Guest speaker yesterday at Daphna Wizo - a branch of the hugely important Wizo - the modern Jewish women's organisation that supports Israel. Hosted by Stephanie and Simon Kester in Highpoint (a block of flats in Highgate) - where I grew up! It was hugely well attended - I suspect more for the lovely buffet luncheon than coming to hear me - but it was a real pleasure and honour to be invited.

After greetings and luncheon I was there to speak about the Liberal Democrat policy on Israel and Palestine. For those who know me of old - they will know I stick firm to the belief that the only way is forward, taking sides is pointless and counter-productive, and blaming each side for sins and wrongs gets us nowhere. My experience is that both pro-Palestinians and pro-Israelis can get cross with me!

That having been said - I am very pleased to go into even the most pro-Israel or pro-Palesinian gathering and make the case for moving forward - not looking backwards. As part of the solution - my belief (and Liberal Democrat policy) is that we need to add the Arab League to the Quartet table (i.e. make it a Quintet)- as we believe that any solution has to be strategically safeguarded and facilitated by a regional and super-power body - leaving Israel and Palestine to negotiate between them as to who moves on what on the key issues of settlements, Jerusalem, right of return and all the very, very difficult issues involved in the Middle East.

Too long to go into here - but it is a reasoned way forward that puts the players together to take it forward.

Not sure that everyone totally agreed with me. There were clearly a few who thought that inviting the Arab League to the table was not the way to move forward and clearly some concern about whether the politics in America were going to change. Given Obama and McCain have both pledged allegiance to Israel - I doubt whether America is likely to change. Of course, the Liberal Democrat proposals take the lead away from America - as we see it as part of the problem rather than the solution. It needs neutral leadership and representatives of the two nations at the table along with funders like the EU.

If no one ever changes their position on the Israeli or the Palestinian side - particularly no negotiation before recognition - then nothing will change. That is why the Liberal Democrat proposals give a framework which allows both sides to move without losing face on that stand-off which has long stood in the way of peace in the Middle East.

As I was leaving, many of the women came up to me and said - thank you for such a well-balanced approach and 'I'm totally with you'. So - clearly audience weren't all sceptical!

So it seems that Haringey Council has invested £37 million in Icelandic banks - and the Chancellor (in his statement earlier this week) made it pretty clear that councils - who he called 'informed corporate investors' - could go swing.

I immediately contacted Alistair Darling to ask that he not let Haringey residents suffer as a result.

I am concerned that no information as to details of what is included in the investments is being allowed to me or Robert Gorrie (Liberal Democrat Council Group leader). All the Chief Exec will say that the problem is 'manageable' and that the Local Government Association is acting for all involved councils.

Haringey Council is not alone. A hundred councils, police authorities and charities are in similar positions - although Haringey's exposure is the largest in London.

The Prime Minister appears to have gone to war with Iceland - freezing its assets here by using a law from the 2001 terrorist act. Iceland is not best pleased.

Great that Nigel Scott romped home in the Alexandra ward by-election with around 50% of the vote - fantastic! I've known him for many years and he'll be a great councillor.

It was an interesting by-election in that both Labour and Tories really threw everything they had at it in a way they haven't done for a while.

I guess for the Tories they were trying to see if there was any resurrection possible - they don't have any councillors anywhere in Haringey - and their answer was no. And Labour were probably both desperate not to come third and can see the writing on the wall for the local council elections in 2010 when the view is that the Lib Dems will take it over after 40 years of Labour rule. Afraid the writing is still on the wall!

Monday was first day back at Parliament - and outside of the Chancellor's statement on the economic mess - not much else happening.

Darling's 'statement' did nothing to calm nerves as far as I could see. He didn't move to secure all savings. He didn't move to encourage interest rates to drop and he didn't move to re-capitalise the banks. So - no wonder the next morning the stock market plummeted. All he could muster was - we will do whatever it takes. Well Alistair - better to be pro-active than re-active. Has he not seen what damage dither causes? As the 60% of savings in this country held by 2% of the population begins to seek safer havens - Ireland, Greece, Denmark, Germany and Spain is on the way - talking about the need for a cohesive policy for Europe is bit horse and stable door.

Given there was no vote last night - I actually managed to go to something I was invited to - the launch of the new season at the Royal Opera House: four 'tasters' from the coming season danced and sang for us - up close and personal. First were a couple dancing from a newly choreographed ballet - absolutely stunning; followed by a virtuoso violinist; followed by the two principals of the Royal Ballet doing the pas de deux from the Swan Lake and concluding with a magnificent tenor singing two arias. Right in front of my nose. It was magic.

Tony Hall - the Chief Executive, then spoke to us briefly about the work the Royal Opera House is doing to bring people in who have never been there before and who might believe that the barriers that prevent them are immovable. But with their clever partnership with the Sun newspaper, their new training, their lower prices - they are doing a good job at changing the mindset - that opera and ballet are not for the likes of us!

They are - and they are uplifting and wonderful. How lucky am I?

Back to The Westminster Hour last night - and the gang is all there. They are kicking off for the new Parliamentary season with the three of us - me, Ed Vaizey and Emily Thornberry.

Before that it was a busy day campaigning for Nigel Scott in the Alexandra Ward by-election which takes place on Thursday (Yom Kippur). In fact, I have referred Haringey's refusal to change to avoid the clash to the Equality and Human Rights Commission as religious Jews are actually forbidden to make a mark during their holy day. Of course - that doesn't change the date but maybe it will help concentrate Haringey Council's mind in the future - councils have a choice over which day to pick for by-elections, and that choice should be used with more care and thought.

Sarah Ludford (MEP) took a team in the morning delivering - in the pouring rain! Thanks Sarah.

Much of the political news is still dominated by Peter Mandelson's return. The Conservatives' line on it is that 'Labour must be desperate'. Desperate they may be - but this was a political finesse I really didn't think Gordon capable of. However - it now looks more and more as if Tony Blair 'told' him to go and help. Oh what an ironic twist that one old foe of Gordon's told him to bring back another old foe to try to save his skin!

Blimey - who ever would have thought that Gordon had the balls to bring back Peter Mandelson? In my view - a master stroke - unless M messes up again. Which is a gamble - though still as he said on the news clips - third time lucky. But in terms of keeping your enemies close and your friends even closer - bringing in Mandelson (who manages to be both enemy and friend) that close is to undermine the Blairite underminers of Gordon and bring in someone who is clever and regarded as experienced in trade and industry. Hmmmmmm - it will probably end in tears - but it is derring-do!

Blimey - he's gone! It's always a bit of a shock when someone leaves like that - even when you have thought they should go. Ian Blair has been clinging on for dear life virtually since he started. It is to his great credit that despite the errors of judgement he made - and his mistakes have been very big and very public - that he has actually achieved progress in some areas - like neighbourhood policing and diversifying the make-up of our police.

His flaws? Too clever by half for one. I think (and I was a member of the Met Police Authority for five years alongside Ian Blair) that he had progressive intentions hampered by a belief that he could handle the media - sort of Blair (Tony) and Alistair Campbell rolled into one. But he wasn't good at it. Or perhaps it is just not the way the Met Police Commissioner needs to play his hand. Appearing on Question Time just after the shooting was an appalling error of judgement.

It is so interesting when I look back. If I juxtapose two vignettes of Ian Blair - perhaps this might give you a taste of the man himself. When the Macpherson report was published on the events around the murder of Stephen Lawrence - it was recommended that the police start to use stop forms. This meant that if a police officer stopped anyone - they were required to give that person a copy of the 'stop' form which would state why they were stopped and also describe the person ethnically etc. It took quite a time to fill out and, whilst absolutely right in intent, took out time from patrol. Now hopefully, they are moving to an abbreviated form done electronically - which will keep the good points but cut the delays and bureaucracy.

As for Ian Blair's role. Well - at an event on stop and search that was put on by the Met, with actors playing situations, groups from all over London came to discuss the issues around stop and search, knife crime and relations with communities. I remember, crystal clear, Ian Blair when he gave his speech saying that he thought the form was obstructive, unnecessary and would stop police doing their job. It was clear to me that he thought this a waste of time and nothing to do with good policing.

Jump forward about five years and Ian Blair has become Commissioner. Addressing senior officers from across London and Borough Commanders in his first major speech to his men and women - he made clear that diversity was a huge issue and that how stop and search was handled was paramount in community relations and that the stop form was an absolute necessity.

Had he changed? No - not in his core belief but you see - I think the key to Ian was that he saw what was needed, and if that wasn't where he had positioned himself, he shifted to wherever necessary to conquer and move forward with the agenda.

He was far too political - but then it is political position. I thought he stepped way out of line when he backed ID cards during the election period. Also when commanders were encouraged to encourage their MPs to vote the 'right' way on extending detention without charge. This is not OK - but Ian was a player and would not hold back from political activity to push forward the government / his desire.

He lived pretty dangerously and as he said in his resignation statement - it wasn't the pressures, the mistakes or the stories that got to him in the end. It was clear that Boris had basically said he wouldn't work with him. Whatever I think of Ian Blair - that was the absolute wrong reason for him to go. There were myriad reasons for him to leave his high office - from Stockwell to race divisions in the Met - but being forced out by Boris was the wrong reason.

In reverse order, here is my now traditional listing of the ten postings which have proved the most popular over the last three months:

10. A nine-word summary of what is wrong with so much of our tabloid journalism - I don't always like what I read in the papers!

9. How lottery money is being spent in Muswell Hill - good news for the area.

8. How not to fight terrorism - more Big Brother control freakery from Labour.

7. Jerry Springer: The Opera DVD - a blast from the past, this post is from 2005 - just goes to show some stories never die!

6. Iris Robinson, again - appalling anti-gay comments from one of Northern Ireland's most prominent politicians (see also no.3).

5. Ten most popular blog postings (2nd quarter, 2008) - nice to see these round-ups are worth doing!

4. New dentist practice in Haringey - surprised this posting came out so popular - but I guess it shows just how hard it is to find a good local dentist - and so any news about new dentists is of interest.

3. Iris Robinson - more about her and bigotry.

2. My top ten political blogs - all getting a bit self-referential here! But find out whose blogs I like to read...

1. Polling day should not be on Yom Kippur - re. Alexandra ward by-election, where given a choice of dates, Haringey Council chose to put polling day on Yom Kippur.

Happy Birthday to me. Happy Birthday to me! Well - actually - it's Happy Birthday to my blog - five years old today.

And I've just finished listening to David Cameron's speech. Long - very very long. But as with most things - it's not always the size that counts. Strong on image creation, short on tangibles - even in this time of crisis it seems DC cannot come up with the goods. Perhaps once a PR man always a PR man.

'Fresh answers to the challenges we face' he said - but none of the 'fresh answers' were available for critique. He seems to believe that appearing to be something is enough. The rest of it was rather 'back to basics' but without using the actual words. Mending the broken society by sticking it together with platitudes and £6.00 to stay married doesn't really do it for me.

I guess he is impotent at the present. He doesn't have the track record of someone like Vince Cable - who actually understands the economy and warned about the debt bubble that was bound to burst (for years). It's all very well for DC to come now to the table and say how irresponsible this has all been. It's his mates in the City who took the risks to get their ridiculous bonuses. Dave didn't utter a word over the last ten years to warn of this - and now he is all too pleased to blame Gordon (who is undoubtedly to blame) but as the Her Majesty's Opposition - all we got was a deafening silence as Tory types took the money - leaving us the taxpayers to pick up the bill.

Anyway - as you will gather - I didn't rate the speech. The last thing we need now is more vacuous image style politics. And - he did my pet hate thing of bringing his wife on stage at the end. Those who know me are well aware of my aversion to this - and he kissed her about four times in the space of one minute. Afraid that the snappers didn't get the photo first time round. Cynical - you bet!

Have decided to get Yoosk a try - it's a website for asking (and answering!) questions. I like the way people can rate answers - that should be a good discipline for ensuring that answers are more useful than you get in - say - most political interviews!

I'm on the site at http://www.yoosk.com/celebrity/801/Lynne_Featherstone.aspx - so ask away and let's see how things go.

Just watching the news. Oh my God! What an idea the Conservatives have come up with - a high speed rail link from London to the North! But hey - wasn't that something the Liberal Democrats announced ages ago? Another one bites the dust. What really cheeses me off isn't the Conservatives nicking our ideas - they clearly need them - but the lack of any credit for it. Strangely enough none of the broadcast news I saw mentioned the fact that the Liberal Democrats have been beating this drum for some time.

So the question is not - how can we stop Tories nicking our ideas - because we can't. The question is how can we get broadcasters to mention the fact that this was a Liberal Democrat idea at the same time they break the news about the Conservatives now adopting it? Now - that's a bit of fairness that fails to materialise regularly. So Mr and Ms Journalist - next time, how about it?

Last week Nigel Scott (Liberal Democrat by-election candidate in the Alexandra by-election) published his plan for the future of Alexandra Palace:

• Establish a new board with independent, expert trustees representative of local and national interests, with an independent Chair.
• Ensure proper consultation with residents about the Palace's future.
• Refurbish the ice rink, make the Victorian theatre fully usable and multi-purpose, make the historic TV studios an educational visitor attraction and support the organ society's restoration work.
• Protect the CUFOS community centre and its valued activities.
• Make getting to the site via public transport easier (such as Oyster at Alexandra Palace rail station).
• Provide the trading company with the room and encouragement to thrive, so that expanded charitable activities can be fully-funded.
• Actively seek funding sources appropriate to the charitable status of the Trust.
• Clarify the financial contribution of Haringey Council by an annual grant to the charity to cover the costs of maintaining the public road and park.
• Retain ultimate public control in the interests of public benefit.
• Fully recognise the increasingly unique value - as London gets ever denser - of Alexandra Palace and Park to local people and Londoners.

A good plan! Alexandra Palace is a cultural and historical icon that needs to be raised above the quagmire of Haringey Labour's financial and political bungling. As Nigel said:

"Alexandra Palace is a community treasure. Labour's shady and incompetent dealings with the Palace's have been fully exposed this week. This must now stop.

"We need a plan that will really engage with the people of Haringey, a plan that will provide independence from Labour's incompetent meddling with strong independent leadership. We need a restored building that cherishes the Palace's historic uniqueness and protects the good work carried out by CUFOS."

I've written to the Managing Director of KFC:

I am writing to ask for your personal intervention over a local dispute regarding lamppost banners advertising a KFC.

KFC Crouch End is situated in the heart of a Victorian parade and many residents feel strongly that the design and frequency of the KFC banners attached to streetlights are too obtrusive for the unique Victorian street scene.

Sadly, pleas to Haringey Council to remove the banners have fallen on deaf ears. Officials cite binding contract with yourselves as reason why these inappropriate ads cannot be withdrawn. I therefore am appealing to you directly to respond to the concerns of local residents and to withdraw the ads. Even if campaign has been initiated by a local franchise, as the brand owner I am sure you will be able to bring considerable influence to bear to resolve this matter.

I would be more than happy to make vigorous representations on your behalf to receive a full refund to recuperate the cost of the remaining term of the contract and ensure you do not suffer any penalties.

I would very much hope that KFC is committed to working with our community to preserve its special character. I have little doubt that such a magnanimous gesture will reap benefits in terms of positive publicity and goodwill with your customers.

Update: good news! The banners are to come down this week.

Here's my column from this week's Ham & High:

Hey diddle, diddle – are we the mugs who got diddled? As one financial institution after another crashes into trouble, will it be just Northern Rock the taxpayer has to bail out, or will be end up picking up the pieces for even more blunders?

Between them HSBC, RBS, Barclays and HBOS (as was) have written off $52.9 billion - without any individuals being held responsible. Imagine the outrage there would be if the government had lost even a fraction of that amount of money.

At least we’re not US taxpayers – who are going to have to foot the bill for bailing out a huge chunk of their financial system. The “masters of the universe” turned out to be rather puny – not nearly as smart as they thought but – just to add a grating edge, leading their firms into disaster hasn’t stopped them walking away with huge pay packets and pension pots, either in the US or in the UK.

When it comes to bombs or banks – governments always find the money to send in the troops or to bail out the banks. That’s certainly not the story when it comes to public services like health, education or the police – or post offices for that matter!

The ability of a bank to come crashing down with wider consequences does make them a sort-of special case, but this knowledge that the taxpayer may have to bail them out should come with consequences: not just effective regulation, but also personal responsibility. If you make cause a firm to crash, why on earth should you still be picking up bonuses for your performance? That is an obscenity.

And lo and behold - Gordon was in full agreement with me about this last Sunday in his television interview with Andrew Marr - but outside of trying to gain brownie points for being against obscene bonuses – had no methodology to deal with them. Also – ‘scuse me – but wasn’t he Chancellor for the last 10 years when he did absolutely nothing to stop the orgy of irresponsible borrowing, lending, cheap credit and obscene bonuses?

Much of the crisis management we’ve seen in the last few months has been about merging firms. Understandable in the circumstances – but is a financial system of fewer, bigger firms really going to be more resilient in the long-run – and that’s leaving aside the worry that fewer firms will means less competition will means even more banking rip-offs for you and I.

I fear that driven by the desperate need to keep things going now, we are going to end up with a financial system that can very easily fail again because with a smaller number of larger firms, the fallout from one going wrong in the future will be much, more worse.

Strength in the financial system should come from diversity – a large number of firms so that one mistake doesn’t infect the whole system (and also so that most are small enough that those running them can’t simply assume that if they get it wrong someone will bail them out). It’s not just nostalgia to think back warmly to the days of local banks and building societies – there is real merit in promoting diversity too.

But we should also turn our eyes to the auditing profession. Where have the auditors been? We now know just how risky the financial plans were of many firms – but where were the warnings from the auditors about the assumptions that the businesses were staking their futures on? There is a question about the relative roles of auditors and non-executive directors in supervising and highlighting risks - but between them they failed. Just as we are seeing major restructuring amongst firms, we should also see a major rethink amongst auditors. If they fail to warn properly about the sort of financial risks we have seen come home to roost, are they really doing all that we should want auditors to do?

So all in all – it’s us who are being diddled. At every turn our financial well-being has been last on anyone’s list!

A short piece I wrote for Insight Public Affairs's 2008/9 guide to lobbying:

I developed an aversion to lobbyists when I was a candidate for election to Parliament. Given it is the job of lobbyists to seduce actual and would-be MPs, so that they will regard their cause or client favourably, you might think something had gone wrong. It had!

And it’s a shame – because so many of the organisations and causes that lobbied me had views that should have found me a willing audience.

What went wrong? Generally lobbyists didn’t understand how and when to present their case. As it’s simplest – candidates in elections are at their very busiest in the immediate run-up to an election. So is that the best time to approach? No! Yet many organisations stay quiet for four years and then suddenly think the four weeks of a general election are the best time to make contact. There are good and bad times all through the Parliamentary cycle – and you’ve got to know them.

And the amount of money organisations pour into the glossy brochures and lobby companies needs to be well spent. From what I could see – it was more about the lobbyists ticking boxes and telling their clients that they had contacts x-thousand of candidates and had x responses.

No – my advice to those who seek my support is to think about me. Think about my time commitment. Think what will really benefit the cause – and what you really want me to do, and how to break it down into simple, easy to get started requests. Then you will build up a dialogue and in time a long-term relationship.

My life is over-flowing with information. You may want me to take onboard your information, but what’s the reason why I should? No matter how worthy your cause or how persuasive your case – there is not enough time in the day for me to take on board every worthwhile or relevant scrap of information. So how do you make your own cause really stand out?

You have to know me, and think of me as a person – not as one of a group of MPs or candidates. It’s not all touchy feely by any means. Top statistics to support a cause are the absolute bees knees for me personally. The lobbyists who provide local statistics, local activities, local information etc – they are the ones who really get through.

Tick box campaigning begets tick box support. Make it real. Make it worthwhile. Make it genuine. I am nobody’s fodder!

Went to the theatre last night to see a play directed (and co-produced) by a constituent - Robert Wolstenholme. One Minute (Courtyard Theatre) is the story of the disappearance of a young girl who goes missing in the middle of a crowded West End. The only witness isn't sure of what she saw. It is completely brilliantly acted and directed and very, very cleverly staged. The set was really ingenious. So - nice break from campaigning for Nigel Scott in the Alexandra by-election - but it was back to the campaign trail first thing this morning - as you can see from the photo.

So - Downing Street has at last seen the light - and is making noises (obviously following my recent campaign - and honourable others over the years) to end the discrimination in accession to the throne. The first born boy has always, literally, ruled supreme and shoved any earlier born sisters out of the way. But from reports in the papers Downing Street is considering bringing in laws to reform that tradition - and also the bar against Catholics taking the throne.

Sadly they are talking about implementing them if Labour won a fourth term. Don't wait! It's such a bleeding obvious thing to do - no need to wait. Just get it done promptly!

UPDATE: Coverage in the Daily Mail here.

I've had a bit of a bloggoliday - as you may have noticed from me largely posting speeches etc. - just felt like it. Is that a sin in bloggology? Probably! Anyway - am easing myself back into it.

Follow up on my Question Time appearance last week where Ian Hislop (now famously) gaffed. Ian said in answer to a discussion about what Sarah Palin had done for McCain's campaign amounted to, something like she brings glamour to the political world where there is none. Now Harriet Harman and I may not be totally gorgeous - but hey - we ain't that bad! The gaffe was very funny (possibly the best bit of QT) - I thought - and Ian said it had now gone all over You Tube etc. The BBC have even put it on their own site - which I thought was a bit mean!

Upshot of guilty conscience was invitation from Ian to a Private Eye lunch - which I went to yesterday. So - Ian - you are forgiven!

Talking of Sarah's - what on earth was Mrs Brown doing? I cannot bear spouses being brought on stage at the end of speeches to make their spouses look human and present family values. Having them on at the beginning a la Obama style is even worse. I know it's the done thing stateside - but I thought full marks to Nick Clegg for not dragging Miriam up on stage after his speech. Yes - come off - have a hug and a kiss - but not the American dream family thing. Maybe it is my bitter and twisted outlook on life - but all that stuff is just so old hat. I know - the focus groups probably say that the people love it! Down with focus groups then.

That's the headline on a piece I did for the Liberal Democrat Education Association's booklet, Liberal Democrats in Education: what we are thinking and doing, which has just come out:

Labour has poured huge sums of money into the youth justice system since they came to power in 1997 - but failed to make an impact on youth offending. Labour has used the justice system as the main focus for the provision of the social support that at risk children need through Youth Offending Teams and spent more than 10 times as much money on youth courts and custody than on preventative measures. This has led to more children entering the youth justice system than ever before without altering the level of criminality. This approach is based on an assessment of the symptoms rather than the causes of youth crime and a presumption that removing a few bad apples will save the barrel – but it will not work if the barrel has dry-rot.

There needs to be a shift in emphasis; criminalising children should be a last resort, not the first option. It is essential that young people are given the support and guidance they need to grow into responsible adults. A key factor in this is involvement in adult-supported activities. Whether this is the Cadets or a local drama group, it is through constructive activities that young people learn how to behave. Children from wealthier backgrounds tend to be involved in more adult-supported activities than those in poverty- and it is here that social exclusion enters the debate.

As with education, deprivation is a significant factor in determining outcomes. This is partly because wealth allows us to buy dance classes and drama lessons for our little cherubs, but also because people living in wealthier areas tend to be more willing to set up Scout Troupes or drama groups- they tend to have greater community spirit. This is where I believe good government can make a difference- by enabling community activities and releasing the latent good will that there is in our communities we can begin to build the community capital.

The fact is that stronger communities lower crime - the more people you know within a fifteen minute walk of your home, the lower the crime rate will be. Stronger communities mean more likelihood of intervention when people misbehave. The question must therefore be: how do we strengthen communities to prevent youth crime?

Central to this is giving back to communities a genuine role in the justice system - restorative justice, where victims confront a criminal with the consequences of their crime give both victims and perpetrators a better understanding of the motivation and impact of crimes; Community Justice Panels, where representatives of the local communities agree a course of reparation with the offender allow the community to feel that justice has been done; and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts (ABCs) which agree levels of acceptable behaviour with an offender can all contribute to a genuinely community-led justice system.

There needs to be an understanding of the context that allows young people to become criminals and a focus on creating the communities and activities that will divert children away from crime. Changing the system to include the community can help with this but it is also essential that adult-led activities – such as drama and drill- allow young people to learn how to behave and to develop aspirations. By simply fast-tracking children to custody, all Labour has done is spent an enormous amount of money and increased the public fear of crime – not a good result!

I've distributed a survey to every house across the Hornsey & Wood Green constituency asking people to record how long they have to queue at the Post Office.

I want to get a comprehensive assessment of the level of service following the spate of Post Office closures (five serving the area have gone). The findings of the survey will be presented to the Post Office and - if they show unacceptable waiting times - will be a good source of pressure to review the closures.

I'm particularly concerned that not only have five Post Offices gone, but that so far there hasn't been compensating investment in the remaining ones - not only will people have further to travel, but they could also face long queues as more people are crammed into the same capacity at our remaining Post Offices.

If you haven't had a survey yourself for some reason (or would like another copy), just get in touch.

Press release is pretty self-explanatory, so here it is:

Haringey's Liberal Democrats are calling for the resignation of Labour's finance boss and former Council leader Cllr Charles Adje following the publication of a damning report into how, as Alexandra Palace Chair, he pushed through the controversial licence for Firoka to operate in the building. The Liberal Democrats say the revelations in the report show he can't be trusted to run the boroughs finances.

The report into affairs at Alexandra Palace was published late last week for consideration at an emergency Alexandra Palace board meeting this Friday. Among the most scandalous of many revelations in the report is an assertion that Cllr Adje pushed the controversial licence through for political reasons, so that he could tell the Haringey Labour group's Annual General Meeting it had been achieved – at which time Cllr Adje was bidding for the job of Labour finance boss.

Whilst Cllr Adje claims to have had limited involvement in the process, the others interviewed for the report indicate that it was he who was driving the ill-fated process forward.

Haringey Liberal Democrat Leader, Cllr Robert Gorrie, comments:

"Firstly, it's clear that Charles Adje must be removed as soon as possible as the Haringey's finance chief. There are many damning revelations in the report, but suggestions that Cllr Adje was rushing this disastrous process forward, without proper procedures in place, in order to suit the needs of the Labour Group's Annual General Meeting is an absolutely scandalous revelation. This point alone requires further serious investigation.

"This politically motivated incompetence has cost Haringey's taxpayers millions of pounds. Why was Haringey Council so slow to take steps to bring the Palace into line? The Liberal Democrats, and local campaign groups repeatedly raised the issue from last July onwards. Cllr Neil Williams brought it to the Council, to the Cabinet, and to the media. It was raised repeatedly by Lib Dem Ally Pally board member Bob Hare, whose demands for answers were simply brushed aside.

"Following a request by council officers there will now be an action plan to ensure that this does not happen again – but this is as much about incompetence as it is about governance. No amount of procedural changes will protect the Trust from people in charge who have shown they should not be in such positions of authority. That's why Charles Adje must step down."

Lynne Featherstone MP adds:

"This is a flagrant abuse of power which appears largely to have been pursued because of political self-interest. This is not someone who should hold the purse strings to half billion pounds of public money through Haringey Council's finances. Further questions must also be asked how this was able to carry on without the scrutiny of the rest of the Labour party and the Council."

During the party conference in Bournemouth, a group of Liberal Democrat bloggers interviewed me. The first write-up is over on Gavin Whenman's blog.

That's the topic of a piece I've got up at Liberal Democrat Voice today - read and enjoy - I hope!

I've blogged preivously about how one of Labour's rule changes is set to deprive pensioners of millions in benefits. The Daily Telegraph has the story again today:

Pensioners are going to miss out on hundreds of millions of pounds of benefits owed to them under a government move to cut the time they get to claim tax credits.

In a move that could trigger another backbench revolt against Gordon Brown, ministers have abolished the 12-month period in which the pensioners can claim backdated pension tax credits and imposed a new limit of three months.

The rule change, which comes in on October 6, will affect 110,000 of some of the poorest pensioners many of whom are struggling with soaring fuel and food bills.
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As a result, ministers believe they will be able to save hundreds of millions of pounds because claimants will not apply for payments in time.

A Parliamentary answer to Lynne Featherstone MP shows the cut will save £240million between now and 2010, and a further £285million will be saved between 2015 and 2050.

Read the full story here.

I'm in the Mail on Sunday today:

A telephone ‘helpline’ is charging parents up to £28 for child benefit information that is available from the Government for free.

MPs and consumer groups last night branded the £1.50-a-minute service – run by a 24-year-old businessman – a rip-off and demanded that it be shut down immediately.

Callers who ring the premium-rate line receive nothing more than a recorded message repeating details from official websites and Government leaflets. The tape runs on for nearly 19 minutes...

Parents seeking information are encouraged to ring a non-geographical 0871 number for up-to-date advice on eligibility, application procedures and addresses of benefit offices around the country.

From there, they are directed to an 09-code premium-rate line which regurgitates a mass of information about child benefit, ranging from how much you are allowed to claim if your baby is stillborn to the rules on what action to take when your child leaves school and goes into full-time education.

As the service has no automated menu facility, some callers have to listen to the entire tape to get information relevant to them. Listening to the full tape would land them with a bill of £28.50. Calls from a mobile would be even more...

Labour MP Mark Todd said: ‘The people running these so-called helplines are preying on the unwary and it’s pretty unpleasant. If they offer nothing more than what you can get from official sources, the regulator should close them down. They are nothing more than a rip-off.’

Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone said: ‘People searching for information about benefits need help, not exorbitant phone charges. Despite the disclaimers, anyone glancing at the website would assume it was official.’

Ceri Stanaway, principal researcher for Which? magazine, said: ‘All the information on this line is available elsewhere, either much more cheaply or for free. It would be in the interests of consumers to have it closed down.’