March 2nd, 2006
After a bitter leadership contest lasting two months and dogged by various revelations about the candidates, Sir Menzies Campbell has emerged as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats. The current Party President, Simon Hughes – initially thought to be one of the strongest contenders, was knocked out in the first round and his votes were transferred under the Single Transferable Vote system. The second round involved a close stand-off between the two remaining candidates, but in the end Campbell came out on top with 57% of the vote, beating economic affairs spokesman Chris Huhne to the post. Both defeated candidates pledged their immediate support to Campbell following the result.
Personally, I’m not sure exactly what to make of the whole leadership contest. If you’d asked me for my thoughts at the beginning, I would have probably put my money on Simon Hughes – as his role as Party President has already given him a lot of media coverage and he was generally well regarded within the party as far as I could tell. His admission that he misled people over his sexuality seems to have hurt his campaign more than I would otherwise have thought – I certainly didn’t expect him to come last out of three candidates. Huhne, on the other hand, did a lot better than I initially expected, especially for someone who only became an MP at the last general election. He’s certainly one to watch over the coming months, and could possibly use his success to bolster his chances for victory at the next leadership election, should Campbell decide to step down in the next four to five years.
It now remains to be seen whether Campbell can repair the damage done to the party over the last few months, although the recent by-election victory in Dunfermline and West Fife will help to an extent. Unless there any more scandals about to come out, the media will drift away now that the contest is over, although coverage hasn’t been anything like as much as it was for the equivalent Conservative leadership race before Christmas.
On a somewhat lighter note, it looks like it might be Gordon vs. Ming at the next general election (not really sure how Cameron fits into it, perhaps he can be Klytus?), although I’m sure Private Eye and other satirical publications have made that comment a dozen times already.
Media coverage
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February 14th, 2006
Tonight in the House of Commons, MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of a total ban of smoking in all enclosed public spaces. By making the decision a free vote (meaning that the party whips will not tell members which way to vote), the government has managed to avoid too much criticism about the outcome. Although the Labour manifesto originally promised a partial ban that would not affect private members’ clubs, senior government figures, including the Prime Minister, voted in favour of a total ban.
Media coverage
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February 2nd, 2006
BNP leader Nick Griffin, along with his fellow party member and activist Mark Collett, has been cleared of four of the charges brought against him relating to speeches made in 2004 that were filmed by a undercover BBC journalist. Whilst I disagree with what Griffin said in those speeches (I remember watching the documentary at the time), and I don’t believe the propaganda on the BNP web site claiming that the trial is somehow part of a plot by the government to undermine free speech, I can’t help feeling that perhaps this case has been a waste of taxpayers’ money. The problem is, as always, the fine line between free speech and inciting people to commit criminal acts, and where the line should be drawn.
Media coverage
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February 2nd, 2006
The government has promised that the proposed changes to the law on smoking will be put to a free vote of MPs, and that a total ban on smoking in all public places will be one of the options available. Current policy is to allow smoking to continue in private clubs and pubs which do not serve food, but a split in the Cabinet has meant that a consensus cannot be reached as to which way to proceed. Other proposed measures include raising the age limit for buying tobacco products from sixteen to eighteen.
Personally I’d love to see a total ban on smoking, as I hate coming home from the pub smelling like I’ve made my way through a pack of cigarettes over the course of the evening. I disagree with the small number of Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs who think a total ban would infringe on civil liberties by stopping people from smoking in public. Banning the sale of cigarettes to people under the age of eighteen might also help curb teenage smoking, although I’ve seen children as young as thirteen buying cigarettes over the counters so I’m not sure that an increase in the age limit would make much of a difference.
Media coverage
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January 22nd, 2006
Mark Oaten, who was at one point a contender for the position of leader of the Liberal Democrats, quit the front bench last night over allegations of his involvement with male prostitutes during the last six months. The announcement came after reporters from the tabloid News of the World confronted Oaten at his house with evidence of this area of his private life.
Assuming these allegations are true (I rarely automatically believe everything I read in the papers, especially not sensationalist rags like the News of the World), it is a major blow to the Liberal Democrats, and to Oaten personally. With Charles Kennedy recently admitting to having a drinking problem and the subsequent leadership contest that came about as a result of that announcement, the Lib Dems could only hope for a quick and untainted contest (or preferably the immediate appointment of one candidate without needing an election). Now they face not only the trials and tribulations of a leadership election, but also damaging stories about two of their most prominent members appearing in the national press.
What interests me most about this story though is that with the potential for defections as MPs attempt to distance themselves from the embarrassments surrounding the party, I think this is the best time for the Conservatives to make a serious return to the UK political scene. With a new leader who boasts a reasonable amount of clout and charisma without being seen as nasty, evil or a member of the Old Guard (Cameron wasn’t an MP when Thatcher was in power, which I suspect helps him to shake off the old traditions), the Tories have an excellent opportunity to steal some of the ground that the Lib Dems have taken in previous elections, and possibly even some of their MPs as well. It will certainly be intreresting to see how this all pans out in the days and weeks to come.
Media coverage
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January 16th, 2006
BNP gets top news listing on Google at Guardian Unlimited – Politics
If you search for “Mary-Ann Leneghan” on Google News, the first result you come across is a news report on the BNP web site. For some reason, numerous people seemed to have got rather het up about the whole affair and have demanded that Google removes such stories from its search results, which thankfully they have refused to do – and in doing so they have earned my respect for not caving in to the politically correct crowd.
I don’t like the policies of the BNP and I’d never think about voting for them, but I could say the same thing about the Socialist Worker Party. However, you don’t see many reports of people complaining about what the extreme left parties write, even though if you follow the political spectrum you’ll find it wraps round at both ends and there isn’t a great deal of difference between how much people suffered under both fascist and communist governments.
The BNP aren’t breaking the law, at least not as far as I’m aware, nor are they being grossly offensive. Whilst I don’t necessarily agree with their claims that the BBC have double standards, I believe that the BNP has the same rights to publish their opinions on news stories as I do, and I think it’s a bit pathetic that some people want to gag an organisation that is providing them with an easy way to access hundreds of news sources in one place.
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January 7th, 2006
As I’m sure many people will have heard, The Right Honourable George Galloway MP has accepted a place as a contestant on the Channel 4 show, Celebrity Big Brother. A lot of people are angry about this, and rightly so. There is now a web page estimating how much Galloway’s time in the Big Brother house has cost the tax payer, based on his salary and how long he has not been at work doing what he is paid to – representing his constituents in Parliament and addressing their concerns on a local and national level.
If you’re a constituent of Bethnal Green and Bow and are feeling disappointed with your MP’s lack of effort in representing you, feel free to send him a message via the UK Parliament web site or write to him at the following address:
George Galloway MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Remember, Galloway only won his seat by a majority of 823 votes, so a couple of hundred emails and letters from angry constituents should be enough to make him buck up his ideas and get back to doing the job he is being paid for.
If you’re not one of his constituents then you shouldn’t write to Galloway directly, as MPs aren’t obliged to respond to people outside of their constituency (many will refuse to meet with lobby groups unless at least one member is a constituent – I’ve come across this issue when campaigning for Manchester MPs to sign a climate change EDM with Manchester Friends of the Earth). You can, however, write to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and ask him to investigate whether or not Galloway is breaking the Code of Conduct for MPs by appearing on Big Brother, specifically the part where it is stated that:
Members have a general duty to act in the interests of the nation as a whole; and a special duty to their constituents.
There is also a pledge that you can sign to indicate that you will be taking this course of action and which encourages other people to do so as well.
Media coverage
Big Brother Galloway criticised at BBC News – Politics
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January 7th, 2006
After several days of speculation, allegations (and later acceptance) of drink problems, murmerings of discontent within the party and finally an ultimatium of “you go or we will” from 21 MPs, Charles Kennedy has finally stood down from the position of leader of the Liberal Democrats.
I’m not very surprised or shocked to hear the news though, Kennedy’s time was limited the moment he came out and publically acknowledged a drinking problem. Whilst I applaud him for admitting to the problem and seeking help for it, the admission caused him to lose a lot of confidence from the MPs that he is supposed to lead and inspire. As soon as questions start to be raised about your leadership (in any area, but particularly politics) you have to either take direct and conclusive action to quash them and the perpetrators or stand down and let someone else take up the reigns of command. Kennedy failed to deal with the rumours over his drink problems quickly enough, and he has paid a heavy price for his lack of response.
Media coverage
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January 6th, 2006
Kennedy faces mass resignations via BBC News – Politics
Charles Kennedy came under further pressure to resign from his role as leader of the Liberal Democrats today as two of his front bench colleagues threatened to quit if he has not gone by Monday morning. Andrew George, spokesman for international development, and Norman Lamb, spokesman for trade and industry, have said their positions are “untenable” after speaking out against Kennedy’s continuing leadership of the party. It is expected that several other members of the Liberal Democrat frontbench will echo those sentiments in a statement due to be released later today.
It’s all starting to look rather bleak for the usually cheerful Charlie. At first there seemed to be a glimmer of hope as he announced a leadership election and no one else put their name forward as a candidate, with several senior MPs stating publically that they would not stand against Kennedy. Initially, it looked as if he would be able to win by default by being the only candidate in the election, but it now appears that whilst his frontbench colleagues might not be willing to contest the position of party leader with Kennedy in an election, they are prepared to force him to step down by threatening to resign en masse if he refuses to jump rather than being pushed.
Update: A statement is expected before 6pm tonight, probably at 17:45 GMT so it will be covered on all the national six o’clock news bulletins. If you want to be the first to hear it, you’re probably best tuning in to BBC News 24 or BBC Radio 4.
Media coverage
Coverage in other blogs
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January 5th, 2006
In a dramatic statement issued a few minutes ago, Charles Kennedy admitted he has been taking treatment for alcohol-related problems in the past eighteen months and called a leadership election. He still intends to stand as a candidate for the top job, but personally I think his luck has run out and the Lib Dems will have a new leader before the local elections in May – assuming of course that they don’t make a pig’s ear of the whole business like the Conservatives did.
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