Quite interesting
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 Just back from the LibDem conference in Bournemouth and, blow me, I rather enjoyed it. It helped that Progressive Vision's Mark Littlewood - with whom I was working - was busy making the news. In fact I got the inside story hours before it appeared on the Internet and a good 12 hours before it was published in the papers.
And what a hilarious story it was. Essentially it boiled down to the fact that Progressive Vision - operating here as Liberal Vision - had published a report suggesting that up to 31 Lib Dem seats are at risk thanks to the resurgence of David Cameron's Conservatives.
Not exactly rock science, but politicians - as we know - only want to hear what they want to hear. So what does Adrian Sanders (one of the "at risk" MPs) do? He spies Littlewood, marches over to him, and (allegedly) gives him an almighty shove that causes Littlewood to fall over a low wall and into a bush!
Bizarre - especially when the "victim" is the party's former communications director who knows how to spin a good story. The Sun, as ever, had the best take on it: "Stop press: interesting event at Lib Dem conference". Full story HERE. And HERE. And HERE ...
That apart, what I really loved about the Lib Dem conference was the complete absence of any visible security. I was given a visitor pass but no-one asked to see it. Not once was I forced to stand in a long queue before emptying my pockets prior to a thorough frisking. Come to think of it, I don't recall even seeing a policeman - unlike the Labour and Tory conferences which are swarming with armed policemen with bullet-proof vests.
I even liked most of the people I met - young, affable, largely libertarian. They wore suits not sandals, and I only spotted a single beard.
As for yesterday's Liberal Vision/Free Society event - it was standing room only. But more of that later.
LibDem
Reader Comments (6)
So the Liberals believe in freedom of speech?
This maybe a leap of imagination, but my understanding, I think on what I read here was that Mark has been critical of the Liberal Party, for it's lack of liberalism. It has degenerated into a PC nanny statist party with the biggest per centage of MPs voting for the smoking ban. I also understand from his Telegraph blog, his special pleading to Nick Clegg on the smoking ban fell on deaf ears. Perhaps Mark's writings have hit far too near the knuckle and the loss of MPs is the direct consequence of displaying inverted liberalism. Looking in the mirror can be painful.
The latter part of Clegg's speech contained a strong and apparently genuine attack on Labour's top-down Government and of its treating the voters as if they are children. Is it just possible that he has recognised the loathing which people feel towards the nanny state and its spreading apparatus of control? Is it just...possible that the humble Nick Clegg has spotted something that the temporarily mighty Tories and crumbling Labour choose not to see? If only that could be true.
What on earth does it matter what Nick Clegg thinks?...these wet hand-wringers will never hold power, so their fantasy self importance is entirely irrelavant!
My point is that if the Liberals really grabbed the freedom ball and ran with it, the eyes of the other parties would be opened to the electoral potential of such a move.
I saw Nick Cleggs' Party Policitcal Broadcast on ITV last night and noticed that at the end he said how important it was for him and his party to listen to people and then to make the changes necessary for the people.
The trouble is, this is what the labour party have done! The changes have not benefitted many people though! Consequently, I find it very scarey when they propose changes for the benefit of the people as usually it does not benefit the majority or has all kinds of repercussions not thought of!