Spare Bed at Harrogate............

...............women only need apply! Sorry, I do hate to be sexist about this, but I do have to draw the line somewhere. So, being as a pal I thought was coming with me has decided to leave it until Autumn conference - I do have space for anyone, of the female variety, who has left it too late to get a room. I am staying in a very nice little guest house dead opposite the conference centre, so very convenient. It also means I now have space in my car, so anyone needing a lift en route from Bedford let me know, although I may not come back on Sunday. Also I liked Tom Papworth's suggestion of meeting at conference...........fantastic idea.

Newsnight on the Unrecognised Villages of the Negev

Being a complete email/blog junky, marooned as I am in a fabulous hotel in Belfast.....with no internet access, I have had to swallow my pride and filch a laptop from a random guy who unfortunately found himself sat in the hotel bar. So, have caught up on emails one of which from a friend who runs the Regional Council for the Unrecognised Villages in the Negev let me know about this Newsnight feature.

Normal service will resume tomorrow........hope someone has wi-fi at conference or I will seriously be suffering from withdrawal symptoms!

Political.............Moi????!

My evening started at an IPPR event where our Nick Clegg delivered an excellent speech on Justice and Liberty. I took a pic and if anyone can remind me how to get it from my camera onto a card I will post it. More about his speech later as I am far too tired to decipher my notes at this time of night and I still have to pack for a jaunt over to Northern Ireland tomorrow..........oh this jetset life!!!

I got back to Bedford in time to catch the end of a meeting about young people's services held at our local Fire Service HQ. I came in as a representative from the Youth Service was speaking. Now, for many years I had to kind of bite my tongue as a Youth Worker/Manager in Bedfordshire. It didn't go down too well that I was a Lib Dem councillor when I had a Tory employer. So who can blame me if I took the opportunity to vent my spleen............? The chair, Cllr Margaret Davey, erstwhile Tory but now leading light in our mayor's Better Bedford Party, took exception. She accused me of being too political for having a pop at the Tories (who frankly decimated the Youth Service) and Labour (who talk the talk but have never ever walked the walk). OK......point taken. If you are a local politician...........you really should never ever be political. Good job I am on the way out on May 3rd!

Trident......have our MP's been gagged?

Well, by this time next week t'will be all over bar the shouting. But I am still astounded that despite Colin Ross having written to all our parliamentarians regarding their position on Trident, he has had only two sign his petition, MSPs Mike Rumbles (former Army Major) and Mike Pringle and no others come out against replacement. So, for me, it begs the question? Maybe I have missed it, but I haven't heard so much as a pipsqueak from anyone who does not take the Campbell/Harvey line. I am hoping we will hear more on Saturday - but I ain't holding my breath!

Those following the Campbell/Harvey line may well question my loyalty as an FPC member. Let me be clear, my first loyalty is to my fellow citizens, it is my loyalty to them which lead to me being part of a political party in the first place. My second loyalty is to my party, I am a proud member of the party because I am a Liberal Democrat. My third loyalty is to my leader/ship. Leaders come and go, the party, I trust will remain regardless of who has the privilege of leading it. The vote on Saturday as far as I am concerned will not be a test of the leadership, it will be a test of the party and whether as activists we care about maintaining our much cherished tradition of having ultimate responsibility for the policy of the party we all love and all have a stake in. The alternative is to follow the lead of both Labour and Conservative and abdicate that responsibility to the "great and good" in the parliamentary party, (shadow) cabinet, or in Labour's case, Blair and Murdoch.

Families............who'd 'av 'em!

I am just back from my Dad's 78th birthday lunch. Not everyone could make it, but it was very nice, even if we had to wait over an hour for our food! My Dad thought it was hilarious that he had spent most of the day believing it was his 77th birthday, I didn't think that was much of a problem, better 77 than 79! But, it hits home how that thief of time ultimately robs all of us of our health, our faculties et al.



My Dad has always been the cleverest man I know and to see him suffering the effects of ageing is quite painful. He had what the doctors think may have been a mini stroke in the summer and since then he hasn't ever been quite the same. He no longer reads (something he has always done veraciously, I have lost count for example how many times he has read Pepys and all Churchill's works), he has false memories, particularly of the time when he was in hospital in the summer when he is still convinced his food was served up in glass tubes and that his sister was writing to the hospital regularly to let them know what his heartbeat was! But the upside is, that, having been a manic depressive since I can remember, he now seems to be far more outgoing. Today he was talking about taking a trip out to Paddington (where he was born) and visiting all his old haunts, something he would never have done before. We were also discussing student debt and how abhorrent it was that students were having to pay for their education, he looked a little wistful, he was one of those working class lads who in his day made the grade to be able to go to university but whose family couldn't afford to send him.


During the meal the family were discussing my daughter Lara, how she is old beyond her years and everyone seems to look to her to resolve problems. My mum commented on how beautiful she was too. I agree, (of course I'm her mum) recounting the story of when she had visited my office just before Christmas and someone had commented on how lovely she was. I had retorted that no one ever says "she must get it from her mum!" To which my darling mum replied "Well you have other qualities dear." As I said.......families, who'd 'av 'em!

Why Simon Hughes is Right Again! Oh.......and Ming!!!

I was delighted to hear Simon Hughes on Week in Westminster this morning talking about tackling gun and gang culture. I can't tell you everything he said, because of the one thing he said about the importance of detached youth work. OK, so I am a bit of an evangelist for youth work, having spent most of my adult life in the youth service, including many years representing Youth Workers at a national level for Unison. But, for me, the reality is, that good youth work works. Whatever Mr Cameron wants, not all families will stay together and for some, with violent fathers, it is better that they don't. The important thing is that young people continue to have good role models and trusted adults they can relate to.

Last week I heard from a colleague who works for youth charity Fairbridge, that Billy Cox, the young man shot dead last week, had been working with Fairbridge to try and turn his life around. On Friday I went to Elephant and Castle to pick up the Trident T shirts I had ordered from the market stall Fairbridge had been running as part of their "Learn to Earn" programme. I was impressed by the young people running the stall and the youth worker working with them. As the pic shows, these are the people who have to be engaged if we are going to change anything. And youth work is proven to be one of the most successful ways to engage them. It is no good having high powered ministerial or "community leader" level meetings without recognising that those who have the real power and influence on the streets are the very young people our society often marginalises and demonises.

So, delighted to see that Ming has also picked up this issue. Let's put our money where our mouths are now and make a commitment to properly fund this Cinderella service. The benefits will not only be for our young people, but for our society as a whole.

Message from Nick Harvey

I am sure like many of you I just got an email from Nick Harvey about a web forum on Monday, I will be otherwise engaged but sounds like a great opportunity for all of us, which ever side of the fence we come from, even if we are sitting on that fence!

Trident.......Loos Rule and what really happened at FPC

I've decided to come up with my own rule in response to Chatham, whoever he is (and it must have been a he, lets face it!) My rule says, that we are all adults, despite, in my case I have to admit, the odd bit of evidence to the contrary. Also, those of us who are in the party, are, I trust, all Liberal Democrats. Now, how we interpret our Liberal Democraticness, may, it has to be said, on occasions, differ. But, in the midst of any differing, my rule says, lets not lose sight of what unites us, even though we may be in for a bumpy few days debating what divides us.

Alex Wilcock has suggested that those of us who were at FPC give our views about what happened. Well here goes. The first time we had a presentation about Trident and were warned not to speak to the press about it, I think may have been my first meeting. No proposal, just facts, were presented. Fine so far. We were invited to ask questions, but not to express opinions. In between times, Ming came out with what was to be the majority position from the working group. That was the first we knew of it. At the next meeting, at which Ming was not present, concerns were expressed about the process and it was agreed that a paper would come back to a future FPC for discussion (watch this space?!)

It was at the following meeting, when the majority and minority report were presented, that David Grace, as a member of the working group was present. At that meeting, still being a little green around the gills, or should that be behind the ears(??!!)...oh no that's wet........... I have to say I was struck by the pomposity of some contributors to the debate. Describing the majority motion as "responsible" immediately casts aspersions on the "irresponsible" minority motion. What frankly scared me rigid was the idea, expressed by some, that this was the compromise position.........time will tell, but I fear that those taking this view will sadly be proved totally wrong and misguided. For me it was the perching precariously on the fence position.

Following the meeting, one of my fellow FPCers, for whom I have a great deal of time, tried to explain to me the benefits of compromise. As someone who was used to having to negotiate and compromise he felt this was a noble endeavour. Actually, as someone who has negotiated and compromised at a national level on behalf of my trade union, I think I may have a little experience in this field too..........and my view is very clear. There are some things we can compromise on (let's say percentage pay increase this year) and there are some things we cannot compromise on (let's say..........reintroduction of the death penalty). For me and I am sure, many others, Trident is in the "I can't compromise" bracket. Now, my motivation for taking that position may be different from others and for those who take the "lets take a decision not to take a decision" view, they may be equally convinced that what they are doing is the right thing to do. But, they need to understand, for those of us for whom subscribing to a position which trumpets saving the planet whilst hanging on to the very thing that is designed to destroy it, there is no wriggle room whatsoever!

And so to the thorny business of Mr Chatham. As I have said before, no one should ever assume.........I asked the question about FPC precisely because I had never been given any terms of reference which spelt out the terms of engagement, I actually asked a parliamentary member of FPC who also wasn't clear. I know for a fact that David Grace respected the Chatham House Rule regarding the working party because he discussed it with me with regard to one of the senior witnesses. And that makes sense. We cannot ask people to come and speak frankly to working groups without a degree of anonymity. However, FPC is an elected body of our party - accountable to the members who put their trust in us to represent them. As I have made clear, I would not report what individuals had said (unless I had their permission), but without a clear statement to the contrary I can understand why David felt he was at liberty to do so.

So, please, can we move on? To those on FPC who were named I would say, yes, challenge David and or Liberator if you were misquoted, or believed you should not have been quoted at all, but please remember your first accountability is to the members who elected you. Did you really say anything you would be ashamed to say to them, or will not say if you speak in Harrogate? Yes, lets be clear about the terms of reference of FPC, but lets also not forget our alleged liberal principles............or am I being unreasonable?!

Well that's it then..........all over for "Cllr" Jack

I'm just back from my last ever Bedford Borough Council meeting. OK......so I'm not part of the furniture like one of my "independent" fellow councillors.........hanging on to get his 60, or is it 70 year award and who in a debate about diversity on our wonderful biannual River Festival commented that we only needed "a little bit" of diversity.......No, I am a spring chicken in comparison only having done 5 years.

It took me back to reminiscing about my first council meeting, the dreadful pic they took of me (sorry, how shallow I am!), that first year when we had 3 elections, a normal one, a referendum to see if we wanted a mayor, and a mayoral one. And now here we are again, once again determined to elect a Lib Dem mayor.

In those days, finding deference of any kind totally abhorrent, I squirmed every time anyone called me Councillor, no, I would say, my name's Linda. It reminded me of the many times in my youth work career where young people, used to calling adults miss or sir, would call me miss and I would be duty bound to correct them. The only exception, I have to confess, was the day I phoned up to speak to the Borough solicitor. I think it was something to do with the demonstrations I had been involved in organising in the run up to the Iraq war (a friend and I had gone out tying black bows to all the lampposts and trees in the town centre, only to have them taken down by the council as they were a safety hazard!) and whether or not constitutionally we could debate the issue at council. Well his secretary answered and was exceptionally rude, no doubt imagining me to be one of the rif raf. When I insisted on speaking to the said man and she asked who I was I had to answer, not Linda, but Councillor Weerasirie. I have never heard such a swift turn around in attitude in my life! No, deference, as far as I am concerned, is a threat to democracy!

So, no more leaving work early, worrying about whether there will have been a "passenger incident" on the Northern Line, or whether I will have got so totally absorbed in some intellectually stimulating article in London Lite that I end up in High Barnet, or whether Midland Mainline will have ground to a halt due to the wrong kind of leaves/snow/wind or maybe passengers from Bedford, whether I am going to disgrace myself again by accidentally getting on the train which doesn't stop until Market Harborough - heaven help us - thus meaning I don't arrive in time to nominate my fellow councillor as chair - no those days are gone.........now all I have to worry about is getting to FPC on time and ensuring I am fully versed in the vagaries of the Chatham House Rules........er sorry David, Rule!!!!

Midland Mainline.........Blackberries and Pancakes

Yesterday I got up very early (for me) because I had an early meeting at work and being an unreconstructed Mum, knowing I was unlikely to return home much before midnight, felt I ought to play my part in ensuring my son didn't eat junk food for the second night running...........So, before leaving to catch the 7.53 I prepared a curry sauce which my unreconstructed 18 year old had only to tip the prawns into and cook the rice to have a good healthy dinner.

On the platform I met someone, who, for obvious reasons will sadly remain nameless. He told me a sorry tale - he had inexplicably dropped his Blackberry in the loo...........now don't ask me what he was doing taking the Blackberry into the loo with him.........but he did, so let that be a lesson to us all. The Blackberry clearly has an inbuilt survival mechanism because as it hit the water it went into vibrating mode, spinning around the "bowl". This meant that my pal couldn't retrieve it for around 10 minutes......clearly his mother was slightly concerned about what on earth was going on up in the bathroom! Apparently when he reported the accident to his workplace, explaining he had "spilt coke" on it, they enquired, "what sort of coke?"............er........diet said he........

So, back to the curry sauce........and tho I say it myself my curry sauce is to die for....I arrived for the FPC meeting in the hallowed halls of Committee Room 18. You know that moment, that moment just before a meeting is about to start when an unearthly hush descends? Well, that happened just as I was in the middle of taking a call from my darling son telling me that Jez, who shares our house, had chucked the curry sauce away, thinking it was leftovers! WHAT?!!! Its OK, says he, I've ordered........ Much sympathy, but all I could think about was the fact that I could have had another 20 minutes in bed and my son was back on the Doner kebabs!

And so to the pancakes. Having arranged to meet Simon H after FPC he kindly treated me to supper, including pancakes (I didn't realise it was Shrove Tuesday), I convinced myself this was OK as tomorrow it would be Lent and I could return to my intermittent diet. But, quelle surprise! This evening, I arrive home at 10.30 to find my dear son has been cooking........pancakes! How could I resist?

FPC, Chatham House Rules and whether the Parliamentary Party are pulling a fast one on Trident.

Like Alex Wilcock I sat through the debate on Chatham House rules in FPC last night, caused by the naming of members in a recent article in Liberator. As a new kid on the block no one ever made it clear to me that we operated under the rules (which seem to be open to various interpretations anyway) and I only found out when I checked up. Whilst my elders and betters may think it is absolutely obvious that FPC operates in such a way, my personal view is that it is wrong to assume anything you haven't spelt out. As someone who was elected by members to represent them I believe my first responsibility is to them. Having also been subject to the Official Secrets Act I also object to unnecessary secrecy. However, I do see the point of not reporting who said what about what in order to allow members to vent their spleen with impunity.

What was of far more concern to me and others was the use of Cowley Street facilities for Tim Garden and Nick Harvey to send out focus style leaflets to party chairs. When I asked about this I was told it was paid for by the Parliamentary Party. However, their right to access the addresses of party chairs for this purpose has to be questionable. I am pleased that party President Simon Hughes will be investigating. Methinks the supporters of the motion are getting worried about losing. They should be.

Midland Mainline..........and the problem with "public" transport

Friday morning, having really had to drag myself out of bed, I arrived on the platform awaiting the 8.25 to be greeted by my old pal, Tory boy Cllr ......sorry Speaker, Andrew McConnell who persuaded me it was worth paying the outrageous £8 upgrade to travel with him in first class............now...........I have been known to fork out £4.50 on the way home (figuring that if I've had the kind of day where I want a glass of wine, a coffee, sparkly water and two snacks its pretty good value), but now that has risen to £8.......and in the morning........when all you get for your trouble is a coffee, orange juice and a biscuit?! But, my intelligence training got the better of me and I couldn't resist the opportunity to learn more about the Tory mayoral campaign......(!)

Andrew and I also debated the shortcomings of Midland Mainline, free coffee and tea yes, but consistently overcrowded trains at key moments in the day and especially when only half a train turns up. What is most galling it that if you dare to complain and admit you are from Bedford you are likely to get your head well and truly bitten off - after all it’s all our fault. Everyone on Midland Mainline it seems hates that fact that they get (according to them) 70% of their passengers from Bedford. We should consider ourselves extremely fortunate they even bother stopping to pick us up, especially as we have the slow, cold and dirty alternative of First Capital Connect! OK, so there we are, that's a good approach to have to promoting public transport for the sake of the planet! So maybe our experience is a metaphor for what is wrong with the whole privatisation of public services agenda. Choice is only choice when it is a real choice, there are some choices we are unable to make. I could of course choose to travel on Virgin, only problem is I don't want to have to drive to Milton Keynes to do so! I still really fail to see the point of privatising services which you then have to regulate and have little or no democratic control over. Creating false markets just doesn't make economic sense to me............Don't get me wrong. I'm no socialist; in local government we don't make our own paper, that would be foolish. But I worry about the continuing drive to "if it moves - privatise it". Where is the evidence that these false "choices" contribute to anything but the shareholders of the companies allegedly providing the services. I remember when British Gas was sold off my aunt writing in reply to the letter she got asking if she wanted to buy shares, I'm sorry said she, how can I buy something I already own? So rant over, will return to this topic.

On a lighter note our local party held a wine tasting session last night...........learned a lot about "legs" in wines, were they thunderthighs, Pippy Longstocking, or legless? My pals Yas and Jill and Yas's dad Chris, came too. When it came to the red wines Yas would have preferred something "richer and older"....oh, that was the men she was referring to!

We can cut.........gun crime?

There are days when I wonder if I can be more upset or feel more powerless..........today is such a day. The spate of killings in South London, the horror of 15 year olds with their whole lives ahead of them gunned down in their homes beggars belief. I have spent most of my adult life working with young people, I believe in them absolutely and will defend them against the nonsense of ASBOs, the idea that having a hoodie makes you a prospective criminal (as my pal Tom Wylie says - I blame the Franciscans!) and the notion that at 16 they are old enough to defend the country, pay taxes and marry but not old enough to vote - but I will not and cannot defend cold blooded killing.

As a Christian I believe life is a gift of God, a gift sometimes squandered but something of infinite worth which should be protected and respected. Somewhere something has happened to these young people to turn their values on their head. My first emotion when hearing news of the killing yesterday of Billy Cox was that of a mother. That could have been my son. The tragedy is that those who carried out the killing have mothers too, whose lives will also be shattered at losing their sons. What is happening in our society when young people feel they have a right to carry guns and take the lives of other human beings?

I believe in our policies, I believe they can begin to make a difference but there are two elephants in the room we must start to try to address. Firstly, to understand that politics has its limitations. We can try to influence behaviour and in Labour's case, even maybe to control behaviour, but ultimately there are some things we cannot do and certainly cannot claim to do. We need to begin to understand the motivation of those young people who end up entrapped in a world where the reality is that many of them are very scared. Many have grown up without positive role models, possibly within violent homes, they feel they have little control over their lives. Gangs and guns can give them that sense of control, however abhorrent. The only thing politics can do is provide the resources to reduce the risk factors, protect children and to offer alternatives, it can't ensure those alternatives are taken up. One of those alternatives is youth provision. I absolutely believe in the value of youth work. The tragedy is that youth services have been decimated .......in 1997 I, like many others, believed those cuts would end, but they didn't. Yes, the government has put in what is lovingly referred to as "funny money", but there has been very little in terms of sustainable development, youth clubs are still far more likely to close than to open.

We also need to address seriously the lack of resources available for other public services. Now, admittedly there would be a lot of efficiency savings if we weren't pouring so much money into the coffers of private contractors, in particular consultants, however, we have a deficit. We continually try to "make and mend". We are horrified that someone is burgled and the police advice is to "pop in in the morning"........this is not because our police officers are sitting around chatting sipping tea, it is because they have to prioritise, maybe the stabbing on the other side of town needs to take priority. We constantly criticise our social services, but how many departments ever have adequate resources to enable staff to do anything but firefight? And the iceberg which is the current state of our much valued NHS is likely to transmogrify into a timebomb. Even as Lib Dems we trumpet the fact that we have increased council tax by the absolute minimum, we frame our national policies within the current spending limits. Please, will someone get real? We have a choice, crap public services and low taxes, mediocre services and current taxes, or excellent public services, a better quality of life for all............and we may have to pay for it! Other countries, for example Finland, do pay higher taxes, but they get the services to go with them, my particular favourite - youth clubs in every district open 24/7! How I long for a day when our leaders will have the courage to be honest with the British people. If you want it, you will have to pay for it. All we promise is that we will be prudent and honest custodians of your hard earned cash.

And secondly.........maybe we need to take a long hard look at our education system. The metaphor I always use is this. We don't put lime loving plants into acid soil and then blame the plants if they don't thrive, but we are prepared to do that to our children! Yes, for most children school works, but for the few who are failed by the system, it doesn't. I can remember the despair of a mother who was being taken to court because of her daughter's truancy. She was putting her on the bus to school every morning, but she never arrived, she was so traumatised by school she was seriously self harming. In the end she deliberately got herself excluded. Sorry, what are we thinking of submitting some of our children to torture? And others, as I have witnessed, are constantly put down and criticised by the very people who are supposed to unlock their potential. Having trained as a teacher and having the notion of the danger of "self fulfilling prophecy" drummed into me........I sometimes wonder if for some teachers that has become a mantra.

We can't interfere in the lives of families, but we can and should do everything to ensure that child poverty is a thing of the past, that our children are properly protected and that our education system caters for the need of all our children.

NO NEW TRIDENT - T SHIRTS

I was going to get myself and Colin Ross T Shirts made with the No New Trident logo on for Conference. Today I heard that youth charity Fairbridge has a stall at Elephant and Castle market today and most of next week, making customised T Shirts for £5. I would especially like to support them, so if anyone else wants a T Shirt and can let me have size and colour I will get them for you if you promise to pay me at conference!

Not in Our Name - Trident Debate Hots Up

The Indy has today launched its Anti-Trident campaign Not in Our Name. To those who worry about us passing a unilateralist motion at conference I would say, don't worry, we will be catching the wave which is building and will soon reach a tipping point. Not in Our Name will be the mantra of the majority of British people, let's set the agenda not be moribund by it!

Abbas, Olmert and Rice...........whither the roadmap?

OK, so this is how I spend my Valentine's night........ just got this email, if you support the sentiments please sign the petition and pass on to others:


Dear friends,

It will soon be seven long and devastating years since the top Israeli, Palestinian, and international leaders sat down together to talk peace. But this week that tide could turn - on Monday, President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert will meet briefly with US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in Jerusalem.
We cannot afford to let Monday's summit lead nowhere. This may be our best chance in years at peace, but only if the players agree to meaningful negotiations. We have to show them the world is watching. Click below to sign our petition calling for full Middle East peace talks -- your message will be delivered to summit leaders and published in leading Israeli and Palestinian newspapers on Monday:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/real_middle_east_talks/av.php
Our ad will include the number of signatures and the number of countries from which they've come. The more signatures there are, the louder our voice will be. Can you sign, tell your friends and family, and help us get to 100,000 signatures from 150 countries by Monday? Our petition will also be delivered to the "Quartet" powers (the UN, US, European Union and Russia) meeting in another MidEast summit next Wednesday:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/real_middle_east_talks/av.php
It's time for the international community to step up on this issue. We can't afford another seven years of bloodshed and war in the Middle East. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict sits at the heart of regional instability, and tensions in the Middle East threaten our security around the world.
All the pieces for a renewed peace process are falling into place. The Palestinians have decided to share power, end internal conflict and restart peace talks; the vast majority of Israelis stand ready to support a viable accord. The international community must help cross the next hurdle by bringing all parties to the table.
Billions of us around the world want this conflict solved. That's just one of the things we have in common. Let's join across cultures and borders to call for real Middle East talks today. Add your voice and tell your friends – together we will make a difference.

Westminster Challenge - Support Nick Clegg and Jenny Willott

The Westminster Challenge is now well underway. Again the Lib Dems are disproportionately represented (2 out of 5 MPs) with Nick Clegg and Jenny Willott (and they always gave the impression of being so sensible!) I have to say I so admire them both, I have no doubt it will be an amazing experience, but enormously demanding, and I am quite sure my tongue would be permanently stuck to the side of the igloo by now!

Both Nick and Jenny are looking for sponsorship so if you haven't already sponsored them please do so and let other supporters know too, lets show that what we lack in numbers we make up for in generosity!

So watch this space for the exclusive Nick has promised me if he gets back alive.....

Valentines............Yellow Roses...........and fanciable MPs

I suppose the problem with Valentine's day without a "significant other" is that it's a bit like Christmas when you've stopped believing in Santa..........All around you are men and women of all shapes, sizes, demeanours, people you would never in your wildest dreams put in the same room as a red rose, protectively carrying their (increasingly) enormous and elaborate bouquets, scurrying purposefully to their darlings. One feels a little like a child, face pressed up against the window, watching the party without an invitation..........oh heavens, shall I go hang myself now?!

But, who am I complain? I did get a Valentine's text from someone who will never be my Valentine, and Martin. Martin is the most wonderful and adorable human being you will ever meet in your life...only one slight problem (for us girlies)....pardon the cliche, but he is gay. Yep, wasn't it ever thus?????????! Anyway, dear Martin made everyone's day, he arrived in the afternoon with a huge bunch of yellow roses which he presented to all us single women who were unlikely to get so much as a dandelion on this day of days. One young woman, who Martin suspected had a partner, tried to get a rose "I thought you had a boyfriend?" says M, "Yes" says A, "Well you can b***er off then!" says M! A goes and looks up the meaning of a yellow rose and informs us all it means jealousy.........but also friendship.....so that's OK then. And of course, now there is only one problem, the presence of a yellow rose on our desks............yeah.....

One person I didn't get a Valentine message from was our esteemed Speaker, Cllr Andrew McConnell. That's Cllr Andrew McConnell, renowned Toryboy and erstwhile dirty stop out! (sorry had to get that in).

So it was comforting to hear that one of our most fanciable MPs Lynne Featherstone also received no Valentines........and I am left wondering if their is something promising in the fact that proportionally we had 20% of the vote even if we only have less than 10% of the MPs and .000001% of the media coverage..........so, punching above our weight here methinks???

Now, having declined an invitation from Yas to go to a luvvy do in Hoxton, I returned home to find that my darling son had cooked...........for his girlfriend. But that was excuse enough to crack open the Moet Martin gave me for Christmas and tuck into the chocolate truffles.

PS: Sorry about the black (not my colour as I discovered on Saturday) but can anyone tell me why I can't change my font colour to brown anymore????!!!!

More on Ming's BME Reception.......reasons to be hopeful?

Yesterday I received a moving email in response to my blog about Ming's BME reception, it was from the person who was referred to in Tony Lindsay's article, the person who had been accused of "having a chip" on his shoulder. Here it is in full:

Hi Linda

Thanks for that!

I woke up this morning thinking of chucking it all in, but after reading your blog I feel a lot more positive. I am encouraged that I am not alone and there are other people of good will who are trying to change things.

Whilst I appreciate all the comments my initial question has triggered 'What is wrong with white men?', I would very much like to take some ownership and respond through your blog and hope you will consider posting my response on your blog site, as I am a little limited in the ITC area.

Firstly, as a committed Liberal Democrat, I believe that we share a common bond, regardless of our backgrounds or circumstances and there are more things that unite us than divide us and therefore working together we have more to achieve than we are likely to lose.

Secondly, I think racism must be seen as stemming from racist ideology, which operates simultaneously at the levels of our subconsciousness and consciousness.
Therefore, to challenge racism and racist thinking require the victims of racism and the racist to, use the metaphor of Tony, engage on a journey. Thirdly, this journey is about discovering about ourselves as much as discovering about each other, because unfortunately through the process of socialisation our preconceptions of each other and of the world in which we live have been distorted or manipulated by the oppressors.

Finally, it is only when we as Liberal Democrats are willing and able to engage on this journey of discovery will we have the moral, political, social and economic knowledge and understanding to address our co-habitation as citizens of this planet.

One love, one aim and one destiny.

Cllr. Desmond Clarke (North Bedfordshire Lib Dem)

In the Pink (or not) with Lembit and Steve Hitchins

I spent the weekend in Peterborough on a training weekend for women on the approved list, courtesy of the GBTF. It was an absolutely brilliant weekend, which I thoroughly enjoyed, only one slight incident marring the event, an incident I intend to return to later. All the women were amazing and it was a great privilege to be there. The highlight of the weekend had to be Lembit's "during dinner speech" combined with public speaking training for us MP wannabees. We were invited to ask questions which he refused to answer unless we did so with the correct degree of projection, animation and variation of tone..............hilarious as you might imagine! I have to say Lembit is certainly one of our great assets and it is absurd to suggest that publicity surrounding his private life has done the party any harm. He is someone ordinary people, who do not live their lives perched on tops of pedestals, can and do relate to. He is very clear he has done nothing wrong and frankly my view is that the party is being rather stuffy about him at the moment. I for one put our improvement in the polls down to our greater exposure thanks to him!

Sunday lunch was not quite so amusing. We were addressed by Steve Hitchins, a gentleman I have not had the opportunity to meet before. Steve spoke to us about the diversity fund and I took the opportunity to question him , of course I was not naive enough to expect him to agree that his appointment sent out the wrong message to BME and women members (ie only a white man is good enough to look after your interests), but I was quite shocked by his reply. He responded that he was the best person for the job, despite that assertion not having been tested in open competition, and that to have appointed a BME or woman candidate would have been merely "tokenism" . I have to say I found that deeply insulting, as I did being addressed as "luv", a clear attempt to put me down in front of others. His attitude also upset other women who were present, two of whom came up to me afterwards, gave me a hug and thanked me for speaking out.

Sadly this experience reinforced many of the concerns I have about tackling inequality in our party. On the weekend we were urged to "Walk the Talk"......it would be nice to think this principle applied across the board.

On a lighter, but sadder note.........I was devastated to discover, on "having my colours done" that I should not wear......you've guessed it......SHOCKING PINK! Was advised to get my hair cut too.......sometimes life is so hard :-(