"AV is a stepping stone to PR" - The Evening Standard

In a typical establishment diatribe against AV full of the usual half-truths, today's Evening Standard editorial also warns:

"Voting reform, ideally full PR, is the Lib-Dems' Holy Grail, and AV a stepping stone towards it."

So what do the Yes2PRNo2AV muppets have to say about that?

There are big lessons to be learnt from Labour's handling of the economy...Labour says

Following my invitation to help out Mr.Ed, I have found this nearly mea culpa on their fresh ideas website. In the economy section, it says

"But we didn’t get everything right – and we know the challenges of the future will be different. There are big lessons to be learned from our time in government."

I'd love to hear from them what they think they got wrong and what big lessons they need to learn.

In which Ed Miliband invites me to write his manifesto and is usurped by a Mexican design company

I got a letter from that nice Mr Ed Miliband today inviting me to tell him what my "hopes and concerns" are.
I had hoped to post a nice scan of it but unfortunately it didn't get past Mrs. LibCync so is now ripped into little bits. In a show of dedication to my readers (Sid and Doris Bonkers) I have retrieved it from the bin and done my best:

The text of the letter reads as follows (a lot of references to "people"):

Dear LibCync,

Over the past few months I have been meeting and writing to people up and down the country, asking them about the challenges their families face today but also about the future ambitions they have for themselves and their children. I know that many people feel that Labour lost touch with the British people and so one of my top priorities has been to get out of Westminster and listen to people.

It's been a fantastic experience and I've learned so much about the challenges people face at home and in work. I've also learn that the British people are resilient, inventive and hopeful for Britain.

I want to continue this valuable exercise. So today I'm asking if you'd like to tell me what your hopes and concerns are. For you, your family and your friends.

You'll find some questions online at fresh-ideas.org.uk/priorities which I hope you can take a few moments to answer.

Your ideas are invaluable and I thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Ed Miliband
Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party

I had a look at the website and saw that they had one of these new-fangled social media thingies, a hashtag #freshideas. Unfortunately it seems that this particular hashtag is already used by a Mexican design company. Oops!

To be fair to Labour...

As I was repulsed by this article by shadow minister Yvette Cooper last week, it's only fair that I should praise senor Labour figure Sadiq Khan for this article in which he argues that Labour made a mistake by "playing tough" on crime and allowing the prison population to soar and that they didn't do enough on re-offending. He says:

"A focus on rehabilitation and reducing reoffending was seen as being soft on crime, when in fact it is effective in reducing crime."

Blimey, it read like LibDem policy, one of course Labour relentlessly criticised us as being "soft on crime" for.

Anyway, I for one welcome this sensible progressive thinking. It is, of course, a shame they couldn't have done something about it when they had 13 years of untrammeled power! (instead of shutting down the debate and appealing to the lowest common denominator in the most disgusting way)

I look forward to Mr. Khan's support for Ken Clarke's liberal prison reforms. What are the chances of persuading Mr & Mrs. Balls though? I wonder who has the greater share of the ear of Mr. Milliband?

Update: Doh! Mr. Khan isn't a minister yet but is close to Ed M. Modified accordingly.

Coalition now on the side of rapists...

...according to Labour!

That's right, whilst we're all giving a hearty two cheers to the Freedom Bill and we're all being told that with that nice Ed M in charge, Labour is eschewing it's authoritarian ways and reaching out to us liberal types, Mrs Ed B writes "Relaxing DNA rules could reduce rape convictions".

Whilst it would be easy to pull her tawdry argument apart we know these are intelligent people (aren't they?) so we must assume this is just mendacious rather than meant. However can you spot the slight (!) disconnect between these two conjoined statements:

"Cooper is alarmed that DNA will be retained only in "limited circumstances" if someone is arrested but not charged with rape."

and

"Labour said this was a "huge missed opportunity" because studies have shown that the reoffending rate for rape is as high as 29%."

? Sigh...

Maybe he's found a safe Labour seat?

Just saying...

UPDATE 16/04/2011 Well well well...

Conservatives for AV banned from own Conference

I hear, via Yes2AV, that the Conservatives for AV group have been banned from their own spring conference. The article on ConservativeHome from their leader is here. As always with ConservativeHome, it is the comments which are more fascinating and telling than the article. These are mostly concerned with any party advantage that can be gained from any voting system instead of any principles but my favorite comment is this from "neocon":

"Keeping FPTP is no guarantee of anything .It just produced a Coalition and produced Minority and Coalition Govts in the first half of the 20th Century.

If as Prof John Curtice and the IPPR suggest that we will see many more Coalitions in the years to come with AV or FPTP then obviously we must stop this.

My view is legislate so that we only allow two political parties at Westminster and then we and labour can take turns and only have to govern on our own." (my emphasis)

I don't think further comment is required!