The campaign website has put up a short biography of me. Posted in Campaigning, Liberal Democrats
Some sad news: the first life of a British Gurkha soldier has been lost in fighting in Helmand province. He has been named as Yubraj Rai. He was aged 28 and from Khotang, Nepal. He joined the British Army in 1999 to support his mother, sister and three brothers. HIs commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Chris Darby said: "Yubraj was a proud Nepali, a [...]
This is how you win elections. In today's Spectator Fraser Nelson describes how Obama dealt with Joe: "Joe's cool," Mr Obama said. "I got no problem with Joe. All I want to do is cut Joe's taxes. But Senator McCain isn't working for Joe the Plumber. He's working for Joe the Hedge Fund Manager."The headline on the article (in the magazine, but not on the website) is "McCain's failure is a warning to Cameron: offer tax cuts before Brown does". Discuss.
It's the anniversary of the Russian Revolution, marking the Marxist overthrow of the Russian government. Karl Marx once wrote that "religion is the opium of the people." What is the new opium of the people? View other answers I think the The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy answered this best back in 1992: Although it's not exactly new. And possibly it's being replaced by t'internet. Which, y'know, given the events of this week, is probably a good thing. On that subject... URL of the week: http://change.gov/ (via) I have a brief comment on the Obama election. It's a story about a ...
Interesting piece in the New York Times. It says that; "Newly available accounts by independent military observers of the beginning of the war between Georgia and Russia this summer call into question the longstanding Georgian assertion that it was acting defensively against separatist and Russian aggression. Instead, the accounts suggest that Georgia's inexperienced military attacked the isolated separatist capital of Tskhinvali on Aug. 7 with indiscriminate artillery and rocket fire, exposing civilians, Russian peacekeepers and unarmed monitors to harm." The observers were from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and they go onto report; "an O.S.C.E. patrol at ...
You know I said this morning that I had read it? I lied. The best post on the Blears Thing, by a country mile, in fact, I would venture to say, the best post I have read in ages on ANY subject, is this one by The Award-Winning Alix Mortimer. In it she shows once more why she fully deserves the prefix. I am in awe of her awesomeness.
{Lynne Featherstone at Highgate Primary School} Had fun yesterday visiting a painting class at my old school - Highgate Primary - to see how the children were getting on with their entries for my Christmas card competition. This year the theme is 'I'm dreaming of a green Christmas', with pupils giving their interpretation of recycling at Christmas. All primary schools in Hornsey and Wood Green have been invited to send in their entries and the winning design will feature on my Christmas card for this year. If this visit was anything to do by - there will be tough competition! ...
Yes, only in Torbay could the much derided Conservative Executive mayor Nick Bye, he of the rhetorical flourishes and 60K per annum 'allowance', publicly question whether councillors on £8,000 a year are justifying this figure. Let's not forget this is a man whose holiday allowance and time away from the Town Hall is far greater than anyone else I know in any regular workplace. How many holidays and cruises does this man have each year ? Add to this the sacked former Tory group leader Kevin Carroll (but still Deputy Mayor) is on £30K a year and it needs to ...
Tomorrow Morning between 10 and 12 I will be publicly Lib Demming in Brighouse Town Centre, on Thornton Triangle, near the Black Bull pub. Our PPC and council group leader will be there, and we'll have a questionnaire (designed by me) and a petition for you to sign (if you approve) and all sorts of exciting Lib Demminess going on. Do stop by if you're in the area!
Mike Smithson from Political Betting has made a note at the bottom of a post that he has wrote in which he says: "PLEASE NOTE: I'm off on a short break to France to spend some of my Obama profits and my intention is not even to look at PB until next Monday evening. There's another thread set up to be published after lunch but then you are in the capable hands of Paul Maggs and Morus." Now at least someone won because of Obama as I definitely didn't win the LDV mug! :)
I'm not really sure how to react to the Glenrothes by-election result. In the middle of the campaign I thought the SNP would scrape it in a massive upset for Labour and the resulting recriminations would see the end of Brown. But then the economy finally blew up, and for some reason Brown's popularity [...]
So, now it's all over, and I've had some sleep, what does the Glenrothes result mean for everyone. For us, the result was disappointing but not surprising given that we were not perceived as the challengers from the outset. The media portrayed the Glenrothes battle as one between Labour and the SNP and given the resources we had available, there wasn't a huge amount we could do about that. Wait until the Election Expense returns are in in around 5 weeks time - I expect that they will show that both Labour and the SNP spent not a million miles ...
The link is to pictures of Zimbabwe's 231 000 000% inflation.
There is no doubt that I am a trendsetter: first David Aaranovitch visits my adopted homeland (or second adopted homeland after Rutland), now Christopher Somerville has visited The Stiperstones too. And, writing in the FT, he makes a much better job of it than Aaranovitch did: If you're looking for a bland, impersonal, run-of-the-mill place to base yourself for a walk around the Stiperstones, avoid the Bog Centre like the plague.Its dark stone building - once a back-country schoolroom for the children of Victorian lead miners, now a visitor centre run by mustard-keen local volunteers - can look bleakly forbidding, ...
Congratulations to Wendy Moorhen who has a letter ("A woman of influence") in today's Spectator. If there had been an award for Voluntary Position of the Day, she might well have won that too: Research Officer, Richard III Society.
My House Points column from today's Liberal Democrat News. Bloggers in Sheffield I have been to many Liberal and Liberal Democrat events in my time, but never one in a cathedral. Until last Saturday, that is, when Yorkshire and Humber Region held its conference at Sheffield Cathedral. I went along because I was one of half a dozen bloggers invited to interview Nick Clegg. The session was dominated by economic questions in a way it would not have been even a few months ago. Nick was clear that the Conservative strategy of blaming everything on Gordon Brown was convincing nobody; ...
I'm late into the fray where Hazel Blear's speech on bloggers and the media (I have exams this week, ok) is concerned, but I think she is spectacularly missing the point. In fact, she's so far from the point that she would need the Hubble Space Telescope to see it again. Let me examine the many fascinating ways in which she misses the point. 1. "A culture of cynicism and despair" How can Hazel
There has recently been considerable concern raised across the City by changes to Travel Dundee bus routes and timetables, introduced on 2nd November. As City Council Planning & Transport Convener, I recently chaired a meeting of City Councillors and a representative of the bus company at which councillors from across the City highlighted constituents' concerns about various services. In the West End, the route of Service Number 14 and cuts to the frequency of Service Number 2 were raised. I have this week been contacted by parents in the West End, whose children attend St John's High School. Their complaint ...
In honour of the fact that it looks likely the Helen Clarke's Labor shuffling out of government I thought I would reproduce this article I wrote on the last elections in New Zealand... Outsider looking in... I have a track record of involvement in British elections since the tender age of 11. My primary school was one of the few places where the words 'Liberal Democrat' and 'landslide could be used in the same sentence. However, 2005 will register as a blip in terms of my activist history. Living in Hamilton since the end of January meant I missed Britain's ...
Waste issues were high on the agenda at this week's Bath & North East Somerset Cabinet meeting when Liberal Democrat questions revealed that the Conservative Cabinet are once again planning to delay their promised introduction of kitchen waste collections and same day collections for refuse and recycling. The admission from the Conservative Cabinet member for customer services that he is...
A bad result for us, but for once the media got it right in hailing it as a victory for Gordon Brown and a rebuff for the Nationalists. On the same day, there were by-elections in the big two Scottish cities: Edinburgh City, Forth ward, and Glasgow City, Baillieston. Both were won by Labour. It is clearly a result of Brown's improved image in the wake of the bank rescue. This so-called "Brown bounce" will deflate as the job cuts (such as these) bite, and the voters take it out on the sitting government. An old Scottish hand tells us: ...
The Telegraph has the rather surprising story of Jacob Rigg's something-to-tell-the-grandkids-about claim to fame: The US President-elect's speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters in Chicago on Tuesday was one of the most widely-watched and repeated political addresses in recent history. It was also partly written in a flat in Notting Hill, West London. Parts of [...]
How on Earth is anyone supposed to be able to pick a winner amongst this set on bozos shortlisted in the New Humanist's Bad Faith Awards? It makes you realise quite what a year it has been on the culture wars front. Personally, on reflection, I've gone for the governors of St Monica's School, Prestwich for the simple reason that their decision to deny their pupils access to the cervical cancer vaccination is so transparently mysogynist and so physically harmful that it deserves a lot more attention than it has been getting. But New Humanist really ought to consider using ...
I want this job. Please please let it be me. I promise to only bark at terrorists. And to stay clear of curtains. And I just love beards and turbans. Please, let it be me.
The last day of our break and we were determined to keep it as low carbon as possible. So we headed to Tynemouth on bus and Metro to go to the Blue Reef Aquarium Centre. Then back to Newcastle for lunch at a restaurant called Pan Haggerty. They make their own chutneys so I was keen to find out what they produced. We are now waiting for the bus to go back home to Sunniside. No car used. Carbon
The daily show's "Road to the Doghouse": A BBC news (!) article seriously discussing the choice of first dog! The BBC, doesn't it make you proud....
A message from Garston CAB posted below. Do you know anyone who could give up a day or two each week to become an advice volunteer at Garston CAB? No previous experience is needed and there are no academic qualifications required. Full training is given. Applicants must be good listeners, able to assimilate information and to communicate in a wide range of circumstances. Contact Colette at Garston CAB, 427 5317 for information.
Labour don't have many good bloggers except for maybe a few exceptions but at least they hold bloggers' receptions for their own. When I was reading Labour home I come across this post in which Labour bloggers are invited to an event in the North West of England to meet MEP's from across Europe. Now that is the path we need to follow as a party. We need to hold bloggers' receptions so we can get our bloggers to meet out politicians who we are always "bigging" up. I am trying always to write as much as I can positively ...
I have asked in Full Council, at Town Centre Traders' meetings, and on this blog, that Darlington Borough Council match its commitment to increased household domestic recycling with a commercial waste recycling service. My business produces huge amounts of cardboard waste, as do most retailers, and it is annoying to see it carted away to landfill every week. Now, from December 3rd, the Council
November's Total Politics magazine features a profile of Alan Beith MP (occassioned by the publication of his memoirs, A View from the North) and also an article from Euro-MP Sharon Bowles about her musical hobby.
My latest Guardian blog, covering the US election results, plus poverty and housing in Islington, is now online.
Great predictions of our time and this one came true. I blogged a couple of weeks ago about Brown's visit to Glenrothes and suggested Labour were confident about winning as they would never have risked sending him into a losing battle. The Labour hold last night was therefore not unsurprising even if the majority and share of the vote were.Don't however get carried away with the belief that
Question Time at Council is always interesting, as the Executive respond to the concerns of Councillors and residents alike. The Lib Dem group try to use this to the best of our ability, to raise issues important to local people. On Wednesday we asked five questions, but the fact that we got our questions in at all was as much to do with luck than judgement, after the Conservatives changed the rules of Council so that questioning their actions is limited. Under the old rules, Councillors could ask as many questions as they liked, submitted in writing in advance. Unfortunately, ...
Wednesday night's Council meeting was a success for the Lib Dems - two motions unanimously passed, and lot's of questions asked of the Executive. I asked about effects of the recent economic crisis on the assets of the Greater Manchester Pension Fund. It was reassuring to note that the fund is robust and that the liabilities of Councils funding it have not grown as a result of recent market turmoil. Fellow St Mary's Councillor Mary D'Albert asked whether council vehicles will have to pay the congestion charge - the answer is they will - which presumably will have to be ...
Thought I'd share progress so far.. Sometimes paint dries/drys funny - spot the giant in the close-up not intentional at all.. And why cats can split hairs - the look on his face is saying..'You can't tell me off because technically, I'm not sitting on the table, I'm sitting on your source pictures...'
Edinburgh City UA, Forth First preference votes: Labour 2013 (29.5%: +0.5%) SNP 1841 (26.9%: +4.2%) Conservative 1180 (17.3%: -2.9%) Lib Dem (Sanne Dijkstra-Downie) 985 (14.4%: -3.5%) Green 341 (5.0%: -0.8%) Independent 1 297 (4.4%: +2.6%) Solidarity 80 (1.2%: -0.6%) SSP 53 (0.8%: +0.0%
I think the answer is a simple one and it isn't about resources, it's about approach. Previously we had a formula and it worked well, so well in fact the Tories and Labour copied us with one difference ... they have more money than us and a bigger pool of resources to win. In my view that's the real reason why we have lost the winning vain so richly tapped into in the past. Is that we simply haven't developed our strategy any more. Are there other factors which have affected the results? - Certainly, but this is not new ...
One of the, if not the most, pernicious myths that the left has to face is that it is authoritarian; that it is opposed to liberty and democracy. We often talk about what the left needs to do, where it needs to go etc,etc and if there was one place I would say it should go it is back to it's roots; in supporting the struggles of oppressed people and it's quest to emancipate people and give them control over their own lives. Myths commonly have a grounding in reality and are based on truth's. Obviously this is the case ...
While the rest of the world engages in some transcontinental slapping of Obama's back, the Russians have decided that now is a good time to reveal their national paranoia about the US's missile defence system. A lot of the commentariat are calling this an interesting opening move. I'm not convinced. It betrays an implicit assumption that [...]
...attended Chase Farm Primary School in Chingford. That's where I was yesterday, as the school was being used as a Polling Station for the Valley ward by-election. My role was to be a 'teller' which means I was there to collect people's polling numbers as they came to cast their vote. This is so they won't be disturbed later by reminders to go and vote. I've always found telling a pleasant task, especially the truce-like nature of the conversations I've had with tellers from the other parties. During the quiet patches, after a brief burst of politics and wondering whether ...
There are banks. The banks offer services. There are two types. Type 1: you give them your money (eg. savings accounts)Type 2: they give you their money (eg. mortgages) You pick which bank you want to engage with. If you change your mind, you switch. The banks compete on who can offer the best Type 1, and Type 2 services. Some banks fuck up. Government subsidises the banks who have fucked up. Those who have fucked up the most get the highest reward. Government nationalises the banks who have fucked up, yet claims they are not managing the banks. The ...
We've had a power cut here, so this morning's entry is a litle rushed.Happy Birthday strangefrontierLiberal drinks last night was slightly lower attendance than last time, but still fun. Was nice to spend some time with Hywel Morgan.Happy Blog Ressurection to Jon Ball, syndicated at jonball_feed. You need to mess about with your settings though, hon. all that's coming through on the RSS feed is a url, which is annoying. The point of RSS is that people don't have to click through to your blog to read what the entry is about. People won't bother clicking a bare url.On Liberty ...
Today's Guardian reports that the cost of introducing ID cards has crept up again, this time by another £50 million. This is no great surprise. I expect it to rise quite significantly between now and when it is finally introduced, assuming that the Government are able to get that far with it. What is perhaps more interesting is the hidden cost to the ordinary person in the street of acquiring one of these cards. The government believe that they can sell the cards at £30 each however that does not take account of the cost to each individual of having ...
What would you rather spend an extra £52 million on: a huge IT project to keep tabs on innocent people or things such as more police to catch criminals? I think you can guess my answer! Today's Guardian has the story about the bill for Labour's ID cards scheme going up and up - and this on the button quote from my colleague, Chris Huhne: The problem is not the ease with which we can give up sensitive personal data, but the ease with which the Home Office loses it. Costs are already spiralling out of control without a single ...
Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of Congo has gone from being the world's bloodiest forgotten conflict since the Second World War to headline news around the globe in a matter of days. A flare-up in fighting between rebel and government forces has left the east of the country in a calamitous condition. Despite a ceasefire holding, Tearfund partner HEAL Africa describes the situation as a tinderbox. HEAL Africa runs a hospital in Goma, the capital of conflict-hit North Kivu province, and has seen evidence of rapes and torture. Staff are treating all manner of wounds and injuries inflicted ...
There are lots of stories about satnavs leading drivers astray. Including the school party who set out for Hampton Court Palace, only to end up in the alley, also called Hampton Court, behind Highbury & Islington station. Now Google Maps has invented non-existent roads in Canonbury. The spurious roads are called Shakespeare Close, [...]
Congratulations are in order. Also, please ensure you have registered to vote if you have moved recently. Snap General Election could be called, Queens speech: 3rd December Number of days notice needed for a General election: 10th November Of course the Queen's speech could always get pushed back a few days. Its only the Queen afterall.
Click for source Congratulations to President-elect Obama
In the scheme of things, it seems unlikely that this week will be best remembered by history for a by-election in Scotland; but, still, the Glenrothes was (as politicians under the kosh of bad polls are prone to note) about real votes in a real election. And the Lib Dems tanked. The party's vote dropped [...]
There's another general election going on this week. My home country, New Zealand, goes to the polls tomorrow, Saturday, November 8. There could well be a change of government. Labour's Helen Clark has been prime minister for a full nine years. That's three parliamentary terms, a very long time in Kiwi politics. On only one occasion since World War II has the New Zealand public given any government a fourth chance. The last three years have been tough, as economic confidence has waned and the public mood has soured. [see here, and here] The opposition National Party has worked at ...
This is not a rant about companies keeping information on me. Though the amount Tesco think they know about me is quite frightening. This is more about why companies don't use their databases properly. I've twice had the experience lately of phoning different companies and going through the automated voice thing. Part of the routine is that you have to key in your customer number. So far so good (though very annoying when, after you've done all that, they cut you off picking up the phone and you have to go through the whole routine again). But then I had ...
A new report from the Cripplegate Foundation - Invisible Islington - highlights the experiences of poor people in Islington, and the way different agencies are trying to tackle this. Islington has far above average levels of lone parent households and of mental health problems. Both absolute and relative poverty are problems here: Islington has some of [...]
Blogging has been a bit light recently due to our North Road ward by-election. We've got three leaflets out so far with a week still to go, targetted letters to all postal voters and 75% of houses canvassed despite the dark damp evenings. However, blogging this morning is easy: I offer you, straight from the pages of the Northern Echo, a letter which appears in today's edition. And no, since I
How did they all get it so wrong? I just have to say how come the SNP or Labour observing the same box openings as us could have been so wide off the mark. Many of the Nats either in the Blogosphere or on the street were confident of the result going their way. But to be so far out what went wrong. The SNP were still adamant that they had it and Labour were less certain. If what I've heard is correct Newsnight at one point called last nights result for the Nats. Various of the bloggers and the ...
South of the Borough Neighbourhood Committee on Wednesday spent most of its time considering planning applications. This is what was decided: Paradise Park, Green Lane We permitted conversion of the ground floor of a grain store into a flat. 44-60 Leatherhead Road This is the site where the Committee had granted outline planning permission to build 21...
At around 4.30 yesterday afternoon, I was working on Delgattie Court in Glenrothes. Also there was Katy Clark, Labour MP for North Ayrshire and Arran who I was at Aberdeen Uni with back in the 80s - it was great to see her, even if she hasn't aged. With her was Kezia Dugdale, much missed from the Scottish blogosphere. What was really funny was that I had joked during the Livingston by-election 3 years ago that the Nats kept Alex Salmond locked up in a van for the whole campaign and drove him around with the loud hailer going. Maybe ...
Parliament returned to Brussels after a week's break intrigued to know whether the USA would dare to vote into office its first ever black President. It did, and immediately drew attention to the embarrassing absence of a single black or coloured face among 27 EU Commissioners, or indeed among the heads of state of government of the 27 EU member states. Given the diversity of our people, there is something wrong with our politics. Obama's election was welcomed by members of almost all parties. EU-US relations have been particularly difficult under Bush: and though our expectations of the change Obama ...
I'm not talking about the by-election. I'm referring to the fact that I broke down on the A92 on the way back from the Count and had to wait for the AA for 45 minutes before being taken back home in a tow truck. Stephen was with me so I didn't have to be scared of the dark on my own but it was quite scary being beside the dual carriageway with more traffic than than I would have thought at 2 in the morning whizzing past me. Anyway, there was some irony that this happened close to the Redhouse ...
Political Betting identified a massive split between the politicians and the punters over who would win Glenrothes. The politicians mainly believed that Brown had turned things around and could pull it off. The punters felt that the Nats would walk it. Of course the politicians were right and Labour secured a massive majority. Even Guido is having second thoughts about 'Jonah' Brown. What is also interesting to note tho is that the political commentators also got it spectacularly wrong. They were all (at least, according to Politics Home) calling Glenrothes for the SNP. I have a strong aversion to the ...
A copy of the thank you message from by-election agent Andrew Reeves has winged its way to LDV Towers: What a great effort everyone has put into the campaign over the last 75 days. Yes, we moved into the HQ in Markinch back in August! I just wanted to say a huge and sincere thank [...]
Glenthroes has been taken by the Labour party putting a bounce back into Brown and the Labour party. With this result its going to wipe the smile of Cameron as he will now be getting worried as people have liked the economic package by Labour, as the results paint the picture from Glenthroes. Will this boost the Labour party and make them win more elections, only time will tell! Without a doubt you have to congratulate the labour party on winning this seat as they have put a lot of work into it and into the economy with their package ...
So, I need to make friends with the Lib Dem Blogosphere. I've been too angry of late. So what could I do? What do Lib Dems like? Then I remembered. That should do it.
Sunday To St Asquith's for Divine Service. The Revd Hughes preaches a long sermon that touches upon our economic travails, and we sing "Whatever shall we do, O Lord?" which happens to be a favourite of Meadowcroft and his former comrades in the Wee Free Liberals. In the evening I go for a walk along the shore of Rutland Water, reaching the treacherous Rutlandbach Falls. I tread carefully: a chap could slip. If you like This Sort Of Thing, read: Monday: Nick Clegg goes to Sainsbury's Tuesday: Remembering the Cod War Wednesday: Robocalling Thursday: Cablemania Friday: Something in the way ...
Glenrothes is just the latest in a string of disappointing by-election results for the Lib Dems. Yesterday's by-election saw the Lib Dems fall to fourth place and, along with the Conservatives, lose our deposit. Party activists are rightly concerned. The Lib Dems are more used to winning by-elections like Brent East in 2003 where we increased our share of the vote from 10% to nearly 40% and came from third place to win. After all, our candidate in Glenrothes won 12.7% of the vote in 2005, more than four times last night's tally. Why, the question is asked, were we ...
ConservativeHome has the story: PoliticsHome had already found a significant slump in support for George Osborne amongst the electorate at large. Despite this website's efforts, support for the Shadow Chancellor has also plunged among the Tory grassroots. Our latest survey of over 1,600 rank-and-file members found that 49% were satisfied with Mr Osborne but [...]
A new pamphlet from the Bevan Foundation seeks to defend the indefensible by arguing that the Assembly's law making processes are working well. They identify the main problem as a lack of ideas for new laws coming from Assembly Members. Alas, the report appears to be confusing two things. Nobody is criticising the procedure for making Measures, the Assembly equivalent to an Act of Parliament. Apart from the fact that there are not enough of them and there are only a limited number of areas that we can currently propose them, the measure-making process is fine. However, the Legislative Competence ...
Whatever thoughts crossed my mind that weren't worth a whole post. 02:16 insubstantial careerists gets it wrong shock! tinyurl.com/64y5zy #Microblogging using LoudTwitter and Twitter. matgb_twitter is there if you're mad enough.
Here's my message for Obama {Message to Obama} Mike over at Troubled Diva gives the rules of the latest cool meme: Got a message for the US President Elect? Got a Flickr account? If so, then might I suggest that you add your message to this brand new and fast-growing pool?
Beaten into 4th by the Tories. Bloody worrying. Labour's 6000+ majority must cause serious concern for the Gnats. I suspect that Mr Roy will actually be a good constituency MP. Sqeeezed badly and a lost deposit with a drop in our vote of around 10%. A bad, bad night and we must very soon address the issues which surround our party. Is it time to remove all co-operation with the Gnats in Local Government?
Labour have held Glenrothes with a reduced majority but an increased vote; the Labour majority is 6,737 but their vote actually increased by 3%. The first point here is obvious; the Labour revival is real and happening and as I have said represents a real electoral headache for us, although the Conservatives lost their deposit too last night our vote was down. There has already been some thoughtful commentary on what this result means. A Lanson Boy reckons that this means; "Brown has to give serious thought now to calling the election early." I agree with the caveat it won't ...
It seems from watching the Gnits and NuLab on the beeb that Lindsay Roy has won the Glenrothes by-election for Labour. If this is indeed true then I wonder if the waves of the high tide of Gnantionalism have crashed ashore on the jaggy rocks of Scottish sensibility as happened in the Garscadden bye-election of 1978(?). OK, it seems that we've may have lost our deposit but I'll make the usual excuses that we've been squeezed. Looks like that the "broon boonce" exists. Mea culpa that I've not been to help out.
Wednesday's "Daily Telegraph" : 'Mr Salmond, the SNP leader, who has visited the campaign trail 13 times, has seized on Barack Obama's campaign slogan insisting: "Yes, we can win and, yes, we will win the Glenrothes by-election."' I am no supporter of the Labour Party but delighted that the SNP has finally been stopped in its tracks. Alex Salmond's arrogance has blown up in his face. What makes the nationalist government so dreadful is that it lives for the following day's newspaper headline; it does not plan for the future of Scotland. The electorate has seen through them. For Alex ...
This year's Remembrance Sunday parade will be my 10th as a Bridgnorth Town Councillor. On Sunday I will be reflecting on past sacrifices in the cause of freedom with the rest of the country. For me this year will be particularly poignant, not for anything associate with the event directly but for more personal reasons. [...]
Fairytale of New York Christmas is one of my favourite Christmas songs, so on facebook I have joined the group which hopes to Make The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl- Fairytale of New York Christmas Number 1.
