When I were a lass, I dreamed of being Rumpole of the Bailey. Not the moustache and the small cigars and the nagging wife, but the impeccably liberal and just junior barrister who fought against the system to prevent it trampling over the harmless who happened to get caught in its path. I admired Leo McKern's irascible yet lovable performance, and Rumpole instilled in me a fascination with the law. Fast forward a few years. I'm an undergrad law student at Hull uni, and there's a trip to Lincoln's Inn for those of us planning on going to the bar. ...
I was disappointed to learn that our local girls selective school is proposing to change its admissions policy so that local girls who pass the entrance exam no longer get priority over girls from outside the borough. I have heard from many local parents who are concerned that they are unable to get places in all types of [...]
USA - land of the free? Free to sack people if you're Gay!
Tonight at midnight, BBC4 brings us The New Avengers' puntastic The Tale of the Big Why, which I'd not seen for ages but which, in one of the joys of writing these reviews, I watched again today and thoroughly enjoyed. Although it has a surprising amount in common with last week's disappointing episode, it's both much more exciting and much more laid back; in short, much more Avengers. It looks great, it keeps you guessing with plenty of dodgy characters (a young Roy Marsden, a crooked Tory councillor...), and Steed, Purdey and even Gambit all come out of it superbly. ...
Normally at this point I would be on a train heading home to Gateshead but not tonight. I am in London over the weekend to do photos with Nick Clegg at a one day conference at the LSE. So I am in Crystal Palace now, instead of being on a train. So to fill in the evening, I am out for dinner in a new restaurant in the Crystal Palace Triangle called the Yak and Yeti. Well worth going to. The only
For those of you able to watch BBC Parliament, I'll be appearing on tonight's The Record Review (11pm, 12.30am, 5am etc) reporting back on this week's first PMQs of 2009. For those of you, like me, who can't get BBC Parliament on your telly, it's available on iPlayer here after transmission. And it may only be a few minutes long, but, believe me, it took over an hour standing in the freezing cold to film.
Superb track from Patti Austin - and not to be found, as yet, on YouTube.
First, Willie Walsh, on QT last night saying the next TWO years will be tough Second, Robert Peston said `every company I talk to has either laid people off or is planning to` For the `Labour helps the poor crowd` Unemployment can do for Labour what Iraq did with these people. It's now a credibility race between [...]
Fri 16th
21:43
Why Mr Churchill Is A Better Prime Minister Than Mr Brown (Number 5069 in a Series of Eight Million)
Watching tonight's QI, in which Mr Stephen Fry has been visibly straining (and failing) not to mock Pam Ayres, there was a discussion of bearskins - you know, the big, stiff, furry things associated with a guardsman and head. Anyway, the conversation turned to the remarkable number of guardsmen caught in thoroughly interesting positions in the 1950s. Apparently, one morning Winston Churchill was woken by a Prime Ministerial aide, who nervously informed him that a backbench MP had been arrested in the bushes with a guardsman, and that the newspapers had got hold of it (as, presumably, had the soldier). ...
Alix's highlighted the creation of an unmoderated version of what I like to think of as Labour's "Get your 2 minutes hate here!" blog, Labourlist. It's become clear it's nothing but an outlet for the very lowest form of propaganda, freed from tyranny of journalistic analysis. And, now, of course, freed from the tyranny of the blogosphere thanks to their very Labourish comments policies. So in comes Labourist.org, a site that takes the syndicated content (permitted by the site's terms and conditions) and hosts them in an unmoderated forum. That's actually better designed and works better than Labourlist.org. A quick ...
Good to see the Welsh standing up for the people with the annoying neighbour.
There will be a short test at the end. Posit. I am Derek Draper. I am tasked with setting up a blog for the Labour party, a blog which will have the professionalism of Conservativehome and the authentic grassroots flavour of Lib Dem Voice, a blog which will challenge the contention that the left has run out [...]
John Mortimer, who has died at the age of 85, was one of my early heroes. In his regular appearances on Any Questions he personified a civilised approach to life that was rarely encountered in the Market Harborough of the 1970s. On the BBC website his biographer Valerie Grove contributes a personal memoir. And, for the Guardian, Geoffrey Robertson suggests: Rumpole helped the public - and the bar - to understand that the need to protect the liberty of the subject is the main justification for the profession, and certainly for its independence.As ever, the best obituary is in the ...
Mark Pack has got a must read post in which he points us towards Labourist a website that will have the same content as LabourList but will not have the comment management that is on Draper's site. I don't know who come up with the idea but its gold! I am thinking of using this idea in the future for blogs that are run by politicians but don't offer comments!
Inspired? Bizarre? Welcome embrace of the relaxed approach to reusing content that Web 2.0 should in part be about? Or the sort of stuff that gives political blogging a bad name? You decide... Derek Draper's LabourList site has come in for a fair amount of plaudits and brickbats, which given his controversial Labour history and the site's high profile PR campaign is perhaps no surprise. In amongst these arguments have been comments about its moderating style. And so, enter Labourist (note the missing L), which was mentioned in a comment posted here: A grassroots alternative to LabourList has launched today. ...
My first Liberal Democrat News column of 2009. Absent friends You have to keep up in this game. A few months ago David Miliband was the great hope of the Labour Party. Respectful profiles appeared in all the newspapers. He issued carefully worded statements of support for Gordon Brown that fell just short of giving him support. Then he was photographed holding a banana and it all fell apart. Too young, they said. Lightweight. A silly face. Now the smart money is on to his brother Ed. He has the better intellect, doesn't have a silly face (though he does ...
The by-election is over. It was yesterday, in Seven Sisters, so I hope to have more time to blog again. Labour won (just) with the Tories second and David Schmitz for the Lib Dems third -but with a big increase in our vote. The dynamics of this election were one of the most interesting we've had in Haringey. The Tories were able to mobilise large numbers of voters in the Orthodox Jewish community to support their candidate from that area, in the south eastern part, largely through a campaign to sign up postal voters. Elsewhere in Seven Sisters, they seemed ...
Over at the New Statesman, Lynne Featherstone, recently-appointed Chair of the Lib Dems' New Technology Board, reveals her attitude to politics on the web. You can read it in full here, but here's an excerpt: I'm quite taken at the moment with a quote from the American writer Clay Shirky, which makes this last point in a slightly different way: "The revolution doesn't happen when society adopts new tools. It happens when society adopts new behaviours." In a way, it's an explanation of why my website and blog (finally about to get a much needed overhaul) haven't been changed much ...
The Dundee Library and Information Services website was redesigned recently and is well worth a visit - click on the headline above to view more. The site has lots of useful information about the city's libraries, including a page about Blackness Library at : http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/library/blackness.
I have joint forces with loads of different people and bought a plot to stop the airport from being built. If you want to buy a plot then head over to the Greenpeace website and get one now, they are free and they won't cost you a penny (can't get better then that) unless you want to donate to the cause of Greenpeace but that's up to you! {Airplot - i am an owner}
Lynne Featherstone has written an excellent article for the New Statesman about Politics and the Internet and I think you all need to read it. She talks about how nearly ten years ago she had her first website on the Internet running, which is surprising! Lynne in her article talks about how she is thinking of moving to the professional looking Wordpress to host her blog, I don't understand why people are against Blogger so much, its free, easy to use and convenient. You can't get better then that, people use Typepad and use the default URL which always makes ...
What an organiser writes bout the event they are organising says a lot about them and how they view their audiance. Consider the break-out session at tomorrow's One Day Policy Conference being run by the Liberal Democrat European Parliamentary Party entitled The European Dimension. Unlike the other five sessions, which set out the broad parameters of the issue they would seek to discuss and then propose some questions, the description of The European Dimension consists of a very long paragraph extolling the virtues of the European Union. This seems to be a case of preaching to the converted at a ...
Today I have to say without a doubt the best MEP at this moment in time that represents the North West of England is Chris Davies MEP. He has made a smashing speech in Parliament about what he has seen on his trip to Gaza. International Journalists have not entered the troubled area but the blogging MEP Chris Davies has, this is just one example of the Blogospere beating the main stream media. Chris is the best MEP and I urge him to continue with all the work he is doing, a person can not have a better MEP representing ...
Fri 16th
17:15
Opinion: We should not be offended by keeping our noses out of other people's business
Last weekend's media was dominated by the earth shattering news that Prince Harry called a fellow soldier in the Pakistani army a "Paki". The press have hounded him, people have accused him of racism, and the soldier's father has spoken of his offence too. As if this "race row" wasn't enough to shock you to your very core, we learn that Prince Charles has been calling an Asian friend of his, Kuldip (Anglicised to Kolin in some reports) Dhillon, "Sooty" as a nickname for years without anyone taking offence at it. As a society, we British are offended way too ...
During the week Peter Wardle, the Electoral Commission's Chief Executive, gave a speech to local government chief executives about how elections are run in this country. He both had nice things to say about political parties and threw a few barbed comments in the direction of the Government. First, the niceness: We're very conscious indeed that without effective political parties and candidates, politics can't get off first base. We're very conscious that the vast majority of those who get involved with election campaigns are volunteers - they do it because they care, and they do it on top of all ...
A wooden house so well insulated that it will have no need for a boiler is to be built in Camden following a decision last night by the Council's Planning Committee. The designers - bere:architects - are seeking to achieve PassivHaus standard which basically means the warmth of human bodies should be sufficient to heat the building. This is primarily achieved by using thick, super-insulated walls and triple-glazed windows. Thousands of homes in Germany and Scandinavia are built to PassivHaus standard but there are none in the UK so far. This is really exciting. If this house (see design above) ...
Three programmes, one passed, two upcoming, on the Beeb's spoken word channel might be of interest to our readers. Yesterday's In Our Time covered Henry Thoreau - the American philosopher and naturalist previously discussed here on the Voice in one of our extracts from the Dictionary of Liberal Thought. In Our Time is one of very few Radio 4 programmes where past programmes are available in perpetuity. Currently the link is here. Happily More or Less, a half-hour programme discussing the maths and statistics currently making the news, is another of those programmes where they leave previous editions available. Sunday's ...
Commenting on the Conservative energy proposals unveiled by David Cameron today, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said: "This announcement is like David Cameron riding his bike, but what is important is what is in the car behind him." "In there we find a Conservative Party that despite all its rhetoric will dodge a vote on Heathrow's third runway; that supports...
Yesterday I joined thousands of others in becoming one of the "beneficial owners" of a plot of land acquired by Greenpeace right where Heathrow's runway 3 wants to be. You may have seen it discussed on Question Time last night where they had British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh on the panel. Last night as I was watching the show somebody brought up the fact that runway three would add to Heathrow's carbon footprint more than the carbon footprint of the entire carbon footprint of Kenya. Mr Walsh retorted that many people has said that to him but nobody had ...
My thoughts on how the Liberal Democrats should approach the online elements of the next general election are up on the New Statesman blog: Later this year will be the 10th anniversary of my first website: a dozen or so static HTML files, livened up with an animated graphic and a Javascript quiz - a little bit of interactivity even back then! Looking at how my use of the internet for politics since then has multiplied - emails, blogs, more emails, Facebook, yet more emails, Twitter, even more emails, an experiment with Bebo, and yet more emails - I would ...
Complaints have been made to Bath & North East Somerset Council today concerning the condition of the land at the Bottom of Shophouse Road in Twerton. The land has been in a deralict state for some time now and as it is in Private ownership we have asked that enforcement action is taken against the owner to have the site cleared up and any fly tipping removed. ...
The announcement that there will be an exemption from the Freedom of Information Act for Members of the House of Commons is a disappointment, albeit it an expected one. Given the comments of John Spellar last year, when the Speaker's Conference was set up, I never expected MP's to 'come quietly'. However, I am surprised and disappointed that they have so badly misjudged public opinion. At a time
Here's my latest column from the Ham & High: {A mobile phone} ET demonstrated a really human need - which given he was an alien and also not real perhaps makes the point even stronger. What did ET want to do most? Phone home! Nowhere is that need to speak to loved ones stronger than in hospital when you are ill - or even if you are not ill and have had something delightful like having a baby. We all want to phone home - or to use another vernacular - phone a friend. So it always seemed particularly cruel ...
You learn something new everyday. Today I realised there was a community of people who blog about blogging. Take this man, for example. Or this bloke. It has this weird, self-referential quality that I can only describe as depressingly postmodern. Why blog about knitting, cats, Gaza or British politics when you can write about the act of blogging? You can even twitter about twittering. Or blog
I submitted a statement to Bath & North East Somerset Councils executive on 14th January concerning Nursery provision in the Twerton area that our Conservative council has tinkered with and caused so many problems in our local area. The statement that I issued is provided below what stunned a few of us present was that their was no response from the Conservative cabinet members...
Here's a press releast about the budget in Liverpool •Liverpool City Council unveils budget for 2009/10 •£4.8 million in additional spending to improve life for residents •Extra cash for culture, schools and tackling crime •New Environmental Enforcement team to tackle litter, dumping and graffiti and dereliction. LIVERPOOL has unveiled its budget for the next financial year. The proposals - which will see council tax bills increase by 4.45 percent or 71 pence per week for most residents (1) - includes an extra £4.8 million of additional investment to improve key services and create safer neighbourhoods. The extra funds include: •An ...
Had a quick briefing earlier this week with reps from the PCT about the plans, specifically building plans, for Garston Hospital (really Sir Alfred Jones Memorial Hospital). It's a tricky issue as there are a lot of people, myself included, attached to the building given its history and prominent position. Work is going on to incorporate as much history as possible into the building, but I still have reservations. The hospital is actually not in my ward but its part of the wider Garston area and there is a lot of affection in the wider community so I am very ...
I went to a briefing yesterday for councillors about the work of the City Council's Alcohol and Tobacco Unit (which is part of Trading Standards). I must admit my first reaction when hearing about counterfeit tobacco was to think "so what"? What do I care after all if Benson and Hedges lose a bit of profit. But the sale of this stuff in Liverpool (and apparently lots is brought in) is doing all sorts of real and potential harm. Firstly when the government put up the legal age for buying cigarettes there was an unintended consequence which is that those ...
Some guy from an Indian call centre cold-called me and tried to sell me mobile broadband (special New Year offer). I always try and be polite and not waste their time, so after his quick initial spiel I started with the "thank you very much, but I'm not interested" but he kept interjecting with "Do you not think this is a good deal Sir?" and "Why would you not take this good deal Sir?" When I eventually put the phone down, I was annoyed with this hectoring tone but then I got an email from Virgin Wine... Before Christmas, I ...
If you had children under sixteen living with you in the tax year starting April 2002, then you may be owed some money - but you only have until the end of January to claim it. You are entitled to more if a child was born that period. Shadow Secretary for Work and Pensions Prof Steve Webb MP has all the details, if you need more information.
Fri 16th
13:27
Heathrow: proof that the middle classes are pandered to by politicians and media alike?
Whilst the attention of the media and politicians is on Heathrow, something is stirring in East London. When I first got involved in international youth politics, nearly twenty years ago, I discovered what I thought was a little gem, London City Airport, a new stolport (short take-off, landing) built on the east side of the new Docklands development. With ten minute check-in, business class
Margaret Beckett MP is riding around in a Range Rover according to what Iain Dale has seen, personally I agree with Iain; why should ministers be allowed to drive around in Range Rovers. Fair enough they need prestigious cars but can't they use cars that are a little less damaging to the environment. The government talks about how they are doing best for the people how will they be able to do that if they are trying to kill the planet by giving each minister a Range Rover. If people don't speak out about this Range Rover business then other ...
I'm a bit torn. Well, not really. I think the driver has every right not to drive this bus, with the atheist banner on. If it really upsets him, then he shouldn't be subjected to seeing it every time he goes to work. Now, whether or not he should be upset by the banner is another issue. But its up to him, how he approaches his religion. And if he will never brook any disagreement about it, then similarly, he's also entitled to that view. It does raise an interesting point, though. How far can it be taken? Are Christians ...
Forest of Dean DC, Newent Central Con 306 (49.2; +6.5) No Description 166 (26.7; -13.5) Lab 96 (15.4; -1.7) No Description 54 (8.7; +8.7) Majority 140 Turnout 22% Con hold Percentage change is since May 2007 Haringey LBC, Seven Sisters Lab 1032 (37.1; -9.3) Con 968 (34.8; +7.0) LD David Schmitz 581 (20.9; +8.1) Green 166 (6.0; -7.1) Ind 36 (1.3; +1.3) Majority 64 Turnout 31.1% Lab hold
The Open Rights Group have produced this fab video. Take five minutes to watch and then lobby your MEPs: See also: www.soundcopyright.eu
My absorption into the 21st Century has taken a big step forward as I've signed up to Twitter. When I first heard about it, it sounded to me like a dubious form of stalking, but Stephen Fry assured me otherwise. So here goes. Anyone who wants to follow what I'm up to on the campaign [...]
Is it me or is there b*gger all going on at the moment? Sure, the government is planning a third runway at Heathrow. And, er, we're against it, so that's that. Some a**e picked up the Mace in Parliament to try to make a point of some kind. He didn't: all we got was a picture of an a**e grasping the Mace. The economy seems to be sliding on downwards rather than in freefall but we've done the crisis now and moved on, so we can all go to Hell in a handcart pushed by Gordon and Alastair, as long ...
Beddington Lane Regeneration Scheme Meeting I met with Paul Blunt Traffic & Highways Works Manager & Russell Troup the senior project engineer to discuss proposed works for the Beddington Lane area. Beddington Lane is in serious need of improvements to maintain its status as an important industrial location. There have been some drainage issues which need addressing specifically. [...]
The battles waged by our troops are part of a broader struggle between two dramatically different systems. Under one, a small band of fanatics demands total obedience to an oppressive ideology, condemns women to subservience, and marks unbelievers for murder. And the other is Al-Qaeda.
I've signed up to be a "beneficial owner" of a plot of land on the site of the proposed third runway at Heathrow. (You can do the same, via Greenpeace.) It's here in the village of Sipson, which the government would like to flatten and replace with tarmac. This will be devastating, not only to the community of 700 homes, businesses and a school, but to the natural environment. The effects will be felt far beyond West London. Here in Redbridge, the Ilford Recorder reports: "Planes could be roaring over Redbridge at levels lower than ever before, if ministers back ...
My wife has found my mobile phone, lost one evening just after Christmas somewhere in my house. I was distraught and searched well into the night as we flew to Marrakech the following morning for a holiday, It was in a bag of flour in our 'larder'. "I know exactly what you have done," she informs me. "It would have been in your top pocket. You leant over to pick up (another?) bottle of wine...." But in the meantime my office has insisted that I modernise my communication abilities by getting a bit of kit that allows me to log ...
Conservatives for International Travel have applauded the government for their decision in creating a third runway at Heathrow Airport. Personally I am against the decision because I think it is environmentally bad and it is going to be a negative impact to the constituency in which it will be built. Schools, houses and green land will get destroyed just to build this runway and I think the government are making a big mistake with it, What will David Cameron have to say about the Conservatives for International Travel supporting Mr Brown?
First Capital Connect are consulting! Be afraid - be very afraid! They are proposing to reduce their ticket office times - very significantly - with: 53 hours reduction a week at Alexandra 26 at Harringay 29 at Hornsey 4 at Bowes Park This is just diabolical. The point of staffing on a ticket office is not only about selling tickets - it's about safety. And that is a key issue in terms of getting people onto public transport and making them feel safe. CCTV cameras may identify a criminal - but they won't run to anyone's rescue. These are serious ...
Yesterday I met Councillor Darren Reynolds a blog reader at a ItsOurNHS meeting, it was the first time I met Darren but I have to say he is a pleasure to meet. Everyone I meet who reads the blog enjoys it and I think that's something that keeps me writing it!
Fred Knight, Labour Councillor for decades died in November after a long and honourable service to this borough. The by-election polled yesterday. The ward, Seven Sisters, was in traditional Labour heartlands in Tottenham - but we still doubled our vote with a swing of around 10% from Labour to us. That's a swing that would see us very comfortably into control of Haringey Council when the local elections come in 2010. Good too to see turnout up a little on the last elections - unusual for a by-election, and higher turnouts are good for a healthy democracy. 1,032 - 37% ...
This is a link to the National Autistic Society where you can read their statement about Gary McKinnon, a man with Asperger's syndrome, appealing over extradition to the USA. Please read and I hope, support the call for this man to stand trial in the UK. Worrying article in the Times about how the new runway at Heathrow could be built five years earlier to avoid effective opposition to the planning. I was looking for something lighthearted to finish this with, it nearly being the weekend and all. But I guess it's not that kind of day. The cat's just ...
Friday: New York: and HEROIC Captain Chesley Sullenberger proves that you don't need a third runway. Meanwhile, London: and Mayor Boris the Clown swears to fight the third runway all the way... ...am I the only one who sees Runway Three rearing up, Mothra-like, and roaring at the City only for Godzilla-sized Bojo to come blundering into battle: "I... I... I... blimey! Gosh, that's bit fierce! I... oops, crikey! I've squished Camden..." Maybe not. Anyway, Secretary of State for CATTLE CLASS, Mr "Buff" Hoon, announced that we will be having a third runway no matter what anyone else thinks because ...
Okay, Premiership footballers get paid stonking amounts but all this fuss surrounding Kaka is just crazy. Have AC Milan, Manchester City and Sheikh Mansour not realised there is a recession and major economic crisis going on at the moment? It is reported that Manchester City have offered £107million for Kaka, plus, yes PLUS a further £31million for his representatives! His salary is then being reported as £500,000 per week which equates to £2,976 per hour! No one, and I mean no one should be paid that and no one is worth that. ------------------
I took refuge within Saint Tel of Limerick's "Head in the sand" club on Radio 2 this morning. (Recession? Phah! Let's listen to Rupert Holmes' "Pina Colada Song"). A listener wrote in with this report of a sign on the back of a baker's van in Yorkshire: No pies are kept in this van overnight
Fri 16th
09:54Vince condemns "long, shabby and disreputable treatment" of Equitable Life policy-holders
From today's Times: One million savers were given an apology — but no promise of early compensation — when the Treasury issued its long-delayed response to the verdict that regulators were partly responsible for the near-collapse of Equitable Life. Although the Treasury confirmed an ex-gratia scheme yesterday, campaigners and MPs condemned proposals to means-test payments. There was anger, also, at the Treasury's admission that it could take "significantly longer" than two and a half years before any cash is paid out. Ministers were accused of using "dirty tricks" to put off payments until after the next election. Justifying the delay, ...
I am now the proud co-owner of a plot of land in Sipson village, Hillingdon. No I'm not planning to move. But there is now a corner of west London that is for ever Islington. I've signed up to be a beneficial owner of this field in the path of the proposed 3rd Heathrow runway, [...]
Yesterday Labour's transport secretary Geoff Hoon announced to the House of Commons that the Government was giving the go-ahead to the expansion of Heathrow airport. The Tories are officially opposing the new third runway, though there are many splits in their ranks, from shadow cabinet members and Tory MPs, to Tory bloggers, to Oliver Dowden, their Director of Political Operations. Lib Dem opposition is wholehearted, embracing both those who believe the Heathrow business case is fundamentally flawed, as well as those who point to the environmental destruction that will result. Lib Dem shadow transport secretary Norman Baker and Susan - ...
I have so much respect for these protestors who have refused to serve in the IDF. There's some insightful moments - one talks of how they are brought up to serve in the IDF from an early age, another talks of how he was told to leave morality at home when in the army and how [...]
During the US election campaign, Conservative blogger Iain Dale spent a long time with his head in sand over issues of Sarah Palin's competence and suitability. He posted endless ludicrous defences of her despite overwhelming evidence of her lunacy in the way that only blind partisans can. Eventually the reality-rhetoric gap (TM LibCync 2008, oh I've just googled the phrase and see that I'm not in any way original) got too much and he eventually admitted that she hadn't been a good choice (and went for Obama). On Israel, Dale has again been blindly pushing Israel's line in spite of ...
I am going to make an exception to my usual style and begin this post by agreeing with the Welsh Affairs Committee. They have produced a report that accuses Whitehall officials of "forgetting" about Wales. They also argue that a breakdown in communications between Cardiff Bay and Whitehall over skills training has left key employers scratching their heads. They believe that neither side has taken enough notice of policies on the opposite side of the border. This was the theme of a debate tabled by the Welsh Liberal Democrats last year when we argued that the One Wales Government's obsession ...
This morning I signed up to become the beneficial owner of that piece of land near Heathrow which some clever people bought to try to scupper the third runway. To my husband, in case he stumbles upon this, it didn't cost anything, don't panic. If you feel as strongly as I do that this is an expansion way too far and flies in the face of everything we're supposed to be doing about climate change, do join up too. LibDig This!
Here is Surgeon Lieut.-Commander Bennett, as Hansard calls him, speaking in the Commons on 11 May 1951: I am informed in another answer which I received today, that to build the aerodrome at Heathrow, 57 houses have had to be demolished. The further runways north of the Bath Road may involve the demolition of some 600 residential properties and a further 150 properties may have to be demolished for the final stage of development. That is, 800 houses have to go to make this one airport. I will not say any more about that. We need not be so sanguine ...
In December, David Heath, Liberal Democrat MP for Somerton & Frome, won second place in the annual ballot for private members bills. As a result of finishing so high in the ballot, David Heath is guaranteed time for a bill to be debated in the House of Commons. This week he announced that he will be bringing forward a bill on ending fuel poverty. The Fuel Poverty Bill will bring in two measures: A major energy efficiency programme to bring existing homes up to the current energy efficiency levels enjoyed by modern homes. Social tariffs to limit vulnerable households' exposure ...
Here we are on Haverstock Hill - in fact just outside the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency boundaries but well within the remit of this blog. The Haverstock Arms http://thehaverstockarms.com/ Should I be slightly aghast at the reinventions as 'The Havers'? The mural is pretty famous and much admired - it was painted in 1983 (1984?) by John Murray. John is a pretty famous character all of his own and there is a really fond, interesting and full website dedicated to him, his life and work: http://www.johnmurrayartist.co.uk/index.htm This site also details the book Pub Signs by Paul Corballis which features this ...
Aviation expert David Learmount, on GMTV, pointed out the obvious. The New York plane crash was, probably, caused by a flock of Canada Geese going into the engines of the plane. Birds like estuaries. So the idea of putting an airport on an estuary is "in aviation terms, bonkers", says Learmont. You'd get planes going down like flies as the birds whizz into the engines. After all, the birds have
Today is a great day for Tavish Scott, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in the media because his principled stand against the First Minister, Alex Salmond has now been proven right. It appears wee Eck wasn't entirely honest in First Ministers Questions on Wednesday 7th January when answering Tavish Scott about the funding of the Inter Faith Council. The story is carried on the front pages of many of the national newspapers today - The Scotsman, The Daily Telegraph and The Times are the three I have read so far (plus an apology from Alan Cochrane in The Daily ...
In today's Times three top military brass including Field Marshall Lord Bramall and two retired generals - write that Trident is - to summarise - dangerous, expensive and useless. "Our independent deterrent has become virtually irrelevant except in the context of domestic politics," they write. This is the fundamental political point, but Labour and the Tories cannot deliver sensible policy because they are trapped in their self-imposed imperative to talk tough. Outside the Palace of Westminster reality has broken through. Inside, when will it? Which party will be first to break ranks and acknowledge the facts? Lib Dem MPs, are ...
Local people may have read this week of the latest Tory errorin administering the Job Evaluation process. I've certainly written about it on here, and now there are calls for the Leader of the Council to step down as staff morale plummets to new lows. Apart from the heartache being felt by staff, and the embarrassment felt by anyone outside of the Conservatives involved in Bury politics, this fiasco has marked the latest in a long line of problems involving letters sent out and then swiftly recalled or dropped. I wrote about this earlier in the week, noting how the ...
Read him at The Real Blog: This is a No Pasaran moment for the green movement, shared by an extraordinary cross-section of society who believe there has to be a limit to what we sacrifice on the altar of wrong-headed progress. That there has to be a limit to the appeasement of those corporate interests that believe with so little evidence that the decision will benefit London, the economy, the jobless or anything else. The destruction of whole villages, twelfth century churches, the peace of great swathes of London, the sight of elderly ladies bundled into police vans: it will ...
The list of lasts for George W. Bush is diminishing steadily and we are now down to four days before he leaves office. His final press conference was of a piece with his conduct in office- no regrets and no explanations. However in in his valedictory he continues to demonstrate just how unfit a President he has been. His comment on upholding the moral authority of the United States was surely designed to do no more than raise a cynical laugh: this was after all the President who presided over Abu Graib and Guantanamo, who prosecuted an illegal war and ...
We have a new and, I hope, regular feature on You Tube - Tavish.TV. Here, Tavish talks about exactly why it's important for the whole credibility of the Parliament for Alex Salmond to get his facts right before he opens his gob. LibDig This!
Greenpeace have bought a plot of land right by where the proposed third runway would be at Heathrow. They are splitting this piece of land between 'beneficiary owners' who don't have to pay anything but will be signing up to show support. I've signed up - as have Susan Kramer MP, Jo Swinson MP, Lynne Featherstone MP, Sandra Gidley MP and Simon Hughes MP - as have thousands of others. So if you're interested and want to help stop Gordon Brown's Government embarking on this absolutely stupid decision to build a 3rd runway at Heathrow, visit the Greenpeace site. I ...
Liberal Revolution points us to this story about Stan Lee creating the "world's first gay superhero." Here we go again. A few years ago the characters Apollo and Midnighter from The Authority were declared as the world's first superheroes (how about this for a lamentable headline: However, the media only noticed two years after the series had been running - and then only because of a censorship row. Back in 1986, Watchmen - the film version of which (court case notwithstanding) is likely to be out on general release a long time before Stan Lee's effort gets filmed - ...
The British Foreign Secretary (Minister), David Miliband, has at last admitted what the majority of the British public has known for several years: that the so-called 'War on Terror' was wrong. As he wrote in an article in the 'Guardian' yesterday, 'Since 9/11, the notion of a "war on terror" has defined the terrain. The phrase [...]
After my first article was accepted for publication late last year, Pharmaceutical residues in wastewater treatment works effluents and their impact on receiving river water in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, I have since had my first first-author publication accepted, A comparison of three analytical techniques for the measurement of steroidal estrogens in environmental water samples published in the analytical chemistry journal, Talanta. However, although they've been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication, they're currently being prepared by the publishers, which can take a few weeks - but as soon as they're ready, I'll upload them.
Say someone posts a poll you like the look of on LJ. You'd like to post the same poll on YOUR LJ, but you can't be bothered coding it. How do you resolve this? Well, you note down the poll number at the top of the poll, and then you post an entry in which you type, somewhere (for example) <lj-poll-1331922> This would get you the following result: View Poll: Ricardo Montalbán Why, no, I am not poking gentle fun at my dear friend, the Honourable Lady Mark. Not in the slightest.
I've been meaning to get around to reading The Graveyard Book for a while now, and I decided that I would start it tonight. I ran a bath, dropped in a Vanilla Fountain, and got in. A bit later, I topped up the hot water. And again. I finished it three hours later, and washed my hair with salty cheeks. All too soon I shall know how Mrs Owens felt at the end of the book for myself. I'm not looking forward to it. And yet, oddly, I am. Bravo, GNeil. Bravo.
In an interesting post, Christian blogger Graham Weeks reveals that he's is ashamed to be English. The source of his shame? Social scientists have apparently "named [Britain] the most promiscuous major industrial nation based on the 'international sociosexuality index,' which measures attitudes toward one-night stands, casual sex and numbers of partners." OK, so Brits might be having lots of fun and, as a society, doing better than other countries in empowering women to enjoy sex without labelling them sluts and whores, but Graham worries that the price is too high. Our attitude to sex, he says, has seen more abortions, ...
No it's a Gay Super Man! One now has to ask `How excited is Millennium Elephant's Daddy Alex?`
The fairy-tale Grimm Reality and The Adventuress of Henrietta Street's complex histories are among Paul McGann's best books - and it's 'new millennium, new ranges', including the DVD releases starting in earnest; Occam's Razor, first of the intelligent, dangerous Kaldor City CDs; and Billy novella Time and Relative. Perhaps most excitingly (not ignoring Peter's and Colin's fabulous Loups-Garoux and The One Doctor), Big Finish relaunch Paul with Storm Warning, then visit... The Stones of Venice "I don't carry weapons. I don't need them. But I must say, I think you treat your visitors here in a very shabby manner indeed." ...
