So the Lib Dems are not debating Dropping the NHS Bill, but...

Save the NHS - The Shirley Williams Motion 309
Withdrawal of the Health and Social Care Bill 280 after transfers

So the result of the ballot on the emergency motion came as a disappointment to me. The outrage that flowed on Twitter afterwards less so following on from the number of tweets urging conference to drop the bill in the last 24 hours. That was something that as I had access to a left of centre blog with more Labour readers I chose to write about elsewhere.

However, there are a few things to note about that outrage.

Firstly there have been 1,000 amendments to the Health and Social Care Bill. The majority of these have come from Liberal Democrats and not from Labour. So don't believe the lie that Labour did all they could to change this bill.

Last year the Liberal Democrats did pass a motion that had 13 sizeable changes on them to make the Health and Social Care Bill fairer. Of these 6 are now included in the Bill, as demanded by Lib Dem conference last May. So see the Lib Dem activists have been working on getting these changes for over a year, not just the last 24 and not just the fours hours from 9am to 1pm that the Emergency Motion Ballot was open. Indeed Liberal Democrats have been writing to their MPs of ALL parties and yes that does include the Northern Irish parties about making the right changes to this Bill, not just hounding Lib Dem activists for the last 24 hours.

The vote itself was within 30 votes. Yes it was on transfers, but you don't hear any Lib Dems lamenting that the decision is made under AV, only those who were urging us from outside to vote to drop the bill. Some are lamenting the failure of democracy, but Lib Dem party democracy has yet to run its course. Sure the establishment motion with the witty moniker Shirley Williams* has got through but there will still be a vote on that motion, democracy within my party had not ended yet, there will be a debate, there will be a vote. And with less that 30 votes in it when it comes to the emergency motion nobody can tell how it will go once the arguments are laid out (I speak from experience there).

What you may have are people who not knowing the issues fully transferred their second preferences to the issue that bore the name of Shirley, but if the Drop the Bill speaker(s), and there will be at least one, called in the dabate put a strong enough case, there may be swing votes in the hall that reverse the decision of today (again Lib Dem Conference can be a volatile place in this mood).

There have been a number of personal attacks to me on my own Twitter feed. Obviously from people who have no idea of my stance on this matter, even with my current Twibbon. Some saying that MY Voters will never vote for me again. Thankfully I know from the messages (by Twitter or email) that my voters have sent to me over tuition fees, over taxation, over the NHS over the past 21 months that actually my voters, know exactly where I stand on such issues, and more, are would quite happily vote for me again. They also know that I have moved away from Scotland so I may have to find a way to get back.

As for the Lib Dems we will survive. We will continue to fight on. We have brought changes to what a majority Conservative Government would have wanted to do with the NHS, in time people will see that, because their manifesto will take them further along the line, doing the things that Lib Dems in Government have prevented them from doing.

Update BBC New briefly went across the Q&A session with Nick Clegg who said:

"We need to say tomorrow we're on Shirley Williams' side & not on Andy Burnham's."

Seeing as I thought we were an evidence based not a personality based party I find the assumption that the 280 Conference reps who voted to drop the bill are being knocked aside with such a line from the leader. If he hasn't listened to the people, and isn't listening to his own reps so far, we'll have to make him listen in the morning.

* Having seen this tactic used by the SNP in 2007 I'm seriously considering a Constitutional Amendment that no motion entering the emergency ballot can pull on the name recognition of any party member over the substance of the arguments.

1928 Summer Olympics Amsterdam: IX Olympiad

Nations 46 (+2)
Competitors 2883 (-206)
Sports 15 (-2)
Events 109 (-15)


28 July to 12 August 1928 hosted by Amsterdam, Netherlands


The Official poster for the Games (right) was designed by Jos Rivers, only 10,000 were made. However, the IOC failed to gain the copyright of this image and therefore ever since in their publications used a different poster (see below) that was first used in a German book about the games.

Since then the IOC have been more careful about the images and copyrights of their Games. As now the financial outcome of the Games were becoming important. As monitored by Los Angeles who had lost out to Amsterdam for 1928 but had secured the Games for 1932, there was US$183 million with receipts of US$1.165 million for a loss of US$18,000.

New in 1928

For the first time in the modern Olympics a flame was lit over the stadium for the duration of the Games, although the torch relay was still 8 years off.

The games themselves took on a 16 day programme of events rather than being spread out as previous games had been. This programme is largely the same as the one used today, with swimming dominating the first week and athletics the second with the other sports and new sports fitting into the 16 day schedule.

It was also the first time that the flag of Greece, followed by its team preceded all the competitors in the parade at the opening ceremony, noting the gratitude that Greece were was being the inspiration

New Olympic nations taking part for the first time in Amsterdam were Malta, Panama and Rhodesia (modern day Zimbabwe). Also after a 16 year absence Germany were welcomed back into the Olympic fold.

Seeing as yesterday was International Women's Day it is worth pointing out that Athletics and Gymnastics were finally opened up to female Olympians.

Halina Konapacka first women's athletics gold medalist

The women track and field events were limited to:

• 100m (winner Betty Robinson USA)
• 800m (Lina Radke GER)
• 4x100m (Canada inc. silver and bronze 100m athletes)
• High Jump (Ethel Catherwood CAN)
• Discus throw (Halina Konapacka POL)

However, when several of the women in the 800m finished exhausted no running events of longer than 200m were to be run by women until the 1960 Games.

It was Halina Konapacka who would go into the history books as the as the first women's champion in athletics with a throw of 39.62 which beat her own world record before the games of 39.18. This was a whole 2.54m further than the silver medal athlete, Lillian Copeland of the USA, who would take both the gold and a new Olympic record four years later.

In the gymnastics the women were limited to an all around team event that was won by the Netherlands. Five of the 12 woman team were Jewish, four of whom Estella Agsteribbe, Anna Dresden-Polak, Judikje Simons and Helena Nordheim were killed in concentration camps during World War II. Agsteribbe at Auschwitz, the other three at Sobibór. Only Elka de Levie of the Jewish gymnasts in the team survived the war, though her marriage didn't.

Sadly they weren't to the the only Olympic team gold medalists from Amsterdam who would be killed by the Nazis in the war to come. The Hungarian sabre team lost János Garay, Attila Petschauer, who took gold in the saber (along with 1908 and 1912 sabre champion fellow Hungarian Oskar Gerde).

One of the great Olympic dynasties in team sport won their first gold in 1928. They dominated the tournament scoring 26 goals in their group with none against. Adding a 3-0 win in the final. Richard Allen pictured in his goal keeping leg defenders would concede one goal at the 1932 Games when he was off signing autographs in the games against the USA team, India did win 24-1 though. The following Olympics one further goal was scored against him, this is still a record of best performance by a goal keeper in Olympic history.

India would go on to win 6 consecutive gold medals in the field hockey but even in 1928 in the days of Empire they had a mixed racial team. Along with Allen, were Maurice Gateley, William Goodsir-Cullen, Leslie Hammond, George Marthins, Rex Norris, Michael Rocque and Frederic Seaman of European descent there was Dhyan Chand, Feroze Khan, Broome Pinneger, Ali Shaukat, Jaipal Singh, Sayed Yusuf and Kher Singh Gill from a variety of native races.

1928 water polo final Germany v Hungary

The other sporting dynasty that was to immerge to almost claim an event as its own was Hungary in the water polo. They only secured Silver in the Amsterdam pool, but there were to medal in ever Olympics water polo tournament from then until 1980, securing six golds, three silver and three bronze in the process.

Since 2000 there has been a revival in Hungarian water polo fortunes and they have secured the last three gold medals as well.

See also:

• I Athens 1896
• II Paris 1900
• III St. Louis 1904
• Intercalated Athens 1906
• IV London 1908
• V Stockholm 1912
• VII Antwerp 1920
• VIII Paris 1924

Who next to lead the UUP?

Yesterday the news in the poll that the Ulster Unionist had the least influence of the five parties in the Northern Ireland Executive. Today three weeks ahead of the party's AGM the leader Tom Elliott has said he will not be seeking re-election for that position.

So who next to try and lead the UUP.

Basil McCrea was the runner up to Elliott less than 2 years ago and is an obvious contended to throw his hat into the ring. He was always seen as more liberal that Elliott especially when it came to issue of inclusion. The Donegal born MLA for Lagan Valley would clearly have a clear advantage of knowing who was supporting him last time out.

Danny Kennedy, the UUPs only minister at the Department of Regional Development, was as recently as this weekend denying that he would be challenging Elliot. Of course now there is a vacancy so all bets are off. As a former deputy leader of the party until the last leadership change he has the experience of ministerial office since 2010. The Newry and Armagh MLA is almost certainly going to throw his hat into the ring, trying to secure the more conservative branch of the party that took Elliott to the top job after the General Election

The former UTV journalist Mike Nesbitt has only been the MLA for Stangford since May last year, but because of his previous profession his is obviously a lot more assured in front of the camera than Elliott ever appeared to be. He may have only been an elected politician for 9 months but he is an assured character who oozes authority through his voice.

The current deputy leader John McCallister was seen as being given the role to appease the McCrea camp. The two men are from the same strand of the party, so it is unlikely that the two of them will both seek the leadership. He is another strong performer and someone who as  Health Spokesman has been great at challenging Edwin Poots over the issues that he tends to want to sweep under the cover.

Looking at the four possibles I see it most likely being a battle between McCrea and Kennedy as possibly just the two candidates. No doubt we'll learn more over the next few days.

US Department of Homeland Security claims the Interwebs for Barry O and his heirs

Apparently because this website is hosted by a dot.com not a dot.com.xx everything that happens here is owned by the USA.

It has therefore come to my attention that I have failed in my patriotic duty, therefore please all stand for the national anthem of the interwebs.

If Rangers head to liquidation then what?

So there are now fears that Rangers will not come out of administration and could end up in liquidation.

In a statement today director Dave King says that no matter where Rangers finish in the SPL they will be taking part in Europe next year as they will not be able to met UEFA's financial requirements by their deadline of 31 March.

The bigger question though is what would happen should the 'mighty' Rangers go into liquidation. Paul Murray a fellow director who has sought approval from the SFA to be a 'fit and proper' person to be in charge of a football club to help his attempt to save the club he tried to buy last year says that liquidation wouldn't help him in a takeover bid because of the footballing implications.

What implications? Well, there are three precedents in the last 10 years.

Airdrieonians who in 2002 were the first Scottish League team since Third Lanark to go out of existence. Their Excelsior Stadium, is still the home of league football due to the phoenix Diamonds of Scottish football thanks to their supporters, Airdrie United, who bought over the in trouble Clydebank team and moved then to Airdrie. The team that took the league spot of the defunct club were Gretna, though of course not in the first division, where Airdrieonians were lying in second when the club went out of existence, but in the third division.

Gretna Had been in the SPL when they went into administration, however their point deduction pushed them well away from the 11th placed club. At the end of the season they, after being relegated were unable to confirm they would fulfill their fixtures and where those relegated to division three. Subsequently they went into liquidation and ceased to exist, resigning their place in the football league. There was a team established by the supporters trust Gretna 2008 who are in the East of Scotland league outside the SFA's league structure.

Livingston went into administration for a second time in the summer of 2009. Things moved even quicker with them than have moved with Rangers thus far. Having enter administration on the 24th July, insolvency proceedings started on the 29th, but stopped the following day when the SFA accepted the offer of the current runners of the club as a rescue bid. Livingston officially exited administration on the 13th Aug. So three weeks of chaos that all associated at the club, bar the then owner, were doing all they could to avoid were punished by a sanction to the bottom rung as a result of less than 24 hours of the Administrators looking to wind the club up.

If liquidation does become a reality at Ibrox it will be interesting to see what sanction is taken against the club. With three precedents of action for administration under differing circumstances it will be interesting to see if equity of outcome happens. If not and Rangers are giving special treatment there is likely to be outcry.

So Joan McAlpine on the issue of trust with finances

Whatever your views on the abusive husband comments in Joan McAlpine's comments in yesterday's Daily Record lets us bear in mind she also said using the analogy of Westminster as the husband and Scotland as the wife:

But the husband complains she can't be trusted to manage her own money.

and

We could do much better with power over the economy, taxes and benefits. Scotland is as capable of running her own finances as England.

Let us not forget something.

In 1998 in the referendum for devolution there was a second question about varying tax raising powers, the people of Scotland said yes. So surely a sign of trust in dealing with their own finances.

The Calman Commission of the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats you so despise wanted to trust Scotland further with tax raising powers.

And the Lib Dems even have a policy of fiscal autonomy for Scotland.

However, it was the SNP Government who failed to keep up payments to HRMC to enable the tax varying powers option to be maintained in 2010 and there is now a three year suspension on those powers.

So just how capable have the SNP been at running financial options for Scotland thus far?

Viv - one sentence to sum up the party - Freedom

Today we heard that sad news that Viv Bingham National President of the Liberal Party from 1981-2 has passed away.

Viv stood for Westminster election on five occasions the two 1974 elections for Heywood and Royton, 1979 for Hazel Grove, 1983 for West Derbyshire and finally in 2005 for Stalybridge as well as standing in the first contested European elections in 1979.

Thanks to several people I was reminded that Viv was also captured by the Winkball cameras at what we now know was his last 'Liberal Assembly' at Conference in Birmingham last Autumn.

The classic meaning of what it means to be liberal is summed up by Viv when instead of using a full sentence he takes just one word instead. I don't think there can be any more fitting way to sum up the man's activism, love for his political family and what being in politics meant to him that these his own words.



Viv Bingham 1932-2012