An Anfield Farce - Liverpool FC in Turmoil

I feel rather sorry for Roy Hodgson and rather less so for the fans of Liverpool FC.

For weeks now they have been calling for his dismissal. For weeks they have been calling for the return of 'The Messiah' Kenny Dalglish. For weeks, they have had their heads in the clouds, unwilling to acknowledge the fundamental problems facing their team and instead, seeking a scapegoat for the poor form that has seen these giants of English football languish in 12th place in the Premiership.

Roy Hodgson - A man of Integrity
Now, I'm an Aston Villa fan but I'm also a fan of football. You only have to read my blog posts about Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United recently to realise that I will give a fair assessment of a footballing situation as I see it.

For me, Liverpool made a very shrewd move back in the summer when they appointed Roy Hodgson as their manager. A decent, principled man, his manageriral record was one that had to be respected. Many would deride him for what could be pereived to be mediocre achievements but not me.

He won 5 league championships in Sweden, 2 with unfancied Halmstad and 3 with FC Malmo and 2 Swedish Cups. He won a Danish league title with FC Copenhagen, their first in 8 years, in 2001. He led Inter Milan to an upsurge in league form and to a UEFA Cup final.

At Fulham, he took a team that were heading for relegation to their highest ever top flight finish of 7th in 2009 before taking the unfancied Londoners to a European final of their own.

At an international level, he guided Switzerland to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and qualified them for Euro '96 - the first times that Switzerland had qualified for major tournaments since 1966. He also guided Finland to their highest ever FIFA World Ranking of 33 whilst he was in charge.

He speaks 5 languages fluently and is one of the most versatile managers in the world.

Rafa Benitez' Squad
The problem that Roy had was that he inherited a weak squad from his predecessor Rafa Benitez. Now Rafa had some good years at Anfield but many will legitimately argue that his Champions League victory in 2005 came from what was basically his predecessor Gerard Houllier's squad. Despite big investment, Benitez failed to win a league title and it was clear that Anfield was going stale under his leadership. His time was up and it was time for a new broom.

But Liverpool's board and fans did not give Hodgson the time to stamp his authority on the team. He was working with Rafa's squad and could not be expected to make a mediocre Premiership squad a world beating machine overnight. He needed time, but as is the way nowadays, the petulent response from the fans and the board dictated that he would not get it.

What would've happened had the board at Old Trafford made the same decision with Alex Ferguson before he finally landed his first piece of slilverware after nearly 4 years as a manager of Manchester United? Had Ferguson been given the same short shrift as Hodgson has been, the history of English football would've looked very different these past 20 years.

Indeed, it is to his credit that another Kop hero, BBC pundit Alan Hansen has gone on record to say that Hodgson deserved more time. Also, it must be said that not all Scousers are so short-sighted. An old school friend of mine, Sean Graham who is a Scouser, chatted to me on Facebook only a few days ago and he too said that Hodgson needed more time. He understood that this was a man with a fine pedigree who had inherited a poor squad from Benitez. Good on him for having such a decent attitude and I'm sure he's not the only one amongst Liverpool fans but they seem, sadly, to have been in the minority.

Kenny Dalglish - An Anfield Legend
Well, the fans have now got who they want. But it was a very odd and surreal sight to behold this afternoon. Seeing Kenny Dalglish in the dugout almost 20 years after he resigned suddenly as manager of Liverpool in the wake of a 4-4 FA Cup draw with bitter rivals Everton on health grounds on 22nd February 1991 is a really peculiar one.

Now it isn't unreasnable for the Kop and all of those associated with this great club to want to hark back to the last manager in their history who led them to league titles and constant glory.

Indeed, Kenny Dalglish's record at Anfield speaks for itself.

Dalglish's Liverpool record, as a player, a player-manager and a manager ended with: 515 appearances, 172 goals, 307 as manager, 8 League Championships, 2 FA Cup wins, 3 European Cup wins, 4 League Cup wins, 1 European Super Cup win, and 5 Charity Shield wins. He also managed Liverpool to their only league and FA Cup 'Double' in 1985-86.

Indeed, since he resigned as manager in February 1991, Liverpool have not won a league title since.

He has also of course taken unfancied Blackburn Rovers to a Premiership title in 1995.

Does Lightning Strike Twice?
But this is a fool-hardy decision and a knee-jerk one that will not serve Liverpool FC well.

To begin with, Dalglish has not been in day-to-day management for 10 years. Also, he has only been appointed until the end of the season. In which case, what's the point? If all he is expected to do is to stabilise the ship then remember, he's doing it with the same squad that Hodgson had - the one bequeathed to him by Benitez.

If he actually signs a longer-term contract, do Liverpool fans really believe that he can bring back the glory days??

History shows that lightening very rarely strikes twice when it comes to a returning hero taking over the reigns of a club for a second time. The one example to the contrary I could use is Walter Smith's performance with Rangers in Scotland but in all fairness, they do not posess the most competitive league in the world north of the border.

No, instead we must look more at the records of the likes of Graham Taylor and Kevin Keegan. The former of course was a fantastic manager of my own team Aston Villa in the late 1980's but his return at the start of this decade was a tepid one which did not re-ignite the fortunes of old. Kevin Keegan is possibly an even better example for Liverpool right now. He was feted as a returning Messiah when he went back to St James' Park but that all ended in tears and after he left, relegation for the Toon Army.

The Future?
It was incredibly ironic that Dalglish's first game back in charge would be away to the team that since he last managed at Anfield, have won 11 league titles to draw level with that of his own team. I must admit to being pleased to see the Red Devils beat the Reds today at Old Trafford. It will serve to remind the Liverpool fans that they will not get the quick turnaround in form and results that they want.

Good luck to Dalglish. He himself is a wise and respected man in his own right and deservedly so, but he shouldn't have been in the dugout today - it should've been Roy Hodgson.

Shame on Liverpool FC.

Conference Blog: Day 6 (Wednesday - Goodbye)

The last day of a conference has always felt like a wake for me. After days of enjoyment in great company and contributing to the future well-being of my party, it really is a sad feeling to have to tear myself away from what I see as my extended family.

Vince Cable
The day began with the obligatory packing which automatically puts you into 'Goodbye' mode. After leaving my bags in the hotel storage, I made my way to the conference auditorium in the Echo Arena for the final time to hear Vince Cable's key note speech as Secretary of State for Business.

Vince gave a sharp, sombre but very well received oration which brought the conference to an excellent conclusion.

In fact, the conference continued until 4pm but I was to leave at lunchtime to get back home in good time. So Vince Cable's speech was my final piece of the action in Liverpool '10 and it was a good way to leave it. I then bought a few books at the Lib Dem History Group stand before a final walk around the Jury Inn conference bar to say my goodbyes. In particular, I bumped into the Chief Executive of the Scottish Liberal Democrats Martin Haymer and the Leader of Portsmouth City Council Gerald Vernon-Jackson.

Lib Dem MP Bingo
As I left, I noticed two more MPs who had avaded me throughout the week. This brought my 'Lib Dem MP Bingo' final tally to what I think is a very respectable 46 out of 57. For the record, the 11 MPs I did not see during the conference week were Stephen Williams, Don Foster, David Laws, Gordon Birtwistle, David Ward, Charles Kennedy, John Thurso, Robin Smith, Mike Hancock, Mike Crockart and Adrian Sanders. Of these, I know that Don Foster was there - indeed he was to give a speech to conference after I left. Charles Kennedy had also been spotted at conference early on. Gordon Birtwistle, David Ward and Mike Crockart were probably there but as new MPs, I don't know what they look like! I'm pretty sure I saw John Thurso but if it was him then he's shaven off his moustache which threw me. The only MPs which I gather definitely did not make conference this year were Stephen Williams, Mike Hanock and David Laws.

But the moral of the story is? To do it again next year! It's nothing other than an interesting side-line during the course of the week!

Goodbye to an excellent conference
So we set off at 1.30pm and so, sadly, came to an end what I would say is one of the best conference I've been too. It was bigger, more professional and of course attracted more attention from the outside world. Being in Government suddenly made it a totally different beast and we'll be getting used to it over the next few years. It was all very accessible and the weather even improved as the week went on.

As for Liverpool - I was greatly impressed (I should be, it's run by a Lib Dem council!). The problem with conference is that there's so much to do, you're always in that bubble for the duration of the gathering. As a result I didn't have time to get around to see Liverpool properly. But I'd be keen to go back and spend some days there to see it all properly. I'm sure that I speak for many who were this week who would be very happy if conference were to go back to Liverpool in the future.

But what makes the conference most of all for me and what therefore by definition makes it so difficult to leave, is the bumping into old and making new friends there. The next conference is a weekend affair in Sheffield in March before the autumn gathering this time next year in Birmingham. It's very likely that I won't see many of the faces that I saw during these past 6 days for 12 months. It's a sad thought but then, in a way, it's what makes conference such an enjoyable experience.

If we had it every month it would lose its charm and would destory the bank balance so it's probably right that we hold them as regularly as we do...probably!

The 2010 Liverpool Liberal Democrat Conference has come and gone and will now form a part of my memory bank of happy recollections of conferences past.

Now it's time to sleep.

Conference Blog: Day 5 (Tuesday)

It's usual for the conference to end with the leaders speech but because Nick Clegg had to fly to the UN to represent Britain, we had that conference highlight 2 days earlier than normal. So yesterday had a slightly odd feeling to it as the conference continued towards a different to normal conclusion.

I had planned to attend the Equal Marriage debate and listen to Simon Hughes' speech. Unfortunately I missed them but I gather the debate went through successfully to give the Liberal Democrats yet another distinctive policy position from that of our coalition colleagues.

Exhibitionists
I've barely had time to walk around the exhibition hall and look in at the myriad of stalls that are present. I put this right yesterday by spending my afternoon in the conference centre. I renewed by lapsed membershup of the Liberal Democrat History Group and had a chat with the Parliamentary Candidates Association stall. Lib Dem Image is always an useful stall to look around and this time was selling a handful of books. Usually there's an entire stall dedicated to political books but to to my disappointment, not this year. Mind you, that's probably a good thing for my bank balance!

There's a much greater array of external stalls this year with charities and organisations wanting to sell their wares to us members. In all, its been a diverse and interesting exhibition this year.

Secretary of State Chris Huhne MP
In between my stall hopping, I went into the auditorium to listen to Chris Huhne give his speach. He gave a forthright, no-nonsense statement on what he plans to do as a Cabinet Member for Climate Change. There was a good crowd there to listen to him and he was well received.

Paddy Ashdown Observor Interview
At 6pm, I got into the large queue for the Andrew Rawnsley interview with former Lib Dem leader Paddy Ashdown.

It was an excellent hour+ in the company of a well loved, charismatic, fascinating individual. He's led a remarkable life from his time at MI6 to leading the newly merged Liberal Democrat party for 11 years to being High Commissioner in Bosnia. He backs the coalition entirely and had some terse exchanges with Rawnsley about the current political situation near the end of the interview.

A Final Supper
A good contingent of Ceredigion members (and friends!) then had an Italian as a final night meal in the Albert Docks. It was nice to get a good group of us together for the final evening of what has been an excellent conference.

Glee Club!
But no final evening conference is complete without the traditional end of week Glee Club.

Now, Glee Club is like Marmite. You love it or you hate it. When I first attended an autumn conference in 2003 I was told by the Liberal Youthers to avoid Gee Club, so I did. A year later in Bournemouth, I did go and I've never looked back.

Glee Club for me is the vocal equivalent of 'Have I Got New For You'. It's satire set to music where we mix traditional songs with comic compositions that laugh out loud at ourselves as Liberals but also at others.

I spent much of it this time round in the excellent company of Laura Gilmore and with another 500 or so friends. The majority there were lapping up such iconic Glee Club hits such as 'The Land','Letterboxes' and 'Losing Deposits'. There were some looking on in contrast in a mixture of incredulity and bemusement. Good friend of mine from Birmingham Mike Dixon was one of them as he told me beforehand that even after many years as a member of the party, he still doesn't 'get' Glee Club! You really do hate it or love it.

Paddy Ashdown made his annual visit with his 20 odd year old 'Two Tribes' joke which everyone lapped up and Tim Farron made a second fantastic rendition of his own take of the Ting Ting's 'That's Not My Name'. Simon Hughes led his London gang and friends in renditions of 'Bermondsey' and 'Simon Hughes' (to the tune of Postman Pat!), We also had 'turns' from new MPs such as Tessa Munt and Julian Huppert and also an amusing (if not quite in tune) rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' by Liberal Youth - quite apt as we are in Liverpool!

I got involved in the action on stage too as is my usual wont. The English always sing 'Jerusalem', the Scots (led by Chief Whip Alistair Carmichael) Flower of Scotland and likewise the Cornish and Yorkshiremen also sing their own local traitional songs. The Welsh contingent led Glee Club in 'Cwm Rhondda' (Bread of Heaven) in tribute to Richard Livsey and later on, I took the microphone to lead in 'Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau' (all 3 verses!).

It was great to see good friends Paul Pettinger and Naomi Smith sitting there whilst I was leading in our anthem and I caught up with them afterwards having not had time to talk to them throughout conference to date.

Having began at about 10.15pm, amidst a large ensemble, Glee Club came to an organised and apt end at 1.45am. We finished with 'Auld Land Syne' but in typical Glee Club fashion, we demanded more. Those of us left invaded the stage for an impromptu 3rd and final rendition of 'The Land' - certainly the right way to bring Glee Club to an end!

Apart from the heat (it was baking in there all evening), I'd almost go so far to say that this was one of the best Glee Club's I've been too, to date. It was a packed Glee Club throughout and there was a real positive atmosphere where the Glee Clubbers were more than enthusiastic in leading the evening on stage instead of just leaving it to the compares to do so. We had an excellent mix of songs and satire with all of my personal favourites having been sang (including my favourite 'Shirl in the World') and we didn't have an over-reliance on any one in particular. For example, a few years back, we had what I felt was a poor Glee Club (Brighton '06 I think it was) because it was poorly managed and ended up having far too many drunken renditions of Jerusalem - thank you but two is more than enough!

A Final Conference Bar Goodbye
The night came to an end with a final drink to say goodbye to friends old and new at the conference bar in case we don't see each other in the morning.

Glee Club night is always an odd one. It's a great evening but its very being means that it's almost time to go home. The end is in sight on what has been another excellent, Liberal Democrat conference.

Conference Blog: Day 4 (Monday)

We've been in government now for just over 4 months. In a way, we've got used to this very quickly. As a party and as members we've had to get ourselves into this new mindset and we have done so. So much so in fact, that, and particularly to newer members who know little else, we almost take the fact that we're in this position with a pinch of salt and just get on with it. But, taking a step back, yesterday was actually an incredibly historic day for our party. Monday 21st September 2010 was the day that Nick Clegg MP, Liberal Democrat leader, first addressed his conference as the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdon of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Really? After all these years of opposition, of mergers, of false dawns and dashed hopes, we're actually there. In goverment. In control. It really is an amazing thing.

Morning Media Mayhem!
I got up early at 6.40am to get to the media centre in the Echo Arena to hive a few interviews on Welsh Radio. On arriving I realised that I'd left my security badge back in the hotel room but thought that they'd probably be relaxed enough about it and just let me in. Not now that we're in government! All change! I had to dash back to the hotel, then dash back knowing full well that I may now miss the live slot. As it happens, when I came dashing into the media centre, Oliver Hides the Radio Wales presenter was introducing the package on the Lib Dem conference and Jenny Randerson AM who was being interviewd with me, frantically pointed in my direction behing Oliver's back to let him know that I was in the building! He was barely 30 odd seconds away from introudcing us when I took my seat! Never a dull moment! The interview went well and at 7.45am I repeated it with another in Welsh for Radio Cymru alongside Myrddin Edwards.

Academies Bill & the West Lothian Question
After a break back in the hotel, I made my way back to the conference centre and sat in on an excellent debate in the main hall about the Academies Bill. The party are against the policy and there's much discontent that the coalition have moved ahead on this issue even though it wasn't in the coalition agreement. So it was an unsurprisingly lively affair and I was rather pleased that the 'rebels' won and voted down what was seen by many as a 'wrecking amendment' put forward by the leadership. The motion was passed comfortably to the approval of many there. It certainly proves that conference can be as awkward as ever!
I actually decided not to use my vote at the end of the debate as the Academies Bill is only applicable to England and not Wales due to devolution. So, in the light of the 'West Lothian Question', I felt it right that I don't interfere as a Welsh member in a matter that only involves England. After all, I wouldn't want the English telling me what to do!

Kirsty Williams

We then had a barnstorming speech from Welsh Lib Dem leader Kirsty Williams and we were all there as 'Welshies' to support her. It was very well received by conference and afterwards I was told by our media man Richard Thomas that her reference to Richard Livsey in her speech as a 'gently giant' came directly from my blog post that gave him that name. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to have played a small part then, in what was an excellent performance by our Kirsty.

Lib Dem MP Bingo!

A gang of us decided on lunch at the Albert Docks and whilst we waited for our food, we decided to test oursevles on how many of the 57 Lib Dem MPs we could name without the aid of google or wikipedia. We actually did very well and named about 52/53 of them. I then decided to use this information and play 'Lib Dem MP Bingo' to see how many of thoe 57 I could spot in conference! I've spotted a good few of them in previous days of course but for the remainder of conference, I'm making a particular effort of keeping an eye out for those I have yet to see. I suddenly took great delight during the afternoon when I spotted such MPs as David Heath, Malcolm Bruce, Mark Hunter and John Leetch simply because it meant I could cross them off my list! I'm currently on 35 and would hope to extend that into the 40's before the end of play on Wednesday!

The Main Event - Nick Clegg's Speech
I've been to plenty of conferences in the past to know that you need to get your seat in early for the leaders speech.We arrived in good time yesterday but already the auditorium was filling up. It wasn't long, when, to my amazement, the whole room was full. In 15 UK-wide conferences, I have never seen delegates being turned away from the auditorium because there's no room left! Instead, they used an 'over-flow' room with a live link for other delegates to watch Nick's speech. I gather that even that was over half full!

So, indeed, here we were listening to the Deputy Prime Minister address us as our leader. We really have come a long way as liberals over the years.
His speech was surprisingly short at a little over 35 minutes (Charles Kennedy's speeches used to last for 50 minutes to an hour). But I thought it was a very well crafted affair and went down well with delegates in the hall. One of the biggest rounds of applause came when he reminded conference that the new coaltion goverment is scrapping ID cards - damned right! He also got a good yelp of approval when he maintained that the Iraq war was illegal. So it was a good speech and there's no doubt in my mind at least that it was well received by the members.

Socialising
After changing into my evening attire back in the hotel, the rest of the day went by in a relaxed manner with the only desire being one of catching up with old friends around the conference bar (and tracking more faces to cross off on my Lib Dem MP Bingo of course!). After a very nice reception given by Park Printers, we went to the annual official Welsh Lib Dem Night at the Cornmarket in the city centre where I gave another clip (but this time pre-recorded) for Radio Cymru. I bumped into one of our Ceredigion supporters Kathy Bracy who was with friends in the city for a PCS Union gathering. It was good to catch up with them during the evening.


The Randomness of Lib Dem Conferences (No.1)
I do enjoy the quirky occurrences that often happen in Lib Dem conferences and the people you meet who have random associations with others! Well, back at the conference bar in the Jury Inn last night was no exception. I found myself talking for some time to a pleasant enough chap from Portsmouth. It turns out that his uncle was Ray Crawford who was a member of the Ipswich team that won the league title under Alf Ramsey in 1962, won 2 English Caps and scored 2 of the goals in the giant-killing FA Cup shock of 1971, when, now playing for Colchester, they beat Don Revie's Leeds United 3-2! I must admit, it tickled me!

I also had a real in depth conversation with a really nice guy about faith and human motivation. He's a Hindu and he had what I thought was an excellent outlook on life, despite having had some tough life experiences to deal with including losing his mother when he was just 18.

It was also great to catch up with Rhiannon Wadeson again in the conference bar and to remind ourselves of our fantastic birthday trip in Latvia back in 2008!

It's the mixture of the surreal and the profound which we find at conference like this that just makes it so unmissable!

The Randomness of Lib Dem Conferences (No.2)
I had the interesting experience also, after the Nick Clegg speech, of bumping into the Times journalists Daniel Finkelstein and Matthew Parris in the hotel lift and then at the conference bar in the evening, I bumped into Tory MP Nigel Evans in the toilets. These really are bizzare times in which we live!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11382182

Revenge on McDonalds
The bar finished relatively early I felt and before we knew it we were the last there (quite a fete in itself!). So an eclectic group of 5 of us decided to walk down to the nearby McDonalds for a 'drive-thru' early breakfast. With it being just a few hundred yards away for where I'm staying, this seemed ideal. So we walked into the drive-thru to make our order. There we were confronted by a rather embarassed young man who told us that he couldn't serve us. The reason? We weren't in a motorised vehicle! Apparently, on health and safety ground he couldn't serve us as the drive-thru was for those in 4 wheels only and not on two feet! We tried to make him realise that at 5.30am, there was no real danger of us being run over by an errant car whilst being served by him - but he stood his ground! He did seem pretty embarassed at the fact that he wasn't able to take our money for an order because of this technicality but not to worry, we had a cunning plan!

Nick Love decided to go to the main road and hail down a taxi. On doing so, we all went around the corner from the drive-thru jumped into the aforementioned taxi, drove back through the drive-thru, and ordered our meals from a dumbfounded young man! For the sake of paying the taxi driver the cost of driving through the drive-thru, it was worth it for the 5 of us just to get the reaction from the McDonalds staff!

Suffice to say the actual food itself was pretty hopeless, so with our hotel breakfast bar nearly open, Nick and I decided to wait until 6am to get a proper breakfast, before going to bed!

A historic day came to an end then with a characteristic liberal rebellion against authority!

Conference Blog: Day 3 (Sunday)

Never before in a Liberal Democrat conference have I ever felt let down by former F1 World Champion Damon Hill - until today!

The enjoyment levels of the night before at conference can usually be tested by whether I've been able to make breakfast the following morning. Well, yesterday morning I failed and the same can be said for my room mate Ali Goldsworthy. So we both put up a forceful show of unity in having a much needed lie-in!

Damon Hill Let Me Down!
I decided that my first main event of the day would be one that I've been looking forward too ever since the conference directory landed on my doorstep a few weeks ago - the Motor Sports Association fringe! It was in the Hilton Hotel so, along with Nick Love from York Central Lib Dems, we made our way through blustery rain and past the uninspiring group of demonstrating Union activists towards an event that was advertised as having both Damon Hill and Tony Jardine present. As a big F1 fan, this was exciting stuff! So imagine my disappointment, when, having arrived early to beat the expected masses, we found that neither were present! Admittedly we had the very fine replacement of 2 time Le Mans 24 hour winner Allan McNish to listen too but no mention at all of the fact that two of those who were in the original line-up weren't there - no apology or anything whatsoever! Perhaps in an odd way it was a good thing. As it turned out, only about 25-30 of us were there in total. Had we known that those originally promoted as being there wouldn't turn up, the figures could've been even worse!

Nick Clegg Q&A
It was a quick dash over to the Echo Arena for the first time in the day at 2.30pm for the afternoon session of conference and the Welsh Liberal Democrat presentation. There were a few technical glitches but what stood out for me was the excellent performance made by our Welsh Assembly candidate for Montgomeryshire Wyn Williams. It was the first time I've heard him speak at a conference and in front of such a large crowd, I thought he did a smashing job.

We then had the informal but popular, Nick Clegg Q&A Session. The autitorium was full and there were some good questions asked of Nick by members (and some bad ones). Notably, there were good questions asked about pensions, Pakistan and the future direction of the party - all of which Nick answered well. He was in feisty but amusing form and was very well received by delegates. It was good to see Nick also field questions from the audience that hadn't been pre-selected by the conference committee. One of those asked off-the-cuff was by one of our Aberystwyth students Rory Roberson who got a question to Nick about FE funding. He asked the same question of Vince Cable the night before so he's had a good and productive weekend fair play!

Lunching with the English Defence League
Having not eaten all day, I decided to join the student gang who had already gone over to our adopted 'local', the Baltic Fleet for a late afternoon lunch. I'd watched a BBC4 documentary about food in the North recently and noticed that the word 'Scouse' comes from a local dish served in these here parts. It's basically a kind of meat stew/broth/cawl with red cabbage and I decided that I wanted to try some whilst I was in Liverpool. Well, here was my chance, and it must be said, it went down very nicely indeed. Less so were the group of 20-30 or so members of the Merseyside branch of the English Defence League who were eating/drinking/generally making some noise in the room next to us. The police had been tipped off and were keeping an eye on the pub as we arrived. I hope they didn't think that we were with them!

Awards from Nick Clegg
After a break back in the hotel, it was time for the annual Campaign Department's 'Oscars' awards ceremony. Every year the department gives awards out to local parties and campaign teams who have made a significant contribution during the year. Last year, I was delighted to receive an award on behalf of Ceredigion from Nick Clegg, and this year again, in front of our peers I was delighted to do so once more. Nick gave us a bottle of House of Commons champagne for having the best Poster/Stakeboard effort around the country (which I later found out at the bar annoyed our colleagues in Cornwall!). A group of around 15 of us huddled around Nick for a photo and it was great that the whole team that have made it here to conference could share in the event. It's very nice to be appreciated by your colleagues and this annual event is always a pleasant opportunity to celebrate the best practise of local parties the length and breath of the UK.

The Celtic Fringe (with Nick Clegg...again!)
Considering the fact that Nick Clegg will be going to the UN later this week and will be missing the end of conference, we really have been spolit rotten in having his company today! First there was the Q&A, then the much more intimate gathering of senior campaigners at the 'Oscars' ceremony and now, last thing at evening after a group of us 'Welshies' had had a Pizza Express evening meal, we had a joint Scotland/Wales social in the good company of the main man himself as well as Kirsty Williams AM and Tavish Scott MSP (kindly sponsored by the good people at ASDA). We've rarely had an opportunity to get together in such a way in conferences past in my memory so it was good to get the 'Celtic representatives' together in one room for an hour of bonhomie.

After an hour or so at the conference bar afterwards, I went back for an uncharacteristically early night at 1am to prepare for live radio interviews this morning. But as is ever the case, it was great to see some old and familiar faces during the evening. But there's still a few I haven't seen who I know are lurking around here somewhere so one of my mission's for these last few days will be to find them!

Conference Blog: Day 2 (Saturday)

It's been wet in Liverpool so far. In fact, I was taking to one of our students Richard Morgan-Ash last night and he said that in his recollections, he can't remember a wet autumn conference. Come to think of it, in the 7 odd years I've been conferencing, neither can I. Hopefully the weather will improve.

Yesterday was a good day though. A slow morning got going as we checked into conference and found our barings around the massive Echo Arena.

Security
As we'd been warned, security here is much more intrusive than normal but we've just got to make do with it. The knack is to plan ahead and make sure you're in the arena comfortably before the debate you want to see starts - easier said than done! During one of my forays through security yesterday, I happened to find myself behind former Richmond Park MP and Lib Dem Presidential candidate Susan Kramer. On being frisked by the staff, Susan swept up her arms and gave me a good whack in the face! Possibly my come-uppance for backing Tim Farron MP in the contest!

Conference Launch
After a decent (but not hugely spectacular) lunch in the (absolutely spectacular) Albert Docks, I made my way over to the conference hall for the official opening of conference at 2.30pm. Baroness Walmsley made the opening and we then had some rather dry but neccesary reports to conference by the conference and policy committees. There was a decent number in the hall at that time although I had expected more for the opening even if it is merely a ceremonial affair.

Tim Farron 4 President!
An excellent piece of planning for this conference is that the conference hotel, the Jury Inn, is literally about 200 yards from the entrance to the Echo Arena. So there's much to-ing and fro-ing between the two as delegates go back and forth to training events or fringe meetings.

I went in mid-way through to Tim Farron's 'Westmorland & Lonsdale' training event which was well attended. From behind me I heard a question being asked by a recognisable voice. I turned round and there was the face of a very kind gentleman who has helped us out in Ceredigion on a few occasions 5 or so years ago. I caught up with him afterwards to say hello but I'm damned if I can remember his name!

We then had a gathering of Tim Farron supporters in a quiet nook of the conference bar for a pep-talk by the man himself on the launch of his Presidential bid. Tim really is an excellent and inspiring speaker and the 25-30 of us there were well psyched for the nominations signing and sticker stickings over the days ahead.

Indeed, just like with Ros Scott's successful campaign 2 years ago when conference was plastered in delegates wearing her campaign sticker ('I'm 4 Ros' I think it was), this conference has already taken on a distinctly 'Tim to Win' feel.

Rally
The rally which was being led by the Electoral Reform Society was packed out and inspired us all to go out and campaign for a positive 'YES' vote in next year's AV Referendum. Art Malik was excellent and highly amusing as compare and we had some excellent speeches. Notably for me, it was good to see former MP Martin Bell there weighing in with his support. I bought his autobiography 'An Accidental MP' many years ago and have always been a fan. Jo Swinson was unsurprisingly excellent and very infectious with her enthusiasm and then, Tim Farron appeared once more as a (very very very) last minute replacement for Charles Kennedy. As ever, he almost stole the show (but then maybe I'm being biased here!).

Finally, Nick Clegg spoke very well in that laid back, relaxed conference style of his and brought the rally to a close. The fireworks that marked the end of the rally was quite surreal - we're clearly now a party of government!

Fringe Troughing
Once a student, always a student as they say. So when we were given the nod by Cardiff's Rachael Hitchinson that Liberal Youth had a fringe event with free food and wine, we made a quick dash back to the Jury Inn to get in there quick. We were successful and indeed listened to an excellent fringe about HE Funding with Vince Cable, the main man on the panel. It finished with Q&As and an excellent question by a 14 year old school pupil - I'd never have had the guts to ask a Secretary of State a question in front of over 50 people when I was that age!

Lib Dem BOTY Awards
I've made a concerted attempt over recent weeks to get my blog 'up-and-active' and as a result, was keen to go, for the first time, to the Lib Dem 'Blog of the Year' Awards ceremony. I was interested to see the faces behind many of the names in the Lib Dem blogosphere and it was great to see such a diverse and eclectic bunch! It certainly made me feel as if 'I'm not alone' out here, blogging away! Congratulations to the winners of the 2010 BOTYs and particularly to Millennium Elephant for winning blog of the year! Hopefully the curse won't strike again and they'll all continue blogging into 2011!

Conference Bar
If Friday night was a calm, quiet affair, last night was anything but! As expected, most conference delegates arrived during the day and their presence was felt in an over-flowing conference bar. It was great to bump into a number of faces from around the country I was hoping to see. The York contingent were out in force with Nick Love, Billi Williams and the English Mark Cole (aka Tom Holvey) and it was good to see the likes of Sam Potts, Marie Jenkins, Mike and Veronica German, Amy Kitcher, Kev O'Connor and Bob Griffin there too.

An absolutely incredible development transpired during the late evening at the bar. As an over-flow mechanism, there's a smaller additional bar and they serve what I can only presume is a local beer called 'Cains'. Unbelievably, you can get a pint of it for just £2.45. That's 2 pints for a £5! It's unheard of generally nowadays but in a conference bar?! It's even nice to drink! Incredible!

I left the bar around 2.30am and there were still plenty there in my wake, soaking up the pretty unique atmosphere that is a Liberal Democrats conference bar in the early hours!

Conference has very much, 'come alive' now and it should be an excellent next few days ahead.

Conference Blog: Day 1 (Arrival)

We're in Liverpool for the Liberal Democrat conference and my laptop is usefully hooked up to the wi-fi here in our Hampton by Hilton Hotel which is usefully just a 5 minute walk from the conference centre.

I plan to blog where I can throughout the week to give a sample of life at a conference 'as it happens'.

I'm staying with a group of our students from Aberystwyth University at the Hampton and we all arrived yesterday mid-afternoon. After a 7 hour bus trip I was shattered and needed a break before setting off into town for the evening.

We happen to be next door to a well known Liverpool pub famed for its real ales called the 'Baltic Fleet' so we all happily went there for a few drinks at 6pm. Mike Dixon from Birmigham also called in for a drink and a catch up - was good to see him. Good also to see Emma Hall from ALDC again. Then, a catch up with the Cardiff Lib Dem contingent over an Italian at 'Ask!' in the city centre. A few drinks before a few of us, tired from a day of travelling, set back early for our hotel.

Having said that, I couldn't resist calling into the Conference Bar in the Jury Inn to see who was about.

Most delegates will be arriving today so it was rather calm last night at the conference bar. Still, it was good to catch up briefly with old friends such as Anders Hanson, Simon Wilson and Gerald Vernon-Jackson whilst there. For what felt like an 'early night' at a conference, 2am wasn't really that early!

Today
I've woken and fought my way through the crowds to get myself a 'self-service' breakfas here in the hotel. I personally can't stand them. I can see the advantage as it means you can pretty much within reason, eat as much as you like. But it's far too unorganised and chaotic and far too commcercial in its ways. Give me a good old-fashioned B&B style breakfast ordered and brought to my table any day.

Conference officially opens today at 2.30pm and I'm looking forward to some fringes and training during the course of the afternoon and evening.

Mostly, I'm looking forward to seeing an influx of friends arriving today and look forward to catching up with them later this evening.