Friday 20:00: Ward meeting starts - and lasts a couple of hours. I could tell you what we discussed but...anyway, fundraising was a big part of it.
Tonight at 12.10, BBC4 is showing The New Avengers: Sleeper, one of the series' more memorable (if not best) episodes as our heroes stand alone against gun-toting villains in a deserted London. And Purdey's trousers fall down. Though other Avengers stories feature Cold War 'sleeper agents' (House of Cards, To Catch A Rat...), the sleep here is more prosaic. In the pre-titles sequence we're introduced to: an astoundingly powerful new sleeping gas; the antidote; and the villain who's replaced one of the observers at the top-secret test. Then the title comes up... "Sleeper". Coo, wonder what it might be about? ...
A good letter in the Islington Tribune from Lib Dem Cllr Marisha Ray on the subject of Kings Cross access. As she says, why should Islington residents be treated like second-class citizens when the station is rebuilt? I'm pleased to report that Islington Council's Lib Dem leadership has agreed to fund a further study into access [...]
I was recently invited to speak at an environment conference in Newcastle. The event is tomorrow and I have agreed to attend. I am speaking in the afternoon and have been given 10 minutes to speak and then answer questions. I have been specifically asked to speak about opencast mining. Nearly 4 years ago I led a campaign against an opencast scheme in my ward. The proposal was to mine 400,000
Remember the story about Ryanair demanding cash from Cornwall Council because the authority shut down Newquay Airport for important safety work after it took control from the military. They claimed that the shutdown damaged their reputation. Guess what? Now Ryanair have cancelled their own flights even after bookings have been taken after a delivery of new planes was delayed by a strike. You can't fly without planes of course. But you can't fly without safe airports either. I trust this puts an end to the ridiculous claim for compensation that will have to come out of the pockets of Cornwall ...
(and probably several other people over the last couple of months too). I'm not good at doing memes when tagged, I'm too contrary. Sorry. If you're daft enough to read the following, you'll probably be grateful, though.Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.1, I am late for Sarah's birthday drinks, right now. 2, I ...
The City Square was awash with treasures old and new as the BBC hit town to record the Antiques Roadshow. The Caird Hall will be seen in all its finery on BBC1 Scotland on Sunday. Click on the headline above to see more.
When you go to a new doctor, or to a solicitor, one of the first things they will do is take a history of events in your case. This happens in social work too, and "chronologies" play a key role in making sure everybody working on a case knows what's been going on in a child protection case.It can be especially important when a child is likely to need to be moved to a safe place. The judgement to move a child from his or her home is a difficult one, and may well depend on choosing whether to give ...
It has really wound me up today - the scaremongering by the SNP and its spin doctors.Claims such as council tax rises, 35,000 job losses and cuts in services have been peddled across the web, tv and in print by the Gnats (SNP - you see, I've gone native) because they didn't get the budget through first time round.Such outrageous claims to scare members of the public - such low politics - but hey what else do we expect from a party that has performed so many u-turns on their 2007 manifesto pledges?Shame on wee Eck (Alex Salmond for my ...
The Rose Theatre celebrated its first birthday two weeks ago, and I'm afraid I forgot to upload the pictures from my camera and blog about it. Jerry Hall has supported the project for years - I remember when she contributed some Stones memorabilia for an auction that raised £50,000 for the Friends of Kingston Theatre in one night. She has now agreed to become the Patron of...
Posted by Chris: I wrote the following which appeared in the Evening Gazette's 'More or Bore' column tonight: MY wife Glynis and I hosted a meeting of the Association of British Counties (ABC) in Redcar recently. We wondered what a town still waiting for its promised regeneration had to offer visitors on a blustery cold Saturday in October. The Committee usually meets twice per year in Warwickshire or Cheshire and holding it in the far northeast corner of the North Riding of Yorkshire meant a much longer journey for many members. But we needn't have worried. It was the "stunning" ...
No... not the General Election date. Shame on you, for thinking that straight away! No, the date for the scheduled emailing of Jacqui Smith. It's a shame it's so far away, but I understand it gives us more chance to get more recruits. So, join the Facebook group, and join the cyber-protest wave! You can't stop the signal.
Over the last week we learnt that... Six NHS quango heads now earn more than the Prime Minister after seeing their salaries increase by 77% in the last three years; The plummeting stock market and plunging house prices have wiped out £1.2 trillion of Britain's national wealth; Three hundred and thirty nine BBC staff members earn salaries in excess of £100,000; The number of new mortgages for house buyers approved by the UK's banks fell last year by 52%; The Ministry of Defence wasted more than £300m of taxpayers' money in 2008 due to errors; The Government has failed in ...
Danny Finkelstein asks the question over at The Times's Comment Central here. Scores on the doors (allegedly) so far show it to be a draw... Tory shadow cabinet ex-SDPers: Greg Clark, Chris Grayling, Andrew Lansley and David Mundell. Lib Dem shadow cabinet ex-SDPers: Vince Cable, Chris Huhne, Tom McNally and Paul Burstow Or can LDV readers point out more...?
That's just one of many great anti-censorship quotes listed here.
During last year's US elections, Democrat supporters weren't just watching the margin by which Barack Obama beat John McCain. They were also hoping to see their party gain 60 seats in the United States Senate. While they were assured of a majority, 60 votes are necessary to override "fillibusters" - speeches by opposition politicians that go on so long that a law never comes to a vote. With a 60 senators or more, the Democrats would be able to avoid these stalling tactics by passing a motion moving to a vote. Democrats picked up the seats they wanted in North ...
The BBC quotes the Cambridge historian John Bew as saying:"Perhaps there will be a time when negotiations are made public - and an end to the war may be spoken of - so that al-Qaeda can extend its belief that 'people are fundamentally rational' to Lembit Opik."Actually, I have a lot of sympathy for Lembit's position. And if Private Eye's humour is as predictable as I think these days, this story will be in next week's issue.
Shoaib Patel (pictured above) has been welcomed as "a great asset" to Redbridge by Councillor Hugh Cleaver, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the borough. Speaking about Councillor Patel, who won yesterday's by-election in Valentines ward, Councillor Cleaver said, "Our candidate worked very hard and I am positive he will be a very good councillor and very good for the area." The Ilford Recorder has the full story.
Having plugged Nick's meeting in Northampton yesterday, I suppose I have to record what happened. From the Northampton Chronicle and Echo:The leader of the national Liberal Democrat party was given an unfortunate welcome to Northampton during a visit yesterday, when he had an encounter with a traffic warden.Local politicians were left red-faced after the people carrier they used to ferry party leader Nick Clegg around town was ticketed when it was parked in Dychurch Lane in the town centre.But Mr Clegg said he would make sure the ticket was dealt with right away.
My MP Ann Coffey has written a piece in the local press about how the Labour Government are helping people find work that are newly unemployed. It's all fine and dandy including giving money to the DWP for `rapid response teams` when Woolies closed. There is a point that isn't being made - are the new [...]
A great crop of Liberal Democrat victories last night, in council by-elections around the country: There were Liberal Democrat gains in Fenham, Newcastle (from Labour); Valentines, London Borough of Redbridge (from Labour); Bury St Edmunds (from Independent); Axholme South (from Independent) and North and West Marlow (from Conservatives). Didsbury West (Neil Trafford's seat) is held with an increased majority. Congratulations to our six new councillors and their campaign teams! Best wishes (and a much-deserved rest) also go to talented Liberal Democrat candidate Karelia Scott-Daniels who came third in Stoke Newington, Hackney, ahead of the Conservatives.
The two don't link or do they, well according to Hazel Blears they do, she has wrote some tips for candidates that you can read by following the link. The North West based Labour MP has said the following about political campaigning: "Make campaigning fun. Campaigning is like sex - if you're not enjoying it, you're not doing it right" That just says it all about Hazel's sex life, especially if a campaigner thinks about how un-enjoyable a slammed door in your face can be!
The prospect of a golden filibuster-proof 60 seat dominance in the US Senate is, after all, possibly within the grasp of the Democrats....but, then again, possibly not. If Al Franken survives a court challenge in Minnesota, the Democratic Senate caucus, including two independents, will have 59 seats. However, there is a little twist. Following Bill Richardson standing down from his nomination
John Hutton MP has visited a Sixth Form in his constituency to do a question and answer with Students and he asked for questions in advance from them. Now that is one of the stupidest, silliest and most childish things I have ever heard an MP do! Why does an MP have to dodge teenagers from their constituency because they might ask a tough question, like Guido says, its not like their is going to be a Paxman among them, or is they? John Hutton really has made me laugh with this stunt that he has pulled! Mind you I ...
Tom Harris has a post over at his blog about The Evening Standard and how they just copied a blog post from his blog word for word and used it in their "Londoner's Diary" column. Now that is a great example that Tom has given us about Journalists. Most associations now email their press releases to Newspapers and TV companies and all they have to do is just publish them, personally I am against this idea of giving journalists what they want because it just shows that they are not doing their jobs properly. I do tend to publish Pendle ...
Someone complained the other day that this blog doesn't do what it says on the label. So this weekend I will try to live-blog as far as possible. First a recap. Thursday 12.20: I don't get to see it for several hours but a piece I have written on the impact of the recession on Southend goes up on Lib Dem Voice. Thursday 16:00 on the train towards Southend I check on the number of business survey forms we have left. We seem to be running out, so order a couple of hundred extra. Thursday 16:30: Meet Graham Longley (leader ...
... naked German hikers, according to the authorities in Appenzell. It would seem that this rather pretty part of German-speaking Switzerland has been chosen by naturist hikers as a good place to go on holiday, and the locals aren't happy. I suppose that I can see their point. Appenzell is a fairly conservative place. Women weren't entitled to vote in cantonal elections until 1990, and the two
Fri 30th
15:40
Opinion: With Darfur still burning, the question that must be asked - has the Liberal hand lost its ...
With the relentless genocide in Darfur still incendiary, our attention must turn to the lack of affront from the liberal contingent. Unlike the Arab/Israeli conflict or the violence in Sri Lanka, the Liberal Democrats have lucid policy on the crisis in Sudan. Without a doubt the strength of Lib Dem rhetoric does not match the strength of our policy. This begs the question: has the Liberal hand lost its touch in times of crisis? It was Liberals who hailed the end of Apartheid. The recent death of Helen Suzman was a poignant reminder of this. It was liberal democracy that ...
Following on the succesful by-election defence of the Liberal Democrats' seat in Hull a couple of weeks ago, news reaches me of further success, this time from across the Humber estuary. In a by-election on Haxey parish council, which lies in the Axholme South ward of North Lincolnshire District Council, Liberal Democrat Don Lange 'romped [...]
First off, I will confess that I have never been to Azerbaijan, but I developed an interest in Russia, the caucuses and other former soviet states when studying at University, and have been trying to revive that over the past few months, as my series of blog posts on the region will illustrate. I have been trying to read up as much as I can on the current developments in the area, to augment the knowledge I gained at university. My overall impression is that for democracy in the former soviet nations, the overall picture seems to be mixed. The ...
My Wednesday entry about 14 days advance notice to hold us to account at full Council Meetings has provoked some replies about the length of the notice required. And my apologies - I got it slightly wrong. Whilst it's 14 days for Councillors to put forward written questions to a full Council meeting, the public only have to give 2 days notice. Apologies for any confusion caused! Well today's grumble is that there is snow forecast over the weekend. Children in the villages will be ecstatic if the schools are closed on Monday - my two will be walking with ...
Two of the top ten Facebook fan pages are for chocolate products, with chocolate itself in at number 12. Take that fruit.
Lib Dem campaigner Bridget Fox has taken action to stop Heathrow expansion by becoming a co-owner of a field in the path of the controversial third runway, in partnership with Islington-based Greenpeace. And now she's encouraging other Islington residents to do the same. Bridget explains, "I'm asking people to join me and become a 'beneficial owner' of the land. The plot is in Sipson village, which will be flattened if the runway goes ahead. Anyone who wants to buy or develop the land will need to contact each one of us, so the more the merrier!" The Labour Government has ...
Local Liberal Democrats have condemned the Government's plans to build a third runway at Heathrow, which will increase noise pollution in North London as well as being a climate change catastrophe. The airport expansion plans came as a blow to environmental campaigners, as Heathrow's annual CO2 emissions are set to rise by 10 million tonnes a year. But the Government announcement also came as unwelcome news to Islington residents who have campaigned against the flight paths that bring low flying jet planes over Islington at unsociable hours- particularly between 5 and 7am. Department of Transport maps show that aircraft approaching ...
Phew! Just finished watching the Nadal v. Verdasco match and what a semi-final it was, with over five hours of jaw-dropping tennis. Nadal is now through to face Federer in the final on Sunday (BBC2 8.30am).
Hackney LBC, Stoke Newington Central Lab 1162 (47.8; +2.5) Green 783 (32.2; +3.3) LD Karelia Scott-Daniels 297 (12.2; -4.6) Con 169 (7.0; -2.0) Direct Democracy 20 (0.8; +0.8) Majority 379 Turnout 38.0 Lab hold Percentage change is since May 2006 Manchester City MBC, Didsbury West LD Lianne Williams 1439 (55.6; +8.4) Lab 638 (24.7; +1.8) Con 336 (13.0; -3.6) Green 173 (6.7; -3.7) [UKIP (0.0; -
The Mirror today reports what visitors to Lewisham Lib Dems' website knew last week - that Duwayne Brooks, one of the best friends of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence is fighting a council by-election for the Lib Dems: Liberal Democrats have selected two people committed to working hard on behalf of Downham residents to fight the Council by-elections on February 19th, Duwayne Brooks and Jenni Clutten. They hope to join Cllr Julia Fletcher as the representatives for the area on Lewisham Council. Duwayne, 33, is well known in Lewisham as a campaigner against knife crime and, if elected, will be working ...
I've just been sent a list of all the activities in February at the Hook and Chessington Library (Hook Centre) - and pretty impressive it is too. If you haven't done so yet, do visit the new café at the centre. February 2009 Hook & Chessington Library Every Monday Open Learning...
No matter what George W. Bush (remember him...?!) may have feared when he mused Will the highways of the Internet become more few?,it seems the world wide web and associated technologies have almost global reach. Almost. In the early days of the internet (whenever they were...), we were told to expect a contraction of the World into a Global Village, interconnected such that a Ghanaian farmer
Something that concerns me, about this story, is that I'm not sure where we, as liberals, stand? This could end up being a philosophical post. There is something about the protests, that makes me feel supportive of the workers. They are in their own country, they want to work in their own country, but they can't. Especially for a location like a power station, which are always sold to us as "creators of jobs", I find it hard to disagree with the protesters. If a power plant is built in their country, surely they should have the right to those ...
There are not many people who have not bothered to change their mobile's ring tone from the horrible bog standard "Nokia Tune" to something more personal. Judging from this video of his mobile interrupting his press statement at Davros Davos, Gordon Brown is one of the few. I was hoping his ring tone would be a little more interesting. Perhaps "Bonnie bonnie banks o' Lomond" or something like
The BBC reports on Lembit Opik's plea for the West to speak to al-Qaeda: It is time to talk to al-Qaeda. Having been through this in the past, I know this is right. Declaring war on terror does not deliver peace. The random killing of hundreds of civilians has obviously secured headlines from the perpetrators. As long as this cycle is repeated, we have relatively little chance of achieving closure on the terrorist methodology. "For those people that want revenge, it's hard. But then the crime will have created its own ricochet. That would distract from any chance of strategic ...
The Liberal Democrats held the Didsbury West by-election in Manchester yesterday. I do not normally report on local council by-elections outside the West Midlands but this was as a result of the death of Neil Trafford so I wanted to.
Oh dear god. As a one time defender of Lembit can I withdraw any positive comments I have ever made about him? He has declared that we should negotiate with al Qaeda. To say this utterly misunderstands the situation surrrounding global terrorism in recent years simply doesn't do it justice. I think the best phrase to employ here for Lembit 'lost the plot' Opik is simply to say 'not in my name' and not in the name of the LDs. However, some further comments pertain. 1. al Qaeda doesn't exist. It is a loose coalition of weirdos and misfits spread ...
From Comment is Free:Council and housing association tenants get little choice over where they live and are rarely able to move: many are in properties that do not suit their individual needs and preferences.This can and should change. In a paper published today, The Right to Move, Policy Exchange argues that social tenants should have the right to move, the right to require their landlord to sell their current home and use the money to buy a place chosen by the tenant.The new property would be owned by the landlord, and rented out as before. Tenants would be better off: ...
Police cars came screaming past me on the Hatfield Road on Tuesday, sirens going, lights flashing. They turned left into St Peter's Street where I was also going, and screeched to a halt at Barclays Bank where there were already cars with flashing lights, the insistent ringing of an alarm bell and a security van with its rear doors open. Now I read in the Herts Ad that it was a bank robbery. Apparently two men made off with a large sum of cash which was about to be loaded into one of the cash machines. It's never comfortable when ...
The ever-insightful Timothy Garton Ash was the author of an intelligent article in The New York Times last week, which considered the international fate of the word "liberal". His stimulus is Obama's inaugural address last week, which has already been debated on Lib Dem Voice. The speech was, in the historian and writer's opinion, in substance, a blend of classical constitutional and modern egalitarian liberalism. The thing, but never the word. Anyone who knows anything about contemporary political discourse in the United States understands why. He concludes, I don't expect Mr. Obama to use that word any time soon. But ...
Well, as predicted, it was close. On Wednesday night Parliament voted on the Government's plans to expand Heathrow by building a third runway. Liberal Democrat MPs and most Conservatives attempted to put a stop to the Government's scheme by voting it down. 57 Labour MPs had previously said they opposed the plans, so what happened on [...]
Iceland is now seriously considering applying for membership of the European Union, having followed a 'go it alone' policy for many years (mainly to try to keep control over its fishing grounds). The country metaphorically sank when the tide of the global financial crisis washed over it, making not just politicians but also the general [...]
Well it hasn't even started yet. It has had political fallout of all sorts but it is some pride that I'd like to inform you that Donald Trump's Golf Resort has been awarded the Carbuncle for "the Worst Planning Decision". The judges awarded it when they condemned the decision to "rip up" planning rules to allow the scheme to go ahead. So it appears that Martin Ford, Paul Johnstone, Debra Storr and Sam Coull have made a stand which is backed by others. It is the principle that this was steamrollered out of the hands of the local planning authorities ...
Parliament's committees and political groups were meeting in Brussels this week to prepare for next week's formal debates and votes. The member states' European Affairs and Foreign Affairs ministers met on Monday and Tuesday and the Development ministers on Thursday and Friday. The European Commission met, as usual, on Wednesday. I had constituency engagements Monday, Thursday and Friday and tomorrow I attend the LibDems' South West Regional Conference in Taunton, where party leader Nick Clegg will join us. The foreign affairs ministers welcomed the US announcement that it will close the Guantanamo Bay detention centre but showed little enthusiasm for ...
After Icelanders sending jumpers to Hull pensioners I thought it couldn't get more bizarre. ...Until I read that Norman Lamb is heavily into the grime scene via his son, and has even invested £10,000 in the career of one Tinchy Styder.
....And now he's got time to watch basketball matches. Bless.
Debra Storr, one of the four Liberal Democrats on Aberdeenshire council who stood out, unsuccessfully, against approving the potential environmental disaster, said: "May it be the only Award ever given to this development".
Today is the last chance to vote for which London park you want to get extra funding from the Mayor of London. I'm backing Barnard Park. You can do the same here. Other Islington parks in the running are Elthorne Park (where Lib Dem Cllr Greg Foxsmith is running a lively campaign to get the [...]
January tends to be a month in which new committees meet, and much preparation has to be done, made more intense by being the first month in my new role. However, as I promised I would, I have been out and about across the country, meeting members, supporting local campaigning, and finding out what local members, activists and councillors think about what we as a Party do. This month, I have: met with local members in Brentwood & Ongarspoken to students and members of the Canterbury Local Party at the University of Kentvisited local members and discussed campaigning issues in ...
There's a gorilla in the room that politicians debating climate change don't like to acknowledge. Next week the European Parliament will vote on a non-legislative report on the subject. It's a monster, an overlong dog's dinner review of the subject which includes statements from which I dissent as well as much that I cannot vote against. I wanted to retable an amendment that was defeated in committee. It pointed out that world population has trebled in the past 50 years, is increasing by 153,000 every day, and this understandably generates a hugely increased demand for energy. It also called for ...
Local people have been concerned about rumours of the future of bus services that serve Simister Village. All of these services are subsidised by GMPTE as they provide a vital public service. I've had discussions with bothy PTE and the current operator BuVal and can report the following good news: 795 - No changes - this is the school service that goes to Parenthorn School and will continue to be operated by BuVal. 96 - No changes - this Simister - Manchester service has been extended again to January 2010 (again operated by BuVal. 495 - Simister - Tescos - ...
At a time when life is very challenging for so many people, it was really heartening to stop for a few minutes during the News bulletins this evening and look at what can only be described as a true celebration of a life. Bill Stone, one of the last veterans of the First World War, was buried today in a ceremony that was a celebration of a life lived to the full. What has always struck me whenever I've seen him interviewed was the beaming smile on his face. He just exuded an infectious happiness. I was truly struck by ...
A couple of weeks ago Vince Cable hinted that the Lib Dems were not going to choose a party to go into a coalition with until after the general election and a result, but a blog post over at Political Betting.com is suggesting something different. Mike Smithson points us towards an article from the New Statesman that argues that a Lib Dem and Labour pact will most likely take place. The Prime Minister in this pact would be Gordon Brown, the Chancellor Vince Cable and the deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. These are all interesting arguments from the article in ...
On the face of it, this is a bizarre story. Icelanders have responded to a radio appeal and sent a 20 foot container full of nice Icelandic woolly jumpers to be distributed to pensioners in Hull. This is Iceland, which is bankrupt and which has much lower temperatures than us. The BBC Breakfast team accordingly got out their best "chinky chonky" music to accompany the report of this - a bit like
A new You Gov poll shows another bad result for Labour and a great result for the Tories, This just shows that the Brown bounce is dead and the hopes of a Labour 4th term are coming to an end. I just hope that John Prescott isn't wasting all that money with Go Fourth especially when it might not lead to a 4th term! The results of the You Gov poll are: CONSERVATIVES 43% LABOUR 32% LIB DEMS 16% These are interesting You Gov poll results because the Conservatives and Labour parties are to separated and I think that Brown ...
Having blogged that we won last night in Fenham in Newcastle, taking Labour's last seat in the ward, I can now give you the vote:Lib Dem 1049. Labour 1025BNP 836Con 186That means we have 50 councillors in the city. Not bad after 5 years of control and a majority substantially increased on the authority from when the Lib Dems first won it (back in 2004 we had 44 seats).A bad result for Labour who
Well it looks like a fantastic result for the Lib Dems in the Didsbury West by-election. The Lib Dem vote went up considerably, the Tories slumped, Labour remained steady and the Green's vote crumbled. Con Green Lab Lib Dem 336 (-3%) 173 (-3%) 638 (+2%) 1439 (+9%) A few people have talked about how this was a proxy vote between John Leech MP and [...]
More from Plaid Cymru in this morning's Western Mail about the inadequacies of the current devolution settlement and in particular the system of drawing powers down from Westminster, which all the evidence shows remains unfit for purpose. This time it is former MP and AM, Cynog Dafis who rightly questions why the draft Legislative Competence Order that would give the Assembly law-making powers over the "collection, management, treatment and disposal of waste" as well as over "environmental protection, including pollution, nuisances and hazardous substances" has been stuck in the system for 19 months. This LCO has become bogged down in ...
According to various news reports this morning Iceland is set to apply, and be accepted, to become a member of the European Union.
I feel like that bloke in the pub who bursts into fits of laughter ten minutes after the joke's finished, when everyone else is talking about a horrific local murder. Still, I can't help that so I'll plough on regardless. Last March, Nick Clegg called for the number of MPs in the Commons to be reduced by 150, almost a quarter. A couple of weeks ago, David Cameron called for over 60 MPs to be culled. Both calls seem to have rather more to do with party interest than what's good for the country. Nick claimed that the cut would ...
I was down in the City of London for the meeting of the management committees of Hampstead Heath , Keats House and Queen's Park when I spied this little gem. Ye Olde Watling public house There's a great summary review here http://ultimatepubguide.com/pubs/info.phtml?pub_id=353 including the much repeated claim that this pub was built on the instruction of Christopher Wren for workers on the St Paul's project... The picture isn't great quality - I was in a rush and the light was falling and failing, but of course it's also on Watling Street. The road later (physically and historically), as it heads ...
Now that I am supposedly a lady of leisure (Ha, ha!), I often get the chance to watch Prime Minister's Question Time. I really don't know why I bother - I might as well watch a poor slapstick comedy film on one of the various channels that Sky throw in to my package for free. Twenty [...]
Blog readers will have seen the pictures of Zimbabwean Currency Inflation. They have now given into reality (where people trade in other currencies, but it is illegal) and allowed people to trade in other currencies.
Eleanor Burnham, Assembly Member for North Wales has queried the fact that an additional £230,000 is to be given to the Wales Millennium Centre to cover "essential health and safety, accessibility and business continuity Eleanor, Welsh Lib Dem Spokesperson for Communities, Culture and Equality said, "This is a rather intriguing decision. Just last week the Minister was telling the Welsh Affairs
133 - Marcus Severus Didius Julianus, Roman Emperor born 1505 - Thomas Tallis, English composer born 1563 - Franciscus Gomarus, Dutch theologian born 1648 - Eighty Years war ends. The Treaty of Münster and Osnabrück is signed, ending the conflict between Netherlands and Spain. 1649 - King Charles 1 of England is beheaded. 1790 - The first boat specialising as a lifeboat is tested on the River Tyne. 1826 - The Menai Suspension Bridge, considered the world's first modern suspension bridge, connecting the Isle of Anglesey to the north West coast of Wales is opened. 1847 - Yerba Buena, California ...
Information about a "Celebrate Fairtrade" event at Bury Parish Church on Saturday February 21st 2009, 10.30am - 1.00pm - well worth our support. {Bury FT poster JPEG} The Diocese of Manchester is in the forefront of the promotion locally of Fair Trade as an honourable social justice movement and proven method of helping marginalised farmers and producers in the developing world move from vulnerability towards security and economic self-sufficiency. In 2007, Fair trade certified sales amounted to approximately £2.3 billion worldwide, almost half as much again as in 2006! In June 2008, it was estimated that over 7.5 million disadvantaged ...
Well from having a dead tie it appears that the SNP have knuckles down and are attempting to bring all three opposition parties on board with concessions to their initial budget. Unanimity could be the ultimate prize if the negotiations com off. The Lib Dems were first up to the plate yesterday offering to take the Income Tax break off the agenda and instead look for a level of greater fiscal autonomy is working with the Nats to lobby Westminster to allow the Scottish Parliament the power to borrow outwith the block grant. This could in theory path the way ...
The Coroners and Justice Bill went through its second reading at the start of this week. If you read blogs, you will probably have heard about the clauses hidden away at the end of it which threaten to effectively neutralise the Data Protection Act. If you read my first edition of the Carnival on Modern Liberty you will have read my comment about it also giving the government the power to hold inquests in secret. But that isn't all. Justice outline their concerns about this Bill as follows (emphasis mine): - the provisions for secret inquests; - the restriction of ...
Regular readers of this blog will know that I have led a campaign in Reading for a better Police and Council response to anti-social behaviour reports. One of the issues I have raised is problems some local people have had when reporting crime concerns via the Police's anti-social behaviour hotline. This evening I joined members of the Safer Reading Campaign on a visit to one of Thames Valley Police's Public Enquiry Centres (PEC) in Kidlington, Oxfordshire. It was really good to have a number of members of the public and members of Neighbourhood Action Groups with us. I was partly ...
The Liberal Democrats have an 11th Councillor in the London Borough of Redbridge! Shoaib Patel (pictured third from the left) gained the seat in Valentines ward, which has had Labour councillors for decades. The results: Liberal Democrats 963, Conservatives 781, Labour 756, Respect 112. Turnout: 29.7%.
This week's New Statesman features a startling article by the Fabian Society's Sunder Katwala, suggesting a pre-election coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats. Rather than speculating on the party's intentions in a hung parliament - which has become the sport of hostile journalists keen to misrepresent our MPs' pronouncements - he is advocating this as a desirable course of action. It would be impossible, Katwala accepts, for the Lib Dems to prop up a discredited Labour government after Gordon Brown had lost a general election. He suggests averting a plurality of Tory MPs completely by a revolutionary cooperation between ...
Daily Telegraph: [Harriet] Harman is expected to call a Parliamentary debate on Mr Conway's conduct next week. She is understood to privately believe that Mr Conway's ongoing presence in Parliament would not be tolerated in any other career. Yesterday, Ms Harman, who is also Labour's deputy leader, said: "The question the public will ask themselves is quite how much money does somebody have to
Liberal Democrats have won a by-election for Marlow Town Council gaining the seat from the Conservatives. On a low turnout (14.5%) due in part to the Conservatives decision not to issue poll cards Liberal Democrat Ivor Coleman swept to victory with a majority of 23! It is clear that no matter what is happening at the national level the Conservatives in Buckinghamshire are becoming increasingly unpopular. The full result Ivor Coleman (Liberal Democrat) 503 Ian Wernham (Conservative) 480 Our congratulations to Ivor and the team.
Figures obtained by the Welsh Liberal Democrats have revealed that the number of NHS patients dying from medical errors has increased by 50% in the last 3 years. The Freedom of Information request shows that the number of patients who died in the care of the Welsh NHS as a result of incidents including medical errors, accidents involving patients and abuse by staff increased from 129 deaths in
