Don’t feed them after midnight… #LibDems

My name is Humphrey Cushion, I am a Lib-Dem… there, I’ve said it.  Much to the disappointment and derision of my family, I have always been a Lib Dem – right from my first nervous entrance into my local church hall to vote in the council elections at 18ish..  Paddy Ashdown inspired trust in me, that along with a slight crush ; )   and when he handed over to Charles Kennedy I still supported them, although I was naturally disappointed Paddy was no longer the figurehead.  “Old Labour” came across as too rough, too angry for me while the Lib Dems were kind but fair, green and more palatable by far than the Conservatives.  We suited each other.

When Tony Blair became Labour leader I had a change of heart, I despised the Conservatives and so for the first time, put my cross in the Labour box.  I have never regretted making that choice, indeed I am proud of Labour’s achievements and sing from the rooftops about them as you may know!   This is mostly due to the changes Labour have made to mine and my families lives.  I remember struggling for years, alongside my husband to make ends meet until the introduction of Tax Credits. 

Some time after, we moved to Spain for a few years and upon my return I saw a real difference to the services in our country which, being so close you may not have noticed.  There was an awful lot of red-tape, political correctness and intrusion though.. 

We came back  from Spain smack in the middle of the so-called “Credit Crunch”.. how I hate that expression, my work colleagues talked about it constantly.. they couldn’t understand that it literally meant STOP BORROWING MONEY! If you want something, save up for it.. whatever happened to that?  I sadly remember Woolworths going belly-up that year, it was awful, almost as though Christmas itself took a last, choking breath in sympathy.

Naturally, with the GE2010 was coming up I had to take a long, hard look at where the country was and who to support.  Although I admired Nick Clegg a lot, (his performances in the Leaders Debates were outstanding) I did not think for one minute that the Lib Dems would garner enough votes to keep out the Conservatives.  I threw myself headlong into supporting and became a card-carrying member of Labour.  I even got to meet Gordon & Sarah when they visited Bedford (and nicked a couple of BIG signs to hang in my windows, shhh)

Sadly, Labour couldn’t pull in enough votes and the Coalition was born.  Although very unhappy that Clegg & Co made what I think was the wrong choice, I trusted my natural party to lessen the impact of the Conservatives on Britain. How wrong I was.  It seems that somebody fed the Lib Dem MPs after midnight and the sweet Mugwai became “The New Batch”…. instead of watering down Tory policies they have thrown themselves headlong into the havoc being wreaked on this country.  I have images of Cameron and Osborne giggling maniacally whilst dropping water (wine) on them and feeding them Fois Gras after midnight.  What will it take for them to wake up and smell the coffee?  They deliberately and calculatedly courted the younger votes during their election campaign, focusing on social networking sites.  Together they signed a pledge promising to vote AGAINST tuition fees..  the young believed them and gave their extra 1 million votes.  Now the Lib Dem MPs are seemingly shocked that the students are rebelling and holding them to account and are desperately trying to wriggle out of their solumn, heart-felt and PERSONAL pledges.

I still love the real Liberal Democrats and what they stand for, the ones who voted to scrap tuition fees in their 2009 conference..  however I fear for their future.  Unless “Stripe and Brains” do the decent thing and not only allow their MPs to vote against the tuition fees on Thursday but stand alongside them,  I think the Lib Dems are history.  The Coalition will continue to hit the vulnerable of Britain, the beggars will return to our tubes, jobcentre queues will become once more commonplace, the homeless will reinhabitate our doorways. 

Come on Wild Things..  show you have some balls and vote AGAINST the tuition fees on Thursday!!  #IAmGismo

(If you have a Lib Dem MP, please lobby your heart out this week! You can email them via this link: They Work For You  )

*A short blog post which caught my attention this morning;  Explaining Modern Government.. in 3 sentences!

Regrettably…

This is a post I hoped I wouldn’t have to write.  On Monday the 8th of November this was posted on the blog of Nadine Dorries as “evidence” that Nadine had not in fact as stated by David Allen Green, “attacked a constituent”, but had in fact “attacked a political candidate”.

The freezepage which features my photograph and personal email address was one taken from a free blog that I had set up after attending my first and only CLP meeting in September.  At that same meeting nominations were taken for candidates for the local election, I volunteered immediately.  It has long been an ambition of mine to be a councillor and my intention was to take a politics degree, hopefully moving up in the ranks over time, forging a long-term career for myself.

Regrettably, that career choice has been taken from me due to the lies and smears that have been made about me.  I have advised my Chairman that I can no longer stand for council and have deleted the Facebook and Twitter accounts that I set up for our CLP, along with the blog.  I will not allow my efforts to support the local party to be used against them in future elections.

Last night I posted this page on my Labour Blog… Ending…

A Good Coalition…

Humph & Linda

What on earth is a Labour supporter doing socialising with a Liberal Democrat PPC??? What’s more, why do they look like friends?

Because they are. Brought together by a hustings meeting in May, speaking on Twitter, meeting again at tweet-ups and becoming firm friends.  Many nights have been spent bashing out policies, arguing points and laughing our heads off..  why shouldnt people with differing political views be friends?

I make no pretence whatsoever about the  total devestation disappointment I felt when Nick Clegg took his party to join the Conservatives in May 2010.  My blood ran cold, I cried, I shouted my protests at the television as I am sure many thousands of others did. For months I ranted on about it until finally acceptance grudgingly settled in.

Since then I have had many debates on Twitter with Lib Dems about the rights and wrongs (or rights and lefts) of the Coalition. Generally (not always) we seem to come to similar conclusions, the Liberal Democrats seem to have been hoodwinked into propping up some appalling policies in exchange for a handful of their manifesto promises. Frustratingly, many Lib Dem policies have not only gone out of the window but have been literally stamped on by Dave & Co.

So as we sit and chat, laugh and debate during our tweet ups, I often wonder how very different things would have been had it been up to Humph & Linda…

Pssst: Linda writes a great blog.. “Lindylooz Muze”

D.M forced from front bench by Twitter…

David Miliband is expected to announce later today that he will not stand for Shadow Cabinet under his brother Ed’s Leadership.  What he will not tell you is the real story behind his decision. Luckily, Ms Cushion (investigative journalist extraordinaire) is on the case..

In a leaked (well hacked) email to his brother, David blames Twitter for his retirement.  He says that as much as he loved being on the front bench, he can no longer live with himself for causing so much confusion on Twitter.   He says that he even considered using his middle name Ivan but MSN voiced concerns.  Twitter refused to rename their Direct Messages to Private as that would then force David Cameron to resign.   Darn it..

The Labour Factor…..

 

Nails being bitten, tummies a-flutter.. who will win this year’s Labour Leader contest?  Months of preparation has brought us to this moment, there’s been sweat, tears & laughter. As all true reality TV contestents know, there is an unwritten rule which means they have to wish each other well and convince us they are all best friends and it doesnt matter who wins..

The auditorium is full and buzzing with excitement as we are shown each contestants “Journey”…. Enter Dermot O’Leary, looking suave and classy, clasping a large golden envelope..

The contestents take their places, nervously smiling as Dermot ushers them all to surround him.   The lights drop, spotlights on the 6 people waiting on the stage.  You could hear a pin drop.

Dermot “In no particular order, the three NOT going through to the Final of Labour Leadership are”…   “Candidate 2, sorry you are going home”..  Candidate 5, you MIGHT be the new Labour Leader”.. Candidate 1, you are going home” Candidate 3″..  you will find out after this break..”

Aghhhh

“Welcome back to the Labour Leadership competition 2010”, lights fall.. hush returns to the auditorium..

Candidates 3 and 4 are clinging to each other for support, desperately wishing the other goes home..  “Candidate 3, you ARE going home.. ” 

The rejected Candidates slump off to the sofa holding hands and dabbing at their tears.. its over for them.

Back to Dermot.. one Candidate either side.. “A final word from the Judges?”  Simon says “This is very difficult for me but I will of course support MY act, Candidate 4”.   Dermot clears his throat, “I can now reveal the winner of Labour Leader 2010 is……..

This Years Finalists