Tories don't like Cameron, do they?

Robin Harris hates his former employee. Back in March 2006 Mr Harris, of Conservative Research Dept wrote in Prospect Magazine that Cameron was spoiling the party.

Today in the FT he suggests Cameron is an out and out opportunist as re-printed here:

David Cameron's former boss last night accused the Tory leader of being an "out and out opportunist".
Robin Harris, director of the Conservative Research Department when Mr Cameron started work there in 1988, classed his former employee as one of a group who worked for their party "as a way of advancing their careers. They weren't necessarily highly motivated."
The Old Etonian Conservative leader used his impeccable connections to advance his career, Mr Harris suggested. Reflecting on Mr Cameron's rapid rise to the top of the party, Mr Harris described him as "an out and out opportunist . . I don't believe that David Cameron believes anything."

Oh dear… if that is the case, and Harris employed Cameron – should we all fear that truth passes the Tory Leaders lips as regularly as Gordon Brown dips into his pocket and helps out the poor?

Is the Libby Bird about to fly away?

There is a fun story on Suz Blog which I regularly visit. Suz Blog: Is the Libby Bird about to fly away

I have submitted a comment, which just in case it does not make it to her site, is re-printed again here.

I regularly shop with a Liby-bird canvas bag acquired at a Conference in
Blackpool a couple of years ago... and in the past two years, three people have
come up to me and said "I recognise that logo on your bag - are you a Liberal
Democrat?"

I confess the truth of course.

Anyway, it's appropriate to keep the bird, as after the 2009 general election when we enter a coalition with the Conservatives, our birdy can perch in a branch of the tory green tree.

Voting on the internet - wheeeeeeeee!

Swindon hits the headlines again as it trials e-voting for elections this May 2007.

So this year Swindon residents will be able to vote for a whole week on-line, from April 26th right through to 9pm on May 3rd. In another pioneering step, alongside the ability to vote by phone people will also be able to vote in any poling booth throughout the whole borough. So a resident in North Swindon will be able to pop out of their town-centre based workplace on May 3rd and vote from a polling station in the town-centre using a touch screen monitor.

Is the day of pencil and paper voting in a booth about to die?

It takes me back to the time when I was a political assistant for the Lib Dems in this town from year 2000 through to 2005.

• in 2000 pilot all-postal election in four wards;



• in 2002 - e-voting pilot as part of the May local elections. This involved remote voting by Internet and telephone together with traditional voting by post and at polling stations. The pilot was widely considered to be successful. Over 15% of votes were cast electronically and the overall turnout increased by 3.5%; and



• in 2003 the council carried out a more extensive e-voting pilot involving four electronic channels (internet, telephone, interactive digital television and kiosk voting) together with traditional postal voting and voting at polling stations. Although the turnout did not increase further, the uptake of the e-voting channels did increase and 24.5% of votes were cast electronically.



• In 2004 two by-elections used a paper-less vote with touch-screen voting in the polling stations. This was overseen by the Electoral Commission who published findings in a report

The 2002 pilot which Swindon Lib Dems supported was roundly criticised by the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors at the time – but we ignored their ranting. They were anxious about fraudulent voting by persons not listed on the ballot paper. This of course was widely realised with the horrific abuses of the all-postal elections in a variety of places in the UK, but there was no evidence of this happening in Swindon... maybe because multiple electronic voting abuse is difficult to trace? A pre-registered pin number and a request for your date of birth were all requested at the point of e-voting.

Lord Rennard, Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats said in February 2006: “The independent Electoral Commission has said that individual voter registration is necessary to prevent fraudulent abuse with postal voting... the Government should act to ensure that such a scheme is in place as soon as possible.” There is a very good audio report from Chris on the BBC from June 2006.

I think it’s a great boost for making voting easier and should allow more people to have a say on who runs the council. As Swindon votes in thirds, these elections will once again be a referendum on the ruling Tories… their majority is higher than the 20 seats being contested – so they cannot loose.

The down side is the eve-of-poll election leaflet will have to be delivered seven days early, and the so called “last minute election messages” will be difficult to spin.

And probably the bottom line is a key way to get more people out voting is for people to actually have something to vote for… over to you councillors, activists and party leaders.

So what were you doing at 5pm?

BBC radio 4's PM news show is running a photo journal of listeners activities at 5pm.

I am always at work at 5 O'clock, but by ten past five I have walked home from the office and have started cooking dinner.

So today, I decided to take a photo of myself preparing food in the kitchen. It was beef casserole today, which is only on the menu as my partners catering suppliers at the hotel sent a brisket joint of beef in error and did not want it back.

I was a bit miffed as I had ran out of oxo cubes, so instead chucked in a glug of Worcester Sauce - maybe not surprisingly it tasted so much better...

UKIP will win seats at the next General Election

Delightful story of pending election success for UKIP in the Daily Telegraph today. The author is that darling of the rightous Right - Humpty Dumpty Heffer.

Simon Heffer huffs and puffs, as is his want. And no doubt he will use his column inches in the Daily Telepgraph newspaper to espouse repeated nonsense of the electability of UKIP over the next couple of years.

Mr Heffer never ceases to provide much thought provoking entertainment at the breakfast table, but his explosions of observed truth and critique are long forgotten by lunchtime.

UKIP will remain an attractive home for the ranting cause.

UKIP’s possibility of success to a United Kingdom parliament will never be realised with the voting system we have in this country. Their success at the last Euro elections was all down to proportional voting to an institution that most readers of the Daily Telegraph ignore.

For truth be told, as every conservative leaning individual knows, to defeat Labour at the next election will only be secured by tactically voting Lib Dem on Conservative in 2009.

EasyJet grounded... cos it's raining

I've heard it all now. EasyJet have grounded their aircraft because rain on the runway at Bristol Airport is causing the craft to skid as it brakes.

Do you remember the old joke about train services delayed when leaves fell on the line?
Well now budget airlines won't fly out of provincial airlines if there is rain on the runway now-a-days. Not sure about the unacceptable face of capitalism... I blame the unacceptable face of British weather. This quote was published on Nick Robinson's BBC blog

What is most frustrating is my sister-in-law was delivered by me to Bristol Airport at 6:30am this morning for an 8am flight to Faro... I kissed her goodbye as she was booked in, and made her way through Passport Control.

Four hours later I read on the BBC that all flights had been cancelled out of Bristol. But try as I may, there was no way to get hold of Bristol Airport: I called twice and each time the phone was answered by a machine, and I had to endure cheesy music for ten minutes... followed by my call being disconnected.

The same happened with SleezyJet - except with their communications system I had to pay 50p a minute for the pleasure of listening to a recorded message inform me of their successes in prompt arrival and departure times.

Of course there are some who think people who travel too often and too cheaply should be punished through taxation. I think I am angry enough, without the thought that my flights and those of my friends would fund another Labour token gesture to save the environment!

Guess what November 15th is?

As over-consumerism sweeps the Western world, it is no better evidenced than in America where they actually have a day – November 15 – to rid the household of their excessive lifestyles.

Nov 15 is clean out your refrigerator day.

I just can’t get round my brain the need to remind the house-husbands of America that in the run up to Christmas, they have to clean out the cold storage facility? I say house-husbands, as I cannot imagine any woman in the world would need to be reminded of this.

This post comes courtesy of 123 greetings.com

Preacher admits.. "Yes I'm queer"

After bending over backwards all week claiming he was straight, a family man and that gay relationships were sinful, Ted Haggard the leader of the Evangelical Church in America has indeed been bending forward and touching his toes for the boyz for most of his life.

Whereas confession is normally accepted as being good for the soul, Ted Haggard has found out the hard way that truth can destroy your career if you spend your whole life lying.

• “I am guilty of sexual immorality,” said Ted Haggard, a confession with potential political ramifications far beyond his church in the conservative bastion of Colorado Springs (comments the UK Times).
  “I am a deceiver and a liar. There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I’ve been warring against it all of my adult life.”

Just imagine for one moment that this man, who shapes Christian thinking to millions of conservative leaning Americans, had been honest about his sexuality. A lot of pain and suffering in the church would not have occured.

If only Ted could embrace his sexuality, and dedicate the rest of his ministry to saving the church from the filth it preaches of hatred and pity to gay people... more souls could be saved.

Keep your pecker up Pastor Ted

Our prayers are with Pastor Haggard.

We want to urge on the coming of the Lord, not the indulgencies of Ted with a gay prostitute.

• Extract from the Guardian: Mr Jones [a male prostitue from Colorado] told reporters he went public because of his anger at Mr Haggard for preaching against homosexuality and gay marriage while pursuing a clandestine relationship with him for three years.
  
  He said that the pastor paid to have sex nearly once a month, and that he snorted methamphetamines to heighten the experience.

If Ted confesses his sin and stops persecuting gay people for their life-choices, then I see no reason why he should not return to the Republican sponsored Evangelical Church of America.

God moves in mysterious ways. This is HIS way of healing the Church in these troubled times of rampant hatred being carried out in the name of the Lord.

The filth in American Politics - yea the candidates

Lib Dem Welsh MP Peter Black has a great little TV ad video from across the pond on his website.

Politics in America is mired in filth. When desperate men want to win the vote, they will resort to almost anything.

Republican Congressman John Doolittle is fighting for his life to hold his seat on Congress - principally due to his support of the War on Terror. He has done little else in office, so the Democrats are whipping his arse!

Doolitle states Democrat candidate Charlie Brown supports the North American Man Boy Love Association through his membership of the American Civil Liberties Union, and since the ACLU has in the past defended Nambla's free-speech rights, he is tainted by association.

"It is astounding," Mr Doolittle said in a recent press release, "that anyone could defend a group dedicated to aiding and abetting paedophiles."

So I guess the crap thrown back at Doolittle by the Brown campaign in the video on Peter's blog is therefore quite lame in comparison!