A Weekend up North

I've been having a lovely weekend up north with my sister and her family. She has 4 children - or it might be 5 as I've barely seen Anna since we got here. She and her cousin Ru, who's only 10 weeks older, play so well together. They are equally obsessed with Doctor Who so occasionally we here the "Exterminate" of their remote control daleks. They appear when they want to be fed but so far there hasn't been a cross word between them.

Laura, who's almost 16, is beautiful, funny and bright. She's just had great results in her standard grades. She is so much braver than I ever was. She goes off to rock festivals and camps in fields. I wouldn't even do that now. I like my home comforts too much. She has just wanted to know what I was writing about her and she said that the only word she would add would be that she was amazing. I can't argue with that.

Emma, at 11, is incredibly sweet and always willing to help. She is very good at reading people and I suspect she is a future senior manager in the making.

The youngest, Aimee, is just a cute bundle of laughter and fun. She has spent much of today dressed as a bee, flitting around the place.

My sister had a huge party last night. She doesn't believe in making life easy on herself - I would have been down to Marks and Spencer buying pizza - she made them from scratch, and they were absolutely lovely. The food was gorgeous and the drink was plentiful. Not for me, though. I had had a couple of glasses of lovely rioja at lunchtime and didn't want to overdo it. By late evening I was completely sober and decided that there was very little point in starting as I'd only feel rough today. So, I didn't. I have to say that drink does help in the participation of Singstar, or at least in helping your ears appreciate everyone's contributions.

For the uninitiated, Singstar is a karaoke type game for the Playstation. It is highly addictive and was responsible for me being out at a party until 8.15am last year.

Maybe we should have introduced a Singstar round at the leadership hustings to make things even more exciting:-)

Dunfermline Leadership hustings

Wednesday night saw an informal Scottish Leadership hustngs in Dunfermline. It was extremely well attended from members all across Mid Scotland and Fife.

What struck me most about Ross was how much he is thriving on this campaign - you can just tell that he is really enjoying meeting and talking to members all over the country.

It was a very lively meeting with lots of questions, ably chaired by Dunfermline South councillor Tony Martin.

Members were concerned that we are not doing as well as we should be, when there is a real need for a liberal point of view to be articulated at the moment. Ross's message is, basically, that we are here, we don't need to be re-invented because our approach to government comes from our deeply held principles of fairness and freedom - but we do need to find a way of communicating our practical and relevant solutions.

He made the point that we just aren't getting the superb work done by Westminster colleagues like Vince Cable aren't getting enough coverage - there needs to be more joined up thinking so that people know about our achievements at all levels.

I am looking forward to the Inverness event on Saturday. We are off for a few days' with my sister and her family there. I'm hoping to catch up with an old primary school teacher as well as popping into Danny Alexander's office to see my friends there.

Baldy, Brown and Balls

I don't usually have a lot of good things to say about Gordon Brown, but today I am giong to praise him to the hilt for the support he has given to Adrian Sudbury's campaign to raise awareness of the bone marrow register. Adrian is a 26 year old journalist who is currently in the final stages of two different types of Leukaemia. He has been campaigning to raise awareness of the Bone Marrow Register and all he asked was that secondary school children should be given one short promotional lesson about joining the register. Obviously a wider pool of donors means that more lives can be saved. It's not rocket science.

Anyway, Gordon Brown phoned Adrian today to tell him that he had personally written to a list of celebs chosen by Adrian and the Anthony Nolan Trust to ask them to think about promoting bone marrow donation.

That call clearly meant so much to Adrian as you can see from his latest blog posting. He has kept a blog throughout his illess, entitled Baldy's Blog, which is extremely well written combining humour and increasing poignancy as the illness takes hold.

Please can everybody reading this take a few minutes of their time to read Adrian's blog and think about whether they could join the Bone Marrow Register.

And now for the Balls bit. Adrian said that after speaking to Brown, he was able to speak to Ed Balls. Funnily enough, Tavish Scott said at tonight's hustings in Dunfermline that he had seen the said Mr Balls at the station as he travelled through on the train. Unfortunately he got South and North Queensferry mixed up, but never mind.

Today will have been a hard day for Gordon Brown, having lost a good friend, John MacDougall, to the wicked and cruel disease of Mesothelioma. I respect him for, in his grief, being able to reach out to someone else and really make one of his last days.

Highland Bound

I'm off to Inverness in a while to attend the memorial service for Lord Russell-Johnston. I spent the first 12 years of my life in Invernesss so he was one of the first politicians I was aware of. So many people grow up with a negative view of politicians these days, which is very sad. I was lucky enough to have Russell as my local MP, with his commitment to human rights and civil liberties during my childhood and then Bob Maclennan in Caithness and Sutherland during my teens. Those very positive role models encouraged me to get involved and I ended up joining the party on my 16th birthday.

The first time I met Russell as a party member was in Wick during the 1984 Euro election. He came up along with Charles Kennedy and Alan Beith to address a public meeting. I remember being very impressed with his commitment to Europe and willingness to stand up for what he believed in, even if it wasn't so popular. He'd done that for Home Rule during the dark days when that idea was out of fashion.

I'll post a report of the service when I come back.

Scottish Lib Dem Leadership hustings, Edinburgh

Yesterday saw the first of four official Scottish Lib Dem leaderhip hustings in Edinburgh. It was a miserable morning - wet, grey and cold, but even so the room was almost full. It was a good opportunity to catch up with some friends I hadn't seen for ages.

I'm not going to go through their speeches in detail - Stephen Glenn has done that very well himself with a different posting for each candidate. I want to give a bit of an overview with my own views on each performance.

Tavish delivered a competent speech outlining his ambition for the party, his view on the Scottish political landscape and what his policy priorities will be in terms of developing solutions to people's concerns. He talked about how he would be a leader who would talk bluntly and have sharp elbows in terms of the opposition. I have no doubt that he would be able to do that very well.

I see him in many ways as the candidate who stands most for continuity in terms of both policy and the way in which the Party is managed. One of my biggest concerns, shared by many others, about the Party in recent years has been its dominance from Holyrood. Communications between the Holyrood and Westminster parliamentarians have improved greatly recently and there have been meetings between councillors and MSPs - but not nearly enough. I share Ross's view is that no one part of the party dominating the others is fundamentally illiberal.

I feel that there needs to be genuine dialogue between the grassroots, councillors and parliamentarians. By dialogue, that means listening as well as talking. Centralised control has no place as the default management style in a party which values decentralisation. If you communicate well, you can spend less time doing it and have more time out on the streets campaiging, enthusing and bringing more people in to the Party.

I have a lot of time for Mike Rumbles. He was on the committee I chaired last year and he was always a constructive presence at meetings offering sensible advice. He was talking about how the Party had to go off in a completely different direction. I think we have to develop our narrative, but based on our own core values of fairness, freedom, decentralisation and empowerment. We have to show how that is relevant to people's lives and current concerns. He was right in that our strategy has to change from being in Government. Opposition demands a whole new extra skill set and completely different tactics. While I like Mike, I don't see him as leader

I had very high expectations of Ross's speech and he managed to exceed them. Yes, I'm backing him and it's no surprise I thought he was best, but I do feel he got the biggest laughs and warmest applause. He was relaxed, funny, incisive, sharp and to the point. From talking to people I felt that he won over most of the non aligned people in the room.

I think Ross can best give the party what it needs. He has the best skills to manage the change the Party needs. He is a team player, but can be decisive. This is the guy who insisted, in the face of opposition, on increasing the targets for renewable energy. It's a pity that the SNP Government is now undermining that work.

On the basis of yesterday's performance, it's clear that we have three very talented leadership contenders, but Ross, for me, is best placed to take us forward. He combines likeability and humour with credibility and experience.

Bishop Gene in Glasgow

I was gutted that, due to a complicated set of family circumstances, I had to miss Bishop Gene Robinson preaching at St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow yesterday.

He is a man of great grace and humanity. He embodies the sort of tolerance followers of all faiths and none should embrace.

His celebration of the Eucharistic prayer brought a tear to my eye. And it was in that modern language rubbish too:-)

Finnie Campaign Gathers Momentum

Ross Finnie's leadership campaign has in the past few days secured public endorsements from former leader David Steel, deputy leader of Fife Council Elizabeth Riches and immediate past convener Judy Hayman. Also supporting him are MSPs Hugh O'Donnell, Jim Tolson and former education minister Robert Brown, winner of the Queens Park by-election in Glasgow Margot Clark, Cllrs Robert Aldridge and Paul Edie from Edinburgh, former Chief Executive Andy Myles and former MSP for Gordon Nora Radcliffe. And me, of course:-)

I have been very encouraged by the amount of support for Ross there has been from the grassroots members. They like him very much, they respect his passionate liberalism and they see him as a credible alternative to our opponents.

I am not so thrilled that the Party has chosen my 20th wedding anniversary to announce the result of this election. My lovely, long suffering husband deserves my full attention on that day...........

Mamma Mia

I went to see Mamma Mia as a birthday treat from my friend Siobhan. If you are in need of something to make you smile this Summer, go and see this film. You come out feeling like you've been bathed in Greek sunshine. Whether it's the beauty of the island location, the outrageous moments of high camp, the nostalgia that Abba songs awaken, or you just want to gaze at Colin Firth, you'll love it.

I have to be honest and say that my expectations for the soundtrack, and particularly Pierce Brosnan's contribution to it, were not that high. It was actually surprisingly good - and Brosnan wasn't so bad. Anyway, since we're being shallow, his looks more than compensated for his vocals.

For me, the highlight was Meryl Streep. She is such a versatile actress. You could not have two more different films than Sophie's Choice and Mamma Mia but she pulled off both and lots in between. She looks beautiful, her performance is energetic and believeable and she looked like she was really enjoying herself. Julie Walters was also great as her friend. It's good to see a major film with older women as the main stars for a change.

Profound this film certainly isn't, although I did cry at one point, just as I had at the stage show. There's one song which I'd never heard before I saw the stage show, called Slippng Through My Fingers. It was written by one of the Abba boys when his daughter was 7 years old and is all about how childhood is so special, goes so quickly and you should savour every moment. Certainly rings true for me.

Go and see this film for a totally feelgood experience - you know you want to, really.........

Stephen Glenn's New Blog

Being of a sensitive disposition, I nearly choked on my Earl Grey this morning. I can't remember why, but I found myself looking at Stephen Glenn's Facebook profile and saw that he had two blogs, the second having the seemingly provocative name of nippledom.blogspot.com.

Well, I just had to have a look. I suspected that I was on fairly safe territory, but even if I hadn't been, my curiosity would have got the better of me. The blog itself, although entertaining, is not quite as exciting as it sounds. It's all about Northern Irish Professional People Living Elsewhere!

I remembered my other internet nipple story. A few years ago when I was training to be a breastfeeding counsellor, I very naively put nipple pain into google. Sure there were millions of sites - none of which, sadly, had anything to do with human milk or babies........

Happy Birthday, Magnus

Today marks the first birthday of my little friend Magnus. He is a wonderful, curious, energetic, happy little boy.

He brings so much joy to his parents' lives, and it's obvious how much he is loved by all of his family.

So, happy birthday, Magnus. You won't remember today, but those of us who love you will:-)

What's in a gloat?

I have to give credit to the person whose message to Radio Scotland was read out just before 6 tonight. Unfortunately, I didn't get their name. However they asked the question that if Scotland got its independence, would its currency be called teh Gloat?

The old ones are always the best:-)

Glasgow East - putting the result in perspective

There are few more annoying sights in life than a gloating Scottish nationalist. Apart from, maybe, a room full of them. I was struck by the lack of dignity of their victory celebrations in Glasgow East, with their candidate doing a wee victory dance before the recount had even been declared. It was kind of Rambo come embarrassing middle aged male relative dancing at a wedding. Compare and contrast with the way Willie Rennie reacted when he won the Dunfermline and West Fife by election. Sure, he recognised the political earthquake he had caused, but he did so in a way which showed humility and gratitude at receiving the trust of the people.

The voters in Glasgow East had a choice between a Government which had kicked the poorest people there with the 10p tax, benefit cuts and had nothing to offer except more rising food and fuel costs and its Scottish counterpart which is nothing but hot air. Removal of tolls on the Forth Road Bridge and a minor cut in prescription charges isn't really that much to show for a year in office. I guess a blast of hot air is nice in the middle of a wet and miserable Summer, but the SNP bubble will soon burst if the Government doesn't start making real progress on the issues which concern people - housing, education, health and crime.

I suspect Labour and the SNP will have spent close to the £100,000 limit each on their campaigns. The Liberal Democrats will have spent a tiny fraction of that. Ian Robertson was a good candidate with a fantastic team around him - but there's just no way he could compte with that sort of money being spent by the others. However, I am sure that this campaign is not going to be the last we will hear from him. He has actually listened to the concerns of local people and I am sure that he will continue to campaign on issues like the Parkhead fire station long after the by election circus has left town.

Leadership and Listening

Well, I guess you have to admire Ming Campbell's honesty and fair play to him for being so upfront about his views. In a Sunday Times article, he urges the new Scottish Lib Dem Leader, and he's supporting Tavish Scott, to vote against a referendum on independence even if the Party votes in favour of it.

The Lib Dems have a great tradition of the Conference being the sovereign policy making body of the Party. Clearly the Conference only meets twice a year and the Party needs to respond to issues a bit quicker than that. However, on something as fundamental as a referendum on independence, I would prefer it if the leadership stuck to the will of the Party. The Sunday Times could be seen as an indication that a Scott leadership would ignore Conference backing for a referendum.

That's not the sort of regime I would feel comfortable under. We have to keep in mind that our finest performance in recent years came when the leadership listened to the members over Iraq.

For the record, I have long favoured a referendum on independence, although I am opposed to independence itself. While I thought the stand we took during the 2007 election was wrong, it was right to stick to that position when it came to talking coalitions.

Let's hope that the new leader listens to the view of the Conference.

Ian Robertson for Glasgow East

I was lying in my bed on the first morning of my holiday when I received a text message from Andrew Reeves, the Party's director of Campaigns in Scotland, telling me that there was going to be a by-election in Glasgow East. I spoke to him later that day (whilst lying by the pool) about how to go about candidate selection as I had been in charge of the last few by-election selections. He certainly did a very good job, because in Ian Robertson, we have a fantastic candidate who is even managing to impress the media.

I know Ian from when he stood in 2005 and was impressed with him them - he's very genuine and hard working and would be a dedicated MP for the people of Glasgow East. I watched him on Newsnight the other night and he really came across as someone who really understood, from first hand experience, the issues facing the constituency. He is campaigning to save the local fire station, he has raised the issue of rising living costs and his experience working with young people and involvement with the Glasgow Council on Alcohol would stand him in very good stead as he tries to find solutions to the problem of crime and violence in the area.

Ian and his amazing team have achieved a great deal with their positive and energetic campaign in a few short weeks and deserve to win on Thursday.

Daft Idea of the Week - Performance Bonuses for Surgeons

Of all the daft ideas I've heard this week - and there have been a few - this has to be the daftest. Complex surgery on human beings can't really be given the piecework approach. There's also an argument to say that senior surgeons are paid enough, if not more than enough anyway. Recovery from surgery of any kind is determined by a huge number of physical, environmental and psychological factors. The surgeon may do the fiddling about with your internal organs, but it's nurses who are responsible for your hour to hour care, auxiliaries and domestic staff who keep the hospital clean, and physios and other specialists who aid your recovery. I don't see any mention of them being included in the bonus scheme.

Patients' groups are up in arms about this proposal, not surprisingly. Who's going to want to perform the high risk procedures with high mortality rates under such a system? Would they get forgotten as managers incentivise conditions with the longest waiting lists?

If the objective is to provide the best possible service to patients, surely we need to ensure that everybody involved in patient care is fairly rewarded for the job they do on a day to day basis and ensure that we have enough staff to enable all the required operations to be carried out in a reasonable timescale?

Rediscovering Doctor Who

I have loved Doctor Who ever since the first episode I ever watched - the last of Planet of the Spiders, when Jon Pertwee regenerated into Tom Baker. I have attended several conventions where I have met Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy, as well as Sophie Aldred (Ace) and Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah-Jane Smith).

My daughter's middle name is Elisabeth, partly in tribute to my favourite Doctor Who companion. Imagine my delight that she is now becoming a huge fan of the programme. We have spent the last few nights watching the last half few episodes of the series and we enjoyed the brilliant finale tonight.

It has been so good to watch the programme through the eyes of a child. I remember how petrified I was of Davros when I first came across him in Genesis of the Daleks. An adult maybe would have seen the obvious unreality of the situation, but my 8 year old self did not. Likewise Anna was terrified of the Vashti Nerada and was in tears at the end of Stolen Earth as she thought she was going to lose her beloved Doctor. She is so disappointed that there are only going to be 4 new episodes next year, but I have convinced her that there are many years of episodes that she hasn't yet seen to catch up on.

Ross Finnie for Scottish Lib Dem Leader

We are very lucky to have 3 such strong candidates for the leadership in Scotland. All of them have their qualities, however I think Ross is best placed to take us forward up here.

He is very wise, excellent with people whether it's chatting on a one to one basis in the street or talking to a hall full, he's capable of listening and knows and respects the Party. He has a proven track record as a Minister - he mastered the rural affairs brief easily and was commended for his performance during Foot and Mouth. I think he is simply the best Minister, bar no-one, we have had in Holyrood so far.

He has credibility, experience and judgment I can trust. I think he'd be a superb leader of our party.

Chocolate Heaven

I've just returned from almost 3 weeks relaxing in Mallorca and should really get round to doing some serious blogging about events on the Scottish political scene in my absence, but am still too chilled out to think about it.

Instead, I am going to tell you all about the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted. I had it in the lovely village of Valldemossa in Mallorca, where Chopin once spent a Winter with his lover, who produced a whinging book about how harsh Mallorca was in the Winter. I wonder what she would have made of Winter in Braemar in Scotland.

There are some quite upmarket eateries there, but we used to go to a place called Sa Foginaya on the main street which claimed to be the home of the traditional Horchata de Almendra, or almond milk shake (think sipping liquid marzipan - bliss). It was quite reasonably priced, but last year, without warning, we were rather rudely ejected by the proprietors because we didn't want to have a full meal. Anyway, it was with some satisfaction that we returned this year to see that establishment almost empty while Bar Meriendas, across the street was bustling with atmosphere. I had ordered my horchata de almendra when I saw someone else's hot chocolate. It looked so velvety and delicious that I had to have some as well. It was every bit as good as it looked - thick, smooth, dark, slightly bitter with the richest chocolate taste. Very reasonably priced compared to the snootier establishments in the area. Pink Dog should get out there immediately...........

Woman Bishops - a simple truth

I do hope that the Church of England isn´t going to tear itself apart in an undignified way over gay clergy or woman bishops, although, sadly, that looks increasingly likely. I do still have a great deal of affection for the Church in which I was raised and the current wrangling is hard to watch.

One of the things I always liked about the Church was its tolerance and understanding and I hope that these qualities shine through as they debate these issues.

I do have one simple observation about woman bishops, though. The argument against them is that Jesus only chose men as disciples. In those days, most women were subject to the will of either their husband or their father and would simply not have been permitted to disappear off with some male stranger. I am sure that the opponents of women bishops would not wish to return to that sort of world, so I´d be interested to see how they would answer that point.

Goodbye and Thanks, Nicol

I am currently on holiday in Mallorca, having a great time becoming subject entirely to the timetable decreed by the hotel´s entertainment team. Last night they organised a truly fabulous chillout party by the pool. However, I didn´t stay chilled out for very long after I received a text from my friend telling me that Nicol Stephen had stepped down as party leader.

In a way I´m not surprised. I was an office bearer of the Party until the end of December and even though I loved the job, the commitment to that, my day job as well as being a mum was just too much. Nicol has done the right thing in putting family first. His children will thank him for it, he will be happier and he´s still young enough to come back to the front line in the future.

My favourite memories of Nicol as leader are all around by elections. Just as he was elected, the Livingston by election happened. I couldn´t have asked more from him as he rearranged the MSP´s weekly group meetings to take place in our campaign HQ on a Tuesday evening and they would all go out canvassing afterwards en masse. He was totally engaged in the campaign and was a massive support to me as campaign manager.

Then there was Dunfermline, still one of the best campaigns ever. He would bring his family over at the weekends and devoted every single spare moment to getting Willie elected.

These campaigns showed an energised, passionate Nicol at his very best. He was also bold enough to make some huge commitments on renewable energy which nobody else has the courage to fulfil.

Nicol is a decent bloke and I wish him well for the future.

Henley - looking good for the Lib Dems

No, I haven't been to Henley - a bit too far away when your daughter doesn't let you stay away overnight yet, but the feedback I've had from people who have has been very positive. Even grumpy people who never believe we are going to do well have been astounded by the warmth of the reception we have had. Apparently the Henley people are exceptionally friendly and polite.

The Tories seem to spend more time whinging about our literature and threatening to issue writs than actually promoting their candidate. What does that tell you?

Seems like they know that things aren't going quite as they liked. The people of Bromley saw through David Cameron 2 years ago when we came within a hair's breadth of winning there. It looks like the people of Henley are similarly unconvinced by him.

It could be an interesting result on Thursday. If my uber-pessimist friend thinks that we are all going to want to say we were there, then there's a chance we could do it.

Boris can't find what's under his nose......

I am still fairly gutted that Londoners elected Boris Johnson as Mayor a little over a month ago.

I was disappointed, but not surprised, to see that already the new Mayor is having a few problems mastering his brief. Yesterday he went on the Today programme to say that he couldn't find an agreement that previous Mayor Ken Livingstone had signed with the Government on funding for the Olympics. It wouldn't have been quite so bad if a few moments' googling had not revealed that the said document is in broad daylight here

Ken showed he was back to his old form by phoning the Today programme and kicking Boris' backside.

New SNP Age Limit for alcohol

My tribute blog doesn't accept abusive posts, but, boy, can it give them out

Thing is, (and please don't let him hear I've said this), but he's absolutely right. In Scotland you can marry at 16, but to have to wait 33% of your life again to be able to toast your nuptials does seem a bit weird.

I have to say that I was less than chuffed when Lib Dem MSPs defied party policy and voted in favour of the cigarette purchasing age to be raised to 18. I am therefore delighted to see that Health Spokesman Ross Finnie has condemned the SNP's proposals.

If there were enough test purchasing schemes and enforcement of the current laws, then it would make a serious dent in underage drinking.

There's a reason that Liberalism and Nationalism are polar opposites.........

E-Mail Nightmare

I've had a bit of a catastrophic e-mail failure. For some reason the e-mail server I have been using is allowing me to send, but not receive, messages. Therefore I've had to spend hours on end configuring all my settings on all the websites that are important to me, including this one, to a new e-mail address. There should be one single product that allows you to do all this at the touch of a button - maybe there is and I'm too stupid to have discovered it.

I am quite proud of myself for seemingly managing to configure Outlook to my new address.

It just shows how reliant I, and no doubt you too, have become on the Internet....... It's fine until it goes wrong and then it affects every area of your life, from your bank account to Facebook, to Amazon, Tesco and the people you've got your holiday booked with. Hell, we might have won the lottery last week and I wouldn't have known.

No doubt, I'm going to keep remembering things over the next few weeks which will need changing. Let's hope I don't forget anything important................

Another needless tragedy

There hardly seems to be a week go by at the moment without the awful news that children have been killed in some horrific way at the hands of a parent, usually their father, on a contact visit.

I know that what I'm going to say will be controversial, but I am concerned that perhaps the courts are too keen to make contact orders in favour of people who simply are not stable enough to be trusted with the care of their own children.

I'm not quite sure what to do about this - perhaps some sort of psychiatric evaluation should be part of the investigation process to identify whether the father could be a potential danger to his children.

There is no justification for what these men do, but perhaps the whole process of family law needs to be based on counselling and mediation rather than an adversarial courtroom process which just invites divisive mud slinging. Both parents need to be aware first and foremost of the needs of their children.

I am in no doubt that there are some circumstances in which the children would benefit from having no contact with the absent parent. There are other situations where they would suffer without that parent in their lives. The courts have been following a slavish adherence to the theory that it is in the best interests of the children to retain contact with their absent parent. In some cases that is extremely undesirable for all sorts of reasons. If there is any doubt at all about a child's safety in the hands of a parent then they should not be allowed to be alone with that parent. End of story. Often the best judge of that is the parent the child lives with, whose views are not always taken into account.

My daughter could not do without her Daddy - they have a lovely relationship, and he would always, unquestioningly, put her needs ahead of his own. I am lucky enough to have complete trust in him as a father. Similarly, many of my friends are terrific fathers, even though they do not live with their children's mothers. They've had to work hard to maintain that relationship, and they are all sane, reasonable individuals whose rights the family law system should protect.

It must be horrible, though, for a mother to be forced to hand over her children to someone she fears would harm them. The system has to be better at identifying the people who would harm their children. Too many are dying at the moment and something has to be done about it.

Bishop Gene Robinson to visit Glasgow

I was absolutely delighted to see that Bishop Gene Robinson, the Bishop of New Hampshire, is going to be visiting Scotland in August to preach at St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow. Bishop Robinson is the only Bishop not to have been invited to the forthcoming Lambeth Conference with the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is the only Bishop to acknowledge that he is living in a gay relationship.

I am glad that he is going to receive a warm welcome here in Scotland. I know Kelvin Holdsworth, the Provost of St Mary's - he is one of the warmest, most genuine, wisest and most tolerant people I have ever met. It is hardly surprising that the services at St Mary's are so packed that they run out of consecrated communion hosts. Just out of interest, I wonder what happens then.....

David Davis' Empty Gesture

Before we all get swept away on a tide of hysteria about what a saviour of civil liberties David Davis is, we maybe want to take a long, hard look at his record. Here is a man who quite happily voted for 28 days' detention without charge not that long ago - a huge increase from the then 3 day limit. He is pro hanging. He has voted, as well as more recently created, the Tory line on immigration. I suspect that if he is re-elected he will continue to vote the Tory line on pretty much everything.

I wonder if he would have had such an unsurmountable attack of principle if he had represented a Tory/Labour marginal, where just a few votes switching could send him down to the Job Centre. Now that the Liberal Democrats have given him a free run at his own seat, he only really has to defeat a fairly negligible Labour vote.

I don't believe that this is some sort of heroic plan, hatched last night, to stand up for our rights as citizens. Election campaigns take time to plan, even with the modern by election sprint campaigns we have been used to. This is just another Tory opportunistic stunt.

Remember the Tories are the people who banned unions at GCHQ, introduced Section 28, failed to take effective action against South Africa during apartheid, failed to support devolution, fair votes, and equalities laws. They supported the Iraq war while the Liberal Democrats have consistently stood up for human rights and civil liberties as part of our core philosophy for a very long time.

Part of me wants us to take Davis on and beat him. If there is any sign of any Conservative management of his campaign, then I think we could honoourably change our minds and enter the contest. We are in a reasonable second place and could do it. Why let him fight a by-election on an issue of his choosing? If he wants to face the people, he should do so on his whole record, and that of the party he is still a part of.

The result of this unnecessary by election will be completely meaningless - Labour couldn't win if they tried there. Maybe we are right to refuse to dignify this opportunistic charade, but I can't help feeling it's an opportunity lost.

A humiliating victory

Tonight's vote, won by the Government on the back of the support of Anne Widdicombe and the DUP, is another much more important travesty.

It was rightly described by SDLP MP Mark Burdan as a humiliating victory.

I have to say, though, that Nick Clegg's overtures to the DUP, on the grounds of their supposed commitment to civil liberties, stuck in my throat just a wee bit - has he met Iris Robinson, DUP MP, who, last week, while being questioned about a homophobic attack in Northern Ireland, suggested that homosexuals could be turned around with psychotherapy?

Shame on you, Sir Alan

To choose a mediocre man over a brilliant woman once was bad enough, as Simon Ambrose won over Kristina Grimes last year, but two years in a row smacks of vile misogyny. Claire Young seems to have missed out tonight simply because she speaks her mind. She was by far the best candidate - she has listened, taken and acted upon difficult feedback throughout the 12 weeks and carried Lee through the last task.

It was a travesty of justice that she did not win tonight.

The Evening Boris gloats..........

I have it on good authority that depressed Labour Party staff got into work on Saturday to find a huge pile of copies of the Evening Standard - the one proclaiming "Boris is the Mayor" along with a compliments slip from the publisher.

Let's see if they're as happy to be associated with him in a couple of years.....

10p Tax Misery

It was with some trepidation that I opened my payslip this week, falling as I do into the group of people affected by Gordon Brown's catastrophic abolition of the lowest tax rate, which he himself brought in to almost universal approval in 1999.

It's not like they weren't warned. Ming Campbell told them what a stupid idea it was in his response to the Budget last year. The Tories are now hanging on our coat tails on this one. Surely nobody really believes that Conservatives are actually going to stand up for the lower paid against the rich unless it was for purely opportunistic purposes.

Anyway, at a time when food and fuel bills are soaring, losing money is a complete nightmare for people. At least here in Scotland, we have a Council Tax freeze, but that's not the case south of the border.

This is as ill thought out and perverse a step as the Poll Tax and it should be immediately reversed. Not everyone who has lost out stands to be compensated and those who will won't see any difference until the end of the year. A Liberal Democrat victory in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election might bring some more immediate action from the Government, though..........

Liberal Democrats come second

The Liberal Democrats' leap into second place in the popular vote is mentioned in today's press but such an achievement deserves a bigger spotlight. It's not just a nail in Gordon Brown's coffin - it's spectacular in its own right.

Some of the kinder predictions in the media suggested that we would be doing really well if we lost only 50 seats. Well, we gained 34 nationally and made some amazing gains in Sheffield. Two of my friends were on campaign teams which were responsible for more than a third of our total gains, in Sheffield and South Lakeland. I was very pleased to see Cllr Clive Leal elected in South Lakeland, having done a fair bit of telephone canvassing for him.

The Tories completely failed to live up to their expectations that they would grab back the ground they lost to us in the nineties. They are being feted in the press as victors but we should not forget that behind the smiles and the cuddly green facade, they are still the same pro big business, pro the rich, anti commumity party they were in the days of Thatcher. Interestingly, Nigel Lawson is interviewed in today's Guardian doubting that we need to do anything about climate change.

Labour really do look like a bit of a pathetic rabble. Yvette Cooper was like the proverbial rabbit caught in the headlights on Channel 4 News last night. They're out of ideas, out of touch and seemingly out of energy to do anything about it.

People are still, rightly, dubious about David Cameron and I wouldn't let George Osborne run a bath, let alone the economy. Mind you, I can't really think of any Tory I'd leave in charge of any sort of fiscal policy.

I think the Tories only did so well because they weren't Labour in many places. Where the people were already served well by Liberal Democrat MPs and Councillors, the Tories actually went backwards. Tim Farron, who has a majority of about 250 in Westmorland and Lonsdale, found that Thursday's results showed 21000 Liberal Democrat votes against 13000 Tories. In Chris Huhne's Eastleigh constituency, we even took a seat off the Tories.

I hope that the successes of this week bode well for Elizabeth Shenton in Crewe and Nantwich, which Labour has called with indecent haste, even before the funeral of Gwyneth Dunwoody, one of their best Parliamentarians, for 22 May presumably because they are so scared of being beaten.

If I were a Londoner........

It will come as no surprise to anybody that I would be putting Brian Paddick first if I had a vote in the London mayoral election. It just seems that if you want a competent mayor who makes solving London's problems rather than ridiculous self promotion a priority, then he's your guy. Who could be better placed to make the strategic decisions necessary to tackle crime than someone with so much experience in the field.

But what would I do with my second preference? Would I decide "a plague on both your houses" and leave it blank?

I actually think I'd have to click my heels together 3 times, cross my fingers and hold my nose as I put Ken second. This is only because Boris is just so much of a joke. His record on everything I care about stinks and the thought of him as mayor makes my flesh creep. I reckon Ken is the least worst option if Brian doesn't win.

10p Tax Meltdown

Like many others, I await my pay slip for this month with some trepidation, having heard scary things from friends and family who have already had their's. I come into the bracket who will be worst off as a result of Gordon Brown's abolition of the 10p tax rate.

This is no laughing matter for people who are already struggling with rising food and fuel costs.

It seems incredible that Labour simply have completely underestimated the effect of their actions. Even now they don't seem to have a clue how to handle it. Yvette Cooper's talk of a "process" today will not help those people who are struggling to make ends meet now.

Panic at the Pumps

Well, I've just wasted half an hour of my life buying petrol. It's always a bit of a panicky process for me - I usually wait until I'm running on the whiff of an oily rag before I even think of going to a petrol station and I'm sure I've come close to not making it on occasion.

However, tonight was different. The queue was horrific, people were bad tempered, and to cap it all, our lovely profiteering petrol station had put its prices up.

Minister for Everything John Swinney has helpfully brought in an independent expert to try to avert the strike - although it might have been a bit more helpful if he'd done it a couple of weeks ago.

Ineos, the owners of Grangemouth have done themselves no favours with all their scaremongering about the weeks' long effect of any industrial action - they have just succeeded in creating a self fulfilling prophecy out of the media frenzy. They would have done better to concentrate their efforts on the negotiating table rather than the media war. Mind you, why should they walk away from an excuse to make money.

I'm no great fan of trade unions - yes, in principle, they're great, but I often think that they're macho monoliths who don't really do much for their members. However, the actions of Ineos are making me quite sympathetic towards them.

THAT Clegg interview

You can always rely on Piers Morgan to lower the tone of anything he takes part in, so it's no surprise that he subjected Nick Clegg to what I can imagine was for Nick a quite uncomfortable personal grilling. In an interview for GQ magazine, reported by the BBC, he answered some pretty intimate personal questions in his usual straightforward and honest manner.

I see that I was not alone in wondering if the reports of this interview were not an April fool. Christine suggests that some things are better left unsaid, but I think he did the best he could with such a cheeky line of questioning. He had 2 options - refusing to answer, which would have come across as prudish and po faced or making the best job he could of it. I think that he comes across as a likeable human being and escaped with his dignity intact. He wasn't crude or disrespectful to anyone.

I can't help wondering, though, what would people be saying if a female politican made the same comments. I suspect that the Fleet Street columnists would have a field day, calling her all sorts of names. There's still an expectation, even now, that women should have a relatively small number of sexual partners and should never, ever talk about them.

Hold them to Account

Today seems the launch of holdthemtoaccount a new campaigning site from the Lib Dems to hold those MPs who voted for the Iraq war to account.

This come at the same time as a vote in the Commons on a Conservative motion calling for an inquiry into the war. Hang on, are those the same Tories who trotted meekly into the Aye lobby behind the Government when the Commons were debating going to war?

Everybody knows that the Liberal Democrats have consistently opposed the illegal invasion of Iraq, a war which has cost $6.5 billion and rising, 170 British soldiers' lives and thousands of Iraqi civilians there and as a direct consequence how many more in Afghanistan as a result of our troops being overstretched.

It's not just Labour who need to be held to account on this. This war could not have happened without the complicity of the Tories and the craven support of their front bench. Do visit the website, sign the petition, and if your MP voted for the war, demand they apologise.

There are also useful links to the campaign to give asylum to Iraqi interpreters. The Government seems to think it's ok to use Iraqi citizens and then dump them to be persecuted when we're finished with them. Such an approach is a moral outrage so make sure all your friends know about it and sign the petition.

A Matter of Conscience

The forthcoming vote on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill is generating much more heat than light at the moment. There are some very complex issues up for discussion and at the moment the debate seems to be polarising between the Labour Party and the Catholic Church, with Labour MPs being forced to choose between the two.

Gordon Brown is taking control freakery to a whole new level by not allowing his MPs a free vote on this. Whatever happens now he will be damaged - either by being forced to back down or by losing what is projected to be up to 12 of his ministers.

It's rapidly being characterised as a debate between utilitarian scientists and a luddite religious community which does a huge disservice to the issues.

The debate over human-animal hybrids is a case in point. You would think we were going to be making bizarre pig people when in fact the truth is much less scary. As I understand it, you basically take a cow egg, scoop out everything that was ever cow about it so it becomes a container for a human embryo for the important stem cell research which could lead to cures for diseases which cause major suffering such as Parkinson's and Motor Neurone Disease. It's a lot less Brave New World than you would think.

What we deserve more than anything else is that our politicians vote after considering these complex issues after an informative debate with arguments presented in a rational manner. We need to see them weigh up the consequences of progress and decide for themselves how they are going to vote.

This isn't a straightforward matter of right and wrong and you can't make policy on it because of the conscience issues - no party could or should whip its MPs. Unfortunately, I suspect that all we'll have is scaremongering and talk of yet another blunder by Brown.

David Cameron, Saviour of Children?

So David Cameron has pledged to protect children from "ruthless marketers and shameless retailers."

So is he going to put his money where his mouth is and pledge to enshrine the WHO code on the marketing of breastmilk substitutes in UK law?

I bet not. I won't be holding my breath.

Mehdi - it's not over yet

While it's definitely a good thing that Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has agreed to look again at gay Iranian Mehdi Kazemi's asylum application, the battle is not over yet. Now is the time to build support for Mehdi by ensuring that you and everyone you know signs the petition at
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/UKMADHI/

You will be asked to make a donation, but don't worry, you can skip through that part.

Also make sure that you write to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith MP and your local MP to stress your opposition to his deportation.

Quit smoking for a good natured baby

I was intrigued by the article in today's Scotsman about a study which showed that women who gave up smoking during pregnancy were more likely to have good natured babies.

I quit a longstanding and heavy smoking habit the minute I saw a positive pregnancy test and I ended up with the world's easiest baby. I hadn't really considered that the two might be connected. Even now, she is generally sunny rather than stormy and a real pleasure to be around.

Unsurprisingly, the study reveals that babies whose mothers continued smoking were more likely to have babies who cried more and who had an irregular routine. I guess this is just the tip of the iceberg and you're quite lucky to have a baby who cries when you are exposing them to a greater risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS and respiratory complaints.

Intolerant? Probably, but justifably so. I have very little sympathy for women who continue to smoke when pregnant or any parent who smokes round their children. If I can give up, anyone can. Kerry Katona has gone on about how her health professionals advised her to keep smoking because it would be less stressful than giving up. I am sure that's her hearing what she wants to hear. I'm sorry, but there's no excuse.

David Laws makes me proud - shock

I have never been excited by David Laws before but I am thrilled to bits that he and Annette Brooke have adopted an anti smacking policy, recognising the rights of the child.

I have always felt very uncomfortable with our previous position that we were happy with "reasonable chastisement". I got this the other day......

"The Liberal Democrats want to see that children have the same rights as adults against any physical assault. We do not believe that physical violence is acceptable against children, and it can often send out the wrong messages. We want to introduce policies to encourage more 'positive parenting' and more support services available to families. We believe that these policies will help to reduce harm and violence against children, as has been the case in other European countries, and in the longer term will lead to a culture in Britain where children's rights and protection are given the priority they deserve.

Annette Brooke MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Children, Schools and Families, supported calls by the UK's four children's commissioners for a ban on the smacking of children in January 2006. She said:

"This is a welcome call by the four commissioners. Smacking a child is not an effective way of changing behaviour and can make matters worse over the long-term.”

The Liberal Democrats were disappointed by the Government’s decision not to bring in a total ban in October 2007 after a review of the law. England’s Children’s commissioner called this decision a ‘betrayal’ saying that by not changing the law “we continue to send out confusing messages to parents about the acceptable use of violence across society.” There needs to be a clear signal that physical punishment is counter-productive and damaging. Children that are hit are more likely to hit others and are more likely to be bullies. If it is wrong to hit an adult, it is wrong to hit a child - children deserve equal protection. "

Now we just have to persuade the Scottish Parliamentary Party to take the same view. I get very cross with the idea that you can't discipline a child unless you hit him or her. My daughter, who has never, ever been smacked, was praised by her teacher for just about everything at her parents' evening the other night.

Shame on the Home Office - Again

You would think by now that I'd have become accustomed to the harsh and brutal decisions made by the Home Office regarding asylum seekers and people seeking to settle in this country. In two years I've seen breastfeeding babies separated from their mothers (which is against Home Office policy), several people deported to almost certain persecution and even when our Embassies make a clear error, it's still the person who wants to live here who suffers.

I'm still shocked and horrified every time I see a new injustice. Now Mehdi Kazemi, a young gay Iranian student has been refused asylum in Britain because, according to the Home Office, he'd be fine going back there as long as he was discreet. Fearing deportation, he fled to the Netherlands, a much more enlightened country where they understand the realities of the situation facing him. Unfortunately, because of some obscure treaty, the Dutch are not allowed to accept him as he is only allowed to apply to one EU country.

At best the Home Office's attitude is discriminatory. At worst, if they deport him, they are as guilty as the Iranian authorities of whatever fate befalls him. We believe in a free and liberal society. Labour, to their credit, have passed some good laws enshrining the rights of gay people. Why, then, on their watch, do they send people back to pretty much certain death? Mehdi doesn't have discretion as an option. His boyfriend gave the authorities his name under torture before his execution.

If you want the Home Office to grant him asylum, or to allow the Dutch to do so, please make your voice heard by writing to the Home Secretary. Simon Hughes is his MP and has written very eloquently in today's Independent about his plight. I agree with Simon that no lesbian or gay man should ever be sent back to Iran.

A storm in a cafetiere?

I think we do best as a Party when we decide what we believe and stick to it.

I agree entirely with Nick Clegg's analysis of the Lisbon Treaty - it's not the same as the EU constitution, it's less radical than Maastricht and we don't need a referendum. I would have felt a lot more comfortable had we either allowed a free vote, as we did on Maastrict, or gone with our professed policy, against the referendum. We would still have lost three good people from our front bench, but it would have all looked more coherent and consistent.

Way back in '93, we had the chance to bring down the Major Government over Maastricht. We didn't, because we believed that the right thing to do was to back that treaty. We took some flack for it at the time, but it was the right thing to do.

Tonight was not our finest hour. Every party has moments they would like people to forget about and this rare tactical error is put into shade by Labour's relentless attacks on civil liberties, personal data losses and illegal wars. The opposition will remind people of tonight at every oppportunity, but we must move on with a radical and positive agenda.

How YOU can help miscarriage of justice victims

I have just come back from the Liberal Democrats' Scottish conference in Aviemore. A good time seemed to be had by all. I had thought that, not being an office bearer any more, I would be able to wander round doing pretty much as I pleased. No such luck - I spent less than an hour listening to debates all weekend as I kept being dragged off to various meetings. I managed to miss both Nick Clegg's and Nicol Stephen's speeches, much to my annoyance.

One meeting I was determined not to miss was the one organised by Willie Rennie MP to highlight the plight of victims of miscarriages of justice. Basically, if you have had your life ruined by being wrongly imprisoned, sometimes for decades, you are worse off once this injustice is recognised than you would be if you had been guilty.

The meeting was addressed by Paddy Hill, one of the freed Birmingham Six, and John McManus who works for the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation. Paddy powerfully told of his experiences and how the system had continued to let him down after the initial euphoria of his release after 17 years in prison.

If you have been in prison for a long time and you are guilty, a lot of effort goes into preparing you for release into the outside world. You get short visits home, or even outside. You are brought up to date with new technology. You are gradually prepared for life beyond the institution which you have known exclusively for many years. This is very sensible. Prisons can be hostile and unpredictable -Paddy Hill told how you could say Good Morning to a fellow inmate one day and be beaten up for daring to speak to him; if you said nothing the next morning, you could take a drubbing for blanking him. The rules of engagement in a prison environment don't transfer to the outside world, and if they are all you have known for years. If you were locked up in the mid 80s, you would be amazed by things we consider basic, satellite tv, laptops, mobile phones. It would be like being released to a totally different planet.

For those wrongly imprisoned, life is very different. You are basically thrown out of the Appeal Court and left to fend for yourself. You can't claim much on benefits cos you haven't paid NI contributions - cos you've been in prison. You aren't given advice on health care and finding employment. Paddy Hill described it as like a diver having the Bends from being taken to the surface too quickly.

It takes ages to sort your compensation out, too. Too add insult to injury, and you really won't believe this, the Government effectively charges you for the time you've spent inside - your compensation is reduced by a malevolent item called "saved living expenses." So, no mattr that your house might have been repossessed and your family might have suffered terribly, financially, physically and emotionally as a result of your wrongful imprisonment, but the Government thinks it's fine to charge you for your bed and board.

If you are outraged by this, please do the following 3 things:

Have a look here and see what the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation wants to achieve and to read some of the dreadful case histories of people. I am very familiar with some of those involved and have been horrified at their treatment by the state. They have been completely failed by local, Scottish and UK Government.

Tell all your friends about what you see and get them involved.

Write to the Scottish Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill (scottish.ministers@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or kenny.macaskill.msp@scottish.parliament.uk), who, so far, incredibly, has refused point blank to even meet with MOJO, and ask him to do something to help. For all I have said about the Labour Government in the past, and will do in the future, at least Home Office Minister Maria Eagle did so and actually listened to what they had to say. It's going to take action at all levels of Government to get something done, and why Mr MacAskill has chosen not to get involved is a mystery. Let's try to change his mind by showing we care, so he should.

Another Labour Brainwave

So Labour Minister Caroline Flint thinks it would be a brilliant idea to chuck the unemployed out of their Council houses. You couldn't make it up!

How are you supposed to get a job if you are homeless? It's rich coming from a Government which has not yet eliminated the poverty trap and has invented a tax credits system so complicated and unable to cope with changes in circumstances that in itself is a great disincentive to employment.

This has to be one of the worst examples of scapegoating and pandering to the Daily Mail I have seen recently.

GP Phone line Scandal

I was totally shocked to open my phone bill yesterday to discover that it was much higher than usual. Surely I couldn't have gone that mad voting for Alesha to win Strictly Come Dancing?

The cause of this high bill totally shocked me. Regular readers will know that both my husband and I have been ill over the holidays, Bob being quite seriously affected. We have spent more time at our GP surgery than we ever have before. Trouble is, the only way of getting an appointment is to ring on the day. If you don't ring early, you will simply not be seen that day and you'll have to go through it all again tomorrow. Bob was so ill that I couldn't take the chance of having to wait.

When you ring up the first thing you hear is "This is the Medical Practice, please wait until we connect you to the surgery." Most of the time, the next thing the artificial voice says is "We are experiencing high call volumes. Please call back at a less busy time."

This is just frustrating, so you would think - but for each one of those abortive calls, we were charged £0.095 plus VAT. The total sum wasted on calls to the surgery was £15.68. In two weeks. Now, we can afford to take that kind of unexpected hit. Many people who would be contacting the surgery could not. The other important point is that our phone deal gives us free calls to UK numbers as long as they don't start with 08 or 09. Our Practice has an 08 number which will be charged much more highly from mobiles. Having landlines is increasingly uncommon among those on low incomes because of the high connection costs.

GPs are usually the first point of contact you have with the health service when you are ill. It is an absolute outrage that people should have to pay such high rates to access this vital service. Again we see those on lower incomes being penalised more than the rich.

I think we should have a campaign for all GP's surgeries to be accessible by a landline with a local exchange number with no call charge if you are unable to get through to the queue. Wh ultimately pockets my £15.68? Is it the phone company or the surgery?

This scandalous practice must end and people have to be able to make appointments with their GP at minimal cost to themselves.

Strictly Come Exercise

I'm trying to ease myself gradually into a routine of healthy eating and exercising. I've done the yoyo dieting often enough to realise that going cold turkey on everything that is remotely pleasurable in life is not going to lead to anything good so I'm trying to make little changes, a step at a time.

If I was going to have a hope of losing the weight I need to without moderating my eating habits, I'd have to get on the treadmill now and stay there for the next 50 years, so there will have to be some progress on the food front at some stage. I have started reasonably well with the exercise, though - I've done a lot of swimming so far this year, and have Aquafit and Pilates classes booked for later this week.

Anna and I had some fun tonight having a go at the Strictly Come Dancercise DVD. I say having a go, but clearly it's going to take some time before I can cha cha cha like Alesha Dixon.

Given that I have no co-ordination whatsoever and that the presenting dancers, Erin Boag and Karen Hardy look as though they weigh the same as one of my arms, even buying the DVD might seem like insane and irrational optimism. It was actually great fun, though. I doubt I managed 10% of the steps, but Anna did really well and I think we'll keep doing it.

Just as well I'm doing this for my health. Gordon Brown's comments the other day about restricting NHS treatment to the likes of smokers and the obese made me so angry. If the Government had put sufficient resources into effective health promotion, invested in sport, done more to encourage breastfeeding which has been shown to prevent obesity and all sorts of things, then we might not be in the unhealthy mess we are in today.

The Best Laid Plans

I thought I would be writing this having just returned from 11 days over Christmas in Mallorca. In fact, I had wondered if I might be able to do the occasional posting from Mallorca.

However, we did not get there. My husband was the first to succumb to 'Flu in early December. I followed but mine was the Wimp's version, 'Flu Lite, if you like. It was deeply unpleasant, but not as serious as my husband's became. He ended up with a very severe chest infection and was very sick indeed. He is still off work and quite weak, but, thankfully, on the mend. I don't ever want to have to see anyone, even Tony Blair, struggling to breathe, ever again. It was so horrible for him and a wake up call for us both that we need to get healthier and fitter.

Christmas was very different, but we did have a relaxing two weeks at home. I didn't start to feel well again until the day after Boxing day - I ended up with my own antibiotics for Tonsilitis just before Christmas. It was so quiet that I even did some housework. The non public bits of my house are still pretty much a disaster, but downstairs is mostly organised and clean. I have turned into a domestic goddess who makes home made chicken soup.

It was quite a shock to go back to work again today, given that I hadn't been there since mid December, but it worked out fine.

The best surprise was finding a Christmas pressie from the boss - actually the only one I got that I hadn't either gone out and bought myself, or knew what was in it. A voucher for a spa treatment. Nothing could have been more appropriate or welcome. Just what I need to banish the stress of the Winter to come.

Steve Webb is popular as well as real

Steve Webb's experience with Facebook has sent some ripples of laughter round the blogosphere. it is quite ironic that they booted out their biggest Lib Dem proponent. Thankfully he now appears to have been rightfully restored. I can imagine the Facebook press office groaning at the sight of 200 e-mails all saying "I know Steve Webb and he's really nice."

Anyway, it shows how popular he is because in just a few hours, the Steve Webb is real amassed almost 200 members.

Commiserations to Chris Huhne

We all know how it feels to lose an election, particularly by a very small margin. I was very impressed with the graceful way in which Chris Huhne congratulated Nick Clegg this afternoon. It must have been a very difficult speech for him to make and he did so with customary skill and authority.

He ran a strong campaign and I am sure he will be given the chance to continue his excellent economic and environmental policy work.

Confident Clegg vows to reach out

Unsurprisingly, since I've been waxing lyrical in his support for some weeks now, I am delighted that Nick Clegg has been elected leader today. His warmth and genuine and engaging manner will bring many to consider the Liberal Democrats as a serious contender. His intellect and sharp wit will be put to good use in debate against Brown and Cameron. His inclusive leadership style will allow all the talents in our party to be showcased so that people can see what an experienced and high quality opposition we provide at national level and how well we run our Councils up and down the country.

There's a lot of work to be done but I feel happy and confident about the future direction of the Party.

I was pleased to see Vince Cable have the chance to reflect on his brief inter-regnum, even if he spent longer talking about Strictly Come Dancing than anything else. Who can blame him for mentioning his dance with Alesha!

The Best Street in the World

The street I live in has to be one of the best in the entire world. Tonight 30 of us went to see Joseph in Edinburgh. On Saturday, we are having our street Christmas Party. This year we have celebrated four 40th birthdays and numerous other parties together, and we all get on so well.

In a country where many people don't know their neighbours, I have to thank mine for being such good fun.

Joseph opens in Edinburgh

This time last year, Keith Jack was working in Tesco, Dalkeith, directing irate shoppers to the sausagemeat and wrestling with huge piles of Christmas baubles and selection boxes. I can't imagine that he realistically thought that a year on he'd have a key role in a major production of Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat which opened at the Edinburgh Playhouse tonight to a wildly cheering 3000 strong audience, including 30 from my street.

We supported him all through "Any Dream Will Do" and were delighted to see him become runner up.

His role in Joseph is that of the Narrator, which is actually a bigger and much more vocally demanding role than Joseph. He did a marvellous job, and I think he will get even better as he settles into the 8 show a week routine. There were some points at the beginning when his vocal and his general demeanour was a little subdued, but the range in his voice is amazing. By the second half, he looked more comfortable. I remembered how the judges during "Any Dream Will Do" kept slating him for his diction. He perhaps over compensated in places tonight in parts but he's certainly been working on it and improving in the intervening months.

The role of Joseph was taken by another Any Dream Will Do finalist, Craig Chalmers. He did well in the role, bringing light, colour and humour in places. He made a little heartfelt speech at the end saying how proud he was to be playing in Edinburgh and introducing Keith and the other reality musical show finalists, Wayne from Grease is the Word and Chris Barton from Any Dream Will Do.

To have had such entertainment for £8 a ticket (albeit we did get altitude sickness from our position looking down on the gods) was amazing. However, my friend Anne and I have decided that we want to go back and enjoy it all from the Body of the Kirk. If you haven't got tickets already, book them now. It's well worth seeing.

Another Ten Reasons to vote for Nick Clegg

Linda Jack has given her 10 reasons to vote for Nick Clegg, all of which I can agree with. I doubt I can do it as eloquently as her, but I feel I should have a try:

He is a Liberal who knows how to communicate Liberal values to the very many people who have not yet voted for us; he has already done this on a smaller scale in the East Midlands and can do so now across the UK;

He is brave enough to risk prison to protect our civil liberties; he was brave enough to give up a secure job in the European Commission to go for a Euro-seat that was marginal to say the least; he then had the courage to give up that safe seat to stand for Westminster.

He will lead by inspiration, not diktat, bringing people with him. He understands the Party and how it works;

He is capable of listening to other points of view;

He understands what devolution is all about and how things work in Scotland and Wales;

He has a rare ability to connect with people, whether individually or as part of a greater audience; he is able to empathise and is made angry by injustice, poverty and abuse of power;

He can make the most complex policy come to life so that the listener not only understands what he's saying but can relate to it;

He has a very good sense of humour - great for PMQs;

He speaks with credibility and authority and has the intellectual capacity to very quickly understand complex issues; I can see him on the international stage promoting liberal values;

I like him and trust him as a person as well as a politician. He is a proper human and what you see is what you get with him. I honestly believe we would soar as a party with him as leader.

Just to balance things, he is not perfect - he, like Willie Rennie, has taken the mickey out of my driving and got away with it - just:-)

Snow Poem

As it's approaching Christmas, I thought I'd share with you a sweet poem written by my daughter Anna and her school friend Caitlin (both 8):

Snow Poem

You can......
Slide down the slippery slope
Sink in the soggy sllush
Smile at the splendid scene
Ski on the soft snow.

You can.......
See the splendid sight
Sing a song on the hills
Shake off the silver snow
Sigh at the silent mountains
and feel your senses tingle in the snow.

The fact that I like this shows how a mother's love is completely unconditional - I hate snow almost to the point of phobia, yet reading this made my heart sing:-)

Clegg v Huhne on Fatherhood

I've just watched this excerpt from the YouTube hustings.

By (reasonable) Decree of Borrowman, I am quite upfront about being a Cleggie and this exchange is one of the reasons why.

They both said pretty much the same thing - flexible working, supporting families, whatever shape they come in is a good thing, etc. However, Nick did it in 20 seconds, Chris took 1:42. Nick looked straight at the camera and was positive and clear, Chris was a bit wandered - and I now get to have a go at his tie, in the interests of equality, as I had a go at Nick's after Question Time.

It sums up for me why I feel that Nick is the best person to reach out and communicate our values and policies.

What defines distress?

I am horrified at OFCOM's decision not to uphold more than 750 complaints against the Channel 4 programme "Bringing up Baby".

This programme compared different schools of thought regarding child rearing, including the ideas of self-styled expert Claire Verity, based on the ideas of Truby King. These practices involve not having eye contact with the baby, and as little physical contact as possible and not being responsive to the baby's cries.

Many viewers were horrified to see a tiny baby left in a room to cry, without its needs being attended to. This makes the OFCOM view that there was no evidence that children were being mistreated or in any distress pathetic and laughable.

No wonder we have so many mental health problems in this country if it is accepted that isolating and ignoring vulnerable babies is reasonable.

David Whitton - what was his role in Wendygate?

The role of David Whitton, MSP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden comes in to the spotlight after the alleged secret list of donors to Wendy Alexander's campaign mentioned him in connection with a donation for £995.

The facts, as reported by the Sunday Herald:

David Whitton was treasurer of the Alexander Campaign;

David Whitton, prior to his election, had First Group as one of his PR clients;

The document states that a "David" was responsible for securing a donation of £995 which was pencilled in against the name of Moir Lochhead, Chief Executive of the First Group. Interestingly, the name to be used "for Electoral Commission purposes" was that of John Lyon, former MP for East Dunbartonshire beaten by our own Jo Swinson in 2005 who now works as a consultant to the First Group.

Taken at face value, this could be evidence of a deliberate intention to misinform the Electoral Commission about the source of a donation, which is clearly against the law.

What a complete mess. And all for an unopposed election.

If Wendy Alexander is ultimately forced out, this will not be the end of the matter. We deserve to know the roles of all her key advisers in the planning or committing of any acts which were against the law.

Vince Cable, Superhero

Isn't it fantastic that Vince Cable has received positive write ups in practically every newspaper over the past few days? The Sunday Times has a lovely series of photos of Stalin morphing into Mr Bean.

He has now blasted himself into the stratosphere of superherodom as far as I'm concerned by repeating his wish to be considered for Strictly Come Dancing

If Letitia Dean, Alesha Dixon and Kelly Brook, with their prior dance training, can go on, why not Vince even if he does have prior ballroom experience? He'd be the new Bill Turnbull who, 2 years on, still has a cult following on the forums.

Come on, BBC, offer Vince a place on next year's show. And give him Flavia as a partner.

Sarah Brown and Reading

I see Gordon Brown's wife has called for children to be encouraged to read

Clearly this is a very good idea. I am lucky enough to have a complete bookworm of a daughter who loves to read a huge variety of stuff, from books, to newspapers, to blogs. This one is one of her favourites.

It's very important to encourage children to read more and play with the Playstation less.

However, I think Sarah Brown's efforts could just as easily be concentrated on adult literacy, and particularly those people in the Labour Party who appear to be unable to read and understand the law on donations to political parties.......

Vince Cable plays a blinder..........

Go Vince:-)

The Stalin to Mr Bean line must be one of the quotes of the year.

I have a great deal of time for Vince Cable - another fully paid up member of the human race. He came to the Livingston By-Election, worked like an absolute Trojan for 2 days and was modest, helpful and very friendly.

Note to new leader - please make sure that Vince continues to have a high public profile.

What's in a Name?

Quite a lot apparently, if you are in the Sudan. A teddy bear innocently named Muhammed has cost British teacher Gillian Gibbons her freedom and potentially could mean an extremely severe corporal punishment and further incarceration.

The worst thing she is guilty of is naivety. I don't believe for one second that she actually meant any disrespect to Islam, the Prophet Muhammed or anyone else. She repeated a simple activity that is loved in classes here all the time. It seems clear that the children she taught in the Sudan liked her too - and the little boy whose name was given to the teddy in question has spoken up on her behalf.

Personally, in that environment, I would have erred on the side of caution and gone for another name, but not everybody has that sort of awareness of a political situation. In fairness, none of her colleagues at the school seem to have warned her that there might be a problem and the chances are that they knew about it.

I do believe its politics, not religion or the law that is keeping Gillian behind bars and I actually wonder whether it would be better for David Miliband to butt out and find someone else who can intercede on Gillian's behalf and make the Sudanese authorities see sense.

Fran and Molly Lyon - your chance to help

I have to admit that I initially thought that John Hemming was exaggerating when he talked about babies being removed from their mothers at birth for no good reason and being put up for adoption.

Now, the more I hear about the inhumane treatment doled out to women by various Government agencies (see the Janipher Maseko story below, I am very glad that victims of such injustices have him as a champion.

Yesterday's story about Fran Lyon in the Mail on Sunday made me angry. She has had to flee the country because social services have, against much expert advice, threatened to remove her baby within 10 minutes of birth because of a concern voiced by a doctor who has never met her, that she will harm the baby. This goes back to an episode of mental illness some time ago from which she has fully recovered and has since gone on to study for a neuroscience degree.

Although Fran has never harmed anyone in her life, she is being denied the chance to bond with her baby. She has said that she is happy to go a mother and baby unit where she can be fully supervised to satisfy the concerns of the social services, but they have refused permission for this.

Removing any child from their mother is an extremely serious matter. This step does seem particularly drastic. It's almost that an episode of mental illness is being allowed to stigmatise this young girl for life.

Every liberal instinct demands that she is given a chance to prove herself as able to care for her baby, for Baby Molly to be allowed to have her mother's milk. I was appalled to read in the story that social services were concerened she'd take poison to transmit to the baby via her milk. A far fetched concern which is easily countered should not deny the baby the immunnological, long term health benefits of her mother's milk. The hormones associated with breastfeeding also encourage bonding between mother and baby so it would actually be beneficial.

Please make people aware of this terrible injustice and put pressure on the authorities to reverse their decision and allow Fran and the unborn Molly to stay together.

You can sign a petition and if you are on Facebook, join the group Asking for a Chance - Fran and Molly Lyon.

Government fails to protect parents and babies

I was disappointed to see that the Government has failed to take the opportunity to tighten up the rules on the advertisement of artificial baby milk. In particular, I am concerned that advertising of follow-on formula, for babies over 6 months has not been subjected to the same regulations as that for younger babies.

These follow-on formulas started appearing a few years ago, not because there was any great number of poorly anaemic babies around, but simply as a wheeze by formula manufacturers to get round the law. What annoys me most about it is that the advertising and promotion of this stuff erroneously undermines mothers' confidence in the ability of their own milk to satisfy their babies' nutritional needs. They are told that their babies need supplementation with iron as the stores they have at birth are running out and breastmilk is low in iron. True, there is a lower level of iron in breastmilk, but it is much more efficiently absorbed by the baby. In fact, only 4% of the iron in these follow-on formulas is similarly absorbed by the baby and it can actually undermine the efficiency of some of the proteins in breastmilk which protect against infections in the gut.

Another worrying feature is the Government's failure to force companies to warn consumers that formula is not sterile and give a few simple guidelines as to its safe use.

If you walk down any formula aisle in any supermarket, you will find a whole load of ways in which the Infant Feeding Regulations are being broken. The main thing is the similar branding of formulas for babies under 6 months and their follow on counterparts. It is often unclear which product is being marketed.

Recently Jordan was pictured in OK magazine feeding her weeks' old daughter a pre-packed bottle of formula where the logo of the manufacturer was clearly visible. The entirety of the opposite page was taken up with an advert for the follow-on counterpart of this particular brand.

Many people complained to the Advertisiing Standards Authority who were powerless to act even in the face of such a blatant flouting of the law.

This isn't a breastfeeding v bottlefeeding debate, it's about protecting the rights of parents to receive independent information free from commercial pressure. Clearly this Labour Government considers the large corporations who manufacture infant formula as more important than the people who elect them.

Help, I don't know who to vote for.........

I'm back to that floating voter panic again - I have no idea who is going to get my vote tonight.

This is not about the Liberal Democrat leadership, where my unreserved support goes to Nick Clegg, but for Strictly Come Dancing tonight.

In my view the person who should be leaving is John Barnes. Nothing personal, but his ballroom isn't going to get any better and there isn't much in the way of Latin dances to come for him. His samba wasn't that great and I think that, entertaining though he has been, now is the time for him to go.

The difficulty is how best to secure this result. If he ends up in the bottom 2, he will probably go, as long as he isn't up against Kenny.

Conversely, if you believe what you see in the forums, Kelly and Brendan aren't so popular with the public. After their low score tonight (and what on earth were the wardrobe people thinking - Kelly looked like she had two over-ripe melons stuffed down her top, an easily avoidable transgression)they must be in danger of being in the bottom 2. Unfortunately, if they end up there, I suspect the judges will put them through. That is reason enough to vote for them to save us losing someone more deserving.

However, there is a compelling reason to vote for all of the others:

Gethin and Camilla - what a wonderful quickstep tonight. They are mid table so are in danger of being in the bottom two. If they are there with Kelly and Brendan, they could go and this would be a travesty.

Matt and Flavia - until tonight I didn't get him at all. I was mad that the judges saved him over Penny Lancaster Stewart. However, their Salsa was great, although I didn't think it merited Arlene's use of the almighty Ramprakash word. They deserve to stay in, but are probably safe.

Alesha and Matt - wow, that girl has it all in dancing ability, perfect partner and personality. They deserve to be top of the leader board but could suffer for being the obvious favourite of the judges. While they undoubtedly deserve a vote and that's where my heart would be - they probably don't need it.

Kenny and Ola - for their much improved performance and those spectacular lifts alone, they deserve to stay in. If they end up in the dance off, they're out, no matter who they're up against, in the same way that Kate and Anton were last week. They should not go out on the basis of tonight's performance. I hope the Scots will turn out for them tonight.

Letitia and Darren - I am slowly warming to Letitia. She has made a colossal improvement since the start of the season and I would be sad to see her go just when she is starting to gain in confidence. There was a great disparity between the judges' comments, which were all very favourable, and the red button commentary by Philip Jackson and Anton Du Beke which was extAnremely critical of their performance.

I suspect the smartest thing is to keep Kelly and Brendan and Kenny and Ola out of the bottom two.

I wonder if, for once, I'll be able to keep off the forums until the results show to stop myself finding out, but realistically I doubt it. It's fabulous having Strictly seven nights a week, but 24 hours is way too long to wait to find out who has gone.

A Word of Advice for Paul Holmes

Is it just me or could our own Paul Holmes be mistaken for Gordon Brown in the picture at the top of page 3 of this week's Lib Dem News?

Paul is one of my favourite people not just in the Party but in the world. We may occasionally disagree about things and are in fact on different sides of the current leadership contest. That doesn't matter, though - he and his family have always been the most supportive friends and he has a brilliant and wicked sense of humour. He's a leftie like me and I can usually trust his instincts on policy.

I think it is very important, though, that he never allows himself to be photographed from that angle ever again;-)

Janipher Maseko - Update

Regular readers may remember that I wrote about a young Ugandan girl, Janipher Maseko, who had been separated from her breastfeeding baby and one year old daughter and threatened with removal to Uganda without her children.

Mercifully she was eventually allowed to stay in the country pending the outcome of her application to be allowed to stay on human rights grounds.

Today she tells her story in the Guardian here

The way in which Janipher has been treated makes me so angry and ashamed to be British. Unfortunately, women in her situation are still being treated in the same inhumane way, despite assurances given to our Lord Avebury by Liam Byrne, the Home Office Minister.

These sorts of things show why exactly we need a strong Liberal force in British politics, to fight for women like Janipher.

You know the leadership campaign is getting too much when............

You are telephone canvassing for your chosen candidate. Your husband comes home from work. You don't even look up at him and keep going through your list of calls. An hour later you look up and jump because he's had his hair cut very short and he realises that he's been in the house for all that time, in the same room for much of it and you haven't even glanced at him.

At least he had the good grace to laugh about it. Does this make me the worst wife in the world ever?

Our Iain Dale is hot hot hot

By that I mean solely that my pal Iain Dale has suddenly had a lot of visitors to his blog recently and was wondering what on earth was going on.

I suspected that there might be some confusion with the other Iain Dale, but apparently not. Iain got a name check from the one and only Guido Fawkes yesterday.

Iain, I hope that you won't forget your old pals now you are moving in such illustrious circles.

Why do I bother?

Why do I bother carefully shredding everything that comes into this house with my name and address on it, or all my supermarket receipts, or anything that might give succour to an aspiring identity fraudster? What is the point when the Government goes and loses every bit of personal information I've ever entrusted to it?

If they don't know what's happened to the disc containing 25 million records, I don't understand how they can be so sure that the information has not fallen into the wrong hands.

Why was the transport of such sensitive data being done, firstly outside the confines of the Data Protection Act, at such a junior level?

How on earth did they manage to lose something which was being couriered, and what were they thinking sending another copy in the post, even if that were the one which did arrive? Why was the data not properly encrypted?

This Government has now shown itself to be incapable of transporting a computer disc which, by rights it shouldn't have been transporting anyway, from one end of the country to another.

Don't forget that these are the people who are wanting to put together an identity database which will contain even more sensitive and personal information. They clearly cannot be trusted to look after such confidential data properly.

I worked for several years in a Government Department under a draconian management culture where you were basically treated like children. That sort of controlling environment demotivates and exhausts. At the same time, HMRC is being made to cut something like a quarter of its workforce in the interests of efficiency. So, fewer demoralised employees are being forced to do more work for little financial reward or job satisfaction. Is it any wonder such mistakes are made?

The Way Forward

Now that we've all had a chance to sleep on the unfortunate events of yesterday, I would like to suggest a way forward to move on.

First, Chris and Nick need to have a conversation. I don't want to know the gory details, but I want to see some sort of statement that the issues are resolved between them and that Nick has withdrawn his complaint. I want to see some recognition on Chris' part that the release of the document and his behaviour on the Politics Show. I don't want to see grovelling, just a bit of grown up responsibility taking.

End of story.

What a Calamity!

I've been around for long enough to know that sometimes during election campaigns mistakes are made. Some of them are quite funny - does anyone remember Mary Matalin's Bimbo Eruptions during the '92 US Presidential Election Campaign? Priceless! I know that there are people working on both Clegg and Huhne campaigns who probably haven't slept properly in weeks. When you are working at that sort of intensity, sometimes judgement goes a bit wonky and things go a bit wrong.

Very early on in the campaign, the Clegg people sent an e-mail round purporting to be to supporters. Unfortunately, it included a whole stack of people like me who had not signed up and, more seriously, party employees who are contractually obliged to stay impartial. Very shortly thereafter, Richard Allan sent an e-mail out taking personal responsibility for the mistake and sincerely apologising. That, in my view, is the way to deal with errors.

I'd have put the Calamity Clegg Affair down to campaign fatigue and let it go. I had previously not brought up the attack on Nick Clegg put up on Chris' website and subsequently withdrawn after complaints out of respect for whichever tired staffer was responsible.

However, I have just watched the Politics Show in full and was, frankly, appalled by Chris Huhne's belligerent and unpleasant behaviour. Having denied all knowledge, he then went to go on about three specific issues which were in the paper, all of which were very red and shaped like herring.

Firstly, Trident. Nick could not have been clearer about his position on Trident, where Chris has failed to clarify exactly what a minimum deterrent is.

Secondly, health services. Nick said clearly as day last week on Question Time that he wanted a health service that was free at the point of use. He has said it on many occasions during the campaign. He could not have been clearer on it and that position would be the one he would be elected leader on.

Thirdly, school vouchers. Nick has been quite clear that this is not what he is about. I remember him saying that at the Edinburgh Hustings last week.

If I had been Chris today, I would have apologised that the document was circulated and said that he accepted that the issues it raised had been resolved by subsequent assurances from Nick. Instead, he got out his spade and started digging. In doing so, he showed the Party up, not off.

To add insult to injury, his team have now put the most insincere apology I have ever seen on his website and said, roughly, we're sorry we called the document by an inadvisable title, but hang on a bit till we see if we can get permission to publish it anyway. I personally would like to see it because I don't think Nick has anything to fear from it, but the Huhne Campaign is not showing the right attitude.

On the other hand, Nick, although shocked, was able to eventually bring the discussion back to the issues which actually matter in this campaign. I thought he behaved in a mature and dignified manner under immense pressure.

The Huhne campaign have clearly taken this step because they know fine they are behind. Jeremy Hargreaves has ably summed up why Nick has the momentum.

Nick and Chris will have to find a way to get through this for the Party's sake. I know Nick to be a fair man who will not hold a grudge if presented with a willing attitude to work together for the good of the Party.

Ten Trot Factions..........

Anyone who can remember how funny it is watching leftie factions fight with each other can take some amusement from the fortunes of this alleged political party

Clearly not a lot of Respect around.

In Praise of Facebook

There is no doubt at all that Facebook represents a way to waste a great deal of time as I have discovered to my cost. However, there are some great benefits too. I now keep in touch with my cousins in Ireland and Canada on a much more regular basis than I would without it. It's good to be able to see that "David is not an insect but a human being" or that Honor has just sent me some little e-gift to cheer me up.

A few months back I wasted (is it truly a waste if it makes you laugh so much?) a good hour having an argument with two friends about whether sticky back plastic and sellotape are the same thing. Any fool knows that they are completely different, but one friend could not and still does not accept this point. My sister then got in on the act and agreed with my friend. As they both live in the same place, they have now met up and get on very well. In fact, he came for dinner the last time we were up there.

Recently, a random message from one of my friends on Facebook who I didn't know very well, has led to a really good dialogue - we have discovered quite a bit in common. I did know her before, but only vaguely. Some of my very good friends are very close to her and now we seem to be making friends ourselves.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share that with you while waiting for the washing machine to finish its cycle - the sound of spinning in the background would not help the telephone canvassing.

Talk of the Town gets better

I've had a sneak peak at this piece of literature mentioned in today's Guardian. In fact if there are any typos in it, they are probably my fault as it was being produced the week after I declared my support for Nick and I was asked to proof-read it. Somebody in the Clegg Campaign clearly remembers my fixation with spelling and punctuation:-)

Many Liberal Democrats will be familiar with the magazines we have produced at various elections in the last few years. This is taking that idea to a new level. It lays out his key principles in a series of short articles and shows how deeply personal his commitment is to liberal values.

I would highly recommend it and if you want to have a look, you can do so here

Nick wins Question Time despite truly awful Tie

Memo to the Clegg Campaign - can somebody please ensure that the hideous pink tie that Nick wore on Question Time last night suffers an unfortunate accident. I will confess to having tights that colour in the 80s, and just about got away with it because of my dark hair - but Nick's tie simply clashed with everything. It would actually have suited Chris Huhne better.

I think Nick came across better - Chris was a bit ponderous and remote as he often is in a question and answer situation, where Nick came across as a real human being. Nick combined astute analysis of the international situation, particularly as regards Russia with an ability to explain in a few words what it means for real people and what we should do about it, emphasising the importance of the EU.

Chris didn't need to do any of the "third Tory Party" stuff because David Dimbleby did it for him - and Nick was particularly good at deflecting that criticism.

In the main, though, both candidates said they agreed with each other in response to virtually every question. There are some significant differences in policy, but not much. This is why the way in which they communicate their ideas is so important - I believe that only Nick has the passion and appeal to do so in a way which will reach out to people who have not voted for us before.