Harrogate - Day 3: Kirstymania sweeps Harrogate

I have, in the past, noted my respect for the newly elected Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Kirsty Williams.

Winning an election is one thing, doing the job is another, however. Each 'first time' is studied by close observers of politics, analysed and picked apart to see if you're up to the job. It can be nerveracking, if you let it.

Kirsty's answer? To just let rip, to revel in the history and traditions of Welsh liberalism, to condemn the Welsh Assembly Government for their ineffectual, centralising approach, for their failure to take positive steps to help Welsh workers and Welsh communities. And not just the easy jibes, but philosophical, principled opposition, outlining our positive proposals to make Wales a better place, and proclaiming our role in delivering services to people across Wales.

She didn't stint on her criticism of Plaid Cymru, condemning the ease with which they sold their principles for seats in ministerial limousines.

Spirit, passion, everything you could possibly ask for, and rewarded with a thoroughly deserved standing ovation.

If you ever had any doubts, Kirsty, you shouldn't have them any more...

Harrogate - Day 2: Life is, apparently, a rehearsal

I gave the blogger interview a miss, on the probably sensible grounds that I have plenty of opportunities to ask my wife questions. On the other hand, I might not get as good a set of answers...

A few events in my role as Presidential consort, before we headed for the rehearsal of Ros's Presidential inauguration and presentation of the membership awards.

We arrived in the middle of what I presume was the final rehearsal of the Leader's speech. Naturally, I am not at liberty to report any details, that means any at all. However, I am sure it would be permitted to say that watching the process is very interesting. I'm also sure that my life expectation would be significantly shorter if I said anything more (the noble Lord Rennard's highly trained and extremely ruthless hitmen are still, I am assured, on duty...).

As past of the rehearsal, I now know who won the membership awards. Guess what? I can't tell you that either...

Harrogate - Day 2: English Candidates Committee meets my evil twin, Skippy

I've been working for some months with colleagues on the Selection Rules Working Group, and this morning saw us make a key presentation to English Candidates Committee on progress thus far. We clearly needed to get their approval in order to proceed and, for the most part, I think we have.

We are, as I have expressed before, keen to simplify the process where we can, reducing the burden on smaller Local Parties, and those where, to be blunt, our electoral prospects are not great. We also want to allow candidates to demonstrate a wider range of skills and techniques during the selection phase.

The sticking points are endorsements and campaign limitations. There is still a strongly held belief that endorsements are wrong, yet finding a way to police them is not emerging. On the positive side, I think that we have agreement on removing the rules as they apply to photographs, i.e. the 'implied endorsement' rules have been cast aside. I believe that the concept of verifying endorsements is acceptable and we will go back to see if we can steer a course that addresses the concerns of those who have reservations.

On campaign limits, there is resistance to the idea of spending limits. Concerns revolve around policing this, although I wonder why rules that work in public elections should be unworkable in an internal election.

Back to work, I think...

Harrogate - Day 1: In a darkened room with Howard Dean

At some point, I suspect that someone will realise that where Ros goes, they aren't obliged to let me follow. However, in the meantime, I get some opportunities that, how can I put this, might not be available to everyone.

The Liberty Network drinks reception with Howard Dean took place at a discreet venue, a little way from the Conference Centre. There was some very good wine served - no nibbles, unexpectedly - and a gathering of individuals who have, been generous to the Party in the past. Governor Dean spoke briefly but entertainingly before fielding questions from the floor.

I was keen to discover what he felt were the key aspects of his success as Chair of the Democratic National Committee. His enthusiasm for technology, his support for unfashionable State Parties and the purchase of their building laid a solid foundation for the success that followed. Interestingly though, involvement in more campaigns at more local levels, Mayoral and State House contests, has built a stronger, more permanent campaigning machine.

We were then shepherded out of the reception to a dark and shadowy room where a table was set for sixteen. It would be wrong if I suggested that it was, for the most part, a group of men smoking cigars, drinking the finest brandy and discussing world domination. For one thing, we're Liberal Democrats, so it was a non-smoking event...

It was a fine dinner though, and the conversation was extremely interesting. It would be impolite to report any details, as I would be the immediate target of Lord Rennard's highly trained team of ruthless killers. So I won't. I hope that you don't mind...

Harrogate - Day 1 : For Gawds sake, get me to the Rally on time

Alright, I've got the suit, my face is neat and smooth. Time to get to the Rally - after all, Ros is speaking.

So I set off, albeit a bit later than planned (but not much). Get to the Royal Hall and there's a queue. A queue that, unexpectedly, stops moving. "The hall is full!", we are told. Hmmm... The guy in front of me tries to pull rank with a steward. I joke that, "Look, I'm the husband of the Party President and I don't get special treatment...", and we are told that there might be room for a few more.

It turns out that they can get twenty more in, and I'm number 11.

So I'm here, and the Rally is about to start... Nice band...

50,000 somethings - a thank you to all my readers

My web counter, unnoticed by me until now, has clicked over the 50,000 mark. I have to admit to being slightly surprised by this, and kind of flattered. My family isn't that big.

However, I should take this opportunity to thank everyone who has read something I've written, commented on it or told me that they've read it.

It's been fun and, hopefully, it'll go on being fun.

Harrogate : Day 1 - Finding the perfect outfit

Of course, Ros is deep in preparation for Conference. Walk throughs, briefing meetings, rehearsals, committee meetings and all of those things that ordinary Conference attendees never even know about.

However, there are responsibilities for the First Spouse too. I have to look fragrant, smile sweetly and look as though I am delighted to meet everyone. The latter task is easy, as there are very few people in the Party that I would cross the street to avoid (and most of them don't know who they are either...).

However, when one is more walrus-like than sylph-like, the 'looking fragrant' role is more complex. Of course, I could cheat and send my kid brother to take my place - a kind of stunt double. He's taller, better looking, has a quirky style which sounds like a train wreck but works for him (we are talking about someone who managed to look good in a Black Watch tartan suit). He's kept his hair and is going grey in a glamorous, interesting way. I should hate him but he's a great guy.

However, I'm told that people can tell us apart and, worse still, too many people know who I am. Besides, I couldn't send Kirk to English Candidates Committee. He doesn't deserve that kind of punishment...

So, it's time to polish up. First to Steca's for a haircut. At least my hair will be in good order, and I enjoy the banter of a good barber.

Next, an suit. I've brought one with me but need a new one anyway. Yes, it's an expense, but I'm having dinner with Howard Dean this evening and so I need to look like an adult. Not blue, but grey, I think. Dark grey for preference, as I'm not sure that light colours really suit me. Time to go shopping, methinks...

A call to arms in the world's largest democracy

The front page of yesterday's 'Times of India' carries this message, as part of its Lead India '09 campaign;

I swear.
I swear that this time I will stand up
Not for what I believe in, but for what I don't.
This time I will vote. Not for, but against.
Against my own helplessness.
Against my own laziness.
Against two words called Chalta Hai*.
Against short cuts in queues.
Against cheating in exams.
Against Kharcha Paani** in offices.
Against powerless enquiry commissions.
And powerful vote banks.
Against religion in politics.
And politics in religion.
Against illegal constructions.
And legal loopholes.
Against every cynic. Every non-believer.
Against the belief that nothing will change.
Against the feeling that my
vote cannot make a difference.
Against every excuse for not voting.
And I will do this without fear or shame.
Because only by voting against all that
is destroying our today, will I give my
children something to vote for tomorrow.

I have to say that this expresses why voting matters better than anything else I've seen lately.

* a Hindi expression which reflects a careless attitude
** bribes

Congratulations to Henry - a father at last!

Alright, our scaly friend here isn't particularly cute, or spectacular but he is unusual. He's a tuatara, the last remaining descendent of a species which walked with dinosaurs, apparently.

Five years ago, I travelled more than 12,000 miles to see a tuatara, ending up at the Southland Museum in Invercargill, New Zealand. Their most famous exhibit was, and remains, Henry, an elderly (although not in tuatara terms) fellow.

In the past, he hadn't been of much use to the museum's tuatara breeding programme. Indeed, he'd bitten the tail off of Mildred, one of their female tuatara when introduced to her. However, having recently undergone surgery, he has experienced a bit of a renaissance, and finally managed to father eleven babies in January. Not bad for a 111-year old...

It's democracy, only bigger

Courtesy of the BBC, news reaches 'Liberal Bureaucracy' of democracy's 'Biggest Show on Earth'. Yes, it's time for India to elect a new Lok Sabha and the vast task of organising 828,804 polling stations is well under way. The BBC has some useful analysis, if you're interested.

The logistics are truly staggering, and polling will take place over a period of more than a month, every Thursday, starting on 16 April. To complicate matters for observers, different states will vote in different patterns, with some states using just one date, whereas Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh are using all five dates. The count itself will take place on 16 May.

In terms of Party organisation, the impact of events must be incredibly difficult to manage, especially for those political parties that operate nationally. And whilst the banning of exit polls last year will prevent the impact of information of actual votes influencing the outcome of later stages of voting, there is little doubt in my mind that information will seep out.

To make the whole thing more interesting, a number of regional parties will attract significant shares of the vote and, if recent history is repeated, will have significant influence on the formation of a working administration afterwards.

However, there is one really easy job in this election. A polling station will be open in the Gir Lion Sanctuary in Gujarat. Electorate? One. Vote early, and let the presiding officer go home, that's my advice...

Taking blogging more seriously

I've been blogging for more than three years now and, apart from the occasional burst of interest, my readership figures have been steady, rather than spectacular. I've not been terribly disciplined, and at one point could easily go a whole week without posting anything. In January, however, I was invited to be one of the contributors to GlobalPost, and began to take this blog a bit more seriously. I bolstered the advertising a bit, starting to blog more frequently and waited to see what would happen.

Unsurprisingly, my readership figures rose and, in the month to 2 March, my monthly readership has reached over 2,500 unique visits and very nearly 3,000 page views. Now, compared to the 'big boys' of political blogging, these figures barely register but, given that it's taken nearly three and a half years to reach 50,000 visitors, I'm quite pleased.

Of course, the more people reading your blog, the more money you make from advertising. I'm not going to get rich from the advertising revenue that 'Liberal Bureaucracy' brings in, but given that I'd earned $4.61 in two years, $4.31 in the past two months is riches indeed. By comparison, Iain Dale gets about 34 times as many unique visits. Whilst I guess that he earns more than $70 per month, I also suspect that he isn't making anything resembling a good living from it.

However, I'm curious to know whether or not there is any data on the amount of money earned by bloggers from advertising, and whether there are any reports on successful advertising campaigns which have used bloggers as anything other than a peripheral part of a wider strategy.

Anyone got any suggestions?

Executive remuneration: the opposite of a virtuous circle

Of course, one of the reasons why bankers are now deeply unpopular is the monopoly money salaries that were being bandied about.

But throughout the rise of traders and bankers into the big money league, the United Kingdom has seen Executive salaries massively outpace wage inflation amongst most of the rest of the workforce.

Personally, I place much of the blame for this into the hands of the City. An ever more short-term approach to investment means that companies are under greater pressure to achieve better results quickly, and the churn of senior executives accelerates in response to that. It's a bit like football management in that sense.

Therefore, a senior executive will want higher compensation to take on the enhanced risk of unemployment and reputational damage. That, sadly, is what the free market is all about.

Part of that compensation package will be designed so as to provide for a future beyond employment, and the tax benefits that arise from investing money in a pension fund are undeniable. For Sir Fred Goodwin, for every £3 that RBS put in, the government put in £2. Now, if my memory serves, a limit was recently placed on the size of a pension pot, but such a limit was not retrospective.

It just shows that, if proof were ever needed, that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and that economies are more complex than most people, myself included, can really comprehend.

The great pension debate - an uneasy civil servant writes...

I've watched the debate over Sir Fred Goodwin's pension with increasing unease. I suppose that this stems from two things, firstly my belief that a contract is a contract. Secondly, when a government claims that it will take retrospective action, then bad law is likely to result.

There is little doubt that the pension pot available to Sir Fred is absurd and, to many people, an outrage. Many will argue that the level of risk borne by him has been rewarded way beyond what can be justified. However, a deal is a deal.

One of the great attractions of the United Kingdom as a place to do business is the robustness of our legal system, especially that pertaining to company law. A contract, if breached, can be contested through the courts and the historic probity of our legal system makes it likely that any party acting legally will receive justice.

If, however, the Government decides that, just because the public don't like something, you should just override the law, the question arises, just what else might they override in pursuit of popularity? Is the legal framework reliable? Should we be moving our business to a more secure jurisdiction?

Indeed, if Sir Fred's legal entitlement to a pension can be taken away from him by the Government because it is unpopular, who else is at risk?

I'll declare an interest here. As a civil servant, I benefit from what is perceived to be a rather generous pension scheme which is often the subject of attack by the Press and by politicians. For more than twenty years, I've been told that this pension provision is factored in when considered an appropriate level of pay. And, I have to say, I'm not expecting to be as rich as Croesus when I qualify for it (I've just had an update of what I can expect on retirement). It would, however, be popular amongst the public if it were to be taken away.

Liberal Democrat Voice has now launched a humourous campaign to 'shred John Prescott's pension'. I'm not entirely convinced that it is funny, but it does make a point.

No, if you really want to deal with the issue of Sir Fred, use the existing law to see if he has done anything illegal, and punish him accordingly. Whilst stupidity is not an offence punishable by the State, and there is no doubt that the various boards of the banks made some very foolish decisions, if the banks had been allowed to go bankrupt, Sir Fred would have got nothing.

Perhaps that offers a way forward...

Monday morning - Colchester Station

Somehow, I'm not convinced that Simon and Garfunkel would have been especially inspired by such a scenario although, as if in consolation, the sun is shining.

Unusually, my inward journey from mid-Suffolk is delayed by both a signal failure at Colchester and a bridge strike at Kelvedon, so I may be pretty late this morning.

My fellow passengers this morning in seats B9, 10, 13 and 14 are a Chinese couple and their astonishingly cute child, and a young lady reading a book entitled 'Situating Postcolonial Studies'. Me, I'm just reading The Times, doing the puzzles and thinking about ringing my boss to tell him how late I'm going to be...

James Graham vs Paddy Ashdown - not exactly King Kong vs Godzilla but...

Just before Lib Dem Voice went down for a little while as part of an upgrade, James Graham wrote a piece about David Omand's report on the necessity of big databases to protect us all.

The report itself is pretty alarming, and as a member of Unlock Democracy and a Liberal Democrat, I thought that it was entirely appropriate to tip ordure on the report itself. And, if James had done so, I suspect that most of us would have said something along the lines of "quite right too!", harrumphed a bit and moved on.

Unfortunately, James felt that it was necessary to play the man. Curiously, not the man who wrote the report, but he played the man nonetheless. There are those amongst us who might be hesitant to 'play' a man capable of killing with his own hands in multiple languages but James is rather more robust than many of us. Perhaps a little less robust after placing the following words in the public domain:

"Otherwise, you risk being a party to the sort of lazy, whitewash journalism that the Guardian article above exemplifies."

At the bottom of page 2 of the report, the following paragraph appears:

"The views in this paper are those of the author alone and are being published here in the hope of advancing public debate. They do not represent the views of the Commission panel or the views of any sponsoring organisation."

I can't help but feel that James has made a bit of an ass of himself here. At this point, I could just emphasise that this neatly demonstrates the point I made a few days ago about playing the ball rather than the man. However, there is a little more to this story than meets the eye.

And so, Paddy has responded, with the sort of crushing riposte that Machiavelli would have been proud of. There is, after his assault, little left but the smoking ruins of James's credibility as a reliable source, for the time being at least.

If only he had focussed on James though. His opening salvo was, to my mind, a misunderstanding of how an operation like Liberal Democrat Voice works.

"What sort of Lib Dem organ is it which makes the outrageous charges made in this piece about a fellow Lib Dem without even asking the Lib Dem concerned to comment before hand?

What sort of Lib Dem organ is it which, having published this kind of article, then closes the comment column so that a response is impossible and forces me to contact the Editor directly to provide a response facility?

What sort of Lib Dem organ is it which prefers to indulge in wild speculation about a colleague’s integrity – but hasn’t even bothered to look at what he or she has said on the record about, in this case, the Government’s plans to establish an “all seeing IT system”."

Actually, what sort of respondent doesn't check the fact that this is an opinion piece written by an individual? Well, apart from James, that is... Liberal Democrat Voice does clearly explain that;

"Views expressed on this website are those of the individuals who express them and may not reflect those of the party."

Ironic really, that James should be right to address the report but choose to attack the innocent bystander, and Paddy should be right to attack the article but choose to attack the... innocent bystander. Is this a new trend, 'tough on innocent bystanders, tough on the causes of innocent bystanders'?

Me, I blame the trees that were cut down so that the Orange Book could be printed...

A (European) Returning Officer's work is never done

One of my more pleasant tasks over the past ten years has been the five-yearly job of being Returning Officer for the South East European Regional List. On each occasion, I have enjoyed working with the Selection Committee, met and worked with a wide variety of applicants, and interacted with local members everywhere from Newbury to Canterbury, and from Oxford to Haywards Heath.

Curiously, with a list election, the Returning Officer remains in post until the close of nominations, so I am still technically on call. David Grace, who was selected to fill the tenth and final slot, and I have a running gag about a 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' scenario whereby candidates above him drop out, and he gets elected.

Frankly, I'd quite like to see David in Brussels, as he is one of the most forthright proponents of a European vision I have encountered. He's not pro-Europe for the sake of it, but has an acute understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the structures and policies of the Union.

As I've previously posted, I've already been called into action once, and, even at this late stage, anything can happen. So it was convenient that Ros was the keynote speaker at the South East/South Central Regional Conference, giving me the opportunity to touch base with members of the Selection Committee.

I also took the opportunity to discreetly lobby members of the English Candidates Committee in support of some of my proposals for reform of the candidate selection rules. Whilst the working group is now of the same view, we still need to convince English Candidates Committee and then English Council.

It's only a whimsical notion, to fly down to Reigate tonight...

Ah yes, another dinner beckons, this time in Reigate. It's been a pretty enjoyable day so far, having found time to meet my father and kid brother for lunch.

My father is celebrating his birthday over the weekend and, due to the difficulty in getting the family together, I grabbed the opportunity to spend a little time with him, with my brother, talking about family and stuff.

Given the difficulties on maintaining any sort of diet or exercise regime - I don't usually get to pick the menu, my routine is almost non-existent, I'm trying to develop the art of picking the least damaging options when I actually do have a choice. So I took the smoked chicken Waldorf salad which, I have to say, was very good. It was accompanied by two bottles of Viru, an Estonian beer which comes in curious octohedral bottles. Very nice, slight hint of vanilla, according to the tasting notes.

Best of all, I managed to avoid that 'I'm full and all I want to do is sleep' sensation that lunch often generates in me. Given the amount of work that needs doing, that's probably a good thing.

And now I'm on my way to Reigate. You know, I could really enjoy some fish. I wonder what they'll serve...

A 'strong leader' for London?

According to today's Evening Standard, the Labour Party have made a secret approach to Sir Alan Sugar to see if he would be willing to be their candidate for Mayor of London in 2012. Indeed, so secret is it now that most of London is either aware of it, or haven't left their offices yet.

Now I have no personal axe to grind against Sir Alan (although I'm guessing that Arsenal fans probably do...) but one does wonder what qualifications he has to run a city. In particular, does he have the skills required to work with a variety of local politicians, representing at least five political parties, whilst under public scrutiny? It isn't as simple as giving an instruction and expecting something to happen.

The job of Mayor requires diplomacy, tact and persistence. It needs someone who understands the art of the possible and that hard choices come with moral and ethical consequences, not just economic ones.

Oh yes, and you'll have to beat Ken Livingstone just to get the nomination...

Eighty years old - and still going strong

I have, from time to time, touched on the wonderfully collegiate feeling amongst the Parliamentary Party in the Lords, and last night was one of those occasions that brings a bit of a lump to the throat.

To mark the eightieth birthdays of four of our Peers, a party was thrown to mark the occasion. Naturally, given the difficulty of pinning everyone down to a date, it evidently took a little while to arrange, but a glittering array of Liberal Democrat Peers and their spouses, partners and family members gathered to celebrate the continuing lives of Lord (Eric) Avebury (born 29 September 1928), Lord (Bill) Rodgers of Quarry Bank (born 28 October 1928), Lord (Dick) Taverne (born 18 October 1928) and Lord (Geoff) Tordoff (born 11 October 1928). A pretty good month, I think you'd agree...

I have to admit to being a bit starstruck, as all four were political celebrities at one time or another, and I am a bit of an 'anorak' in that sense. Ros and I were at a table with Eric and Geoff, plus the noble Lords Dholakia and McNally, and it really was a lovely evening.

Eric is in astonishingly good form, having just got back from Bangladesh, and we had an opportunity to talk about his blog. Amazingly, it has never been part of the Lib Dem Blogs aggregator and I asked him why that was. The answer? He didn't know who to ask, which just goes to show.

After an excellent dinner, the four octogenarians made brief speeches. Eric started by telling the story of how he became our by-election candidate in Orpington - I'm still not sure that if someone had published it as fiction, it would have any credibility at all... Bill then gave a speech which is unreportable, if only because it only really made sense if you were there (and I'm not wholly convinced that being there helped). Let's just say that I can claim to have met the unknown Python, and that Bill might be an undiscovered comic genius.

Dick waxed lyrical about the joys of being in the Lords, and listed the warning signs that you should look for to see if it might be time to retire gracefully, before Geoff told some stories of former Leaders and Chief Whips in the Lords.

As Eric noted, old age begins ten years beyond his current age, so most of us have a while to go before we're old. Except, of course, that Lord (Derek) Ezra celebrated his ninetieth birthday over the weekend, and Lord (George) Mackie of Benshie will reach the same age in July. And they're all still turning up at the Lords, still voting, still speaking, still asking questions, and still doing their bit for a more liberal society. We are very lucky to have them...

A question for the Daily Mail: second generation Englishman or fourth generation Nazi appeaser, which should you celebrate?

I'll be honest, when it comes to the Daily Vile, I yield to no one in my revulsion for a newspaper whose core readership is people who think that they're smart enough to have an opinion of their own yet believe everything they read in it. And so, when they announce that, if one of your parents is a immigrant, you aren't really British, it really is time to put the boot in.

Unlike the 1st Viscount Harmsworth, there is no record of my great-grandfather flirting with support for the Nazis, championing the British Union of Fascists or calling for alliance with Germany. Indeed, my great-grandfather was almost certainly less judgemental, more truthful and more measured in his language and tone than the average Daily Mail leader article is.

And these idiots would like to imply that I am somehow less than English? I am deeply proud of my status as an Englishman, proud enough to feel that I am privileged to be one. This does not mean that I am any less proud of my heritage, and given the behaviour of some of the people that qualify under the criteria of the Daily Mail's 'Britishness test', I thank my lucky stars that I have the diverse background that I have.

The day on which a Prime Minister tells the editor of the Daily Mail to go boil his head cannot come too soon...