The thousands of Chelmsford residents who commute to London every day may be interested to know about the campaign to be Mayor from former top policeman, Lib Dem Brian Paddick. He stands a good chance of winning through. 
Recently, James Graham has called me a bigot on Lib Dem Voice. (gasp!) As James is a blogger whom I admire and respect – blogger of the year no less – I have been stung into writing a riposte to this scurrilous charge. It was in the context of yet another debate on religion and [...]
On Sunday I shall be hosting the BritBlog Roundup here on Liberal England. If you see any blog posts you think particularly fine over the coming week, please send the link to britblog [at] gmail [dot] com. Any posting from a British-based blog or a British-born blogger made before Sunday lunchtime can be be nominated. And, yes, you can nominate something from your own blog.
Nick Clegg's speech at the weekend on how the Lib Dems might set about reforming public services is a welcome first step from him in putting forward a Liberal narrative about the changes we wish to see. Certainly we will need to give a clearer route map as to how we reach our destination, but the direction of travel is clear. Clegg was talking about moving towards greater empowerment of people, encouraging a bottom-up approach to schools and the health service, to encourage diversity and innovation. This is not a break with the past, as some have depicted it, but ...
Never has the famous Liberal Democrat slogan used on countless leaflets across the country never been more appropriate for a candidate. It is rare for us to have a candidate who has experience that is so closely matched to the job they are going for and with a profile and background that proves they [...]
I'm quite worried by the idea of an opt-out organ donation scheme. Your body is yours. It's not borrowed from society for the duration of your life. This might seem unduly technical, but it's actually important to the whole idea of property: you will pass away but, even so, you can decide what happens to what you own - because it belongs to you personally. Not sure how to make this argument politically, but I do think it's important. I'm quite happy to let people have my organs... now where's that form gone....
So ITV have decided to bring back The News at Ten, because there is a dearth of news at that time (I don't know if anyone at ITV realises that there is the BBC ten O'clock news on the other side, and Sky News). The question is did anyone really miss it I am not a fan of Trevor McDonald, in fact I don't know anyone who really is a fan of his. There is little to be a fan of. He is dead pan, comes across as terribly pompous and as can be seen from some of the awful ...
Listen to this article: Donations to political parties have reared their ugly, corrupted head once again, this time involving the walnut-coated Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain and Piers Fletcher-Dervish impersonator and Tory Shadow Chancellor George Osborne. Actually, calling political donations “ugly” isn’t quite right. If anything, donations are the diamond-encrusted face-lifted darling of the political [...]
Tom Papworth has posted a forthright message of support for the choice side of the "Choice vs. One Good Local Service" debate. Jonathan Calder reckons that "Nick's speech at the weekend has gone down [very well with] the party (to judge by Lib Dem bloggers, at least)". Paul Walter will no doubt be adding me shortly to his extensive trek through the coverage that the thing has so far generated.
Brian Paddick today officially launched his campaign to become Mayor of London. Hes the only candidate whos really serious about London: Ken is only serious about Ken; Boris has yet to be serious about anything. I live in London, and Brian is just what we need. Surely everyone in his session at the one-day Lib Dem Conference on Saturday came away enthused by his humour, ideas, passion and, er, shortage of chairs. Despite all that, Neil Woollcott thinks Brian isnt showing us all enough love. He even asks the mournful question, Is Brian Paddick ashamed to be a Lib Dem ...
Oxfordshire MP Boris Johnson could never write this article with any authority!
At the London Mayoral 'London Talking' TV debate last week, I asked Boris Johnson this question: "London is the most multicultural city in the world, what will you be doing if you're elected Mayor, given your unfortunate comments about ethnic minority communities, to reflect diversity and promote good community relations" I was of course referring to his comments on 'picaninnies with watermelon smiles' A phrase that somehow conjures up post war Britain, when this type of casual racism was in everyday use and acceptable. Boris got very agitated at my question, and of course refused to answer it. Labour supporters ...
Nick Clegg and Brian Paddick launched the LibDem campaign for the London mayoral election today at Brixton Town Hall, a building familiar to Brian from when he was Borough Commander of the police force in Lambeth. In his speech before the Press, London MPs, GLA candidates and other LibDem activists, he placed great emphasis on his experience [...]
A rare treat these days, a live showing on Sky TV of Leeds United's third ever visit to Gresty Road to take on Crewe Alexandra. Dennis Wise handed debuts to Darren Kenton and Peter Sweeney, whilst another new recruit, Bradley Johnson, gained a place on the bench. United dominated the early stages with over 60% of the possession in windy conditions and had three early chances, the nearest coming in the 3rd minute, when an Andy Hughes header hit the bar. Crewe came close only once in the first twenty minutes but striker Nicky Maynard was looking dangerous up front. ...
I dont usually do requests, but I received a message from dreamingspire asking me to clarify Andy Mayers report of my comment that people may not want choice, but choice is the means to give them what they do want, which is good local services. My comments came in response to a doctor and Lib Dem councillor who commented firstly that the next nearest schools to her were 11 and 12 miles away respectively, so that her choice was in fact limited; and that most people did not want choice, they just wanted A good, local school. In this latter ... 
Borrowed from Wikipedia, this has to win Photograph of the Day. It shows the young Adolf Hitler and the young Ludwig Wittgenstein at school together at the Linz Realschule in 1903/4. You have probably heard of Hitler, but Wittgenstein may need some introduction. When I studied for a Philosophy degree in the late seventies and early seventies, Wittgenstein - particularly the later Wittgenstein of the Philosophical Investigations - was the dominant figure in the discipline (though that dominance was drawing to a close). Many journal papers tackled philosophical problems through an exegesis of one of his gnomic remarks. As a ...
The Lib Dems are brave in saying they want to abolish testing for 11 year olds. More time is needed to teach rather than ensuring the children are prepared to sit tests. It is unfortunate that the leaders of two of the biggest unions missed a commons select committee's inquiry into testing. Let this be a lesson to us how not to influence policy.
The current issue of the House Magazine has an article on the challenges facing Nick Clegg, written by Greg Hurst. More striking, however, are Hurst's claims about the tensions behind the scenes during the recent leadership contest. Writing of the tension between Nick and Chris Huhne, Hurst says: Things could have been still worse. Sir Menzies, who blamed Huhne henchmen for undermining his leadership and hastening his departure, had to be restrained from launching a public attack upon him during the election. We must await the publication of his memoirs to judge Sir Menzies' determination to settle such scores.Similarly, Charles ...
UPDATE 14th January: That Times piece on their Comment Central strand is just one of the updates below in bold in my list of blog (16 new posts) and media (2 new items) reaction to Nick's public services speech last Saturday. UPDATE 13th January: The Sunday Telegraph covers Nick's speech yesterday with an article entitled: Nick Clegg shifts to the right". (That's inaccurate in my view - what he
Redcar and Cleveland Council's Routes to Employment Team, who have helped nearly 400 people find work over the last nine months, is setting up new courses for residents looking for advice and guidance on training and employment. The training programmes will give help for those who have been out of work for some time or looking to start work for the first time as well as training in letter and cv writing and how to approach an interview. There are still places available on the first of these employability courses which runs for five days from Monday, January 28 at ...
Redcar and Cleveland Council's Sports Development Team is organising a series of multi-sports days during the schools' half-term holiday in February. Anyone aged eight-16 can come to the sessions, led by qualified coaches from local sports clubs, which involve coaching followed by games, with activities ranging from basketball, athletics and rugby. Each session, from 10am-3pm, is £3 a day. Booking is essential and places are limited. For more information, contact Louise Sherrington on 01642 496441 or Stuart Smith on 01642 496428 at the Sports Development base, Kirkleatham Museum, The Pavilion, Redcar, TS10 5NW Dates and venues are: Monday, February 18 ...
The Lib Dems Brian Paddick today launched his campaign to be elected Mayor of London and the party has just taken delivery of its latest London-wide tabloid, designed to support his bid and the campaigns of the partys GLA candidates. Want a sneak preview You can download a PDF version here.
Great to see the Lib Dem campaign in London has finally kicked off at last and that Brian Paddick's website has been relaunched. Only one problem, the people behind Brian's website seem to have succumb to what is becoming so more apparent in today's campaigning, that of promoting the candidate's name alongside a statement (in Brian's case- 'serious about London') rather than being associated
There is little doubt in my mind that affordable housing is fast becoming an increasingly important issue. A recent set of figures from the Land Registry gives an indication of just how serious the problem has become. They show that between 1997 and 2002, average property prices in Somerset rose from just under £70,000 to over £126,000 an increase of some 81%. In contrast, during the same period, average wages for those aged between 21 and 28 rose by between 5% and 11%. This widening gap between house prices and average earnings can be a particular problem for people living ...
I always find it odd when I bump in to an ex pupil who might now be an adult, that they still refer to me as "Sir" or "Mr Starling", when in some cases I know their parents and they know me as simply "Nich". But recently I realised that I do it too. About a few months ago I went to a Lib Dem training session in Cambridge and was sat down next to a tall thin chap who looked familiar, so I assumed I had seen him at other Lib Dem things. We then had to introduce ourselves ...
Spending £125,000 on the soon to be demolished Redcar & Cleveland Town Hall, whilst making stringent cuts in public services is like putting new tyres on a car just to tow it to the scrapyard. The Council's Labour cabinet have done just that at a time when they are faced with slashing millions of pounds from the Council's budget. What do the Labour Cabinet think they are playing at According to the latest Cabinet Business papers, to be considered at the Cabinet meeting on 22nd January, they plan to include the following popular public services as part of a series ...
I couldn't help noticing that when BBC Six O'Clock News' George Allagiah said "Why these pensioners find singing the latest hits is just the tonic" that the pensioners concerned were singing "Hi Ho Silver Lining" (released 1967). Later in the piece they got really up-to-date with "Sunny Afternoon" (1966).
Speaking at the launch of his Mayoral Campaign in Brixton Town Hall, Liberal Democrat Mayoral Candidate Brian Paddick pledged to put cutting crime in London at the heart of his bid to win the mayoral race. Brian Paddick was accompanied by Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg as he outlined his key priorities for London: cutting crime [...]
The link is to a story about how the government are moving towards publishing anonymised judgments. This is a step forwards that I have been pressing for for some time. It is important that we can discuss publicly the merits of state intervention in particular cases. We do not need to know publicly who the people involved are. We do, however, need to have some idea of the basis of the case.
A colleague reports in a private forum that a 14th Feb by-election is bringing out the love in Preston. Labour’s leaflets are running with, “On 14th February, say it with roses” Our leaflets have “Give LibDems a “X” on Valentines Day” But Respect have gone for a rather unsavoury strapline which hardly trips off the tongue - “Make Valentines Day a Massacre for the mainstream parties” 
The enduring irritation about the Orange Book is not its content, which was broadly uncontentious, but the mythical book which everyone who never read it imagines exists. So once again my heart sinks when I read Nick Assinder claim: In his first major speech since winning the job, Mr Clegg has pretty much adopted the agenda set out in the controversial Orange Book, authored by party frontbencher David Laws and others (including Mr Clegg himself) in 2004. On one level, that is correct; as correct as it is banal. Most of the chapters in the Orange Book do little other ...
One of my best friends has long refused to join Facebook. I found his hardline stance rather peculiar in the past because, well, everyone's on there, aren't they, and it's such a quick and easy way of seeing what old friends are up to - not to mention people you've barely met, or haven't seen for decades - without actually having to contact them personally which is, after all, anathema to the virtual generation. Of keeping up to date with the births, marriages, and deaths you'd otherwise only hear about at the annual christmas reunion. Not to mention checking out ...
A secretary was leaving the Department of Work and Pensions last Friday evening when she encountered Peter Hain, standing in front of a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand. "Listen," said Mr. Hain, "this is important, and my secretary has already left. Can you make this thing work" "Certainly," said the secretary. She turned the machine on, inserted the paper, and pressed the start button. "Excellent, excellent!" said Mr. Hain as his paper disappeared inside the machine. "I just need one copy."
As part of my ongoing mission to make this site consist solely of links to Graham Linehan’s - it’s like stalking, but without the secrecy or the scariness - here he is talking about strange quotes found on fundamentalist sites (warning: language some may find offensive, and opinions others may find offensive. A small number of people may be offended by both). But there is one reason for posting here besides that. This quote: As far as I am concerned if an answer to a question isnt in the bible, then the you have no business asking the question. I ...
Via Tom Paine's "Last Ditch " blog here's a humourous take on the serious issue of organ harvesting by default: EVERYONE is to be fitted with a zip as part of Gordon Browns plan to nationalise Britains kidneys. The zip will run across the middle of the abdomen to allow for the quick and easy removal of major organs and body parts all of which will become the property of the Cabinet Office from next April. Harvested organs will be given to Labour Party donors or used to make pies for the TUC conference. Read the rest of it if ...
There's been a bit of silly talk aout some kind rebrnading either of the party or of LDYS as, respectively, the "Liberal Party" (of which, as Jonny says, there already is one) or LDYS and "Liberal Youth". All the links to the specuative frippery are on Jonny's Hug-a-Hoodie blog. I have to say that, quite apart from any other objections to such an idea, I would be sorely tempted to call in trading standards officers for product misrepresentation. If we did want to become the "Liberal Party" or some similar name ("Liberal Alliance UK" anyone ) we actually have to ...
The BBCs news ticker says that Council workers are submitting a pay claim for 6%, the article behind is headed Council Staff demand 6% pay rise. Er, no. Council staff unions, which I believe represent significantly fewer than 50% of Council employees, are submitting this claim, not Council staff. It might be argued that the unions are doing this with the best of intentions, to support the many lower paid Council staff who cover a wide range of workers from school assistants to refuse operatives (bin men in old money). The problem is that most Council staff will be sufficiently ...
Remember those Muhammed cartoons which caused such a fuss a while back Well, the fallout continues. In Alberta, Canada, Ezra Levant has been hauled up before the Alberta Human Rights Commission for publishing the cartoons in the Western Standard. This is not a judicial proceeding. It has none of the safeguards which protect the accused. What is his [...]
Up for a 6:15am pre-record with the Today programme this morning - about the allegations of corruption and misappropriate funds hanging over the London Development Agency. It's turning into quite an involved saga, with a whole host of allegations - but the latest twist is very simple. The LDA carried out an investigation, but it wasn't thorough - and was then misrepresented in the LDA's own press release as giving the body a clean bill of health. The LDA's press release on the results of its internal investigation doesn't leave any room for doubt as to what they wanted people ...
Nick Clegg's first major speech this this weekend has gained significant coverage, and significant plaudits, including among the Tory press. Echoing many of the themes in CentreForum's various education papers (a summary of which can be found here), his combination of a coherent and radical vision of supply side liberalisation alongside the minor but media friendly call to cull the bottom two GCSE pass grades seems to have been a popular one:BBC: LibDems want parent-run schoolsGuardian: Clegg prepares to end state intervention in schoolsSpectator: Clegg steps upIndependent: Clegg to call for smaller state in first major speechPA: Clegg in call to scrap low gradesSunday Telegraph: Nick ...
I haven't seen much discussion of this in the British press (or indeed in the mainstream US press), but it's an interesting story. In the aftermath of New Hampshire, the press and the pollsters were falling over themselves to announce that the people of the state had managed to flummox them. It was women! It was veiled racism! It was the large proportion of swing voters who only made their minds
Tuesday brings Michigan’s primaries, which will be a bit odd as most of the top Democrat candidates aren’t on the ballot paper. Why
Lynne Featherstone has been making a big noise over the past few days about the lack of equality for women in the succession to the British monarchy. First off, while I voted as a "don't care" whether we have a monarchy or not at this stage in the recent Lib Dem Voice poll - cleaning up and reducing the reach of politicians is a bigger aim for me - I can't help thinking "who cares" whether an institution that stands in absolute contrast to the notion of equality of opportunity (I'm never going to be king even if I wanted ...
This feels like the beginning of something big. If Nick Clegg had said this during the leadership campaign I would have unhesitatingly voted for him. This is an authentic Liberal voice, and one that is going to make a dramatic difference. A few of the quotes I would highlight: "The first step is to scale back the vast monster of Whitehall. Whitehall should get out of the business of the day to day running of public services in Britain. That strategy doesnt work. We will draw up plans for radically shrinking the size of all our public service departments - ...
I carry an organ donor card having chosen to opt into the system of organ donation. It is my body and my choice and perhaps goes to the heart of what makes me a liberal rather than a collectivis...
The Western Mail reports that Sir Emyr Jones Parry, chairman of the pre-devolution referendum convention, wants the size of a future Senedd to be part of his terms of reference. The paper's correspondent, Martyn Shipman, recalls that: The all-party Richard Commission, which reported in 2004, recommended that the National Assembly should get full legislative powers, that the number of AMs should increase to 80, and that all AMs should be selected by Single Transferable Vote (STV). However, Peter Black foresees conflict over just how powerful the convention is to be.
In response to one of my earlier blog postings about the monarchy, Jim made a comment about what other countries with monarchies have done - pointing out that the rules have been changed in other countries so that women are no longer discriminated against when it comes to choosing who gets to be monarch. That's a good point, which I've been looking into further. Here's a summary of some of the changes: Sweden: changed in 1980The Netherlands: changed in 1983Norway: changed in 1990Belgium: changed in 1991Nepal: government proposed changing the rules in 2006Spain: government says it will change the rulesDenmark: ...
The Red Box blog has recently started over at The Times. It’s looking like it will turn out to be quite a good blog. I say that not just because it’s got both this site and Lib Dem Blogs mentioned in its blogroll (thanks Sam!) but also because of stories like today’s - where the [...]
Big Buddha
On Saturday night Timewatch ran a programme on Wreckers, www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008pyps , telling the story of people who supposedly lured ships on to the shore, and murdered the crew, in order to plunder the cargo. The programme focused largely on Cornwall, and despite only being able to produce evidence of one person ever having been convicted of Wrecking, gave us the whole Daphne du Maurier Jamaica Inn experience, with knowing nods and winks from local characters and fruity West Country accents. Obviously if a ship did come on to the shore, it was a bonanza and not a scrap was waisted. ...
So everybody will probably have heard about the fact that Good old Gordon Brown wants to change the way in which Organ donation works. At present, you must register as a donor in order for the hospital to take your organs (if required) when you die, such that you are giving express permission beforehand. Under the new proposals, however, permission is assumed, unless a form has been filled in to state that permission is refused. I can see both sides of the issue - my first thought was that it is disgusting, but on the other hand, there is a ...
At first sight, George Osborne’s defence of his undeclared donations looked pretty good: the money was declared to the Electoral Commission, the Parliamentary authorities were asked if it needed declaring to them, they said no, but if they’ve now changed their minds, it’ll be done went the story. However, this neat line is starting to look [...]
Ward: Combe Down App Ref: 08/00064/FUL Parish: N/A Registered: 24th December 2007 Expiry Date: 18th February 2008 Location: 21 Down Avenue Combe Down Bath BA2 5QH Grid Ref: (E)375058 - (N)162360 LB Grade: N/A Proposal: Erection of new dwelling as extension to terrace between nos 21 and 23 Officer: Mark Reynolds Applicant: Mr P Stroud Agent: LPC (Trull) Ltd C/o Agent Trull Tetbury Gloucestershire GL8 8SQ
The independant reported today that the antarctic ice sheets are melting at a rate much faster than predicted. Someone has calculated that the amount of ice that has melted in that period is similar to the amount of water that the the UK population uses in a year. There is a lot of concern than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the body responsible for the international effort to reverse climate change, have underestimated the risk of sea-level rise, and their studies had not predicted ice-melting as rapidly as it has been observed. Eric Rignot, who led the latest study ...
The road works on the bridge on Minster Road have been done - all fine and dandy. And crucially the bit on the left hand side (travelling from Kilburn high Road/Cricklewood Boradway) has had the pathway built out to enable people parking (mainly residents) to open their door and get out. It might be very common, but I hadn't seen such a measure before and I thought it was dead good - meant the railings didn't intrude etc etc. A small, but helpful measure.
I spent the weekend in London, enjoying a three hour traffic-free motorway journey as far as the end of the M4, and then a two hour clogged-up apocalypse between Earls Court and my mates flat in Streatham. A flat which, rent-wise, sets her back as much as a genuine palace bedecked with jewels and minarets would do up here. Why anyone lives in the traffic-soaked and unceasingly busy spiders-web of ramshackle flats that is London, is a mystery to me. And yet so many people I know do, which means I have to go there more often than Id ...
Did anyone see the Louis Theroux programme from San Quentin Prison last night I am not normally one for much TV, but this was intriguing so I thought Id watch it. And I dont think Ive seen a more upsetting piece of TV in quite some time. I thought he spent a bit too much time on the prisoners love interests whether or not transsexuals who find straight partners on the inside will carry on with them on the outside. I dont care about that. Good luck to em, but I really dont care. I found the interviews with lifers ...
I have written a piece on some of the less well-advised public pronouncements of American and British politicians.
Some 500 Liberal Democrats descended on London on Saturday to help set the agenda for the next General Election manifesto. This was a members event, so we wont give away all the secrets here. The day was varied and well thought through. Others have covered Nicks speech, which can be read in full on the [...]
Well, on the 29th Dec I decided to think about New Year Resolutions... and came up with trying to watch less reality tv...I managed to resist the lurid lure of Big Brother but have been scuppered afte...
Finding toys that help specifically with dispraxia, poor spatial awareness, coordination, processing verbal commands, not too mention keep you fit, don't actually look like you are trying to make your...
This morning is the official launch of Brian Paddick’s London Mayor campaign, along with his new website. The headline story from Brian’s launch is his crime-fighting pledge: “I will cut crime in London by 5% every year over the course of my first term in City Hall. And I will take personal control of ensuring this [...]
Thanks to Clairwil for linking to my post on the London free papers (part of the FFS It’s Monday series) in this week’s Britblog Roundup. The Realpolitik podcast also got a mention. Share This
The film which put Redcar on the map has won two awards at the 65th annual Golden Globe awards. Atonement, which features the transformation of Redcar beach into 1940s Dunkirk, picked up the Best Picture and the Best Original Score. The film will be released as a DVD next month and will include a feature on how Redcar was transformed.
As usual The ConHome comment threads include some pearls of wisom on the issues of the day, and oce again prove that some of them talk sense. Does anyone believe that if Mr Karim had done better in the Lib Dem rankings for the MEP slots he would have suddenly discovered his beliefs were in tune with David Cameron and come over to us If you genuinely think he would then don't let me disturb your wait for the Tooth Fairy... Quite ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog: Saj Karim MEP adopted by Conservative selectorate for 2009 European Elections Blogged with ...
A year ago I did my review of the best and worst of 2007, but not until the 29th of January. So doing it on the 14th of January is a significant improvement, although it still isn’t exactly timely. So once again, here are a few pointers to last year based on the [...]
We are, said George Orwell, ‘a nation of flower-lovers, but also a nation of stamp-collectors, pigeon-fanciers, amateur carpenters, coupon-snippers, darts-players, crossword-puzzle fans’. We think we can top that list. We collect statistics on parliamentary voting behaviour. And over the last decade weve noticed the remarkable change that has come over Lib Dem MPs. Out of the [...]
Gordon Brown, speaking to The Sun about his beleagured Cabinet colleague Peter Hain: "Peter has done a great job and it would be a great loss if he had to leave the Government. “He took his eye off the ball and he has apologised. The matter must rest with the authorities, who will look at all [...]
This is I am told is the lull before the storm as far as my duties as Mayor of Bath are concerned although I am still getting through 7 or 8 duties a week it seems that I have a little more time to myself with most duties falling on one or two days. On Thursday last week I held a lunch reception for residents in the Parlour from 12 till 1.30. I then attended diamond wedding anniversary...
Reading the papers going to Cabinet, I noticed that the planned implementation of the new national concessionary bus fares scheme, which allows for free travel anywhere in the country for the over-60s between 9.30am and 11pm, was to be discussed by Cabinet. The proposal from officers was that the scheme be implemented in Darlington and that the Borough should take advantage of the rights which
The Monday morning chore - catching the train to London - still finds me getting up in the dark and getting to Newcastle in the dark. I am so looking forward to the start of summer when it starts to get light at 4am. But at least this time of the year I get to experience the sunrise over the North East, even if it is from the train. We have just passed Durham City. I should be in Kings Cross in
Piqued by the debates around the internet, including here and also over on Nick Robinson’s blog, on whether the American elections are getting undue coverage in the UK, I thought “fair’s fair, let’s write something about the next elections coming up anywhere in the world”. Alas for me (and for you too, dear reader of this [...]
Over at BBC Wales, Betsan Powys reveals that today's second meeting of the Establishing Committee of the All-Wales Convention in Cardiff could get interesting. She tells us that the rumour doing the rounds is that Labour and Plaid Cymru members of the committee have come to radically different conclusions about their remit: Labour members, I'm told, view the Convention as a neutral body. It may be aimed at paving the way for a 'yes' vote but it's essentially an evidence gathering body, not a campaigning one. Plaid on the other hand see its role as making the case for more ...
The fact that the Government has commited £50 billion of our money to shoring up Northern Rock in an effort to protect their own reputation for economic competence is a scandal. This is especially so because of the additional public cash that has had to be pored into this bank as Ministers resisted calls for its temporary nationalisation. It now transpires that the Chancellor of the Exchequer may well have conceded the case for the nationalisation of Northern Rock and is in the process of identifying a suitable person to lead it. Ron Sandler, a City heavyweight who was once ...
After all our previous efforts, the council has finally moved the Winchester consultation meeting for the Local Development Framework to the Guildhall. This means that there now spaces available on January 17th. As mentioned previously, this is a hugely important paper for the future of the Winchester area setting out the strategy for major change across the District over the next twenty years - particularly in terms of planning and housing. It’s essential that anyone who is interested should be able to get a place in one of the consultation meetings. There’s been an incredible level of interest. The meetings ...
A couple of hours after Saturday’s Setting the Agenda policy conference, I found myself unexpectedly in a cinema watching Charlie Wilson’s War. This is the new film with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. It is set in the 1980s and based on the true story of a Texas Democrat Congressman played by Tom Hanks. In short, Wilson is a promiscuous drug-taker (being investigated by then Federal [...]
The battlelines over localism are being formed in Scotland. What happens there directly affects the debate over decentralisation in England. I haven’t been following this closely but my understanding is this: the SNP, which over time plan to replace council tax with a system of local income tax, have worked out a deal with local government whereby local authorities agree to freeze council tax in exchange for a very significant reduction in ringfencing by the Scottish executive. Labour are now hopping up and down making scary predictions about how this will hurt vulnerable people. In a sense, they both have ...
{Donkey and Waldorf} One is an annoying talking donkey who came to prominence by getting in the face of a grumpy ogre (who goes by the name of Gordon Brown). The other is the shorter half of a former double act of curmudgeons with an interest in variety performance. And the answer to this question matters a lot: it directly affects the electoral chances of the two main UK opposition parties. For the past few days, the Tories have gone on the offensive on economics. Following a lead given by his Shadow Chancellor, David Cameron said on the Andrew Marr ... | < | January 2008 | > | ||||
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