Some brief thoughts on Chris Huhne

It's just over a year since Chris Huhne and his former wife Vicky Pryce were charged with perverting the course of justice and Chris Huhne resigned from the Cabinet. Today, as the case came to trial, Chris Huhne dramatically changed his plea, only entered for the first time last week, to guilty.

This means that he will be sentenced some time after the conclusion of the proceedings against Pryce. He said that he would be stepping down as an MP.

I am not going to say too much about the incident concerned as it's still the subject of a criminal trial. I do want to say a couple of things about my Lib Dem colleagues though.

It pained me to see Olly Grender apologise to Guido Fawkes for defending Huhne. Olly is a decent, fair-minded person who was clearly abiding by the principles of innocent until proven guilty. Guido today published a photo of Huhne with rifle sights superimposed on him, and is gloating about this a lot too much.

Nobody who defended Huhne should feel that they have anything to apologise for. They did what was fair and right at the time, in good faith.

The fantastic team of councillors and campaigners we have in Eastleigh have bucked all the trends over the last few years. They have made gains when we've taken big hits in other parts of the country.

They are bound to feel a sense of shock today but their hard work over decades has laid a very solid foundation that is not centred on one person alone. There is a formidable team of councillors and campaigners who are well liked and respected. Chris Huhne, elected in 2005, was a relative latecomer to a well established fighting force.

For all his flaws, nobody can doubt that he was a very hard working local MP who got on very well with the local team. Council leader Keith House acknowledged his work as MP earlier today. I would put a link but am on a train with very dodgy wifi and intermittent 3G.

House leads a team that puts maximum effort into everything they do. I have a great deal of faith in them. Today will not be an easy day for them. They won't wallow, though and the best thing any of us can do to support them is to offer them our help on the doorsteps of Eastleigh in the months to come.

Nick Clegg, you can't go on about diversity and continue to pass over women

What a rubbish week this has been. Nothing has been as bad for me as the passage of the Welfare Reform Bill, a true nadir in the life of this Government, but it's not good to see one of your own people have to resign from the Cabinet.

Whatever you think of Chris Huhne, and to be honest, I was never his biggest fan for all sorts of reasons, anyone else facing the same charges in any other job would not be sacked until after the Court case. Unfortunately for him, if he'd stayed in post, every time he tried to do something, the media would bring the impending trial up and he'd be completely paralysed. The principle of innocent until proven guilty is an important one and it's getting lost in all of this.

This post is going to be less furious than I originally thought, but only a little. When I heard this morning on the news that Ed Davey was likely to be promoted into Chris Huhne's old job and Norman Lamb head for BIS, I was livid. Not because I have anything against either of them - they are two of our brightest MPs, but not the only ones who deserve promotion.  Simply, Nick Clegg had the opportunity to do something about the appallingly bad gender balance of the Government.

Of our 20 ministers, only two are women, Lynne Featherstone and Sarah Teather. Why not promote Lynne to the Energy and Climate Change job and replace her with Jo Swinson? Lynne is one of the most successful ministers in the Government. There is a strong argument, however, that she should stay where she is because of that but Jo could easily have taken her place at the Home Office. The Lovely Elephant made the case for promoting our talented women much more eloquently than I could.

Two women have, of course, been promoted as a result of this forced reshuffle, but to behind the scenes posts. Jenny Willott becomes an assistant whip, lurking in the dark shadows with nobody to see her skills except Liberal Democrat MPs, while Jo Swinson moves from being Vince's PPS at BIS to being Nick Clegg's. That gives her a much greater overview of Government, but I'd have been much happier to see her with her own profile.

What is the point of promoting diversity, having a fancy Leadership Programme if at every chance you get you give jobs to middle class, middle aged white men?

Actually, when I think about it, I am every bit as furious as I was earlier.

PM Cameron praises Chris Huhne's passion and distinction as he accepts resignation and Clegg offers a way back

The letters between Chris Huhne and David Cameron on Huhne's resignation as Energy and Climate Change secretary have been published on the Number 10 website:

First, Chris Huhne's. His pain is palpable as he recounts his achievements.

This letter is to submit with much regret my resignation as Energy and Climate Change Secretary.  I intend to mount a robust defence against the charges brought against me, and I have concluded that it would be distracting both to that effort and to my official duties if I were to continue in office.

It has been an honour to negotiate and then serve in the first coalition government of modern times which has substantial achievements both in reducing the economic dangers faced by our country, and in making progress with policies to tackle climate change and provide energy security.  

Internationally, we have helped to build a coalition of ambitious countries in Europe and beyond to put the United Nations process back on track.

It has been a privilege to be a minister in the coalition government, and I wish the administration every success with the environmental and economic challenges that lie ahead.

And David Cameron's reply:

Thank you for your letter informing me of your decision to resign from the Government. I believe you have made the right decision under the circumstances.

You have made a very significant contribution to the Government, of which you can be justly proud.

You were a member of the team which negotiated the formation of the Coalition Government between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats in those crucial days after the General Election, with our shared commitment to come together as two distinct political parties and govern in the national interest.

As Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, you have led the Government’s efforts to live up to its responsibility to tackle climate change with great passion and distinction.  You played a key role in securing the progress made at the Cancun and Durban summits, and I pay tribute to the leadership you showed at both.  You have been determined to deliver on our pledge that this should be the greenest Government ever, recognising that cutting carbon emissions is not a luxury but a necessity. And you have relentlessly championed green growth.

Thank you too for the important contribution you have made as a member of the National Security Council since its inception, not only on security of our energy supply, but also in our discussions on Afghanistan, and during the Libya campaign.

Like the Deputy Prime Minister, I am sorry to see you leave the Government under these circumstances and wish you well for the future.


Update:


Letters between Nick Clegg and Chris Huhne have also been published on the Deputy Prime Minister's website.

Chris provides an eloquent summary of what the Liberal Democrats have achieved in the Coalition Government. It must be so hard for him to leave it less than half way through.

Dear Nick,

I am writing to resign, with great regret, as Energy and Climate Change Secretary. I will defend myself robustly in the courts against the charges that the Crown Prosecution Service has decided to press. I have concluded that it would be distracting both to my trial defence and to my official duties if I were to continue in office as a minister.

It has been a privilege to serve with you in the first group of Liberal ministers in a British government since 1945. As Liberal Democrats in government, we have put the national interest first. When we negotiated the coalition agreement, Greece had been hit by financial crisis. Since then, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy have all been hit, vindicating our decision to tackle our own bigger budget deficit. We have had an essential role in ensuring that those decisions are fair. Our decisions are putting in place the foundations for a long-lasting recovery, a rebalancing of the economy, and durable jobs.

Our role in the coalition has ensured that growth in the green economy – already accounting for more than a million jobs - will be a large part of the solution. We have legislated in the first Energy Act 2011 for the pioneering pay-as-you-save Green Deal which will revolutionise our energy saving efforts, provide jobs across the country, and save householders money. The white paper on Electricity Market Reform has mapped out a new policy to encourage the billions of investment that we need in all three families of low carbon electricity generation – renewables, nuclear and clean coal and gas. The Green Investment Bank will support this goal, and this will also create new industries in which the UK will have a head start.

We have put consumers’ interests – today and in the long term – at the heart of our policy, encouraging more competitors in the electricity and gas markets, working with Ofgem to simplify the confusion of tariffs, and getting tough on abuses.

I am proud that the UK has played a leading role in the revival of international climate change talks through the United Nations at Cancun and Durban. Climate change is an area where working with our European partners can help us to achieve national goals which would be out of reach if we were isolated and alone.

The Liberal Democrats under your leadership are playing an essential role in ensuring that the coalition government reflects liberal values at home and abroad. I have been proud to help put our commitments to freedom, fairness and the environment into practice, and to demonstrate once again that liberalism is alive and well in the country of its birth.

Best Wishes,

Chris Huhne


Nick's reply stated that if he were able to clear his name, he could "return to play a key role in Government as soon as possible".


Dear Chris,

Thank you for your letter.

I am immensely grateful for the huge contribution you have made to the government over the past 18 months; both in the trailblazing work you have undertaken as Energy and Climate Change Secretary and in your wider role in government as a key architect of the coalition.

You have shown real leadership in your time at DECC, driving forward a key part of the government's agenda tackling the challenges of climate change and driving green growth and jobs. The Green Deal and other major initiatives that you pioneered will deliver major dividends to the public while marking a major step change in the UK's approach to the environment.

I fully understand your decision to stand down from government in order to clear your name but I hope you will be able to do so rapidly so that you can return to play a key role in government as soon as possible.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg

Chris Huhne protests innocence as he confirms resignation from Cabinet

Chris Huhne has just made the briefest statement outside his Central London flat. He has confirmed that he is stepping down as Energy and Climate Change secretary. He protested his innocence and stated that he was confident that a jury will find him not guilty.

His statement in full is:

The CPS decision to launch a prosecution is deeply regrettable.  I am innocent of the charges and I intend to fight this in the courts. I’m confdent that a jury will agree. So as to avoid any distraction from my duties or my trial defence I am standing down, resigning as Energy and Climate Change secretary. I will of course continue to serve my constituents in Eastleigh.

Nick Clegg has left the Liberal Democrat Away Day in Eastbourne and returned to London. The BBC is reporting that Ed Davey is expected to be confirmed as Energy and Climate Change Secretary with Norman Lamb replacing him as the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

This post originally appeared at Liberal Democrat Voice.

Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce to be charged with perverting the course of justice

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, has just announced that Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne and his former wife VIcky Pryce will be charged with perverting the course of justice.

They will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday 16th February.

It is expected that Chris Huhne will now step down from the Cabinet.

Keir Starmer emphasised that Huhne and Pryce have the right to a fair trial and that nothing should be said or reported that could influence that.

He said:

All the available evidence, including the new material, has now been carefully considered by the CPS and we have concluded that there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against Mr Huhne and Ms Pryce for perverting the course of justice.
The essence of the charges is that between March and May 2003, Mr Huhne, having allegedly committed a speeding offence, falsely informed the investigating authorities that Ms Pryce had been the driver of the vehicle in question, and she falsely accepted that she was the driver.
Accordingly, summonses against both Mr Huhne and Ms Pryce have been obtained from Westminster Magistrates Court and those summonses will now be served on them. They are due to appear in court on 16 February this year.
Can I remind all concerned that Mr Huhne and Ms Pryce now stand charged with criminal offences and that they each have a right to a fair trial. It is very important that nothing is said, or reported, which could prejudice their trial.

His full statement can be found here.

We will bring you news of further developments as they come in.

This was originally posted at Liberal Democrat Voice.

Michael Moore - handy with a hoover, a pie and a cello

I can't let the Festive Season go by with out posting this hilarious cartoon Christmas card, featuring Michael Moore, Nick Clegg, Danny Alexander, Vince Cable and Chris Huhne as elves. It makes me howl with laughter every single time.....



Thanks to the Lovely Mr Dr Chocaholic for sharing.

Ain't no sunlight from Guido on Chris Huhne's expenses

I wouldn't normally sully your day with a link to the noxious Guido Fawkes blog. After all, this is the guy who cast aspersions and innuendo over William Hague until he was forced to make an unprecedented personal statement last year, which I wrote about at the time. There was no need to cause the Hagues additional pain.

You would think he would have learned from that fiasco not to print anything unless he had evidence as to its veracity. No such luck. He just bulldozes his way in there, accusing people of all sorts, making it all sound as sensationalist as possible, not caring for the worry he causes, or the lives he might affect.

He's now got it in for Chris Huhne. Like the rest of the press, but he's stirring around his election expenses.  And he's been bragging that he's spent a year researching it. Well, I know that some people can take more time than others to master things, and election expenses are quite complex, but it looks like he hasn't actually learned anything much at all. He outlines the allegations made by an organisation caused by the Sunlight Centre for Open Politics. Wow. What a cool name. Sounds like a right bunch of peace loving hippies, they do. However, our Stephen, way back in 2009, did a bit of digging about who they might be and worked out that they were in fact run by one Harry Cole and Paul Staines. Yes, that's right. Guido himself and his sidekick, once known as Tory Bear.

Thankfully, we have somebody in the Liberal Democrats who does understand election expenses. There can't be many people in the country who have a more comprehensive knowledge of the subject than Mark Pack. He is one stickler for detail if ever there was one. And he says that there are perfectly reasonable explanations for everything. So, who are you going to believe, a known stirrer, or an expert?

Guido's fundamental error is not to understand that money a local party spends is on all the elections it's fighting - and if a leaflet has some stuff about council elections and some stuff about parliamentary elections, then the costs of production have to be split between the two campaigns, for example. Also, not every piece of literature that goes out is counted on a local election campaign's expenses - some are produced nationally.

Guido says that there's not been enough calculated for staff time on the Westminster election. Well, staff will still be working on actual Westminster casework which they are allowed to do, or they may have been working for the local or national election campaigns. If he's alleging that not enough time was counted for staff on Chris' campaign, he needs to come up with a bit more evidence. Well, actually, he needs to come up with any evidence.

He also mentions a website and says costs should have been included for that. Well, that site was not just for the election - it's still going strong, so it would be unfair to attribute the costs solely to the election - and it's entirely acceptable to spread them out over a longer period.

Guido's credibility has been on the wane for a while. He was once the Enfant Terrible of the Blogosphere. With stories as flimsy as this, he's kind of just left with the terrible.

Farron, Floella and Co talk about Lib Dem values in action

Channel 4 let a bunch of Lib Dem parliamentarians take over their political slot recently. This is their effort, which I'll let you watch before I nitpick.



The good things:

I liked the broad brush stuff - it was the heart and values stuff rather than a list of achievements. I liked Farron making the point that if you liked Lib Dem ideas in the past, you never really got to see them put into practice, but we're making a difference now. I also liked him saying that we didn't bottle out of power when we had the chance.

There was a good mix of winning issues mentioned - pupil premium, raising of tax threshold, warmer homes, restoring earnings and pensions link and rebalancing the economy, but all woven together in terms of the values they showed.  Scottish Liberal Democrat spokespeople, watch and learn. We don't need lists, we do need the Liberal Democrat heart and soul to be let out to speak for itself.

The bad things.

Mostly men, mostly in suits, all middle aged, filmed in offices or near Westminster. A bit of imagination, please!  Where are Lynne Featherstone and Ros Scott, or Jo Swinson and Jenny Willott when you need them? Were they even asked?

I'm getting obsessed about Chris Huhne's hair at the moment. I know it's not healthy (my obsession, not his hair). I just feel like he needs to get it cut and evened up a bit. It's got so bad, that I even took this photo when he was on Question Time recently.

Update: It appears I am not alone in thinking that this was altogether too male. Jo Shaw tweeted me last night to say:

I agree with your point re the cast of the prog, and so do others-led by @DintiBatstone we've emailed Cowley Street about it.

I won't be holding my breath, but lets's hope that the penny starts to drop sometime soon. It does us no good to portray ourselves as a middle class, male party when it's patently not the case.

My Coalition Reshuffle

I have been challenged by Nick Thornsby to take part in a discussion about how the Coalition is doing and how I'd reshuffle the Government.

I agree with Nick that I think on day to day business, at least from what we see, the Coalition is working well. I do hear hints, however, that our Ministers do have to work very hard on issues that are important to us. Sometimes an argument thought won can break out somewhere else. That's part of the nature of any government, though. This one is a very grown up sort of Government, with disagreements being openly admitted but for the most part handled in a mature and honest fashion. Having said that, there's definitely an argument for giving Nick more back up in overseeing the work of Government as a whole, and that's what I've decided to do in my reshuffle.

I know we're only 8 months in, but it has to be pretty functional so far compared to most others I've been aware of in my life. Mrs Thatcher treated her Cabinet appallingly and did not brook any dissent. John Major, bless him, was a very different kettle of fish, someone I have a great deal of time for. He endured open warfare from his Cabinet down after the 1992 election, which poisoned his whole term. I admired him for the dignity he showed in the face of all of that. It was quite a classy move when he forced a leadership contest with John Redwood in 1995. Even so, that only lanced the boil for a short while. Almost the entire 13 years of Labour were beset by internal strife and power struggle which was deeply unpleasant to witness.

It does seem sometimes like Cameron and Clegg have an air of boys playing at "The West Wing". However, they do seem to have formed a pretty tight group at the centre of government with their close allies Danny Alexander and George Osborne. Its unofficial name, "the Quad" is so private school that it gives me, as they say in Scotland, the dry boke but, aesthetics aside, it seems to work. My unease at the major decisions of Government being taken by 4 men is slightly mitigated by the fact that they are all reasonably young with modern, young families. The gender balance across the Government is appalling - and the fact that the Tories are better than we are at this is embarrassing beyond belief. I'm going to address that too.

But first, the Cabinet positions. I had initially decided that it would be a good idea to dump Jeremy Hunt, Culture Secretary and replace him with David Laws so we'd have a Lib Dem dealing with Murdoch. The only way round that, as there was no way on earth I was prepared to see a Tory Scottish Secretary as Nick Thornsby was, would have been to sacrifice Chris Huhne.  I am keeping Vince Cable because I feel safer with him there.  The prospect of a Tory in charge of Climate Change was equally horrid, so I have decided that the Cabinet should revert to Plan A.

I am hoping that David Laws will soon be cleared by the Standards people. What I would do is give him his old job back and put Danny back to Scotland. That would mean that he could go back to the original plan, that he doesn't have time for in the all consuming Chief Secretary role, of being on many Cabinet Committees, providing invaluable back up to Nick in overseeing what's going on across Government.

In terms of Ministers, I'm afraid one bad appearance on Question Time was enough for me to want to send Jeremy Browne packing to the back benches. He actually sounded more Tory than the Tory he was on with. Nick Clegg has enough of an understanding of foreign policy for me not to worry too much about that Department. However, the Coalition's local Government team needs more Liberal Democrat influence. Step forward Ros Scott, who has shown she has the skills, chairing the FE during the most sensitive and momentous decisions in its history. After that, Eric Pickles would be a piece of cake.

Ken Clarke is also doing a wonderfully liberal job as Justice Secretary, so there's no need for Tom McNally really. We can get rid of him and bring in Jo Swinson at Energy and Climate Change as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State.

I could probably go on, but think I'll leave it there for the moment. Apologies to Mike Moore - he's doing a good job as Secretary of State for Scotland, and I would prefer to keep him.

Jennie will probably glower at me, but I'd really like to see what she'd say about this. Also Charlotte at Virtually Naked, Dan Falchikov and Paul Walter.

Huhne stays in Cancun, no thanks to Labour or the Greens

So, Chris Huhne has decided to stay in Cancun to continue the valuable work he's doing at the UN climate change conference. This is a good thing, and shows that he's prepared to stick by what's important, regardless of the political consequences. Let's hope that he really can achieve some progress on measures to combat climate change and persuade those countries who have their fingers in their ears going la la la la la that they need to do more or the global consequences will be catastrophic.

The reason this was ever an issue was, as I wrote yesterday, because Ed Miliband decided to abandon years of parliamentary convention and refuse to provide a pair. That means taking a Labour MP out of the vote so that a Government vote in favour and an opposition vote against would cancel each other out. It's the sort of procedure that's necessary for the Government to do its job and meet its international obligations. You would think, by now, that Parliament would have found some way of using technology so that not just ministers, but MPs who may be sick or on maternity leave, who have a good reason for not being there in person, can record their vote in another way. We accept that principle in public elections by allowing everyone who wants one to have a postal vote, so why not at least trial something soon?

I think it's becoming imperative to do so if Miliband is going to behave like an idiot. I'd have more sympathy with him if Labour had never used the pairing system for close votes when they were in Government - but they did on ID cards, when they went against their manifesto pledge and introduced top up fees and on pre-charge detention.The opposition co-operated then, not because they wanted to, but because it's one of these conventions that keeps the wheels of Government turning.

You would think that a stint at climate change secretary would have given Ed Miliband an awareness and understanding of the huge issues facing the planet. I want to know whether he sleepwalked through his time in office and just doesn't understand or whether he is deliberately deciding that the future of the planet is not important when there's some political point scoring to do. Incompetent, or opportunistic? You choose.

And as for Caroline Lucas, until yesterday I had quite a bit of respect for her as the first Green MP, but she too has shown that she'd rather play games than put her principles into action. She could have offered to pair Chris Huhne but chose not to. She would have been quite prepared to see him fly across the Atlantic and back again to walk through a voting lobby. Apart from the exhaustion and the effect it would have on his work at the Conference, what a waste of carbon that would have been. I would have thought that Caroline Lucas would have put that issue above any other but it seems that's not he case after all.

Chris Huhne has shown that he's prepared to take the risk of losing the vote because he knows how important his presence in Cancun is. As it happens, I think the Government will win regardless, which is something I will watch with a very heavy heart.

Millennium Elephant's Daddy Alex has come out of his sick bed to write a fabulous post not just on this issue but on the whole tuition fees thing. Today is not going to be an easy day for any Liberal Democrat, but when the party is in pain, he knows exactly which bit to rub.

Labour game playing threatens key Climate talks - could Caroline Lucas help?

While the atmosphere at Westminster heats up in advance of The Vote tomorrow night, our attention has been diverted from the fact that something else is warming up - the planet - and unless concerted, global action is taken soon, we are going to be at the mercy of some cataclysmic changes.

In order to try and avoid that, the latest UN Climate Change Conference is taking place in Cancun. At last, in Chris Huhne, the UK finally has an effective Environment Minister who knows what he's talking about and could play a major role in bringing people together. Or at least he could if he didn't have to fly home to vote tomorrow night.

It is convention that when a minister is away on Government business, that the opposition organises it so that one of its members don't vote. That's a reasonable arramgement which enables the Government to carry out its international obligations.

There aren't many more important international issues than climate change, and Chris Huhne already outlined his concerns that the momentum behind the :UN effort might fall away. From the BBC report above,

"What worries me is that there will be countries that say the game here, this particular forum, isn't worth a candle," he told BBC News.

"It will peter out, it won't vanish. People next year won't send a senior minister, they will send a junior minister, and then the year after they will send a senior civil servant. In a few years' time it will be the local ambassador, and it will wither on the vine.

"That's not what we want here. We want a sense that there is renewed momentum so people are coming back next year with a real sense they want to reach a deal."

Chris has been asked by the UN to sort out a compromise on the Kyoto Protocol. No pressure, then! Unfortunately, because Labour are playing silly games, it looks like he's going to have to leave this vital work to cast his vote in the debate. What a waste of a trip, and for no good reason. 


It's clear that this comes right from the top in the Labour Party. Ed Miliband's office is clearly exploiting the fact that the vote is likely to be tight and is flying in the face of organisations like Oxfam and Christian Aid who acknowledge the vital role this country represented by Chris has in brokering a deal on climate change.

Oppositions play games, we know that - but there are limits. Ed Miliband, the former climate change secretary whose achievements in that office seem to have passed me by, should no better than to jeopardise an intensive international effort.

He should think again - or, actually, there's another solution, put forward by A C McGregor on Twitter, quoted with permission.http://twitter.com/#!/A_C_McGregor

@ChrisHuhne needs an opposition MP to pair and let him stay at Cancun Summit... asked @CarolineLucas ?

Surely the Green MP would want to do her bit to enable Chris Huhne to stay at the Conference and continue his efforts to further the cause of global action to prevent climate change?

Pain and Pride at #LDConf

I'm not at the historic special one day Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham, altough I would dearly love to be. There's no way my health would have stood up to going and I'm missing my friends so much.

One of the reasons I love Twitter so much, though, is that I can follow the proceedings - and that's the actual proceedings, not the inaccurate poison pen portrait some journalist writes the next day - as they happen. You can see all that happened as it happened here at #ldconf.

From Twitter I heard that the hero of us leftie types, Simon Hughes, got a standing ovation as he supported the coalition, saying that we "have begun to do better than we ever dreamed."

I heard that Lynne Featherstone, Equalities Minister, assured the Conference that there would be no rollback of equalities on her watch. Given her impeccable voting record on the subject, outlined by Jennie the other day,

I heard that Chris Huhne and Tom McNally both said that they wouldn't allow the Tories to repeal the Human Rights Act.

That Mark Pack eats memory cards and drinks google juice (although I think that might, only might, have been a joke.

Daddy Alex was at his inspirational best, talking about how Liberals have been out of power for the 40 years of his lifetime and we couldn't give up the opportunity now because it might not come back for another 40 and saying that we will make the Tories better. If they had made an unholy alliance with the DUP it would have been much worse.

These are just some of the highlights. It was good, too, that the leadership accepted all the amendments on a range of subjects including tuition fees, the Digital Economy Bill, inequality, PR, and local government. The full text of the motion passed is here.

The pain I mentioned in the headline was more to do with the fact that all the attendees now have sore backsides given the uncomfortable plastic chairs they had to sit on - I saw so many tweets about them that I was grateful for the sofa I was lying on to watch the Monaco Grand Prix.

I've written before of how emotional and difficult I've found this week - I've experienced every emotion, from pride to excitement to fear to sadness to anger to pride and happiness again. The only thing that really kept me going was blind faith in the individuals who were doing the negotiations and the people I know in the parliamentary parties and on the Federal Executive. The nervousness hasn't gone - we've taken a hell of a risk and I have a feeling I'm going to have to watch the news from behind a pillow for the next five years, but I'm really proud to be a member of this party. We have dealt with a difficult situation incredibly well. We've been open in our discussions and there's been a huge amount of mutual trust between the leadership and the grassroots members.

I appreciate the fact that the Party gave ordinary members the chance to be part of this process - they didn't have to hold this conference at all as the Federal Executive and the Parliamentary parties had already backed the coalition agreements. They've heard a huge variety of views today about members' hopes, aspirations and fears that they can take on board in their ongoing discussions within the Government.

The day ended with a speech by Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (doubt I'll ever get tired of writing that) in which he said:

“It is five days since I accepted the position of Deputy Prime Minister.

“Just five days, and we now know there will be no ID cards, no third runway at Heathrow, no more fingerprinting in schools without parents’ consent, no more child detention.

“Changes Liberal Democrats have spent months, years, campaigning for, are happening.

“Promises we were making to people on their doorsteps just a few weeks ago are becoming realities.

“Fair taxes. The income tax threshold is now going to rise to £10,000. That is this Government’s priority, not tax cuts for millionaires.

“The best start at school for every child. Extra money is now going to be targeted to pupils who need it most. That is a huge leap in creating a truly mobile society.

“A new, sustainable economy. The banks are going to be taxed, the bonus culture is going to be cracked.

“And instead of pinning all our hopes on financial wizardry in the City of London we’ll build a new economy where we rediscover our talents for building and making things again, with green industry given new prominence as we head towards a zero-carbon future.

“New politics.

“Fixed term parliaments – happening.

“The power of recall to get rid of corrupt MPs – happening.

“A clean up of party funding, a clamp down on lobbying in Parliament, an elected House of Lords – all happening.

“Our Freedom Bill is going to come off our leaflets and go onto the statute book, ending gross state intrusion into people’s every day lives.

“Patients, parents, communities are all going to have a much greater say over the decisions that affect them.

“And voting reform is going to be put to the British people, in a referendum in which Liberal Democrats will fight to deliver real change.

“I know the stakes are high – for me personally, as well as the party.

“But I came into politics to change things, and that means taking risks.

“Real, big change never comes easy.

“So it would simply be wrong for us to let this chance of real change pass us by.

“The chance to transform politics, the chance to hardwire fairness into our society, the chance to change Britain for good.”

It sounds like it's been a worthwhile day and I look forward to reading the accounts of the people who were there.

Geert Wilders - when should people be silenced?

I don't agree with Geert Wilders critique of Islam. It's emotive and unbalanced and paints a picture of the religion that is unrecognisable to most of its followers.

However objectionable and unhelpful I might find his view and his film, I have to say that I was shocked by Chris Huhne's support of the Government's decision to refuse him entry to the UK last week.

My innermost instincts are to protect freedom of speech. When I first came across Labour's No Platform policy in the 1980s, it made me feel queasy. On the face of it it sounds fair enough not to give voice to views which are just so objectionable that they could incite violence against a particular group of people. The trouble with this is that somebody then has to decide what is objectionable. And if you're not careful, what you are allowed to say could become narrower and narrower. The other point is that you have to allow those views to be articulated in order to argue against them. Otherwise they go underground and their proponents have to operate behind front organisations......

I am just listening to the BBC's The Big Questions where people are basically justifying the use of torture as part of a debate. I really don't like that point of view but I don't think they should have been stopped from saying it.

We have legislation against hate crimes in this country, and I think it's right and proper that we should. Nobody should have to face violence or persecution because of their religion, sexuality, race, age or any other aspect of who they are.

I think religions, governments and philosophies are fair game when it comes to criticism. I do not see why I should be silenced from criticising the homophobia of many organised religions, nor the abuses of human rights which are carried out in the name of religion or dogma across the globe, nor the principles on which these religions or dogma are based.

If we take the Government's logic on the Wilders case to its natural conclusion, would Italy be right to prevent me from going there because of what I've said about the Pope's homophobic pronouncements?




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