I'm spending two days at the European Parliament in Brussels at the 5th International Conference on the EU, Turkey and the Kurds. Indeed, I'm one of the speakers tomorrow morning, on the theme 'The Role of Civil Society in Promoting Democratic Change'. This afternoon, two British LibDem MEPs were on the platform: Andrew Duff from [...]
This evening and tomorrow morning on the news and in the newspapers you will see that the Liberal Democrats voted against the SNP Government's Budget. As you will recall from my email two weeks ago, we warned the SNP that this Budget was an inadequate response to the economic situation currently facing facing Scotland. We warned that without the radical changes necessary to support the economy, we would vote down this Budget. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. Unfortunately for Scotland, the SNP's budget failed to live up to this truism. I have repeated tonight, to the First Minister and ...
Earlier this month I blogged about the questions over a story run by The Sun claiming that the likes of Alan Sugar were being targeted by terrorists. There were two problems with the story: first, the initial discussion looked to be one purely about running a polite letter-writing campaign, and second, the subsequent inflammatory comments that were made looked to come from an agent provocateur. Well now the Press Complaints Commission are investigating, as The Guardian explains. Hat-tip: Tim Ireland
It's been one of those hectic days where it's only now when it's finally quiet I can find a few minutes to put thoughts to paper and muse over the things that I've done today. I've never been one to keep a diary in the past but there's something strangely cathartic about bashing out my thoughts in a Blog. I spent the morning catching up on emails, the afternoon looking at the proposed closure of Wessex Place and the evening in Comberton at what can best be described as a lively discussion over the two proposed sites for affordable housing. ...
Iain Dale's Diary: BBC Gaffe: Cable is LibDem Leader!#links lol - the BBC makes a gaffe and apologies to Nick Clegg but you have to see the funny side of this one
Nick Perry, Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Hastings & Rye, has warned his Tory counterpart against electoral complacency. In a recent news release on rail fare increases, the Tory parliamentary candidate referred to the mention of her name (by the Bexhill & Battle MP Greg Barker) in a parliamentary debate as a 'surprise early entrance' to [...]
This evening and tomorrow morning on the news and in the newspapers you will see that the Liberal Democrats voted against the SNP Government's Budget. As you will recall from my email two weeks ago, we warned the SNP that this Budget was an inadequate response to the economic situation currently facing facing Scotland. We warned that without the radical changes necessary to support the economy, we would vote down this Budget. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. Unfortunately for Scotland, the SNP's budget failed to live up to this truism. I have repeated tonight, to the First Minister and ...
The menu for the English Democrats' "St George's Dinner" at their "conference" reaches me: Menu A Honeydew and Galia melon with a berry and cassis compote Grilled corn fed chicken supreme filled with sweet potato, basil and mushrooms, panache of vegetables, fondant potatoes and burgundy sauce Apple pie with cinnamon cream Menu B Chicken Liver pate with Cumberland sauce and toasted brioche
Whatever happened to Sir Richard Mottram, the former Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport who manically managed the fall out of Jo Moore's comments about good days to bury bad news? I do hope he is still in Government, particularly in an economic portfolio. We could have done with his insight today following the publication of the International Monetary Fund's prediction that Britain's economy would contract by 2.8% in 2009 - the worst of any Western country. So much for Brown's claim that Britain is the best placed country to get through the downturn. If that was bad enough, ...
Lib Dem MP John Pugh has a success for his next Focus newsletter. Yesterday, he tabled a Commons motion attacking the BBC for trying to "dramatise, accentuate and underline economic woes." Now the BBC's Economics Editor Stephanie Flanders has started talking about the end of the recession and even that bumbling bringer of bad news, Robert Peston, has said "when the recovery comes - and it will come." Perhaps John can table a motion about the BBC's outrageously pro-Palestinian reporting of the Israel/Middle East crisis.
First Capital Connect are planning to cut the hours the ticket office is open at Harringay Station by more than half. They plan to close the office completely on Saturday and almost 4 hours earlier on weekdays. The detailed proposals are on the London Travelwatch website. They plan similar cuts to most other local stations as well - including Hornsey Station. Our local MP Lynne Featherstone has already launched a campaign against the cuts with a video at nearby Alexandra Palace Station. I agree with her that reducing the hours that stations are staffed will make them feel less safe, ...
On the 10 O'Clock News, Vince Cable just appeared with the caption "Liberal Democrats Leader". I mean, honestly, don't they know the correct form is "Liberal Democrat Leader"? What kind of grammar are they teaching these caption writers, bloody media types, honestly. Hang the caption writer, I say...
A week after sacking his Justice Minister and supermum, Rachida Dati, Nicolas Sarkozy has now sacked another glamorous minister, the Senegalese-born, 32 year old Rama Yade. By all accounts she sent Sarkozy heart-shaped chocolates to try and save her job but to no avail. I wonder if Darling has thought about Valentine gifts for his boss - he must be suffering from job insecurity at the moment.
If you thought things were bad in Britain, spare a thought for poor Iceland. With a population the size of Coventry but a debt to match Northern Rock, it has today appointed its first lesbian Prime Minister, not that there's anything wrong with that. The problem is that 66 year old Ms Sigurdardottir leads a Green/Social Democratic coalition. At a time when decisive and difficult action is required, could you think of a less suited Government to pull them out of their difficulties? It would be like Gordon Brown appointing Caroline Lucas as Chancellor (and I have no idea of ...
Thanks for all your good wishes, folks it means a lot. Nan's funeral is on Tuesday; I'll probably be more regular after that. In the meantime have a reason why president BarryO is awesome, and one why our stupid government is not.
There has been much discussion of Heartbeat today. It has led me to discover the pleasing fact that its former star Bill Maynard was married for a while to the widow of the land and water speed record holder Donald Campbell.
The government squeaked through today in the third Heathrow expansion vote. It was touch and go and according to Jon Craig from Sky News, it was down to Brown effectively begging the rebellious MPs to back down and also by relying on support from DUP MPs. What I found interesting is the attitude of Labour MP Alan Keen who despite opposing the expansion said he would vote against the Tory amendment motion to rethink the plans because it was "party political". That seems incredibly cynical to me. So he agrees with the amendment but votes against it because he wants ...
There is a barely known island in the Indian Ocean called Mayotte. It is a French dependency and I visited it in December 2007 and shot a few videos there which made their way onto my Youtube channel. In the past few days, I have spotted an interesting increase in the number of viewings they are getting. So I checked out what was happening and discovered that they are featured on the French
I was under the impression that Liberals were generally supportive of open and competitive markets as an aid to innovation and driving up standards and meeting consumer needs. Yet, the majority of you no doubt write in support of such, despite (sometimes unwittingly) having paid your levy to Bill Gates in adopting a computer operating system brought to you by a company that hates competition. Microsoft often uses it's domination of the home PC market and it's financial position to either 'extend and embrace' innovative and popular rivals by buying them up, or forcing competitors out by incorporating elements into ...
Now that the OED have added one of the two words I informed them of to their colossal organ, I feel I should see if they'll pick up on some words I created. Bankocalypse: in Financial mythology, what happens to banks at the time of Lendnarok; a disaster resulting in drastic irreversible damage to their bottom line and share value. Econoclasm: the breaking or destroying of economies; the overthrow of institutions and cherished beliefs such as "my house will always go up in value", now regarded as fallacious or superstitious. You are all encouraged to use these fine words, get ...
Interesting fact of the day: for every one human cell in our bodies, there are nine non-human cells - bacteria. Not only that, but it turns out my bacteria colonies might be quite different to yours. My bacteria might be more efficient than yours at extracting calories from the food being digested in my gut, meaning that we can eat the same thing but I get more calories from it, and so it makes me fatter. There, isn't that interesting.
France has in the past played a negative role in Africa, in the way they've got deeply involved with dodgy governments. The most horrific in my mind is their role in the Rwandan Genocide, 1994. France has announced it will withdraw troops from some vital peacekeeping missions. The force in the Ivory Coast will be reduced by half, and even worse 1,000 troops will be pulled out of the mission in Chad to protect Darfur refugees. As a direct result refugees may no longer be safe from rebel groups who continue a genocide. Tragedies could take place because France wants ...
So, the SNP Government - sorry, the SNP propped up by the Tories Government - has failed to get it's budget through Holyrood today. The Lib Dems have (consistently) warned the SNP that this Budget was an inadequate response to the economic situation currently facing facing Scotland and it's residents. Today we did see the Labour and Green Party MSPs voting against the budget, despite attacking us two weeks ago for doing the very same thing, however we welcome the fact that they have now seen sense and it is one u-turn I welcome. I recognise it is important for ...
On Monday, an independent report from the London-based think-tank, Centre for Cities, was launched. The report was funded by the Local Government Association and 'looks back at the recent economic performance of UK cities as well as the main policy milestones of 2008. It also looks ahead to the prospects for UK cities in 2009 and [...]
I have no idea if Lord Truscott and the other three Labour peers are guilty or not of the accusation that they were prepared to receive payment for seeking to amend legislation. If true it is far more serious than the "cash for questions" sleazegate which engulfed john Major at the end. Lord Truscott was Hertfordshire's Member of the European Parliament when we were a single constituency elected under the first-past-the-post system. I have to say he never impacted much on me or my consciousness but doubtless he was diligent. Being an MEP is a salaried position. The House of ...
The next Twerton Pact takes place on 29th January at St Michaels Junior School at 7pm. The Priorities from the last PACT meeting on 11th September were. 1. Provision of youth workers in Twerton 2. Maintenance of Basketball Court at Newton Road Park 3. Re-siting of bus stop shelter on Twerton High Street, opposite Rose Cottage Why not pop along and see what...
There's been a bit of a fuss in the national media about items sent for recycling which don't actually get recycled. So I've been finding out what happens in Kingston with the things that are collected each week for recycling. Recycled materials are sold on to specialist recycling companies, and the high costs of doing the collection are partially offset by the proceeds from these...
A curious story today about the city fathers in Lucca banning all non-Italian food outlets within the city walls. I like Lucca and I have eaten some really good Italian food there - but some pretty ropey meals too. It's the only place I have eaten raw horse - or horse tartare for those of delicate disposition - due to an accidental misreading of the menu. Not something I will rush back to eat but I lived to tell the tale and it amused the children. It is interesting to ponder what restaurants would be left in St Albans if ...
I try and focus this blog on local historical, architectural and curious features of interest - it's not often I give way to my own very specific preference - besides the genre of the content. :-) But Louis' cafe - one in Heath Street, Hampstead, and the other on Finchley Road, Swiss Cottage, are great institutions... This is the Hampstead branch. You haven't been? Get there now! My other regular haunt is of course the inimitable Wet Fish Cafe on West End Lane - we love it, love it, love it...
I have received confirmation that the Travellers that have been occupying the land at the Former Herman Miller site have been asked to move on by the site owners. Lidl who own 60% of the site have taken action on behalf of itself and the other site owner Acornford Hampshire Ltd who own 40% of the site. The Travellers have been asked to leave the site by Friday 30th of January if...
There's only one group of people to blame for the Scottish Parliament's rejection of the budget: the Gnat government themselves. Alex Salmond and co refused even to discuss the principle of putting more money back into people's pockets to help address the current economic crisis, as suggested by the Scottish Lib Dems. They refused to accept the Greens' suggestion of £100 million more for home insulation. And they refused to accept the Labour demand for more money for training and apprenticeships. Had they accepted any of those ideas, they could have got their budget through. The Tories, as usual, allowed ...
Well, my earlier confidence may have been misplaced. Alex Salmond's "come and have a go if you think you're hard enough" attitude to the defeat of the SNP's budget is hardly the response of a Statesman. He could have taken the defeat on the chin and made some conciliatory noises about how his Government would try to build a consensus within the Parliament. But, no, he had to start threatening elections. Well, if he carries on like this, he will have to take the consequences. Lady Bracknell applies - to lose one budget could be considered unfortunate, to lose two ...
I got a letter today from my bank offering me a car loan. Now you would imagine that with interest rates at an all time low a need for banks to restart lending in order to kick start the economy, that bank loans ought to be cheaper than they were in the past. However the rate highlighted as the typically APR was 0.6% higher than the rate I could have got last year. Is it any wonder that consumer spending is stalled and nobody wants to buy a new car when car loans are so much more expensive.
If there is one thing that really gets my back up it is people who say that something "puts the Great back in to Great Britain", seemingly totally unaware that the name "Great Britain" refers to the island we live on, not actually the name of our country. Watching the news tonight I saw some bloke making this statement when talking about HMS Daring, the new Royal Navy destroyer. Perhaps it is a sad reflection on our country at the moment that this chap actually believed what he was saying.
Liberal Democrat research has revealed that Bath & North East Somerset Council spent £115,000 on publicity relating to the Bath Transport Package over 9 months in 2008. However it is not clear whether this even covers all the leaflets the Council was putting out last year since the latest leaflet, which had the headline "Tired of Traffic Jams?" was delivered in December...
David Cameron is truly the hotel lobby pianist of parliament. Oily hair, smooth smile, same old bloody tune. Can't you just see him in one of those awful little 1950s matinee jackets? Yes you can. All over the web, in fact. And at PMQs today, he went for the old will-he-admit-blah-blah-abolishing- boom-and-bust question again. Of course, I should be fair and say that in some ways repetition of this message is a smart move (I just wouldn't ever let such fair-mindedness stand in the way of a good caricature). Nick Clegg makes use of the repetition technique sometimes as well, ...
After last night's events, I guess it's about time to talk about Insole Court. For fear of stealing the line from just about everyone, Insole Court is one of Cardiff''s hidden architectural gems. Built as a coal baron's mansion, the house and its estate were compulsorily purchased in 1932 to make way for Western Avenue. Over the years the house and its gardens became an important community
Last night a Lib Dem amendment was unanimously carried, with Conservative backing, calling for the full financial implications of the Council's Climate Change Strategy to be annually reviewed. It also called for the progress of the strategy to be examined by the Environment Scrutiny Panel.The strategy itself talks of the need for carbon dioxide reduction schemes, waste minimisation, and utilising food waste for producing heat and power; all themes the Lib Dems have long been campaigning for. The opinions of the public, environmental groups, and councillors had been fully taken into account.Current scientific thinking suggests that the actions we take ...
The message was clear just over an hour ago. When the SNPs budget failed to be passed when Labour, Lib Dem and Green MSP all voted against it. The Tories had changed it by 0.171% which was not enough for either Labour or the rest. Patrick Harvie said the the £22million injection was not enough and the Nats had eroded what less than a month ago looked like the two votes that would have tipped the balance. So what exactly went wrong. The Greens said there were too many caveats announced by Finance Minister John Swinney in his summing up ...
The bigwigs from Transport for London came to Parliament to meet with the London Lib Dem MPs to answer specific questions from them. Quite a line up! Tim O'Toole (tube), David Brown (surface transport), Ian Brown (overground) and the Commissioner for Transport - Peter Hendy. Needless to say my constant refrain is 'gissa bus' - and specifically the extension to a full time route for the 603. What is like trying to get blood out of a stone is the cycle where I ask, I get told that a full time route is not financially viable - but then they ...
It was dreadful when Muslims were vilified and attacked because ignorant and prejudice people connected them with the terrorist atrocities here and in America. Now it is Jewish people who are being intimidated and attacked because of what is happening in the Middle East. Equally unacceptable. Today there was a lobby from students at Parliament - Jewish students - who are experiencing attacks, discrimination and intimidation from other students who - because they see the damage and carnage in Gaza - feel licensed to take that out on Jewish students. I met one of them - a constituent who turned ...
So, the Budget has fallen. It was very good of Yousuf to live blog the event for us and capture the tension as it became clear that Patrick Harvie wasn't bluffing. It was a dramatic end to a deeply uninspiring budget which was not designed to deal with the current economic circumstances. Let's hope that the next version to come to Parliament will do more to stimulate the Scottish economy and help struggling families. There is, in Parliamentary terms, still plenty time to pass an amended budget - as long as the vote takes place by Valentine's Day, the Budget ...
Here's the latest YouTube film from Nick Clegg. Like the clip? You can rate it, comment on it and share it with others via the YouTube page.
Yesterday evening, my indefatigable constituent Graham Bennett plucked up the courage to ask a few questions to Council on the thorny issue of bins blocking pavements in and around Addington Road, as well as the ongoing problem parked cars preventing bin lorries getting through. Graham asked a question on the same subject at the December meeting of the Environment Scrutiny Panel, but was understandably dissatisfied with the response he received. I would emphasise here that Mr Bennett is not an activist, just a concerned citizen. He has been emailing me on and off about these concerns for over a year. I ...
Jenny Randerson seems to be determined to deliver large chunks of the 2007 Welsh Liberal Democrat Manifesto from the opposition benches. While her healthy school meals Measure continues to go through the Assembly processes, this morning she was drawn in the latest LCO ballot and will use the opportunity to try and draw down powers to force developers to publish and implement a travel plan for
Bury's Conservative-run Council has published its first set of suggested proposals for the 2009-10 Bury MBC budget. Sadly, it's another round of cuts that are being proposed to key services. The proposed cuts include: - reduction in the Libary Book funding - reduction in Swimming Pool Opening Times - reduction in street highway repair 'gangs' - reduced Educational Welfare Service - reduce PE advice to schools There is also a proposal to most save £300,000 from the Youth Service, through "externalising" it. I don't quite know how this would work, or what the full details of the proposals are, but ...
I am sitting in full council this afternoon and just felt that I needed to say this before I forget. It never ceases to amaze me how pathetic and juvenile the Labour party opposition are in Leeds. They completely fail to raise the issues that matter to people in Leeds. Instead they insist on talking about the same things without ever presenting an alternative. Anyway rant over! Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
Interesting times continue in Portsmouth (see here and here for previous stories): A second Conservative councillor has crossed the floor and joined the Lib Dems. Central Southsea councillor Margaret Adair quit her party on Friday and signed up to the rivals. As reported in The News, Cllr Adair was expected to follow in the footsteps of former Tory councillor Lee Hunt, who quit his party after claiming he was the victim of an internal hate campaign. You can read the rest of the story from the local newspaper here.
Commenting on the Information Tribunal's ruling that the Cabinet minutes from the run-up to the Iraq invasion in 2003 should be released, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, Edward Davey said: "This is a very welcome and long overdue decision. "These were crucial Cabinet meetings, when issues central to the decision to go to war with Iraq were discussed. The public clearly has the right to see the minutes. (more...)
Commenting on reports that Russia is responding positively to President Obama's more sceptical line on the Bush plan for a Son of Star Wars Missile Defence system in Europe, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, Edward Davey said: "If Russia has genuinely decided to reverse its threat to station missiles in Kaliningrad, this is a welcome first victory for President Obama's more diplomatic approach to Russia. (more...)
Bury's Conservative-run Council has published its first set of suggested "savings" and cuts from Council Services from next financial year (from 1 April 2009). These are available here. The proposed savings include: - reduction in the Libary Book funding - reduction in Swimming Pool Opening Times - reduction in street highway repair 'gangs' - reduced Educational Welfare Service - reduce PE advice to schools The most significant saving is £300,000 from the Youth Service, through "externalising the Youth Service". The savings fall over £1.3 million short of the "targets" that departments have been set, so look out for another list ...
Rumours are circulating around the Senedd this afternoon as to what exactly went on at last week's Legislation Committee to consider the Assembly Government's Learning and Skills Measure. The Committee proceeded through a number of amendments, some of which were passed partly as the result of the support of North Wales' Plaid Cymru member, Janet Ryder. This was despite the fact that the
I have for a long time been a strong critic of modern socialists. Partly because I am a strong critic of socialism, but primarily because they are so out of sync with the modern world. When the red flag was first raised in the Merthyr uprising, it was a logical response to the appalling conditions imposed upon the world's first industrial workers. But now, a century and a half on, we are challenging the majority of councillors and political activists in Merthyr who still hark for their fabled socialist solution. Whilst it may have helped in the nineteenth century, socialism ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Education, Jenny Randerson has highlighted Government figures which show that education spending per pupil is continuing to fall behind England. Assembly Government figures show that average spend in England is now £5,687 compared to £5,192 in Wales. Excluding London figures, which are historically high, average spend in England is £5,507, well
Today we here what everyone knew, the consultation on the future of Middle Schools by the Conservative County Council was a sham. The vast majority of residents opposed to this vandalism of our school system and yet they decide to scrap anyway. Of course I support Judicial review of this sham decision but the only effective way of keeping Middle Schools is by changing the party in charge at County Hall in elections in June for the County Council.
The Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Roger Williams has criticised the Government for not acting quick enough to save rural Welsh businesses. Intervening on a statement regarding support for the automotive trade and car dealerships Roger Williams said: "It is difficult to overemphasise what a parlous financial state many car
Beddington & Wallington Local Committee Meeting There were two items on the agenda with the aim of informing members and the public on topics raised by residents as of interest and providing them with the opportunity to ask questions. The first looked at the activities of the Highways Service and the procedures it undertakes to meet [...]
Ah yes! Wicksie as the lead PC. Mr Derek as a young sargeant. Then Mr Derek as an old sargeant. Then Mr Derek as an old landlord. Greengrass. Then Greengrass' brother, the bloke from Corrie. Then Greengrass' distant cousin, the woman with the awful teeth (onscreen that is - not in reallife) And that Lord fellow. And of course, the key star of the whole lot - Ventress. And the Yorkshire
One thing that demonstrates how the Regulatory Reform Committee can improve proposals is the proposal from the government to have minor changes to licence conditions that don't go through the whole process. The difficulty is that this could mean that local residents don't know of minor changes that are proposed to licenses. We have, therefore, suggested that two notices are placed outside the
You can catch up with what's happening in the garden at: Ripplestone Garden and the garden diary is here on Folia along with a whole community of gardeners worldwide. For fab proper gardening blogs try: Blackpitts Garden (lots of links on this site to other fab proper gardening blogs) The Gardeners' World team blogs here on the BBC website.
Interesting article from ultra-loyalist Labour MP, Wayne David in this morning's Western Mail in which he argues that David Cameron's scheme to reduce the number of MPs could leave Wales seriously under-represented. It is an interesting point and one that might have some resonance if it were not for the fact that Wales is already over-represented in comparison to England and we effectively have
One former Council chief executive is much in the news just now - Christine Laird, former managing director of Cheltenham Borough Council, is being sued for £1m by the authority, which claims she concealed her depressive illness. The BBC reports: Her time at the council was marked by a series of disputes with the authority and its Liberal Democrat leader, Andrew McKinlay, with allegation and counter-allegation of inappropriate, unhelpful, obstructive and bullying conduct. Mrs Laird filed 25 official complaints to the watchdog Standards Board for England, of which only one was upheld. She also filed an application for a restraining ...
Despite the lure of the big screen, we're not about to get a plasma TV. It's not (just) the money. We've nowhere to put it. We don't have a fireplace to hang it over, the living room walls all have sofas or shelves, the current TV sits under the window. Plasmas aren't green. In fact [...]
Once a upon a time, when I was just a little more than a child, I found among the book The strength to love by Martin Luther King Jr. among my grandmother's books. I wonder whether she's ever read it. I did and found it wonderful. He called for something very simple, something many people (the 'realist' sort of people) would call banal and idealistic. He called for love. "Nonviolence is the
Stephen Timms, Labour minister, has said that overall the economy has improved since Labour came to power. When will the gains be wiped out? And it's improved for whom?
Taking part in a four hour long full Council meeting with a bad head cold is not up there with my favourite things to do, but it was pleasing to discover consensus on several housing issues on which the Lib Dems in Reading have been actively campaigning. One of these was the Lib Dem campaign to end the dreaded "tenant tax"(negative subsidy is it's formal name) whereby millions of pounds worth of council tenants' rent is siphoned back to Whitehall. I blogged last week that Labour had performed a u-turn on this issue and are now backing our campaign for national reform to get tenants' ...
As we become familiar with tales of the overly-zealous misuse of supposed anti-terrorism laws, Steven Powell narrates some worrying cases emanating from the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006. Comment is Free featured Steven's excellent article yesterday. The article is short and concise, perfect for lunchtime reading; but for those especially lacking in time, I will copy and paste two examples of the misuse of the new law in question: Example 1 "... about 80 Stoke fans were gathered peacefully in a pub in Irlam on the outskirts of Greater Manchester. The publican has made a written statement saying the fans ...
A week is a long time... my petition calling for a ceasefire in Gaza was thankfully overtaken by events, but is now sadly topical once more. Meanwhile, the BBC and Sky's decisions not to show the DEC emergency appeal for Gaza have been much discussed. (The Lib Dems have linked to the appeal film on the [...]
It looks as if there will be a close vote in the Heathrow expansion debate today. Labour are whipping furiously in favour of the third runway. Labour MPs flying back from Strasbourg will get their fare paid if they vote in favour, but not if they vote against. Lib Dems are united against the runway. Some [...]
After yesterday's piece reporting that Torfaen Council was to consider a congratulatory motion supporting Huw Lewis' campaign to dual the A465 I was anxious to know the outcome. Alas, the Labour Councillor advocating patting Huw on the back changed his mind and amended his own motion to remove all reference to the Labour Assembly Member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney. Another false start on the leadership trail? I am so disappointed.
Last evening I met with British members of the Tamil community who wanted to talk to me about the worsening humanitarian situation in the north of Sri Lanka, before they went to talk to the Foreign Secretary about the UK government response to the crisis. Much later, as I was leaving the building, I bumped into the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka, who was meeting with colleagues to discuss the same issue. I'm not going to attempt to get into the rights and wrongs of a conflict which has wracked Sri Lanka for a quarter of a century. But as ...
Last September, I attacked the misogynistic views of the religious opponents of the HPV vaccine and their belief that the injection would turn teenage girls into 'sexually incontinent tarts' who are 'lacking in self-respect and basic morality'. Now Christian Voice I'll say it again, I'm a Christian, but they are not my voice) are back for [...]
This seems like a great and easy-to-implement idea: add user-programmable field for access points. By adding Lat/Long to the beacon most WiFi routers send out every second or so a useful but low-risk service for geo-positioning could be provided, in cites especially where 'seeing' a satellite might be more difficult.
From at least Lord Taylor of Blackburn? It's clear from the recording that there was enough evidence so to do. What's wrong with these soft lily-livered new Labour people - why do they put up with so much crap? Or is she waiting for Gordon to give the nod? Is he as lily-livered as her? Perhaps [...]
Oh dear. Sarah Palin has set up a website handing the cap around for donations. Nothing wrong with that. But it's the name of enterprise which gets me. SarahPAC. Oh dear. (PAC means Political Action Committee by the way). And she's lining up a book deal which has been estimated as being worth anywhere between $7 and 11 million. No chance of the cult of personality sweeping away rational debate,
Dave was interviewed by Andrew Grice of the Independent. Once again we learn that Dave cares, that Dave thinks the government is sleazy, that Dave would 'clean up' the House of Lords, that Dave will make fixing our 'broken society' a priority - so that he doesn't have to do anything too drastic with the House of Lords. Dave has a furrowed brow. Dave really cares. But Dave says precisely nothing about what he would do if he became Prime Minister. Here, you look. Dinner with Ann Widdecombe for anyone who can spot a policy in there. On sleaze, Dave ...
To the European Parliament for a Data Protection Day (that's today's grand designation) event.
Yesterday, I blogged about 'Progressive London' aka 'Get Ken elected in 2012'. I noted that the administration he had led prior to last year's election had become, how can I put this, morally and ethically ambivalent at best, noting Lee Jasper in particular. Frankly, I've tended to the view that Mr Jasper and, in particular, his approach towards plurality and inclusion is decidedly sub-optimal.
The latest stories from a range of different (official) party websites is now being drawn together in one place, with our new aggregator at http://blogs.libdems.org.uk It pulls in stories from places such as the party's main www.libdems.org.uk website, specialist sites covering particular policy areas such as Home Office Watch, Nick Clegg's www.nickclegg.com and also a selection of the latest media coverage of the party from around the internet. Also crammed in are the party's latest YouTube film, Twitter updates and campaigns buttons. All in just the one place. We're currently looking at adding in the highlights from Scottish, Welsh and ...
The decision of Dartmouth Town Councillor Brian Broughton to wear an i-Pod during prayers at his council meeting is causing a lively debateon ConservativeHome (with some pretty appalling use of language). Cllr Broughton has taken offence at the prayers held before the council's meetings and decided to wear an i-Pod as a protest. Other councillors [...]
7) Ziauddin Sardar, Balti Britain: A Journey through the British Asian Experience (London: Granta 2008, ISBN 9781862079111). Sardar uses the history and experiences of his family and friends to explore the complexities of British Asian identities. I found it particularly interesting to learn more about the different religious affiliations of London mosques and the differences in religious makeup between the Muslim Council of Britain and the British Muslim Forum, but the book also touches on Jain and Hindu communities. The vignettes of Sardar's family and friends are fascinating and at times touching. He argues that, to the extent British Asian ...
I have in the past said it and will say it now, Ken Clarke is trouble for Cameron because Cameron is all lovvy dovvy with the "New Conservatives" as one commenter put it and Ken Clarke is an Old Conservative! Tom Harris points us towards a contradiction of views between Mr Cameron and Ken Clarke. The Contradictions came relatively close in date to each other. On the 1st October 2008 David Cameron said the following: "We will also back marriage in the tax system."But in December 2008, Ken Clarke said the following: "I got rid of the married couples allowance ...
Late last week, there was a small flurry of media interest in hedge fund Lansdowne Partners: A hedge fund run by two Tory donors made a £12million killing in days by exploiting the collapse of Barclays shares, it was revealed yesterday. Financiers Paul Ruddock and David Craigen have donated more than £300,000 to the party, most of it since David Cameron became leader. Within hours of the ban on the controversial practice of short-selling being lifted last Friday, their company Lansdowne Partners sold shares in Barclays worth £28.4million. They were bought back on Wednesday, by which time the bank's value ...
More coverage of the impact that the London Olympics are having on Wales this morning with confirmation from Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell that £65 million is being diverted from lottery money that would otherwise be spent in Wales to pay for the event. Equally as worrying is that Ms. Jowell told the Welsh Affairs Select Committee that only four contracts for the 2012 Olympic Games have been awarded to Welsh firms and that these contracts are worth less than £100,000 in total. It is difficult not to get the impression that money is being creamed off from Wales, Scotland and ...
{Stand up to Hatred} Last night I had the honour of playing a very small part in Bury's Holocaust Memorial Service. The service took place on Holocaust Memorial Day, the anniversary of the date of the liberation of Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Representatives of the three political parties on Bury Council each signed a commitment on the Day, as we have done for each of the nine years that Bury has organised a service on the day. As always, school students from a number of different schools across Bury had worked together to put on a very memorable and moving ...
Writing on Lords of the Blog, a group blog for wearers of ermine, the Lib Dem peer Paul Tyler discusses the current scandal involving the upper house. He concludes: So roll on reform say I - yesterday I asked whatever happened to Gordon Brown's "Constitutional Renewal" programme ..... and the Minister told me to be patient. The Times concludes "the Upper House is exactly the place that anyone should target if they wish to circumvent democracy with money." None of us should have any patience with that.
Prescott's new blog is really good. I'm not entirely surprised since his TV programme about class was great too. I've no hesitation recommending him even though he lives in Kirkella, a very, very posh suburb of Hull.
Having seen the graphic on Sara Bedford's blog last night and admired it, I have added the Greenpeace "I'm a plot owner" logo (and a link to their Heathrow campaign site) to Liberal England. So far I have just sent Greenpeace an e-mail, but I suspect there will be money involved sooner or later. As long as I am not next to Emma Thompson...
The Conservatives have been talking about public sector IT. A report has been written for them by Dr Mark Thompson at Cambridge University. The Tories haven't adopted any of it as policy, but they are tentatively asking us all if we think it's a good idea. Iain Dale totally misreported it, giving the impression that it was Tory policy (it isn't), that it "bans any IT contract worth over £100 million" (possibly, ConHome says two different things and I haven't seen the original report) and the use of Open Source just means "using OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Word" (I doubt ...
It appears that there is a stubborn mule at the SNP side of the desk regarding getting its budget through the key 3rd stage today. Even the Greens who were applauded by many, including me here, for seeming to have reached an agreement for free insulation in return for their votes are saying they will vote against. With both Labour and the Lib Dems threatening to vote against as the minority government is not prepared to give way to any party, even the Conservatives have said they have received "nothing concrete", it looks like the honeymoon may be over. So ...
For the sake of balance after posting Sky's response here is the one I received from the BBC this morning at 5:36. Thank you for your e-mail. We note your disappointment at our decision not to broadcast an appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee to raise funds for Gaza. We decided not to broadcast the DEC's public appeal because we wished to avoid any risk of compromising public confidence in the BBC's impartiality in the context of covering a continuing news story where issues of responsibility for civilian suffering and distress are intrinsic to the story and remain highly contentious. ...
It is mighty strange. Yesterday, Clegg called for peers who had broken the law, to be expelled from the House. It made one of the "top three" main BBC Politics news page, but didn't make the main story. Today, Cameron calls for the same thing... and the story goes to the main Politics news slot. Strange. I'll leave you with that thought, and to say that the Student Lib Dems are off, in hmm... ten minutes... to catch the bus to London. We're watching PMQs, and we'll be cheering Nick Clegg on all the way! Post by Ol - opinions ...
If you follow the Flock Together Twitter feed, you may have noticed that it now uses people's Twitter name (e.g. @flocktogether instead of 'Flock Together') in its reports of new events. Nothing too clever going on (apart from some Ajax-y and Javascript-y stuff on the input pages). Users now have the option to record their Twitter ID on Flock Together when they register or if they visit the Flock Together Twitter page. Once this done, Flock Together does everything else automatically.
Blogging might be a bit light for a few days. My nan died this morning. I know you guys will understand.
Tuesday: We enter the Portcullis House of Her Majesty's newly-renamed Cashpoint Fortress of Westminster, where Daddy Richard's civil liberties are again slapped in the face and his face is slapped all over the LASER DISPLAY MONITOR of the new security system, so that his digital identity can be recorded in yet another Government DATABASE*, there to be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, referenced, cross-referenced, sold to the highest bidder, sent to the lowest common denominator, and ultimately lost on a government memory-stick on a train somewhere between Paddington and Swansea. Appropriately, we were there to hear Mr Clogg address Charter 88 ...
