There was a record turnout of London’s diplomatic corps at the Liberal International British Group’s (LIBG) annual reception at the National Liberal Club this evening. David Lloyd George, after whom the function room is named, must have been smiling among the cherubs. From the doyen of the corps, Ambassador Khaled Al Duwaisan of Kuwait, and [...] 
The Tory move to get the Post Office closure programme halted in Parliament failed tonight. But the Government's majority was cut to just 20, with a number of Labour MPs rebelling. If only more Labour MPs had followed their colleagues on Haringey Council, who you may remember actually backed the Lib Dem motion opposing the closures. As it is, local post offices in Haringey are still under threat - and not just the ones being closed, for example Muswell Hill Post Office in my ward is already massively over capacity and that can only get worse with other post offices ...
Managing to cram a lot into this four day week... three council meetings, a football match, seeing The Cure and getting a nasty bout of food poisoning. That's before factoring in work, both council and non-council. Anyway, tonight was Spurs v Chelsea at White Hart Lane. We were fairly shambolic in the first half and when they scored early in the second (against the run of play) to go 1-3 up, I have to admit I didn't have a lot of confidence we'd take something from the game. But, we continued to hammer away and with some cracking goals we ...
This might be a bit ranty... I hated the ending. HATED. It was WRONG. But then I have come to expect this from Chibnall-scripted episodes. I wouldn't care if my Shrubby was ravaged by fire and time and stuff. She'd still be my baby. How can Gwen take that one woman's reaction and extrapolate it to all people Oh, that's right, because the ep is written by Chibnall, who thinks the best chat-up technique ever is to slam someone agin a tree and sexually assault them. Tosser. Honestly, this season has been SO much better than the last. Apart from ...
Redcar MP, Vera Baird was not amongst the 19 Labour members who voted to halt the closure of 2500 post offices according to a report by the BBC. How strange that she was parading through Lazenby at the weekend supposedly campaigning against the closures The 19 Labour rebels: Diane Abbott (Hackney North & Stoke Newington) Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) John Cummings (Easington) Andrew Dismore (Hendon) David Drew (Stroud) Frank Field (Birkenhead) Paul Flynn (Newport West) John Grogan (Selby) Kate Hoey (Vauxhall) Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) John McDonnell (Hayes & Harlington) Eric Martlew (Carlisle) Alan Meale (Mansfield) Gordon Prentice (Pendle) Alan ...
Well, the time is almost at hand. We had a strategy meeting last night to finalise what our four candidates in Pembroke are campaigning on and how we're going to do it, and I go out tomorrow to start to collect my signatures for nomination to stand as a candidate in this year's local elections. It's not a simple matter, getting your name on that ballot paper. The candidate pack is like a paper doorstep, and full of daunting warnings and guidelines. I keep telling myself that I don't have to get so anxious about the whole process; that I ...
Over the last two days campaigners trying to stop the proposed development at the Hollow have stepped up their campaign. Tuesday residents met with a highways officer and took measurements of the road from the Hollow to the proposed access to the site. The measurements were 22 meters to the access point when the clear guidelines for highway access are...
{Council Tax Bill} Unfortunately for those in Lincoln (and very similar for those elsewhere in Lincolnshire), the 11.1% increase isn’t over 2 or 3 years. Nor is it calculated against the odd stealth local charge. Nope the figure of 11.1% is the actual increase in council tax on my bill right in front of me. For this year Lincolnshire Police Authority have been fcked by the government and in return fcked every single council tax payer in the county. Last year our band A house paid £87.72 to the police, this year it’s £156.90. That’s an increase of 78.9%. Seriously ...
Well, tomorrow afternoon is the wedding actually. No, no, not me! My sister, Esther is tying the knot. So here is the official Wallace Family announcement: we would like to announce the marriage of Esther, daughter of David and Councillor Mary Wallace, sister of Andrew, Matthew and Councillor Jonathan Wallace to Ian, employee of a major bank based in the North East which is currently undergoing
Just back from the launch of Brian Paddick's autobiography at a bookshop in Marylebone. A fun event with quite a few people and a smattering of journos. Obviously I didn't get much time while there to do any more than just flick through it but it is a fascinating trawl through Brian's haircuts through the ages. The 80's style is fantastic and there were a number of people demanding that he return to it! Pics: Brian with his book; Chris Rennard (Chief Exec of the Lib Dems), Newspaper columnist Rosie Boycott and Brian at the launch. 
I for one feel that the atrocities in Tibet must end soon and peacefully if you feel the same as I do click on the link for the petition below and sign the attached petition and also tell your friends to do the same. Together I hope that we can make a difference.
Listening to football phone ins on the radio, you always hear fans berating their team's players for appearing not to care about the team and lacking pride. The radio presenters are always quick to come in with a comment that they know that "the players really do care", but sometimes you have to wonder. Last weekend, a friend of mine went to Sheffield to watch Norwich against Sheffield United, a game which Norwich rather tamely lost 2-0. For this friend of mine, it darkened his mood, ruined his weekend and meant he didn't as planned, go out on Saturday night ...
On Sunday this blog will again be hosting the BritBlog Roundup. If you see any posting on a British blog this week that you think should be included, please send the URL to britblog [at] gmail [dot] com. And a reminder to my Lib Dem readers... I shall also be choosing another Dirty Dozen for Liberal Democrat Voice at the end of the month. If you have seen any postings on Labour or Tory blogs during March that you think particularly good or particularly silly, please send me the URL. The address for this one is bonkers.hall [at] btinternet [dot] ...
We've heard him talk about prospects of staying in Iraq for another decade. Which can't be good in the long run. Wouldn't that fuel anti-American feeling if they still feel occupied. But now on his statesman like world tour, to prove himself fit for President, he has been in Israel justifying their harsh actions against Gaza. This of course includes the deaths of over 120 people. The blocking of trade which has left hospitals struggling, electricity being threatened, bombings. He justifies it because Israel needs to protect itself from rocket attacks. The thing is Israel can cope a lot easier. ...
Ever wondered what world cyclists live in Its certainly not the same one where its against the law to ride on the pavement, or through a red light, or to ride whilst inebriated or stoned. Nor is it the same world where you can be fined exactly the same amount for cycling dangerously as driving dangerously. Why dont cyclists take themselves and other road users seriously It seems the act of climbing onto a bike seems to make people feel they can have fun regardless of pedestrians or cars or traffic lights. To feel as if they can travel at ...
This is the BBC news websites main story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7305023.stm Bush has referred to overthrowing Saddam Hussein as the right decision. Although we all know that's not what he went in for. Had we invaded Iraq because it was an evil dictatorship (which of course it was, in which over a million had been killed), the war would of been planned better, considering an insurgency and how to rebuild Iraq. Bush also spoke of how they were fighting terrorists there, but as Barack Obama has pointed out many time. Al-Qaeda wasn't in Iraq before the war. Of course Bush made no ...
Cllr Josie Crawford, Ian Swales, Cllr Irene Curr Coatham Boating Lake will be re-opened in time for Easter. Labour controlled Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council have bowed to pressure from Coatham Ward Councillors Josie Crawford and Irene Curr who, along with Ian Swales, Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Redcar, have persistently campaigned for the area to be reopened and the fencing removed. Funding was put in place, by the Lib Dem led Coalition that ran Redcar & Cleveland up to May last year, for major refurbishment work to the boating lake and surrounding area. The funding was separate from ...
And while I am discussing posts on the PR and Comms Network site allow me to draw your attention to a post by James Gilheany - Correction, I'm right. It's quite true that people always change things. A script writer once told me he would always throw in a few bad passages so that the producer focus on them, cut them out and then feel satisfied that the cuts had been made.
Good news everyone. George W Bush has announced the "victory" in Iraq today ! Let's put out the flags and bunting and celebrate this joyous victory of good over evil ! Right Well, of course not. This latest announcement of victory comes only five years after George W Bush first announced victory in Iraq, just before the insurgency got in to full swing. So his success record on claiming victories is not exactly stunning. Of course this was a war that America could not really lose, given Iraq's tiny population and America's vast armed forces, but America has clung on ...
Delivering on your brand promise is vital. Once again the PR and Comms Network hit nail on head with Alain Desmier's post Whatever happened to customer service Sadly, I have my own story to tell. I have been using the Phone Co-op for my calls and paying BT for line rental. BT has been pushing hard to bring customers back and two weeks ago I got the pitch. I was perfectly happy with the Phone Co-op's service and like their ethos. I listened to the pitch and thought if BT is going to give me a better deal I guess ... 
Today I was in Westminster, and walked through the crowd of Gurkhas protesting at their unfair treatment by the British Government. Gurkhas have served the British Army since the 19th century, fighting alongside British soldiers and showing incredible dedication. But they have been treated as second class soldiers. Gurkhas who retired after 1997 can automatically stay in the UK, but those who
The Lib Dem leader used his two questions to Gordon Brown today to highlight the issue of Gurkha soldiers who served this country being denied British citizenship; and then to ask Gordon Brown if he has any regrets about signing the cheques that paid for the Iraq war. Two very serious issues, and as has become [...]
Alright, this might not be the headline that leaps most readily to mind when you think about the noble Baroness Hamwee of Richmond upon Thames, but I think that its high time for a re-evaluation. Like many people, even those whose interest in politics is somewhat above the norm, I have traditionally paid little heed to what goes on in either the London Assembly or the House of Lords. The media
Last weekend's opinion polls do not bear out the reality on the ground in London: Real votes in real ballot boxes The votes in Council by-elections in London over the last 6 months are startling: LABOUR 6251 = 23%; CONSERVATIVES 8873 = 33%; LIBERAL DEMOCRATS 9797 = 36% As posted by Cllr John Beanse on the Chingford & Woodford Green Lib Dems Blogspot
There have been problems this week with refuse collection in Paton's Lane, surrounding difficulties with access for the bin lorry due to parked cars in this narrow lane and I was contacted earlier today by the Courier about this. I have been in touch with the Head of Waste Management and he has responded as follows: "... we have visited this lane every day this week and we will be there again tomorrow. Most of the residents know that parked cars causes problems for us on collection day so I suspect it may be a non resident. Be assured we ...
Out for a spot of early (well early ish) morning delivery today. I had known that the residents in Heydean had won a Britain in Bloom award some time ago for their communal garden. But I hadn't realised just how nice it is. It was so tempting just to wander out and sit in the garden rather than run up and down the stairs. But then my protestant work ethic came into play and I did the leaflets. Maybe I can sit in the garden next time.
The usual Post Office confusion is continuing. The main problem that Post Office Limited has is that they don't get a central contribution to overheads from the smaller Sub-Post offices. Hence they want to close them down. There are a small number (perhaps 5% of those closed) that themselves are not viable, but if you run a sub-post office in a shop it makes a smaller turnover viable. Until
Last night saw me at the Town Hall along with a group of other candiate/agent/organisers from different political parties for the annual returning officer's briefing on the rules surrounding the election process. David Kidger has this down to a fine art. So he should being something of an expert on elections. He is frequently consulted on arrangements all over the world. Nothing much new, but it was good to be reminded about some of the rules surrounding the form filling. A bit of a debate about rules about the boxes that get put outside the polling stations (for those outside ...
Just so that my fellow Scottish Lib Dems don't think I'm in bed with the Scottish Nats in more than the literal sense. I'd like to give a hat tip to Bernie Salmon for this story. This time after the council have approved a local planning application for an ASDA supermarket in Inverness, this has been called in by the Scottish Parliament so that is can go to a public enquiry. After Trumpgate and
It was very good to see Nick Clegg on ITV News demanding justice for the Gurkhas. Nick is quite right to highlight that the plight of the Gurkhas is, in his words, "a National disgrace". When Gurkhas hand back their medals you know that there really is something rotten in the state of Britain. I am particularly glad that Nick is at the forefront of this campaign as often the LibDems get "trumped
There was a big protest outside the Houses of Parliament by ex-gurkhas who are demanding the right to carry on living in the UK at the end of their service. The current rules are that any gurkha who left service before 1997 has no right to live in the UK. The protest was organised by the former Lib Dem candidate for Folkestone (where many gurkhas are based) Peter Carroll. The centrepiece was the handover by many gurkhas of their long service and distinguished conduct medals to Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg. Nick believes that anybody who has fought for this ...
Last night’s Town Council meeting was, in the main, positive and constructive. Minutes of four sub committee meetings were read and approved. Apart from some minor skirmishes, most issues were disposed of without any major arguements. However the evening was marred by a display of petulance from Councillor Geoff Collier who, in a moment of pique, lost the plot, grabbed his papers together and stormed out of the Chamber. Geoff had raised the important issue of the future of Stone in Bloom. We have heard rumours but have received no official communication from Stafford Borough Council as to what exactly ...
After the Scottish Lib Dem Executive meeting on Saturday a gang of us went across to our usual post meeting watering hole the Caledonian Ale House to say farewell to a fine pub. The Caley as it's universally know is being demolished to make way for a major intersection of Edinburgh's new tram system and the pub closed for good on Sunday. I heartily approve of the tram system but am much saddened by the loss of the Caley especially as the other two pubs close to HQ aren't just up to the same standard. I hope that all the ...
"The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan gave us the Taliban. The American occupation of Saudi Arabia gave us bin Laden and Al Qaeda. The Israeli occupation of Lebanon gave us Hezbollah. Let us see what the American occupation of Iraq is going to give us". This quote is from academic As'ad Abukhalil, who also has a blog. What's your opinion The quote can be found in the last paragraph of this article.
Facebook users now have more control over their privacy as you can now base privacy settings on groups of friends. This uses the recently-introduced “Friends Lists”, which lets you classify your friends into groups - something which naturally appeals to a library type like me. So you can have a group for university friends, for school friends, for work colleagues, or for those people you don’t really know but you didn’t want to turn down when they asked to be your friend. You can choose for any given type of information (e.g., your Facebook wall) to specifically allow or excluse ...
Blogging Lords are flavour of the week it would appear. I've just been over to Millbank to record a piece for the regional tv weekly political programme, Anglia Late Edition, which goes out at 11.30pm on Thursdays. Like most people, they think that Peers still use quill pens, and so are particularly impressed when any of us show a modicum of technological savvy. I bet they cut the bit where I said that people were beginning to prefer getting their information straight from the source instead of interpreted by the press.....
Former SSP MSP Tommy Sheridan and his wife Gail will stand trial for perjury with proceedings commencing next Thursday (27th March) in the Edinburgh Sheriff Court. Sheridan famously won last year a £200 000 libel settlement from the News of The World "newspaper" over allegations that he had visited a swingers club in Manchester. Subsequent investigations by Lothian & Borders Constabulary have seen 7 people, all of whom testified on Sheridan's side, arrested and charged with perjury. The News of the World is awaiting the outcome of the perjury trial before launching it's appeal against last year's verdict. Interestingly there ...
Today Nick Clegg led a protest outside Parliament calling for the fair rights and better treatment for Gurkhas, below he writes about how the Government is failing these men and women. When I tell people what the government is doing to retired Gurkha soldiers they dont believe me. When I say that the government is trying to deport people who served our country for their whole working life they cant believe its true. But it is true, and its a national disgrace. (more…)
Some very positive press recently about Nick Clegg's leadership of the Liberal Democrats - here's a few examples: there is no doubt that Mr Clegg speaks for many voters when he refers to parliament's "clapped-out" procedures". On the basis of his performance this weekend Mr Clegg has the potential to be a distinctive, radical and engaging leader. Steve Richards, Independent 11th March 2008 The party certainly seems comfortable with [Nick Clegg]. The new Lib Dem leader is a highly skilled communicator. Often engaging and impressive on the TV and radio airwaves. John Pienaar, BBC, 9th March 2008 Clegg issues political ...
I see that the Scottish Government has called in an application by Asda to build a new supermarket in Inverness. This was backed overwhelmingly by councillors in Inverness, although two of my Lib Dem colleagues opposed the plan. This follows on from the calling in of the Trump golf and housing development and the SNP's proposals for a nationally-set rate of income tax to fund local council spending, thereby removing all local accountability for spending decisions. The conclusion has to be that for the SNP government, local democracy is at best an inconvenient nuisance. At worst, it is something to ...
The Philadelphia Speech. That is what they will call it. "Where were you, when you heard about the Philadelphia speech" "Were you in Philadelphia, when Barack Obama made the speech" Honest, dignified and hopeful, it puts the finger on the most painful and complicated issue in the American political reality. More to the point it demonstrates a connection and an intelligence that moves me profoundly. As the shattered failure of the Bush Presidency twitches to its ignominious conclusion, the hope that Senator Obama offers reminds me increasingly of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt is derided in the post Reagan era ...
Ken Livingstone knows he’s going to lose this May’s London Mayoral election and he is so desperate not to that he will announce an electoral pact with the Greens later today: Ken Livingstone and the Green party will unveil an election pact today urging their supporters to join forces in an attempt to defeat the resurgent [...]
Democratic presidential contender Barack Obamas speech confronting the issues of race at stake in the USA has dominated the nations news coverage in the last day. USA Today gives a flavour: On USATODAY.com, an article about Obama’s speech attracted 7,502 comments by 2:30 a.m. ET today, the most for a single story. The previous high for [...]
Cast your mind back to March 2007. Ming is leading the party, Brown has yet to take power, and Spring Conference has just taken place. The one where, afterwards, people wrote things like Sir Menzies Campbell steered the Liberal Democrats towards a coalition with Labour yesterday, effectively laying out the terms of trade by setting Gordon Brown five tests he would have to pass as prime
The Tories seem really upset; locally and nationally. Labour are on target to beat their record of closing Post Offices; the last Tory Government having only bled the network by a trifling 3,500 closures are upset that Labour are all set to butcher it by up to 5,000 while they are in power. Locally, they are even more worried. You see we didn't lose that many Post Offices around here during the 1992-1997 bloodbath (Huntingdon: MP from 1992-1997, the Rt. Hon. John Major MP; Prime Minister) so we could well be up for quite a few cuts in this round. ...
Well, this blog didn't set out to capture features that have become history in it's own lifetime but it has. I have posted previously about how I liked the old posterboard on the corner of Kingsgate Place and Kilburn High Road and then just a couple of months later I walk past to see it being taken down. So here are the before and after it matter - well, on the face of it of course it doesn't - times change, life goes on, no-one was hurt or injured - but it seems to me that a small part ...
MPs vote today on post office closures. Last time there was a vote - January 2007 - Labour MPs (including Islington’s Emily Thornberry and Jeremy Corbyn) dutifully voted the pro-closure party line “enabling Post Office Ltd to determine the future shape of the network within clear government rules”. Since then we’ve seen MPs, even Ministers, claiming [...]
Sunday: Oh fluffy dear: this looks like a bit of a surrender from Mr Mayor Ken, sneaking out the news that he's ending his fleet of spontaneously-combusting mobile road-blocks on the day before the Mayoral election officially gets under weigh. This comes on top of a YouGov/Evening Standard opinion poll that gives Bonkers Boris a SIZEABLE lead in first preferences of 49% over Mr Mayor Ken's 37%. (Mr Brian, the only SERIOUS choice, starts the race on 12%.) This means that the actual result is either going to be very embarrassing for YouGov or really FANTASTICALLY embarrassing for London! Mayor ...
For the second day running, your Lib Dem representatives on Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) have good news for local public transport users, and this time it’s of particular benefit to the most vulnerable people in the Borough. A new door-to-door transport service for people with access and mobility difficulties is off to a flying start in Bury. GMPTA extended the popular Ring & Ride service at the end of January when it added nine new minibuses to provide extra trips across the conurbation. In the first few months, 246 passengers journeys have been made from Bury on the ...
Saturday: It's a good weekend to be that well-known not-using-them-for-his-own-political-ends family-guy Mr Balloon. While little Mr Vague is reduced to trying to WOO the North of England with promises of a NEW ROAD (all VERY Royston Vasey), Mr Balloon is riding high upon a new series of opinion polls. YouGov/Sunday Times have the Conservatories on 43%, the Labour on 27% and the Liberal Democrats on a typically-for-YouGov suppressed 16%. Meanwhile, ICM/Guardian are showing the Conservatories with 42%, the Labour 29% and the Liberal Democrats a more inspiring 21%. It's hard to know what has inspired this leap in Conservatory fortunes ...
Since its launch CentreForum has had a particular interest in tackling inequality in childhood. Our pamphlets have sought answers to the growing inequality in the UK and most often we have concluded that taking measures in early childhood is the most effective way to do this. (see pamphlets including 'Tackling Educational Inequality', 'The surest route: early years education and life chances' and 'Climbing the ladder: how can Britain become more socially mobile' ) Indeed, a leader in The Independent last year stated:"The Prime Minister and his education ministers would do well to study this week's report from the liberal think ...
Humble East Fife FC haven't won anything in sixty years or more, so were justified in breaking out the champagne at the end of Saturday's match in which they beat East Stirling 3-0 to become 3rd division champions. Unfortunately PC Plod was of the opinion that the two dozen bottles of champers which the players and staff were celebrating with breached the Criminal law (Consolidation) act of 1995, which banned the consumption of alcohol ate football matches, except in certain designated areas. It seems that officers threatened to arrest a club direct when the bottles were removed to the dressing ...
Friday: China threatens "harsh" treatment if the Buddhist monks don't stop damaging the Chinese troops' batons and boots by, er, throwing themselves against them. "Harsh"!!! How are they going to get MORE harsh than SHOOTING people Are they going to shoot them, wait for them to be REINCARNATED, hunt them down and shoot them AGAIN!!
I wonder how many Tory MPs haven't been in the shit recently It feels that there is another rumpus for one of them every time you turn on the news. Latest villain is Nicholas ("Fatty") Soames who represents Mid Sussex and is the Grandson of Winston Churchill. He has been charged by Police with riding a quad bike on a public road and towing two unsecured children along in a trailer. He will appear at Crawley Magistrates Court on the 16th of April charged with insurance and safety offences. Pity we abolished hanging!
So, I made a commitment to the blogswarm that I would post about the war in Iraq today. The war that was supposedly over almost five years ago, having started five years ago tomorrow... And I'm finding it hard, mainly because I don't have any solutions to offer. - Over a million Iraqi people have died - countless more have been maimed and scarred and lost family members - Thousands of British and American soldiers, and soldiers of other nationalities have died, been wounded, lost their livelihoods. - politicians on all sides have been exposed as venal, self-serving hypocrites. - ...
Recently, we opened our first overseas embassy on Liberal Conspiracy, and we humbly recommend you, sirs, madams, to this piece on a subject dearer to our heart than is healthy or natural: tax. I don’t normally cross-reference myself like this, on the grounds that if a thing is worth saying, it’s probably worth saying twice, and with different jokes. [...]
Heh, this is very cool. While trawling around for extra links to update my Arthur C Clarke obit post I came across this linked from Boing Boing: Abyss & Apex : Fourth Quarter 2007: Wikihistory:International Association of Time Travelers: Members' Forum Subforum: Europe Twentieth Century Second World WarTime traveller revert wars over the life of Adolph Hitler. Wonder if any of them are the bloke in the golden suit ETA: From the comments, a link to a Sub-press printed {[info]} scalzi story on a similar theme. Also very cool.
From an interview in the Guardian’s G2 supplement with legendary author Terry Pratchett: “It is a shock to find out that funding for Alzheimer’s research is just 3% of that to find cancer cures. Personally, I’d eat the arse out of a dead mole if it offered a fighting chance.“ Read the full interview here.
Nick Harvey and the Liberal Democrat defence team have launched a new web site. We feel, with Welsh men and women contributing proportionately more than England to the UK defence effort, that this is of particular relevance to Welsh Liberal Democrats. Nick Harvey writes: With increasing demands made of our Armed Forces and with continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, our Manifesto pledge has never been more pertinent: we should look after our Armed Forces so they can look after us. Since this pledge we have repeatedly championed the concerns of the Armed Forces and remain distinct on defence. We ...
At the University of Sheffields Festival of Social Science last week, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg called for radical change to fix Britains broken politics. He challenged the two establishment parties to abandon their vested interests to allow reforms of our political system to regain the trust of the British people. Calling for a Constitutional Convention, led by a citizens jury of 100 people, to build a new constitution for Britain, Nick Clegg also set out steps that can be taken now including: · Adopting the Power Commission proposal of allowing every voter to donate £3 to a party of ...
At the age of 8 I once wrote an essay in class called "Journey to the Moon". The reason I remember this particular childhood essay is that it took up 11 pages of my exercise book, normally they took a max of three and the comments at the end in red ink. 'Are we ever going to get to the moon or are you the next Arthur C Clarke' The reason for this comment was that despite 11 pages of an 8 year
I am sorry, but I wouldn't wipe my bum with the Daily Express. But now that the paper's got the hang of this apology lark, how about saying sorry for boring us all silly with its endless (inaccurate) stories about the death of Princess Diana Here's a hint: she wasn't wearing a seatbelt in a car being driven at 70mph by a drunk driver. End of story.
Parliament Square, as we all know, has long been the scene of several high-profile protests from the "guerrilla gardening" event on May Day 2000 to clashes between police and pro-hunt campaigners. However, seldom has there been a more worthwhile demonstration than that taking place today. Up to 100 Ghurkha veterans will be taking to the streets around Parliament to demand the right to remain in the UK. Currently only those Ghurkhas who retired after 1997 can automatically stay in the UK, the remainder must apply. Some of you may think that this implies we are turning our backs on people ...
After a long Lloyds Register Board meeting, a little light voting on the Climate Change Bill and attending an event to mark 40 years of Passenger Transport Authorities, I was rather looking forward to the evening appointment, the premiere of the BBCs new film of the "No.1 Ladies Detective Agency". But life deals some hard blows and by one of those awful co-incidences, the director, Anthony Minghella, died that morning at the tragically young age of 54. His family asked for the screening to go ahead, and in fact his brother said a few words at the start along with ...
The Times reports on the words of Judge Richard Mawrey, QC yesterday when he said that postal voting on demand was lethal to the democratic process. Mr. Mawrey believes that the current system makes wholesale electoral fraud both easy and profitable and accused politicians of failing to act after past scandals. He urged sweeping reforms to electoral law dealing with corruption: His comments came as he found a Conservative councillor guilty of vote rigging by using postal ballots in the names of hundreds of ghost voters fraudulently added to the electoral register. Eshaq Khan was stripped of his council seat ...
Tomorrow mark’s the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war; the invasion began on 20th March, 2003, and President George W Bush declared ‘victory’ on the 1st of May that year. Five long years later and British and American troops remain in Iraq and the war we were told was over is still [...]
12:08 in a conference call where everyone's talking at once... # 14:37 @tygerland I gave up trying to figure Aaranovitch out years back, as long as people keep paying him he cares why # 17:09 @innerbrat Is there more wank What's the subject this time #Microblogging by SMS, it's all the rage donchaknow. Using LoudTwitter and Twitter.
Wednesday (again): An immaculate conception; a supernatural baby; a birth in stable just in time for Easter, Torchwood have they very own FAIRY TALE WEDDING story. (Someone should tell them that Winterval was three months ago!) It was about time we shed a little light into the darkness of Torchwood. Moving as last week's "A Day in the Death" was, it really was putting the tin hat on a dark time for the series what with Owen being dead and not loving it. Slapstick comedy may be a handbrake turn, but it was about time we had some more fun. ... | < | March 2008 | > | ||||
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