11:51 pm
Looks like power has gone to the Bromley Borough Council Tory Group's heads. Eleven years after being shamed into abandoning proposals for Councillor "away weekends" whilst frontline services to the elderly were cut it seems that, emboldened by their decent showing in the local elections, the Tories are at it once again. To quote the Bromley Borough Lib Dem website: Liberal Democrat councillors David McBride and Reg Adams have voted against a Conservative councillor's recommendation to re-introduce a councillors' 'weekend break' to discuss Council issues. In the past, Tory controlled Bromley Council has spent thousands of pounds ...
11:35 pm
I got into the West Wing big time during my time in China. I think it had something to do with serious withdrawal symptoms from the argy bargy of political life in the UK or pretty much anywhere else really! My regular readers have by now got the impression that I am not terribly impressed with some of the mindnumbing cant that passes for political discourse in China. I mean, the "Three Represents Theory", what a joke but to watch Chinese political figures in action you would get a strange feeling that they actually thought it was something ...
11:32 pm
I have just seen Donnachadh McCarthy's lavatory on Newsnight. It's amazing what they put on television these days.
11:18 pm
Last summer I identified the concept of polytoynbeeism: You divide the world into two groups: there are sensible people like you and your readers, and there are people who hold ludicrous views. There can be no middle position.There was a good example of it today in Alan Johnson's comments to the UK Youth Parliament: He told the UK Youth Parliament that exams were not getting easier and critics were sentimentalists harking back to a "mythical golden age".So there are sensible people who agree with Alan Johnson, foolish people harking back to a golden age and no position in between? You ...
10:54 pm
A long time ago I had a brief chance of having an Iranian girlfriend. She lived in Britain, spoke fluent English, was strikingly intelligent, an electronics expert, attractive in a sort of Italian way , and had very good legs. All in all a very nice lady. The first date was pretty good, the second date was a bit awkward and well, that was it. However I was reminded of her by the news that another
9:53 pm
Finally got around to reading a couple of the Passports to Liberty pamphlets today. I don't recall seeing them discussed online anywhere, or anywhere else but within Liberator magazine, so I don't really know if they are common knowledge or not. Their general tone is very welcome; openly radical political theorising makes a refreshing change from party political bickering. Or from staring at
9:32 pm
No, it's not the start of a joke. It's the sort of story people buy the Shropshire Star for.
8:55 pm
Tommy Sheridan’s only vices are apparently sunbeds - and Scrabble. I bet he’s great at triple scores though.
7:48 pm
There is no reason why local government should not be organised in units that best suit an area. The problem is that people seem to think that every time local government is reorganised we change the name of the area we live in to suit whatever name was dreamt up to call the Council. We suddenly become the people of Three Rivers or the side of a river or, its valley. It is getting ridiculous. England has 39 real Counties, everyone knows them and most were created more than 1000 years before local government as we know it. The 1888 ...
7:45 pm
Members of the Yorkshire Ridings Society have planned a full day of activities to celebrate the 1131st birthday of the Ridings of Yorkshire. This year has been a sad one for the Society following the death of our Chairman, R. Colin Holt, who passed away in April. Colin did so much for the society and the Yorkshire cause, right from the start and he is sadly missed. The Executive Committee is determined to carry on the good work that Colin did and we will keep in regular touch with our members. Much has been achieved so far and ...
7:45 pm
When the Assembly resumes after the summer recess one of its first debates will be on the Government's forward work programme - a sort of Queen's speech debate without the Queen. Nobody is really expecting any great things of this work programme, after all the Labour Assembly Government ran out of steam a long time ago and are now seeking to find things to say to the electorate for the next set of elections in May 2007. Nevertheless, Rhodri Morgan held a press conference today in which he gave a flavour of his message for the next 9 months: ...
7:33 pm
I am standing on Duncansby Head looking over the North Sea. I start the walk tomorrow.
7:15 pm
There is some speculation today that if Animal Defenders International win their case to lift the ban on "political" advertising on radio and TV then Britain will rapidly sink into the sort of media frenzy we see in America, whereby political parties and pressure groups effectively buy elections through their purchase of airtime. ADI argue that the ban is in breach of article 10 of the European convention and it seems that there is European case law to back up their submission: ADI, a peaceful animal rights campaign group, was told it could not advertise on TV against ...
6:30 pm
There was a flutter of interest in the Guardian and Times today (interesting to see the difference in emphasis) about some ideas being put forward to the Tories' Tax Commission by the Bow Group. The report in PDF format is available alongside this discussion on ConservativeHome. Not surprisingly, since the press release promoted this aspect in particular, discussion has focussed on what the
6:21 pm
There’s only one way to find out - take part in Mike’s annual Which Decade Is Tops For Pops? extravaganza over at Troubled Diva. Year 4 begins today.
6:07 pm
I enjoyed the article, entitled "Circus Maximus" in the Observer magazine yesterday about Max Clifford. However, the strapline was ridiculous. It said: "He's the most powerful man in tabloid Britain" The article's writer Carole Cadwalladr kept quite objective throughout. So I suspect she did not write that strapline. I just think of Rupert Murdoch, Sly Bailey and Viscount Harmsworth. They can
5:25 pm
An intrepid cross-party group of Members of Parliament is about to embark on a challenge of a lifetime by husky dog sled. Far from the comfort of the Palace of Westminster, the MPs will travel 400 kilometres across the Arctic Circle to raise cash for charity.
5:17 pm
A brief roundup of relavent liberal stories from today... -CSA abolished. Lib Dems warn of forgotten families after disaterously bad agency is finally killed off. - Tory think tank proposes a tax rise. Can't see the Tory Bloggers falling over...
2:47 pm
The Avengers is on tonight at 7.10, BBC4. Yes, I know it isn’t Thursday; for this week only, it appears, they’re on Monday to Thursday with four different episodes – Death at Bargain Prices, Castle De’Ath, The Master Minds and The Murder Market (the last is repeated Friday at 11.30pm). So, this week I’m reviewing them all in a bundle: none are quite top-notch, but tonight’s Death at Bargain Prices is the most entertaining, and if you must miss one, Wednesday’s The Master Minds is a bit flat. Start tonight, then, with merry quips and something nasty behind Yogi Bear. ...
2:21 pm
I have been shocked and saddened by the events unfolding in Lebanon. As I write, the human toll of this latest conflict is more than 400 deaths, 90% of those Lebanese - mostly civilian. While no-one can condone hostage taking by terrorists, Israel is showing an arrogant contempt for human rights and international law. Wholesale [...]
2:19 pm
Info for anyone turning up to play “spot Rob” at the Proms on Saturday. I’ll be standing somewhere in the green box. london, proms, thevoice
1:48 pm
The UK has always has a very detached view of its position in Europe. We say we are going "to Europe" instead of going to the continent. For much of our history our foreign policy was based on a splendid isolation where we were content to play off the various continental powers against each other. Meanwhile we busied ourselves with creating a global empire everywhere except in Europe. With this history, it is not surprising that we view any attempt by European powers to ally amongst themselves in order to grow stronger with something very close to fear. The threats ...
1:46 pm
A notice intended for the postie attached to a most respectable house in a highly desirable area in Oxford: If mail item is too large to fit in letter-box please throw through the window.It's insights like this which make leaflet delivering fun. Even in these sweltering conditions.
1:27 pm
Despite what I thought was a good showing in the regional heat, I didn’t make it to the final of the Independent’s sudoku championship - the eventual winner was 27-year-old Becky Hewitt, last year’s winner Edward Billig having erred in the semi-final. (Reassuringly, the runner-up was a 16-year-old - we were disappointed by the lack [...]
11:37 am
Liberal Drinks is quietly gaining momentum - with 5 “drinks” going on around the country now: Andover Hackney Reading Sheffield Westminster It’s early days, but it’s an encouraging trend. (And mostly thanks to the hard work of James Graham). You can find out more at the Liberal Drinks website (which also has a Liberal Drinks map). If you’re registered on Flock Together, you [...]
11:25 am
I had a month to spare, the university year had just finished and the third year seemed so far away I thought I could hold off the summer reading list until August. So I picked up Bill Clinton's mammoth 957 page biography, My Life*, from the library and set to reading it... and reading it... and reading it. It's a big book, but not a hard slog, partly because of the facinating subject matter -
11:23 am
Two new Liberal Drinks are planned for this week: in Andover (Friday) and Reading (Sunday). Coming up on this website: a brief guide to holding your own event.
11:07 am
In a move which will surely please some members of the LibDem blogging community Tim Worstall comes out in support of Land Value Taxation. He does so whilst commenting on Tory plans for a 'Land Value Tax' which it turns out is not LVT but a tax on houses which Mr Worstall condems whilst supporting LVT. So, will the LibDem's pounce upon this Tory faux pas and announce support for a true LVT?
10:44 am
Well at least one member of the Government seems to have noticed the latest war in the Middle East. Kim Howells, a Minister in the Foreign Office, said "Israel have got to think very hard about those children who are dying", not exactly a condemnation but its a start - he could have gone on to say something really outrageous like it was bad or they should stop.
9:49 am
Although watching Galloway and the Hizbollah fascists that he supports does significantly raise my blood pressure, am I alone in thinking that the British government have been "a bit crap" on the Middle East? The utterly craven relationship between Blair and Bush that was revealed in their open mic session last week makes my blood boil too. Yo Bush - the worst President since Warren G Harding and Yo Blair- an unprincipled failure. It is simply not good enough- Israel are in the wrong: punishing the innocent as vengeance against the guilty can not work. The UK, as a critical ...
9:32 am
David Cameron's only firm policy pledge - to leave the mainstream centre-right EPP group in the EU Parliament - has been broken. This will not happen until 2009 at the earliest. Backtracking and breaking promises already 'Dave' ?! My guess it will not happen at all. With Angela Merkel likely to become a major figure in Euro affairs what sense does it make to divorce oneself from the largest EU
9:13 am
The Government is finally going to scrap the pathetic CSA, as suggested by every Lib Dem in the country, and this blog on September 8th 2005. I am delighted.
8:49 am
David Cameron is in Afghanistan to get photographed with, sorry visit, our troops. His being over there might not cheer them up much, but at least it gives the rest of us a break.
8:35 am
George Galloway is quite good at rhetoric. He understands that an effective speech has patterns of words in it. I spoke yesterday at a meeting of the Pakistan People's Party in Birmingham when Benazir Bhutto visited. I approached the issue of the Middle East from the perspective of the "Rule of Law". One of my favourite phrases partly because it mixes an element of poetry with a number of good
1:02 am
While I quite like the idea of a guaranteed parking space outside my home, I am troubled that local government will extend it’s regulatory tentacles into some aspect of my life that has not hithertoo been regulated. I have visions of officious, payed by comission parking attendants gleefully towing away the vehicles of my hapless [...]
Sunday 23rd July 2006,
Saturday 22nd July 2006,
Friday 21st July 2006,
Thursday 20th July 2006,
Wednesday 19th July 2006,
Tuesday 18th July 2006
