Make Surrey Liberal Democrat Free

The name’s Milton, Anne Milton

2009-10-21T11:35:00.002Z

A troublemaker has drawn my attention to the Guildford Liberal Democrats’ (or should I now call them the Guildford and Cranleigh Liberal Democrats) latest news sheet entitled the “Guildford & Cranleigh Journal” which has hit the Guildford constituency’s streets recently.

Apart from two occasions where the rag’s proof readers obviously slipped up (well, wouldn’t you slip into stupor if you had to read the whole of a Lib Dem propaganda piece rather than just the headlines?) the four A3 page the sheet studiously avoids mentioning Guildford’s Conservative MP by name, preferring the dismissively discourteous designation “the Guildford MP”.

Just for the record, the annoyingly hard-working and irritatingly likable Conservative MP for the Guildford parliamentary constituency is ANNE MILTON (plain “Anne Milton” to her friends.)

In the meantime I’ll put the Guildford & Cranleigh Journal straight into my blue recycle sack – just like everyone else did.

No! It can’t be!

2009-10-21T11:30:00.003Z

Yes, I’m back. And so are my confederates. Our Plan, as before, is to resist the Woking Liberal Democrats successfully squeezing the local Labour vote into oblivion.

With Woking's popular Tory MP Humfrey Malins retiring at the next general election, there is going to be one enormous election run-up fight (metaphorically speaking……) in the constituency with the Woking Lib Dems going into overdrive with their “Can’t win here!” offensive against Labour.

The word on the street is that the Lib Dems are planning to put massive resources into retaking Guildford, which really means that they’re going to try to snatch Woking while no one is looking.

Let’s help to stop them.

Guildford Liberal Democrats jump the starter's gun

2007-10-09T20:33:00.000Z

I am informed by a confederate that the Liberal Democrats have delivered leaflets, clearly prepared originally as the first shot in their autumn General Election campaign, to parts of Guildford. I eagerly await a copy for my amusement and of course, careful dissection. It seems that the leaflet, having been prepared in haste and too early, contains a couple of factual errors (no, I don't mean the usual Lib Dem pork pie, deliberate type of error, I mean actual howlers.) Apparently some of the photographs are hilarious too. I can hardly wait.

Waverley Liberal Democrats routed, Woking Liberal Democrats trounced and Guildford Liberal Democrats repulsed – Surrey Lib Dems in full reverse

2007-05-04T18:43:00.000Z

Whilst Labour strongholds in Woking and Guildford fell to the Surrey Liberal Democrats, the silver lining was that nearly everywhere else in Surrey the yellow tide has been halted or is receding. There is a lot of work to do yet, networking with new-found, like-minded friends and strengthening the alliance against the Surrey Liberal Democrats. We have to work through a pile of Lib Dem election leaflets, cross-referencing and fact checking them for use against the Yellow Peril at the next election. And yes, and we have some nice, shiny new Surrey Lib Dem councillors around these parts, so we’ll be watching their every political move over the next few months to make sure they keep all of their promises. I’m going to be busy for a few months, so let’s make an appointment to meet again, here, at the beginning of July.

The Liberal Democrats. Didn’t they do well?!

Surrey Liberal Democrats and the Art of Deception

2007-05-02T17:22:00.000Z

I had always been bemused how so many correspondents to local newspapers, “independent” commentators and campaign groups in Surrey were hostile to the Tories.

On the face of it, most of the councils in Surrey are Tory. When something that should have been done isn't, it is reasonable to expect the Tories to take the flak. Not giving campaigners what they want or what commentators think the councils should do, similarly might be expected to give rise to justified criticism of the Tories. However, the hostility and sarcasm expressed against the Tories makes it obvious that it is personal. The hostility is ingrained and reflex. Listen to what the critics say for long enough and their cloak of impartiality quickly slips around their ankles leaving their prejudice exposed. These letter writers, commentators and campaigners are, quite simply, from a different political tribe, even though they seek to hide or deny it.

There is nothing wrong with being from a different political tribe. In fact, democracy depends upon it. When (in Surrey) a Labour or Liberal Democrat councillor accuses the Tories of doing something wrong, the first thing you think is, well they would criticise wouldn't they? before considering what is being said and asking yourself but is what is being said fair comment/true? The system works when people of a particular political persuasion fly their colours. Everybody knows where everybody else stands. Readers of this website know that I disapprove of Liberal Democrat tactics generally and in Surrey, in particular. I think they fight dirty and then compound the insult by accusing their opponents of being so. I could be Tory, Labour or Green but the bottom line is that my partiality against the Surrey Liberal Democrats is plain for all to see. You make of my posts what you will, with that in mind.

Individual “unbiased” commentators have a tendency to say too much, disclosing their prejudice and are a relatively insignificant problem (a recent example being the avowed Anne Milton MP “supporter” who discussing the forthcoming local elections said, “…it comes as no surprise to see that the Conservative council candidates standing in the forthcoming local election are claiming the credit…” Don't you just know that shortly before the next general election, some “heinous wrongdoing” committed by Anne Milton will “come to light”, causing the “shocked and disappointed” gentleman in question (with all due fanfare and publicity in the Surrey Guardian) to vote for “truth and justice”, namely the Surrey Liberal Democrat candidate, Sue Doughty….. just like he did last time.)

Individuals writing to the local press are rarely politically neutral, though a cursory glance at their letters would give the impression that they were genuine - a method used with great success by the Guildford Liberal Democrats against the Tories from the late eighties, when year in, year out the Letters page of the Surrey Advertiser would host a letter from a “local resident” complaining about the Tories not having done this or that, or having done this wrong or that wrong, or wasted money here, or there. The list of Tory crimes was unending. The “drip, drip” damage caused by such “impartial” criticism was gradual, but considerable. Hostile letters can be dealt with by letters in rebuttal, though - a tactic the Guildford Tories failed to employ effectively until well after they had lost control of the council in 1995.

More seriously, in Surrey, and I am sure elsewhere too, Liberal Democrats and fellow travellers join and even sometimes instigate, local campaign groups. At the outset, these groups always profess their political impartiality. In most cases the campaign is in favour of a popular cause, but very quickly it is used to embarrass the local (usually Tory) council or a particular (Tory/Labour) councillor. In its worst form, the campaign group is hijacked and used as a mere platform for a Liberal Democrat campaigner to challenge for an elected position. It is all so calculated, nothing to do with supporting the local community and everything to do with enhancing the political prospects of the Surrey Liberal Democrats.

No one can claim to be politically impartial. As soon as anyone tries to, alarm bells should ring. We all have sympathy for or leanings towards one party more than any other. It is just that some people's affiliation is relatively weak, so when their preferred party does something that offends them, they might be vocally critical, or not bother casting their vote or even vote for the “other side”. Over the course of time however, they will inevitably vote for “their” party more than any other, or they will listen to their party's politicians more sympathetically, less critically than another's. People who write to the local papers, join campaigns and feel it necessary to let you know about their opinions (by whatever means), have an axe to grind. They are politically motivated. Don't let them ever fool you into thinking that they are not. When an individual or local campaigner makes a point of trying to convince you of his good faith and political impartiality, he seeks to deceive.

The Liberal Democrats. Never nailing their colours to the mast.

Guildford Liberal Democrats and the innocent victims of War (or in this case, local politics)

2007-04-30T15:24:00.000Z

A long, long time ago, when controlling borough councils in Tory Surrey was a twinkle in the eye of the Surrey Liberal Democrats, there was a road. This road was not far from you, in fact. It was a busy main road. A local mothers’ group, a local middle-class mothers’ group, decided that it was such a busy road, that it needed a lollipop lady to help the school children to cross the road when going to and leaving school. This mothers’ group started off by being a true residents’ organisation, politically neutral, but as so often happens with real local democracy, ordinary residents had more important things to do than attend numerous meetings, write letters to local councillors (who just happened to be all Tory) and to the local newspaper. So after a very short while, this mothers’ group was run by the only people who do have the stamina to campaign, in other words, local politicos. Surrey Liberal Democrat politicos. Surrey Liberal Democrat wannabe councillors, in fact. Now this “mother’s” group huffed and it puffed until, against local Tory indifference, they got their way. The mothers’ group was duly congratulated by the local Liberal Democrats for showing what residents’ power could achieve against a recalcitrant Tory council.

Now not far away, was another road. It was a very, very busy road. And it had even more school children crossing it, than the Surrey Liberal Democrats’ road. Unfortunately, there was not a concerned mothers’ group in this area, because, well, the residents were not so well organised. On hearing about the other road having a lollipop lady at the crossing, and considering that her road was far busier, was more dangerous and had far more children crossing it, a woman from the wrong part of town wrote to the local rag to query why that road had been so favoured, in an ever-so-slightly critical tone.

The Surrey Liberal Democrats were apoplectic. “Tory!” they screamed, amongst other things, in letters to the local paper. A sub editorial in the rag harrumphed about the Tories making a political issue about “children’s safety”. Poor, hapless woman. She wasn’t a Tory. Far from it. She was the Real McCoy, an apolitical, local resident.

I was reminded of this incident when hearing that some Old Dear put her foot in it recently when writing to the Surrey Advertiser, appearing to criticise the local Tories. The Tories, smelling an under cover Guildford Liberal Democrat, went in with both feet. In reacting to what should have raised suspicions as a possible Not Lib Dem plant letter, designed to provoke a response - just to enable the Old Dear’s son to pipe up, “lay off my old mum!” and grab everyone’s sympathy, the local Tories, as usual, appear to have reacted with all the subtlety and competence of the Keystone Kops, leading to critical comment in the local rag. That the Muppets at the Surrey Advertiser, that sad excuse for a local newspaper, took up the cudgels on behalf of the innocent correspondent is hardly surprising, after all, when have they ever exercised a critical faculty when dealing with anything said by or favouring the Surrey Liberal Democrats?

This might be just another lollipop-lady incident, with trigger-happy politicos shooting off at anything that looks vaguely menacing. If not, and this latest incident proves to be a cynical political ploy by the Surrey Liberal Democrats or their supporters, then truth will out, most likely just when it will do the most damage.

The Liberal Democrats. They can dish it out but they can’t take it.

Time to tell the Surrey Liberal Democrats what you think of them

2007-04-29T20:29:00.000Z

Local democracy is important, so vote on 3rd May.

Vote for the local candidate who best represents what you believe in, not the one who says what you want to hear. Vote for the candidate who campaigns positively and doesn’t smear his opponents. Don’t cast a vote just to “teach Tony Blair a lesson”. Borough elections are about local services.

If you are a natural Labour supporter, your local Labour candidate is more in tune with your interests than anyone else, so get out and VOTE LABOUR. Euro sceptic? Don’t waste your vote by marking the cross against UKIP – none of their candidates have any chance of winning and anyway, what has the issue of UK independence got to do with the Boroughs of Woking, Guildford and Waverley?

If green issues are really your thing, then VOTE GREEN.

If you are not green or red, then you can only VOTE CONSERVATIVE, there really is not any alternative.

Those of you who are intent on voting Liberal Democrat, go ahead and do so, but don’t expect me to talk to you again, ever.

The Liberal Democrats. Time to wash them right out of our hair.

Just a few timely reminders about Surrey Liberal Democrats

2007-04-27T21:39:00.000Z

Something you should ask your local Lib Dem canvasser

Liberal Democrat comes clean

Liberal Democrats are unprincipled and immature

It' so close here!

The Liberal Democrats. Always having us on.

Woking Liberal Democrat Pork Pie goes national

2007-04-27T21:30:00.000Z

Notwithstanding having been in control of Woking Borough Council for just two years out of the past seventeen the Liberal Democrats' election broadcast this week lauded the (Liberal Democrat since May 2006) Woking Borough Council’s Combined Heat and Power (CHP) station (very green, you see.) Although the broadcast did not actually come out and say “Look what the wonderful Woking Liberal Democrats have done!” that is what you were supposed to think, otherwise what was the point of mentioning it?

A good example of a little local fib snowballing and getting out of hand.

The Liberal Democrats. Utterly shameless.

Surrey Liberal Democrats

2007-04-25T22:29:00.000Z

Working for THEMSELVES

Woking Liberal Democrats make it personal

2007-04-25T22:01:00.000Z

I’d like to tell you about Colin Scott (left) who is the Woking Liberal Democrat candidate who wants Labour’s seat in Old Woking ward. He employs a common Surrey Liberal Democrat tactic when dealing with an opponent – slag them off for allegedly doing nothing and accuse them of being disingenuous (that’s just short of a liar, to you and me.)

Says Mr Veracity Scott, in his personal page on the Woking Liberal Democrats website,

“As the date of Old Woking's election draws near, there has been a sudden burst of activity from its Councillor, Mr Ford.

No wonder people get cynical about politicians!”

No Mr Scott, people get cynical about politicians when they bad mouth their opponents, and are a bit economic with the truth about their opponent’s alleged shortcomings.

“Why is Mr Ford falsely raising local residents' hopes…? It is just a cynical ploy to gain re-election.”

Pass that one by me again. Cynical ploys to gain election are what the Woking Liberal Democrats are at, Mr Scott, but then you know that.

Oh, and by the way, that concrete fence that you had cleaned, you know, the one you are shown pointing at in your photo opportunity, the fence that has suffered graffiti and been cleaned before (by the then Tory Council at the request of Labour’s Peter Ford, probably) will you show so much interest in having it cleaned after May 3rd? After the local elections I think I’ll mosey down to Priors Croft and check it out. Regularly.

And by the way, I’d never vote for anyone who looks that ridiculous.

Vote Labour. Vote Peter Ford.

The Liberal Democrats. Cynical ploys R Us.

How many websites does it take a Guildford Liberal Democrat to win an election?

2007-04-25T20:37:00.000Z

The answer is about a dozen, and that doesn’t include party supporters with their own sites. That’s a lot of duplication in spreading the same message, you might say, a bit of a waste of money. Well, some of them have a green theme, others a women's’ theme and three of them belong to Guildford Liberal Democrats’ Sue Doughty PPC, but yes, all of them say much the same thing. But it’s not a waste, I can tell you. All those interlinking sites, all making each other look very important to the search engines. Even when you search for the Guildford Tory site, on Google you get the Guildford Liberal Democrats mentioned on page 2. The local Tories have tried to address the disparity in web presence, but unfortunately Labour….haven’t. For now, this is not so significant, but at the next General Election, it will be. The lesson to Labour and the Tories is simple: sort it.

The Liberal Democrats. They’re all over the place.

South West Surrey Liberal Democrats and their “local” candidate

2007-04-25T19:59:00.000Z

Sarah Di Caprio is the Surrey Liberal Democrats’ prospective Parliamentary candidate for the constituency of South West Surrey, currently held by the Conservatives. Sarah is a typical local Liberal Democrat candidate…..living outside the constituency, in Guildford. But hey, South West Surrey and Guildford are contiguous and it’s hardly Tierra del Fuego. Sarah is so “into” South West Surrey local politics that she is a County Councillor…..for Guildford, South East. No doubt Sarah will be showing her commitment to the constituency by buying a residence there, because as we all know, Liberal Democrats (and particularly the Guildford Liberal Democrats) don’t think you are local unless you live in the constituency full time and have moved in before an election. Clearly we are going to have to keep an eye on ol’ Sarah, just to make sure she doesn’t let the side down.

The Liberal Democrats. Don’t do as they do, just do as they say.

Guildford Liberal Democrats' Misinformation and Smear Campaign goes into overdrive

2007-04-23T21:11:00.000Z

I’m told that Guildford residents are currently the victims of a leaflet blitz by the Guildford Liberal Democrats. I understand the leaflets are full of the usual misleading information, though not quite as bad as the literature delivered last week here in Woking. The main gripes against the Tories are the Civic Hall, which I have dealt with here, alleged “Road Shame”, “Crime action” (dealt with here), “Green action” and the “Hospital Cuts “con trick”” dealt with here and here. I am told that a couple of matters raised in the leaflet are outright lies, so I am verifying that independently. Oh yes, and apparently the Guildford Liberal Democrats are doing the usual “Can’t win here!” job on Labour, referring to the 2005 General Election results, a matter I have dealt with here. I am informed that recycling in Guildford has taken off since the Tories took over from the Guildford Liberal Democrats, so I am bemused by the latter’s attempt to smear the Tory performance. The electorate’s memory might be short, but it has to be longer than four years. I’ve forgotten the mechanics of road repair, but I can definitely say that it is a County, not a Borough matter, though Borough repair teams might do some of the work at the direction of the County Council - another matter to verify.

I’ll be back.

The Liberal Democrats. Don't rely on facts because fiction can be so much more fun.

Woking Liberal Democrats pandering to the Labour vote

2007-04-21T20:16:00.000Z

The Woking Liberal Democrats are targeting Old Woking ward, currently held by Labour’s Peter Ford. It is a ward that the Tories cannot win, but the Liberal Democrats want it. The residents of Old Woking have received “personalised” election material bad mouthing the Labour Government.

“Violent crime has doubled under Labour” says the Woking Liberal Democrat leaflet.

“The Liberal Democrats’ approach is an honest one based on what works rather than what sounds good.”

Liberal Democrats. Honest. Isn’t that an oxymoron? Anyhow, if you want a platitudinous statement, you can always rely upon a Liberal Democrat to give you one.

The election “communication” goes on,

“We will:

· Put more Police officers on the street – free them from endless paperwork
· Take back our town centre – by empowering local people to have a say
· Honesty in sentencing – if a sentence is for a year then a year will be served
· Make prison work by ensuring that prisoners work and undertake education
· Introduce a system of compensation for victims – money earned by prisoners will be given to victims of crime”

Put more Police officers on the street? The funding and organising of the Police is undertaken at County Council level under direction of central government. The Borough Council does not have any power in this respect at all.

Take back our town centres? How many town centres has Woking got? There is only one as far as I am aware. And when did we lose it so that it needs to be “taken back”? How is being “given a say” going to “get it back”? What a load of complete nonsense.

Honesty in sentencing? This is another issue entirely in the hands of central government and irrelevant to borough elections.

Make prison work? This is the most incredible joke of all. Until Ming Campbell arrived, the Liberal Democrats were all wishy-washy on crime and they had been for many years. Anyway, prison is a matter, once again, for central government, not the borough.

Introduce a system of compensation for victims? Leaving aside the facts that a government funded scheme has been in place for decades and criminal courts have the power to award compensation, how much money do the Liberal Democrats think that a prisoner can earn “inside”?

The Woking Liberal Democrat literature being delivered in this part of Woking is utterly irrelevant to borough council issues.

“Liberal Democrat councillors have been working flat out to address crime in Woking” boasts the leaflet. Well, if that is true (and it is from the horse’s mouth) the Woking Liberal Democrats have been wasting their time and our money, because crime is not within their remit, other than to say “pretty please” (with various photo opportunities thrown in here and there) to those who do hold the power or purse strings.

At least Old Woking voters have been spared Liberal Democrat claims that “Labour can’t win here!” as happened in 2003 in the Labour stronghold of Stoke ward, Guildford. Old Woking is a Labour ward. Keep it that way. So attention all Labour supporters, get out and vote for Cllr Peter Ford. And I’m calling all Tories in Old Woking, too. Now it’s pay back time. You’ve been on the receiving end, but now it’s your turn to vote tactically. You know it makes sense. Vote Labour. Vote Peter Ford. Keep out the Woking Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats. Think that Labour voters are stupid.

South West Surrey Liberal Democrats vulnerable in Waverley

2007-04-21T15:16:00.000Z

The lacklustre, administratively inept Liberal Democrat regime in control of Waverley Borough Council is in danger of losing councillors in the forthcoming borough elections on 3rd May 2007. Snatching the Council from the Tories in May 2003, the Waverley Liberal Democrat administration has been stumbling ever since, the rot beginning with the early loss of three senior Liberal Democrats, including the then Mayor Victor Ducket, Dr Penny Marriott who defected to independent status and the resignation of Chris Slyfield, the leader of the South West Liberal Democrats on the Waverley Council. The Waverley Liberal Democrats’ reputation was further damaged in the run up to the 2005 General Election when their candidate was accused by Labour and the Tories of relying upon “negative, personal attacks” in campaign literature. Whilst local Tory campaigners have been invigorated by recent national opinion polls and the apparent success of their “new” leader, the South West Surrey Liberal Democrats have been further deflated by the indifferent performance nationally of Ming Campbell.

Though Labour has helpfully not fielded candidates in some wards, the remaining core Labour vote is not likely to turn out, rather than vote Liberal Democrat. There never were many more votes to be squeezed out of Labour support, anyway. The situation is further complicated by the Liberal Democrats seeking to recover “their” seats from the defectors who became Independents. Other, new Independents have come forward to contest other seats so the “not Tory” vote is going to be split. The Tories have challenges from UKIP in two wards, but as one of those wards is unwinnable by the Tories, this cannot lead to any more than one Tory loss. In a small but significant number of currently Liberal Democrat seats, only a handful of votes need to change hands for the Tories to win. A sign of the weakened state of the Liberal Democrats is their failure to even put forward a candidate in the Chiddingfold and Dunsfold ward. To cap it all, in one seat part of their vote will be bled by a Green candidate. When it rains, it pours.

The Liberal Democrats. Going down the pan in Waverley.

South West Surrey (Waverley) Liberal Democrat inaction

2007-04-21T13:29:00.000Z

Waverley Liberal Democrats were certainly on the side of local residents when it came to proposals to site sandpits at Monkton Lane, near Farnham, and at Eashing Farm, near Godalming. They huffed and they puffed until all and sundry knew that they were the residents’ champion (and by implication, as usual, that the useless Tories and “can’t win here!” Labour were sitting on their hands doing nothing.) So, when Surrey County Council arranged an all important Minerals Plan meeting for views to be expressed, you could rest assured that the Waverley Liberal Democrats would be there, shouting a lot about “No quarries at Monkton Lane and Eashing Farm!” and bloodying any noses that didn’t look out of joint already. Except Waverley Liberal Democrats didn’t show. When criticized for the no-show, they proceeded brazenly to accuse (Tory) Surrey County Council of not inviting them. It then had to be admitted that an invitation had been received but was not acted upon. It is important that the residents of Waverley recall this instance of the South West Surrey Liberal Democrats in-action on 3rd May.

The Liberal Democrats. Never there when you need them.

Shalford Liberal Democrats pander to the green vote

2007-04-20T21:30:00.000Z

Following the feigned outrage about the Tories' ballot paper designation, I see that the Shalford Liberal Democrats, unlike their townie brothers, have not missed a trick, by describing themselves on the ballot paper as “Liberal Democrats - for a greener Britain.”

Now you’ll excuse my mentioning that all the parties have gone a bit green recently, particularly as the evidence that we’ve messed up the earth’s ecosystem is mounting up, so something has to be done. So everyone has gone green (though not as green as the Green Party.) Those of us who still recall the last General Election in 2005, will remember that the losing Liberal Democrat candidate Sue Doughty (aka Mrs David Vyvyan Orchard) felt it necessary to tell all and sundry that the Greens lost her the seat (and didn’t she go on and on about it.) The Orchards are certainly not making the same mistake twice.

It’s a dangerous policy because the local rag, the Surrey Advertiser, is certainly going to expose such shenanigans and interview dozens of Monday afternoon shoppers in Guildford who will be outraged by such trickery. No hold on, I’ve just remembered that sort of thing only happens when the Tories are naughty…

The Liberal Democrats. They must think we’re all green.

Faux Outrage as Guildford Liberal Democrats miss a trick

2007-04-14T13:00:00.000Z

Guildford Liberal Democrats are kicking themselves having been beaten to a trick by the Guildford Conservatives who have designated themselves on the local election ballot papers as “Conservatives: Stop The Hospital Cuts”. “But it's a cross party campaign!” bleat the Lib Dems, curiously, as to read Sue Doughty PPC or any local Guildford Liberal Democrat/Surrey Liberal Democrat website, you could have been excused for thinking that only the Lib Dems cared about the Royal Surrey. Remember, our Sue thanked us all for signing her petition. As ever, the anti-Tory (which in this part of the World means pro-Surrey Liberal Democrat) Surrey Advertiser has taken up the cudgels to beef up the Lib Dems' prating.

Whilst the Tories can claim to be the main opposition to the hospital cuts (after all, it is their MPs doing most of the running) it was perhaps provocative to use such a definition for the local election ballot. But wait a moment! Didn’t the Guildford Liberal Democrats make their opposition to the hospital cuts part of their Five Step Plan even though it is a cross party campaign and not relevant from the point of view of local politics? Um, yes. So as part of their manifesto they would raise it on the doorstep? Yep. And you can bet they wouldn’t mention the other parties’ opposition to the cuts. Nope. No way. After all, their websites currently make no mention of the other parties opposing the cuts, so they’re not going to mention the cross party campaign on the doorstep are they?

After years of being on the receiving end of Liberal Democrat trickery and the pulling of fast-ones, the old Tory dog has learned new tricks. So to the Guildford Liberal Democrats and their supporters, I say,

“Stop whinging and get a life.”

The Liberal Democrats. Hardly ever missing a trick.

Guildford Liberal Democrat Sue Doughty PPC helps open misleading local election campaign by Burpham Lib Dems

2007-04-13T10:55:00.000Z

Fresh off my fax machine is a copy of the Guildford Liberal Democrats election leaflet "Winning for Burpham" featuring Sue Doughty. It is the usual fayre we have come to expect from the Surrey Liberal Democrats - low on facts and high in hyperbole. The Five Step master plan is mentioned only briefly, which is very wise. Not so wise, are other pronouncements which are palpably false, made up or misleading.

"More and more people are backing Ted Mayne and Ed Owen…" says the leaflet.

Says who? Done some market research have we? Given the rising popularity of Dave Cameron's Tories, on the balance of probabilities, "more and more" people are likely to be backing the Tory candidates Nick Brougham and Christian Holliday, which means the Guildford Liberal Democrats will not walk away with a sack full of council seats in Burpham, and neighbouring North Guildford wards, as they had done since 1991.

"Their priorities include making our streets safer, protecting the local green belt and forcing the conservatives to mend our roads."

I don't know about you, but I had never seen Burpham as a crime hot spot. Perhaps the intrepid Lib Dem duo are merely talking about wanting the installation of intrusive CCTV cameras or irritating traffic calming measures that slow the rush hour traffic from three miles an hour to two. On the other hand, the inference must be that the Tories and Labour are for making our streets less safe. It must be said that Tory and Labour Law and Order policy has always required being tough on criminals, whereas until very, very recently the Liberal Democrats always made a deliberate point of taking a conciliatory, "soft" "law breakers should be understood" line.

As regards the greenbelt, I recall, local Labour and Tory activists also take against encroachment, so there is no difference between the candidates there.

"Ted and Ed are also passionate that Guildford needs the Civic back - it has been closed for years under the Tories."

Need I say any more.

"Guildford is a two horse race between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems. Labour cannot win here."

This is not a parliamentary election, but a local election with 48 council seats up for grabs. In Stoke Ward, it is a one-horse race where Labour is the only contender with the Liberal Democrats and Tories nowhere in sight. Over the course of the past twenty years, the Liberal Democrats have persistently talked down Labour's prospects in the town, even when they themselves had no prospects. If only all you Labour supporters would join us, we could beat the Tories! Equally, had the disaffected "soft" not-quite-Tory voters marked their cross for Labour, the Council might not have been so blue as it had been in the past. The Liberal Democrats have no more in common with the Labour voter than the Tories.

"Years of Conservative rule has let down Guildford"

Eh? What a porker! The Tories have only controlled Guildford Borough Council since 2003 having lost outright control in 1991…….to the Liberal Democrats.

"Voting Green or Labour could let the Conservatives sneak in again"

Yes, it must have really hurt when the Tories recovered control of the local council after twelve years.

"Our Conservative Councils have wasted millions of pounds of our money."

Let's be specific. Which "Councils" are you talking about. I'm talking about Guildford Borough Council - the one that wasted millions of pounds of Guildford residents' money on pet projects between 1991 and 2003 - when the Tories weren't in control.

"Guildford deserves better"

Yes, so don't vote Liberal Democrat.

The Liberal Democrats. The Pork Pie Party.

UKIP will hand complete control of Woking Borough Council to the Woking Liberal Democrats

2007-04-11T15:17:00.000Z

I have never quite "got" the idea of the UK Independence Party. Sure, I understand that whilst all the main parties are to one extent or another pro-European, UKIP are technically the only Europhobe option. The difficulty I have is that UKIP invariably damages the Tories, the least Europhilic of the main parties and, in particular to the politics of Southern England, hands council and parliamentary seats to the Liberal Democrats, the most rabidly pro-European party. The logic just escapes me.

Only the Byfleet and Old Woking wards in the Woking Borough Council elections are not contested by UKIP. Given the massive effort being made by the Woking Lib Dems to take complete control of the council, the local Woking Tories need UKIP like a hole in the head.

Voters of a Tory persuasion in Woking have got to wise up. Vote anything but Tory, and you get Liberal Democrat.

The Liberal Democrats. Opportunists to the last.

Introducing: Chris Ward - Guildford Liberal Democrat candidate for Onslow Ward

2007-04-11T14:42:00.000Z

Let me introduce you to Chris Ward, a Surrey Liberal Democrat. He is seeking election as a councillor to the Guildford Borough Council in the forthcoming May 2007 local elections.

Chris is your typical local Liberal Democrat having lived in Guildford for.…a little over three years. But Chris learned all about the concerns of residents in Guildford whilst he was a student at Surrey University, doing all those stereotypical things that students do. Having been a student until fairly recently, Chris is right on in respect of all the most important and pressing issues relevant to the local populace, such as students' rights, anti-discrimination, equal opportunities and…alcohol.

The contest in May will be interesting, especially as our Chris will come head to head with his old nemesis Michael Andrew Chambers, one of the Tory candidates.

By the way, the Labour candidate is James Heaphy, the only real alternative to voting for the Tories. James will look after the interests of all the residents in Onslow, not just the students, "cultural, and welfare based groups."

The Liberal Democrats. Only ever acting in their own interests.

Sue Doughty launches Guildford Liberal Democrats’ May 2007 Election Manifesto

2007-04-07T20:04:00.000Z

Oh Dear! Let us analyse the document to establish exactly what the Liberal Democrats are saying, if anything. In yellow, I have faithfully reproduced the exact terms of the Manifesto as published; in red is my narrative.

The Liberal Democrats give five steps needed for a better Guildford:

1. Stop the waste of money - delete unwanted prestige projects, promote projects that benefit the public and our environment, end the Civic chaos, cut council spin and keep council tax low.
The Liberal Democrats will introduce residents' concessions on council facilities such as Spectrum, increase funding for local community facilities, and provide more support for the good work done by voluntary organisations.

This is a complete mouthful. Let’s deal with “unwanted prestige projects” first, the most obvious of which is the new Guildford Civic Hall – as the Lib Dems say, “end the Civic Chaos”. First of all, a decision has been made by the Council, so there is no chaos. That decision was agreed by Labour and Tory councillors, local democracy in action if you will, so “unwanted” never came into it, unless you count the Liberal Democrats, who in the Council Chamber did not oppose the redevelopment proposal, but abstained from the vote (just in case the new Civic Hall is a roaring success, so they can change tack and declare they always supported it.) Then there was the proposed refurbishment of the Council reception area. The Tories did not go ahead with this idea. Whilst on the subject of pet projects, does anyone remember the Liberal Democrat administration’s affection for the Electric Theatre?

“Promote projects that benefit the public and our environment.” Like what, exactly?

“Cut Council spin.” Excuse me? The only spin around here comes from the Liberal Democrats.

“Keep council tax low.” This one is a complete non- starter. The Lib Dems’ argument on this score unravels in their very next breath, “The Liberal Democrats will introduce residents' concessions on council facilities such as Spectrum, increase funding for local community facilities, and provide more support for the good work done by voluntary organisations.” It gets even worse as you read through the other pledges.

2. A greener Guildford - boost real recycling and lead the fight against climate change, aiming for a carbon-neutral council showing the way for a carbon-neutral borough.
The Liberal Democrats will collect food waste from the kerbside across the borough for composting within Surrey, cut the Council's energy use and maximise use of locally-produced food and other locally-produced products by the council. We will offer a 'Greener Guildford' badge scheme giving accreditation to businesses and shops offering green services. We will revise the SPA Strategy so that it benefits local communities and green spaces. We will protect parking for residents of existing homes by excluding new developments from having on-street parking permits. We will promote car-clubs across the borough.

The current Tory controlled Council have already exceeded the green efforts of the previous Liberal Democrat administration. They have already plans to do more. The Liberal Democrat pledge is a mere puff – “whatever the Tories do, we can do better!” If the Lib Dems seek to perform anything spectacular in order to out green the Tories, there are likely to be cost implications – higher Council Tax.

3. Safer Streets - more community wardens, more CCTV, working in partnership with the police.

The Liberal Democrats will radically improve street cleaning, with more hit-squads to deal with litter and fly-tipping, extend CCTV working in partnership with the police, extend our community safety warden scheme and clamp down on vandalism and graffiti.

Yep. This do-able. It will cost a lot of money though, so we can expect higher council tax. If council tax is not going to rise, then there will have to be cuts elsewhere.

4. Homes for local families - affordable homes must come before offices, protect our green spaces.
The Liberal Democrats will aim for 50% affordable housing in new housing developments and use non-strategic employment land for housing rather than green spaces such as gardens and countryside. We will use planning policy wherever possible to preserve family homes, for example by introducing Housing Conversion Restraint Areas in the town centre.

50% affordable housing in new housing developments! Now this one out-Labours Labour. Fantastic suggestion, but complete pie in the sky. This is not achievable without the cooperation and assistance of outside agencies, including Central Government. The remainder of the pledge is little different from local Labour or Tory policy. But then the trick is that by saying this is what the Liberal Democrats are going to do, the voter reading the pledge will assume that the other parties are against it! Very clever. Let’s just hope no smarty pants blogger flags up that little sleight of hand.

5. Save the Royal Surrey - fight to save our local hospital
The Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign with residents of Guildford and wider afield to save the Royal Surrey from closure and to maintain accident and emergency services at the hospital.

Well my dears, the Guildford Labour Party and the local Tories are on this case too, hadn’t you noticed? I know that you have tried not to, but that is not the point. It is not something that you can offer and the other parties can’t and the electorate knows it. And while we are on the subject, is this really an issue relevant to a Borough election?

In essence the Liberal Democrat manifesto boils down to promises that they will increase spending but lower council tax. A traditional “cake and eat it manifesto”. Unfortunately the real World isn’t like that.

The Liberal Democrats must think that the Guildford electorate are dullards.

The Liberal Democrats. Anyone but.

Guildford Liberal Democrats fail to commit to the new Civic Hall

2007-04-07T16:41:00.000Z

As Guildford residents will know, after long delays the Tory controlled Guildford Borough Council announced that it plans building a new Civic Hall on the site of the existing hall. Guildford Labour supports these plans. As they say,

"We regard the Civic Hall as an essential amenity and would like to have seen action long ago. Unfortunately, the plans were delayed by legal action relating to earlier planning decisions. The Council won the actions but couldn't avoid the delay."

For their part, the Liberal Democrats…spin. Those of us with long memories will remember how the Liberal Democrats ducked and weaved when the Tories (with wholehearted Labour support) went ahead with the building of the Spectrum Leisure Centre. The Lib Dem Jeremiahs spoke of nothing but costs and warnings of dire consequences and failure if the project went ahead, but of course, it was a great success…whereupon the Lib Dems, by then in control of the Council, purred contentedly about "their" wonderful Leisure Centre.

But how could they do that? You all shout in utter astonishment and disbelief. Well, for one thing, quite a few years had passed, so the Liberal Democrats calculated that most residents had forgotten that they had opposed the Spectrum project. Equally fortuitous, was that one of their councillors had mumbled, in an "off message" moment, that she thought the project was not such a bad idea. However in the case of Spectrum, the Liberal Democrats did not manage to steal the credit that was due to the Tories and Guildford Labour.

Whilst Labour and Tory councillors approved the new Civic Hall project, the Liberal Democrats abstained. In the words of a Guildford Labour spokesman,

"The Liberal Democrats abstained, so that they can throw mud if anything goes wrong and will undoubtedly claim credit if it is a success - the story of the Spectrum all over again!"

In the meantime, the Guildford Liberal Democrats are spreading misinformation about the likely cost of the new Civic Hall (they say it will cost ten times the Tories' original 2003 estimate of £2 million.) They also place the blame for the delay in the Civic Hall project being completed firmly upon the shoulders of the Tories, even though it is well documented that local businessman Michel Harper stymied the original plans for redevelopment. It was Mr Harper, you will recall, who issued legal proceedings against the Council thereby causing the developers to pull out of the deal, to the undisguised glee of the Liberal Democrats. In all likelihood, the new Guildford Civic Hall is going to be a great success. So the question that needs to be asked is,

"Are the Liberal Democrats going to be shameless yet again by claiming that they always knew the new Civic Hall was going to be a success and always supported the project?"

Can a leopard change its spots?

The Liberal Democrats. Having their pork pie and eating it.

Woking Conservatives win Beacons Award

2007-04-07T13:31:00.000Z

Actually that should read, "Liberal Democrats steal Tory thunder."

I am referring of course to the Woking Borough Council being awarded Beacon status under the "Promoting Sustainable Communities through the Planning Process" theme. The Beacons Award scheme recognises excellence and innovation in local government. The award was presented at an "Oscar-style award ceremony in London on 20th March 2007."

Hey! Wait a minute! I hear you all cry. Woking has been under Lib Dem control since May 2006. It's their award!

Well, no actually. The ceremony was in March 2007, but the period for which the award was made included Tory control of the Council. In any event, the Lib Dems have not been in control of the Council long enough for their "policies" to have worked through, which is lucky, because if they had, Woking Borough Council would not have won anything.

It gets worse. The Woking Tories won another Beacons Award in 2005 for "achievements in the area of sustainable energy". So that's two awards in three years for "excellence and innovation in local government" - both won by the Tories. So when you receive the Woking Liberal Democrats' May 2007 election leaflet entitled "Cleaner, Greener, Safer" (the usual knocking copy) just remember how useless the Tories weren't.

The Liberal Democrats. Always claiming the credit, but never the blame.

Guildford Liberal Democrats being economic with the truth

2007-04-07T12:26:00.000Z

Whilst driving through Guildford yesterday, I couldn't help but notice those oversized, bright orange election posters declaring "Liberal Democrats. Winning here!"

Is this the same Guildford where the Liberal Democrats lost control of the Borough Council in 2003 and the Parliamentary seat in 2005?

The Liberal Democrats. Telling it how it isn't.

Honest Anne Milton MP versus Sue Doughty: No contest

2007-04-07T12:19:00.000Z

Anyone who has read the speeches of Anne Milton in the House of Commons will know that whenever possible she gives credit where credit is due.

She is at it again in relation to the fight to keep open our local hospitals (in her case, the Royal Surrey County Hospital.)

Speaking recently, Mrs Milton commented,

"The presence of David Cameron and now Sir Menzies Campbell at the Royal Surrey demonstrates that in Guildford we have put aside Party politics for the sake of people's health."
She added, “I am sure that there are other areas which are facing cuts to NHS acute services that could learn some lessons from Guildford's example. Working together across the political spectrum and across the community is the only way to make our voice heard. The battle continues and will only be won if we stand together and fight as one.”

On the other hand Sue Doughty, always economic with her praise for other parties, just congratulates "local people" who have been adding their names to the petition on the Downing Street web site to Save the Royal Surrey. According to her personal website (suedoughty.org)

"Sue received over 17,000 signatures to her petition to stop the NHS cuts & proposed closure of the A&E department."

So that's final then, politically Guildford Labour and the Tories have done nothing.

Sue Doughty and the Liberal Democrats. Always going it alone. In company.

Woking Liberal Democrats Inaction

2007-03-18T19:25:00.000Z

The Liberal Democrats love graffiti. A vandal sprays something somewhere, anywhere and you can bet that a local Lib Dem councillor or hopeful will be there to take a photo. And look concerned. They don’t stop there – they look for anything that the Labour or Tory controlled Council can be said to have done nothing about.

It was no different here in Woking immediately prior to the May 2006 local elections. They were out in force doing what they do best – looking for things the Tory controlled Council could be blamed for not having done – even when it wasn’t within the Borough Council’s remit. The Woking Liberal Democrats website still shows (as of today) photographs, taken in March 2006, purporting to show Tory inaction on graffiti and dilapidation. Candidate Denzil Coulson (now a Councillor) and Councillor Ian Eastwood are show inspecting a damaged fence in Hawkswell Walk. Denzil certainly “got about” in March 2006 because in the same month, he was out with “two jobs” Councillor (and now parliamentary candidate) Rosie Sharpley, inspecting a vandalised telephone box in Goldsworth Park. Not to be left out Councillor Sue Smith was shown looking very concerned about a spate of graffiti occurring in Woking.

This was all very amusing. Councillor Eastwood appears to be heroically holding up the suspiciously familiar looking “falling down fence”. The vandalised telephone box was very clever. The local Council was not responsible for its repair – the telephone company was. The graffiti? Well of course the Tory Council was responsible. It had contracted the task of dealing with graffiti to a commercial company Serco. The removal of graffiti, once notified to the Council, should take place within 24 to 48 hours. But you are right. It always takes longer, as the Liberal Democrats well knew. Has the clean up rate speeded up under the new Lib Dem controlled Council? Nope. Is it likely to? Nope. Has anything actually improved? Nope.

The Liberal Democrats. Big on promises. Light on results.

The Woking Lib Dems get a local candidate – at last

2007-03-17T21:28:00.000Z

Now let me be brief. In the Town called Malice (that’s Woking, if you have never heard of local hero Paul Weller) the Liberal Democrats are going to give us and the Tories a bloody good kicking in the next set of local elections. Having targeted the town during the past few years, they made progress last year (May 2006) and a massive effort will be made next time. As some individuals in the local Labour Party would rather middle-class faux lefties win if they can’t (anyone but the Tories!), not a lot of effort is going to be made to avoid our dwindling vote being squeezed even further. Anyone who had read my blog or heard me rant at the boozer will know that I think that is a dangerous strategy. We shall ever be bar-charted and branded by the Liberal Democrats as the “Can’t win here!” party. Just as the Tories are lost in Scotland, so shall we be, in the south east of England. The Liberal Democrats will be able to claim they are the only truly national party.

So, the only national party they might become, but that does not mean that we have to take them seriously, particular when they insist on abandoning so many hostages to fortune. They have, for instance, an unerring ability to produce prodigiously dodgy facts and figures but yet think that no one will rumble them.

In December 2006 the Woking Liberal Democrats announced proudly that Cllr Rosie Sharpley had been elected as their Parliamentary candidate. The Woking Liberal Democrats’ website explained breathlessly that, “Rosie has lived in Woking for nearly 30 years, has worked in the NHS locally for 20 years and has been a councillor for Goldsworth for 18 years. She has a passion for Woking and its residents and believes that her long experience will be of benefit to the community” and that she be “Woking's first local MP in forty-three years.”

Leaving aside the small matter of our Rosie having to overcome the popular sitting Tory MP Humfrey Malins before becoming “Woking's first local MP”, I should like to dwell for one moment upon what has been admitted by the Lib Dems and in doing so will enjoy one of those forehead slapping moments much beloved of the Dark Avenger from Shalford. As everyone in this part of Surrey will know (and anyone who has read this blog) the Lib Dems are very much into “local candidates”. For instance, whilst the Guildford Tories were parachuting Surrey resident Anne Milton into their constituency, the Lib Dems stuck with local Sue Doughty (who herself had been parachuted in little more than five years earlier, from Berkshire.)

The Lib Dems’ boast, in effect, that Rosie is the first local parliamentary candidate for Woking in forty-three years explicitly admits that the Liberals, Social Democrats and successors the Liberal Democrats have not fielded a local candidate since the 1960’s - a pretty damning admission by the party which claims to promote local candidacy. But it gets worse. In the 2005 General Election, she contested Francis Maude’s Horsham seat. Well, I suppose that Woking isn’t that far from Sussex. It’s not Tierra del Fuego, for Heaven’s sake!

In that General Election, says the website, Rosie “achieved one of the best results for the Liberal Democrats in the South East taking votes from both Conservatives and Labour.” Now I’m not going to be pedantic, because it is very likely that some voters, who had marked a cross on the ballot paper in favour of the Conservatives or Labour in 2001, voted Lib Dem in 2005. To that extent, the Lib Dem boast on behalf of Rosie can be said to be acceptable. Labour support fell by 947 votes in face of an onslaught by dubious looking bar charts and leaflets proclaiming “Labour can’t win here!” The Tories saw their percentage of the vote fall from 51.5% in 2001 to 50% in 2005.

So there you are! The Lib Dems took votes from both Conservatives and Labour! Well no, actually. In the face of the most expensive General Election advertising campaign ever run by the Lib Dems (and bearing in mind the “decapitation policy” adopted by the Lib Dems against senior Tories) the Tories actually increased their vote by 1106 from 26,134 in 2001 to 27,240 in 2005. The Lib Dems simply mobilised a small number of the “don’t knows/don’t cares” and increased their vote by a figure of 2,145. Maude’s seat was never at risk. A false impression has been created that both Government and Official Opposition support crumbled in favour of the Lib Dems. Manifestly, it did not. The Tory vote held firm. Not good news for the Lib Dems.

The Liberal Democrats - funny facts and funny figures. You just have to laugh. At them.

Surrey Liberal Democrats playing politics with our lives

2006-10-20T17:17:00.000Z

As most constituents of West Surrey will know, two local hospitals, St Peters in Chertsey and the Royal Surrey in Guildford, might be for the chop, in part or whole, in the not too distant future. Local Tory MPs have reacted by organising opposition to the mooted closures. To their credit, they have sought to create all-inclusive, local cross-party and apolitical support. All are invited to take part in the rally they have arranged to take place in Guildford’s High Street on Saturday 21st October 2006.

Representatives of Surrey Liberal Democrats will take part in the protest, as you might expect. It is also likely that the Liberal Democrats’ presence will be very, very obvious. In parallel to the Tory cross-party campaign, the Surrey Liberal Democrats have run their own, quite separate, exclusive (but much smaller, less effective) campaign in which photo opportunities and being very visible have been the orders of the day. This separate, distinct campaign of their own along with their participation in the main campaign against closure of the hospitals has only one purpose. The Liberal Democrats seek to be seen as the party responsible for generating and leading opposition to unpopular Government plans for the closure of the Royal Surrey.

In this small corner of the World, all the local political parties are of one view on this one issue. Everyone is united in opposition to the South East Coast Strategic Health Authority’s proposals. Everyone. No single party should claim the credit for opposing the plans for the closure of the Royal Surrey. It would not be right.

To Sue Doughty and the Surrey Liberal Democrats, it is all just a game. Read the local Surrey Liberal Democrat websites – the impression as to who is leading the fight against closure is clear – Sue Doughty and the Liberal Democrats! Forthcoming Focus election leaflets in Guildford will be no different.

As it was with the Guildford Incinerator, so it will be with the closure of the Royal Surrey.

The Liberal Democrats. The Bar Chart People.

Buddy, can you spare a dime?

2006-10-16T16:09:00.000Z

This is bad time to be a member of the Liberal Democrats. For one thing, your subscription might cost about thirty quid more than the £6.00 they tell you about when joining. It’s all about having to repay £2.4 million, apparently.

The Liberal Democrats. Michael Brown’s clients want their money back.

Sue Doughty - a considerable record for talking

2006-09-24T23:10:00.000Z

On 28th April 2005, shortly before the general election, six of the parliamentary candidates campaigning for the Guildford constituency agreed to address a public meeting held at the Guildford Institute, at the invitation of Guildford and Godalming Friends of the Earth and Guildford Environmental Forum. Each candidate was given a few minutes to talk about their views on environmental issues. It is reported that,

“Sue Doughty spoke about her considerable record on tackling environmental issues, in Parliament.”

Oh right. Not one to hide her light under a bushel, our Sue.

Sue Doughty. All talk and no action.

Sue Doughty talks up her (minor) role

2006-09-24T20:33:00.000Z

“Local Campaigner Sue Doughty is leading the fight to save A&E and other services at the Royal Surrey County Hospital”

says the “Sue Doughty – Local Chump” Lib Dem leaflet delivered to a co-miscreant’s residence in Guildford last week.

But the Tories are on the case too, except they have two MPs arguing the case for the RSCH and even a campaign website. MPs you might have noticed, have considerably more clout than a mere local campaigner. Even though the Lib Dems seem to have a website for every occasion, on this issue they seem to have been beaten to it.

What is clear is this. Sue Doughty is leading her own little campaign, but nobody else's. Instead of joining forces with the Tories she has sought to highlight and aggrandise her own efforts, creating the false impression that she alone is leading the fight. What else are her words supposed to infer?

And we are supposed to believe that the Lib Dems are no longer going to rely on gimmicks and be unprincipled. Fat chance.

Sue Doughty. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

Liberal Democrats are unprincipled and immature

2006-09-24T16:21:00.000Z

So said the Head Honcho of the Liberal Democrats, Ming Campbell, last week at their Conference in Brighton. Blimey, do they put truth serum in the drinking water down there in Sussex?

By the time of the next general election they will be telling us how mature and principled they have become and that they are "ready for Government". But...David Steele was telling us that back in the eighties. It also leads to the inevitable conclusion that the Liberal Democrats were "having us on" in the past. They were of course, but it is nice that they now admit it.

What with some other senior Lib Dem having come clean before the conference began, things are beginning to get out of hand. Not. Upon sober reflection, the Lib Dems will realise that they must continue as before but just tell us that they are the new improved, even whiter Lib Dems. Well, it always worked in the past.

The Liberal Democrats. Because they don't know any better.

Sue Doughty and the dodgy opinion poll

2006-09-18T21:04:00.000Z

On Sue Doughty’s webpage for Tuesday 27th February 2001, under the heading, “POLL INDICATES LIB DEMS CAN WIN GUILDFORD” she had this to say,

“A new MORI poll shows that if people believe that the Liberal Democrats can win in their constituency, Lib Dems would be competing with Labour for most votes with the conservatives relegated to third place. Voting intention in the poll was Lib Dem 36%, Labour 36%, Conservatives 23%.”

I have had difficulty in identifying the opinion poll to which Ms Doughty refers. There was The Times/Mori poll published on 22nd February 2001 showing Lib Dems 14%; Labour 50% and Conservatives 30%. Obviously it cannot be that Mori poll. It couldn’t have been the Guardian/ICM poll of 20th February 2001 either because…it was not by Mori. Also, as a matter of interest, the opinion poll figures were as follows: Lib Dems 15%; Labour 47%; and Conservatives 32%.

In fact, not a single national opinion poll placed Lib Dem support above 19% between December 2000 and 6th June 2001. Ah! Well there’s your answer then! It wasn’t a national poll – it must have been a local one. Yes, but only if it was local as in Glasgow North or Hackney.

Now let me think. Perhaps…perhaps she got her figures transposed, so it was Lib Dem 36%, Labour 36%, Conservatives 32%. Yes! That’s it... Hold on, that’s not right…it adds up to 104%...

Just let us remind ourselves of the actual national election results:

Lib Dem 18.3%; Conservative 31.7%;%; Labour 40.7% and others 9.3%

and the Guildford result, which the relentless Ms Doughty won:

Lib Dem 42.6 %; Conservative 41.4%; Labour 13.7%

I think you’ll agree that there is not a 23% in sight for the Conservatives. Ms Doughty's website post was a blend of duff logic, dodgy figures, a dud poll and special pleading, if you ask me.

Which leads me back to the copy of the “Sue Doughty – Local Chump” leaflet that I was given yesterday. The “It’s so close!” bar chart points out that Labour “Can’t win here”. It should not take an idiot to see that the Lib Dems didn’t “Win Here!” either. Now it occurs to me, that if all those Lib Dem voters migrated to Labour…

The Liberal Democrats. Where facts don’t count.

Sue Doughty - Local Chump

2006-09-18T06:37:00.000Z

Oh yes. In my excitement over having received Sue Doughty's leaflet yesterday, I forgot to say that I am fact checking it. As Doughty is not an elected representative, it is likely that she had the smaller or even no part in any "success" claimed, so it is not going to be difficult to show that she has stolen somebody else's thunder.

There's a smear about "Guildford's Conservative MP coming under fire for her performance on health matters." That will be one man and his blog Tim Ireland who discovered that Milton has not attended as many committee meetings as other members. Well, I suppose coming under fire from a single sniper does count as "coming under fire" but the leaflet tries to give the impression of widespread concern. Naughty, naughty. One thing is clear though. Sue likes the gun loaded for her but someone else to fire it. From now on, one of my co-bandits will be assigned to read Bloggerheads and note the correlation between criticism there and its later, sudden reappearance in local Lib Dem literature.

And another thing, in recent months we have discovered a lot about the Newbury bypass protests....

Sue Doughty. Acting a lot.

Sue Doughty begins her “Big Push”

2006-09-17T22:03:00.000Z

“Boss!” Said the excited voice down the ‘phone.

“I’ve just received some Lib Dem literature through the letterbox! It features Sue Doughty!”

“Well send a copy over.” Said I, and she did.

The Lib Dems are certainly the experts at the photo opportunity, having their candidates photographed amongst people who are not necessarily supporters. People are camera shy but I have managed to take such group shots myself and am astonished how so many Labour and Tory leaflets rely upon die-hard supporters trying to give the impression of being smiley members of the public. It all comes down to a lack of forethought and failing to seize opportunities.

Anyway, the point is that when I looked at the leaflet, entitled “Sue Doughty – Local Champion” (and sub headings “Action on Crime” and “Action all year round”). I could not believe my eyes. So many hostages to fortune. Same old tactics. There was even a bar chart and an, “It’s so close!” proclamation. Loads of dodgy facts, the one I loved most of all being Sue Doughty’s quote about Tories wasting funds,

“No wonder Council Tax bills have soared under our Conservative run Councils.”

Oh, deary me. Guildford Borough Council had a Liberal Democrat administration only a few years ago and memories are still fresh. Council Tax rose faster under the Lib Dems than it ever did under the Tories (who, as it happens, have slowed the rate of increase again).

We’ve collated a fair amount of information disseminated by the Lib Dems in the locality during the course of the past six years, more than enough to post about regularly and cause embarrassment to them throughout the local elections in 2007 and to the next General Election.

Liberal Democrat leaflet tactics are becoming more than a little tired. The age of the citizen blogger is upon us. It is inevitable that unsubstantiated and misleading claims are going to be exposed for what they are. The Lib Dems have surely enjoyed their heyday. A cold, harsh winter is a-coming.

The Liberal Democrats. They talk a lot but they don’t actually say anything.

Liberal Democrat comes clean

2006-09-17T20:59:00.000Z

The [Liberal Democrats] had relied on populist gimmicks for too long and failed to put forward a coherent policy agenda….

“Our party has been guilty of such populism at all levels of government. Other parties can repair cracked paving stones or improve local eyesores as well as we can, and campaign on a platform of doing so just as effectively.”

Graham Watson, the leader of Liberal Democrats and allied groups in the European Parliament – September 2006

The Liberal Democrats. Telling it straight. For once.

Focus on the Liberal Democrats # 2

2006-09-17T20:48:00.000Z

I’d like to introduce you to another local Liberal Democrat. She is the Liberal Democrat Group Leader Mrs Fiona J White, a Councillor for the Stoughton Ward of Guildford. She lives in….Ash. Well, that’s still Guildford in terms of borough elections, but it would have been nice if a local Liberal Democrat candidate had stood. Anyway, I hear you say, the Conservative councillors don’t necessarily live in their wards, either. No, true. But you see, they don’t make a big point about candidates having to be local, as do the Liberal Democrats (ad nauseam).

The Liberal Democrats. Supporting local candidates.

The Liberal Democrats – more acting for your benefit

2006-09-15T20:47:00.000Z

According to the Woking Liberal Democrats’ website,

“LibDem Shadow Environment Secretary Chris Huhne MP visited Woking on Wednesday 13 September to learn about the Borough Council's cutting-edge climate change policies. After a briefing by Borough Officers, he was shown round the Combined Heat and Power Station in the Town Centre and the photovoltaic roof at Brockhill.”

Blimey! The Lib Dems only took power in mid May 2006 and they have done all this environmental stuff already. Incredible! If I’d know they were so good, I would have voted for them years ago!

Wait a minute. This sort of stuff takes years to plan and build. In other words, the Tory council must have kicked it all off. In fact, it looks like it was all finished before the Lib Dems got in. A little bit of stealing other people’s thunder, I think.

The Liberal Democrats. You’ve got to hand it to them. They’ll take it without asking anyway.

Focus on the Liberal Democrats

2006-09-13T20:49:00.000Z

Let me introduce you to Dr Anne Lee. She was the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate who contested the Woking constituency at the last General Election in 2005. She lost the contest to Conservative Humphrey Mallins by a tiny margin of 6,612 votes, a figure overhauled easily at the next election if the Labour (7,507) and “Other” (1,474) vote collapses completely. Clearly the Lib Dems will be “Winning Here!” in 2009/10.

Now Dr Anne has a lot of election experience. Being a local "Woking" girl she won a seat on the Guildford Borough Council in 1999. In 2001, whilst still a good ol’ local girl, she contested another local parliamentary seat at……..Norfolk South.

A singular strength of the Liberal Democrats is that they can be relied upon to field local candidates. Take Sue Doughty, who stole Guildford from the Tories in 2001. Prior to becoming the Lib Dem candidate for Guildford, our Sue lived close by in Royal Berkshire. Not as close as Reigate but closer than Tierra del Fuego.

And remember, next time Labour or the Conservatives try to say it’s alright to have a non-local candidate, send them packing with those famous words uttered by the Chester Liberal Democrats at the 2005 General Election,

“Lib Dems do not believe it matters where a candidate lives but how committed they are to the area they wish to represent.”

The Liberal Democrats. Supporting local candidates.

The Liberal Democrats are good at... # 3

2006-09-12T15:05:00.000Z

Taking the credit for someone else’s hard work and at the same time rubbishing that person for not having done anything.

The Liberal Democrats are good at... # 2

2006-09-12T14:45:00.000Z

Always saying things that give the electorate a nice, warm glow inside.

And missing out stuff like, “our new tax proposals are going to hit a lot of ordinary people.”

The Liberal Democrats are good at...

2006-09-12T14:38:00.000Z

Platitudes. The more the better.

Labour voters! - The Liberal Democrats want your vote!

2006-09-09T14:27:00.000Z

It's official. The Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell wants your vote. In a change of policy, the Liberal Democrats are going to target Labour voters in a "Think red; vote yellow" campaign.

Labour voters will be familiar already with the "a vote for Labour is a wasted vote"/"anyone but the Tories" argument presented by the Lib Dems in Surrey. There was a similar and simultaneous "a vote for the Tories is a wasted vote" strategy in the Midlands and North.

That the most powerful selling point for the Liberal Democrats is that they are not Tories or not Labour (depending on the audience) is very telling. This new strategy requires that they present themselves as a direct alternative to Labour - if you want Labour policies, vote Liberal Democrat. Now I spy a flaw here. Not the obvious flaw, i.e. that Labour is a socialist organisation created for the working classes and the Liberal Democrats are no such thing, but rather a little local difficulty that is going to be caused in Surrey.

At the next General Election, the Liberal Democrats are going to try to snatch Humphrey Mallins' seat here in Woking. The relentless Sue Doughty wants Guildford back. The Lib Dems think that even Jeremy Hunt's South West Surrey seat is a marginal (Tory majority: 5,711 votes). Excuse me if I have this wrong, but around these parts to me it looks like it's all a bit Tory. So, can we expect all the local Lib Dem candidates to go about telling the Surrey electorate that they are all good as-good-as socialists? Oh, I don't think so.

It was unofficial Labour policy not to fight Tory seats too hard where the Lib Dems were relatively strong and so in Surrey soft Labour support handed many thousands of votes to the Lib Dems. However, an equal number of votes came from erstwhile Tory voters. The Lib Dems can't win any Surrey seat without both Labour and Tory supporters voting for them. Even "light blue" Tory voters ain't going to vote yellow if they think they are going to get red.

There you have it, but will this faze your average Lib Dem activist or candidate? Not a bit of it. Subterfuge is going to be in order. They'll push "think red; vote yellow" with us and smarm up to soft Tory support as yellow but with dark blue streaks.

Only one party speaks exclusively for the working person: Labour. Don't fall for the spin of those two-faced, opportunistic Liberal Democrats.

The Liberal Democrats. You know you can't trust them.

Something you should ask your local Lib Dem canvasser

2006-09-01T13:49:00.000Z

We now know that Charles Kennedy, the leader of Liberal Democrats from 1999 until January of this year, had a severe drink problem. In fact, it probably safe to say that he was an alcoholic for most of that time. We know for certain that he was an alcoholic by 2003. Until all the fuss that erupted late last year, his parliamentary colleagues were hushing up his problem and had done so for years. Knowing that their leader was unfit for office, they canvassed for our votes in the general elections of 2001 and 2005 on the basis that he was the stuff of which Prime Ministers were made and they, the parliamentary party, were fit to govern Britain. Now, they were not entirely frank, were they? In fact, what they did was pretty deceitful. Although there was not any prospect of the Liberal Democrats winning an election outright, they might have held the balance of power and some of the senior members of the parliamentary party including Mr Kennedy, would have secured ministerial office. It is now clear that he was not even fit to be the leader of a minor party, sometimes being too “unwell” to perform his duties (a reply to a budget speech on the floor of the Commons being one example). This was a very serious breach of trust. The Liberal Democrats put the interests of their party before that of their constituents and the country.

So next time a Liberal Democrat comes to your door canvassing for your vote, ask them how you are expected to believe anything they say, or trust them when they misled us so wilfully during not one, but two general elections. Who knows, you might be lucky enough to be canvassed by the former Lib Dem MP for Guildford, Sue Doughty. You will be able to ask her. She might be a Quaker, but she is a politician first. Don’t expect a straight answer.

The Liberal Democrats. The straight choice.

The Liberal Democrat Action Man (Or Woman)

2006-08-26T20:17:00.000Z

Fig 1: Our Ben lovingly cleans the wall

Fig 2: After Ben's "good scrub down".

Left:

Fig 3: The wall after it had really been cleaned of graffiti - by the Tories.

Liberal Democrats are very concerned individuals. They want to act whilst Labour and the Tories sit around doing nothing but wasting hard earned Tax Payers’ money. That is why they want you to vote for them, so they can act.

I have to be honest and admit that they act very well. An example of their acting skills came to light at the recent by-election at Bromley and Chislehurst, where they almost stole a result from the Tories. Being lucky Lib Dems, their candidate, Ben Abbotts did not get found out until too late.

The acting all revolved around our Ben being an Action Man and getting down to cleaning graffiti from a wall, something the lazy Tories had not got around to, because they, like Labour, don’t act. Unfortunately, a local resident checked out the “cleaned” wall, to discover that it had all been….an act. The graffiti was still there. This was very un-Lib Dem – getting caught - in the act. Anyway, the photographs above say it all.

The Liberal Democrats - Acting on your behalf.

By the way, I stole these photos from this site.

It' so close here!

2006-08-17T21:17:00.000Z

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

This post is all about the ultimate Lib Dem deceit – the dodgy Bar Chart.

During the course of the past few days the calm of the West Surrey Blogosphere has been rocked by a furore involving two local Tory activists, who a Not Lib Dem blogger has successfully exposed as behaving just like a couple of Liberal Democrats. I’ve seen the evidence. It looks like a fair cop to me. Anyway, the upshot of it all is that around here, the Tories have been silenced and the blogosphere is once again a safe place for the Lib Dems to play without those rotten Tories pointing things out.

There’s something I’d like to draw attention to though and it relates to those bent bar charts beloved of the Lib Dems when they are trying (usually successfully) to mislead the voting public as to their electoral prospects. I came across the one immediately above (Fig. 2) by chance. It was published in the Lib Dem Focus leaflet delivered in the Christchurch ward of Guildford in October 2005. The leaflet depicted the local election results for the Christchurch ward in 2003. As you might expect, it showed the Lib Dems in a commanding position to challenge the Tories “next time”.

But fings ain’t wot they seemed. The diagram at Fig. 1 is an accurate bar chart showing the true story. The bar showing the Conservatives well out in front was missed out in the Lib Dem Focus leaflet chart.

The Lib Dems call this “drawing attention to the positives”. You, the voting public might call it “disingenuous”. I call it a downright lie. It does not show like for like and it is deliberately misleading. This is just the sort of thing that makes Kerron, cross and me furious.

The Dodgy Lib Dem election leaflet bar chart - coming through a letterbox near you, soon.

Smear, Smear and Smear again

2006-06-27T21:33:00.000Z

Anyone familiar with the Surrey blogosphere will know that a group of Not Lib Dems are giving the Guildford MP Anne Milton a hard time, spreading all manner of misinformation and stunning revelations about…well, not a lot really. The latest cyber war is being fought over Mrs Milton’s Wikipedia entry. The Not Lib Dems keep amending the entry so that it is less than flattering, including a link to Tim Ireland’s Anne Milton Dipstick blog. Mrs Milton’s supporters keep changing it back to…something pretty innocuous, actually. Anyway, it’s all great fun.

The thing that struck me was that, having had a mosey over to the Sue Doughty Wikipedia entry, I noticed how the entry had been created with such loving care. “Sue this…and Sue that…” Now what if, what if…a deranged individual with a pathological hatred of all things Lib Dem maliciously amended Dour Doughty’s entry to something less flattering, including a link to a blog that relentlessly took the micky? Of course, no such deranged individual exists, nor does any such blog but if he and it did, could you imagine how the Lib Dems would squeal and wail “dirty tricks!” and accuse the Tories of foul play?

Yeah, I can too! It’s a great idea! Let’s do it!

The Liberal Democrats – the Nasty Party

2006-06-27T20:14:00.000Z

This is what Labour blogger Kerron Cross thinks of the Liberal Democrats, and why:

Why do you take such a dislike of the Lib Dems?

I thought you may ask something along these lines, it’s something I’ve become almost famous for. The truth is that I find the Lib Dems campaigning style deeply disingenuous, nasty, deliberately misleading, personal and venal. Having been on the receiving end of it, I thought it was a one-off, but then you realise that not only is the behaviour widespread it’s actually condoned and sent out as standard practise by the party. Every election is a “two-horse race” where “only we can win here”. The ubiquitous bar chart, which is not to scale. Where if no statistics actually support that “only a Lib Dem can win here” so “don’t waste your vote on the Labour/Conservative candidate” then their “private poll shows” that “only we can win here”. They say anything to anyone on the doorstep – whatever you want to hear. Different policies for different parts of the country – even though any policies they do have are kept deliberately low-key or vague. But the most annoying thing is the piety of their spokespeople saying that they “hate ya boo politics”, and “mudslinging” and the behaviour of the other 2 parties. My problem is not so much their negative campaigning, it’s then that they pretend that they do not negatively campaign. The Lib Dem strategy seems to play well with voters in by-elections when voters are looking for a protest vote, but it is also why are they are thoroughly hated by the other 2 parties – more than the Tories and Labour probably hate each other. I mean for me, I can disagree with a Tory fundamentally on everything but still respect them as a person and as a politician, but I can’t say the same for most Lib Dems I know. Which reminds me of one of my favourite Lib Dem lines: “Don’t vote for a politician, vote for a Lib Dem” – what does that mean? Thoroughly horrible and nasty party that deserves to be revealed to the public for what it is.

This was lifted word for word from Paul Burgin’s Mars Hill blog. I think this is called plagiarism. I’ve highlighted the odd bit, here and there, for effect. Anyway, does any of the above sound familiar? Watch out for these Lib Dem tactics in forthcoming local and Parliamentary elections in Surrey.

You have been warned!

Why the Lib Dems disgust me

2006-06-24T07:07:00.000Z

Iain Dale has just disclosed another typical deceit by the Lib Dems, who are currently trying to trick their way to a by-election victory in Bromley. Their pretty boy candidate is making out that he worked at an orphanage, when in fact he just turned up for a few hours for photographs to be taken. This is what they call (in the Lib Dems) “doing the groundwork” for winning a seat.

Despicable.

Just watch for this sort of tactic in Surrey.

More Stuff from the Liberal Democrat Election Manual

2006-06-16T23:04:00.000Z

‘Be wicked, act shamelessly, stir endlessly, and embarrass the administration… if it’s a Labour council you can secure support from voters who normally vote Tory by being effectively anti-Labour and similarly in a Tory area secure Labour votes by being anti-Tory.’

You just couldn't make this up. It really does come from a Liberal Democrat Campaign Guide!

Hat-tip to Man in a Shed

Local candidates good: non local candidates, better

2006-06-16T22:30:00.000Z

Those of us who have long memories recall the fuss the Surrey Liberal Democrats made when the Guildford Tories chose Anne Milton to challenge Sue Doughty, the then sitting Liberal Democrat MP for Guildford. “Milton is not a local!” screamed the Lib Dems (none louder than Sue Doughty, who was living in Berkshire until she had employment prospects representing Tory Guildford.) Mrs Milton, you will remember, was virtually an alien, by living a few miles outside the Guildford constituency, in Reigate.

Well it seems that the Fib Dems in the Bromley by-election are trying the same old trick. Unfortunately for them, that Tory troublemaker and blogger Iain Dale is on their case. You see, whilst it is true that the Tory candidate lives a few miles outside the constituency (and so what, anyway?) the Lib Dem candidate does too, only further away. Typical, disingenuous Lib Dem spin. But it gets worse. In Chester, when the Lib Dems flew in an “outsider” to fight the seat they argued that, “Lib Dems do not believe it matters where a candidate lives but how committed they are to the area they wish to represent.”

Ok. I’ll remember that the next time the Not Lib Dems start slagging off Anne Milton about not being local.

Not the Lib Dems

2006-06-16T21:36:00.000Z

One of the most effective Lib Dem tactics is to ridicule or smear their opponents in some way. The most dramatic example of this was the Bermondsey by election in 1982, when the secretly bisexual Liberal candidate Simon Hughes defeated the openly gay Labour candidate, Peter Tatchell. What is manifestly clear is that Simon Hughes did not take part in or sanction the homophobic campaign against Tatchell. What is equally clear is that a number of anonymous Liberal activists on the ground did. They deny this of course, accusing disaffected Labour supporters for spreading homophobic slurs against Peter Tatchell. The smear against Labour supporters has been so oft repeated, that it has become part of the myth of that Bermondsey contest.

In part, the Liberal (now Liberal Democrat) denial is perfectly tenable, because so often they rely upon the assistance of fellow travellers who are not members of the party. These helpers are in spirit much like the Viet Cong guerrillas of the Vietnamese War, determined, ruthless but not really autonomous freedom fighters as the propaganda of the time tried to make out. Just as the VC were really irregular units of the North Vietnamese Army, trained, equipped, supplied and controlled by Hanoi, these Not Liberal Democrats similarly act in what they perceive to be the best interests of the Lib Dem cause. Just like the VC, these irregulars can harry and attack the enemy but when the mark is overstepped, as they are not party members, the party can claim that it was Not the Lib Dems.

A more recent example of this Not Lib Dem activity (though on a much milder scale) has been taking place in Surrey, in the Guildford constituency. The Tory candidate (and now MP) Anne Milton has been the target of sustained disparagement from Not Lib Dem elements for the best part of the last two years or more. The attention does not relate to anything that she has actually done wrong or done badly. It has all been to suggest that she has been disingenuous, inactive or ineffectual. These charges do not stick. It is all misinformation, a gross distortion of the facts. The attacks upon Mrs Milton have been very personal and spiteful. For instance, fun has been made of her because (it is said) she resembles Julian Clary. This is all very curious because her Lib Dem opponent Sue Doughty is no oil painting, either. It is strange that the Not Lib Dems appear to have overlooked this. It is so lucky that the local Tories are such gentlemen because had a Labour candidate been so pilloried, the Lib Dems would have been biters, bit.

Throughout all of this, there has been silence from the official Lib Dems, who let their irregulars get on with the dirty work. If challenged about the methods of their supporters, no doubt their refrain would be “it’s not the Lib Dems!” This shows the true nature of the Surrey Liberal Democrats and their Guildford constituency candidate, Sue Doughty. The personal attacks on Anne Milton have been vile. Any half decent person would have censured their unruly, irregular elements and reined them in, but no, Doughty and her team perceive political advantage being gained, so it is allowed to continue. These irregular elements are Not Lib Dems! How very Liberal Democrat.

Even more from the Lib Dem Election Manual…

2006-05-29T19:20:00.000Z

When you haven’t got anything to pin on your opponent, just make it up!

The cowardly, anonymous “Surrey Tories” who have disabled the comment facility on their blog (for all and sundry save for WordPress bloggers – and to be frank, I really can’t be bothered – setting this one up was trying enough) have started a new smear campaign against Guildford’s Tory MP, Anne Milton.

Milton’s own local Association think she is “useless”, imply the faceless ones. Or I assume it is meant that her local “senior” supporters think that she is rubbish, because they could mean “senior Tories” a la David Cameron. We are led to believe that the Lib Dem’s have an “insider” so they “know”. It’s all bollocks of course.

Whilst I agree that most of the local Guilford Tory Association were a bunch of wallies (and there are still a few of the old gang around) given they lost the local borough council to the Lib Dems in 1998 and then the parliamentary seat in 2001, I cannot believe that any Tory is really briefing against their own MP, the gal who won Guildford back.

For one thing, she is no more ineffectual than the embarrassing Sue Doughty, of whom the parliamentary sketch writers tended to take the piss occasionally when she spoke in the Commons. Milton regularly pontificates about all the right issues, just as did (and still does – anyone one would think she still is our MP) Sue Doughty (or is it Orchard?) and neither seem to be any more effective in obtaining results. To be fair, Sue Doughty had four years to achieve absolutely nothing, while Milton has been a similar non achiever for about a year only, so there is yet hope. The Lib Dems are up to their old trick of spreading misinformation again. Name names, dudes, otherwise I call you spineless liars.

As everyone knows, what offends me about the Lib Dems is that they puff themselves up to be what they are not and can never be, but at the same time they always slag off their opponent. Milton is very lucky that she is not black, lesbian or a Muslim because you just know that any of those would be used against her. Nevertheless, she has been still sorely put upon by the Lib Dems and that has made me feel sorry for her. Feeling sorry for a Tory is not something that comes easily to me and that makes me despise the Lib Dems even more.

A Lib Dem leaflet has now fallen into my hands (no, I didn’t steal it) which had been delivered to a Lib Dem/soft Tory vote area of Guildford. It is full of the usual misinformation and distortion. Over the coming weeks I am going to check its claims and then debunk it – but only when it suits me – at a point which is most embarrassing to the Lib Dems.

Now, you will have to excuse me while I continue my search for all of those embarrassing news reports and about faces that Sue Doughty has been guilty of during the course of the past six years or more. Goodness…Google is so useful…

More from the Lib Dem (Local) Election Manual

2006-05-28T20:28:00.000Z

Another gem from Iain Dale's blog.

You have got to laugh, otherwise you wet yourself...

Anyone would think it was Christmas

2006-04-28T14:55:00.000Z

I don’t know where to start, but here is as good as anywhere. Then there is pretty amusing too. But the Lib Dems are hitting back like only they know how.

The Liberal Democrats, the straight choice.

Lock your kiddies up - you know it makes sense!

2006-04-21T14:14:00.000Z

This one was pretty hilarious too.

Naughty, Naughty

2006-04-21T14:01:00.000Z

More "essential reading" here.

Essential Reading

2006-04-21T13:53:00.000Z

If you want to know more about what the Liberal Democrats are doing nationally, read here.

The spirit of Liberal Democrat Watch is not yet dead!

From the Liberal Democrats Election Manual # 4

2006-03-08T21:20:00.000Z

This one is called “Get the Tories Out!” but it should be called “Get the Liberal Democrats in!”

The Liberal Democrats tell Labour supporters that voting Labour is a wasted vote, because in Tory Surrey, there are not enough of us to “get the Tories out”. With your help, say the Lib Dems, we can get rid of the Tories. So the Labour vote goes soft and we get a middle-class Liberal Torycrat councillor or MP. That, however, is not the end of it. Having got everyone to vote tactically and thereby inflate their vote, the Liberal Democrats say, “Oi! We polled half as many votes as the Government and win only one sixth of the seats! We want proportional representation!”

Breathtaking.

From the Liberal Democrats Election Manual # 3

2006-03-08T21:17:00.000Z

This one is a killer.

You share power with another party. Let’s call the place where this is happening, “Scotland”. In accordance with that power sharing agreement, your party has responsibility for certain things, one of them which is, say “transport policy”. A few unpopular transport decisions are made causing a bit of discord in certain localities of this place called “Scotland”. A by-election is called in one of these localities, let us call it Dunfermline (sorry for all these made up names and facts, but I’m trying to set the scene). You blame your power sharing partner for all the trouble. You win the by election.

Pure genius.

From the Liberal Democrats (Local) Election Manual

2006-03-08T21:15:00.000Z

This sort of thing happens just before a local election, somewhere near you.

A concerned member of the public (never a Liberal Democrat member or supporter, oh no) contacts the local authority and establishes that a particular local job that has been scheduled for ages, is about to take place in so many weeks or months. For the sake of argument, let us say a piece of derelict council ground that has become a “bit of a tip”. The local paper then gets bombarded by letters from Liberal Democrat notables demanding action to be taken to “clear the rubbish” on this piece of land. On schedule, the council boys come along and make the site nice and clean. Now letters get sent to local paper by Liberal Democrats boasting that they got the job done. A few more letters are sent by impressed members of the public confirming that from now on they are going to vote Lib Dem (what do you mean, “they are Liberal Democrats, too” – how can you be so cynical?)

From the Liberal Democrats Election Manual # 2

2006-03-08T21:14:00.000Z

This tactic worked well for the Liberal Democrats in the Winchester constituency, a few years ago.

The votes are cast and counted, but you lose, just. You demand a recount. You lose again. You demand another recount. This time you win. The other side call for a recount. You oppose, successfully. No problem here, you might think, ‘cos Labour and Tories would do the same. Yep, I’d have to agree.

Now the High Court quashes the result (well, when you let one side only have three bites of the cherry…)

You now spread it around that you won the election fair and square and (in this case) the Tories are bad losers and cheats for going running to the High Court. You win the re-run election by a large margin.

Pure Liberal Democrat.

Single mums! Beware of the Liberal Democrats

2006-03-07T17:55:00.000Z

So it is official. The new Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Menzies Campbell wants to rethink the issue of benefits entitlement for single mothers. For instance, the current “open ended” entitlement to income support is not thought to be acceptable to the right-leaning Sir Ming: a typical middle-class knee jerk reaction to the “undeserving”. Take note. Only Labour candidates truly support the cause of the not-so-well-off in our Society. Labour supporters should vote for the Labour candidate. Don’t be fooled by the Liberal Torycrats. They are just one group of pushy middle-class politicians who want to replace another group of middle-class politicians.

Surrey Liberal Democrat bloggers stifle debate

2006-03-06T21:53:00.000Z

A blog set up by Surrey Liberal Democrats at the beginning of this year entitled, incongruously, Surrey Tories has restricted those wishing to comment upon its articles to “registered” commentators only. With this particular blog provider, this process is far more time consuming than for say blogger.com. It is not particularly user friendly and frankly most people will not want to bother.

Surrey Tories is clearly designed to irritate local Tories by publishing misleading, unfair partial reports. It has failed to achieve its objective because the Surrey blogosphere was cleared of all Tory resistance last year following an aggressive campaign by anti-Tory elements in the electorate (aka Surrey Liberal Democrats.) The blog-inexperienced Tories who foolishly endeavoured to defend their new MP Anne Milton, were roundly trounced by local blog savvy Liberal Democrats (mostly anonymous but clearly local Lib Dem Big Guns) led by local Lib Dem sympathiser and part time political agitator, Tim Ireland. Local Tory “hard man” Dennis Paul had the comment facility of his website spammed into submission by Lib Dem geeks. The Tories have been silent ever since.

The provocatively misleading, anonymous Lib Dems’ “Surrey Tories” site was clearly designed to flush out local Tories and entice them into another beating, but the Tories have patently failed to take the bait. They are studiously avoiding any arguments in the local blogosphere, no matter what the provocation. In the event, the Surrey Tories authors have taken to writing posts to themselves, often in abusive terms, and sought to pin the alleged abuse on the Tories, accusing them of “fraudulent libel”. It would be funny if it was not so silly.

From the Liberal Democrat Election Manual

2006-03-06T21:51:00.000Z

The Bermondsey by-election was a classic example of what would become the Lib Dem War Machine in action (although at the time we did not realise how classic.)

The local Labour Party was split between left and right factions. The new (left-wing) Labour candidate happened to be gay.

Liberal tactics were:

(1) Smear and ridicule the Labour candidate;
(2) Deny the smears and misinformation were derived from the Liberals;
(3) Blame disaffected Labour supporters for the homophobic campaign.

We now know that there was also:

(4) Keep it quiet that the Liberal candidate suffered from the same “vice” as the guy from Labour (albeit only on a part-time basis.)

Priceless.

A little bit about me (or why I hate the Liberal Democrats)

2006-03-06T21:48:00.000Z

Surrey is a Tory County, so I don’t ever expect things to be done around here (politically) in the manner I would like. It might occur to you therefore that I might like the Tories to be stuffed in elections, once in a while. If it was by Labour, you might be right. I don’t deny that at first, seeing middle-class Tories being dispossessed of their seats by middle-class Liberal Democrats was amusing, but not for very long.

You see, it wasn’t just that the Lib Dems make out that they are Tory in instinct but with a bigger heart when dealing with erstwhile Tory voters, and radical like socialists (but more sensible) when dealing with riff-raff like me. It is also the blatant misinformation they spread when briefing against the other parties. They opportunistically criticise “the other side” whatever it does and then claim credit when it is due to their opponents (a good example being the building of the Spectrum Leisure Centre.) It is the sheer hypocrisy of their always playing whiter than white when they have absolutely no scruples. They just want to be elected and they will say anything to be so. It is time that people realised that the Lib Dems are not a very nice party.

If they can stab their own leader in the back, then brief against each other so all manner of unsavoury facts emerge about some of their foremost MPs during their recent leadership contest, how on earth can you respect or trust them? Some Tories might be pompous twats, but you know where you stand with them.