The sanctimonious duplicity and double speak of the Green Party in Norwich South

Update : Before I start, and for the sake of clarity (since some Greens reading this article keep going on about Lib Dem bar charts in the comments), can I make clear this article is not about the Greens use of bar charts. It does, however, highlight that the Greens claims that Lib Dem bar charts are wrong, and only theirs are right, is a hollow lie. Please read and address the points I have made about the Green's use of statistics from two separate elections using different voting systems and the Green Party's own stated objection to the Lib Dems doing this. Also note that the Greens are still complaining about Lib Dem claims that the Greens were in 4th place in Norwich when the result last Thursday showed that the Greens were in 4th place ? Confused ? Read on.


Main article starts 

The Green Party have been the darlings of the local media in Norwich for some time. Their success in local elections has allowed local news media outlets to have easy copy on politics issues that seems different and quirky, whilst those same media outlets never expose the Greens to cross examination of their policy, the conduct, their behaviour and their sheer duplicity which those of us who have analysed them for sometimes can see plain as day.

The media had something of a wake up call during the Norwich by-election when the Greens ramped themselves up, and the media fell for it hook, line and sinker.

BBC East gave the Green candidate Rupert "I was once a Lib Dem" Read a seat on the special by-election debate, at the expense of the UKIP candidate, whilst Radio 5, ITV and Sky News frothed with excitement as the Greens told the story of how they were going to cause a major upset.

The Green campaign also got plenty of press attention for a meaningless campaign pledge that the Lib Dems refused to sign for the simple fact that it was meaningless. The media made great play of the Lib Dems refusal to sign the pledge, but printed not one word when the Greens leaflets actually started to make personal attacks on the Lib Dems, despite the fact that the Green "campaign pledge" had supposedly promised not to make such attacks.

At the Norwich North Count, the extent to which the media had been suckered in by the Greens was evident when two reporters from Sky News asked me what was happening and the order of the finishers. When I said the Greens were in 5th place, they simply couldn't believe it and said "Poor Rupert". They had bought the lie, as had the BBC in their special debate. The UKIP candidate who was not on the debate panel came a very well placed 4th and beat the Greens by some distance.

The media had started to see the Greens as not always a trusted source of information. The Greens knew this and according to the EDP (in the print edition, not online) they brought up a high level delegation to speak to the local press and media to persuade them that the Greens could win Norwich South with the EDP going as saying that Adrian Ramsay was made deputy leader for the purpose of giving him a higher media profile). It appears the press learnt from this.

The Norwich North by-election should have been the springboard for the Greens Norwich South campaign, instead it had the opposite effect. The Greens had made fools of the media and would take their comments with a large dose of salt.

The Greens like to talk up the prominence of their councillors and how many they have in Norwich, but in all their literature, offer no solutions to the issues facing Norwich. They run petitions to save this, preserve that, stop the other, but never get round to looking for an answer or coming up with a realistic alternative. it's opposition for oppositions sake, only it isn't when it comes to council votes.

All too often the Greens fail to vote against Labour, leaving it to Lib Dems and Tories to vote against, knowing that Labour have more seats than the Lib Dems and Tories combined, whilst the Greens sit on their hands an abstain when Labour really could be beaten.

So on to this campaign, and the rank hypocrisy, insults and double speak of the Green Party that is endemic in the campaign.

For many months now the Green's have been complaining about the Lib Dems use of the 2005 general election statistics to show the Greens were not best placed to beat Labour. The Greens instead insist on using the most recent local election results or Euro election results.

I should stress, I am not moaning about the barchart. I am however making the point that the Greens moan about Lib Dem bar charts, but are no less willing to use bar charts to make whatever point they want to make. The difference is that the Greens only see it as wrong for the Lib Dems to do this, not for them !

This leaflet shows the statistics the Greens like to use.

You will note that it claims the Greens are in 34% and the Lib Dems on 25%. Theses figures are from the Euro elections.  Is this a fair or accurate figure to quote when referring to a parliamentary election ?

Well according to the Green Party's own Norwich North candidate, Rupert Read, it almost certainly isn't.

He bemoaned the use the Lib Dems made of a bar charts showing general election votes when campaigning in the Euro elections in an article he wrote for Liberal Conspiracy.

Rupert Read said using bar charts from differing electoral systems was was

"a pre-determined, deliberate attempt to undermine the Green campaign using indefensible statistics"

So we are clear, using statistics like this is considered to be wrong by the Greens. So why have they then claimed, on the basis of the Euro election results (under a form of PR) that they are therefore

 "the main challenger to Charles Clarke" 

Surely doing this is, in the words of Rupert Read, was a cynical attempt to

" misrepresent the voting system and our prospects."

Of course, as Rupert added at the end, in deliberately doing these things, people will rightly say  

"we will never let you – nor the public – forget the wrong that you perpetrate, each time you draw a misleading graph, cite an irrelevant statistic, deliberately mislead readers about another Party’s chances…" 

Indeed Rupert, these are lessons the Green Party needs to take heed of. You like to portray yourselves as cleaner than clean and above politics. Your party campaigns in Norwich almost as a "None of the Above" party, who can always be trusted. But every time you seek to criticise the opposition for being poltiical parties and fighting political campaigns, you expose your party as hypocrites.

Of course, the result from the General Election has proved very clearly that the Lib Dems assertion that the Green Party were in fourth place was completely correct, and the Green Party were wrong.

You'd think they might just accept that they made a mistake, but this has been compounded by the comments made by their defeated candidate today. Speaking on the local news today, Adrian Ramsay claimed the Green vote had doubled, and the Lib Dem and Labour vote was falling. Now this is only true if Mr Ramsay now accepts the Lib Dems use of the last general election results were correct, something that the Greens totally reject on their leaflets.

So not only do the Greens peddle leaflets with statistics that they would themselves condemn in articles if they had been delivered by another party, they then decry other parties using the correct figures and then use those correct figures when it suits them to "spin" their way out of a bad result.

And the Greens have form here.

Just a few days ago the Greens were complaining about an opinion poll that put them on 19% in Norwich South. Interestingly, the Lib Dems chose not to complain and just got on with campaigning. Interestingly, the 19% the Lib Dems were given in the poll underscored the Lib Dems final voe by 10%, but the 19% the Greens got overrated them by 2%. It's the only time in political history that a political party had complained that they were being made to look good, but it highlights the Green Party's delusions that they somehow have a divine right in Norwich South.

So it is this driven from the top or is it endemic in the Greens ?

Well if you search the blogs and twitter, you will similarly see what the Greens are like if you scratch the surface.

One comment that caught they eye was this from a Green activist who was in Norwich yesterday before the final result was announced.

When I challenged her via twitter to justify herself and explain why Simon Wright, a former teacher who has had a real job in the real world,  was a, in her words "careerist git !" where as Adrian Ramsay, a full time politician who has been on the city council since leaving university isn't a careerist

Her reply was that it was different for Adrian (presumably because he is a Green)

So ignoring the fact that Simon's family live in Norwich, he lives in Norwich, his wife is a City Councillor, he is a "careerist git".

Still worse was the Green activist's comments on Simon's unsuitability compared to Adrian Ramsay based on their life experience and professions. It seems that the Green Party don't think teachers should be MPs becaus she then wrote

To be fair, some hours later (possibly realising that twitter leaves a paper trail) she did offer her congratulations to Simon. nut it speaks volumes about the Greens' self righteous attitude that anyone else wanting to stand for the area they grew up in is a "careerist", but when a green does worse and has never had a real job and instead has devoated his whole life to one aim, that is being a politician, so long as he is a Green, that is okay.

Perhaps I should return to Rupert Read, who writes today that

"We knocked on every door – which is more than all the other Parties put together did"

Now does he know this to be true ? Can he prove it or is it a political statement based on an assertion of his ? After all if he was being 100% honest he would surely need some proof ?

And in a stunning example of ignoring the facts, he goes on to state

" a typically-untruthful LibDem campaign going on and on about the seat being allegedly a ‘two-horse race’ between them and Labour"

Er ... Rupert. Check out the result. It was a two horse race. Lib Dems were first, Labour second, Tories third and you came fourth. The problem is, only one party was fibbing when it claimed that it was "the main challenger to Charles Clarke"

Who was that again ?

 So let's finish with Rupert Read's own words in the earlier article for Liberal Conspiracy when he wrote

"Such a betrayal of trust will not easily be forgiven; at least, not without an expression of contrition and a sincere promise not to re-offend."

Of course, the difference was that Hereward Cooke, the former leader of the Lib Dem group on Norwich City Council offered an apology for anything that was misleading in Lib Dem leaflets in local elections a few years ago.

Even today, the Greens are telling lies about the Lib Dems conduct in the campaign yet totally ignoring their own double speak and lies.

Forget claiming you are better than everyone else. Politics is what it is and the Greens play as dirty as anyone else.

The Clegg Bounce - An early opinion

People are already summising that the Clegg bounce did not help the party make a breakthrough, it failed to see the party progress, and it disappeared all too quickly. To justify this they point to the number of seats the Lib Dems lost. But is that true. I don't think so.

For myself, I have found people on the door to have been impressed by the Lib Dems, they have taken us seriously and they know more about us. But more important than anything else, consider where the Lib Dems would have been without the bounce.

How many more seats might the Lib Dems have lost if the Tory/Labour fight had been more intense with the Lib Dems totally squeezed out ? I could see, in these circumstances the Lib Dems not only losing a handful of seats, but the party have been reduced to 35 MP's and two elections of hardwork would have been undone overnight.

So don't blame the Clegg bounce for the Lib Dems doing less well than we hoped. Instead we should be grateful that the Clegg bounce stopped as doing as badly as we might have done.

Lib Dems gain Norwich South

I just want to congratulate Simon Wright on his wonderful victory in Norwich South last night (well, five O'Clock this morning).

I had been helping in Norwich South for most of the last week, and spent polling day running the operation in Bowthorpe, Wensum and New Costessey, so am very pleased to have played my part.

I knew, from twitter, that Simon must have been close to winning because the amount of personal offensive abuse being published on twitter by The Green party aimed at Simon Wright was utterly disgraceful. I hope those Greens think long and hard and will consider apologising for their comments which degrade democracy, denigrate the electorate and speaks volumes about the Green Party.

And for all those who say "It's on loan", the Tories said that about North Norfolk to Norman Lamb in 2001. Norman has a majority of 11,000 votes now ! Well done too to Norman.

And another prediction ...

I predict the Tories will JUST have an overall majority AND the exit poll from BBC/ITV/SKY is badly wrong about the Lib Dem number of seats.

My predictions

I might make myself look a fool here (why change the habit of a lifetime I hear you say), but these are my Norfolk election predictions.

1) Norman Lamb to win in North Norfolk with a greater share of the vote than he had in 2005.

Verdict ? Correct. Norman Lamb's share of the vote was up.

2) Keith Simpson (Con) to hold Broadland by 3000 votes

Verdict ? Correct winning candidate, but understated the majority.

3) Chloe Smith to hold Norwich North by 2500 votes

Verdict ? She held on by about 4000 votes.

4) Lib Dems to overtake Labour in North West Norfolk, but  a safe Tory hold.

Verdict ? Correct.

5) Lib Dem vote stays static in South Norfolk

Verdict - Lib Dem vote very slightly down by 1%.   Correct

6) Great Yarmouth - Recount

Verdict - Almost correct. Tory gain though. 

7) Norwich South Lib Dem gain by 500 votes. Labour second, Tories third, Greens fourth.

Verdict - Correct

8) Other seats all Tory holds

Verdict - Correct

Good night all !

Vote Lib Dem for REAL change

David Cameron, would be a change from the present government like a blue table cloth is different from having a red table cloth, but he does not represent a real change from what goes before.

Cameron claimed to be the heir to Blair, whilst Brown was the heir to Blair. They both seek to be the new Tony Blair, and as most of the country knows, we actually don't want another Tony Blair.

If you want real change, where fairness is at the very bedrock of every policy. If you want a party that does not duck the issues and a party that has can really make a difference, then vote Lib Dem today.

Update: And can I wish particular good luck to all Lib Dems, but most of all to Norman Lamb in North Norfolk, Simon Wright in Norwich South and Dan Roper in Broadland.

Make a real difference in Norwich South - A genuine two horse race between the Lib Dems and Labour

Some really intelligent people here speaking about politics in Norfolk and Norwich.

Being serious for one moment, it is clear that Norwich South has, despite the claims of the Tories and Greens, become a tight contest between Simon Wright and Gordon Brown's Labour Party.

The only way to get real change in Norwich South is to vote Lib Dem and support Simon Wright.

P.S. In the video I am not looking around in in a deliberately deranged way, instead I am lookig at the two people I was talking two when the video person asked me to speak. You can see this in the final shot, but yes, it does look a little shify. Not media trained !

What is it with Norfolk political candidates ?

After Manish Sood, the Labour candidate described his own party leader (Gordon Brown) as the "worst Prime Minister in history", and another Norfolk based candidate who was standing in Cambridgeshire South East was stripped of his official candidacy because of lewd details being published about his private life, you'd imagine that  we might have had our fill of candidates putting their foot in in in Norfolk. But it appears not.

This morning local news media are reporting that the UKIP candidate for Norwich North, Glenn Tingle, has issued an apology for writing that we should blow up Iran and for denigrating people in Afghanistan.

Have you seen a Land Rover with Lib Dem and Tory Poster Boards in it ?

Both Lib Dem and Tory poster boards are going missing in the Broadland constituency and they seem to be linked to a Land Rover which has been seen in the vicinity of the poster boards on a number of occasions from various sources, particularly in the East of the Broadland constituency.

We know from the Tories that they are having similar problems, and it appears that somone is trying to cause a turf war between the Tories and Lib Dems, I have to say, with no success. The Tories know it is not us and we know it is not them.

We have a very good idea who it is who is responsible, but if you see anyone removing our poster boards make a note of their registration number and let us know.

Tory Party Election Broadcast - Schoolboy error and a costly mistake

Whoever decided to make the last two Tory PEBs identical in style, 75% similar in content, have the same music and the same look in every way has, in my view, made a silly mistake.

As soon as the PEB started, my first thought was "I've seen this before". My wife lost interest (and she's not political in any way) and said she'd seen it too. I wonder how many other people felt that too ?

The problem is, as soon as someone thinks they've seen it before, they switch off, put the kettle on, lose interest in the finer details, and in some cases will think the Tories stupid for showing an identical PEB twice.

Now the more it went on I noticed a few subtle differences. There was some reference to a contract (they did something in Norwich North last year and I don't think it did anything to persuade people or change minds), and one new but at the end. But in essence, it seemed like the same PEB as before.

I was told on a Lib Dem campaign training day once to make sure every leaflet looks different from the previous one or else people will think they are the same leaflet they have already seen. The rule should also apply to election broadcasts.

In my opinion it was a schoolboy error, a silly mistake and a wasted opportunity by the Tories.

Scare Leaflets in Broadland

News reaches me this morning of a group called the "Young Briton's Foundation", a supposedly non partisan organisation, who are delivering leaflets in Broadland with no imprint on them, with the clear aim of the content aimed at scaring people off from voting Lib Dem.

This is starting to make me think the Lib Dems are doing a lot better in Broadland than the Tories expected !

Update: It is claimed by one commenter to this blog that the Young Britons Foundation has as its president Tory MEP Daniel Hannan, who is well known for going on US TV to denounce the NHS. The YBF also appears dislike the NHS, supports torture or prisoners and other nasty things too. You know you're on the right side of the argument when groups like the YBF are against you.

Fifth hand delivered Lib Dem leaflet in Broadland

Yes, I know I appear to have skipped a leaflet, but I failed to count the tabloid that went out at the start of the campaign in my previous count up of leaflets.

So this is the latest leaflet going out in Broadland. My guess, with three days left, is that this is the final leaflet aside from "Good Mornings" and "Knock Up" leaflets in key areas.

Why are the BBC & ITV ignoring this story ?

Where are the BBC and ITV when it comes the THIS story ?

I don't expect Sky News to report it. The Murdoch press are firmly in the Tory camp already.

Third hand delivered Lib Dem leaflet in Broadland

This is the leaflet we have finished delivering in my ward in the last few days.

Lib Dem hand delivered leaflet in Broadland

This was the second leaflet we delivered by hand last week in Broadland constituency

Three weeks later, the leaflet the Tories are still delivering in Broadland

I was staggered today to receive through my door a leaflet that the Tories were delivering when the election was first called more than three weeks ago.

This is the one and only non freepost leaflet that they have got out.

Compare this to the four leaflets we (Lib Dems) have delivered by hand in my ward and across the majority of Broadland with another leaflet having gone out in my ward over the weekend before the election was called.

I'll put the Lib Dem leaflets on my blog later.

Kings Lynn is near Ribble Valley, or so think the Tories

News reaches me from a Facebook contact that the Tories in Kings Lynn have been hand delivering a leaflet that should have been distributed in Ribble Valley.

The Tories are blaming a "young inexperienced campaigner".

How young do you have to be not to realise that the leaflet featured a different Tory MP from Henry Bellingham (the Tory who represents Kings Lynn) and the large words "Ribble Valley" instead of "North West Norfolk".

How NOT to leave a good impression at a hustings meeting

News reaches me of an incident that did not leave a good impression as a hustings meeting was finishing last night.

At the very end, when the candidates were "meeting the public", when one member of the public commented about the age of the photos used on one candidate's leaflets, he was called  by the candidate "a pathetic little man".

Oh dear. Certainly not good practise for a candidate who under any circumstance should not allow himself to be rattled in public, and it perhaps speaks volumes about how this Tory candidate, who assumed he was set for any easy win, is finding the response on the door far less favourable than expected.

I won't name the poor individual. He's suffered enough misery for one day. And I'm off now for a day of delivering leaflets to make sure his fears of defeat become a reality.

Lib Dem Freepost Leaflet in Broadland

Here is the front and back from the Lib Dem Freepost leaflet in the Broadland constituency.
I can't photograph the fold out centre as my camera is not to hand. I might have time to do it tomorrow.

Conservative Second Freepost - Broadland Constituency

Here is the Tories second Freepost leaflet going out in Broadland.

It does seem to use all the same photos as their first Freepost.

Labour Freepost in Broadland

Due to being very busy with work and delivering leaflets, I have been unable to keep up to date with posting copies of all the leaflets on my blog, however, in an attempt to catch up I will post a number of them here in the next 24 hours.

Here is the Labour Freepost leaflet, which arrived last Saturday and another copy of the same leaflet arrived on Tuesday. Quite why the post office are delivering two copies of the same leaflet, is beyond me.

The other issue that is beyond me is why the Labour candidate, who is seeking to represent a landlocked constituency like Broadland, chose to have her photo taken on the coast ! Bizarre and showing a real lack of thought in my opinion.

The Third Debate - Cameron probably edges it ahead of another strong Clegg performance

Well despite Mandelson's spinning, it is clear that Gordon Brown failed to break out of the rut he is in and lost the third debate.

I felt Cameron had his best performance so far and probably edged ahead of Clegg this time, but I was pleased with Nick Clegg's performance overall and across the three debates, Clegg was the main winner, Cameron did himself no harm, and Brown did himself no good.

What will this do to the polls ? I expect it to confirm a further drop in Labour support, especially with ITV running a poll this evening showing that 40% of people who were planning to vote Labour were not so sure now.

Did you spot the unpatriotic element of the Tory Party Election Broadcast ?

Did anyone see the Tory PEB ? Did anyone notice the money in the broken piggy bank ?

If you look closely you will see all the coins were US dollars.

Isn't it slightly odd that the "keep the pound" party are using piggy banks full of US dollars ?

One to read ... Day 19

With the Daily attacks from the right wing press misleading people about the Lib Dems policy on immigration, it is worth reading Bracknell Blog's explanation of the current 14 year rule (which Labour and Tory parties support) which allowed an amnesty for all illegal immigrants.

Common sense finally overtakes the vanity of Broadland Conservatives

It's is interesting to see that the Conservatives have replaced a number of the poster boards that occasionally adorn the fields of Tory supporting farmers across the Broadland constituency.

The boards that first went up followed the Tories policy this year of putting Tory candidates faces on to the poster boards. This is great when you have a photogenic candidate (Liz Truss) or are a well known local MP (Henry Bellingham), but in some cases it really does not work.

In the first instance, the fact that you put your face on the boards really does mean you get only one chance to use them (unless you re-use five year old photos like Broadland Tories do). I know in North Norfolk we got plenty of value from our "Norman Lamb Winning Here" posters, and they have been able to be used over and over again, saving the environment and an awful lot of money.

The second reason why pictures are not always good is that it detracts from the simple message. You want people to notice the writing, the words, the logo, the colours, and not the face. In some cases I think Tory poster boards resemble estate agents boards and are less effective.

The final reason though, and perhaps Broadland Tories have shown this to be true, is that a face (even a five year old picture) of a chubby chap approaching retirement with a moustache is not always a vote winner ! So we have seen a number of boards change from the one with a picture of Tory hopeful Keith Simpson to one with a message on and no picture.

Certainly local people told me they thought them rather unimpressive and asked me who the the picture was of. One person told me Chloe Smith had really gone off ! I couldn't possibly comment.

Less than two weeks until polling day and Gordon Brown is having a relaunch

Desperate times for Labour it appears. Sky News and the BBC are reporting that Gordon Brown will today start having a higher profile in what has been dubbed a "relaunch".

One to read ... Day 17

An excellent piece by Richard Wilson highlights the Tories hypocrisy over press freedom.

When they were accused yesterday of organising the right wing press to make a co-ordinated attack on Nick Clegg, they claimed that the press should be free to report what they want without political interference.

Yet as Richard points out, the Tories made legal threats against the BBC to stop them showing a programme about Tory donor and "non-dom" Lord Ashcroft.

It appears, as ever, that the Tories like to talk about press freedom but don't actually believe in it.

English Democrats PEB

Having just seen the English Democrats PEB on TV, I have to say I am slightly bemused.

Some bloke presented the whole advert, looking neither excited or energised about what he was saying whilst the bullet points he was talking about were not even put on screen means you were left wondering the whole time who this rather boring bloke was. Also, the broadcast appeared to have been filmed on a cheap camcorder meaning that the colours looked slightly washed out.

Also, I was confused about their line about not being "left or right", when they stood sown in North Norfolk 5 years ago because they did not want to split the Tory vote.

I know they are a small party, but I think I could have made a better PEB than the one I saw tonight.

One to read ... Day 16

My one story to read today is the revelation on Lib Dem Voice that the Conservative Party called in the Tory tabloids to co-ordinate today's press attacks on the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg.

Sky News now firmly under Murdoch editorial control

I was amazed how many times Adam Boulton interrupted Nick Clegg tonight. I was astonished that Boulton then asked his own special question to Nick Clegg about the Telegraph slurs.

Then after the debate they  reported the result of only one post debate poll (the one that had Cameron ahead) and failed to report the statistics of the other two polls which had Clegg ahead and only said they were "close".

It seems that Sky news is now firmly under the editorial control of Murdoch. It certainly makes the case for why we need a BBC News Channel so that Murdoch cannot control our broadcast news media as his control of the printed press diminishes with the rise of the internet.

UPDATE - It is being widely reported on Twitter that the YouGov/Sun poll is unreliable as they started their poll before Clegg has actually spoken to sum up ! Absolutely shocking that SKY should report this poll and ignore the others.

No outright winner from tonight's debate.

Tonight's Prime Ministerial debate appears to have given no leader an outright win like last week.

YouGov had the results as Cameron 36%, Clegg 32% and Brown 28%.

ComRes had Clegg: 33%,  Brown: 30% and Cameron: 30%

Whilst Angus Reid have (in what is still a live poll) Clegg 35%, Cameron 32% and Brown 23%

So given the fact that there are three polls, guess which one the Rupert Murdoch owned Sky News are reporting ?

Yes, the YouGov poll paid for by The Sun.

I felt the debate was nowhere near as well run as last week. Sky seemed to abandon the remit which was that this debate was on foreign policy and Europe (why there was a question about The Pope was in this section is a mystery).

Adam Boulton kept interrupting Nick Clegg and started asking his own questions about The Telegraph headline today, which was outrageous.

The Telegraph reveals that Nick Clegg ...

... properly registered donations of £250 a month from three seperate businessmen to pay for a member of staff.

Sorry. Have I missed something here ? But it seems to be that the right wing pro Tory Telegraph is trying to say that something NIck Clegg offiicially declared back in 2006, was registered correctly, and went towards paying for a member of staff, is somehow wrong.

The adage of throwing enough mud at a wall and hoping some of it will stick seems to be the Tory press and Tory bloggers only weapons at the moment.

Nadine Dorries losing the plot ?

It appears that the Tories are starting to feel the pressure as it is reported HERE that Nadine Dorries rather "lost it" at a public meeting in her constituency when a Lib Dem councillor had the brazen nerve to walk in to the meeting to hear what she had to say.

So much for a more "open" style of politics that Dave promised.

Which Tory MP is using the same photo that he used 5 years ago ?

Anyone notice the similarlity in the pictures on these leaflets from 2005 and 2010 ?
This is the 2005 election leaflet from Keith Simpson

And this is the 2010 version.

Isn't it a little bit vain or even silly to be using a photo which is so obviously out of date ?

UK Airspace to open from 10pm

Some good news at last.

Desperate Dale grasping at straws

If  THIS is ths sort of lame attack the Tories are getting their bloggers to attack Nick Clegg about. it really is desperation time for the Tories.

Second Lib Dem leaflet in Broadland

Second Lib Dem leaflet in Broadland (well third in mine, but that's because my ward got an extra one !)

Labour leaflet in Broadland - A contender for the worst leaflet of the campaign anywhere ?

Surely this effort (did they put in any effort ?) is a contender for the worst leaflet produced by a political party in this election ?

It's like Ashes to Ashes or Life on Mars in that this sort of leaflet was last seen in this area back in the 1980s. Another sign surely that Labour have as good as given up here ? This leaflet went out in Acle but has not been seen anywhere else.

Lib Dems move in to first place in new poll

YouGov daily poll - Sun Apr 18


LIB DEMS 33% (29%) + 4%

CONSERVATIVES 32% (33%) -1%

LABOUR 26% (30%) -4%

The interesting thing is what happens now to Labour. Lots of people I know vote Labour only because it is the main way to stop the Tories where they live. With Labour now in freefall and looking defeated, what happens in the next week to the Labour vote could define politics for the next 20 years. Labour could (I stress could) fall away to 22/23% and the Lib Dems climb even higher or the Lib Dem vote could tail back to the high 20s (which would still be an amazing acheivement).

The interesting thing is the level of incredulity from Tory and Labour people on http://www.politicalbetting.com/ questioning the polling figures. I have never known the level of support we have been getting when campaigning anywhere outside of North Norfolk. In North Norfolk we used to work bloody hard for our vote (five or sic leaflets a year, even when there were no elections) and when elections came, canvassing was a joy. But today, just delivering in one of the Tories safest wards in Broadland, the response from people in their gardens, washing cars, etc, was just astonishing.

It might be a blip, but it's a pleasant one and something that Lib Dems have waited a long time for.

As I read on twitter earlier, Osborne (presumably George) told Rory Bremner his impression of Cameron needed more work. Apparently Rory Bremner said he was working on Clegg now, not Cameron !

Don't know if it's true, but its amusing.

One to read ... Day 11

Can I recommend Mark Pack's excellent analysis of the Lib Dem poll surge on Lib Dem Voice. 

A good balanced article with proper evidence related to history, not opinion.

Lib Dems second in new opinion poll

The figures are all here.

Lib Dems 30%, Tories 33% and Labour 28%.

First Lib Dem leaflet in Broadland

Here is the first Lib Dem leaflet that has been going out across Broadland. It's gone out in my ward (and the second leaflet too is 75% done, but I'll post that to my blog when I have 100% finished delivery).

First Tory leaflet out in Broadland

Very early to be receiving a Freepost delivered leaflet, in my opinion, and remember that for many people this may be their only leaflet of the campaign (if you live alone).

Three weeks without a leaflet until polling day is a long time to wait, and with the Tories bereft of local volunteers (as was witnessed by them shipping leafletters in from Brundall and further afield in the recent by-election I won in Taverham North), the chances of seeing a hand delivered Tory leaflet before the election is probably low.

From a design point of view, it seems very generic, the action shots are not good, too many feature the same jacket (buy a new jacket Mr Simpson !) and some of the issues he raises were issues under the last tory government (like our poor roads in Norfolk when the transport minister was a Norfolk Tory MP and did nothing !). Then again, I'm biased.

More, as you would expect, has been going out from the Lib Dems, so I will post that to this blog later. 

The final picture here is the fold out middle bit which opens up like a origami project.

Labour candidate in North West Norfolk opens his mouth and puts his foot in it

Three quotes from the Labour candidate Manish Sood which indicate why some Labour supporters in North West Norfolk have questioned the choice of candidate.

He feels that "The Queen should have more powers, people have forgotten - she is part of being British."

When asked if he is critical of the Labour Party when canvassing, he said: "People are unhappy. And I'm beginning to feel that the truth is the government doesn't like it. They are not prepared to change."


He added: "I know this is an unwinnable seat."

Methinks Mr Sood is not destined for greater things !

Nick Clegg wins the first debate

An ITV poll of 4000 voters has Nick Clegg as the clear winner of the first debate.

All I can say is well done Nick. He was great, confident, relaxed and had the best body language throughout.

The figures are

Sun/YouGov poll result - Clegg on 51%, Cameron 29%, Brown 19%


ITV poll - Clegg 43%, Cameron 26%, Brown 20%
I am so pleased.

Cameron's spin on the debates highlights how utterly vaccuous he is

David Cameron has tried to downplay the value of the three leaders debates by claiming without audience reaction and interaction they may be meaningless and sterile.

Of course, as the Lib Dem's have pointed out on the radio this morning, it was Cameron's team and the Tories who insisted on this sterile environment for the debates.

Isn't it just typical of how vaccuous Cameron is ? If he really wanted the debates to have more meaning, why were his team so keen to lock them down to be so restricted ? 

What will showing the debate in HD do for the party leaders ?

ITV are advertising that the first leaders debates will be shown on ITV HD. Whilst ITV are always short of content for their HD output and many might wonder what the point is of watching a TV debate in HD, it might be rather interesting for political geeks and those with a knowledge of the history of big political debates.

The famous debate that all leaders must have in the back of their minds when they are planning how they hope they will resonate with the electorate is the famous Nixon-Kennedy debate. The first debate between them saw Nixon turn up after a bout of illness, still suffering from an infected knee (which saw him walking painfully with a limp), and in an attempt to seem more controlled that Kennedy, saw him refuse to be "made up" by the TV company. Instead, his own team applied "lazy shave" to hide any 5 o'clock shadow, whilst Kennedy's team added make up to JFK to make him look well tanned. The result on screen was that Kennedy looked healthy whilst Nixon looked pale and gaunt.

Now it is often said and written that Nixon lost this debate because he was sweating profusely (something that will be very obvious on an HD TV tomorrow if any of the leaders to sweat ), but in truth, as a BBC documentary explained the other day, Nixon messed up by seeming to agree with Kennedy on too many points, leaving people thinking Kennedy was right and Nixon did not stand for anything different. With the argument gone that Kennedy was a risk to US safety, people voted for the charismatic JFK in large numbers despite Nixon supposedly having the better of later TV debates.

So will we learn anything in HD ? Arguably not. I think we all know what the leaders look like. I think Brown will look poor in HD, but he gaunt in standard definition so this will be no shock or surprise. Likewise, if the leaders are seen to sweat, will this win or lose votes ? I doubt it.

So whilst ITV may be excited about the debate being shown in HD, I can't see many people bothering because at the end of the day, it is the arguments and messages that are important, not the looks.

One to read ... Day 7

My one to read is .... Stephen Tall on Lib Dem Voice writes about Nick Clegg's confident performance against Jeremy Paxman and highlights too that David Cameron and Gordon Brown have chickened out of being interviewed by Paxman.

One to read ... Day 6

Today's offering is from Kiwiblog, and takes us through the Sunday papers editorials looking at the general election from New Zealand.

Contradictions of the Tory Marriage Tax proposal - Explained via a short film

Yes, I am sure I could have done better, but this has taken me hours to do. Enjoy, share, pass it on to others please. It certainly highlight the unfairness of the Tories plans and the Lib Dems simple alternative.

One to read ... Day 5

It's late so I will just point you to Tory blogger "The Daily Referendum" who has all the overnight opinion polls.

They all seem to have Lib Dems in the 16-21% range that we have been in for several weeks now, and little change for the others too.

My George Osborne YouTube Video Again

Since I spent a whole evening doing this video back in the Autumn, I thought I'd bring it to everyone's attention again.

Enjoy (unless you are a Tory)

Where is the Labour candidate in Broadland ? Have they given up ?

Not only have Labour chosen a candidate for Broadland that nobody has heard of and has done no noticable campaigning across the constituency, but at a public meeting last night to discuss one of the main issues in the constituency (The Rackheath Eco Town which the Tory council is forcing on the area), The Tory candidate was there, Lib Dem candidate Dan Roper was there, nut absolutely no sign of the Labour Party candidate.

You have to ask, have they given up already ?

One to read ... Day 4

My "One to read" today is Stephens Linlithgow Journal, who explains that if City Bankers are backing Cameron;s tax plans we ought to remember that we are in this mess in the first place because .. well ... because of city bankers ???

Read it HERE.

How much could you save under the Lib Dems ?

Under Liberal Democrat proposals to raise the tax threshold, 10% of workers in Norfolk would become exempt from paying income tax.

Using South Norfolk as an example, the lowest paid 10% earn £7996 per year.

The Lib Dem proposals to raise the tax threshold (by asking the wealthiest to pay more) would ease the burden on 3,800 people in South Norfolk alone -tthe equivalent to a place the size of Long Stratton.

Across the whole of Norfolk, 27,800 people would be taken out of tax altogether – or 11.68% of the working population.

Under the Lib Dem tax plans, the average person would save £700 per year in their tax bill, no one will have to pay tax on the first £10,000 of their income.

This will save the average working age taxpayer £700 each. Homes with two workers could be up to £1400 a year better off.

These tax cuts will be paid for by measures including closing tax loopholes exploited by the rich, taxes on pollution and a new levy on houses worth more than £2 million.

Lib Dem candidate for South Norfolk Jacky Howe says, “Ordinary people are paying far more than their fair share while the rich pay less than they should. Our plan will put money back into the pockets of those who need it most, pensioners and working people on low incomes.”

Top Tory blogger raises concerns about Tories National Citizen Service

I don't always agree with that most cerebral of tory bloggers "Letters from A Tory", but I tend to agree more often than I disagree. So I should bring everyone's attention to his excellent analysis of David Cameron's National Citizen Service.

VAT-Man and VAT-Man

One to read ... Day 3

My  one story to read today is from the Tory Blogger Dizzy Thinks, who points out what a total imbecile Labour Minister Stephen Timms is.

Sadly Mr Timms has a very safe seat and despite his clear lack of any knowledge on IT matters, he was one of those who pushed through (with Tory support) the Digital Economy Bill last night.

More evidence of a Tory VAT increase

Even top people in the pro Tory Tax Payers Alliance (TPA) are of the opinion that a VAT rise under the Tories is inevitable.

Read more about it HERE on the ever exellent Liberal Burblings Blog.

Looks like the Tories will trample the recovery under foot with their VAT Tax Bombshell.

Hustings and Campaigning News - Let me know what's happening in your street

Everyone knows I am a Lib Dem, but in the Norwich North by-election last year this blog became the main local source of on the ground election news, with this blog predicting long before election day that the national news obsession with the Green's was massively overstated.

I also made a point of publishing leaflets that I received and giving minor parties a chance to make their case to the electorate.

So with the general election now properly underway, I want your stories, be you a candidate, an activist or a voter who has been called on by a politician or has a bit of political news or gossip.

Now I will not publish salacious rubbish or unsubstantiated rumour, but I do want your local political stories from Norfolk and beyond. So if you have anything you think might be of interest, not matter what party you support, e-mail me at nichstarling@gmail.com or twitter @norfolkblogger .

Tories to put VAT up

Loving these posters today.

Tory VAT Bombshell

Another poster ... detect a theme ?

With thanks to http://twitter.com/LibDemPress

New Lib Dem poster

Effective, and a great deal better than the Labour "Gene Hunt" posters.

Thanks to the New Statesman Website and @sarabedford on Twitter

Same old Tories ... they always look after their own

It is being reported that one of David Cameron's key advisors is heavily involved in a company that is set to gain from proposed cuts the Tories are pledging to make.

Never let it be said that the Tories don't take care of their own.

But hey, don't expect the NHS under the Tories to look after you.

The less than great ignored slogan - Cameron drops his campaign slogan

Andrew Neil on This Week on the BBC tonight (this morning) reports that the Tories have dropped the Cameron slogan "The great ignored", presumably after focus groups ahve shown the slogan was not working with the electorate.

What a way to start your campaign with a slogan you drop after one day !

One to read ... Day 2

My daily pick of the General Election stories from the blogosphere again takes me to a local blogger, the excellent Malcolm Redfellow who tells us a lot more about David Cameron's choice of words in his Tory campaign launch.

I have to say, Malcolm's Blog is always entertaining and truly educational.

Desperate Greens go touting for interviews

Guess who was snapped by Guido Fawkes "Guy News" on College Green outside of the Houses of Parliament appearing to be seeking someone, anyone, who would interview them yesterday ?

Step forward Adrian Ramsay and Rupert Read of the Green Party. You know, the Green Party who like to appear to be different from everyone else (although if you live in Norwich you will know all they do is oppose everything and make uncosted promises about how everything will be better under the Greens).

Desperate, desperate stuff and possibly as vain as any politician could be.

Blogging and elections - Your views required

BBC Radio Norfolk phoned me up today as "one of the pre-eminant bloggers in the region" (I exagerate, they never said that) to discuss the role that I thought blogging would play in this election and campaigning. I am going in to do a piece with them next week about this and I have my own views of the relative unimportance of blogs.

Aside from the Uber Bloggers (Iain Dale, et al), do the rest of us make a difference ?

Blogs are, I know, a very good way of getting news out fast, which was evident from Chris Grayling and the Tory homophobia stories from last weekend. But aside from getting news out quickly to a very small audience, does blogging really affect mainstream opinion ?

I feel that bloggers are famous in their own back yards and that for 99% of the population blogs are completely unimportant, but for 1% of people, who had mostly already got strong party affiliations, they are important as a means of legitimised ranting. So in many ways blogs do little to really influence people.

But what do you think ? Leave some comments and let me have your views on how blogging will make a difference in this election.

One to read ... Day 1

I will, thoughout the general election campaign be trying to link daily to one story about the election from a blog you may have missed.

So for Day 1, can I recommend local Norwich based UKIPer Michael Heaver who tells us five seats we need to watch out for UKIP in.

A "Spoonerism" would make this headline correct

Just one slip of the tongue and this headline would have been perfect.

Is it yet another example of Vince Cable's dry humour ?

Note : Definition of "Spoonerism"

A quick look at the election battleground in the Eastern Region

The History

The Eastern region, along with the South East is the very bedrock of Conservative Strength in the UK. Going back to the 1987 General Election, Labour held just two seats in the whole region (Cambridge and Norwich South) , and despite much hyped expectations of gains in 1992, Basildon stayed Tory, Norwich North too, whilst only Ipswich was gained by Labour.

In the same period, the Liberal presence in the region was invisible on parliamentary maps. Sloppiness and an overconfidence in Clement Freud's old Isle of Ely seat, saw the Liberals wiped out in the Eastern Region, and despite some good individual showings, the Liberal Democrats were nowhere near winning any seats in the Eastern Region in 1992. Perhaps the most notable results for the party was the small increase in the Party's vote in North Norfolk, with Norman Lamb as a first time candidate, when in other Norfolk seats the Lib Dems did poorly, with many slipping to third place.

1997 saw a mass collapse of the Tory vote across the region, with Labour winning seats in some very unlilkely places. Jumping from third place in Harwich to win comfortably, whilst North West Norfolk going in to the Labour camp was a surprise to many Labour activists. Some might argue that it was a surprise to the newly elected Labour MP too as he was also re-elected as a County Councillor in another part of Norfolk on the same day.

Significantly for the Lib Dems, the newly redrawn boundaries of the Colchester seat gave them their first real target seat in the region, and with lots of targeted help, proper target seat support and two visits from party leader Paddy Ashdown, the breakthrough came with Bob Russell being elected as the first ever Lib Dem MP in the Eastern region. The two other seats the Lib Dems had classed as targets also got jolly close, with North Norfolk Lib Dems turning a safe tory seat with amajority of 10,000 in to a marginal with a small 1292 vote majority for the Tories, and in Southend West, the seat Tory David Amess had done the "Chicken Run" too from his Billericay seat he held narrowly in 1992, the Lib Dems missed out by a similar margin.

The 2001 General Election saw few changes. Labour lost out in North West Norfolk, which failed to surprise many , and saw further target seats fail in their bid to overcome small Tory majorities (Mid Norfolk comes to mind). The Lib Dems, however, did make progress with Norman Lamb winning North Norfolk for the Lib Dems after a long count, bundle counts and incorrect and unofficial claims that the Tories had won. Despite a large rise in the Tory vote in North Norfolk, Norman Lamb leapfrogged David Prior to win by 483 votes, setting up North Norfolk Lib Dems for an even bigger victory over the Tory Iain Dale in 2005, the same year in which the Lib Dems won their third seat in the region, Cambridge.

2005 was not a good year for Labour in the Eastern Region. In the London fringe, Braintree, St Albans and Welwyn and Hatfield were all lost, with Harwich and Peterborough swinging to the Tories and falling in to the blue camp. Whilst this was going on, former safe Labour seats became quite tight affairs. Places like Harlow saw Labour just cling on whilst Harwich swung all the way to the Tories with Doublas Carswell being elected.

So where is the battleground in 2010 ?

New boundaries favour the Lib Dems in the region this time in a way that they did in 1997 when the new Colchester seat was created.

Chelmsford's boundaries have been re-drawn, with the new seat based firmly on the District Council area that the Lib Dems do well in and the more suburban parts of Chelmsford where the Tories doing well being moved out. If the Lib Dems can fight a campaign like they did in recent local elections where they made significant gains in recent years from the Tories in the Chelmsford Parliamentary seat, then this seat above all others should be very interesting.

Broadland is a new name on the constituency map, but it includes a part of what was Norman Lamb's North Norfolk seat and also parts of what was Norwich North, which both sandwich the Eastern parts of what used to be Mid Norfolk. This is notionally a Tory seat and Keith Simpson, a largely anonynous Tory MP who is currently MP for Mid Norfolk is to contest the seat for the Tories. The Lib Dems have become better organsised in this seat, winning a string of local council by-elections in aras that are always traditionally Tory (Taverham, Wroxham and Buxton). Although it would be a big ask for the Lib Dems to win this on one go, it is not beyond the bounds of probability of the Labour vote tactically switches to the Lib Dems, who are now in a clear second place. In Dan Roper the Lib Dems have a very able candidate and this seat is certainly one to watch.

Depending on what your interpretation of the Eastern Region is, some people might think that Watford, as part of Hertfordshire, just about qualifies. This seat provides on paper a what might appear incorrectly to be three way fight, but that is misleading because the Tories, who were in a very clear second place after the 2001 General Election and who held the seat up to 1997 slipped back to third place in 2005. The Lib Dems, who now have a massive majority on the local council there and have the elected mayor, saw a dramatic rise in their vote in 2005 and must see this as a very winnable seat this time with a Labour majority over them of only around 1000 votes.

The Lib Dem's other main target is Norwich South, currently held by Charles Clarke, former Labour Home Secretary and minister for various other things too. The Lib Dems cut Clarke's majority massively last time and must fancy their chances here this time. Although local government election results have seen large gains for the Greens in recent years, history shows that in seats with strong green votes in local elections, their vote rarely transfers to them in General Elections and often votes Lib Dem. This is crtainly true in the Oxford seats where the Green Wards at a local level proved to have the highest general election votes for the Lib Dems. Certainly one to watch.

Looking for Labour targets is difficult. The key aim for Labour will be to hold what they have, particularly in places like Harlow and Watford. It seems unlikely that Labour will make any gains at all given that their strategy has, in recent months, to concentrate very much on holding what they have. In seats like Stevenage, where Barbara Follett had a strong personal vote and had built an effective local organisation, her decision to stand down might cause problems for them, but I would expect Labour to hang on there.

One seat that can expect a lot of Tory attention is Ipswich, which requires the same swing that Cameron needs in order to have an overall majority. Given the polls you'd expect the Tories to win this. Their biggest problem might be their deeply uninspiring candidate who, if the local news today was anything to go by, could bore for Britain.

Other Tory targets will include Great Yarmouth and holding Norwich North which in the case of the latter seat, has seen a lot of Labour effort in recent weeks in the wake of the Tory county council's decision to turn of street lights with little or no consultation. Chloe Smith had a lot of help from elsewhere last year and with the seat now not including the best bits for the Tories (Drayton and Taverham) could give Labour real hope of a surprise. I doubt that Labour will win, but Norwich North could revert to Labour early on in any Tory decline post 2010.

So in summary, I would expect the East of England to look pretty similar to last time. The Tories will make some gains, with some of these being made on the back of newly created seats like Witham and Broadland (if they can hold off the Lib Dems here). I would also expect a couple of Lib Dem gains and a couple of near misses (St Albans ?). Labour, I suspect, will lose just a few seats overall. But for all the effort, I am not expecting fireworks in the East. The election will be won and lost in the South and the Midlands, not in the East.

I expect one or two comments about seats I have missed, so would appreciate your comments and views.

Update : As has been pointed out in comments, Luton South and Bedford are also seats that provide a lot of interest given recent events.

Luton South is at a council level a Lib Dem target and with the scandal involving Margaret Moran's second home claims, the Labour Party will do well to hold the seat. The major problem for the Lib Dems is that they start in third place having failed to overcome the Tories last time who remain in second place. Given that until 1997 Luton South was a Tory seat, the Tories might expect to be the main challengers here this time. Again though, the Tories are not in the shape they might expect to be with a shaky local organisation and little in the way of local council success on which to hang any claims of being the main alternatives. Given the plethora of independents seeking to muddy the waters including the dreadful Esther Rantzen, whose stated reasons for standing appear to me to have all gone, except seemingly the number one reason (her ego), it seems that this seat will provide some interest to the press.

As for Bedford, the Tories failed to win the mayoral the election and the Lib Dems now have the elected mayor (the excellent Dave Hodgson who I know well). This has given the Lib Dems a real shot in the arm in a seat which in many ways should have been a Lib Dem target long before Labour won it in 1997. I would expect Labour to lose and the contest to be between the Lib Dems and the Tories.

BBC East get its political coverage wrong AGAIN - WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THEM !

BBC East just showed the eletion map of East Anglia, and guess what ? It's wrong.

Apparently Colchester is now a Tory seat. This will come as a surprise to Lib Dem MP Bob Russell who has held the seat since 1997.

Yet again, after previous numerous mistakes in their political coverage. BBC East show themselves not to be fit for purpose.

Vote for real change in Norfolk - The UK General Election is on !

The election has been officially called for May 6th and we now face several weeks of campaigning to decide who our local MPs will be for the next few years and in Norfolk we have a real chance to make a difference.

In North Norfolk we have a fine example of everything a good MP should be with Lib Dem MP being an MP that people of all parties admire. For me personally he has been an inspiration and we desperately need more MPs like him, untainted and free of any involvement in the expenses scandals and standing up for local people in a way that gives people confidences in politics.

In Broadland, we have Lib Dem candidate Dan Roper, who inherits a large chunk of Lib Dem North Norfolk and who, on the back of by-election wins in formerly safe Tory seats in Wroxham and Taverham in recent months, now has a real chance of causing an upset. Hardly anyone locally knows who the Tory MP is and this area definitely needs an MP in the Norman Lamb mould and Dan Roper is that man.

The other hot prospect for the Lib Dems is Norwich South. Now the press will want to make a story here and will relentlessly talk up the Green's chances, as they did in the Norwich North by-election (where they came 5th), but the fact is that the Lib Dems jumped up from 3rd to a close second last time and in Simon Wright (who I was councillor with in Fakenham North) who also worked for Norman Lamb in North Norfolk, Norwich South have a genuine champion, someone who has had a job in the real world, someone who lives locally, is Norfolk through and through and really cares about the area.

In Norwich South at the last General Election seats where the Green's were embedded at a local level clearly voted on national issues in the General Election vote and it seems clear that Green's know that a vote for the Greens at the general election would be a wasted vote and will let Labour back in.

Across Norfolk, we can be the vanguard for change, we can offer a new type of politics, a real fresh start and not a return to the old Tory ways that saw us suffer so much in the past.

So on May 6th vote for real change. Vote Lib Dem

P.S. I should add that there are other great Lib Dems standing across Norfolk, and I ought to give mention to Jacky Howe in South Norfolk who was elected in Fakenham as a councillor in 2003 when I was her agent, so I certainly wish her lots of luck too. The Lib Dems start in a clear second place in South Norfolk and a Labour vote there will be a wasted vote.

Which party has been using cancer drugs as an election issue and has been caught telling fibs ? Step forward ...

Oh come on, we all know that the Tories will say just about anything to win the election. And after their attacks on Gordon Brown for misleading parliament last week you might expect the Tories would have attempted to take the moral high ground.

Sadly not.

It seems the Tories are prepared to even tell lies about cancer treatment and cancer drugs in order to win votes.

Surely trying to win votes by scaremangering ill people is a new all time low ?

Lib Dems go for football fans vote

Don Foster MP has written very sensibly for Lib Dem voice about the need to consider having safe standing areas at football grounds. The fact that this would also make economic sense for fans and football clubs alike seems eminently sensible.

You can read more about it HERE.

Unions fail to organise drinking session in a brewery

Unite managed to mess up the simple process of issuing one ballot to each of their members in their strike ballot before Christmas.

Now the rail unions have failed in this when organising a rail strike ballot.

Next up for the unions is an attempt to organise a drinking session in a brewery.

Who will campaign against the Tories "Sky Tax" ?

After reading an article the other day about the Tories wanting to remove Ofcom's power to restrict and control the virtual monopoly Sky have in the pay tv sector in the UK, I wrote about the squalid deal the Tories appear to me to have done in order to get News International's support.

Now with Ofcom making recommendations on Sky and the fact that they must cut the wholesale prices of their sports content, one wonders if political parties will take the issue on and fight against the Tories plans for a "Sky tax". After all, if the Tories have their way and remove Ofcom's power to control Sky, Sky could continue to charge what they like. With estimates yesterday that a reduction in Sky's charges could save wholesale purchasers £7.00 a month, with at least £5.00 in savings for customers, that equates to a saving of £60 per year for each house who would be subscribed to Sky Sports.

So who will campaign against the Tories' "Sky Tax". After all, the Tories are campaigning against the £6 levy on phone bills to pay for high speed broadband, so a £60 charge seems somewhat hypocritical of the Tories, but it seems to be the price the consumer will have to pay for The Sun and the News of the World to back the Tories.

More top quality journalism from BBC East

A report on this morning's news about a UEA professor appearing before a House of Commons committee saw the chairman of the science committee called "Phil Willis MP (Lib Dem)" labelled on screen as "Phil Woolas MP (Labour)". The very fact that Mr Woolas is a government minister and is therefore not able to chair a commons committee would have sent any decent journalist scurrying for the keyboard to get this changed, but it does show the level of journalistic knowledge at BBC East.

Remember, it was BBC East who invited the Green Party to the Norwich North debate but excluded UKIP. The BBC claimed the "Main four" were represented, but the Greens trailed in a poor fifth and UKIP came fourth.

Of course, the BBC did get the name right of a Green Party Councillor in another report.

Why do the BBC employ people to report on politics who quite clearly don't understand it ?

Watch for new pot holes on the Reepham Road

This is a public service announcement

Can I stress to all my local readers in Thorpe Marriott who come home from Norwich on the Reepham Road to be very careful of a massive pot hole on the Reepham Road as you head back to Thorpe Marriott. The pot hole is about 50 yard before the turning in to Long Dale on the Reepham Road.

I have reported the pot hole but given Norfolk County Council's recent record on fixing pot holes in this area, it may take some time.

One thing is clear from the Tory blogs, Osborne did not do well in the Chancellor's debate

Looking through the main Tory blogs tonight, not one posting has been done after the Chancellors debate on Channel Four.

Now if Osborne had done well or even slightly well, the Tories would have been crowing about it. Their silence speaks volumes about Osborne's performance.

Tory election poster

With thanks to Freemania