I had held off from posting about Neil Trafford up to now. I had hoped to be attending his funeral on Wednesday, but I have such a mountain of work to do, that this is looking more and more unlikely. I hope that Neil would appreciate the reasons if I don't make it if I am tied up with working on Liberal Democrat campaigns. I am not going to rewrite what I said in the comments on Liberal Democrat
My head's still full of pus. My blogging's been light and terrible of late. Even worse (although happily) the Damian Green story is running. And running. I think the word 'Stalinist' is cropping up rather too often for Labour's tastes at this point. But Brown as tough uncompromising bully steamrollering his way through all opposition to do whatever the hell he wants is significally more popular than weak, bullied terrified Brown who withered and stammered his way through brutal PMQ sessions and babbled endlessly about 'releasing the potential of every child' every 2 minutes. This is what people want, remember: ...
I've decided this week to finally quit the Liberal Democrats. Other Parties should not get excited, I'm certainly not coming your way. I am leaving politics completely as I have had enough of waiting for the Party to get its internal house in order. Clearly this isn't going to happen any time soon and I have no further intention to waste my money and continue being party to ongoing unacceptable practices. Had I been the only one in an isolated case then I might have been able to grin and bear it but there is a systematic problem which is ...
Just thought readers would like the ultimate christmas present for the pious person that has everything: http://www.ship-of-fools.com/gadgets/index.html If anyone else has got any over the top laugh out loud presents let me know.
No, not gin. Sadly. Silly memes. Both via uglybuffy On the twelfth day of Christmas, miss_s_b sent to me...Twelve eris drummingEleven daleks pipingTen clarksonisms a-leapingNine books dancingEight villains a-climbingSeven bottoms a-people-watchingSix davros a-nose-pickingFive chu-u-u-uck jonesFour victorian scientistsThree driving songsTwo pun wars...and a scumspawn in a stephen fry.Get your own Twelve Days: ... because, let's face it, the idea of Davros picking his nose? That's funny at ANY time of the year... This one, however, is late. New Year is a month ago, silly people! Anyway: In 2008, miss_s_b resolves to...Backup my evolution regularly. Buy new davros. Connect with my inner ...
Ed Balls today received the report on children's services in Haringey this morning. You can read the full text of his statement on the Independent website. As a result of the report's contents, George Meehan, the leader of Haringey Council, and Liz Santry the cabinet member for children and young people, have both resigned. Sharon Shoesmith has been removed from her post as director of children's services and five other members of staff connected with those services in Haringey have been suspended or are under review. Lynne Featherstone writes: So - the report finds Haringey Council guilty - and then ...
I am talking about Gordon Tonkinson of Bridgnorth District Council, of course. You really should read the Shropshire Star.
Paul Barnett, a guest blogger on Ruscombe Green, shares his enthusiasm for this ships' graveyard on the banks of the Severn estuary: it has been established that the site, which stretches 1.5km to the north of Sharpness New Dock entrance, is the final resting place of 81 vessels and encapsulate steel, timber and concrete constructions.Amazingly, ongoing research has established that the site is now deemed to be the largest of its kind in the UK and is formed in distinct layers including mighty ocean going schooners, reliable Severn Trows, sturdy Wich Barges, revolutionary concrete lighters and extremely rare Stroudwater and ...
If you want to maintain the most vital network of undercover secret agents in a foreign country, clearly the first thing you get them to do is to get a very recognisable tattoo. It's good fun though.
I've had a rare evening in, and been enjoying 'The Ascent of Money' on Channel 4. Last month, Rich & I had our regular weekend in Amsterdam (for Museumnacht) and visited the Historical Museum among many others. We had an unexpected diversion this year when we hopped on what we thought was the Museumnacht [...]
I spotted this mattress on Dunhills Lane this evening and has been reported to Test Valley Enviornmental Services Department. I will check tomorrow evening to ensure it has been collected. Ed
Gordon Brown has decisively acted in respect of the Damian Green. He has announced that he will dither until he knows which way the wind is blowing and then jump on the most reliable bandwagon. It is very sad. This is an issue that should be easy to understand. It relates entirely to the work of an MP. It is something that most successful politicians have been involved in. If MPs are liable
It was entirely predictable, yet why did it take so long? The Leader of the council, and the lead member for children's services have both resigned today over the Baby P tragedy. It was far too long in coming, and has only happened due to public pressure and the insistence of their own party colleague, Secretary of State Ed Balls. The x-leader, George Meehan, has said it was a matter of "personal honour and responsibility" - yet why did it take so long? Only seven days ago, Labour wouldn't even allow a vote to take place on their removal. With ...
Question: Who fixes your leaking roof if you rent a flat from the Council, in a Council block, which the Council leases from a landlord who in turn is a leaseholder of Haringey Council? Answer: Nobody, it seems. This weekend I had a distressed call from a Stroud Green resident who can't get anyone to fix her roof, which has been leaking for 2 months now. The damp is spreading throughout the flat, which can't be nice with Christmas approaching. I've put in an urgent request to Homes for Haringey, but it all turns out to be much more complicated ...
The current Speaker has once last chance not to go down in history as one of the most partisan and discredited figures to occupy the role. Iain Dale reports that Harriet Harman's plans for a meeting to discuss the Speaker's statement on the arrest of Damian Green have been leaked to the Conservatives. It is clear from the memo that she is trying to tell him what he should say. And it is clear from the list of those invited that she is acting purely out of party interest. As Iain says: Invited to the meeting are Jacqui Smith and ...
Mon 1st
20:55
Haringey Chief Executive Ita O'Donovan was in charge at Stoke just before its children services were...
Haringey Council Chief Executive, Ita O'Donovan was previously city manager at Stoke-on-Trent Council (the top staff person in their then directly elected Mayor system). Her departure to become Haringey Chief Executive was announced in November 2005, and Ita O'Donovan took up post in Haringey in March 2006. And in that same month, March 2006, the then Children's Minister Beverley Hughes wrote that council failings were putting children in Stoke at risk: In one letter, dated 15 March 2006, the minister wrote to [Stoke Mayor] Mr Meredith saying a report into care provided by Stoke City Council showed there were "critical ...
The Poetry Society is running a project to find the best young poets, and it's coming to Islington. The project, called SLAMbassadors UK, is open to 12-18 year olds, and covers rap as well as more traditional poetry. Twelve young poets will be selected to perform their pieces at a semi-final in February, with the [...]
Iain Dale has the leaked email and the story here.
Got an email from BBC Panorama this morning. Unfortunately, my section of the programme has been axed. Oh well, at least I got a good photo of my being interviewed! The thing was, I had forgotten about the programme until the email arrived! I guess I'll have to stick to appearing in my own YouTube videos - one of which has had nearly 100,000 viewings!---Sent via BlackBerry
Leader of the UK Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament, Andrew Duff MEP, has called for a re-launch of the debate on monetary union in Britain. In a speech in the European Parliament regarding the outcome of the g-20 summit, Andrew Duff said: "The financial crisis will have a dramatic effect on the eurozone. Denmark and [...]
Stephen Hockman, the former chairman of the Bar, is calling for an international court to enforce environmental protection. In principle, this is an excellent idea. If we make international agreements to save the planet from climate change we should have a fair and independent tribunal to resolve disputes and enforce the agreement so that no-one can sign up then ignore [...]
Iain Dale has the full story on this.... "The Conservatives have been sent an email by mistake, which details a meeting taking place tomorrow organised by the Leader of the House of Commons Harriet Harman to discuss the Speaker's Statement to the House. Invited to the meeting are Jacqui Smith and Jack Straw, as well as Jill Pay, the Serjeant at Arms and the Parliamentary Clerk, Malcolm Jack and a representative from the Speaker's Office. Strangely the Tories and LibDems have not been invited."
Mon 1st
19:45LDV members' survey (6): what you think of the Lib Dem shadow cabinet and other leading Lib Dems
Over the last week or two, Lib Dem Voice has invited the members of our private forum (open to all Lib Dem members) inviting them to take part in a survey, conducted via Liberty Research, asking a number of questions about the party and the current state of British politics. Many thanks to the 210+ of you who completed it; we've been publishing the results on LDV over the past week. Today we turn our attention to the performance of the Liberal Democrat shadow cabinet. And little did I know when I prepared this for publication quite how topical the ...
Those of you that believe that the state can and should do more, that people should really pay more in tax, that if we all just stopped being selfish and cared more about our fellow human beings instead of ourselves that everyone would be happier, healthier, more content, live richer, fuller lives and crime would therefore reduce and we'd all be free to paint and sing and frolic in a world of peace and harmony, where work would be just a few hours a week and you'd have everything you need and want and we'd all be equals and cry ...
I know this shouldn't be funny but (any animal cruelty and family days out ruined notwithstanding) it is! I particularly like the polar bear! I put me in mind of a real-life Grundy World of Christmas. Ah, I appeared to have given away that I may occasionally listen to the Archers! The shame...
Over at The Guardian's Comment Is Free blog, Lynne Featherstone MP writes about the devastating Baby P report into Haringey Council. Read it in full here, but here's Lynne's trenchant critique: I have never seen such a damning and devastating criticism of an authority as this litany of failure - both systemic and personal, and at every level and, more or less, in every agency. But particularly singled out for special damnation: Haringey council. So, given all that, what an earth is Ed Balls doing commissioning more reports and waiting until next June before removing Haringey children's services from council ...
Top Premiership football clubs are charging fans up to 45% more than the national average for a pint of beer, according to research by the Liberal Democrats. The figures show that: 19 out of 20 clubs charge more than the national average for a pint of lager (£2.76) - Chelsea are the worst charging £4 per pint, earning £353,400 more per season than if...
Last week the first compulsory ID cards came in. This week we find out that no-one can read them. More on the NO2ID campaign here and here.
The Party Leader has it right. Most of the front benchers simply aren't up to it and need to be replaced. There are some talented people outside the Shadow Cabinet and the time servers need to make way for them. Better to have a reshuffle now rather than later. It's unfortunate that the Leader was heard bad mouthing his colleagues, but most people would rather see a leader who is prepared to weild the axe than one who keeps time servers in their posts. Oh, it's David Cameron and the Tories I'm talking about. But of course you knew that... ...
Browsing through local news website today, I came across this article about a recently convicted criminal's sentence. What concerns me not that the man in question has been given a prison sentence(if someone commits a serious crime then they should be punished), it is the response of the Judge to calls to admit the man in question to a drug rehabilitation programme. He is quoting as saying: "
Small tidbit of news here....hat-tip to Alisdair Gibbs-Barton; "Councillor Cilla Isles has joined the Liberal Democrats and left the Labour party. Cilla is a well respected local councillor, and her joining the Lib Dems now gives us 14 councillors on Blyth Valley council. It also means that under proportionality rules we are entitled to another seat on the Cabinet. Now either the Labour group will have to give us a portfolio, or more likely they will increase the cabinet size to 10, to retain the number of councillors they have on the cabinet. With only 4 months of Blyth Valley ...
Over at The Guardian's Comment Is Free blog, James Graham takes a frank and forthright look at the unguarded remarks allegedly uttered by Nick Clegg within the hearing of a Mirror journalist. Read it in full here, but here's the conclusion: The generous interpretation is that Clegg, like both Kennedy and Ashdown before him, needs to fight a general election before he can expect to acquire a decent public profile. Broadly speaking, I happen to still believe that. But while Clegg, the odd blip aside, isn't the liability his opponents might wish him to be, thus far he has failed ...
My latest post on the Total Politics blog asks whether William Hague is concealing something from his party.
Little more than an observation this, but its a measure of how close the think tank Centre for American Progress is to Obama's team, that even the greatest compromise with the conservatives so far in his blistering slew of appointments, the decision to retain Robert Gates as Defence Secretary, was argued for prior to the fact in a Washington Post article co-wrote by Brian Katluis, a Senior fellow at the Centre. Their feed is basically a must have for all you US horizon scanners out there.
The national fall in house prices has finally reached Islington. Earlier this year our borough seemed to be bucking the trend, but the latest figures show house prices falling here too. Although at 6.3%, the fall is the second lowest in London, with only the City of London (price fall 4.1%) holding value more. [...]
I couldn't quite believe what I was reading when I clicked onto Yahoo to check my e-mails, and found that the top news item was that the Chuckle Brothers had won a BAFTA. Paul and Barry may be about the worst comedians in the world, yet, they are somehow incredibly likeable, endearing, and provide Rotheram United with perhaps their only two celebrity fans. So I'm delighted for them - any one who can make a career out of saying "To me, to you" and "Silly you" "Silly me", and have those phrases immortalised in the lexicon deserves an award of ...
Bath MP Don Foster has praised new Liberal Democrat proposals offering free childcare for every family, that would see children and parents in Bath really benefit. The plans include: 19 months of paid parental leave, replacing current maternity and paternity leave arrangements. To get the maximum entitlement, parents will have to share the leave as no ...
A bit ironic, given the timing, but the Spectator blog, Coffee House has this: Cameron should fix the shadow cabinet while the sun is shining. Tucked away in the Whip column of The Sun is this item: "Now senior Tories are aghast at rumours that David Cameron was rubbishing them during a private dinner recently. He is said to have told a pal: "I've got six or seven people in the Shadow Cabinet capable of working in the government. The rest are useless." You can read more here.
So - the report finds Haringey Council guilty - and then some. I have never seen such a damning and devastating criticism of an authority as this litany of failure - both systemic and personal, and at every level and more or less in every agency. But particularly singled out for special damnation - Haringey Council. So - given all that, what an earth is Ed Balls doing commissioning more reports and waiting until next June before removing Haringey Children's services from council administration? Yes more information may be necessary. Yes - Balls is right to put in John Coughlan ...
We tend not to be too poll-obsessed here at LDV - of course we look at them, as do all other politico-geeks, but viewed in isolation no one poll will tell you very much beyond what you want to read into it. Looked at over a reasonable time-span and, if there are enough polls, you can see some trends. Here, in chronological order, are the results of the nine polls published in November: Tories 43%, Labour 30%, Lib Dems 18% - ICM/Sunday Telegraph (9 Nov) Tories 41%, Labour 35%, Lib Dems 16% - Populus/Times (10 Nov) Tories 40%, Labour 37%, ...
Blyth Valley: Labour Mayor switches to Liberal Democrats. Islington: Conservatives choose lap-dancing establishment for their Christmas party.
The new Climate Change Committee headed up by Adair Turner has just published its first stab at advising the UK government on how to reach it target of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. One of the most striking things in the advice is the recommendation that we need to eat less carbon-intensive meat like beef. Hurrah! I tried to get Camden Council to reduce the amount of meat, and particularly beef, on menus across the borough for environmental and health reasons, but the Tories blocked the proposal. They trotted out the tired old Thatcherite/New Labour line that ...
I hear frequently how the decision to scrap Middle Schools in Suffolk was all-party. The voting record indicates otherwise. The vote was 42-28. 41 Tories voted to scrap Middle Schools, 3 Tories voted to keep them and only 1 out of 11Tories in West Suffolk did so. The link below is the official record of the vote. schoolorganisationreview.pdf
Proud to be a member of the Long Tail: Absolute Unique Visitors: 2,582 (October: 2,518) Visits: 3,760 (October: 4,854) Pageviews: 5,384 (October: 8,054) Sources of Traffic (excluding aggregators, search engines and obvious spammers): Rank [October Rank] Source (Traffic) 1 [1] Iain Dale (290) 2 [2] Lib Dem Voice (249) 3 [3] Liberal England (90) 4 [19] BBC News (88) 5 [47] Bob Piper (36) 6 [6] Alex Lockwood (34) 7 [5] Liberal Conspiracy (27) 8 [10] Peter Black (23) 9= [8] Caron's Musings (19) 9= [9] Himmelgarten Cafe (19) Source: Google Analytics
Health & Well Being Scrutiny Committee This was a very health focused meeting with agenda items on GP provision, and updates on proposed changes to improve the PCT's commissioning of services. Under GP Provision the committee wanted to look at whether there were enough GPs in the borough to meet demand and whether there was equality of [...]
The Lib Dems 4 Parliament site brings news that there are five PPC (Prospective Parliamentary Candidate) selections closing during December. They are: CHATHAM & AYLESFORD - PPC (8th Dec 2008) PUTNEY - PPC (8th Dec 2008) NORTH EAST HERTFORDSHIRE - PPC (15th Dec 2008) REDDITCH - PPC (19th Dec 2008) SUFFOLK COASTAL - PPC (20th Dec 2008)
Now, I have absolutely no talent when it comes to publicly predicting election outcomes, and I have learned the hard way not to bet on it. However, I do keep an eye on some of the odds that bookmakers are quoting for various scenarios. It makes interesting reading. Take for example these odds from BetFair: 13/5 for a result of No Overall Control at the next General Election - 5/7 Conservative majority - 6/1 Labour majority. Clearly the bookmakers have less faith in David Cameron's prospects than the pollsters - while he is ahead here, the short odds on a ...
This month's Liberal Drinks event has been set up with plenty of warning - a whole three days! - so you have no excuse! Beer! Liberalism! Pies! What's not to love? Come and join us. I think Mark has Christmas menu going at the moment, so there might even be Christmassy pies...
Just got the news: Haringey Council leader George Meehan and Liz Santry (Cabinet member for children and young people services) have resigned. Update - Sharon Shoesmith has been removed from office too. Here's the Sky report:
We'd say a big thank you to the 48,671 'absolute unique visitors'* who read Liberal Democrat Voice in November, our highest total ever, and a whopping 283% increase on a year ago. For the record, the comparable figure for Iain Dale was 64,552. (It would only be proper to note, though, that the circumstances for the last month's sudden surge were sad ones: a post entitled 'Baby P' became (temporarily) the top Google return for that search term, and resulted in very heavy traffic.) The recent trend for Lib Dem Voice is hugely positive: Year on Year Absolute Unique Visitors ...
Last night I went with a curry with some friends and then to see Changling, the new Jolie film.
Seeing as it is World AIDS day, a topical blog post. Obviously, the issues of funding research and promoting awareness should be the most important issues to think about. But other people (far more qualified) will be talking about them today. So I want to briefly talk about artificial contraception ... and the Catholic Church. It is a sore point with me as a Catholic, that the Church can continue its opposition to aid agencies that give condoms to some of the worst-hit regions in Africa. I remember having a very fierce argument with one of my teachers, where I ...
Over on Comment is Free: The generous interpretation is that Clegg, like both Kennedy and Ashdown before him, needs to fight a general election before he can expect to acquire a decent public profile. Broadly speaking, I happen to still believe that. But while Clegg, the odd blip aside, isn't the liability his opponents might wish him to be, thus far he has failed to be much of an asset either. In lieu of having much to bring to the table himself, he depends on the goodwill of his team. Mouthing off in public like this can only sap that. ...
Today I have a splitting headache and a child with a grumbling appendix (R, for those of you who know her; she's currently not doing too badly, but we're on alert in case she gets worse, in which case the GP has told us to go straight to A&E.) But on the plus side, the Lib Dems have launched a proposed policy on childcare and early years education. I took part in the consultation on this at Federal Conference and a pre-launch conference call on Saturday night, and I'm rather pleased with the outcome. The headline points are: *an increase ...
The newly published Thrasher & Rallings analysis of May's local election results once again gives a breakdown of candidates and councillors by gender. Here they are, with 2007's figures in brackets: 31% (30%) of Conservative candidates were female 31% (30%) of Labour candidates were female 34% (34) of Liberal Democrat candidates were female "28-29%" (29%) of Conservative councillors are female "28-29%" (31%) of Labour councillors are female "A third" (34%) of Liberal Democrats councillors are female They conclude that: The proportion of men and women candidates contesting local elections now appears fixed in the ratio 2:1 and the rapid rise ...
At Philobiblon.
That's what a poll on website OUTeverywhere is asking: So far: 29 say yes, 24 say no! Update to this important poll: Now it's 32 say he's hot, 29 say he's not! For want of a better expression `it's neck and neck`! Urgent update: now it's 50 for he's hot, 38 that he's not! That's a 4% swing since [...]
Alex - hope it's not too serious and you get well soon. I was looking forward to your take on 1977 so I hope you don't mind if I put my two-penneth in;-) 1977 was a simply fantastic year of Who. To this then eight/nine year old boy it was compulsive viewing and much playground talk each week would be about the previous Saturday's episode and the one coming up. Having said goodbye to Sarah Jane Smith at the end of 1976 and seen off the Master, January 1977 saw the arrival of the lovely Leela. This scantily clad 'savage' ...
There are likely to be red faces among the blue shirts at Islington Conservatives, as they've booked their Christmas do at a wannabe lap-dancing establishment. La Piragua, a local Latin American restaurant - owned by a former Conservative candidate - controversially applied for a lap-dancing license last month. This caused local outrage, as reported by Nick [...]
I'm delighted to be able to announce that Camden Council has launched a new initiative to make it easy for residents to recycle the furniture they no longer need. I've been pushing for this for ages. From wardrobes and bookcases to sofas and armchairs - any furniture in good condition that is suitable for reuse is eligible for a free a doorstep collection.Collections are available on Mondays and Fridays from 9.30am to 12.30pm and from 12.30pm to 3.30pm. All items should be clean, in good condition and ready for reuse in another home. Any padded furniture should carry a fire ...
One of the problems of having a memory like mine, and indeed a propensity for atopicality like mine, is the extent to which things will crop up long after they were said. The whole house moving process has brought one such nugget back to the surface as it has now become rather more relevant to my own experience than it was before. That nugget is the Freedom of Information (Parliament and National
Labour Home Secretary Jacqui Smith today announced organisations in the United Kingdom believed to support the overthrow of the goverment will be banned from directly broadcasting on the airwaves. The ban affects all 324 political parties registered with the Electoral Commission, but the Conservative party, led by David Cameron and St Green of Ashford, is understood [...]
The European Commission's president, Jose Manuel Barroso, thinks that we are. According to the BBC; he told French radio that 'British politicians were considering the move because of the effects of the global credit crunch'. Downing Street denies it and naturally the Conservatives think it is true; "Shadow foreign secretary William Hague said it was "extraordinary" ministers were talking EU about joining the euro "behind the British people's backs"." In terms of meeting Gordon Brown's fabled 'five tests' it looks like Barroso feels that the financial crisis is 'levelling down'. He said; "I'm not going to break the confidentiality of ...
I take with a pinch of salt some of the tales my party colleagues tell me about Torbay's Conservative elected Mayor. I've known Nick Bye a long time and like to think that I recognise embellishm...
Has the European Commission being telling porkies about Euro-myths? The small percentage of LibDem Voice readers who avidly devour the Daily Mail and saw the recent piece by Edward Heathcoat-Amory dramatically headlined 'Here's proof Brussels has been sprouting lies about wonky vegetables for years!' are not the only people who may think so. And truth to tell, what should have been a good news story from the EU has turned into something of a public relations disaster. First the facts. Earlier this month, the EU relaxed its regulations governing 26 types of fruit and veg, lifting a ban on the ...
From The Guardian: Fewer than half of teenagers left school with five good GCSEs including English and maths this summer, official figures revealed yesterday. Some 47% of 16-year-olds across England achieved the basic target grades. The government said it was a 0.9 percentage point improvement on last year - and an 11.6-point increase since 1997 - but opposition MPs criticised the lack of progress in closing the achievement gap between rich and poor... The GCSE results showed record rises in London, where 49.8% of pupils hit the target, beating the national average. The government claimed it as a success for ...
The arrest and detention of Damian Green MP marks a point where executive power has been deployed against the very legislature to which it is supposed to be accountable. Rightly, figures amongst all parties have expressed profound concern. The badly drafted and anti-liberal terrorism legislation that MPs agreed, despite widespread public misgivings and the deep opposition of Liberal Democrats, has actually been deployed against one of their own members. In fact it appears that the Parliamentary authorities actually agreed to permit the Police to search Mr. Green's Office. There are two responses. Firstly it is now quite clear that supposedly ...
So the report from Ed Ball's urgent investigation arrives on his desk today. I expect it to be hard-hitting and demonstrate failures at many levels both systemic and personal. I don't know whether he plans to make a statement on it right away or wait - but I do know what I want to hear from him. First and foremost, is a strategy that effectively puts Haringey into special measures where the best social services chief and key other posts go in and hold Haringey safe whilst the changes that are needed are put into place. We need good managers ...
A hundred years ago today, the cream of London's literary and artistic world (sugared with a sprinkling of aristocracy) gathered for a huge dinner at the Ritz Hotel in London to honour Robbie Ross, Oscar Wilde's devoted friend and literary executor, who had just succeeded in clearing off the late playwright's debts and thereby brought his bankruptcy [...]
Costigan Quist has a rather excellent posting at his cafe. I have to confess that I have always favoured the idea of a reform of the voting system and actually watching an election take place under a proportional system, in New Zealand, I was impressed by how well it contrasted with our elections. He rightly points out that we do not do well under PR and that the notion that it would be a 'quick fix' that would put us in government is wrong. However, here I do compelled to make a point that there is a cultural barrier which ...
Item one - The Government's apparent consent to the arrest of Damien Green for receiving leaked documents when they have all done it and continue to do it. Item two - Ryanair. They have blasted Cornwall County Council and the RAF because Newquay Airport is having to close for three weeks as it is handed over from military to civilian control. Clearly this is not perfect, but Ryanair are the last people who should be moaning. They had already cancelled two routes out of the airport for three months each for no apparent reason and have failed to repay the ...
Wincheter City Council has at last put in place some serious investigations into why this car park keeps on flooding. At the last Council meeting a fellow councillor Lucille Thompson put in a question asking whether the council could stop the ingress of water. The portfolio holder replied that the drains had been cleared and the water was coming in through the roof and via the sides as the fins
It seems that my decision to invite Patrick Jones to read his poems in the Welsh Assembly has lead to some 'Christian' groups putting it about that I want to close down churches and chapels around Wales. This is of course untrue. It does make me wonder how anybody can call themselves a Christian and yet lie so blatantly about another individual. Have they never heard of practising what they preach?
Yes the Tory MP who was arrested using counter terrorism police is now been blamed for grooming the Tory mole so he could get the information. Someone isn't going to go against his bosses orders when he knows his job is on the line without a cash groom and I think Mr Green probably did give him some money for the information. But all is fair in love and war, and the government should not have allowed for an MP to get arrested using counter terrorism police. Couldn't they not just ring him up and invite him to the police ...
I missed this article yesterday but thought it worth picking up on if only to illustrate the complete level of unpreparedness and chaos that exists in government over their pointless ID card project. Apparently, Britain's first ID cards, issued last week with fingerprint and facial details, cannot be read by any official body because the government has not issued a single scanner. The Observer tells us that Ministers promised to roll out hundreds of electronic readers of biometric details. However, a spokesman for the Home Office admitted last week that no employers, police forces, hospitals or colleges have been given ...
With Christmas and Hanukkah falling at the same time this year (25th and 21st - 29th December respectively), Sarah Palin will mud wrestle Natasha Kaplinsky in a smackdown to decide whose winter festival reigns supreme in 2008. Religious war just got sexy. The Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha will also take place this month. I won't [...]
Here's a fun way of answering that question via the medium of sculpture.
It has been some time since I last experienced temperatures this cold in the UK. Yesterday we had to defrost the car before going to Corbridge. It took about 10 minutes before we could leave the drive. And we had to make another stop on the way to clear the windscreen again. So we planned to leave the house a bit earlier today to give us time to clear the car of ice. It was done a lot quicker
Don't forget the Christmas lights switch-on in Prestwich tonight! The event will take place at the Longfield Centre between 4pm and 6pm. It will be hosted by DJ Dave K and there will be music from at least three from the list I have in front of me here that includes the Besses of the Barn Band, Kylie tribute act Natalie McGrath, the Rolling Stones, and Middleton Pop star Academy of Performing Arts. Paralympic Gold Medal Winner Zoe Robinson and the Mayor of Bury, Councillor Peter Ashworth will actually do the switching on at just before 6pm, joined by Santa ...
Government ministers were not made aware of, or involved in, the arrest of Damien Green MP, the Tories shadow immigration minister, claims Jacqui Smith. I believe her. But that is not the point. The use of anti-terror powers in non-terror issues, the clampdown on legitimate protest, the requirement to register your personal details with the government and face fines for failing to do so, the
Danny Finkelstein lists the many examples of Gordon Brown making use of leaked documents whilst in opposition. Has the man no shame? (Brown, not Finkelstein, that is.)
Back in the early '90s a rather touching myth gained common currency in Lib Dem circles. There was an idea that, when we had proportional representation the Lib Dem vote would shoot up. It came from polls that asked people If you thought the Lib Dems could win, who would you vote for?, which saw our notional poll rating soar from 14% up to over 30%. At this point many of us went misty-eyed with visions of breaking through the magic mid-30's level that could see the party forming a government. It turns out that the Lib Dems don't do ...
To mark the 20th World AIDS Day much of the media has been running stories over the weekend and today. However, in Friday's times next to the tales of four people living with HIV/AIDS there was also a startling reminder that there is a lot of ignorance still out there. Those of us who lived through the 1980's early campaign Don't Die of Ignorance will definitely be shocked at the amount of ignorance that the article threw up. Amongst some of the startling levels of ignorance were: "One person in three living with HIV in the UK doesn't know that ...
With the official start of the Christmas season today, I was reminded of this picture of my cat Jack venturing out into a snowy garden, probably for the first time. The memory is slightly spoiled by my camera, which tells me the date was around 7th April this year....
So asked padawanpooh in my last entry. Off the top of my head I came up with a couple of examples, but I thought it would be a good plan to expand a bit further on something which I think is very good about the Lib Dems: the way our policies come to be formed. When I was at conference one of the few debates I managed to attend was Susan Kramer's fringe on childcare. She'd done a bunch of research, and talked to some people, and filmed their thoughts, and we all watched the films. It was a very ...
Cllrs Armand Edwards and Nicholas Coombes will be hosting their next public surgery at 11am on Saturady 6th December at Bathwick St Mary's Church Hall. Residents are welcome to pop in without an appointment between 11 and noon.
Over the last few weeks I posted links to some employment agencies and training agencies websites which any readers out there who maybe looking for a job may find useful.
