 I spent most of this afternoon at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which hosted a conference on Slovakia’s accession to European Monetary Union, organised by the Slovak Embassy and International Financial Services London. As we heard from the Slovak Economy Minister, Lubomir Jahnatek, and the Governor of the National Bank of Slovakia, [...] 
The BBC reports: Cheeky Girl singer Gabriela Irimia is to marry the Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik, it has been reported. The Montgomeryshire MP, 43, told Hello! magazine he had proposed last week in Rome and his girlfriend accepted.Congratulations from all at Liberal England.
If you are interested in technology, communications or how you use a mobile phone then have a read of this post by PR Blogger. The move towards a mobile web is one of the reasons that I set up CIOT News on Twitter.
“Since being elected to the Council last May I have come to value Mary’s help and guidance.  I hope that you will re-elect her” Cllr Les Bonner - Ward Councillor for Yarborough “Mary puts a lot of time into her committee work and her knowledge and experience is second to none. She deserves your continued support” Cllr. Dave Boylen - Church Meadows Resident I urge you to support Mary Little who is a very hard working Councillor. Please re-elect her” Cllr. Sarah Leak - Ward Councillor for YarboroughÂ
I was disappointed to hear today from 2 people that although our local hospital had said publicly that it was going to stop using the 0844 number, and indeed now 01642 617617 does work, but appointment letters going out to people are still telling them to use the 0844 number. This means that people having to go for treatment are, on top of everything else, being persuaded to use the money making...
Having worked with a few people, both women and men, who I strongly suspected suffered with bulimia but didn't approach due to a distinct lack of the required tact and sensitivity, I appreciate how a stressful environment and lifestyle can trigger the illness. Look at the evidence in private girls' schools for example, or amongst models or dancers. The people I have come across have also been complete workaholics and obsessives who obviously take great solace in controlling all aspects of their life including food. Maybe bulimia is an extension of being a control freak. I didn't know what to ...
We have just two planning application registered in Twerton this week. The first application is for the Installation of 2 AC condenser units to rear of building at St Michael's Surgery Walwyn Close Twerton Bath. The application was first registered on 14th April 2008 and has a decision date of 9th June 2008. The application number is 08/01005/FUL and you can view the...
It is with increasing disbelief that I watch the neanderthal corps of Labour MP's stride into battle in defence of the poor following the abolition of the 10% rate band. Even those I considered to be of an intellectual capacity appropriate to being a competent legislator have been shown up as apparently lazy and feckless. The cry goes up, "We didn't know what the impact of the last budget would
After a morning spent discussing various campaign issues with the rest of the group it was time to head to Stockton for the first meeting of the Environment Select committee of the new municipal year. This was the moment of truth when members were confronted with the fact that our new topic for scrutiny had been decided for us by the Executive Scrutiny committee from a list proposed largely by
The campaign song has been recorded now and has a release date scheduled of 12th May.
This does not guarantee an investigation, but it starts the process off that is likely to lead to an investigation. It is very important. The Parliamentary Assembly recognises that human rights are part of the Council of Europe's key values. It recognises that systems are needed for the protection of children when they are at risk. The Assembly believes, however, that those who are tasked with
Bravura performance by Jeremy Browne! The Finance Bill Second Reading in the Commons today was mainly of note because of the ruck over Gordon Brown's abolition of the 10p rate of tax. Much predictable hand-wringing on the Labour benches by MPs who had not even noticed that the least able to afford it were going to be done over by last year's Budget. But have to say that Jeremy just enjoyed himself rotten - and I would say that despite Labour and Tories being the butt of the majority of his speech. He was so funny and witty that all ...
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This afternoon Labour let the press know that they had a partial solution to the crisis within Labour ranks over the abolishing of the 10p tax rate. In response to serious concerns that 5.3 million people would be worse off under these tax proposals. with the vast bulk of these being people earning less than £18,000 a year, the Labour government were going to extend the remit of an existing investigation in to poverty to look at the causes of poverty of those earning less than £18,000 each year. So in layman's terms, due to Labour making people earning less ... 
Thanks to Tim Worstall for pointing out that Olivia Newton-John's grandfather won the Nobel Prize of Physics. Almost as good... her father was a codebreaker at Bletchley Park and also the officer who took Rudolf Hess into captivity. It's all in Wikipedia.
Press Release Aylsham, Norfolk's First Plastic Bag FREE Town www.aylshamplasticbagfree.co.uk Who would have suspected that the historic market town of Aylsham was a hot bed of environmental activism? It's not quite at the point where people hiss if you walk down the street with a plastic bag, but there is a growing movement to resign the plastic bag to the history archives, as Aylsham steps forward to be Norfolk's first plastic bag free town. The town has always supported an amazing range of shops and businesses, including three butchers, two farmers markets each month, a twice weekly market and a ...
It's a tricky one for the Ministry of Defence, but I think they have just about explained sufficiently (below) why Prince William landed a Chinook helicopter next to his girlfriend's home at Bucklebury, Berkshire. This escapade comes under the heading of "you couldn't make it up". The Chinook is a massive, relatively noisy flying machine (below). Bucklebury (below) is a quiet, relatively densely
In 1898 Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who went on to become the first Liberal prime minister of the 20th century, gave his definition of Liberalism. Note in particular the phrase I have put in bold type: "I should say it means the acknowledgment in practical life of the truth that men are best governed who govern themselves; that the general sense of mankind, if left alone, will make for righteousness; that artificial privileges and restraints upon freedom, so far as they are not required in the interests of the community, are hurtful; and that the laws, while, of course, they cannot ...
The world, it appears, falls in to two camps. 95% of the world appears to believe that global warming has been made worse by humans, and go along with the 95% of scientific research that backs up this view. Then there is the other 5%, mainly in this country Conservative supporters, who cannot believe for one moment that the efforts of commerce and industry have done anything to make global warming worse and they put it all down to the BBC who according to them are "peddling lies about global warming". So it is an Inconvenient Truth for them that ...
Hello I'm Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats.....I pledge a pony for every child that will be gold and do spells, and we'll all live in windmills, and ride gingerbread trains and instead of money we'll all be paid in hugs. That was the statement from the "LibDem leader" on last night's Headcases (all right - I took a bit out where I have inserted "....."!) You can see the programme
In the normal scheme of things, this year's outgoing deputy mayor, Cllr Gunter, would already have been nominated as the mayor for the county borough for 2008/9. The council usually resolves the succession in February of each year. Our councillors have told us that, this year, no decision has been reached. One can only speculate on the reason.
Gordon Brown's local difficulties over the doubling of the 10% tax rate have enabled him to avoid questioning over his summit with George Bush. "The Prime Minister has again met President Bush to discuss security issues, yet his unwillingness to allow proper debate on the siting of US missile defence components in this country smacks of arrogance. "Brown is clearly more concerned with maintaining the special relationship with the US than he is with the people of this country. "MPs were promised a debate on missile defence by Tony Blair, but Gordon Brown rushed out plans to site US missile ...
I was delighted to see that the fantastic "Gavin and Stacey" won the Audience Award at the BAFTA Television Awards last night. A well deserved victory for the co-writer James Corden in the Best Comedy Performance category topped off a great night for British telly. With the television schedules being ever dominated by bland, lowest common dominator garbage (Graham Norton search for a "Nancy" in the West End anyone?). It is great to see genuine quality being rewarded. Just a shame that the legend that is Alison Steadman wasn't nominated for an award. She'll just have to hold out for ...
Like many others, I await my pay slip for this month with some trepidation, having heard scary things from friends and family who have already had their's. I come into the bracket who will be worst off as a result of Gordon Brown's abolition of the 10p tax rate. This is no laughing matter for people who are already struggling with rising food and fuel costs. It seems incredible that Labour simply have completely underestimated the effect of their actions. Even now they don't seem to have a clue how to handle it. Yvette Cooper's talk of a "process" today ...
My guess for Pennsylvania tomorrow? Clinton will win and the slugfest will continue. It seems Obama cannot land a knock-out blow but the "points count" already shows an insurmountable lead for him. The polls show continuous leads for Hillary in Pennsylvania, which appear to have strengthened for her in the last couple of days. But, a last minute voter registration surge is helping Obama. It's
Well, I've just wasted half an hour of my life buying petrol. It's always a bit of a panicky process for me - I usually wait until I'm running on the whiff of an oily rag before I even think of going to a petrol station and I'm sure I've come close to not making it on occasion. However, tonight was different. The queue was horrific, people were bad tempered, and to cap it all, our lovely profiteering petrol station had put its prices up. Minister for Everything John Swinney has helpfully brought in an independent expert to try to ...
From a local news release: On April 14, 2007, the Conservative Portfolio Holder for Environment, Health and Safety stated in a reply to a Liberal Democrat question at [Winchester] Council that the current combined recycling and composting rate for Winchester was 36.7%. A few days later, George Beckett, Conservative Leader of the Council published a leaflet claiming [...]
The Scottish Government have finally come out and reject plans to build a 181 turbine wind farm on the island of Lewis. Scottish ministers decided the project would have a serious impact on the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area, which is designated under the European Commission (EC) Birds Directive and protected under the EC Habitats Directive. Energy Minister Jim Mather said: "The Lewis Wind Farm would have significant adverse impacts on the Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area, which is designated due to its high value for rare and endangered birds. "This decision does not mean that there cannot be onshore ...
Very worrying news concerning the potential 48 hour strike by staff at Scotland's only oil refinery at Grangemouth. Most papers up here had headlines this morning about motorists already starting to panic buy fuel. The Scotsman reported at 5am there were queues at the pumps, sales were up 50% and the 1st petrol station had sold out. The dispute is between members of the Unite union and workers employed at the plant which is owned by Ineos and is centred on pension arrangements. The Scottish Government has offered independent mediators to try and break the deadlock although Westminster has ultimate ...
The link is to details of the guidance on Mackenzie Friends. I would argue that this a generally supportive approach which should be welcomed. The issue about when a MF can address the court is a complex one. This is generally done by the CoA, but the lower courts can get a bit picky.
Gordon Brown mouthpiece cheerleader Jackie Ashley, writing in today’s Guardian, implores Government MPs to think of what matters most when deciding how to vote on the 10p tax rate abolition and 42 day detention without charge. Not the country’s best interests based on a cost-benefit analysis or evidence supported argument, but the Labour Party: "Discipline under [...]
The situation in Zimbabwe is getting worse. Check out the sokwanele blog on the blogroll to the right. Also please sign the petition here to increase pressure from around the world to stop these arms reaching the dictator Mugabe.
A year ago, as our friend Julia points out, I fell into the category of people least likely to be married within a year. Not only was I doggedly single and quite hopelessly disorganised, but I was getting ready to move house and was somewhere between San Francisco and Melbourne, on my way to, eventually, Vanuatu. And then Ros came along... It's been a bit of a whirlwind since then, with all of
A good read at this link. You can subscribe to an e-version of the magazine. This month some good articles on the American Presidential race - all three understand the concept of global warmimg which is a big move forward from the current president - The Mayor of London race, green cars and an article about Carbon offsetting. Making cars less polluting misses the point. People should be making... 
In 1997 Labour's manifesto proclaimed: "Our long-term objective is a lower starting rate of income tax of ten pence in the pound. Reducing the high marginal rates at the bottom end of the earning scale - often 70 or 80 per cent - is not only fair but desirable to encourage employment. This goal will benefit the many, not the few. It is in sharp contrast to the Tory goal of abolishing capital gains and inheritance tax, at least half the benefit of which will go to the richest 5,000 families in the country."True to its word Labour introduced the ...
Eck Salmond heid honcho of the Gnats seems to be living in fantasyland if he believes that they can gain at least an extra 14 seats at the next Westminster election. Reasons? Well at the 2005 Westminster election the Gnats won 6 seats and came 2nd in 20. Two of their held seats Perth & North Perthshire and Angus are held by a small majority (Perth 1521, Angus 1601) and are vulnerable to folk voting Tory to oust the Gnat type tactical voting. Lets have a look at the 20 seats where they are second: Airdrie & Shotts. Labour majority ...
It has been a few days since I last posted, and it will be some time before I blog again. I mention this not because I think the world will be waiting with bated breath for my next entry, but so that my nemesis from Taunton Deane doesn't go into overdrive and feel forced to create a new conspiracy theory, this time, about my silence. Tomorrow, Mark and I are getting married. Having never arranged a big wedding before, we're struck by how much work seems to be involved, but also by how much fun it has all been. It's ...
The proposed Oval shopping complex in Darlington may be delayed due to the international credit crunch, said both the Leader of the Council and the Director of Development this morning, at the public Town Centre Forum meeting. Councillor Williams said he was "worried" about the effect that the squeeze on credit might have on the scheme. He admitted that it was taking much longer than planned to
So, I've decided to change my American legal counsel. I had been instructing Sullivan and Cromwell's promising young associate Sue Yoo, but I've been now been won over by Boston lawyer Sophocles M. Sophocles.
Firstly, the comments to this week's reactipoll show exactly why {[info]} diggerdydum is the best Who comm on Livejournal: a heady mixture of sharp intellect, affectionate piss-taking, and Molesworth references. And (so far, at least) a pretty much wank-free zone... It can't last, can it? Secondly, a link from today's Casting the Net on Liberal Conspiracy, with a heartwarming tale of political canvassing.Talking of civil partnerships, there was a lovely moment today. It won't surprise you to know that I've been out tapping on lots of doors ahead of the local elections in Oxford. Earlier I spoke to a woman ...
So I only have to mention 'Gavin and Stacey' and they pick up two BAFTAs! Perhaps I can work my magic on Brian Paddick as well... Back to the Essex/Barry sitcom. A couple of weeks ago the M4 Severn Bridge tolls were mentioned in passing, so I was waiting for them to play some part in the unfolding drama. Sure enough, in last night's episode, Gavin and Smithy are rushing to...
How the tax and benefits system should be structured has been a hotly contested issue in liberal circles over recent years. The IFS today released a study commissioned by the Mirrlees review of the British tax and benefit system. The FT picked up on one aspect of the story - that a higher tax band of £100,000 plus is unlikely to raise much, if any, revenue ('Targeting rich will not work, says study'). However, the study is much broader and a better summary can be read in the IFS's own press release.We're still going through the detail in the report ...
No Incinerator in Bristol The West of England Waste Partnership is actively considering the complete folly of building a Mass Burn Incineration plant at Avonmouth. This is an environmental crime and sends out all the wrong messages. The Labour Government's scam of a lie that it is waste from energy is a travesty of the truth. It is simply burning materials which could be reused. It is...
Raising social mobility: an opportunity to empower individuals to improve their own capability There is a cross-party consensus that the UK has a social mobility problem. Gordon Brown has called it "the great mission of the next decade". Recent discussion has focused on the abolition of the 10p tax rate which is seen as a blow [...]
When I posted last week about Falkirk Council seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. I don't think any of us anticipating that the biggest poluuter in the district might end up shutting down operations for a month. A strike that the Union Unite is calling for the 27th and 28th April has already cause Ineos who run Grangemouth the only oil refinery in Scotland to start a phased shut down of
Loopholes in the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation allow subsidised fuel from unsustainable sources to still be certified, says Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Norman Baker. He adds: "It is a scandal that unsustainable and heavily subsidised fuel is being imported from the US and described as environmentally friendly. Ministers must push the EU to close this loophole immediately. "Thanks to flaws in the Government's system, companies selling these fuels will even be allowed to get away with saying that they don't know whether they've been sourced sustainably or not. This makes a mockery of the entire idea of sustainability standards." ...
When does a bench mean more than just the bench itself...? Well here at Hampstead Heath Station (now in zone 2 - hurrah!) the benches have been repainted this orange (ish) colour for the new Overground livery colours. It got me thinking about the other colours of the map and a bit of research (not tricky research you understand) yielded that the London Underground map has twleve colour coded lines and this makes a 13th on the famous TfL map of London: Bakerloo Line (Brown)Central Line (Red)Circle Line (Yellow)District Line (Green)East London Line* (Orange)Hammersmith & City Line (Pink)Jubilee Line (Silver)Metropolitan ...
23) Hamid R. Kusha, The Sacred Law of Islam: A Case Study of Women's Treatment in the Islamic Republic of Iran's Criminal Justice System (Burlington: Ashgate 2002, ISBN 1840147296). My impressions of this one are mixed. The first half, which introduces Islamic law generally, in my view suffers from a lack of scholarly objectivity, with Kusha taking the divine inspiration of the Qur'an as a given. However, his overall argument is very much pro-equality (the only reason I do not say "feminist" is that he himself rejects that label because of disagreements of approach with Western feminists). He stresses that ...
Election fever is gripping the nation. Well, maybe not, but political activists up and down the country are currently wearing out their shoe leather canvassing and delivering leaflets ahead of the local elections in 10 days’ time. Since the last national test of opinion, in May 2007, both the Lib Dems and Labour have replaced [...]
As so often before Trevor Phillips gets into the news with a scare story- this time that we may be on the brink of a "cold war between the races" . Now far be it from me to suggest Mr. Phillips has a vested interest: but it is hard to avoid the fact that if there were no problems of inter-racial tension then his job as head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) would not be needed. Frankly, if one raises the dead horse of Enoch Powell's "Rivers blood" speech forty years after the event, then it is ...
With the first primary for six weeks tomorrow, it's time for Freethink to return to the US of A and consider the implications of the various possible scenarios and make some predictions.In a sense, we already know what will happen. Barack Obama will win in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and Hillary Clinton will win the vast majority of what is between. John Kerry managed to pull out a victory in 2004 by winning the two cities at either end of the state and nothing in between, but Obama will find it harder.Although many polls are showing there are 5 or less points in it, I'm sceptical ...
How much later? When 5.3 million of the lowest paid have been pushed closer to declaring bancruptcy or voluntary insolvency because, as we head into credit crunch around the world because banks etc have been selling credit(most of it unregulated from the amount of wildly ridiculous offers of instant credit I get in the junk mail!)without looking at the consequences, 'New Labour' is going to maybe help out at some unspecified time... maybe, if we they can be bothered... meanwhile nothing is done to end the disparate charging of power companies to this sector of the population as well or ...
I have just spent a pleasurable half-hour poring over Brill's International Law and Human Rights catalogue in order to tell our librarians what books I think we should order to support our pro bono work. That has to be one of my all-time favourite work tasks.
Coverage today in the Daily Express, Daily Mail and Telegraph. Looks like there's a head of steam building up on this - which is good!
The Labour leaflet arrived through me door yesterday morning. I caught a glimpse of the person delivering it but didn't recognise him immediately. Hardly surprising as he was buried under dark glasses and a baseball cap. It was only when he came down the other side of the street that I recognised him under his cloak of anonimity. He was last year's Labour candidate. He has abandoned all hope of
Further evidence that Labour face a massive rebellion from within their own ranks over the 10p tax rate abolition today, from one of the party’s own Parliamentary candidates. The decision to abolish the 10p rate will make many of the poorest working people in the country even less well off, and millions more ever more dependent on complicated tax credits and government handouts. John Wiseman, the Labour candidate for Westmorland and Lonsdale, told a Labour website that he wanted Gordon Brown to “wake up and smell the coffee” over the tax rate abolition. As Labour across the country prepare for elections next ...
Heading to London today will be the nation's Labour MPs ready, it is claimed, to do battle on the budget which the government has made clear it will not change. One reason for refusing to change it is the simple fact that it is now in operation. Political journalists have focused entirely on the Finance Bill which is coming up for debate this week. They have overlooked the budget resolutions
Redcar and Cleveland Council has programmed its annual four-week period of principal road maintenance across the Borough, with work involving gully and sign cleaning, grass cutting plus repairs to street lights and carriageways. The work, which will be timed from 9am-3pm to avoid early morning and homeward bound traffic, starts on Monday, April 28, with a six-day schedule on the A171 from Swans Corner to Middlesbrough Road, South Bank, finishing on Tuesday, May 6. The second phase, from Wednesday, May 7 to Tuesday, May 13, will tackle the A1053 Trunk Road and the A66 from the Wilton International site's West ...
I really should stop reading “Have Your Say,” the BBC News website’s comments forum, because most of the time I read it my blood pressure rises to levels that really wouldn’t impress medically qualified professionals. Normally the pages are home to quite a bit of ill-informed commentary, but there is often a balance and some rational responses lurking amidst the shouting. But yesterday there was a debate about John Prescott’s announcement that he has suffered from bulimia for many years, and the explosion of ignorance, and almost glee in some quarters, from the responding public really did shock and disappoint me. ...
Following my blog entry last Friday about bus routes (click on headline above to view), I have had feedback from Stagecoach Strathtay's Operations Manager on the matter as follows: "Cllr Macpherson, Just a quick explanation of the change to the service 13 route. It has always been the intention for the 13 to use the link road once it had opened and the service registration has been produced to show this. The link road was due to open last year and until the opening the diversion via Ninewells Avenue was only temporary. The link road allows us to offer a ...
He's as famous for his love of eating of pies, burgers, chocolate, crisps and fish and chips, as he is his politics, he's approaching 70 and has 'just' written his autobiography in which he 'confesses' to suffering "in misery and in silence" from the eating disorder bulimia. Yeah right! I'm sorry, but I simply don't believe a word of it. And I'll tell you why I don't believe it. Here's the BBC's definition of Bulimia; 'Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder where a person has a fear of becoming fat" Now ask yourself this question, does that description fit John ...
At last, some commonsense from Plaid Cymru economics guru, Eurfyl ap Gwilym. Plaid's Lords-wannabe believes that the Welsh Government will find it difficult to sustain costly policies such as free prescriptions and no top-up fees for students in the face of fixed budget and without having the powers to vary taxes or to borrow money. He also believes Wales is lagging behind England in capital projects for the NHS and education because of the failure to find an alternative to the Private Finance Initiative: "One of the Assembly Government's early acts was to abolish prescription charges across the board at ...
Like many people who have chosen to live in London, rather than being born here, I love this city. For the past few years, in particular, it really has been the most stimulating place on the planet to be. But I really worry that London is pricing itself out of the market. That’s certainly one [...]
Unforeseen Financial Occurrences, that is. Which way was Gordon Brown looking last spring? I knew a year ago that the smart money was getting out of banking shares. A commentator on one financial messageboard described Northern Rock as "slipperier than a bucket of eels" because of its questionable business model and socially irresponsible lending practices. (Back then, the term "credit crunch" was not in widespread use, but there were warnings of a thing called "payment shock." This referred to difficulties for overstretched borrowers faced with an abrupt hike in interest rates.) Yet Northern Rock's problems seemed to catch the Government ... | < | April 2008 | > | ||||
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