Former Liverpool council leader Lord Storey has categorically ruled out running as the Liberal Democrat candidate for elected mayor.

There has been a lot of chatter in political circles about whether he might be willing to have a go.

Today Warren Bradley is not just facing the courts but has also been permanently excluded from the Liberal Democrats.

The Lib-Dem regional office sent an email to key party members last night explaining his permanent ban.

It states: "Two weeks ago I initiated a fast track exclusion against Cllr. Warren Bradley in Liverpool for declaring that he was standing against the official candidate of the party.

"The letter was sent to his council and personal email addresses and by first class post to his home address."

Warren Bradley will soon appear in court to be charged with perjury.

After a 10-month investigation and plenty of speculation behind the scenes the Crown Prosecution Service have decided to charge the former Liverpool council leader with perjury (making a false statutory declaration) after electoral fraud allegations.

The ex-Liberal Democrat leader has been summonsed to appear at Magistrates Court in March to answer the charge, which carries a maximum sentence of two years imprisonment.

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Reading between the lines of what Simon Hughes told us at the weekend, it appears he is more worried than he lets on.

He says he was "more confident" about this year than last year.

But he appears to be warning Nick Clegg that unless a package of measures are unveiled for Liverpool and Merseyside, the party will face even more misery this year.

The story on page three of today's Daily Post has all the hallmarks of a classic comedy politics spat.

On the face of it the Liberal Democrats have black-listed a number of voters, and to add insult to injury the word 'nutters' appears above the list.

Trade unionist Claire Traynor who was on the list is outraged, but Sefton Lib-Dem leader Tony Robertson says there is an innocent explanation.

So Warren Bradley has finally confirmed what has been suspected for a long time - that he will stand for re-election as an independent candidate.

I speculated back in August that he would do this after a previous leaflet.

It is likely to get him expelled from the Liberal Democrats, as its against party rules to stand against an official candidate, once the police investigation is over.

The only curious element about his latest leaflet is how an independent candidate can be 'selected' to stand as a candidate.

Finally we have confirmation - not that we really needed it - that the Liberal Democrats have no plans to welcome Warren Bradley back into the fold once his alleged electoral fraud case is over.

A Dale St reader emailed me a copy of this leaflet of the Lib-Dems' candidate for Wavertree Kevin White, who thinks Liverpool council are not doing enough to collect bins on time.

Cllr Bradley is due for re-election in May and currently sits as a councillor without party after having been suspended by the Lib-Dems after allegations of electoral fraud, which are still being investigated.

The Government won a vote in the House of Lords on second reading of the Health and Social Care Bill this week. The Bill will now be scrutinised by the Lords line by line, there will be more votes, there will be amendments and debate.

Those are the facts.

If you listen to the Labour Party however, the NHS ended this week and no-one dares to grow old or get ill. It is the worst kind of gutter politics and shows Labour is prepared to stoop very low to whip up hatred of the Coalition and all its works. But like the debt bubble Labour built its borrowing strategy on (£400 million per day don't forget), one day Labour's populism bubble will burst. One day people will want to know what Labour is for and not just what it is against.

He's been a peer for less than a year but Mike Storey has already become a Liberal Democrat whip in the House of Lords.

Apparently Lord Storey is thrown himself into the job with hearty enthusiasm.

He was known for his energy and enthusiasm while council leader in Liverpool, how long before he is leader of the Lib Dems in the House of Lords?

There is no doubt that Lib Dem conference has changed. In some ways for the better in some for the worse.

It is definitely less relaxed than in previous years. The security is much higher and that brings with it extra tension on its own. In addition I think everyone feels more responsibility.

As Labour are discovering now, criticising from opposition is easy. Putting policy into practice in Government is harder, but more rewarding for us as a party. I now have friends who are Ministers. I don't think I treat them any differently but who knows?