A new Fox among the chickens

I have said my piece about what the party owes Chris Rennard here:
The Fox puts away his Cow Gum
Last night I was at the Lib Dem Federal Executive, when the new interim Chief Executive Chris Fox started in the job. It is slightly ironic that I had done teh word play on Chris Rennard's name, for him to be replaced with Chris Fox.
Some people have reservations about Chris Fox, and his past as Chair of the Advisory Board of Liberal Future. I have to say that while that puts him in a different place in the internal political spectrum of the party to me, I have always found him to be a very able person. So I am not prejudging anything, and quite frankly I wouldn't want to be in his shoes....

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Police interview Mayor's aides in Ian Clement expenses inquiry

Andrew Gilligan in the Evening Standard reports (excerpts below, full story here):

Police have questioned Boris Johnson's chief of staff, Sir Simon Milton, and his chief spin-doctor, Guto Harri, as part of their investigation into the Mayor's former deputy, Ian Clement...

He has been accused of taking Ms Dowson on a hotel stay in Europe at public expense and of misusing a corporate credit card issued to him in his former role as leader of Bexley council. Bexley councillors will tomorrow vote on a motion ordering the authority to conduct a full investigation of Mr Clement's allowances and expenses.

Mr Clement was unavailable for comment.

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Blog catch up 3: Torchwood

Not a lot to say about Children of Earth. Except I was glued to it for 5 hours. OK some of it stretched credibility too far, like the yellow digger thing carrying the large block of concrete containing Captain Jack at speed. But 5 hours of top, edge of seat, prime time scifi. You betcha (to quote Sarah Palin)

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Blog catch up 2: Eddie and the Hot Rods, beaten there by Lord Bonkers

I had always thought that among my occassional music posts, Eddie and the Hot Rods "Do Anything You Wanna Do" had to be one of them. But Jonathan Calder beat me to it.
As I said in the comments on Jonathan's Liberal England:

I saw them at the Marquee in their week long residency the week before Reading '77 and then at Reading. When the Island Story came out about 15 years ago I bought the vinyl version because this track was not on the CD. I recently bought a compilation CD of theirs. Superb stuff. The lyrics to this track were an anthem to angry youth in the late 70s recession. I sang along with passion!

Anyway, it is worth repeating the clip here:

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Blog catch up 1: The Lions v South Africa

After a bit of an enforced break from blogging. My first catch up is on the British and Irish Lions test matches against South Africa.
I hate claiming moral victories, when the score line says something different. But in this case it is vindicated. The referee in the first match may aswell have worn a Springboks shirt.
The scrum decisions were appalling (though we should have blood subbed Vickery in the first half when his ear was bleeding, and his face just said he didn't know what to do next). The taking out of men off the ball and the physical threats wuith clenched fists should have seen a pile of Boks in the sin bin.
The second test was a bit better, but the same ref appeared as a touch judge, and should have called a red card for the eye gouging.
The South Africans should be penalised heavily for those disgraceful arm bands in the third test.
But I will always remember Ugo Monye's superb try.
Victory went to thuggery, and not to Rugby Union.

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The Ian Clement Affair

Gossip that Ian Clement was using his corporate credit cards to hide an affair has been rife, but up to now to avoid a legal action I haven't commented on it in public.
People have been asking why expenses were going onto a corporate card, rather than onto one where the bill would turn up at his home. People have been asking about some unusual expenditure that just didn't seem to quite fit with the " he incurred some costs on things like a stereo for his car but paid it back" line.
Journalists have been asking me if I knew anything more substantive than the rumours about his love life.
Well, today Andrew Gilligan and Paul Waugh in the Evening Standard reveal all in an article headed "Axed Boris Johnson aide lied over lover"

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Ian Clement quits

Here is my comment on the resignation of Ian Clement on my PPC website:

In welcoming the resignation of Ian Clement as Deputy Mayor to Boris Johnson, Duncan Borrowman the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Old Bexley and Sidcup says:

"I welcome his resignation. Those who said he had returned the money were missing the point. Just because a shoplifter gives the goods back doesn't mean you don't prosecute them.

"Further questions are raised by the Mayor's statement about Mr Clement's behaviour. The Public have a right to know what further abuse there has been. Dining in New York on steaks at $45 each, crabcakes, pints of beer and gin martini using taxpayer funded credit cards is not what the public expects of their political leaders.

"This whole affair raises serious questions about the whole culture of Bexley Conservatives, first Derek Conway who is clinging on for his pension, then Ian Clement with his corporate credit cards. The leadership of the Conservatives in Bexley have shown they are not fit for office. They have closed services for local residents while lining their own pockets."

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Dear Royal Mail

Yesterday I posted an importnat item by guaranteed next day deliver by 1pm Special Delivery.
I sent it to Great Yarmouth. The tracking code was SJ 7757 9356 3 GB.
At about 12.30 your website changed to claim it had been delivered on time, electronically tracked.
Only it hadn't.
It arrived at 13.14. It was the only item on a paper Special Delivery signed for sheet.
I have tried calling your Customer Services, but get in a loop that does not involve a human being.
I have gone to your website and get to where it tells me that there is a complaint form on the next page. But there is no form.
I have tried calling the delivery office in Great Yarmouth but it goes to voice mail. I have tried phoning your chairman's office, but it just rings.
If you have any human beings working for you could you call me please. Claiming you have delivered something on time when you haven't and thus avoiding compensating me is fraud.

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Royal British Legion give Nick griffin an egging.

The Royal British Legion, the organisation that represents those who have served with valour for our country, has given Nick Griffin a good public egging. Well done to them!
There is nothing patriotic about the BNP, indeed they are in complete opposition to those who fought against their brand of politics in the second world war.

An open letter to Nick Griffin, Chairman of the BNP and MEP for North West England

09 June 2009

Dear Mr Griffin,

We couldn't help but notice that there was egg on your face (and on your suit jacket) on the day after you were elected MEP for North West England.

Please don't leave egg on ours.

You wore a Poppy lapel badge during your news conference to celebrate your election victory. This was in direct contravention of our polite request that you refrain from politicising one of the nation's most treasured and beloved symbols.

The Poppy is the symbol of sacrifices made by British Armed Forces in conflicts both past and present and it has been paid for with blood and valour. True valour deserves respect regardless of a person's ethnic origin, and everyone who serves or has served their country deserves nothing less.

The Poppy pin, the Poppy logo, and the paper Poppy worn during Remembrance are the property, trademark and emblem of The Royal British Legion.

For nearly 90 years, The Royal British Legion has pursued a policy of being scrupulously above the party political fray. It is vital that everyone - the media, the public and our beneficiaries - know that we will not allow our independence to be undermined or our reputation impaired by being closely associated with any one political party. This is more important now than ever.

On May 27th, 2009, the National Chairman of The Royal British Legion wrote to you privately requesting that you desist from wearing the Poppy or any other emblem that might be associated with the Legion at any of your public appearances during the European Parliamentary election campaign.

He appealed to your sense of honour. But you have responded by continuing to wear the poppy. So now we're no longer asking you privately.

Stop it, Mr Griffin. Just stop it.

Regards,

The Royal British Legion

The Royal British Legion is the nation's leading Armed Forces charity providing care and support to all members of the British Armed Forces past and present and their families. It is also the national Custodian of Remembrance and safeguards the Military Covenant between the nation and its Armed Forces. It is best known for the annual Poppy Appeal and its emblem, the red poppy.

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Wnat real reform for the people not for politicians? Just read this Gordon

Rumour has it Gordon Brown is going to make an announcement on electoral reform tomorrow.
Rumour also has it that Labour want to plump for AV.
Let us get one thing straight - the prime issue is NOT to be fairer on the parties, it is to be fairer for the people!
Voters need to be able to be able to cast their votes to choose between CANDIDATES not PARTIES. The system is bust, Gordon musn't bring a system that is almost as bust as the old one.
Faceless party lists, like for the European Elections (except in Northern Ireland) are not the answer - they give far too much power to party machines.
While we are at it, open primaries are a complete David Cameron pile of gloss bullshit solution. The primaries would still be dominated by party hacks. We need a voting system that gives power to voters.
Anyway, enough from me. Let the Electoral Reform Society take up the arguments in favour of STV:

• STV gives voters more choice than any other system. This in turn puts most power in the hands of the voters, rather than the party heads, who under other systems can more easily determine who is elected, meaning that under STV MPs' responsibilities lie more with the electorate than those above them in their party.
• Fewer votes are 'wasted' (i.e. cast for losing candidates or unnecessarily cast for the winner) under STV. This means that most voters can identity a representative that they personally helped to elect. Such a link in turn increases a representative's accountability.
  • It is also worth noting that when viewed as a group, politicians are largely disliked and distrusted, but when taken individually are fairly well thought of. Increasing the personal attachment between a politician and the people can thus help engender a more harmonious relationship between the voters and their representatives.
• With STV and multi-member constituencies, parties have a powerful electoral incentive to present a balanced team of candidates in order to maximise the number of higher preferences that would go to their sponsored candidates. This helps the advancement of women and ethnic-minority candidates, who are often overlooked in favour of a 'safer' looking candidate.
• STV offers voters a choice of representatives to approach with their concerns post-election, rather than just the one, who may not be at all sympathetic to a voter's views, or may even be the cause of the concern.
• Competition is generally a good thing. Competition to provide a good service to constituents is no different.
• Parliament is more likely to be both reflective of a nation's views and more responsive to them. Parties are broad coalitions, and can be markedly split on certain key issues, such as war. With only one party person per constituency to choose, the representatives elected may well not reflect the views of their electorate. Many voters in the UK general election of 2005 were faced with a dilemma, as they wanted to support a certain party, but did not want to support the war in Iraq. STV would have helped them express these views much more clearly.
• Under STV, as opposed to hybrid systems such as AMS, all MPs are elected on the same basis, thus lessening the chances of there being animosity between them.
• There are no safe seats under STV, meaning candidates cannot be complacent and parties must campaign everywhere, and not just in marginal seats.
• When voters have the ability to rank candidates, the most disliked candidate cannot win, as they are no good at picking up second-, third- and lower-preference votes.
• By encouraging candidates to seek first-, as well as lower-preference votes, the efficacy of negative campaigning is greatly diminished.
• There is no need for tactical voting.
• There is a more sophisticated link between a constituency and its representative. Not only is there more incentive to campaign and work on a more personal and local level, but also, the constituencies are likely to be more sensible reflections of where community feeling lies. For example, there is more of an attachment to the City of Leeds or the City of Manchester, than there is to, say, Leeds North East or Manchester Withington, whose boundaries have a habit of changing fairly regularly anyway.

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More Bexley Tory sleaze. Ian Clement should go

Boris's Deputy and former Tory Bexley Council Leader Ian Clement has had his credit card confiscated after spending £1500 on a personal car CD player, eating out and personal groceries. See my press comment here.

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Esther Rantzen will make a politician after all

Martin Bell promised to stand for only one term in Tatton. he said he would not break his promise, and he didn't. You can't fault Martin Bell for his honesty.
But Esther Rantzen will make a brilliant politician. A few weeks ago she said:

"So I can't tell you at this moment whether or not she will be deselected, but if she stands, I will stand."

But now in the Mail on Sunday she seems set to stand even though Margaret Moran has been deselected.
Well done Esther, you have already started on the slippery slope of going against your word.

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Wholesale reform is the only way forward - but we Lib Dems have been saying it for decades

The recent expenses scandal highlighted by the Telegraph articles have shown how rancid the political system is.
For decades as a Liberal I have watched politicians from the Labour and Tory parties talk down at us as if we were something stuck on the bottom of their shoes.
What they have never understood is that we argue our position not through our own self interest, but to hand power to the people. Gordon brown can go boil his head on his ideas of deals on PR to protect the Labour party's arse. We need changes that are about opening up the system, not about protecting the thieves and liars.
1. We need PR elections based on a system that is not stitched up by the parties. Not a party list system, but STV to hand the power to the people, maintain the constituency MP link, and get a broadly proportional system. Take the power from the parties. No list election fudges. No Jenkins report compromises that only sypport the political classes.
2. We need to enable electors to call a recall ballot on the worst offenders, such as Derek Conway and Margaret Moran. Kick them out, and stop their severance payouts.
3. Out of London MPs should have a choice of a parliament provided flat (why did we not put a load in County Hall?) or a similar cost one that remains state property in their constituency, depending where their family lives.

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I'm a celebrity, get me in here!

News reaches me that the entire cast of series 8 of I'm a Celebrity... Get me out of Here! are planning to stand for Parliament.
Having been inspired by Brian Paddick's candidacy as Lib Dem mayoral candidate, Esther Rantzen was the first to announce she will bid for Luton South. Followed by former Dollar frontman David Van Day announcing he would stand in Mid Bedforshire.
Robert Kilroy-Silk is to launch a new party with deputy leader Timmy Mallett and candidates Joe Swash, Simon Webbe, Nicola McLean, Carly Zucker, Dani Behr and
Martina Navratilova.

To quote David Van Day from 1.17 in on this clip. Me, Me, Me, Me , Me, Celebrities, Me, Me, Me, Me, Me.



Serious point. I am as sick to death of what we have seen from MPs as the next person. But the answer is not a bunch of C list celebrities.

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I say again, Police should investigate Conway

I wrote three times to the Metropolitan Police asking them to investigate Derek Conway, right up to the Commissioner. They ignored every letter. Will they now take action when it is clear he was also defrauding the public purse by claiming for an office in Northumbria!?
Meanwhile the Bexley Tory blog is full of indignation about Conway. I didn't see you lot saying anything when he was your MP!

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