Monthly Archives: February 2011
Steve Reed’s Budget Speech To Lambeth Council
It has been reported, and I have commented here, on the way Lambeth Council’s meeting to set a legal budget, faced with massive Tory Lib Dem government cuts, was disrupted by protesters. Council then met in closed session, in the … Continue reading
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“We Betrayed The People Who Voted For Us”: Another Lib Dem Resignation
In the words of W S Gilbert, now give three cheers and one cheer more - for Cllr Gavin Chambers. He’s a parish councillor on Buckhurst Hill Parish Council in Essex, the latest in a lengthening line of people who have decided … Continue reading
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A Bad Night For Democracy
It was always going to be a depressing night, with Labour councillors in Lambeth voting for cuts we don’t want to make. We always knew there would be protesters at the town hall, calling on us to make no cuts, … Continue reading
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Will Lambeth Move Towards Transparency?
I was listening this morning to edited highlights of a recent Lambeth Council planning meeting (yes, I know, it sounds sad for a Sunday morning but it concerns an important development issue for my patch), recorded by Streatham resident Mark … Continue reading
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Big Society: A Closet Size Queen Comes Out
Junior member of the Cameron government, Nick Clegg, appeared on LBC this morning. Presenter Nick Ferrari asked him repeatedly whether or not he likes the Big Society (BS for short). Clegg repeatedly tried to dodge and waffle his way out … Continue reading
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Dave’s Dodo: Thoughts On The Big Society
Observing the various relaunches of David Cameron’s cherished ‘policy’, the Big Society, it’s unsurprising that it never quite seems to get off the ground. Like the Dodo, that ungainly, ill-fated cousin of the pigeon, it does not possess the power … Continue reading
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Lib Dem Quits After Racist Tweet About Chuka Umunna
No, not in Streatham, where I live, but in the area where I grew up, in Reading. Liberal Democrat councillor for Katesgrove ward, Warren Swaine, decided to pass comment on the recent performance of my good friend and neighbour Chuka … Continue reading
Leaving The Lib Dems
As my last post was long, here’s a video I’ve made compiling the press statements of councillors who have resigned from the Liberal Democrats since May 2010. They have served in cities and counties across the country. Enough from me, … Continue reading
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Knight Of The Living Dead
Last night’s meeting of Lambeth’s Cabinet was a difficult experience, as I hope I conveyed in my tweets sent from Room 8, Lambeth Town Hall. This is my commentary on the meeting as I saw it. As Cabinet met to … Continue reading
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David Cameron’s Muscular Liberalism
The phrase David Cameron launched yesterday – ‘muscular liberalism’ – makes my mind (generally undisturbed by thoughts of any kind) boggle with possibilities. I begin to wonder what he and Nick Clegg talk about in the gym while pumping iron (‘Spot … Continue reading
