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December 31
Dear All,
2008 will be a momentous year for the Liberal Democrats.
We have before us an unparalleled opportunity. We must reach beyond the stale two-party system to the millions of people who share our liberal values, and change Britain for the better. Let us show what that means in the local elections that face us this spring.
Putting British families back in control of their everyday lives will be at the heart of everything we stand for.
In control of their time, not fighting to make space for family life between the demands of work and the burden of bills.
In control of what their children are exposed to on TV, not constantly struggling to protect toddlers from the pressure of advertising.
In control of their own privacy, not forced to submit personal information to a massive government identity database.
Giving power and responsibility to families – of every shape and size, of every background – is the only way to make sure everyone has a fair chance in life.
I will not tolerate a country in which the poorest people die 13 years sooner than the richest, lone parent families are twice as likely to get attacked or burgled, and the poorest pupils are twice as likely to fail their GCSEs.
I believe no-one should be condemned by the circumstances of their birth. And I am certain that is what the British people believe, too. We are a nation with a strong sense of fair play, and natural justice.
The challenge for our party is to persuade those people that their home is with the Liberal Democrats. We will do it by putting social mobility – a fair deal for every family – at the heart of our message.
That means investment in education, so every child gets the best start in life. I will campaign relentlessly for a “pupil premium” to bring spending for the poorest children up to private school levels.
It also means cutting taxes for low and income families, and reforming tax credits so that no family is ever again plunged into debt by crippling repayments enforced by an incompetent government.
We all know the Conservatives don’t have the answers. They would block opportunity, not promote it.
They talk about social justice, but want to return to a Victorian-style voluntary system. They talk about families, but only want to help married couples. They talk about tax cuts, but don’t say where they’ll find the money.
The Liberal Democrats are different. Under my leadership, we will campaign for opportunity for everyone, with people, families, and communities in control of their destinies.
So we will campaign for flexible working, shared parental leave, and flexible benefits for all families. We will campaign for sensible restrictions on advertising aimed at toddlers – my own children remember the adverts far more clearly than any of the programmes they watch. We have lost the virtue of cherishing innocence, as childhood becomes ever shorter.
Protecting very young children from unwanted commercial intrusion into their lives is part of the same instinct that seeks to protect adults from unwanted state intrusion into theirs.
So we should campaign tirelessly to stop the expensive, invasive and unnecessary Identity Cards scheme in its tracks.
The child benefit and learner drivers' data loss scandals mean there is a looming crisis of public confidence in the government's capacity to look after their personal information. So let 2008 be the year we bring down the Identity Cards scheme.
I urge you to join with me to make this happen: so we can truly give British families control over their own lives this year.
Together, we can make Britain the liberal country the British people want it to be.
Yours,
Nick Clegg
Leader, Liberal Democrats
P.S. You can also watch and comment on my new year message on YouTube.
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| December 30
What better way to spend Boxing Day with my family than watching the Flint and Denbigh Hunt meet in Denbigh Square followed by the fun of Rolling the Barrel and finished off with a bacon sandwich and coffee in the Pantri cafe.
Over 80 horses turned out immaculately gathered in the square. They were a credit to their riders. As someone who has hunted, I know the time that it takes to clean both tack and horse and the dedication of the riders on Christmas Day night was evident .
On following the hunt where there was over 100 in the field by then , it was great to see people of all ages following the Flint and Denbigh hunt. What must be said about the hunt is that it is a tradition and a spectacle with growing crowds and followers. The Government policy for hunting is looking decidedly jaded and running out of time. Hunting is here to stay and so let's make 2008 a time where we all agree on a clear idea of what the countryside is for - starting with a return to good farming and good healthy Welsh food.
December 23
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| The youthful Nick Clegg has become the third Liberal Democrat leader in under two years. BBC News's Laura Kuenssberg considers what sort of impact he could have.
The male clegg drinks nectar, and sucks blood.
Mr Clegg won the Lib Dem leadership race by 511 votes |
It's is an old word for a gadfly - an insect which hops from one thing to another, irritating livestock and rarely settling in one place.
Nick Clegg, its namesake, will hope there is more political sweetness than bleeding ahead.
He will also hope that he can adopt and stick to policies that find favour with the public, and lend his party a coherent identity.
He is clever, energetic, and youth can be ticked off on his list of his assets too.
But ease and intellect are no guarantee that he will push his party to greater success.
Mr Clegg won the top job by just a whisker - 511 votes enough to win the leadership.
But that might not be enough to guarantee unity when times get rough.
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 Despite a minor conviction for arson in his youth, Mr Clegg has none of the problems that his party found with his predecessors 
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He has kept his opponent for the top job close, moving Chris Huhne from the environment brief to his own former role looking after home affairs.
But Mr Clegg's narrow victory could sow doubt in party minds.
And although he has been an elected representative for nearly a decade, a member of the European Parliament in 1999, he is not steeped in the art of working Westminster, only elected to the commons in 2005.
Most of the Liberal Democrats' woes have stemmed from the loss of two leaders in two years - neither departure in happy circumstances.
Despite a minor conviction for arson in his youth, Mr Clegg has none of the problems that his party found with his predecessors.
But even if Mr Clegg proves intensely popular with Lib Dems, will he be welcomed in the wider world?
Charismatic figures
Not withstanding the party's slump in recent months, the last 15 years has seen them move from a couple of dozen MPs, to taking six million votes and more than 60 seats in the Commons.
Certainly they became a more slick operation during that period - Paddy Ashdown and then Charles Kennedy both charismatic figures.
But they did not make all of their own luck.
That period coincided with the longest political coma the Conservatives had ever fallen into - with their worst share of the vote in three consecutive general elections since 1832.
That was important because it is the Tories from whom the Liberals have taken most seats in their successful decade.
So as the Conservatives grow ever more confident under David Cameron, so the Lib Dems' existing share of the electorate is squeezed.
Promising politician?
And in 2005, when the Lib Dems scored their biggest ever win, they culled votes from Labour - out of favour, due in large part, to an unpopular war in Iraq.
Opposing the conflict was a definitive cry for the Lib Dems, hauling in large numbers of votes.
It is hard so far, to see what could act as such a magnet for the party next time round.
So what have we learnt of Mr Clegg as leader so far?
A buzzing gadfly or promising politician of substance?
He does not believe in God, and has asked veteran rocker Brian Eno to help get him in touch with younger voters.
It will be some time before we learn if he can bite his political opponents where it hurts. | December 19
Under my leadership the Liberal Democrats will be ambitious. Ambitious for ourselves and ambitious for Britain.
I want to thank you for giving me the chance to lead our great party. It is a privilege to follow in the footsteps of Paddy Ashdown, Charles Kennedy and Ming Campbell, who have all contributed so much to our party. I look forward to working with them all during my leadership.
I would also like to pay tribute to both Vince Cable and Chris Huhne. Vince has been an inspiration as stand-in leader with both his forensic questioning and his memorable put downs. Chris and I saw a lot of each other during the leadership contest. Now we will be working together as close colleagues to ensure that our party goes on to further electoral success. I am delighted that both Vince and Chris are going to be part of my top team over the coming years.
We have a golden opportunity for our party. Gordon Brown presides over an increasingly stale, incompetent, and desperate government. David Cameron and the Tories don’t know what they stand for anymore.
We know what we stand for – a more Liberal Britain. I am confident that with hard work and dedication we can turn our beliefs into reality and change our country for the better.
Under my leadership our party will be a self-confident, radical, and energetic party. Together we can break the stifling two-party system and change Britain for good. That is my aim. I hope you will join me in making it a reality.
Best Wishes,
Nick Clegg MP
Leader of the Liberal Democrats
P.S. You can read more about the result at www.libdems.org.uk and if you want to see something a little more personal the Observer did a fun film about me at: http://politics.guardian.co.uk/video/2007/sep/14/nick.clegg December 12
EDUCATION must return to the days of vocational training to provide the skills Wales needs, according to a new report. Mark Young says: ‘The Labour-Plaid Government may say that they want a vibrant Further Education sector, but in reality we are seeing that the lack of funding is leading to poor facilities, a reduction in course choice and staff cuts, staff who are vital in delivering quality education. I hope this report will act to wake the Government up to the fact that investing in an engaging education system that promotes self esteem and skills for both academic and vocational 14-19 year olds is not only an investment in these individuals but is also an investment in our economy, society and in the future of Wales as a whole.’ December 10
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| Mission Latest...
AS you may have read on the website, Dilwyn survived the tricky crash-landing manoevre onto the surface of Callisto. The last we heard from Dilwyn was that he had moved into the command module of the Gay Ulstermans Space Agency’s capsule, Helmet 1. It seems there was an almighty row on board that particular craft, presumably over the colour of the curtains in the engine room. Anyway, Dil’s moved back with Meg now onto Cymru III. And none of them have yet set foot out the door on Callisto. More news as we have it. |
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WASA Mug Kerfuffle
Fighting erupted outside WASA HQ yesterday as the all new WASA mugs went on sale for the first time. Old ladies with large handbags were seen to be laying into one another in a desperate scramble to get their hands on these limited edition heirlooms. WASA officials had to limit purchasers to just 20 mugs each.
"We should have seen it coming" said WASA mug procurement offical Eifion Evans,"especially when you consider we reduced the price for the launch from £307.99 to just £7.99".
Get yours from the all new WASA Tea Shoppe.
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Morris Spoon delighted he got his mug yesterday. |
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Cymru III Phlogiston Levels Critical
Despite repeated requests for them not to breathe quite so much, Dilwyn and Megan are in extreme danger of running out of de-phlogisticated air. If they were to run out, the likely outcome is that their heads would go red and then pop. This is clearly detrimental to the mission.
Therefore, we are trying to raise funds to send them a tanker full. WASA is funded directly out of our own pockets, and frankly, we have better things to spend the money on. So this is where you come in dear space cadet. By buying absolutely everyone you know, family, friends, funeral directors, a WASA mug this Christmas/Valentines Day/Easter/Shrove Tuesday you will be doing your bit towards bringing Dilwyn back home again - otherwise his head might look like this:
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Wrexham vs Bury
Sat 15th March 2008
Come on folks, lets raise enough cash to bring Dilwyn home in time to be guest of honour at the above match. You see, The Welsh Space Agency will be official match sponsors at the League 2 football game between Wrexham and Bury on Sat March 15th 2008, kick off 3pm. And Dilwyn, will be leading out the players - not to be missed.
Likely a dreadful game of football and a nil-nil draw, but the pies are okay, and it shouldn't be too cold by then. |
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The Peth, Missing in Action
We would like to apologise to fellow anoraks of the Welsh Space Agency. For we seem to have been in some alternative dimension whereby we were contacted by a Super Furry Whatnot's side band called the Peth who were going to write a song about us. Well, either it was all a dream, or the multiverse theories are correct. For there is now no trace of them whatsoever. They've gone. And we made up the bit about Elton John, sorry.
All is not lost however, because film composer Tom Evans has written us a wonderful (but short) piece of music called "Dilwyn's Theme". And yes, this will be on the website very soon. But dear newsletter subscriber, you can hear it for yourself here.
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More WASA merchandise on the way...
As space organisations go, The Welsh Space Agency is pretty skint. In fact, church mice tend look down their noses at us. But when finances permit we'll be digging deep to bring you even more things for your children to throw in the skip when you're dead. Mousemats, Tee-shirts, toilet-roll holders. The world is our lobster.
And the WASA Mousemats (may look like this) |
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Cymru III - The Movie
Amazingly, Dilwyn has found the record button on the video camera we sent with him. Not only that but he's managed to transmit some amazing footage back to us here at WASA HQ. Just as soon as we've uploaded it onto our Betamax player, we'll start editing it for delectation of you dear interweb surfer..
We hope to have the videos ready some time in the new year. They'll depict life on board Cymru III, the loneliness of deep space travel and how Dilwyn copes with boredom and interstellar cookery.
Coming to an internet thingy near you soon..
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Engineering Notes
Following on from our artists impression of what Cymru IV will look like, many people have asked us to clarify the propulsion system involved. So to that end please see the schemata at right which we feel is quite self-explanatory.
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Propulsion Matrix
Pictured left is one of the propulsion matrices ready for fitting to the business end of Cymru IV. Dilwyn is seen alongside to give you an idea of the size of these units.
They have been likened to party poppers. And we have to admit that, superficially at least, they do look a bit like party poppers. We mustn't forget though that this is highly skilled engineering - rocket science in fact. Each unit is ignited by pulling on the big string. |
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Finally...
A big thank you to Space Cadet # 165 Cole Henley from Falkirk-nil who designed, then twizzled around a bit the rather snazzy logo which will soon become familiar across the entire globe**
And to Tom Evans composer (Cadet # 223). Ace!
And what sort of stupid name is "The Peth" anyway?
Yours, in Space
Llyr Ap Llwyllion
Director of Space Newslettering
** or not
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December 07
We may have troubles in Denbighshire with our Education System, and we have all seen our local New Labour Politicians
jumping on the band wagon and pointing the finger and demanding resignations. It is always easy to do this. What is more
difficult is to suggest solutions and positive ways forward. The facts below are frightening . My question is what is the
Government going to do about this nationwide problem?
The Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) performance tables, is based on tests taken by 15-year-olds.
Comparisons are made with the UK's ranking positions based on tests taken in 2000.
Last week, figures from the Pisa study showed that the UK had tumbled down the league table for school science.
And the latest report shows that the UK's performance has also declined in both reading and math's against international competitors - going from above-average to average.
We are the only country which was in the top-performing group in 2000 to have slipped down into the lower group.
In 2000, the UK was placed eighth in math's and seventh in reading - the UK in the latest table is in 24th place for math's and 17th for literacy, but Welsh students also came bottom of the "home" nations.
David Reynolds, professor of education at Plymouth university described the survey results for Wales as "shocking and Over time the assembly probably has not spent on education what it should." December 04
1. Tony Wright - conviction quashed
Exmoor Foxhounds Huntsman Tony Wright, the first person prosecuted under the Hunting Act, had his conviction overturned on appeal at Exeter Crown Court.
As many of you will remember, Tony was convicted under the Act in August last year, despite having believed himself to be within the exemptions set out in the Act. He used two hounds to flush foxes to a gun and the fox was shot, as required. Tony believed that his actions were permitted within the exemptions, and his intention was to stay within the law, but what followed was a legal tussle over the definition of "flushing," miring an already confusing Act in further legal quagmire. We said at the time that if the Police and the Judiciary can't make sense of the Act then what chance do hunts have? Judge Cottle, in concluding his judgment today, agreed, saying, "the experience of this case has led us to the conclusion that the relevant law is far from simple to interpret or to apply; it seems to us that any given set of facts may be susceptible to differing interpretations. The result is an unhappy state of affairs which leaves all those involved in a position of uncertainty."
This verdict, and Judge Cottle's words, are an absolute vindication of Tony Wright and the Exmoor Foxhounds and another nail in the coffin of the Hunting Act.
While we celebrate this judgment, however, we must not forget that an innocent man, faced with a vindictive private prosecution, has had to fret over two years and two court cases to clear his name. This judgment has brought even more confusion: if the Courts can come up with such radically differing interpretations of the Act, how on earth can those seeking to hunt within the law be certain that they will not fall foul of the law?
Only by scrapping the Act can we ensure that other innocent people will not be persecuted and today's result adds to the clear case for its repeal.
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