Stanley Unwin in Carry on Regardless
There is a clip of Professor Stanley Unwin in prime form on YouTube. It may help the younger generation make sense of this. Saturday 13th October 2007
11:49 pm
There is a clip of Professor Stanley Unwin in prime form on YouTube. It may help the younger generation make sense of this. 
11:48 pm
Drowning My Mistakes in Base Tone Slap
The subject of music in schools as an educational tool was mentioned today in Question Time (BBC4). As usual, a hidden presumption was that creativeness is being artistic & musical. All seemed to think that this is in contradiction to learning to read, write, do math and concentrate on the educational targets. I view creativeness as applying the power of association to come up with something surprising. Thus, not every piano player is creative. Some are no more than good technicians. Artisans and artists are to be found not only in what is commonly conceived as creative occupations. I have ... 11:28 pm
The order of the party conferences
There is an interesting posting on Skipper. Bill Jones asks how the order in which the party conferences is decided. As he points out, the sequence in which they take place can be important: This point was made to me by a perceptive member of my current affairs discussion group whom I meet every Wednesday at the university ... His point is that by always convening last, the Conservatives benefit most from any 'conference bounce' produced.If Labour had 'conferenced' after the Conservatives, Bernard suggests there would have been a completely different outcome. Brown and Darling could have 'trumped' the aces ... 11:15 pm
Time for Ming to go?
So with the threat of a snap election out of the way the rumblings against Ming have begun. At times like these it is tempting to circle the wagons, mutter darkly about media agendas and cling to the evidence that we always slump during the mid-term. As a natural loyalist I honestly wish I could drink the kool aid too. But, I can't get the image of a slowly declining yellow line out of my head. 11:14 pm
Back from Brighton!
Having spent the last couple of days at my employer's Annual Conference (you can see the brilliant Red Hot Chilli Pipers at the Conference Gala Dinner above) I'm back to loads of e-mails and messages on West End issues - a full update soon! 11:12 pm
The gossips are revolting
I see lot of Signors Huhne and Clegg lately. Every time I in Cowley Printworks they make time to say ciao and ask me how Signora Liberali doing. Don Campbell meanwhile doing lots of scowling and growling about whiny, disloyal, grumpy paisan that should know better. He summon me and Signor Davey into basement bunker today. "Right, I've had just about enough of this. You are my enforcers, what are you doing about stopping this whispering campaign?" "Well technically Don Campbell," mutter Signor Davey "It's not a whispering campaign when the idiots are publishing websites called doncampbellmustgo.com and setting up ... 10:55 pm
How will Gordon Brown rewrite the Bible?
In today's Daily Telegraph Andy Burnham paved the way for another government theft of Tory policy. As the paper says: Andy Burnham, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, says there is a "moral case" for promoting the traditional family through the tax system. "I think marriage is best for kids," he says. "It’s not wrong that the tax system should recognise commitment and marriage."If Gordon Brown is intending to steal this policy too, it will present him with an interesting problem. For in his speech to the Labour Conference this year he said: And I say to the children of ... 10:13 pm
England 14 France 9
Yes Oh Yes! Another magnificent effort from our boys. A perfect sporting day? I was at Wembley again to see our 3-0 win over Estonia, and had to leave early to make sure I got back in time to see the rugby. By train, taxi and car (don’t ask) I made it back to Bearwood at 7.59pm just in time to see Josh Lewsey give “the other England” a perfect start in the World Cup semi-final. Whatever next? A win for Lewis Hamilton would be nice. PS - congratulations to Scotland, I’ve not seen the highlights yet but I assume ... 10:03 pm
A new blog from…
…Gigbeth supremo Clare Edwards. Good luck with it Clare! And good luck with Gigbeth, for that matter. I for one am delighted to be involved and cannot wait - bring it on! 9:41 pm
Wilko kicks England into Rugby World Cup Final
Jonny Wilkinson got his kicking right when it counted and England are through to the Rugby World Cup final. A superb effort by a team that was written off. "Swing low sweet chariot." England 14 France 9 8:49 pm
Protectionism of marriage
I don't believe that it is the place of the state to encourage or discourage any particular family arrangement . I declare an interest as a long time (and in all likelihood now permanently) single person, but I utterly resent the suggestion that the state should somehow reward those who are fortunate enough to have found their significant other by discriminating against singles. I do accept, however, that the theoretical permanency of a marriage or civil partnership commitment may provide some benefits of stability in the lives of children of the union at important stages of their development. And I ... 7:45 pm
Rhinos are the CHAMPIONS
Well done Leeds Rhinos 33 points to 6 victors over St Helens in the Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford. What an exciting match and what a brilliant second half performance!!! "Marching on together" 7:44 pm
Öpik steps down as Welsh Lib Dem leader
Okay, so we’re a few hours behinds with the news, but I was out having a life. James Graham and Anders Hanson were first up, and here’s what the BBC say: The leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Lembit Opik has announced he is to stand down from the post. He told the party’s autumn conference [...] 7:24 pm
Opinion: Why I joined the Liberal Democrats
Twenty-first century politics are a mockery of the rigorous and committed process that is required if our society and our communities are going to have a chance of surviving the challenges that dominate the agenda today. I happen to believe in politics and in the innate ability of men and women to work together in [...] 7:12 pm
No more lies from MPs
Write to your MP, sign the petition, blog about, join the Facebook group, write to the press. Read and post comments | Send to a friend 6:54 pm
Kitten Pictures
I like kitten pictures. Here are a few: 6:24 pm
England 3 Estonia 0
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 6 June. 6:01 pm
Eid Mubarak!
{eid-greeting.jpg} Last night, the streets in my neighbourhood were full of young Bengalis standing around preening and flirting, all dressed up in their brand new clothes for the beginning of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. After a month of fasting and prayerful contemplation, this is the time for celebration, visiting friends, giving and receiving presents and getting dolled up in the most amazing glittering or colourful creations — boys as well as girls. Indeed, right across the Muslim world today, it’s holiday time. In Tower Hamlets and others parts of ... 6:00 pm
European selection: is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it's Super Returning Officer!
Well, for South East European Region, the hustings are over. In a final flourish, today I acted as Returning Officer, timekeeper, Chair and sports ticker at what can only be described as a bijou gathering in a sunny Canterbury. Due to illness, unexpected person events and failed transport, only ten of our fifteen candidates could make it but the level of debate was as high as ever. I ran a 5:00 pm
Leeds United fail to take their chances against the 'O's
When the Football League docks you 15 points you have to grind out results any way you can and today Leeds United were lucky to scrape home with a draw at Elland Road. Leyton Orient deservedly took the lead in the 9th minute with a goal by Sean Thornton, from a free kick but the lad found himself sent off for an elbowing offence in the 32nd minute. Leeds put the pressure on and Seb Carole headed in his second goal of the season on 55 minutes. 10 man Leyton Orient survived a penalty, 10 minutes from time, when Tresor ... 
4:46 pm
Emergency Meeting Called Over Gay Fire Fighter Row!
I was a bit shocked today to pick up an email telling me that next Friday we are to have an Extraordinary Meeting of the Fire Authority to discuss the so called Gay Fire Fighter incident. First off th... 4:36 pm
Cliff Edge
Is the party about to jump? Because frankly fellow liberals I fear that is what we will be doing if we publically immolate and remove another Leader less than two years after the last one. However before I explain why and what I think we should do next lets go back to Sedgefield and Ealing. Having visited one and seen a full portfolio of leaflets from another the silent question was obvious. Has there been an election campaign by the party in the last 20 years that has so obviously air brushed out the Party Leader? Indeed on some of ... 3:45 pm
Idle chatter from an occasional dissident
Criticising Ming Campbell is, in his words "Idle chatter from an occasional dissident". If only it were true. I, like many others, tempered out criticism of Ming in the run up to the phoney election because we knew that speaking out loud on this issue would affect the party. Now, with the phoney election out of the way, we need to return to the issue at hand, and that is whether Ming Campbell is the best person to lead us in to the general election in 18 months time. if we are saying that he is, then what does it ... 3:35 pm
Lembit resigns as Welsh Lib Dem Leader
It was always expected that the Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference in Aberystwyth would be about leadership. Most expected the discussion to be about Mike German’s leadership in the Welsh Assembly, but instead, Lembit Opik has today unexpectedly announced his own resignation as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. His leader’s speech this afternoon was very personal and honest. He was open about his belief that the Liberal Democrats got it wrong in not going in to coalition with Labour in the Assembly, and was also very frank about his views on terrorism, drugs, negative campaigning and gave suggestions on where ... 1:59 pm
EXCLUSIVE: Lembit to stand down as Welsh Lib Dem leader
About bloody time too. See under ‘related posts’ for my views on the subject. UPDATE: Anders has the skinny and the BBC have finally caught up too. Share This 1:33 pm
Website of the week
Following my reference to William Cobbett's "Rural Rides" in an earlier post, I have to share with you one of my favourite websites, which I only discovered last week. Vision of Britain is a most wonderful resource for historical data: maps, census returns, historical documents and so much more, all linked to your home town. It is the website of the Great Britain Historical GIS Project ("GIS" 1:29 pm
Barbie boy calls for tax cuts for married couples
God, Labour really are in a full scale rout at the moment, aren’t they? The tax system should reward married couples, a cabinet minister has said. Chief Secretary to the Treasury Andy Burnham told the Daily Telegraph: “It’s not wrong that the tax system should recognise commitment and marriage.” He did not advocate specific changes to the tax system, but said there was a “moral case” for using tax to promote the traditional family unit. On the claim that there is a ‘moral case’ for using tax to promote marriage, he could not be more wrong. One of the least ... 1:05 pm
The Cosy Consensus
Whoever came up with making this a central plank of our narrative deserves a medal. The pace with which it makes itself more obvious every day is astonishing. Hat tip to Paul Walter. 12:15 pm
Council tax is the most underhand, unwanted and unfair tax in Britain
In a keynote speech to the Liberal Democrat Eastern Region Conference in Mildenhall, Suffolk, today, Liberal Democrat Leader Ming Campbell said: “For all their mock outrage the Labour Party and the Tories remain close - far too close - on so many of the problems facing our country today. “Council tax is a prime example. “At this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Brown and Mr Cameron bellowed over who got there first on proposed changes to inheritance tax. But it fell to me - to the Liberal Democrats - to raise the issue of council tax. “Council tax - the ... 11:48 am
Ron Paul vs Hillary Clinton - the race hots up!
It's a contest between Hillary Clinton and Ron Paul. No-one else is in it. Not the US Presidential race - the idea of Ron Paul as a nominee is laughable. However, the two candidates are head-to-head in the race to become top-tier Featured Articles on Wikipedia. Being Featured means an article becomes part of Wikipedia's showcase to the world, and can appear with pride of place on the Wikipedia front page. The articles on Hillary and Ron are really pretty good - do any other encyclopedias have better pieces on them? No. Thought not. However, the two debates on whether ... 
11:16 am
To Ming or Not To Ming
I’ve had a ‘reserve’ post about Sir Ming for a while but have avoided posting it - I’ve felt there was enough debate over whether he is right to lead the party or not without me adding to it. But a post by Duncan Borrowman made me change my mind. I think this is a debate that not only need to be had but needs to come out in the open and to be resolved for the sake of the party. I personally think Ming is a great leader and voted for him as my first choice - but I’m ... 10:34 am
Fixed term elections
On the 25 September I wrote a blog post about the possibility of a snap election and I finished the post with a mini rant about the fact that if Parliament had a fixed term then this wouldn’t be an issue. Here’s what I wrote: If there was a fixed election date, say nearest Friday to 3 May every four years then it wouldn’t matter how well anybody was doing in the polls - the date would be fixed. It would also remove the unfair advantage the party in power has in that they can prepare for an election in ... 10:27 am
Ignore what General Petraeus is saying about Iraq, find out the truth
The former US commander in Iraq, who is now retired and can speak freely about the issue has launched an astonishing attack on the US government and the US policy in Iraq. Lt General Ricardo Sanchez was speaking at Arlington to journalists and left them in no doubt as to his views. He described the war itself as "a nightmare with no end in sight". Of President Bush and his neo Conservative allies in government he was quoted as saying they "would have faced courts martial for dereliction of duty had they been in the military." He also labelled them ... 10:15 am
Time for money?
There was a piece on BBC Breakfast this morning about calls from the CBI for companies to allow staff an hour a month of ‘work time’ to sort out their finances - hmmm. Now don’t get me wrong, I think people should spend time sorting out their finances as much as the next guy who’s crap at sorting out his finances - but I don’t think time should be scheduled and given by the company you work for. This might be fine in a very large company - you could set aside an hour of the several hours you spend ... 10:13 am
Did the postal workers union recognise that public support had turned ?
It is good to see that the CWU have settled their dispute with the Royal Mail. The deal has yet to be fully ratified by the union executive, but hopefully the enormous damage done to the Royal Mail during the dispute can now be put right. There is no doubt that Royal Mail workers had some legitimate concerns, but by the same token, the way these strikes had been organised, enormous possibly irreparable damage has been done to the reputation of the Royal Mail which will only play in to the hands of their competitors, which will inevitably lead to ... 10:09 am
Solicitors in the Family Division EDM
Signatures continue to mount for EDM 2021 (which I tabled before the recess). This EDM (see link for current position) says: That this House notes the comments of a senior social worker that meetings have been held during which solicitors acting for parents have discussed how to undermine the cases of their clients; further notes that there are many odd cases in which solicitors fail to oppose 9:36 am
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Government set to give tax boost to married couples
This has all really gone too far. As Polly Toynbee wrote, "This was the week that Labour's leaders left social democracy for dead"....And that was before this latest bit of chicanery had come out. 9:05 am
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The cost of Brown's indecision
I am sitting in Aberystwyth about to set off for the Welsh Liberal Democrats' autumn conference. I am blogging on my blackberry as I cannot get my Council laptop to work on the hotel's wireless network. Apparently it is too securely locked down. Assembly laptops are not yet wireless enabled. As a consequence I cannot do hotlinks. I note in this morning's Western Mail that groups affiliated to Labour are asking how much money was spent preparing for a snap election. It is believed that Labour hired a number of temporary staff to work for the party in the run-up ... 8:41 am
Junketting on the rates ...
... is a headline I'd quite like to avoid, but I did spend Thursday and Friday evenings at a couple of fun events. All in good causes though.Thursday night was the AGM of Voluntary Action Lewisham. And also it's 40th anniversary, so we thought we'd organise a special celebration. And so it was, with some of the many member organisations showcasing their work. So much to choose from, but memorable moments included the Turkish dancers, the Somali story about the donkey*, and young comedians with in-jokes about Facebook.One of the speakers, from Citizens Advice, made a comment about lack of ... 7:58 am
Housing Repairs Day: 16 October
One of the biggest complaints I get as a ward councillor is about repairs in Council housing: missed appointments and shoddy workmanship. So it's interesting to hear that the Council has arranged a Stakeholders day on 16 October 2007 (alas, a bit rushed time wise) which will bring together Residents, Councillors, Board Members, along with the Staff from Building Services, and Lewisham Homes to look at the repairs service currently provided and "develop a full understanding of the service needs of Residents in the future". Following on from they will be developing the Residents Repairs forum to include 4 sub-groups ... 1:05 am
Ming leadership causes yet more polling disasters
Election Results: Thursday 11th October 2007. Horsham DC, Holbrook West LD Belinda Walters 602 (43.9; +11.1), Con 554 (40.4; -6.5), BNP 163 (11.9; +11.9), Lab 52 (3.8; +0.2), [Ind (0.0; -16.6)]. Majority 48. Turnout 32.2%. LD gain from Con. Last fought 2007. Chippenham TC, Pewsham LD Mark Packard 493 (58.8), Con 346 (41.2). Majority 147. Turnout 19.5%. LD gain from Con. It is high time we listened to our critics and elected an unknown good-looking young leader with no obvious principles, in order to reverse these disasters and hand seats back to the Tories. - Frank Little 12:57 am
Neo-Feudalism: back with a vengeance
Polly Toynbee mourned the death of social democracy in the Guardian yesterday which, based on her definition, is not something I will be shedding many tears over. He kneejerk reaction that what Brown should have done instead of raising the IHT threshold was to increase income tax on people with incomes above £100,000 was akin to arguing that instead of shooting himself in the foot he should have simply shot himself in the head. Not only would such a move have been massively unpopular, but it wouldn’t have made much economic sense either. Fortunately, calmer voices were also to be ... 12:21 am
This train journey is ridiculous
I guess GNER have their reasons for allowing the last train out of Kings Cross only to go to York. The daft system is that everyone gets off at York, including the train crew, and walk over the platform to the waiting train to take us to Newcastle. But we have a 35 minute gap between arriving in York and leaving. So we are all left waiting going no where fast.---Sent via BlackBerry 12:02 am
Day 2475: The Language of Luntz
Thursday (again): But obviously there was also the ODIOUS Mr Minus 273 Centigrade (or ABSOLUTE ZERO Kelvin) McKenzie on Questionable Time as well. I was reminded of this when Mr Humpy was giving Mr Andy Crashand-Burnham a toasting on the The Today Programme in the morning. Not that it wasn't a THOROUGHLY DESERVED toasting – Mr Crashand-Burnham is the Chief Secretary for Keeping Mr Frown's Desk Tidy Straight and the nearest thing to a Government spokesperkin in a week when the Government's changes to Capital Gains Tax have hit small businesses and workers' share option schemes. Although simplifying the system, ... 12:01 am
Day 2474: Thursdays Are Funny
Thursday: Especially when you add up the days in your diary and realise that Daddy has missed one out again. (It was Thursday 30th August if you are interested.) Note to self: must watch Darth Maul's new telly show one of these days. Mr Hugs was on cracking form on Questionable Time, though – favourite moment was when he completely DERAILED Ms Harriet Harpy. Ms Harpy was going into one about how Mr Balloon said his Conservatories would be coming first in the Ealing by-election when Mr Hugs (from off camera) asked: "Did they come second then?" "No," shrills La ... 
