As voters take to the polls in the Essex seaside town that is the possible birthplace of a new chapter in British 21st century politics, the result is a foregone conclusion. Douglas Carswell will remain MP for Clacton after tomorrow, swapping his blue rosette for a purple one. A few weeks ago, before the date […]
Archives for October 2014
The Lib Dems cannot pledge to hold In/Out EU referendum – or give one away lightly
Today, at 1 PM, in the Crown Plaza room Argyll 1, Iain Dale, Peter Kellner and Tim Farron will be giving their predictions for how the Lib Dems will do in the 2015 general election. I’m plugging this, not just because I’ve organised it, but because it sheds light on the fact that the party […]
Southern Heat
When I was twenty-two years of age, I was desperate to make my living playing music somehow. The only way to do that where I grew up, in the hinterlands of western Canada, was by playing country and western. So I auditioned for a group of five blonde girls who called themselves The Sisters who […]
From Glasgow: conference season so far – and what’s with the Tories and Human Rights anyhow?
Normally, as you all know, Lib Dem conference comes before Labour and Tory conferences. But this year, due to the timing of the Scottish independence referendum, Lib Dem conference, which kicked off yesterday, is the last one up. This means that for those of us who luckily (or unluckily, depending on your point of view) […]
The Lib Dems, ethnic voters, women MPs, and the diversity question
I have just been nominated Lib Dem blogger of the year, which I’m more chuffed about than I possibly should be. I’ve never really won anything, so the idea that I have a one in five chance of breaking that duck is somewhat cool to me right at this moment. Anyhow, the reason I’m telling […]
How Did Bruce Lee Die?
TODD: How did Bruce Lee die? I pause to take stock of this strange opening salvo. ME: He had some sort of brain haemorrhage. TODD: That’s what the “suits” want you to think. One of Todd’s great obsessions was the “suits”. Strangely, or perhaps this explains a lot, his father wore a suit to work […]
The Lone Satsuma
I’ve always hated New Year’s Eve. That’s not correct, actually; I’ve only truly hated the last evening of the year since 1990. That was the first in what was to become a long string of moribund nights out that I have had to endure come December 31st. On that occasion, shortly following my eighteenth birthday, […]