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Harrogate 09: The last word
No comments on Harrogate 09: The last wordWell I’ve got to Thursday and I am still writing up the weekend’s events at Conference. Time to knock it on the head. I broadly agree with what James Graham has written over at Comment is Free about the political impact. No need to say much more. I was impressed with the Leader’s speech. Not only with the content itself but with the implications it has for the message and strategy of the Party. My…
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The Leader’s speech: Clegg does an Obama
I thought Nick Clegg’s speech to the Liberal Democrat spring conference on Saturday was one of the best leader’s speeches I have heard for many years. I thought it was a speech of gravity, of great political intelligence, one that has altered my view of Nick and his leadership, and has strengthened my optimism for the future. My companion (as they say in restaurant reviews) was less impressed. He, the cynical bastard that he is,…
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The Spring Conference education debates: A tale of two rows
The row we never had For me theme of the weekend turned out to be the impact of Obama and the lessons to be learnt from the US election campaign. For many conference representatives however it would have been the policy moves we were making on education. If I felt these debates seemed overshadowed by other issues that is probably because of ‘the row we never had’. Until the Federal Policy Committee, very sensibly, decided…
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Howard Dean at the Liberal Democrat conference
Howard Dean got a standing ovation from the Liberal Democrat conference on Saturday morning. Yet it seemed to me that it was President Obama that the audience were in large part applauding. The ‘Obama Effect’ was a major theme of the 2009 Spring Conference and the sense of relief amongst Lib Dems that George Bush is no longer in the White House was most clearly felt during Dean’s speech. I was slightly disappointed by the…
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Not blogging conference
This blogging during conference thing doesn’t seem to work. I got halfway through my Howard Dean post when the battery gave up. I couldn’t find a power socket. Then I got swept up in the conference whirlwind. Ho hum. But I am now home and will write up the happenings of Harrogate over the next few days. Source: This content was originally posted on my old Process Guy blog.
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In Harrogate for Spring Conference
I’ve had a hectic few weeks – busy with one thing or another – so haven’t been able to follow up on some of my recent posts – building on my arguments – as I had planned. But here I am in Harrogate for the Liberal Democrat spring conference with a whole weekend to concentrate on things liberal. Harrogate is one of my favourite conference venues. I love its poshness and gentility. Its yorkshire friendliness.…
