The NHS Next Steps Review, under the leadership of Lord Darzi of Denham, is emphasising that patient choice is a key driver. Now I freely admit that I am generally supportive of choice, although not so enthusiastic that I am blinded to the genuine problems that arise in offering real choice. Firstly, choice must be real rather than notional, especially if your intention is to use choice as a
A lot of time today has been spent getting organised for the John Owen Trophy. I've written about this numerous times before, but we now have the details. Sunday 10th August, kick off at 3.00 p.m. at the Norton Sports complex on Station Road, Norton. The match is about people of different cultures uniting around the common ground of football, and having fun together. The...
Something is amiss in the world of Lib Dem women on the Internet. They would appear to, well, not be women at all. The rambunctious and irrepressible Ms Rigg just found out from this funky little webtool that from her online behaviour, she is 82% male. I tried it, naturally, and came out as 83% male. So now, for your entertainment, Jonnie and Steve will swap blogging functions as well as changing genders before your very eyes, as The One and Only Gob From Yorksher brings you a serious and AMAZING post about gender balance, restricted shortlists and the like ...
Another partnership meeting today, Health and Wellbeing. I wasn't in to good a mood, not having proper directions for walking or getting a bus there, and knowing there would be no spare parking places. However the first item on the agenda was quite different to anything we normally have - "Wellbeing". We are inundated with documents and policies about strategies reached with targets, but this...
Last week I wrote THIS about how the Lib Dems urgently needed to shift resources to attack and win Labour seats. I also added that this should have been done much sooner. I was assured by some people commenting to my story that I was apparently "behind the times" and "out of touch", and that this was already being done. Then lo and behold, Nick Clegg today announces a shift of resources to attack and win Labour seats. Some might say about time too, but it does make me wonder if he reads my blog.
...to think that, in a few short weeks , it looks possible that party activists of all political colours will be expected to trudge the streets once again asking people to believe a lot of spin, unachievable promises and heartfelt apologies and vote for for a "change", or maybe that should just be "vote, for a change". Actually, I tell a lie, it doesn't completely overwhelm me. Sometimes there is a little frisson of excitement at the possibility that the people of Britain might just once collectively call time on this comfy carousel of political clap-trap. Just say no! as ...
The news today that a new wonder drug called Rember might be available by 2012 that may halt the progress of dementia is good news. But am I the only person who thinks that the National Instutute for Health and Clinical Excellence (if ever there was an organisation with an acronym that was a acontradiction in terms, then NICE is surely it) will probably try and block its use by the NHS ?
So, the purchase of the Ka has provoked much discussion here and elsewhere[1] (bunch of petrolheads and weirdoes), and Jennie has decided that she wants to name it[2]. She has a preferred option[3]. I'm not too keen[4]. So I thought I'd enlist some help from you lot[5]. There now follows a poll[6]: View Poll: The naming of the Ka I mean, seriously, why would you want to give your car a name, let alone a silly pun? Oh, wait, I'm in Yorkshire, it's Jennie. Combine the two and I'm doomed, aren't I? Oh, the other scary thing? She went to ...
The latest wheeze from the banks and building societies is that we taxpayers should shoulder the risk of the mortgage market because of the credit crunch. I'm with Vince Cable in thinking that this is a totally inappropriate use of taxpayers' money. I totally agree that the credit crunch is hurting people. In particular older people facing high energy bills and low earners who need to use their cars who are faced with high petrol prices. The people who are being hurt less are those who have mortages at rates they knew (or anticipated) when they took out the loans ...
Tavish Scott's campaign website ... Pleased to see that Tavish's campaign website (for the Scottish Liberal Democrat leadership) is now launched - click on headline above to view.
The Beverley Brass Band provided the music. The Flag Institute present a copy of the Flag Registration Certificate to the Lord Mayor of Hull, Councillor Elaine Garland. The Lord Mayor unfurls the newly registered flag. Roger and Chris Sewell before they set off to walk from Hull to York with the flag. Yorkshire Ridings' Society President, Judith Anderson (left) and Chris Sewell display the Yorkshire flag.
Following this afternoon's (Tuesday) meeting with KPMG Director Gary Fraser, administrator of Curtis Fine Papers in Guardbridge, North East Fife's MP and MSP, who have been spearheading the discussions, noted that there is still "a glimmer of hope" for the mill if a buyer can be found in the next couple of weeks. Commenting, Sir Menzies Campbell MP and Iain Smith MSP said, "We have urged KPMG to do all that they can to keep the mill as a going concern. It is important that the window of opportunity is maintained to give any individual or institution the best possible ...
The latest instalment of his Lordship's diary is begining to be aired over at SHROPSHIRE ALIEN EXCLUSIVE Liberal England. It caused me briefly to ponder punctuation. I first misread "Like so, what?" - a perfectly Bonkerish phase - as "Like, so what?" - which is something his Lordship is most unlikely to say. Much more in line with one of the Well Behaved Orphans, assuming that one can get mobile telephone receiption at the Home.
I had a mini-workout today when I walked up the escalator coming out of the tube. Before you sneer, this was Angel tube, which is famously home to the longest escalators in London (indeed, according to Wikipedia, the longest in western Europe). However, if that's not enough of a workout, then the claimants to the [...]
Anne Widdecombe is currently screeching about the 'wanton and wicked destruction of children' on BBC Parliament. The less civilised part of my nature wants to smack her in the mouth. I'm watching a repeat of the debate about the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, which Sky has unhelpfully listed as "The Abortion Debate". I'm extremely grateful that a majority of MPs voted to keep the current upper time limit of 24 weeks, and extremely angry that anyone who isn't a pregnant woman in trouble should think they have ANY right to tell one what to do. I'm also quite frightened ...
I've received the following update from Amnesty International: "Tomorrow marks the start of the ten-day countdown to the Olympic Games in Beijing and you'll have noticed that Amnesty has been studying the Chinese authorities' human rights performance very carefully since they won the right to host the Games back in 2001. We haven't liked what we've [...]
Nick Clegg's summer message (video here; full text here) tells us he has: instructed our campaigns chief Chris Rennard to step up our campaigns in the 50 seats where we're best placed to beat Labour.Jonathan Isaby has a list of the 50 Labour-held seats in the order in which they would fall to the Lib Dems, assuming a uniform anti-Labour swing. It is based on the projection of the new boundaries done by Profs Rallings and Thrasher of Plymouth University. As he admits, they may not be the precise 50 Nick Clegg and Chris Rennard have in mind. In particular, ...
but Ross Finnie, do you really think that having a long and rambling interview in the leadership election section of your MSP website is the best way to convince people that you have the vision and the skills needed to put the Scottish Lib Dem case across clearly and concisely? Don't get me wrong, much of what you're saying in it is quite sensible, but I doubt very much that too many people will read right the way through to the end of it. I suppose I shouldn't really be critical of Ross on this, as at least he has ...
Council Group Leader Noel Rippeth emailed me tonight to tell me the latest turnout figures of postal votes in the Whickham South byelection. 58% turnout so far. We have in the region of 2200 postal votes in a ward of 7000 voters. It looks like we will get close to the turnout of postal votes we had in May. To be sure of getting postal votes in on time, people should complete them and take them to
Cowley St has, much to their liking, become a testing laboratory for my cooking. Last week I made a stash of raspberry jam and a jar was brought in for the food fans to try out (along with a jar of plum jam, made by David, and a jar of bramble jelly, made by Dad). All seem to be meeting with approval.Tomorrow however they will have to test out my bread making skills. I have just bought the flour
Michael White is an affable fellow, but no one could ever accuse him of lacking loyalty to the Labour leadership. So it is fair to assume that the following passage in his political briefing today comes straight from the Gordon Brown camp: Jack Straw is mistrusted and did not risk a run for deputy leader last year. David Miliband, so it is claimed, finds the burden of the Foreign Office heavy enough to have contemplated resignation, not a coup.If a prime minister's best hope of staying in office is putting it about that his foreign secretary is not up to ...
Just imagine if you were working in a corporation. You had received a grant for the business conditional upon match funding. You then hired an officer to find match funding for this sizeable grant. This officer could not get all of the match funding for the grant. This meant you could not employ all of the people for your corporation that you had wanted. You had to send some of the grant back because no match funding was forthcoming. This officer was sacked. Wales has been exceptionally fortunate in its £1.4 Billion grant to West Wales and the Valleys. This ...
- Ka has been named (but not yet christened). He is called Ka-ligula, because I wasn't having Ka-trina or Ulri-Ka and I figured with him being Imperial Purple the name of a Roman emperor would be good. Plus he's small and a bit mad. And he's only got one Horse(power), which he wants to make a senator. Any polls that you might see on Mat's blog intimating that this is not a done deal are sadly mistaken. - Anti-choice people are trying to claim the credit for the SNP victory in Glasgow East. Oh, this could be fun. In the ...
The latest issue of Liberator has been mailed to subscribers, so it is time for another week of the old brute's adventures. This particular diary was written largely in the Three Tuns, Bishop's Castle. Monday As ever, high summer will find me residing at the Hotel Splendide, Antibes. Having spent more holidays at this fine establishment than I care to remember, I have naturally become a part of the life of the town. In particular, it is the only resort on the Riviera that has a regular Focus delivered to every door. I write it myself - whether dictating it ...
Visit the link above to find a very funny photo. It shows how the fellow Scottish man left Gordon Brown out to hang at the Glasgow East By-Election. Please leave comments of what you think!
Lembit Opik's antics used to be an unfailing source of inspiration for Lib Dem bloggers. But in recent days his life has been touched by personal tragedy, so we have tended to leave him in peace. But things may be looking up. Because someone has finally defeated the feared Curse of Lembit. Back in April I reported that Ruth Reed had launched her campaign for the Presidency of the Royal Institute of British Architects by publicising her endorsement by Lembit. Given what normally happens to people who receive his support (Charles Kennedy, Mark Oaten), you had to admire her courage, ...
Today the name Michael Brown is haunting me. News and blog reports about the Michael Brown who gave some money to the Liberal Democrats have been prevalent. But here in Look North region, as a relative newcomer to the area, I have just had the dubious pleasure of seeing ex MP Michael Brown interviewed. Described on wikipedia as having 'robust style' I was entertained by his description of Alan Johnson as not just unable to 'wield a knife, but unable to wield a penknife'. Obviously this was in response to the suggestion that Johnson could replace Brown as Labour Leader. ...
Last Friday we invited Lib Dem Voice readers to take part in our first ever members' poll. More than 100 of you have so far done so for which many thanks. For those of you who haven't yet filled it in you have until midnight on Friday, 1st August. It takes between 5-10 minutes to [...]
It is great to hear from Nick Clegg that he is upping the ante on Labour target seats by giving the LibDems extra hard cash to fight them. Labour are really vulnerable and this is an historic chance for us: This is a huge opportunity for us. We've got to seize it. So I'm shifting our resources to put more campaigners and moreeffort into those seats where we're taking on Labour. I've
I am DISGUSTED! Are you DISGUSTED? Because I am! Even a supposed liberal has an inner kernel of colonelness, as my distressing reaction to two incident-ettes today proves. First, there was this from the website of the Crediton Courier, a Devon local paper which has just celebrated the publication of its 800th issue. Originally the rubric on the [...]
I don't suppose they were referred to the local DAAT (Drug and Alcohol Action Team), or SMART (Substance Misuse Arrest Referral Team), nor will the "formal warning" likely include a Drugs Testing and Treatment Order (DTTO). They're unlikely to have a probation officer who needs to send their details to the Employment Service to get their benefits stopped, but what the hell - they've got off basically... Drugs charges against Tetra Pak heir and wife are dropped Drugs charges against Tetra Pak heir and wife are dropped Elizabeth Stewart and agencies guardian.co.uk, Tuesday July 29 2008 Article history Drugs charges ...
Liberal Eye is feeling ever so slightly smug today. The House of Commons Business and Enterprise Committee has been grilling the bosses of the big energy companies about rising prices and concluded as I blogged last week that the energy market is simply not working properly. Its Chairman, Peter Luff, was all over the media yesterday with their conclusions - click here or here (audio) for details. The MPs agree that there is no evidence of price collusion among the big six energy suppliers but note that it's easy for each to predict what the other five are going to ...
I've often thought how extraordinary a person must be to be able to feel competent to "run" a country of tens of millions of people. Of course, personally, I don't believe anyone can. The cult of leadership is unhealthy for society. The notion that one person is somehow supremely capable above all the rest of us to make decisions affecting us all as comprehensively as the tentacles of government reach into our lives is repugnant to me. But clearly blogging John Prescott buys in to this cult of leadership: Labourhome » Campaign for a Fourth Term not a Fourth Leader ...
According to Sky News: Police have issued an arrest warrant for Michael Brown after he skipped bail. He is the Lib Dems' biggest ever donor, having given £2.4m to the party in the run up to the 2005 General Election. He was due to stand trial in September accused of a string of fraud and money [...]
From the beeb website: Warrant issued for Lib Dem donor A judge has issued an arrest warrant for a wealthy businessman whose company donated more than £2 million to the Liberal Democrats. Michael Brown, 42, is due to stand trial in September accused of a number of fraud and money laundering offences. But Judge Geoffrey Rivlin at Southwark Crown Court issued an arrest warrant after he breached his bail conditions. A City of London Police spokesman said: "Efforts are being made to contact him." A further hearing on the case has been scheduled for 11 August. Update: Stephen has more ...
Meeting with Cllr. Ruth Dombey It had been agreed that Ruth would propose and I would second the motion to lower the voting age to 16 which was to be put to full Council on Monday 21st July. Ruth and I had arranged to meet to discuss the issues we wanted to raise & co-ordinate our [...]
Safer Neighbourhoods Team Community Event This event was specific to Carew Road and Ross Road in Wallington. The Wallington South Safer Neighbourhoods Team had organised this as the first of what hoped to be a number of engagement events targeting specific areas of the ward. Despite leafleting the area there was a low turnout of residents. [...]
Whilst walking through Whitefield i come across a camera team who i got chatting to. The Camera team where from the BBC making a film about Life in Pendle and it looked quiet interesting with them filming the boarded up houses with the one house in each block still inhabited. Well they have taken my details down and they might be arranging an interview with me so watch out Irfan Ahmed might be on the BBC!
Nick Clegg has now set out plans to tackle Labour Heat land. He has said that at the next general Election all the Labour Safe Sets will be lost to the Liberal Democrats and he is going to put extra campaigning into the top 50 targeted seats. Well the plans out lined by Nick Clegg are really good but its a matter of putting them into Practice. Pendle is the 53rd Target seat for the Liberal Democrats but the problem i am seeing is the campaign material's are very limited but the Party is trying to make do and mend. ...
According to some newspapers high profile Labour Politicians are planning Leadership Election Campaigns. Many High Flying Labour Politicians are getting ready to challenge Brown when the official Voice for a Leadership Election Comes. But everyone knows once in Power you don't want to give it but the problem is if Gordon doesn't let other Party members try and rescue the party then we will see the Labour Party really coming out at the position they did at the Henley By Election behind the BNP which would be scary. Well can the Labour Party get back from this "Bad time" and ...
According to something i read members of the Liberal Youth are out in the USA campaigning for Obama and he despite that did not meet the Liberal Democrats leader whilst he was on his tour to Britain. If What i have heard is true then Obama is someone who is very insensitive to the Liberal Democrats and he really need to sort himself out and decide: Does he need the Backing of the Liberal Youth and the Liberal Democrats or would he rather meet the conservatives and Labour party Leader's? Well if i am wrong about the fact that Liberal ...
It can't be much fun being Gordon Brown at the moment. Even on holiday, he's faced with derogatory comments about his dress sense and looks about as relaxed as you would expect for someone who's become a dead man walking. It's not much more than a year since he was crowned Labour leader and Prime Minister in a process which he and much of the party had rehearsed for so long. Gordon finally got the job that he had always wanted, yet was always so obviously unsuited to. So where did it all go so wrong? Last Autumn, the country ...
... And he's leading the Liberal Democrats. Watch Nick Clegg's summer message to the party faithful and spot the externally-worn underpants:
Courtesy of the party website, here's a video of Nick Clegg's summer message to Liberal Democrats:
{Robert Gorrie and Lynne Featherstone with protestors outside Haringey Civic Centre} Yesterday saw big, big demonstration outside the Haringey Civic Centre by the group of Asian women and the workers from the 'I Can Care' charity. Tonight there was to be a Haringey Labour Cabinet meeting to decide (or rather rubberstamp more likely) the proposal to sell the Civic Centre (supposedly for lots of dosh) and move to Woodside House. Well - in terms of selling the Civic Centre - one might think that choosing the moment of financial downturn that this country is experiencing means the price ain't exactly ...
Gordon Brown recently appointed Nicola Burdett to stop photos like this. The PM was reported to be so worried at the constant stream of bad photos used by the newspapers, he appointed Burdett (paid for by us taxpayer) with the sole task of securing good Cameron-esque photo shots and avoiding those embarrassing moments that have plagued his leadership. So what is Burdett's qualification for the job? Well, I am told that she comes from the (photogenic) world of radio (Five Live) and only has one eyebrow (she's shaved one off). Can this really be true or is my source winding ...
Because I've started a Facebook group called The 'Make It Happen' Appreciation Society. In my defence, I am currently unemployed and needed a distraction from job applications. Plus, I felt it need a social networking presence. So go back to your profiles and prepare for government.
There's an interesting report in yesterday's Cumbrian News and Star reporting on the seemingly likely break-up of the Conservative / Lib Dem alliance that has run the County Council for the last seven years. This follows the sacking by the Conservative council leader of his Liberal Democrat deputy, Joan Stocker, following a significant audit failure [...]
That's the overwhelming verdict of almost two-thirds of Lib Dem Voice readers, according to our recent poll asking, "do you think Margaret Thatcher was a good or a bad thing for Britain?" Here are the results in full... We asked: "On balance, do you believe Margaret Thatcher's time as Prime Minister was a good or a bad [...]
The Conservatives have made plans to tackle the social gulf between rich and Poor people in the country. I have seen the article and too me it is another edition to Cameron's dream of having a Cameron family like appeal to every house hold in Britain. According to what i have seen in the BBC article i can only say it is just another way for Cameron to add to his idea of every family and house hold having a "perfect family structure". But the Problem is that this dream of Cameron's is to snobby and posh a bit like ...
Accepting the unreliability of early figures June is thought to have produced 86.51 mbd of oil and burnt (or otherwise consumed) 86.2 mbd. This marginal surplus of production over demand is as expected resulting in a price reduction. Demand is probably being reduced further than the predictions as well.
Have a gander at Migrant Rights, a superb website that documents the living and working conditions of migrant labour throughout the middle east. Well worth a look.
The BBC says today "Tories tackle 'huge social gulf'". Leaving aside the fact that the BBC's headline isn't telling the truth - another of those headlines that don't reflect what the piece actually says - the Tories are not tackling the gulf, they're only talking about it. And I doubt very much that they'll do anything significant once in power This is a deliberate rewriting of history - they're talking about urban issues, and they're talking about fixing the society that they say Labour broke. But if you have any memory that goes back into the 80s, you know that ...
Friday: No, not another QANTAS airliner; it's the Prime Monster and the Labour's Glasgow East by-election campaign. (Probably NOT in the best of TASTE.) Now we'll see whether the unnecessarily rushed timing of this by-election was strategic genius or MADNESS. With MPs off on their hols, will this be a case of removing them from the FEBRILE hothouse of the Westminster BUBBLE, putting it all behind them; or will it actually be letting the issue FESTER as they BROOD and DWELL on their misery, storing up disaster for when they return? Feverish speculation over the weekend suggests the LATTER! For ...
http://ajanusface.blogspot.com/2008/07/kara.html Please visit the Post above and on my post i am going to give my views on the topic. A student was excluded from school for wearing a religious item which is central in thier religion. The Kara for the Sikh is like the hijab for Muslims. Religious item which people wear for their religion should not lead them to be discriminated. Well the people who discriminate people for religion or race need to be send on building bridges courses to try and teach them more about other religions so in the future they do not commit the same ...
With MP's like Gordon Prentice saying that the Labour Party wants change in Leaders people are looking at how serious this threat from MP's really is. With only a hand full of Labour MP's and activists wanting Brown out its not a very big threat at the moment. But this might all change my bet is that by the Labour Party Conference MP's and Labour Activists will be ready to give the PM a grilling it will be after the Party conference that the real noise will start to get created. Activists and MP's will speak out against the prime ...
A Sikh teenager excluded from school for breaking a "no jewellery" rule by refusing to remove a wrist bangle which is central to her faith was a victim of unlawful discrimination, a judge ruled. As a result of the judgment in the High Court, Sarika Watkins-Singh, 14, will be returning to Aberdare Girls' School in South Wales in September - wearing the Kara, a slim steel bracelet.... Sarika, of mixed Welsh and Punjabi origin, of Cwmbach, near Aberdare, was at first taught in isolation and eventually excluded for refusing to take off the bangle in defiance of the school's policy, ...
I've not got time to write a lot about this right now, but the details of the report commission by the Treasury in to the current state of the mortgage and housing market makes grim reading. One point the reports seems to be aware of, but his passed the government by, is the current mortgage drought, as the reports author refers to it, will ahve long term effets for the economy. The commission seems to realsie that people currently renwing their mortgages (I am one of them) are being locked in for three to five years in to higher mortgage ...
The "trial" of Osama Bin Laden's driver*, Salim Hamdan, started last week and the New York Times brings the world an excellent summary of what's going on behind the almost closed door of the Guantanamo "courtroom"**: The interrogations of Mr. Hamdan have caused him to sometimes think the trial is just another method of interrogation, a [...]
The announcement today that a further 52 Post Offices are to close in North Wales brings the total to be shut down across the Wales to 155. It will mean the loss of 282 Post Offices here since 2003. A fine record for a Labour Government supposedly committed to communities and to social justice. The photograph shows a map of all Post Office closures in Wales since 2003 including those in North Wales announced today. Each red dot represents a closed branch. You will note that even with the 52 we were informed of today the vast majority are in ...
Details for this year's festival have just been published so I am pasting them below. The programmes should be available from the middle of next month ************************ Liverpool will be the UK capital of live music this August Bank Holiday, with a radical new programme for the Mathew Street Music Festival. For the first time in its 16-year history, the annual event - Europe's biggest - will feature: Six outdoor stages across two days in Liverpool city centre A new main stage near to the Queensway Tunnel A new Mathew St Fringe Festival - featuring original bands indoors New themes ...
Sanddef has started a bit of a debate on the blogosphere with his claim of internet supremacy for Plaid Cymru bloggers. He states that the presence of Labour, Wales's largest political party on the Welsh blogosphere has been reduced to an MP, a couple of AMs, and Martin Eagleston. He goes on to claim that the number of Plaid Cymru bloggers has increased this year, with a combined daily output that is greater than that of all the other politically partisan blogs put together. I can only find six active Labour blogs and four Tories, all of which are on ...
I'm no fan of Dizzee Rascal's music, but I love his business model. Hard work, treating fans decently and building up a fan base. Dizzee Rascal's manager on filesharing. Even more interesting is he's not had any major label involvement, this is all his own work.
It is the twentieth anniversary of the Local Government Finance Act which saw the introduction of the community charge ("poll tax") to the whole of the United Kingdom. The poll tax has gone, repealed by a later Conservative government, to be replaced with the council tax, only slightly more fair. What hasn't gone is the uniform non-domestic rate, under which central government takes taxes in from local businesses and doles it out to local authorities again according to a formula. Thus Neath Port Talbot does not gain from the operations of amazon.co.uk directly, but only from the increase in jobs, ...
Tue 29th
09:20
The PPC Files (2): what do you wish you'd known before you became a Lib Dem parliamentary candidate?
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 really [...]
Looking at recent postings on the subject, I can't answer for most women. But I can answer for myself. And usually do ;-) Why am I not a Parliamentary candidate? Because I didn't become involved in politics actively until I was pregnant with my first child, and looking even at our Parliamentary Party today we see a massive split between our women MPs. Either they've got older family and have done the 'little kids' thing or they don't yet have young family. And any woman knows that quite simply getting a job whilst pregnant is a lot harder than getting ...
The residents association fighting the re-opening of Cwmrhydyceirw Quarry will be holding a public meeting on Wednesday 6th August at 7pm in the Memorial Hall. At that meeting representatives will be reporting back on their meeting with the Environment Agency and operators S.I. Green the previous evening. We have been passed files from the early 1990s detailing some of the material already buried on site. This material will need to be dug up and placed in a new cell before the site can be utilised for further waste disposal. The Environment Agency does not seem to have a copy on ...
Redcar and Cleveland Council is ready to welcome a total of over 40 Lord Mayors, Mayors and Council chairmen, resplendent in their civic robes, from all over Yorkshire to a colourful day of celebration for Yorkshire Day in Guisborough on Friday, August 1. The Yorkshire Society chairman, Keith Madeley, said: "The civic day will see the largest gathering of civic heads in one place on one day anywhere in the world!" The men and women, some joined by civic mace-bearers, will have a traffic-free walk along Guisborough's Westgate to St Nicholas Church for an hour-long service, which starts at 11am. ...
I can only apologise to anyone who has tried to visit this site over the last few days. Apparently there was a major systems failure at our website host. They have now recovered, and restored the site from one of their backups, but unfortunately any e mails, comments or posts made on July 24th have been lost. Please accept my apologies if I have failed to respond to any of your comments. If you don't mind sending them again I will respond as soon as possible. Hopefully normal service has now been resumed!
Wycombe Liberal Democrats are delighted to welcome another top guest for this year's annual dinner. Vince Cable is the Liberal Democrats' Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor. Vince is held in high esteem not only in our own party but also across the political divide. The Telegraph recently described him as "The Government's most trenchant economic critic." The CAB voted him as Parliamentarian of the year 2008 and House Magazine selected Vince as Opposition Politician of the year 2008. The Annual Dinner will be held at the Parish Rooms, High Wycombe on 11th September 2008 7.30pm. Tickets available to members at ...
I'm intrigued by the Bechdel test, as highlighted by Mat and Jennie. It's a measure of the realistic portrayal of female characters in fiction, defined thusly: It has to have at least two women in it, Who talk to each other, About something besides a man. It's a bit shocking now I try to apply that (admittedly based on recollection rather than a scientific approach) how much TV seems to fail, or at least fail for much of its screen time. (Mat directs us here for an episode-by-episode Bechdel assesment of Doctor Who.) I've just finished watching the first season ...
Those of us who have been long-standing members of the Scottish Liberal Democrats (and before that, the Scotish Liberal Party) were saddened to learn of the death earlier this week of Lord Russell-Johnston. Russell became a Liberal MP in 1964, and later, as a Liberal Democrat MP, he served in the Commons until 1997, representing two seats - firstly Inverness for 19 years, and then, Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber, for fourteen years. He was Chairman of the Scottish Liberal Party from 1970 to 1974, and became Leader of the Scottish Liberal Party in 1974 - a post he held for ...
Oh dear, Mister Ideas said some nice things about my sport's input here and I didn't get around to updating you all on the start of Livingston's season on Saturday. What with the passing of Lord Russell, that's temporal Lord not time, it didn't seem right yesterday. Anyhoo, Mister Stephen dressed in his football shirt without the need of additional layers turned up for this first visit to the
The Guardian's Michael White says that the Get Gordon campaign has faltered amidst the buckets and spades, mainly due to the lack of a "route map" to depose him unwillingly (see Martin Kettle's analysis of the Labour constitutional options here): Brown's problems are daunting but the post-Glasgow phase of the Get Gordon drive faltered yesterday, leaving only disgruntled backbenchers and ex-spin
I thought Gordon Brown looked quite nice in his casual jacket yesterday on holiday. But - oh no - the Telegraph reckons the jacket was a major strategic blunder, from which Gordon Brown will never recover. Forget the credit crunch, rocketing fuel prices and rising food bills. The Telegraph pinpoints Brown's jacket as Brown's big problem: Truly, the Prime Minister could have pulled back from the
Andover Liberal Democrats have expressed concern over the government's revised housing numbers for Andover. Government planning inspectors are seeking a further allocation of 1100 houses in the Andover area. I wonder whether the inspectors were aware of the pressure put on the town by such a large increase in numbers or they have any understanding of the toen and its needs. Andover has already seen an allocation of 3700 homes at East Anton and Picket Twenty. Further plans for building at Picket Piece and on other sites will bring the number of new homes in Alamein and St Mary's wards ...
Well was it good for you? For a little while it was promising wasn't it? But, par for the course, the morning after has not been as stimulating or exciting as the night before. It would be easy to blame the press. We all know that they have the attention span of 3 year olds, and more or less the same level of political perception. But we have not followed it up properly. Where is the national on line survey? Where are the questions we could be asking in our local surveys? Why aren't our spokes referring to it in ...
Woke up this morning to read that Robbie Keane has completed his move to Liverpool. Although the club and most of the fans didn't want to see him, I don't think either THFC or the Spurs fans should be too disappointed he's heading up to Merseyside - he gave us a good six years at White Hart Lane and £20m is a very good transfer price for a 28 year old striker. The chance to join the club he has always supported and play Champions League football this season before it gets too late in his career for him were ...
image from The Times Well there have long been concerns about the black holes in the SNP's budget, especially as their leader is an Economics graduate from St. Andrews. Well we now know why that isn't such a good recommendation as yesterday the First Minister himself said, "I was a student here at St. Andrews. I spent a great deal more time studying golf than economics." Well that may have been
What Planet Are You From? this quiz was made by The Autist Formerly Known As Tim I am, to all intents and purposes, a typical Capricorn, hence my result on this quiz. I wonder if that's why (now I've put all the manly men off by talking about star signs and shit) when I read stuff like this in Jo Christie Smith's blog I get so impotently furious. How long now have I been banging on about how it's not that women don't blog it's that men don't read us, and here's the best bloody example one could wish for. ...
Two posts in a row by completely different blogs, both discussing the Bechdel Test, which I've always found fascinating[1]. If you're not aware of it, it's a fairly simple little test to apply to an entertainment: 1. Does it have at least two women in it, 2. Who [at some point] talk to each other, 3. About something besides a man.See? How easy is that to fulfil as an objective? Everything should pass that one, right? Shame it's not true. Shame that, in reality, a huge amount of stuff, including stuff with strong female lead characters, fails it. Even authors ...
Thursday: How to tell if you have stolen Mr Balloon's BICYCLE: 1: It keeps pulling to the right 2: The back wheel seems to want to go in the opposite direction to the front wheel 3: this Lexus keeps following you around with your shoes... Seriously, though, this is pretty dreadful. The pie-faced PR-merchant will be using it ALL the bleedin' TIME to claim that he's just like the rest of us and that crime is rampant. The rampancy of crime is questionable, but most of us DON'T have chums on the radio offering rewards for return of our property ...
