Mosquitoes should be banned

And not just the winged variety.
In this afternoon's excellent debate on civil liberties Liberal Youth had submitted an amendment calling for the banning of mosquito devices. For those readers not familiar with them these are small devices fitted to the outside of buildings which emit a high pitched noise, extremely uncomfortable for young people whose sensitivity to that pitch has not yet been degraded by age. Typically, people over about 25 aren't affected. They are marketed as effective tools in dispersing gangs of youths, but of course they affect young people gathering together with no ulterior motives. Babies and young children who happen to be in the vicinity are also affected. There have been calls to ban them from no less than the Children's commissioner, Sir Albert Aynsley-Green.
Today Liberal Youth successfully argued the case for a ban being Lib Dem policy. Well done I say.

Off to conference

Everything packed up and ready to go, a quick visit to my mother and then off to the station. With a long train journey ahead I’d packed lunch and plenty of documents to read. Two changes of train ensured that we could have a little walk occasionally. We were fortunate and had seats all the way but there were plenty of people getting on the train at around 5pm who didn’t, some of whom complained bitterly about paying good money and not getting a seat. One woman said she’d paid £107. We really do need much more investment in our railways to make the journeys both affordable and comfortable. Cars don’t have standing room only, and until trains & buses are as comfortable they’re not going to compete on an even footing.

The evening was pleasantly warm when we arrived in Bournemouth so Suzanne and I took a walk along the promenade and through part of the town to shake off the lingering stiffness from the journey. There’s something very attractive about the pier and the sea at night. Away from the sea Bournemouth by night reminded me a bit of Yarm by night – a lot of mainly young people enjoying drinking, music and loud chatter.

A Friday off (almost!)

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A whirlwind morning which included driving for the first time for a month in order to fit everything in - public transport just wouldn't work for the timetable I had. Then packing, making sure the house was safely locked up, and I was off to the station for the train to Sheffield. I was going with others of the Lib Dem council group from Stockton to a conference organised mainly by councillors for councillors, so some real grass roots politics for a day. To make sure that the brain was working properly on Saturday we'd opted to go down early and enjoy a relaxing evening in this great city (especially so since it has a Lib Dem council of course).
I was down in Sheffield last autumn for the Fairtrade Campaigns day and was impressed then by the lovely water features with their imaginative use of steel on which so much of Sheffield's past greatness was founded. It was no different this time - still a stunning welcome to the city when leaving the station. Outside the hotel was the Peace Garden though it wasn't very peaceful on Friday afternoon with dozens of young people having great fun running through the water spouts. There were no objections as far as I could see - they were enjoying themselves without harming anyone else.
I went with Alan to look at the City Hall, a splendid building with marble interior. Talking to one of the civic officers it was obvious that there's great pride in the building and how it's used but a sense of disappointment that so many tall buildings are being allowed in the vicinity, dwarfing what they felt should be the most important building. I could see what he meant. The very hotel in which we were staying was one of the culprits.
The evening started with a welcome drink in the Winter Gardens, with a brief visit from the local MP who also happens to be leader of the Liberal Democrat party. He spoke with great enthusiasm about Sheffield and the way in which it's changing and improving with a Lib Dem council, about the need for such delegation of real power to people and the need for Fair Voting systems to allow real representation.
Follow that with a super meal and we were all ready to get on with the next day's agenda, renewed and refreshed.
And in case anyone is thinking otherwise - it was all paid for out of our own pockets - travel, accommodation and conference costs. No expenses claims here - it wouldn't be right to have such things funded out of the tax people pay for services.

40 Days and 40 Nights

Not many things persuade me to drive far on Saturdays but the Liberal Democrat North East Regional conference is one. This one was special because it is only 40 days to the European Parliament election in the UK. The biblical phrase resonated in the hall as the impact of having elected our first Lib Dem MEP for the region was discussed. The positive effect of having someone to speak up for the North East in Europe was rightly celebrated. Fiona Hall's achievements in more general fields were also celebrated, as was the launch of her new website.
Our new President, Ros Scott, spoke about her disappointment which many of us share that more people in positions of power didn't listen to warnings years ago from Liberal Democrats about the dangers of demutualising the Building Societies and allowing personal debt to spiral skywards. If only Paddy Ashdown and Vince Cable had been taken seriously we might not be in the dire situation we're in now.
Alan Beith MP spoke of his disgust, shared by all present as well as the rest of the party, at how the government has treated Gurkha soldiers. A few years ago a small group of very dignified retired Gurkhas visited our Autumn Federal Conference and I signed the petition supporting their right to settle here. They are still as dignified, still as deserving of respect, still veterans of some tough times in the armed forces and still our government treats them with contempt. Yet again I feel ashamed to be part of a country which elected this government.
Fiona Hall talked about her work in Europe, especially on two fronts. The environment has always been dear to her heart and she talked about long negotiations to get the European Parliament and Commission to agree to the right things. At almost the opposite end of the Grand Design scale was her effort to secure European funding to keep a small business in Northumberland afloat while the owners sorted out some financial issues. Both good, both worthwhile and both (along with lots of other things) done by a Liberal Democrat MEP.
It was good to see so many members of Liberal Youth there, taking full part in the discussions and then hurrying off to finish the day with some campaigning in Newcastle North.
A good day, and worth a morning drive to go there.

Spring Conference

Am I the only Lib Dem Blogger not at Harrogate? It seemed that way when I glanced down Lib Dem blogs a few minutes ago. I'd have liked to have been there, especially as there's a focus on education this time, but circumstances prevented it.
The decision to continue our commitment to education being free at the point of delivery pleased me - it's one of the many things which is distinguishes us from the other two major parties. Clear blue water is widening, and I for one am happy with that situation.
I had an interesting experience when a resident commented on the star rating of Stockton vs other Tees Valley authorities - the first time I've known anyone outside the council show any interest. He commented on the fact that Stockton isn't deemed to be "improving strongly" this time but he was very happy when I said that our star rating might go down in the future because the council is considering whether ticking government boxes is the best use of tax-payers' money. Perhaps the money is better spent on delivering services which our residents really want. That particular resident registered his approval of the idea so I hope he's not unique.
I'm beginning to see the floor and other surfaces in the house today as the posters, leaflets and other things associated with Fairtrade Fortnight are being tidied away. I hadn't realised just how far they'd spread! But I wouldn't have had it any other way - the Go Bananas Event was worth every bit of mess it created.

Back in Harness

Conference is over and the queues for the terminals provided by Microsoft proved just too much of a barrier to blogging while there. Standing in a queue in order to stand at a terminal was not my idea of relaxation so it was a case of doing a quick check of emails and then handing over to the next person.
Suffice to say that the debates were very high quality, as they always are at our conference. Knowing that conference is setting the policy of the party makes sure that everyone takes the debates very seriously. On top of that there were some really good fringe meetings enabling us to discuss everything from nuclear power to economics to child welfare and fairtrade. I took part in a really interesting discussion on Islam and how it's perceived by some to be a threat to this country. It was a privilege to hear Islamic scholars debating the issue and to be able to join in the discussion. And of course Bournemouth is a lovely place with a beautiful walk from where I was staying to the Conference centre. The early morning sun on the sea was an inspiring sight.
Of course the world economic situation was never far from the front of discussions in the conference hall and the bars. Vince Cable seemed to gain in stature every day as other parties grappled to say something sensible about it. I don't pretend to understand the markets but I do know that Vince was warning of problems over a year ago and sadly, his warnings have been shown to be valid. I just hope that the measures being taken in London and New York settle nerves and get things back onto an even keel. Everyone needs the markets to be more stable than they have been recently for the sake of pensions, housing and everything else that's affected.
Meanwhile yesterday was a day of meetings - planning the scrutiny review of dog fouling and animal welfare, Environment Partnership response to a government consultation on renewable energy production and then the Parish Council. Today having just one meeting, all be it in Gateshead, seemed like a rest!

Drivetime Fame

Today's agenda had lots of really good, solid policies to be debated and voted on:
Dentistry - calling for changes to the NHS dental contracts to encourage preventative work as well as treatment.
Climate Change - radical plans to take Britain towards a carbon-neutral future. This includes helping developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change, just as important as making sure that we in developed countries do our bit.
Women in Prison - calling for an urgent implementation of Baroness Corston's findings in her review published in March 2007. Women in prison are often much more vulnerable than men and are most often convicted of non-violent crimes for which prison is not an appropriate punishment.
Tourism - policies to improve the tourist offer in Britain and encourage sustainable tourism.
Action on Bullying - because I'd chaired the scrutiny review of anti-bullying policy and practice in Stockton earlier this year I was very keen to take part in this debate so put in a speaker card during the morning. Imagine my surprise and delight when I was called to speak second in the debate! Butterflies soon gave way to calm as I put into practice the things I'd learned on the Leadership Academy about breathing and so on. I talked about Stockton's new accreditation scheme for schools and youth clubs and mentioned Buddy schemes and Peer Massage. Radio 5 rang to ask me to go to their temporary studio for an interview on Drive Time - first time I've ever given a live radio interview. It was a fascinating experience from a techie point of view, and good to be able to give Stockton some national publicity for a good activity. Funnily enough I was perfectly calm in the studio but when I got outside the butterflies took over and I needed a long walk to recover before going to a fringe meeting.
It was a surprise to realise when going out of the hotel that according to a plaque on the wall Gladstone often stayed there - a good place to stay for a Liberal Democrat Conference.

Brighton Beach

The annual Liberal Democrat Conference has started at Brighton. I arrived last night after a problem free train journey - well done all 3 companies. We even had time for a walk along the beach and to watch people younger and more energetic than us playing volleyball and other active games.
My night was disturbed by the return of a rather raucous stag party, but Suzanne managed to sleep right through it!
So far today I've managed to be part of a consultation on housing with our Front Bench spokesmen on the subject and lots of other councillors and party members from around the country. It was good to get agreement from them that VAT needs changing on house building and refurbishment so that there's less incentive to knock down those lovely houses on Yarm Road in Eaglescliffe, Leven Road in Yarm and similar parts of Fairfield, Norton and Hartburn. We also had agreement that planning for the new homes needed in an area should be the prerogative of the local authority and not diktats from on high.
Then on to a fringe meeting about breaking the vicious cycle of offending, prison, release, re-offend. Lots of good ideas there which make good economic sense as well as being right from a social justice standpoint.
Now I've located the internet cafe I can do this quick catchup before going into the debate on whether to support an academic boycott of Israel, a subject which I've read a fair bit about and fear is being treated far too simplistically.