Much hoo-hah from the usual suspects on the subject of the BBC's new report suggesting that they might not be flawlessly impartial. An interesting, and mostly correct, piece on it from Peter Wilby in MediaGuardian today. The thrust of it is that bias is not such an easy thing to adjudicate as it once was. That may be so, but, having just watched Newsnight, I'm not so sure we need to look so far
Tom Griffin's blog The Green Ribbon has put together what he believes to be the timeline of recent negotiations between Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
For the last few months, no opinion poll of voting intentions worthy of the name has been complete without the inevitable tagged-on question, ‘And how would you vote if Gordon Brown were Labour leader?’ To which the answer of Labour-inclined voters has invariably been: less likely than if Tony Blair were still Labour leader. Anthony Wells, at the indispensable Polling Report website, has
The Press Association are reporting that the Plaid Cymru group meeting to decide whether to go into coalition with Labour or stick with the Rainbow has been postponed until Wednesday. Apparently it has been delayed to await the outcome of a meeting of Labour's Welsh executive tomorrow night. Whether Plaid are hoping for more concessions or they just want to be sure that they have Labour on the hook, leaving Rhodri with no chance of re-opening talks with the Welsh Liberal Democrats, I do not know. Either way could they please just get on with it? Please! ...
While I was away the Shropshire Star came up with: Newts stop fire crew training
Birmingham has been chosen to host the National Veterans Day celebrations on 27 June. There will be five days of events from Wednesday 27 June to Sunday 1 July to commemorate and celebrate Veterans across the country. A selection of historical exhibitions and memorabilia will be found in Victoria Square More details can be found at www.birmingham.gov.uk/veteransweek Events include:
Dizzy, who is as well informed as anyone, speculates on the chances of a double by-election with Sedgefield and Ealing Southall on the same day. Perhaps the oppostion parties ought to target their resources carefully to get round Labour's plans to water down the oppostion threat ?
"I'm an MP, I've got all the resources and access to information I could ever need. I am in a position of responsibility and trust and have the knowledge to make informed choices" So can I ask my friends what to do now ?
I see the new Labouristi Underboss 'Hatchet' Harman is in trouble with the men of honour already. Apparently she make comments to the effect that the whole 'Persian Oil' thing was all a bit regrettable which do not please Don Blair. He have to remind her he still a few days from retirement by signing up her bambinos to the Family business in Basra. So suddenly she remember it great idea after all. "What I actually said was the Bushi Family are people who deserve our respect. Obviously it not great we couldn't find the Hussein Family stockpile, but ...
This was the experiment we did in Gateshead on Saturday 23rd June: we invited constituents by email to send us concerns and issues in the centre of Whickham village. We then carried out a walkabout to look at the problems. The issues raised are being passed on to officers, along with a copy of this video. 
Fair green future Dyfodol teg, dyfodol gwyrdd Dear All, Last week people attended the premier of Taking Liberties. It's a new feature film about how Tony Blair and New Labour have been steadily taking away our civil liberties. Love it or loathe it, it's very thought provoking and led to a heated panel discussion between Nick Clegg, Shami Chakrabati, Ken Loach, Clive Anderson and others after the screening. You can see the trailer at http://www.noliberties.com/trailer.htm The film's website has listings for cinema screenings: http://www.noliberties.com/cinema.htm If your local cinema isn't listed, please lobby the cinema to show the film. ...
1. The Right to Roam - good money after bad? 2. Quantock appeal fund - please help 3. Best Rural Retailer competition to get Royal launch 4. National Fishing Week 1. The Right to Roam - good money after bad? There has been more news this week from the Government on "Right to Roam". The focus has now shifted to opening up more of Britain's coastline with the Government committed to creating a 10m access 'corridor' around the English coastline. The same cry for equal access to the countryside of ...
The linked BBC story is to one where some children were left with their mother who killed them because she was mentally ill. One was aged 10 and therefore was clearly not someone who could be adopted easily. On the other hand today I have heard of two stories involving social workers removing babies where there clearly is nothing like the threat that existed in respect of the case in Hackney.
Andy Mayer, Lib Dem blogger writes off John Cruddas as being ' hard left'. Actually John Cruddas is responsible for putting the issue of affordable housing - to rent or buy - back on the Westminster agenda. So I say well done John ! Further, to come third despite standing against cabinet ministers past and present is some achievement. Best of all, the horrid smiley Blairite Hazel Blears came last. Excellent ! As for Harman, I think her contrast in PERSONALITY and background with that of Brown will serve Labour well. I can see her on GMTV / daytime ...
It’s a good job I’m not a betting man, because I would have put my money on Alan Johnson winning the Labour deputy-leadership election. As it happens, he was beaten into second place at the very last minute by Harriet Harman, losing by less than a percentage point on the final round. Interestingly, the shortfall was almost exactly the same in the first and final rounds. What is far more interesting, however, is that John Cruddas won the first round, and Harriet Harmon came second. Their success carried them all the way to the penultimate round. ...
Glastonbury looked good this year. I watched live and highlights of performances by Amy Winehouse, the Killers, Iggy Pop, Kaiser Chiefs, the Manic Street Preachers, Shirley Bassey and the Who al...
When the train crawled into Peterborough, we were all turfed off. So we had to cross over to another platform and try to get on a train there. The first one was too full to get on. So I got one a few minutes later. The Cattle Waggon Express eventually got us into Kings Cross where we tumbled off. I bumped into Alan Beith and Diana Maddock who had been stuck on the same train, only for longer. I
There are clear grounds to start an election petition against Harold Saxon. Aliens aren't allowed to stand for Parliament, and none of his posters had an imprint on. His agent clearly hadn't been to any of the training offered by the Liberal Democrat Agents and Organisers Association. On the other hand, this weekend's Dr Who was very realistic in most other ways. Some have suggested that the immensely charismatic but totally vacuous Prime Minister was a pastiche of British politics, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, mass hypnotism and flying ball things with lots ...
The Evening Telegraph has featured the graffiti vandalism at Seabraes in tonight's edition (click on headline above to view this). Some good news, however, on the graffiti problem. Network Rail has called me to say that, following my request, they are to remove around 50 items of graffiti at the rail line in the West End (particularly near to the Riverside Drive/Riverside Avenue roundabout area); the work is being carried out tomorrow. They have also confirmed they will be spraying the rather out of control hogweed near the rail line around 30th June.
Gordon is happy! And I don't want to rain on his parade - at least for a day or two. However, from the look on his face, I kind of felt that the drama of Harriet's startling victory (a drama helped both by its closeness - and also by Sky merrily reporting the wrong result in advance) was regarded as raining on his parade. The image of a man / woman team is a good one for Labour. The only down side is that Gordon and Harriet are both a bit hard-going and substance based. Now - I think ... 
David Cameron has welcomed a report which presents a damning indictment of the Conservative government from 1979 to 1997. The report by the Sutton Trust compared those born in 1958 with those born in 1970, and concluded that the latter had less chance of escaping poverty. Work it out: Born 1958. Aged five in 1963 starting primary education. Starting secondary education in 1969. At
Hey, this sounds totally shit!
Treasury: HM Revenue and Customs: Correspondence Q:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the extent of the backlog is in dealing with correspondence and other contacts at HM Revenue and Customs. A:HMRC has received over 26 million items of correspondence from customers in the last 12 months. At the end of May 2007 it is estimated that around 76,000 items are more than 40 working days
Education and Skills: Adoption Q:To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the target is for each local authority classified by relevant Government office for numbers of adoptions from care in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. A:No adoption targets have been set by central Government for individual local authorities, though some authorities have chosen to develop adoption targets
Lib Dem shadow chancellor, Vince Cable, can’t be accused of taking a soft line on highlighting the UK’s addiction to debt. He did so in his spring conference speech three months ago, and he has now dug out figures showing the worryingly high levels of debt taken on by British households. From today’s Independent: The average British [...]
Last week, Lorraine Zuleta, Southwark's Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport launched the new Somali Book and Music Collection at Newington Library. This has been an aspiration of Abdulkadir Jabril, a Chaucer ward Somali leader for a long time. Southwark library staff have worked in close collaboration with Abdul and others to acquire the collection and organise the event. Something learned on the day is that books have only been written in the Somali language since 1972 and none have in fact been published in Somalia. A Somali teacher, publisher and author, Mohammed Hassan, resident in Sweden, ...
‘Election set for 2008’ is how The Times today reports the handover of the Labour leadership from Blair & Prescott to Brown & Harman. Even more authoritatively, bookmakers William Hill have slashed the odds on a general election being held in 2008 from 10/1 to 5/1, according to readaBet.com. (Though 2009 remains the punters’ favourite.) Even [...]
I may be putting words in to Harriett Harman's mouth, but it appears that after agreeing with Jon Cruddas at hustings for the Labour Deputy Leadership, when he suggested that an apology was needed for Iraq, she is now trying to deny that was what she meant. Isn't it a classic case of never expecting to win or is it simply a fact that you can't trust anyone in the Labour leadership these days ?
So Harriet Harman won the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party at the weekend and has also been appointed Chair of the Party. The count went all the way and the result itself was extremely close with less than 1% separating Harman and Alan Johnson.
That was the advice from the train guard when we arrived a few minutes ago at Newark. Flooding ahead of us is still extensive. Leg stretching suggests we will be here for some time.---Sent via BlackBerry
This moving letter from a stabbing victim in the Weston and Somerset Mercury tells a despairing tale of what violent crime really means to its victims. But the final line of the letter is also inspirational in showing real spirit in the face of adversity. The victim, Jim Patston, says: “We must all strive to make [...]
A number of residents have contacted me about the change to the traffic restrictions here. I have now received the following feedback from the City Council : "The double yellow lines were imposed on Ninewells Avenue in 2002 when the main emergency access to the hospital was taken from Ninewells Drive. At this time parking was solid on both sides of the road for its entire length. The main problem was at the approach to Ninewells Drive. The emergency access is now taken from Tom Macdonald Avenue and consequently the need for the ...
Harriet Harman hits the ground running as Labour’s new deputy leader with an apology that isn’t really an apology for the Iraq war. For Labour, as Elton and Bernie rightly put it, sorry seems to be the hardest word.
Another nice local story on the SE1 community webstie on how regeneration is helping local people find work. click here
The government's presentation of the summit negotiations for a European treaty mirrors the behaviour of food manufacturers who label food "fat free" when it never contained fat in the first place. See Paul Reynolds' article on the BBC website about European Foreign Policy. Incidentally Eurobarometer shows 50% of Brits want a European Foreign Policy and 34% don't.
There's an important consultation meeting coming up about the future of Parkland Walk - do make it if you can! Here are the details I've been sent: Dear All, I am writing to invite you to a public consultation event that is being organised for the Parkland Walk (Highgate to Finsbury Park section) on Saturday 21st July. The aim of the event is to give members of the public an opportunity to participate in deciding and fine tuning the specific proposals to be implemented along the Walk. Mayer Brown Ltd. is organizing the event on behalf of ...
I enjoy reading Hoby’s Road to Nowhere strips, following the travails of a former parliamentary researcher trying to making it as a writer. It’s got whimsy, as all good cartoons do, but also a dose of the melancholy. Here is the latest one. Why don’t they put this in Metro, instead of that Nemi bollocks?
There an interesting sideshow in the coverage of Gordon Brown's coronation that suggests he is looking to review the Labour party's archaic internal democracy and increase the power of members by allowing one-member, one-vote over policy. Or... 'Mr Brown pledged to give party members the final say on Labour's policy programme through a "one member one vote" system. In effect that means ending the conference's role as Labour's sovereign policy-making body and greatly increasing the part played by individual members. ' This should be interesting for Liberal Democrats because periodically we have precisely the same debate. ...
I didn't mean it quite like this. I am stuck on the train at Retford. There is flooding near Grantham. Trains are queuing up to go through the affected areas which also have a 5mph speed limit - meaning it would be quicker to walk (or swim)!---Sent via BlackBerry
How entertaining to hear two journalists on the Today programme lamenting the influence of the internet. This was a producer perspective par excellence. They didn't seem to like the idea that anyone can post on the net. Clearly they thought that sort of broadcasting power should be confined to the elite of professional writers like themselves. I was reminded of T S Eliot's idea of a clerisy,
Last night, I went to the recording of a new radio sitcom called Hut 33 at the recently refurbished (and very art deco) Radio Theatre at Broadcasting House. Despite having been in the audience for a few TV shows, it was my first time at a radio recording. The show itself was pretty good, in a [...]
Some of my correspondence with him is already in the public domain, as you can see on the Liberal Democrat YouTube channel page: CHENEY4LIFE May 18, 2007 YOU GUYS SUCK! YOU FREAKING COMMUNISTS!!!!! YOU ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY, WITH YOUR STEM CELL RESEARCH AND ANTI-WAR FEELINGS! WE MUST PROTECT DEMOCRACY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pinkdogster May 20, 2007 Here's a hint Chenney. The more captial letters in a comment, the less likely you are to persuade someone (even a humble dog like me). Woof woof. PS You do know the difference between the UK and the US don't you? ...
Couldn't they have found a larger flag? (Photo:Getty Images)
John Humphrys is beginning to annoy me. He's started a major production number on the decrease in social mobility. Of course, we get all the Statler and Waldorf stuff about "things ain't what they used to be" and JH returning to his haunts in Cardiff. On top of this there was an interview with Cameron, when Humphrys seemed to think the answer was to introduce a lottery for schools admissions.
It took half an hour to get through the new traffic lights at the top of Lobley Hill, the next town along from my village of Sunniside, this morning. So we were very late getting into Newcastle to catch the train to London. Thank goodness for late running trains. Mine was supposed to leave at 8.30am. It left at 8.38am.---Sent via BlackBerry
I managed to listen to David Cameron on Today this morning. That is quite a feat for me, because I usually switch over to Chris Moyles the moment he is introduced (I do the same for "from our Oxford studio, writer and broadcaster, A.."). Now Cameron is behind in the polls I can just about stand him, because I know I am not alone in seeing right through him. Cameron was on about non-selection in
Having used their Saturday edition to try and persuade us that the most likely outcome of coalition talks in the National Assembly is a rainbow coalition, the Western Mail now says that the favoured option is a Labour-Plaid Cymru link-up. Presumably, they have spoken to a substantial number of the Plaid Cymru group to have reached this conclusion. I understand that Ieuan Wyn Jones spent some considerable time during meetings with his members over the weekend seeking to explain that option above all others. If it is the case that the Plaid leader now sees the merits of linking ...
Sunday 24th June 2007 - While Gordon Brown was being annointed Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister elect in Bridgewater Hall I joined thousands of Stop the War protesters who marched through Manchester for a special rally in Albert Square to coincide with the "coronation". I had been invited to speak to the rally along with Moazzem Begg, (ex-Guantanamo prisoner), Eddie Hancock father
Last week Vince Cable seems to have unilaterally added to Lib Dem tax plans in response to repeated more-heat-than-lght stories in the media about private equity bosses and their tax treatment, "non-domiciles" and their property in the UK going untaxed and the continued cris de coeur of middle England against Inheritance Taxes on their homes. Later in the week it seems George Osborne joined in, on what must be pretty unfamiliar Tory territory.read more
Because hopefully tomorrow the Hillary Clinton campaign will pick a new campaign song. According to Hillary's website the winner of the campaign song competition is You and I by Celine Dion! NO! A song chosen as a campaign theme by Air Canada, by Celine Dion NO! NO! NO! it is so wrong in every possible way. So Don't stop thinking about tomorrow, and quick replacement.
The regime change at the Labouristi family progresses brutally with the appointment of 'Hatchet' Harman as Underboss to Don Brown. I confess not to understand the ways of our rivals. The Underboss of our own organisation, Vince 'Letter Opener' Cable was appointed by Don Campbell. It is a simple thing and avoids any unnecessary unpleasantness. In the Labouristi candidates must lean on their Union contacts. The one who promises the most favours and skim for the Don is the winner. Fortunately for Hatchet her main squeeze is the Don's banker Jack 'What Loans' Dromey. A man of ... | < | June 2007 | > | ||||
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