Labour's one trick pony Ed Miliband appeals to Lib Dems (again) - my response

Ed Miliband takes over the leadership of the Labour Party thanks to the Union votes after the Labour MPs and members turned their back on him and he declares this the new generation Labour and that New Labour is dead.

Since then he has denied the last thirteen years happened and blames the Liberal Democrats and Conservative coalition government for absolutely everything he can.

Including the introduction of student tuition fees, the disgraceful 75p pension increase, the complete waste of money introducing ID Cards, the fingerprinting of children, the illegal war in Iraq, doubling the 10p basic rate of income tax, selling off the UKs gold at the lowest price for 20 years, the major tax credit bungle, not standing up to the bankers and leaving us to pay off debts including £120 million per day on interest alone.

Now he has scrapped all of their policies and swapped it for a blank sheet of paper.

He has appealed to Liberal Democrat members and voters to join him and his lack of vision, not once, but four times in as many months.

He claimed today that thousands of Liberal Democrats had joined Labour since May, yet thousands of Liberal Democrats have not left since May, in fact we have seen an increase in our membership so more nonsense from him.

Philip Hammond MP, the Transport Secretary (Conservative) said;

"Most Liberal Democrats understand that we have to address the fundamental economic challenges this country now faces before we can build the progressive society that we all want to live in and until Ed Miliband has a credible plan for dealing with the deficit he's not in a position to make a pitch to anybody,"

That is exactly the point, the other option in May was the supposed rainbow coalition, but Labour included caveats such as they would work with the SNP for example, so that option was doomed before it started.

 Yes, the Liberal Democrats could have not bothered with either party and left the Conservatives to operate as a minority government, but given the childish behaviour of the Labour Party they would have voted against everything they ever proposed meaning nothing would have happened and we would have faced a second general election in 2010.

I don't think the voters would have stood for that either.

Yes, I agree with Nick - going into coalition government was the right way forward for the country and the media and Labourites are gloating over our national poll ratings of 8/9% yet on Thursday night in Oldham East & Saddleworth we once again polled over 30%, not just a poll but real votes in real ballot boxes.

So Ed, we are all getting bored of your repeated requests to join your blank page party, we remember your record over the 13 years despite you repeatedly forgetting about it - you are a one trick pony and your trick of asking Lib Dems to join your party is wearing thin. 

Ed you need a new trick, maybe you should do the same as your Deputy, stay silent and say nothing until you have something to say.

Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats in by-election meltdown?

No, we are not. 

Despite the best efforts of the United Kingdom's media pack, the Labour Party with their new leader Ed "I know nothing of the last 13 years" Miliband and even some whingers in our own party to destroy us during the Oldham East & Saddleworth by-election, they failed.  They all failed.

Our share of the vote went up, only a small increase, but it went up.

Am I disappointed?

Of course I am.  I'm gutted for Elwyn Watkins and every single one of the campaign team, who gave their all, trying new techniques and some of the old favourites to take the seat from Labour.

The public never really see and understand the sheer determination and work rate party workers and volunteers put into a by-election - yes, for many of us it does become personal, but that's because we believe. 

We believe in our candidates, we believe in our policies, maybe not all of them but then none of us ever join an organisation because we believe in every aspect of that organisation do we?

I joined the Chelsea FC Supporters Club because I passionately believe in my team, I don't agree with what Roman Abramovich is currently doing at the club, especially getting rid of Wilko or the fact the players have become a little nonchalant.

Politics is exactly the same, I don't agree with some of the policy decisions made now we are in coalition the same as I disagreed with some when I started delivering leaflets twenty plus years ago, but it is a compromise, just like life.

The majority of voters in Oldham East & Saddleworth didn't vote last night and that makes me angry, people have died in this country to ensure we have a vote within our democracy and yet some people never vote - often the loudest complainers afterwards and that is a sad state of affairs.  I hope that changes after May once the referendum on fair votes has taken place, a great step forward in reforming our politics.

The media have been almost obsessed with the Liberal Democrats during this by-election, predicting doom, gloom, the collapse of our vote, the party going into meltdown, Clegg's resignation, the collapse of the coalition, the end of the world.  Okay, not the last one, but that was the general direction of their mood, spiralling downwards.

Once again they were wrong.

When will the media start reporting on the news and using facts not guess work and their own wild predictions?

The Conservatives suffered the worst in this by-election, losing over 7,000 votes since May, a drop of over 13% in the share of the vote.

Also, a note of warning for Ed Miliband who no doubt is going to be smug about the result - just remember Ed, more people voted for the coalition in this by-election than voted for Labour.  You aren't out of the woods yet.

You may have forgotten what Labour did to this great country and the people who live here over the last thirteen years, but they haven't.

The by-election had been called after disgraced former MP, Labour's Phil Woolas was found guilty by two High Court judges of knowingly lying to voters in a last-ditch bid to hold his seat at the General Election.


A mixed week for Miliband - one former MP jailed, one found guilty of fraud and an election hold.


The result of the Oldham East and Saddleworth Parliamentary by-election:


Lab 14,718
LD Elwyn Watkins 11,160
Conservatives 4,481
UKIP 2,029
BNP 1,560
Green 530
Monster Raving Loony 145
English Democrats 144
Bus Pass Elvis 67
Pirate 96
48.06% turnout

Labour HOLD.

Labour's Alan Johnson MP: We should be proud of our brave and correct decision to introduce tuition fees

Back in September, Labour's Alan Johnson MP gave some advice to the newly elected Labour leader Ed Miliband via The Independent.

"We should be proud of our brave and correct decision to introduce tuition fees. Students don't pay them, graduates do, when they're earning more than £15,000 a year, at very low rates, stopped from their pay just like a graduate tax, but with the money going where it belongs: to universities rather than the Treasury."

So, what does Aaron Porter and the NUS say to that?

Or are they still silent on what Labour say/do just preferring to attack the Liberal Democrats and Nick Clegg specifically?

Jae is spot on - No More Apologies - The Return Of The Cleggist Uprising

Remember the euphoria among Liberal Democrats in the lead up to the General Election this year? The excitement, the hope and the expectation would be dashed as the results came in showing an increase in vote but a loss of seats (typical FPTP result!). And to be honest we've been on the back foot since then. Every move we've made has been criticised from the left (TRAITORS!) and the right (OPPORTUNISTS!). And being the nice people we are, many of us have taken these attacks to heart, tried to make excuses, and ended up attacking our leadership to prove our "progressive" credentials.

I say no more! I've decided it's time for us to stop making excuses and apologising for things we're doing, to remember exactly what sort of people are making these attacks and start defending our record. The Liberal Democrats aren't just here to defend the policies of the Coalition, we're here as a real alternative to Labour and the Tories and as a party that is now ready for Government.

To read the rest of this amazing blog post, and every Liberal Democrat Member, activist, supporter and voter should do visit the Neue Politik blog HERE.

Nick Clegg and the illegal war in Iraq comment at PMQs

Like most people I was so chuffed that Nick Clegg took David Cameron's place for Prime Ministers Questions last week.

I also loved the complete overreaction to Nick's comments about the "illegal war in Iraq".  The media went absolutely bonkers and the Civil Servants seemed to be as crazy too.
The Civil Servants really need to start accepting that a Coalition Government is not the same old style of Government that they are used to and they need to start chilling out a little bit.

It was quite obvious to anyone outside the slightly odd world of Westminster that what I was doing was repeating something about which I have strong personal views in a way that wasn’t binding on the government as a whole.

Nick Clegg at the Despatch Box and the first ten weeks of Lib Dems in Government

Wow, a Liberal Democrat at the Despatch Box answering Prime Ministers Questions for the first time since 1922 and it was Nick Clegg, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister doing that historic event today, and he did well, you can watch it here.

It is a great pity that the Rising of the House has been brought forward from next Thursday to Tuesday, perhaps David Cameron was nervous Nick would do well and didn't want to give him that second opportunity?

Labour have been attacking Lib Dems all day today saying that it wasn't 1922 when a Liberal last answered questions, so here is the history.

The modern type of Prime minister’s Questions only dates from 1961.  Lloyd George was the most recent Prime Minister to be a Liberal at that time (Churchill having joined the Conservatives before being PM).

 

The Coalition fell in October 1922 but the house rose in August.  On 4 August questions that had been addressed to the Prime Minister were answered by Neville Chamberlain, (presumably Lloyd George was absent).  On 3 August he answered the questions himself.

 

You can read those answers here.

 

Nick Clegg took a range of questions from MPs across the House, there were a couple of the obvious planted questions but they have always happened under all Governments and you can still spot the Labour ones.

Jack Straw was a disappointment in some respects, I thought his questions and points were quite rambling.

What Nick Clegg did manage to achieve, despite the Speaker's best attempts to thwart it, was to explain some of the Liberal Democrat achievements under the Coalition Agreement.

In just 10 weeks since the start of the Coalition Government, the Liberal Democrats have exerted a huge influence over its agenda.


Going into the election the Liberal Democrats made clear that they had four key priorities: fairer taxes; a fair start for children with extra funding for disadvantaged pupils; a comprehensive clean up of our politics, including a fairer voting system; and a green, sustainable economy.

Thanks to Lib Dem involvement, the Coalition Government will deliver on each of these.

There are also a large number of other Lib Dem policies and pledges that will now begin to make a real, positive difference to people’s lives because of our role in the Coalition Government.

These include everything from rolling back the surveillance state and giving people back their civil liberties, to prison and NHS reforms, fairer pensions, the ending of child detention and the scrapping of the third runway at Heathrow.
 
Delivering on our promises

 

Fairer taxes

 

The Liberal Democrats promised to make the tax system fairer by ensuring no one pays tax on the first £10,000 they earn and closing loopholes that allow the wealthy to pay a smaller proportion of their income in tax than people on low and middle incomes.

 

The Coalition Government has already taken a huge step towards achieving this by raising the income tax threshold by £1,000 in last month’s Budget, saving low and middle earners £200 a year, and reforming Capital Gains Tax. The income tax threshold will continue to be increased every year during this Parliament.

 

The Liberal Democrats also promised to restore the earnings link to pensions, which the Government will now do.

 

We also promised wide scale banking reform, including a banking levy to make sure that banks pay for the financial support they received from the taxpayer. The levy, which will raise £2.5bn, was announced in the Budget.

 

A fair start for children

 

The Liberal Democrats promised to introduce a Pupil Premium to target extra money at disadvantaged children. The Coalition Agreement makes clear that this will now happen.

 

We also promised greater freedoms for teachers over the curriculum, which will also be brought in as a key part of the Coalition’s education reforms.

 

Fair politics

 

The Liberal Democrats promised a comprehensive clean up of the rotten political system. This is now a key part of the Coalition’s agenda for which Nick Clegg has responsibility.

 

The plans include:

• A referendum on the Alternative Vote to take place in May 2011
• The right to sack MPs guilty of serious misconduct
• Fixed term parliaments of five years
• Reform of party funding
• Moving towards an elected House of Lords, elected by proportional representation
• A statutory register of lobbyists
• A radical devolution of power and greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups

A green, sustainable economy

 

The Liberal Democrats promised a raft of policies to help the economy recover and make sure that we build a new green and sustainable economy fit for the 21st century.

 

A huge number of these policies will now become a reality, including:

• Tough action to tackle the deficit
• The creation of a green investment bank
• Reform of the banking system to make sure that banks lend to viable British businesses
• An independent commission on separating investment and retail banking
• Measures to improve energy efficiency in homes and businesses
• Support for low carbon energy production and an increase the target for energy from renewable sources
• Enabling the creation of a national high speed rail network
• The creation of a smart electricity grid and the roll-out of smart meters
• The establishment of an emissions performance standard that will prevent coal-fired power stations being built unless they are equipped with Carbon Capture and Storage Technology
• Replacing Air Passenger Duty with a per-plane duty
• The provision of a floor price for carbon, as well as working to persuade the EU to move towards full auctioning of ETS permits

Other Lib Dem policies that will now become a reality.

 

The Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for the restoration of freedoms and civil liberties eroded under Labour and the rolling back of the surveillance state. A huge number of Lib Dem policies will now happen, including:

• The abolition of Identity Cards, the National Identity register, the next generation of biometric passports and the ContactPoint Database
• The repeal of unnecessary laws
• Further regulation of CCTV
• The outlawing of finger-printing of children at school without permission
• Extending the Freedom of Information Act
• Ending child detention for immigration purposes
• Removal of innocent people from the DNA database

There are also a host of other Lib Dem policies that will now happen under the Coalition Government. These include:

• Fair compensation for Equitable Life victims
• The modernisation of the Royal Mail
• Flexible working and promotion of equal pay
• Reform of the NHS to strengthen the voices of patients and the role of doctors
• A commission on long-term reform of social care
• Cutting Quangos and government bureaucracy
• Implementing the recommendations of the Calman Commission on Scottish devolution
• A referendum on further powers for the Welsh Assembly

My reply to Derek Simpson of Unite's invitation to rip up my membership card

I can hear the trembling of many of my friends and colleagues now as they read the title of this blog post, but have faith my people, I will be polite and not tell Derek Simpson to shove it up his......

So Derek, you are urging me and my fellow members of the Liberal Democrats to rip up our membership cards?

Let me ask you a few questions first, if I may?

Why have you not been so vocal about the sheer outrageous level of the borrowing by your own Labour cronies when in Government, plunging us into the biggest debt we have ever known?

Why do you feel bringing British Airways to its knees and on the brink of bankruptcy by continuously striving for strike action will achieve anything positive?

Why did you not cut Unites ties with Labour over the illegal war in Iraq?

You see, there will be reasons why you won't answer those questions and I will not rip up my membership card, nor will I resign my membership of the Liberal Democrats because Nick Clegg and our party have entered into a working coalition government to sort out the mess that Labour have left behind after thirteen years of being in government.

It was Labour that stopped the rainbow coalition government being formed because of their refusal to work with the SNP, however in reality bringing so many parties together would not have had a balanced or steady work flow to achieve anything whereas the grown up approach of both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives has already seen dividends.

Don't get me wrong Derek, I am not in favour of the Conservatives and I will be doing everything in my power over the next eleven months to beat them in every constituency and region across Scotland to get Tavish Scott as First Minister and the Liberal Democrats as the Government of Scotland.

Being in a grown up coalition doesn't stop that.

There will be policy announcements and changes that my moral compass doesn't agree with, but very few people join a political party because of just one individual thing, as you very well know.

I am a Liberal Democrat, proud of being so and proud that we are in government.

I am unhappy we are having to waste time sorting out and paying for your Party's frivolous attitude to spending over the last thirteen years.

So, no I won't rip up my membership card you can shove that request up where the sun don't shine!

Vince Cable stands down as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats

But, who is next?

In the last hour one of my old bosses, Vince Cable has stood down as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in order to concentrate on his role as Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills within the Liberal Democrat - Conservative coalition government.

I am delighted that Vince has got such a major role within the coalition government, something he rightly deserves, although it is slightly ironic that he is now in charge of the department he put forward that we should abolish!

Vince is an absolute gentleman and will not have come to this decision lightly.

The text of Vince Cable’s resignation letter to Nick Clegg is below:

Dear Nick,

I am writing to offer my resignation in my role as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

It has been an honour to serve as the Deputy Leader of our party. However, in joining the cabinet I have taken on many new challenges and responsibilities and it is right that I focus wholeheartedly on the job in hand.

These are exciting times to be a Liberal Democrat, and despite all the challenges we face we have a real opportunity to change Britain for the better. There are great opportunities for the party alongside our working in coalition.

I wish my successor all the best in what is a rewarding and important role.

Yours ever,

Vince Cable
 
In response to the letter, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said:

“Vince has been a fantastic Deputy Leader during an exciting time for the party. I look forward to us continuing to work together in government.”

The election for the new Deputy Leader will take place on Wednesday 9 June with Lord (William) Wallace acting as the returning officer.
There will be a formal meeting of the Parliamentary Party on Wednesday 2 June to receive nominations.

Should more than one nomination be forthcoming, hustings will take place at the meeting of the Parliamentary Party on 9 June. The ballot will take place at the end of that meeting, with the result declared thereafter.
 
Now, who should be the next Deputy Leader?  For a start, in my humble opinion, it should not be one of the MPs who is a Minister or in the Cabinet, I know that slims the options down but I really think the back benchers need a voice.
 
I would like to see Michael Moore MP nominated.  Michael is currently the Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and I feel would add a lot to the role and would provide Nick Clegg with real support.
 
However, it is not up to me, a mere staffer for the Liberal Democrats.

Liberal Democrats on the Government benches

Today, Liberal Democrats sat in the House of Commons but instead of the Oppositions benches as before this time it was on the Government benches as the picture below shows.

I will be honest, upto a few months ago this is a scene I never thought I would ever see in my lifetime, however since Chris Fox's arrival as the new Chief Executive the Party has started to believe a lot more and challenge others views.

We are no longer the third party, we are the Liberal Democrats and we are in Government, although it is a coalition, we are still in a position now to start delivering on our manifesto commitments and ensuring Britain becomes a better place.

Cleggmania in pictures

Here is a great photo of Cleggmania in action with media scrum in tow as well.

Was the YouGov poll fair last night after the Sky Prime Ministerial debate?

So, the second TV debate on Sky for the Prime Ministerial debates took place last night, I didn't watch it live, but thanks to Sky+ watched it soon after.

I was sort of following it via Twitter as I was writing target letters.

What was interesting is despite the UK media turning it's guns and might (not as honestly as you would have thought) on Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats, we wnot only withstood it but yet again Nick Clegg came out as the winner of three of the five polls last night, not as clear a victory as before, but still showing the voters of the UK that there is a real choice at this election.

Nick Clegg was shown as the winner with ComRes, Angus Reid and ICM  and David Cameron with YouGov and Populus.


However, should it have actually been four of the five polls for Nick, because YouGov published the results before Nick Clegg's final speech according to some on Twitter (someone I trust) - was that fair or balanced?

I wonder if they had held off and done it fairly, rather than just trying to rush it out, would the result have been the same?

It seems obvious to me that the Conservatives are in panic mode now.

Two weeks ago the Conservatives were riding high in the polls, with Labour closing the gap.

Now it is the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives fighting for first place with Labour languishing at the bottom, out of the race.

With two more weeks to go it is clear the voters of Britian have had enough of the traditional two party politics as portrayed by the media. 

In Scotland the voters are used to a four party system and understand it as well, so although the polls show Labour in the need it is the SNP being squeezed by the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives a long way behind in fourth place.

Scottish Liberal Democrats launch their manifesto

This morning Tavish Scott, Alistair Carmichael and Kevin Lang launched the Scottish Liberal Democrats manifesto on a launch in Forth Ports, Leith.

Elections that can really make a difference don’t come along very often. But this is one of them.

This May, you have an opportunity to shape the future of our country for the better. We’ve had 65 years of red team, blue team politics: the same parties taking turns and making the same mistakes, letting you down.
They have taught people to expect little from politics, and get less.

It is time for something different. It is time for something better.

Doesn’t it make you angry that after 65 years of red-blue government, a child’s chances in life are still more determined by their parents’ bank balance than by their own hopes and dreams? Doesn’t it make you angry that the banks have been allowed to ride roughshod over our economy, and are still handing out bonuses by the bucketload? That politics is still the plaything of wealthy donors and corrupt MPs? That despite endless warm words from politicians, our climate is in danger? That the poorest are the ones who pay the biggest chunk of their income in tax?

Liberal Democrats believe that the way things are is not the way they have to be. We think that you should fight for what you believe in, and fight for change. So our message for you in this election is simple.

Don’t settle for low politics and broken promises: be more demanding. Set your sights on the Britain – and the Scotland – you want for your children and your grandchildren, and use your vote to make it happen. 

Only the Liberal Democrats have the big ideas for fundamental, structural changes in the way our country works to make it fair.

Only the Liberal Democrats will shake up the tax system to put £700 back in the pockets of tens of millions of low and middle income families, paid for by ensuring the wealthy pay their fair share.

Only the Liberal Democrats will break up the banks and start Britain building things again to create a sustainable economy.

Only the Liberal Democrats will give schools the investment they need to give every child, no matter their background, a fair start in life.

A strong vote for the Liberal Democrats means the end of red-blue, blue-red politics. It means the end of the stitch-up between the two old parties. It means the opening up of our rotten political system. It means the beginning of real change that works for you.

So don't hope for the best: vote for the best Choose the Liberal Democrats.

Download the manifesto.

Annabel Goldie in wee Borders rant (getting it all wrong)

So, despite knowing that there were no flights David Cameron missed the Scottish Conservative manifesto launch (I say Conservative as there is only one Westminster seat they hold up here in Scotland) in Melrose, a beatiful town in the Liberal Democrat constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk.

There are trains "Dave".  But "Dave" was in fact still in London.

Anyway, Annabel fell into a trap yesterday, and spent around five minutes of her speech ranting and attacking the Liberal Democrats (you know you have them rattled once they start attacking you) with a mild dose of hypocrisy and nonsense.

Perhaps a change by the Conservatives following Nick Cleggs performance on the Leaders debate and recent polling.

"If you vote Liberal Democrat, then you will get Labour." said Annabel.

Nonsense.

If on May 6th you vote Liberal Democrat Annabel, then Michael Moore will be re-elected as the hard working MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk.

Annabel and call me "Dave" Cameron insult the voters intelligence when they peddle this stupid line.

She then said to John Lamont MSP - "John, you have won this seat once now go and win it again."

Nonsense.

John Lamont MSP won the seat of Roxburgh & Berwickshire - which as any person in the Scottish Borders will tell you, is entirely different to Michael Moore's seat.

Ironically, Annabel then went on to talk about the thousands of people who have lost their jobs in the recession, BUT failed to justify why John Lamont MSP is then seeking a second job and will NOT stand down for twelve monthsafterwards as the MSP.

Two jobs John and Annabel?

When thousands of people have lost their only job? 

Hypocrites.

David Cameron claims he wants to clean up politics and yet two of his MSPs (obviously already bored of their jobsas MSPs) are seeking a second job and have no intention to stand down immediately but will try and do the two jobs part-time for at least one year.

John Lamont is clearly an embarrassment to both of his leaders, Annabel Goldie and David Cameron as they are both on the record now accepting the Kelly report in full - will either of them be telling John Lamont to drop one or other, or have they changed their minds?

In fact the Kelly report states that this practice of sitting in two legislatures should end before the 2011 elections so in fact John Lamont should decide to either (a) quit as an MSP now and fight the general election or (b) quit as a candidate now and focus on what he was elected to do which was a be a full time MSP.

Annabel Goldie has constantly hassled Alex Salmond about this dual mandate issue for a while but is now on the back foot and looking rather stupid because of both John Lamont and Alex Johnstone (another Tory MSP who wants two jobs).

The only people that lose out with these "Tory two job types" are the voters who deserve a full time MP and a full time MSP - not a part time one trying to do both jobs.
 
Annabel Goldie also defended rates relief for businesses yesterday, great I hear you all cry, then why did John Lamont, Annabel Goldie and the other Conservatives in Holyrood vote against the rates relief package just last week that would have save hundreds of businesses in the Scottish Borders thousands of pounds?
 
Yet another case of don't do what I do, just do what I say from Annabel Goldie and the Scottish Conservatives.
 
Annabel went into rant and attack mode against the Liberal Democrats yesterday saying we cosy up to Labour.
 
So, Annabel Goldie I ask you this why, have you spent the last three years as Alex Salmond's Holyrood bedfellows?  You support them in so many votes instead of standing up for the Scottish people it is nothing more than shameful.
 
The Scottish Conservatives are just propping up the SNP minority Government in Holyrood, nothing more and nothing less.
 
If people want change then it is time for Nick Clegg and the Scottish Liberal Democrats - already the second party in Scotland in votes and MPs (more MPs than the SNP and Conservatives combined).
 
It is the Liberal Democrats that challenged the Labour Government and Conservatives over the Iraq war.
 
It is Nick Clegg who led the campaign to clean up politics and put forward proposals to Parliament - voted down by Labour and the Conservatives.
 
It is Nick Clegg who first demanded the right to sack your MP for the voters - voted down by Labour and Conservatives.
 
Whose Party are the hypocrites Annabel?

Lib Dems second in YouGov poll, Labour third

Putting aside the euphoria of the aftermath of the first of the Leaders (wanting to be Prime Minister) TV debates, it appears the good news keeps on coming. Below are the latest results of the YouGov polling;

Conservative: 33%
Liberal Democrat: 30%
Labour: 28%
Others: 9%
Fieldwork: 15-16 April.

This is week one of the campaign so we do need to keep things in perspective.
 
However, this is great news and shows what we in the Party are always saying, when we get our fair share of the media, and can put our Leaders out there in the public viewing area, they like what they see and are persuaded to vote Liberal Democrats.
 
What Nick Clegg, Vince Cable and the Liberal Democrats are proving is that we have the policies and manifesto to stand up for the UK and the people; we have the team to do so and now the public are believing us.
 
When your postal ballot arrives, or the polling stations open on May 6th, remember what you saw and heard over the weeks preceding it, and make that change, a positive change and vote for the Liberal Democrats.
 
The other parties are running scared and just attack the Liberal Democrats for the sake of it, this is the time to see through that blue/red mist and vote for real change.
 
The Labour and Conservative Parties have governed the UK for 65 years between them - it's time for change.  Change that worls for you.  VOTE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS.

The Leaders (for Prime Minister) debate

I sort of had an evening off from the General Election campaign last night, to watch the Leaders (for Prime Minister) debate on ITV.

The reason I quantify the Leaders debate with the (for Prime Ministers) part is because of the lack of SNP and Plaid (who appear to be acting as one one anyway) in these debates, but very simply wee Edinbugh 'Eck (Alex Salmond - for my English and Welsh chums) is not standing for this election, cannot therefore be Prime Minister so who should he be on?

Anyway, I was extremely impressed with Nick - as I've said before, I didn't vote for him in the Lib Dem Leadership race, I was firmly in the Huhne camp - last night, he carried himself well, his body language was always open and honest and he was just generally what you would expect from the Prime Minister of the UK.

To hear the panel from Bolton praise Nick at the end was fantastic.

The ITV viewers poll of 4,000 correctly weighted come out 43% for Nick Clegg, 26% for David Cameron and 20% for Gordon Brown shows this election is NOT a two horse race for Number 10 Downing Street.

However, the race for Number 10 is not what people vote on.  People vote to elect an MP who will stand up for them in Westminster.

Across Scotland it was the Liberal Democrats who were second to Labour not just in number of MPs but also in the share of the vote.

So, if you are seriously thinking of voting Liberal Democrat on May 6th, just do it and here are some poll figures from last night for you to show you, you are not alone;

COMRES ITV (4000 voters) - Most authoritative
Nick Clegg 43%
David Cameron 26%
Gordon Brown 20%

COMRES ITV (4000 voters) - Best on immigration
David Cameron 37%
Nick Clegg 35%
Gordon Brown 20%

COMRES ITV (4000 voters) - Best to deal with Public Service cuts
Nick Clegg 36%
David Cameron 36%
Gordon Brown 20%

YOUGOV for The Sun
Nick Clegg 51%
David Cameron 29%
Gordon Brown 19%

Angus Reid
Nick Clegg 44%
David Cameron 22%
Gordon Brown 20%

After watching the debate, would you say you are more likely, just as likely, or less likely to vote for the Liberal Democrats in the General Election?
MORE LIKELY 42%, JUST AS LIKELY 32%, LESS LIKELY 19%

The human side of the general election campaign

Voters generally see the politicians on TV, on their doorstep or at local hustings and events.  However there is another side of the election campaign that voters don't see, that's the huge amount of work done by our staff and volunteers across the UK.

My sincere thanks to all you do to my team in Scotland - they are the very best!

Take my last twelve hours as the (Federal Deputy) Director of Campaigns in Scotland:

8th April 4pm - 4.30pm - conference call with senior staff in London and Scotland then checking artwork and emails.

4.35pm - telephone call with Scottish Party Convenor

4.50pm - catch up with Scottish Party Chief Executive before he heads off

5pm - one member of the Scottish HQ staff went out on a chocolate run

5.10pm - chocolate safely back in the HQ, unwrapped and devoured

5.11pm - back on the phone and replying to emails from candidates, colleagues and staff

6.15pm - telephone catch up with one of our key seat organisers (great team in Scotland, talented, experienced and very motivated).

6.30pm - telephone catch up with colleague in London on leaflet artwork

6.45pm - conference call with departmental colleagues around the UK

7.15pm - back to plans and details for tomorrows campaign launch with Nick Clegg, Tavish Scott and Charles Kennedy in Glasgow

9pm - finally leaving the office after arriving there at 8am

9.10pm - quick call home to say I am on the way

9.15pm - telephone call with key seat staff member

9.27pm - on the 16 bus heading home

10pm - dinner - chicken, pasta, olives, mushrooms, cherry tomoatoes in green pesto

10.15pm - fuss with Zennor and catch up with Roger

10.50pm - bed

4.02am - alarm goes off - new day off we go again

That is a fairly typical snapshot of what I will be spending my hours doing over the coming weeks, for obvious reasons I cannot go into great detail - too many of the opposition, including John Prescott read this blog!

No, my salary isn't as high as my counterparts in Labour or the Conservatives, in fact it is around half - so why do I do it I hear you scream - why, because I love my job and I love being a Liberal Democrat and campaigning for Liberal Democratic values.

If you believe in it, then join or volunteer and make a difference, you put in the time you can afford, but the rewards are truly amazing.

LGBT voters switch from Cameron's Conservatives to Clegg's Liberal Democrats

Finally, the LGBT voters of Britain, well the ones that read Pink News anyway are starting to see that perhaps the Conservatives and David Cameron are not quite what they thought they were.

The recent Pink News poll shows that David Cameron's recent Gay Times interview and Chris Graylings comments about bed & breakfast owners having the right to turn away gay customers are having an effect on the views of LGBT voters.

The Conservative record on supporting gay rights is nothing short of shameful. David Cameron cannot pretend a quick apology for Section 28 will make up for the entrenched and often bigoted views of his hand-picked frontbench colleagues in the House of Commons.

David Cameron and the Conservatives like to pretend that they have changed but they remain the same old Tories.

The Liberal Democrats are now the most popular political party among the LGBT community.
Last month, 25% of the LGBT community said that they would vote Conservative at the upcoming general election, 25% said they'd back the Liberal Democrats and 28% said they'd vote Labour.

However, this month, just a day before a general election is expected to be called, counting only the votes of those that had taken part in the March poll, 20% of the LGBT community have said that they will back the Conservatives, a fall of 5%. Support for Labour remains unchanged at 28%, while support for the Liberal Democrats has increased by 5% to 29%.

The Conservatives still remain the most popular party among those aged 23 and under, but at 35% this month, this is 5% down on our poll a month ago. 32% of those too young to vote at the last election said they would vote Liberal Democrat and just 13% said they'd vote Labour.

Labour's record over the last thirteen years has not convinced that particular group.

PinkNews.co.uk found that 30% of LGBT people felt less favourably of Mr Cameron following an interview broadcast on Channel 4 News, where Mr Cameron was unable to answer questions about votes in the European parliament and the decision to give MPs and peers a free vote issues relating to gay rights.

Last month, 25% of Pink News readers said they'd like to see David Cameron become Prime Minister, ahead of Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg. This month, just 20% of our readers backed David Cameron, 29% backed Gordon Brown and 28% backed Nick Clegg. An increase of 5% for both Gordon Brown and Nick Clegg.

57% of respondents said that the economy is the most important policy issue they will consider when casting their vote, 16% LGBT rights, 9% healthcare, 6% education, 5% foreign policy, 4% immigration and 2% crime.

The PinkNews.co.uk poll had already begun prior to The Observers story of comments by the Conservative MP Chris Grayling where he backed the rights of bed and breakfast owners to ban gay couples.

But the swing from Conservative to Liberal Democrat did increase markedly in the early hours of Sunday.

The voting records of current Conservative MPs who are standing in the coming general election show that:

• One in six, voted in favour of Section 28 in 1988. A sixth voted against its repeal in 2003 including David Cameron and a third of the Shadow Cabinet
• One in ten voted against dropping the age of consent for gay men from 21 to 18 in 1994
• Almost one in five, voted against the Sexual Offences Amendment Bill in 1999 which aimed to reduce the age at which anal sex was legal from 18 to 16
• One in three voted to allow only heterosexual, married couples to adopt in 2002 including seven members of the Shadow Cabinet
• One in three voted against the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations in March 2007 which allows the Secretary of State to make regulations defining discrimination and harassment on grounds of sexual orientation. This included thirty-three, or a third of frontbenchers and four of the Shadow Cabinet
• The Conservative Party opposed The Equality Bill 2008-09. Nineteen members of the Shadow Cabinet joined attempts to block the bill which will introduce a single 'public duty' requiring all publicly-funded bodies to pro-actively promote equality across the board and remove barriers to fair service provision

More stories you can read about the Conservatives and their LGBT record, or lack of it;

Tory LGB group in turmoil over Cameron's catastrophic gay times interview
Cameron crashes as Popplewell asks about Conservative Gay Rights record
Cameron slips up on gay equality - Channel 4 News
Cameron's Conservatives tells Republicans in USA to embrace gay rights
Gay friendly Tories are just wolves in sheep's clothing

Conservatives jump on yet another Lib Dem bandwagon

Over on ConservativeHome Richard Benyon MP is very proud he raised the issue of troops serving abroad not being able to vote in the forthcoming general election.

A really important issue Mr Benyon, I completely agree, as did Willie Rennie MP and Michael Moore MP back in February, good to see you copying the Liberal Democrats lead on this issue.

Once again though, it is not the Conservatives leading the opposition, it is in fact Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats team who are one step ahead and staying ahead and the Conservatives just jump onto the bandwagon.

Changes to voting rules which would help ensure servicemen and women operating abroad have the opportunity to vote in the forthcoming General Election are required urgently.


The current regulations mean that there are only 11 days in which postal ballots can be printed, dispatched and returned to be included in constituency counts. The Lib Dems are concerned that this could leave thousands of people serving in the armed forces overseas unable to register their vote. Those missing out could include men and women who are currently on operations in Afghanistan.

Senior Conservative MEP defects to the Liberal Democrats

The former leader of the Conservative MEPs and the longest serving Conservative MEP who also stood against Tory-backed Michal Kaminski has announced his defection to the Liberal Democrats at the Party’s Spring Conference in Birmingham.

Edward McMillan-Scott, the Conservative’s most senior MEP, has today joined the Liberal Democrats.

Edward is the Vice-President of the European Parliament with responsibility for human rights and democracy, was welcomed to the Liberal Democrats today by Leader Nick Clegg.

Edward McMillan-Scott, MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire said: “I have been around the higher circles of the Conservative Party for long enough to fear that on Europe Cameron says one thing in opposition and will do another in Government.

“I have long fought against totalitarianism and the extremism and religious persecution it brings. It was wrong of Cameron to associate with MEPs who have extremist pasts in his new European alliance.

“My reasons for joining the Liberal Democrats are that in Nick Clegg they have a leader whom I like, admire and respect. They are internationalists, not nationalists. They are committed to politics based the values of fairness and change.

“From being a liberal Conservative I become a conservative Liberal. Most of my family are liberals: I am pleased to join the Liberal family.”

Nick Clegg said: “I am delighted to welcome Edward McMillan-Scott to the Liberal Democrats.

“For many years he has fought for human rights and democracy world wide and he is rightly a respected politician across Europe.

“As someone of principle he has refused to cosy up to right wing extremists, despite pressure from the Tory machine.

“This flies in the face of David Cameron’s claims of change. It shows that people of principle, who believe in fairness and want real change for Britain are at home in the Liberal Democrats.”

The now Liberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber clashed with David Cameron last year over the Conservative leader's decision to remove his MEPs from the centre-right European People's party and set up a new group, European Conservatives and Reformists, with controversial allies from eastern Europe.

McMillan-Scott successfully stood against Michał Kamiński, the Polish MEP chosen to lead the new group, for the post of vice-president of the European parliament, and as a result he had the Tory whip removed.

From The Guardian;

Visiting Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street today, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said he "regretted" Cameron's decision to pull the Tories out of the European People's party.

Perth - the future is bright

I haven't been tweeting or blogging much from the Scottish Liberal Democrats conference in Perth because it's been both a busy conference for me, 12 hours in a basement meeting room, The Old Library meeting MPs and candidates and their campaign teams and the fact that the mobile phone reception is so awful, not just in the Library but generally around the conference centre and the Royal George Hotel.

A great day on Friday with a great speech from Nick Clegg and a fantastic photo session with a stack of our candidates signing the NUS pledge on tuition fees.

Yesterday saw a fantastic speech from Leader Tavish Scott and a great election presentation by Alistair Carmichael MP where apparently even I got a mention and a round of applause - many thanks AC and the people in the audience, much appreciated.

Well, today is another busy morning and still great debates and speeches but I have more meetings to do so doubt I will make the hall, but you never know, I might even get to visit the exhibition!

There is a great buzz here, much better than last year, and as you know we went on and won the MEP seat when pundits and journalists were writing is off, well let's see where we go from here this weekend.

We are in second place to Labour here in Scotland, with Cameron's Conservatives only having a solitary MP in Scotland, and he is under threat from a Lib Dem surge and the SNP being irrelevant in Westminster elections polling day, whenever it may be will be an interesting election.

How many MPs will we have after polling day? I am very confident we will have more than we do now, I know that because voters are switching to us all across Scotland, getting fed up of the UK red/blue swingometer and it is Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats offering an alternative choice for people.

Let us see, but we will go from Perth with a spring in our step and fired up to campaign, campaign, campaign.