Thursday, 5 May 2011
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Sunday, 1 May 2011
Leadership Debate, Perth Concert Hall
Several local party members attended the final BBC Leadership Debate this evening, held in Perth's own Concert Hall.
Despite the BBC's attempts to keep party activist numbers in the audience to equal proportions, a BUSLOAD of SNP supporters quite blatantly drew up outside the Hall. How and why were they allowed to get away with this?? It made a mockery of a supposedly unbiased audience. Is this a true reflection of Scottish voters? I like to think not, but it may be a reflection of SNP and the tactics they're prepared to use...
During the election campaign it's been noticeable that Alex Salmond has been avoiding the independence issue - he's managed to keep it at bay over the last 4 years, and no doubt intends to continue this over the next 5. But, asked directly this evening in front of a partisan audience of stalwart activists, the SNP's true colours shone through.
Alex Salmond is no Braveheart - he's more of a Bonnie Prince Charlie. He's no bonnie, and he's certainly no prince, but he's a proper Charlie if he thinks Scotland will vote for independence. Like Bonnie Prince Charlie he'll discover that, when the crunch comes, the Scottish people don't care for what he has to offer. Think again, Alex.
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Courier hustings and photo shoot
Yesterday saw Victor Clements and Willie Robertson both at the Courier hustings in Perth; Willie in particular gave a rousing performance. Both received a very respectable write-up in the Courier today - well done!The photo was taken earlier in the afternoon, when candidates had a photo-shoot in the town centre; unfortunately Willie was unavailable, but Victor was there to fly the Lib Dem flag.
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Not long to go now.......
If anyone would like us to put up a board, large or small, please do get in touch through the email address on the right.
Thank you.
Friday, 22 April 2011
Big bird
Explaining AV.......
This article recently appeared on Commentonline, two Highland Perthshire folks explaining the AV system.
http://www.commentonline.co.uk/general/FromTheTopDeckAlternativeVoting.htm
AV is actually just a very simple upgrade to our current voting system, but the winning candidate just has to be that little bit better to get 50% of the vote.
Their explanation is funny all the same though:
“Aye Vee, …Aye Vee, ah tell ye”
“Naw! Are ye glaiket awthegither? Aye Aye Vee is the thing, can ye no see that? ”
The raised, unmistakeable and less than dulcet tones of Jock and Hamish assailed my ears before I reached the top deck. The bizarre notion flashed through my mind that this was some dispute about an arithmetical calculation - but was it being conducted in Roman numerals? Eventually seated beside the protagonists, the situation gradually became clear, and the truth was hardly more credible than my initial thoughts on the way upstairs. Jock and Hamish were ‘discussing’ voting reform.
Although difficult to believe, the cries I had heard were in fact not ‘Aye Vee’ and ‘Aye Aye Vee’ but ‘I.V’ and ‘I.I.V’. They stood for ‘Ither Vote’ and ‘Ither, Ither Vote’ – voting systems devised by Jock and Hamish respectively as alternatives to AV.
Intrigued, I sought and got an explanation of both systems, here offered for consideration.
Jock’s ‘Ither Vote’ system:
Ballot papers as now, but with an additional blank box below the list of candidates and two columns in which to indicate your vote; a ‘Yes’ column and a ‘No’ column. Voters may put a cross in as many of the Yes/No boxes as they wish (in fact, in all of them if they wish), or write in a candidate in the blank box and vote ‘Yes’ or, I suppose ‘No’, or even ‘Yes’ and ‘No’, for the ‘write-in’. (Jock sees this as a positive thing as there can be no ‘spoiled votes’ with his system).
To arrive at the result, all the ‘Yes’ votes for a candidate are counted and his/her ‘No’ votes total is subtracted. A candidate with a net negative result cannot be elected; the winner is the candidate with the highest net positive count; and it is also possible for a‘write-in’ or for no-one to be elected.
In this last case the seat will be vacant until the next election, with a welcome consequent saving to the public purse of elected representative’s remuneration and expenses. (In his perverse way Jock sees the potential for humour in the ‘write-in’ option as his system’s greatest selling point!)
Hamish’s ‘Ither, Ither Vote’ system:
Ballot papers are as now, but with an additional box below the list of candidates to indicate ‘None of the above’. If the ‘None of the above’ votes are in the majority, then no-one is elected and the seat lies vacant till the next election. The same result in three consecutive elections and the electoral area is merged with a neighbouring area which has not yet suffered three ‘None of the above’ majorities.
Hamish sees the prospect of reducing over time both the numbers of elected representatives and constituencies as offering greater potential cost savings than Jock’s IV system.
Asked which system I preferred, I thought it prudent to try to change the subject and asked if they had thought about the problem of low turnout and the introduction of compulsory voting.
“Nae need”, they said in unison, “wi’ oany o’ oor systems, an’ the chance they gie tae cut doon on the nummer o’ numpties wi’ thur nebs in the trough, – man, ye wull hae tae be batin’ fowk ower the heid wi’ sticks tae keep them frae votin’ !”
It is heartening to know that democracy is safe when the likes of Jock and Hamish take such an interest.
http://www.commentonline.co.uk/general/FromTheTopDeckAlternativeVoting.htm
AV is actually just a very simple upgrade to our current voting system, but the winning candidate just has to be that little bit better to get 50% of the vote.
Their explanation is funny all the same though:
“Aye Vee, …Aye Vee, ah tell ye”
“Naw! Are ye glaiket awthegither? Aye Aye Vee is the thing, can ye no see that? ”
The raised, unmistakeable and less than dulcet tones of Jock and Hamish assailed my ears before I reached the top deck. The bizarre notion flashed through my mind that this was some dispute about an arithmetical calculation - but was it being conducted in Roman numerals? Eventually seated beside the protagonists, the situation gradually became clear, and the truth was hardly more credible than my initial thoughts on the way upstairs. Jock and Hamish were ‘discussing’ voting reform.
Although difficult to believe, the cries I had heard were in fact not ‘Aye Vee’ and ‘Aye Aye Vee’ but ‘I.V’ and ‘I.I.V’. They stood for ‘Ither Vote’ and ‘Ither, Ither Vote’ – voting systems devised by Jock and Hamish respectively as alternatives to AV.
Intrigued, I sought and got an explanation of both systems, here offered for consideration.
Jock’s ‘Ither Vote’ system:
Ballot papers as now, but with an additional blank box below the list of candidates and two columns in which to indicate your vote; a ‘Yes’ column and a ‘No’ column. Voters may put a cross in as many of the Yes/No boxes as they wish (in fact, in all of them if they wish), or write in a candidate in the blank box and vote ‘Yes’ or, I suppose ‘No’, or even ‘Yes’ and ‘No’, for the ‘write-in’. (Jock sees this as a positive thing as there can be no ‘spoiled votes’ with his system).
To arrive at the result, all the ‘Yes’ votes for a candidate are counted and his/her ‘No’ votes total is subtracted. A candidate with a net negative result cannot be elected; the winner is the candidate with the highest net positive count; and it is also possible for a‘write-in’ or for no-one to be elected.
In this last case the seat will be vacant until the next election, with a welcome consequent saving to the public purse of elected representative’s remuneration and expenses. (In his perverse way Jock sees the potential for humour in the ‘write-in’ option as his system’s greatest selling point!)
Hamish’s ‘Ither, Ither Vote’ system:
Ballot papers are as now, but with an additional box below the list of candidates to indicate ‘None of the above’. If the ‘None of the above’ votes are in the majority, then no-one is elected and the seat lies vacant till the next election. The same result in three consecutive elections and the electoral area is merged with a neighbouring area which has not yet suffered three ‘None of the above’ majorities.
Hamish sees the prospect of reducing over time both the numbers of elected representatives and constituencies as offering greater potential cost savings than Jock’s IV system.
Asked which system I preferred, I thought it prudent to try to change the subject and asked if they had thought about the problem of low turnout and the introduction of compulsory voting.
“Nae need”, they said in unison, “wi’ oany o’ oor systems, an’ the chance they gie tae cut doon on the nummer o’ numpties wi’ thur nebs in the trough, – man, ye wull hae tae be batin’ fowk ower the heid wi’ sticks tae keep them frae votin’ !”
It is heartening to know that democracy is safe when the likes of Jock and Hamish take such an interest.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Lots to do......
Spent all afternoon responding to emails and preparing for FSB hustings in Birnam tomorrow. Things are starting to hot up now. There are three hustings next week. On Tues in the AK Bell Library in Perth, the Courier/ Perth Chamber of Commerce are on, on Wed Breadalbane Community Campus, on Thurs the NFUS in the Huntingtower Hotel on Crieff Road. Lots to do, work is starting to fall by the wayside a bit now.
Monday, 18 April 2011
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Drip feeding of celebrity endorsements
There is a very good letter in The Scotsman today, criticizing the strategy of drip feeding celebrity endorsements for Alex Salmond.
Given their fantasy manifesto published this week, it is maybe no surprise that they think they need this parallel strategy.
As a first time candidate in the Scottish elections, I am amazed at the lack of discussion or analysis on the policies of both the SNP and Labour.
Whoever wins on 5th May will be making decisions about our lives for the next five years. If we make our decisions on celebrity endorsements, we will all be in big trouble.
Given their fantasy manifesto published this week, it is maybe no surprise that they think they need this parallel strategy.
As a first time candidate in the Scottish elections, I am amazed at the lack of discussion or analysis on the policies of both the SNP and Labour.
Whoever wins on 5th May will be making decisions about our lives for the next five years. If we make our decisions on celebrity endorsements, we will all be in big trouble.
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
Out and about in Perthshire today
Saturday, 9 April 2011
Poster boards again
Sunshine on Perth
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Manifesto reaction
The Scottish Liberal Democrats launched their manifesto yesterday. More about this again. The big central issue is the restructuring of the Scottish Water debt which would raise £1.5 billion for projects in Scotland.
That nice Mr Swinney thinks it cannot work, but he would say that, would'nt he? His advisors suggested he do this last summer, but he did not take it up. Probably because a good working relationship with the UK governmet is required.
We will doubtless hear more on this in the next few days. The manifesto is full of substance, and gives us something solid to work with going in to 5th May.
That nice Mr Swinney thinks it cannot work, but he would say that, would'nt he? His advisors suggested he do this last summer, but he did not take it up. Probably because a good working relationship with the UK governmet is required.
We will doubtless hear more on this in the next few days. The manifesto is full of substance, and gives us something solid to work with going in to 5th May.
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
Sunday, 3 April 2011
Perthshire North
You can find some background information in Perthshire North here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/constituency/html/36128.stm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/constituency/html/36128.stm
Campaigning to save our police and Fire & Rescue Services
Other People's campaign literature
We had a really good distributing leafletts in North Muirton in Perth on Saturday. Leafletting often provides opportunities to see what other parties are putting out if they get stuck in people's letterboxes.
Labour have a leaflet out, 75% of which is focused on targetting the SNP for their broken promises. You can see link to these here below. This may well all be right of course, but no mention of what Labour are intending to do. Labour are getting the wobbles at the moment, no doubt about that.
http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/100brokenSNPpromises
One of Murdo Fraser's leafletters helpfully left a Tory newspaper where it could be accessed. One point of note was in the Voting Day information section, where it says that voters will be issued with two voting papers.
They will actually be getting three, the third being the AV referendum paper. The Tories may well be against this, but surely they can provide people with the right information......!!
Labour have a leaflet out, 75% of which is focused on targetting the SNP for their broken promises. You can see link to these here below. This may well all be right of course, but no mention of what Labour are intending to do. Labour are getting the wobbles at the moment, no doubt about that.
http://www.scottishlabour.org.uk/100brokenSNPpromises
One of Murdo Fraser's leafletters helpfully left a Tory newspaper where it could be accessed. One point of note was in the Voting Day information section, where it says that voters will be issued with two voting papers.
They will actually be getting three, the third being the AV referendum paper. The Tories may well be against this, but surely they can provide people with the right information......!!
Friday, 1 April 2011
AV Referendum Victor
The character chosen to explain the voting systems for the AV Referendum is to be called Victor!!
Yeah!!
I will find a way of using that in my campaign.
The priorities for the Scottish Liberal Democrats in this election are jobs and the economy, education & training and protecting local services from the centralizing Agenda of the SNP and Labour party. But the AV Referendum is going on as well, many people will be interested in it, and I will of course be campaigning for a YES vote.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12929457
Yeah!!
I will find a way of using that in my campaign.
The priorities for the Scottish Liberal Democrats in this election are jobs and the economy, education & training and protecting local services from the centralizing Agenda of the SNP and Labour party. But the AV Referendum is going on as well, many people will be interested in it, and I will of course be campaigning for a YES vote.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12929457
Leaders debate
There was no stand-out performance really. Amazing then that opinion polls say that Alex Salmond got 87% of the vote for who did the best on the evening. The shallowness of the analysis of these events is just breath-taking really, with no critical analysis of how the information is gathered at all. Hopefully the BBC event on 1st May will be a lot better.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Canvassing business opinion in Aberfeldy
Out cancassing busineses in Aberfeldy yesterday with our No.1 list candidate for Mid Scotland and Fife Willie Rennie. Willie is a very experienced camapigner, very perceptive and empathetic to people and business owners here warmed to him very easily. I picked up a lot from him. All in all, we registered our presence, and a good day out.
Campaigning has really kicked off now, with such exercises to repeated 3-4 times a week through to 5th May.
No pics this time, but will get some next time around.
Campaigning has really kicked off now, with such exercises to repeated 3-4 times a week through to 5th May.
No pics this time, but will get some next time around.
Replacing the Education Maintenance Allowance
One of the first tasks which the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister gave me when they appointed me to the job of Advocate for Access to Education was to advise on the replacement for the Educational Maintenance Allowance. Since then I have travelled across the country to listen to young adults in school and FE colleges about how they think students should be supported in education. In February I submitted my report to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister with my recommendations.
Yesterday afternoon, I was in the chamber as Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, announced the government’s plans for the successor to the EMA.
Since the General Election Nick, Sarah Teather, and I, like many Liberal Democrats at every level, have been united in a belief that whatever the national financial position, people in genuine need of help should not be prevented by financial barriers from attending school, college or training.
Yesterday’s announcement is a welcome big step in the right direction
First, the government has recognised the need to continue to support people currently on EMA as they finish their studies. Therefore everybody who started their course this academic year and is on the £30 per week rate will continue to receive payments of £20 per week in their second year. All students on EMA who started their course in the 2009/10 academic year will continue to receive the full rate.
Second, an additional £15 million will be set aside to provide bursaries of £1,200 for the most vulnerable students, for example those in care, with severe disabilities or single parents living on their own. This is more than the maximum available to students currently on EMA.
Finally, schools, colleges and training providers will have £165 million each year put into a discretionary learner support fund which will be available for them to distribute to students facing financial need. This is the equivalent of just over £800 for every young person who received free school meals at the age of 15.
Across the country students face very different costs and barriers to attending school or college. In some places students have to travel a long distance to attend. On some courses the cost of equipment is prohibitively expensive.
This is why under the new plans schools and colleges will decide individually exactly how to distribute the money available to support their students in need to meet the costs of their transport, meals, books and equipment, and other course costs.
The coalition government was left with one of the most severe financial crises in our country’s history. Under these circumstances, it was simply unsustainable to continue to pay cash payments to about half of all students in further education. Yesterday’s announcement makes sure that funding is kept and in some cases increased for those in real need.
The government will now have a short consultation on its plans. I would encourage all Liberal Democrats with an interest in this area to respond to the consultation, which can be accessed through the Department for Education’s website.
Yours,
Simon Hughes MP
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Yesterday afternoon, I was in the chamber as Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Education, announced the government’s plans for the successor to the EMA.
Since the General Election Nick, Sarah Teather, and I, like many Liberal Democrats at every level, have been united in a belief that whatever the national financial position, people in genuine need of help should not be prevented by financial barriers from attending school, college or training.
Yesterday’s announcement is a welcome big step in the right direction
First, the government has recognised the need to continue to support people currently on EMA as they finish their studies. Therefore everybody who started their course this academic year and is on the £30 per week rate will continue to receive payments of £20 per week in their second year. All students on EMA who started their course in the 2009/10 academic year will continue to receive the full rate.
Second, an additional £15 million will be set aside to provide bursaries of £1,200 for the most vulnerable students, for example those in care, with severe disabilities or single parents living on their own. This is more than the maximum available to students currently on EMA.
Finally, schools, colleges and training providers will have £165 million each year put into a discretionary learner support fund which will be available for them to distribute to students facing financial need. This is the equivalent of just over £800 for every young person who received free school meals at the age of 15.
Across the country students face very different costs and barriers to attending school or college. In some places students have to travel a long distance to attend. On some courses the cost of equipment is prohibitively expensive.
This is why under the new plans schools and colleges will decide individually exactly how to distribute the money available to support their students in need to meet the costs of their transport, meals, books and equipment, and other course costs.
The coalition government was left with one of the most severe financial crises in our country’s history. Under these circumstances, it was simply unsustainable to continue to pay cash payments to about half of all students in further education. Yesterday’s announcement makes sure that funding is kept and in some cases increased for those in real need.
The government will now have a short consultation on its plans. I would encourage all Liberal Democrats with an interest in this area to respond to the consultation, which can be accessed through the Department for Education’s website.
Yours,
Simon Hughes MP
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Monday, 28 March 2011
Sunday, 27 March 2011
From the mouths of pensioners...
There's a wonderful article in today's Scotland on Sunday, in an article by Catherine Deveney.
A pensioner in Anderston, on being asked what he thought of Alex Salmond, said "Send Salmond round and we'll take him on. He's had the ball at his feet for four years and suddenly he's doing fancy tricks before the election."
From the mouths of pensioners - spot on the ball....
This follows a Scotsman front page headline from last week, calculating Wee Eck's election promises at £10 million PER DAY. If you've had that much money sitting in the pot over the last four years, why didn't you use it...??
The story continued inside with the headline of a dictionary definition of 'a bribe (n.)'.
Quite.
A pensioner in Anderston, on being asked what he thought of Alex Salmond, said "Send Salmond round and we'll take him on. He's had the ball at his feet for four years and suddenly he's doing fancy tricks before the election."
From the mouths of pensioners - spot on the ball....
This follows a Scotsman front page headline from last week, calculating Wee Eck's election promises at £10 million PER DAY. If you've had that much money sitting in the pot over the last four years, why didn't you use it...??
The story continued inside with the headline of a dictionary definition of 'a bribe (n.)'.
Quite.
Friday, 25 March 2011
Looking up Glen Lyon
Glen Lyon is often called the "longest, loveliest and loneliest glen in Scotland" or the "crooked glen of stones".
There are a few more pics here as well.
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