More Who

I'm still feeling very impressed with the new Doctor Who. The reviews seem to be pretty good generally. Even Sara Cox was singing its praises today on Radio One.

Nick Barlow's review says it all:

http://www.nickbarlow.com/blog/index.php?p=296

Anne Milton: Nurse. Mother. Dipstick.

Is the excellent Tim Ireland website which analyses the Conservative Campaign in Guildford, Anne Milton being the Tory candidate there.

The Tories seem to be willing to stoop pretty low to try and win the seat back.

You can find the site at http://www.bloggerheads.com/anne_milton/

I helped the excellent Sue Doughty a lot in the last election and have seen how hard she has worked since. Ms Milton will have to be pretty lucky to win this one.

Other planets have a North as well, you know ...

Well I loved it. Christopher Ecclestone is an inspired choice and Billie Piper an ideal companion. The TARDIS looked great, the production values and writing is fantastic, and there were just enough in jokes to keep the fans happy without detracting from the plot.

Can't wait for next Saturday!

Buy this book

No, don't worry, not another ALDC campaign manual of mine!

My very good friend from University days Mr Daniel Hall has just had his latest novel 'Killigrew and the Sea Devil' published under his pen name Jonathan Lunn.

This is the latest story in the Killigrew series which follows our hero in a seris of swashbuckling adventures that will appeal to lovers of Sharpe, Hornblower and the like.

If you read all his books you will even find a bit part character called 'Fawcett' crop up somewhere ;-)

I should think you can buy it via the Amazon link on the Lib Dem website, it was also on the shelves in Borders and Waterstones last time I looked. Well worth a read.

Library funding

I am delighted to see that a committee of MPs have raised the issue of library capital funding.

At present we have bene given the usual pile of Government targets that we are supposed to try and meet, along with recommended size of library floorspace for any given population, but the Government allocated no capital funding to expand libraries. Nope, not a dime.

In Oxfordshire nearly all our main town libraries are way below the size they should be, because of decades of housing growth.

Despite these constraints I am glad to say that we have ben bucking the national trend of decline and actually getting more people into our libraries, buying more books and lending more out.

We have been able to do some redevelopments by some pretty clever schemes thought up by our staff.

We have just been able to commit funding for a new library in Thame as well, which i am delighted about.

BUT - we are only scratching the surface. With some real cash we could transform out town libraries and turn them into local centres offering traditional library services and much, much more. Libraries should be the base for the delivery of range of council and infromation services. They should have faciltities for every age group - parent and toddler sessions, child and teen sections, homework areas, book clubs, pensioner clubs, IT access and the rest.

Libraries can play a serious role in supporting learning for children and adults, for expanding aspirations and informing and engaging people.

And it wouldn't cost that much to act as a catalyst for real and rapid progress.

The Government claims to want to see all this happen, but they haven't so far put their money where their mouth is.

Tax and spend

I see the Tories (and even Labour occasionally) continue to attack our tax policies, particularly Local Income Tax with shocking tales about how 'middle income' types will be worse off, alledgedly.

They then demonstrate this by showing how the average Headteacher, or households of several young professionals, would pay more than they do now.

Perhaps they ought to look at the IFS website (to which there is a useful link at www.axethetax.org.uk) and see where such people sit on the range of household incomes.

Without giving too much personal information away I was slightly surprised to see just how high up the income scale my household is. I would pay a bit more in LIT than I currently do in Council Tax.

Most households in my ward, families on incomes around or below national average, would pay a lot, lot less though. And quite rightly so.

One of the most shocking things about this Government is that after eight years those on the lowest incomes still pay a bigger share of their income in tax than those eanring the most. If Lib Dem policies move things just slightly in the other direction then this is a policy to be proud of.

And those who harp on about the losers should aquaint themselves with hte facts about what most households actaully live on. It's quite right that headteachers, and other households, in the top 10% of incomes should pay more.

Health matters

I am delighted that health is back at the forefront of the election campaign.

In Oxfordshire we are once again seeing serious problems in the local 'health economy' as the local PCTs struggle with budget problems as the end of the year approaches.

On top of that we have two Minor Injury Units in local Community Hospitals closed currently.

I do hope labour will be able to explain how such things are still happening after eigh years in power.

Not long to wait now ...

Yes, like quite a lot of Lib Dem activists I am getting very excited about the forthcoming battle between the forces of right and reason and the dark side.

That's right, only sixteen days until Doctor Who returns to our screens.

I know this because in an effort to prove that I am as sad as the rest of them I have now downloaded my Doctor Who screen saver!

Whether my children quite understand what they are about to be exposed to I don't know, but we have already moved the sofa a foot forward just in case.

Institutional racism

I watched tonight's BBC documentary about racism and intimidation in an Immigration 'Reception' Centre with a sense of sadness, unease and shame.

That this country's immigration system can allow such behaviour is shocking. The people in these centres have committed no crime, many have faced persecution in their home countries, and many will end up being allowed to stay.

And for a Government which claims that 'child protection' is one of its top priorities to allow any child to be locked up in such a place is utter hypocricy.

To think that a Labour Government is so concerned about out-flanking the Tories that they have allowed such a situation to develop is appalling.

But then this programme comes on the same day that the newspapers report comments by Government Minister Hazel Blears who apparantly thinks British Muslims should 'expect' to be discriminated against by the Police.

I feel ashamed that these things are happening in my country.

Guilty until proven innocent

So it took 28 hours for the British police to decide that there were no grounds to hold the Guantanamo Four in custody yet the US Government kept them locked up for three years.

According to the news US Governmen officials are still claiming that the four are a threat.

If they have any hard evidence to back up their claims why didn't they charge them with an offence and prosecute them?

Similarly, our security forces either have hard evidence that the people locked up in Belmarsh are guilty of terrorist activity.

It is quite frightening that, apparantly in order to preserve our freedoms, our Government appears to be willing to sacrifice our ... er ... freedoms.

I wonder if our Government would have stood by and done nothing for so long if the Guantanamo Four had been white?

Good old Robert

So Robert Jackson, MP for Wantage, has 'crossed the floor'.

I stood against Robert at the last election and have met him several times since in my County Councillor role.

I'm not surprised by his decision. He clearly had misgivings about the direction of the Tories before the last election and his pro-European and pro-Tuition Fees views are well known. However much I might disagree with him on politics, he has always struck me as a thoughtful and principled man.

Are the Tories ever going to get any good news?

Apologies for the break in transmission

Has it really been over a month! Time flies when you're busy.

I've spent most of the last month or so charging round the region visiting constituency campaign teams, regional conferences, training events etc. Without giving any secrets away I can say that there is a lot of very positive activity across our key seats.

Nationally we are gearing up for the election which is firmly expected in the spring, and at local level our campaigning is really getting going.

There has been a bouyant mood at the various Regional Conferences and training days I have attended. A mixture of celebrating the summer by-election successes and looking forward to the general. It is good to be part of a party that is actually looking forward to the chance to get our message across!

I have managed some time off as well. I went to see the Manic Street Preachers at Wembley last week, which was excellent. I haven't seen them since the early days and they were just as good as ever.

I am currently listening to various CDs by The Wildhearts, Mostly Autumn, Marillion, Queen, Springsteen, Muse, Manics and Suede.

I have been watching the Marbles on the Road DVD from Marillion's tour earlier this year, the Lord of the Rings trilogy (in chunks), and the new Battlestar Gallactica on Sky One. I keep missing The West Wing because it tends to clash with getting the kiddies ready for bed time. Is it me or is this series of Teachers not so good?

The Wildhearts Strike Back

For lovers of fast paced but tuneful rock an excellent new live CD from the legendary Wildhearts is available now.

Find out more at: www.thewildhearts.com

Innocent until proven guilty?

This week's barmy Blair idea is that juries should be told about a defendant's previous convictions in certain criminal cases.

This is yet another 'quick fix' attempt to be seen to be doing something about crime, without actually helping the situation one bit.

In any given court case their is either enough evidence to convince a jury that the defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt, or there is not.

The only impact information about previous convictions can have is to persuade a jury that is not convinced on the evidence of the case to find the defendant guilty.

This is likely to lead to the police being even more likely to simply finger convicted criminals known to have committed similar offences and get them into court, safe in the knowledge that they will clock up another conviction.

The aim of the criminal justice system should be to identify, convict and sentence the person guilty of the offence, not just someone who happens to have committed a similar offence previously.

The idea that increasing the chances of wrongful convictions somehow helps the victims of crime is laughable.

There are many things that can be done to improve the way the system works and makes it harder for people to get off on technicalities, but this is not one of them.

John Peel RIP

I was very sad to hear that John Peel had died today.

I have been listening to him for more than 20 years now. I still remember listening to him late at night in my early teens and discovering bands that I probably would never have heard otherwise.

Some of the stuff he played I loved, most of it was awful, but he was excellent throughout.

It is difficult to pin down exactly why so many people loved him, as evidenced by the reactions today. For me it is because listening to his show was rather like being round a mate's house having them play their favorite records to me.

I never got The Fall mind!

John Peel RIP

I was very sad to hear that John Peel had died today.

I have been listening to him for more than 20 years now. I still remember listening to him late at night in my early teens and discovering bands that I probably would never have heard otherwise.

Some of the stuff he played I loved, most of it was awful, but he was excellent throughout.

It is difficult to pin down exactly why so many people loved him, as evidenced by the reactions today. For me it is because listening to his show was rather like being round a mate's house having them play their favorite records to me.

I never got The Fall mind!

Delight and sadness

I suspect many Liberal Democrats will have had mixed feelings yesterday. In one batch of emails came the delightful news that Sarah Kennedy is expecting her first child and the sad news that Conrad Russell has passed away.

I am delighted for Sarah and Charles. I understand that the baby is expected in April, which is interesting timing given the likely general election date. I hope all goes well for them.

I am very sad that we have lost Conrad. I can't claim to have known him personally but I have had several chats with him over the years. He did a visit to support my campaign in Wantage at the last election and I often chatted to him at by-elections and conferences.

He was immensly engaging, very, very clever, very amusing and a true liberal.

My party, and politics in general, will be worse off without him.

Albums worth listening to

I saw this on Steve Guy's blog which he got from doctorvee. (I haven't got as far as working out clever link thingies yet so you can't link to them). But being keen on listening to albums I thought I'd join in anyway:

Copy the list on to your blog, put in bold the ones you have listened to (completely from begining to end) and then add three more albums that you think people should have heard before they turn into their parents - remember, it isn't necessarily your most favourite albums but the ones you think people should listen to... and when we say listen we mean from track one through to the end...If you put a link to your follow-on post in the comments of the site where you found it, the chain will be trackable. You are also allowed to DELETE up to THREE albums on the existing list, if you feel a) that this is an album which should not reasonably be foisted upon anybody, or b) that one Radiohead album is quite enough for one lifetime, thank you.
This is Hardcore - Pulp
Moon Safari - Air
Elastica - Elastica
Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols - Sex Pistols
OK Computer - Radiohead
The Kiss of Morning - Graham Coxon
Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders from Mars - David Bowie
The Wall - Pink Floyd
Setting Sons - The Jam
Train a Comin' - Steve Earle
Come From the Shadows - Joan Baez
The River - Bruce Springsteen
The Very Best of Joan Armatrading - Joan Armatrading
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
Metal Box - Public Image Ltd
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - Pavement
Apple Venus Vol. 1 - XTC
Marquee Moon - Televison
Daydream Nation - Sonic Youth
The Joshua Tree - U2
Untitled fourth album - Led Zeppelin
Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morisette

Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
Leige and Leif - Fairport Convention
Afraid of Sunlight - Marillion

I added these last three and would remove:

Confield - Autechre
Ágætis Byrjun - Sigur Rós
Folksinger - Phranc

Hypocrisy

At a press conference last night Jack Straw said:

"It's hard to imagine what it must be like to go through so terrible an ordeal.
"But it's even harder to imagine how anyone could inflict such suffering. To kidnap a man, to subject him and his family to the agony of prolonged uncertainty and, then to murder him in this way in inhuman."

This is something we could all sign up to.

But if he really believes it why isn't he saying the same things about the Bush administration - which is treating innocent people in exactly this way - and why is the Blair Government arguing in the courts that it should be entitled to use information extracted by torture in other countries?

Busted

I see pop rock boy band Busted have come out as Conservatives.

This is apparantly on the basis that know that they are earning a bit of money they don't want to spend any more in tax.

Should help the Tories win that all important 6-12 year old girls vote!