Stonewall Says No

If I'd been at the Liberal Democrat conference today this evening I would have been at Delga (LGBT Lib Dems) diversity fringe event. This would have been before heading to the General Election candidate's reception later.

However, reading what I have just read suspect that I would have been sat in a corner writing what I now am. Thanks to Zoe O'Connell whose blog brought my attention first to what went on earlier.

Twas the night before Equal Marriage was debated in the hall,
And Stonewall weren't stirring they were scared as a mouse.

Well that is what we all thought they refused to respond to Pink News asking them a simple question on their stance on gay marriage. Stonewall weren't being singled out, but as one of the LGBT community's larger group their silence when 9 other groups did was noted.

Well Ben Summerskill tonight broke that silence. But here are some of the bizarre reasons that he gave. My comments in red.

• Giving Civil Partnerships to heterosexual couples would be too expensive £5bn over 10 years. Since when has cost been a reason to stop equality and correct wrongs.
• That the feminist movement are fundamentally opposed to marriage. Just because one group is opposed to something while others want it is no reason to stop it being taken up by others.
• Finally while people are being murdered in homophobic attacks we should he fighting that, focusing on that and not other things. While there is a difference in term for relationship surely that merely sparks the discriminators that there is something different, or 'wrong' in same sex unions.

I'm surprised he didn't use the argument that same same sex unions will ultimately fail. But I would say to that of course they will fail, not every heterosexual relationship lasts until the grave. Yes gay and lesbian couples will have arguments, they will fight, some of the those unions marriages or partnership will end in divorce (some of course already have).

But we need to give them the opportunity to fail so that we can rejoice with those that succeed. Those who in 20 years time celebrate their silver anniversary. Hopefully some having updating their CP into marriage as part of tomorrow's motion enables.

I look forward to the day that young gay men or women dream of their wedding in the same light as heterosexuals do. Look forward being it a ting that brings family and community together and isn't seen as odd or lout of whack, but a natural progression. Maybe when the relationships are normalised the homophobia will die down, maybe not entirely but to a greater extend.

It's Official and the Chair May Be Jealous #NILD

As with the regularity of Federal Conference coming around in September so does the my new membership card turn up. It's usually waiting for me when I return, so there was no surprise that it turned up today.

As you can see the local party name has been changed to Northern Ireland, so its now official my move.

But to my shock the membership card is a Scottish party membership card (see the underlined) not an English one, which the party is aligned to. Just don't tell the local party chair, or should I as a Scottish member call him convener, he might just get a little jealous of this novelty.

When a Defeat's Not a Defeat #LDConf

I'm sure I was watching the Liberal Democrat conference earlier on BBC Parliament, I'm just not sure where the BBC were watching it. Their headline says

Lib Dems suffer conference defeat over free schools

Hello!

This was a Lib Dem conference. How can a democratically debated and voted upon motion be a defeat?

Not only that the debate as I watched it enhanced Lib Dem education policy as I have heard it debated over the last 22 years of my association. So why is it a defeat?

Also they call it a rebel motion. No it was like all manner of Lib Dem motions coming from the membership not from the leadership. That is the nature of the party, and its conference, not like the Tories and Labour who will simply rubber stamp the will of the leadership.

So the Policy Motion on Free Schools and Academies may be opposed to some of the government

Basically because the membership of the Lib Dems have passed a motion that contradicts that of the coalition Government. So a more accurate headline would have been 'Government suffer Lib Dem conference defeat over free schools'.

But this was a victory for the Lib Dems and their independence as a party, holding the government to account even if some of our representatives serve in that Government. It is just what our Scottish conference did through the eight years we were in government and our Welsh cousins similarly.

So if anyone doubts that the Lib Dems have lost their way, you are now seeing that this is not the case. The party will continue to act in a progressive and fair way.

It's My Birthday...I Must Be at Conference...Oh NO!!!

Normally at this time of year my lunches consist of hotel buffets at whatever fringe event I have chosen to attend. Occassionally on my birthday I have been travelling so it is a package of Boots sandwiches or the equivalent that I have eaten while in transit. There have even been the odd occasion it has been by election fayre grabbed when I could be fore getting shipped back out again.

Not today I was at the Cafe Manor, Donaghadee with my mum. Thinking of missing some friends I'd have loved to have seen at conference already I noticed on the specials board Roast Beef, Yorkshire pudding, champ and vegetables (pictures above). So thinking of Jennie Rigg I tucked in.

I was too full at the time for dessert though I think some of my birthday cake is due to be eaten later at afternoon tea. However, anyone who knows me knows of my love of tea so I was delighted that on offer was a wide stock of Teapigs teas so I ended up having the Chilli Chai variety. It is Assam tea, with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and chilli, and it was lovely (see below).

The Grand Old Miliband

The Grand Old Miliband
He sought ten thousand Lib Dems
He wound them up to the top of the hill
But he'll let them down again

You see there is one issue with being so blatent in stealing the disillusioned of another party as Dave Miliband wants to put it. The fact is that such people want the party that they then support to fit around them, rather that standing for what theye believe in, they are like refugees wanding in the wilderness seeing what fits them best.

What is worse is if you are trying to attract them to something that has lost its way in recent years, that many still within do not recognise as being part of them and their beliefs which many in Labour have found in recent times.

It is why I turn back to that Nick Clegg interview in the Independent yesterday. Not the 'headline grabbing' bit, but elsewhere he said:

"So this [conference] is an incredibly important opportunity for those Liberal Democrats who are in government to show people in the party that they retain the same values, instincts and ambitions – that walking through the door of power does not mean you lose your soul."

If you are coming to us because you share our values we still have thos values he does go on:

"If anything, we are doing the most difficult things now, partly because everything is so obscured by the bad, worrying news about deficit reduction. Rather than it getting worse, maybe over time – after very, very difficult decisions on public spending – the wider purpose and vocation of the Government will become more obvious.

"Both for the Lib Dems as a party and for the country, we need to be more explicit about what a radical, reforming government this is going to be. The worst thing would have been to go into government and be an insipid adornment to the establishment way of doing things."

We are going to make change but we do have this mighty cloud and a think fog left over us, because of the way Labour have left us.

David talks about leading a progressive party in opposition. Yet currently Labour are simply just in opposition. Opposing everything even progressive measures they stood on just a few short months ago. I'm glad there are still no fresh ideas from any of the Labour leadership contenders, because without the ideas there will be no long-term retention of the people you attempt to woo. Labour are

The Lib Dems are a party of ideas, ideas that come from the members as well as the leadership, something that Liberal Democrat conference has already shown and will continue to show over the next few days. Ideas which are progressive. Ideas that we would like to see come into the Government, ideas that can make a real change for the better and betterment of people.

Fluffy Justice, My Deal to End the Curse

The authors of this blog along with Millennium Dome Elephant, his Daddy Richard,
Mr. Iagreewithnick and other bloggers at last year's #LDConf bloggers interview.

I'm a Boston Red Sox fan to I believe that curses can be lifted.

So while I and Lionel welcome Fluffy Justice finally being served we are a little worried about the curse of the BOTY affected the muse of everyone's favourite pachyderm over the next 12 months.

So here's the deal, whoever the judges are for next years BOTY's keep up the StephenGlennPosition curse of not shortlisting me for anything, and the rest of you make it easier by not even nominating me for anything in the first place*. I hope that this singular, small, selfless sacrifice on the altar of the great BOTY will suffice to ensure more selubrious, satirical and hitting the nail on the head post from a ten year old soft toy with two daddies.

* Of course if you chose to ignore these missives and Millennium does maintain writing and I do get shortlisted next year that's alright too. Mind you I'm currently having to focus on being Northern Ireland's top blogger, having usurped the blog whose trophy I collected last year, see I'm cursed I tell you. :)

PS My plan B was to write only 15 really stonking blog posts all year and hope to get shortlisted...but then I think I've written over than amount in the past week alone.

Am I Missing/Missed at #LDConf

Looking at these stats from Tweetminister's following of Conference it appears not so much.