-
All responses Most smiled responses
-
-
-
After another patronising lecture, Maya
-
-
Has you been spammed?
-
Jafar from Aladdin
-
-
Next iMac 27", whenever it is released, hopefully at the end of the month.
-
I'm beginning to think it was joining Formspring...
-
Wouldn't really be a secret then, would it, err... watch Star Wars, so that no-one sees me cry when R2-D2 gets electrocuted by those darn Jawa's, or when he gets blasted when flying with Luke in the X wing. Still gets me to this day. (Same when Dumbledore dies... just watched that again, before HP7 pt 1 released on DVD tomorrow, alas poor Dobby, I knew him).
-
Err.... I'll take the money
-
Formspring Question of the Day
asked by FormspringEmail probably, or Facebook! Although I've got an app that checks whether any of my websites are down, which launches automagically
-
That we should be in it, yes absolutely. That the Lib Dem ministers & MPs are always trying their best to get the best deal, yes. That they are always successful and I agree with everything the Conservatives are able to impose, no.
-
My ability to see through the confusion to the heart of a problem. And my smile
-
Formspring question of the day
asked by FormspringAt the cinema, but only because I don't have a decent home cinema system yet
-
-
I have responded to Charles' email privately and will be handling his specific case as casework.
As I said to Charles, I am investigating what responsibilities the Council has and what they can do about it in such situations. I will post an update here when I have one. -
Sorry for the big delay in my response. Formspring did not send an email notification of your question and I had stopped checking Formspring as no-one had been using it.
I have to be honest, there are not many issues that I disagree with in Liberal Democrat policy. One key area was that I did not believe that we should join the Euro unless the economic conditions were correct. Because we rely more on financial services than other European countries, our economic cycles are out of line. Entering the Euro before now would have been harmful for the UK economy.
Before the election, the Liberal Democrats actually shifted their policy on the Euro, to one that I could agree with.
The Liberal Democrats are different from other parties by being very open and democratic. If I do not like a policy, I can discuss with the Federal Policy committee to try and get it changed. If that fails, I can raise a policy motion at conference, and have that voted on by party members. Over the years it has become quite common for local parties to introduce new policy for the party as a whole.
One example is that our leadership in the House of Lords was supporting the Digital Economy Bill earlier this year. The membership was furious and raised an emergency motion at our Spring conference in March. First it beat out a major policy for the NHS submitted by a well known Lib Dem MP. Then it won the support of the conference and became official policy. I was very glad to be at that vote and vote to change our position. We effectively gave our leadership a slap on the wrist just weeks before the election. Our policy coming into the election was to repeal the Digital Economy Act, and hopefully the proposed Freedom Bill in the new government will do exactly that.
So basically there is a democratic process by which I can oppose Lib Dem policy. If that didn't work, I would have to take it on a case by case basis to see whether I would vote against the party, but if the issue was one that I felt strongly about, or had had strong representation in Angus, I would be happy to vote according to the interests of Angus, over the national party. -
Sorry for the big delay in my response. Formspring did not send an email notification of your question and I had stopped checking Formspring as no-one had been using it.
Hopefully you saw and heard some more from me in the last couple of weeks before the election. We do not have the financial resources that the Conservatives poured into Angus, but we have increased our membership, our activists and our fund raising through the campaign. So over time we hope to build to have a more visible presence, as hopefully you will see over the coming year in the lead up to the Scottish Election.
Looking over Mike Weir's voting records, the SNP often side with the Liberal Democrats on many issues on civil liberties, the environment, political reform, etc. However I was deeply disappointed that Mike Weir voted against a Lib Dem proposal that companies declare their political lobbying activities in 2006:
http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php?date=2006-10-18&number=314
If the SNP and other parties had supported this proposal, we would not have had the shameful scene of Labour MPs saying they are "a cab for hire". This issues could and should have been resolved 4 years ago.
Thankfully a register of lobbying will be created by the new government, thanks to the Liberal Democrats involvement in it.
The bigger issue is that I think that Mike Weir and the SNP are letting Scottish voters down by not voting or being involved with legislation that only involves England. This has resulted in him only attending 50% of votes, compared to over 70% by Sir Robert Smith, Lib Dem MP for West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine.
Why should Scottish MPs vote on English only matters? Well England doesn't have a fixed budget the way that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do. So if English spending goes over budget, it is simply added to the national debt. That debt can only be paid back through taxation and tax rates are set for Scotland centrally in Westminster. So overspending by English can effect Scottish tax payers. It is therefore the responsibility of Scottish MPs to ensure they are properly scrutinising English spending.
The long term solution is to have a written constitution that properly deals with the issue, allows Scottish MPs not to get involved in these issues. I personally feel that England should have a fixed budget, as Scotland and other nations within the UK do. -
Sorry for the big delay in my response. Formspring did not send an email notification of your question and I had stopped checking Formspring as no-one had been using it.
I have lived for the last 4 years in Alyth, which is a couple of miles outside Angus. It is very similar to towns like Kirriemuir and other Angus communities. I am on the community council there and am chair of a group do a community consultation exercise, before setting up a development trust for the town.
My wife is from Fife, and I love living in Scotland. It is much more friendly than London where we met. It will take a crowbar to get me out of living in Scotland. And that will need to be used to bang me over the head!
I will always be involved in politics in the area, personal circumstances allowing. I am just about to put myself forward for selection for the North Angus and Mearns seat for the Scottish Elections next year.
-
Loading...
Sanjay Samani’s Bio
Angus North and Mearns Liberal Democrat candidate
