I've just watched Newsnight and its analysis of Gordon Brown's leadership woes. Michael Crick's piece focused on four potential candidates who might stand should Brown quit or be forced from office - David Miliband, Alan Johnson, Jack Straw or James Purnell. They also had Polly Toynbee saying that Brown should go now, while Steve Richards was saying that although Brown's been a rather poor Prime Minister, now wasn't the time to get rid of him. However, all this assumes that Brown will either willingly give up the job he's craved all his life or that he can be forced to ...
The agenda for the meeting of the Selly Oak Constituency Committee on Tuesday 29 July 2008 has now been published and is available online. The meeting will be held at 7pm in the Manningford Hall, Manningford Road, Druids Heath, Birmingham. Items on the agenda include: Post Office closuresthe Constituency Development Plan; anda report on some of the Sport and Leisure improvements in 2007/08.
I met Russell Johnston only on a few occasions - I arrived in Inverness just a year before he retired as MP for the area. However, he is someone I had a great deal of respect for and his passing yesterday leaves the Lib Dems, the Highlands and the wider world much poorer. I suspect almost anyone who ever met him would describe Russell as a true gentleman. He was also a Liberal to his core and a passionate pro-European and internationalist, as shown by his work in later years for the Council of Europe. I recall hearing him speak ...
Top Tory Blogger Iain Dale is preparing his annual "Guide to Political Blogging" and is asking readers to: "Email your Top Ten Blogs to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com and have the chance to win £100 worth of political books." Iain writes: In early September TOTAL POLITICS, in association with APCO WORLDWIDE will publish the 2008-9 Guide to Political Blogging in the UK. It will contain articles on blogging by some of Britain's leading bloggers, together with a directory of UK political blogs, and a series of Top 20s and Top 10s. The book will be available at the Green Party, TUC, Labour, LibDem ...
A couple of article in the FT Magazine this weekend that looked at the EU debate. George Parker (European Editor before becoming political editor) looks at the growing strength of Euroscepticism in the UK ("he EU's most recent survey showed that only 30 per cent of Britons think membership is a "good thing") and the dilemma this might pose for a Cameron-led government. Parker blames Thatcher, but from an unusual angle, suggesting that the move to majority-voting on Single Market issues led to a flood of legislation that made Europe unpopular. I'm not sure I go along with this: I ...
..because when the New York Times writes about women and blogging they put it in the Style and Fashion section, not business or politics!!!!!!!! Hat Tip to The F-Word, who tipped Every Dot Connects, who picked up the 'story' from The Brand Box. As Every Dot Connects says: "Well, hello! Yes, there's a glass ceiling. And instead of addressing the question, the New York Times editors are part of the problem. A story about men who blog, especially if they had built the kind of powerhouse network the BlogHer folks have, would have run in the business or technology section ...
Many people are asking in pendle who the bad guy is our MP Prentice or gordon Prentice. MP Prentice basically is saying that the PM is the man in the wrong and not the labour party. I'll tell you something the pendle MP is really trying to get his seat in the bag by going against Brown. Well let me tell you that this MP is not some one to vote as he played party politics when it came to speaking out for burnley A&E returning back he did not support us the people of pendle.
Today I got an opportunity to hit the pads with big Kevin Evans. The silver medallist in the Sydney Commonwealth games held the pads high for a couple of rounds for me. Left-right, left-right then uppercut, left-right then left hook , left-right then right hook then left uppercut. Crumbs I was getting bamboozled with all of these complex combinations! Truth is I have not stepped through the ropes for seven years or so. Big Kevin has a fantastic gym in Carmarthen. Its weight training on the top floor and boxing in the basement. A little reminiscent of that great movie ...
Carers Partnership Board This meeting proved to be one of the most interesting Carers Partnership Board meetings to date. A great deal of discussion took place, which resulted in an overrun of 45 minutes, but I felt it was worth it. I am not sure whether the discourse was the result of the new format agenda, [...]
I spent a substantial part of today in meetings of partnerships, discussing health, well-being (and how to define it!), some new ideas on regenerating the Tees Valley, and more on the exciting developments for play which I heard about last week. Perhaps the most worrying part of the whole day was hearing that the Primary Care Trust will no longer have any role in providing health care, but will
On an earlier post i spoke about how Prentice mp ran away from the media. Now the pendle based mp has spoken to the BBC. You can view the article at the BBC website. Well this has cleared a few issues like the fact that workers of mp Prentice were standing outside the office in the evening after office hours. Via phone
There are now, believe it or not, only 100 days until the race to become the 44th President of the United States of America is decided. And there's no doubt who continues to grab the headlines, and not only here in Europe: Barack Obama's candidacy has enthralled not just the Democratic party, but much of [...]
{Walls as they were...} Regular readers (the one man and his dog) will be aware of our on-going campaign to get the walls to the front of the Southbrook Road flats repaired. Well, we've been successful - the walls have now been repaired as the before and after photos on the right show. My only niggle is that the bricks aren't the same colour as the originals(!) I'm going to check with {Southbrook Walls - After!} Lewisham Homes - presumably it wasn't possible to find a match, or maybe they're supposed to fade to the same colour as the others. ...
I had some interesting conversations with Labour members yesterday. So let me start by saying I sympathise with those who are staff members or volunteers doing the hard slog on the ground. Trying to continue when their party has become a car crash is demanding and challenging, and frankly demoralising as well. I should know, I lived through the 80s when the Owenites did everything they could to
An article in today's issue of The Times begins: Sixty years ago this month an Act was passed that was to revolutionise the way that vulnerable children in Britain were protected by the State. The Children Act of 1948 has been described as "the most comprehensive and humane children's legislation in history".What is less well known is that the Act had its origins in a letter to The Times, published four years earlier — in July 1944, at the height of the Second World War. The reaction to its publication was so extraordinary — the paper estimated that no single ...
North East Fife MSP Iain Smith and MP Sir Menzies Campbell today (Monday) met John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary fro Finance and Sustainable Growth, in Edinburgh to discuss the future of Curtis Fine Papers after last week's announcement that the company was in administration. In a joint statement after the meeting the Parliamentarians said, "We had a constructive meeting with the Cabinet Secretary and his officials. We emphasised our belief that everything should be done to try and preserve the business, and in particular that the Scottish government and Scottish Enterprise should use all their contacts to try to identify ...
Stephen Tall writes about the options facing Labour on Liberal Democrat Voice - Is this the beginning of the end for Brown? I am not entirely sure that a different leader would change things much for Labour - perhaps it would give them a little honeymoon bounce which would reduce the degree of their trouncing at the next General Election. The whole thing is hugely ironic, given that Brown was
Lib Dem Voice has a round up of tributes from his fellow Liberal Democrats and there is an obituary on the Daily Telegraph website: The Lord Russell-Johnston, who has died on the eve of his 76th birthday, was a civilised, internationalist Highlander who made a sterling contribution to Scottish Liberalism and to Britain's involvement with Europe; in 33 years as MP for Inverness, he brought steadiness to a febrile party and when the Liberals and the bulk of the SDP combined in 1988, was elected unopposed as deputy leader of the merged party.
Whilst walking through whitefield i come across a huge pile of tyres that someone had left their. Well i think if the council litter wardens stopped fining people for littering a wrapper and concentrated on the large objects people litter pendle would be a much cleaner borough. Posted via phone
Yorkshire Ridings Society events on Yorkshire Day, Friday 1st August 2008: YORK - Yorkshire Day celebrations in York. 10.30 Yorkshire Flag arrives at Walmgate Bar after being carried from Hull for readings of the Yorkshire Declaration of Integrity. 10.45 Walmgate Bar 11.33 Mickelgate Bar 12.15 Bootham Bar 12.45 Monk Bar Then the flag will be carried into the city centre for the final reading at 1.00 in St Sampson's Square, where York City Council are organising a special Yorkshire Day event with stalls and entertainment. REDCAR - Yorkshire Day celebrations in Redcar. The Yorkshire Declaration of Integrity ceremony and poetry ...
In discussion today with the Royal Mail Scottish Press Office in Edinburgh today, I received confirmation that a final decision on the four threatened Dundee Post Offices is due to be announced on Wednesday (30th July). As residents are well aware, there has been much local concern over Post Office Limited's proposals to close four Dundee Post Offices. Many constituents in the West End have expressed their opposition to closing the Lochee Road and Nethergate Post Offices, both of which provide an invaluable service to local communities and, along with other city councillors, I have made clear my strong objections ...
It's silly season, so the temptation to dismiss the current media frenzy over Gordon Brown is a reasonable one. The faint sound of a barrel being scraped can be heard when MPs like Gordon Prentice - a long-term foe of Mr Brown - are given the platform to keep the wheels of the bandwagon rolling [...]
A gentleman, who designed a version of the Yorkshire Flag that is a red and white reversed out Danish Flag with a Yorkshire Rose in the centre of the cross has written to the media questioning the Yorkshire Ridings Society's right to register the traditional white rose on a blue background as the Yorkshire flag. We asked the Flag Institute to register the traditional flag because that was the one that has been in common use for so many years. We have no wish to quarrel with the gentleman concerned. We have simply registered the white rose flag that we ...
Liberal Democrats on Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council are calling on the borough's MPs to support a campaign to promote British seaside holidays. Travelodge, the hotel chain, has launched a "Save Our Seaside" campaign. They hope to open 55 new hotels in seaside locations, and claim this will create 1000 new jobs. Two Lib Dem MPs from coastal constituencies, John Pugh (Southport) and Norman Lamb (North Norfolk) have submitted an Early Day Motion (EDM 2122) to Parliament congratulating Travelodge on its scheme. Marske Lib Dem Councillor Margaret Wilson (pictured) is urging Redcar & Cleveland's two MPs to sign the EDM ...
I meant to comment more on this, but as it happens I didn't really have anything to add other than a general thumbs up. Was glad to see that by confounding the expectations of the media we were actually able to get some coverage for it, and as a launch platform for our General Election campaign I think it's a good thing. Certainly it should be enough to surprise a few people when we start getting some actual television coverage when they're legally forced to show lib dems on the news. Hmm... imagine! Lib Dems on television! *slap* Okay, back ...
Speaking of policies that fit our world-view but not necessarily the facts, the dramatic turnaround in the status of biofuel has been a welcome fillip to those of us who care more about pesky little things like facts; we'd expected it to take a lot longer for everyone else to notice. Nevertheless, the real lesson of the whole saga still hasn't quite hit home as it should. Ultimately, the reason
Well i am starting blogging from my phone. They may be spelling mistakes in some posts but you will have to live with it until i get on to my computer and run spellchecker. So please keep reading my blog.
Specifically, this one on the AutoTrader site[1]. SB decided today that we ought to have one, and I had no real objection. Wasn't keen and enthusiastic mind, but I'm back in the car driving masses again. Just have to make sure I don't over use it &c... {Front View} Front View {Right side} Right side {Left side} Left side {Rear view} Rear view {Internal view} Internal view 1999 T Reg FORD Ka 1.3i Features: * 49,000 miles * Manual * purple with light grey trim * Petrol * Hatchback * 1299 cc Full Description: 3 Doors, Manual, Hatchback, Petrol, 49,000 ...
Interesting flag related goings on have come to my attention from outside West Lothian House, home of the SNP/Save St. Johns Hospital coalition led West Lothian Council. Now there are five flag poles out side the council offices so it is not as if space is at a premium but it has been murmurs that the Union Flag has not been flying like it used to outside. Apparently the Provost Tom Kerr of the
Jacqui Smith 'haled' interactive crime maps today (ePolitix.com). In principle I'm very keen on the idea. Greater access to information = greater local and national accountability = democratic imperative to act = better public service. However... If they catch on, will the maps contribute to falling house prices in poor areas? Will they lead to increasing polarisation between local schools, situated in better and worse areas. Will they help lead to diaspora of aware citizens from more criminalised and disadvantaged areas? Will that process of regional segregation lead to a drop in accountability in the areas which need help because ...
Okay so, while most people are saying that Labour's crazy for hanging onto Brown, I have a counter-argument to put forward. Labour needs Gordon Brown because, should he be replaced, they would have to call a General Election that they cannot possibly win. The reality is that a new leader would not be able to ditch the entire legislative programme and start again from scratch because, quite simply, they do not have the time left in parliament to get anything done. It's not just a question of legitimacy - it's the simple practical fact that the new leader would either ...
I've just learnt, courtesy of the MKNE blog, that one of my political heroes was a codebreaker at Bletchley Park. Roy Jenkins was a former Labour Home Secretary. He was one of the Gang of Four who founded the Social Democrat Party, which ultimately joined the Liberals to form the Liberal Democrats. And - amazingly - he was at Bletchley Park during the war, giving even more...
Unlike Iain Dale i am not going to charge people to tell them how easy it is to blog about Politics. Setting up a blog is so easy if you can send an email then you can blog for England. Follow the easy steps below to start blogging about Politics: Join a Political Party or find a group or organisation that you share the same beliefs with. If you for example a strong believer in Liberalism then join the Liberal Democrats etc...Then go to a blog host like http://www.blogger.com/ and set up an account which would allow you to post ...
I got a phone call from a local person telling me something that many people including myself found very funny. Our Local MP Gordon Prentice and many other MP's have called upon Gordon Brown to call a Leadership election but when the media turned up to interview the MP he was fast to leave his office. The Local Person so the sky news team enter the office of the MP and after about a minute the MP sneaked out of the back door into his car which was parked at the back and drove off. Is this man who made ...
Well - tomorrow, I will be laying a tile for the 'topping out' ceremony for the new health centre on the site of the old Hornsey Hospital. Funnily enough, the Liberal Democrats did a health survey not that long ago to find out what local people wanted in terms of their local health care. When asked what services they wanted to see in the facility, local residents supported a wide range of health services, including, x-ray services (59%) emergency care (54%) and homeopathic and alternative therapies (26%). Survey responses was received from 1,281 Haringey residents.As we reach the point where ...
On a constituency profile page on her web site, Claire Ward states that: "Two of the Three Rivers wards, Carpenders Park and Oxhey Hall, are to the south of Watford town and include mostly prosperous commuter villages." Prosperous commuter villages? I like the areas very much (and know them well, having agented both wards for the past five years), but I don't think anyone could describe them as villages in any sense. And whilst both wards have some more affluent areas, there are large pockets of deprivation on both wards. Carpenders Park also has a large number of elderly residents, ...
Roy Jenkins was one of our code-breakers at wartime Bletchley Park, but it is to a more contemporary LibDem that we owe the physical survival of the site and buildings. Milton Keynes New City was designated in the late 1960's but the government concealed the history of the ULTRA decipherments until the mid-1970's So when the first round of plans for the developments came out all Bletchley Park was known as was the Post Office Training Centre. It wasn't until the mid 1980's that the work of the Bletchley codebreakers became really famous. The site was therefore vulnerable to a ...
Interesting article in Financial Times, which you can read here. It suggests that Labour would be better to follow the course of the Liberal party in the early 20th century and become more radical. The suggestion is that New Labour's social democratic message, (free market plus social welfare), is suited to a time a economic crisis and would look more preferable to the message put forward by the Tories (who continue to emphasise personal responsibility over government action). Perhaps. Although there are two things to point out. (1) New Labour isn't strictly social-democratic or welfare-liberal, and has also emphasised a ...
Although you've all got your own ideas of what constitutes a good blog I, of course, know better. So in proper TOTP countdown style, start playing 'whole lotta love' from my mux (bow-wow-wow-wow,wa,wa,wa,wa...): 10. She's a baroness, she's from Suffolk, what more could you want. In at 10, it's Mrs Valladares 9. One half of the Lib Dem Duo , MatGB seems to know everything, and he looks like he can rock out. Keeping the scene ALIVE!! 8. Resplendent, redoubtable, radical, real and apparently reluctant, a climber at 8 - Charlotte Gore. 7. A political blog that is unique in ...
Another perplexing advert "pull". Mars has canned a TV ad featuring A-Team star Mr T harassing a speed walker for being a "disgrace to the man race", after complaints in the US that it is offensive to gay people. You can see the advert below. I laughed at the Heinz Deli Mayo "Gay kiss" ad and I laughed at this one. Are US companies becoming a little over-senstive?
We are working with London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon to chase Transport for London over the closure of the bus stop near the junction of Fentiman Road and Clapham Road - this has been closed since late June by TFL due to works on the water main on Clapham Road, and we are calling for it to be brought back into use as soon as possible.
Make of this photoshopping what you will.
Tip of the hat to the inimitable Beau Bo D'Or.
I am very glad that Lynne Featherstone and John Hemming have co-signed the Guardian letter about nuclear warhead replacement. But the ballooning Aldermaston budget to produce new nuclear warheads is no sudden revelation. Even the Daily Mail was complaining about this way back in December 2006. I discussed this in a posting in January 2007, saying, amongst other things; Aldermaston is installing two vital new pieces of kit - the 'Orion' laser and a hydrodynamics research unit. Together these give the capacity to gather the information previously only available through live testing of nuclear devices. Their only real purpose is ...
Mark Pack has the story. I have banged on about this for years (8 years to be precise). Electronic counting will never be trusted until there are proper open and transparent audit trails! Hopefully the Electoral Commisssion will really get out some sharp teeth and do something about it. Just in case people miss the point. AUDIT TRAILS. TRANSPARENCY.
This is great - have a butcher's. My favourite part: "In fact, it is difficult to find much recorded history before 2,500 B.C., because the flood of Noah's day destroyed most of it."
Iain Dale has a guest blog today: The Death Of The Record Industry. This is mostly about file sharing and the major label's attempts to eradicate the sharing of music. Firstly, they will never do this. They are fighting a losing war. They'll target one method and another will be invented. Encryption is starting to become common [...]
Mon 28th
14:01
Pundits agree that Gordon Brown's position is untenable - but are split on what happens next.
In the aftermath of the stunning SNP victory in the Glasgow East by-election, it was inevitable that the pressure on Gordon Brown would become even heavier than was already the case. Labour are approximately 20 points behind the Conservatives in the polls. However, in the few days since the by-election result, a consensus seems to have emerged in the press. Going through the various commentators in Monday's papers we find: Jackie Ashley, writing in the Guardian, calls for a leadership contest (Labour needs a new leader - even if that means a coup). In spite of professing herself to be ...
I'm confused about this latest ad ban. Which character is meant to be gay? The one who is walking peculiarly, or the one wearing lots of gold jewelry, referring to pride in the "man race" and chomping down hard on phallic shaped object demanding that we "get some nuts"? If this ad is meant to represent the ultimate hetero bashing a homo, I'm Mad Murdoch. Share This
I was reading about Cuil, a new search engine set up by former Google employees which has been launched with the intention of competing with the search giant. Sadly though, from my ysing of it this morning, it is a very poor search engine indeed. I typed in "Norfolk Politics", and got the response below. Not impressive. I typed in Norfolk Blogger, and most of the links it gave me came up with the message shown below. Clearly the relevance of links are not something Cuil looks in to very well. Perhaps most interestingly, I thought I'd do a search ...
Russell Johnston was a civilised man. He embodied a certain courtly Highlander tradition that is the antithesis of the provincial. His interests were many and each of these he pursued with a passion. Those who only knew his honeyed Highland cadences could be caught out, for Russell did not tolerate fools too well and his peppery comments could be as acerbic as they were funny- delivered in words of one syllable, yet still in his beautiful Skye accent. In many ways Russell was a visionary, famously well travelled, he could also be the source of surprising and detailed arcane knowledge. ...
Who needs foreigners to typecast them when there are stories like this? A 56-year-old man from the Midwestern US state of Wisconsin has been arrested after shooting his lawn mower in his garden because it would not start... Police officers said Mr Walendowski had told them: "It's my lawn mower and my yard, so I can shoot it if I want." (BBC) Woof woof.
Mon 28th
13:06
How many Liberal Democrats do you think will get onto the top 100 of total Politics Blogs?
How many Liberal Democrats do you think will get onto the top 100 of total Politics Blogs? Well that question is being asked by a lot of bloggers that are listed on the site including my self and i believe that about 20 or 30 will be Liberal Democrats but i can bet you the majority of blogs in the top 100 will be conservative blogs. Well i have read a huge number of conservative blogs and can i say that they don't really find a bit of interest in my eyes. I rather read a blog by a Labour ...
Many people say "I am not interested in Politics".Yes we have all heard someone or another saying that but according to Total Politics Daily Politico if you say that you are saying "'I'm not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future or any future.'' Well if you look at it, it does have some weight behind the argument Politics runs everything that happens to someone including where and how he is buried. Politics isn't just voting on the ballot and forgetting about it for 4 or 5 years its more about ...
Not a lot of people know hat aa well as being a football fan I am also a keen watcher of cricket. Not just any cricket, but Middlesex CCC. At one time in my life I spent the winters following the Gunners home and away and the summers watching Middlesex. The last time Middlesex lifted a trophy of any description was the week that we got married - and we celebrate our 15th anniversary in September! So I was delighted to see the team triumph at the Twenty20 final at the weekend. And whilst Owais Shah was undoubtedly everyone's Man ...
Well i am now going to share with you a horror thanks to the Burnley A&E moving to Blackburn. A man was rushed to hospital well driven at 30 MPH and when he got their he told the receptionist his details and got seated. After about half an hour he was called by a nurse who after listening to what the problem was asked the patient "What do you want me to do?" well if i had to give an answer to that it would have been do your F********* job and do what you are bloody paid to do. ...
A number of senior Lib Dem figures have paid their tributes to Russell Johnston, who served the party both as an MP and peer, and in so many other ways: Former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy MP said: I was deeply saddened to learn of Russell's passing. I have lost a great friend and mentor, going [...]
I was very sorry to hear of the death of Russell Johnston, latterly Lord Russell-Johnston. The Liberal Party and the Liberal Democrats were most fortunate to have such a sensible and dignified Liberal, who was a steadying influence in the transition between the two parties. Let's also not forget that Russell Johnston helped the Liberal Party increase its seats in Parliament from 6 to 9 in the
Nick Clegg is quite right to point out the scandal of EDF energy price rises and their impact on the elderly and vulnerable: When one company raises its prices the others soon follow suit. At a time when energy companies are enjoying a £9bn windfall, it is unacceptable that they can continue to squeeze more profits out of people who are already struggling. With rises of the order of 22% and 17%
Happy 50th Birthday NASA. RIP Lord Russell-Johnston. I haven't got out of bed yet, it's not even lunchtime, and today has already been emotionally exhausting. I've done something I should have done for the sake of my mental health a long time ago and had a big cull of the F-list and updated my Friends Only post... Even though I know that it needed to be done and that if I didn't do it I would go mad(der), I still feel incredibly guilty. I feel like I have lined up a row of innocent puppies and kicked them all to ...
Ok, so they might be messing up on most things at the moment, but Labour's Policy Forum vote in favour of votes at the age of 16 is quite right. It has always been a nonsense that at the age of 16 you can go out to work and pay taxes, but that you had to wait another couple of years to vote for the people responsible for those taxes. Votes at 16 has been Lib Dem policy for longer than I can remember - so welcome to those Labour members who have been converted!
Rumours that a Government reshuffle may lead to the abolition of the Wales Office has provoked a pre-emptive strike by both Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives this morning. The suggestion is that the Wales Office could be merged into a new "super-department" for the UK's nations and regions as part of a cabinet reshuffle in the autumn. The departments for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland would be integrated into one single Department for Nations, Regions and Local Government, with the Wales Office and the post of Welsh Secretary ceasing to exist. Both Plaid and the Tories are arguing that because ...
My Liberal Democrat councillor colleagues on Haringey Council are doing a great job on holding the Labour administration to account. Suspend your disbelief for a moment - Labour Haringey have decided that leaseholders should pay in advance for major works. If you are a Haringey leaseholder - you will be seeing pigs flying at this moment. Would you want to pay Haringey Council in advance for anything? This is carte blanch for shoddy work and botched repairs. Nobody in their right mind would pay the full amount before the work is even started. Talk about a leaseholder rip-off. Prior to ...
I was really sorry to hear the news this morning that my colleague Lord Russell -Johnston died yesterday, the day before what would have been his 76th birthday. I only came to know him in recent years; when I became Deputy Whip in the Lords he was allocated to me as part of my "flock" and was unfailingly polite and co-operative no matter what was asked of him . He remained an ardent pro-European to the end and of course no less of a Scot for that. He must have had nerves of steel to live with the sort of ...
I am saddened by news of the death of Russell Johnston, one of the true characters of Liberal and then Liberal Democrat politics over nearly half a century. My first encounters were as a Young Liberal Democrat in the late eighties, attending various European Liberal events. He was, at that time, one of the two Liberal Democrat members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Lord
Imagine what it's like to be a Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate - tasked with leading and motivating a group of diverse volunteers against all the odds, and organising foot-slogging campaigns on a shoe-string budget that will get you and the party noticed. Lib Dem Voice contacted a dozen PPCs to find out what they [...]
Whilst reading a newspaper i come across an article that said that violent video games lead to a gang culture. Well many people may disagree but i don't as many young people i have have come across who play "gangster style" games end up being the ones drinking and smoking drugs at a very young age.That and many other reasons are why i believe parents need to keep an eye on the sort of games they're children play and not just video games on a whole what their children are doing as letting Kids get away with things in their ...
Last night I went to see the Dark Knight, I won't write any spoilers I will just recommend you go and see it!
I'm one of the signatories on a letter in The Guardian today:The revelation that a senior defence official has told the arms industry that the government plans to spend £3bn to replace the UK's 160 nuclear warheads is truly deplorable (Report, July 25). If the government has reached even a preliminary view on the matter this should first be made known to parliament, and not to industrial interests.Capital investment at the Atomic Weapons Establishment has ballooned from £24m to £420m in just seven years. It concerns us greatly that in a few years we are to be presented with a ...
Today should have been Lord Russell-Johnston's 76th birthday, but sadly he died yesterday, thereby depriving the Liberal Democrats of one of their great characters (and ardent Europeans). Russell incorporated his Christian name into his title when he was made a life peer in 1997. Previously he had been an MP in Inverness for over 30 years, at [...]
Lord Russell-Johnston of Minginish died last night of bone marrow cancer on the eve of his 76th birthday. He had been Liberal MP for Inversness from 1964-83 then for Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber from 1983-97 when he was elevated to the other house. From 1974-99 he served as leader of the Scottish Liberal Party before becoming the inaugural President of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1988-
The news that a 16 year old Senegalese chap has had his Francophone Scrabble world title stripped (as he had falsely entered the 14-15 year olds category) still leaves Senegal with nine word titles. Not bad for a country with a population of only 10 million (humans) and a literacy rate of less than 50%. That's impressive, even though they've never won a canine Scrabble title. P.S. The country that does best at canine Scrabble is Canada. Those Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers sure have a nose for the high scoring consonants.
In the immediate aftermath of this May's London Mayor and Assembly elections, it became clear that some mistakes had been made during the count. Some Mayor votes in Merton and Wandsworth were omitted from the count, and in addition the checking process was flawed as votes were reported from more wards than exist in London. Neither [...]
Woof woof:
The excellent Photoshop Disasters blog has picked up on the airbrushing off the rasta out of this picture of Prince William by The Sun. Top pic from the Daily Mail owned Metro, bottom from the Murdoch Scum.
Changes in the rules mean that key decisions on Winchester's future will be taken later than expected, a council committee was told on 15th July. The Local Development Framework Core Strategy sets out the objectives for Winchester over the next 20 years and is intended to show how the government's requirements for 12,240 new homes in the District will be met. Councillors have been told that the
Yanno, this series of TG has been a bit "meh" for me. I've enjoyed it, but I haven't loved it... Until tonight. Mat and I were both in stitches. And how many other TV shows are there where you might hear the words Jeremy, we might have a bit of a problem, my arm's come off? Also: ILU SABINE!! Really, the perfect show was only slightly marred by Clarkson's implication that Jay Kay was the best driver in the old car. I demand a rerun for the REAL best driver - bring back Ellen MacArthur. Let the poncy popsters Jay ...
