Well I have to admit with poll ratings on 23% in the Guardian last weekend something must be happening. Vince Cable has been superb over Northern Rock,the Queen’s speech and a whole load of other issues. OK to be fair alot of this has played to his main strength on the economy. but his principled stand on not going to the state banquet in honour of the Saudi King has won many friends too.

 But hey this week at question time was the best of the lot when he said that in the space of week we had witnessed Gordon brown changing from Stalin to MR BEAN. WELL ONE THINGS FOR SURE THAT COMMENT AND MR BEAN WILL STICK FOR YEARS TO COME. Well done Vince keep up the good work to think a few years younger than Ming and suddenly his age is not any issue

There are currently 2 planning applications that are live for the Bersted area on the policy site 6 site. If you want to make any comment or look at the drawings please contact Arun District Council or Bersted Parish Council where they will be happy to advise. These applications are very important and represent one of the last chances members of the public will have to influence development on this site. I make no comment as to the merit of these application as i am a member of the Development Control Committee who will ultimately make the final decision.

A weeks along time in politics Harold Wilson once said the last 6 weeks must seem like a lifetime for Gordon Brown. Having got rid of the cash for peerages scandal you would of thought the labour party would of put their own house in order. Not so we now have the remarkable story running of 3rd party donations where a wealthy doner keeps his name out of the spotlight and uses employees and friends to make his donation for him.

Whats more Gordon did not know until last Saturday then tried to leave his deputy Ms harman to shoulder the blame. Not a good move Gord she threw straight back to him. Party political funding in this country stinks and is ripe for misuse. Its time to clear up this mess once and for all. A limit of say £1,000 per year by any one individual and proper funding by the state of political parties should be the starting point. Whilst we are at it why not clean up the whole corrupt system introduce proportional representation in time for the next election and elect the House of Lords by PR and no nominations. This is truly radical and would start to clean up the mess but of cause Gord is too cagey to take up the challenge when he knows the current system still dispproportionately favours Labour.

Well we moan about our rights as individuals but at least ours are protected. A teacher from this country in Sudan is disgracefully sentenced to 15 days in prison for allowing her class to name a teddy Mohammed. Well that may well be the name of the Muslim prophet so what you say but out there they are calling for her execution. Its unbelievable lets hope government intervention and common sense prevail and she is relased early and allowed to return home.

 I feel sorry for the children she was teaching who no doubt had a more rounded and happy education thanks to her skills and kindness. She went there to help and improve things as a caring individual and ended up a political pawn. Thank god I live in England.

Well it would appear for now at least the Tories at county are listening. They have delayed a decision on doing their own thing on devolution until February giving enough time for the current committees to meet and make coment. Personally I think they are paying lip service to local members so that they can say they have consulted before going ahead with their own local committees. I believe that this all part of a hidden agenda to promote Cpounty longer term as a potential unitary authority under a future Tory government.

Well the rhetoric behind Cameron’s crusade to bring power back to local people is proving to be just that. Local Tory Councillors at Arun are pushing further powers to the Joint Western Area Committee and allowing all 3 tiers of local government to vote on issues that affect the daily life of local residents. However at West Sussex County Council the Tories have thrown the toys out of the pram and propose to set up their own local committees for just County Councillors to make local decisions at County Level.

 JWAC was working well with proper grassroots input to the process and some very lively discussions. However I think the last two were possibly more lively than they can take. Frank open dicussion and the possibility of losing control of the situation clearly does not appeal to them despite all those sitting around the table holding an elected mandate in one form or another. The way forward for local government in this area is supposedly for closer working between the different tiers some hope when Tory councillors can not agree amongst themselves at different tiers.

 I find their attitude disappointing and not within the spirit of partnership working. I will be over the next few weeks be making my feelings clear and to both Arun and West Sussex.

I went to the leadership hustings on Monday evening and Cleggy was superb. We are lucky to have such a high calibre candidate in Nick who is pushing all the right buttons. That evening for me was manic first up I had to pick Lucy up from Worthing station who is part of Nick’s team for the election who had all kinds of leaflets promoting the Clegg campaign and a DVD of the campaign so far which is riveting watching. I then help to set up the stall for members to look at what Nick had to offer.

 Next up was a dash back to the station to pick up guess who? Yes you got it Nick himself a fantastic honour unfortunately no time for small chat he was busy on the blackberry answering e-mails hot off an interview for the Independent. Got him safely to the venue which by now was packed and he was straight into tv interviews for the regional programmes the following evening.

 Presentation by the candidates was good with Nick being outstanding almost certainly bouyed from my canvassing results earlier in the day which showed him gaining support from Chris Huhne. Nick was a clear winner even in Huhne’s backyard.

I am proud to be a member of the Liberal Democrats who elect their leader on the principle of one member one vote. I also believe in the 2 candidates declared  we have potential leaders that are the envy of the other parties. In an age where spin rules these 2 individuals shine in an area of substance that Labour and the Conservatives dare not tread. In crime and the environment the 2 portfolios covered by them they have set the political agenda for the future. I have offered my services to the Nick Clegg team and proud to say was one of the first 200 signatures to sign his nomination papers. Nick shares my passion and vision for the future of British politics. He knows that the British people in general are Liberal by instinct and need an alternative to the cosy consensus of 2 party politics. As he said in his statement  when declaring his candidacy for the leadership” We must come together now and make a long-term commitment to British liberalism.We either step up or we will fall back for good. The leadership election gives us a great opportunity.An opportunity to talk – plainly and directly – to the British people. An opportunity to be an outward looking party again. There are millions of people in this country who share our values, but don’t yet give us their votes. These are the people we must be talking to in the weeks ahead. I want us to extend our reach, and broaden our appeal. I want us to take our message to every community, every home, every family”. As an individual I instinctively share his core values and beliefs Nick for me is the future of our party and offers us the best possible chance of making that long awaited break through in British politics. There are millions of people in this country crying out for an alternative voice I believe that Nick will offer that voice, choice and distinctive message that truly will rattle the cage of British politics.  

Like many others in our party I was saddened by the shock resignation of Ming. Whilst I did not support him in the last leadership election I have always admired him as an individual. Ming is a man of great integrity, honesty and passion. As leader of our great party he took over at time when we were going through a turbulent time and has restored confidence within the membership. He has made our party more professional and ready to fight elections in a technology age. His decision to stand down was solely his and with the future of the party in mind. I expect nothing else from a man who is Liberal to the core and passionate about the future of our country.

If anyone is to blame it is the media who did nothing but concentrate on the age of Ming. It is a disgrace in an age where people are living longer working on well past retirement age by choice that this has become the most critical part of his leadership. If he had been from a minority group there would have been complaints galore about discrimination and some of the cartoons in national papers portraying Ming are an insult to not only him but the public at large. More people in the over 60s group vote than any other generation I cannot believe the kind of onslaught that Ming endured has left nothing but a sour taste in their mouths. Many pensioners do more work in the community than any other age group often unpaid or unrecognised. They often fill gaps in the voluntary sector where government fails to meet the need. I often say that a country should be judged by the way it supports its elderly population and in the treatment of Ming and the many unfair policies which unfairly affect citizens as they grow older Britain must rank near the bottom of the league.

Ming led the opposition to the war in Iraq and represented the views of millions it was his incisive questioning that blew the governments argument apart. The nation and the Liberal Democrats owe him a great debt.