A Solution to the Nick Clegg problem

After last night's Libdem exec meeting myself and Ed Jennings retired to a Top Secret facility to discuss party matters, both local and National.

Ok, we were sitting in his car opposite my house but we were discussing Politics - and in doing so we hit upon the solution of the "Clegg leadership dilemma."

You see, although both of us respect Nick and acknowledge all of the hard work he has done we also both acknowledge that his leadership in 2015 could well be deadly to the party - which means new leadership before then. Any new leader would have to be free of the Coalition "taint" but to drop them into the saddle in 2014 will not give them time to get themselves into order before the big election of 2015.

That's when Ed hit upon the solution. Who is a well respected Libdem? Who has leadership experience? Who could lead us into a successful election that wouldn't see us obliterated?

Doctor Vince.

Despite his role in the Coalition, Vince remains popular with in the party and with the voters - even with the other parties. He's a stalwart and hard working. Definitely the man to stop and reverse the rot.

The problem is, that even though he would be a great leader in the long term, he doesn't appear to be the sort of leader that will win elections. For some reason elder statesmen like Cable, Campbell, Brown or Major are out and Blair, Cameron and Clegg are in.

So unfortunately after 2015- 17 unfortunately, after a leadership marked by a stunning recovery of fortunes, Doctor Vince would stand down and make way for a new leader to rebuild the party, redefine us and prepare us for 2020 and possibly prepare us for any future Coalition politics or dare I say it? A future opposition party.

Currently our suggestions are David Lawes, who despite the expenses problem, remains a firm party favourite and well respected Liberal thinker and politician. The other is the energetic and popular party president Tim Farron who has fought the corner of the membership and stood his ground against the Whips and followed his conscience. Either way, it's a tough call that members will need to make later.

This is, of course a suggested course of action/ prediction but whomever you'd choose as Party leader after Vince you have to admit; He's the guy for the job in 2014.

Return of the Ed-i

"Our Policies are.... erm... ah..."

I awoke with a jolt yesterday afternoon. Having fallen asleep on the train as I usually do after an early shift I drowsily openned my eyes and browsed the paper. Suddenly, in the editorial section Ed Miliband was staring back at me with the words "Labour is riding high"

That's when the adrenaline kicked in and I truly awoke.

Jenni Russell's article makes for difficult reading at first but I do think that she's hit the nail on the head.

Labour are ahead in the polls- it is an inescapable truth. OK you can argue that polls are not always indicative of public opinion or that this is natural for an opposition party mid-parliament, but let's address the fact.

It does seem that the public have short memories and are more concerned with the here and now. Labour's criticism of the economy (which they left in a shambles), railway fare rises (on a formula they put in) or over News international (with whom they'd been quite cozy.) - Indeed, it is a great time to be in opposition.

The big question is; What do they stand for? At the moment it seems like its just "the opposite to the Government." This, unfortunately, will get them elected as it was too close in 2010 and a few marginal seats may swing the balance in a natural anti cuts vote.

The problem is you need policies to make a government work and I'm not convinced that they can do it at the moment. They talk about "predistribition" - the end is something that all parties want but they have no idea how to get there!

They talk about fairer capitalism but when Ms Russell asked a senior strategist what that entails, the response was;

"He expected individual businesses to come up with their versions of good capitalism, telling me that the business community was expressing a lot of interest"

A more responsible capitalism is really desirable and something I really think its something that needs adopting BUT you can't leave it up to the individual businesses or it won't happen. Look at this Government's pledge to equal women's pay - it was left to individual companies and so reform has not happened.

It is all well and good giving out well meaning sound bites about change but it's absolutely necessary to have a way to get there and actually forcing through change (that goes for everyone) because if you leave it to individual businesses to do as they see fit nothing will get done.

If Labour are serious about forming a Government they do need to be responsible and define themselves on their own and actually develop policy with a route rather than just an end. Don't just cruise into power on the back of not being Tories.

Clegg on Growth and planning laws ver 2.0

Whenever I try and be smart and use the internet remotely from a secret location there's always a cock up and I fluffed CoG 1 so here is how it was meant to look.

Sorry everyone
____________________________________________________________________________

Yesterday morning I was temporarily excited that I'd received an email from Nick Clegg. I was hoping that I'd finally been recognised and was being lifted from servitude... then I realised it was a generic message.
Anyway, here it is;

Dear Chris,

As you may have seen on the news, I’ve announced an ambitious package to get growth and housing building going. This is not only to make sure we’re building the homes people so desperately need but it will also help boost the economy by kick-starting one of our most important sectors, the construction industry.
When Jo Swinson asked for input from you on growth, house building was one of the top responses. Today’s announcement shows the kind of impact Liberal Democrats are having in the Coalition Government, thanks to our members, on this key issue.
At the heart of yesterday's announcement was a massive new £10bn guarantee from the Government to house builders which will see tens of thousands of new and affordable homes built. This money is first and foremost targeted at Registered Social Landlords, who have a proven track record in delivering social and affordable homes, and I'm really pleased that organisations including the National Housing Federation and the British Property Federation have welcomed the announcement.
In order to kick-start stalled developments where at the moment nothing is being built and no one is being employed, we’re accelerating the point at which councils and house builders start discussing planning requirements. And to ensure that this leads to more homes being built rather than fewer, I am also ensuring that an additional £300 million is spent on building 15,000 new affordable homes and bringing 5,000 empty homes back into use.
To help first-time buyers buy these, we’re underwriting another £280m to help 16,500 people access the FirstBuy scheme.
And last but not least, to support small, local builders, we’re making it easier temporarily for homeowners to put in a new conservatory, loft extension or garage conversion and for businesses to expand their premises without getting mired in red tape. The precise details will be consulted on, but I hope that people will go ahead and get the local builder in.
This is a big package of measures that I hope will get people building, create more jobs and help those people who are desperately trying to find homes to live in.
You can read more at the Lib Dems' website.
Best wishes,
Nick Clegg

I absolutely agree that affordable homes are needed. It is a great travisty that in these modern times most people are forced to rent their homes or rely on social housing or tragically, in my case, inherit from the death of a loved one.
The cost of housing has just gone up and up and up and mortgages become debt traps or unattainable for people on reasonable wages. I had two friends who were teachers, earning around £40,000 a year who had to get a 90% mortgage on a house. This is just not realistic. Any support from the Government would be welcome.
It is good to see the Government supporting local industries and the "little man" of the small construction companies or local builders but at the same time I can't imagine the average family has the money to spend on the "would like" conversions etc.
For example, my conservatory is in DIRE need of refurbishment, our loft needs insulating, could do with a minor amount of conversion, we have no double glazing or central heating - apparently I'm leaving in the 40's. The point is - even though the planning laws have been relaxed, I still can't afford to do anything about it.
However it is a welcome move for those who can and I'm sure a lot of local builders and small companies are relishing the extra work and the injection of much needed work and money.
This is a much needed good move and a Libdem move within the Coalition.
 
I absolutely agree that affordable homes are needed. It is a great travisty that in these modern times most people are forced to rent their homes or rely on social housing or tragically, in my case, inherit from the death of a loved one.
The cost of housing has just gone up and up and up and mortgages become debt traps or unattainable for people on reasonable wages. I had two friends who were teachers, earning around £40,000 a year who had to get a 90% mortgage on a house. This is just not realistic. Any support from the Government would be welcome.
It is good to see the Government supporting local industries and the "little man" of the small construction companies or local builders but at the same time I can't imagine the average family has the money to spend on the "would like" conversions etc.

For example, my conservatory is in DIRE need of refurbishment, our loft needs insulating, could do with a minor amount of conversion, we have no double glazing or central heating - apparently I'm leaving in the 40's. The point is - even though the planning laws have been relaxed, I still can't afford to do anything about it.
However it is a welcome move for those who can and I'm sure a lot of local builders and small companies are relishing the extra work and the injection of much needed work and money.
This is a much needed good move and a Libdem move within the Coalition.

Jeremy Hunt; rewarding failure.

Deep in the ruins of GHQ in fortress Stalingrad General Paulus mused over the situation. His army was dead, dying, captured or starving. He held in his hand a memo from Berlin that effectively promoted him to Generalfeldmarschall, no German army had ever been defeated in the field, nor had a GFM surrendered nor were they expected to. The implication for failure was clear.

After the failure of July plot General von Treskow walked out into a minefield.

Generals Clinton and Burgoyne never held a significant command after failing in the Americas.

Asquith and Chamberlain slipped into obscurity after their respective administrations failed to cope with war in Europe.

My meandering point is that failure should not be rewarded and in many cases punished. Yet somehow this reshuffle has failed to address this.

I take the point that George Osborne being kept could be a good thing as the policies do receive mixed reviews - though personally I think Cable, Lawes and Alexander would be a dream team in the treasury.

My big issue is Jeremy Hunt's promotion to Health minister. Ok Lanesly had to go, that's very understandable. In fact many commentators have been expecting it for sometime.

What I don't understand is that Hunt failed in an epic way - truly it was the proverbial cock-up. His appointment to oversee the BSKYB bid was predicted, on the twitter-sphere, to give Murdoch the bid before he'd got the job.

The Leveson enquiry has shown a lot of discrepancies in the process including many questionable actions by Mr Hunt. Whether guilty or not, the public consider it a dirty deal.

Further to that questions were asked in parliament about the conduct of Mr Hunt, questions that were not satisfactorily answered.

I can understand David Cameron standing by his minister at the time, it's the right thing to do after all you're a team but he should, like Lanesly, been sidelined at this reshuffle.

Fair enough his work on the Olympics and Jubilee are worthy of praise but he was a cog in a monstrously large machine and cannot take all of the credit. Indeed his failure and the accusations of corruption far over over shadow anything else.

To promote him to the Health portfolio is just sheer madness. The Conservatives are always open to attack over the NHS and it is easy for the opposition to frighten the populous with talk of privatisation whenever there is any well meaning reform and with Jeremy Hunt's track record there will be a lot more worried people and serious scrutiny of his offices.

I'm sure David Cameron has his reasons but they had better be good ones. May be I'm being judgemental. After all Churchill failed on many occasions before his premiership resulting in the General strike and Galllipoli massacre. Yet he went on to win the Second World War. Some how though I don't think Jeremy Hunt is in the same category as Churchill.

Speculation over Aviation Policy and Justine Greening's departure

So Justine Greening has been shuffled out of the cabinet. Even before she has cleared out her desk the media and pundits have begun speculating what this means. Like an episode of Dawson's creek or from my premarital love life everyone is sat about over thinking everything, suggesting hypothesises and second guessing every tiny detail. 

 A couple of months ago the opposition were trying to convince us all that Boris island or the Hoo peninsula scheme were the only options and that those evil Tories would force it upon us - Those blaggards! 

 Then in recent weeks Heathrow expansion has become the sticking point and aren't those dastardly Tories are going to U-turn on an election pledge. Then on the weekend there were suggestions of an airport Northwest London.  

 Now with Greening gone and the virtual unknown of McLoughlin getting the brief the spot light is going back on Heathrow. 

 I think it is time for us all to be honest...  

 No one knows where this new airport/expansion will be even if there is to be one! 

 Let's stop guessing and stabbing in the dark and wait for this consultation. When it finally comes, it will be the chance for ALL the possibilities to be weighed and debated and for everyone to have their say. 

 My personal opinion, and it is simply that and I don't say it's anything more, is that Ms Greening went because she wasn't impartial and that whatever the outcome opposition would call foul play.

This consultation is a chance to lay out Aviation policy and to finally answer the question of capacity in the country. Getting rid of internal flights in favour of HS2, moving freight capacity onto smaller airports or fields, a better distribution system that could free up space, finally abandoning the slap-dash space filling or quick fixes that have been successive Government's solutions. It will also be the time to bring to the table the reasons why an Estuary airport won't work r be so detrimental to the environment. Lets stop fearing the Consultation and work with it to achieve the aims we want. 

It would be wrong to rule anything out but it would also be wrong to say anything is definite. Lets be adult about this.

As the artillery barrage and scare mongering continues from different groups pertaining to know what is going to happen and what the Government is up too and the inevitability yadda yadda yadda it is the cool hard logic that states no one knows and I shall save all of my ammunition for the Consultation. People will be less tired of listening to the constant drone of noise and take it in the manner it is intended. Until then we should remember the wise words of Baz Luhrmann who once said;
worrying about something is as effective as solving a problem as chewing bubblegum - and wait for the consultation instead of constantly seeing signs in every perceived and real in/action.

Nick Clegg must go?

Waiting in the wings: Vince Cable

There is a lot of speculation at the moment as to Nick Clegg's future as leader of the party, with Vince Cable supposedly waiting in the wings with support of "top liberals."

In all seriousness though, how likely is it?

Nick's popularity nationally as well as within the party has definitely waned since Tuition fees through a combination of Coalition politics, media concentrating on bad policies and not the good as well as a certain amount of sniping from the Conservative right.

The Coalition was never going to be easy. Working with another party, especially one that is some 5 times bigger than us, is tough especially when they feel they have the right to govern alone and we're there to just make up the numbers. We were never going to get our own way on a lot of things but we have wrung some key policies out of them. Income tax, AV referendum, pupil premium, a postponement of Trident... There are some serious success stories and for that you have to look to the top. Coalition politics is like sailing all sheets to the wind in a tempest and I think Clegg has got as much as he's given and whilst this parliament is sitting We should back our leader loyally rather than backslide and mutter discontent over every poor decision.

Then again, this is not the military or Conservative party! The fire has definitely been quenched in Nick. Remember when he led the party out of the chamber? When he called for the Speaker's resignation? Fighting tooth and nail with Gordon Brown? Demanding that recess be cancelled to allow parliament to completely reform itself and sort out the expenses crisis?

That was when I decided that this was the party for me. Clegg was inspiring as leader and was a different politician to what I was used to. Change, real change looked achievable and a lot of the voting public Agreed with Nick that together we could and should do it.

It was painful to watch the Tuition fees get raised... Physically hurt. I walked through one of the riots behind a police line and felt shame and sympathy for the students. Where had Nick been? Why had he not led the MPs out of the chamber or voted with principal?

This was not the last time. How many times has he been seen nodding along with Dave on things he doesn't agree with? The voting public aren't happy and neither are a lot of local libdems who've paid the price for Parliamentary policy. There is a lot of understandable anger out there.

It's only two and a bit years to election time and Nick, like Gordon Brown before him, has lost serious capital with the voters, how many people will be turned off voting for us just because of Nick? HQ need to look to the future and make hard decisions and who will be best to rebuild the party. I'm sorry to say that, realistically, the future is bleak for Nick unless something drastic occurs over the next year.

I say this with a heavy heart as I do support Nick but understand the needs of the party and future planning. I will, however urge my fellow activists that Coalition politics is a high stakes game and it's not over yet. Hold your nerve and trust Nick's leadership for at least another year, the potential pay out is too great. Why cash in now?

Kelly Brook - An unfit role model?

Kelly Brook

Earlier this week there was a brief debate in the letters page of the Metro as to whether Rochester's favourite daughter, Kelly Brook, was indeed a good role model for young women in today's society.

In fact the letter I read was firmly against such an accolade. It criticised Miss Brook stating that she was hardly a role model as she was only famous for taking her clothes off for money.

This is indeed a fair point. After all Kelly's career started back in the 90s as a model and she soon found herself advertising Bravvisimo bras and then slid into Page 3 in the Star and other "Lads mags" like Loaded, FHM, Maxim et al. I will admit that at the age of 20 I had a Kelly Brook poster on my wall at university and I wasn't the only one!

She also branched out into television work including The Big Breakfast where she worked as Denise Van Outen's replacement for six months back in 1999.

It would be easy to pigeon hole her there and then but the story continues.

Kelly has also hit the big screen with starring roles in Piranha 3D, Three, School of seduction, The Italian Job (remake)... No I've not seen any of them either BUT she has also been on TV in the US Superman series Smallville. Commonly she has also done a spot of reality TV... then again which Z lister hasn't? Hers has been somewhat limited to ones where you need actual skill such as Strictly come dancing. Her other roles in Reality TV have been in the presenting/judging capacity.

Unlike Jordan (or Katie Price), Jodie Marsh or Kerry Katona she has not prostituted herself out for fame and appeared on the cover of Every magazine, starred in her own fly-on-the-wall documentary about her life or written about four Auto-biographies. She has stayed aloof of that and carried on doing what she wants to do in Movies and Television and left the modelling behind for quite some time.

Yes it is fair, she has, and does take her clothes off for money BUT that is but one string to her bow and if it makes her happy then, why not?

I agree, if Sophie came home one day and said she wanted to be a glamour model I would be deeply disappointed, obviously you always want your kids to excel and be doctors and lawyers but ultimately she should do what makes her happy.

Kelly is a good role model in that she is not a stick thin, rather a curvy, pleasant, bubbly person who is seems to not be obsessed by fame or driven by it. Rather she is a professional actress/model who gets paid good money and is successful. Who doesn't want that for their children?

Indeed there is a shortage of good female role models. The Olympics have thrust Jessica Ennis and Victoria Penbleton back into the limelight as positive role models, and there is of course Maria Sharapova, fictional characters like Doctor Who's Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) to name but a few. In fact one article in the Evening Standard this week suggested Miriam Clegg was a good role model for young women as she is an exceptionally hard working and successful lawyer who balances that with three sons and still finds time to support her husband the Deputy Prime Minister.

Though Kelly Brook doesn't necessarily reach those standards, she is a successful celebrity - maybe not A-list but celebrity none the less, who hasn't prostituted herself for every bit of fame going and who maintains a healthy figure and bubbly personality. You could do a lot worse for a role model.