Earlier, I watched ITV's Tonight programme about a so-called referendum in Luton on the EU. If the incorrect information on their own website was any guide, I should not have been surprised how rubbish the programme was. There was no serious questioning of the pro or anti speakers; it was not clear whether we were watching a discussion for/against the EU or for/against the treaty of Lisbon. (See
The leader of the LibDem group on the London borough of Waltham Forest Council, John Macklin, was the guest speaker at the AGM of Leyton and Wanstead constituency party this evening, with an upbeat message as the borough faces three more council by-elections. The LibDems won both of the by-elections held earlier this year — gaining [...]
Well, I had my meeting and I think that democracy in Stockton might just have inched forward slightly, though very slightly. Enough said - it's too technical and in the background to worry most people. It was good to hear that over 90% of people in the ward have returned electoral canvass forms or their electronic equivalent. If you're one of the people who hasn't yet done it, do it quickly
Three songs that bring back happy memories, with a couple of versions of each... Playing this on my cassette player when I was getting ready to go out as a teenager.... Playing when I got up on my first election day..... And this has been played a lot ever since I got married..... in a happy way...
Thanks to the excellent Political Wire, it seems apparent that Barack Obama's lead in the national polls is probably slipping. It quotes a new CNN poll which puts Obama's lead at 51-46, down from eight points a couple of weeks ago. It also says the latest Diageo/Hotline survey shows Obama ahead 47-42, its smallest lead for two weeks. However, contrary to that, the latest Gallup poll shows the national margin widening to 11 points, 52-41, although this is based on registered voters and its two models of likely voters show 5 and 9 point gaps respectively. Yet, even if Obama's ...
I don't think I am too popular today with my colleagues and Council Officers. I have been on a training course on how to deal with an overflowing mailbox on my Council computer. All very good, so I am keenly going through old e-mails. However I keep coming across issues that haven't been properly answered and dealt with so a hoard of e-mails on top of my usual flow are going out with reminders...
Westminster City Council has, or had, £17m in Icelandic banks: £7m in Landsbanki and £10m in its UK subsidiary, Heritable. Nearly £10m of these deposits were placed in August. According to Councillor Colin Barrow CBE, Leader of the ruling Tory group on the Council, in August "both banks had excellent credit ratings of the highest standard". But on 30th January 2008 David Ibison, writing in the Financial Times about Landsbanki and two other major Icelandic banks, stated there was "increased uncertainty over the banks arising from their perceived reliance on wholesale funding, cross-ownership issues, an alleged lack of transparency, and ...
A useful meeting with Radio Tay this morning regarding concerns Alison McInnes MSP and I have raised about evening output on Tay FM; Bauer Radio has assured us the matter will be kept under review. Thereafter three busy surgeries - Paton's Lane Sheltered Lounge, Mitchell Street Centre and Harris Academy. Tonight at the Development Quality Committee, I successfully moved refusal of the planning application at Wimberley Houses, on the following grounds: Application 08/00540/COU - Wimberley Houses, Glamis Drive Conversion of Student Accommodation to Private Housing Reasons for Refusal 1) The proposed development contravenes Policy 4 of the Dundee Local Plan ...
If you have not already done so, please sign the petition calling for Gurkhas who have served in the British Army to be allowed to stay in Britain after they retire, instead of being deported. The petition is here. Posted in Campaigning, Civil Liberties, Liberal Democrats
The news that the captain of an Alitalia airliner reported a close encounter with a brown missile-shaped UFO over the Kent town of Lydd in 1991 reminds me of another incident. As The Why Files reports the story: Very early on the morning of 8th March, 1997, Sarah Hall, a journalist with the Folkestone Herald, was driving home when her attention was caught by a large triangular object hovering over the village of Burmarsh in Kent (U.K.).Observing the object from about 300 yards, Sarah described it:"It was just this huge triangular thing, which was a lot bigger than an aeroplane ...
With the kitchen duly installed, but awaiting its flooring, I've finally found a really good use for the nation's most popular broadsheet daily (see pic). It wasn't my own. I recycled one office copy - and a second came into my possession, courtesy of British Airways, at the weekend. . BA are also furnishing their customers with the Daily Mail - but it's not as good when it comes to covering a kitchen floor. ...
{Lembit Opik} You may remember that on Thursday I asked - for the second time - Lembit what I regard as some pertinent questions he needs to answer as part of his bid to be elected as Party President. This was in response to a rather daft article in the Shropshire Star in which he alleges there is a "conspiracy of mediocrity" against him. The following day, Lembit's PR Richard Clein made these allegations on Lib Dem Voice: This is all getting rather personal and people should be ashamed about some of the things that are being posted. The bile ...
I have to admit to a teeny bit of frustration when I saw the latest poll that puts the Lib Dems down to 14 per cent. The side effects of the crash, no doubt, but even so... It is true that we have Vince Cable, who has launched an excellent initiative on tax havens, at precisely the right moment. He also seems to have the preternatural ability to be about 48 hours ahead of the mainstream, which was C. P. Snow's definition of somebody with a reputation for being far-sighted in their own lifetime. But that isn't enough to grab ...
I found out that the contracts for the bank restructure are in the Commons Library. I have had a glance through them and not warranting anything about the figures it appears that RBS is issuing 22,863,936,713 shares at 65.5, HBOS 7,482,933,000 shares at 113.6 and LLOY 2,885,200,000 shares at 173.3. The government is getting an underwriting fee of 1.5%. On the market figures today it looks like
One small piece of good news from last week's Full Council, amidst the disasters around Icelandic banks, the Ally Pally and Woodside House - another written answer to a Liberal Democrat councillor reveals that the Tottenham Carnival is now run by a registered charity - it has been for the last couple of months. When I was Lib Dem leader last year, myself and colleagues became somewhat concerned about the current set up. In order to ensure the Carnival's future success and growth, we felt it wasn't satisfactory, given its close financial and organisational relationship with the Council, that the ...
So Northern Rock's repossession rates are higher than the industry average? I'm sorry, but that requires a straightforward, no nonsense, "DUH!!!" You see, Northern Rock were the ones giving out the 125% mortgages, although in reality these were 100% mortgages with up to an extra 25% as an unsecured bonus on top of it. What they really did though was use that extra 25% to basically go beyond the normal salary multiplier, to add, in effect, an extra 25% to the purchasing power of the customer. It was an unsecured loan to pay for a deposit... Also, worth noting, was ...
Four weeks ago I demonstrated how the current financial crisis was a disaster of government's own making. However, most of that was focussed on the American government. In so doing I failed to point out how Gordon Brown (as both Chancellor of the Exchequer and Prime Minister) created the problem. It is true that the US governmetn deserves much of the blame for forcing banks to lend to un-creditworthy (sub-prime) borrowers and (through the para-statal company Freddie Mac) inventing the practice of securitizing the debt. But the main source of the problem has been the massive expansion in credit - ...
Earlier today, some of you will have seen a blog entry from Irfan Ahmed in which he welcomed Lembit Opik's commitment to start blogging should he get elected as Lib Dem president. He then mistakenly claimed that Ros Scott had not revealed any plans to start blogging, apparently unaware that Ros has been blogging since January. Irfan has since apologised for his error and updated his posting. Now, I'm not criticising Irfan for his error - everyone makes mistakes from time to time when blogging. But to me this sums up the differences between the presidential candidates and makes me ...
Tonight's dinner was a vegetable pot from the ever hip and ecologically correct Innocent folks. The packaging contained two glaring lies. Firstly, they use a large symbol awfully close to the standard symbol for recyclable plastic (Innocent fruit pots are made of microwave safe plastic which is non-recyclable). The attached text offers lame suggestions about how you could reuse the pot.
Rhetoric is really mixing it with the Welsh Hall of Fame recently! Interviews with Jenny Randerson and Kirsty Williams and an exclusive article on Leadership by Mike German. This evening he did three rounds with Carmarthen Colossus and reigning Commonwealth games Silver medallist Kevin Evans (photo) The Super-Heavyweight amateur champ ( 4 British, 10 Welsh titles) and Rhetoric went toe to toe. Yes I have been in there before so we know what we are doing. Light hearted bruises...if that makes any sense. In fact I have one amateur medal but absolutely nothing compared to Big Kev. My fitness is ...
Thanks to Unmitigated England for drawing our attention to the publication of a collection of Meades' work for television: As A.A.Gill wrote in The Sunday Times: "Brilliant - even at his worst he's funnier, cleverer and sharper than anyone else on TV."
As a teenager, I was a pacifist. Now I accept that there are circumstances where armed defence, intervention to prevent abuse, or peace-keeping operations are justified. But I still find the idea of war, certainly of instigating war, horrific. Just one of the reasons I marched against the illegal invasion of Iraq. A series of [...]
I've noted on a couple of previous occasions here on Lib Dem Voice, the sharp divergence which different polling companies' methodologies produce in the Lib Dems' ratings. The trouble is that very few political journalists take much notice of such details: how often have you heard sweeping statements from commentators that talk about 'the polls', [...]
The Conservative party have got the YBF to train the youth and make them ready to become politicians in the future, but what have the Lib Dems got, Nothing! The Liberal Democrats need to start training young members in many fields including canvassing, so the Liberal Democrats youth can be ready for the years ahead. I believe if the Liberal Democrats locally and nationally started training young people to become politicians and agents, the Lib Dems would be a party with more clued up young activists nationwide! Maybe a local party (hint, hint Pendle) need to take the first step ...
Presidential Hustings were one of the last events at Liberal Youth Conference. I have been really stuck who to vote for, between Lembit Öpik and Ros Scott. Lembit was clearly very charismatic, bold, full of energy, and a great political activist. And Ros was so very in touch with members and what they had to say, with some great policy on membership and candidate processes. When Ros spoke, she really shocked me. Because she is charismatic, bold, full of energy and clearly a great political activist. Her opening speech, was inspirational. I do believe Lembit would make a good President, ...
Well - if Peter Mandelson says he wants a clampdown on any expansion of flexi-time or family friendly policies - then it makes the warning I gave on Thursday night very timely! I warned that the recession would see business hawks targeting the very good laws that already exist and the few beneficial ones to come from the Single Equalities Bill (due in this Parliamentary session) in the name of helping the economy. But actually - giving your staff good conditions is what helps you get the very best staff - and in tough times that's exactly what firms need! ...
Stephen Tall, starting a debate last week on the Lib Dems' position in the polls, unintentionally started a quite different debate regarding the specific issue of smoking and liberty. Laying my cards on the table from the start; I am a smoker and have been for over a year although I am in the throes [...]
This was a major topic at Conference. Although there wasn't all that much debate between us. On Saturday MPs David Howarth and Stephen Williams came to explain their points of views. David Howarth spoke calmly but with so much conviction, he explained how our fundamental values showed how important it was to keep our current policy on tuition fees and to continue making over areas of education free. Stephen Williams looked absolutely terrified when he came to speak and I really did feel sorry for him (afterall people had been talking about putting him on a bonfire- yes some discussions ...
Paul Staines has given the Liberal Democrat candidates for the presidential election a stage on his blog. He like many Lib Dems on the blog sphere thinks that Ros has most likely taken this election. He puts poor young Chandila down! And on another note, I come across a Paul Staines look alikes in Pendle! Maybe it was Guido maybe it wasn't!
Our party needs to go beyond the comic and start to present itself as a viable party of government if we're to make the fabled next big breakthrough. That's why I'm shooting for a serious candidate who has experience and substance. Do us all a favour and vote for Ros!
As I journey to London or the South East by train I'm focused on my prejudices. Rich businessmen and very 'well spoken' people come onto the train. The railway passes huge houses, small quiet villages and beautiful countryside. However the only place I'd previously been to in the South-East is the Henley constituency (for the by-election), apart from London of course. Now of course Henley is one of the richest constituencies in the UK and the only place I went to other than HQ was a remote village with large houses. The rest of my understand of the South East ...
A Political commentator has done a post about me being on Gordon Prentice's case and me being out to get him!
Liberal Youth Conference took place in Guildford at the University of Surrey over the weekend. Before Conference I had been growing in my frustration with Liberal Youth. The website is in a mess, and communication has been poor. I joined the party in February, but a load of elections took place in the spring without me knowing or receiving ballots. And I was quite lucky to have found out about Autumn Conference and had I not contacted admin I would have missed the conference entirely. I brought this up with the Chair Elaine Bagshaw when Executive members reported to Conference. ...
I'm pretty new to politics, but I can't get my head around the idea of representatives (at any level) only hitting the streets and making themselves available to Joe Public at election time. Surely as representatives of the people MPs, councillors etc should be going out of their way to hob-nob with their electorates and to understand what they're worried about all the time not just at election time once every four years. The Invisibles Perhaps I ask too much, but I've been living in West Sussex for 2 years now, more or less, and have not had any proactive ...
I will confess that my constituency isn't quite at the cutting edge of the Internet Age. Next week we're having a meeting to consider switching from our trusty wax tablets to carbon-paper Shuttleworths for our polling-day operation. But even so, I get a little frustrated when, every single time we discuss improving our internet campaigning (blogs, websites and email) the same two questions are asked and receive the same two answers. When discussing emailing constituents, someone always asks "this isn't going to replace our Focus leaflets, is it?". Even when I open the discussion by saying "this is in addition ...
Liberal Youth Conference took place in Guildford at the University of Surrey over the weekend. It was a brilliant event. One thing I really enjoyed was debating policies. There were some very liberal policies, some were so liberal they were illiberal. There was a good policy that was passed about Mosquito Devices and calling for them to be banned. However attached to it, it also said the legal age for buying alcohol should be lowered to 16, which seems rather irrelevant to Mosquito Devices. That's why the motion was then voted on in parts. Anyway I pointed out to Conference ...
We haven't had Free Banking in the United Kingdom for a long, long time. We used to have it in Scotland, funnily enough, which is why both Bank of Scotland and Royal Bank of Scotland becoming partly owned subsidiaries of UK Plc seems especially sad. However, when I say Free Banking I do not mean 'Free Banking' in the Orwellian, "paid for by customers with cashflow problems" sense, but Free as in Speech. Free Banking. If you follow the link, you will see a rather interesting argument for how the Government Sponsored Central Bank model of banking currently used.. well... ...
Colin Powell has followed Colin Ross and Colin Dowse in supporting Barack Obama for the US Presidential election.
I was going to headline this posting with the name of the club night I went to last Friday but thought better of it: Anyway, where was I, after having danced with the assorted fellow gayers, students, lezzers and bears there are some songs I'd like to share that demonstrate the playlist (largely dictated by the [...]
'The market will not go away' a statement true in any language (in this case Lithuanian) because the dynamics of self-regulating systems adapt to any constraints regardless of what we may want to happen. So with the proliferation of bank deposit protection schemes, market awareness is leading to a scramble by some voluntary organisations to shift accounts between institutions to make sure that their money is spread between accounts that are individually covered to the maximum £50,000 This is quite a disruptive process... With all the takeovers and so on there doesn't seem to be a readily available roadmap though. ...
Mon 20th
15:35
The Independent View: New clauses on abortion - a once-in-a generation opportunity for MPs
Speaking at the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority conference on 13th October, Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo MP spoke of her enthusiasm for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, which reaches third reading and report stage in the Commons on 22nd October. The Minister stressed to the IVF and embryo research regulatory body that the [...]
If one of the qualifications to be Party President is intimate knowledge of Blue Peter then Lembit will win hands down: Richard Younger-Ross (Teignbridge) (LD): ... Blue Peter was important to me as a child ... I remember those wonderful moments with the elephant, the gentleman sniffing, John Noakes, the dogs — what were their names? Lembit Opik: The Blue Peter dogs since the inception of the programme were called Petra, Patch, Shep, Goldie, Bonnie, Mabel and Lucy. There was also a dog called Meg, but it was not an official Blue Peter dog. It belonged to Matt Baker and ...
I was reading the Sarah Palin section of the Sunday times letters page yesterday. They were mostly from disgusted republicans but this one from D Peake of Exeter made me laugh: "Palin will be a breath of fresh air - something we could do with after the horror that is new Labour with its Blair-inspired destruction of our history and traditions." Um, I think someone is confusing their countries...
Bath MP Don Foster has today launched a campaign urging local supermarkets to think twice before stocking excessively packaged goods. From the packaging of perfume to pizzas, UK households send over 5 million tonnes of waste packaging to landfill each year. Don Foster commented: "Like many others in Bath, I am appalled by the wasteful packaging that accompanies so...
Here it is in case you have missed it :-)
Came to the end of a very busy six weeks at work on Thursday - which was also my birthday - and then headed to Leeds for the weekend for a double family event: my niece Catrin's 3rd birthday and her little brother Ciaran's christening. So today am having a day off work just to relax and do nothing much more than a little bit of council casework and sorting out things at home. Have a theatre visit to look forward to this evening - going to see this at the Trafalgar Studios, which is a great theatre. Might also ...
The Presiding Officer's letter to the Secretary of State for Wales chastising the Welsh Affairs Select Committee for their treatment of the Affordable Housing Legislative Competence Order has grown into a major row. It is of course a process issue of little interest to the general public but that does not detract from its importance. Whether and how the Assembly is able to acquire powers is key to the future of devolution and to the ability of that institution to influence the quality of life of Welsh people. The PO himself was on the Politics Show yesterday and Good Morning ...
I emailed Lembit's agent with the question "Would Lembit start blogging if elected to give activists feedback?" And Ive got the reply to the question which is yes! Ros Scott is to also keep writing her blog! Update: I apologise for the statement above which has now been changed, Ros Scott is going to keep her blog.
Redcar Liberal Democrats have won the Lib Dem Northern Region's Award for Best Election Campaign for the Kirkleatham Ward By Election. The award was presented by Hazel Grove MP Andrew Stunell, at a ceremony which took place on Saturday 18th October at the Regional AGM and Conference in Gateshead. Pictured (above) receiving the Best Election Campaign Award are left to right: Cllr John Hannon, Andrew Stunell MP, Ian Swales and Cllr Chris Abbott.
In The independent today, the Tories are using a consultancy called Pretty Little Head to help them attract more female voters. Well, it's pretty brave for a start to actually build in irony to your own company name!! Although I'm pretty sure that many won't get it! But at least the Tories are trying something slightly less offensive to women than the Republicans - who thought that by just putting up a woman, any woman, even Sarah Palin, the 17 million women who voted for Hillary Clinton in the democratic primaries would switch their vote just like that. No, gaining ...
Saw this Independent article last week, which reminded me I missed out something when I blogged about the Icelandic banking problems - the fact that Haringey Council continued to put new money into Icelandic banks after the first one had gone under. Actually, Lynne Featherstone covered the proceedings from Full Council better than me on her blog. People might argue that the benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it seems the Council had a few clues in the present (not the future) that perhaps should have stopped them making those extra deposits.
Hallelujah, hallelujah and thrice halleluijah! A Chancellor of the Exchequer has stated publicly that "Much of what Keynes wrote still makes sense", promising to invest in the economy during a time of recession in order to drag it out of recession by putting some more money into the economy. Immediately, rabid packs of economists, libertarians and ideologues of all stripes will leap on his back and tear great lumps out of him for his presumption. They will rend cloth and cry out that inflation will soar, that millions will lose their jobs, that puppies will die and that the earth ...
Well, I think so, at least! This was my slot on SkyNews.Com on Friday night. I just loved the story about the CPR being best done to the beat of the Bee Gees staying alive!
The BBC reports today that the start of recession in the UK has now been pronounced: The UK economy has "deteriorated dramatically" in the past three months, and is already in a recession, top forecasters have suggested. The Ernst & Young Item Club says the UK [economy] will shrink by 1% next year, before recovering in 2010 [...]
This question was raised by a comment from 'Cleggs candid friend' on Liberal Democrat Voice. He said that recent polls confirm the 'folly' of targeting Labour seats; while I can see that things have changed in recent weeks that does not to me presuppose a wholesale tactical shift. I have said previously that the party is in real danger of being caught in a pincer motion; losing seats to the Tories but not picking up enough Labour seats to cover the losses. Ultimately, to my mind it remains the case that in the next general election it is Labour voters ...
...with female bloggers from across the globe...if not my most read posting (I think that one might go to the one where I ask people to come and tell me about themselves in Who's Who in the Lib Dems Online') then one of my most networked posts. I was delighted to be picked up in the Feminist Carnival and on other blogs as women all over the world rail against the invasion of their own personal space that is routinely undertaken by millions of men everyday to millions of women. Ever the practical person, I am wondering what we can ...
Mint House Site Visit Richard Bailey & I had been invited by the Shotfield GPs to inspect the progress on the Mint house extension. Mint House is having two additional floors added so that it can accommodate the two Shotfield GP practices whilst the Shotfield Health Centre is rebuilt. We were taken up to the roof [...]
Scrutiny Overview Committee The two main topics of interest on the agenda were the second evidence gathering session on Direct Payments and a progress report on the relocation of Stanley Park High School. To help the committee with its review of the low uptake of direct payments in Sutton four parents of children from different age bands [...]
No comment on this By approving a set of proposals to water down the already modest Commission proposals for the health check, the agriculture committee of the European Parliament has reinforced its reputation for thinking rooted firmly in the past and largely captured by the narrow set of producer interests who do well from the CAP status quo. As I have argued before, the lack of ambition of the health check is playing into the hands of the growing number of those who would like to see the CAP swept away altogether. The committee's health check amendments argue for a ...
Yes, its always the quiet ones who do this. Now Cllr Silent who you all probably guess who it is, yes Cllr Asjad Mahmood is working with a charity to send desks and chairs back to Pakistan when they are no longer in use in Pendle and Burnley. This is all good of the Cllr but what is the real reason for him doing this work? I will tell you... The desks and equipment is going to get sent to a school in Jaurah a village in Gujrat. They is something extra interesting about this village, Cllr Mahmood's cousin is ...
Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary are the latest spanner in the works to SNP election pledges. In order to keep to their budget the already frozen level of recruitment now looks set to lead to a reduction in numbers contrary the Nats promise to increase the number of officers. This would appear to be another situation of centrally holding purse strings and centrally setting targets that cannot be maintained by that provision.
The Republicans are trying to pull everything out of the bag to attack Obama in the closing three weeks: Bill Ayers, Jerry Wright, socialism, un-american etc. My personal favourite so far is the attack on Obama by Florida Senator Mel Martinez. It is so stupid that he should be stripped of his legislative capacities. He said at a rally, referring to Obama's tax policies, that "where I come from, where I was raised, they tried wealth redistribution. We don't need that here, that's called Socialism, Communism, not Americanism". So they guy is hateful , but more importantly an idiot. Obama's ...
Thought that this was an interesting article about how the credit crunch could be disastrous for climate control measures... I've long been a sceptic of all the carbon-trading schemes that governments around the world try and fool themselves into thinking they are being ecologically responsible with (if you want to produce less greenhouse gases use less carbon and less greenhouse gases!). I keep hearing about ridiculous plans to build new airports, relocate new airports, allow more flights from airports... and even more silly, remove aviation emissions from targets! This might well become a moot point though as a global economic ...
South Wales West AM, Peter Black, will hold an advice surgery in the Briton Ferry Library on Friday 24th October from 3pm to 4pm. No appointment is necessary.
Asked by Lib Dem Voice back in June what I was making of it all, I guessed that "careful news planning should carry him safely through the honeymoon period". I warned that "he will need to articulate a coherent vision and develop an enthusiasm for the process of government if he is to be a [...]
What do you do if a business confidence survey comes up with an answer which doesn't fit the current political narrative? Simple. You cleverly insert the word "only" to distort your reporting of the survey. From today's Guardian: "The row came on the eve of the latest quarterly business confidence monitor from Lloyds TSB, which shows [...]
Underwhelmed by the news that scouts are to be prepared about sex: far from being a sign of modern times, I'd note that a certain Mr Lehrer got there over fifty years ago, and I'll bet his advice went further than the Scout movement's currently planning, as this clip shows.
Many people seem to be claiming that the current financial mess is somehow the fault of libertarianism. This is an excellent case of setting up a straw man then then proceeding to demolish it. Libertarians have long criticised the current set up. Libertarians and their predecessors have been doing so for over a hundred years now. Many [...]
There is clearly some good news in that the government have responded to New Clauses 8 and 9 with something. If we can get family court proceedings reported then we should be able to get something done about the corruption in the system. The challenge, of course, is to ensure that it is reported. Hence I intend to ensure that a Family Law Reporter media outlet starts business. This will
Its a serious question, many campaigners will think it is the job of the ordinary activist I think not. If leaflets were not posted who would know the local candidate except for party members, err... no-one! People get to discover the candidate via the publications that are sent to them via the post so it shouldn't just be activists posting leaflets, the delivery team should consist of local councillors, MP if they are campaigning in an area at the same time, and even MEP's if they are in the area. Even party leaders (if they can spare a couple of ...
On this day in 1714 George Ludwig of Hanover became King George 1st of Great Britain & Ireland. It was under George that the real power in government transferred from the King and advisers to a Prime Minister and Cabinet. Seems quite an auspicious day to go to a meeting to discuss how the constitution of Stockton council is working, or not, to promote real democracy in the borough.
Simister Village Community Association are pleased to announce that the village has been three times lucky with its applications for grants to transform both the Simister Wetlands and a parcel of wasteland to become a local green haven for walkers, wildlife and a memorial garden. Residents in partnership with Bury Metro and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) aim to restore and breathe new life into the Wetlands that has, of late, become neglected and also to create a garden with paths and seating with plants to attract birds, butterflies and other species of insects. The Association meets regularly ...
Bury Adult Learning Service are offering people the opportunity to try out a new hobby. The Adult Learning Team have received feedback to say that people fancied taking up a new hobby but didn't want to commit to a long term course or expense. The Saturday taster sessions will provide an opportunity to get a flavour of courses ranging from bird watching to painting and from french cooking to learning about flowers. A Taste of Flowers, an introduction to Bird Watching, Acrylic Painting Masterclass, Expressive Landscapes in Pastels, A Taste of Spanish Cookery and A Taste of French Cookery taster ...
Guido, in his blog about Peter Mandelson being interviewed by Sophie Raworth, set me thinking. What if Gordon Brown has not buried the hatchet with Mandelson? What if he has not brought the twice resigned Prince of Darkness back into the Cabinet because of his desperate need to appeal to Blairites, his need to have the best talents and biggest names on board and a desire to have Mandy in place for the election campaign? What if, instead, the move is actually part of a very clever revenge plot? Mandelson has resigned twice from the Cabinet already, both times for ...
Looking at the people following my Blog has introduced me to a really eye opening Blog: http://zerowastechallenge.blogspot.com/ thank you to Amanda Taylor for bringing my attention to it. As my children will confirm I have driven them mad from an early age with my determination to recycle as much as I can. Until the recent collection of plastic bottles with our green bin and box every fortnight I have also exposed them (and any one else within earshot) to my rant about Supermarkets not taking back plastic milk bottles. Having lived on the continent for many years, where recycling is ...
Evette Cooper's demand that the banks should use repossession of homes as a last resort caught my attention yesterday. It was almost a repeat, word for word, of what Vince Cable has been saying for some time. So the pressure on the banks avoid repossession of homes is welcome. But let's face it, what Ms Cooper was doing was making a well spun statement. She wasn't actually announcing any new
I'm saddened this morning to learn that Pete Fenelon ( blue_condition) died suddenly last week at the age of 40, most likely of a heart attack. We shared two fandoms in common, Doctor Who and motor racing. Knowing his beliefs, I won't add my customary religious wishes, but simply extend my sympathies to those who were closer to him than I.
Stephen's account of his encounters with the opposition in Glenrothes on Saturday reminded me of a couple of hostile encounters. I have to say that most of the time, especially since we've been back in Scotland, (the Chesterfield Labour Party of the 90s had its own special brand of brutishness), my exchanges with the opposition have been very friendly. Occasionally emotions run high - I remember a Nationalist friend barely being able to look at me after their disastrous showing in the 2001 election, because she was so upset by our relative success, but we got over that pretty quickly. ...
We wondered, does Sarah Palin have a celebrity career ahead of her, somewhat independent of her political ambitions? [NB: See the clip with the dancing moose]
One thing I do like about by election campaigning that takes me out of my own territory is that you get to see the real style of other party's campaigners. Within the confines of West Lothian where I am a known face and each of the other parties activists are also known faces everyone is generally nice when you bump into each other. However, on Saturday it was the tale of two very different groups from the same party in the space of a little over an hour. First off out in the Macedonia area of Glenrothes in the confusion ...
Can be found at Amused Cynicism.
I've had a few pieces on here about war memorials and it has always struck me how so many of these are then not recognised on 11th 11th 11th each year. But then I have been asking around for a list or register of memorials and it seems there actually isn't one. So it's a very simple request - do you know of where there are other memorials? This one is in New Court in Hampstead, NW3 - it lists the 50 men who went to war from New Court and notes the 10 who died in the cause. Even ...
Both the student wings of the SNP and Liberal Democrats in under a week had their say in the SNP government's decision to raise the age of off-sales to over 21s. The SNPs youth tabled an ammendment to their parties motion while Liberal Youth Scotland proposed the motion that had an ammendment of additions from the Policy Committee. As reported in the press over the weekend Friday's debate by the Nats changed from being about the policy to "one of delegate loyalty to the leadership". The Lib Dem debate meanwhile had stuck to the liberalism or rather ill-liberalism of several ...
Aren't you just sick of Gordon Brown saying that his is the "best job in the world" or Andy Burnham saying he's landed his "dream job" etc? If the answer is yes then I have a new hero for you. Let me introduce Nouri al-Maliki, Prime Minister and wanna-be hardman of Iraq. Interviewed by the Times he was asked if he enjoyed his job. His curt reply: NEVER The whole interview is well worth a read. Hat tip: Andrew Bishop
Our wonderful superiors are planning a delightful double whamy against our privacy and our wallets. Jacqui Smith wants to remotely check up on your hardrive and have us register a our identity for every mobile phone in the country. Why? What right does the Government have to snoop in our hardrives? They can already get court orders to search properties and computers. They do not need a blanket ability to spy on our computer habits willy nilly. As for the mobile phone registering, not only is it a massive pain in the arse (they have it in Turkey and I ...
Obama is as cool as a cucumber. He's astonished me at his self-disciplined restraint and laser-sharp mind and words. I get the impression though, having looked at many rally youtubes, that he's really taking the gloves off in that same laser-sharp fashion. Interesting that he's doing that in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Earlier at some organised social event he [...]
Justice First were launching their new recipe book tonight in the best possible way. A fun fund raising evening with recipes to taste and eat! You cannot get better than that! Drumming and dancing made the evening special. The recipe book, costing only £5.00 from Justice First on 01642 601122 has some tasty looking recipes in it. However it is not all fun and games. A number of people there...
Today, I had the pleasure of speaking at the IMAAN (www.imaan.org.uk) annual conference in Euston. Imaan is a group that focuses on informing and campaigning on issues affecting gay and lesbian practising Muslims and I was invited on the basis of my interfaith work and as an elected politician who happens to be Muslim. I am proud to have spoken since for me, there is no contradiction in being gay or lesbian and wanting to practise Islam. Many Muslims make reference to the Sura (chapter) on Lout (Lot) in the Quran, yet there are numerous examples and references to respecting ...
Yarm Fair. Brilliant. I love the "Riding of the Fair" and seeing the bare back riders galloping up and down the High Street which is closed off to the usual traffic. The usually outspoken speech from whoever is Chair of Yarm Town Council. The gypsies camping on the cobbles, cooking their meals. Hordes of families enjoying the buzz. A time for those who have left home to come back and meet...
Now that the Powell endorsement has been made Obama's outliers have been targetting West Virginia. This looks hopeful to me.
The Solihull and Meriden Liberal Democrats will host their Annual Dinner at Ramada Hotel (The George), Solihull on Thursday 20th November 2008 starting at at 7.00pm
