Doubts about Nick Clegg?

Chris Huhne does the right thing

I do seem to have problems being allowed to leave comments (HELP!) so I was unable to leave a comment on Clarence Wilcock where Jo had suggested that supporters must be able to express their views independent of the candidate and that the candidate was not responsible for what they said, but that is not the point. The point is that by publishing such opinion on an official website that implicitly gives support to that view (as demonstrated over the past few days).

So, credit where it is due, I am pleased to see that Chris Huhne has acted swiftly and trust learnt the lesson. It is in all our interests to have a robust hard fight in this campaign, but without resorting to the kind of lies peddled in Chris Clarke's endorsement.

Forget who is the most electable.......who is the most kissable?!

I was amused to discover that my daughter had been getting her friends on Facebook to vote on who of her friends were the most kissable........it turned out to be Dwayne, Nick (yes that one), Tom, and Carl. I have to admit to being a tad disappointed to be left off the list, but I have to content myself that the electorate were predominantly Lara's 20 something girlfriends!

Who is the true Anti-Establishment candidate?

In order to succeed post December 17th our new leader must be able to turn rhetoric into reality. So what will our "Anti-Establishment" leader look like, after all it's no good talking the talk if you can't walk the walk!



I am delighted that whoever wins both candidates have promised to take on that role - something new to inject a bit of fizz into our political scene - I love it! And it is a place the other two leaders can hardly ever seek to occupy - for the Conservatives (the clue is in the name) it is part of their reason d'etre. For an authoritarian so called 'Labour Party' any anti-establishment credentials they ever had evaporated a long time ago.



So both candidates have made a virtue of being anti-establishment - the question then has to be, who is best placed to hit the mark? Who will command the attention necessary if we as a party are to be heard when challenging.the "Establishment".



Clearly in my mind there is only one candidate - Nick Clegg. Now of course I am supporting him, but frankly, along with his undoubted liberal credentials - this is my major reason for doing so. We cannot afford to compromise on this - so not only do we need someone who is bold enough to take up the challenge, but also someone who is able to do so in a way that is interesting, passionate and exciting enough to be heard.........only one of the candidates effectively combines all those qualities - Nick Clegg!

Chris Huhne - SHAME ON YOU!

Apologies in advance - I AM VERY ANGRY!!!!!!!!!

One of the fears expressed elsewhere about Chris Huhne becoming leader has been about him being seen as a divisive candidate. Up until now I wasn't sure that was a fair criticism (and believe me, if I had thought it was I would have said so by now!) so imagine how horrified I was to read the comments made by Chris Clarke in his support for Chris Huhne. I quote from Chris Huhne's official website

"I've listened to the campaigns so far and my mind is now made up:
"One candidate seems to want the Liberal Democrats to be another Tory party when most people in Britain don't want the one there is already. I don't want a Leader demonising young people by going on and on about ASBOs or raising the temperature on immigration".

So, this was not some random blogger, or disaffected member who Mr H could easily distance himself from, this was a supporter, published on his own website, hence having his blessing - shame on him. This smacks of a man who knows he is on the ropes and will do anything to save his bacon (forgive the mixed metaphor!)

OK - let's deal with this shall we.

POINT 1:
There is no way I would EVER support a Tory, there is no way many of our leading progressive parliamentarians, WHO SUPPORT CHRIS HUHNE? NO, NICK CLEGG - would EVER support a Tory - so Mr Clarke - what evidence are you pointing to to suggest this is the case?

POINT 2:
This is the issue I am really fizzing about! How dare this so called Liberal Democrat peddle such lies? If he has to resort to publishing this crap Huhne is clearly out of it. One of the main reasons I am backing Nick is because he is a LIBERAL and the reason I know that is because I had the privilege of working with him on the Crime Working Group. I have never heard anyone apart from Simon Hughes speak so passionately about young people and the way we criminalise them through the use ASBOs so for Clarke to try and infer the complete opposite is an outrage.

POINT 3:
Well I guess if you are the kind of person to peddle garbage why not include immigration? What is he on about? How dare he? What planet is he living on if he thinks we should just say nothing about immigration at all and how has what Nick said, raised the temperature, except perhaps amongst the racists and bigots who don't like immigrants full stop - ah maybe now I get the picture. Infact, maybe that is why when I bumped into Yasmin Alibi Brown on the tube the other day she was singing the praises of Nick as being the only senior politician speaking up for refugees.

I hope this is the first and last time Chris Huhne sinks so low, if not the damage he will do to the party may end up being irreparable.

That Chis Huhne.............luv 'im!

Paul Walter has had such a good day. I am sure his eyelashes are still involuntarily fluttering........that Chris Huhne, right on politics on stix and no mistake!

Call me cynical but...........

So.............can we compare and contrast? Headline News "Thousands pose UK Threat" at the same time as "Brown's Queen's Speech Challenge" chatting about extending detention without trial. Can't possibly be a connection, can there?

Clear Blue/Red Water......

I awoke this morning to the news of the government's "radical" (their word not mine) approach to tackling the perennial problem of NEETs (those young people Not in Education Employment or Training) force them to stay in prison, whoops sorry, school until they are 18! Is this the same Gordon Brown advocating this who apparently advocates votes at 16? So we will accept that at 16 you are old enough to pay taxes, join the army, get married and maybe vote..........but not decide your future for yourself? And, if you decide you would rather not...........you will be sent directly to jail, whoops, sorry, fined but not sent to jail. You will however have a criminal record. Hmmm, so, you are not at school, you are not at work, but you are going to pay a fine. Now that is a well thought out policy if ever I heard one!

So I was particularly pleased to read Nick Robinson drawing attention to the important role youth work can have in re-engaging young people. I have said elsewhere that I left teaching and went into youth work because I was interested in learning. This is a little tongue in cheek, but there is an element of truth. School IS a prison for many of our young people. It teaches them to hate learning rather than see it as something that is life enhancing. How on earth does Ed Balls think criminalising young people who are already marginalised is going to help? I am reminded of a young woman I worked with who hated school. She was regularly self-harming. Her mother would put her on the bus to school and she wouldn't get there. Mum (living on benefits on her own with other children) was desperate, she had done all she could do, she ended up in court, being fined because her child wasn't at school...... I tried to talk to the inclusion unit at the County Council.......what this young woman needed was time out. Couldn't she have it? Couldn't they just accept that maybe with time away she would eventually come round? NO.

On another occasion I was doing a piece of research and interviewed a young man of 17 I was working with, someone who was constantly in trouble with the police. My first question was, "what was the worst thing that ever happened to you?" his response was "school". At the end of my questioning I asked, "If there was one thing you could change about your life what would it be?" His answer? "I'd go back to school." We have to structure our education system around our children, not the other way round. It hasn't worked and it won't work. Our education system is fine for the many but a nightmare for the few.

I have personal experience. My son struggled with school. When he dropped out I had to hold my nerve, after all, I did the same thing and ran away to join the army at least he didn't do that! Now, he is back, doing his A levels (even politics, imagine how pleased his mum is about that!) I dread to think what would have happened if he had been forced to stay on until he was 18.

Using a sledgehammer to crack a nut invariably fails. The key to this problem is not enforcement it is engagement. But, sadly, given their record, I doubt this government, who have not got it in the past, will get it now.

Left handers "think" more quickly!

Good news for us sinister lefthanders! As My Dad (a fellow lefthander) always said, 10% of the population are lefthanders, but 66% of geniuses are lefthanders. My point is???!

Do I vote for Linda Jack???????

Well............I'll tell you after Wednesday! :-)

Cyril Smith declares for Clegg

More good news for Nick Clegg as he gained support for his leadership bid from Sir Cyril Smith MBE, former MP for Rochdale

Sir Cyril said - "The more I see of Nick Clegg, the more I am convinced that he has the youthful energy and passion that this party needs. He has been excellent as the Home Affair's Spokesperson and I will be encouraging all Rochdale members and beyond to back Nick. I met him in May and it is abundantly clear that under his leadership our party has a bright future. I know I'm biased but I welcome a Lib Dem Leader who represents a Northern Constituency!"

Equality.............now there's a thought.......

Rob Knight begins to tackle this issue as it has been identified by Chris as a defining issue in the leadership election. Chris Huhne himself, on the Sunday Edition this morning said it was one of the issues that separated him from Nick Clegg. Although he didn't elaborate on exactly how and why. If he is for equality is his implication that Nick is against? And of course we all have our own definition of equality.

I am reminded of the time when as a youth worker, I organised a trip to cycle round Grafham Water, everyone had an equal opportunity to participate. When we arrived we discovered that one young woman couldn't ride a bicycle................she had exactly the same chance to participate as everyone else, except, we hadn't checked that everyone could ride a bike! Similarly I can remember asking a youth club manager what he did to ensure equality in his youth club, his response was, "anyone can come here". But it was noticeable that in his youth club, in an area with a high Asian population, there were hardly any Asian young women. So for me, equality has never been about treating everyone the same, rather recognising that treating everyone the same just compounds existing inequalities.

So, we clearly need to hear a lot more from both Chris and Nick on this. The implication is that Nick's talk of meritocracy means he doesn't believe in equality. I am not too sure how that works? I have spent most of my working life trying to get young people, blinded by this passive consumerist, instant gratification age, to consider the relationship between effort and reward. And by reward I don't mean financial (although it could be) but more about the satisfaction of achievement. I firmly believe that one of the ways to tackle inequality is to ensure far more young people have those sorts of opportunities. The number of young people I have worked with who I was able to provide the very first opportunity to see the sea, climb a mountain, walk in a wood - things so many of us take for granted, simple things that can inspire and motivate. And from there to go on to greater achievements, the young women I worked with who saw their work exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

So it seems to me, if we want a more equal society we do need to look seriously at the huge and widening gap between rich and poor and consider what can be done in terms of policy to address it. That is why frankly I think we were mad to drop our 50p in the pound tax pledge, why we should be looking at taking those on the minimum wage out of tax altogether and why we should be looking again at LVT.

Also to recognise that our education system is deeply flawed with those in the poorest areas often condemned to poor quality schools and few resources, where choice is a key facet - for those with the resources to exercise that choice! So our pupil premium is an excellent idea. I would also like to see a reward system for teachers that ensured the best teachers were attracted to work in difficult schools, but frankly, more radically, I think we have to have a good hard look at the whole education system. I often say, slightly tongue in cheek, that I left teaching (to go into Youth Work) because I was interested in learning........for so many children and young people school is part of the problem not the solution. We don't put lime loving plants into acid soil and blame the plants if they don't thrive, but we do that to children every day of the week. And of course a subject close to my heart, lets really invest in exciting opportunities for those young people who have very few. Opportunities for them to lift their eyes and their aspirations. Opportunities to recognise and develop their interests and talents.

Of course there are lots of other things we could be doing, not least investing in housing and overhauling the benefits system (which our policy is beginning to address). One of my arguments against the idea of it all being about Education Education Education, is that for those young people growing up in poverty, in poor, cramped housing and sometimes with not enough to eat, education is not necessarily number one on their agenda!

Oh and one more thing, I am interested in what our candidates have to say about equality within our own party, that might after all, contribute to our own ability to develop policy that reaches the parts other parties can't.

Steve Webb on Israel/Palestine

Steve Webb today has an important post reflecting on his recent visit to Israel Palestine. Steve rightly draws attention to the need for forgiveness and reconciliation. However, this doesn't take account of what it is like to be living under occupation. My metaphor for the situation is - if you are sitting on my head I may need you to get off my head before I can be reconciled to you. If in the course of sitting on my head you blacked my eye and broke my nose, I may need you to apologise to me for that. If in the course of me trying to get you off my head I kicked you somewhere where it hurt, I may also need to apologise.

My understanding of forgiveness is that it is somewhat dependent on the repentance of the other party.

If Greg Simpson is watching you should you be worried or flattered?

Vote!

Chis Huhne - Understanding the Electorate?

Brenda Beddard, who wrote to the Mirror this week - "GOD forbid if Chris Huhne is elected leader of the Lib Dems. I was at a function where he gave a talk about insulating your loft and buying a car with low emissions. Very commendable... except he was addressing a group of over-80s in sheltered accommodation!" touches on an important issue for the Huhne campaign, he may be able to communicate well within the party, however, if he wants to be leader he perhaps needs to pay a little more attention to how he communicates with the world outside the Lib Dem bubble.

Huhne - The Anti Surveillance Society Candidate?

Interesting........

The T word............what exactly is the difference between Messrs H and C?

Paul Walters has just made a reference to Chris Huhne's position on Trident.....he quotes from Lynne Featherstone who observes on the recent hustings: "Chris then speaks and sets out exactly, clearly and coherently what position he takes on Trident which is that in the end, and dependent on the outcome of the multi-lateral disarmament talks in 2010, it is inconceivable that we would need to replace Trident in exact form and at the gargantuan cost of billions and billions" she neglects to mention the other part of his argument.........that of a belief that we may need "Son of Trident" .........this for me illustrates beautifully how completely out of touch Chris is. He may have missed this, so I will say it loud and clear, THOSE OF US WHO OPPOSE TRIDENT DON'T DO SO BECAUSE IT COSTS A LOT OF MONEY. WE DO IT BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IT IS MORALLY WRONG. WE DON'T LIKE CHEAPER SON OF TRIDENT EITHER.........BECAUSE THAT IS MORALLY WRONG TOO. GET IT???

So, sorry Chris and Nick, I totally disagree with you both on this. Its a bit like it being better to be killed by a US missile than Saddam Hussein, whichever way you cut the mustard you still end up dead.

If we want to REPRESENT we have to be REPRESENTATIVE

Unsurprisingly I was delighted to hear the news this morning that Simon Hughes will be backing Nick Clegg and I was also very encouraged to hear that his motivation for doing so was his confidence in Nick's commitment to diversity. Simon said - “I’ve decided to support Nick because I’m confident that his commitment to diversity and to building a party that reflects all of Britain is real. He knows that this is a priority for me. I will work with him on that task and we can move the party forwards together. Nick shares my ambition of a mass membership movement.”

Nick Clegg's response was “I am delighted to have Simon’s support. His devotion to the party over many years and commitment to diversity are immeasurable. He has made an excellent party president and has reinforced why he is held in high esteem by members, activists and colleagues.”

I couldn't agree more with either candidate. I have banged on enough over the years about the woeful lack of diversity in our party - frankly if we want to represent then we have to be representative - it's not rocket science!

I was amused by the comment James Graham left on one of my earlier tomes something about "soggy socialists"...................OK, he wasn't referring to me but to Simon Hughes, but given that I regard Simon and his politics with the kind of reverence reserved only for the upper echelons of the saints............I feel labelled by association! I have been called many things in my life.....but strangely enough.......never soggy.

Chris Huhne - Is there something of the "twilight" about him?

It may be the fact that I don't have the benefits of a classical/Oxbridge education..........but I am still totally confused about Huhne's policy position on Trident. I am not sure if he is deliberately surrounding himself with the half light of impossible contortions, or whether he really believes his position has any credibility. Whichever - it has only served to alienate many of the very people he presumably was hoping to attract. There is now even a Facebook Group 'Anti Trident Lib Dems for Nick Clegg'.

Please please Lib Dems for Chris or Chris himself can we once and for all bottom out your position on Trident????? Are you being deliberately obtuse?

So my challenge to Chris is this - be bold, be brave, say what you mean and mean what you say - or is this just too much to ask? Call for the scrapping of Trident today.
Come out fair and square as a unilateralist, or admit you are a multilateralist - I don't think it is possible to be both.

If you do this you may not win my vote, but you will win my respect.

The real test for Huhne's "left" credentials.............

Tomorrow we will learn who Simon Hughes will give his support to in the leadership race. Up until now, as party President, he has kept his counsel. There has been a lot of lazy analysis in the media about who is the left and who is the right candidate. Already, many of those who are regarded as representing the left of the party have come out in support of Nick. But if anyone can be regarded as the darling of the left it has to be Simon Hughes. I can't imagine Simon supporting a "Cameron stunt double"..............so I await with interest his decision.