Liberal Democrats

The Green Party is an insignificant force in UK politics, with only one MP in their bloated House of Commons.  But the UK is still crushed under the Green Thumb, partly because of the bureaucratic loons of the EU, and partly because their Government is a coalition of the wettest, weakest, trough-loving Tories in history and their minority partners, the creepy intern-molesting chardonnay-left Liberal Democrats.

And as a result, their economy is stuffed and old people are freezing to death because they can’t pay huge power bills while land-owning Dukes are trousering a fortune in wind-farm subsidies.

This is what the Global Warming scam and its apologists and profiteers have done, even with a Conservative government.

Hopefully, Kiwis are slowly waking up to the scandalous Green Taliban attack on the world and its people.

From The Independent, Monday, March 20, 2000, a story headlined: ‘Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past.’

It quoted Dr David Viner, head of the climate unit at the University of East Anglia, as saying that in future: ‘Children just aren’t going to know what snow is.’

That would be the same Dr David Viner whose department was accused of suppressing the existence of evidence casting doubt on global warming.  Read more »

The only reason a real scandal doesn’t break out more often is the media do more rooting than the politicians. They generally only break out when the politician  has run one up the wrong person in the media, or their behaviour is just so appalling that even the appallingly behaved media rooters take exception.

Allegations about the Liberal Democrats’ former chief executive Lord Rennard, first aired by Channel 4 News last week, are now shaking the party to its core. Nick Clegg has already had to concede that “indirect and non-specific concerns” were made known to him five years ago, and now this newspaper has revealed an email exchange from 2010 in which five specific allegations about Lord Rennard were put to Jonny Oates, then the party’s director of electoral communications and now Nick Clegg’s chief of staff.

There’s no doubt that the Liberal Democrats are now taking very seriously claims that Lord Rennard behaved inappropriately towards women by propositioning and touching them. That’s some comfort, at least, to those who were the subject of his unwanted attentions. Because, as one woman told us anonymously on Friday, senior members of the party who witnessed Lord Rennard’s alleged sexual impropriety at the time did nothing but giggle and smirk.  Read more »

It was worth 4% to Paddy Pantsdown:

Of course, there was one bad day with The Sun providing the devastating headline ‘Paddy Pantsdown’, but the story soon died. Ashdown’s ratings went up and the Liberal Democrats rose four per cent in the opinion polls. It had been a nightmare for Ashdown but it became a positive for the party.

Most politicians it would negatively impact them, but not in this case and it never has hurt other European leaders like Silvio Berlusconi or the various little French roosters like Sarkozy and Hollande.  Read more »

This article in the Telegraph accurate describes the green taliban, just substitute Liberal Democrat with Green party and you will get the gist:

One of the most important, though least recognised, functions of the modern Liberal Democrat party has been as a home for eccentrics and the harmless lunatic fringe. The importance of this should not be understated. The British have always tolerated, and sometimes celebrated, feckless and irresponsible men and women – and they need a home in public life.  Read more »

Finally the Government in the UK is getting the picture.

Chancellor George Osborne is referring to the climate warmists in Government – rife in the coalition wet Liberal Democrats, and even scattered through his own party – as “the environmental Taliban.”

George Osborne has started referring to Parliamentary climate change campaigners as the “environmental Taliban”, it emerged today, as the Treasury fights to water down renewable commitments in the Government’s flagship Energy Bill.

Members of the Coalition’s quad of decision makers including the Chancellor, David Cameron and Nick Clegg met today in attempt to thrash out details of the bill which is due to be published within weeks.

Ed Davey, the Climate Change Secretary, is pushing for the legislation to contain a specific legally binding commitment on the total amount of carbon that can be emitted by powers stations by 2030 to “bind in” the Government to renewable energy.

He is also arguing that the Treasury should be the ultimate guarantor of the loans that renewable energy companies will need to take out to invest in new renewable and nuclear power stations. These so-called “contracts for difference”, it is argued, would give investors the confidence that there will be long-term revenues in renewables and reduce the cost of upfront capital expenditure for new low-carbon projects.

But Mr Osborne and the Treasury have been opposing both measures. Senior Conservative sources said that Mr Osborne’s objections to the plans reflect his growing scepticism about the need to take immediate action to decarbonise the economy during a time of recession.

“I think that George’s position reflects a growing scepticism about current climate change policy across the party,” said one MP.

“It was fine to be talking about spending money on climate change in the good times but when energy bills are going up it doesn’t seem like good politics.”

Another source added: “George has started referring to the green lobby in Government and Tory party as the environmental Taliban. It’s meant as a joke but it shows where he’s coming from.”

Mr Osborne is also pushing for the creation of a ‘levy control framework’ which would, in effect, put a cap on the total subsidy from tax payers and energy consumers going towards green power.

This would allow the Chancellor to claim he is helping keep energy bills down at a time of recession. However critics claim it will result in a “dash for gas” and higher, less green energy in the longer term.

Cameron may be too lily-livered to take a stand on this, but he has shown a bit of spine recently with some sharp attacks on that mega-trough the EU.

Words are good, but what’s the chance of some action?

And will we ever get someone in the NZ government to stand up and state that NZ spending on Warmist Green lunacy, cow-farting cures and Meridian’s hideous eye-sore windmills included, is a waste of time and money foisted upon us by our own environmental taliban?

The Liberal Democrats are smarting at the moment. Now their President and heir apparent to Nick Clegg has suggested that perhaps they could work with Labour:

Lib Dems have been hunting for a flagship policy since their bid to reform the House of Lords died in a ditch earlier this summer. This housing plan – which has been discussed and approved by the Lib Dems’ high command – should be popular with the party’s grassroots, helping hundreds of thousands of less well off people struggling to get on the property ladder.

It could also enrage many Tory MPs, who may not be thrilled by the prospects of dozens of – what they may call – “council estates” popping up across their constituencies.

Here’s something else that will alarm many Tories: Mr Farron seems pretty willing to hop into bed with Labour.

“I don’t see why not – of course we can work with either party,” he says. “It’s up to the British electorate – whoever is the most popular party has the right to form a government and we won’t hinder that.”

It is quite likely that this 42-year-old former academic would be leading the Lib Dems into coalition with Labour. Activists and MPs like his easy nature, his Left-wing credentials and think he may be the man to heal the Lib Dem’s tarnished reputation. In past year the party’s has support has plunged in the polls. There have been grim local election results and membership has sunk below 50,000 for the first time.

And to add insult to injury there is talk that he will spike Nick Clegg:

“It’s not my burning ambition, but I am not saying I would never do it,” he says, when asked if he would stand for leader. “Definitely not now or very soon.”

Speculation about the leadership is, he says, irritating” and a “discourtesy to Nick”. The fact that he is set to stand again as Lib Dem president and will not serve as a minister in the Coalition may suggest he wants to remain unsullied by consorting with Conservatives.

Mr Clegg, once billed as the most popular political leader since Sir Winston Churchill, has suffered a spectacular fall in support and was even booed while presenting medals at the London Olympics.

Mr Farron tries to be sanguine about this. “Blair was slow hand-clapped by the Womens’ Institute and went on to win two more landslides.”

ᔥ The Telegraph

Normally it is the Greens shielded by sanctimony, however it appears the Liberal Democrats in the Uk also havea shield of sanctimony

And sure enough, he has also announced that he will punish Tory backbenchers for their opposition to the plan by ordering his own MPs to vote against the proposed parliamentary boundary changes which, it is generally thought, would broadly favour the Conservative Party. Adopting the high moral tone that comes so naturally, he has just said that he would not allow Parliament “to be manipulated in this way”. By that he means he was unable to persuade MPs of the worth of his reform plans, hardly surprising given that even most senior Liberal Democrat peers thought them an utter shambles.

ᔥ The Telegraph

The Liberal Democrats are taking a pasting in the UK. minor coalition partners always take a bath. It has happened here as well and it is something the Greens can look forward to:

Documents filed with the Electoral Commission in recent days show that at the latest count in December 2011 the Lib Dems had 48,932 members, down from 65,038 a year before.

Mr Clegg’s stewardship of his party is expected to come under fire this week when David Cameron, the Prime Minister, announces that the Coalition have dropped plans to reform the House of Lords.

Introducing elected members of the Upper House became a key demand of many Lib Dems and a pet project of their leader.

It is understood Mr Clegg is now putting pressure on Mr Cameron to compensate his party for abandoning Lords reform in the face of trenchant opposition from Tory backbenchers.

One possible demand is an extra Lib Dem post in the Cabinet, which could be filled by David Laws, the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

However, it is likely the party will try to make further demands, as well as refusing to support proposed changes to constituency boundaries that would make it easier for the Tories to win a majority at the next election.

The 25 per cent collapse in the size of the Lib Dems’ ranks members Mr Clegg’s party with fewer members than the British Psychologists Society or the population of the Northamptonshire town of Corby.

It is the first time the party’s membership has dipped below 50,000 since it was founded nearly 25 years ago.

Senior Lib Dems blamed the fall on “contamination” by association with the party’s Conservative Coalition partners.

ᔥ  The Telegraph

Tory MPs have told the PM to stick it on Lords reforms. This causes problems with the sandal wearing mung bean eaters they are in coalition with, who were hell bent on Lords reform.

Mr Cameron will not back down on boundary reforms but senior Tories are discussing other policies which could be “offered” to the Lib Dems. A reform of political party funding or more support for green energy are thought to be on the table.

Cameron may not be Boris but he is strategically sensible. He nailed the proportional representation referendum unlike John Key, and he is not going to let the hippies stop him reforming boundaries.  

ᔥ The Telegraph

In the United Kingdom one man, one vote doesn’t really count as unlike New Zealand electorates are of different sizes. Tory electorates are bigger than Labour electorates, meaning Labour wins more seats with fewer votes.

Cameron has a chance to fix this, but because he didn’t do the hard yards and fix his party he ended up in coalition with the Liberal Democrats so can’t just push it through. He may have to trade off fixing boundaries to appease the Liberal Democrats if he doesn’t reform the House of Lords.

The most likely sacrifice is Mr Cameron’s favourite constitutional project – boundary change. The Prime Minister is determined to push this plan through because of the catastrophic electoral bias against the Conservatives embedded in the existing system. At the 2005 general election, Labour commanded 36 per cent of the popular vote, with the Conservatives on 33 per cent. This translated into 356 Labour seats, and 198 Tory. The situation has since got worse.

Yet the proposal is unpopular with the Lib Dems, in part because Mr Cameron foolishly linked boundary change to a reduction in the number of parliamentary seats. These changes need to be voted on when the Boundary Commission reports next year, the likely moment for the PM to try to rescue the Coalition by dropping his proposals.

Such a deal would kill Lords reform, so hated by Tory backbenchers. But it would have one other less agreeable consequence – it would kill off any prospect of a majority Tory government for the foreseeable future. If current boundaries remain in place, and assuming that Labour retains its current eight-point lead over the Conservatives, I calculate that Ed Miliband’s Labour will enjoy an overall majority of approximately 100 seats at the next election. That is a very expensive price for saving the Coalition.

Cameron got it right on the electoral system referendum. So maybe this doomsday scenario will not occur.