Labour - is the light at the end of the tunnel that of an oncoming train?

Until fairly recently I felt that the next General Election would be a bit like 1992, with Labour's majority down but with them remaining the largest party. However, if experience on the doorstep is anything to go by, I may have to change my stance.

Last weekend, Ros and I were in Shepton Mallet, canvassing in support of our by-election candidate, Rachael Witcombe. When the seat had been fought previously, the result had been Conservatives 37%, Liberal Democrats 32% and Labour 29%. Labour were campaigning to some extent, so it was clearly a 3-way marginal. Yet when canvassed, the number of those volunteering that "we're not voting Labour!" was significant. My sense was that some of our previous supporters were switching to the Conservatives whilst previous Labour supporters were switching to both ourselves and the Conservatives. The result? Conservatives 47%, Liberal Democrats 38%, Labour 13%, a result which does not augur well for Labour.

Today, I'm in Red Lodge, where a Conservative resignation has caused a by-election. Red Lodge itself centres on a mixed development which includes former service housing. It's the sort of place where you would expect to find a residual Labour vote. The only problem is, no Labour candidate. Is this another symptom of a Labour Party losing the will to fight?

When morale falters, defeat is seldom far away. My sense is that, unless the Labour leadership rally fast, election defeat is only as far away as Gordon chooses it to be...

Abortion rights and wrongs

I have not, I confess, followed the debate on abortion time limits particularly closely, perhaps because I tend to the view that it is a woman's right to choose - a position which is consistent with my liberalism if not my Catholicism.

However, I happened to be outside Parliament on a day when both sides of the argument had gathered across the street to make their point. The pro-choice lobby were loud but reasonably well-humoured, chanting a fairly catchy little ditty opposing the interference of church and state. The 'pro-life' (and why are they allowed to claim the phrase?) lobby stood in solemn silence, although the fact that they were outnumbered by about three to one might have contributed to that.

It was interesting that those willing to turn up to oppose abortion were predominantly men, and one might presume that their spouses were at home, pregnant, barefoot and in the kitchen. On the other hand, I was disappointed that there weren't more men joining the pro-choice campaigners.

I fully accept that abortion is an emotive issue, and that it tends to lead people to extreme positions. However, I find it objectionable when people replace facts with emotion, and the anti-abortion protestors have, regrettably, wilfully distorted science and reason in constructing some fairly weak arguments.

It is interesting that other European countries have much lower time limits for legal abortion, and one must acknowledge that we should be troubled by the fact that many of these countries believe their legislation to be sufficient. On the other hand, their rates of teenage pregnancy are far lower than ours, their health services more responsive and their sex education programmes more effective. Sadly, our rather prurient attitude to sex as a nation tends to reinforce this and despite the explosion of magazines and websites catering to a younger, more curious audience, such media seldom reach the necessary target audience, i.e the relative poor and under-educated.

In terms of the science, the argument that foetuses below the age of twenty-four weeks can survive is severely dented by the figures of disability for those premature births. It is all very well insisting that such children have a right to life, although I see no action to move legislation providing better support, both financial and practical, to their parents.

Ultimately, when you see the charge being led by the likes of Nadine Dorries, you need to remind yourself that this is a woman who claims to believe in the freedom of the individual. Actually, she doesn't believe in your freedom, she believes in her freedom to limit yours, be it economic, social or political. Naturally, she doesn't admit to the hypocrisy of her position, as it is so much easier to persuade people if you don't, but she would be the first to pick up on factual inaccuracies of your argument if you contradicted her.

And so my hope is that the status quo is maintained, so long as scientific advances don't undermine the position. Frankly, I expect that they will, as they did the twenty-eight week limit. At that point, I will change my position but at least it will be on the basis of science and reason, not on a prospectus of lies and slander.

A nostalgic return to the old alma mater

Ros had been invited back to her old university. coincidentally mine too, although I graduated in the mists of time when dinosaurs could still be seen roaming the grassy meadows next to Suffolk Terrace. Noting that I had been there too, the invitation to meet the Vice Chancellor was graciously extended to her husband too, and I was delighted to accept.

I enjoyed my years at UEA, and though I wasn't incredibly successful in academic terms, I learnt a tremendous amount, much of which was put to use in my political activities that followed.

We were met by Joyce and David, who escorted us to the Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts, an incredible facility which would doubtless draw many more than its current annual 70,000 visitors were it in London. The original building was architecturally daring when it was first opened but refurbishment and extension have made it into a facility that is the envy of other universities. We were given a brief tour before being shown to the restaurant where lunch was taken with the Vice Chancellor, the head of Ros's former department and my former academic advisor, Dr Gareth Janacek.

Dr Janacek also had the misfortune to have taught me statistics, a subject I enjoyed in the abstract, but this doesn't appear to have done him too much harm, as he has aged rather better than I have. It was a great pleasure to have the chance to talk to him after so many years and he very kindly proffered an invitation to visit if I was in Norwich in the future. It isn't that far away from Needham Market, so who knows...

After lunch, we met with some politics students, who quizzed Ros on the role of women in politics, on Burma and on the role of the European Union in resolving the Israel/Palestine question. I chipped in with some thoughts on the selection of women Parliamentary candidates and Ros demonstrated just why she's a Parliamentarian.

All in all, a very pleasant visit, and it was topped off by the very generous gifts of a history of the university and a guide to the architecture of the campus. I'm tempted to get more involved in the alumni group, although I probably don't have the time to do it justice...

Suffolk Reviews: the Bungay Spring Garden Fair

Bungay is a small, but perfectly formed, town almost surrounded by a curve of the River Waveney on the Suffolk/Norfolk border and is well-known in the surrounding area for its street fairs. Mid-May sees the Garden Street fair, when Earsham Street, in the middle of the town, is closed to traffic and stalls are set up to sell plants and gardening related items.

It isn't just flowers and shrubs though, as you can see from the picture of the hog roast. I'd never seen one of these before, although they are pretty traditional in Suffolk. The hog is spit roasted for hours so that the meat falls off the carcass easily, and is served in a bun with stuffing and some apple sauce (the latter isn't mandatory).

There are also opportunities to buy local products, including the fine products of the St Peter's Brewery, based in the nearby village of St Peter South Elmham, ice cream from Norfolk and all manner of other good things.

We were lucky in that the sun shone, although this did mean that traffic was heavy and parking difficult. If you are thinking of going, my advice would be to turn up early, or wait until lunchtime, when the crowds thin a bit. And, if you can't make it to Bungay in May, you might try the Antique Street Fair in June, or the Christmas Street Fair in December...

The Government clearly doesn't worry about all of the working poor

In terms of Civil Service pay, I'm comparatively lucky. I'm never going to become rich on my salary, but my needs are met as long as I don't get careless.

Many of my colleagues, on the other hand, earning less than £20,000 per year, struggle to raise families and put a roof over their heads. Housing in London is increasingly out of their reach, their salaries have lost value in real terms, and they acknowledge that the Government is terribly keen to use them as an example to the private sector in terms of clamping down on wage inflation. Of course, most of them have been affected by the loss of the 10% rate band, and some will still be worse off after Alastair's little fix.

So, the pay rise due for June will be quite welcome, you would think. Alas, despite the unions putting in their pay claim in good time, it has been announced that HM Revenue & Customs will need more time to commence negotiations, as they are still unclear as the amount of money available to cover any settlement.

Given that the lapsing of the existing pay deal was hardly a secret, it is a sign of the increasing shambles at the top of the political food-chain that the message sent to staff who have been asked to make 5% budget savings year on year whilst shedding 25% the staff over six years is, "We don't care enough about you to fulfil our moral and ethical obligations toward you."

I fully accept that civil servants aren't wildly popular. The image of tea-drinking, form-filling jobsworths is one that has been cultivated by the right-wing press over many years, yet when something happens that upsets people, the cry of "something must be done" is heard. By whom? The government, of course. Who does these things on behalf of government? Oh yes, civil servants...

If you're too incompetent to live up to your end of a contract, there is a price to be paid, unless you're the government and the contract is with your own staff, it seems. On the other hand, if you're a government that's 20% behind in the polls, you might not want to see a naturally friendly constituency go out on strike against you, especially when you need all the votes you can muster... Over to you, Mr Darling?

The 10p debacle - why the bleeding won't stop

It's all become like passing the scene of an accident on a motorway. As people drive by, they can't help but slow down to look at the grisly sight of wreckage and perhaps the odd smear of blood. Voyeuristic, I know, but human nonetheless.

Alastair Darling, having been given one of the worst 'hospital passes' of recent years, understandably concluded that silence was the best approach to dealing with his inheritance from Gordon, and it would probably have worked but for the misfortune that at least one opposition party was on the ball. The calculation wasn't difficult to do, but the fact is that either it wasn't done by the Government or, worse, it was and they ignored it. It does, I admit, puzzle me that there was silence from the Labour benches, but they probably took their eyes off the ball celebrating the reduction in the basic rate of tax to 20%.

And so the demands for a fix, and a quick one at that. Worse still, the Conservatives were allowed to claim that they were standing up for the disadvantaged. Chutzpah, I admit, but a fine example of the art of opposition.

I have to admit that the solution is a pretty elegant one. By reducing the threshold for the 40% rate band by £1200, higher rate taxpayers do not benefit, whilst most of those who had lost out are compensated in full. There are some additional beneficiaries, like myself, who earn between £18,500 and £40,000, who benefited from the reduction in the basic rate and now benefit from the enhanced personal allowance but we won't complain.

The downside is that we have a government that is on the run, and everyone knows it. £2.7 billion to fix what might charitably be described as a mistake is not a promising start in rebuilding economic credibility and the package has an impact in future years in terms of income tax take. Of course, the Chancellor might be planning to claw it back, for example by not increasing allowances or rate bands with inflation next year, but everyone will be watching now, and such slight of hand will be harder to get away with. Besides, if we shout loudly enough, it will probably be overturned anyway.

The Conservatives and ourselves will be pecking away at the weaknesses in Labour's taxation strategy, knowing that in an increasingly complex tax system, the scope for unintended consequences grows almost exponentially. It isn't even necessary to offer a concrete alternative, as very few people will understand the concepts requiring grasp. On the other hand, cries of unfairness will have Labour's Treasury team running for the hills.

Finally, there is the question of the additional borrowing. There is now very limited manoeuvre in terms of borrowing is concerned if the various 'golden rules' are to be adhered to and, in a recession, an inability to pump-prime the economy could bring dire consequences for jobs and for those juggling large mortgages and other debt.

Credibility, once lost, is often elusive to those trying to recapture it. For the time being, Alastair resembles someone trying to catch an elephant with a butterfly net. And time, my friends, is not on his side...

List Elections - get better, or die trying...

And so the wedding is done, the honeymoon too, and it is, sadly, time to return to Planet LibDem. Yesterday saw a jet-lagged Regional Conference Chair attend a meeting of the Regional Executive, where thoughts of the elections past were uppermost on people's minds. I won't go into any detail as to what was discussed, although it would be fair to say that there was a variety of views to be had.

Our performance does lead me to ask one question though - is our poor performance in regional/state list elections a problem or an inevitability? We have become exceptionally good at fighting FPTP elections, squeezing opposition parties using the classic 'two-horse race' tactic. There is, however, a problem when you move into a list-based election system. You can't claim that X can't win here, because they can, and often do. The Greens, for example, have proved that beyond doubt.

Perhaps we need to start thinking about how we can give people positive reasons to vote for us. Labour and Conservative campaigners start with an advantage in terms of access to the media and, to be brutally honest, a traditional vote which takes time to shift. Other parties, such as the Greens, UKIP and the BNP have one issue which they have an incredibly strong view on, loathesome though it may be in one case.

For Europe, this should be easy. We are, by far, the most positive of the British political parties on Europe, and we should be talking loudly about how to make Europe better, more democratic, more accountable, more successful. That doesn't mean selling our nation down the river, and there aren't many of us who are so europhile that we are blind to its weaknesses. It's only a pity that those who matter in terms of our campaigning have seldom been keen on nailing our colours to the mast.

London is more complex. With its plethora of voting systems, first past the post for the Assembly constituencies, alternative vote for the Mayor and a D'Hondt based top-up list for the city-wide Assembly Members, how best to focus our efforts where they will have most effect is difficult to pinpoint. However, I think that we need to work on giving people something positive to inspire them out to vote for us.

It's time that we really learned to utilise our elected representatives better, especially our four London-wide ones, to fly the flag in places where we are weak, getting Liberal Democrat views into the local media. In turn, that means conveying a reasonably consistent message, and repeating it until it sinks in.

Time is not on our side though, with another region-wide elction next year, and we need to learn fast...

Pachyderm in bureaucrat-induced non-rampage!

Most people with Indian blood in their veins love elephants, or as the press here refer to them in their curiously old-fashioned manner, pachyderms. I am no exception to that rule so today was an opportunity to meet an elephant and, more importantly, introduce Ros to one for the first time.

I had arranged a sightseeing trip to an organic spice plantation in central Goa, as I know that Ros loves flora and cooking, in the knowledge that the farm has elephants. I made sure that I had packed two large apples and a camera, and we set off with our driver towards the town of Ponda.

The tour of the plantation was very interesting, and we both learned a surprising amount about the various spices and fruits to be found. However, for me, the highlight was our meeting with Ganga, a female pachyderm, weighing five tons. Asking the mahout for permission, I fed Ganga an apple, stroking her trunk and forehead whilst Ros looked on. I then passed Ros the other apple so that she could feed Ganga too and touch her leathery hide.

Asiatic elephants, once trained, are wonderfully placid, gentle creatures. Just don't try this with African elephants...

Bob Shaw: it's not about cojones, it's about hypocrisy, stupid...

I read Bob's recent conspiracy theory about the Crewe and Nantwich by-election candidate selection with some interest, as the only member of the English Candidates Committee who blogs.

Now I'm not a perpetual defender of the processes of the Party, although I'm perfectly happy to debate why things are done the way they are. On the other hand, it disturbs me when the 'system' is attacked without any factual basis for doing so other than ill-informed accusation.

Marc Goodwin is unhappy, perhaps justifiably, that he wasn't shortlisted for the selection of our by-election candidate, despite having already having been selected as the PPC for the next General Election for the seat. I don't know Marc, have no idea how capable he is, although he will have made it through a development day, indicating that he has met the standards required for approval.

He has made the assumption that he was not shortlisted for reasons of political correctness, although on what basis he reaches that conclusion only he can tell. He certainly hasn't, to date, indicated any evidence other than his own supposition. Now, Bob has jumped in to support him, as this clearly fits with Bob's conspiracy theorist view of the world whereby anyone who disagrees with him must be a fool to be ridiculed or a Cowley Street plant. He hasn't suggested that we are part of an alien, reptilian conspiracy, but I'm sure that, in time, we will be denounced as such.

Normally, such foolishness is best ignored, but one thing that really annoys me is hypocrisy. And like so many self-declared 'beacons of truth', Bob likes the bully pulpit. He tends not to like it when people have a go back (plus ca change...). And so, when confronted with a number of responses contrary to his position, instead of accepting that he might be wrong, he changes his argument, on this occasion stating that he would have made the same point regardless of whether or not a woman had been selected.

Not read your original piece, Bob? Not even the title? What an idiot! However, given the number of times he talks about balls, it's a pity that instead of having any attached, he has to just talk them instead...

London - a campaign in review

It would appear that an inquest is already underway into our disappointing result in London. So, I think to myself, perhaps a comment or two of my own is in order...

Picking our candidates earlier is indeed a good thing. We do it for Europe about eighteen months out, and we probably should have done for London. Perhaps the then Regional Candidates Chair should explain why we didn't...

The Mayoral candidate is a different question. A year ago, Ken looked pretty unassailable and both the Conservatives and ourselves were finding it difficult to attract 'sacrificial lambs' to run against him. In all honesty, had anyone known that Ken was going to implode so dramatically, I suspect that volunteers to take him on would have been much easier to find.

Indeed, the difficulty for Brian Paddick this time was that Boris's emergence as the Conservative candidate rather sucked the oxygen out of the other campaigns and a classic third (and for that matter, fourth) party squeeze ensued.

One interesting aspect was the result of the Greens on the Assembly relative to their Mayoral vote. They clearly managed to do much better on the Party top-up list than Sian Berry's vote would have implied. Perhaps our efforts to be seen as a serious party of government have damaged our ability to attract protest votes which have gone Green instead?

The Regional Candidates Committee will meet on Tuesday to continue their review of the GLA/Mayoral selection. Whilst I won't be there myself (romance 1, politics 0), I look forward with, until my return at least, vague interest as to their progress...

Fraternal greetings from the People's Republic of Kerala

Ros is taking a swim, so I thought that I'd take the opportunity to reconnect to the outside world.

After three days in Bangalore to recover from jetlag and acclimitise to the weather (it's about 35 degrees and the sun is beating down from an almost entirely blue sky), we've moved on to romantic India of legend, with a visit to Mysore, where we toured the Maharajah's palace before retiring to our hotel overlooking the famous Brindavan Gardens.

We stood on the terrace of our hotel, drink in hand, as darkness fell and the evening light and water show began. The gardens are renown for their appearances in Hindi movies and the moment when the lights all come on at once is absolutely amazing.

Since then it has been glorious scenery, amazing hotels and general pampering all the way. We've tested ayurvedic massage - in the cause of research, we haven't enjoyed it at all, you understand - eaten good food, seen some amazing sights and generally taken on a slightly darker skin tone.

Today, we leave our resort in the Kerala backwaters for a day on a houseboat. Think of it as being like the Norfolk Broads but with guaranteed sunshine...

Indian politics: it's all about loyalty, really

It's rather warm here in Bangalore but, just as at home in London, Karnataka is awash with election fever, with polls due to take place here on 10 May for the State Assembly.

The various political parties are vying for supremacy, as observers are of the view that the result in this southern state will influence the timing of Lok Sabha (the Indian equivalent of the Commons) elections to come. One interesting effect of this is the flurry of party switching for personal advantage. Whilst at home, political switching at local level is not unheard of, at more rarified levels it is extremely newsworthy.

Here, it appears to be part of day to day political life, and the threat of switching in order to obtain what is called a 'ticket' or candidacy is used, and not just behind closed doors either, but often through the pages of the highly influential local and regional press. Blackmail it may be, but it appears to be successful, especially as personality plays a much more significant role in getting elected than it does in British politics.

One of the side effects of such behaviour is to engender a tremendous amount of cynicism. It is assumed that politicians are corrupt, the argument being reduced to the degree to which they are. One result of this is that potential candidates are obliged to make a public declaration of their assets, the theory being, one presumes, that if a candidate is significantly enriched in the course of a term of office, this can be made known to the electorate.

Interestingly, two researchers from Harvard recently published the findings of their review of the estates of successful and unsuccessful Conservative parliamentary candidates. They discovered that those who had been successful tended to leave larger estates than those who weren't. Now I wouldn't suggest that patronage is necessarily profitable, but it does make you wonder whether all politicians go into the business for purely altruistic reasons...

Hello! Amaranth Edition: the sun shone and the bride looked radiant

It was such a wonderful day in Suffolk yesterday, with bright sunshine over Otley Hall, the sound of lute music accompanied by the call of peacocks and some of Mark and Ros's dearest friends and family there to witness their marriage. Naturally, I was there to represent the family. After all, we've been watching over Mark for some time now.

Mark was first to arrive in his sage green and cream striped frock coat, greeting guests, walking the grounds and keeping a stray chicken out of the Great Hall itself. By 2.50, Ros had arrived, flowers most tastefully arranged in her hair, wearing a cream brocade dress coat and carrying her bouquet in cream and white.

The Superintendent Registrar, having carried out the required checks, then presided over a moving and joyful ceremony as the happy couple exchanged vows and rings, with readings from Ros's friend, Bronagh, and Mark's father.

Champagne and canapes were taken in the lovely garden, with its H-shaped pond, moat and thoughtfully designed wilderness area, whilst the children present chased the surprisingly patient chickens and enjoyed the opportunity for play. Meanwhile, group photographs were taken, followed by some pictures of the bride and groom using the house as a backdrop.

Later, the bride, groom and their guests enjoyed a three-course meal highlighting locally-sourced pork and shellfish washed down with some excellent wines before the evening culminated in speeches by the acting-father of the bride, the groom and the best man (the groom's younger brother, Kirk), with Master of Cermonies duties performed by the dashing, and kilted, John Barrett. The cake was then cut before the bride and groom retired to the Salthouse Harbour hotel prior to their honeymoon in southern India.

It was a simply wonderful day, and the best wishes of the people of Amaranth go with them in the years to come...

And so the big day has arrived...

Welcome to the Salthouse Harbour Hotel, on the quayside in Ipswich, where a slightly nervous but pretty excited bureaucrat is preparing for a day to remember.


I've had a decent night's sleep, eaten a hearty breakfast, and successfully transferred from one hotel to the next. In about two hours, I'll be off to Otley Hall for a truly great day.


The sun is beginning to burn off the morning clouds and I have a good feeling. Wish us luck!

As Lucy might have put it, "Good grief, Gordon Brown!"

It is with increasing disbelief that I watch the neanderthal corps of Labour MP's stride into battle in defence of the poor following the abolition of the 10% rate band. Even those I considered to be of an intellectual capacity appropriate to being a competent legislator have been shown up as apparently lazy and feckless.

The cry goes up, "We didn't know what the impact of the last budget would be, it's all far too complex for our small brains to comprehend!". So, for Gordon Prentice and so many of his colleagues, let's make it simple. We told you so. We told you that, without compensating people through tax credits, those earning between approximately £5,000 and £18,000 would be worse off as a result.

What did you do? You applauded. You acclaimed Gordon Brown as a genius, so much so that you made him your leader without so much as a notional contest.

To be honest, I assumed that you didn't care about single, childless people. We aren't at the front of the queue when it comes to hardship cases - the elderly and small children make much better stories. And besides, you probably assumed that those of us who voted Labour had nowhere else to go anyway.

It would appear that I was wrong. There was no underlying principle, no strategy. You simply didn't understand what was going on, only that your job was to applaud and acclaim come what may. Astonishing!

This, apparently, is what the 'Mother of Parliaments' is reduced to. Frankly, I'm embarassed. On the other hand, I'll be looking forward to public meetings where there is an opportunity to question my local Labour MP. His defence of Labour intellectualism should be entertaining to watch...

Nervous? Me? Why should I be nervous?

A year ago, as our friend Julia points out, I fell into the category of people least likely to be married within a year. Not only was I doggedly single and quite hopelessly disorganised, but I was getting ready to move house and was somewhere between San Francisco and Melbourne, on my way to, eventually, Vanuatu. And then Ros came along...

It's been a bit of a whirlwind since then, with all of the good things that romance brings. We've gotten to know each other (not necessarily as easy or obvious as it sounds), and done a vast amount of organisation, much of it aimed towards tomorrow. Oh yes, tomorrow - the big day.

Normally, your wedding day is organised by parents, better still, her parents, who even pay for it all. On this occasion, given that we're a bit older, we've had to do all of the work ourselves and it's amazing just how much there is to think about, from caterers to florists, from wedding stationery to the Registrar. Luckily, Ros is hyper-organised (it's good that one of us is...) and everything appears to be in place for the perfect wedding.

Interestingly, my rather more laid back demeanor comes into play here. I assume that everything will be fine, on the basis that it's far too late to do anything about it. The people that we've engaged to deal with the various aspects are very nice, very patient, and give every impression of knowing exactly what they're doing. So, just as it is when I'm flying, I trust them on the basis that I couldn't do the job myself.

So I'm pretty relaxed, for now at least. I'm focussed on the end product of the day, i.e. being married to Ros and starting the rest of our lives together. And you know something, everything is going to be just fine...

Why the slaughter of Labour (not so) innocents should be a warning to us all

We're on our way back from the North East, having spent the day campaigning in Durham.

As in Northumberland, the highly unpopular imposition of a unitary authority across Durham has been the cause of much infighting amongst Labour councillors, many of whom have lost their seats through the abolition of the district councils, slashing the number of available positions by as much as 60%. Undoubtedly, for some councillors, the resultant loss of income will be a cause of much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Because this is County Durham, the Labour Party is most severely affected, although some Liberal Democrats will undoubtedly have been impacted too. I'm rather less sympathetic towards Labour councillors though, as they rammed the legislation through, against the vocal opposition of many across the county.

That said, I do have quite serious reservations in terms of the impact on local democracy. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that the new unitary authorities will be deliberately less open, transparent and inclusive, merely that a much smaller number of locally elected representatives will have greater responsibility and more work and, correspondingly, less time to fulfil their casework and public contact duties.

Most councillors have full-time jobs. If you ask them to attend more meetings, represent more people and cover larger areas, you can hardly expect them to manage the casework and meet the public, be it through canvassing or public meetings. The public will effectively be distanced from their representatives and lose that connection with their local authorities.

One does wonder if, indeed, this is the intention of an increasingly managerial Labour government, whose paranoia about releasing their grip on local authorities grows by the day. They have talked a decent enough game on localism whilst, at the same time, imposing unpopular unitary schemes on counties such as Cheshire, Durham and Northumberland. Their proposals for the governance of local authorities tend towards the 'one size fits all', unless of course, it is something called for by one of the loopier Labour authorities such as Stockton-on-Tees.

'Best' of all are their proposals founded on a curious belief in strong leadership, in Labour-speak, strongman leadership, where responsibility inflexibly lies with one all-powerful figure, usually supported by a small cabal, leaving the remaining majority of councillors to attempt to hold them to account. We've all seen how effective this is in London, where Ken rules supreme with the support of just nine of the twenty-five Assembly members.

And yet there appears to be no underlying priniciple other than that of virtual totalitarianism. The now Department of Communities and Local Government has had so many changes of leadership that we have a kind of bungy decision-making. A new Secretary of State arrives, makes a serious of pronouncements which contradict those made by his/her predecessor, causing councils to attempt the administrative equivalent of tapdancing on quicksand, only to be pulled out and replaced by someone new, who promptly... well, you know what I'm going to say.

Comrade Brown has, over the years, pontificated about the importance of economic stability in the construction of a sound economy. Administrative stability is important too, especially in enabling local authorities to plan the effective provision of key services. Perhaps a period of silence on the part of the current Secretary of State might be helpful?

A bureaucrat's response to artistic criticism

I really knew that I should have researched more on the haiku form before I blogged yesterday. On the other hand, canvassing in Alnwick seemed to be more immediately relevant. At least the erudite nature of my readership is apparent.

So, here is a response to the anonymous Tory leafletter in inner London...

Tory Boris fan
Get used to some frustration
Johnson is a fraud

Inspiration strikes in Berwick - my day as haiku

I don't know much about poetry, and less about the noble Japanese concept, but here goes anyway...

Train
A duo of baronesses
Leaflets and rain
The sting of hail
Kindly old lady and her view
Fiona and her car
Alnwick
More rain
Canvass cards slightly damp
Alan Beith
Sunshine on the Castle
Seagulls

Taking the campaign to the North East, and vice versa

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, this entry comes to you from somewhere between York and Darlington, courtesy of National Express East Coast's free wifi service. It will therefore come as no surprise when I tell you that Ros and I are on our way to the North East to campaign in Newcastle, Berwick and Durham as part of their campaign in the forthcoming local elections.

Whilst Ros has a long record of campaigning around the country, given her responsibilities as our Lords spokesperson on Communities and Local Government, my history is not so good. I've not been terribly keen on visible campaigning, partly because I find 'retail' politics stressful, but because I've generally been busy with the administrative side of things (motto - going to meetings so that you don't have to).

That said, I've been encouraged by Ros to take a more active part in the campaigning work of the Party, and it is entirely right that even bureaucrats should get out and about, meeting voters and arguing the case for liberal democracy. So, today I will be canvassing in two Newcastle wards in support of our candidates.

We're very used to seeing MP's dashing around the country during election campaigns, but members of the House of Lords are a resource that we use much less effectively than we might. Ros is by no means the only Peer on the circuit, so to speak, yet when I talk to friends around the country about getting good speakers, they tend to be fixated on our sixty-odd MP's, forgetting that our Peers often have as much, if not more, to add to campaigning and fundraising efforts. They have the same portfolios, tend to get more time to speak and have, ironically, more influence on government business than to their colleagues at the other end of the Palace of Westminster. They often have quite interesting backstories - for example, one of our noble Lords was in RAF Bomber Command during World War II.

So perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise to see Ros appear at a Local Party event near you. Yes, she is running for Party President, it's true - one can hardly pretend otherwise, there's been enough overt campaigning. And yes, appearances do raise her profile. On the other hand, the opportunity to get eagerly sought media coverage is improved by the presence of a Parliamentarian, local members like to have a chance to meet them, especially in areas where we have comparatively few, and morale is raised by the realisation that someone out there actually cares enough to visit. Best of all, it's all free - we pay our own way...