I love it!

Two minutes after the General Election – with Labour crowing in Camden that it would get loads of votes from LibDems furious about the coalition – and they bombed!

The Liberal Democrats won all three seats in Camden Council’s delayed Haverstock West election, beating Labour and improving their share of the vote by six percent.

Commenting on the result, Liberal Democrat Party President, Ros Scott said:

“This is a fantastic result and is testament to the hard work and dedication of our Liberal Democrat councillors in Haverstock.”

Even better – this is in the Miliband’s old backyard in the very heart of Labour territory.

I was hoping to see the ‘new politics’ on show yesterday in the  Queen’s Speech debate. For me – the way politics is conducted with jeering and negative point scoring – has always seemed an odd showcase to the world if we want to look like grown ups making and taking grown up decisions.

It was marginally good humoured (at times) but there was quite a lot of the old politics on show. One of the advantages of coalition politics – it has always seemed to me ( a natural supporter of consensus politics) is that we seek to find the good in each other’s policies rather than the negatives. Our more extreme ends are rubbed off – and the common sense and agreed ground moves forward.

In this brave new world – I was/am hoping that perhaps the conduct and manner of politics can keep up with the change. Perhaps today at Prime Minister’s Questions we will see a matching change in behaviour? I live in hope !

Thanks to comment re Bat Trust – have contacted them and they are finding a bat carer in area.

Coming back to my home base on Friday – after a week in the Home Office – my first ‘visit’ of the new term was to my old school – Highgate Primary. It couldn’t really have been more appropriate if we had tried – because Highgate Primary has within its boundaries –  the Blanche Nevile School.

Blanche Nevile is a school for deaf children which provides a child-centred, sign-bilingual, bicultural education for deaf children  from a wide range of London Boroughs. The deaf and hard of hearing children have some classes on their own and some integrated – and it is the most wondrous thing to see this in action.

A group of children had prepared questions to ask me about politics, the election, coalition and so on – to be followed by a show in Assembly and a cake sale. I walked into a room full of children literally bursting with energy and enthusiasm for politics – not always that common in ten year olds  – but something new is in the air. I don’t know if it was the leader debates or what (clearly they have fantastic teachers who had worked with them to prepare questions and enthuse them) but I have never seen a class like it.

Almost every hand went up every time a new question was needed. Why did I choose the LibDems? Why did I choose the Tories not Labour? What would I change if I was Prime Minister? Did I always want to be an MP? And much much more.

Straight on to  a production of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ in Assembly. It was absolutely gorgeous – as you can imagine. I loved particularly (probably cos it’s my era) their rendition of ‘Wild Thing!’. And yes – both the questions class and the show and the assembly were mixed hearing and non-hearing children.

And that is really the key point – all those children will grow up without questionning the equality of the hearing and the non-hearing. Just as it should be. As Minister for Equalities – this was equalities in action!

The accused in rape cases is going to be given anonymity. We have anonymity for the victim – but until now – the accused has been named. Now – it will only be following conviction that the perpetrator will be named.

It is clearly appalling for someone who is innocent to find their life and reputation ruined by false accusation and trial – but the issue is much wider than that.

Yes – 60% of  rape cases that come to court lead to conviction. But the cases that end up in court are the tip of the rape iceberg. Only 6% of reported rapes lead to conviction. So there’s one hell of a gap between what is happening out there – compared with the ability to bring these cases to justice.

The British Crime survey says that one in every twenty-four women will suffer rape or attempted rape in their lifetimes. Their figures show that only 11 per cent of rapes or attempted rapes are even reported to the police.

The Birmingham special LibDem conference was pretty special. In a party that has always been (for lack of better terminology) left of centre – it was very life affirming to see that Liberal Democrats en mass got it. We all understood – not only that coalition with the Conservatives was the best and only game in town – but that you cannot believe in Proportional Representation which always results in balanced parliaments – and then say – don’t like them – not doing it.

Watching and listening to my colleagues, one by one, give heartfelt voice to their thoughts, their journeys and their concerns – was a very moving experience. And in the end – of around 2000 LibDems attending – only about 12 voted against.

One of the amendments to the motion for coalition was to reaffirm our commitment to the Lesbian, Gay, B and Trans communities – so obviously – I put a card in and spoke to that. I made it clear – to the delight of the assembled ranks – that there would be no roll back of equalities on my watch.

What was interesting though, is that I read out four manifesto commitments:

– Change the rules for gay people fleeing persecution to be granted asylum

– fight for unequivocal support for gay rights around the world, and use international groups like the Commonwealth to put pressure on countries to tackle persecution of LGB and T people

– change the law to remove the requirement to disclose historical convictions for consensual gay sex

– tackle homophobic bullying including a new category of exclusion data specifically for homophobic abuse

The shocking thing about the above four manifesto pledges above – is that they come from the Conservative manifesto – not ours!

I know there has been a lot of concern as to Theresa May’s track record on voting on LGB and T issues – and indeed a facebook group against her has already grown to around 50,000. She crucially voted the right way – for civil partnerships. And I believe that she and the Conservatives will use the opportunity of this coalition with us – to move forward. Time will tell. But it is easy in the Liberal Democrats to be liberal – Theresa has had a much harder road in the Conservatives to bring change. So I give her and the Conservatives the benefit of any doubt to be new Conservatives – shedding hopefully their old reputation – and moving into the light with us!

I think there is a genuine desire to work together and I go forward in good heart.

Going off to the Liberal Democrat special conference in Birmingham today. This is the opportunity for Liberal Democrats in the wider party circle to give their views on the new coalition – and I am sure that they will be vocal and heartfelt. No doubt that some party members are upset – but the vast majority – just as the Parliamentary Party and the Federal Executive – will hear the facts and the offers from the negotiations – and I believe will arrive at the same conclusion as we all did. The vote in the Parliamentary Party (PP) and the Federal Executive (FE) passed overwhelmingly with only one vote (from an FE member) against.

Locally in Hornsey & Wood Green, one of my councillors has been out and about for the last two days taking the temperature of local people to this new arrangement. Initially quite hostile – he reports that the mood has changed to a much more positive one where the majority of people seem to be saying that this was the only viable option and give it a chance (concise analysis). This correlates with the analysis I read in the paper today – where they say 7 out of 10 people think it is the right thing – but don’t know if it will work.

Listening to the radio – apparently Charles Kennedy has revealed in the Observer today that he believes this puts an end to the long cherished dream of a realignment of the left and a progressive coalition and therefore felt unable to back it – albeit would also not vote against it.  What I have discovered over this last week of tumultuous political change – is that there was not a progressive alliance with Labour to be had. I suppose I should have realised a lot earlier that whilst there is a part of the Labour family who are genuinely committed to this – it certainly wasn’t the whole party. Witnessing the parade of Labour MPs on the media burying it with their words of dismissal for such an alliance as well as their opposition to Proportional Representation – Charles’ dream was never going to become a reality.

Like the 7 out of 10 – I agree this was the only viable option. Whether it will work – that is the challenge. A party like the Liberal Democrats who believe in Proportional Representation have a particular onus to give it our best. After all – if we had PR – coalition government would always be the result. I do believe in this. I hadn’t expected it to be with the Conservatives – but it is. I go forward with a good heart to give it my best efforts. If we cannot demonstrate that this ‘new politics’ works – then our cherished dream of PR somewhere down the line – will never be realised.

Whether

When I got the news last night that I was appointed Under Secretary of State for Equalities (Home Office Minister) it didn’t really sink in as to what that really meant.

This morning – lying in the bath thinking about the portfolio – I realised that this is a huge opp0rtunity to change things for the better. I will be able to do – not just to say. For two years as Shadow Equalities spokesperson – through the Equality Bill, through countless speeches to groups , through our conference policy papers on Women and Youth – it has always been about what LibDems would do about equality if we were in government. Blimey – we are! 

Now I can deliver it – well some of it. Equalities was not in that first tier agreement released by Liberal Democrats and Conservatives prior to coalition – but it will be part of the second tier agreement I believe.

So – today will find out the lie of the land – but the chance to deliver Liberal Democrat equality policy is phenomenal. Will I get our whole agenda agreed – well I might – but there are a few things I can see causing ructions – but I am optimistic about most of it.

Hurrah!