The old school buildings on Lime Grove have now been sold by the council. Lime Grove and two other special schools were replaced by the award winning Three Ways special school. The land, between the railway bridge on Pulteney Road and the allotments by the canal, has been bought by Unite, a student accomodation company; subject to contract exchange. Unite have one student accomodation block on the Lower Bristol Road with another under construction next door to it.
Next week a new book by Elias Chacour will be launched. The book is "Faith Beyond Despair" and I am feeling a little bit proud because the cover of the book (OK....you have to look carefully at the bottom!) includes a picture of pupils at Mar Elias School that I took! Well, this is a great honour for me, basking in a wee bit of reflected glory.......... So, a book well worth reading. Elias's first book Blood Brothers I do think should be required reading for anyone, regardless of their political position, if they want to understand the Israel/Palestine conflict. ...
Forget all the tacky family stories. This on the Daily Kos really could blow the McCain/Palin ticket apart. Not only her wonderful welcome to the Alaskan Independence Party, but also the statement that she is a former member of the Alaskan Independence Party (and not in her teen years!). I suggest you let the second video download with the sound off, then skip to 6 minutes in! Now, aren't the
Stephen Fry on Radio 4 this morning reminded his audience of a slip of the tongue attributed to John Prescott: "The Green Belt is a Labour policy, and we intend to build on it" Enough said...
After reading this.... I think its about time some government really hit home on alcohol. From drink driving, anti-social behaviour, disease, dependent behaviour, sick days off work, casualty wards and so on so... Doubtful whether bloggers will agree with me but if we banned it we would be better behaved in social situations , stronger and more productive as a nation. As well as being more responsible.
I received an email yesterday asking me to sign an e petition about an apparent decision to dump the Red Arrows for the 2012 Olympics. Anyway I visited the site to sign the petition and note that the government has added a disclaimer thus "The e-petition asking the Prime Minister to "to Allow the Red Arrows to Fly at the 2012 Olympics" is ongoing. This is a response in advance of the closing date from the Government - This allegation is not true. The Government has not banned the Red Arrows from the London 2012 Olympic Games. The organising committee ...
At last some progress on planning issues as we have finally got to the bottom of a rather complicated set of plans for a development in our ward. Thank you to the officers for helping us with this. A greater understanding helps everyone!
I spent part of the day answering queries about the changes to Stockton council's waste management collections coming soon - plastic and cardboard to be collected for recycling so no need for collections of extra waste left beside the wheely bin (side waste) and no need for community skips which fill up with mixed waste that has to go to land fill because it can't be separated economically. I've
Did the Abu Dhabi investment company realise that there are two Premiership teams in Manchester. I ask, because the company is called Abu Dhabi UNITED and they say that they are signing Dimitar Berbatov today.
I think I will stay with the party for another year at least (unless the parliamentary party do something completely insane). I know the party will never be in accordance with all my views, but the overall aims of the party are broadly what I believe in, and I think I do more good within than [...]
Heresy Corner points us to the blog of Andrew Halcro. Halcro is a radio talk-show host and former Republican member of the Alaska State House who was an Independent gubernatorial candidate against Palin in the 2006 election. His blog looks like the place to go for informed comment on her politics - which are a lot more important than her family life. Alaska Pride is worth a visit too.
Yesterday, I wrote a post arguing that Obama's speech to the Democratic convention was a casebook illustration of how it should be done according to Drew Westen, author of The Political Brain. Today a friend sent me a post by Westen - Brand First, Equivocate Later. Westen says that both Obama speeches and other speeches at the convention were exactly what he has been calling for. The clinical psychologist doesn't just praise the party he is a member of, he also delivers a warning: brand Palin now before she has time to establish her narrative.
One of the best examples of Sheila Na Ghig figures is right here in Wales. These are naughty figures! Medieval stonemasons porn on the sides of churchs. The Cyngordy figures at Carmarthen Museum are quite remarkably enigmatic. Originally at Cyngordy church as part of stone columns. They also have an image on there backs. This Irish term Sheila Na Ghig reflects the large amount of these funny stone figures with womens hands in places that would not be part of any Victorian drama. A fantastic variant is this one at Kilpeck, Hereford Many are in Ireland but some of the ...
It's all kicking off. Barely an hour passes without another revelation or rumour about Sarah Palin. Dexter Clark, Vice Chairman of the Alaskan Independence Party says of Palin: She was an AIP member before she got the job as mayor. If this proves to be true then I believe it out-ranks all the previous Palinalia. She became a Mayor in 1996 when she was 32 - so this allegation can hardly be
The Birmingham Post reports that a campaign has been launched to save The Friends Institute on Moseley Road in Balsall Heath. This brings back memories, as I once played chess there for Sutton Coldfield against the Mutual Circle club - which appears still to be thriving, with its own website. I can't remember the game (though I do have folders of old scoresheets I have never quite got around to throwing out), but I do remember the figure of W. Ritson Morry, who ran the Mutual Circle. In those days he was one of the leading chess organisers, not only ...
No, this isn't another post about the Republican Presidential campaign. Loch Ness is one of the most gorgeous places on earth, as far as I am concerned. Most people choose to visit it either by boat from Inverness, bus or car. They amble down to Drumnadrochit, maybe take in the Loch Ness Monster exhibition, stop off at Urquhart Castle to take some photos, continue on to Fort Augustus and then wend their way back through the more barren, single track roads on the other side. They might decide to stop off and see the dramatic Falls of Foyers before heading ...
It has been an appalling day across much of South Wales, with persistent and heavy rain and flooding in some parts. In St. David's where members of the Church in Wales were electing a new Bishop the sun shone all day. God was obviously smiling on his convocation who responded by locking themselves in the cathedral.
Welcome to the 80th of our weekly round-ups from the Lib Dem blogosphere, featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (24th-30th August), together with a hand-picked quintet you might otherwise have missed. (And my thanks to LDV colleagues Ryan Cullen and Alex Foster for minding the shop during my so-well-earned [...]
So the unravelling of the Republican nominee has begun. I was thinking I'd have to wait at least a week for the first layer of the onion to peel off. No, just 72 hours. Really the spotlight must be on McCain. Either way it looks like he was `sold a pup` or lied. I don't believe he knew [...]
GOP Vice-Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter Bristol is pregnant. Now, what's the big deal? Bristol is her own person and what she does in her life is her decision, not that of her parents, the Republican Party or any one else. What would be the difference between this and say Chelsea Clinton being pregnant? [...]
Ros Scott has launched her campaign website for the contest to become the new President of the Liberal Democrats. I shall be voting for her and urge my readers to do so too.
Plans that could save many residents of Hastings & Rye from the trauma of home repossession have been backed by local Liberal Democrats. With the credit crunch biting, many households are struggling to keep up mortgage payments and risk losing their homes. Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable MP launched the plans on 27th August that could [...]
With it being Ramadan and me being busy in other things i might do less posts. Anyway keep visiting the blog and leave comments and debating with each other.
Don't you mean "in anger"? It says "Ongar" here.
A planning application has been submitted for the erection of single storey pitched roof extension to rear of 24 Dartmouth Avenue The application was submitted on 10th August 2008 and has a decision date of 5th October 2008. The application reference number is 08/02670/FUL and you can view the application by following the link on the application number. Any representation on...
It has to be said that not only is Ros Scott's website quite impressive in its own right, it is streets ahead of anything any of the leadership candidates have come up with in the last two elections (admittedly, given the time she's had to prepare compared to them, that isn't exactly surprising). It's uncluttered and simple. My only comment is that the menu bar could do with looking a bit more like a menu bar. Where is Lembit? Will he bottle it like last time (when I would have enthusiastically campaigned for him against the incumbant)?
This morning, I attended the municipal ceremony organised to enable local residents to pay their respects to the memory, and to the family of Mohammed Al-Majed - the 16-year old Qatari language student who lost his life last week. The attendance at the ceremony showed that diversity is alive and well in Hastings. Following the two minutes' silence [...]
I was lucky enough to be in Plymouth on Saturday for the wedding of Stephen Kearney, the Lib Dem candidate in Henley, and Julia Ohlsen. Best man was the irrepressible Lembit Opik. Despite what I said in an earlier post, it was fine and sunny for the important part of the day and there was a fantastic setting for the reception at the Mount Batten Sailing Centre. Stephen and Julia now divide their time between their home in Henley and their boat in Plymouth and couldn't have picked a nicer setting (ok - it was also a lot easier for ...
The fourth meeting of BetterBath on 13 October will discuss Transforming the Public Spaces in Bath. This is your opportunity to hear about the Council's forthcoming Public Realm and Movement Strategy and to give your views on the issues it raises: > Is it time for a radical redesign? > Should the city centre be pedestrianised? > Is the...
Word reaches me that the BNP are fielding a candidate in the forthcoming Hampstead Town ward by-election in Camden. Whilst it does seem like extraordinarily unpromising territory for the racist scum, it makes Julian Harris's exhortation to us all to lend a hand all the more salient. I'll be turning up to deliver a leaflet or two (hundred) at the weekend, time permitting. Besides, our candidate
This Welsh political blog features a tart comment on the former Liberal candidate and Labour AM Latent Andrews: There are very few [no] comments on the 'Look at Me' blog of Leighton Andrews AM, and that's only if you include the posts on Cardiff City FC. Senedd Whip demands to have him removed from the No. 33 spot on Iain Dale's list of Top-40 Welsh Blogs. Partly for its pointless use of space on the web, and mainly for being the definitive boring political blog.
So September is starting as August finished - with rain in Cornwall. I noticed only a single day in August when we had no rain in Lanson. Remind me, when is summer starting?
... ah, sorry - I've deleted it on the grounds that I've simply pissed off too many people today. Instead, might I suggest you take part in my Lib Dem Blog Deathmatch? And while you fill it in, here is some soothing music... More Max >>
Today's it's-easy-if-you-cheat competition for which there is no prize is.... Guess which politician or world leader said the following recently: "The money that we put in the education budget, I say let the [people] take it... "Put it in your pockets and teach your kids as you wish. You take responsibility. "As long as money is administered by a government body, there would be theft and corruption".Sounds like common sense to me.
So day one of the Republican convention brings the first tabloid expose. It appears that the daughter of Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate, is pregnant. The scandal is that she is 17 and not married to the father. In the normal course of events, so what. But this is republican politics and Sarah Palin is an arch social Conservative. So Palin has announced that her daughter Bristol will be marrying the father. Doesn't sound to me as though he (or she) had much of a say in the matter.
There's a lot of chat at the moment about direct democracy proposals at the Lib Dem conference, so I thought I'd come up with one of my own. Each MP theoretically represents 70 odd thousand people. So when a vote in Parliament occurs it is really 340 vs 200 (or whatever) multiplied by 70 odd thousand. My proposal would allow electors to take part, online, in any vote in Parliament. So, for example, if the vote on Iraq were going through Parliament, people could vote themselves. Their representatives (MPs) would cease to represent them on that vote and their weighting ...
The Movie Monday Blog Carnival is over at Observations from Missy's Window. It features my recent posting on David Hemmings and Five Clues to Fortune.
It's time for another visit to Calder's Comfort Farm: England is a palimpsest of Medieval churches, abandoned mineral railways, ruinous Gothic institutions and follies built by mad aristocrats. But you won't find them on your satnav.
The news that the 17 year old daughter of US Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Bristol, is five months pregnant is a bit of a surprise. But at least this news comes directly from the McCain campaign. I felt somewhat uneasy about the weekend pieces by ArcXIX, a diary writer on the Daily Kos site about the youngest of Sarah Palin's children allegedly being the child of Bristol. There was no
Here's the top ten for last month USP, Rennard, and other meaningless managerialist crapTeenagers, pubs, and adult spacesClegg, energy independence, and bad ideasI'm not "empathetic to the concerns and unique troubles of the American and Jewish people", apparantlyUSSR state symphony orchestra, Mahmoud Darwish, and NATO accessionGeorgia - Russia conflict - achieving who's goals?Boris, gays, and the idea of the individualPieterson, Collingwood, and objective moralityObama, Biden, and McCain on free tradeGuest Post from Georgian refugee camp
Congratulations to Kezia Dugdale on making it onto the Labour shortlist in Glenrothes. This is a tremendous achievement for Kezia. This by-election is so crucial to the future of the Government. It's a vote of confidence in her abilities from the powers that be in the Labour Party. They would not have let anyone onto that list if they weren't 100% sure that they had what it took to pull of a victory for them. It's not looking good for Labour in Glenrothes - both the Liberal Democrats and the SNP are already campaigning hard and the newly anointed Labour ...
Nibley Lane, Yate (from its junction with Badminton Road to its junction with Westerleigh Road) will be closed on Thursday 4 September 2008 between 9.30am - 2.30pm to enable street cleansing works to be undertaken. (Thanks to our sister blog for this item)
Today I was obliged to read a document published by the Cabinet Office. The first line read The Commission on the Future of Volunteering was set up by the England Volunteering Development Council after the 2005 Year of the Volunteer.It seemed that so much of what is wrong with Government was encapsulated in that one sentence. The proliferation of Quangos; the spurious Year of Action; the Government's belief that society - even civil society in the private realm - can be made better by Government intervention. Not to mention the endless production of utterly pointless and vacuous reports. The money ...
Today Baroness Ros Scott formally launched her campaign to become President of the Liberal Democrats. I've known Ros for many years, she has the skills, knowledge and character to build those important bridges between the party on high, and the party on the ground. But I will save it for now, because tomorrow night Ros will be coming to speak to Liberal Democrat members at the Happy China
Right. It's not long till conference now, and I don't have the faintest clue what to expect or what I will be doing. Emma has arranged some sort of stewarding work for me, which I am cool with as long as I don't have to wear yellow. I've mentioned to Alix that I'll do some stuff for Lib Dem voice, if they want me, and I want to go to the Blog Awards, CGB fundraiser, and Liberal Drinks. What else is essential? Let me know and I'll edit it in to this, my makeshift diary. Here's what I've got so ...
Sounds like it could be very painful.
I often look at Labour Home, on the grounds that I'm curious about what kind of people still believe in 'the cause' and what sort of mental hoops they might jump through in order to rationalise the disconnect between what they want Labour to be and what it actually is. It's a question that should be of interest to anyone that's a member of a political party. Some socialists continue to support Labour, even though Labour is not a Socialist Party... eeek stop right there. Is it? Isn't it? Damned if I know what Socialism means, or involves. I admit ...
tory-leaflet-farnley-wortley0001 Dave, in the post below, was somewhat disbelieving so here is the front page of the Conservative candidate's leaflet in the Farnley and Wortley by-election.
I am a Politics Student as i went to my first Politics Lesson today. Looking at what the lecturer said the core units were on the course let me tell you its looking like a interesting course. But this issue that i will address with the Lecturer at a further stage in the course is that in all his examples he mentioned the Labour and Conservative Parties and the Lib Dems were not mentioned a single bit. He sounded like a Conservative talking very fondly of Conservative Prime Ministers from the past and talking about the bleak future of the ...
I was shocked to read this on Lib Dem Voice which shows that Glenda Jackson MP has produced a magazine paid for by the Parliamentary Communications Allowance which has a survey in it. So far, so good - but the survey has a question which asks about voting intentions. Why on earth would an MP in the course of their duties need to know how people are going to vote? A political party might want that information - but public funds are not allowed to be used for campaigning purposes. It was particularly appalling to see in the small print ...
Despite a great deal of reflection, I haven't changed my mind. Joey Barton is a thug and has no place in English soccer. My thoughts have been influenced, but were not originally formed, by Barton's three minute appearance at the Emirates on Saturday evening. Many of my dear readers may not be up to speed [...]
The website is live, just click on the title of this posting and you'll apparently be connected to it. The launch is underway, and all is going smoothly, except that the 17:16 to Tolworth is running a couple of minutes late. My thanks go to South West Trains for their general incompetence... It's a great website, so take a look, sign up if you're interested and, if you're a Federal Conference
I have to say that I am very impressed that a Bexley boy knows how to spell teuchter. Then again, he is married to a lovely Scottish lady, but at least he has taken note of these things. His suggestion that Putin should invade Alaska to test her mettle as Commander in Chief of the Alaskan National Guard did make me laugh. It is perhaps going a little far to start World War Three just to discredit a political rival, but I understand the sentiment. This picture shows just what the Russian Army would be facing.....
Ben Judah has written a very worthwhile article for the Henry Jackson Society. It contains good foresight and a superb last paragraph reproduced here: Looking at Russia's actions leaves us in a position that makes it hard to strike back without risking even more. The democratic potential for the country is still enormous and we cannot risk falling into a trap set by the Kremlin to launch a new Cold War, so as to permanently rule that out. Neither can we permit populist revanchism to re-draw the map of Eastern Europe on the vague hope that it might produce democracy ...
The worst thing about the Is Brown Mental meme is that it further reinforces prejudices against the mentally ill. This, more than anything else, is the real tragedy. An individuals mental health has become perceived as a weapon to be used, and in this context any reference to another's mental health, regardless of intention or context, is to be considered an attack. Seriously, this does not make me happy. This is my sad face: :( I wandered into a "Shit Whirlwind" of angry bloggers determined to chastise me for suggesting that obsessive behaviours, when taken to extremes, tend to make ...
Well having already seen Ros Scott on here recent trip to Scotland I was intrigued to read on her other's half blog why her campaign website is going live at 17:16 this evening and even more excited that the explanation takes her back to my old stomping grounds. You see on the 17:16 to Chessington South Ros if she looks out the of the right hand side as the train moves will be able to see the
Facebooking again: you know that Blog Networks thing? Lots of you were kind enough to log in and tell it I write this, so now it believes me. I'd like to return the favour, but it's a bugger to find who has the app installed and if they've claimed their blog etc. - a fact I discovered when trying to submit amused cynicism, only to be told it already exists. If you have the app installed, can you have a look at my list of blogs-I-read, and if you're not on there leave a comment with a link to your ...
Adland is a fairly mythical place and with good reason. Nevertheless, there is a fine distinction to be drawn between poetic licence and flat-out factual inaccuracy. Moreover, when the potential sinner is theoretically in the business of intelligence, proper appreciation of the niceties of reality is positively essential to avoid death by irony. In fairness to GCHQ, the task they face in terms
I have two excellent posts for you to read: Dillow on Darling's 60 years claim (its silly), and Ministry of Truth on inequality under Thatcher (it increased markedly). Well worth it.
Loath as I am to copy wholesale from the Honourable Lady Mark, I am far too lazy to write my own copy for the fact that the I'm 4 Ros site officially goes live in a couple of hours, so here's what he had to say:Nominations for the position of President of the Liberal Democrats open today. Naturally, I'm as biased as all hell - after all, I liked the candidate so much that I married her... The campaign website goes officially live at 17:16 this afternoon. Until then, all that can be seen is a countdown and, for those ...
Lib Dem Conference: On Lib Dem Voice: Reportage | LDV Events | Contribute On the official party website: Conference home | Vote-by-vote coverage There will be three opportunities to come and meet the Lib Dem Voice team and chat with fellow readers and contributors at conference. Saturday, 21.45 Harry's Bar, Highcliffe Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year Awards Ceremony Monday, 1300 Dorchester [...]
Some people like to cry that Libertarianism and Liberalism is incompatible. They are wrong. One way to look at libertarianism is that it is liberalism taken to its logical conclusion, another (more US centric) way to look at it would be as the rejection of the initiation of force, something which sits well within the the [...]
We tend not to be too poll-obsessed here at LDV - of course we look at them, as do all other politico-geeks, but viewed in isolation no one poll will tell you very much beyond what you want to read into it. Looked at over a reasonable time-span and, if there are enough polls, you [...]
Well it hasn't taken long there is a Facebook group started for those who have more experience than Sarah Palin, John McCains running mate for Vice President. Whether that is being 6 years a counillors, one of which Mayor of a poulation that at the time had less than 6,000 people and 18 months as governor of the only US state with two international borders (one of them maritime with Russia)
This all has the feel of collapsing masonry as the house that Gordon built falls apart. The Darling interview has, as you would expect, produced some sharp demands for Darling to be sacked. Having just seen this in the Mail on Sunday, I genuinely now feel that figures around Brown must have lost it completely. The thought of Ed Balls as Chancellor will do more than scare the horses. Apart from
The last time Livingston were top of Scottish Division 1 we lost the game but had paraded the Division 1 trophy on the same day. Saturday saw the team once more on top following a 2-1 win away at Dunfermline with an absolutely suplime solo second goal from Mister Leigh. this together with defeats for Partick Thistle at home to Ross County courtesy of ex-Livi striker Mister Steven Craig, and
Caron Lindsay is upset at those of us who have referred to the 13 people and some caribou issue of Sarah Palin's candidacy. Of course my intention is not to upset the teuchters. It isn't how sparse Alaska is that is the issue, it is how small it is in population. UK constituencies are all about the same population, whether in Islington or the Highlands. But it it is not the same for US states. On
Martin Parsons (sorry don't know who he is) has written a post on ConHome about the absurdity of Ramadan being enforced in Council meetings in Tower Hamlets. He is right. To "respect" someone's religion you don't have to copy it (although I did a bit of Ramadan with a Muslim room mate a few years back). What ever happened to "freedom from conformity"? Anybody disagree?
Iain Dale seems to have a sudden infatuation with Sarah Palin. It is if he is blinkered to what she stands for. But just to remind Iain, here is a photo from his own blog that Sarah Palin most definitely would not approve of: One rule for you Iain, another for Gay americans if she would ever get to power?
There will be a six-mile organised walk on Thursday 11 September, starting at Wickwar Rd Car Park, Chipping Sodbury at 10.30 am. The walk - organised by the Avon Frome Partnership, the Friends of the River Frome and South Glos Council - will explore wildlife and heritage along the river. Call 0117 922 4325 to book a place, and don't forget to wear sturdy footwear. More from the Gazette here.
Actress Dame Helen Mirren is reported in today's press as saying that if a woman said "no" at the last minute "you couldn't have someone in court... it' something men and women have to work out." If Helen Mirren has been misrepresented by the press she should say so immediately. People can say no to sex at [...]
Redcar and Cleveland Council is inviting the public to step back in time a staggering 1,600 years to see how the Romans laid the foundations for a settlement with fantastic views over the North Riding countryside. Freelance archaeologist Steve Sherlock, whose painstaking work in a farmer's fields near Loftus uncovered evidence of Anglo-Saxon royalty last year, has returned to the site - and been able to go even further back in time in the latest dig. Aerial photographs first guided Steve's Iron Age research project to the location in 2004, showing evidence of an Iron Age enclosure, then last year, ...
Today, one of the other editors1 of Liberal Conspiracy made the following suggestion to me:I am thinking that we can take the shackles off the Saturday/Sunday edition. Jennie you'd be in charge, and I'd want you to be a little more broader with the content. Maybe include a link to a movie review or a piece (for instance) on green cooking. Keep it liberally-minded, but many of the readers are quite geeky so be prepared to experiment. (emphasis mine) Yep. I'm a girl, and a male editor2 suggested to me that I might like to concentrate more on showbiz and ...
Just where they've always been, around us. This is an interesting post. It makes two points I think are especially important: On average men and women are better at different things (men are stronger is an obvious example). This does not mean that all men are stronger however. The strong woman is stronger than most men. If [...]
There is a public meeting on the Congestion Charge tonight, starting at 19.00 at Elms Methodist Church, Elms St, Whitefield (opposite Cafe Roma, off Bury New Rd near to the new Morrison's). The meeting will be chaired by Cllr Vic D'Albert, and there will be a representative of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) there to answer any questions you might have about congestion charging, public transport improvements and the like. It is an ideal opportunity to learn more about what might be happening, why it might be happening, and to make your mind up ahead of the referendum later ...
Nominations for the position of President of the Liberal Democrats open today. Naturally, I'm as biased as all hell - after all, I liked the candidate so much that I married her... The campaign website goes officially live at 17:16 this afternoon. Until then, all that can be seen is a countdown and, for those so inclined, a really quite good video... Why 17:16? Ros will be catching the 17:16
Mon 1st
12:56
If you read only one thing about Barack Obama or John McCain or Sarah Palin this week, make it . . .
. . . this piece by Drew Westen, Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Emory University, founder of Westen Strategies, and author of The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation. Westen makes some pertinent points about the Democrats' need to create a brand for the McCain and Palin, before the Republicans put their own brand into voters' minds. And he provides some useful expalanations about how narratives and counter-stories change voters' perceptions. Westen describes the 2008 Democratic Convention as "simply stunning, with multiple-base hits by many of the players and triples or homeruns ...
The Parliamentary Communications Allowance (aka part of MPs' expenses, provided to help them do their job as MPs) ... ... has paid for this magazine from Labour MP Glenda Jackson... ... which includes this question asking people which political party they prefer ... ... with the data then being passed to the Labour Party: And so the question: why [...]
Dust your Redemption Blues.
The Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors (RICS), home owners, property builders, and other vested interests are desperate to get their hands on tax payer's (current and future) money to prop up the housing market. This should be opposed. It is not in the public interest to through billions of pounds at a market to prop it up so that it can remain at artificially inflated prices. Now, I'm not arguing that a contraction in credit is a good thing, I hold the opposite view: credit is great. But underwriting mortgages is a terrible investment of public funds and a transfer ...
Ramadan mubarak to those of my friends who are keeping it. And here's a topical link for the rest of you: Sunni Sister shares her perspective on what Ramadan can mean.
1, Dame Helen Mirren says in an interview with GQ that if you get date-raped without violence, there's not much point reporting it to police because it'll never get to court. Tony McNulty, home office minister and EXPERT on these matters says she's not helping. What the blue buggery FUCK right does Tony McNulty have to tell a rape victim off for telling the truth about her experience? 2, The LC netcast is up, and the feed appears to be working. Yay for cocking about with methods of posting ;) 3, Steve has written a fabulous post about religion. Seriously, ...
The first European Parliament session after the summer break should have opened in Strasbourg today, but instead, it had to be shifted to Brussels, as the ceiling in the Strasbourg hemisphere fell down on 7 August, sending tonnes of masonry crashing onto the seats and the floor. The French government is lucky that they only have [...]
You! Reader! I need you. We need you. HAMPSTEAD needs you. "For what?" you mumble with a certain hint of trepidation. "I'm rather busy wi..." NO. NO NO NO. No busy. You will come, and you will help. With this: HAMPSTEAD TOWN WARD BY-ELECTION 25TH SEPTEMBER 2008 The story thus far: Tory councilor exists, doing his Tory thing in Hampstead Town. He resigns, to spend more time trying to become an MP in Bournemouth. Boooooo. Hisssssss. Now the Lib Dems have a chance to continue our BRILLIANT recent record of by-election victories in the Hampstead & Kilburn target seat for ...
I'm just back from France and I thought a few of you might want to see our Press Release for this morning. PRESS RELEASE EMBARGO: Not to be published before Monday 1st September 2008. Huntingdon Liberal Democrats have welcomed the decision by Councillor Dave Dransfield to leave the Conservative group on Huntingdon Town Council and join the Liberal Democrats. Councillor Dransfield represents the Huntingdon East ward and is currently the Leader of the Conservative Group on the Town Council. LD Leader, John Morgan said: 'I am pleased that Dave has decided to join our group and increase it from 3 ...
`How does having someone from Republicans Abroad, Janet Daley and a Conservative MP makes for editoral balance on the subject of Sarah Palin? It meant that scant scrutiny was made of her anti-abortion positions and what role this might play with regard to the political price that might be extracted with a McCain/Palin win.` I really can't [...]
I thought anyone going to conference who wondered how the debates at it work, might be interested in this post I wrote just after conference last year, outlining how debates get structured and how speakers are selected for them. Many people do seem to believe that whether or not you get called depends mostly on whether in the bar last night you were rude to the person chairing the session - so it may still be a surprise to some to see that it is in fact somewhat more scientific than that!
Iain Dale seems to have taken up the cause of one Sarah Palin and attacking `liberal blogosphere` particularly in the United States. What is unfathomable is that he supports this woman who simply doesn't believe in the social reforms in the UK of which he has availed himself with his partner. He seems not to want [...]
I was a local government reporter in Oxford in the dark days of the 1980s. No public question time. No scrutiny. No appeals of any kind. I even remember one definitely old Labour councillor telling me that he screwed up and threw away letters from his constituents, without reading them, if they had the temerity to [...]
The creation of a market in higher education by this Labour government and its dire consequences for those seeking to go to university has long been a theme of this blog. Labour argue that every degree carries a graduate premium, whereby the recipient is able to command higher wages in the market place. As such they believe that it is only right that each graduate should pay a deferred fee to enter this elevated plane of employment. In reality the driving force behind tuition fees has nothing to do with such market forces at all. The graduate premium is a ...
Hearing that there had been arrests at the Notting Hill Carnival I found myself really annoyed that the coverage focussed on the negative for what had been a major success. The music, the atmosphere, the range of foods and smells was amazing and all this with over 1 million people present. It says something when this can be used for a negative story - it's as though an unofficial media measure is how many people are arrested each year. Of course such arrests as took place were partly due to the increased use of stop and search - which in ...
Shock as train is not cancelled. Shock as train runs on time. Shock as correct seat given to me. Yes, I am on the train to London and I am shocked and deeply mortified: National Express service running perfectly. Just how am I supposed to write blog posts on the train if National Express fail to give us any screw-ups?---Sent via BlackBerry
Last week I had a number of litter complaints and I'm most grateful to the City Council's Waste Management Department for its swift tackling of these, including: * Around the Kelso Street steps from Blackness Road - already swept. * At the far west end of Perth Road/Riverside Avenue - litter mainly in bushes and ground in Scottish Enterprise ownership. Dundee Contract Services is in discussion with SE about taking over grounds maintenance here and I am pleased that the City Council Waste Management Department's Rapid Response Team has kindly agreed to do a litter pick here this week to ...
It is difficult to work out exactly what Alistair Darling intended with his Guardian interview. I doubt he was deliberately attempting to undermine the government yet his claims undermine the heart of Brown's message that the fundamentals of the UK economy are strong and we are better placed to get through the economic storm than other countries. Well, Darling has just holed that argument below
Though what he thought it would be doing there I'll never know. The Ipswich Evening Star says: Lord Phillips said he was disturbed by the "Sudbury Hum" recently at around 3.30am and immediately marched out onto The Croft in his pyjamas to switch off what he initially believed might be a generator on the riverside beauty spot."It was a generalised and all pervasive noise," he said. "It was very intrusive so I went out onto The Croft in my pyjamas. I went out into town and got as far as the Victory Hall.Now read more about the Sudbury Hum.
We've been waiting to see when the planning application for the conversion of the old Tatton cinema site arrived at area committee (where the councillors make the decision). We still don't know when it will arrive, but we do know that it won't be at the Area Committee meeting on 2nd September. There's another Area Committee at the end of September, than another in October. We'd expect it to come to one of these.
According to Tim Walker in the Daily Telegraph: Vince Cable, the best leader that the Lib Dems never had, told me over the weekend that he now rather regrets dubbing Gordon Brown "Mr Bean" in a famous question he posed in the Commons."It's a joke that won't go away but it makes me wince a bit whenever anyone brings it up because Brown has obviously become a rather tragic character and it doesn't seem appropriate to make fun of him any more," says Cable. "I also have this awful feeling now that when I die the headline on the obituaries ...
Andover Library Closes from 10th to 11th September for computer system upgrade. Andover Library will be closed from 10th to 11th September 2008. This closure is part of a wider roll-out programme of improvement to customer service. It will enable the installation of and training on the new Library Management System, Spydus. 'Spydus', a new stock management and transaction system will enhance service delivery making it easier for customers to access information and services via the internet and offering improvements for library staff so they can assist and advise. From the comfort of the home or office customers will be ...
...to get thrown out of the SNP. As obviously firing off a Kalashnikov rifle in a politically sensitive area of the world is not enough. Whatever may be the practice of Pakistani citizens in the summer of 2005 when Jahangir Hanif, not yet a councillor but already seeking to be elected in Scotland having stood in that May's General Election, was filmed firing the rifle at a training base in the
Via diffrentcolours and stephashley_fd:From 1st September 2008, the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Ltd has generously agreed to match, pound for pound, any *new* income that NO2ID receives. Which means that for every pound you give from 1st September NO2ID will receive TWO pounds to spend campaigning against the ID scheme and database state. Please send your donation by cheque to our office (please mark your envelope 'JRRT'): The NO2ID Campaign Box 412 19-21 Crawford Street London W1H 1PJ Or you can donate by credit card or via PayPal using the 'Donate' button on our website, http://www.no2id.net (left hand column) Double ...
One of the things that has come to mind as I travel the length and breadth of this sceptred isle with Ros is, how do I report back to my electorate as a directly elected member of English Candidates Committee? Curiously, I have never been asked to report back, nor has there been any sense that I am expected to. On the other hand, I deeply suspect that my postings on this blog relating to
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Action for UN Renewal - 'Who rules the world? Global challenges and the role of the UN in peacekeepi...
The UNA-UK's Chair Lord Hannay of Chiswick will deliver the annual Erskine Childers Lecture hosted by Action for UN Renewal on 9th September 2008 starting at 7.00pm, at the Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London.
That's Iain Dale's rather improbable analysis, over a series of increasingly aerated posts this weekend, based on the fact that, erm, a lot of people on the left are talking about her surprise nomination in its immediate aftermath. Who'dathunkit? The most surprising political event in months has happened and people are actually talking about it? They must be pooing themselves! More hilarious is Iain's transformation into a feminist, citing Peter Hitchens as a fellow traveller. According to Iain and Peter, the left hates women because the left like anti-women policies such as abortion. Genius analysis there. Suddenly, the brains behind ...
