Each site was scored 1 to 5 against nine different measures. The scoring and the choice of tests is subjective, but informed by my time running national web projects for the Liberal Democrats. I have tried to leave aside my personal political background, and approach the scoring as objectively as possible.
Not all of the measures were equal. After the scores had been weighted, the final score for each party was multiplied to give an overall percentage score for the party. The full results are available here.
The criteria for inclusion used the most recent election to inform the choice – any British political party which elected one or more MEPs to the European Parliament in June was included. In order to keep the scope of the project manageable, I have looked in each case at the ‘main’ cross-Britain party website, and not Welsh/English national sites.
I’d love to hear from anyone in the BBC who can help me to access a couple of shows from the archives.
Earlier this year I promised myself I would take a tour – a pilgrimage if you like – of the key places in the life of Thomas Tallis, centered around a study of his fourty part motet Spem in Alium.
If anyone can tell me how I might lay my hands/eyes/ears on these programmes, I’ll be forever in your debt – please leave a blog comment, or perhaps drop me an email?
I beg to differ – middle class, yes, but stuffy? No.
This video is a good piece of online outreach from the Proms digital team, and conveys some of the joy of performance on any scale. The video comes courtesy of Jon Jacob of Thoroughly Good fame, and there’s a behind the scenes blog post here.
There’s been some debate this week about why Radio 3 is picking up listeners, with a lot of focus on people turning to classical music in times of recession and stress. I can believe that, but I also suspect that Radio 3 is being rewarded for maintaining a consistently high supply of quality content produced by people with real knowledge, commitment, and dedication to their subject.
Take my word for it – if you see these on your local supermarket shelf, don’t listen to any little voice which says “hey, maybe it isn’t as bad as it looks.” Vile, and then some.
I’ve had a busy afternoon working on various projects for the Lib Dems. As is so often the case, when a Sunday has disappeared full of Lib Demmery, the question “why do I bother?” flashed (oh so briefly, for I am a sworn loyal footsoldier of the yellow peril) across my mind.
Supporting a third party in a country without proportional representation can sometimes be difficult – we don’t tend to have the motivation of the prospect of imminent government to call on.
So for anyone else who finds themselves wondering tonight whether their Sunday would’ve been better spent in support of some other cause, I thought I’d share with you the answer I refer back to whenever the “why bother?” question comes up. It comes from the closing sentences of Simon Hughes‘ final speech as President of the party, in September of 2008.
Over the last four years I’ve been humbled by huge support, and love and kindness by many of you, and I thank you for so many good times.
Four years ago, members of my family were sitting in those seats as I became Party President, my good mother among them. Last year I had to dash from the platform of conference to the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham, where she was fighting for her life.
On that day a combination of fantastic NHS care, and bluntly the miraculous, pulled her through.
Sadly, in November, she died.
But from conference when we were by the bedside in Birmingham, we heard a round of applause in solidarity for our family. For my younger brother, who is one of our councillors, and for me.
That warmth of gesture shows to me that we’re more than just a group of people who carry the same card in our handbags or our wallets. We’re more than just a group of people with personal ambitions. We have a collective vision, and we have a collective hope. Our vision is far bigger than the aspiration of any one of us as individuals, and our hope is to honour our mothers and fathers by building in this country a fairer, more compassionate and more prosperous future.
That’s why we are Liberal Democrats, and that’s why we don’t just deserve to succeed, we will succeed. Don’t ever give up on that cause – it’s the most wonderful thing you can do.
