A good night out

For the last two years I have been discovering the delights of pub theatres across London. They represent incredible value when budgets are tight and offer a far more intimate dramatic experience as an audience member. You can be just inches from the actors, especially if you opt for a front row seat as I always do.

I say seat, but in most cases you share a bench with others, often having to squeeze up if the theatre has sold out. My last visit to my nearest regular haunt, the Cock Tavern Theatre in Kilburn High Road, resulted in me having to make room for the last audience member to arrive, the playwright Charlotte Eilenberg whose play "Shrunk" was about to start. The rest of the audience it appeared was made up of friends and family of the cast and production team because I was the only one in the audience Charlotte didn't know.

I explained that this was my nearest theatre and I came regularly. I also pointed out that as each production took over the space so the set got better. We now had a proper door as the main entrance to the stage where previously there had been a black curtain.

At the end I congratulated Charlotte on her play, a dramatic comedy about a woman visiting a pyschotherapist, who turns the tables on the usual patient/therapist relationship when she draws a gun. You can see what happens next if you make a date to see it before it completes its run on 12th June.

Last night I went to another favourite of mine, the Finborough Theatre in Earls Court. This like the Cock Tavern has a theatre space above the bar, although in this case it is more an upmarket eatery and wine bar rather than a traditional boozer. I saw a play called "The Man" by James Graham which is essentially about a young man trying to fill in his first tax form as a newly self employed worker. He enacts telephone conversations with Lisa, a woman from the Inland Revenue's help desk in Wrexham. Lisa is played by an actor sitting near the back of the audience.

He is trying to work out whether any of the receipts he has collected over the past year can be claimed as business expenses or not. The receipts themselves have been handed out to audience members randomly as they enter the theatre, so the order of the play will be unique for each performance as the man collects them back in one at a time and remembers the events which occurred to generate them. This is a bitter sweet comedy which is also extremely touching in places, and is another current production which is highly recommended.

Other regular favourite theatres are the White Bear Theatre in Kennington where I first came across The Good Night Out company which now runs the Cock Tavern Theatre, the Lion and Unicorn Theatre in Gaisford Street in Kentish Town, The Southwark Playhouse (not so much a pub theatre but still on the fringe) and Hampstead's Pentameters Theatre, where I recently saw the Duchess of Padua, Oscar Wilde's almost forgotten and never previously seen tragedy.

So if you can't afford West End prices, or prefer to get up close to the action, look out for a pub theatre near you.

In support of David Laws

I find the piece published in the Daily Telegraph exposing David Laws' sexuality via his expenses claims both vindictive and deliberately politically motivated to destabilise the Coalition Government, which the paper clearly despises. They have had this material for months but the paper chooses now to publish it. Not before the election, or during the election campaign, not even during the negotiations between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, when Laws was a key negotiator, but now when the Coalition has been launched with a positive public reaction.

Reading the Twitter feed on this it is clear that there is huge support for David from both Tory and Lib Dem sources alike. Most tellingly were several who mentioned the actual rental claim was unbelievably low for renting a room in Central London. It appears that because of a rules change in 2006 the previous arrangement was no longer valid, but admitting more about the relationship he had with his partner was an intrusion into his privacy.

This is not a resigning issue in my view. Rather more important, we should question why the Telegraph decided to publish this now.

If the Telegraph thinks it is in the public interest to "out" gay MPs in this way, then it is in the Telegraph readers' interest to know who writes for the paper. I challenge the Telegraph to list all of its editors, journalists, international correspondents and columnists describing in detail their sexuality and home-living arrangements. If it is important to reveal these details of a member of the Coalition Government it is equally important to know the details of those who seek to bring him down.

I think we should be told....

As you were...

Went to the Annual General Meeting of Camden Council last night and acquainted myself with a new regular seat in the chamber: my fourth since 2002. Its last inhabitant was Jonathan Simpson who was elevated to the position of Mayor last night. He is the first gay Mayor for some years and it was ironic that the supporting speeches from the opposition groups were from two more gay men who had tails to tell. But enough about that.

It was somewhat strange that after all the political turmoil in recent weeks I start the new Council with the same committee responsibilities as before - Health Scrutiny, Pensions and Staff Appeals - and even more bizarrely I am the only councillor out of 54 who starts the new Council with precisely the same responsibility as I had before the election, in Chairing the Health Scrutiny Committee.

It was also noticeable that for the next year at least I will be regularly joined by two other councillors on the same committees. Fellow Liberal Democrat Paul Braithwaite and Labour's returning Peter Brayshaw will serve on Health Scrutiny and Pensions with me. The latter was also nominated to serve with me on the Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which may still need to sit to consider the reconfiguration of acute services in the North Central London area's hospitals.

One noticeable absentee last night was Keith Moffitt who had obviously suffered a turbulent 24 hours of emotions since Tuesday night. He was jubilant at the Haverstock count, having put in many hours in support of the campaign there, only to discover his brother was gravely ill in Sheffield where he had since travelled to be by his bedside. The whole Council appeared genuinely concerned at this news when it was announced at the meeting by Russell Eagling.

The post-AGM gossip included speculation about the deferred election of the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on the Council, deferred because Janet Grauberg had sadly lost out in Kilburn ward on 6th May, and we were waiting for the full Group to be available before making a decision. I had made my pitch to support Matt Sanders at a dinner before going to the by-election count for Haverstock ward, and by the time I spoke personally to Matt to explain why I wanted him to do it after the AGM, he had already heard about the "rumour" from both Keith Moffitt and members of the Labour Group. He was at least pleased to know it was me who had initiated the idea with Jill Fraser and Flick Rea at dinner, although I had also suggested this to Keith some time before.

Nancy Jirira wanted to generate a contest for the post, arguing that it would be a better balance if we had a woman as Deputy Leader. I was more concerned about getting someone from the new generation who offered a better geographical perspective. Time will tell on this one but I think Matt has already garnered a head of steam for his campaign.

I always follow Jimmy Greaves' motto - "equalise before the other side scores" - when I think something should be done, so my taking the early initiative in promoting Matt for the post should make him successful.

Liberal Democrats in Camden know how to win by-elections, although as the polling stations closed last night we were less confident than usual that we had secured all three seats. An army of over hundred Labour activists appeared on the streets in roving gangs knocking up their voters, and their teams always looked bigger than ours. While we went round in 2's and 3's they appeared in 5's, such was their plentiful numbers.

At the count the nervousness continued. The first hints that we were doing well came when we told that Jill Fraser and Matt Sanders were leading the "split votes" where voters decide to split their vote between candidates of different parties. But what about our new candidate Rahel Bokth? Did he have sufficient local support to withstand the Labour onslaught?

As the count continued I retold the story of my lift entrapment from the previous week for the benefit of Richard Osley who had yet to read my blog. I also managed to send him a picture taken inside the lift on my ancient mobile to his more modern gadget, so no doubt that will appear somewhere in the blogosphere.

As the piles for the block votes started building up my squinting eyes spotted that there were more for the Liberal Democrats than for Labour so there was a chance we had won all three seats even after the split votes.

Jill and Matt started smiling a lot at a distance but I could not work out Rahel's expression. It still seemed to be too close to call. Then we heard that Labour had requested a bundle check - a very good sign. Theo Blackwell had already admitted in passing that the "yellows" had won, but the final figures demonstrated how close it had become with Rahel squeezing in by 34 votes!

A sensational night after a lot of hard work by an amazing team. Liberal Democrats in Camden know how to win by-elections....

I had a phone call over the weekend, out of the blue, from a former councillor colleague on the now defunct Humberside County Council. Bill and I served together in a perfectly formed Group of Four Liberals between 1985-89, holding the balance of power between 36 Labour people and 35 Tories.

Back then council committees did not have to reflect political balance by law and Labour tried to negotiate a position where they had a built in majority of one on every committee. The Tories were more pliable (it must be in their genetic make up) and they agreed to perfect balance on all committees, a substitute system, and the ability of all named Committee spokespeople from each of the three Groups to list items on agendas. What fun we had in driving forward our agenda!

The four big policy changes we pushed through during our four years were to significantly expand the role of the voluntary sector in the provision of commissioned services so that they became a realistic alternative to the private sector or Council-provided services; to expand the Social Services budget which was severely under-funded compared to other Councils with similar characteristics; to start up a Performance Review Committee which for the first time aimed to set performance targets for each Council department (which just did not happen back then!), and to make the first attempt at considering environmental issues in Council procurement, for example in buying school furniture which used wood from sustainable sources.

The four of us held it together for four years, holding the balance of power in an authority that had an annual turnover of £1bn in 1989 and 17,500 employees. When we had finished we had three broken marriages, two redundancies and two failed businesses between us. We went our separate ways after that.

I came to London, Tim Wright stayed on the Council for another four years but then moved into social service contracting and I lost touch with him. Frank Parker moved first out of the County and now lives in the Republic of Ireland, and Bill Tuffnell, my long-lost caller now lives in a tiny hamlet in the Burgundy countryside.

To say we scattered to the four winds appears to be the correct analogy. I think I might be the only one who re-entered active politics (in 1998 when I rejoined the Liberal Democrats), and who has had a second spell in public life. Actually, this time round I have lasted longer than when in Hull.

It's even more bizarre that Bill tracked me down via the Camden website to give me a call, for only a week earlier I had decided on a short break to see my only surviving friend who lives in the East Yorkshire area at the beginning of June. I aim to revisit my old stomping grounds in Hull and Beverley, along with a pub or two, since I have not been back for about 15 years. Whether I will get misty-eyed when I recall my earlier minor successes only time will tell. But I am sure that will be a subject of a future blog...

Another good canvassing session in Haverstock ward last night with a large team out from Hampstead & Kilburn constituency.

Not everything went to plan however. I got stuck in a lift in Shipton House with Jill Fraser, Keith Moffitt, Gillian Risso-Gill and 2 local voters. We had not quite made the 5th floor when the lift came to a halt. Some local teenagers on the outside called the fire brigade for us while Jill called the Council's after hours hotline. Keith made contact with our team elsewhere in the block to explain why we weren't completing our canvassing. Meanwhile yours truly tweeted for support. Lord Bonkers of Liberator fame suggested we canvass the two local voters, which we already had done. They were Lib Dem supporters and agreed to take a poster for their window. Very generously they indicated their trolley contained their food and drink for the week, so we could survive a few days.

The Fire Brigade duly arrived and as is always the case in Haverstock Jill recognised the officer in charge of the rescue operation from his voice. (Is there no one in the area she does not know?) One scary moment came when he asked whether there were councillors inside, hinting that the speed of his rescue might be affected. We said there were real people inside too so the banging and crashing continued apace until the doors were prised open.

The sauna like conditions inside gave way to some fresh air outside the lift, although calling London air fresh is probably an overstatement. I think we were stuck for about 20 minutes in total, but that was enough for me. However I much a get on with my fellow Liberal Democrat colleagues, getting that close and personal in a lift has its limitations.

Later on we congregated in the Enterprise pub emblazoned with Lib Dem posters, which made me reflect that we had seen plenty of ours in the ward, and only a few Labour ones. We probably outnumbered the Labour posters by 4 to 1 in the area we had canvassed. A good display at this stage with less than a week to go.

Team canvassing in Haverstock last night seemed like déja vu, although it was only a couple of weeks before when I was pounding the streets of West Hampstead. There was noticeable campaign fatigue from both the voters and the canvassers, although the latter were cheered by the friendly response when ever we mentioned Jill Fraser's name.

The warmer weather today is lifting the soul, as are the clear messages coming through the media that the Lib Dems are pulling their weight in Government. Preservation of the Human Rights Act appears to be another red line the Tories are fearing to cross while our DPM has set out a clear message of reform in advance of a major speech today. As I mentioned in an article submitted to Liberator magazine yesterday the Tories are more concerned about getting power than preserving their principles or key policies so they become chameleon-like in partnership arrangements.

I will soon be off to the dentist to repair a broken tooth. I will be a few pounds lighter in the pocket thereafter so you can hold a whip round if you like...

Back from Birmingham where the party faithful were in high spirits and 99% supportive of the coalition deal. Not sure why the session was declared to be private when the party was so united behind the leadership.

Two standing ovations before the obligatory ones for Clegg were offered to Simon Hughes and Uncle Vince, who was upfront about the cuts being "horrible". A sense of realism about the risks involved in the deal was coupled with genuine excitement about being in Government after about 70 years.

Chris Huhne reminded us that the last coalition Government ran from 1940-1945 and that it worked. "We won the war".

M'lords Greaves and McNally, who could not come from more widely different backgrounds, were both enthusiastic supporters, although it was never explained why Tony had lost two front teeth in his excitement over the deal, and so shortly after a "robust exchange of views" with his Lords Leader..

On returning I notice that Nash survived as Labour Group leader on Camden Council; that Theo has become Mr Cuts and my old sparring partner, Pat Callaghan has secured Health and Adult Social Care. The health lobby will be pleased I am sure with the latter, but Theo has the poisoned chalice.

Welcome to my first blogpost. I have just completed a hectic week after being re-elected to Camden Council on 6th May for West Hampstead ward. It was with some relief that the campaign finished as I had suffered badly from the physical exertions involved. Both of my knees are affected by arthritis and so the regular leafleting to addresses involving steps to basement flats had been particularly painful.

Sadly not all of my Liberal Democrat colleagues were returned. The Labour surge in London impacted on Camden, as it did in Brent and Islington too, and so the next four years will be spent on the opposition benches. This might not be such a bad place to be. The expected cut-backs in local government spending now likely to help clear the national deficit will mean there will be real cuts in services in Camden which the Labour Party will have to impose. There is some justice to this state of affairs because it was Labour's carefree relationship with the financial services industry while in power which created the mess in the first place.

We still await the outcome of the Labour Group's machinations at the end of the induction session yesterday afternoon. Will Nash Ali remain it's leader? Or will Theo Blackwell take the crown?

But I have more important things to concern myself with. I need to travel to Birmingham for the Liberal Democrat Special Conference to debate the national coalition.

We live in interesting times.