - something of an issue as we have three children (well two children and one teenager!) to look after.

We are not bet pleased, although we are glad to be back home and will cope, no doubt.

Back at the by-election we are fighting ...

Lots of excitement here in Thame today due to media coverage of the Conservative candidate's links with property developers. (An issue because he is making a big play of the Green Belt issue.)

Peter Henley of BBC South news has been here to do an interview on the subject.

Once again we've had a good turnout and we are shifting piles of literature.

We've also had more MPs today - including Sandra Gidley, Andrew Stunnell and David Howarth.

We're looking forward to another visit from Nick Clegg over the weekend.

One of the best things about by-elections for me is that I bump into so many of the councillors and activists I know from across the country.

It's a great atmosphere here - do come and join in.

Hotting up in Henley

It's a lovely warm day in Thame today.

As the writ for the by-election was being moved in Parliament Nick Clegg was meeting residents with Stephen Kearney in Henley Market.

After going on to meet some of the local papers Nick popped in to meet the team here at the HQ in Thame.

Several other MPs were out helping today including Chris Huhne and David Howarth who have been out Residents' Surveying with Stephen this evening.

The response is uniformly friendly and there is plenty of support.

Good to see that Labour are being honest about their chances too. It is clearly a 'two boat race'!

Bye Bye Boris

So Boris has said that he is definitely going to resign as MP for Henley.

I met Boris a few times during my time as a County Councillor and always found him a genuinely pleasant and good-natured guy.

He also appeared to do a good job representing his constituents, certainly in the dealings I had with him.

I'm sure he is genuinely sad to be leaving Henley where he has been a well regarded MP.

Let battle now commence to choose his successor.

Wrong Twice in One Leaflet

Henley Conservatives have got their facts wrong twice over in their first leaflet of the campaign.

Lib Dem candidate Stephen Kearney lives in Aston Rowant, near Watlington, and very much in the Henley Constituency.

Yet in their first leaflet of the campaign the Tories claim he lives '200 miles away'.

But they also get the facts wrong about another candidate.

Green candidate Mark Stevenson also lives locally - IN THE NEIGHBOURING VILLAGE TO THE CONSERVATIVE - yet the same leaflet claims that the Conservative is 'the only local candidate'.

Abingdon is now wired

Great news for Abingdon residents and visitors as free wifi access was switched on yesterday.

Abingdon Town Council has worked with local IT company CTS to provide the service which it is hoped will roll out through the town as local businesses offer additional hubs.

Not only is this great news for Abingdon but it is also a great credit to my wife, Samantha, who has pushed the initiative through via the Council's website working group.

Our youngest, Emma, also had great fun helping to organise the Balloon Race which took place to promote the switch on.

Henley battle joined

Those of you listening to BBC Oxford or BBC Berkshire today will have heard me welcoming the selection of Cllr. John Howell as the Conservative candidate for the Henley by-election.

It is good that the Tories have selected their candidate, as it is always slightly odd when only one candidates is in the field.

But it also means we have an opportunity to highlight the gap between Tory spin on many issues and what they actually do in practice.

Just one example - we got our glossy County Council magazine through the door last week telling us how the County has achieved all the objectives it set for itself over the last year.

However there was no mention at all of the recent highly critical report into the County's failure to serve its young people across a range of services.

It looks like we face a highly negative campaign from the Conservatives against Stephen Kearney. (Most of their first leaflet is about him and our selection process!)

I'm gald to say that we will be campaigning on the issues that matter to local people, and the Conservative record locally.

A brief update

1 Hello Sarah! Gorgeous as ever I see:-)

2 We will be back in our home by June 9th at the latest. It is now plastered, decorated and has a new bathroom. The floor is half way there and then there is just the kitchen.

3 I still don't have internet access at home so haven't been blogging much but plan to resume when we move back.

4 I'm currently spending most of my time in Thame at our Henley by-election HQ. Do come and say hello!

Getting plastered

Much excitement at the house this morning as a team of plasterers and a skip turned up.

We've also had meetings with the building people and the kitchen people and expect to meet the flooring people and the decorating people soon too.

It should just be a month or so before we can move back in.

Having mastered the art of assembling flat-pack furniture (well, okay, 'mastered' is perhaps overstating things) I have also started on building some shelf units for the kids' room too.

In other news I am just about over the bout of pneumonia I had over Christmas and am about to attend my first evening meeting since I was ill.

Jim Moley R.I.P.

Sad news yesterday that one of my best friends of recent years, Councillor Jim Moley, has passed away.

I'm told that he was found by local activists who turned up to his house to pick up some campaigning material, which, if true, would be fitting.

I first got to know Jim when we were both elected to Oxfordshire County Council in 1997, and even better following my selection as parliamentary candidate for Wantage and up to the 2001 election.

Jim had been elected as a Vale councillor much earlier, and then as a Town councillor, and by the time I knew him he had already achieved iconic status.

Jim was a colourful character, deeply involved in local activities including the Wantage Silver Band, the Choral Society and the Summer Arts Festival. He loved music and was a great believer in getting stuck in to community activity.

Jim was a tenacious and inteligent campaigner. He fought hard against closure of the community hospital and argued strongly for the comunity view of what should happen to local education provision. He was not afraid of challenging professionals or council officers if he thought they were ignoring the community, even when this made him unpopular in some circles.

Jim was a unique and eccentric human being. He didn't believe in locking his front door, and it was only recelty that he entered the computer age. His home was wonderful, part of the former vicarge next to the parish church in the centre of Wantage (and famous for its links with Betjeman) full to the brim with books, council paperwork and the odd pile of CDs, which he would clear away for branch campaign meetings.

Jim was also a loyal and hard-working campaigner. He was one of a small but dedicatedband of people who made my time as parliamentary candidate a joy. Rarely did two days pass without a long phone call about the latest controversy in town, and Jim helped me get on the right side of many an issue. He worked solidly hard delivering leaflets and knocking doors.

I enjoyed my regular visits to the town, my chats with Jim, and the many facilities the town as to offer. We still take the kids to the Vale and Downland Museum regularly (another of the projects Jim actively supported) and to the lovely informal Betjeman Park, just down the footpath from the church.

I suspect I will shed the occasional tear on future visits to the town.

Jim could be a hard person to like, he was an odd chap at times and could rub people up the wrong way. But he loved his town, his campaigning, and beating the opposition.

Politics in Wantage and Oxfordshire will be a chunk less interesting without Jim.

I for one will miss him dearly.

First the excuses

My regular readers, both of you, will have noticed a lack of posts recently.

We are still out of our home and don't have internet access in the temporary home. Thankfully we do now have contractors appointed for the refurbishment of our downstairs so the end is now in sight.

I've also been very busy at work, though it best to avoid blogging entirely about the leadership, and have spent the past month down with Pneumonia (my tip, avoid it!) and recovery from it.

I probably won't be blogging frequently until I'm back in the house.

Rushing about

Struggling to get much done this week after the hectic few weeks we had until Brown bottled it.

The highlight of my week was heading over to Wembley to see the excellent Rush.

I saw them a couple of years ago on their 30th anniversary tour and they were fantastic - playing a 'greatest hits' set.

This time they played a fair few tracks off the new 'Snakes and Arrows' album as well as plenty of old favourites.

So here's some new Rush:



And here's some old stuff too (with Liberals in mind):

A Brixton break from election prep

An evening off last night (which was a shock to the system!) so go and see the mighty Incubus at the delightful Brixton Academy.

Originally planned as a treat for my eldest back in April the gig had been rescheduled following band member being injured.

Support band Puggy did a fine job and picked up a strong reaction. A lively stage prescence and a batch of interesting songs with influences ranging from spanish guitar to Muse, they went down very well with the Incubus crowd.

And Incubus? Well they're not a band I've heard a lot of, although what I had heard I'd liked. I ended up very impressed.

A very strong rock set - quite a range of styles - elements of RHCP, Pearl Jam, Seattle sound but also a number of very straightforward commercial rock songs.

Anyway ... back to the election ... but meanwhile, enjoy:

31 today!

Apparantly:

You Are 31 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Battlestar Gallactica Season 3

I've just finished watching season three of Battlestar Gallactica (BSG) on DVD.

What a fantastic series, and what a great ending to the penultimate season.

BSG is a 'reimagining' of the classic but cheesy late-seventies sci-fi series about a group of human survivors trying to find earth in the face of the genocidal Cylons.

Much of the series tackles contemporary issues such as the use of torture, the tactics of insurgency and the democratic process. It does this by making the humans, with whom the audience tend to identify, into the insurgent terrorists, using tactics such as suicide bombings and torture.

Given that the programme is a US production it is a brave approach.

Along with all the best sci-fi (ie Firefly) the real strength of the series is in the strength of the characters. There is no hero here. All are deeply flawed. But they draw us in all the more for it.

This is a must see series for any sci-fi fan that hasn't caught up with it yet.

Post 200 - Battle Stations ...

As Ryan pointed out a few days ago this blog is one of a small but hardy batch of blogs that existed when Lib Dem Blogs was born three years ago.

Regular readers will know (well when I say 'regular' ...) that posting has always been somewhat sporadic. This is because I only post when I have something to say and time to say it, and, as my friends will know, I often don't have much time.

This is the 200th post. Not bad if you ask me. And comes on what I now think to be a likely general election.

At the moment we don't have an internet connection at home, following the flood, so I've not been posting much because of that. Hopefully I'll find time to post as the election progresses.

I do find that blogging is a good way of getting things of my chest, and sometimes a good way to think through issues and my position on them. It is also a good way to keep in touch with what's going on round the party and with quite a few old friends who blog.

So I intend to keep on blogging, probably sporadically, and within the limits of what a member of party staff can get away with. Do keep in touch.

Day 4 in the Irony Hotel

Temperature - even hotter

Training sessions run - 2

Attendance at them - up but visibly wilitng.

Key seats met with - 3

Dinner with a few colleagues - very pleasant

Meeting up with large group to celebrate Richard Huzzey's birthday - excellent

Strong environment policy to campaign on - passed

Chances of them fixing the air conditioning - apparently slim.

v busy - more later - ttfn

Day 3 in the Quality Hotel

Another training session delivered - this time in the sub-tropical temperature of the Chestnut Room here in my base for conference The Quality Hotel (also known as The Irony). The air conditioning has apparently broken down which means we are training in very warm rooms over very noisy fans. Surprisingy the trainees did not fall asleep despite the heat and the best efforts of the trainers ;-)

Today also included several more meetings with key seats and a useful meeting with Regional Executive members to do some early planning for the South East European election campaign.

This evening I chatted to folk at the East of England and South East/South Central Regional Receptions as well as briefing several of our regional journalists.

Then it was off for a very pleasant curry at River Spice with Steve Goddard, our candidate in the highly marginal Oxford East constituency.

(Apparantly there is a conference centre nearby too!)

Back in Brighton

I'm back in Brighton for Lib Dem Conference.

I enjoyed a lovely dinner last night at The Fisherman's Rest with Chris Rennard (Chief Executive), Hilary Stephenson (Director of Campaigns) and colleagues yesterday evening where we chatted about progress in our key seats and preparations for a possible autumn election.

We then met up for a few drinks with the rest of the Campaigns Department Team at the Grand Hotel.

Mood very positive.

This morning I did the first of several training sessions I will be doing this week - on 'Making the most of VIP visits' with the excellent Dave Hennigan from Rochdale.

This afternoon I will be meeting the teams from some of our London seats and London Campaigns Officer Andrew Reeves to discuss their campaigning and planning for a snap election.

I may even get along to the conference centre at some point, but I suspect most of my week will be spent here in the Quality Hotel.

Atonement

Go see Atonement.

It features some great footage of the beach I spent much of my childhood making sandcastles on and a couple of scenes shot outside and inside the Regent Cinema where I spent many a happy late Friday evening in my youth.

Aparantly the story and acting is also quite good!

After the flood

The past few months have been a been spent dealing with the aftermath of being flooded.

I'm not going to go into a lot of detail but suffice to say that the whole experience is a lot more disruptive than I had ever imagined.

We are now settled in a temporary home not too far from our house and the kids are back into their normal routine.

The insurance company have been as helpful as we could expect although they and all the various contractors involved have clearly struggled to cope with the large number of claims across the country.

The one thing we still haven't sorted out is transfering the TV/phone/internet connection to the new house so internet access has been somewhat limited.

On the positive side it has meant that I've caught up with my DVD viewing and have been enjoying Season 2 of Battlestar Gallactica (Season 3 is now on the way) and the complete set of Tommorrow People DVDs - a series I vaguely remembered from my childhood but which has been a joy to watch with my 9 year old James.

On top of that I went to see The Police last Sunday with Samantha and they were absolutely fantastic.

It's a bit wet here ...

I was going to blog about the excellent by-election results (for us anyway!) and the brilliant agents' training weekend we've just had.

But unfortunately we are flooded out, and I spent this morning moving more stuff upstairs, and we are now staying with friends waiting for the next Thames 'surge'.

Ho hum ...

This news Lit up my evening

Now this is funny.

No wonder Tom Watson was in such a strange mood earlier.

I can just imagine the state of panic in the Tory by-election HQ just now!

Be quick or be dead

Just noticed that they are showing the classic Doctor Who series 'The Deadly Assassin' on UK Drama at 4.25pm.

If you're not currently at a by-election and haven't seen it before I'd strongly recommend it.

Let's break the record folks

At the weekend before the Leicester South and Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election polling day I wrote to Lib Dem activists in London and the South East urging them to come and help in the last few days because we knew we could do it, but we needed enough people to turn up to deliver the (rather ambitious) campaign we had planned.

Hundreds did turn up, and the result was victory in Leicester South and a near miss in Birmingham Hodge Hill.

I think we are in a similar position in Ealing Southall and Sedgefield this weekend.

In Ealing the Tories are putting in a visible effort, just as they did in Leicester, but the Lib Dems are out-campaigning them on the ground. The Labour campaign is surprisingly lacklustre.

In Sedgefield the Tories are doing next to nothing on the ground, and it is pretty clear that the Lib Dems are the challengers. There is a degree of unhappiness that Blair walked away and a general sense that the area has been let down by Labour for many years.

In both by-elections, despite the short notice, the Lib Dems have put together very strong by-election teams, each led by veterans of the Bromley, Dunfermline, Hartlepool, Leicester, Birmingham and Brent East campaigns. Chris Rennard and Hilary Stephenson have been seen regularly at both campaigns along with oodles of MPs.

Both had well organised and busy HQs up and running within days of the elections being called.

Both have had massive support from Lib Dem activists from far and wide.

With just a few days until polling day lets break the record for the biggest turnout ever for our by-election campaigns!

www.ealinglibdems.org.uk
www.sedgefieldlibdems.org.uk

The weekend - my top five

Haven't time to do a detailed posting about my 39th birthday weekend - but this is a truncated version in Top Five format:

5 A surprise birthday curry at Abingdon's finest Dil Raj restaurant on Friday evening.

4 Seeing the mighty Metallica at the new Wembley Stadium with my good friend Brian the Lion.

3 Enjoying some great live music and meeting both Paul Cornell and a Dalek with my younger two at the Faringdon Arts Festival.

2 The Key to Time DVD box set (well, a pre-order, it's not out yet) from Frankie (my eldest - knows her Whovian Dad well!).

1 A glorious bright pink birthday cake - mixed baked and decorated (in that way only an over-excited five year old could manage) by my beautiful youngest daughter, Emma.


And it wil be 39th birthdays for me from now on ...

Don't miss out ... only 8 days left ...

That's right, there are only eight more days in which you can make a difference in Ealing Southall and Sedgefield.

So far the turnout of helpers has been fantastic at both by-elections, but we need even bigger numbers to turn up over the weekend and every day through to polling day.

Hundreds of people will be looking back on these by-elections proudly because they were there.

Don't miss out on your chance to do the same.

Overwhelmed

Today I have mostly been sending emails to people who have offered to help at the Ealing and/or Sedgefield by-elections.

It has been a very positive experience, everyone from seasoned by-election helpers to new recruits are keen to help, and I know that the teams running both by-election HQs are delighted with the level of help they are getting.

So a big thank you from me to everyone who has been in touch.

If you can go to either by-election in person directions are available on the campaign websites for Ealing and Sedgefield.

You can just turn up - there will be plenty to do every day from now until polling day - and there will be a warm welcome too!

Ealing Excitement

Much excitement here at the Ealing Southall HQ over the news that a senior local Conservative has joined the Lib Dems.

Mr Brij Mohan Gupta, Deputy Chair (Political) of Ealing Southall Conservatives and Vice-Chair of Southall Green and Southall Broadway Conservative ward parties, has joined the Liberal Democrats and backed the Liberal Democrat by-election candidate Nigel Bakhai.

He said:

"Under David Cameron the Conservatives have become a party of style over substance. I agree with everything that Quentin Davies said about Mr Cameron.

"This by-election reflects Mr Cameron's contempt for local Conservative members. His spin doctors ignored our wishes and forced the branch to accept someone whose commitment to the party is less than a week old. Almost all local Conservative party members feel like I do."

Lib Dems odds on to win Ealing Southall

Just a bit of fun:

Betfair have opened a market on the Ealing Southall by-election.

At present the Lib Dems are 8/13 on to win the seat.

Labour are current favourites at 1/5 on.

The Tories are languishing at 11/5 against.

(Note: I'm not encouraging anyone to bet - betting is generally a fools' game - it's always the bookies that win!)

Thank you, whoever you are

Just a quick note to say thank you to the many people that have already responded to requests for help in the by-elections.

(And apologies for not being able to send personal replies to everyone individually so far today)

My team is currently working our way through the offers and responding appropriately.

The key message is JUST TURN UP!

Both HQs are open and busy. There is plenty to do at each.

Will their approach work?

It will be interesting to see whether the Tory approach to the Ealing Southall by-election comes through for them.

They have clearly tried to create the impression of a flying start by selecting a candidate very quickly, having Cameron turn up for an early visit, and set up their 'virtual HQ'.

However this approach is already causing them problems.

The quick selection of a candidate who does not live in the borough, has no record of Conservative activism and who has only recently joined the party has caused consternation amongst party activists and has even been described as 'high-risk' by a local Conservative councillor.

Feedback from the campaign on te ground suggests that the Lib Dem approach of getting a substantial HQ up and running quickly and encouraging activists to turn out to deliver and doorknock may be having more impact. Early signs are that the Tory campaign may turn out to be smoke and mirrors.

Find out for yourself by coming along to the HQ and helping out.

Well done Nigel

I am delighted to see that Nigel Bakhai has been chosen as our candidate for the Southall by-election.

I know Nigel from various London training events over the past few years and I know he is very committed to working hard for the community where he lives.

The fact that he is a genuinly local candidate can only help too.

I believe we will also be announcing our candidate for Sedgefield soon. I'm sure it will be reported here.

Marching towards the sound of gunfire ...

Ming Campbell's speech will be widely welcomed within the party and by our supporters.

During the past few weeks we have been courted by David Cameron over the London Mayoral election and last week by Gordon Brown as he sets out to attempt to show that he is different to Blair. Ming Campbell rightly rejected both approaches.

Today Ming set out a clear position for the Liberal Democrats as a radical opposition to the increasingly indistinguishable Lab/Con old pals act.

He also set out clear policy reasons why we need to campaign as a strong and independent party.

Iraq, civil liberties, tuition fees - all issues that have seen Tory and Labour MPs agreeing with each other while the Lib Dems have provided the only coherent opposition.

The fact that a Tory MP like Quentin Davies can choose today to defect to Labour says everything about how close the other two parties have become.

More Guardian Tripe

I stopped taking the Guardian many years ago, and the Observer some years later.

While my political views are generally on the progressive left I got utterly fed up with the paper's ability to agree with pretty much every position the Lib Dems took, but then belittle us anyway.

Today has seen yet another example of their willingness to cause trouble for the Lib Dems.

First they run a story on their website with a headline that suggests that Ming Campbell is about to jump into bed with Gordon Brown.

When you read the detail of the story you find out that a) Campbell has said nothing of the sort and b) it is all based on the usual unnamed sources anyway.

They have now put up a follow up story headlined "Campbell rules out Lib Dems serving in Brown cabinet" - fair enough - but includes the astonishing line: "But Sir Menzies was today forced to admit: "There is no prospect of any Liberal Democrat joining the government."

"Forced to admit"! He wasn't 'forced' to 'admit' anything. He simply made clear that the earlier Guardian headline was utter tripe.

Blink and you'll miss it ...

After spending the weekend at the Download Festival and most of the week on a (top secret - all will be revealed in a week or so's time) Lib Dem project I finally got round to see last Saturday's episode of Doctor Who last night.

And what a blinder!

Blink was the strongest story of the season so far - and as with all the best scary TV - it was good because of what you didn't see. The general feel reminded me of the classic darker Tom Baker era stories.

If you didn't catch it it is still available on the catch up service on Virgin and I would strongly recomend it.

This weeks Doctor Who Confidential was also very good. Unlike the episode itself it was fronted by David Tennant who looked at how Doctor Who has inspired a whole generation of today's TV Writers and Producers. Tennant is something of a fanboy himself and he was clearly enjoying himself.

And for anyone who enjoyed the previous story - Human Nature - the ebook version of Paul Cornell's original book is back up on the BBC website here and is well worth a read.

Marillion to go top ten again?

My favorite band are Marillion. I've mentioned this before.

Once stereotyped as 'that scottish heavy metal band' they nowadays produce crafted contemporary rock music and deliver it with panache.

I popped up to Leeds to see them at the start of their current tour which finishes with a gig in Cambridge tomorrow and two dates at the Forum in London on Friday and Saturday (which I can't attend due to a work commitment).

If you like quality rock played with real emotion by top quality musicians I would get yourself along to see them. There are still a few tickets left for Friday.

Tickets here.

The band have also just released their new single - Thank You, Whoever You Are - and I predict it will be another top ten hit for them.

Enjoy ...



The DVD version of the single also includes a blinding cover of Britney Spears' Toxic!

A weekend of Downloading

I spent the weekend listening to VERY LOUD rock music at the excellent Download festival which takes place at heavy metal's spiritual home, Donington.

21 years ago I attended my first 'Monsters of Rock' festival at Donington which was headlined by the hilarious Ozzy Osborne (back when he was a little more coherent than he is now) supported by the very boring Scorpions, the excellent Motorhead and the very funny Bad News.

Amongst my teenage mates at the time going to Donington was something of a rock pilgramage - a rockramage if you will - a rite of passage for any self-respecting, spotty, lanky (it's true!), long-haired denim wearing metal fan.

Monsters of Rock had started in 1980 as a one day heavy rock festival - something of a novelty at the time - headlined by Rainbow.

Headliners after Rainbow included AC/DC (3 times), Whitesnake (twice), Status Quo, ZZ Top, Iron Maiden (twice) and Bon Jovi.

The event ran most years through to the mid-nineties (there as a tragic event in '88 when two lads died after being trampled by the crowd - I still remember being shocked when I heard about it on the way home from the event) but fizzled out as rock audiences wained.

Ozzfest - the Ozzy/Sabbath run festival - ran in '98 and then in 2003 the brand spanking new Download Festival arrived - a two day rock and metal fest headlined by Iron Maiden and Audioslave. (And with a rather smashing surpise set from Metallica on the second stage too).

After two years Download turned into a three day event covering the whole range of hard rock and metal.

This year's event was the best yet. Attracting 80,000 fans the three headliners - My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park and Iron Maiden - played first rate sets.

I particularly enjoyed the sets by prog rockers Porcupine Tree and prog metallers (and incredible musicians) Dream Theater.

European rock was well represented and the set by dutch goth metalers Within Temptation, despite being sadly short due to technical problems, was excellent.

One of the best received sets of the weekend was by Velvet Revolver - a rock supergroup made up of three ex-members of Guns 'N' Roses including the amazing Slash on guitar and former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland. Their set included two G'N'R classics - It's So Easy and Mr Brownstone.

It's all quite different from my first Donington - six bands on one stage back then - more than a hundred acts on three stages over three days now. The sound quality is much better, back in the eighties you hoped it wouldn't be too windy because of what it did to the sound. Nowadays the third stage is probably louder than the main stage was back then.

And even the quieter of the bands now play a lot faster and louder than the heaviest ever did then. Back in '86 so called 'Thrash metal' (Metallica had debuted the year before to general disinterest) was brand new. Nowadays nearly every metal band have built on it.

What hasn't changed is that the festival is still mostly filled by teenagers on their rock pilgramage to Donington. Of course back in the day there was no internet forum to discuss the event with for the other 51 weeks of the year ...

One rule for them ...

Once again the Government that promised an 'ethical foreign policy' is in hot water, this time because of the Al Yamamah affair.

I was listening to a discussion about this on the Today programme on Saturday morning between a recent ex-diplomat and Craig Murray.

The recent ex-diplomat argued that the Government's aim should be to decide what is in the 'national interest' and act accordingly. He believed that the damage to our relations with Saudi Arabia, in particualr the possible loss of their cooperation in fighting terrorism, meant it was reasonable for the Government to cover up the bribery.

Craig Murray made a far more convincing case - that our long term interests can only be served by operating within the law - and that our failure to do so means a) giving ammunition to terrorists and b) means we have no leg to stand on when criticising anyone else.

The recent ex diplomat was left trying to argue, rather unconvincingly, that we should be against bribery and corruption in Africa but allow it to carry on in the Middle East.

It seems pretty obvious to me that we can never expect other countries to obey the rule of law if we aren't willing to oursleves.

From out of nowhere ...

Rumours abound in Oxford political circles that two councillors are about to form a Conservative Group on the City Council. (see here, here and here)

If they do so it will be the first time there has been a Tory group since 1996 when I was fortunate to be the agent for the Lib Dem candidates that booted the last Tories off (other than a very brief period when one was elected by accident in Martson a few years ago).

Having gone 10 years without a group I can understand the Tories' frustration, but I would have thought that putting a bit of effort in to win a seat at an election might be seen as a more popular way of getting some councillors.

Instead they have persuaded the political equivalent of 'hand me downs' to become Conservatives.

Knowing both councillors concerned I will be astounded if they have really become Conservatives.

Knowing a fair few Oxfordshire Conservatives I wonder how pleased they will be with their new recruits.

I do hope they get along ...

Weekly bin collections - A phyrric victory?

Like many other places the local Tories here wer delivering leaflets on polling day which said 'Vote Conservative to save weekly bin collections'.

These may have had more impact if there was the slightest hint that the current Lib Dem administration had any plans to ditch weekly bin collections.

If the Tories have won seats and councils on the back of this campaign I do wonder if it will come back to bite them.

The first council in Oxfordshire to move to fortnightly collections was Tory run Cherwell. It appears to have been popular and has had a positive effcect on recycling rates.

Lib Dem run Oxford has now followed suit and, despite a bit of noise in the local press, the scheme seems to be settling in well and largely popular.

I do wonder how these new Tory administrations are going to manage. They all have tough recycling targets to hit and will pay a steadily rising cost for landfill. They won't be able to aford the extra costs of recycling AND weekely collections of residual rubbish and won't be popular when they have to cut other services as a result.

I hope they thought it through!

My take on the results

The term 'a mixed bag' has been overused but is, I think, a fair summary.

Having helped run a campaign in a council next door to David Cameron's Witney constituency I am now certain that there is no 'Cameron effect', at least not in the way the media usually use the term.

The local elections here were fought on local issues and, despite visits from both Cameron and Campbell during the campaign, national politics didn't feature much.

The result in the Vale mirrors the position in many other Lib Dem held or target seats - consolidation where we already do well and progress where there is still room to make it.

(I was surprised to hear, for example, taht we had gained another three seats in Chris Huhne's Eastleigh constituency, primarily because I hadn't realised that there were still that many seats left for us to gain).

Our big losses appear to have come in councils where there were particularly strong local issues - such as Bournemouth - in constituencies where new Tory MPs are digging in - such as Waverley, Newbury - and in seats where they fought us off hard at the last election - Maidenhead, New Forest.

In most other places it is steady as she goes.

In my view our real challenge is to build sufficient organisation and understanding of modern campaigning in the places we are drifting back. Where we are doing this we are making good progress. There are still far too many local parties who are not doing this.

If there is any 'Cameron effect' it is that more Tory MPs and local parties are refreshing their approach to campaigning and are reaping the rewards from it.

How not to do rebuttal

I always worry when Lib Dems announce that they 'have to' spend the campaigning rebutting what the other side are saying about us.

And this web page from the local Tories just about sums it up.

Once you've read some of the most effective bits of our leaflets and noticed their long and tedious rebuttal in a small typeface alongside it you might find this sentence:

'We do not beleive that it should be the role of the Council to organise activities for young people,'

Now, can you guess what was plastered all over our eve of poll leaflets in the marginal wards?

You guessed it!

And they sum up their whole approach when they say:

'We believe in words not actions.'

Classic.

So, top tips for Lib Dems:

1 Think before you rebut. Continuing to promote your agreed campaign messages will nearly always be a better use of time and effort than rebutting the opposition.

2 If you are going to do a rebuttal, don't make it obvious that it is a rebuttal. Just state your case on the issue clearly and more effectively.

3 Don't repeat their message for them. So ofen our rebuttal starts by repeating their attack. THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO DO! Don't do it!

4 Pick on one thing they've lied about and attck it hard. It is far easier to convince on one simple fact that in lots of detail.

5 Make your rebuttal shorter and simpler than their attack. Otherwise you won't win the argument.

Progtastic mate

Now that the dust has settled on the elections I am looking forward to catching up with a batch of excellent British (and prog influenced) rock that has been released recently.

The new Marillion album was released a few weeks ago and even hit number 24 on the album chart. Called 'Somewhere Else' it is a very listenable collection of songs highlighting Steve Hogarth's emotional writing and voice and some fantastic guitar playing by Steve Rothery.

The band is currently on tour in Europe and heading for the UK soon. Details here. Tickets are selling fast though, with the Leeds gig, which I am going to, already sold out.

A week later came Fear of a Blank Planet from the mighty Porcupine Tree which aslo charted, at 31.

For those unfamiliar with this band they remind me of the Floyd in overall feel and depressing lyrical content, with a slightly heavier sound. This album's theme is that youngsters nowadays are growing up in a consumerist hell of a world. Cheery stuff!

They have just toured the UK (I missed them due to the elections, grrr) but return for an appearance at the metaltastic Download Festival in June, so I'll see them there.

Finally rock veterans Magnum have released their latest album Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow. This is one of their best, perhaps influenced by doing the anniversary gigs for their classic On A Storyteller's Night album last year.

All three will appeal to any classic rock fans out there.

More Lib Dem councillors than ever in Abingdon

Well we did it.

We gained the three Vale of White Horse DC seats and four Abingdon Town Council seats that slipped our fingers four years ago after the boundary changes.

Abingdon now has 14 out of 14 Vale councillors and 21 out of 21 Town councillors.

We can't claim a record for the clean sweep - we did that in 1999 - but we can claim that we now have a record number of Lib Dem councillors in the town, thanks to the boundary changes four years ago.

In the ward where I live the missus, Samantha Bowring to you, and Beth Fleming, beat two local Tory stalwarts to gain the town's most marginal ward.

The count was hard work but fun. We weren't sure we'd won. We knew we were close but that it would come down to the marginals. The Tories turned up expecting to gain seats in Abingdon and win the Vale.

As the verification started it became clear that we were edging them in the marginal wards and that we were even in contention over in Grove which we weren't expecting.

The Tory faces got longer and longer as it became clear they had lost.

In the end we gained five seats and lost one to them in Kennington.

The final result across the Vale was 34 Lib Dem, 17 Con, not bad for a council we've run for twelve years now.

Good news for Evan Harris - we took 53% of the votes across the Vale wards in his constituency and 51% if you include the Kidlington results.

Not so good news for the Tory leadership on the Vale whose strategy failed completely and a little surprising that Ed Vaizey, Tory MP for Wantage, let seats slip in his patch.

New Who

New Doctor Who.

Brilliant new companion.

Rhino-like monsters.

The first hint of a new theme - VOTE SAXON.

'It's bigger on the inside'.

Perfect telly.

Robin Hood in Reverse

So Gordon's final flourish is to tax those on below average incomes a bit more in order to tax those on above average incomes a bit less.

After ten years of New Labour we'd expect nothing less!

Sign this letter

The Independent is rightly highlighting the appalling treatment of British troops and is promoting a letter to the Prime Minister calling on him to improve the situation.

The paper is asking readers to add their name to the letter which I have just done.

I've commented before on the shameful decision to invade Iraq. But whatever my views on the legitimacy of the conflict itself, I believe we have an absolut duty to do right by the brave men and women who risk their lives in service to their country.

Yet Blair, shamefully, refuses to even meet the families of soldiers who have been killed.

The excellent Marillion have a new album out in April.

This promo has appeared on YouTube and was filmed at the recent Marillion Convention in Holland which I was very lucky to attend.

Congratulations Ed & Dani

Congratulations are due to my colleague and friend Ed Maxfield has a baby Maxfield on the way.

Characteristically his first thought appears to be the cost ;-)