Liberal Legend II

New Political Blog

2009-02-05T14:03:00.002Z

Dear readers,

Thanks for the interest you have all taken in the past in this blog. To reflect my new independent political status (who are the "Shepway Independents"?) I have now created a new blog called The Kent Roundhead which can be found here.

I hope that you will enjoy it. Over time I will be adding connections to other blogs that I am gradually creating on different topics apart from politics and I hope you will also find them interesting and useful.

Very best regards.

Toby

The Future

2008-12-01T22:51:00.002Z

I've decided this week to finally quit the Liberal Democrats. Other Parties should not get excited, I'm certainly not coming your way. I am leaving politics completely as I have had enough of waiting for the Party to get its internal house in order. Clearly this isn't going to happen any time soon and I have no further intention to waste my money and continue being party to ongoing unacceptable practices. Had I been the only one in an isolated case then I might have been able to grin and bear it but there is a systematic problem which is being deliberately ignored by the Party's current Federal Executive. I fail to understand why they failed to talk to those affected directly and make a genuinely informed view.

I can't imagine myself in any other Party but it is no secret that I have a pretty awful relationship with the surviving rump of the Shepway Liberal Democrats. So local political involvement is not really an option for me now and I intend to continue living in Folkestone which I consider to be my hometown. I would like to somehow find a way to make a positive contribution to the economic and social regeneration of the town which is dear to my heart and will continue to look for ways to achieve this in the future.

I would like to thank very much the Executive of the Bromley and Chislehurst Liberal Democrats who very kindly agreed to allow me to rejoin them after the miserable time I had to endure at the hands of certain elements in the Shepway Local Party in 2007. This decision is by no means a reflection on you. You guys were great to campaign with and I certainly miss the Red Lion Tendency. Lennard Woods was certainly a great loss and I miss him. May he rest in peace.

I also very much enjoyed campaigning with the gang up in Durham and particularly with Carol Woods who is a great friend and whom I am very sorry we didn't manage to get elected last time around. She will make a great MP for Durham City (and certainly better than the New Labour lackey who currently has "borrowed" the seat). I am thrilled that you all did so well up there in the last lot of local elections. Thanks for some great campaigning memories.

I have made so many friends in the Liberal Democrats over the years and you all know who you are. It is such a wrench to leave and it is sad that unfortunately a few bad apples have spoilt what was mostly a very enjoyable time for me.

I will make a more detailed statement about the reasons for my decision on my return to the UK for anyone who is remotely interested (probably not many). I'm currently still working away in Croatia at present and only have limited time for this for now and want to choose my words carefully.

I plan to resume blogging in 2009 on different issues which will include international enterprise development in which I have a strong interest, human rights, international relations and other similar issues of interest to me so watch this space.

I would like to thank all my readers, both domestic and international, who have taken the trouble to look at what I have written. Although my readership hasn't exactly been huge it has certainly been truly international. Thanks and bye for now.

Good for You Gavin!

2008-10-15T23:45:00.002+01:00

I'm very pleased to hear that Gavin Webb, the Liberal Democrat PPC for Burton has finally been reinstated by the Party after enduring two suspensions from Party membership. Details of the going ons can be found on my friend Alex Wilcock's blog.

It would seem that, not for the first time, some people have been exceeding their powers within the Party. Unfortunately there is a small "barrack room lawyer" tendency within the Liberal Democrats. This small group of people have instincts at variance with the core values of Liberalism and a creative tendency "to make it up as they go along" when someone gets in their crosshairs. These are people who, perhaps due to poor eyesight, or maybe because they joined the Liberal Democrats as a vehicle for personal ambition rather than the pursuit of personal liberty for all are unable to read or understand what it says on the Party membership card:

"The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community and in which no-one will be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity".

I hope that lessons will be learned by the Party from this sorry episode and I also hope that more attention will be paid to the real need for swift action when there are abuses of power rather than trying to sweep them under the carpet. Sweeping them under the carpet only creates problems further down the line.

Good for you Gavin! May you enjoy taking on our opponents and may your own side leave you in peace to do your job.

The Truth Will Out In The End

2008-10-08T01:41:00.004+01:00

Today is a rather bitter-sweet day in many ways. I won't pretend that I am not disappointed with a letter I received from the Council this morning. I dispute some of the statements made within it. My motivation was to protect my personal business interests and there are other interested parties involved as well. The ruling sets an unfortunately precedent as does the subsequent conduct of persons unnamed. Allowing "open season" on members of the local business community will not encourage future investment in the area.

As a professional trainer who undertakes a lot of face-to-face communication in the UK and in other parts of the world I think it legitimate to complain when someone makes a sweeping statement in a local newspaper that you are not competent in this area. People who know me well know that the Councillor concerned was talking bollocks but unfortunately there are a number of people out there I have still to meet who might take the comment concerned at face value until they have had the benefit of a conversation with me. Anyway, I still have 30 days now to consider appealing regarding the decision.........

It does seem that life has a bit of a habit of compensating you though. I have not been the only one who has experienced some "local difficulties". It would appear that a number of other PPCs and ex-PPCs have gone through a similar situation to myself. In an odd kind of way this is a bit of a comfort when you realise that you are not alone. It is even more comforting when some people (who are not you) start to suggest that things need to change for the better. There are some issues that need to be confronted once and for all in the Party about the treatment of PPCs and a recognition that PPCs have multiple roles (husband, wife, worker/self-employed, partner, parent, carer, etc.) and need more support.

I'm certainly never ever planning to stand again for Parliament (I would be divorced faster than you can say "Mao Zedong" if were to suggest it) but it still grieves me that others have also faced a similar situation to my own and next to nothing appears to have been done about it and it is happening again and again.

It is time to end the "Ostrich approach" to these matters and time for someone (English Candidates Committee?) to start showing some real steel and enforce genuine local party democracy.

I've also got some interesting documents but I will try not to mix alcohol and the e-mail system...........

Hu Jia: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2008?

2008-09-24T18:13:00.003+01:00

Jailed Chinese dissident Hu Jia (and maybe also his brave wife Zeng Jinyan who is also under house arrest and who is bringing up their young daughter alone) is/are being tipped for the Nobel Peace Prize. This is very welcome news in light of the Communist Government's blatant failure to uphold human rights as promised around the time of the Beijing Olympics.

Hu was jailed in April apprently for 5 articles he wrote and 2 interviews he gave criticising the Communist Government in China for failing to uphold human rights. How pathetic is that?

Hu has actively campaigned on behalf of AIDS/HIV sufferers and other dissidents such as Chen Guangcheng over a number of years.

There is a moral dimension to this ongoing oppression which ought to give the Chinese Government pause for thought. Governments that lock up people who don't agree with them (we are not talking terrorism here for goodness sake!) tend to have limited shelf-lives, never achieve the moral authority and acceptance in the eyes of the international community that they crave and ultimately implode on themselves when the final vestiges of their legitimacy disappear. It may not happen today, it may not happen tomorrow or in 20 years, but one day it shall if they carry on like this.

Hu would be a worthy winner and it would be interesting to see how and if the Communist authorities would react. I think it would be highly embarrassing for them that Hu is currently in prison on a pretty flimsy pretext. Perhaps they ought to think about releasing him PDQ?

A Good Week To Be A Liberal Democrat

2008-09-19T17:49:00.006+01:00

My impression from afar was that overall Nick Clegg and the Party had a very good week in Bournemouth. I was a bit surprised at Iain Dale (the Tory one) making a bit of an arse of himself over Nick's comments when anyone with half a braincell would realise that Nick was talking to the person in the street about Lehman Brothers, Meryll Lynch etc. I'm really delighted that Making It Happen was adopted without amendment and I think that finally the Party has begun to capture the mood of the moment. People are struggling to make ends meet and they want their money where they need it, in their pockets.

I thought that Iain was better than that but I guess that Tories who like to talk about social justice and then commit themselves to continuing with a REGRESSIVE tax structure which punishes lower and middle income earners at the expense of the wealthy in society must be feeling a little bit rattled and concerned and grasping at straws to discredit Vince Cable and Nick Clegg. There is nothing "right wing" about Making It Happen. That is good economic and political sense in a Liberal and progressive way.

To heap misery on it, it would seem that floating voters and even existing Labour supporters prefer Clegg to Cameron according to Newsnight. HINT: address the incidence of the tax burden and THEN you can be taken seriously on social justice issues. The current Tory message looks like "we hear your pain but we don't really give a damn as we've decided to adopt a Blue Labour strategy".

It's been a tough 18 months or so to stay in the Party with all that has happened, and some of my good friends leaving, but this week has made me glad that I've kept my membership and kept going through the gritted teeth. A good stronger small business and enterprise development policy now to really encourage so many of those millions of small business people to come to naturally support our Party and we will be on the road to longer term success.

Is the Liberal Democrat Business Forum Still Operating?

2008-09-19T17:49:00.002+01:00

I'm still working away here in Zagreb and so was not able to get along to Bournemouth and so hence my question.

I'm curious to know if the Liberal Democrat Business Forum is still operating. I would be grateful for any information anyone has on whether or not it is operating and how I could get involved if I wanted to.

Choking on My Museli

2008-09-14T14:57:00.003+01:00

I was going to suggest that I choked on my kulen (a type of Croatian sausage) here in Zagreb this morning when I read that the Liberal Democrat leadership had ditched their commitment to joining the Euro at the earliest opportunity but felt that such an image might be a bit of a "Carry on Croatia" double ententre. I can just hear Sid James' dirty laugh and Kenneth Williams intoning "oh Matron" as I write this. So, instead, I choked on my organic museli instead which is far more Lib Dem.

I have to say though that I'm a bit surprised to hear the news and also a little bit disappointed since I have always felt that our strong Europeanism was a distinguishing feature of our Party although I think we had allowed ourselves to become caracatured wrongly by our political opponents as wild-eyed Eurofanatics when the reality has been that we have been arguing for reform of EU institutions and genuine subsidiarity for as long as I can remember. Still, I am left with an uneasy sense that something distinctive has been lost today.

Clearly there has not been the hoped for convergence with Euroland. Much of my business this year has been working with the Euro and the slide of the pound against the Euro has been nothing short of remarkable (and has raised my business turnover significantly more than I had originally forecast).

On the other hand, joining the Euro might have been better for our longer term economic prospects. Sadly, once again we let the European ship leave the port before we decided to get aboard and I guess that although I will always in my heart wish to join the Euro, my head tells me that the moment to do so has passed.

Liberal Legend 2 Currently Available in China

2008-08-15T14:36:00.001+01:00

I've had a bit of a shock. Either someone has cocked up somewhere or maybe, just maybe, someone has been listening and realised that censorship is not really on!?

This is my first post ever from Shenyang, China and the first time I have ever been able to read my blog here.

Hats Off to the Beijing Games Organisers

2008-08-08T17:06:00.002+01:00

I have to say that that was one of the most spectacular Olympic Opening Ceremonies I can ever remember.

Congratuations to the organisers of the Beijing Games.

Lord Coe, I think you have your work cut out Sir!

A Bit of Fun

2008-08-06T11:48:00.001+01:00

See more Adam "Ghost Panther" McKay videos at Funny or Die

Crossing the Line - Former Tory PPC for Watford Ian Oakley Pleads Guilty

2008-08-05T18:22:00.003+01:00

Ian Oakley, the former Tory PPC for Watford has pleaded guilty to a significant number of charges related to intimidation of Sal Brinton, the Liberal Democrat PPC for Watford and a number of Liberal Democrat Councillors, activists and supporters.

There are a number of grave concerns here which need to be addressed:

Firstly, who knew what in the Tory campaign HQ in Watford and beyond? Was it really possible for an individual to act alone and wage a war of intimidation against political opponents and not be detected? Did some people in the Tory camp know what was going on and turn a blind eye or worse? Will there be further action against others?

Secondly, why has Conservative HQ sought to wash their hands of the affair when all the intimidation was undertaken whilst Oakley was both a Conservative Campaign Manager and a Parliamentary Candidate? Does David Cameron really believe that just because Oakley quit the party after he was arrested "that's OK then?".

Politics can be a very high pressure activity as those who have been involved in intensive political campaigns when you are fighting to win know all too well. Sometimes the ambition of certain individuals runs beyond their reason (and their ability) and the temptation to take short cuts (such as postal vote farming) or to attempt to intimidate political opponents (which was attempted on me at one point over a sustained period of time) and their supporters can go on.

The real tragedy of this sorry affair is that decent people might develop an even greater sense of alienation and apathy from the political process. Politics is supposed to be about people but if there are other Oakley's in political parties who is going to want to stand up and be counted? Do we really want a cut down form of democracy where the choice available to the electorate is limited and campaigning is stunted due to a small number of psychologically disturbed individuals, anti-democrats or thugs?

David Cameron and his Conservatives cannot wash their hands of this matter. If they truly are democrats then they must help all of us, of all political parties and none, who believe in democracy and pluralism to ensure that another Oakley cannot emerge and do it again. All political parties have had bad apples but it does no one any favours if we fail to learn lessons from this sorry affair.

How I Feel Sometimes......

2008-08-05T15:47:00.001+01:00

I think this sums up my feelings from time to time.

You Were Warned!

2008-08-04T23:10:00.007+01:00

I've been waiting for a public apology from a certain individual who made a generalised falsehood concerning myself in the 17th July 2008 edition of the Folkestone Herald, it's two other editions in Hythe and the Romney Marsh and on the internet. I believe that I have been generous and patient in waiting more than two weeks for a retraction and an apology to appear in a public format (e.g. the Folkestone Herald).

The individual concerned had already received a public warning from me that I would investigate taking further action. I have researched the laws of libel and believe that I would have a very strong case against you and also potentially against the newspaper concerned which clearly failed to check the accuracy of the statement before it was published. Indeed, the newspaper has, in my personal view, acted unfairly in not asking my side of that particular story and giving me the opportunity to reply to the statement that was made. I know that the Editor is not a foolish man and I suspect that he realises that an error has been made which would leave the paper open to legal action. This can be easily remedied through a simple act of goodwill on the newspaper's part. As a lifelong Liberal I am a strong believer in freedom of expression and only insist that statements made with regard to myself are fair and accurate and that when statements are made about me I am offered a right to reply.

Unfortunately, in light of the fact that this falsehood is both on the internet and has been discussed and brought to the attention of others in the public domain I am now left with no option but to take further action against the individual who made the statement concerned. I had already warned you about my views on the statement. In my view the statement is defamatory and needlessly and falsely damages my personal and more importantly, my professional reputation. Frankly it is downright malicious and I cannot for the life of me understand what you were thinking? Were you really unwise enough to think you were speaking "off the record"?

I will therefore be making a formal complaint in writing this week to Shepway District Council since I believe that the Code of Conduct for Councillors has been breached (after all, even though I am a member of Bromley and Chislehurst Liberal Democrats I am still a Shepway District Council Taxpayer and on the electoral roll in the town and run a business in Folkestone), lodging a complaint against you with Cowley Street and contacting the Editor of the Folkestone Herald in writing to ask for an apology and a retraction of the statement and its removal from the appropriate internet site.

Karadžić Before The Hague

2008-07-30T23:17:00.003+01:00

Congratulations to the Serbian Government for sending Radovan Karadžić (a.k.a. Very Bad Santa) before The Hague yesterday.

Here's hoping that Ratko Mladić, Goran Hadžić and the other fugitives at large join him shortly. Here is a link to photos of these individuals and what they are alleged to have done.

I just wonder what bizarre disguises these guys are sporting and cover stories they are using. I suspect that they are probably also bizarre mystics living under everyone's noses. If you have anyone who claims that they studied YOGA in China that tends to be a MASSIVE GIVEAWAY!

Congratulations to President Tadić for his courage in doing the right thing. I hope that Serbia will be incentivised to further cooperate with The Hague and enable the international community to bring these individuals (I won't call them "men" as they are cowards who preyed on the vulnerable) to justice.

Who Thought They Had Really Changed?

2008-07-30T18:53:00.002+01:00

I'm just reading David Batty's piece on the Guardian Online site on internet access for journalists who will be covering the Olympics in Beijing.

Surprise, surprise, the internet is being blocked by the paranoid authorities as usual. Did anyone really ever expect the Chinese Government to keep any promises on human rights and press freedom?

All the Chinese Communist Government has been interested in all along has been prestige and shoring up their "legitimacy" through an appeal to their domestic audience via the mechanism of the most prestigious international event going. They have once again put two fingers up to the free world and we have all been conned once again.

Liberalism - The Natural Friend Of Small Business (?)

2008-07-27T23:54:00.004+01:00

As my friends will probably know, I have spent a considerable working in the small and medium enterprise research and development field, particularly internationally. I personally have always seen both the Liberal Democrats and liberalism as an ideology as being thoroughly compatible with the worldview of small business people given our historic and current emphasis on the freedom of the individual, concerns with excessive concentrations of power (hence the need for competition policy to mitigate the effects of excessive monopoly power on both consumers and producers), the desirability of self-reliance against dependency and our support for the idea of free trade. The very foundations of the party have made us reluctant, and rightly so, to be dependent on donations from large business and the trade unions. Historically the Tories have always been seen as the creatures of big business and Labour as the friends of the trade union movement. This has started to break down.

In fact, I would even be as bold to suggest that the Liberal Democrats ought to be seen as the natural champions and home of small business people for the pure and simple reason that our campaigning practice has in so many ways shown very enterprising characteristics. I was therefore a little bit surprised when several years ago I bought and read Conrad Russell's "An Intelligent Person's Guide to Liberalism" and noted that his chapter on economics was somewhat brief. I greatly admired Conrad and thought that this book was fantastic except in this one aspect.

Whilst I have been working in Croatia I have become aware that the EPP-ED Group has an SME Union which is effectively a federal forum of SME groups associated with Christian Democratic, Conservative and Centre-Right political parties. I am also concerned that the UK Tories have also tried to make the running a bit on SMEs with the Richards Report.

I know that there are a number of Liberal Democrats who are self-employed and there might be merit in starting an AO to represent our views on SME policy and the (sometimes needlessly difficult) business environment we face and what can be done to create a better business environment in which people can start, sustain and grow their own business.

There would also be strong merit in ALDE member parties and ALDE as a whole creating a representative body to represent the interests of Liberal small business people across the Union and showing why we are the natural friends of the small business community. After all, the EPP 9 reasons why small business people would vote EPP in next years European Parliamentary Elections are pretty insipid to put it mildly (actually, I think they are crap).

The fact that Cameron is about to engage in the usual Europhobic madness and pull out of the EPP group creates an opportunity for both British and European Liberals to become the natural representatives of small business. Let us grab this opportunity!

Come on Kent!

2008-07-26T17:44:00.002+01:00

I'm thrilled that Kent have made it into the final of the Twenty-20 Cricket Cup today after an excellent performance earlier against Essex.

Best of luck to Rob Key and the lads for this evening's game against Middlesex!

My Condolences

2008-07-25T12:52:00.003+01:00

I'd like to express my condolences to the family of Corporal Jason Barnes, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers who sadly was killed in Helmand, Afghanistan earlier this week. As the brother of another serving REME soldier out there I am thinking of you at this time.

Very Bad Santa

2008-07-24T00:11:00.003+01:00

Sorry I couldn't resist.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing this awful man on trial in The Hague. President Tadić has played a blinder so far. Come on Serbia, get Mladić and we may see you in the EU sooner rather than later.

Has Radovan Karadžić Been Captured?

2008-07-21T22:48:00.009+01:00

I hope that tonight's news is true and that Radovan Karadžić, the former leader of the Republika Srpska entity in Bosnia-Hercegovina has been captured. If this is true then this is fantastic news. Karadžić has been indicted by the War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague and has been a fugitive for many years. Let us hope that he will soon be followed by General Ratko Mladić. The capture of both men can only help to speed Serbia's entry to the European Union.

The scars of war are still visible in both Croatia and Bosnia and I hope that this will help to heal some of those scars.

UPDATE

It is looking like it has been confirmed. Excellent! I hope that I've finally spelt that evil man's name correctly (not that he deserves it).

I pray that this will bring comfort and peace to the survivors and families of the victims of his murderous regime. May the victims rest in peace.

The "100 Top Books" that I've Read - Sad Innit?

2008-07-20T19:09:00.005+01:00

This has been copied off Peter Black's blog who apparently copied it off Alix Mortimer. Looking at the number of books that I've read on the list I think I need to get out more! I make it about 48 of the top 100 I've read.

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they’ve printed.1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.2) Italicize those you intend to read.3) Underline the books you love.4) Strike out the books you have no intention of ever reading, or were forced to read at school and hated.5) Reprint this list in your own blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve only read 6 and force books upon them (although I wouldn't object if they wanted to "force" some of the book's I haven't read onto me!).

Naturally, dear reader, you are welcome to copy this list to your own blog and follow the same exercise.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 The Harry Potter Series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12.Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
~~68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding~~
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

List last updated on 3rd August 2008.I'm working through the list at the moment. 43 read so far.

Watford Tory PPC Resigns

2008-07-19T23:54:00.005+01:00

Ian Oakley, the Tory Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Watford has resigned after being arrested on suspicion of running a hate campaign against Liberal Democrat Councillors, Candidates and Activists in Watford.

Given the nature of some of the allegations against him which include making and distributing literature falsely alleging that some of them were convicted sex offenders I am now wondering if this is not the same person in the Tory ranks who accused my friend Ben Abbotts, the Liberal Democrat Candidate at the Bromley and Chislehurst by-election, of being a paedophile by shouting out such a ridiculous and false claim when the declaration was made....

I have a lot of sympathy for Sal Brinton and her colleagues who have obviously had a terrible time at the hands of whoever has been responsible. Clearly Mr Oakley is innocent until proven guity and we will have to see what happens.

I also had similar experiences of harrassment whilst I lived in Birmingham after I first stood for the Liberal Democrats in local elections. The trouble started soon after I first stood in Oscott Ward in 1991 and went on intermittently for over a year. I used to get strange nuisance calls, pizzas and taxis sent to my address in my name which I had not ordered, etc. The incidents were reported to the police but, as far as I am aware, no one was ever charged. I have my suspicions as to who the likely culprits were but will not repeat the allegations here.

For the Record

2008-07-17T17:47:00.005+01:00

This is a response to some strange statements made in the 17th July edition of the Folkestone Herald.

1. I continue to be a member of the Liberal Democrats and have been since 15th August 1987 despite the events of last year. I am a Liberal and have been a card carrying one all my adult life.

2. Claims that I "cannot communicate face to face" don't wash. If I can't communicate face to face why have I been asked today to spend more time (an extra 35 days) in Croatia delivering training, coaching and mentoring to business support service providers and Civil Servants in the Croatian Government by that Government? I think that this, amongst other things, somewhat undermines that claim.

If I have the poor face to face communication skills that I am claimed to have why then did several members of the Bromley and Chislehurst and Orpington Liberal Democrats (including the Bromley Borough Council Liberal Democrat Group Leader) come down to assist the local election campaigning last year (on more than one occasion in some cases)?

In all my years of involvement in the Liberal Democrats around the country I only ever had problems in Shepway in 2007. Even then, I have continued to get on well with several members who supported my Parliamentary Candidacy and others beyond the party who live in Folkestone and the surrounding areas.

If I look back over the years I have been involved in the Liberal Democrats I had a fantastic team around me in 1992 when I stood for Parliament at Birmingham Perry Barr first time around. They were all very supportive of me. I also had good relationships with my fellow members in Warrington Liberal Democrats where I was an activist, local Party officer and Council Candidate.

Later on, after I moved to Durham in the 90's I worked very closely with Carol Woods and others during her Parliamentary campaign in Durham in 2001 and came back from China to help her again in 2005. I got on well with the folks up in Durham.

When I returned from China in 2005 I was welcomed readily by my friends in the Bromley and Chislehurst Liberal Democrats and was very quickly approved as a target seat Council Candidate.

It might also be worth noting that to become an approved candidate you have to get sponsored by 4 party members (well, that was true when I was approved). I didn't find it difficult to find sponsors. In fact, one of the guys up there told me one day "you are going to be an MP one day. You've got what it takes". These kinds of things don't happen to someone who can't communicate face to face.

3. Simon Finlay's Editorial in last week's Folkestone Herald about my "face not fitting with some" in the local party would be nearer the mark than the "disastrously wrong" quotation. If losing 5 councillors in two months isn't things going "disastrously wrong" I don't know what is! I certainly had absolutely nothing to do with that and have been away except for two weeks in April (when even then I was working flat out on material for the Croatian project) since February. As previously stated, I have been back in the UK since 29th June and pretty busy since then.

4. I was not contacted by anyone at the Folkestone Herald before my comments from this blog were published.

5. In the light of the comments attributed to the Councillor concerned and, given the fact that I am a local resident with a business to run here which involves communication training, I am going to investigate what remedies are available to me for some of the unacceptable comments made in the Herald today. This may involve a complaint to the Liberal Democrats nationally and potentially the Standards Board.

My Favourite Place in Croatia

2008-07-15T22:38:00.006+01:00

During my time in Croatia (and there is more time still to come) I had to travel around a fair bit which I enjoyed. There are some great people to work with over there and it has been a privilege meeting so many people and the overwhelming majority have been incredibly kind.

I've travelled the length and breadth of Croatia in that time and seen some lovely places through both work and play (Šibenik, Zadar, Senj, Požega, Osijek, Omiš, Mali Lošinj, Trogir, Krk and Cavtat spring to mind as does the centre of Zagreb) but the loveliest place for me so far has got to be Dubrovnik. If you are ever lucky enough to go to Croatia then Dubrovnik for me is a must see.

Thankfully much (if not all) of the damage inflicted during the Homeland War on the Old Town has been repaired and once again it is a truly wonderful place.

I only wish that I could say the same for Vukovar. The state of the City really shook me as have several war affected places which still visibly show the scars.

I think that Folkestone could learn some more tricks from Zadar though in terms of regeneration. The City and County Government with help from the National Government (and possibly donors such as the EU) have created some interesting permanent features by the seaside including a Sea Organ and some spectacular astronomical sculpturing called the Monument of the Sun.

I hope that the Triennial sculptures will become a permanent feature of Folkestone but I also hope that some other new ideas will come in that could bring more tourists to the town (although, I am not suggesting, for one moment, that there should be a junket for Folkestone Town Councillors to go to Zadar on our Council Tax!!!).

Here's a picture of one of the main streets in the old town of Dubrovnik courtesy of my colleague from the SMEPED project, Klaus Richter (and yes, the weather really was that good!).

Here is another picture of the Old Town of Dubrovnik courtesy of the Croatian Tourist Board.

The Crying Game

2008-07-15T22:13:00.004+01:00

Rumours have reached my ears that someone wasn't paying attention (or couldn't read through their tears). For the record, I returned to the UK from my recent stint working in Croatia on 29th June.

I'm back in town and I really don't like what I am hearing. It seems that the usual suspects have been at it again with the pseudo-Communist tactics whilst I've been away these past few months.

These times remind me of the famous quotation "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to do nothing". I do not intend to sit by. I only apologise to my friends that I did not fight injustice even harder in the past.

Cromwell, the Long Parliament and Shepway Liberal Democrats

2008-07-04T22:12:00.005+01:00

Oliver Cromwell had an appropriate message for a particular individual in the light of tonight's events.

"You have sat here for too long for any
good you are doing. Depart, I say, and
let us have done with you. In the name
of God, go! "

The breaking news tonight is that there have been two further resignations from the Shepway Liberal Democrat group.

The ridiculous "groupthinking" that has been going on for years has got to come to an end and it is time to face up to the situation the local Party has got into. Enough is enough.

It is time to cut the personal abuse and time to get serious about the state the Party is in before it gets too late. The leadership needs to change and reform is urgent.

Decentralise the local Party by bringing back the branches (it is ridiculously overcentralised which has contributed to this mess), respect pluralism (which has not happened leading to a series of avoidable defections and people leaving the Party) and start running the Party for the benefit of the wider membership, not the narrow interests of a small group.

And finally, for good measure, for God's sake start realising that you win in politics when you build coalitions. Purist sectarianism is never going to get you where you need to be. You are not integrated into the local community in any significant way. None of you are involved with the local business community as far as I can discern and frankly the liberal and Liberal coalition has been so badly fragmented that it is going to take an absolute miracle to put it back together again. There has been a discernable paucity of strategic thinking going on since before the last General Election.

The Shepway Liberal Democrats was founded on the principles of pluralism, democracy and tolerance. Genuine Liberal principles. I should know, I was involved in bringing the Shepway Liberal Democrats into existence when I went to vote in Blackpool in 1988.

For the last couple of years it has increasingly been built on the ideas of "Democratic Centralism", de-facto Stalinist purges (thanks to the moronic behaviour of one or two individuals who have behaved appallingly and disrespectfully to some long-standing members) and "re-running elections when the result doesn't suit".

No wonder people of a Liberal persuasion have voted with their feet. It has become no longer a recognisable vehicle for Liberalism. For God's sake wake up!

My Thoughts on a Thug

2008-06-23T18:22:00.003+01:00

If you agree with me then feel free to copy this image and put it on your own blog.

My Deepest Condolences

2008-06-19T16:10:00.002+01:00

As the elder brother of a soldier currently serving in Afghanistan my heart goes out to those families who have recently lost loved ones there.

This week I have also known very well the sick feeling that goes into the pit of your stomach when an announcement comes through that someone from the armed forces has been killed in action or injured over there.

I hope that there will lessons learned and fewer soldiers will lose their lives. May the Ministry of Defence work harder and faster to improve the quality of the protective kit out there.

Good luck to the lads and lassies out there who are doing a great job.

I'm Still Very Much Alive!

2008-06-17T20:34:00.003+01:00

Several months after my last blogpost I'm delighted to say that I'm still very much alive and kicking and still working away in Croatia for another couple of weeks. Perhaps some people near Folkestone might not be so happy to hear that.....

I have to ask myself the question when I get the news from home "what the hell is going on?". No, I'm not talking about the Triennial in the town, which is very welcome and hats off to all involved for such an inspired effort. I have to ask myself "what the hell is happening to the Shepway Lib Dems?". Perhaps I shouldn't really care anymore as a member of the Bromley and Chislehurst Local Party but I have to say that I am getting less and less comfortable keeping silent when things appear to get worse and worse.

How many more lost long standing members? How many more lost Councillors? I also have to say that the PPC selection left more questions open than it answered. Does Neil Matthews sleep with a copy of "Il Principe" under his pillow?

OK, so, Season Prater got a bridgehead onto Sandgate Parish Council and hats off to her. She has really run well with the issue of Sandgate's status.

Geoffrey Boot really should make up his mind about whether he wants a base in Sandgate or to have another go for the Tynwald http://www.geoffreyboot4mhk.org/. I suspect that the result of the local referendum on Sandgate's Parish/Town status has given him his answer.

But these are minor distractions from the core concern. How much longer will the national party continue to ignore the serious issues that face the Shepway Lib Dems before they finally get serious and start to act on some of the concerns that I and several others raised last year? Or are they really confortable with the Party disappearing down the drain?

P.S. I'm not going to publish anonymous comments so the usual hatemongers should have the courage of their convictions and say who they are. You aren't as anonymous as you think you are anyway.

In Case Anyone Was Wondering

2008-02-22T16:15:00.002Z

Yes, I'm still very much alive.

I've recently had the privilege to join the Folkestone Lions and look forward to working with my friends in the Club to make a difference to the local area and internationally. I've also been providing training to various organisations in London and Kent and talking to others about training their staff.

I'm about to go to Croatia for a significant period of time to provide small and medium enterprise development policy advice to the Croatian Government as part of their efforts to meet the requirements to join the EU. This will also involve a significant amount of time working in both Zagreb and the regions of Croatia.

Otherwise, I am enjoying life and have less time for blogging than I used to have.

Congratulations Nick Clegg!

2007-12-18T14:48:00.000Z

This has made my day!

Congratulations Nick and commiserations to Chris Huhne who, it is fair to say, ran a strong campaign.

At long last the Liberal Democrats have a vigourous new leader who gives us a real chance of transforming Britain into a country reflective of it's liberal and Liberal instincts.

British politics is now about to get very, very interesting indeed.

Take It Easy Guys!

2007-12-10T21:46:00.000Z

Today, sadly, has seen time run out in the negotiations over the status of Kosovo.

Regrettably it has not been possible for a deal to be struck which would satisfy both sides. This is sad but unfortunately inevitable given the strength of feeling that exists on both sides.

It would be wonderful to dream that Kosovar Albanians and Serbs in Kosovo could share a future together but sadly there is such a gulf between both sides as can readily be seen on a visit to Mitrovica. The River Ibar might as well be an ocean. There is genuine fear on both sides of the ethnic divide and frankly a considerable amount of misinformation.

I enjoyed meeting people from both communities when I had the privilege of working there this summer. The gulf between the groups was very clear at the start of the training I gave but I felt that it was beginning slowly to close.

I can understand the frustration of Kosovar Albanians. They have been through hell to be frank. I can also see the point of view of the Serbs in Kosovo who feel that a part of them has been taken away with the loss of Kosovo. Milosevic must bear a huge responsibility for his appalling treatment of the Kosovar Albanians leading to the terrible violence and enduring hatred that exists. He escaped justice for his crimes but he failed Serbs who have to bear the stigma of his crimes.

What will now happen is inevitable but I plead for the Kosovar Albanian leadership under Thaci to show good sense and restraint. A hasty unilateral declaration of independence will not serve the interests of anyone. It will create violence, play into the hands of extremists and invitably the losers will not be the politicians but the ordinary people of both communities.

Just take it easy guys!

Happy Birthday Universal Declaration of Human Rights

2007-12-10T21:30:00.000Z

Today, 10th December, marks the 59th Birthday of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sadly in our world today, the Declaration is observed more in the breach but it provides a call to action for all of us on this planet who believe in the principle that human rights are universal and fundamental and should not be compromised.

For the next 30 days I plan to publish an article of the original declaration in both English and Chinese with a short personal commentary on what the articles mean for me. I am happy to publish comments made as long as the author is prepared to name themselves or can provide me with a legitimate reason why they should remain nameless (idiots/trolls need not apply).

The source of the texts is the United Nations Department of Public Information.

Preamble

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, therefore,

The General Assembly,
Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

TP: An interesting marrying of both negative and positive freedoms. T.H.Green would be proud as would a number of British Social Liberals such as Beveridge and J.M. Keynes.

Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

TP: Noble and valid sentiments. Alas, how often do we see such a statement ignored. South Africa for years, Zimbabwe (both before and after colonialism), Bosnia, Kosovo, Sudan and especially Dafur, China?, the Soviet Union and now Russia is moving backwards. This article holds the world's leaders (including our own) up to higher standards.

世界人权宣言
联合国大会一九四八年十二月十日第217A(III)号决议通过并颁布
1948 年 12 月 10 日，联合国大会通过并颁布《世界人权宣言》。这一具有历史意义的《宣言》颁布后，大会要求所有会员国广为宣传，并且“ 不分国家或领土的政治地位 , 主要在各级学校和其他教育机构加以传播、展示、阅读和阐述。” 《宣言》全文如下：
序言

鉴于对人类家庭所有成员的固有尊严及其平等的和不移的权利的承认, 乃是世界自由、正义与和平的基础,

鉴于对人权的无视和侮蔑已发展为野蛮暴行, 这些暴行玷污了人类的良心, 而一个人人享有言论和信仰自由并免予恐惧和匮乏的世界的来临, 已被宣布为普通人民的最高愿望,

鉴于为使人类不致迫不得已铤而走险对暴政和压迫进行反叛, 有必要使人权受法治的保护,

鉴于有必要促进各国间友好关系的发展,

鉴于各联合国国家的人民已在联合国宪章中重申他们对基本人权、人格尊严和价值以及男女平等权利的信念, 并决心促成较大自由中的社会进步和生活水平的改善,

鉴于各会员国业已誓愿同联合国合作以促进对人权和基本自由的普遍尊重和遵行,

鉴于对这些权利和自由的普遍了解对于这个誓愿的充分实现具有很大的重要性,

因此现在, 大会, 发布这一世界人权宣言 , 作为所有人民和所有国家努力实现的共同标准, 以期每一个人和社会机构经常铭念本宣言, 努力通过教诲和教育促进对权利和自由的尊重, 并通过国家的和国际的渐进措施, 使这些权利和自由在各会员国本身人民及在其管辖下领土的人民中得到普遍和有效的承认和遵行;

第一条

人人生而自由, 在尊严和权利上一律平等。他们赋有理性和良心, 并应以兄弟关系的精神相对待。

TP: Perhaps Beijing would like to consider the meaning of these words in the run up to 八八 and meet their promises?

Kosovo and the Russians

2007-12-05T22:30:00.000Z

Sadly it seems that the West has now "lost" Russia. Putin's shameful sham election strongly points to a slide to new authoritarianism and the trend over the past few years of his Presidency suggest that he will establish a strong "new authoritarian" block with the Chinese out East.

Russia has also been stridently opposed to the Ahtisaari proposed settlement in Kosovo which would lead to a "supervised independence" under the UN. Frankly it has undermined any possibility of a shared future for Kosovar Albanians and Serbs in the province through it's strident support of the unsustainable Serbian position which would only consider "autonomy" within Serbia for the province.

Far from preparing Serbs in Mitrovica and other parts of northern Kosovo to accept the need to fight for a shared future with equal rights under the law, Putin has helped to stoke continued mistrust between the two communities (during my time in Mitrovica as a trainer the Serb participants were anxious about crossing over the bridge from Northern Mitrovica due to security concerns) and helped to create a climate where renewed violence is a real possibility this month.

To then discover that Putin has decided to dispatch an 11-ship aircraft carrier group to the Mediterranean suggests that Putin is prepared to back the Serbian intransigent position with force. Why else should they be there?

I enjoyed my time in Prishtina and Mitrovica in Kosovo working with both communities and genuinely hope that they will be able to avoid violence and create a shared future where ALL citizens are able to participate in society and the legacy of hatred is laid to rest.

Russian macho politics does not help and Putin needs to be stood up to by the West, both for his sham election (which requires diplomatic sanctions of some kind) and regrettably it is increasingly looking like we will need to do so militarily as well.

Vote Early, Vote Often.....

2007-11-28T21:04:00.000Z

In case anyone was wondering (or perhaps worrying), yes, I have already cast my ballot for Nick Clegg.

I urge you all to do the same to give the Liberal Democrats that young, charismatic leader that Liberal Britain so badly needs.

Far from playing dog whistle politics to the activists, Nick has been focused outwards on talking to the liberals of Britain who currently would like to support us but don't yet. As our leader, Nick Clegg will enable the Liberal Democrats to build a liberal coalition to strengthen civil liberties at home, challenge disadvantage and rebuild Britain's international reputation abroad.

I urge all members who are still considering who to support to think long and hard about whether we wish to continue where we are, talking to ourselves, or start to face outwards and widen our horizons.

Some people closer to home would do well to take note that continuing on their current path is unsustainable.

Thanks Darling!

2007-11-20T19:11:00.000Z

What a lovely early Christmas present courtesy of HMRC and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Tonight I joined the 25 million other British Citizens who have had their data exposed to risk of ID fraud.

The personal security of my daughter has also been compromised which I also find totally unacceptable.

And these people want our biometric data as well!

This has to be the death of the madcap ID cards idea. Who on earth would want to trust this Government with their data after this? I for one, will not.

If this Government pushes it to the limit then yes, I am prepared to go to prison to protect my right to control my identity. In my view, identity is a property right that people should assign. It is not the property of the State and compulsion to provide it is an unacceptable form of nationalisation that must be resisted.

Huhne Has Gone Too Far

2007-11-18T21:28:00.001Z

In 20 years of membership of the Liberals or Liberal Democrats I have never seen anything as appalling as Chris Huhne's conduct today and given some of my recent personal experiences, that's saying something! The same old nonsense has been wheeled out again regarding Nick's position on education, the health service and Trident.

Chris' conduct on BBC1 today has damaged the Party's image and, should he hopefully lose the leadership election, has consigned him to the backbenches. How on earth does he expect Nick Clegg to trust him after he pulls this kind of stunt?

It is very clear that Huhne knew exactly what was in the document as he then brazenly went through it line by line.

The fact that he allowed such a document to go out with such a title shows precisely why he is unfit to be leader. If he can't manage his staff how on earth can he expect to be trusted with the leadership of our party? The short answer is that he can't.

This is the second time that Huhne has allowed negative comments against Nick to go out and then said "oh, sorry, I apologise".

We don't allow these kind of antics in other internal elections and nor should we in leadership elections.

After today, Huhne deserves to be thrashed in this leadership contest good and proper.

My Thoughts on Tonight's Question Time

2007-11-15T22:33:00.000Z

Here are some of my impressions of tonight's Lib Dem Leadership Question Time.

Chris Huhne's negative campaigning has come back to haunt him. David Dimbleby lashes Huhne for the "Cameron Stunt Double" quotation pretty quickly which puts him on the defensive.

Chris is wrong over Trident. To my mind, his negotiating position would throw all the cards out of the window. I also think that he badly underestimates Russia under Vladimir Putin. Russia has increasing receipts from oil and gas which it is using to rebuild it's military.

Nick has also realised that Russia is using it's oil and gas supply to put pressure on former Soviet states such as Ukraine. Nick is right to suggest that the EU has to be firm and hold Putin to account. Nick's experience as an international negotiator with the European Commission shows through very strongly and given the re-emergence of Russia, the rise of China and the increasingly multipolar nature of the world he would be better placed to deal on international political and economic relations.

Nick Clegg has real passion for the underpriviledged and for the mismanagement of public services and this is where he scored massive points tonight. His motivation to get into politics is very similar to that of so many of our activists (including me). Nick's passion will come across well to voters who do not currently support the Liberal Democrats. Chris perhaps came over as too "Mr Great CV" and therefore a bit patrician and remote.

Huhne tries "dog whistle" politics on Nick again by attacking David Law's views on health insurance versus NHS. Regrettably for Chris, Nick has emphatically denied supporting (are you reading this Jo Hayes!) health insurance.

There was no nonsense coming from Chris over vouchers. Nick clearly laid out his views on the pupil premium and there were no vouchers in sight.

Despite what looks like a Huhnite plant to paint Nick as "Cameron-lite", Nick Clegg clearly set himself apart from Cameron for the same reasons I got involved in Liberal politics. Disgust at the wasteland that was created in the wake of Thatcherism and a determination to change politics for the better.

I think Nick came out ahead purely and simply as he was able to relate his experience directly to issues that concern the majority of voters, but I would say that wouldn't I?

Slaying the Vouchers Dragon

2007-11-15T00:29:00.000Z

It's been a very interesting evening's blogging.

Jo Hayes once again repeated the outlandish and discredited claim on behalf of Chris Huhne that Nick Clegg supports vouchers for education. Dredging up the words of journalists (one of whom has made it very clear that he added the word "vouchers" and not Nick) she claimed that the words of journalists were enough to be evidence that Nick supports vouchers. One of them was from that well-known Lib Dem loving newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

Jeremy Hargreaves had already taken this claim apart here

Unfortunately for Jo and others who have tried to claim that Nick supports vouchers (probably some of the most unpleasant bit of "dog whistle" style politics in this leadership contest so far) when you look at Nick in his own words there is absolutely no voucher in sight.

If you look at the pamphlet that Nick wrote with Richard Grayson back in 2002 again, there is no voucher in sight. In fact, Nick's support for the idea of a "Pupil Premium" which is expounded in the pamphlet pre-dates official party policy on the subject .

Liz Barker has now intervened in annoyance at the Huhneite tactics and put Jo right in the comments to her post.

So, could the Huhneites cut out the "dog whistle" nonsense and get back to a real debate about our leadership contenders real positions based on what they say themselves.

Yahoo! Forced to See the Light

2007-11-14T09:52:00.000Z

After it's lashing by the US Congress, Yahoo! has finally been forced to apologise and compensate two Chinese cyber-dissidents, Shi Tao and Wang Xiaoning.

It is a pity that it has taken the US Congress to shame Yahoo! into this aboutface but it is welcome nonetheless. I'm also glad to see that they will be creating fund to provide legal aid for online dissidents. I hope this sees the beginning of the end of the collaborationist mentality of internet companies and a recognition that freedom of speech and internet freedom of expression are global freedoms that should not be compromised.

Hmm... I could say something further but I won't until I've seen a certain report.

Oh Come Off It Chris!

2007-11-14T00:31:00.000Z

Not satisfied with slurring Nick Clegg by claiming he supports vouchers in education when he doesn't and using Chris Clarke to branch Nick a Tory (quickly withdrawn once challenged but those comments should never have appeared in the first place) we saw yesterday yet another dubious claim from the Huhne camp. This time Chris claimed to be the first through the 1000 barrier.

Oh really? So why has the Clegg campaign already got 1500 supporters and rising?

I recognise that Chris is a good economist and has many admirable strengths but does he have to be economical with the truth as well?

Wars Never End

2007-11-12T23:27:00.000Z

Regardless of my overt support for Nick Clegg, as the brother of a serving soldier I was absolutely delighted to see that should he be elected as our leader he will be taking the issue of the treatment of our servicemen and women seriously through the establishment of a Military Convenant Commission.

Remembrance Sunday should not be merely to remember the dead but also to remember the mained and injured (both physically and mentally) who have returned from Britain's military engagements over the years. Nick has rightly identified that our treatment of armed forces personnel, present and past, is pretty shoddy (and that includes ex-Gurkhas as well). I can only condemn the Government for not allowing injured personnel from Iraq and Afghanistan to parade past the Cenotaph yesterday. Shades of Vietnam there.

The reality facing our Armed Forces today include accommodation that is often not fit for purpose, appropriate and adequate kit scarce (the Americans call our troops "Lendmies" rather than "Limies" these days) and welfare and medical care often fails to come up to the mark.

Tonight's Channel 4 documentary "Forgotten Heroes: The Not Dead" scratches the surface of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is an absolutely shocking statistic that more Falklands veterans have taken their own lives than were killed in the conflict.

We all need a shake to face up to our responsibilities to those who, in effect implement the "muscle" part of our foreign policy. The conflicts of Northern Ireland, the Falklands, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan will continue to claim their victims until such time as we do our bit for those who did their bit.

Our Military Covenant Commission, I hope, will begin to shake the consensus of convenient ignorance regarding the consequences of military conflict for our service personnel that has pervaded our politics for far too many years.

For The Record

2007-11-09T10:54:00.000Z

Having seen the quotation regarding myself in the Folkestone Herald yesterday I would like to put the following on record:

I did not disagree with the stance taken by Liberal Democrat and some Conservative Councillors in leaving the Council Chamber at the last full council meeting of Shepway District Council and my support for the Firefighters in this town is unequivocable. That should be patently obvious from my last post dated 2nd November. I strongly believe that our District Councillors of whatever political party are there to do a job - stand up for the interests of the people of the district. I believe that the proposals on the table from the Fire Authority will endanger lives in Folkestone and the wider district and should be rescinded.

However, being a reasonably fair-minded person, and given that Gordon is one of my neighbours in Sandgate Road with whom I am on friendly terms with even if we do disagree politically, I wanted to hear what he had to say on the matter. I still cannot understand what Rory Love thought he was achieving through his stance on the Lib Dem motion laid down to council. If he had further information then it should have been shared with the Council there and then.

I think that my relationship with some elements of the Shepway Liberal Democrats is a matter of public record as being somewhat poor. So much so, that rather than remain a member of a local party that could allow its officers and others to treat me in such an appalling fashion I asked permission from the Executive of the Bromley and Chislehurst Liberal Democrats if I could rejoin them.

They very kindly agreed and this has enabled me to continue to play an active role in the party that I have been an active a member of for just over 20 years. I still am a Liberal and could not imagine myself in any other political home despite some of the rumours that some have tried to put about to smear my name in the district.

I would like to publicly thank those Shepway Liberal Democrat (some of whom are now non-members due to their disapproval of the conduct of certain Executive Officers and others) and Liberal Democrat members from further afield who were supportive of myself and my family during and subsequent to events in May. Qun, Anna and myself are very grateful to you for your friendship in what has been the saddest set of events in my political life.

For the record, I am still awaiting the outcome of a regional investigation into the goings on surrounding my resignation as Parliamentary Candidate. Once that investigation has reported I reserve the right to make a public statement as/if I see fit.

As for my comments on Ming, my more recent views had been more supportive as I had seen his performance as our former Leader improve. I was saddened by his going but I did feel that it was regrettably inevitable. I had a personal issue with Ming which coloured my view of the early part of his Leadership and it need not be aired here.

My view is that Ming should have challenged Charles Kennedy for the leadership when Paddy Ashdown stood down in 1999. Last year was perhaps too late for him. For the record, I wanted Nick Clegg to stand last year. He refused and so I came to support Chris Huhne.

I am supporting Nick in this leadership election as I believe that he is best placed to reach out to people who are liberal and Liberal but who are currently not voting Liberal Democrat. I respect Chris Huhne, admire his intelligence (if not always his judgement on some issues - Trident and "Clarkegate" being two examples) and am sure that he will hold a higher profile position on the Frontbench subsequent to the Leadership Election.

Stop the Cuts to Our Fire Service!

2007-11-02T00:14:00.000Z

I am appalled to learn tonight that some members of Conservative Controlled Shepway District Council failed miserably to stand up for the district and are effectively acquiesing in the decimation of our local Fire Brigade.

Utterly shameful.

The proposals on the table from the Kent Fire Authority will cost lives. God help us should Operation Stack be in place on the night that a serious fire occurs.

Rory Love et al., stop filibustering and stand up for the district and the people who elected you or resign your seats and allow them to be taken by people who will.

Getting the State Off The Back of The Poorest

2007-10-31T22:35:00.000Z

Further to my post about the importance of raising literacy and numeracy amongst the most disadvantaged in our society another aspect of British society that worries me, particularly as a former academic economist is the disproportionate burden of taxation on the poorest in our society.

The last budget was a travesty in effectively redistributing the tax burden from the wealthiest in society to fall mostly on middle income Britain but also disproportionately on the poorest members of society. This shift in taxation burden was supposedly mitigated by the Working Tax Credit (WTC) but the WTC system is such a nightmare to negotiate since it has been notorious for overpayments being clawed back leaving poorer working families even further under pressure. This adverse publicity has been a deterrent for some of the neediest families to claim their WTC.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies analysed the impact of the budget and it showed that marginal tax rates facing the lowest paid are at about 70%. This is way too high. I agree with Nick Clegg that tinkering with Capital Gains Tax misses the point.

The main focus on taxation policy should be reducing the burden of income taxation on the poorest and that includes local taxation as well. The Council Tax is regressive. It should be scrapped in favour of a local income tax. Government attention should be turned to getting more of the poorest in our society out of the taxation system completely by a combination of raising the personal allowance to a sensible level and reducing the bottom rate of income tax. Shifts towards green taxation should also achieve this aim.

Let's get the state off the back of the poorest!

Literacy and Numeracy Education the Key

2007-10-30T21:47:00.000Z

I've been doing a bit of catching up on TV viewing recently thanks to the excellent 4OD service. I watched the recent Dispatches programme on illiteracy amongst our kids in this country with shock and disbelief that so many were getting left behind.

I have to declare an interest as a parent of a four year old who has started Primary School this September but I'm frankly shocked that anyone could think that anything less than 100% literacy in the 21st Century in a system with 11 years of compulsory schooling is acceptable.

I'm going to sound like a bit of an old git here but as a University Lecturer in the 90s I couldn't believe the number of my students who were unable to cope with fairly straightforward numerical calculations without resorting to the use of a calculator. The impression I have is that things have probably got even worse with many adults innumerate.

If we don't get these basic things right then we have little chance of implementing much else of a Liberal agenda in this country. Education has remained the key in the 21st Century for liberating the potential of all our citizens as much as it did in the 19th Century where Liberals (and Conservatives, to be fair) supported the ideal of increasing access to education to wider sections of the population. The evils of poverty, ignorance and conformity still need to be addressed head on even now.

Nick Clegg has touched on the issue in his platform, mentioning the idea of a "Pupil Premium" which has the potential to reduce class sizes where it is needed more, in the most disadvantaged areas of our country. I can't help but think of the kids who live on some of our most deprived estates in Folkestone East and Harbour Wards and wonder how many of them we are equipping to have a better life in the future. Possibly not too many yet.

I can't see anything from Chris Huhne on this issue but I suspect that he would also have something to say, or I would certainly hope so even if he isn't the candidate I am backing in the leadership election!

The most appalling thing is how we have allowed our nation to get into this position. What kind of future we are storing up for ourselves when disadvantage is perpetuated and what are we going to do about it?

This is most certainly not a teacher bashing post. The teaching profession has been forced to cope with considerable change and impossible odds in very difficult circumstances over the years. Reduced funding and dilapidated buildings were the legacy of the late 1970s and 80s. Teachers have been held in low esteem by many and frankly I think many of them deserved a medal for continuing their vocation against appalling odds.

My desire is that the Liberal Democrats will not become co-conspiritors in the politics of educational failure. If we are to liberate our citizens then we must ensure that all of them come out with the basic equipment to participate in our society. Too often we have focused our attention on further and higher education whilst not paying enough attention to the fact that too many young adults had no hope of accessing either because they can't read, they can't write and they can't add up.

We need a new crusade to crush the root cause of so much disadvantage and crime, we need to commit ourselves to stamping out illiteracy.

At Long Last

2007-10-26T10:24:00.000+01:00

As someone who has been inspired by the Liberal legacy of Lloyd George I am delighted that at long last he has been recognised with a statue in Parliament Square. The contribution that Lloyd George made to laying the foundations of the welfare state far outweight his demerits in other areas and deserve to be recognised.

上海、西安欢迎！

2007-10-24T23:16:00.000+01:00

同志你们好！欢迎读我的网络随笔，但是我想你们不会喜欢我的自由心思！

也许你们会改革政治事务在中国。

你们的批评的朋友，

魏涛

Anonymous Blogger Beware

2007-10-22T10:22:00.000+01:00

Someone needs to be worried. Using the cloak of anonymity does not protect you from the full fury of libel law.

You IP identity can be revealed even if you post anonymously.

Hello Beijing!

2007-10-21T23:07:00.000+01:00

I notice that today the Great Firewall of China has been breached for one and that I've had a visitor to the site from Beijing. Welcome to my blogsite.

I hope that many more Chinese citizens will be able to join you and see what other foreigners have to say about goings on in China and our concerns about the human rights situation and the need for it to dramatically improve. If you think I'm hardline on human rights you should read what others of my colleagues are saying. Some are already calling for a boycott of the 2008 Olympics on human rights grounds.

I haven't gone that far but believe that you should be held up to higher standards as you promised you would in 2001 when you won the right to host the games.

Instead I suspect that it might be used as an opportunity to refuse me a visa in the future but we shall see.

Hu Said That?

2007-10-21T22:40:00.000+01:00

As I predicted earlier this year, it appears that Chinese Communist President Hu Jintao has maneovred key members of the Shanghai Clique (supporters of former President Jiang Zemin) out of the Politburo.

Vice President Zeng Qinghong is gone and along with him other Shanghai Clique members Luo Gan and Wu Guanzheng.

Hu is close to scoring a major home win in his battle against the remaining Jiang/Shanghai faction members and the influence of both the former President and his protoges from Shanghai is seriously on the wane.

Hu now needs to be careful not to overplay his hand otherwise he may find that he will effectively split the CPC into two parts which ironically could have the effect of hastening the arrival of democracy.

I've been slightly surprised at the reaction of the press to this. If I could see this coming why on earth couldn't they? It has been patently obvious that Hu had become exasperated at the blocking tactics of Jiang in letting him take up the reins of power and had decided that the only way in which he could effect an enduring legacy for himself would be to take on and remove the Shanghai clique.

Hu isn't interested in balancing the competing interests of different factions inside the CPC because he is a conviction politician with more powerful older backers. Jiang was only seen as a "safe pair of hands" and was not the first choice candidate of Deng Xiaoping after the Tiananmen crisis to replace Zhao Ziyang. Jiang's legacy is therefore compromised and Hu knows it.

Nick Clegg's Speech in Full

2007-10-19T22:24:00.000+01:00

Nick Clegg got his campaign off to a flyer today with a speech which quite rightly urges us to be bold, take risks and reach out to more people who are liberal with a small l.

Here's the speech he made today in full:

"I would like to say a few words about my plans for the future.

But before I do, I would like to pay tribute to my close friend and colleague Menzies Campbell.

Ming is a man of integrity, honour and decency. Over the years he has also shown himself to be a man of impeccable judgement and extraordinary political courage.

He led the opposition to the Iraq war. He stood firm against this government's criminal disregard for our hard won freedoms and rights.

He has done our country a great service.

He stabilized the Liberal Democrats in a time of crisis. He made us more professional. And he gave us a clear sense of direction and purpose.

He has done our party a great service too.

But we now need to look to the future.

If the Liberal Democrats are to change the tired old pattern of British politics, we will have to be bold. We will have to move outside our comfort zone, and take more risks than ever before.

The stakes are high.

Three party politics is in the balance. For two years now, the Liberal Democrats have been caught up in internal self-analysis. We cannot go on testing the patience of the British people.

We must come together now and make a long-term commitment to British liberalism.

We either step up or we will fall back for good.

The leadership election gives us a great opportunity.

An opportunity to talk – plainly and directly – to the British people. An opportunity to be an outward looking party again.

There are millions of people in this country who share our values, but don’t yet give us their votes. These are the people we must be talking to in the weeks ahead.

I want us to extend our reach, and broaden our appeal. I want us to take our message to every community, every home, every family.

And that is why today I am announcing my candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal Democrats.

I'm delighted to be doing it here in Sheffield. It's my experiences here as a local MP - and as an MEP just down the road in the East Midlands before that - that drive me on as a politician.

Like most people of my generation, I wasn’t born into a political party. I am a liberal by choice, by temperament and by conviction.

And when I talk to the people I represent, I become more convinced every day that only liberalism offers the answers to the problems they face.

A generation ago, many people just voted the way their parents and grandparents had voted. British politics was rigid and debate was narrow.

The left offered social justice. The right offered economic competence.
Everyone lined up on one side of the debate or another.

But today our society is more diverse and our politics more fluid.

Political allegiances are less fixed. People are less class conscious and deferential.

The new generation of voters just doesn't believe there are only two options, only two ideas worth having.

The change is already happening.

In 1951, 2 percent of people voted for a candidate who wasn’t Labour or Conservative. In 2005, it was thirty two percent.

The Liberal Democrats now have the opportunity, once and for all, to end the oppressive grip of two-party politics.

We can break apart the two-party system that has narrowed debate for so long.

And give a voice to the millions of people who feel they don’t have a voice in British politics at all.

We should be proud of the progress we have made. But we are not yet where we need to be.

I want the Liberal Democrats to become the gathering point for everyone who wants a different type of politics in Britain.

A politics that begins by giving power to people, their families and their communities.

A politics of people, not systems

Communities not bureaucracies.

Individual innovation not government diktat.

I believe that is the British way.

We are a nation with a strong sense of fair play and social justice. An instinct to protect the environment for future generations.

We are suspicious of arbitrary power, impatient with bureaucracy and wary of government interference.

We have always put our faith in the power of ordinary men and women to change our world.

Those are the best instincts of the British people. Those are the liberal instincts of the British people.

And they are the instincts that, under my leadership, will be at the heart of the Liberal Democrat vision for Britain".

All I can add to this is a loud hear, hear!

Naturally this is an overarching vision. I'm looking forward to seeing Nick and his policy team putting lots of bold, specific policy ideas forwards in the areas of: human rights (domestic and international); international relations and development; environmental protection, the economy; the relationship between the state and the individual; and a vision of how the Liberal Democrats will be organised to give ourselves a chance to deliver our distinctive policies.

A great start and I hope that this will continue.

Please Remember Burma

2007-10-17T21:11:00.000+01:00

Before we all get totally focused on the leadership contest please spare a thought for the oppressed pro-democracy demonstrators and monks in Burma, some of whom are being subjected to appalling torture and conditions in prison. At least one person has died in detention.

I hope that the leadership candidates will raise human rights concerns in the UK and internationally as part of their campaigns to raise the awareness of the British public.

The regime in Burma is an absolute disgrace and I hope that international pressure will ultimately achieve genuine change and push the country and the path of democracy and human rights for all.

Amnesty International have declared next Wednesday 24th October as Free Aung San Suu Kyi Day. "On Wednesday the leader of the National League of Democracy in Burma will complete her 12th year under house arrest. Amnesty International will be using the day to call for the UN to demand her immediate release, and also the release of all prisoners of conscience in Burma".[Hat tip Duncan Borrowman for the last paragraph].

Nick Clegg To Formally Put His Hat in the Ring

2007-10-17T20:58:00.000+01:00

Nick Clegg will be launching his campaign in Sheffield on Friday according to press reports.

Great news! Now let the contest begin!

Go, Nick, go!

Makes Me Want to Study Shakespeare!

2007-10-16T21:39:00.000+01:00

A little trip down to Folkestone Library and strangely enough I was drawn to a copy of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar".

In the light of events this year I think it rather an appropriate read.

Antony's speech in Act III, Scene 2 is truly a great one:

"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
Hath told you Ceasar was ambitious.
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.
Here under the leave of Brutus and the rest,
- For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men -
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me;
But Brutus says he was ambitious,
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome,
Whose ransom did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,
And Brutus is an honourable man.
You did all see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,
And sure he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause;
What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?
O judgement, thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me.
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me".

How Apt

2007-10-16T09:13:00.000+01:00

Simon Hoggart has excelled himself today in The Guardian but not perhaps in the way he intended. This quote is very apt:

"At Mafia funerals it's always the capo who ordered the hit who makes the most fulsome speech over the coffin - about the departed's wonderful qualities, his integrity, his patriotism, his love of family".

I think that Ming made the decision in consultation with others. I think he had several scenarios in mind and spoke to a number of people about what he should do. I don't think that he was assassinated.

The Dangers of Talking Amongst Yourselves

2007-10-15T22:05:00.000+01:00

The other very interesting news story today, from my point of view, was Hu Jintao's speech at the 17th Congress of the Communist Party of China. Jonathan Watts made yet another excellent analysis in The Guardian. If only all of the reporting in that paper was up to his high standards!

Unfortunately El Presidente appeared on the one hand to recognise that increasing democracy is important but then fluffed it by making it quite clear that "We must uphold the party's role as the core of leadership in directing the overall situation and coordinating the efforts of all quarters," and "we must uphold the party's role as the core of leadership in directing the overall situation and coordinating the efforts of all quarters," he said. This strongly suggests that there will be no move towards genuine multi-party democracy in China for the foreseeable future.

Instead the usual tired old formula of "inner-party democracy" was wheeled out yet again. So, more of the claimed 73 million members of the Communist Party will have a say? Really? My experience of meetings in China was always one of watch and agree with the leader and just regurgitate what the leader says.

The Chinese Communist Party is worried about corruption undermining it's legitimacy. But rather than recognise that it is the monopoly of power which is the root cause of corruption and the fact that the Communist Party tries to police itself through the corrupt policing the corrupt, it is carrying on reinforcing the same rotten power structure.

The only way in which political movements are able to move forward are through accountability to the wider citizenry and a recognition that a small group of people do not have a monopoly on the truth. This is a lesson that could be learned closer to my home as well. It is critical to avoid the temptation to talk amongst yourselves otherwise your grasp on power will be shorter and weaker than you hope.

By failing to take on the real elephant in the room and show true leadership Hu Jintao has confirmed his status as a monochrome President who will not stand out in the annals of Chinese political history. Had he been bold and recognised that alternative centres of power are essential to ensure the sustainability of legitimacy and power then he might well have gone down in history. It is my prediction that it will be either the Sixth or Seventh generation of leaders who will grasp this reality and think the unthinkable and do the undoable before they are forced to do it by an increasingly impatient general public.

Hu Jintao has not strengthened the Communist Party at this congress. He has weakened it by failing to properly liberalise China when he had the authority and stature to do so.

Nick Clegg - Stand Up Please

2007-10-15T18:43:00.000+01:00

I'm saddened to see the resignation of Ming Campbell but not completely surprised. He did do a great deal to strengthen the internal party organisation but unfortunately there was an image issue. I hope that whoever succeeds him in the forthcoming leadership election will have the wisdom to give Ming the Foreign Affairs brief in which he clearly has always excelled.

I'm going to declare my support for Nick Clegg who I think had what it took 18 months ago and I believe even more strongly has what it takes to lead our Party.

Go, Nick, go!

Hu Jintao - You Don't Get Away That Easily

2007-10-11T17:06:00.000+01:00

I've focused my recent postings on Burma where clearly something desperately needs to happen to force the Military regime to it's senses or better still, see it fall from power.

China must be very happy that the world's attention is turned to Burma as it seems that the wave of repression that I predicted several months ago surrounding the CPC Congress is coming to pass according to this Human Rights Watch report which I received today.

The world needs to raise pressure on Beijing to clean up it's act as well. I'm not sure that I'm quite at the point that Colin Ross is at of calling for an Olympic Boycott but if the kind of repressive behaviour that we are seeing in China at present continues then I will certainly have to consider whether to join those voices who would want an international boycott.

It is sad to note that so often with the regime in Beijing they seem to take half a step forward by releasing a dissident or two and then a step backwards.

Free Burma!

2007-10-04T00:22:00.000+01:00

Free Burma!

2007-10-02T17:39:00.000+01:00

Immediately after my call for sanctions I received this comment which I want to publicise and encourage my fellow bloggers to participate.

Free Burma!
International Bloggers' Day for Burma on the 4th of October

International bloggers are preparing an action to support the peaceful revolution in Burma. We want to set a sign for freedom and show our sympathy for these people who are fighting their cruel regime without weapons. These Bloggers are planning to refrain from posting to their blogs on October 4 and just put up one Banner then, underlined with the words „Free Burma!“.

www.free-burma.org

Burma - Sanctions NOW!

2007-10-02T17:18:00.000+01:00

I'm getting increasingly frustrated at the British Government's failure to impose serious and significant sanctions against the Burmese Regime (those pathetic and odious "Nazis" in the military regime don't deserve the title of "Government").

Waiting for China to sort the problem isn't going to work. We've stood by for the past 20 years (and the Tories are as guilty as Labour has been on this issue) and let the regime literally get away with murder. It is now time to crack down hard on the Junta and help bring an end to this odious stain on Asia.

Come on Gordon Brown. It's long overdue for Britain to have an ethical foreign policy once again. Start getting tough on the Rapists of Rangoon.

Burma - Tiananmen Square By Proxy?

2007-09-27T00:43:00.000+01:00

The Chinese Government must act to restrain the Burmese Dictatorship which has apparently started shooting protesters. They've propped up an unpopular military dictatorship for too long. It is time they sent in an envoy who can assist the transition to a government led by the democratically elected President, Aung San Suu Kyi and bring to an end the embarrasing and odious military dictatorship.

Failure to do so and to stand by and allow a massacre in Burma will be another 6 4 by proxy which the world will not ignore, forgive and forget in a hurry.

President Hu Jintao should know what he's got to do.

Folkestone - Sloppy and Sneering Reporting by the Guardian

2007-09-27T00:11:00.000+01:00

I've read with interest today the report by Guardian arts correspondent Charlotte Higgins on the inaugural Folkestone Triennial.

Sadly her article is loaded with anti-Folkestone prejudice which really does little to further the cause of the town in regenerating itself. It is also far from accurate and leaves me asking the question, why did you bother? It also recycles a lot of copy that my Old Harveian comtemporary, well-known Philosopher Julian Baggini wrote about three years ago.

My recollection of my childhood was that many people used to come to Folkestone to spend time on the beaches and for a short getaway during the 1970s. It certainly wasn't as simple as passing through the town to get a Ferry to go somewhere else as Charlotte asserts.

The sneering assertions continue:

Folkestone smells of fish and chips. Er, perhaps a little area around Tontine Street does but frankly there is a hell of a lot more of the town than just Tontine Street.

Roger De Hann via the Creative Foundation has been working on regenerating the town for at least three years now. It's not only just started.

The other sneer relates to the claim that there are a large number of teenage mothers in the town. Perhaps there is a significant number clustered in certain parts of East Ward and parts of Harbour Ward in Folkestone but the way the article is phrased would suggest that the place is teeming with teenage Mums.

The use of the term "slum" is hardly appropriate either. That would suggest that there was a lot of substandard housing around Tontine Street. The reality is that there were a significant number of business properties that had become empty and somewhat rundown which the Creative Foundation has done a great job of renovating.

We then have to put up with ludicrous nonsense of Folkestone being compared (negatively) to Venice? What the fcuk is that all about? Mention of the Royal Military Canal [WHICH IS IN HYTHE!] is used as the tenuous hook for this stupid section.

Charlotte Higgins, you've been Fisked!

If I were your journalism teacher I would ask you to come and see me after class. A mostly shoddy piece of work.

I hope we will see an apology to the people of Folkestone in your pages soon.

Ming's Speech Flicked My Switch

2007-09-20T13:48:00.000+01:00

Bravo to Ming. That passion that I saw him display at the last South East/Central Regional Conference came through strong and clear today.

A good strong Liberal speech which should give food for thought to one or two people closer to home. We should practice what we preach.

I think the heat has gone from Ming to where it truly belongs, on the faltering performance of David Cameron and the increasing pressure he is going to come under to retreat back to the "core" vote which has constrained and undermined all his predecessors post John Major.

The trouble for the Tories though is who is in the wings? Boris Johnson? You have to be joking. I loved the Ming quip, "The Blondest Suicide Note in History". They are stuck with DC but the brand is rapidly going past it's sell-by date and may be distinctly stale come the General Election.

Who's Under Pressure Now?

2007-09-19T17:15:00.000+01:00

Well, as you would have known if you had seen the whole of my BBC interview last Sunday, I predicted that the shine had come off David Cameron and he was in trouble (sadly this bit got erased by the editor).

Seems that this has been backed up by the Guardian poll which shows his net disapproval ratings are higher than Ming's. Once again the media were looking in the wrong direction for someone to have a go at.

I predict (at the risk of my neighbour Gordon Williams putting a brick through my window!) that before the end of the year there will be a strong lurch back to the right to shore up the "core" vote.

Observing the Lib Dem conference from afar, it does seem interesting that two potential post-Ming leaders are being talked up, Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne.

Although I voted for Chris Huhne during the last leadership election and find a lot in Chris to admire I'm a strong Nick Clegg fan and think that he would have a combination of the youth AND depth to be able to challenge anyone on the Tory benches and to take on anyone who replaced Brown. The next Lib Dem leadership contest, whenever it happens (which will be later rather than sooner), will be a very interesting one indeed.

No, I'm Not in Brighton

2007-09-17T23:32:00.001+01:00

In case any one was wondering (probably not - but you never know), I'm not in Brighton and will not be showing my face down there this week at the Lib Dem Conference.

Although I still retain a strong interest in politics and Liberalism, I am taking a bit of a sabbattical and working on building up my training business and spending quality time with my lovely wife and daughter.

Today was a rather special day as my little girl, Anna, started at Primary School. Qun and I really enjoyed taking her to and from school today and she looked a pretty picture in her school uniform.

With all due respect to our leader, that beats a Ming Campbell question and answer session anyday.

I wish all my friends at Conference well. I miss you and I hope we shall see each other again in the not too distant future.

I just need some more time to get over what has been THE most frustrating and appalling year in my political life - one I should never have experienced at the hands of fellow so-called Lib Dems. Given the recent fractious history of liberalism in this district it perhaps didn't come as a complete shock to outside observers and others who were Lib Dems once.

I take comfort in the fact that the other 19 years were enjoyable and happy ones and I've made quite a few friends along the way. Thanks to my optimistic disposition I am looking forward to the future and know that the best is yet to come.

I shall work on developing a more interesting style of writing which I hope will make my political and personal memoires an interesting read some day in the future. Then, perhaps, my side of the story can finally come out unfettered and undistorted by spin, the imagination of local journalists and editors and the need for internal procedures and protocols to work their way through.

2008 still cannot come a day too soon.

Yours Truly on BBC1 South East

2007-09-17T21:48:00.000+01:00

Your's truly made a couple of brief appearances on the South East section of the Politics Show last Sunday.

Click on the link
here to see it all again.

I'm sure that some people in the Party and beyond will be ecstatic to see that I am very much still alive and kicking politically.

By the way, Jack Devine, you haven't got a clue what you are talking about. We've been way ahead of the other two parties for years on the use of the internet and modern communication techniques. That's why we've always punched above our financial weight in campaigning terms both in paper-based literature and in terms of e-campaigning.

President Kennedy

2007-09-13T22:21:00.000+01:00

I strongly welcome the news that Charles Kennedy is to be the new President of the European Movement and will be going out there to make the case for Europe. Something we should be doing as a whole in the Party.

I'm also pleased to hear that the European Movement will be having a formal relaunch. I certainly will want to get involved in that locally.

Gladstone and the Treaty

2007-09-13T22:09:00.000+01:00

A reminder of an inspirational quote by a Liberal leader in a bygone era:

"What do I understand by the Liberal principle? I understand, in the main, it is a principle of trust in the people only qualified by prudence. By the principle which is opposed to the Liberal principle, I understand mistrust of the people, only qualified by fear". W.E.Gladstone. Speeches and Addresses Delivered at the Election of 1865 reproduced in Brack and Ingham (Eds.) Dictionary of Liberal Quotations. Politicos (1999).

We do well, as Liberals, to remember this principle and to have the courage of our convictions at all times.

There Should Be A Referendum on the EU Treaty

2007-09-12T23:07:00.000+01:00

I'm adding my voice to several Lib Dems who believe that there should be a referendum on the latest EU Treaty.

I'm a declared Europhile that recognises that although there are significant issues with the way in which the EU operates which certainly need to be reformed, the pooling of sovereinty with our fellow EU partners has certainly helped Britain to punch above it's weight on a range of international issues.

We need to go out and sell the benefits of the EU to the British people. For too long now we've allowed the crankies in the Tory Party and UKIP (amongst others) to bash on with their narrow, xenophobic vision of the EU and the role of Britain in the world.

Some of these guys live trapped in a golden era that never existed where Britain is still a huge power in the world. They've successfully poisoned the political atmosphere in the UK and stereotyped the EU as some kind of bureaucratic monster. Frankly we've been timid and have let them get away with it. It's time to get back out there again and campaign FOR the EU and for the Treaty.

Supporting a referendum would be thoroughly consistent with the political platform I stood on as Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Birmingham Perry Barr where we supported a referendum on Maastricht. I don't really see what has changed from that point in time.

I think Anthony Hook and others are right, and sorry Ming, I think you are wrong on this one.

Better - But Still Too Many

2007-09-07T00:26:00.000+01:00

I'm pleased to hear that the number of executions appears to be falling in China(although I am always sceptical of figures issued on "sensitive" subjects by the Communist Regime - they don't have an impressive track record). I genuinely hope that China is gradually weaning itself off the death penalty.

If only the US would take leadership on this issue and abolish the death penalty. Then it might look less hypocritical when criticising the Chinese Communist regime's human rights record.

Titan Rain - Oh Really?

2007-09-07T00:02:00.000+01:00

Strange claims are surfacing that elements of the Chinese "Peoples Liberation Army" (an Oxymoron if ever there was one given the PLA's performance around Tiananmen Square in 1989) have targeted British Government computers.

There has been wide speculation for years that certain ultra-nationalist elements of the PLA have wanted to engage in "asymmetric warfare" against the US. Indeed, the military approach of the PLA has always contained a guerilla approach to combat against a larger enemy. This was deployed effectively during both the Chinese Civil War, against the Japanese (although a recent biog of Mao has cast doubt that the Red Army did much fighting against the Japanese during the occupation of China from 1937-1945) and would have been deployed as part of a "People's War" strategy against both the US during the Korean War and the Soviets in 1969 had there been an invasion.

I agree with those who comment that the claims appearing in the media appear to have little credibility. Had they been credible then at the very least I would have expected to see the Chinese Ambassador getting a pretty big and public flea in his ear from the British Government and the Chinese Military Attaches being sent on a plane back to Beijing.

I would also have expected the British Government to have imposed economic sanctions against the Communist regime as well.

None of these events has happened so I can only be truly sceptical of the claims.

That said, there are some serious headbangers amongst the Chinese military, some in high positions and we should be vigilant that they do not gain the upper hand when the Chinese Communist Party loses its absolute grip on power as certain elements of the Red Army tried to do with the collapse of Soviet Communism.

My analysis is that this is good old fashioned right-wing anti-communist propaganda which deflects from the core problem in China. That core problem is that the human rights record of China is not matching the promises made to the IOC in 2001 and that pressure and potentially sanctions should be applied to encourage Beijing to both ratify the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and release all political prisoners.

Let Candidates Be Candidates Part 2

2007-08-30T22:31:00.000+01:00

A wealthy candidate might even want to look at these two articles....

ARTICLE 13
Everyone whose rights and freedoms as set forth in this Convention are violated shall have an effective remedy before a national authority notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.

ARTICLE 14
The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.

Let Candidates Be Candidates

2007-08-30T22:17:00.000+01:00

Anthony Hook has raised a very legitimate concern about the partial gagging of Euro Selection Candidates. It is utterly absurd that candidates are not able to state where they disagree with an incumbent MEP on a policy issue or where they might take an alternative approach.

I'm getting worried about the drift of the Party at the present time towards some kind of control freakery. For goodness sake we are supposed to be LIBERAL DEMOCRATS.

LIBERAL = standing up for freedom of thought and expression.

DEMOCRAT = supporting pluralistic democracy.

We risk looking like hypocrites when we say one thing externally and don't practice what we preach internally. I think Anthony is also right that Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights is being flouted - reproduced below:

ARTICLE 10

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. this right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.

The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or the rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

I want to know what the candidates standing in the Euro selections think. I don't want to be a member of a party where pluralism is conveniently dropped to spare the blushes of a few MEPs.

It is morally wrong the way in which some selection rules have favoured incumbents. When the Euro selections are over the Party should develop rules that allow GENUINE choice through a level playing field.

I joined the Liberals because they were different and they believed in Liberal values of openness, pluralism and tolerance. Somewhere along the road these core values are being eroded.

For goodness sake let us have genuine debate, be proud of the debate and let candidates be candidates.

The Lights Are On But No One's At Home - DG Trade Get It Wrong

2007-08-29T17:14:00.000+01:00

The decision by DG Trade to continue to hold in place a tariff on Chinese energy saving light bulbs is a foolish one.

It seems that only German light bulb company Osram wanted to keep the tariff. I hope that the tariff will be lifted and soon. It makes no sense for the European Commission to keep a tariff in place when they are trying to encourage European consumers to save energy.

It is also bad economics.

I hope that the tariff will be voted down by member states within the month.

The BBC have more information here.

Thanks For Reading

2007-08-29T16:48:00.000+01:00

I would like to thank all my regular readers for the interest you showed in my post "My Political Future". I suspect that some of you were unwilling readers wondering if I was going to break my personal "Omerta" concerning recent events. I'm sure that Don Liberali would approve of my stance so far. The upshot is that the post made number 41 in the Golden Ton on Lib Dem Voice.

I haven't finished writing about my 20 years in the Liberals and Liberal Democrats and I still reserve the option to "spill the beans as I see them". But then, I might get a visit from the Don or perhaps a lawyer representing a certain worried local party Chairman with a goatee who doesn't like blogs too much.....

Thank you one and all!

Beware the Ides of October

2007-08-29T13:57:00.000+01:00

Yesterday saw the announcment that the 17th National Congress of the beloved Chinese Communist Party will begin on 15th October.

I'm sure that the next 6 and a half weeks are going to be an absolute barrel of laughs for Chinese dissidents, journalists and foreign reporters whilst the paranoid apparatus of the State tries to keep the lid on simmering unrest related to rising food prices and corruption (both petty and serious) by local government officials.

Like the 16th National Congress, this one is going to be a very interesting one to watch. I expect Hu Jintao to strenghthen his grip on the Communist leadership at the expense of the remnants of the Shanghai Faction. I predict that Vice-President Zeng Qinghong amongst others is set for a fall.

Hu Jintao has disappointed all of us who thought that Jiang Zemin was illiberal and that somehow he would prove to be a breath of fresh air. He is even more stifling on the human rights front than Jiang and even less charismatic.

The most important outcome of the Congress will, of course, be who is going to replace Hu Jintao in five years time. We should see the next generation of Chinese leaders emerge. Let us hope that they are more colourful and more liberal than their predecessors.

Honourable Mention

2007-08-29T13:39:00.001+01:00

Duncan Borrowman was the winner of the Inspirational Chinese Quote of the Day competition on this blog (actually, miserable lot you are, he was the only entry). Therefore he receives the Honourable Mention advertised. I'm skint at the moment, so no major cash prizes or any such things at present.

Duncan's winning entry was "I'd rather die for speaking out,
than to live and be silent" Fan Zhongyan.

Pay more attention at the back of the class in future.....

Nanny Knows Best in China

2007-08-29T10:44:00.001+01:00

When I studied Chinese Language, Business and International Relations with Sheffield University (by distance learning as I was in China at the time) we started with a fascinating course on China and Society. One of our main coursebooks was by Tony Saich "Governance and Politics of China" which is an excellent introduction to Chinese politics (if perhaps a little bit in need of revision now post-Jiang Zemin).

One of the themes which sprang out at me and frankly angered me was how Chinese Government officials always somehow presume to know best (does that seem familiar fellow Liberals?). In putting this thesis to the test on a number of occasions in my discussions related to Small and Medium Enterprise Development policy in Jiangxi Province I often found that rarely did Government officials speak to their own local businesses and find out what they needed when framing policy, they would prefer to import solutions from overseas. They treated local businesses with comtempt.

In effect, Government Officials in China would treat the very people they are supposed to serve (so much for "为人民服务") as children. This is what Saich describes as the "infantisation" of the population. This comtempt for the intelligence of the ordinary Chinese citizen has its roots in the Republican era. Even Sun Yat-Sen was prone to it.

Unfortunately this infantisation process continues today and relates to the internet. People in China are incapable, it seems, of working out what is "good" for them, so they have to have an internet police to protect them from evil influences on the internet such as (sharp intake of breath):

"Websites that incite secession, promote superstition, gambling and fraud".

Presumably that means any website that supports Taiwan's, Tibet or Xinjiang's independence, Falun Gong (which has been ruthlessly suppressed) and probably a range of non-approved Christian sites, bookmakers and online poker and other sites etc.

Apparently Chinese citizens lack the maturity and intelligence that we Westerners have to determine for themselves what they can and can't see.

The BBC has more information on this here which is just as well really since Chinese citizens are also not allowed to read the news sections of the BBC website.

The Chinese Government is continually trying to keep the freedom of information that the internet brings under control to maintain it's weakening grip on power. It is our responsibility to see to it that they ultimately fail and the Chinese people learn the truth surrounding 64, corruption and other human rights abuses going on in their country.

Yahoo! Is Sued For Collaboration in Chinese Human Rights Abuses

2007-08-28T14:04:00.000+01:00

I personally welcome the news that Yahoo! is being sued by the World Organisation for Human Rights on behalf of the families of Wang Xiaoning and Shi Tao. Report from the Guardian here.

I genuinely hope that their "not our problem" attitude is duly punished. They collaborated by turning over information to the Chinese authorities which they knew would have resulted in the persecution of particular individuals.

I await the results of this suit with interest. Should bring a whole new meaning to Corporate Social Responsibility inside Yahoo!

I hope WOHR wins and Yahoo! are made to pay a stiff price for their moral cowardice.

Fidel Castro - Dead or Alive?

2007-08-26T09:10:00.001+01:00

Miami is apparently full of feverish rumour that Fidel Castro is no longer with us. There were no photos of him on his 81st birthday on 13th August this month which is apparently unusual.

A report in the Observer here.

Viva Cuba Liberdad!

Meanwhile in Cuba Are Things Starting to Improve?

2007-08-25T23:06:00.000+01:00

It will no doubt shock regular readers of this blog to discover that I'm no big fan of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Communist regime.

In stark contrast to the situation in China, the human rights situation appears to be slowly improving in Cuba even if it is far from perfect. Raul Castro seems to be taking advantage of his elder brother's infirmity to "liberalise" (I use the word cautiously) Cuba both politically and economically.

According to this report by Rory Carroll of the Guardian, one fifth of Cuba's political prisoners have been freed this year. It's a small fraction of the overall number but it perhaps marks the beginning of political progress.

I hope that the leadership in Cuba will go further as Castro Major appears to be entering his twilight years. I'm concerned to hear though that they are looking at Vietnam as the model for "reform".

Let us hope that the good news about Cuba continues and that the United States responds in a positive fashion to significant political changes.

Yet Another Chinese Communist Human Rights Outrage

2007-08-24T21:51:00.000+01:00

Jonathan Watts has reported today that Yuan Weijing was detained at Beijing Airport and her passport revoked when she attempted to travel to the Philippines to collect a human rights award on behalf of her husband, Prisoner of Conscience, Chen Guangcheng. Further information here. The report suggests that her mobile phone was also confiscated.

I'm delighted to see that the British Embassy are on the case and are raising these cases of human rights activist and journalist harassment by local police and turning out to give moral support.

The way this is all going sanctions of some kind are going to have to be applied to get Beijing to sit up and realise that they can't go on treating people like this. Yuan Weijing has committed no crime for which she has been tried and convicted. This is not Rule of Law this is Rule by Law at best and arbitrary detention at worst.

Amnesty International Up the Pressure on Beijing

2007-08-24T19:33:00.000+01:00

I had an e-mail today from Amnesty International highlighting their campaign to improve the human rights situation in China. Put simply, their campaign intends to hold the Beijing regime to the promises that were made in 2001.

Amnesty have published a twelve point plan which can be downloaded here.

The highlights of this plan are:

1. Putting in place measures to significantly reduce the use of the
death penalty as steps towards full abolition of the death
penalty in China (I think similar pressure should be brought to bear on the United States as well).

2. Take concrete steps to bring all forms of detention in China
into line with international human rights law and standards,
including measures to uphold the rights to fair trial and
prevent torture.

3. Ensure that human rights defenders are free to carry out their
peaceful activities in line with the UN Declaration on Human
Rights.

4. End all censorship of the Internet in China which constitutes a
violation of the fundamental human rights to freedom of
expression and information.

There is also a more detailed report on human rights in China which can be downloaded here.

I have to admit to myself (at the risk of becoming VERY unpopular in my own home) that unless things start to improve over there on the human rights front I'm going to have to start agreeing with those who would call for a boycott of the Games. I would then lobby our leadership and front-bench to back similar calls.

I don't want to go down that road but given the propaganda misuse that is being made of the Games by the Chinese Communist Party and their clear failure to honour the commmitments on human rights that were made in 2001 I'm getting closer to that tripping point. It's up to the Communists to start realising that they now live in a global village and metaphorical "wife beating" isn't acceptable anymore. There is already enough anger over their conduct regarding Sudan. The treatment of their own people is far from acceptable as well.

Beijing can make a positive start by releasing all Prisoners of Conscience including:

Bu Dongwei

Ye Guozhu

Chen Guangcheng

Huang Jinqiu

Shi Tao

Yang Tongyan

I wish that my Liberal Democrat friends would start taking the human rights in China issue more seriously. It should discomfort us all as Liberals that a huge number of our fellow citizens in the world are daily denied basic human rights. This should be seen as an affront to our international vision of human rights for all.

Inspirational Chinese Quote of the Day

2007-08-23T22:54:00.000+01:00

This quotation pretty much sums up what I believe. Honorable mention on this blog to the first person to post the correct translation in the comments section.

The Great Chinese Human Rights Crackdown Continues

2007-08-23T19:35:00.000+01:00

Jonathan Watts of the Guardian appears to have an exclusive tonight. Yuan Weijing, the wife of jailed Chinese dissident and human rights campaigner Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚) (who was imprisoned for exposing illegal enforced late term abortions by local government officials in his hometown of Lingyi, Shangdong) has apparently been placed under house arrest by the Chinese authorities thereby preventing her travelling to the Philippines to collect a human rights award on behalf of her husband.

She hasn't broken any laws and she has all the valid paperwork apparently so there should be some serious pressure on the Chinese Government to allow her to go.

The award is the Ramon Magsayay Award for Emergent Leadership. This link provides more information.

I demand that Yuan Weijing be allowed access to and from China. She has committed no crime and should not be treated as a criminal.

Ashley Mote, MEP for La La Land Should Resign

2007-08-20T23:08:00.000+01:00

I've just taken another look at the report by the BBC of the conviction of Ashley Mote MEP on 21 counts of fraud. I then thought I would take a look at his website and found this bizarre statement:

"As is now widely known, the jury in my court case returned 21 guilty verdicts and four not-guilty.

"My legal team is already working on an appeal against the convictions. I am told this process may take some time. Meanwhile, I am advised to say nothing more about the case itself.

"However, and immediately, my legal team has asked me to assemble independent evidence of the contribution I have made over recent years to the restoration of the right of the British people to govern ourselves.

"They are especially interested in evidence of my activities on behalf of the electorate of South-East England since my election to the European Parliament in 2004".

Here's my comment as a voter in the South East:

Look Ashley, you've falsely claimed benefits and effectively ripped the British taxpayer off. You've been convicted. The odds on you clearing your name in the face of overwhelming evidence in a British court (not a European one) should convince you that the game is up.

For the sake of the electorate of the South East of England - GO NOW!

20 Years A Liberal - A Walk Down Memory Lane Part 3

2007-08-20T21:17:00.000+01:00

Nice to get mentioned in dispatches again on Lib Dem Voice even if it is suggested that I'm becoming a bit of an old codger! Youth is wasted on the young.

Part 2 focused on the General Election and local elections in Birmingham where I sadly failed to make history. It wasn't the end of the matter for me though that year. I still kept on going as an activist helping to get the leaflets out around Perry Barr and helped others in Kingstanding and around the houses to have a go.

Before going on, defective memory that I have, I had forgotten that my first taste of by-electioneering had happend in 1990 at the Mid-Staffordshire By-Election where we tried to get Tim Jones elected (widely seen as the best candidate and certainly a lot better than Sylvia Heal the appalling Labour identikit candidate).

I remember visiting the by-election with Grant Williams of Walsall fame. The power station at Rugeley was such an appealing view! Grant and I went and did some leafleting and a bit of canvassing during the course of the by-election but it was fairly obvious that it wasn't going to be a Lib Dem gain.

1992, far from knocking the stuffing out of me, filled me with a terrible resolve that I would keep on going until I was successful. I have always remained convinced that Liberalism has so much to offer the British people and I have never lost that belief.

1993 was a non-election year and Ray Hassall was up for re-election in 1994. Unfortunately I had to get a job and started applying for academic jobs. I was fortunate to get a lecturing post at Staffordshire University in economics but this necessitated my moving to Stafford for a while whilst I worked in Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent. After my first marriage, I moved to Warrington and commuted from there. It was then that I got involved again in the political scene.

I became Vice Chair of Warrington local party and began campaigning with David Earl initially. The skills in focus production that I had gained from working with Tony Slavin, Ray Hassall, Jonathan Hunt and Kevin McCarthy came in very handy as David and I and later Peter Walker began to campaign around Burtonwood Village and the Westbrook and Callands parts of North Warrington (the bit that used to be in Lancashire before 1974). We had to cover the bigger area first as it was one big ward. With the advent of the unitary authority the Burtonwood ward was split into Burtonwood and Westbrook and Callands. This was a bit of a relief for us as Burtonwood was as Labour as it comes. Westbrook and Callands was mainly new housing and looked promising territory for the Liberal Democrats. However, we hadn't reckoned on the untimely demise of John Smith, the Labour leader and the rise of New Labour.

Votes that would traditionally have gone to us went to Labour. Ironic really as the Labour candidates were about as Old Labour as you could get. It also didn't help that poor David seriously hurt himself a little bit before the election in 1995 and yours truly had to do a fair bit of the leafleting himself (shades of Oscott Ward there).

We put up a good fight but came bottom of the poll behind the Tories which was a disappointment. After I moved out of the area, David kept plugging away at it and now the ward seems to be becoming solidly Lib Dem (seems to be the story of my life!).

I also did a bit to help Phil Clarke who was the Lib Dem PEPC for Cheshire East during the 1994 European Elections. It was a modest breakthrough for the Party with two seats, but still a disgrace as it was fought under FPTP when everyone else in the EU was using PR.

Unfortunately my job was coming to an end at Staffs Uni in 1996 and so I applied for a job at Durham University and started commuting between Warrington and Durham. Living in both places with a demanding job didn't really leave me much time for the politics and although I had considered reapplying to be on the list of approved candidates (the 1992 list had been scrapped - there were too many mad, bad and sad parliamentary candidates for the comfort of the party) I didn't really feel that I could in the circumstances I faced. My father's untimely death in September 1996 not long after I begun working at the University of Durham also had a profound effect upon me. More than I realised at the time.

I therefore didn't play a particularly significant role during the 1997 General Election much beyond delivering a few leaflets and going out to vote. 1997 also saw my role at the Small Business Centre at Durham University change and I got increasingly involved in working in Central and Eastern Europe. This was interesting in that it gave me exposure to a number of different countries and their politics in a short space of time. On the other hand it meant that being away so much reduced my active involvement for a time in British politics.

I enjoyed the '97 General Election result as much as any Liberal Democrat. At long last we were starting to become a more significant voice in British politics. I have to say though that I am deeply disappointed that Paddy Ashdown ever thought he could do a coalition deal with Blair. My experience of Labour in the North West of England, and particularly Warrington Labour Party had shown to me the ugly face of the Party. It was a face that would rapidly re-emerge soon after September 2001.

I believe that for too long the Liberal Democrats Front Bench were pulling their punches when Labour should have been floored time after time.

In 1998 I moved to Durham full-time and got my personal life sorted out before moving forward to actively re-engaging in politics again.

The Durham years will follow in the next part.

The Crackdown in China Begins

2007-08-18T00:51:00.001+01:00

As I predicted when I reviewed the recent article written about China by Ming Campbell (but I suspect mainly ghost written) the widely expected crackdown before the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has begun. Jonathan Watts has again written one of his great articles for the Guardian linked here.

The core of the article is:

"Chinese journalists privately say the current atmosphere is stifling. International civil rights groups say the rules are a new threat to press freedom.

"This crackdown is a legal gun to the head to responsible journalists who want to report on the basis of facts," said Sophie Richardson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "China has a long track record of using similar campaigns to weed out news that the authorities find objectionable because it exposes social and political problems."

"In recent decades, China has gone through cycles of media opening and repression. Since president Hu came to power five years ago, there have been steps backward - such as the jailings of several prominent journalists - and steps forward, including the easing of restrictions on foreign correspondents at the start of this year.

"But as was the case ahead of the last party congress in 2002, the leadership has reverted to bunker mode". (Sounds familiar).

Hopeful now Ming? I'm not.

There is also a clampdown on NGOs such as those supporting the rights of Chinese citizens with HIV.

The human rights situation in China is going exactly as predicted. There are no grounds for optimism at the moment unless increased pressure is brought to bear from the West.

It is time that the Liberal Democrat leadership stopped trying to appease Beijing and stood up for what we are supposed to believe in. True freedom and human rights for all the world's citizens.

Yes, the way to influence Beijing is through constructive engagement but someone should be putting a flea in the ear of the Chinese Ambassador.

The Liberal Democrat Front Bench needs to show some leadership here. This is what our core supporters expect from us. This is our mission and the Olympics should not deflect us from campaigning internationally on our core values.

I'd normally spend some time looking at the People Daily articles and critiquing them but apart from one allusion to the fact that not everyone is happy about the commissioning of a new nuclear power station near Dalian, Liaoning Province, the press coverage is so deadly dull that you would think China had gone to sleep for August (which it actually doesn't do). The only coverage is postive "spin" on trying to control the air pollution in Beijing. I frankly don't think that they've got a prayer at the moment.

20 Years a Liberal - A Walk Down Memory Lane Part 2

2007-08-17T19:06:00.000+01:00

Well, it seems that my blog post of two days ago generated a fair bit of interest. Perhaps some people were sweating. Some of you seem to have been champing at the bit for the second instalment, so much so that I had a phone call this afternoon demanding to know where it was!

A couple of days ago was the 20th Anniversary of my joining the Shepway Liberal Association. I charted part of the early part of my political career. I skirted over a few minor details including delivering leaflets out in the Elmsted and Stone Street area with John Gretton who was very unlucky one year not to get elected. He sadly lost it on the toss of a coin (or something like that). I also forgot to mention that I'd helped out a keen young candidate (I've forgotten his name) in a by-election in Selly Oak Ward back in 1989. Poor bloke got something like 6% of the vote if my memory serves me right. Happier times were to be had during a by-election in Acocks Green where Paul Schofield (wonder where he is now?) won a council by-election. This was the first time I came into contact with John Hemming, Dave Luscombe (who for years produced stickers for many of us in the Party), Bill Coyle, Neil Eustace, Paul Tilsley and Sue Anderson. The latter two had first become Councillors in the 1970s Wallace Lawlor days. I seemed to have loads of energy in those days and gained a lot of activist experience!

Sadly, I can't claim to have helped get David Bellotti elected in Eastborne but remember when David was Honorary President of the Student Liberal Democrats.

1991 had seen me stand for office for the first time. If that year had been a strong testing ground for my political stamina, 1992 was to be even greater. I had been not only selected by the Birmingham North West Liberal Democrats as the PPC for Birmingham Perry Barr, I had also been selected as Focus Team Leader for Perry Barr Ward. The stage was potentially set for me to make history as the youngest Councillor in Birmingham for about 20 years (since Paul Tilsley and Sue Anderson had first been elected).

I was incredibly lucky to campaign with some really great people. Ray Hassall was, of course, the trailblazer for the Liberal Democrats in the ward and is still going strong after all these years. We still keep in touch from time to time. Although he had to keep it under his hat as he worked as Medical Correspondent in those days for the Birmingham Post, Jonathan Hunt was my campaign manager (although his wife Marcia was expecting their first child, Andrew just before the local election campaign). Kevin McCarthy was my excellent Agent and, as a printer, he was pretty nifty in putting together Focuses. We started at about that time using a combination of desk top publishing and letrasetting to put together our Focuses. We also started to target specific areas of the ward with more localised leaflets on issues of specific concern - yellow lines, overgrown trees, parking problems, dropped kerbs, crime and other issues seem to spring back to mind. As a young candidate (22! - seems old now in the light of recent legislation) I had to try to build up my credibility amongst the electorate and the only way to do it was ALDC style. I also had a great team of dedicated deliverers. There was Tina in Montana Avenue (?) and her two lovely daughters who did a fair bit of delivery. My colleague Mark Wilson, his wife Debbie and Daughter Anna and a few other regulars who turned out on a regular basis delivered their socks off. We were a good solid team and it was a real privilege to lead them.

It was a pretty dedicated effort there and I was out most evenings campaigning away but it was a lot easier as there was a team.

The Tories under Major seemed to be on the slide. He hadn't exactly set the world on fire, he was widely mocked as the grey man (of course, we didn't know about him and Edwina Curry at that point!) and he looked on the way out. Little did we fail to factor in both the impact of the First Gulf War on his standing and also Kinnock and his Labour Party's ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

My principal opponents for the Perry Barr seat were sitting Labour MP Jeff Rooker (now Lord Rooker - who I learned a lot from on how to work a crowd) and Graham Green the Tory. I treated the election as a learning experience and wanted clearly to achieve at least the same level of vote as the Liberal Alliance Candidate for 1987, Former West Midlands Police Commander David Webb. Webb had been responsible for pioneering Community Policing in Handsworth (then part of the Perry Barr Constituency), which had reduced tensions in the area after the Handsworth Riots of the early 80s.

Funnily enough, as I write this, BBC Four are showing Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain and briefly showed the "Sheffieldberg" Rally where Kinnock and Labour cocked it up through their overconfidence.

I had a fair bit of fun during the 1992 General Election campaign and I had a good pitch since I was working as a research assistant at the former Birmingham Polytechnic, recently renamed the University of Central England in Birmingham, so although I didn't live there I did work in the constituency. Some of the highlights were speaking to the local branch of the Pensioners' Convention, an absolutely hilarious time at Matthew Bolton Technical College, a bastion of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) - splitters! The Students Union Banner was Red (of course) with a Hammer and Kalashnikov on it. Hmm.... I pitched my speech on the lines that the Liberal Democrats were the only party genuinely offering political change for the UK. I don't think it really cut much ice but I'm certainly glad that I wasn't the Tory who came to speak. They literally roasted him alive! I had to admire his guts though. Lynne Jones was also there representing Labour (they also gave her a bit of a hard time too). There was the one Joint Churches meeting in the constituency in addition to the Pensioners Convention meeting and that was that. I really cut my political teeth there.

In terms of the national campaign, I don't think that Paddy Ashdown and Des Wilson could have done much more. Unfortunately all the talk towards the end of the campaign was about hung parliaments and although the canvassing seemed to suggest that we had grounds for optimism to gain ground regrettably it wasn't to be.

Paddy Ashdown came to Birmingham Yardley during the election campaign and I had the pleasure of delivering leaflets and canvassing with him and the Yardley Crowd.
As it was patently obvious to us all on the ground that I wasn't going to win Birmingham Perry Barr and become the first Liberal MP for the area for decades, I agreed with my team that I would spend election day in Birmingham Yardley.

We were pretty optimistic that we could get John Hemming elected but alas, it wasn't to be as we were unable to convince the people of Yardley that he could win. This theme of "if people believed the Liberal Democrats could win this is how they would vote" would be one of the sub-themes of campaigns that would follow in 2001 and 2005. John was and is made of stern stuff and he stuck at it.

I'm stuggling for some odd reason to remember where we held the count. I think it was at the National Convention Centre but I honestly can't remember (I'm sure someone does out there - please remind me). It was all a bit of a blur. I recall making a short speech hoping that that would be the last election held under the present electoral system. Rooker thought that there might be a chance of a Labour Goverment. We were both wrong.

As the results came in it became clear that the Tories were holding on against the odds pretty much. The election was also a personal disappointment for Paddy Ashdown as we failed to make the hoped for breakthrough (it's hard to believe that we only had only 20 seats in those days). The only real highlight of the night was when Don Foster took Bath from Chris Patten - ironically pushing him onto an international diplomatic career which would make him the last Governor of Hong Kong and a democratic radical. Chris Patten would also do a pretty good job of developing EU relations with China increasing the emphasis on human rights issues. It's not often I praise a Tory but Patten had and has some diplomatic strengths.

[If only he had been in the post 10 years earlier then potentially Hong Kong would be more democratic today than it is under the joke that is One Country - Two Systems. C'mon, you know how hard it is for me to go for a day without a dig at the beloved Chinese Communist Party.]

So, the final result was:

Rooker (Lab) 27507 (53.2%)
Green (Con) 18917 (36.6%)
Philpott (L Dem) 5261 (10.2%)

I suffered a tiny swing against of about 2% which I was a bit disappointed about but it was about average for the national result.

It had been my true baptism of fire and I was really grateful for the opportunity to stand. Once again Tony Slavin came to the rescue and put up the £500 deposit which I'm really pleased that I managed to defend.

But, the General Election wasn't the end of it. I had a day off and then it was full tilt into the local elections in May. No rest for the wicked.

The Tories had been pretty much murdered in Perry Barr the year before, but rejuvinated after the General Election and with voters demotivated it was an uphill battle that year. Despite working our socks off unfortunately it wasn't to be and the Tories managed to hold the seat. I went down by 700 votes in a strong second place. Unfortunately we had failed to squeeze the Labour vote hard (Rooker also intervened and went out canvassing to hold up the Labour vote) and that was that. My record breaking dream went up in smoke.

On the night it was said by the commentator on Radio WM (Ed Doolan?) that I had done well for a 22 year old (I think I was the youngest candidate in the City of the major three parties) but Dave Luscombe, the Lib Dem Council Group Leader rightly stated that I would be very disappointed which I was.

I got to bed about 5 a.m. and frankly found it hard to get up the next day.

I've always been very resilient though and never let things get me down for long. It's a characteristic that has stood me in good stead down the years (and one I have had to draw upon again in recent times).

The analysis of my team and myself was that we'd failed to pick up the Labour vote and squeeze it hard. Our canvass returns had suggested that I would be on target to win. We had also worked to the bitter end to get the voters out. I even dragged a young voter out of his house and down the road at about 8.56 p.m.! Poor bloke.

The Labour candidate was a bloke called Mike Leddy, who Private Eye famously later described as "More wooden than Benny from Crossroads". Oooooooooooohhhhhhh!!! I have to say that there was no love lost between the Lib Dems and Labour in Perry Barr which made Ashdown's flirtation with Blair all the more irritating when it was revealed in his diaries.

I learned a hard lesson about proper voter ID and turnout which I would apply ruthlessly later in 2001 as a campaign manager.

So, it was a couple of days off, then pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again. That's what being a Lib Dem was all about then and is still even now at times. It has got easier though.

I want to put on public record my thanks to all the people who helped me with those two campaigns and particularly Jon Hunt, Kevin McCarthy and Ray Hassall who all gave me lots of encouragement, support and a kick up the backside when I needed to keep motivated to go out in the pouring rain. It was a dreadfully wet winter and spring. I also want to thank Tony for putting up the deposit and helping to fund the campaign. As you can see, it might have been a few years ago now guys but you've not been forgotten.

That's 1992. I've written enough for now. More will follow perhaps over the weekend.

All Clear in Romney Marsh

2007-08-16T00:26:00.000+01:00

Thankfully the tests for foot and mouth have proven to be negative on the farm in St-Mary-in-the-Marsh. A great relief for all concerned locally I'm sure.

20 Years a Liberal - A Walk Down Memory Lane Part 1

2007-08-15T22:20:00.001+01:00

Dear Reader, forgive me for the self-indulgence of this post but 20 years ago this evening I finally managed (after more than two months of trying!) to join the Shepway Liberal Association and wanted to reminisce a little. Signed up by the late Bernard Budd QC I had been prompted to join for three reasons:

Belief in Liberal values;
Receipt of a very funny, if dated, Liberal 18th Birthday card;
Anger at the low Tory tactics used in the 1987 General Election. I'd also been very unimpressed with Michael Howard at a Ashford & Shepway Branch meeting of the National Federation of Self-Employed which my Mum and Dad were Chair and Secretary of. He had threatened to walk out of the meeting if anyone asked him an awkward question! Accountability?

It was perhaps one of the most momentous decisions of my life and one which has strongly conditioned my approach to life but regrettably made me living proof of Churchill's dictum as my late Father, Peter, had warned me could happen. He warned me that the fire is often worse from your own side than the opposition. He was proved right. That's for the final chapter of the story.

Several weeks after I joined the Liberal Party I went to Birmingham Polytechnic and started, in the face of a fair bit of opposition and ridicule, an Alliance Students Society to bring together those of us who shared the ideas of Liberalism and Social Democracy and wanted those forces to work together to transform Britain.

This was at the time when the Alliance was starting to unravel somewhat and pressure was on to merge the two component parts of the Alliance. I had the great privilege of representing the Shepway Liberal Association in Blackpool at the Special Assembly in January 1988 at the Norbreck Castle Hotel. What a really awful day it was walking along the seafront to the hotel. It was howling a bitterly cold gale and it started snowing. I recall Tony Greaves and Paddy Ashdown making their speeches against and in favour of the merger. The margin of victory for merger (which I supported) was huge. 2086 in favour, 385 against (if my memory serves me right).

Sadly, somehow we managed to muff it all up just before it all started with the "Dead Parrot" manifesto "Voices and Choices for All". The ship steadied a bit with Paddy Ashdown and we seemed to get over it but started with a pretty awful name the Social and Liberal Democrats (shortened to the Democrats). That's when the pisstaking amongst my friends started to kick in. We were on diddly squat in the opinion polls and Paddy had a big job on his hands trying to rebuild our credibility in the face of David Owen's intransigence and his continuing SDP.

I contested unsuccessfully for the Student Liberal Democrats National Secretary position in 1988 against a Catherine Brown (who I have heard later buggered off and joined the Labour Party - my mistake to take on the "Cambridge Crowd" - a theme that will return towards the end of these 20 years). The following year I was elected National Vice Chair and was responsible for developing the regional structure of the organisation. This is all before the LDYS era when we had seperate Youth and Student Wings. Ben Rich was the National Chair at the time and I remember a young Lembit Opik, an INDEPENDENT (I'll remove this reference for a suitable consideration Lembit!) candidate for the National Union of Students Presidency, courting our support. He managed to convince us on the Exec to support his candidacy.

1989 was a pretty awful year for the SLD. We came a disastrous 4th behind the Greens in the European Parliamentary elections (which, incidentally was the first time I was able to vote Social and Liberal Democrat) and there was a sense of gloom over the party. The Richmond By-election probably put the icing on the cake when the Owenites managed to stop Barbara Pearce (a lovely and very supportive lady) taking out the young William Hague who should have lost easily. The crescendo of pisstaking from my non-political and Tory leaning friends peaked around this time.

I graduated in 1990 and became a National Vice President of the Student Lib Dems with Tim Farron. It was at this time that I started to consider becoming a Parliamentary Candidate and got more involved with the Birmingham North West Liberal Democrats. In the May elections I helped Ray Hassall finally get elected after several years of trying. He managed to take out the "delightful" sitting Councillor Tory Thelma Cooke.

Shortly afterwards I started from scratch as Focus Team Leader for Oscott Ward on Birmingham City Council. Tony Hewitt very kindly funded my Focuses and we would literally cut and paste them and letraset them. Some of you candidates out there simply don't know you've been born! I also had to trudge the streets for weeks on end as our delivery network was almost non-existent except for the Tarmey's who lived on Elmbridge Road and one or two others. 10,500 is a lot of leaflets to shift and it took quite a lot of effort getting them out. That was a pretty tough introduction to active campaigning and I put in quite a few miles on my feet.

1990 was also the year I became an Approved Parliamentary Candidate and was later selected to fight Birmingham Perry Barr. More on that later. This was also the year that Margaret Thatcher fell from power. I was working as a Labour Market Economist at Birmingham City Council and remember hearing the news on the 22nd November that she had gone. It was like "what do I do now?". I was expecting a General Election very shortly afterwards but that wasn't to come until April 1992 as it turned out.

The following May (1991) at the tender age of 21 I managed to nearly double the Lib Dem vote in Oscott Ward but was way back in third. Still, at 550ish votes it was ten times the vote of the "Nationalist" who was spreading the now familiar hatred of the nascent BNP. I remember well enjoying sticking the boot into them during my speech.

1992 and the rest comes tomorrow.

Foot and Mouth in the Romney Marsh?

2007-08-14T15:48:00.000+01:00

The breaking news is that Foot and Mouth may have affected livestock on a farm in St. Mary-in-the-Marsh on the Romney Marsh in Kent. If confirmed this is really tragic news.

Fingers crossed that this hasn't happened. It would be very bad news for the local economy if the virus has spread down there.

The Danger of Overreach

2007-08-14T01:08:00.001+01:00

Sometimes you can become too powerful or perhaps think you are more powerful than you really are.

In this situation it can be very easy to lose perspective on what is right and wrong. Getting the job done can appear to be more important than realising that the method by which you get the job done might actually have all the appearance of a lack of ethics and even, possibly, corruption.

The wise person usually keeps a perspective on what the limits of their powers are.

The unwise person distorts the truth, definitions and loses a sense of perspective of what is acceptable and what is not. They may even try to get measures passed that could return to embarrass someone who may not have agreed with them on other matters.

Even worse when they try to get measures passed which might significantly benefit their friends.

However, unwise person should realise that there are people in the wider society who are vigilant, who people come to when they feel that something is not right, and who they would rely upon to take action should sufficient evidence be gathered that strongly suggests wrongdoing. Those who believe themselves to have been wronged are very vigilant indeed and wait and watch.

There are eternal truths in society that the unwise person would do well to remember. Lord Acton's maxim should remind them of how to conduct themselves and to remind them that they should at all times be seen and act in a way which has the wider interests of the community they seek to serve at heart NOT their close friends. Otherwise they might leave an opportunity open for those previously wronged to avenge themselves.

Safety First - Not Covert Protectionism

2007-08-13T18:21:00.000+01:00

Sadly it seems that there have been a significant number of safety scandals involving Chinese products. This one has claimed the life of a factory boss in Guangdong Province.

Clearly it is vitally important that consumers are protected from dangerous products. However, there is a fine line between consumer safety and covert protectionism. In China's case, yes, they need to strengthen safety standards but this should not become a cover for some of the protectionist attitudes emerging in the US and parts of the EU. The benefits of free trade have long been shown to outweigh the costs and furthermore, nations that trade work harder to get along harmoniously.

Harming China's businesses (unless, of course, they are involved in wrongdoing) for the sake of it will create a seige mentality which will undermine political liberalisation.

The Missing Link

2007-08-13T11:55:00.000+01:00

Seems that my posting "The Ugly Face of Communism" didn't come up on Lib Dem Blogs yesterday. I'm writing this to test whether or not there is a technical problem somewhere.

Seems that all is well after all and it was probably temporary blindness on my part....

Communism's Ugly Face

2007-08-12T15:59:00.000+01:00

Regular readers of this blog will probably realise that I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Communism.

This report from the BBC of the uncovered lies, hypocricy and desire to murder with impunity surrounding the East German regime's "shoot to kill" policy on those fleeing to freedom should remind anyone who is even remotely tempted to think it is a good idea what an appallingly wasteful, unsustainable and destructive system Communism is. Sustainable only by the use of brute force, Communism crushes the human spirit.

Make Communism history.

Image credit: Sean Hanley's blog.

The Beijing Olympics and Glimmers of Hope

2007-08-09T09:51:00.000+01:00

The Guardian's Jonathan Watts has once again produced some excellent articles related to the Beijing Games. Ai Wei Wei, son of Ai Qin, one of the greatest modern poets in China who was "purged" during the anti-Rightist campaign of the 1950s has made some outstanding comments. This is a gem:

"If you read newspapers today you see the problems created by this structure and by the effort to maintain power. It is against everything that human society should be fighting for. I am just a normal person, but happily I have become a notable person. That means something to me only because it gives me a better chance to fight".

The Beijing Olympics is a real mixed bag in terms of it's impact. Perhaps the most shocking aspect is the way in which people living in the Hutong districts have been treated and their homes demolished with little compensation if any.

Liberal Legend II

New Political Blog

The Future

Good for You Gavin!

The Truth Will Out In The End

Hu Jia: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2008?

A Good Week To Be A Liberal Democrat

Is the Liberal Democrat Business Forum Still Operating?

Choking on My Museli

Liberal Legend 2 Currently Available in China

Hats Off to the Beijing Games Organisers

A Bit of Fun

Crossing the Line - Former Tory PPC for Watford Ian Oakley Pleads Guilty

How I Feel Sometimes......

You Were Warned!

Karadžić Before The Hague

Who Thought They Had Really Changed?

Liberalism - The Natural Friend Of Small Business (?)

Come on Kent!

My Condolences

Very Bad Santa

Has Radovan Karadžić Been Captured?

UPDATE

The "100 Top Books" that I've Read - Sad Innit?

Watford Tory PPC Resigns

For the Record

My Favourite Place in Croatia

The Crying Game

Cromwell, the Long Parliament and Shepway Liberal Democrats

My Thoughts on a Thug

My Deepest Condolences

I'm Still Very Much Alive!

In Case Anyone Was Wondering

Congratulations Nick Clegg!

Take It Easy Guys!

Happy Birthday Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Kosovo and the Russians

Vote Early, Vote Often.....

Thanks Darling!

Huhne Has Gone Too Far

My Thoughts on Tonight's Question Time

Slaying the Vouchers Dragon

Yahoo! Forced to See the Light

Oh Come Off It Chris!

Wars Never End

For The Record

Stop the Cuts to Our Fire Service!

Getting the State Off The Back of The Poorest

Literacy and Numeracy Education the Key

At Long Last

上海、西安 欢迎！

Anonymous Blogger Beware

Hello Beijing!

Hu Said That?

Nick Clegg's Speech in Full

Please Remember Burma

Nick Clegg To Formally Put His Hat in the Ring

Makes Me Want to Study Shakespeare!

How Apt

The Dangers of Talking Amongst Yourselves

Nick Clegg - Stand Up Please

Hu Jintao - You Don't Get Away That Easily

Free Burma!

Free Burma!

Burma - Sanctions NOW!

Burma - Tiananmen Square By Proxy?

Folkestone - Sloppy and Sneering Reporting by the Guardian

Ming's Speech Flicked My Switch

Who's Under Pressure Now?

No, I'm Not in Brighton

Yours Truly on BBC1 South East

President Kennedy

Gladstone and the Treaty

There Should Be A Referendum on the EU Treaty

Better - But Still Too Many

Titan Rain - Oh Really?

Let Candidates Be Candidates Part 2

Let Candidates Be Candidates

The Lights Are On But No One's At Home - DG Trade Get It Wrong

Thanks For Reading

上海、西安欢迎！