Tory claim of 23 more seats to win 'is a con'

The Tory claim to need only 23 seats in order to win is a con, says the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg. No party will get an overall majority, and despite desperate claims by the Conservatives, they will not win an outright victory. They know they need 323 seats to win a majority—not 23—and are trying to 'con' their way into government.

Ashcroft polling shows the Conservatives are on track to lose at least 56 seats to Labour, the SNP, UKIP and the Liberal Democrats, making it clear that their claim to need only 23 more seats is mathematical nonsense and no single opinion poll backs them up.

The Lib Dems say if voters believe the con, they will end up with a Tory minority, clinging to power in a dangerous right-wing alliance. Only Liberal Democrat MPs will stand in the way of a punitive Tory minority-government propped up by UKIP and the DUP. This BLUKIP coalition would sacrifice fairness, slash the schools budget and balance the books on the backs of the poorest. No one expects the Tories to a win a majority on Thursday – 99% of polls point to a hung parliament.

Commenting the Leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg said: "David Cameron doesn’t need 23 seats to win a majority, he needs 323 seats and he knows he can’t do it. Everybody knows that no one is going to win this election outright – even if David Cameron and Ed Miliband won’t admit it publicly. So there is a huge amount at stake. The only way to keep Britain safe, stable and fair is with Liberal Democrats in government."

Mr Clegg continued: "We will always put the good of the country first, adding a heart to a Conservative government and a brain to a Labour one. We won’t let the government lurch off to the left with Labour and the SNP borrowing recklessly and threatening the future of our United Kingdom. And we won’t let it lurch off to the right with the Conservatives and UKIP cutting to the bone and dividing our communities."

SNP demand answers from Danny Alexander

The conduct of Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has been questioned by the SNP today, following allegation of a donations scandal reported on the front page of this morning's Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper reports that Mr Alexander encouraged someone who turned out to be fake businessman at a private meeting to provide further financial support to the party - but that he did not want “to intrude on the details”.

The story centres on the fact that the would-be donor was encouraged by a Lib Dem fundraiser to give money via relatives and backdate cheques in order to avoid electoral law on financial disclosure.

This it is not the first time Mr Alexander has been at the centre of dodgy donations story. In December of last year it was reported in the Sunday Herald that Mr Alexander accepted £50,000 cash from an alleged tax dodger.

Commenting, SNP Candidate for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey, Drew Hendry, said: "This is not the first time that Danny Alexander has been at the centre of a scandal surrounding dodgy donations. This latest episode is an extremely serious issue, apparently involving the Lib Dems at a very senior level seeking to break electoral law."

Mr Hendry continued: "Danny Alexander is at the centre of this dodgy donation scandal, and he must provide an immediate and full account of his role in it. The people of Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey deserve full disclosure from Mr Alexander about this murky matter."

"It seems that the Lib Dems are becoming increasingly desperate to get their hands on cash – regardless where it is from." Drew Hendry added.

12% of people who voted Lib Dem in 2010 intend to vote Green in 2015

The Green Party are polling on 6% in the the Independent’s latest "poll of polls", which reveals that 12% of people who voted Lib Dem in 2010 intend to vote Green in May 2015. The Green Party has been polling at some of their highest numbers ahead of a General Election since 1989, a breakthrough year.

The Green party have been closing the small polling gap on the Lib Dems (9%) in recent months. The Greens also outperformed the Coalition partners in the May 22nd European Elections both in terms of MEPs returned and percentage of the total vote.

Natalie Bennett, Green Party Leader, said: "As pollsters and commentators are increasingly recognising, next year's election will be a genuine five-party race. As the three business-as-usual parties demonstrate they cannot move on from the failed policies of the past 30 years it is not surprising that support for the Green Party is swelling."

Continuing Ms Bennett commented: "We're offering the idea of real change with a society that works very differently, whereas I don't think we're going to see transformative change from the Lib Dems. We offer a transformation of our economy so that it works for the common good, not for the good of the few."

Concluding Natalie Bennett said: "The Green Party's support for decent wages and benefits for all who need them, demand that multinational companies and the rich pay their way, and understanding of the need to live within ecological limits offer the positive way forward."

The latest polling follows hot on the heels of the news that membership of the Green Party of England and Wales has passed 20,000 for the first time. Membership is up 45% in 2014 alone. Green candidates will be standing in at least 75% of constituencies in 2015 – giving 50% more people the opportunity to vote green next year. The newspaper’s poll of polls is compiled by John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University.

Stephen Lloyd launches Hearing Screening for Life Campaign

Lib Dem MP Stephen Lloyd has launched the Hearing Screening for Life Campaign in Parliament this week, calling for Hearing Screening to be brought in for everybody at the age of 65. Hearing loss is a major public health issue affecting over 10 million people in the UK – one in six of the population. It impacts on communication, causing difficulties for people interacting with their family and friends, and can lead to social isolation and depression. It reduces the ability to access services including healthcare and can exacerbate or lead to other medical problems. In particular, new evidence suggests that there is a link between hearing loss and dementia.

Despite the difficulties it can cause, there are an estimated four million people in the UK with unaddressed hearing loss. It takes people an average of 10 years to seek help after they start noticing symptoms. By the time many people seek treatment, aged around 75, their ability to adapt and benefit from a hearing aid is greatly reduced. The number of older people in our society is growing, and the issue of unaddressed hearing loss will become increasingly prevalent unless action is taken now.

Stephen Lloyd MP said: "Hearing loss is not a glamorous issue, but age-onset hearing loss can be hugely detrimental to older people’s health and quality of life. And staging an intervention at 65 is crucial – when most people seek treatment at 75, 10 years after they first noticed signs, it is too late to develop the techniques so vital to using a hearing aid. Any later than 70 and these strategies can be too hard to develop and the hearing aid remains in the drawer. Hearing loss may not be exciting, but treating it is vital in order for millions or people to lead full and healthy lives."

Michelle Mitchell, Director General, Age UK added: "One of the most devastating elements of age-onset hearing loss can be the social isolation it brings. Imagine not being able to hear and communicate with your loved ones, or describe how you feel to your doctor or carer. Undiagnosed, it can also be a real drain on your family and friends as well. A simple and cost effective way to cut through this denial and all the other debilitating effects is to have hearing screening at the age of 65."

Lib Dem MP launches Gurkhas reserves campaign

Liberal Democrat MP, the former Defence Minister Sir Nick Harvey has launched a campaign to open up the United Kingdom's Reserve forces to retired Gurkha soldiers. Mr Harvey says that this is so they can lead the way in making our future Reserves better and stronger than ever.

Speaking at the launch of his campaign Sir Nick Harvey said: "The MoD plans to fully integrate 30,000 fully-trained Reserves into the Regular Army by 2020, but this is going to be a real challenge which we need to do more to achieve. Surprisingly, Gurkhas aren't currently recruited into the Reserves automatically on leaving service - unlike other soldiers. We've got to retain the Gurkhas' unique skills and recognise their brave and dedicated service to this country by putting them into the Reserves. They can then lead the way in building the TA and the Regular Reserves into a new, rejuvenated and deployment-ready Future Reserves."

Comment piece: The party conference season

By Louise Illman

For the last few weeks it has been a busy time in the politics calendar. Conference season has been in full swing, and it has been a time filled with surprises, some predictabilities and lots of ridiculous things going on. Today, around a week on, I'm going to be discussing all 3 of the major parties conferences, with a sprinkling of the other parties where possible too. 

Starting off with the first main one in the calendar, the Liberal Democrats conference. I could discuss all the policies discussed and debated during this one, and I shall in a bit. However for now the thing I cannot miss is Clegg's apology. Is there any better way to start off a conference than with your leader against a beige wall apologising for making pledges he cannot keep? Probably, however that's not the point- in the end it would seem everything worked out well anyway- The Poke did a remix which Nick Clegg and co fell over- unfortunately they don't seem to get that these sorts of things are not meant to be endorsed by Clegg, they're meant to be a way of rebelling against the power, and by Clegg saying yes (even in the name of charity) it did lessen the want for it on your Itunes. (Other media players are available)

The ideas, policies, and speeches at that conference were quite forgettable really. Maybe that’s just me, but certainly three weeks later I have not got much to use against them. Obviously, the Mansion tax is one of their more memorable policies, and in fact one of the very few I agree with can see the reasons for. As per usual this is the policy which George Osborne decided against almost immediately; even the Lord’s Reform was toyed over for a longer period of time than the mansion tax, which was terminated as an idea because you could even type one ironic tweet on the Lib Dems failing to get yet another idea through. 

The speeches from the Lib Dem conference meanwhile were slightly more memorable. Saying that, Danny Alexander, Vince Cable and Nick Clegg’s are the only three I can cite now and even that is only to call them upon their pathetic jokes. If I was to host one of those late night E4 countdown shows, I would award Clegg the gong for worst joke. Admittedly, I cannot joke with ease either, but given a long period of time to write something even I can conjure something more than” “To make blue go green you have to add yellow “-Is that a joke? The people attending the conference seemed to think it was, though really it’s just a basic statement of fact- anyone could do that surely? Close runners up are Cable’s pleb gag and Danny Alexander entire speech which I would include but it would take me far too long. When Danny wasn’t attempting jokes he did make a point on tax avoiders, however couldn’t help but make that humorous too by adding a booming Big Brother style ‘WE’RE COMING TO GET YOU’ to proceedings. 

Clegg’S speech (apart from the few jokes just mentioned) meanwhile was more serious, and had some good points- he didn’t close off any coalition opportunities, and spoke clearly and with a good strategy. On the other hand though it was ultimately forgettable and didn’t really provide a different view. For someone such as me who feels like Clegg has broken so many promises now that he has no credibility, it didn’t do anything to get me back on side.

The Labour Conference was one I was definitely looking forward to more than the Liberal Democrats one. As someone whose political views tend to slide towards Labour, however would like more from them in policies and image it was always going to be an interesting and revealing affair which I looked forward to. It didn't disappoint, in the end, though with quite a few hiccups along the way. The beginning wasn't too great it must be said; it's hard to explain now but at the time it did feel a bit of a slow starter, and received a more negative reaction than expected. The overall mood stayed cheerful however, and in the end it did catch up to speed and impress me.  

I suppose you could say optimism is a theme running throughout all conferences; in other years (by which I mean last year, seeing as two years ago I was more interested in watching four adult judges fight like children on X Factor than lots of adult politicians fighting in their packs) I've noticed much more doom and gloom in the form of glum politicians standing my plant pots on the news and lots of awkward silences, however this time everyone seemed to be much cheerier, even Nick Clegg who is normally in a permanent state of drab and dreariness was caught smiling a few times- I thought my laptop screen would break, but it actually didn’t- that was the biggest shock of all for me.

Moving back to Labour’s Conference, the main attraction of course was Ed Miliband and his speech. Ed may not be the most popular leader Labour have ever had, and it is slightly disheartening that David Miliband is still regularly being voted as the better leader two years later, however I personally am willing to give Ed a chance and actually think he’s doing pretty well at the moment; I do acknowledge that’s an unpopular thing to admit though.

Notably for his speech, Ed performed it without any notes, which he used as a way to showcase how much he cared about the words he spoke. I personally thought his speech was great in general anyway; maybe I'm biased seeing as I’ve always had a soft spot for Miliband and spend my day’s bewildered by people calling him out on how pathetic he is as leader, but I thought he really reached into the heart and spoke lots of truth. His phrase of choice this time is ‘One Nation’ which some have compared to the infamous ‘We’re All in This Together’ line which has been trotted out again and again, but seems to have been finally retired lately. I personally don’t think One Nation is a bad line; it’s certainly not as cheesy as we’re all in this together, and has no relations with a dramatic American movie for children. Whether it delivers or not depends on if it is used against Labour in future, only time will tell.

Of course, there's always room for improvement in Ed’s speech; some more coverage on how he and Ed Balls will tackle the deficit would have been perfect, however we still have a long time to go yet before election time and as long as either Ed gives us a solid plan soon I think they could be onto a winner. Other improvements could include discussing green issues more; something largely ignored by all three major parties really, plus there was one bit where Ed said that every millionaire will receive a tax cut, when it was more specific than that if memory serves me correct. All in all though it was strong, and hopefully has done some good to Miliband’s image, and not just to the betting odds.

Two people whose speeches I did really enjoy were Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper’s. I have no qualms with either of their speeches except to say that they raised lots of good points and were clear in direction.

Apart from the speeches, what else went on during the Labour Conference? A school girl was heckled in a moment which I have no wishes to defend; whoever did try and spoil her moments with a thoughtless comment deserved to be berated for it, and was- it would be wrong to assume all Labour members look down on people from more privileged backgrounds or from private schools because this is simply not the case- the person who sent out the heckle was dealt with accordingly from what I’ve read about it. Altogether it was definitely a good conference for me to watch, maybe not the most exciting but certainly very interesting throughout.

The final of the main parties' conferences is the Conservative Conference. Admittedly I'm not a supporter of the Conservatives, however on the whole it wasn't a total disaster. The two speeches I remember clearest from this conference are George Osborne and David Cameron’s. Starting with Osborne, his plan to let workers trade rights for shares is just ridiculously flawed, and to be honest his whole speech to me read like a manual on how to cause Twitter to explode with rage.

Cameron’s was an improvement; for his audience I’m pretty sure it will have been very warmly received, and whilst it didn’t work for me, just like I suspect Miliband’s didn’t for others, I can acknowledge his message was loud and confident. My main problem with it however has got to be the content. It’s all very well being professional and clear, but if I disagree with what you’re actually preaching chances are you can’t win my support, and nor would want to. For example, Cameron failed to mention the police even once, and didn’t even attempt to justify the NHS reforms. 

Whilst I’m on the subject of speeches, I just have to discuss Boris Johnson. Certainly one of the most recognizable political figures, his speech was always going to be a bit of light relief, even if it is surrounded with political meaning. I have to be honest and admit not to be a fan of Boris; his bouffant can be described as ‘quite nice’ on a good day, and he does have some good one liners but I can’t help but think what lies underneath is a very heavily right wing Conservative with horrible views, hiding under this ‘mask’ to get people’s support.  His speech was more cheerful than Cameron’s and (according to my notes anyway) largely involved him shoehorning dancing to the woeful (yet catchy) Gangnam Style in, though I suspect he used it more so as a perfect opportunity to lie the Cameron VS Johnson rumours to bed than because he actually liked the song. He also at one stage got a One Direction reference in, to do with a squirrel attacking one of them in one way. I do admit defeat on that one; I suspect he knows more than One Direction than me, though I’m quite happy in my One Direction ignorance filled world for now.

In more general conference on-goings, Andrew Mitchell did not attend in the end because of the controversy over his alleged Pleb remarks which he may or may not have lied about. This story has been around a while now and whilst not particularly relevant to the conference has still been frequently mentioned throughout. Grant Shapps meanwhile attended countless events at the conference in his new role as Chairman and has arguably been the biggest rise to fame in the last month or so; it’s quite strange to think just over a month ago I had little interest in who he is, and now I have a whole virtual database on all the mistakes he’s done at some point so far. (Well, him or Michael Green, it does depend)

I don't wish to totally bypass the other conferences but in SNPs case I have to seeing as at the time of writing it has not occurred yet. I only really remember vague details on the UKIP and Green conferences now, however I shall list them for your benefit. One thing I do recall about the UKIP conference is Nigel Farage’s speech. I’m not a fan of Nigel or the UKIP in general, however his speech was fascinating in the fact it talked about a possible deal that UKIP could go in with the Conservatives. It was played down in the end, however still does seem to be an outsider possibility. The Green Party meanwhile introduced their new promising leader, Natalie Bennett, who in turn used her speech to accuse Labour of being a failing alternative. So far I am quite a fan of Natalie despite her disapproval of Labour, whether that will change in future weeks I am not sure but at the current point in time I think she seems to be promising something unique. That is certainly unusual for me- I rarely wish well on politicians, but I do really hope she sparkles more in the coming months.

To conclude, has conference season changed much? Probably not. I very much doubt it will change many people's minds on which party to support, nor will it affect the polls too much in the long run once the initial ups and downs have been steadied. However the conference's do work as a way for parties to gather together, discus ideas, meet some future friends and for politicians reassure their members they haven't totally gone cuckoo over their extravagant holidays in places like France, Spain, Italy, Cornwall, wherever else. I certainly enjoyed them all, even the parties I don’t support are still intriguing to watch to see if they mess up or do something ridiculous. (HINT: they almost always do) I hope you’ve enjoyed this and it covered all the basics without going on too much; it has been a pleasure to write.

Balls says its a u-turn - he's right, its his though

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has accused the Chancellor George Osborne of committing another budget "u-turn". Now a u-turn is when you propose something then change your mind. The small detail that Mr Balls has missed is the fact that the previous Labour government in their 2010 budget added six increases in fuel duty for this Parliament and all of them have been blocked by the coalition government as they've come up.

This three pence rise which was due to come in, in August was one of those rises. Rises the then opposition parties, both the Conservatives & the Liberal Democrats voted against. So it is obvious why they're not going ahead with the rises they opposed now they're in government and can block them. The Labour party including Ed Miliband, Ed Balls, Harriet Harman, and the rest of the Labour's parliamentary party voted in favour of the rises.

So there has been not coalition u-turn as they've not changed their position on the issue at all. The same can't be said of the Labour party. The opportunistic bandwagon jumping of the Shadow Chancellor shows that the Milibandwagon can perform a screeching u-turn. The omniwaffle from Ed Balls in the Sun this morning show he doesn't let the truth get in the way of a good story!

The Coalition parties opposed fuel duty rises in opposition and they do so in government. Labour oppose fuel duty rises in opposition - but vote for them when in government.

Senior Liberal Slams Government

National Executive Secretary, of the Liberal Party, Sir Henry Boyle was the guest speaker at the recent Tiverton & Honiton Liberal Party Lunch. The event, organised by Silverton Councillor Jenny Roach (Lib), heard Sir Henry in a keynote speech launch a swingeing attack on the Tory/Lib Dem coalition government for failing to take any action to halt the steep slide of the national economy.

Sir Henry started by saying: "With the worst unemployment figures for 17 years, this appalling, blinkered government is doing nothing at all to stimulate growth. Instead of allowing the Bank of England to print another £75 billion to give to the discredited commercial banks, we should take fully in to public ownership RBS and Lloyds TSB, channel the £75 billion through them, and force them to use the money to support small and medium sized enterprises, thereby kick-starting the economy, creating jobs and bringing back some real hope to peoples’ lives."

"Some of this money could be used to reinstate the enormously valuable SureStart scheme and to create a national child crèche scheme. By getting the private sector to deliver the crèche scheme, we could create many more jobs whilst providing valuable opportunities for parents with small children – especially women – to return to the labour market. It’s imperative to take action to help young people find work. The Chancellor – a very rich man with no conception of living on a limited income – should offer any organisation that creates a new first job for any 18 – 25 year-old a 100% salary subsidy for two years. And if we encouraged a ‘buddy’ scheme for these young people to work alongside colleagues nearing retirement age, we could ensure that the skills and knowledge acquired over many years could start to be passed-on to a new generation."

Sir Henry Concluded his speech by making a plea to Lib Dem members "I'm calling on disillusioned Liberal Democrats, compassionate Conservatives and liberal-leaning Labour supporters to come and join the Liberal Party. Together, we can work to provide desperately needed radical, Liberal alternatives to the Government’s noxious policies, which are seeing the country die a wholly unnecessary economic death-of-a-thousand-cuts."

Is Chris Huhne speeding towards the exit door?

The Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne is under pressure after the Sunday Times dropped its challenge to Essex Police regarding emails. The Sunday Times is handing them over and the Director of Public Prosecutions will now have to decide whether to proceed.

Mr Huhne has claimed that his then wife, Vicky Pryce, was driving him back to London from Stansted Airport in Essex. Miss Pryce, he claims, drove through a contraflow on the M11 and broke the 30mph speed limit. This is  (at the moment) a matter of record, because she received three points on her driving licence for the offence.

Mr Huhne who has been under pressure over this issue, however, since his former wife Vicky Pryce went public claiming  that she had not actually been driving, but her former husband had. And he made her take the penalty points for him. If true, Mr Huhne could be prosecuted for perverting the course of justice. Not surprisingly, he maintains that his ex-wife is mistaken.


This new twist that the Sunday Times are no longer going to fight the police and give them the evidence they require Mr Huhne must be getting ready to pack his ministerial bags for the last time before speeding to the exit door. Unless their is a major reshuffle there will likely be one Lib Dem out - one Lib Dem in.

Lib Dem MEP resigns

Lib Dem MEP Diana Wallis for Yorkshire has announced she's standing down from the European parliament for "personal reasons". Many people are seeing it as sour grapes after she failed to be elected to the presidency of the Parliament. 


Mrs Davies is now likely to be replaced by her husband, who was second on the list for the Lib Dems at the last European elections. Mrs Wallis will formally announce her decision on Friday but the news about her resignation was given to parliament's new president Martin Schulz yesterday.


Leading the criticism of Wallis was her party colleague Chris Davies, who was among those who nominated her for the presidency. Saying "I am appalled and feel betrayed by her decision. To stand for election for the presidency one day and then resign the following day is quite unbelievable" he has also said "There will be some people who will regard this as quite unprincipled." 


On the fact Mr Wallis is likely to succeed his wife Mr Davies said "He is not guaranteed to succeed her but it is likely to do so. The problem is that this will leave a very bad taste in the mouths of a lot of people. "It will serve to reinforce the 'gravy train' or 'jobs for the boys' image many people have of MEPs."


There has been some support for Mrs Wallis. Sarah Ludford, another UK Liberal MEP, who said, "She will be a loss to parliament because she did a lot of good work on transparency and the statute. "I did not expect her to do any better in the presidency election and I think her vote was respectable, especially as she was not the official ALDE candidate."