LibDem Blogs - Archived!

The CPRE exec. meeting in Stafford today. I go there and back by train from Stoke, a very pleasant journey through the countryside, past Izaak Walton's cottage, throught the pretty station at Stone and Doxey Marshes. I counted the varieties of flowers on the banks: wild rose, guelder rose, cow parsley, ox-eye daisies, cinqufoil, buttercups, blackberry, broom, purple and white foxgloves, red-hot pokers, lupins, and red campion. I also saw two peewits wheeling above the multi-coloured cattle on the marshes, two swans by the river and two buzzards over the higher country near Stoke.

I have been slowly overhauling my blogroll (as the young people call it). One link I have added recently is to The Reaction, written by Michael Stickings. It bills itself as: An independent, non-partisan, and mostly liberal-to-moderate blog on politics, philosophy, and culture -- sustained by Socratic pretentions, Straussian undertones, and an Arnoldian dedication to human excellence.All that and it comes from Canada too.

Don't get me wrong. I'm no fan of Melanie Phillips. But she's got the right idea when it comes to the government's bill to outlaw incitement to religious hatred. On her blog she has been reporting the case of a journalist who is being prosecuted in Italy after writing a book critical of Islam. Now the man who prompted that action has himself been convicted of defaming the Catholic church. She writes: This is precisely what happens when a country introduces laws banning debate about religion - every religious believer becomes a potential criminal, faith group is set against faith ...

An editorial in the Guardian yesterday on the government's plan for a 10-hour school day finished by saying: Ms Kelly's spin doctor believes the scheme should be known as "Kelly hours". If it has to have a label, let it be "Hodge hours" after Margaret Hodge, the minister who fought tooth and nail for it last year.Anyone familiar with Hodge's abysmal record on education and social services when she was running Islington council will know what bad taste this is in. You might as well call them "Herod hours".

The front page of the Independent today contains the sort of article which really irritates me. I support their campaign for voting reform. I think it's self-evidently wrong that a voting system where some votes are almost totally irrelevant continues to remain in existence. But today, their headline - The proof: Vote Reform will boost turnout - is based on pretty flimsy evidence. Yes, there appears to be a correlation between various systems of PR and higher turnout. But that is the only evidence presented for the case. There are a host of other factors at play here - the ...

I've built a search engine for this blog. Enter the search phrase in the box on the right and then hit go. The search engine uses the Google API and NuSOAP. The code I wrote is actually the one I wrote for the LDYS website, so it wasn't too hard to modify. If you want the code, feel free to drop me a comment and I'll see if I can help you out, but you will need to have your own hosting.

With family connections in Wales I've been following some of the local and political issues.Just noticed the Welsh Libs Dems have revamped their website. Looks good take a peekWelsh Liberal Democrats / Democratiaid Rhyddfrydoll CymruHave a look at the Welsh translation of the news of the day - it's double Dutch to me but otherwise looks impressive.Other news - Islwyn Constituency - Labour Party member revolt:The Islwyn Constituency Labour Party has voted "overwhelmingly" to fight for Elena Evans - kicked out for criticising party bosses over all-women shortlists. And, in a meeting attended by Islwyn MP Don Touhig and AM ...

School attendance - or lack of it - is in the news again. I've blogged before about Ming Zhang's exceptional work at Kingston. He has reduced truancy rates here quite dramatically, and against the national trend. This time his research focusses on sick notes. Absence from school can be recorded as authorised or unauthorised. Whilst some authorised absences are quite genuine, others may be supported by a rather dubious sick note from the parent. Up until now truancy rates for schools have been calculated on the unauthorised absences. So a low truancy rate ...

Well I never! This is very encouraging for a blogger of only a few months. Thanks to the ReadMyDay team for their support. The complete shortlist is here.

Testing mini-posts with this story from the Guardian Newsblog.

Laban Tall links to this story, reported in the student press of the august institution I call home. From what I can gather (this letter was printed [at the bottom] since the Englishman's post), the homophobic jibe at the police horse makes a good headline - and probably acted as an aggravating factor - but there were more serious incidents at stake. Apparently the student concerned is known for being abusive when drunk; I am inclined to agree with the letter this week which argues that abusive behaviour which holds the police up in their work deserves to be punished. ...

More bloated whinging from Manchester United fans. Yes, they might be disappointed with Malcolm Glazer's takeover. But they've been playing with the devil for many, many years now, and they can't complain now it's come back and bit them. Fans have been powerless to stop the Glazers moving in. Of course they have. In case you didn't notice, Mr Chapman, Manchester United was a plc. That means anyone with the money could take them over. The fans have no say in it. And a boycott, in the case of Manchester United, really won't work. Chapman himself says ...

The great teaser, with the Doctor’s bemused words to camera, leads into the first half of the two-part Doctor who series finale. (Spoilers ahead…)

The moment of light relief in yesterday's Plenary came during a statement on the Welsh Assembly Government`s response to the Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Committee’s Report on the Contribution of Arts and Sports to Community Regeneration. Alun Pugh, the Culture Minister, had arrived for the session dressed in a flared white pin stripe suit, brown shirt and brown tie. Up until the statement nobody had dared to mention it but then Welsh Liberal Democrats Culture Spokesperson, Eleanor Burnham, stepped into the breach: Eleanor Burnham: Minister, I would first like to commend you on your Saturday Night ...

Due to some problems with the current registar of my domain name, you might find my blog and main site missing for a while. Hopefully I will be able to transfer everything successfully, but if previous experience is to go by, this may not happen. Note, my other sites will be ok.

Boom Town, the eleventh episode of Doctor Who, was a late addition, apparently: an empty slot allowing it to be influenced by the previous episodes. We’re therefore rewarded with the return of one of the weaker villains of the series. I’m going to be nit-picky. Sorry. (Spoilers ahead…)

My blog is 1 year old today. Blog posts are now longer, but less frequent. Since starting I've made several tweaks including, RSS Feeds, the I am ..., Haloscan Comments (including being made a forum mod) and the Blogger Javascript Hack. The top two stories have been Major '24' spoilers revealed due to this and 389 ...doh thanks to Schneier on Security. Because of my blog I built LibDemBlogs

I never even knew before this week of the existence of sixth form bars, which are now under threat. What a fantastic idea they are, though-- and should be opening in state schools over Britain, rather than being shut down where they currently exist. The idea of a safe, secure environment in which seventeen and eighteen-year-olds can get used to social drinking without going mad, is brilliant. With teachers present, booze rationed and a friendly social environment, familiarity with the effects of alcohol can be explored in a safe, controlled and pragmatic environment. It certainly beats a bottle of vodka ...

The Assembly's decision yesterday to set up a Committee to investigate the way that Welsh schools are funded was an important step forward in the scrutiny process. The sort of time that is required to conduct an in-depth review of this nature is simply not available to the Education and Lifelong Learning Committee. It is also the first Assembly scrutiny committee that does not involve the membership of the Minister, a principle already enshrined in local government legislation. The significance of this vote of course is that it is another defeat for the Government and yet there is ...

I have linked the MG Rover debate from yesterday to this entry. The telegraph took up this story. The Independent showed that they don't read this blog. The fact that PR boosts turnout was revealed here first.

The Department of Transport are to carry out research to determine whether speed cameras cause as many accidents as they prevent.The investigation has been prompted by the latest figures which show road deaths fell at 100 camera sites but rose at 77 others. Safety experts are starting to echo what drivers have been saying for some time, that at Britain's 6,000 cameras, drivers may simply slow down on approach and put their foot down afterwards. There are also concerns that motorists may be steering clear of cameras by using alternative routes.I have always been astonished that the policy of installing ...

The Liberal Democrats are not opposed to selective education. The latest moves by the Royal Grammar School, however, underline why we have reservations about selection. The RGS has demanded the right to reject some local school applicants, who have passed the 11+, in favour of admitting pupils that "better fit" their selection criteria, but may be from as far away as Gerrards Cross. If this right is not granted, they argue, then they will then have no alternative but to go private. Fine, if the RGS governors want to go private, let them do so- but they must repay the ...