Dover Conservative Councillor joins Lib Dems
Lib Dem Voice is reporting that the Conservatives may have lost control of Dover because a Conservative Councillor has joined the Lib Dems. Monday 4th December 2006
11:42 pm
Lib Dem Voice is reporting that the Conservatives may have lost control of Dover because a Conservative Councillor has joined the Lib Dems. 11:20 pm
It was 30 years ago today
Benjamin Britten died on 4 December 1976. To mark this anniversary, Tony Palmer's Prix Italia-winning documentary about Britten, "A Time There Was", has been released on DVD. Digitally restored, it features a wealth of performance extracts and interviews with a host of Britten's friends and colleagues, including Leonard Bernstein, Imogen Holst, Janet Baker and Peter Pears, as well as his siblings, staff and Aldeburgh associates. 11:15 pm
Blair doing the tidying?
Nuclear weapons. Nuclear power. Pensions. These are thorny long-term problems which have often torn apart the Labour party in the past. Yet Tony Blair is is going round, in his last few months, with his governmental fluffy blue duster, tidying up these problems, ready for the Gord to arrive at Number Ten without the diversions of any "little local difficulties". One can't but help think that 11:12 pm
Congratulations - Kingston's new Member of the Youth Parliament
The votes pile up in the Council Chamber for the ten UK Youth Parliament candidates. The voting started two weeks ago at Chessington Community College. This year nearly 6000 young people voted in polling stations at all the borough's secondary schools and at youth centres, with the independent schools joining in for the first time. The election was conducted by... 11:12 pm
An excellent use of £20bn
I'm struggling with Trident. Oh, it might be an expensive virility symbol that will ironically prove our impotence if we ever are attacked, but it is an unpredictable world out there and unilateral disarmament may not be the best policy in a rapidly proliferating world. I remember once trying to de-escalate an aggressive situation by sitting down, an act that resulting in my being kicked in the head! (No, that doesn't explain any of my views!) However, as this video shows, it does also provide an excellent example of the difference in the speed of light and of sound. Perhaps ... 11:11 pm
Greer: Take your Golden Bull and stuff it
I won't hear a word against Germaine Greer. She may be batty, but she is magnificent. In today's Guardian she tells the Plain English Campaign what it can do with its Golden Bull award. She rightly argues that the campaign is guilty of ignorance and crude anti-intellectualism. 11:00 pm
Lord Hoggart of Ilkley?
Amid the cheap runs and low-hanging heads of most bowlers, one man rolled back his sleeves and stood high above the rest - Matthew Hoggard. So writes Scott Heinrich about the Adelaide test. Matthew Hoggard has long been a sporting hero of mine. Who could not be charmed by that Yorkshire "agricultural" gait and that stoic, slogging determination? The high-point of my hero worship was at the end 10:55 pm
Opening the Devon Way Centre
Many of you will simply not believe this is the same place as the rather shabby youth centre that has been used as a polling station for many years. I was very excited about opening it today, since not only is it an excellent initiative, but it is actually located in the ward I represent, Chessington North & Hook. Today it was relaunched as the Devon Way Centre - a... 10:51 pm
A couple of thoughts on Trident
First, where did this new Liberal Democrat policy come from? As Linda Jack points out, it has been approved neither by the party's Federal Policy Committee nor by Conference. The last I heard a working party was drawing up a new policy to bring to FPC. Someone suggested to me that it was not clear from its proceedings whether the party was more worried about the threat from international terrorism or the threat from the Daily Telegraph. Second, the performance of the Conservative benches in the Commons today showed that the party has learnt nothing from its error over the ... 10:51 pm
Beautiful Christingle service
The Christingle service at St Nicolas church, Newbury yesterday was a triumph. Normally the service is held at 3pm. However, this year someone had the excellent idea to combine it with one of the main services at 10.45am and have the service run by Pathfinders, our 9-14 year old group. The result was a church full of families enjoying a joyous service including some wonderful singing from the 10:47 pm
A depressing and harrowing book
The Daily (Maybe) has been reading an encyclopedia of executions. He writes: I don't believe I've ever read such a depressing and harrowing book.Want to be depressed and harrowed too? Read his posting. 10:37 pm
Dutch honour soldiers who allowed 10,000 to die in Srebrenica
I've always liked the Dutch. Perhaps it is because my ancestors are Dutch, but I prefer to think it is because they are easy going laid back people who speak excellent English. However, even I am finding it difficult to fathtom why they are honouring the Dutch soldiers who were in Srebrenica when 10,000 Bosnian Muslims they were there to protect were massacred. Read the story HERE. It is difficult for me to comprehend the situation the Dutch troops must have been in, hamstrung by rules meaning they felt they could not act to protect the ... 10:36 pm
Antidotes to political over-activity
Some years ago I was forced by circumstances to find recreation away from politics. By "recreation" I mean: ways to "vegetate" (as we used to say) or "chill" (as we now say). I found two things: Radio Three You can actually listen to Radio Three without using 96.7% of your brain's functions, tests show. (Oh alright then, I just made up that bit about tests, but what the heck). The soothing 10:23 pm
Day 2146: TORCHWOOD: Countrycide
Sunday: My Daddies would not let me watch this one, not even from under the duvet. Not because it was gory but because it was rubbish. So, I have showed Mr Stripy "Goldfinger" instead and we have had a very good time. Here is what Daddy was watching. I think I am detecting a bit of a pattern to the Torchwood episodes: there are those that are written by series co-producer Chris Chibnall and there are the good ones. To be fair though, it might just be me, because to my complete bewilderment, this episode has received a ... 10:20 pm
Queens' voice melts
In the fifities one courageous soul (I am wracking my brains to remember his name so please help me if you can remember it) criticised the Queen's voice. This brought on an enormous furore from Royalists accusing him of treason and calling for his head. He dared to suggest that Her Majesty's voice was rather high-pitched. Quite a mild observation, I think. Now, fifty years later, a study has 10:04 pm
Lib Dems gain councillor; Tories lose Dover?
News reaches us that a Conservative councillor on Tory-run Dover District Council has defected to the Liberal Democrats. We understand this would leave the Conservatives with a minority administration and the possibility of losing control entirely. defections Dover localgovernment The rumour mill 10:02 pm
Do They Mean Me?
Much of the last few days has been spent with my councillor's hat on, reading through a couple of hundred pages relating to Asda's planning appeal in the ward that I serve. (That's Walmart for you American types). What's amused me most is the line tucked away where it describes the ward councillor as being 'well organised'. I think they mean me - which is odd. In my 48 years, none of my 9:55 pm
Astonishing Farepak saga
This evening's Real Story on BBC1 gave an excellent explanation of the events leading up to Farepak's collapse. It also described the misery of those facing a bleak Christmas as a result of the failure. One silver lining is that the afflicted families have been getting a lot of support from the media, the public and politicians. It can only be hoped that the DTI inquiry gets to the bottom of what 9:48 pm
Incredible Osprey journey
Every so often, one feels very humble as a human being. Watching the first 6,000 mile journey of a fledgling Osprey on BBC2, was one of those moments. In this evening's programme, it was just extraordinary to follow the flight of the Osprey from Martha's Vineyard down to Columbia. In particular, at Florida Keys, the Osprey had to make a leap into the unknown. What on earth guides such a bird, on 9:41 pm
Conservative Members Closest to UKIP
Cameron: Denial is a river in Egypt. The Tories haven't changed. 
9:26 pm
Dreaming of a gold Christmas?
Various Lib Dem luminaries have been asked to select their festive choices for reading and viewing. Frankly I’m hurt I wasn’t asked… but I imagine TPTB in the party assumed bloggers didn’t need much of an invitation to thrust their unwanted views on the public at large. And they were right. So if you’re just dying to know how Ming Campbell, Saj Karim, Dorothy Thornhill, Chris Rennard, Tim 8:46 pm
The Tories vs the free market
You’d normally imagine that if a private company was doing so well in a particular field that it had become the market leader when politicians were announcing that they were going to set up a service to take away their business and do it themselves that the Conservatives would be the first to protest and [...] 8:35 pm
HELLO........TRIDENT..........WITHER THE LIB DEMS?
Am I missing something here? Praise for our policy........a policy which has neither been ratified by the FPC nor, more importantly federal conference. I'm sorry, but I was of the belief that one of the things which distinguished us from the two tory parties was the fact that we were still a member lead organisation? Have I missed some important development? I am a Lib Dem because I am a Lib Dem.......I am proud of that, I am proud that I belong to a party which has solid values and is not in anybody's pocket. So why do I get ... 7:27 pm
Arsen*l, Aliens and Awful service
As I didn't make fun of Arsen*l's defeat to Fulham last week, I think it's only fair not to dwell on Saturday's match either. Just worth pointing out that if you can dominate a game (especially in the first half) like they did and still have to rely on an offside goal and two penalties that should never have been given... well, despite the obvious glee accompanying a derby win, I wouldn't really be that happy with the season so far. But we need to get rid of the Jekyll & Hyde dimension - and if we play like we ... 7:19 pm
Staying Nuclear - The right decision in an uncertain world
After listening to Tony Blair; statement today about replacing Trident, Iam convinced his logic is right on this issue and there is a need for a continuing submarine nuclear deterrent. Of course Trident was xommissioned in the cold war, but likewise, Trident will still be in service until 2020 at least, and who knows what situations we may face in the world in another 15 years. I agree that we cannot leave it to lady luck to hope we have a decent deterrent, likewise, if we want to be more independent of America, we cannot rely on sitting ... 
6:34 pm
November's by-election results analysed
November 2006 saw the Liberal Democrats make the most gains in local council by-elections, ahead of the Conservatives. Labour had a net loss though the Independents were the biggest losers. The Liberal Democrats made gains in widely differing areas of the country, from inner city Newcastle upon Tyne to rural Wiltshire to urban Redbridge in North London. Meanwhile, the Conservatives failed to 6:05 pm
Sign the petition against Ken's Tower Bridge skyscrapers
The campaigners against Ken Livingstone's plan to build skyscrapers to overshadow Tower Bridge, presumably to add some shade to his offices at the London Assembly Building, have set up a petition on the Number 10 website. The petition has been up only a few days and already has over 200 signatures. Well done Cllr Richard Thomas, who was one of first. Any other Liberal Democrat Councillors or campaigners, who haven't yet signed... get clicking Click here 5:50 pm
Funding decisions
Just out of a meeting of councillors and some officers from the Garston neighbourhood committee to decide on some funding applications. We had two lots to look for. the first were some from young people for the youth opportunities fund. The second were from local organisations for the empowering neighbourhood fund. People had obviously put a lot of work into their applications, and it took a while to go through them all. I was particularly supporting two applications fo the neighbourhood fund from organisations in Garston. Until people get their letters I can't really ... 5:48 pm
Juggernaut: The Trident payoff questions?
Loads of questions on the Rush to Juggernaut on the Trident replacement issue. A couple for getting on with. Trident is not a weapons system in which the UK is independent of the USA. The UK triad (boats, missiles, warheads) is intimately linked (in operation, servicing and the prices we pay) to conditions negotiated with the USA. Is it possible that 'we' (aka Prime Minister Blair) have a particularly advantageous offer of terms from the current US administration and this offer is not necessarily repeatable under a subsequent U.S. administration, or even a subsequent Prime Minister of the UK? Could ... 5:13 pm
Networks beat centralization
For some time there have been growing concerns about the cost of the new NHS centralised information system. The latest estimates are truly staggering: £31 billion. What kind of a mindset creates such a behemoth? Why is it required that the system should be centralised? It is almost as though the Ministers forgot that the internet exists- it is totally unnecessary to centralise patient information to this absurd degree. While there might be concerns over the security of the links, these apply just as much to a centralised system - and curing the problem would not take £31 billion. A ... 5:10 pm
Why I cancelled my pension
Every month for the last six months I’ve been paying a large amount of my salary into this pot of money I’m not going to get to see for several decades. Just before my 25th birthday I bit the bullet and signed up to the company pension scheme. Just a couple of weeks ago I cancelled. [...] 5:00 pm
More on forthcoming events from Friends of Wighton
Latest update from Sheena Wellington about Friends of Wighton: The Wighton Heritage Centre's beautiful harpsichord can be heard as well as seen at the Friends of Wighton free lunchtime recital on Wednesday 6th December at 1.15pm. The well known Angus musician Isobel Luke will play a rarely heard keyboard sonata by the 18th Century composer John Christian Luther. Scottish tunes from the James Oswald and George Thomson collections will be played on the recorder by Ethel Allan. The recital runs from 1.15-1.45pm and takes place in the Wighton Heritage Centre, Central ... 4:59 pm
A couple of links
For some reason, the hyperlink function seems to have disappeared from my blog-writing page since I upgraded. So I will have to type the long addresses rather than just sticking a link behind the word "here" or whatever. Anyway, there are some photos of Tam and me at the Civic Ball at http://www.pbase.com/rickbaum/civicball06 And also, after my Daily Express rant the other day, here is a great 4:52 pm
“Hug a Muslim”
A Jersey based journalist has recorded a song for Christmas in the hope of getting to Christmas number one (but knowing full well he won’t) and is promoting it through a variety of viral techniques including YouTube. In a parody of the David Cameron ‘Hug a Hoodie’ comment - but without actually being a full on [...] 4:45 pm
Today I have been told
My professional abilities amount to putting text in pretty colours and coloured boxes I laugh too loud, too often, too insincerely Sometimes, in the course of normal conversation, I sound like I’m acting in a bad (amateur) play This has not been a good day. No Tags 4:28 pm
More cash for our MPs?
MPs want a pay rise, taking their salary to £100k pa. I have read lots of comments from people about this today, and almost nobody has agreed with what I’m about to say. I think we should give it to them. £100k a year is a lot of money, sure. But it isn’t really the fantastic sum that so many people seem to be suggesting it is. These people run our country and represent us all. These are 4:26 pm
Doesn't The Devil hold a Trident...?
Trident is in the news today, and Sir Ming Campbell’s call for a halving of the UK’s nuclear warheads seems to me like a very sensible suggestion. We’d lead the way in disarmament, sending a signal across the world that we are serious in our wish to stop nuclear proliferation. And at the same time, we’d maintain a very high level of protection. The government proposal is for four new submarines, 3:50 pm
Put A Lid On It
MPs Demand 66% Pay Rise, screams the front page of today's Daily Mail. I don't know who these MPs are, and I'm certainly not one of them. Our pay at present is just under £60,000 a year an... 3:00 pm
Of mice and bears
Today’s edition of the Putin-critical Russian daily newspaper Izvestia reports that the quantity of polonium used to bump off Mr Litvinenko would have cost around €30 million. This suggests that his execution was a fairly major investment. 2:27 pm
Protest Rally on December 10th
According to The Nation here there is an anti coup rally planned for Bangkok on 10th December Clearly the new government is still concerned about pro Thaksin elements out in the regional administrations and their potential support for such a protest rally. The rally is officially billed as a rally against the military coup and the interim government. Network leader Ji Ungpakorn said his group was entitled to protest dictatorship and the junta could not stop them. "We announce here that we will not negotiate with any dictators because they have no legitimacy. Their power was acquired undemocratically,'' he said. ... 2:23 pm
Guardian Advent 1st to 4th December
The Guardian have come up with the idea of their own Christmas Advent Calendar where every window links to a Christmas related web site 1st December takes you here to a page about the German Xmas Pickle ornament! 2nd December takes you here to a page with the lyrics of well known carols. 3rd December takes you here to the polar bear webcam in Manitoba and 4th December takes you here to the Met Office site for predictions for a white Christmas. 2:21 pm
GMC adjourns hearing ... for almost a year
Unbelievably the GMC have deferred the hearing into Dr David Southall's activities until 5th November 2007. It remains that I want them to look at what has happened with the research that he has managed. 1:23 pm
Cowley Street's Trinny and Susannah
You've probably all seen the advert for Yellow Pages with the Trinny and Susannah type style consultants but the question is which member of Cowley Street staff is one of the pair in the ad telling James Nesbitt what not to wear? 1:07 pm
Politicking
Some assorted politics for a Monday. Congratulations to Martin Tod on being selected as the new Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Winchester. He’ll be a hard-working campaigner and would make an excellent MP. Liberal Democrat Voice highlights David Cameron’s record as he marks his first year as Tory leader, and directs me to these articles in [...] 12:27 pm
David Cameron's environmental record
The Daily Mirror has a good round-up today of the reality behind Cameron’s claims to be serious about the environment: 1 HIS CAR: David Cameron switched to a supposedly green Lexus GS, which is more polluting than the 10 best selling models in the UK. 2 GREEN TAXES: The Conservatives were silent during the debate on the [...] 12:20 pm
The Local Government White Paper: A review
One of the things I have managed to do in the last few weeks is to sit down and take a proper look at the recently published Local Government White Paper and come to a considered judgment on it. An awful lot of the proposals in the White Paper are essentially about making local government better able to fufill the Government's policy objectives. New Labour are struggling with "delivery". They 12:00 pm
More PPCs selected - and should Lib Dem Voice carry PPC ads?
Congratulations to the three selected candidates in Newcastle, promising new Lib Dem territory thanks to recent great local election results: Newcastle Central - Gareth Kane Newcastle East - Stephen Psallidas Newcastle North - Ron Beadle These selections, plus Winchester and Woking appear in the updated PPC list. Now a question - I haven’t yet posted up last week’s PPC ads, [...] 11:30 am
HIGH STREET LIGHTS SWITCH-ON IS VICTIM OF GALEFORCE WINDS
The switch-on of Redcar High Street's Christmas lights was a victim of yesterday's galeforce storms. Redcar's Town Centre Manager John Partridge took the decision to cancel the event, which included performances from talent contest winners and Santa's parade, at lunchtime when the high winds prevented organisers from erecting the main stage in front of the Town Clock. He explained: "We were concerned about the safety of people gathering in the High Street and bringing the parade down to an area that was getting increasingly stormy. It seemed to be the focus of very strong winds." Redcar ... 11:12 am
In the Army now!
With the Assembly elections so close I thought that this non-story from Plaid Cymru was politically very 'brave'. Army visits to schools happen when they are invited in by the headteacher and often form part of general careers sessions. If deprived areas have more visits than most then the chances are that this reflects a greater interest in an Army career in those schools. However, the biggest danger for the Party of Wales is that their opponents will use this research and the slant that Leanne Wood has put on it to try and portray them as anti-armed forces. ... 11:07 am
Timetable for Trident
The Trident White paper will be available shortly after this blog is published. Widely trailed in all the papers today (and many of yesterday's) none of us will be shocked when we hear Tony Blair announce the start of a process to replace trident.CentreForum are hosting a timely debate in the House of Commons on this subject this evening (details available from the CentreForum website). The two speakers, Dr Dan Plesch and Dr Jeremy Stocker will present alternative sides of the replacement debate. Though they differ on the need of replacement, it will be interesting to see if consensus on ... 9:44 am
Russian apologies
It is now clear that officials in the Russian security services were a part of the plot to kill Alexander Litvinenko. Even if the order did not come from the top, agents within the State apparat connived in the assassination of a British citizen. Therefore it is all the more distasteful that the Russians should have criticized the publication of Mr. Litvinenko's deathbed accusations against President Vladimir Putin. As Dame Pauline Neville-Jones said "bloody cheek!". Whatever the plots and machinations behind this sinister murder, the fact is that Russian agents were complict in the crime. The Russian government should understand ... 9:36 am
Blue Labour
I see that David Cameron has defended his push for the centre ground. Except it is not the centre ground- supporting ideas such as "relative poverty" and Polly Toynbee's rants is not triangulation, it is capitulation. This country does not need more of the same- it needs a radical deregulation and much clearer limits to the power of the state. The Conservatives are offering nothing new that can advance this agenda. Either they are serious about their new stand, in which case they are wrong, or they do not believe a word, in which case they are untrustworthy. Looking at ... 9:28 am
Written Parliamentary Questions: 4th December 2006
Litigants in PersonTo ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs why the rate at which litigants in person can claim costs has not risen since 1995; what estimate she has made of the additional costs to the Government were this rate to rise; and if she will raise the rate at which litigants in person can claim costs.(John Hemming) A:holding answer 23 November 2006 The 9:06 am
Iraq Strategy
So what is our strategy going to be in Iraq over the next year or so? Perhaps more correctly the question should be what is the US Strategy going to be in Iraq over the next year or so? According to the BBC Donald Rumsfeld urged a shift in tactics just two days before he resigned. He admitted that the US strategy in Iraq was not working well enough and called or "a major adjustment". It was also clear that contrary to his previous pronouncements he was actively involved in tactics and strategy that should more rightly ... 9:00 am
CentreForum: Lucky timing, or conspiracy of international proportions?
Oh OK, so it’s lucky timing. Today’s unveiling of the Trident white paper (see our sort-of-advanced warning here) represents something of a timing coup for liberal think-tank CentreForum, for this evening they meet in Parliament for a long-planned discussion on… you guessed it… Trident. The rumour mill think tanks 8:51 am
Good news from Winchester
I read news that Martin Tod has been selected as PPC for Winchester. This is A GOOD THING. Congratulations to Martin who will be excellent as a candidate and when succesful very sound as an MP. 8:21 am
Campbell on Trident: 'today is not the day'
Today Menzies Campbell will call for no final decision on Trident before 2014, while halving our capability to one hundred warheads and three submarines before then. “There is no need to rush to judgement on a replacement for Trident. “The decision can be delayed, as the Defence Select Committee has already concluded. “We can maintain the present system [...] 7:58 am
The future of Trident - No to a Nuclear deterrent!
The Government will be publishing their Trident White Paper later today. The Liberal Democrats launched the proposals from its Working Group on Friday, the media release is below. It should be remembered that they are just proposals and have not been endorsed by the Federal Policy Committee of Liberal Democrat Conference. 7:50 am
Day 2145: Liberal Democrat London Conference
Saturday: Didn't go. Daddy Richard still in bed. Daddy a bit Rubbish! 7:45 am
Festive Buses
With thanks to Suzy Scott of Scotbus, you can download the timetables for Dundee bus services over Christmas and New Year by following this link - www.scotbus.com/christmas2006.htm. 7:25 am
Banning the internet
Today's Guardian reports that Iran has joined China in restricting access to the internet for its citizens. Despite having a blogging President the Iranian Government yesterday shut down access to sites such as Amazon.com, Wikipedia, IMDB.com, YouTube and the New York Times. The clampdown was ordered by senior judiciary officials in the latest phase of a campaign that has seen high-speed broadband facilities banned in an attempt to impede "corrupting" foreign films and music. It is in line with a campaign by Iran's Islamist president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to purge the country of western cultural influences. Iran was among 13 ... 6:29 am
Cameron adviser under attack.
Excerpt: Steve Hilton, the Tory leader's chief adviser (costing the party over a quarter of a million per annum) is under sustained attack. 12:52 am
No posts, business, bears and lemurs
I note that it has been just over three weeks since I lasted posted on this blog. Looking back over that time causes me to reflect on a very busy couple of weeks. So what have I been up to? Well for once quite a lot of productive "real" work getting to grips with various websites and business things. But also a fair amount of proper Lib Dem stuff including two days of excellent "Next Generation" 12:16 am
Chen Guangcheng - Prisoner of Conscience
Sad to say that despite my earlier hopes that Chen would go free it appears that he will still have to serve the original sentence passed upon him. This was originally overturned by a higher court in Shandong Province due to incorrect legal procedure being followed. There can be little doubt that this sentence is politically motivated and is to punish Chen Guangcheng for daring to speak out and challenge authority. The Chinese Government had a chance to improve its image on human rights and once again blew it! Shameful! 12:07 am
LibDem invasion of Kentish Town.
It's all so exciting that little Kentish town ward in Camden is being invaded by swarms of politicians canvassing for the by-election this coming Thursday. LibDems especially from miles around are piling in to help. Been quite funny recognizing faces walking past my flat or passing me in the street that under normal circumstances you just wouldn't see. Especially some of the political heavyweights. Just shows what a hard fought campaign this is turning out to be. Some of the blog postings of their visits can be amusing at times. See snap shots from last weeks Luton contingent ... 
