....A bit of a weird evening. I volunteered to be a school governor and was delighted to become one. So I attend my first meeting, which was an "emergency" one, tonight - only to be told by local council representatives that, following the imminent departure of the current headteacher due to a career move, a new "Executive Headteacher" has been appointed and the governing body is being dissolved
To Newry tonight, for a mainly-Northern Irish edition of the BBC's Question Time (BBC1 and online, 10.35 pm GMT), which means there's no Lib Dem on the panel tonight. The panel will include the Health Secretary Alan Johnson, Conservative shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley, Northern Ireland Assembly Minister for Enterprise Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland Executive Minister for Regional Development Conor Murphy, SDLP leader Mark Durkan, and Ulster Unionist peer Lord Maginnis. And for those who are staying up extra late for BBC1's This Week, historian David Starkey, journalist Andrew Pierce, and comedian Mark Steel will be on hand to lighten ...
Christmas has officially begun in my house. This evening I have tipped my hat in the direction of Mother Nature by installing a Christmas Tree at the end of the dining room, to twinkle at me annoyingly for the next five weeks, flashing like a permanent beacon of enforced frivolity to remind me that this is Christmas and I must be cheery come what may. And after munching my way through 400g of salted cashew nuts, as I will doubtless do within about two hours on Christmas Day, there won't be much to be cheery about as my arteries scream. ...
Why not donate it to me, use the donate button on the sidebar to donate generously (I Sound like a Charity!). Anyway even a tenner will be accepted!
The European Court of Human Rights has found the act of keeping the DNA of people who may not be guilty to be illegal, according to the BBC. The judge said it was "struck by the blanket and indiscriminate nature of the power of retention in England and Wales". Apparently the details of about 4.5 million people in the UK are held with 20% of them having no criminal record. The fact that DNA evidence cannot be solely relied upon in court should have rendered the retention of DNA pointless and obsolete. Given it's less than 100% effective in leading ...
Reality TV programmes and politicians don't mix. Remember George Galloway and that excruciating cat suit episode of Celebrity Big Brother? It's one of those images that you desperately wish you could get out of your head but can't. So it is with former Lib Dem Mayoral Candidate, Brian Pillock, who has just completed a spell on I'm a Celebrity. Like Londoners, Britain's couch potatoes have voted him out early on. I don't know if he retains political ambitions, but if he does, his performance on this show has probably destroyed them. He was the pathetic wimp of the Group - ...
From the Richmond & Twickenham Times: A highly respected literary and academic figure failed to attend a talk he was due to give for a literature festival, after getting confused over the date.Professor of philosophy Anthony Grayling, of Birkbeck College, University of London, had arranged to speak about his latest book, The Choice of Hercules.His talk was part of Richmond's 17th annual literature festival.The book reflects on the challenges of duty versus pleasure.Thanks to Crooked Timber.
On Dragon's Eye just now former Secretary of State for Wales, Peter Hain described the One Wales Agreement promise to hold a referendum on more powers for the Welsh Assembly before 2011 as an aspiration rather than a commitment. Is the coalition government starting to unravel already in a storm of semantics?
Not me, but a 176-year-old tortoise from St Helena. The Daily Telegraph report also reveals the pleasing fact that the governor of the island in the 1930s was Sir Spencer Davis.
I am at the Falcons Rugby Club in Newcastle, packed out with Lib Dems, for the Vince Cable dinner. There are double the number of people here that normally attend the North East Region AGM. So, here's my suggestion for the agenda for the next AGM: charge more and put on dinner with Vince! Quite a crowd puller.---Sent via BlackBerry
Commenting on the 1% cut in interest rates, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "This cut is both necessary and welcome. However, it will only give real benefits if passed on to borrowers and if the Government takes a more active role to ensure that the banks maintain lending to British business." Vince Cable went on to say: "Ministers must end the current...
Responding to today's European Court of Human Rights judgement that keeping DNA samples of people with no criminal convictions is a breach of their human rights, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said: "For Jacqui Smith to say she needs to consider the ruling is an insult. The judgment is totally clear, innocent people should not be made to feel like they are guilty." Nick Clegg went...
Back in September, Geoffrey Payne asked here on LDV what green activists who berate the Lib Dems expect us to do. Well, we could start by ditching our indefensible commitment to biofuel targets. Later this month, the Council of Europe and MEPs are due to approve the EU climate package, including a commitment to 10% 'renewable' fuelling of vehicles by 2020, most of which is expected to come from biofuels; 6% can be met by those from foodstuffs. Lib Dem MEPs have worked for some improvements in the package, but (along with the other largest political groupings) still support the ...
A blog that I have been reading for a month or so called Moments of Clarity needs to be brought to your attention. It is a great blog and I think you all need to check it out. I will be adding Darrell a link to the sidebar, otherwise get yourselves over to Darrell's blog and enjoy the read!
Mark Pack from LibDemVoice tweeted a couple of hours ago about how he thinks Parliament is moving towards Wordpress as their source for the website. Oooh, looks like Parliament is moving over to WordPress: http://news.parliament.uk/ Personally I am not a fan of Wordpress from the mechanical side of things but the front end reader view is better then Blogger. Wordpress might have better front end templates but it doesn't have the freedom at the back end of the mechanics that you get from blogger!
..so here's a reminder of the summer, it's easy to forget how pleasant it can be (when it's not raining/snowing/sleeting/freezing!)...
Ifran Ahmed reminds us that a blog is for life not just for Christmas. Ifran's blog is one of the many I enjoy from this blogsphere and i urge you to go over and take a look. As a fellow member of the 'election 2009 camp' i can reveal we have discussed the possibility of t-shirts. Meanwhile, sad news that Linda Jack is retiring her blog next year. I have to confess that this blog is the first one I have managed to keep going for any length of time (ie, over two weeks). I thought this might be an ...
A former firemen who is now a councillor is drawing attention to the effects of funding cuts on Cleveland Fire Brigade. Liberal Democrat Councillor John Hannon, who was elected to Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council in October, will put a motion to a Council meeting next week demanding more funds from the Government for the fire service. The Cleveland Fire Brigade received a very poor financial settlement from the Government earlier this year. The fire crews continue to provide an excellent service, but the financial pressure will continue to be a problem in the future. Councillor Hannon commented: "Just by ...
One of the select committees I attend in my exec member role is Overview and Scrutiny which took place this Tuesday just gone. To be fair its not the most "public friendly" of committees as a lot of what we talk about is process. Process is important though and a lot of my work revolves around that - not what we do as a council but how we do it if you like. We talked about Freedom of Information. A bit of a backlog on dealing with this has built up for various reasons, including someone being sick. I am ...
We await the whole story of Damien Green's adventures in information gathering and, whilst I fear that it may not be as tidy as our Conservative friends would like us to believe, my concerns at this time are with the young man really at the centre of events, Christopher Galley. If, as accused, he wilfully leaked documents with the intention of embarassing his employer and, moreover, did so to
Last week saw the second meeting of the Liverpool Commission. Its hard to explain in a nutshell what this is, but basically its an independent body which will take evidence and make recommendations re aspects of democracy in Liverpool. We are looking at things like the barriers to entry for those wanting to become a councillor (and hope for significant business sector involvement in that), support needs of councillors, motivations to stand of existing and former councillors, types of meetings etc. We are one of nine councils - exemplar councils they are called - rolling out this process although not ...
LDV has previously mentioned California's vote to ban gay marriage. The New Yorker has an article (one I find unduly rude towards Mormons' own history in making its point), suggesting Prop 8 will be the last stand for homophobia in the USA: Like a polluted swamp, anti-gay bigotry is likely to get thicker and more toxic as it dries up... This sort of sludge may or may not prove to be of some slight utility in the 2012 Republican primaries, but it is, increasingly, history ... "We believe all families matter and we do not believe in discrimination," Barb Young ...
People start blogs with the attention to give their thoughts and opinions about things on the Internet. But this post is going to concentrate on political blogs. The world of politics is a fast moving world with people making headlines all the time, this is where bloggers come in to give their comments on events. People start blogs and then stop writing for months on end, some totally don't write for years! I can accept the fact that they might be busy with other things but most just stop being interested with the world of blogging. People neglect blogs when ...
Redcar Lib Dems have a very reasonably priced calendar available for sale: This A5 black and white calendar features famous Liberals and Liberal Democrats from the past and present. It also features Liberal Democrat Conference dates, Liberal Democrat organisations, with contact details, and County days for those counties which have them. It is priced at £1 plus only 52p postage no matter how many copies you order. Click here for full information and ordering details. And keep your eyes peeled here for exciting news about Christmas merch from Lib Dem Voice.
I received the below into my inbox from a local party member. It shows how bad things are in Zimbabwe I think despite it having slipped out of the news: I reckon that these are the last days of TKM and ZPF. The darkest hour is always before dawn.We are all terrified at what they are going to destroy next........I mean they are actually ploughing down brick and mortar houses and one family with twin boys of 10 had no chance of salvaging anything when 100 riot police came in with AK47's and bulldozers and demolished their beautiful house - ...
Watch and find out:
I've got mixed feelings about this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7764416.stm Firstly, what a load of bollocks. Its a gimmick, designed to make the Council and Housing Tax support look tough. At least I hope its a gimmick that will very rarely be used! I'm quite terrified! What happens if you have a cough when you phone up? What happens if you've got palpatations, or made the mistake of phoning the Council whilst you still needed a crap? What if you're walking outside, on your mobile, up a hill and you can barely breathe? I could see the conversation going badly: Me: (panting) H-hi, ...
The BBC report that the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that South Yorkshire Police violated the human rights of two men whose DNA they kept on file, despite the fact that neither were convicted of any crimes. Now, I'm not as keen on the laws of Human Rights as some of my party colleagues, but I think in this case the 17 judges got it (unanimously) right. It cannot be right that the government wishes to run the country on the basis that at some point in the future all citizens may commit a crime, and therefore storing ...
He may not have managed to take the Henley seat, but Stephen Kearney is using his vast experience of community development to help us build this party. Tonight Bermondsey and Old Southwark Liberal Democrats have Stephen and Julia Olson as their guest speakers following their AGM (8pm at the South London Mission). During the late 1980s Stephen and Julia set up a charity that creates networks of individuals who take a role in changing the way public services are delivered and changing the priorities of politicians through social action. In 1993 they trained in Citizen Organising with Ed Chambers and ...
The party's published on www.libdems.org.uk what a selection of leading Liberal Democrats will be reading over Christmas, including Nick Clegg, Vince Cable, Ros Scott and Graham Watson. If you've got any good reading tips, the comments box awaits you ... and don't forget, the party has an Amazon deal so purchases made through this link will raise money for the party, without you being charged anything extra.
A couple of sites (Liberal Democrat Voice and Liberal Conspiracy) have now picked-up on the article on kottke.org which discusses applying the 'broken window' theory to comment moderation on blogs. It is based on a report in The Economist which says that tests have shown the theory may be correct; that signs of vandalism, litter and low-level lawbreaking could change the way people behave. However, can you apply this to online 'trolling'? Kottke feels that it does; "The appearance of one troll encourages others. Undeleted hateful or ad hominem comments are an indication that that sort of thing is allowable ...
The Guardian has the story: The European court of human rights in Strasbourg said that keeping innocent people's DNA records on a criminal register breached article eight of the Human Rights Convention, covering the right to respect for private and family life. Keeping DNA material from those who were "entitled to the presumption of innocence" as they had never been convicted of an offence carried "the risk of stigmatisation", the ruling said. Attacking the "blanket and indiscriminate nature" of the power to retain data, the judges said protections offered by article eight "would be unacceptably weakened if the use of ...
Interesting post at kottke.org about how the broken windows theory (i.e. low level crime and grot in turn encourages more serious crime) may apply to the quality of online debate: Much of the tone of discourse online is governed by the level of moderation and to what extent people are encouraged to "own" their words. When forums, message boards, and blog comment threads with more than a handful of participants are unmoderated, bad behavior follows. The appearance of one troll encourages others. Undeleted hateful or ad hominem comments are an indication that that sort of thing is allowable behavior and ...
Thu 4th
13:20
Fake phone calls, public nudity and a party saying 'don't vote for us': the Saanich-Gulf Islands con...
Although I'm not exactly a stranger to writing about US elections, I do generally feel that they get too much attention compared with those of other countries. Canadian, Australian and New Zealand elections all potentially provide many campaigning lessons, have the convenience of being heavily covered online in those countries in the English language, and indeed are really better prospects for lessons for the UK as their electoral and political systems are much more similar to Britain's than America's is. So in order to redress the balance a little, here's a pointer to a controversial Canadian election which, I suspect, ...
Following on from the lead of the UK government in having police investigate leaks of government information as a criminal matter and hence persecuting effective opposition politicians the States of Jersey have kicked off a leak inquiry and are asking police to investigate Senator Stuart Syvret over an internal memo. The odd thing about the English case is that it involves at least some
{Frustrated man} Fingerprints taken? Check. ID cards issued? Check. Scanners to actually read the cards... oops! The Home Office have admitted that official bodies will not be able to read the first ID cards to be issued in Britain. Despite saying they would provide electronic readers, the government hasn't - and has no plans to do so either! ID cards were issued last week to foreign nationals including students and those granted a visa because they are married to a British Citizen - but the cards will be no more use than existing passports and visas. (From the Observer)
I'm lying on the settee watching daytime TV and feeling very sorry for myself, having been laid low by a bout of man-flu (or what the ladies refer to as "feeling a bit under the weather"). One of the few times I'm grateful for having a hundred channels to choose from: at least I can find some vaguely-watchable 20-year-old programme instead of the totally-unwatchable crap on the main channel. Mrs Quist has kindly supplied me with paracetemol, but is otherwise neglecting her wifely role as selfless, devoted carer: my perfectly reasonable request for a bedbath was turned down, as were ...
I was, like so many people, horrified by recent events in my second city, Mumbai. It touched me particularly, given that I have family across the city, and that I have spent many happy weeks in the city over nearly forty years. Luckily, the various members of my family have checked in, and all is well. However, it was the choice of targets that was of particular poignancy. Victoria Terminus, one
The Coroners and Justice Bill may not be the most exciting sounding bit of legislation in yesterday's Queen's Speech. But it could be one of the most far-reaching. There'd been plans for a major Communications Bill that would allow the Government to track all your webuse, emails, phone calls, texts etc. That was highly controversial [...]
The Runnymede Trust has published a new report today. Entitled 'Right to Divide?' the report argues that: "Faith schools should be for the benefit of all in society rather than just the few." Consequentially, it calls for an end to faith-based selection. It is the culmination of a two year study on the impact of faith schooling on community cohesion. Contray to those who argue that faith schools do not create exclusivity it finds; "Too often, there remains a resistance to learning about other faiths when faith schools are seen as the spaces in which singular faith identities and traditions ...
Once, in 1979, Margaret Thatcher proposed a new bill of rights in the Tory manifesto. That promise was never made good upon. Similarly, when Gordon Brown became PM he used his first outing to talk about the need for a British Bill of Rights and constitutional reforms; putting power back in the hands of parliament [...]
Thu 4th
11:56
Massive Ego found in Prestwich (and the biggest surprise is that it doesn't belong to any Councillor...
Another sign of the regeneration of Prestwich this week, with the opening of the new Ego restaurant next door to Croma in the Radius building. It's a Meditteranean place, and has been joined by the new branch of Costa Coffee as a pre-Christmas boost to the local area. Take a look at the website at www.egorestaurants.com I welcome the two new arrivals to the Village. I have already popped into Costa for a slice of delicious-but-probably-incredibly-bad-for-me chocolate cake, and hope to be out in Ego before too long too. These new high-quality businesses are great for the area, and although ...
The Government's plans for new laws will do little to help hard-pressed families in Bury. The plans were outlined in the Queen's Speech but I was disappointed that the Government's announcements will do very little to help people in Bury cope with the recession. The measures given in the Queen's Speech are not enough to help people with the real problems we are now facing as Britain enters what might be a deep and long recession. We need legislation to change the way energy tariffs work to make sure people get the cheapest prices for their essential fuel and power ...
There's a competition going on to see which parks in London will get money for improvements under the "Help a London Park" scheme. One from Haringey - Lordship Recreation Ground - is up for the contest, and you can vote for it at www.london.gov.uk/parksvote/region/north/lordship.jsp My colleague Cllr Dave Winskill (Lib Dem, Crouch End) puts it very well: I have a real soft spot for Lordship Rec. Years ago, when I was student, I had a vacation job as a park keeper there and fell in love with the place. It is a real green oasis in the built up city ...
The BBC is reporting that a decision on a third runway at Heathrow has been delayed. Earlier this week I was woken at 5.40am - not by Percy (the cat) or any call of nature but by aircraft noise overhead. You don't need to live next to Heathrow to be disturbed by it. Andrew Adonis, [...]
According to The Register, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that it is illegal for the UK police to retain DNA and fingerprints of two men never convicted of any crime. The full ruling isn't available yet, but it looks like this could have major repurcussions on the Government's everyone's a suspect strategy for future crime solving.
Conservative Home have an excellent post today about how they are coming to terms with the fact that Barack Obama called David Cameron a "lightweight" whilst he was on his trip to the United Kingdom before American election! Personally I think that Obama, if he did say it has the right to because at the time his campaign was in full power so he knew what a solid campaign is. When he probably spoke to Cameron and asked about his campaign tactics, and found out he had none except pump millions of Lord Ashcroft's money into constituencies Obama was right ...
Just received the CCHQ's report compiling all the data from their Parliamentary Questions into how much public sector bodies spend on lobbying. Thought I'd give you some highlights: National Lottery Commission: £512,490 to Hill and Knowlton. In one month they actually charge them £64,000, which is unbelievable!) MET Office: £161,505 to Politics International (The MET Office are probably going to cut lots of jobs now) Crown Estate: £858,000 to Weber Shandwick Public Affairs But this has to be the biggest shocker: £990,710 paid to Fishburn Hedges by... Jobcentre Plus! The same Jobcentre Plus that until the unemployment spiked was going ...
I was present at an ad hock walk-about with an Camden Project Manager yesterday evening and on the subject of NO lighting on the entranceways to Bray, which has been a ongoing problem for many years. A resident knowing the Project Manager clearly angered at the situation, said to the officer "if you don't have temporary lights installed by the end of the next day (4/12) then I will take the matter to the local MP". The deadline set is now looming. I have had so many complaints now from residents about this Health and Safety concern that MP Glenda ...
I have just been reading an article on the Mirror's website which argues that David Cameron the Conservative Leader according to Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear) is not ready to be the Prime Minister. I couldn't disagree a single bit with what he says because Cameron is not experienced and neither is he in my eyes suitable to be a Prime Minister. I do agree with people that he has the charm, but that's all he has got and until he can show that he is best for the economy he has got no hope. Lets just look at poll results ...
Today's Independent reports that personal information detailing intimate aspects of the lives of every British citizen is to be handed over to government agencies under sweeping new powers. They say that the measure, which will give ministers the right to allow all public bodies to exchange sensitive data with each other, is expected to be rushed through Parliament in a Bill to be published tomorrow. As a result, ministers could authorise the swapping of information between councils, the police, NHS trusts, the Inland Revenue, education authorities, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, the Department for Work and Pensions and other ...
Conservative Home seems awfully concerned about this question this morning. It reports on a, as yet unpublished, article in the New Statesman in which James McIntyre suggests: "On meeting Cameron, Obama was, according to diplomatic sources, "distinctly unimpressed", contrary to some reports (excitedly spun by the Conservatives) which suggested that the two men had formed an instant "bond". Instead, I have been told, Obama exclaimed of Cameron after their meeting: "What a lightweight!" He apparently also asked officials about Tory Euroscepticism. Soon, word about the rather awkward encounter between the two self-professed candidates of change made its way quietly round ...
I am not in Cowley St today. Instead, I have just struggled across London on the rush hour Tube to get to Kings Cross. I rarely travel on the Tube in rush hour and I had forgotten how bad it is. I pity those who have to do it everyday. Anyway, I am on the train to Newcastle now, just waiting to leave KX. I am heading home early as Vince Cable is speaking tonight at the Newcastle local party
It is now eight days since I was told that Neil Trafford had died, and to be honest, I'm still struggling with the news. I have made a few comments in other places but have found it quite difficult to write a full post. I think I first met Neil in about 1994 when he was getting involved in the Lib Dem Youth & Students, who I then worked for. I have known him ever since as he worked in his various roles in the party and particularly these last few years as he worked as North West Campaigns Officer. ...
Thu 4th
08:51
"You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately ... Depart, I say; and let us have do...
Could anyone fail to be disgruntled, disappointed, disillusioned, dismayed by the dismal, disingenuous disaster that is Michael Martin ? I watched with incredulity this inadequate man's sad statement yesterday. No apology. No acknowledgment of his own duty or his failure to perform it. In true New Labour style he tried to pass the buck to others, the Sergeant-at-Arms or the police. Note
While Damian Green is enjoying an unexpected period of celebrity, it is time to remind readers of the time that he was thrown into the Cherwell by Dominic Grieve.
Luddites may wish to mutter, "Really, why didn't he just take two steps forward instead of doing this?" PS Eagle-eyed viewers will notice the absence of a hashtag too {:-)}
Apparently the Rev I.M. Salmond First Minister to the new kirk of Holyrood wants a year's supply of Lucozade™ for Christmas. Well this does raise the questions is that in bottles or cans? How many bottles/cans does he get through in a day? What capacity bottle (if bottle is preferred option) does he use? Also does his dentist know he drinks this many sugary drinks on a daily/yearly basis? And if so, what has the First Minister's dentist got the say about it? I follow commend Scottish Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott's wish on this wish list, though it will ...
Before Ros and I left for Madeira, I published my thoughts on the Parliamentary Candidates Association, and what it should do. These led to a fairly robust exchange of views between myself and Martin Turner, the PCA Chair, most of which has taken place off-line. I will not bore you with the detail, suffice to say that I have offered Martin a platform to espouse the work that the organisation is
Whatever thoughts crossed my mind that weren't worth a whole post. 20:55 is very happy with developments in Canadia. Go parliamentary democracy how it's supposed to work. #Microblogging using LoudTwitter and Twitter. matgb_twitter is there if you're mad enough.
The front cover of the Bexley News Shopper reports: UP to 2,000 vulnerable people who were receiving their home care through Bexley Council are likely to have their help withdrawn. The figure is revealed in a report from the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) on council adult care in England and Wales. And Bexley, which has achieved the top ranking three-star status since 2002, was one
Have you heard that the favourite newspaper of Wet Liberals everywhere, the Independent, is moving house? They can't afford their posh offices in Docklands any more, so they are going to move in on an office share basis with The Daily Fail; which is to say, The Fail own lots of office space, and the Indy are going to rent some of it off them. Now, while in theory, what this means is an hilarious Odd Couple-esque comedy of flatshare errors with a pleasantly saccharine ending, what this ACTUALLY means, as xiv_gemina so rightly points out, is that every time ...
I recieved an email today from a Sidcup resident asking if I would be raising the issue that James Brokenshire, the Conservative candidate for Old Bexley & Sidcup, is (to use their capitalisation) a CARPETBAGGER. Mr Brokenshire hopes to replace disgraced Conservative MP Derek Conway at the next General Election. Essex man Brokenshire was hunting for a seat to replace his present Essex
I posted a comment on ConservativeHome today, their thread about job cuts at CCHQ. It was a nice comment. I said that, though those losing their jobs are political opponents, I genuinely sympathise. But of course the crunch hits political parties as much as anybody else. But ConservativeHome never publishes my comments (well not when I say who I am), bit pathetic really, especially as I was
I don't know about you, but I often wonder why there is so much talk about the price of alcohol and no comment whatever on the price of soft drinks... The Pre-Budget Report heralded, among other things, increases in duty on alcohol and tobacco. We see in the press - both local and national - report [...]
Back from a meeting of Haringey's Lib Dem council group, where there was absolute fury over the Haringey council meeting to take place next Tuesday to elect a new leader for the borough. This is because the the two people now running the Council, Labour's Lorna Reith and Claire Kober, have refused to allow requests for any items at all about baby P, or the devastating report issued on Monday that provoked the suspensions and resignation of the Labour leader of the Council. The out-of-touch audacity of the people still in charge is incredible. I opened my council summons at ...
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I will link to this posting by Iain Dale with just one comment. What else do you expect from that bunch of unreconstructed Thatcherites?
