Lord Bonkers' Diary: A bicyclist arrives from Kettering

The only downside of the appearance of a new issue of Liberator is that it signals another trip to Bonkers Hall.

As his lordship explains, we join him at his European election results party. Things are moving quickly in politics at the moment, so we are journeying back to a time when Liberal Democrats still poked fun at Chuka Ummuna.

Monday

The bells of St Asquith’s long ago chimed midnight, but no one shows any sign of going home. I am writing these lines in the Green Ballroom here at the Hall as my European elections celebration party takes place around me.

A cheer goes up. Chris Davies and Jane Brophy are returned in the North West. Another cheer. Caroline Voaden and Martin Horwood are home in the South West. Then a bicyclist arises from Kettering, where the East Midlands account is being conducted, with the welcome news that Joan Hunter Dunn is back in the European Parliament.

Freddie and Fiona are here, wrapped in blankets with their feet in mustard baths. Even so, I fear they have each caught a cold after their soaking in church yesterday morning.

“I have been talking to Chukka, and he is very interested in a pact with the Liberal Democrats,” says Fiona. “Obviously, we’d be the senior party.”

“Chuka?” I ask.

“Umunna!”

“Bless you,” I reply.

Of course, you now want to know how the two of them came to be soaked at Holy Communion yesterday…

Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West, 1906-10.

Mirror alleges Tories exceeded spending limit in 9 Lib Dem seats

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This morning's Mirror takes up the Channel 4 News investigation of alleged Conservative overspending at the last general election.

Its report says:

A Mirror investigation today reveals how 24 Tory MPs failed to declare thousands of pounds spent on their election campaigns in marginal seats. 

None of the MPs we name below declared the party's controversial RoadTrip battlebuses in local budgets, with Tory HQ picking up the tab instead. 

If the estimated £2,000 cost of the bus had been included locally, some of the MPs could have breached strict spending limits. 

Five Tory RoadTrip battlebuses crossed the country to help handpicked candidates in the final stages of last year’s election campaign, with head office picking up the tab. 

The total cost of this campaign has never been published, but the Mirror has found invoices indicating it was more than £2,000 a day, including pay and expenses for volunteers and promotion costs.

It is striking that 9 of the 24 seats the Mirror has identified were held by the Liberal Democrats:

• Wells
• Chippenham
• North Cornwall
• Thornbury and Yate
• Kingston
• Yeovil
• Torbay
• Cheltenham
• Sutton and Cheam

There's more about this story on the Channel 4 News microsite.

Martin Horwood draws a cartoon rather than write a column

Martin Horwood, the Liberal Democrat MP for Cheltenham, writes a regular column for the Gloucestershire Echo.

This week, however, he has sent the newspaper a cartoon instead. You can find it on the Gloucestershire Echo website.

Andrew George and Michael Moore take top two places in ballot for private members bills

The Parliament website has the results of today's ballot for private members bills. The top two places in the draw were taken by Liberal Democrat MPs: Andrew George was first and Michael Moore second.

Altogether there were five Lib Dems among the twenty names drawn. Sarah Teather was at no. 7, John Hemming at 16 and Martin Horwood at 20.

As the website says, the ballot presents an opportunity to be one of the first MPs to introduce a private members bill in this parliamentary session and may mean guaranteed debating time for the bill on a Friday sitting of the House.

Paddy Ashdown in Cheltenham

From the BBC News website:

Lord Ashdown said Cheltenham had always been a "bedrock of strength" for the Lib Dems.

"This is a really important election. We always say that, but this is important because people's jobs will rest on it according to the decisions we take about how to get out of the financial mess we're in," he said.

Lord Ashdown said the second important issue was "adapting our lifestyle in order to be able to preserve our world for our children".

He said: "The Lib Dems have been clear and consistent on that long before it was fashionable.

"Martin Horwood has been an outstanding local MP for everybody. He's fought for green spaces, for the station, and for the hospital. He's a tremendous campaigner.