BOTY Time is almost here again

For the next hour if you sit anywhere near a Lib Dem blogger be nice to them.

Why?

Well the lovely Auntie Helen had earlier this morning gone and ruined all our mornings by telling us that the BOTY (that is Lib Dem Voice Blog of The Year) shortlists will be announced at 12:30
I'll give my opinion later on who is in, who is cruelly omitted and where I think the little golden men will be heading home to after Saturday night's award.


In the mean time, too many hooks remained tentered. Too many bottoms remain squeaky and in an hour's time some carefully polished willies may be put away again for another year without being waved.

Time for the BOTY Nominations

Last years little shindig in Old Harry's Bar, Marriott, Eastbourne was so jam packed that I was fortunate to turn up early with Lionel to claim a good spot near all the action. Sadly Mike Fealty the big man behind Slugger O'Toole was mistakenly told that the upstairs bar was Old Harry's so I had to step up to claim the BOTY for best non-Lib Dem Blog as a contributor. Titter ye not, tis true.

Yes there may be just under a week left to vote for the Total Politics Blog of the Year but the main event of the summer has just been announced. Yes that is right the Lib Dem Voice BOTYs are entering their fifth year. Men, women and elephants of the Lib Dem blogosphere will be getting sweaty palms, or around the collar or itchy trunks. But don't also forget there is more than just the best blog that gets awarded in the veritable smorgasbord of awards.

This year’s awards are as follows:

Best new Liberal Democrat blog (started since 1st September 2009)

Best blog from a Liberal Democrat holding public office (The Tim Garden Award)

Best use of blogging / social networking / e-campaigning by a Liberal Democrat

Best posting on a Liberal Democrat blog (since 1st September 2009)

Best non-Liberal Democrat politics blog

Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year

Full details of the classifications can be found on Lib Dem Voice. As are details of the esteemed judging panel. It would appear that Costigan Quist has done a Reggie Perin the the pile of clothes and shoes seen beside Eastbourne pier at the end of conference last September were merely a decoy, as the esteemed mystery man or woman or cuddly toy whose Himmelgarten Cafe was winner in 2009 maintains the tradition of last years BOTY winner sitting on the panel.

He will be joined by:

Prateek Buch, who blogs at consider, evaluate, act

Jonathan Calder, who blogs at Liberal England

Lee Chalmers, co-founder of the Downing Street Project, leadership consultant and blogger at Lee’s random blog: Leadership, politics and women’s stuff

Ryan Cullen from Lib Dem Voice, who also runs Lib Dem Blogs and his own blog at The Artesea

Helen Duffett (that’s me) from Lib Dem Voice and also my own blog

Mary Reid, former Kingston Upon Thames councillor, who continues to blog at Mary Reid

Jo Swinson, Liberal Democrat MP for East Dunbartonshire

Ros Taylor, Deputy Editor of the Guardian’s Comment is Free

Andy Williamson, Director of Digital Democracy at the Hansard Society

Please feel free to nominate this blog indeed as Iain Roberts said on Liberal Democrat Voice early in the period for consideration.

"Stephen Glenn celebrates his well-deserved success. Recognise his genius, damn you!"

And who are we to argue?

Indeed the Hon. Lady Mark kindly when posting my Slugger acceptance speech said 'At some point, it would be nice if Stephen won an award himself.'

So make it happen. All recognition of my genius will be happily accepted by emailing Helen Duffet at helen@libdemvoice.org

My Speech At #ldconf

Yeah you may have watched all the BBC Parliament converage and wondered just where was my speech. Well I did have a couple of speaker cards in for debates, but I never got called.

Mark Valladares however does have the historic footage of my only speech made in Bournemouth this year. As Millennium says it is actually me (mostly) not being Mr Slugger O'Toole.

Cross Posting; Haggis, Neeps and Liberalism #7 - The Megrahi Documents

Just before Gmail took an hours nap last night I managed to send this off to Lib Dem Voice and it was posted during the debate at Holyrood earlier.

"The Megrahi case has ripped apart the peace of the Scottish Parliamentary recess, with even some former Lib Dem leaders taking a differing view to our leader in Holyrood. Today the UK Government and Scottish Parliament have released papers relating to the discussions that have gone one over the last two years. It ranges from correspondence between Westminster and Holyrood, to memos of meetings with Libyan officials, to the compassionate release request listing medical conditions.

"These start chronologically with the first letter from then-Lord Chancellor Lord (Charles) Falconer to Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond outlining the Memorandum of Understanding that Westminster had set up with Libya regarding a number of judicial issues. The Memorandum was drawn up to look at increasing bilateral co-operation covering, amongst other things, commercial and criminal issues. The legal issues were not exclusively about Mr Al Megrahi, but looking at the bigger picture of co-operation between the two nations at large. However, Lord Falconer did say that nothing could be ruled in or out, but that co-operation and consultation between Westminster and Holyrood would be carried forward.

"However, it the path of the UK’s justice secretary Jack Straw’s correspondence that sheds a lot of light on the situation....."

Read the full thing here.