This was the invitation to representatives of the secondary schools of the Western, Eastern and Central Areas of the borough today. I went along to the event, organised on behalf of the Children's Trust Board, to listen to what the young people from the Western Area had to say. It was well worth spending the time. The young people had a lot of sensible suggestions about things which could be 
MPs are back in their constituencies this weekend, bracing themselves for the marathon Commons debate on the new EU Reform Treaty, which is due to start on Monday and is expected to last for six weeks. So almost up until Easter we shall see the chamber become a bearpit, as rabid Conservatives harry the Labour [...]
And so I have become part of a multi-blog household(s). Ros launched her new oeuvre into the for now warm waters of the blogosphere on Wednesday, and received a friendly welcome from some of you (thank you for your kindness, by the way). When I first started dating Ros, my view of the House of Lords was more cliche than reality. Images of elderly gentlemen sleeping off an excellent lunch and
Gordon Brown has shown the depths the economy faces in the UK by essentially raising a white flag to the Chinese and said "Come in and but UK plc". The Chinese sovereign wealth fund, a $250bn investment fund set up by the Chinese, has encountered problem with some countries who are unwilling to see their companies bought, their famous brands taken over, and essentially taken away to China to be produced at a lower cost. However, Britain under Labour, now showing the economy is in a state, is desperate for foreign investment and it appears that if it means all ...
Bobby Fischer, who was world chess champion between 1972 and 1975, has died from kidney failure in a Reykjavík hospital. He was 64. For a couple of months in 1972 Fischer's match against the Russian grandmaster Boris Spassky, the defending world champion, put chess on to the front page of every newspaper. It was seen by many as an allegory for the Cold War, with the individualist American triumphing over the representative of the Soviet machine (though in truth it was unfair to cast the semi-detached Spassky in this role). It also led to a boom in chess in the ...
I started off Thursday with Clients from Bath Mind who came to the Parlour for Tea and a talk on what happens in the Parlour and its History they were of mixed ages and seemed to enjoy their visit. Several of them seemed to have great fun banging on the gong outside of the Council Chamber that was historically used to call members to the meetings of full council. Later in the afternoon...
Perhaps this explains how Liberty Alone is funded If so, it should make the Autumn conference more amusing!A site for political analysis and opinion of an avowedly liberal view. It's all about freedom.
Then this is the poster which ought to go out to every school in the country. If you want to read the accompanying story, read The Telegraph here.
My House Points column from today's Liberal Democrat News. A lot of Balls Nick Clegg is right, of course. Allowing parents and community groups to set up Free Schools is just what is needed. For far too long, we have been stuck in a mind-set where there are good schools and bad schools which class a school falls into being largely determined by the social class of the children who go there and all we have to offer are complicated schemes for divvying up those places more equitably. The thought that parents forced to send their children to a bad ...
I was interested to see that one of the Labour MPs who has reported 80 Tory MPs to the Electoral Commission over the issue of declaring donations from 'patrons clubs' is Kevan Jones, member for Durham North, next to Blaydon constituency where I live in Gateshead. Mr Jones was a Labour councillor in Newcastle before he was dropped into Durham North by the Trade Union juggernaut that runs the
Remember the new look Liberal Democrats front page that was up for about two days after Nick Clegg won the leadership race Will this new look soon become permanent Sparse evidence exists to support my theory, except for the the images used at the top of recent emails from the party leadership: They both [...]
It has been brought to my attention of a potential planning application on Twerton High Street that would have far reaching effects on how the High Street is now. An application for conservation area consent to demolish 105 High Street Twerton has been submitted by Bayleigh Estates ltd. The demolition of 105 High Street would mean the loss of Blockbuster Video and a very popular...
In recent months it has been revealed through various tests that Nintendo Wii's are used in care homes as a good way of exercising for the elderly, they can be used to help you lose weight, they are used to help train the brain, and now it has been revealed that they aid surgeons as a tool for warming up before operations. If there are not enough reasons there for you to go out and but one, there are two other reasons that I forgot to mention, firstly they are relatively cheap at £180, and secondly they are enormous fun. ...
As one of the worst offenders I appreciate the following better than most. If there is no gallery then no one will play to it. Last Nights special Area committee meeting for Inner North West was a superb example of politics at its best. We spent an hour in mature discussion about the new devolutionary measures Leeds City Council is making. We all welcome the prospect of additional powers but rather agreed the details leaves a lot to be desired. We then moved onto the thorny and long running issue of the Woodsley Road Multi Cultural. We heard a delegation ...
Gina's story is a heartbreaking one.
The Former Elderly Persons home on Twerton High Street has been sold to Aster (Sarsen) Housing association. Early indications are that the purchaser will apply to demolish the building and build affordable homes on the site. The site has been left empty for several months after the residents moved into the new Home at Cleeve Court. The former EPH has been subjected to...
My friend and colleague Justin Portess and his wife Siri are expecting their first child. They are also moving out of the area and this major change in circumstances has caused him to stand down from the Council. This means the residents of Highgate ward (myself included!) will be choosing a new councillor. Ill miss Justin but Im delighted to hear that he is starting a family. In the meantime if you have any problems you still have two fantastic Lib Dem councillors in Neil and Bob and, of course, you can always get in touch with me. You can ...
With thanks to Liberal Democrat Voice for drawing this to my attention. This is Tim Ireland's response to the Labour Governments consultation document on Sections 132 to 138 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 via YouTube. It is very well done.
Most politicians have sensibly avoided leaping on Garry Newlove's grave to make a point - believing perhaps that some tragedies should be left speak for themselves. Not so David Cameron, who's using the death of this innocent man to promote one of his pet projects. Obviously, if the boys who murdered Newlove had been on an exciting six-week adventure holiday, or been doing community work, they wouldn't become murderers. (I'm not sure how military training is mean to make people less aggressive). The tragic case of Garry Newlove does raise questions for society - about alcohol, violence, policing, parenting and ...
At the special Manifesto Conference on Saturday, I muttered to a colleague that rather than continue with the congestion charge, we might be better off simply privatising the roads. While this was meant to be deliberately controversial, his response was quite surprising. They are a public good he replied, to which I responded No theyre not. It being a whispered conversation in the margins of a meeting, it could only continue along the lines of Yes they are/No theyre not until there was a real danger that the audience were going start joining in or we were going to be ... 
In a recent interview with Pink News.com, David Heath, Liberal Democrat MP for Somerton and Frome was asked for his opinion on state funding for political parties. In his reply Mr Heath stated that he felt the general public would be very puzzled if they were asked to fund completely wasteful and useless things, like billboard campaigns. So, is Mr Heath right Are billboard campaigns useless and a total waste of money In my opinion Mr Heath is wrong. Billboards do serve a purpose. If nothing else, they remind the voter that we exist! There is a phrase; out of ...
Yesterday morning saw my noble Friend Lord Greaves and I paying a call to Baroness Andrews, the Minister in the Lords for the Department of Communities and Local Government. Not to take tea, you understand, but to discuss with her the issue of housing numbers in areas like Pendle, which have up to now been subject to a moratorium on new house building. Its a very different situation from the south and east of England, where Government are forcing us to build. In answer to one of Tonys questions a few weeks ago, it became clear that there had been ...
The near-disastrous crash landing of the Boeing 777 just short of the runway at Heathrow yesterday highlights the danger to the city below that is posed by flights to and from this exceptionally busy airport. What if a plane did crash on London A terrible disaster, especially if it were densely-populated central London. This is not a far fetched possibility: if I remember rightly, not many years ago a cargo flight from Schiphol airport crashed on to a suburb of Amsterdam. That the victims were mostly impoverished immigrants whose loved ones were not best placed to make a fuss may ...
It's very encouraging to see so many new LibDem blogs springing up and producing such vibrant commentary! I have finally got round to adding some new blogs to my LibDem link list. Apologies for those that aren't so new - and please let me know if you are quietly seething because I haven't added your blog yet. Here are the new additions: Anders Hanson Mary Reid (that shows how long ago it was
The Today programme yesterday covered the continuing story of the fight by former servicemen for compensation after volunteering for research into the common cold and finding out, years later, that in fact all sorts of unpleasant and sometimes deadly stuff had been pumped into them. I dont know what was known at the time, but my dad was in the RAF, and I clearly remember a conversation between him and my mother, in around 1964 I guess, where he said that the lads were being encouraged to go off as part of this research and were in fact quite keen ... 
Chelmsford Lib Dems are inviting YOU to help them find the worst pothole in Chelmsford. Full story: Competition to find Chelmsford's worst pothole
There's a fascinating video report from Gary Younge here on the Guardian site. It shows a stump speech from Mitt Romney in South Carolina. Romney comes across as remarkably "insubstantial" (Younge's word) and cribs a big chunk of his speech from Barack Obama ("change - change - Washington outsider"). He also dyes his hair. What a depressingly shallow performance from one of the front runners!
It seemed to be one of those perennial topics last year (not least on this blog!) what the point of Facebook is. I get the impression now, however, that there seems to be a consensus growing that one of the things it is most useful for is for maintaining occasional contact with people you don’t see every day but would like to keep vaguely in touch with which is in fact very similar to some of what I was saying last year. This came home to me again when I was sending out Christmas cards - something I tend to ...
I was amused to learn from the BBC that the Indian establishment has been thrown into protocol confusion by President Sarkozy's upcoming visit with girlfriend Carla Bruni since unmarried couples are controversial rarities in this conservative country . As she is not technically the First Lady - unless rumours of a secret whirlwind marriage are to be believed - they can't decide whether to treat her as his partner, with all the usual fanfare, or try and cover her up (a seat in the corner perhaps). Intercultural dialogue in action...
The North London Line (I assume it is still called the North London Line even though it's part of Overground) is being gradually tidied up - or at least new signs are going up and handrails are being painted. But frankly I'm looking for a bigger shift than just the paint colour. Now we do have the security guards, but there's a bit of work needed on some of the customer service based on my experience - and I'm using about 4-5 different stations a week - and some fixture repairs are going on. My picture here is of a ...
This is the second of my slightly late in arriving posts of my new year thoughts. The first looked back at 2007, this one looks forward to the year ahead. This is how I reckon 2008 will be a big year for all of us. I will start close to home with my personal objectives which, deciding to avoid specific resolutions, are fairly simple. The first is to earn more money. Four and a bit years of
Really glad to see that Ros Scott, one of the Liberal Democrat team in the Lords, has started blogging - good to have another peer, another Lib Dem and another woman blogging - and Ros scores all three in one go!
Having just returned from visiting Highgate Woods School - I am happy. And I am happy because the young people I met are great - and whilst there are loads of issues around knife crime and behaviour and so on and so on - the truth is that most of these young people are raring to go. It's us who have to make their road ahead interesting, safe, full of opportunity and happy! I addressed the Year 7 Assembly (around 200) and then did an hour Q & A with the Year 11 Sociology Class. There was a coterie of ...
Matt Wardman of the Wardman Wire has started podcasting his daily news roundup. He’s sent me code for a flash player that now appears in the left-hand sidebar of my site if you want to listen to it. It’s updated every day and is only two or so minutes long, so click play for a [...]
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and indeed Thursday: Here is the News at Ten: Bong! We're scuppered! It seems that ITVnone's new CGI Bongs which we've managed to miss every night this week were beaten by the BBC Ten O'Clock News on their first night And on their second night. And on their third night, by which point it was getting silly. By the fourth night, no one cares anymore*, though the new news picks up a handsome lead in from the preceding drama (which comfortably beat the BBC's Fairy Tale). But they STILL didn't beat the Beeb for the news slot. ...
Droitwich Spa TC, Chawson Lab 213 (37.6), LD Janet Clarke 182 (32.2), Con 171 (30.2). Majority 31. Turnout 32.3%. Lab hold. Totnes TC, Town LD Tyrone Harewood elected unopposed on 11-1-08. LD gain from Ind.
I was going to write the story behind this, but it could be misinterpreted, so to those of you who know me, just ask! I cannot access this facility any longer from my laptop, but you won't have problems. Go to yahoo italia (click on musica on the left hand column and then video). Once you've launched a video, you can search the music you like. I would strongly recommend the following: Carmen
Polly Toynbee makes some interesting observations on the forthcoming EU Treaty debates in parliament. She describes how Labour think the public has become tangibly disinterested in the Treaty process: Labour reckons this scrupulously thorough debate will expose the Tories as friendless cranks, unfit to govern. Cameron will be embarrassed by the Cash brigade's 1,000 amendments, ranting away to an
In what appears to have been the only council by-election in the country yesterday the Liberal Democrats came second to Labour in the Chawson Ward by-election on Droitwich Town Council. This is despite not standing last time.
Simon Carr rips poor old John Bercow to shreds in today's Independent: They're doing that Tory noise again. Yesterday, it sounded stupider than ever, like animal indigestion. Some midsize farm animal has eaten unwisely. It's not what you expect in Parliament, especially when it's to satirise or deprecate their own side. I've asked around a bit. The finger has rested on... Bercow. Carr then
Just a quick 'newsflash' while I'm on my lunchbreak. Sadly one of my council colleagues has had to resign from the Council today. Justin has been a great colleague in Highgate ward and it's a loss to the whole Council that he has to step down, due to work and family commitments. I know he'll be keeping in touch even when he does make his move out of Highgate, and I'm sure he'll be keeping a keen interest in the many campaigns he's been involved with too. Of course, that means we have a by-election coming up in Highgate, so ...
The BBC’s Nick Robinson highlights a key difference between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s experience in China. During a question and answer session two years ago, Tony Blair was confronted by a lively bunch of students in casual clothes pos[ing] proper questions to him. Fast forward to today and Gordon Brown is being grilled by rows of rather [...]
Having just finished Rainbows End, in which wearable computers, ubiquitous ad-hoc networks and contact lens displays are deeply ingrained in society, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the first contact lens displays have been made. Displays in glasses have been around for a while now, although not good enough for general use. We could [...]
Amidst all the kerfuffle about Peter Hain's undeclared receipts, it was not noticed that the Welsh Secretary virtually confirmed that the government was committed to building the Severn Barrage. At Welsh Questions in the House of Commons last Wednesday, the following interchange took place: Gregory Barker (Bexhill and Battle) (Con): What recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on the environment in Wales. [177789] The Secretary of State for Wales (Mr. Peter Hain): I have regular discussions, for instance on our joint support for the Severn barrage, which will be by far the biggest renewable energy project in ...
The Prime Minister has arrived in China for his first visit to the country since taking office last year. His three-day tour is expected to include talks with his Chinese counterparts focusing on trad...
Iain Dale (and best of luck with your diabetes Iain) made this point earlier today: The Electoral Commission confirmed to me yesterday that it wrote to Mr Hain, at the beginning of his campaign, outlining his obligations and his duties relating to the declaration of donations. The letter explained to him that he was legally responsible [...]
Reggie Watts - Out Of Control Original video by Jakob Lodwick can be found here
I recently received a complaint from residents that the water drainage grid on the pavement was dislodged and rainwater was not draining away. I asked the City Council to make repairs to this and have now received the following feedback : "The area inspector confirmed that on his most recent inspection (15/01/08) at Perth Road/ Mid Wynd, the drainage channel covers were complete and the area free of standing water."
Justin McKeating of Chicken Yoghurt offers a counterpoint to Guido’s love letter to Drudge over on Liberal Conspiracy. I can’t read such a superb introduction without passing it on: Yesterday marked the tenth anniversary of American blogger Matt Drudge breaking the story of the Monica Lewinsky affair. Things were never the same again. The world was [...]
Via Jamie, a story for children from North Korea.
La Nina 2008 La Nina's wet persistence makes For wintry flooding and bones that ache...
By way of an update to my previous post about Honour the Covenant, just heard about Help for Heroes - and the Lib Dem Friends of the Armed Forces founded by, amongst others, Linda Jack. Linda could be the second Lib Dem MEP for this area after next year's Euro elections. She writes about her time in the army on her blog:- "As a disaffected 17 year old, desperate to get away from home [more] (
There are more questions over the UK’s commitment to fight corruption in international arms deals after long delays have stopped legal action against an MoD official: A corrupt civil servant behind one of the biggest frauds in Whitehall history has managed to avoid paying anything towards a £1.5m confiscation order because the Crown Prosecution Service delayed enforcing it for 11 years, the Guardian has learned. Gordon Foxley, who was head of defence procurement at the Ministry of Defence from 1981 to 1984, was given a four-year jail sentence in 1994 for taking bribes from foreign arms manufacturers. The trial judge ordered ...
I was so excited about the opening of the Rose that I didn't get round to writing about the performance on Wednesday. Back in the 60s I worked my way through Chekhov. His plays seemed full of long. depressing speeches, with little action. Even seeing Lawrence Olivier as Vanya did not change my opinion, although at the time I was into existential angst and was morbidly...
My apologies to anyone who read last night’s Rainsough posting and wondered why I wished to “amend” the community’s goodwill. I did, of course, mean to type “commend”! I can only put the error down to tiredness at the end of a very busy week! I have now amended (and I meant to type that!) the mistake! Rick
Lib Dem MP Paul Keetch and Sarah Carr have reacted to the overwhelming correspondence received in connection with Herefordshire Council's review of the county's schools by calling for evidence and closer scrutiny of the proposals published last week.
Blogger Tim Ireland has submitted his response to the Labour Governments consultation document on Sections 132 to 138 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 via YouTube. He suggests (and we agree): Grab yourself a coffee or a nice hot cup of tea and settle in for a little over 7 minutes of me [...]
Phase One of the re-development of Somerset County Cricket Ground got under way yesterday. As I sat and watched the bulldozers go in, I couldnt help but feel a little sad. It was as though I was watching the end of an era The re-development project is costing in the region of £60 million and will alter the character and size of the ground forever. When completed the ground will be larger, have several new stands, a new media facilities suite, the longest indoor cricket school in the country, improved multi sport facilities, new offices and a new low level ... | < | January 2008 | > | ||||
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | ||
