The result has been declared for the Greater Hughenden By-Election William Barnes (Liberal Democrat) 549 Larry Haig (Conservative) 1040 -(elected) Spoilt paper 7, Turnout 24.26% The last time the seat was fought in 2003 the Liberal Democrats polled under 15% of the vote. This election saw a rise to 34.55%. Labour failed to field a candidate this time which [...]
Having a day off from mayoral things is so unusual that I feel I have to blog about it! I spent the day with a friend; and what did we do? ... go shopping, of course. But there was inevitably something Council-related going on, and I attended an early evening workshop for councillors, this time getting an overview of the Council's finances. I escaped from that to go for my...
Read about it in Asian Image: “It is always hard to sever your ties with a political party you have supported but the way this Government has been behaving over so many issues relating to civil liberties and human rights made that decision much easier.” Campaigning labour manchester
This is the first time that I have ever eaten one of the exhibits at an arts and crafts show! The winning entry in the cookery section was a selection of truly excellent breads. But this was only one of many surprises in the show yesterday, because we were privileged to view a wide variety of work, including painting, textiles, photography, writing and some intriguing group projects....
Today went to London as part of the Bath and North East Somerset Learning Disabilities Partnership Board for the Big Conference on 5 years of Valuing People. Went up with Chris, Hannah and her carer Jan. It was a really good conference, covered a lot of ground and it was good to hear a wide range of comments from people with learning disability, their families and their...
Given the trouble they cause each year, I do wonder sometimes whether the unlicensed sale of fireworks to the general public is at all sensible. In York, we've emphasised and taken action to cut back on underage sales, but this incident as, reported on the BBC, shows that whatever effort is made it's impossible to stop some individuals doing genuinely stupid things with them. It's hard...
Tonight I attended a school governors’ training session at the Seedfield Centre in Bury. It was the introductory module to the foundation course – the most basic of governors’ courses. Yet perhaps the most informative, since it gave an “idiot’s guide” to the types of governor, the types of school, and the roles that governing bodies play. For someone like me, who was pretty ignorant of anything
Three per cent of the nations' population meet the costs of looking after 30 per cent of the nations' coastline. The result is that people in the far south west have to pay the highest water and...
It was good to see a poised and co-operative Nancy Pelosi in the White House with George Bush earlier today. I have just been watching George Allen conceding defeat in Alexandria, Virginia. It was an emotional speech, with somewhat overdone use of a convenient football at the beginning and the end. The Democrat Senate leadership team have now just kicked off their leadership of the Senate,
I'm developing a liking for Tennessee politics.... The man who voted an hour after the victor was declared. It's not a joke: After waiting nearly five and a half hours to vote, John Hailey cast his ballot the day after Election Day — at 12:25 a.m. Hailey was the last person to vote at Madison Public Library and one of the last to vote in all of Nashville. He attributed the wait to long
Well the US election reslts are in and the Republicans are begining to pay the price for the misdirections, false claims and outright lies told to get people to support the Iraq war. One of the worst ...
Secretary of Defense designate. Knows all about waging war in Iran-Iraq. He was implicated in the arms to Iran scandal. No doubt then he was probably privy to the actions of the CIA in assisting Saddam's troops to target chemical weapons on Iranian troops. Nice. Now's the time for Saddam to spill.
Back on 2nd November, I reported (click on headline to view) the success of Blackness Area Residents' Association in obtaining nearly £6000 lottery funding to provide an entertainment system for the Corso Street sheltered lounge. The presentation by Lord Provost John Letford took place this afternoon in the City Chambers (see right and I'm third from left!) - it was a jolly event and the LP was on top form! Later in the afternoon the City Centre Beacon Management meeting with Tayside Police took place. Issues covered included graffiti, traffic concerns in Commercial Street (a very useful ...
You would imagine that ITV news could afford to have some heating in their studios, but how cold must it have been to force their presenter this evening to wear her winter coat to present the news ! {Posted by Picasa}
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One particular result in the US elections has caught my eye - the election of Keith Ellison in Minnesota - as he'll be the first Muslim member of the Congress. From what I've seen of his views (such as two state solution to the Middle East and an endorsement from American Jewish World) this will be very good news - both because of the extra prominence it will give to non-Muslims that Muslim doesn't equal extremist or terrorist and also because the more prominent moderate Muslims there are in leadership positions, the better for the Muslim community itself too.
Niall raises a good point in response to comments following my post about the pro-dictator left. I stated that: The legal case for war was, in my opinion at the time and now, flawed. I never believed there were WMD in Iraq, and I always suspected that it would turn into a quagmire. I opposed the war on this basis. This does NOT, however, mean that I would prefer Saddam to the status quo, nor does it mean that I accept ex post facto justifications of the Saddamist regime. Niall comments: Emm, it does seem to me that you can't ...
Here’s a good question for an enterprising MP, in light of these asinine comments: To ask the Foreign Secretary how many Ambassadors identify themselves as Muslim. If you’re going to make statements like that, you should at least walk the talk of your own rhetoric.
Daniel Dewsbury, the student cameraman that Labour had not paid, has been in touch with the various people that took up his cause. He informs us that "The Labour Party have come back to me in a favorable way." He can't say any more than that. But it is good to see a successful outcome - which I believe was in part due to the pressure bought - mainly by bloggers.
From the Guardian: A spokeswoman for the North East Ambulance Service said: “We received a call stating there was a male who had a firework in his bottom and it was bleeding.” I didn’t even know fireworks could bleed. Later on in the article, a spokesperson from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents described the incident [...]
"Is that Mr. Robinson? I have a highly confidential memo I think you need to see." "You know, you sound an awful lot like Ming Campbell." *click* BBC Article: FOR GOD'S SAKE, PPCs, DO SOME WORK BEFORE CHRISTMAS Lib Dems 'prepare for snap poll'
An inexplicable childhood ambition was to sail the Skagerrak. Did it in some pretty grizzly weather, so was pleased to see these NASA pics of North Sea storms. During one North Sea crossing, a crew mate (who had made millions in the food industry, and knows of what he speaks) warned me against eating farmed shrimps and prawns . He said they're 'farmed in pools full of shit and chemicals'. NASA sat pics of shellfish farms here. He said don't trust restaurant prawn curries, processed food, nothing where the crustacean content doesn't come from local waters or the ...
Every year we have the same debate from religious group and the peace lobby arguing that people should abandon red poppy's for white ones. The BBC highlights it here. I would like to remind them, aside from their arguments, that the British Legion's poppy appeal raises millions for ex-servicemen and women and support those who have been disabled and affected by wars when serving their country. It also reminds us of the suffering, the struggle and the sacritice of those who dies protecting this country. Millions of soldiers died defending this country so that people "can" talk freely ...
North Norfolk Lib Dem MP has spoken out against the moral pressure being exerted on MP's by Labour MP Ian McCartney to give up a day of their salary to the fund for the victims of the collapsed Farepak hamper company. Read about it HERE in the EDP. Norman makes a good point when he states in the article that “This is from the government who chose to ignore the ombudsman's ruling that it was guilty of maladministration in respect of 85,000 pensioners who have seen some or all of their pensions disappear.” Ian McCartney is, in my ...
Guido - and a surprising number of his readers - and Iain Dale have both come out (kinda, sorta) in favour of the Great Repeal Act publicised by Nick Clegg today (plug, plug). The GRA was of course launched at the Lib Dem Autumn Conference (thus proving that nobody pays any attention to our conference but us). As everyone knows, Guido is a trend-setting new-media visionary when he agrees with us
For at least the last four years, Southwark Council has been bidding to Transport for London for funds to carry out traffic calming in East Dulwich between Peckham Rye, Lordship Lane, Barry road and Woodvale. I wrote to Transport for London particularly supporting this proposal and I am pleased to say that 160k has been allocated for [...]
Let nobody say that Lembit does not take risks with his publicity. I could not resist putting these photographs on my blog. They accompanied a press release headed 'Powys living a ‘three planet’ lifestyle - Öpik' The text read: 'Lembit Öpik, MP for Montgomeryshire, has been challenged by WWF to juggle three planets to highlight how everyone in the UK is using more than their fair share of natural resources.' I am tempted to open this post up as a caption competition but I think it best that we let the pictures speak for themselves.
It's the juxtaposition that bothers me: my mugshot next to the headline, 'Poor value'. (The full story, if you're interested, is here.)
The last couple of weeks have been something of an emotional rollercoaster. It would take a heart of stone not to laugh at the downfall of the Republican Party and the departure of Donald Rumsfeld; I’ve had a birthday and Richard and I have celebrated our twelfth anniversary. But I’ve been paying more attention to much sadder news. Readers who know my family will be saddened to hear that my Grandad, Walter Wilcock, died last week. Other readers may be more familiar with the work of Nigel Kneale, Peter Barkworth and William Franklyn, who have all also recently passed away. ...
The following piece in Computer weekly made me laugh in the light of the ongoing row about councils fitting chips to wheelie bins. It is taken from the downtime section and is the weekly DPM's Diary entry for the week commencing 23rd October. DPM's diary is a weekly round up of events at Bodcaster City Council. Monday The first beta test for our Automated Recycling Support Environment project starts tomorrow. Existing wheelie bins in all the houses in Asimov Close, a modern development on the outskirts of the city, will be replaced by Dave's new versions. ...
The white poppy raises its annual slow news day head. Personally I think this is self-righteousness gone loopy. Yes, of course peace is a Good Thing. But remembrance is a day to pay homage to those people who, for better or worse, have been killed in war in our names. Wear [...]
Ninth of November, a date that has a certain status in history. 9 November 1989 was the day the Berlin Wall fell and the whole rickety illusion of Communist Europe just came apart at all seams. This popularised the term shicksalstag (day of fate) in Germany.. A kind of cleansing for the previous odious associations of the date - 9 November 1938 being the occasion of the 'November Pogrom' in
The Freedom bill takes us into new territory - we should make it our own.
Some Lib Dem bloggers have been very keen to crow about the reported ‘failure’ of the Tory A-list at attracting ethnic minority candidates. Personally, I’m not so sure we should be quite so triumphalist. According to the statistics published in the Telegraph today, of the winnable Tory seats that have selected thus far, 5% of [...]
Monday: Daddy Alex’s birthday, 30th October, and we ask: what do you want for your birthday, Daddy? Oh, no more than for George W Bush to get his richly deserved comeuppance, he says wistfully… [wibbly-wobbly time effect] Happy Birthday Daddy! At the time of writing, I am looking into the future and seeing that now everybody except the official result is saying that the Democrats have won the last senate race, the one in VIRGINIA (the state named after the FAMOUS BRITISH QUEEN i.e. Madonna who is "Like a Virgin"). The Republicans ...
I've come across a few reports of places where they've removed traffic management schemes such as traffic lights and sometimes even road markings to reduce accidents and congestion. This seems counter intuitive, surely these schemes are there to prevent accidents, but think about it for a bit. People react to risk, but people are bad at assessing risk. Traffic lights make people feel safer than perhaps they are, so they take more risks with their driving, remove the lights and people feel much more vulnerable, so drive far more carefully. They no longer try to cut in to get ...
The issue of Adoption has been quite high profile recently. We had Madonna's circumvention of the system. We also have the campaign to encourage older people to adopt (see link). It is clear, however, that some of the contested adoptions of the past have occured on the basis of false evidence. My own view is that there should be a hold on contested adoptions until there has been a review of
In Britain and the Commonwealth the symbol of war remembrance is the Red Poppy. However I see that a Christian Group, Ekklesia suggests that we should actually wear the pacifist white poppy to avoid glorification of war that the Red Poppy might represent. I have no quarrel with those who choose to wear white poppies, but I find it hard to equate John Macrae's poem with the glorification of war. I attended University on John Macrae's home town of Guelph, Ontario- yes Macrae was a Canadian- so perhaps I feel a bit closer to the poem. I still think the ...
So the Democrats won the House of Representatives convincingly and look likely to win the Senate too, although that could take months to finalise. The House of Representatives was almost guaranteed but to win big in the House and take the Senate is a massive result for the Democrats - the only question is can they screw it up before the Presidential elections - if past form is any guide, then quite possibly.
From next week I'm changing the blog to be more business-focussed, rather than a general rant on the state of the world. There's lots to talk about, so watch this space! David.
One of the things that has been most overlooked about the midterms is the number of Democrats winning formerly GOP governorships. People may see that as primarily a local, parochial issue, but there is a much greater national significance than is often attributed to it. The Democrats have picked up Colorado, Arkansas, Ohio, Massachussets, Maryland and New York. Or put another way, states with a combined total of 62 electoral college votes. On the surface, the governorships seem incidental to national elections. However, the governing party can have considerable influence on the way that votes go in their states. Think ...
On Tuesday, it was good to see the West End Christmas Tree getting hoisted into place at Seabraes (see right) - ironically I was going into Dundee West Church at the time to discuss aspects of the West End Christmas Week - the Children's Concert kindly hosted by Rev Andrew Greaves in the Church and also a Christmas Recipe booklet the Church is producing for elderly folk in the West End, which I'm helping to get distributed in the sheltered housing areas. Earlier on Tuesday, we had the City Council's Best Value Sub-Committee, where recycling was on the agenda ...
There is predictably much celebration on the left and in the liberal world that the Democrats have done so well. The liberal should take care though and look to what this result signifies. It is definitely not a victory for liberalism, liberty or freedom. The Democrats are no more a party of liberalism (in the British sense) than the Republicans, granted they take one strand, but they have a distinct authoritarian and statist streak. The vote is mostly a reflection upon Bush. His mismanagement of Iraq, possibly some of his assaults on civil liberties (although it remains to ...
This is why I’m a member of the Liberal Democrats and vote for them. It’s also why I voted for Sir Menzies to be leader of the party in the last election. “Parliament needs to show that it is as serious about repealing legislation as it is about passing it. We need to remove excessive laws [...]
Menzies Campbell and Nick Clegg will launch a “Freedom Bill” in Westminster this morning, calling for the repeal of 10 parliamentary acts passed since Labour came to power. More UPDATE: After that, Menzies Campbell and our shadow cabinet will gather for a strategy meeting in Henley-Upon-Thames from lunchtime Thursday to lunchtime Friday. According to Cowley Street “The party [...]
I have not spent a great deal of time in Bangkok so I am only going to post about the three main places which I would recommend for a visit; The Grand Palace, The reclining Buddha at Wat Pho and the Floating Market. This post gives a bit of information about The Grand Palace This palace has an area of 218,400 sq. metres and is surrounded by walls built in 1783. The length of the four walls totals 1900 metres. Within these walls are situated government offices and the Chapel Royal of the Emerald Buddha besides the ...
The Independent sums it up, the American people have voted to reject George Bush's Iraq war and Donald Rumsfield is the fall guy. Reports this morning say that the Democrats are likely to win Virginia without a recount, giving them overal control of both Houses of Congress and the potential to make the President's life a misery. It is being said that George Allen will concede rather than ask for a recount. The new Speaker of the House of Representatives is a liberal who would find herself at home on the left of my party, whilst the US Senate has ...
"I have been out meeting voters, knocking on over 8,000 doors, talking with thousands of people for seven months now, and I’ve never received anything but kindness and encouragement." He may be a Republican, but I still like the look of this guy.
Oh what a beautiful morning! 
Two weeks ago we were hit by an 18 hour power cut. Several villages hereabouts were knocked out overnight, our bit of the village was hard to reconnect (owing to a raw sewage leak...) and for the next three days I had an industrial-sized generator parked outside my house bellowing night and day (no problem there) and cutting out sometimes three times an hour, which did give me the arse. Now, I'm used to our autumn power cuts, so I have a small generator, keep petrol for same, have battery lanterns, a torch to hand and a fondness for ...
if Iraq holds a reality TV show to select who drops Saddam. They could call it the X-ecution Factor.
Pandora reports that... A senior Vatican insider discloses that the Prime Minister's other half, a devout Roman Catholic, has been discreetly approached about joining the prestigious Pontifical Academy Of Social Sciences, to sit as one of its resident academicians, advising the church on social and legal issues. I am not one for such patronage usually, perhaps especially for Cherie Blair with all her public gaffes and overinflated opinion of the role of Prime Minister's spouse, but given some of the cases she has argued for, I find it quite surprising that the Vatican might consider her for such ... | < | November 2006 | > | ||||
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