"The SNP had its knuckles rapped by the ICO three years ago for making automated marketing calls to Scottish households without gaining prior consent. Ironically, the LibDems had been among the voices of dissent against the SNP’s unsolicited automated calls."

I'm going swap the word 'ironically' with 'predictably'

You'd think they have few enough people voting for them without pissing them off like this.

So they can carry on pissing people off for another 30 days? That's another 4 weeks so that's approx another 1 million phone calls they can make.

Surely they should be made to stop right now. If I see my LD councillor in the next couple of weeks and I've had one of these cold calls I'll let him know just how I feel

...thought " I know, I'll interupt peoples evening by playing a message down the phone, in order to make us popular. I'm sure they'll love this idea, I know I do, it's sooo kool"

Hopefully the credit crunch will cause a few to jump......

... they get stamped on in seconds.

Can we get the same treatment for other politicians eroding our right to privacy please?

If there's one thing that would put most people off voting for a party is an automated call. The LibDems will soon learn as their voter population turns away (after all, 250,000 has to be around 90%)

How typical of the toothless ICO trying to look tough: coming down on an easy organisation (such as a political party that cannot fight back or ignore them without a PR disaster) over a relatively minor matter, while big companies like the credit reference agencies amass wads of data on almost everyone in the country without fearing the slightest rebuke.

They know that this infuriates people because they've complained about it themselves.

So they are obviously trying to prove that they are fit for power, as they are just as contemptuous of the people they claim to represent as either of the Tory parties are.

Vote sanely, vote Loony!

The ICO did something today, though not much.

sold them this data in the first place??? They should have ensured that this data wasn't going to be used for marketing purposes.....

Paris? - well, she doesnt have a clue either...

Perhaps if the LD's installed some data interception hardware in BT exchanges , and monitered everyone's voting patterns via that, then that would'nt upset the ICO as much an spam phone calls

As a Lib Dem member I'm pretty disgusted. I'd also be surprised if this was decided at a high level. If it was whoever authorised it isn't getting my vote in any future leadership/presidential/candidates election until they have apologised and made suitable amends, as this seems to me to demonstrate a lack of judgement and bad taste.

As a Lib Dem supporter by default (cos let's face it, what choice do I have), it's SO ANNOYING when they do something this fucking stupid! It's almost as if they've been infiltrated by LabTory staff... oh, hang on a minute, there are five burly men at my front door...

Probably bought the publicly available electoral roll - it's sold for marketing purposes after all and, in any case, it's the responsibility of the purchaser not to use it for DM purposes. Being a nationally recognised party, they have access to the entire roll - how do you think they know who lives where?

I remember Labour doing this a couple of years ago. I got a snotty email from them when I asked them not to have their robots call me a second time.

hiring a bunch of topless models and painting the Liberal decals across their chests.

Automated phoning will just lose you votes, I would check that the marketing guy involved wasn't for another party.

The Liberals have to do something I suppose, but aren't they now party number 5 behind the Greens and the BNP - if the Henley bi-election was anything to go by.

Is this the ICO trying to convince rightly sceptical people that it can take action? It should have taken action against BT but lacked the testicular fortitude to do so. We all know the ICO is gutless. This merely confirms it.