If you want a reminder of how lucky we are to be rid of the bastards, just read Yvette Cooper in the Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/04/women-budget-cuts-yvette-cooper#start-of-comments

I know Diane Abbott slightly. I once had the pleasure of accompanying her across the Canopy Walkway at Kakum in Ghana. The photo of the walkway may come in handy as a metaphor. Last time I met her we chatted in Westminster tube station about Tony Blair – our views on him are similar. A [...]

Well, here we are on the first morning of a new government. I continue to wait to see what the government actually does. What we know for certain is that we have got rid of a government of war criminal torturers who attacked our civil liberties. Some commenters were indignant yesterday that I refuse to [...]

It appears very probable now we will have a Tory/Lib Dem coalition. That would put me in the extraordinary position of supporting the government, for the first time in my life. I would still much prefer the Lib Dems to remain in opposition. To a large extent that is for pragmatic reasons – I very [...]

The Tories have made an offer to the Lib Dems of a referendum on the alternative vote (AV) system. I am not a supporter of AV. The fact that Labour and Tories can both support it, is a good indicator that it is not much of an improvement. Under AV you get to note a [...]

I am no more in favour of an alliance with New Labour than I am with the Conservatives – though if it delivered PR I would have to think hard. But why tie ourselves to authoritarian war criminals. The culpability of Miliband in particular in strenuous efforts to cover up UK complicity in torture, should [...]

I presume I am receiving what other party members receive: so far that consists of a message telling us to shut up. I have received nothing at all officially from the party seeking my view on a coalition with the Tories. The Lib Dems make much of being a democratic party. Anyway, I am spending [...]

I received – along with other party members – a rather stalinist email from someone called Baroness Scott, President of the Liberal Democrats. Somebody should explain to her the meaning of each of the words in the party title, because her email said this: We have all worked hard and for that I thank you [...]

I argue urgently that we Lib Dems should not enter into any formal pact with anyone, but should remain in opposition to a minority Conservative and Unionist government. I won’t pretend that last night was not horribly disappointing, as First Past The Post radically distorted our representation as usual. I went through this disappointment before, [...]

I have been campaigning like crazy for the Lib Dems in Ealing and Central Acton. It is fun, for the first time in my life, to live in a marginal constituency. I am pretty confident this will be a Lib Dem gain. The local candidate, Jon Ball, is a good man, not least because he [...]

At Jack Straw’s gathering last night it was announced food would not be served as it would be against electoral law. This is something of a victory. About a quarter of the audience left immediately and most of the rest wandered out less obviously during the next half hour!

Having been caught red-handed indulging in the crime of treating – supplying free food and drink to voters to influence their vote – Jack Straw is planning to do it again this evening. Treating is a criminal offence for which the maximum sentence is a year in prison. As a corrupt electoral practice, it also [...]

The Conservative Party is well and truly reverting to type in its efforts to beat back the Lib Dems and win an overall majority. Every time I see a Tory on television, they are banging on about immigration and putting more people in jail. I am rather grateful to the election campaign for reminding me [...]

I received this in an email from the local LibDems – as a joke, I hasten to add. It does cause me some difficulty. I had to dig deep to get past the second question and avoid voting UKIP, but then found it almost impossible to skip past the Greens to my home as a [...]

Jack Straw is guilty of the criminal offence of treating – offering food and drink to electors as an induucement to vote – under the Representation of the People’s Act 1983, Clause 114 (2). The maximum penalty is one year in prison. As a corrupt electoral practice it brings disbarment from parliament for life – [...]

Last night’s YouGov poll gave Cameron a full five percentage points more than the average of the four other respected polling organisations who effectively asked the same question at the same time. http://www1.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2010/04/30/is-this-camerons-platform-for-downing-street/ The YouGove polls are simply a part of the Murdoch/Mail propaganda blitz to push Cameron into No 10. In my last thread [...]

he wouldn’t look any different.

on Sky. He says Birmingham is a red/blue battleground with only Lib Dem interest in Solihull. Absolute bollocks. At least two Birmingham Lab constituencies are set to go Lib Dem

YouGov have asked my webhost, under threat of libel proceedings, to take down this website today. Their letter from libel lawyers Olswang – amusingly headed Private and Confidential, Not For Publication – is available here. Download file Now why whould Rupert Murdoch’s favourite pollster attempt to take this little blog down on the day of [...]