LibDem Blogs - Archived!

So, Gordon Brown has decided that money spent filling in potholes is a Capital payment. Similarly the subsidy to rail travel is also a capital payment. What it really means is that he has actually given up on his "Golden Rule". He is fiddling so many of the figures that he is now falling back on the debt as proportion of GDP calculation. None of these statistical changes make any difference to the real world. What they mean is that Gordon Brown is to be as trusted as Tony Blair. (ie not trusted). I don't have a proper ...

For over a year I have enjoyed the fascinating and challenging role as Chair of the National Project for Local e-Democracy. Today Local Government First published my article on the project, under the title 'Tomorrow's technologies' - not a title I would have chosen since the Internet and mobile phones are very much the technology of today. The article is not online so I will reproduce it here ...... Citizens are not interested in local government, do not know how to contact their councillors, believe they cannot influence decisions and do not bother to vote. ...

Chair the Stop & Search Implementation Panel which is overseeing how the MPA's recommendations from last year's scrutiny are being implemented - or not. This session we have the Home Office, the Commission for Racial Equality and the Met Police as witnesses.The first part is taken up with an update on the Met's new policy on Stop & Search. Their 'vision' statement now addresses the issue of 'disproportionality' in Stop & Search - and I am extremely glad we were able to persuade them to put this in and that they were intelligent and brave enough to do so.(‘Disproportionality’ is ...

Our budgetary proposals have been welcomed across the city. People recognise that we are acting on the issues that they are concerned about. They also welcome our movement towards more cost effective governance.More money for Social Care. The budget goes up by 11%, sustantially more than the increase from Central Government.The fourth option for Housing. Birmingham and Cambridge (Lib Dem Run) have both committed to providing the resources for the fourth option.Park Keepers - 1 Park keeper for each district.Bus Wardens - bus patronage has been going down because of difficulties with the service.Kerbside collection for ...

Some follow up to two long-running stories that I have featured on this blog. Firstly, it seems that the signs for Llanddewi-Brefi have rematerialised. The three signs went missing before Christmas, presumably taken by fans of the show Little Britain. It now appears that they may have been stolen by people wanting to fleece the aforesaid fans. Apparently, they appeared for sale on e-bay in early