Wednesday, February 28, 2007
The case of the Lib Dem council administration, the property developer and the £7,500 donation
Interesting when one considers that the Lib Dems are the administration on the council in Aberdeen.
Of course, we couldn't possibly allege that any impropriety is afoot when a property developer makes a large donation to the party which happens to be in charge of planning and other areas relevant to such fields as, um, property development...
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Our readership grows...
What else would explain this two-day, triple whammy?
First to have a go was Angus Robertson who aptly noted the Liberals classic kinda, sorta, maybe for or against nuclear weapons stance.
Angus Robertson: On the question of commitments, perhaps we could have some clarity from the Liberal Democrats. At the weekend, we had a demonstration in Scotland against the new generation of Trident weapons. The head of the Church of Scotland said that they were “morally and theologically wrong”. Cardinal Keith O’Brien said that they were “immoral”. A poll also revealed that 81 per cent. of Liberal Democrats would rather have the cost of Trident spent elsewhere. Is that the position of the Liberal Democrat party or will it continue to ride roughshod over the wishes of its voters and majority opinion in Scotland?
Nick Harvey: The opinion of the Liberal Democrats remains that Britain’s minimum nuclear deterrent should be sustained for the foreseeable future. We hope very much that in the future circumstances will be created in which it can safely be decommissioned, but those circumstances do not exist at the moment. That is the policy that we will continue to pursue. We do not believe that the decision to renew the submarine fleet is necessary at the moment, but we remain committed to the principle of the minimum nuclear deterrent.
Second was the first of two bombasts in Scottish Questions yesterday. Mark Lazarowicz pitched up a beauty softball to his own team about Nicol ‘Who?’ Stephen’s big night out at the BAFTAs
David Cairns: My hon. Friend raises an extremely important issue. Aviation does contribute to carbon emissions and global warming. That is why we have long argued that it should be within the EU emissions trading scheme. It is important for politicians to show leadership and consistency. Each of us who is a Scottish Member accepts that we fly more often than the average citizen and more often than is altogether good for the planet, but it is important that we are consistent. It ill becomes politicians to declare one day that they will not take any non-essential flights, and the next day to catch a flight down from Aberdeen to London to go to the BAFTAs. Perhaps that is just jealousy because I have never been invited to the BAFTAs, but the Deputy First Minister should show a little more personal consistency.
Third was ‘Oh No Jo!’ who, suddenly confused, thought she was on the other side of the House and attacked her own party. Just what is your (my, our, etc) stance on Independence and a referendum?
“There is always a temptation in human nature, where new institutions are concerned, to be drawn towards pulling up the roots just to see how the plant is growing.”
The Clown's smiles turned to frowns when they realised they were being upstaged inside the buildingFriday, February 23, 2007
Fibbing Time
. .
Question 1. Iraq
FibDems were against an "illegal" war in Iraq. Oh really?.
Question 2. Congestion Charging
According to Nicol his party's support does not mean that it will increase the costs of driving.
Eh?! This is FibDemmery at it's pinnacle.
.
Since congestion charging is meant to make people consider alternatives to driving, as it would be more expensive such, a policy would be extremely contradictory.
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Unless of course Nicol is just fibbing about the cost, or displaying that fine Fiberal tradition of promoting expensive policies that amount to nothing..
Question 3. Independence
.
Apparently, according to Nicol, he doesn't support an independence referendum and it's quite consistent because they didn't support one on devolution. Well that's reassuring until you consider they were so principled on the matter that you might see a certain Jim Wallace skulking at the right of this photo in an, er, referendum campaign:
But rest assured. The Fiberal Unionists won't agree to the Nats demand of a referendum. So much so that when asked if it meant any coalition with them was out the question proceeded to say he had not said that..
So as clear as mud from the Fib Nats then.
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Question 4. Crime
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Chance for Nicol to appeal to Yoof. We refer our honourable audience to our previous post.
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Question 5. Statue of Maggie
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He hated her but now doesn't. An appeal to votes all round methinks. So no change there.
Well I'm sure Margaret would have had a message for the Fiberal benches on that one.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Revealed: Thatcher's True Politics
The Iron Lady’s statue was unveiled yesterday in the Members Lobby amidst much hype. Just what is she pointing at from the dispatch box? For those of you with little knowledge of the geography of the Chamber, she points her accusatory finger right at the Lib Dems. To her right, up a touch, to the Fibs front bench.
We salute you Maggie! And we are heartened that this gesture of distain for the Fibs is immortalized for all time.
The Rt. Hon. Margaret Thatcher defied the Liberals to speak a word of truth
Happy Birthday to Us...
We do, however, note that our popularity appears not to have gone unnoticed:
http://www.123-reg.co.uk/ has an interesting entry when one searches for domain names "fibdems.org.uk"
Domain name:fibdems.org.uk
Registrant:The Fibbing Democratic Party
Registrant type:UK
EntityRegistrant's address:3 Cowley Street London SW1P 3NBUnited Kingdom
Registrant's agent:Pipex Communications UK Ltd t/a 123-Reg.co.uk [Tag = 123-REG]URL: http://www.123-reg.co.uk
We cannot help but raise our eyebrows at the registered address, given the similarity it bears to the address of LibDem HQ - 4 Cowley Street, London...
Then we have
Domain name:fibdem.org.uk
Registrant:Dan Norris
Registrant type:UK
IndividualRegistrant's address:The registrant is a non-trading
individual who has opted to have theiraddress omitted from the WHOIS service.Registrant's agent:Schlund + Partner AG [Tag = SCHLUND]URL: http://registrar.schlund.infoRelevant dates:
Dan Norris, of course, is a Labour MP. We always welcome people willing to contribute to the anti-Lib Dem cause, and we look forward to working with Dan in future once he gets his site up and running.
We've had a good first year, but there's still work to be done.
Keep your stories of Lib Dem duplicity rolling in, at the end of the day we need our readers to keep us informed of the sorts of shenanigans the Fibbers are getting up to in your area.
Details of Lib Dem leaflets are always welcomed, feel free to scan onto your own blog and alert us, we'll be happy to put up shining examples of hypocrisy for all to see.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Down on the Farm
He got dumped to number two on the regional list for Mid Scotland and Fife behind relative novice, but well known fantasist, Alex Cole-Hamilton.
The Lib Dem hierarchy weren't overly keen on Andrew's suggested election campaign slogan: We're sh*t and we know we are.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Desparately seeking 'Jon'
Much appreciated and we would be interested in further comment.
What the Fibs really think of the Yoof Vote
"Labour and the SNP continue the same mistake – constantly, consistently, conspicuously negative about young people."I wonder how that squares with the remarks by his colleague Don Foster:
He suggested the government were more concerned with "youth popularity" than tackling binge drinking.And let's not forget this little item on their own website:
How Fibs deal with Xenophobes
However it did remind Porridge to look out how they act sonsidering it has little bearing on what they say. Hey presto! Ridiculous Politics* comes up with this example of Fib double dealing:
I wonder if Mr Jamie Stone will comment on his fellow Fibs remarks?At a full meeting of Burnley Council on December 13th 2006 a position on a local regeneration board came up for renewal. When it came to the vote, there was a choice of only two candidates - a BNP Councillor or a Labour Councillor. The casting vote rested with the Lib Dem controlling group and they backed...the BNP councillor!
Indeed in a letter to the local paper the Lib Dem Councillor declared that in his view he backed the 'better candidate'.
Another 'better candidate'?
Xenophobes v's Charlatans
In true sanctimonious FibDem style he aimed to give the impression that everyone else bar those nice FibDems were being negative:
"And this is shaping up to be the most bitter, negative personal campaign we have ever witnessed in Scotland. [Oddly Porrdige seems to recall this being said by the Fibs at every election]
Words like “charlatans”, “desperate”, “ranting”, “raving”, “deceit”, “pathetic” and the promises of a “highly personal attack” do not do much to help people decide, do they?
People in Scotland have had enough of negativity."
A person who makes elaborate, fraudulent, and often voluble claims to skill or knowledge; a quack or fraud
Flawed Fibbing
Anyway one item that did make Old Porridge stir awake was this remark:
"The war in Iraq is the prime example. Our opposition to that war has always been clear and firm. It was an illegal war based on a flawed prospectus."Will this be the same Ming Campbell who believed that "flawed prospectus" on September 24, 2004:
"We can all agree...that Saddam Hussein...most certainly has chemical and biological weapons and is working towards a nuclear capability. The dossier contains confirmation of information that we either knew or most certainly should have been willing to assume."As for their "clear and firm" opposition the Green Party have pointed out the LibDem's opposition to the Iraq war did not manifest itself until the last minute, when the Stop The War demonstrations were gathering support and they noticed a few votes to be won in being anti-war.
The spin they appear to have put on it is that Blair should go for this "flawed prospectus". Since Ming believed it then shouldn't this apply to him also? Of course not. When did the Fibs let principle get in the way of deluding the press corp and, more importantly to them, the voters.
Ming was ecstatic at getting away with five fibs in his speech
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
And The Award For Blatant Hypocrisy Goes To...
Nicol, you see, decided to leap on the carbon footprint reduction bandwagon recently, by declaring:
"Mike, it seems you and I share similar credentials on environmental issues"
He's At It Again!!!
It seems that he is now going to demand to be made First Minister as a part of any post-election coalition deal.
Obviously Nicol seems to have forgotten that he has a particular problem with the voters of Scotland.
None of them know who he is!
Nicol prepared to give his latest interview on why he should become First Minister
Monday, February 12, 2007
This is getting embarrassing
She strikes again! After a short hiatus Squealer started to trawl through Hansard once more only to find that Oatens beat me to it. Save for this gem.
If the last embarrassment during DWP questions wasn’t punishment enough, Ms. Swinson with arms waving in head-girl-esque debating movements delivered this bombast:
Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD): The Leader of the House mentioned the response that he gave two weeks ago to the request by my hon. Friend the Member for Somerton and Frome (Mr. Heath) for a debate on the Act of Union. He told us just now that he would think about it, but what he said then was:
“That is a good idea. I shall consult my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I hope to make an announcement in due course.”—[ Official Report, 25 January 2007; Vol. 455, c. 1558.]
Does what he said just now mean that he consulted his right hon. Friend, who thought that it was a bad idea to have a debate on this important issue, or can we expect such a debate in the near future?
Mr. Straw: I do not think that there is much difference between what I said previously and what I said just now. I am thinking about it.
Queue the tumbleweed, then the bursts of uncontrollable laughter from all sides of the House
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Criminally Incompetent
Mr. David Anderson (Blaydon) (Lab): May we have a full debate in Government time about the Government’s record on crime, so that we can again expose, in the public interest, the ludicrous position of the Liberal Democrats, which was so clearly exposed last night?
Round 1:
Mr. Nick Clegg (Sheffield, Hallam) (LD): Reoffending rates are at an unprecedented high level: 66 per cent. of all offenders who go to prison reoffend within two years, and 92 per cent. of all male offenders who serve short-term prison sentences of three months or less reoffend.
Mr. Denis MacShane (Rotherham) (Lab): I am listening to the hon. Gentleman’s Jeremiahs about increasing crime, but if that is the case, why did the Sheffield and Rotherham Star, which covers his constituency and mine, state in its headline of last Monday that crime in South Yorkshire has fallen?
Round 2:
Helen Jones (Warrington, North) (Lab): I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. If he is so concerned about antisocial behaviour, can he explain how his party’s policy of allowing alcohol to be sold to 16-year-olds will improve the situation? People in my constituency would like to know how that would assist them.
Mr. Nick Clegg (Sheffield, Hallam) (LD): I will ignore that, if I may. [Interruption.] Does the hon. Lady seriously think that an arcane debate about what the precise drinking age limit should be would provide the simple catch-all solution to antisocial behaviour?
Culture spokesman Don Foster said the problem of binge drinking must be controlled before any liberalisation of licensing laws or risk escalating the problem of disorder.
Round 3:
Stewart Hosie (Dundee, East) (SNP): The hon. Gentleman mentioned effective policies that work and he also mentioned gun crime. Given that 58 per cent. of all firearms offences in Scotland involve air weapons, why did his colleagues on the Committee considering the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 refuse to support measures for a purchaser licensing scheme and instead back the weaker vendor licensing scheme?
Mr. Nick Clegg (Sheffield, Hallam) (LD): I am sure that the hon. Gentleman, of all hon. Members, would not wish me to short circuit an issue that is clearly a devolved matter—
Stewart Hosie: No, it is not. It is reserved. That is why I mentioned it.
Mr. Clegg: In that case, I shall get back to the hon. Gentleman when I have researched the matter a little more.
Round 4:
Anne Snelgrove (South Swindon) (Lab): Does the hon. Gentleman agree with the hon. Member for Winchester (Mr. Oaten) that prison is a complete and utter waste of time? Can he guarantee that that will be in the next Liberal Democrat manifesto?
Mr. Nick Clegg (Sheffield, Hallam) (LD): No, I do not agree and it will not be in the next manifesto.
Round 5:
Ms Sally Keeble (Northampton, North) (Lab): Will the hon. Gentleman say which offenders he would not send to prison? Does he support the probation service and probation hostels? If he thinks that people should be held in psychiatric hospitals instead of prisons, will he support the Mental Health Bill? That Bill will make it possible to hold people in such hospitals more easily.
Mr. Nick Clegg (Sheffield, Hallam) (LD): That is just a diversion.
Round 6:
Julia Goldsworthy (Falmouth and Camborne) (LD): Does the Minister agree with the statistic that gun crime has doubled under the Government, while seizures of illegal firearms have halved? Is his Department undertaking any links with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to try to ensure that the number of seizures increases rather decreases, given the fact that gun crime is rising so rapidly?
The Minister for Policing, Security and Community Safety (Mr. Tony McNulty): The hon. Lady will know that, last year, gun crime was down some 14 per cent.
And Round 7:
Willie Rennie (Dunfermline and West Fife) (LD): I am greatly concerned about the Government’s never-ending attack on, and demonising of, young people.
He suggested the government were more concerned with "youth popularity" than tackling binge drinking.
Nick Clegg's researcher emails over data from Newcastle Council itself, which shows that violent crime in the city fell by 6.4 per cent between 2004-06 but the East End of Newcastle - a notorious crime hot spot - showed a 12 per cent drop.
But still no sign of the 54 per cent rise that Clegg referred to...
..."We got it wrong. It must have been a slip of the pen," says a Liberal Democrat researcher.
The second Liberal Democrat researcher blames the education policy of Labour for the maths mistake...
"Could you accompany me to the station sir? We have to discuss a Mr M Brown and..."Will-lie Boxed in
Obviously Will-lie is desperate to protect his ill gotten seat by getting a FibDem MSP elected in the area. However this little local plan has now gone a bit awry leaving Will-lie's future as an MP after the next election a little forlorn.
In true FibDem hypocrisy the party most to blame for the continuation of tolls on the Forth Road Bridge is, erm, the FibDems since the Scottish Transport Minister is, aherm, a FibDem - aka the hapless Tavish Scott.
It all came to head this week when a vote on abolishing tolls on the Forth Road Bridge saw Mr Scott lead the opposition and say it would be bad for the environment if they were scrapped.
However Tavish seems to have missed how this statement has screwed up not only his party's chances of taking Dunfermline West from Labour but effectively ended Will-lie's future as an MP.
Perhaps his high office has gone to his head and he is forgetting to consult local colleagues as his fellow Labour Ministers set him up to make a environmentalist statement in order to get six Green votes on board so local Labour MSPs can be freed up to vote against tolls and campaign against them by blaming a LibDem Transport Minister for keeping them? Didn't he ask himself why the seventh Green MSP didn't vote?
Nor did he seem to think it was strange that Labour was quite relaxed about the resignation of Dunfermline West MSP Scott Barrie as Labour Whip. Free from the constraints of party discipline he can now campaign locally against the tolls - tolls being kept by a LibDem Transport Minister.
Oh dear. It seems Will-lie and the Dunfermline LibDems are now boxed in by a combination of skilful manoeuvring by Labour and the fact that no other major party can be attacked for wanting to keep tolls. Along with the Nats and the Conservatives, Labour's Scott Barrie can now join in the attack-fest on the lack of trust and hypocrisy of the LibDems whose Transport Minister wants to keep tolls.
No wonder Will-lie was squirming on Politics Scotland as Isobel Fraser skewered him into saying he had "faith" in Tavish after exposing the lack of "credibility" he now has on the issue of tolls.
Poetic justice indeed. Elected on the issue of tolls and exposed and rejected on the issue of tolls.
Clearly flustered Will-lie tried to insist he was referring to the Rail Bridge when campaigning against tolls
Friday, February 09, 2007
FibDems - As recommended by the Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
Hat tip to our good mate Jack:
Mr. David Anderson (Blaydon) (Lab): May we have a full debate in Government time about the Government’s record on crime, so that we can again expose, in the public interest, the ludicrous position of the Liberal Democrats, which was so clearly exposed last night?
The Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Jack Straw): I would be delighted to have a rerun of last night’s debate.
Mr. Heath: So would we.
Mr. Straw: The hon. Gentleman was ever a masochist. I recommend to hon. Members of all parties the excellent website, FibDem. It is brilliant and goes through all the promises that the Liberal Democrats have made about the fight against crime, and all their actions inside and outside the House to undermine and sabotage that fight.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Unknown in her own kingdom: Nora 'Who?' Radcliffe
It looks like Nora may have to do more than campaigning against boiling lobsters alive to increase her media presence.
Perhaps I should have read the White Paper...
It keeps getting worse. Squealer once again saw Ms. Swinson charge into the breach only to be repelled by the most feared Ministerial one-liner "Yes, and we have said that in the White Paper".
Whoopsies! Yesterday during DWP questions Swinson delivered this gem:
Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD): Does the Secretary of State agree that one of the reasons for the high levels of outstanding CSA debt is the ridiculously long repayment terms that are given? A constituent of mine is owed £9,000 and she has been told that her ex-husband can repay it over 39 years. Will the CSA replacement body get tough on the maintenance cheats and enforce repayments over much shorter time scales, to make sure that the money gets to the children while they are still children?
Mr. Hutton: Yes, and we have said that in the White Paper.
Another classic example of an attempt to make a cheap political point only to have it spectacularly backfire. Like a cluster-bomb. Of course she has a history of hilarity in the chamber...here, here, here...well you get the picture.
Squealer will continue to enthusiastically sift through Hansard to find more knee-slappers.
The Chamber buzzed with excitement: Swinson was about to deliver another screamer
Friday, February 02, 2007
Jailhouse Rock
"You may previously recall that I made a substantial donation to the Liberal Democrats. Unlike donors to other political parties, I have never sought any reward, honour or return for my financial support, nor would I, and I feel very saddened at the resulting negative interest and perception of my involvement.However, I am pleading with you to help me, as I believe that I am being treated very unfairly in prison."
Now we know the Fibs love a wheeze about prisons but it seems in this case neither Charles Kennedy or Ming the Mundane wanted to lend a helping hand. Seems like they forgot about your 'substantial donation' old chum!
Given their track record on fighting for decent treatment of prisoners who aren’t even in their constituency, let alone their country, it all seems a little hypocritical to me. After all, he is their good mate.
I’m a Liberal Democrat Donor, GET ME OUT OF HERE
Thursday, February 01, 2007
The Lesser Spotted LibDem MSP
This seems to be something of a trend, as the Liberals have also been putting up Jo Swinson MP to debate the upcoming elections.
As Labour and the Nats traded insults over their campaigns being "run from London" we can't help but notice that the Liberal MSPs, in their usual sleekit fashion, have crept under the radar.
Why are Nicol and Tavish not going on television to promote themselves?
Is it because they are afraid to appear in case they are asked difficult questions about portfolios in the Executive which they are DIRECTLY responsible for? And therefore couldn't pretend it was all Labour's fault?
Or is it because the Libs realise just how badly Nicol comes across anytime he opens his mouth?
Tavish's attempts at avoiding the election himself didn't quite work
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As an afterthought it was quite enjoyable to see Danny's sanctimonious claim of indulging in yah-boo politics shot down in flames by John Milne.
On being asked about the Watergate theme of Prime Minister's Questions he sniffily had a go at Salmond for indulging in the politics that puts voters off. Mr Milne kindly reminded him that the Watergate theme had been first raised by a one Ed Davey - Ming Campbell's chief of staff.
You can enjoy Danny's humiliation at the hands of Milne et al here.
