Lib Dems You Like

The Lib Dems I like section on my links is a little thin. Witty and intelligent, Chris Black has a cool blog and has been an excellent contributor to this site. Jock Coats in spite our differences (he makes me look like Mussolini in the libertarian stakes) is a true thinker and has been of genuine support especially in the area of Land value tax, which I support.

But my recent sojourns into the world of Lib-Dem blogs have been less edifying - in fact I can't be bothered any more. So I want to hear of other Lib Dems I might like. Please give a reason. I promise to peruse the recommendations and the best suggestion will definitely get a link (wow the baubles are so enticing). I hope nobody finds this find-a-decent-dem-blog search irritating. If so, just send me links to some terrible ones. I'm going to leave this open until Saturday morning.

The Diary Of Sion Simon Aged 37 and 3/4

Less than a year ago Sion Simon MP for Birmingham Erdington wrote the following piece in the Guardian admonishing fellow Lefties for trying to get rid of Blair. Quote "...the sentiment is dysfunctional, illogical; frankly, it's disgraceful. So look into your heart, Lefty, and ask yourself: "Why do I hate Tony Blair?"

Of course, less than 10 months later he is signing a letter calling for Blair to resign.

Now he has put out an astonishingly ill-judged MyTube video with a sort of homeboy attack on Cameron. Hasn't he heard of the words "retake"?

Rather than crawling under a rock, here he is losing it on Sky. Reminded me of Kevin out of Harry Enfield or Sebastian out of Little Britain. Hat tip to Guido.

In Birimingham there are 44 Labour, 41 Conservatives and 33 Liberal councillors but the Parliamentary representation is 9 - 1 - 1 (yes, it is an emergency). This can't be because of the quality of the Labour MPs. We desperately need to ensure that Sion Simon remains active in the media. I want to see Edgbaston, Northfield and at least one other turn blue next time. Why not Erdington? Sion doesn't deserve to be called the Right Honourable member for anywhere.

The Second Tranche Of EU migrants

From Eastern Slovakia the first tranche of EU migrants after May 2004 were mainly male breadwinners and worked in labouring and construction. A significant number of (generally younger) single females also moved to work as aupairs or in the caring professions, but often ended up branching into retail/hospitality etc.

Thinking to the village in Slovakia that I know best, maybe half the working age population has worked or is working in Britain or Ireland. We've gone past the early adopters. Even a young mother has left for a short spell to work at the same place as her Slovak boyfriend in rural England. She will almost earn the same in a month in the UK as she would in a year in her previous job at Tesco's in Eastern Slovakia. With permission, here follows an annotated translation of a letter detailing a new migrant's first impressions after less than a week in the UK.

Hi, we are fine. On Thursday and Friday, we experienced English rain for the first time. I work with my boyfriend’s mum and we talk more than we work. Today we went to the sea (I’ll tell you the exact name later because I can’t remember), but I liked it very much and I liked the playgrounds (Note 1). We made a boat out of paper and set it out to sea.

Yesterday, went to the church but it was locked (Note 2). Next time we will try to go at a different time. I’m thinking that I will go back to Slovakia and bring children back, but I’m not sure how it will work. Tell Praguetory that I really like their red brick houses (Note 3).

We work eight hours a day in a vineyard, but we get Sundays off. But next week will be hell and it will be very busy – we won’t have Sunday off probably (Note 4). If you go home, look after my angels. I miss them very much. I learn English with a speed you can’t imagine. The other day an old woman stopped me on the street and I could understand what she was saying. There are very friendly people here (Note 5). The village is small, but very green, just like where we live. When you get home, tell the family not to worry about me. Take care. Sending kisses to everyone and let me know when you get home.

Note 1 - She has kids aged 4 and 5, so she thinks about these things.
Note 2 - In Eastern Slovakia churches are always open.
Note 3 - A lot of Eastern Europeans are fascinated by our style of homes.
Note 4 - European Hours Directive? Only joking
Note 5 - You hear a lot of self-flagellation about how terrible we are. Most of the Eastern Europeans I know are very positive about most English people they meet.

Welcome To Istanbultory

I note the arrival of a keen Conservative going by the name of Istanbultory, who as you may have guessed is a Tory based in Turkey. As I don't know how long I'll be in Prague for, seeing this name snapped up filled me with a very mild panic. When I move on from Prague, I'd like to keep a somewhat memorable handle and hopefully one with a link to my current name. I was thinking of Transitory if I was of no fixed abode. Paristory sounds OK but I might need to change the brand if I move to the Slovak capital of Bratislava (try it). Maybe I'd go for perfunctory.

1. Done merely to carry out a duty; performed mechanically or routinely.
2. Lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; indifferent.

What would you choose if you decided to use the "tory" brand?

Update

Istanbultory has started a blog. First impressions are highly favourable. Go here to check it out.

Politically Correct Election Report

I previously blogged about attending a Conference Fringe event on how to get an electoral swing.

In the aftermath of the 2005 election, the Conservative Party commissioned a report to uncover the key factors in getting an electoral swing. The report quantified the electoral impact of when you were selected (earlier the better), whether the PPC has fought in that seat before (yes that's a positive), the candidate's focus on local issues, the seat's distance from London (in 2005 the bigger swings happened in the South-East), voter targetting strategy etc etc etc. The Fringe event was illuminating and the insights shared in the room should help the PPCs in attendance.

On reflection, the report ignored some very significant but politically incorrect questions.

After all, the Conservative Party under Cameron is doing everything short of quotas to ensure that the "party reflects the country at large". In practice that means you are 4 times more likely to get on the A list if you're a woman than a man and that we are taking special steps to find a spot for characters such as Rehman Chisti (I think I'm on fairly safe ground to say he wouldn't have made the list if he were white). Also, whatever the rights and wrongs of the Local Association's actions, openly gay candidate Ashley Crossley managed to take the Tories from 2nd to 3rd in Falmouth & Cambourne whilst Julia Goldsworthy leapfrogged Labour and us to take the Libs from 3rd to 1st - and Iain Dale didn't do any better in North Norfolk.

Maybe my instinct is wrong or I am ignoring some resounding successes by identifiable minorities. If so, tell me, but a report into what candidates were successful should at least consider the factors that are then given preferential treatment, shouldn't it? Personally, I don't think that the "A-List" issue will be a dealbreaker, but for this Tory winning the next election is more important than hitting diversity targets. Should we fall just short at the next election and we have a few high-profile A-list failures I won't be the only person unforgiving of our leadership's failure to run a meritocracy.

2016 Olympics

Pavel Bem, the ODS mayor of Prague has suggested that a national referendum should be held in the Spring to decide whether Prague competes for the 2016 Olympics. Realistically a Prague 2016 bid would be a test run for a serious attempt in 2020 or beyond and I realise that the Olympics in Prague would be a much bigger commitment relative to the country's economy, but I do think it's nice to ask the people about prestige projects such as this. We could have done with such consultation in the UK re 2012.

Historically, the cities that benefit most economically from staging an Olympics are ones that need to be put on the map - e.g. Barcelona, Sydney and Atlanta. The main contenders for 2012 - Paris, New York and London are not such cities. I think the British public should have been consulted about this diversion of resources and I don't think we will win economically from this project. On the other hand, I think that Prague has much to gain by staging an event such as this especially if out-of-town locations are well used.

Terrible News

Paul Hunter has succumbed to the cancer he has been fighting for some time. Not just Leeds and the snooker world will be in mourning today. Paul Hunter was an incredible individual. Positive and courageous, please join me in extending my sympathy to his young family. RIP.

Czech English Words No 1 - Tunnelling

I thought I would run a little series with more of a local feel.

Words can be powerful. This may surprise some people, but there are English words that are used in the Czech Republic, but very little elsewhere. The first in this series is the word tunnelling. Wiki-ed here. My understanding of it is the stripping out of company assets by company managers for personal gain. The word tunnelling refers to the situation where on the outside all appears fine, but when you dig deeper you realise that there is nothing there.

The term has encouraged an assumption of corruption when overseas investors look at company accounts in these markets and I think the crystallisation of this word says a lot about post-Soviet times. On the other hand the use of this word has served as an excellent shorthand in the fight against corporate malpractice.

Spin Alert No 5435803

In most countries the following words from a top judge would result in drastic remedial action. In the UK, it's all part of managing a crisis. Whereas your average citizen is thinking why aren't more criminals apprehended and put in jail, a top Labour supporter (who happens to be a judge) questions why certain inmates are in jail. Isn't it incredible that this announcement coincides with emergency measures to reduce prison overcrowding?

Two important extracts struck me from this understated BBC article

1. A risk of more drug abuse and absconds had been "accepted as inevitable" by Mr Reid.
2. Emergency measures to reduce prison overcrowding will not expose the public to more dangerous criminals, Attorney General Lord Goldsmith has promised.

Explain to me how having more drug addicts in the prison system and more "unauthorised absences" cannot expose the public to more dangerous criminals. This isn't an overnight crisis. We've been "approaching" the 80,000 system full figure for what seems like an age. Bearing in mind that we are talking to abolitionists, allow me to turn up the volume - BUILD MORE PRISONS.

Expats Voting - The Top 1%?

As an expat, to be entitled to vote in the UK, you must have been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years. I lived out of the UK between 2001 and 2003, but because I returned to the UK in 2003 my electoral clock was reset. I returned to Prague in August this year and so if I remain out of the UK I won’t lose my right to vote until August 2021. Although nobody can be sure of the numbers, it is estimated that there are at least 2.5million UK citizens living overseas who are entitled to vote. I am likely to return to the UK in the future, but even those who have no plans to return are likely to be affected by legislation especially in relation to UK foreign policy, taxation of UK assets and pension and other entitlements and do deserve to retain their electoral stake in society.

It is shocking that of this overseas population, just 17,500 (!) - less than 1% are registered to vote. When the Electoral Commission records turnout, it is based on registered voters not registrable voters. As they are a state body, I imagine it is probable that they are probably focused on turnout percentages, not registration numbers. The suspicion that they are uninterested in overseas voters is confirmed by the fact that in 2005 they spent just £9,000 on targeting the expat vote (and £705,000 on advertising focused on 18 to 24 year olds). The Conservative Party has undertaken initiatives to try to get overseas voters signed up - I understand that when they took an advertisement out in the overseas edition of the Daily Telegraph, they were overwhelmed with responses. This reveals a large appetite amongst overseas voters to remain involved. Private sector organisations based overseas are reluctant to be seen to be meddling in the democratic process. What is less understandable is the lack of interest from the MoD and the Foreign Office to assist their employees who are based overseas with exercising their democratic rights.