Today, the 10th August, is Naked Chicks Day, marking 96 years since ladies threw off the shackles of clothing and went naked for the first time. Make sure you read all about it. If you want, you can also join the Naked Chicks Facebook group.
One of the things which always happens when polling information comes out is that someone feeds the numbers into Electoral Calculus and quotes its considered opinion to illustrate what this new information would mean for the next election. So it was today, for instance, over on Iain Dale's blog. He posted a story about some Scottish polling data (mysteriously knocking 2% off the Lib Dems to
Tonight's South Wales Evening Post reports that red-haired people are to be offered free entry to the National Botanic Garden of Wales on 26 August as part of the country's first Ginger Family Festival. The special day is timed to celebrate the opening of the new Tropical House, which features many exotic examples of the zingiberaceae plant family, also known as the ginger family. Visitors can sample the garden's home-made ginger beer, buy something from a variety of stalls selling ginger-related products and dine from a specially created ginger-themed menu. Dishes on offer include Towy salmon with ginger and spring ...
This week's Golwg has a minor exclusive in its gossip column as the writer speculates as to why I visited the Eisteddfod on the first day. Nice to see that I am being noticed. Under the heading 'Black days for German?', we are told that it 'was quite a surprise to see Peter Black come all the way to Mold for the Eisteddfod and on the first day at that. Peter Black is not well known for his support of the Welsh language so why come all this way? Could it possibly be that he was gathering support for a ...
This Summer of British Film is hard work, but I am keeping up so far. I enjoyed The Leather Boys more than I expected. One of the reviews on the IMDB describes it as "an engaging hybrid of British 'kitchen sink' drama and American biker film," and that is about right. It is the story of a couple (Rita Tushingham and Colin Campbell) who marry too young. They soon break up, and Campbell takes up with the engaging Dudley Sutton, who is more interested in motor bikes than girls. Sutton and Campbell lodge with the latter's grandmother, sharing a room ... 
At last at last! We are off. Train just pulled out of KX only one and a quarter hours late. Now let me get to the buffet car!---Sent via BlackBerry
I’ve just heard that Anthony Wilson, founder of Factory Records and the Hacienda, died tonight aged 57. A legend of British music has left us tonight.
Whilst channel hopping tonight a Gardeners World Special captured my imagination. The program was dealing with how developments such as the Greenwich Millennium Village and BedZed and others around Europe are looking at how green spaces can be included in high density housing projects to increase the quality of life in the property and also its commercial value. There are many benefits to the environment, the community, crime rate, property prices, the list goes on. Imaginative ideas such as placing the car parks underground and covering it with a communal garden & quality safe play areas. Contrast this with some ...
This week we got to the final interviews for the appointment for our Assistant Director for Culture Leisure and Tourism. On Monday we met the shortlist of 5 very good candidates and over the course of the day this was reduced to 4 for the Tuesday interviews. In the end from an exceptional field we have appointed David Lawrence. CLT is very important for our authority and David had a wide ranging...
Fantastic. An open ticket. It meant I could get a train at a more civilised time. So I headed to Kings Cross to get the 8pm train to Newcastle tonight. I am on the train now. But we are still at KX and it is 8.35pm. No sign of any movement. The problem is there is a fire on a train at Stevenage and all the power lines have been switched off. The GNER train guard has been at pains to point out
The sad news reached us today of the death of Tim Garden, our spokesman on defence in the House of Lords, from pancreatic cancer. To those of us campaigning for an ethical, or at least intelligent, foreign and defence policy, he was an inspiration. As his biography shows, he was no theoretician, but knew whereof he wrote and spoke. Those who knew him personally describe him as "a good social liberal". - Frank Little
This is another of those cases where one would have expected intervention from Childrens Social Services. She was a mixed race 4 year old. Harder to get adopted than an unharmed baby. It is important to remember that with all the social workers leavingt the profession because they cannot stand doing what they are doing it leaves fewer and fewer experienced people. Those people need to hunt up
The BBC reports that George Galloway is to stand against the transport minister Jim Fitzpatrick in Poplar and Limehouse at the next general election. Earlier speculation suggested he might stand against Jack Straw in Blackburn.
The Register reports: Well-known former MI5 officer and 9/11 conspiracy theorist David Shayler has taken a further step along the path to fruitcakeville, suggesting to a TV news interviewer that he is the Messiah.Describing an occasion on which he had been anointed by a mystic representing biblical figure Mary Magdalene, the confused ex-spook told More4 News:"I felt a sense of peace, I suddenly realised why it had been how it had - why I seem to get such a strange deal from the universe, when I seem to be trying to tell the truth about everything."David Icke is 55.
There's been a long string of "scandals" featuring broadcasting companies. This latest one takes the biscuit. Reuters have admitted illustrating a story about the Russian North Pole undersea flag-placing with footage from the 1997 film "Titanic". A 13 year-old Finnish schoolboy spotted the similarity of the pictures. Whatever next?
Publicity seeking part time MP George Galloway is to stand in Poplar and Limehouse, the seat adjoining his own present seat at the next general election, so he has announced. Note - For any residents of Poplar and Limehouse even considering voting for George Galloway, not his voting record in Parliament. Since 5 May 2005 he has attended just 68 votes out of 545 in Parliament. That equates to just 12.5%. If he represented Shetland and Orkney he might have an excuse, but since he represents a London seat, people ought to ask why he has the time to do ...
The emergency Council Meeting on Wednesday evening - was a complete nightmare - Radcliffe Councillors (Labour) have been working on a fantastic new-high-school build for several years only to find out, just before the summer holidays, that their plans will be radically altered by the Conservative group keen to extend the project in a different direction to include a primary school and so shrink
No blogging for a little while, going on holiday to somewhere nice and hilly. Bye!
{respect-by-election-victor.jpg} Respect narrowly held on to their seat in Shadwell Ward in yesterday’s by-election, thwarting former Labour Council leader Michael Keith’s attempt to get back on to the Council. Despite having a very personable candidate in Rosie Clarke, the LibDems trailed a poor fourth, which should cause some soul-searching about why the party is doing so badly in large parts of East London. Of course, politics in Tower Hamlets is unlike that of virtually any other part of the capital, not least because of the huge numbers of first and second generation Bengali (Bangladeshi) voters and a campaigning style that is ...
Andrew claimed that his ears were still ringing on Sunday - from the rock bands at the Met on Friday night? - me thinks it was all an excuse to get us away from it all early. I was amazed at the young people - they mostly stood still and listened - when I was at such events, we were dancing and jumping up and down, screaming and having a wild time. I tried to repeat this to show them what to do - 
It just doesn't get better than this! I am in the New Statesman. No, not the 1990s comedy about Tory MP Alan B'Stard. (Isn't it time they brought him back as a New Labour MP in a new tv series?) No, I'm on the New Statesman website in an article about Facebook and blogging. They have spotted my comments about going onto Facebook only when 100 people have signed up to the
What kind of a god would design a dog with two noses? It looks bloody ridiculous. It’s discoverer has a rather silly name as well: Colonel John Blashford-Snell. I so wish the BBC had misspelt his last name. Share This
News has just reached me via Robert Browne on cix of the death of Tim Garden, our House of Lords Defence Spokesman of pancreatic cancer. His knowledge of military matters coupled with his undoubted liberalism was inspiring. It is a sad loss to the party, and of course to Sue.
So, if you were going to fork out $24.95 + $10 shipping for a 10 inch tall ceramic statue of a Klu Klux Klansman..... Would you stretch to the extra 10 bucks to get the one with the 'lighted eyes?' Yeah, that's what I thought too! (I wonder where the power lead for the light comes out.....? I do hope it's somewhere painful) Mind you, it seems pretty mild by comparison with what Marilyn Manson is alledged to have bought... You've got to admire the style in the quote, "And I would never spend my money on a Chinese girl ...
Many younger Lib Dems won't know the name Bill MacCormick. Originally a bass player with people like Brian Eno and Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music fame and a member of Matching Mole with Robert Wyatt. Bill chucked in the music business to work for the party - at one stage in the 1980s Bill and Chris Rennard were the Campaigns Department. Bill went on to work for DES, the creators of Polly, the then
This from Dizzy is classic: Whatever is going here? Take a look. We have two pages of videos titles "[Constituency Name's] Labour MP talking about Gordon Brown". Each video is professionally done, they only appear on Google and not on Labour websites or the Labour YouTube channel. They were all posted on the same date (27th July), they were all appear to have been uploaded anonymously. They're
All residents, both party members and non-members, are welcome at the Bury Lib Dem summer BBQ, which will take place this Sunday at the home of our local party Chair Cllr Andrew Garner, at 82 Glebelands Road in Prestwich. Come and enjoy the food and drink (especially the burger and sausage buns, which I will be providing!), and meet like-minded Lib Dems and would-be Lib Dems from the local area. The fun starts at 4pm, and hopefully they won’t be using pictures of me from the Prestwich and Whitefield Guide as kindling for the fire… Rick
The Prestwich and Whitefield Guide today published an article on my efforts to preserve the privacy of the Jewish cemetary on Bury New Road. The wall surrounding the site has been knocked down as part of a new development, and this has increased visibility and thus the risk of vandalism. I am seeking assurances that a suitable replacement wall be installed as soon as possible, and that in the meantime the flimsy metal fences protecting the site are replaced with sturdy wooden ones. The Prestwich Heritage Society are also helping with the campaign, and have pointed out the historical significance ...
This morning I attended a meeting of GMPTA’s Transport Network Committee. The most interesting part of the meeting was discussion of the Metrolink track upgrades. Apparently the number of complaints about the replacement bus service has been much less than anticipated, which is great news. And having experienced the buses myself, it is no surprise - I freely admit that my worries about the service are unfounded and that on the whole it is working well. However, there is a noticeable disparity between the story being told by officers of the PTE, and the story I’m being told as a Councillor ...
On behalf of residents I recently asked about the possibility of extending the blue (paper) recycling service to Pentland. I have now received the following response from the Waste Management Department :"The "Pentland" area hasn't been included as yet - vehicle access difficulties seem to be the major bugbear in this general location according to my operational colleagues. I've asked them to consider it for future evaluation."
Tim Ireland has created an video to support the campaigns on behalf of granting asylum to the Iraqi interpreters who have worked with British troops in Iraq, and the banner on the right both of which you can embed into your blog to support the campaign..... And don't forget to go and sign the Lib Dem petition We, the undersigned, believe the United Kingdom Government has a moral obligation to provide asylum for those Iraqis whose work for British forces has left them extremely vulnerable to torture and murder. Or the one on the 10 Downing Street website 'We the ...
Something seems to have gone horribly wrong over at CiF. They have managed to let slip an article that says nice things about us (if a little patronisingly). I wonder how that happened. Sadly, we must postpone the celebrations until reaching the end of the article. Edward Pearce writes a piece thoroughly keen on us as we are at the moment, saying, amongst other things: Best of all their
Top marks to Dizzy for spotting this Facebook story about the Tory MPs backing an imaginary candidate for an imaginary seat. No snide jokes about imaginary policies please.
Elmbridge BC, Walton Ambleside Con 310 (45.5; -2.6), Ind 252 (37.0; +5.6), Lab 60 (8.8; -1.2), UKIP 33 (4.8; +4.8), LD Sereena Davey 26 (3.8; -6.7). Majority 58. Turnout 23.3%. Con hold. Last fought 2007. Tower Hamlets LBC, Shadwell Respect 1512 (43.2; -1.7), Lab 1415 (40.4; +9.2), Con 476 (13.6; -3.9), LD Rosie Clarke 98 (2.8; -3.6). Majority 97. Turnout 39.7%. Respect hold. Last fought 2006.
A recent edition of Channel 4’s Dispatches programme looked at Britain’s housing shortage and revived questions over donations made to the Labour Party in Manchester. I’ve just got hold of a transcript, so if you missed the show, here’s the story: Manchester Central Constituency Labour Party has received more donations from property developers than any other [...]
In my attempt to try out everything Windows Live, I accessed my Windows Live Skydrive account for the first time today. It's an online storage facility (formerly called Windows Live Folders - a better name if you ask me) which gives users 500mb of space to put up whatever they want, either privately, semi-privately (open to family and friends only) or publicly. Anyway, I've uploaded a script I'm
The Electoral Commission have announced that Max Caller has been appointed as the new Chair for the Boundary Commission for England. In the blurb thay say that he was "the London Regional Returning Officer for the 1999 European Parliament elections". Indeed he was, and I was the Liberal Democrat agent for London at that election. In fact I wrote to the then Government Office for London to
I've added the Newsvine Election Widget to my blog for all those political junkies who are already following the US Presidential race to have their say. Barack Obama is so far way ahead among bloggers and facebook users, me included! UPDATE: According to Daily Kos (which nominally supports Edwards) Obama is ahead of John McCain among polls of Repubican voters in Iowa - such is the abismal failure of McCain.
Those of us who now doubt the wisdom of London staging the 2012 Games have further ammunition in the shape of research conducted for The Taxpayers Alliance (.pdf format). The Alliance reasons that the extra demand for construction work arising from the Games will lead to an increase in the prices that industry charges. It expects a "construction inflation" rate of 1.25 per cent a year. Over the years up to 2012 this will impose the following extra costs: £1.5 billion increase in the cost of private commercial buildings, new office and retail space.£921 million increase in the cost of ...
Recently published figures show a huge fall in average annual earnings in the Redcar and Cleveland area. Earnings for 2006 are nearly 10% down on 2005, one of the worst declines in the country. The national picture shows a 4% increase meaning that people in Redcar and Cleveland have fallen dramatically behind. Average earnings at £18,556 are now 26% behind the average for England of £25,008. Commenting on the figures Ian Swales, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Redcar, said, "this shows just how much damage is being done to the local economy by job losses at the major employers. Good ...
No, not George Dangerfield’s authoritative 1935 tome on the divisions which undermined and ultimately tore asunder the Edwardian Liberal Party. Rather, The Strange Death of Liberal England are a neat post-rock outfit, whose sound and aesthetic is reminiscent of British Sea Power. This is Oh Solitude, which was released in June, and features on their debut album, Forward March. They have been widely compared to Arcade Fire, not least by the New Musical Express, which called them “intellecto-situationists”; providing yet another reason to never, ever buy the NME.
I found these comments by Tory MP Peter Luff on his website defending David Cameron. He claimed: The Labour Party has been all but obliterated in the South of England at local level, and is under severe pressure from the Tories in the rest of the country. And: there is still much to be done. We still have no councillors in Liverpool or Newcastle, but the May elections were a good step towards
I just received the following email from someone who takes a particular interest in Christian Zionism - the content speaks for itself. "How appalling and sick is this? What will they do next? Watched a clip of a video made by the "Christians United for Israel" conference in DC last month. Thousands of "Christians " rose to their feet to flag wave (Israeli and American!!) and shout for Armageddon when the speaker urged that George Bush should go to war against Iran - they have completely lost their orthodox Christian roots and are so very strong and dangerous. Am just ...
It was inevitable that the Health Minister's compromise to keep Adult neurosurgery in Swansea would start to unravel at some point and today is as good a time as any. The BBC report that there is growing concern among AMs and MPs about proposals to send patients from north Wales to Swansea or Cardiff for brain operations. So much so that some Labour AMs and MPs are in open revolt. The problem that the Minister had to overcome was one of sustainable volume. There needs to be a certain population for a neurosurgery unit to be viable and safe. Health ...
Nuneaton and Bedworth Liberal Democrats last night selected Mish Whitmore to stand in the Abbey Ward by-election. Mish Stood in Abbey in 2006 narrowly missing out on defeating the Labour Party then and will be looking to avenge that defeat in the by-election on 20 September.
This short article by me is up on the ICELE site now..... 'Building the Perfect Council website' sounds rather ambitious, but the title drew around 200 Council webmasters and communications officers to the Headstar conference in July. I was given the contentious spot on 'Councillors' Websites - a political hot potato?', clearly designed to wake everyone up mid-afternoon....
There are no plot spoilers below, I promise! I finished the last instalment of Harry Potter last night and it was sensational. I am pleased that I managed to work out the secret towards the end, but JK kept me guessing right up to about page 500. The book was well written, entertaining and all round throughly enjoyable. The characters were credible and sympathetic and the baddies were properly bad! The only author who comes close for detail, characters and sheer, simple entertainment is George Macdonald Fraser, creator of the legendary Flashman. JK Rowling deserves every plaudit and all the ...
{A Day at the Races} A bunch of clowns, who may or may not be the result of inbreeding, running around seemingly aimlessly. Chaos reigns. Some good one-liners, but a complete and utter farce. This, in outline is the plot of A Day At the Races by the Marx Brothers. It would thus seem strange that the West Midlands Conservatives are currently attempting to evoke such images in people’s minds with their latest fundraising wheeze. (Hat tip: Nich Starling). Share This
Dizzy points out this morning the rather amusing tale of at least two Tory MP's who have signed up on Facebook to support a fictional character to be next Conservative MP for a place that does not exist. It could be that they are in on the joke or it could simply be that in Facebook people are constantly sending out requests to join this, that or the other and these Tory MP's have not had the sense to check out what they are signing up to. A warning for all us Facebook users there.
{tudor rose} Amidst the comments from this amusing post on Lib Dem Voice about the Conservative Party logo is the following comment from Tristan Mills: Now, the true story on party logos is Labour’s offensive use of the red rose - symbol of Lancashire and sometimes of England. As an Englishman with lancastrian heritage I object strongly to this usage. Actually, it would appear that the current Labour logo is a white rose on a red background. This would be a fairly appropriate image for a party which has a fondness for the arbitrary executive powers developed by the Tudors. ...
A report by MP's has dubbed the proposed £45bn PFI scheme to upgrade all secondary schools in England and Wales as "Too Risky". So it is astonishing that in Norfolk PFI schemes are already in place and building work has begun on new buildings for schools. Norfolk schools are having to allocate 12% of their budgets for the next 25 years to the PFI. This figure would astonish parents but is the equivalent in a large primary school to employing three extra teachers. The question Norfolk County Council should ask is are they taking a risk with the County's finances ...
Over on Lib Dem Voice Mark Pack highlights that the claims from the Tories to the press about the flexibility of their logo are complete hogwash. As someone who did all he could to guard the Lib Dems visual identity in my previous job this is a subject close to my heart. Anyway, you may be wondering where Mark got that book of Tory style guidelines. You may also be someone like me, who now the
Have you got the image in your head ? Your worst day out ever ? Now double that thought, add an enormous amount of insincereity and smugness. Now imagine that everyone you are with is vaccuous. And you're there. Yes, you too could go to the following event (as advertised on Iain Dale's blog) I'd rather drill holes in my feet !
Lib Dem Voice is written by Lib Dem members for Lib Dem members. If you have a burning opinion or forceful argument waiting to be expressed, please submit it to us, as detailed on the contributions page. Book reviews, opinion pieces or anything else are heartily welcomed. Stephen Tall is away for a few weeks, but the [...]
Earlier this year the House Of Commons supported the options of 80% elected / 20% appointed second chamber passed by a simple majority (ayes: 305; nos: 267) and the option for a fully elected second chamber passed by an absolute majority (ayes: 337; nos: 224), however when the House Lords voted the option to get an majority was the option of a wholly appointed second chamber.
There is juts one day left until the Championship starts again. Wolves start the new season with a new season and an goalkeeper injury.
Max Hastings thinks Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone are equally reckless, in different ways. But Hastings is backing Johnson in the London Mayoral race because he thinks Johnson is "a much nicer bloke". His argument is nothing a great deal more substantial than that. Random facts: Max Hastings went to Charterhouse. Boris Johnson went to Eton. Ken Livingstone went to Tulse Hill Comprehensive.
Coinciding with the new blue tree, we now have the Tories saying that the increase in those in work is all down to migrant workers.
Lyme disease is an appalling illness, spread by ticks, which can be prevented by simple precautions such as tucking your trousers into your socks when you go for a country walk. President George Bush can count himself lucky that, in his case, it was spotted early on and dealt with.
Dave Brown's cartoon in the Independent sums up the David Cameron tree colour change.
I see that if they can tear themselves away from the works of J K Rowling, William Hague and Paddy Ashdown, MPs will apparently be reading Richard Dawkins on the beach this summer. I haven’t read Dawkins’ book, but I have been very impressed with a report “Doing God”, A Future for Faith in the Public Square that I’ve just discovered from a thinktank I hadn’t heard of before, Theos. It seems to me an extremely sensible and useful contribution to the debate about the proper role and contribution of faith to public debate (or the ‘public square’, as the ...
Liberal Burblings: My votes for the Top 100 UK Political Blogs I'm very flattered that Paul Walter at Liberal Burblings has included Barcharters Anonymous in his list of top 20 Lib Dem blogs..... Thank you very much Paul.... You are too kind. And I'd especially like to thank you for listing them in alphabetic order :D
I wonder how many other people are suffering the same problem as a friend of mine. He has just received his Setanta Sports viewing card so he can watch Live Premiership Football on his Top-Up TV equipped Freeview box on Saturday, however, he has to phone Setanta Sports to get everything to work. What's the problem ? He spent 5 hours on the phone this evening and never got anyone from Setanta to answer as apparently "Due to high call volumes, etc, etc". With their football coverage starting on Saturday, I guess they have lots of phone calls being made ...
I know this has done the rounds in Lib Dem circles and in the North East media, but here is a video of how Labour behave in by-elections. This was the launch of the Liberal Democrat campaign for the Sedgefield by-election on 6th July 2007. It took place of Trimdon Green but it was invaded by a Labour mob, who had come especially prepared to cause nothing but trouble. So much for Labour believing
{lula.jpg} Brazilians have a favourite saying about their homeland: ‘Brazil is the country of the future, and always will be!’. Behind the sardonic humour is the reality that this most populous of South American states has up till now not realised its true potential. But things are beginning to change. It is firmly one of the BRIC quartet of emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and the government is busy raising the nation’s profile across the globe. The left-wing president, Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva is currently on a tour of Latin American and Caribbean countries, specifically trumpeting what the Brazilians see as ... | < | August 2007 | > | ||||
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