One of the reasons I think Ros is beating Lembit hands down in the race to be Party President is that she is actually doing what she is calling for. Lembit is concentrating only on (his very laudable) achievements from the past. Anyone can call for for new campaigning techniques. Fact is, her campaign has produced a [...]
Some Lib Dem bloggers have been a bit harsh towards 30-year old Chandila Fernando for his decision to enter the race to be President of the Liberal Democrats. Speaking as someone who has publicly supported Ros Scott for Party President for a year, I think Chandila deserves to be congratulated on entering the race. 1. It is a big risk for [...]
I've been meaning to blog again about Furnival House (see pic) on Cholmeley Park. It went through planning last week. Fifteen luxury flats are to replace over 100 units for students. Around 5,000 cubic metres of clay are to be removed to create a basement car park, and so on. The oddest thing about this planning hearing was that the Labour housing boss, John Bevan, pitted himself very forcefully against the Council's own planners. He said that the failure of the Council to ensure any affordable homes on the site was creating "segregated communities" and causing "more polarisation". The compensation ...
Conservative spokesman Dominic Grieve MP has delivered possibly the most shocking speech since Enoch Powell's 'Rivers of Blood' speech. Today, at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham he said, "...a Conservative government will change the regime that applies to the police under the Health and Safety at Work Act... health and safety legislation is the wrong way to [...]
In amongst all the bad economic news, there was at least one thing to celebrate today - the fact that the Gurkhas have won their court case to win the right to live in this country. I have blogged before about the Gurkha justice campaign, so I am delighted to see them win their case. Congratulations to all involved.
Word reaches us about a glitch with the landscaping plans for the new Coleridge school extension in Crouch End. If you're not familiar, it's the building rapidly going up at the bottom of Hornsey Lane, on the right as you come down from Highgate. The landscape garden company tasked with drawing up the proposals for a long hedge around the site has proposed one of Taxus. Not a comment on the Labour council's high charges, but a commonly used plant for hedging. This proposal was being strongly supported by the education department, who were looking for a new hedge. Apparently, ...
I popped out in a rainy lunch hour today for a pleasant lunch with Alexis Rowell. Alexis is a LibDem councillor over in Camden, where he chairs the Council's Sustainability Task Force. So as two environmentally-friendly folk, we met at the Duke of Cambridge, Islington's award-winning organic pub. (Two lots of swede-topped fish pie, a [...]
I thought I was going to take it easy on blogging tomorrow but just come on the Computer to realise Pendle Liberal Democrats have updated the site. The Update is about Afzal Anwar PPC who did something special at this Party Conference. People attend Conference, they go to fringes but Afzal Campaigned with Rethink the Nationwide Campaign for the mentally ill in society. You can read More about Afzal and the Protest HERE.
Milton Friedman once said that money should be dropped from helicopters to prevent another Great Depression. He was, of course, speaking metaphorically. Friedman was a libertarian who didn't like big government. He was the monetarist who helped turn the tide against the Keynesian interventionism of successive US and UK governments. Friedman was acknowledging that at time of crisis one needs to be flexible. He wouldn't have approved of a huge Government works programme but dropping money from the skies is an interventionist act. Whether the bail-out proposal before Congress is the right way to tackle the problem is clearly debatable. ...
I'm delighted that the gurkhas have won their court case and all will have the right to remain in the UK when they finish their service, including those who left the army before 1997. I have been present at a number of events (sadly not outside the court today) where the gurkhas have sought to highlight their plight. Fundamentally it is about this country doing the right thing for those who serve it. Credit must go as well to Nick Clegg and Ming Campbell before him who have backed the gurkhas to the hilt. Whilst some saw this as a ...
I know this is the second post in two days from someone no longer blogging but felt it was important. Previous optimism was ill-founded, Muxtape is no more. Go read Justin's tale of just trying to spread music.
CNN is leading on "McCain takes hit from bailout collapse". After 10 days of incoherence on the economic crisis, McCain probably had no alternative but to try something dramatic - his return to Washington. But his impulsive action has brilliantly served to show up McCain's major fault. He makes "grand gestures" which are, in fact, impulsive and ill-judged. He has also been shown not to be a team
Commenting on the outcome of the Learner Travel Measure vote in the National Assembly this evening Darren Millar, AM for Clwyd West and chair of the Cross-Party Faith group said: "This is incredibly disappointing for parents and pupils of faith schools. "The outcome of tonight's vote directly discriminates against children who attend these schools. "They have every right to get to school in the same way as one of their peers who attends the local primary. "Labour and Plaid AMs who voted against amendments to ensure these pupils had equal rights, have effectively punished them for attending a faith school. ...
It's not often that the majority of the lib dem blogging community agree on something, but at the moment it is happening. Whilst the Americans are busy deciding who will be their president for the next four years, we liberal democrats have a far more important decision to make; who will be the party president for the next four years. The current President, Simon Hughes has served his two terms and now we have to elect a new president of the party. There are 3 candidates Lembit OpikMP, Baroness Ros Scott & Chadila Fernando who I've never heard off. Since ...
Well done to BBC Wales for publicly humiliating a Wheelchair bound man . Also some great online journalism as well. The man in question is described as Mark James at the start of the article and Martin Jones next to his photo. There must be a sixth former free near your offices who could check over your work before it is placed online. Sure thing is that an old style Cockney Copper who received an open handed slap from a wheelchair bound man would have just let it go. Forget it . It did'nt happen. He must be as frustrated ...
Prompted by the new film version, Peter Bradshaw writes about the effect of the 1980s television adaptation of Brideshead Revisited on a generation of young Tories: A whole generation of appalling 80s Oxbridge hoorays, culminating in the Bullingdon Club of David Cameron and Boris Johnson, found in it a manifesto for escapist self-love and this came down to the fact that it was a fantasy that was affordable.Everyone was on grants. Brideshead Revisited was the Full Grant Fantasy Epic, as redolent of the 80s as Beverly Hills Cop. The awful truth was that the predominantly middle-class strivers of 80s Oxbridge ...
Today, the High Court ruled against the Government over ministers' decision to deport retired gurkhas rather than let them live here and become citizens. These are people who have fought for our country and put their lives on the line for us. The least we can do is recognise they have earned their citizenship and, after contributing so much to our nation, that they have a right to live here. I
A few weeks ago I asked the executive member a series of Questions concerning the Foot Bridge that crosses the river Avon at the bottom of Fieldings Road and I promised that I would let you have his reply. The reply has just been published and I have placed below my original questions and his reply although it is no more than we told him what he would find. Question from:...
Speaking ahead of the merger of the Welsh Consumer Council, Postwatch Wales and Energywatch Wales, Ceredigion's Welsh Liberal Democrat MP Mark Williams has today warned that the new body will struggle to retain expertise in individual areas. The Government have scrapped the three existing bodies and replaced them with a new organisation, called Consumer Focus Wales, which comes into being tomorrow and will have responsibility for all of the areas previously encompassed by the Welsh Consumer Council, Postwatch Wales and Energywatch Wales. However according to a recent report in the Observer, Enerygywatch campaigns director Adam Scorer has estimated that around ...
The new Kings Place development celebrates its opening this coming weekend, with a festival that runs from 1 to 5 October. Kings Place has a mix of offices (including the relocated Guardian Media Group) and restaurants, but its centrepiece is the arts complex, including a new home for the London Sinfonietta and the Orchestra of the [...]
Just a note to wish all Muslim readers and residents a Eid Mubarak, a happy Eid. Rick
Are you taking part in Zero waste week well several leading Liberal Democrat Councillors in Bath are taking part once again in the Council's Zero Waste Week Challenge. Councillors Paul Crossley (Southdown), Cherry Beath (Combe Down) and Ian Gilchrist (Widcombe) have all undertaken to attempt to produce no waste for one week (29.09.08 to 05.10.09.) It will be...
Via el_staplador comes the news that this week is Banned Books WeekIf you're not in the USA and so can't join in the organised events, I invite you to do one or more or fewer of the following, to celebrate/commiserate/show solidarity: - find a Banned Book. It doesn't matter who banned it, when they banned it, or what they banned it for. Read it. Let other people know you're reading it. - find any damn book you like. Read it. Let other people know you're reading it. Chances are, if it's worth reading, someone will want to ban it for ...
As it is going to be Eid Tomorrow I thought I would Wish visitors of this Blog a Happy Eid and I hope they Enjoy their day. I will not be blogging tomorrow and will try and get back to normal blogging on Thursday.
Paulson's $700 bn bailout plan for Wall Street rejected by Congress yesterday seems to be predicated on the basis that, as my father used to say, "Plan beats no Plan". The original version provided: No relief for homeowners even though in many cases the mortgage brokers concerned indulged in misrepresentation, deceit, and even outright fraud contrary to state laws. Buying bad loans off the banks at more than they are worth (by implication at vastly more than they are worth). Doing nothing to restrict the excesses of the bonus culture. This was only lightly and toothlessly amended in the final ...
Julie Walters is all over the shop at the moment, promoting her autobiography. Regardless of Oscar nominations or any awards or accolades Ms Walters achieves, as far as I am concerned, her apotheosis is this sketch. It has me in stitches just thinking about it.
Available on DVD Hat tip to Tom Papworth
The body fascists are out in force again. Dee Doocey has been pressuring the Mayoral administration to remove London Development Agency funding from London Fashion Week. That's fine in itself: I can see no reason why London's taxpayers should be subsidising the fashion industry, let alone why Bromley residents should be paying for fashion shows in the West End. Sadly, Doocey seems to have no concern for taxpayers subsidising special interests. Rather, she is jumping on a social-conservative bandwagon that aims to dictate how models, fashion houses and the organisers of sartorial trade fairs should market their goods. This is, ...
I am not best pleased with Oxfam at the moment. There's no doubt that they do a whole load of good work across the World, but they have, in my view, made a catastrophic error of judgment in a video to promote their very laudable In My Name campaign. Look at this video, especially round 1:58 in, where you have Mel B, signing her name on a baby bottle and holding it up to the camera. The explanation from Oxfam is that this is a symbol of motherhood. Tell that to the mothers of the 1.5 million babies who die ...
An interesting way for her to remember her husband!
The EU is, it seems, not completely lacking in self-awareness and has some understanding that its bureaucratic burdens impact the real world. The High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on Administrative Burdens (sic) is therefore inviting people to submit any ideas for reducing red tape arising from the EU. The three entrants with the best ideas will be invited to present them in a ceremony in Prague in May 2009. Now, I am not against reducing red tape. Quite the opposite in fact. But throwing random ideas - however good they may be - at the problem and hoping that ...
Good news from the courts today: A group of retired Gurkhas fighting for the right to settle in Britain have won their immigration test case at London's High Court. They were challenging immigration rules which said that those who retired from the British Army before 1997 did not have an automatic right to stay. Prominent supporter actress Joanna [...]
Gurkhas win right to stay in UK, the BBC says. And they quote Nick Clegg: "Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said it was a "wonderful vindication" for those who had campaigned for a change in the law. "I've always felt that if someone is prepared to die for this country, then they should have the right to live in this country," he said. "The key thing now is to look at the ruling in detail and to make sure that the government now translates that into action and doesn't try and squirm out of it.""
If like me you are preparing to take on the challenge of next year's Bath Half Marathon then you are invited to get top training tips in courses organised by Bath & North East Somerset Council. The Council is offering courses, starting next month, for men and women, at different fitness levels. Places are limited, and it is advised to book early to avoid disappointment. On Monday evenings,...
I've set up the following new pledge on Pledgebank: I will buy the Jewel of Medina by Sherry Jones but only if 20 other freedom of speech supporters will do the same. Should speak for itself. If you don't know why, see this article. You can also join Bridget Fox's Facebook group by going here.
At the special meeting of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council this morning, Liberal Democrat councillors went along with the rest of the council in accepting the cabinet's decision to comply with the Welsh Housing Quality Standard in respect of its council housing. On the recommendation to ballot tenants on the establishment of a community mutual body to take over council housing, we gave our support subject to scrutiny of the details as they were rolled out.
Vince Cable today accused his Tory counterpart George Osborne of "playing a hopeless game of catch up" over the financial crisis. The Conservative frontbencher addressed his party conference today to set out his economic proposals, which included a proposal to freeze council tax rises for two years. Dr Cable said: "Rather than making tough economic...
I've been judging the first round of Sutton's entries for the Green Guardian Awards today. The quality of the entries from businesses to households and schools to green champions, has been incredible and my fellow judges and I had a really tough job picking the best entries in each category. All the winners from each borough will be invited to the gala evening at the Queen's Stand, Epsom Racecourse on November 21 when the regional Green Guardian winners will be announced. Thank you everyone who entered or nominated someone.
Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has called for all bank deposits to be protected as the global financial crisis deepened. Speaking in the wake of the failed vote on the American bail-out package in the US Congress, Mr Clegg said the Government must temporarily guarantee for all deposits in the British banking system. With share prices plummeting following the...
OK, it is not often I mention the above newspaper on the blog - readership in Dundee rather small, I suspect - although the Dunfermline Press has, to its great credit, shown good interest in the local television campaign. However, it is for an entirely different matter that I mention that newspaper today - its about the online poll it has been conducting about the forthcoming Glenrothes parliamentary by-election. Results thus far : Which party do you think will win the forthcoming Westminster by-election in Glenrothes? Poll Ends: Wednesday, 1st October, 2008 12:30, the results so far are: Conservative 1.8% ...
Its a pedantic point but I wonder if those cheeky Tories with their hilarious joke at their conference where they displayed a picture of David Milispoons with a box of bananas used fairtrade ones. Pedantic but where the Tories are concerned it seems like the right thing to do.
Just what is it about Tories and "families"? I for one recognise that having "family friendly" policies is both desirable and important but while Labour take that as a green light for interference, the Tories become obsessed with moralising. And interfering. So it is that while David Willets is claiming that family breakdown is due to women becoming too big for their boots (er, the Bridget Jones generation was like 10 years ago), while Michael Gove goes one step beyond. I don't have a problem with increasing the number of health visitors per se (although I do have a big ...
......we probably wouldn't have got into the mess we're in in the first place. Rather than just sit back with his feet up and say "I told you so", though, he and Nick Clegg have come up with a comprehensive, people centred, practical plan to get us through the hard times and, long term, to get our economy on a more sustainable footing. For now they suggest help for homeowners, extending the social fund to help people on low incomes pay off debt, cutting the rate of income tax by 4p and switching the emphasis to taxing pollution and the ...
Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has called for all bank deposits to be protected as the global financial crisis deepened. Speaking in the wake of the failed vote on the American bail-out package in the US Congress, Mr Clegg said the Government must temporarily guarantee all deposits in the British banking system.
as the winter draws closer it's time to think about how to keep warm. i'm only in my thirties but i feel the cold like we all do at some point. i've begun to think about how i can use energy more efficiently. i'm one of these people who like to layer up snug and warm. energy prices are rising and it is a concern to some. the warm front scheme is quite popular and is worth a look for more on this whole area. be green and warm :o)
Scoff at this picture of David Miliband if you will. Why he didn't get more media coverage for brandishing a banana at Conservative conference than Labour, I can't fathom.
A group of retired Gurkhas has just won their High Court battle to be allowed to remain in the UK. The judge agreed that their service and loyalty gave us a 'moral debt of honour' to these brave men. I personally find it incredible that we do not give an automatic right of residency to all retired Gurkhas. They have been serving us with distinction for two centuries - and still do. The Gurkha Justice Campaign is fighting for a change in the law that would give all retired Gurkhas that automatic right. If you agree with me, please sign ...
In the face of government opposition, the brave and fearless veterans of the Gurkhas have won the right to automatic citizenship. From the BBC: Gurkhas win right to stay in UK A group of retired Gurkhas fighting for the right to settle in Britain have won their immigration test case, their lawyers have said. Five ex-Gurkhas and [...]
Lembit has made the BBC because of his Presidential Campaign something that LibDemVoice think it is rare for a internal party Election to make the Media. This is something that Politicians Nationwide need to be looking at and thinking, should I make a Facebook Group or a Blog? As the Internet is a place that a lot of young and old people live in and if Politicians start targeting voters through it, this can be a vital and powerful weapon in the hands of campaigners. Lembit is going to make it, that's what I am putting my money on. He ...
I've just heard about a source of funding - up to £5000 - for small voluntary groups in Kingston. 'Small' is defined as having an annual income of less than £20,000. It is available to all sorts of local groups, such as residents associations, uniformed groups, sports clubs, arts groups etc The scheme is called Grassroots Grants and is being run by Thames Community...
Michael Fallon, Conservative MP for Sevenoaks and Treasury Select Committee member said on BBC Radio 4 World at one that Tory spending plans would be "fully costed", that the party's commitment to Labour's 2011 spending plans was unsustainable, that "We have to look again at our spending plans, I think everybody understands that the cupboard is bare." He said, "I don't think anybody anticipated the falls we've seen in the housing markets" Well perhaps he wasn't listening to Vince Cable and the Liberal Democrats, and perhaps he, his party's supporters should join them, because the Liberal Democrats are the only ...
18 years old Toni Meir has been selected for South Bank Ward in the By Election to be held on 16th October. Tina is pictured between North East Lib Dem MEP Fiona Hall and Redcar's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Ian Swales Redcar and Cleveland Council is currently Labour controlled by one vote with two by-elections pending in Labour held Wards. Kirkleatham Ward polls on 2nd October and South Bank Ward on 16th October.
Tue 30th
14:48
Post Office admits consultation failings, but there's nothing anyone can do to stop closures
The Post Office will get away with its sham consultation on the closure of 48 branches in Cornwall, the downgrading of others and the ending of a number of mobile services. Cornwall County Council has had to withdraw its judicial review application after lawyers told them they had little chance of winning in court. This is in spite of admissions by the Post Office that: - they got Cornwall's population wrong in their consultation document; - they have no idea how their plan for an outreach service in Altarnun will work; - their facts and figures for the mobile service ...
The questions have been appearing on the blogs for some weeks, what has happened to the report by Lord Roberts of Conwy that was reputedly meant to settle Tory policy on devolution in Wales for some time to come? According to Betsan Powys Lord Roberts' interim report was delivered in July but nobody seems in any hurry to publish it. Despite this Nick Bourne managed to announce in Birmingham that the Tories may reverse the ban on dual candidacy for the Assembly. Are the contents of Lord Roberts' report to be leaked out bit by bit in this way or ...
Oops!! A meeting of a Welsh assembly committee has been abandoned after water leaked through the roof of the building. AMs were taking evidence from teaching unions on education plans for 14-19-year-olds before giving up. "Very, very embarrassed" chairman Jeff Cuthbert called it a "leak in the Welsh assembly of the wrong sort". The £67m Senedd building in Cardiff Bay underwent repairs within days of its opening by the Queen in March 2006 because of leaks during heavy rain. Mr Cuthbert initially interrupted the meeting to explain why an official was placing a mat behind his chair. The Caerphilly AM ...
Tories to give marriage advice?! Have they ever been to councelling or thought about it - it can make things better not worse if you are forced to go!
Today's letter in the Guardian from Michael Meadowcroft shows why it is good to have him back... Why is it that a mere politician could feel viscerally that demutualisation of building societies was a foolhardy policy, that lending more than a house is worth to individuals who cannot afford it cannot be sustained, and that banks lending to other banks simply creates a dangerously vulnerable
The police are applying for a Section 30 dispersal order for the Beechwood estate area. I have given my support as local councillor, as have my two colleagues - Peter Millea and Richard Oglethorpe. I'll blog again about this when I have an update.
All last week, Lib Dem Voice published the results of our survey of party members registered for the LDV private members' forum asking for your views on the Lib Dem conference. For those who missed it, all the results of this and previous surveys are available here. But there was one question right at the [...]
We were a bit concerned that, despite the letters sent out about the Garston docks planning application, people were saying they were unaware. So my colleague spoke to the press yesterday. Here's a link to a story in the Liverpool Echo.
We have two planning applications this week in our area. The fist one is a retrospective application for the Display of an internally illuminated double-sided pole-mounted display unit at Woodlands Autos Lansdown Mazda Lower Bristol Road. The application was first registered on 22nd September 2008 and has a decision date of 17th November 2008. The application...
L'shana tovah to my Jewish friends.
I spent the first 17 years of my life in Salford (though I was born in the Manchester Royal Infirmary, on the Protestant side of the River Irwell). I remember the council knocking down the magnificent Victorian mansions of 'Millionaires Row' and the tram lines being ripped up. The city's only claim to fame [...]
Probably not, but by the end of this week you may well be able to name 10 Belgian businesses. Following on from Fortis being helped out by the Benelux governments on Sunday, today is the turn of Dexia. Dexia is one of the world's largest lenders to local governments, but has run up significant losses in its US operations. It is now partially nationalised by the Belgian, Luxembourg and French governments, to the sum of an investment of 3bn, 400m and 3bn Euros respectively. Its Financial Security Assistance unit which dealt in US bond insurance posted a 2nd quarter loss ...
The future is pretty grim. We appear to be heading towards a new economic consensus: During times of boom, embrace Capitalism.During times of bust, embrase Socialism. The banking system has failed because the CEOs of the demutalised building societies did not correctly consider the long term interests of their owners. This is not a failure of Capitalism or of Free Markets. This is the failure of management. The only obligation for banks should be to lend responsibly. In other words, lend only to those able to repay their loans. It is basic good business to operate a bank in this ...
A Twitter update from someone at a fringe meeting at Conservative Party conference addressed by Nadine Dorries MP: #cons08 blogging mp nadine again comments about the number of times the chief whip has told her to remove a blog post (Source) Hat-tip: Tim Ireland
It's rare for an internal Lib Dem party contest (other than for leader) to start making headlines on the BBC website, but the presence of Lembit Opik as a candidate for party president has achieved just that, with this report on his Facebook campaign page. That is of course the Catch-22 of Lembit's campaign for [...]
Cameron and Nick Robinson went for a ride in a car. And you Can watch the Video HERE. If you look closely you will notice that David Cameron the man who wants to run this Country is not wearing a Seat Belt. He is Breaking the Law the Clown, then he goes onto say that his least favourite word in Politics is "our people". Mr Cameron if that was the Case then your Party wont be a Party for the White, Rich and Elite.
A little known ruling from Europe is actually cutting the amount of pointless regulation in the UK. Ever wondered why bread only comes in loaves of 400 or 800 grammes? It's because the 'Assize of Bread and Ale Act' of 1266 stipulated that all bread other than 'small buns and morning pastries' must be sold in weights of 400gm or multiples thereof (I'm guessing that it wasn't grammes when the law was originally passed). So every bakery and supermarket you ever go to will sell loaves in these weights and nothing else. Until now. The European Commission - that bastion ...
Tue 30th
12:21
Was feeling guilty about the previous post title but just found these maps and now I am not...
Click on this link to see the levels of child poverty in your area.
Step one: Offer to work on a cross-party basis with the Government to help turn round the economy. Gain credit from public for such selflessness when in fact you don't have a clue what you are doing. Step two: Work with Government but establish clear dividing line so that they will not sign up to 'your rescue idea'. Step three: Pull the plug at the last minute claiming that Labour are a bunch of incompetents.
click here to launch video
Click here for link to a fair plan for economic recovery.
David Cameron has announced his party will work with the government to tackle the continuing financial turbulence, whatever that means. Nick Clegg has apparently said much the same. But is this really the correct response? There are certain instances - for example when the country is physically under threat at a time of war - when suspending party politics may be a good idea. But outside of such extreme cases, when has cross-party co-operation ever lead to good policy? In the immediate aftermath of 7/7 and 9/11, opposition parties agreed to "work with the government" - the result has been ...
Owing to my subscription to Lib Dem Pics I now have a pdf of the plan. Is it meant to be hush-hush? I only ask as I can see no mention of this excellent document on our website. It should be on the front page in big letters - The Economy - The Lib Dem plan. [...]
On Sunday Dave said things were really bad. He stressed this point by extending the 'a' in 'bad' to several seconds. He then paused dramatically, frowning meaningfully and then went 'woooooo' into the microphone, causing several Tory 'activists' to expire. He said Gordon Brown hated them all and that he was really horrible in the House of Commons. Dave said that Gordon never washed his hands when he went to the lavatory - Tories never say 'Toilet' - and that he took a copy of the Daily Mirror into the cubicle when he was on 'twos'. The backdrop showed a ...
Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said the unsayable on the future of Israel, namely that any peace deal will require the country to revert to the borders it had in 1967. He has naturally been pilloried by right and left but it is pretty amazing that such a senior politician has said this. The worry is that he will now be targeted in the same way Yitzhak Rabin was. Rabin also tried to achieve a lasting peace and he paid with his life. Hopefully Olmert will avoid this terrible fate and hopefully his comments will kick of a ...
I'm going to be setting up a mailing list, but would rather it not be on my own servers . It seems to me there's two major options - Yahoo! Groups and Google Groups. They seem pretty similar in function. Are there any advantages of one over the other? Or should I just go with Yahoo! as [...]
Gordon Brown's response to the economic crisis has been too little, too late. For years I warned him of the oncoming economic problems. Unsustainable levels of personal debt, mostly secured against the illusory 'wealth' of rising, vastly inflated property prices. An economy based so heavily on debt was never going to be in a fit state [...]
We live in historic times. Suddenly it's ok for everybody from Archbishops and Conservative Shadow Chancellors to disgruntled leftists to bash the market; arguing variously that the market has the wrong priorities or should 'accept responsibility'. Barely a day goes by without a 'defence of capitalism' appearing in right-wing newspapers like the Mail and Telegraph. This in itself should say something; obviously, nobody would feel the need to defend capitalism if serious questions were not being asked in the first place. For the first time in decades people are turning round and questioning what is going on and if the ...
I've spent much of my political career working in the transport field, on the Local Government Association Transport Executive where I was Vice Chair and Chair from 1997 to 2005, as a member of the Commission for Integrated Transport, as a consultant, and in the Lords. Most of the time, I was one of only a handful of women involved in this area; maybe not surprising given the under representation of women both in politics and in transport. Just over 2 years ago, I heard about an organisation called the Womens Transportation Seminar, which had just been set up in ...
Well, the $700bn bail-out died on it's feet. Henry Paulson, Head of the Fed, who has performed brilliantly so far is surely on his way out. And why? Because, in the end, the millions of Americans going through dire financial straits right now want to see the bankers punished. The banks are to blame and they want them to pay. The hundreds of US congressmen fighting for re-election have listened to their wallets over their heads - In the end, for a lot of people, keeping their job for the next couple of years is worth delaying vital legislation. It's ...
The latest Calder's Comfort Farm can be found on the New Statesman website: I have been told that Glenda Jackson, an obscure backbencher who was briefly a transport minister, appeared in a film once. It sounds unlikely to me.
Profuse apologies to the world's best worst poet. Twas in the year of 2008 in the month of SeptemberWhich the bankers of the world will long rememberFor they did not act, as one would to a brotherIn refusing to extend credit, one to another For fail it did, the Bradford and BingleyAnd we began to fear the banks would not go singlelyAnd collapse like a great house of cardsOr shatter like a mirror
Today's Nemi is oddly fitting for the way my brain is going today: confusiontempst and dmatthewman comes the news that David Willets thinks that women ought to stop having aspirations to getting decent jobs and get back in the kitchen and make men some pie, preferably while giving birth... Unlike David Willets, I actually LIKE the fact that women are allowed to use their intelligence these days. It makes for a more interesting world. Hell, it makes for more interesting drama, as anyone who watched yesterday's fab episode of Sarah-Jane Adventures could tell you. Also, radio Four was dull this ...
As the last of the building-society-turned-banks loses its independence it seems only right to ask whether the policy of demutualisation pursued by the Conservatives when last in office was anything more than an expensive failure. It is certainly interesting to note the symmetry between that policy an the other great Conservative housing policy- "the right to buy", i.e. that those living in Council owned social housing could buy their homes at a big discount. Indeed it is pretty clear that this policy lies at the root of the British obsession with property. The move from right-to-buy to buy-to-let seems almost ...
The Tories are playing a hopeless game of catch up with the current financial crisis, says Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor. Mr Cable said:
The papers carry the 'news' today that Parliament was locked for 90 minutes on July 12 2005, for fear of a terrorist attack. I could have told them that the same day. I was a student visiting to find out about working there that day and I was locked in. Mind you, I'm pretty sure there were a few journalists in there too! It does amaze me that when global finance appears to be teetering into complete meltdown, the Guardian, Independent, Express, Times and the Sun all feel the need to recycle old news as if it was a slow ...
I cannot deny that I feel a little smug in my correct prediction that the House of Representatives would vote down the Bush Rescue Bill. It's not technically good news. I personally enjoy the days that Wall Street gets a kicking, simply due to the fact that they have far too much of a say over the politics of the Western civilisation. They've given themselves a kicking, and rightly so. As of writing this, the FTSE 100 has fallen 150 points and then jumped 175 points in barely 3 hours. Now it's on the way back down to the starting ...
Cameron when he became Leader of the Conservative Party started calling himself a "Liberal Conservative". When Sajjad Karim MEP needed a escape Goat from the Lib Dems he used the phrase I am a "Liberal Conservative". The Disciples of Saj Karim call themselves "Liberal Conservatives" but not for much longer. Cronies who use the term they are "Liberal Conservatives" need to drop it. They are Tory FULL STOP. And calling your self a "Liberal Conservative" wont get you any Brownie Points A insider and a Ex-Employee of the Conservative Party has wrote an article for the New Statesman and you ...
I am now a proud new shareholder of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Call it contrarianism, call it bloody-mindedness, call it recklessness but a new and proud RBOS shareholder I am. Today's "get it into perspective" statistic: The Dow fell 42% in the month of the 1929 Wall Street Crash. Since the end of August 2008, the Dow has now fallen 11%. Today's bonus "get it into perspective" statistic: If
Internet users - myself included - have got used to relying on free online services which rely heavily on either online advertising or investors being willing to put up large pots of money even when there isn't a clear way of turning users into income. Many of the services have become such a key part of [...]
Cameron and his party the bunch of idiots are saying they will work with the Government to try and save the economy. He says as "responsible opposition" the Conservatives are going to help the PM pass Legislation through Parliament. Then he goes onto saying that "he was qualified to steer the economy through the global crisis". Not even the Conservative Shadow Chancellor is qualified to steer the economy yet the Leader of the Party says he is. Until only a couple of months ago the Conservatives were being criticized for nothing putting the economy on their agenda's and they used ...
In the bizarre dictionaries of those centralising, micro-managing, decision-grabbing, purse-string-pulling, power-hungry, choice-stealing control freak twins, the SNP and the Tories. And when both are reacting against the bossiest centralised Westminster Government since the Second World War, that's quite an achievement. No-one likes the Council Tax; it was cobbled together in a hurry to get the Tories out of their great big Poll Tax pit, sweetened by a great big wodge of central money, and bears little relation to ability to pay or even to house prices... But dictating 'local' decisions from Holyrood or Westminster isn't the way to fix it. ...
There is a petition to save the Wolverhampton-Walsall train service at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/walsallrail/
I was going to blog about the ludicrous Church proclamations about the evils of capitalism, and the perversity of the Government's solution to the fall of Bradford and Bingley, but then I read this: Tory party conference: Bridget Jones generation blamed (Telegraph) Apparently the poor and downtrodden men in society find themselves unable to take up their [...]
To those Democratic representatives who listened to those they are meant to represent and opposed giving tax payer's money to their corporate masters. Perhaps this is a sign that the Democrats may move away from progressive corporatism to actually reflecting the interests of those they claim to represent rather than the interests of corporate power, although [...]
One of the most intriguing aspects of the 1930's Great Depression is that there is still no agreement about what caused a recession to turn into a depression. It seems beyond the wit of man to understand. Needless to say, economists argue that the depression vindicates their school of thought, while other economists and theorists point to the opposite conclusions. Here we are in 2008 arguing over whether or not the $700 bn ultra-bad-bank is a good idea, whether the debt mountain should be passed onto future generations of tax-payers so that we can continue to live beyond our means, ...
George Osborne's pledge to freeze Council Tax does not of course apply in Wales, though if there is new money involved then there may well be a Barnett consequential available to the Welsh Assembly Government, which it could use, if it wished, to do something similar here, but what exactly does this promise mean anyway? The BBC tell us that Osborne does not want central government to force the freezing of bills, but any English council which limits spending rises to 2.5% will get that amount from Whitehall. The Shadow Chancellor says that the move will save the average Band ...
The start of the teaching year for me started yesterday. Great to see the students back in force. Our numbers are up on the course this year which is good news for everyone. I love the newness of the start of term don't you?
At A Very British Dude.
The turnouts may not be too high but in America they treat their Presidential elections like a team sport. Badges, rosettes and mugs are not enough, instead they have a wide range of goods confirming their support for one candidate or another. And they do it with humour as well. Over at Mighty Goods there is a full range of products ranging from Obama nesting dolls to McCain condoms. You can order candidate finger puppets and even Obama shaped soap. As Maggie Mason reports on her main blog you can also get Palin voodoo dolls and some rather strange artwork ...
A Berkin government official, asked about the general situation, told the FT: "We are walking on the edge. This is a really, really serious situation and we have no idea what tomorrow will bring. The catastrophe we've just averted with this bailout may still happen in the end. No one can say."Read the full report.
Yesterday I was watching the behaviour of children leaving school, as usual there was a lot of pushing and shoving going on. Then one child jumped over some safety railings and it reminded me of this video (contains graphic images). I have shown this to my children on more than one occassion and each time they gasp and promise to remember road safety. Maybe this is a clip to show to every child...
They be creationist over wealth but last yesterday's vote against the, heavily amended by congress, bail out plan shows that House Republicans have a Darwinist "survival of the fittest" approach to the financial sector. Two thirds of Republicans votes against and as the roll call carried on more Democrats took a cautious approach ending with 40% not supporting the plan. So yesterday while the US's 4th largest Bank Wachovia was bought over by Citigroup, the BeNeLux nations bailed out Fortis, Iceland nationalised its third largest bank Glitnir, and German lender Hypo Real Estate was loaned 35bn Euros from the German ...
As stock markets tumble around the world and the status of banks becomes more precarious, a number of things become apparent. Gordon Brown and his Chancellor, Alistair Darling, really have no experience of dealing with difficult economic times. Gordon's time in office, and in opposition as Shadow Chancellor, has been against the background of continued worldwide economic growth. Even George Osborne seems to admit that Vince Cable knows more about economics than he does. And finally, Nick Clegg is calling for cross-party talks to plot a way through the economic problems, in the national interest. So, putting party interests aside, ...
Thanks to those who have taken part in my film poll. Currently, it is looking like a four way split between Apocalypse Now, Chinatown, Some Like it Hot and the Seven Samurai. Keep them coming folks! Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
By rights, it should have been. The Tories are in a total mess over the economy. I have to admit, I held my peace on Sunday over this idea about having the Bank of England step in when banks get in trouble. It sounded pretty much identical to what the government is doing now, only with even less oversight, but I felt that I must have been missing something obvious. 36 hours of listening to the empty soundbites emanating from the mouths of Cameron and Osborne and I can safely say it is every bit as vacuous a policy as ...
{Lembit Opik} Lembit is making a great deal out of the fact that he has more Facebook supporters than Ros Scott, which is fair enough. I've never bought into this idea that this election is a shoe-in for Ros Scott. He can also claim a mini-coup in the fact that Mark Littlewood has abandoned ship and is backing Lembit over and above his Liberal Vision colleague Chandila Fernando. One thing that confuses me about the Lembit Facebook strategy though is how come he has two, apparently official Facebook groups? One has 516 members, the other features an official video. It's ...
Ever wondered what it would be like if the housing marked really was a roller-coaster ride? Well, some clever wag has created a roller-coaster using Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 and using a graph of US house prices since 1890 as the shape of the track. An amusing graphic to demonstrate the madness not only of the bubble that has just burst but the overall picture over the past 118 years. Enjoy! Real Estate Roller Coaster
Just a short blog as well...it's gone midnight. I have no problem with openly saying I don't think capitalism works, that I think it is fundamentally flawed but I have no desire to see people suffer because of it; nonetheless Congress made the right decision in rejecting the proposed $700bn bail-out for the US financial sector. Why should the taxpayer support what are in effect reckless gamblers?? If somebody ran up huge gambling debts at a casino very few people would support the state bailing them out while they continued to indulge their habit. Nobody would support them actually being ...
Monday: So, Mr Evan Davies gave a good SPANKING to both Chancellor Sooty and Master Gideon on the The Today Programme on the radio this morning. Far be it for fluffy little me to think that Sooty's MYSTERIOUS unavailability to talk about the IMPLOSION of another British Bank until after 8am was some insanely inappropriate SPOILER TACTIC for Master Gideon's big interview, but... presumably the Labour were assuming that when Sooty INEVITABLY shot himself in the foot, he might wing Gideon at the same time. As it was, Mr Evan played the "Vince Cable" card and trumped BOTH of them. ...
