Bodmin Town Council candidates announcedThere will be a by-election for Bodmin Town Council on March 1st. The four candidates are: Paul Ellis, Mebyon Kernow Jake Lyne, Liberal Democrat Robbie Taylor, Retired Cornwall Fire Service Office - Independent Christopher Wilkes, Conservative Jake Lyne, the Lib Dem candidate is 18 and as a result this is his first foray into politics. He's hugely enthusiastic to provide a voice for younger people on the town council. As a police volunteer and fire cadet he already puts a lot into the local community as a volunteer and I think he'd be a great addition to the town council ... (more) |
Hanging Participle of the WeekFrom the Daily Mail: Eighteen months after he'd buried her, Dawson married Tracy Roper, a barmaid 20 years his junior. (more) |
Tax cuts for millions or for millionaires? Newsletter #16 is outThe 16th edition of my monthly newsletter about the Liberal Democrats came out this week. If you're not on the list to get it via email, you can instead read it online here: Tax cuts for millions or for millionaires If you would like to receive future editions of the newsletter direct to your own inbox, just sign up here. It's free! You can unsubscribe whenever you want using the link on the bottom of all the emails, and I won't pass your email address on to anyone else (except if required by law). And if you are already a ... (more) |
Lib Dem achievements, communicating peers and election timetablesA trio of resources for your weekend's delectation: Electoral timetable for May's elections: I've recently updated my May 2012 election timetable post with extra details Liberal Democrat peers on Twitter: having commented adversely in the past on the lack of communications from many of them, I've been hunting out how many are using Twitter. You can find them all in this Twitter list (which is a little more comprehensive than the other lists I've come across). Let me know if you spot anyone I've missed. Liberal Democrat achievements: over on Facebook, I've started up a daily posting of a Liberal ... (more) |
Chris Huhne - the point being?Dale Cox Follow @twitter Today saw the announcement from the Director of Public Prosecutions that Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce have been charged for perverting the course of justice. As my twitter feed fired up with the news, a close friend of mine Sam Fowles, posted the following tweet which I think does something to grasp the ridiculous nature of this whole tawdry affair: The Director of Public Prosecutions making a television statement regarding a speeding ticket, is indeed ridiculous, but then so is the fact that he is today charged. Putting things into perspective, a year after the 'story' ... (more) |
One quick question about Chris HuhneI'm on a short lunchbreak today so I don't have time for a proper blogpost but the resignation of Lib Dem Chris Huhne from the cabinet today, due to being charged with perverting the course of justice, makes me want to ask this one question: Chris Huhne must know whether he's guilty or not. I'm not going to pre-judge someone who has yet to be found guilty in a court of law but, if he really is guilty, then why the hell did he wait until now to resign when he could have stepped down months ago and saved everyone, ... (more) |
Innocent Until Proven Guilty - Chris Huhne & John TerryI know it's a rather boring thing to believe, particularly when you read a lot of the newspapers nowadays, but I still hold onto that most basic tenet on which our judicial system is built - that you are innocent until proven guilty. It is a particularly apt moment to re-consider this in light of two high-profile cases this week. Chris Huhne Chris Huhne's decision today to stand down from the Cabinet to fight his case is a sensible one. He pleads innocence on the charges of perjury and if he is to fight his battle for that truth then ... (more) |
PM Cameron praises Chris Huhne's passion and distinction as he accepts resignation and Clegg offers a way backThe letters between Chris Huhne and David Cameron on Huhne's resignation as Energy and Climate Change secretary have been published on the Number 10 website: First, Chris Huhne's. His pain is palpable as he recounts his achievements. This letter is to submit with much regret my resignation as Energy and Climate Change Secretary. I intend to mount a robust defence against the charges brought against me, and I have concluded that it would be distracting both to that effort and to my official duties if I were to continue in office. It has been an honour to negotiate and then ... (more) |
In case you missed it, Ed made another speech"One nation banking recognises that these institutions cannot be isolated from the rest of society – that we are once again at risk of becoming two nations in this country, segregated economically, geographically and socially. One nation banking is, bizarrely, Ed Miliband invoking 'One Nation' Toryism, which Disraeli was a great pioneer for. If you're ... (more) |
Chris Huhne: the straight talking fighter faces his biggest battleIt was in May 2011 that the allegation first surfaced that, eight years previously, Chris Huhne had allegedly asked his then wife Vicky Pryce to take the rap for speeding points that would have seen the aspirant Lib Dem MP for Eastleigh lose his licence. It's a charge Chris has strenuously denied ever since, always saying he welcomes the police investigation as a chance to clear his name. When asked whether he would resign, he has previously only ever had to answer hypothetically, as here when questioned by Andrew Neil: (Available on YouTube here.) But now reality has struck. Though ... (more) |