The councillors' weekly trade magazine First has an article for Valentine's Day about councillors who are married to each other. It seems there are far more than you might imagine. Shared values and interests are the basis for a successful marriage, so I suppose it's not surprising if two people who are both deeply committed to their local communities and have the same fundamental...
Sat 14th
23:29
I used to occassionally ponder what the political reaction would be if the Lib Dems overtook Labour,...
It's starting to look possible again. That was Antony Wells on UK Polling Report. He was discussing the latest ComRes poll which has some very encouraging figures for Liberal Democrats CON 41%(-2), LAB 25% (-3), LDEM 22% (+6) This morning - on the way to Cambridge (see earlier article) we were discussing the recent polls from ICM and Populus which were also very good for the Liberal Democrats. (They showed us up 6% and 3% respectively). None of us were inclined to take them at face value. One poll doesn't tell you very much - they all fluctuate. Two polls ...
Training in Cambridge today. Three of us went from Southend, and covered the range of courses n offer. Good to see so many people from around the region, and make plans for the next couple of months. Then in the evening a quiz night in Leigh - which was very well attended. Good news because we need the money.
Friday was a good day. The snow disappeared and the sun came out. Lots of leaflets went out, lots of material came together for efforts over the next couple of weeks. And we got on the doorstep and recuited a number of new deliverers.
This is, I'm afraid, another political post. There'll be both comics and Doctor Who ones tomorrow, all being well - I'm acutely aware that whenever I write a long stream of posts on one subject, a whole chunk of my 'audience' (such as it is) switches off (my only consolation here being that comparatively few [...]
Over the past 7 years my protocol with our corporate hotel booking service has had a note on it saying that I will not accept being placed in a smoking room.The booking form they send had the words "non smoking room requested". Now in my ignorance I have always assumed that when a hotel accepts a booking with a request they will honour it on the day or inform the agency the request could not be
As an Englishman living in Wales I have always been amazed at the depths some on the fringes of Welsh politics will go to attack all things English. However this latest news that a Tory Councillor in Abergele is up in arms about the Scout movement holding a parade to celebrate their patron saint takes the biscuit.Anyone who like me has been an active member of the Scouting movement would know
Somebody get Freedom Central the number for Karl the Bookie. Cardiff South & Penarth just got a whole lot more interesting.
Blogging will be light or at a complete standstill until Monday as i am away for the weekend. So Happy Valentines and hope you return on Monday!
One interesting thing about the Geert Wilders episode is the involvement of the UK Independence Party, as it was Lord Pearson, a UKIP peer, who invited Mr Wilders to the Lords. The UKIP were formed with the intention of withdrawing Britain from the European Union. I don't agree with this policy, but I can respect those who hold this view. However, inviting someone accused of inciting racial hatred is the sort of thing the British National Party might do. Could UKIP be encroaching on BNP territory? There is much common ground and there were rumours of an electoral pact between ...
You'd expect someone to say that when times are tough - yet we need to keep our nerve at a time when we have huge opportunities. Going by Denis McShane's contribution on Any Questions it is obvious that new Labour's narrative is falling about its feet. Now's the time to be BOLD, AUDACIOUS and BRAVE. Don't be wowed [...]
A Labour candidate in a recent by-election in England (no names, no pack-drill) follows in the footsteps of John Prescott and George W Bush: "I was [XXXXX] ward councillor for over 10 years and I want this to stop"
A number of parents have contacted Chris regarding traffic safety concerns outside Clepington Primary School. Chris says, "The safety of pupils entering and leaving the school is of paramount importance and I have written to the Director of Education about the concerns raised." Chris will report back on feedback in a future edition of FOCUS and on the Maryfield website.
Well, the Clifton and Pendlebury by-election has been called, and rather suprisingly it's been by Salford's resident lunatics and conspiracy theorists - the racist and facist BNP (their local Salford site demonstrates the BNP approach to cross-cultural harmony and peace by calling Mohammed a peopdophile and suggesting that people should piss on him. What lovely [...]
What is politics? It's about developing political ideas, fighting in elections, representing your electorate. But sometimes it's about wheeler-dealing and negotiating to get something you want. That sometimes gets a bad name .... but here's a positive example ....WASHINGTON — For years, Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania has been the National Institutes of Health's most ardent champion on
The University of Dundee Botanic Garden on 28th February will be transformed with a specially commissioned light and sound event. For one night only, visitors will be able to explore the garden trails as they've never been seen before. Areas to be illuminated include the conifer collection, The Evolution Garden, the Larch and Redwoods, North and South American areas in addition to the Birch, Evergreens Oaks and Southern Beech exhibits .....and more. Coinciding with the recent completion of the Garden Of Evolution exhibit in the garden, you can see this unique celebration of the plants, trees and landscape which make ...
Every time they announce a new celebrity challenge TV show my heart sinks knowing there is a good chance Lembit Opik will whore himself by appearing in the show. Thankfully he didn't appear in "I'm a Celebrity", but appearances on various TV shows from Celebrity Apprentice (which was a good show but left me feeling Lembit came out of it very badly) to Celebrity Mr and Mrs, and others along the way, as a Lib Dem, make my heart sink. Lembit apparently feels he is unappreciated in the Lib Dems by the members as a whole and feels that some ...
This article on Lib Dem Voice amused me. It's an all too familiar scenario. One visitor I had recently said that they had come to ask my advice? Fair enough. I enquired what kind of advice expecting a response such as a parking problem or a planning issue or a council tax problem, but no. They just wanted my advice. I quickly established that there were no particular problems with any of these and all appropriate benefits were being claimed. I then carefully explained that usually when someone comes to see me they want specific advice. In the end (wondering ...
At last Thursdays Resources, Performance & Partnerships Overview and Scrutiny Committee (why such long names?), the major item of business was to note the contents of the Capital Asset & Property Strategy. Being asked to note a report is a totally pointless exercise. The report had been through cabinet some time ago so there was no chance to change anything, so we duly noted it. I did however have some questions which I had submitted in advance in the vain hope of some meaningful answers. The report talks about tying in with the financial strategy of 'keeping Council tax as ...
I am a great supporter of public transport. I don't own a car so I get around by bus or train (or sometimes by cycling). But I have a major winge about the bus companies, particularly on services in the mornings. Regularly now if someone gets on to a bus and needs change (and we are often talking about 40 pence change here) the driver says he/she doesn't have enough coins to give it out. So people end up paying more for their fare than they should do. It surely can't be beyond the wit of Arriva (and it's on ...
Two interesting pieces of news today. 1. Third Poll Continues Lib Dem Surge Labour have dropped a further three points, the Tories have lost two points. And the Lib Dems have gained a whopping six. This places the Lib Dems on 22% and Labour on 25%. If we take just 2% more of Labour support, we will have overtaken them on a national opinion poll, to second place. Now, some people have said this is due to our being in the headlines again. Most likely. They also claim that in a few weeks, our support will drop in the polls, ...
The ComRes poll in today's Independent on Sunday will spark alarm in Downing Street: Conservatives 41 (down 2 since 26th Jan), Labour 25 (down 3), LibDems 22 (up 6). This is the narrowest gap between Labour and the LibDems since 2003 and the figures confirm that the recent Populus poll, also giving the LibDems 22, [...]
I've always had a tendency to take on too many things and this Thursday just gone was a case in point. Luckily for my sanity though even I realised I couldn't possibly do everythig I was meant to and so managed to get some things moved. I was meant to be marking some student work, doing a screen test for an Edge Hill University DVD, taking part in two heavy meetings, doing a live book review on local radio and presenting a research paper at Liverpool University. Looking at the list earlier in the week the perils of saying yes ...
Pizza Pronouncing Tuktoyaktuk Being someone's valentine
Matt Davies, Lib Dem councillor for Fortis Green ward and mad fanatic in terms of Tottenham Hotspurs, is auctioning a signed Spurs pennant for charity. The auction runs until Tuesday lunchtime - so get your bids in quickly.
As a councillor I fulfill a number of roles: frontline councillor representing the people of Redlands, scrutiny chair, NAG member, chair of the South Reading Safer Communities Forum, and Lib Dem Group spokesperson on health, housing, community care and crime issues. As part of my ongoing effort to gain a deeper understanding of the Community Care services offered by Reading Borough Council, I spent part of yesterday afternoon visiting Tanfield, an Intermediate Care centre for older people based on Hexham Road. Tanfield provides a temporary home for about 27 patients who have left the Royal Berks Hospital but who are not quite up to returning ...
Following the lead of their County Council it's now the South Cambridgeshire Tories who are proposing both an unacceptably high increase in Council Tax (4.99%) and putting more money in reserves. Money that we think should be left in the pockets of Council Tax payers. The Tories tell us that more money must be put into reserves in case of a crisis. Both the County and South Cambs District have more than the minimum recommended. Now let's think a minute. Recession; perhaps depression. Rapidly rising unemployment. A financial sector which has both lost it's nerve and our cash. So if ...
In the current Liberator, which is winging its way to subscribers even as we speak, Lord Bonkers picks his favourite XI of all time. He explains this variation from his usual diary format: When frost rimes the trees outside my Library window, I cheer myself by thinking of summers past and summers yet to come. Over the seasons many notable cricketers have turned out for me, and I shall devote a few pages of my diary to choosing the finest Lord Bonkers' XI of all.Modesty dictates that I should not include myself, of course, but in reality I should be ...
A little bit of Stiperstones history from the Shropshire Star: An 85-year-old woman whose wartime fiance was killed when his bomber plunged into a Shropshire hillside has ensured that his memory is honoured on the 65th anniversary of the tragedy tomorrow.Sergeant Jack Brownhill was a 21-year-old wireless operator and air gunner in a Whitley bomber which crashed at Mytton Dingle, Snailbeach, on February 15, 1944, killing all five on board. The aircraft had been towing a glider which cast off and landed safely.
You can't argue with the logic of what Ken Clarke said today about the merger of HBOS with Lloyds. It does now seem that this merger, although an enticing prospect for Lloyds at the time, may result not in the saviour of HBOS, but the failure of HBOS and Lloyds. The fact that ken Clarke was excluded for so long from the Tory front bench means he does come to the whole credit crunch debate with the freedom to speak his mind, but also with some gravitas, something the Tory front bench lacks at the moment, someone the press actually ...
{Money under a magnifying glass} Here's my latest column from the Ham & High: Well, well - we're about to find out whether we've been told the truth or a porky by those super-salaried people who, with the assistance of bonuses, have consistently earned more in a year than most people earn in decades (and in some cases even more: Johnny Cameron of RBS earned £3.3 million in 2007 whilst his colleague Sir Fred Goodwin earned £4.2 million). I say that because one of the most frequent justifications has been - if you don't pay these sorts of salaries, you ...
Ken Clarke was on Today this morning talking about the banks crisis. The Big Beast has arrived. Not.Repeatedly asked by the financially razor-sharp Evan Davis as to what he (Clarke) would do which is different to what Labour are doing, Ken was utterly, utterly p-a-t-h-e-t-i-c. He ummed and ahhed and then went back to criticising Labour and then Davis asked again what he would do and he said he
Sometimes I get carried away with an argument and miss out on some subtle subtext. So, allow me to make amends: This is Jennie Rigg, of Yorksher Gob fame, and the only person in Calderdale I'd be willing to deliver leaflets for. I have met her on several occasions and can vouch for the fact that she is both clever and hardworking and definitely not a protectionist. This message supercedes any other communications I have made that may have implied the opposite. Taking it one step further, the reason I'm writing this post is because I care about what Jennie ...
Well done Jo Swinson. On Any Questions when asked if she agreed with Chris Huhne on the Geert Wilders issue said:I disagree with his judgment on this issue.Maaaaaaaarvellous! Jo Swinson then went on to give a passionate liberal view on the matter.
In an unexpected reshuffle that is likely to see a shift in government policy, two powerful figures have been sacked and a woman appointed to the highest post ever held by a female. The news is from Saudi Arabia, where King Abdullah has sacked Sheikh Salih Ibn al-Luhaydan, who was the country's head judge and had talked about it being acceptable to kill the owners of TV channels that broadcast immoral shows. Also gone is Sheikh Ibrahim al-Ghaith, the former head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (aka Saudi Arabia's religious police). Norah ...
When, last November, the Government announced plans to put restrictions on lapdancing clubs, I was in favour. The issue was one of local control. It seemed to me to be reasonable that local communities - via their elected representatives - should have more powers to decide whether or not a lapdancing club was right for their area, just as they do for sex shops and sex cinemas at the moment. Now, according to the Guardian, the Fawcett Society is unhappy. They have two concerns. First, the legislation doesn't prevent pubs from having occasional (less than monthly) lap dancing nights, so ...
Really. I've never said it before. I've never thought it before. But thank god for Boris. Because if London was still a Labour city, if Boris was not chairman of the MPS, London's women would shortly become guinea pigs in the trialling of - and I kid you not - targetted war on terror propaganda in [...]
I have a Zones 1-5 Monthly Travelcard on my Oyster, for which I pay £169 a month. So when I travel to Swindon from London Paddington on Thursday, I will only need to pay for my journey from Boundary Zone Five - a substantial saving. At Paddington on Thursday, I shall simply ask for a cheap day return from Boundary Zone Five to Swindon, and will be served immediately, as a matter of routine. But when I tried just now to find out in advance on the phone how much this ticket will cost me, neither National Rail Enquiries nor ...
This weeks meetings have mostly been School Governor's meetings at the two local schools in our area that I serve as a Governor. Tuesday was the regular Governor's meeting of St Margaret's CoE Primary on Heywood Road. The school is a very popular and successful primary school, and there always seems to be something new happening at the school. Staff at the school have been developing a new mission statement for the school: "Aim high, never give up, and enjoy growing and learning together", and we learnt how the school was looking at ways to ensure that all subjects taught ...
The planning application that we have been waiting for at the former Marjorie Whimster Elderly persons home in Twerton High Street. The application was first registered on 16th January 2009 and has a targeted decision date of 17th April 2009. If you would like to view the application then please follow the link on the application number which is 09/00124/FUL I have...
Have spent an informative and interesting morning on the streets of Brighouse Lib Demming with Mat and Hilary, which has resulted in at least one recruit and a nice letter to be sent to the local paper about Important Things (once Mat has proofread it). I have just listened to Jo Swinson being awesome on Any Questions, and am wrapping Mat's anniversary present for tomorrow and hoping that it's not been built up into anything too huge in his head, because it's only a small cheap thing, given the state of our finances. And then all I have to do ...
For the avoidance of any doubt as to Haringey Labour's last minute conversion in terms of stumping up some funding - and how without it there wouldn't have been Arts Council funding - here's the Arts Council press release on the matter: Following receipt of a commitment from the London Borough of Haringey to double its investment in Jacksons Lane, as well as seriously considering the investment required in the building, the London Regional Council of the Arts Council England has agreed to award one further year of funding to Jacksons Lane at £135,712. This is subject to Haringey Council ...
Over the past few days, I have been thinking how safe is flying. First, the crash landing at Heathrow some months ago, the the landing in the Hudson River. This has been followed by a mid-air collison by to light aircraft from the RAF over Wales and now the crash in Buffalo, NY and the landing at London City airport yesterday. All this is enough to make me not want to fly again!
Back at the end of 2006 it became apparent that the Government not only wanted to upload our medical records to a national "spine" (i.e. a whopping great big database that hundreds of thousands of NHS employees would have access to, right across the country) but that it had no intention of allowing people to opt-out. After dire threats from GPs, the Government relented. I wrote to our GP asking that the records for the entire Quist family be kept off the database, using a letter helpfully drafted for me. My GP wrote back to assure me that my wishes ...
Sat 14th
12:58
Surely, for the sake of human decency, this sort of thing should be banned, shouldn't it?
Just wondered...
I spent some time earlier this morning, under the patient and skilful direction of my beautiful and talented daughter, Anna, making a Valentine's card for my lovely and long-suffering husband Bob. I have not felt well enough to brave the shops so I was panicking slightly, given that my craft skills are probably somewhere as good as the average 3 year old's. I was quite pleased with the final result - I managed to draw a bear which you could actually recognise. I remember once at a Lib Dem training session drawing a pig and being told that my effort ...
Why have the Conservatives stayed quiet on the Wilders issue is a question that many are asking? I ask the question because the Tories are very keen on liberties but why have they not said anything about the banning of Wilders. Chris Huhne did support the ban which is something that I supported as well like I said in a past post but why no Tory opinion on the whole issue. A blog post by Benedict Brogan suggests how the Conservative party want to stay silent in this whole matter. So do they support it or not? Will they stay ...
Another email drops into the inbox of The Voice from A Liberal Democrat Organiser Who Wishes To Remain Anonymous. You can catch up with the cheeky chappy's earlier offerings by clicking here. The phone rings, as it has a habit of doing when I have my hand wedged deep inside the stuffing machine to retrieve a mangled envelope. I snatch it up, and a voice at the other end says, "Hello, is that the Liberal Democrats?" "Yes," I say, personifying the entire party for a moment. "I've got something I want to talk to you about. I think your stance ...
Forget Facebook and blogging, it's Twitter that's all the rage at the moment. This is another insidious internet phenomenon that sucks you in gradually and, before you know it, you are hooked. I signed up originally about 5 months ago and my first "tweet" was something along the lines of "Can't work out what the use of this is. Can someone please enlighten me?" A few months later and I've even downloaded software to help me manage my Twitterlife and I have found that it definitely does have its uses. My blog now feeds into Twitter so every time I ...
Along with many others, I have generally rejected the all-too-easy attempts to categorise Lib Dems as either social or economic liberals (although this was clearly a bit of an aberration.) As I have said before, the Orange Book in fact lacked ideological coherence and really was just a collection of essays by individual authors, hardly suggestive of a right-wing or any other kind of project. In addition, the supposed social liberal riposte, Reinventing the state, had many contributors in common with its supposed adversary. I suspect that virtually all Lib Dems would sign up to the appellation 'social liberal', but ...
Last year I wrote a couple of Guardian items, arguing for a referendum on Britain's EU membership. Not a stereotypical Lib Dem position, I know. So let me make it clear, I'd vote yes, and campaign for others to do the same. Europe has brought us peace and prosperity, and is the best way to [...]
The environment held centre-stage at the Holbon and St Pancras Liberal Democrats' pizza and politics at the St Alban's Centre off the Gray's Inn Road last night. Belsize Councillor Alexis Rowell — Camden's 'green guru' — gave an impressive presentation about local initiatives to combat climate change, ranging from loft insulation to the appealing prospect [...]
Benedict Brogan has pointed us to a Vlog that you can see below by John Prescott which is quiet funny. After John couldn't make it to Labour's Bloggers Breakfast he send them a Vlog to try to make up for him not attending in which he pokes fun of Lord Mandelson. Personally I think John Prescott is now starting to raise questions about where he gets the funding for his blog and his Blackberry that he always boasts about. Is John Prescott still claiming allowances from Parliament, because if he is then I think he needs to stop because its ...
Just a quick reminder that I am auctioning a Spurs pennant signed by 12 of the players (including Michael Dawson, Jermaine Jenas, David Bentley, Ledley King, Jonathan Woodgate) to raise money for the excellent charity Refuge, who help victims of domestic violence. The autographed pennant was kindly donated by Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and you can see photos of it and information on how you can win it by clicking here. But hurry - the auction closes Tuesday (17 Feb) lunchtime!
A poll ran on Iain Dale's blog has awarded Baroness Warsi the award of Sexiest Valentines Peer, which is interesting because it shows that Iain's readers are full of like minded people who have bad taste. If you want to see his whole score board then follow the link to his blog post to see what his readers have rated Peers. Its strange because they are a lot of Tories and Cross bench peers but no Lib Dems? On the side the main stream media and their blogs then Boulton and Co. have a top 10 MP's list which is ...
The Western Mail reports that opinion poll research for the All Wales Convention shows strong support for giving the National Assembly primary law-making powers. However, details remain a secret because they have to be subjected to a Government Social Research protocol first. Does this mean that the results cannot yet be trusted? If so why leak them in the first place? Surely, the powers that be are not trying to distract attention from the fact that the Convention is about to collapse when its high profile chair takes up a new job in Bosnia. So far all we have had ...
The doorbell rings at some unearthy hour of the morning. It is the postman bearing half a rain forest cunningly disguised as the agenda papers for the Federal Liberal Democrat Conference at the beginning of March. It contains the usual fare of mostly English motions together with a guest speaker slot for Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader, Kirsty Williams on the Sunday morning. Star billing however (apart from Nick Clegg, obviously) is a speech on Saturday lunchtime from former Vermont Governor and Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean. They kept that quiet, or was I not paying attention again? ...
Read him: The bookies have made Wales 5-1 on for tomorrow's game, which is just ridiculous. It's going to be a lot closer than many people think. You've got to remember that the best team doesn't always win a rugby game and England will raise the level of their play to match their opponents, so last week's game against Italy isn't a necessarily an indicator of what will happen tomorrow. It's going to be a very physical game and England will be very abrasive. They're likely to play a spoiling game and Tindall will give them the opportunity to break ...
Lowering the standards required for housing so that people can rent these lower grade properties to people hardly looks like a forward thinking policy, instead it seems like a return to allowing slum landlords to provide poor accommodation for sky high rents. Surely nobody could believe this is a good idea ? Oh, apparently its a Tory idea.
The England-Wales match today and, judging by last week's performance, the only sight that England will enjoy today is Kathryn Jenkins. Still, a welcome change from Tom Jones.
On Wednesday I reported that two Philadelphia judges had been accused of taking bribes from a company that ran a juvenile detention centre in return for sending them plenty of inmates. It turns out the story is everything it seemed. Reuters reports: Two judges pleaded guilty on Thursday to accepting more than $2.6 million from a private youth detention center in Pennsylvania in return for giving hundreds of youths and teenagers long sentences.Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan of the Court of Common Pleas in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, entered plea agreements in federal court in Scranton admitting that they took ...
Another email arrives, from Lib Dem party HQ no less. "As someone who has donated to the party in the past, I wondered if you might be interested in getting more involved in the party locally?" This seems like a good idea, after all I am a keen Lib Dem supporter, but I am finding it hard [...]
An email arrives. Apparently I can own the domain "mybridgetsexkitten.com" for just $15 a year - what a bargain! Having consulted an unrepresentative sample of my campaign team (partner Richard - derisory snort; cat Percy - disdainful stare) I think the answer must be no. We are still considering myfatcatpercy.com however. [...]
So says Niall Paterson on Sky News, reporting the station's poll on this year's most fanciable MPs.
Thanks again to the team over at Sky News at this year. - I come in at number two in their Valentine's Day 'Most Fanciable MP'. Despite the methodology used by Sky - possibly the most unscientific in world history - they have made an old, valentineless woman very happy. What I want to know though - is if I'm so fanciable - where are my suitors? Sky Press release: Andy Burnham Voted 'Most Fanciable MP' Andy Burnham, Labour MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Saturday 14 February) is preparing for ...
Yesterday we at LDV Towers received an embargoed press release containing the details of Britain's Sexiest MPs, as determined by a representative panel of Britain's electorate using STV Sky hacks using the back of a fag packet. And there's good news for Lib Dems, with a high showing in the top ten including our dear leader himself, Julia Goldsworthy at number five (down three from last year) and with fruity blonde [sub please check] Lynne Featherstone leading the charge at number 2. Further information on the embargo-busting Adam Boulton Blog, including a handy link to a batch of photos that ...
From PMQ Wednesday:Paul Rowen (Rochdale, Liberal Democrat) Link to this Hansard source Watch thisWill the Prime Minister tell the House what steps the Government are taking to ensure that allegations of war crimes in Gaza are investigated by the International Criminal Court? Have the Government asked the Security Council to refer these allegations to the ICC?Add your commentGordon Brown (Prime
House of Lords Select Committees, are, on the whole, well-regarded. They are populated by experienced people, well resourced, able to draw on high quality specialist advisers, and produce insightful reports. But, most of the time you're left with a feeling of, "well, so what now?" All too often there is no follow through by government which usually waits until there is some sort of crisis and then appoints a Tsar to produce a report which says all the same things we did. Our report into Media Ownership and the News, published last year, attracted a lot of coverage, and I'm ...
YouTube's built in search facilities are pretty good for finding clips based on keywords. There are though a range of other free tools which search YouTube and present the results in different ways. Two of these are likely to be of particular interest to people involved in politics. Mappeo: searching an area Mappeo lets you see all the recent films added to YouTube plotted on a map - handy for people wanting to see what's been added in their ward, constituency or region. This only works on films which have had their location set by the person who uploaded them, ...
A little more on the reprieve for Jacksons Lane, as announced by the Arts Council on Thursday. Haringey's position was that the Arts Council approach to the future of funding wasn't dependent on the Council coming up with more cash, and that it wasn't Haringey council therefore, that was putting the future of the centre in jeopardy. Here's what the Arts Council said on Thursday: "This was a very welcome last minute offer by Haringey, without which we would not have been able to continue our commitment to Jacksons Lane." So that's clear. ...
Peter Black is currently posting on his blog about some of the broken promises in the One Wales Government. Abandoning the commitment to a Welsh Language Daily newspaper, giving up their opposition to private finance and introducing Top-up fees are pretty big u-turns for most Plaid activists, however when you throw in the rest then it is surprising that any Plaid activist can see a reason to
Sometimes I post just too fast to wait for Tavish TV*. Here is the man himself on his line at this weeks FMQ. Strangely ignored in Kezia's new fact checker feature. *Or maybe just to check it.
The first Social Liberal Forum project (technically the second one, as I will explain later) has now wheeled into view: The Ideas Factory. We want your ideas for what should be in the Lib Dem manifesto. Your idea will be critiqued by our advisory board and opened to further debate. Visitors to the SLF website will be able to give each idea marks and the whole lot will be submitted to the Lib Dem Manifesto Working Group. To start things off, I'm going to write my own pitch this weekend. Want to do one as well? Email it (max 500 ...
Jennie Rigg wrings every last drop of metaphorical goodness out of the Carnival theme in this week's edition. Enjoy! Same time next week, head over to The Wardman Wire.
Got an idea you think should be in the Lib Dem manifesto? We want to hear it! As part of the Social Liberal Forum's contribution to the Liberal Democrat policy making process, we are inviting people (whether they are party members or not) to write a short article about their big idea, and invite a debate on the subject. To kick start the debate, we will be getting members of the Social Liberal Forum's Executive Team and Advisory Board to add a short response and then open the topic to general discussion. Visitors to the website will also be allowed ...
The Channel 4 political awards are always an enjoyable occasion to mix socially with the media, political opponents and people you usually only see on the telly.In the past I've sat at a table with on...
As reported in the Liberal Democrat News yesterday, the Social Liberal Forum has now been launched. Our Director, Matthew Sowemimo, has also written a short article on Lib Dem Voice. Our launch appears to have caused a bit of a stir - which is kind of the point. You can follow the debate by going to Cobden's Comments, The People's Republic of Mortimer, Sci-Ence! Justice Leak! and Charlotte Gore Blog (apologies if I missed anyone out - just add them in the comments below and I will append). UPDATE: more coverage on Eaten by Missionaries.
With me as an employee HBOS earned 5.7 billion in profit. Not as much as the Government makes from tobacco - even the biggest corporate profit hauls are small beans compared to the Government's rake on just one of the two legal drugs, but still, a respectable and healthy amount for a corporation. Without me they've announced losses of 11 billion. Now it could be a coincidence. It could just be extraordinary prescience on my part that I left at the right time. But, you know, all things being equal it suits me to believe my services were worth 16 ...
Because I am all blogged out after the Carnival, and I still have this stinking cold, and my brain says NOOOOOOOOOOO to seriousness, I am doing a meme. I think this is fairly likely to end up long and rambling, and may end up having shocking revelations in it.Association Meme: Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given. puddingcat gave me: James May. I have always watched Top Gear. I remember it having Noel Edmonds on it. I remember Clarkson as ...
For a short while I considered the relative merits of starting a holy flame war with Tim Ireland as the fast track to free publicity and political blogging fame. I decided against it (obviously) - too easy, too exploitative and too much trouble. Let's call it the wrong kind of attention for the sake of an easy life. Derek Draper, on the other hand, is a professional spin doctor. He hasn't just picked a fight with Tim, he's also gone for the appropriately named "number one" and "number two" bloggers Guido and Iain Dale. He's got guts, and perhaps it'll ...
The Culture Show is using the theme from The Persuaders as background music. Here is the whole thing, compete with opening titles...
