LibDem Blogs - Archived!

One of my jobs for the last two years has been to ensure that the Council appoints governors to schools. Some governors in almost all the schools are appointed by the local authority, but I have changed the way this is carried out. The traditional approach to appointing local authority governors was for each political party to have nomination rights in proportion to the seats they...

I suppose as an unashamed classicist, Cicero was always going to appreciate the works of Ian Hamilton Finlay- and I do. Therefore the news of his death prompts me to revisit his extraordinary work. Primarily known for his garden- Little Sparta- in the Pentland hills, Finlay was a much broader figure in Scottish culture than Little Sparta alone. His poetry, sculpture and elegant drawings, prints and paintings marked him out as a singular and unusual mind. His struggle with authority marked him out further as a rebel, and occasionally even a revolutionary- his admiration for Robespierre's ally, St Just, being ...

There is a good article by Frank Furedi in today's Guardian. He looks at the factors that have led to an increase in plagiarism and cheating in schools and universities: From day one in primary school ... [parents] are told that the performance of their children is intimately linked to how much support they get at home. In a desperate attempt to improve standards of education, parents' concern for their children is manipulated to draw them in as unpaid teachers. The outsourcing of education by schools encourages a dynamic where many parents become far too directly involved in producing ...

Recess Monkey reports an extraordinary attack on Phil Willis by Jodie Marsh. Phil Willis is a topless model and former Page 3 girl; Jodie Marsh is Lib Dem MP for Harrogate. (Are you sure about this? Ed.)

The Western Mail reports that the Youth Hostel Association invited Plaid Cymru Assembly Member, Janet Ryder, to a reception, and then offered to don Dr Martens boots and "kick her up the arse". It was all a mix up of course but in today's Plenary a number of Labour members seemed to sympathise with the sentiments.

A meeting after work today with a group of people who used to be based at Garston hospital, got moved out elsewhere after the electrical problems in the winter, and expected to be moving back - along with the patients who were moved out. It turns out now that this might not be the case - and that the intermediate care beds that existed at Garston may end up somewhere else as part of a larger plan. This is obviously a health service decision, but we need to look into this as it seems to have come up ...

As news of the riots in Paris my feelings of revulsion for the protestors increases. These protestors are the privileged in French society. Students are guaranteed jobs, the reforms do not even effect them, they will still have their cosy jobs. Whereas those who need help, those living in areas with 50% unemployment, who have low education and no work experience cannot get jobs because of

It seems that the advent of the Moray By-election has thrown a spanner in the works for yet another parliamentarian (see comment about Salmond’s Moray problems below). Mary Scanlon a Tory MSP for the Highlands and Islands had already been selected for Moray as the candidate for next May (something she is required to do [...]

Apologies to anyone who has been trying to comment on this blog over the past week or so. I set up moderation in the hopes that the English Gnats would go away, but a quirk of the system ended up blacklisting anyone. I think it is a bug with WordPress 1.5x. Time [...]

Yulia Timoshenko apparently wants to form a coalition after her strong performance in the Ukranian elections yesterday. Given that haircut, I can’t help but notice the similarity between Viktor Yanukovich and Boss Nass.

The single has been released, and you can get it from iTunes! Rule Britannia! Lawks bless you your majesty. God save the BBC and all who sail in her. Now lets have enough of this news bulletin silliness.

Just back from an extended stay on the Northern/Republic of Ireland border. Living on a boat in Carlingford Marina in the Republic, the nearest town was Newry in the north. Driving between the two, there was no sign welcoming you to either country: it would be a target for one side or the other to deface. Crossing from the north to the Republic is announced by a sign warning the driver that speed limits are in kilometers, the disappearance of cats eyes from the road and the appearance of cheaper fuel at petrol stations - diesel is ...

after their trading prospects were described as offal.

Having had a 5am start Friday to get to Peebles for a day job meeting, it took a bit of an effort to drive to Aviemore Saturday for party conference (or, rather, half the party conference!) Thoroughly enjoyable event though; everyone is in great heart after the Dunfermline Transportation and the Depute Chief Executive Support Services at the City Council expressing my disquiet about this decision

Up to 700 jobs could be lost at the PFI Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital due to the cost of repayments.

I write this post as Israelis go to the polls. At the moment- despite a large segment of the voting public still apparently undecided- it looks like Kadima will emerge as the largest party. The Prime Minister is someone who has been catapulted into international recognition only very recently. Ehud Olmert seems likely to become the new Prime Minister. As his political star rises, another one

54 council candidates signed up Originally uploaded by mainesformayor. Historic gathering. The Lib Dems have 54 candidates standing on 4th May for the first time ever. We are determined to improve on last year’s 2nd place.

The rest of London is looking forward to exciting new facilities for the 2012 Olympics, whilst Lewisham residents are losing pools and watching facilities disappear.

West Worcester Liberal Democrats have advertised for their Prospective Parliament Candidate (PPC) for the General Election. This is the third seat in the West Midlands to advertise and is one of the Party's top targets for the next General Election. With the recent news that Sir Michael Spicer is too stand down, this seat becomes even more interesting...

John Hemming playing the guitar as a member of the Tipperary County Association's parade in March 2006. My ancestor from Tipperary was born in 1841 and was in Birmingham in the 1880s.

This is gonna be my last post on the Darbyshire debacle. The phlegmic posts made over the weekend have been taken down now. I'm posting as a public call to anyone who knows Leah Darbyshire - can you confirm for me that she's just a bit biliously batty but otherwise ok? I ask because you now can't e-mail the Darbyshires (they did have an e-mail link and no comments). And this morning she'd posted this: I'm finding more and more that the world is a strange and dark place. And then I went looking for some method ...

{Windows Live Messenger} Playing about on the Internet on Sunday I managed to get myself on the Windows Live™ Messenger Beta trial (the new name for MSN Messenger). Today I have some invites to give away. Friends or donors are welcome to ask for them.

Great article about Readings rise to the Premiership (see link) Although not a Reading fan I have been watching them for the last 11 years with my son and for about the last 9 years we have had season tickets. Despite being a Leeds fan I had a lot of affection for Elm Park. We used to sit in the old North Stand for most games as the smell of deep heat wafted up from the changing rooms underneath.

...but we shouldn't be surprised that the rich, as they always have done, seek influence through their wealth in the corridors of power. We are either guilty of wishful thinking or collective amnesia if we think there was some golden age where those with the most voluntarily agreed not to want to rule over us. I suspect somewhere around the first half of the twentieth century and the rise of the Labour movement we might have thought that we had finally reached enlightened democracy of universal suffrage and equal political status. How ironic that it should take the ...

It's a great rarity for me to be heard praising any member of the dysfunctional "Wal-Mart family" but Cod taken off the shelves at Asda to preserve stocks is surely worth some. Well done ASDA. Don't get me wrong, I love cod. But I love it too much to see the ugly great brutes (and especially the uglier little tyke young'uns now being taken) eradicated by over-fishing.

Guardian Unlimited Money | News_ | Study reveals financial crisis of the 18-40s: Patrick CollinsonTuesday March 28, 2006The Guardian An official government study into Britain's personal finances reveals a lost generation of 18- to 40-year-olds unable to cope with debts and soaring house prices, with alarmingly low levels of savings and little hope of building a decent pension. The study, by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and Bristol University, published today, is the biggest of its kind undertaken in Britain. It paints a picture of a generational divide fuelled by higher education costs and the collapse of company ...

No shit Sherlock: The study, by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and Bristol University, published today, is the biggest of its kind undertaken in Britain. It paints a picture of a generational divide fuelled by higher education costs and the collapse of company pension schemes - with 42% of adults now with no pension and 70% [...]