EU Reform treaty: Death by tumble dryer

I now know how a cat feels trapped inside a washing machine when the tumble dry cycle goes onto overdrive.

It's like being trapped in the EU Reform Treaty debate.

Round and round it goes, and where it stops....we all heave a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, since the last fast spin cycle of this debate, I've managed to clarify my thinking - helped, largely, by Messrs Clegg and Huhne (yes, in the leadership debate they beautifully clarified our position on this).

Stephen Tall. Lovely man. Such precise prose. A man of impeccable judgment and balance.

But he is in severe need of a stiff whisky.

He writes:

I do not like to see banner headlines on the BBC News Politics website proclaiming: Lib Dems oppose referendum vote.

Well first of all, there is a technical term in the journalism profession for such headlines. It rhymes with "rowlocks" (pronounced: rollocks).

We oppose a referendum on an egg-cup, but we want a referendum instead on the swimming pool which contains the egg-cup. So the BBC headline writer chooses the egg-cup without reference to the swimming pool. Well done BBC!

We all don't like those sorts of headlines, Stephen. I didn't like "Jeremy Thorpe on trial" but with the 9 million negative headlines for the LibDems since then, 8 million of them unjustified [rhymes with rowlocks], I have learnt to live with it.

I prescribe three fingers of Glenfarclas 105 (if you like something with a bit of a bite) or a few drams of Laphroaig (if you like something a bit mellower with a peaty taste).

Whatever your/our poison, Stephen, and others who might be tempted to have the jitters also, we need to take it and stand fast. Don't panic Mr Mainwaring.

But Stephen is always fair, so I'll be fair to him. The main thrust of his post was quoting an excellent speech from Ed Davey, so good on you, Stephen.

So, back to the tumble drier. You know the routine: "We promised a constitution...the Daily Nonsense and the House of Commons Terminal-Numptyism sub-committee says its 95% the same...we demand a constitution...inalienable rights of the British people......hang on a minute...a constitution actually sets things up from scratch...this is a reforming or amending treaty...it doesn't set things up...the Lisbon thingey intended to scrub the decks and start again...a proper constitution...but that was abandoned...this is just a list of amendments....we need to be honest with people and offer them a proper referendum on EU membership - all the treaties to vote on....Ah! But you promised a referendum on the constitution....."

Brrr. Wizzzzzz. Meeow.

The comments to Stephen's piece have been taken over by a Tory/UKIndy gang-bang team, rather like a Chippendale table being infested with woodworm.

But one of the most ludicrous arguments was repeated by Timberwolf:

We should have said ‘Yes, we will vote for a referendum on the Treaty, but even better, let’s have a referendum on staying in the European Union’.

That would have put the Tories in a difficult position.

Oh, I see: Play short-term politics with the long term future of this country and the European Union?

That suggestion throws into sharp relief the fact that the Liberal Democrat party’s stance is strong and principled rather than cowardly and short termist - which voting for the EU treaty Reform to put the Tories on the spot, or bash Gordon Brown, or get us off the hook of an unfortunate headline or twain, would be.

Politics, even in opposition, occasionally requires a spot of principled hard ball. Well done Nick Clegg and the parliamentary team for sticking to our principles! People in the country will understand this. They will not forgive the alternative of cynical short-termism.

Without a clear tradition or adopted policy of regular referendums in this country, having a referendum, out of the blue, on the EU Reform Treaty would be an utter farce, which could send this country down a five year cul-de-sac of untold and unnecessary constitutional upheaval in the middle, possibly, of a recession.

It would be disgraceful if we have anything to do with letting that happen.

It's time to laugh at the "Calamity Clegg" tag

Doris Day as Calamity Jane

As usual, Jonathan Calder effortlessly and humbly observes the truth while reflecting on the leadership election:

I do know that Chris Huhne's attempt to draw Nick Clegg out on his beliefs on public services was entirely legitimate. The fuss over the headline "Calamity Clegg" should not blind us to this.

Given how well Nick's speech at the weekend has gone down with the press and the party (to judge by Lib Dem bloggers, at least), he would have done better to be more forthcoming on what he had in mind as leader.

With the benefit of hindsight, it really is time to laugh at the "Calamity Clegg" tag. The "junior researcher" was obviously a Doris Day fan. As Jonathan quite rightly observes, Huhne's "attempt to draw out" Nick Clegg on public services was "entirely legitimate". Subsequent events have confirmed this.

Test ignore

Many congratulations to Chris Huhne on being elected leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Commisserations to Nick Clegg and his team.

We had two excellent candidates in this election. When I met them, I was extremely impressed by both of them. It has been a very energetic and thorough leadership contest.

I believe that with Chris we have a sure-footed leader who will assertively take on Gordon Brown and David Cameron, and lead the party in a new confident era.

Test - ignore

Many congratulations to Nick Clegg on being elected leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Commiserations to Chris Huhne.

The leadership election has been energetic and thorough. So, Nick has won fair and square. Well done to him and his campaign team.

I also think Chris Huhne fought a campaign which was exemplary in many ways, so well done to Chris and his team.

I am confident that the Liberal Democrats can, after such a model contest, go forward with renewed vigour and confidence.

As I wrote after I interviewed him with other bloggers, I was extremely impressed by Nick Clegg when I met him. He has remarkable intellectually agility, wide knowledge and an infectious enthusiasm for liberalism. I was particularly impressed by his passion for foreign affairs. Also, I was entranced by his yearning for ingenuity in public services. He has a mode of speaking which relates well with people generally.

As I also wrote early in the campaign, Nick has displayed some rough edges, but there were very encouraging signs during the campaign that he has the right attitude to grow stronger as a leader.

I unequivocally congratulate Nick and look forward to an exciting future for the Liberal Democrats under his leadership.

Late surge to Chris Huhne!

Wey - hey!

Chris Huhne’s campaign team have released details of canvassing figures obtained by an independent third party organisation which confirm a late surge in support for him. The figures show that the number of undecided voters has fallen dramatically over the past ten days (from 38.4% to 17.5%) and that these members have plumped overwhelmingly for Chris.

Details of the figures are as follows: (1)

Chris Huhne definite - 44.7% (2)
Nick Clegg definite - 15.2%
Chris Huhne leaning - 5.3%
Nick Clegg leaning - 1.5%
Undecided - 17.5%
Won’t say - 14.4%

Anna Weirrin, Chris’s campaign manager said “These figures are fantastic and confirm what our own canvassing is showing - that the late votes really are coming Chris’s way. Of course many people will have voted early and Nick may have won the early votes. But no-one should assume there are any foregone conclusions; this is a leadership election which is going to go right down to the wire. Chris has run a great campaign but the last week has been exceptional. He has shown that he’s not just strong on policy - he also has the real ability to communicate well and establish a presence for the Party in the media.”

Notes:

¹ A survey of 1,000 randomly selected Party members was carried out by an independent organisation. The polling was carried out in three batches – the figures above reflect the data acquired over the period 27 Nov – 4 Dec. Amalgamating the definite and leaning support and giving Nick Clegg all the “won’t say” responses, indicates that members’ support at the moment is splitting in the region of 50% Chris Huhne, 30% Nick Clegg with just under 20% undecided.

² Definite support for Huhne in the first two batches stood at 26.6% and 28.7%.

"Huhne snapping at Clegg's heels according to Sky Poll"

That was the title of a posting (screenshot above - still on Google Blog search in truncated form) made an hour ago and now mysteriously AWOL from his site, in which Iain Dale started:

The Liberal Democrat leadership contest is still wide open, according to a YouGov poll commissioned exclusively for Sky News.The poll of 678 Lib Dem members finds Nick Clegg ahead with 56% of the vote among all those naming a candidate.

Enticing. Liberal Democrat Voice adds:

The key figures doing the rounds on the internet* are:

Nick Clegg: 56%
Chris Huhne: 44%
% members voted so far: 48%

* Therefore either true, or not. Take your pick.

But Political Betting adds that 52% surveyed hadn't voted yet, and it follows that there were a significant number of "don't knows" which are not included in the percentages quoted above. When added to the fact that the poll will have a margin of error of, say, +/- 5 points, this suggest that the contest is wide open:

A YouGov poll of 678 Lib Dem party members that will be released later this evening by Sky News has Nick Clegg beating Chris Huhne by 44% in the membership ballot. But the race could still be close because 52% of those questioned have not voted yet.

The pollster built up a good reputation for party membership polls when in 2001 and 2005 it got the Tory contest correct to within 1%. The firm did not do as well this June with their Labour deputy leadership surveys where it had Alan Johnson ahead. That was, however, a complicated election because of the transferable vote system amongst six candidates.

The information has been provided by Sky to Iain Dale and other journalists on an embargoed basis and he has the story all ready to release at the appointed hour (2200)

However, following some advice by a contributor on the last thread, it is possible through Google Blogs search to find the key elements of the survey.

I was not given the information from Sky and I do not feel constrained by the embargo.

Throughout the day the Clegg price has tightened on Betfair and one can only assume that news has seeped out to some punters.

When something as price sensitive as this comes out then the information should be available to everybody - not just the chosen few.

Huhne hits media pay dirt

We are constantly saying that the LibDems' biggest problem is getting media attention.

Well, ahem, we are now being treated to a masterclass on how to get media attention from Chris Huhne.

Chris Huhne has been all over the media like a rash in the last 72 hours, taking the government to task on Donor-gate. By judiciously "bagging" the role of formally asking the police for an inquiry, he has ensured a media "pay dirt" time for the LibDems and himself.

Fraser Nelson on the Spectator Coffee House blog observes:

The ability to jump on a news issue is a key skill required for a Lib Dem leader, and (Huhne is) demonstrating his credentials here. Where on earth is Nick Clegg? Where is his campaign? If he's not careful, winning the Spectator/Threadneedle newcomer of the year awards really will be the highlight of his year...I've just come out of a Radio Scotland phone-in I agreed to do ages ago. It was a good laugh, sparring with taxi drivers and MSPs. And then: "we're now joined by Chris Huhne who joins us on his mobile from the back of a cab in London". The man is inexhaustible.

The Times on Huhne: A fighter who knows how to cause trouble

There's an excellent interview with Chris Huhne in the Times today. Having interviewed Chris myself with the bloggers' panel, their description of him seems absolutely spot on:

...interviewing Mr Huhne is like circling an intense, watchful cat that seems perfectly friendly but is probably quite dangerous.

The article talks about Huhne's experience in business and journalism:

Mr Huhne, you see, rarely gets into trouble. He makes trouble. When we put it to him that he was seen as harder-edged, the streetfighter to Mr Clegg’s nice guy, he did not demur.

Huhne reaches out

Well, we're supposed to be reaching out, being our natural constituency, so it is good to know that the Telegraph has gone a bundle on Chris Huhne's proposal to have a referendum on English votes for English matters in the House of Commons. (You can click below to see him being interviewed on Telegraph TV).

BUT - Chris emphasises that this should be part of a comprehensive constitutional reform package:

You cannot deal with all the loose ends in the UK's unwritten constitution - an unelected second chamber, unrepresentative first chamber, lack of entrenched rights and the messy anomalies of devolution - without a comprehensive settlement.

We should convene a constitutional convention of not just the political class but civic society, and come up with proposals that could be put to a referendum. So I agree that a referendum is the end process by which we approve new constitutional arrangements.

Chris Huhne also repeated the proposal for a EU membership referendum, and the Telegraph features this prominently also:

We should have a referendum after the Reform Treaty is approved on whether to stay in or leave the European Union, because the Reform Treaty for the first time contains a clause on secession and this is an obvious point at which to hold the referendum we should have had after the Single European Act and the Maastricht Treaty.

I also note Chris' "nuanced" (Stephen Tall's description) answer to the immigration question on Newsnight. We have had Chris described as the inward-looking candidate, so you can hardly criticise him when he reaches out to Telegraph readers and the like (without compromising our values and policies, I believe), can you?

Would this happen in any other party?

I am getting loads of hits from being featured very prominently on Nick Clegg's web site. This is for my laudatory piece entitled: Nick Clegg - potentially a great leader of our party.

This is despite being a fervent supporter of Chris Huhne and being, some might say, an outspoken critic of Nick Clegg's public speaking and other aspects of his platform.

Would this sort of magniminity and kissy-cuddly behaviour happen in any other party during a toughly fought leadership contest?

I think not.

As Alix said, fluffy bunnies have been released over the LibDem blogosphere.

However, there are limits to this sort of good humour. After much consideration, I have decided that it is still far too early to embed a link to a You Tube video of Doris Mary Ann Von Kappelhoff's triumphant "pistol-packin'" role in an Academy award winning film from 1953. ......the wound is just far too raw at the moment!

Whip crack-away if you want to - I'm keeping schtum!

Huhne wipes the floor with Clegg on Newsnight

As a declared and joyously enthusiastic Huhne supporter (but who still, never the less, very magnanimously made a posting about Clegg yesterday that was so positive that it was linked to at the top of Clegg's campaign web site), I was mightily impressed by Chris' performance on Newsnight.

All right, Clegg won the opening gambit thingy but that was a rehearsed set piece. Huhne made a good pitch but hadn't worked out where to look.

But from that point there was something simple going on, and a viewer would have to be mentally retarded not to notice it:

On the left hand Cleggie side of the screen we were getting combustible flare-ups between Clegg and Paxman. These included at least two instances where Clegg exploded. Lots of heat but precious little light. Clegg had not taken his full prescription of chill pills.

On the right hand screen Chris Huhne was passionately but calmly and loudly getting his point across. Controlled and authoritative passion.

On immigration, Clegg just squeaked it. But otherwise, on every item Huhne managed to get more passion and substance across without this silly fireworks display which we got from Clegg.

This is precisely the sort of forum which will make up people's minds during the general election and it is clear than Huhne is the master of it.

Oh and 82.181.26.77 - don't even think about it.

And Charles Anglin - don't come here with your violin case, you haven't thanked me for yesterday's post yet!

Why I am still backing Chris Huhne!

Yes, I posted a remarkably laudatory write-up on Nick Clegg today. It was so nice to get reams of comments from Charles Anglin and co. thanking me for this posting. ;-)

Also today I gave a donation to Chris Huhne's campaign and I'll be doing an hour or so's work for his campaign later. So, in case anyone wondered, I am still whole-heartedly backing Chris. I have known him as a very active MEP for our area for several years and he is the candidate I am most comfortable with. In particular, I am "in business" myself and therefore I have a great affinity with Chris' business record. I also value his seasoned journalistic experience which I think has shone through in his campaign this time.

With regard to the Politics Show, I look forward to Chris using his sharp elbows, as displayed a little over-zealously and a smidgeon misguidedly on that programme, on the Tories and Labour when elected. I accept that the briefing document was a cock-up, that Chris has apologised for it and Nick has accepted that apology and that it was not a good episode for the party. We should move on.

Partly because of the soured atmosphere around Sunday and partly because of people whose opinions I value (eg Nich Starling) making comments, I felt the time was right to write an adulteratedly positive posting about Nick, albeit with a prescription for a "chill pill" for him. It was especially to give credit where credit is due - I was really impressed by him yesterday. I have felt a lot better today having done the posting.

I may be developing "two brains" but in a party contest there is absolutely no room for anything else other than making it absolutely clear that I would prefer Chris, but will work just as hard for the party with an equally uplifted heart, if Nick is elected.

Observer: Huhne 'closing' in LibDem race

The Observer reports that grassroots methods have brought Huhne neck and neck with Clegg:

Until last week, Huhne, 53, the party's environment spokesman, was thought to be trailing well behind his younger rival, home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg. But several of the party's MPs privately believe the two are now running neck and neck, after Huhne concentrated on using the traditional election methods of local political networks and telephone canvassing to win more votes.

The Observer also says that the hustings are going well for Huhne:

..a series of grassroots meetings in British cities (have been) helping the underdog Chris Huhne gain ground to make it a tighter contest.

Commenters tend towards positive verdict for Chris Huhne on Question Time

It's already been noted that there are lots of positive LibDem Voice reader comments about Chris Huhne's performance on Question Time last night.

There are also lots of comments about the programme on Political Betting including another "live blog" blow-by-blow commentary. There are over 300 comments there but, from a scan, it does appear that the preponderance (well you think of a simpler word!) of comments are very positive for Chris Huhne.

Question Time - blogospheric reaction so far

Burble Towers was up and running at 5.30am this morning due to early Friday swimming! I tried to get back to sleep but gave up in the end.

The BBC's Question Time web site should have comments from the public (on last night's programme) later this morning. That'll be interesting.

Tom Papworth has written a typically thoughtful and informed reflection on the programme. I am particularly interested in his comments on schools funding.

Linda Jack :-) shares drip trays with me ;-) - mine on account of CH, hers on account of NC. "Clegg draws first blood" she says. I thought Haloween was a couple of weeks ago.... ;-) (Notice I am putting in lots of ;-)s and :-)s because we've all got to work together afterwards). Linda says: "The word on the street is that Nick completely won this one." Of course, Linda, of course. Well done. ;-) :-) :-) Well done for being out canvassing so late! I hope you didn't get reported for stalking or something! ;-) ;-)

There is a superb open thread on Liberal Democrat Voice here which gives a blow-by-blow "live blog" commentary on the programme and reaction from readers. Well done LDV!

Nich Starling - Good Morning Nich, how are you? ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) :-) :-) :-) :-) ;-) - writes a very interesting piece on the programme entitled: "The Great Debate - Huhne "edges" it - just":

As Nick said towards the end "Sometimes similarity is a good thing." In this case, I agree. Either of them would make a great leader.

Peter Black reflects on the past leadership ins and outs and hopes optimistically that this contest will draw a line under the whole unfortunate business.

Simon Goldie (who is an independent blogger (I think) who is head of Communications at the Institute of Taxation and who says he has decided to vote for Nick Clegg) writes:

Both candidates were equally impressive and a touch disappointing. The problem for them is that they agree on so much they need to find ways to differentiate themselves. The most telling comments came when the candidates were asked to describe the most positive things about their opponent. Huhne said that Clegg was warm and engaging while Clegg described Huhne as thoughtful and an expert on policy. The Liberal Democrats must decide what it needs more.

Wit and Wisdom remains a "Cleggie" and says Chris comes across as ruthless and is long-winded.

Jonathan Calder on Liberal England says that "Huhne wins on points":

Does it matter?I think it does, because Nick Clegg's unique selling proposition in this campaign is that he is the "Great Communicator".On the evidence of this evening's programme, Chris Huhne is at least as good a communicator.

Charlotte Gore, a fellow recovering user of the communual LibDem drip tray with me ;-) ;-) says:

Who won? First half Chris, second half Nick. Chris was consistent throughout while Nick started fairly ho-hum and ended on a blazing finish.

Mat Bowles (cor blimey - if only I had hair like that! Jealous or what?) notes that he was up with "Jennie" and contributing to the LibDem Voice open thread, which he did with knobs on.

Richard Huzzey on LibDems for Chris says "LibDem Voice readers: Chris wins debate"

Joe Taylor on On Liberty, Online says "Nick shaded it" but obviously had a rather fraught time watching the programme because his post is entitled, simply, "Phew".

Bernard Salmon gives some scores! Oh, we do love that Bernard!:

My scores on the doors were: Vision - Clegg 7, Huhne 8; Detail - Clegg 8, Huhne 9; Charisma - Clegg 8, Huhne 7; Passion/forcefulness - Clegg 7, Huhne 8; Pressure - Clegg 6, Huhne 9. Totals: Clegg 36, Huhne 41.

Toby Philpott (I am beginning to regret starting this - I didn't realise there was so much reaction out there!) is Cleggish:

I think Nick came out ahead purely and simply as he was able to relate his experience directly to issues that concern the majority of voters, but I would say that wouldn't I?

Ah, yes, the old Mandy Rice-Davies thingyme, not often, to be fair, used in a self-descriptory sense, which is a credit to Mr Philpott. I'm babbling. Sorry.

Oh and er, Chris Paul says: "Chris Huhne and Nick Clegg: Pants, Pants, Pants, Pants". I think he's warming to us.

So, there you are, a vast survey of reaction including non-LibDem corners of the Blogowhatemy, completed well before John Humphrys has had his first explosion of the day. That's what happens when you have a ten year old who goes hell-for-leather on swimming.

Huhne: Give state schools the same funding as private sector

The Independent have picked up on Chris Huhne's proposal to give state schools the same funding as private ones. I first heard Chris make this pledge at the Bristol hustings and he repeated it on last night's Question Time. This commitment is absolutely right. It is also radical - astonishingly radical in fact, when you consider the spending implications. It also underlines the Liberal Democrats' commitment to lifting educational standards across the board, thereby promoting equality of opportunity.

(Huhne) called for the spending per state school pupil to be raised by £3,705 a year to £8,655 – the average spent on every privately-educated child. He said this could be achieved over 10 years to spread the cost, which would run into billions of pounds.

"Gordon Brown has said it is a long-term aspiration but unless we make it a clear objective, it will never happen," Mr Huhne said. "The key thing is to get extra teachers in place to increase personal attention to pupils and to reduce class sizes. We are talking about a pretty dramatic increase in the number of teachers.

"It would mean there are no second-class children in the country."

The Messiah has arrived!

After Chris Huhne's speech at tonight's Bristol Western region hustings, the chair announced breathlessly that "Nick will be roaming". Wow! The Messiah has arrived. Complete with vast photo billboards of his crisp features outside the meeting room! All hail to the new leader!

Except that Chris Huhne's speech was interspersed with applause several times. Nick Clegg's wasn't. At all. Except at the end when he had finished. Clegg paused for applause on at least one occasion but you could hear a pin drop.

Charisma? Yes, Chris Huhne has it. Nick Clegg sometimes forces it through his pores when he pushes very hard. You can see him straining. Nick Clegg is very good looking - but do looks = charisma? Of course not. This man hasn't been oversold by any remote chance has he?

"Aren't you just Cameron-lite?" - asked one questioner of Nick Clegg, to applause and the odd groan.

Nick Clegg started his speech and ended his last question with the point that "We have to start where people are, not where we think they should be". Excellent rhetorical device. Well done. Brilliant soundbite. But really, not very much substance to back it up. Nick Clegg seemed to spend most of his time stating problems with very little in the way of solutions offered.

Chris Huhne made a very meaty speech and seemed extremely passionate - from the heart.

Nick Clegg did a sort of cardboard passion and, on the subject of immigration, to be fair, one spate of what seemed like real passion.

So, after exposure to an excellent hustings (which we were told was the best attended so far) I have not done what I thought I might do. I thought I might go all Cleggy. I didn't. I still need a drip tray due to my admiration for Chris Huhne and I am still baffled by the use of the word "charismatic" to describe Nick Clegg, who looks like he's left the cardboard in his shirt.

Nick Clegg said "address fears - don't pander to them" - good.

Nick Clegg gave me the impression he is still quite inexperienced at this sort of thing. Whereas, Chris Huhne was a model of impeccable, poised, passionate delivery - Totally in control - Clegg, on the other hand, looked as though he could stumble at any second - and he seemed aware of this.

Both candidates said they would give a major role to the other if they won, and also to Ming and Charles if they want it. Marvellous.

Nick Clegg looked like a thrustingly ambitious head of the maths department, while Huhne looked on like a slightly indulgent and charismatic, perhaps quirky, headteacher.

Chris Huhne managed more passion on climate change and our duty to the world's poorest.

"The boldest options are so often the safest options" - Chris Huhne. It made sense, trust me.

Chris Huhne was by far the strongest on the economy. I can't remember any mention of the economy by Nick Clegg, Apologies if I missed it. My goodness, it's nice to hear a Liberal who knows how to run a business and knows his economics - i.e. Huhne.

Huhne got big applause when he spoke about Trident.

Nick Clegg said that he is "liberal to his fingertips on immigration". Oh. So he's not liberal to his fingertips on anything else, is he? Strange thing to say. It's the kind of thing you leave someone else to say.

Nick did get impassioned when he talked about poor people being mucked about by authorities. Full marks for that. "A lady in much distress told me she got six letters from six different people in the housing department on one day." Yes, he was passionate about that. Didn't get any applause though.

It's just that on virtually every question Huhne managed to get in about 20% more substance and passion than Clegg.

Score: 3-1 to Chris Huhne on the email front

Nich Starling, bless him, appears to have woken up from a little snooze. He reckons that because a few people's spam settings are set-up so ridiculously sensitively that they put emails with the words "Dear friend" in a filter file means that the score is 1-0 to Nick Clegg in the field of emails.

I always thought scores were kept for the whole match - not just the last few minutes of play?

Therefore, the score must be at least 3-1 to Chris Huhne given this little debacle, or perhaps we should say COMPLETE BALLS-UP, by Team Clegg to which Nich Starling, bless him (again), seems blithely oblivious.

"Welcome to Team Clegg" mails were sent to hundreds of people including me and party officers and then there was an additional bit of a snafu with duplicated apologies of the highly grovelling variety.

No, Nick has not won in the email battle with Chris

Both emails were sent out by the central party organisation, not the candidates' teams (see imprint below which was on both emails)

I received them both, one minute after the other, in my main inbox. Apparently, according to the Toddster, Some ridiculously over-sensitive spam filters may have put Chris' in the filter file due its use of the appalling phrase "Dear friend".

So in that sense, Chris' team are guilty of using a phrase used by thousands of LibDem campaigners before them. Terrible incompetence isn't it?


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Chris Huhne: Strategy and the air war

This is the first "bitesize" post about the bloggers' interview with Chris Huhne earlier today.

Chris is quite clear that we have to ditch the "incremental" strategy which has dominated LibDem thinking for so long. Instead we need to have a clear target and a "business plan" to meet that target.

He is thinking big. Getting the liberal voice as part of the "national narrative". Most essentially building credibility to unlock the 40-45% of the country who regard themselves as "liberal" and who would vote for us if they think we would win.

His aim is to break through and exceed the 1983 share of the vote for the alliance.

Our goal, he says, should be that no government can be formed in future without us being considered as a partner.

With respect to the "air war" I was impressed by his aim to reduce our policies to just one or two "defining messages" which can then be "rammed home in a very repetitive way".

He said we need to identify those "wedge issues" which will separate Tory and Labour voters towards us. We need to raise more money, be more ambitious and go over the "tipping point", he says.