One of my more pleasant tasks over the past ten years has been the five-yearly job of being Returning Officer for the South East European Regional List. On each occasion, I have enjoyed working with the Selection Committee, met and worked with a wide variety of applicants, and interacted with local members everywhere from Newbury to Canterbury, and from Oxford to Haywards Heath.Curiously, with a
9.30am Try out a new knock and drop survey form. Lots of people out, of course, but friendly response generally. Wander back to collect them and find that about 25% of the forms we have given out come back. It will be interesting to see if any come back through the post. 11.30am: arrive at Leigh Coffee Morning. Larger attendance than usual (and that is before my kids arrive). 3.00pm On the seafront, enjoying the sunshine. Warm enough to buy the kids an icecream. Coffee at Doodahs. 4.30pm Second session surveying residents. More outs this time, but some very helpful ...
Following complaints from residents about the state of the fencing in South Marketgait immediately south of the junction with Nethergate - the fence is damaged and some of the poles have been knocked down - I contacted the Council's Economic Development Department asking that the owner be asked to repair it. The Department has helpfully replied, as follows : "I have contacted the company and they have assured me they will repair the fence as soon as possible."
That's the fate awaiting many people who are deported from here to some countries of the world when their claim for asylum here is refused. One such country is the Democratic Republic of Congo. For some inexplicable reason the British Government keeps saying that it's safe to return people there. Yet when people are returned they are immediately known as hostile to the DRC government and
I'm skunnered that the Executive of the Scottish Liberal Democrats have done what they have done. Debra Storr, Paul Johnston and Sam Coull have been suspended pending process towards expulsion. They appear to have ignored the intervention starting from Chris White, which was organised by the Federal Party President Ros Scott and at the behest of the Scottish leader Tavish Scott. Also Debra Storr's complaint raised in November against the Aberdeenshire group leader Anne Robertson's treatment of her, Paul and Martin Ford was also ignored. The fact that 12 days it was disclosed in the Press and Journal before it ...
....at ESC 2009 - it's U2 meets PSB and New Order. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIRwu9xgs3g
You don't have to go to the city to find interesting things. This morning a local animal welfare charity had a sale underneath the Old Grammar School here in Market Harborough. And I bought a DVD from them. It was the 1952 film The Voice of Merrill, which stars Valerie Hobson and James Robertson Justice. With it came a catologue from its publisher, Odeon Entertainment. As you will see from their website, they specialise in reviving British films that are so obscure that even I have never heard of them. Talking of James Robertson Justice, here is a plug for ...
What a fun day not only did I finish decorating my son's bedroom (red and black hummmm nice!) and help my friend fix his car (very middle aged dad!) but also we got a nice letter from our bank telling us that unfortunately they have been unable to lower their lending rate even though the bank of England had lowered their rate by 0.5% last month. Their explanation was that this was due to "difficult banking conditions". Couple of things firstly how come it has taken so long to tell us, I mean it's not like the monthly meeting to ...
After a comfortable night with local members, Peter and Jude, we headed over to Reigate School for the joint South East/South Central Regional Conference, where I was the first speaker of the day. I wanted to take the opportunity to talk.about the role of the President and my priorities for the next two years. My speech was therefore titled, "So what does the President do all day?". The session was long enough to allow for a decent question and answer opportunity, which I think is the part that people find most useful. Questions flowed and included the perennials of fundraising ...
For the first time in about twenty years (the last time was at Reading's old ground, Elm Park) I attended a football match today and enjoyed it. I am all for Reading helping Nottingham Forest to avoid relegation. ;-)Here's a photo (below) I took from my seat of Kevin Doyle making an early challenge for a throw-in.Reading looked promising in the first half but could not land the killer blow
Georgia are putting in an entry that thumbs its nose at Putin while Jonathan Fryer wrote on his blog about the duo between an Israeli and Palestinian. The problem for Georgia is the song isn't very high quality and this year juries make up 50% of the votes. The problem for Israel is that no-one likes [...]
This week's carnival can be found on Liberal Conspiracy and is brought to you by James Graham. Next week the carnival will alight here (hem, hem) at Liberal England. It should be posted some time on Friday evening. Please nominate any blog postings about civil liberties that catch your attention before then by using the form on the carnival's home page.
This piece on the BBC website says it all. Gordon Brown, a LABOUR Prime Minister, crying crocodile tears over the predicament of Royal Mail and begging philanthropic venture capitalists to bail him out. SORRY?????????? When he can find BILLIONS for the PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS - he can't find the investment necessary to ensure a modern, responsive and competitive Royal Mail? He chats about losing 7-8% a year, doesn't he see the irony against the losses of RBS, to name but one? He chats about losing 7-8% a year, with no notion of the public service nature of the Royal Mail. ...
The parliamentary week in the Lords extended to Friday this week, with a session devoted to the second reading debate of David Steel's House of Lords Reform Bill. When David presented the Bill in the last session, it got pretty short shrift, but this time luminaries from across the House lined up to support him. What on Earth can have happened to make a cleanup of the Lords a priority for so many? During the evening, Mark and I were in Reigate for the pre-Regional Conference dinner, organised by the Local Party. After a fantastic meal (chicken stuffed with Brie ...
The first I heard of the death of Ivan Cameron was via a Burbler twitter, just as I was about to leave for work. Like parents the world over, that first euphoria on the birth of a child is quickly dented by an innate fear that this precious bundle you have been blessed with, may be taken from you. Newborn babies are scored (I think on a scale of 10), I remember how much I fretted when my son came out at 7 and we had to stay in hospital a couple of days longer. Since then he has been ...
So what's with the addidas jacket? Aren't addidas an evil capatilist company? What happened to this Communist revolutionary?
{Convention on Modern Liberty - February 28th, London and around Britain} The LibDems have just published a new Freedom Bill to highlight the civil liberties that have been curtailed under Labour over the past decade. I'm incredibly sympathetic to these arguments but dislike the approach taken by many civil liberties campaigners, who argue that we are sleep-walking into a police state. A few years ago a Japanese film called I Just Didn't Do It was released based upon the true story of a young man who was charged with molesting a school girl on a crowded train. In the film ...
At last Stockton's very own Fairtrade Directory was launched this morning at our Coffee morning. The Mayor of Stockton, Cllr John Fletcher, formally announced the launch and over 100 people who came along to the Parish Church Hall for coffee took away their free copy. It was fitting that the new Chief Executive of Stockton was there, having his morning coffee and enjoying a chat with a number
I see the news of the Cambridge University unequal pay issue also reached the student press. My efforts on this issue have reached Cambridge's ears and the Director of External Affairs is seeking a meeting with me. So full marks to him for a quick approach. We will meet in a week or so. I have no doubt there are rafts of 'reasons' as to why there is a gender pay gap (and Cambridge is not alone in this regard). The even more depressing aspect though, is Cambridge's response to the figures - which is basically that women are on ...
This week Chris Huhne - the Lib Dem Shadow Home Secretary - launched our draft Freedom Bill, which is up in draft for you to look at, comment on and suggest improvements to. Meanwhile, I've also come across the Civil Rights Movement website, which is more about immediate practical advice - also well worth a look.
I've been asked by Mick Fealty who runs the Northern Irish blog Slugger O'Toole whether the Scottish Tories are getting the same deal as my former Minister* Reg Empey has managed for Northern Ireland as part of the Ulster Unionists dowry. Basically Cameron has promised the earth to Northern Ireland: "What we have agreed is that all of Northern Ireland will be designated as an enterprise zone," the UUP leader said. "It allows us to start to work on tax issues." Asked if that would allow Northern Ireland to set a lower corporation tax, Empey said: "I would harbour that ...
The Guardian's Charles Arthur has an interesting post about the financial pressures on news outlets. Traditional media has been under pressure from online for some time, and both are now under pressure from sagging advertising revenues courtesy of the recession. The third problem is that, as he puts it, "There's a huge oversupply of news, and the internet is making it trivial for people to read content that has been produced anywhere." He quotes good evidence to backup this oversupply thesis, but what's interesting - to me - is that whilst part of my media consumption experiences would agree with ...
The Liberal Democrats have published their Freedom Bill, detailing how the party plans to roll back the authoritarian laws passed by both Labour and Conservative governments which have undermined civil liberties. The legislation is the first time a major political party has collated all of the laws which have undermined civil liberties into one Bill, so that they can...
A Keighley town councillor has told me that if I'd been listening I'd have heard a councillor near me saying the Town Council could save money by not providing refreshments before full council meetings. Well, not only was I listening I was speaking too! It was I who said it.
Bath & North East Somerset Council is appealing to local motorists to comply with the closure of Charlcombe Lane, near Bath, to help the spring migration of toads and frogs. Local volunteers have reported that speeding motorists are ignoring the closure and route diversions and have been killing toads and frogs. Toads and frogs are becoming increasingly rare due to...
Israel's choice of artists to represent the country in the Eurovision song contest in Moscow in May has put the cat amongst the pigeons, as the Jewish singer and peace activist Achinoam 'Noa' Nini will sing in tandem with the Israeli Arab performer Mira Awad. They will perform four songs, all in a mixture of [...]
{Lynne Featherstone and Cllr Martin Newton at a Haringey pedestrian crossing} A campaign success this week. My colleague Cllr Martin Newton (Lib Dem, Fortis Green ward) has been spearheading a campaign to get Haringey Council to check the state of pedestrian crossings near schools - and to repaint etc as necessary. He was spurred on by having discovered several dangerous crossings - so it wasn't just a matter of fixing what was found to be wrong, but getting the systems right for the future. Here's hoping ... but if you spot any other crossings that need work, do let me ...
The video itself is not that bad, but the sound was awful. I have increased the volume, but that just about makes it audible (if you are in a quiet environment).The meeting was a good meeting and it is sad that the sounds has come out so badly.These are the first 3 9 minute segments. The rest are uploading.All of the videos can be found here,
Chris Hall has been asked by residents here to take up their concerns about lack of winter maintenance in the street. Chris has raised this with the Council's Planning & Transportation Department, asking if the adoptive status of the street can be reviewed.
Firstly, I urge you all to watch Being Human, and add beinghumanblog to your f-lists. The show certainly puts all my problems about being a bit of a weirdo into perspective, and if you use the iPlayer to catch up on previous episodes today, you'll only have a few hours to wait until the final episode of the series - it's on at 9 o'clock tomorrow night - and the horrible cliffhanger at the end of episode five won't be torturing you the way it has me. I love this show because it shows Russell T Davies and the writers ...
On Thursday night I was very pleased to be one of a large group of women meeting at the Wellcome Institute to launch the North London Fawcett Group. The Fawcett Society is actually based in Islington (its office is in Clerkenwell) so it's about time we had a local group. Fawcett campaigns for equality between women [...]
I love to see signs of spring. Our little patch of snowdrops has been in flower for a week now and I noticed crocuses and primulae in flower at the Town Hall Square ...
Mister Sexy Bottom has buggered off to Manchester for the Convention on Modern Liberty, and I am laid in bed with snuggly doggies, laptop, the News Quiz on the Radio, and cake. Relaxing is gooooooooooooood. Of course, I have to go to work later, but we'll not think about that right now. Anyway, the reason for this post is to recommend two websites to you. Yeah, I know, advertising. Although, does it count as advertising if I'm not getting paid for it? Anyway ... The first is for the dog owners among you. Pet Planet is fab! They sell ALMOST ...
Woof woof woooooooooooooooooooooooooof! It's here.
Cllr Pete Pattisson has met with the school council at Catford High to discuss ways to improve Forster Park. Top of the students' concerns are safety, dog mess and the condition of the park's paths. Cllr Pattisson, himself a former Lewisham teacher says It was great the meet the students and hear their ideas for making Forster Park even better. I will continue to work with them to make these ideas a reality.
In 2007 the Sustainable Communities Act was passed. Central government may be going to relinquish some of the power that has been centralised more and more over the years. The act also gives the chance for parish councils to take more ...
Liberal Democrats Voice has moved servers because their previous host used to cut them off when readership increased and problems started to occur, that is just an example of why I don't want to move to self hosted Wordpress, because its not as reliable as Blogger. Just two days ago Political Betting.com the most read blog in the UK went down because of an issue related to high readership because they are self hosted and need to take into consideration issues like that. On election night USA 2008 fivethirtyeight.com's readership shot up yet Blogger saved the day by providing the ...
In many ways our social freedoms, the freedoms of particular groups, have made great leaps foward under Labour. We now have comprehensive anti-discrimination laws, civil partnerships, paternity leave, among other initiatives - all supported by the Lib Dems. But at the same time our individual civil liberties have been undermined. The Government monitors us to [...]
I should declare an interest: I work for a major global computer company. Mind you, I also disgree with all the surveillance state nonsense which Labour has been edging forward (especially the clerk of the local water works being able to read my email).I was alerted via Twitter to Paddy (Lord) Ashdown's response to James Graham's LDV article "Is Lord Ashdown the IT industry's patsy?"It is worth
I've just been on the phone to an old friend about a mutual friend in hospital. Me: How is she, is she ready for visits? If not I'll send some flowers. O.F.: Why not phone her? Me: Phone her? O.F.: Yes, she's got her phone, you're allowed them in hospital these days you know. But no flowers, they're [...]
I didn't know that Patricia Highsmith was herself a Lesbian and carried snails around in her bra. As a US citizen in the 50s she had to be constantly on her guard lest she be `outed` as a Lesbian and indeed having Communist sympathies. I sometimes wonder whether `outsiders` can be split into two groups - [...]
Whilst I was in Wales last month, one of the issues that arose was that of the tolls charged for crossing the Severn. So I asked a couple of questions... Asked by Baroness Scott of Needham Market To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the reduction in the rate of value added tax was not passed on through a lower toll charge by Severn River Crossing plc until 1 January; and, if so, how much revenue was collected by the concessionaire of the Severn Bridge crossing from the reduction in the value added tax rate not being passed on in December ...
Found this on YouTube and it does ask some very pertinent questions.
Like most websites, a fair proportion of my visitors arrive having found me on Google. I'd love to be able to say that they were all searching for erudite liberal commentary, but sadly not. Here are some of the searches visitors have typed in to reach the cafe - I doubt they found quite what they were looking for. naked in public shamecafe sexjacqui smith - naked (that's just wrong on so many levels)nipples car (the Cafe comes up number one on Google for this search - how cool is that?)free fully clothed porn to watch (fully clothed porn? what's ...
The Western Mail's Political Editor, Martin Shipton believes that Conservative Group Leader, Nick Bourne has shown poor judgement in allowing his nemesis Jonathan Morgan to go to the backbenches. He says that the decision is a watershed for the Welsh Conservatives:Losing your best frontbencher and replacing him with a political lightweight is not the mark of a good leader.But Jonathan Morgan's
There has been a great deal of discussion this week over the setting of the Council's Budget for 2009/10, with two very long meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday night.The discussions are taking place in the context of a very tight settlement from the Government this year, and a low pre-election Council tax rise last year (which happened in the last year Labour had full control of the Council, and was essentially under-funded). In other words, the cupboard is bare.The Budget has to be approved by a majority on the Council. The balance on the Council is: Labour group 19, Conservative ...
It has been reported by the BBC that a man set himself to fire outside Parliament in Parliament square which is known for its protests in protest of the Iraq war. The man who has not been named was taken to hospital about 4 O' Clock yesterday after he set himself alight. Personally the campaigner planned his protest because he knew Parliament would be busy at that time with MP's who were about to leave for home and with people in general who were going back home for the weekend. So the campaigner to get the attention lit himself on ...
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Lib Dem Highland MSP John Farquhar Munro has been the first MSP to question Tavish Scott's approach on a referendum on Independence for Scotland. Munro sees the whole question as a way to get rid of the elephant in the room: "For many years we've been hearing about the possibility of independence for Scotland through a referendum, through the result of a referendum. "I think the sooner it happens, the better, so we establish a position, clear the air as it were, and we find out whether we are going to go ahead with an independent Scotland or whether the ...
{AWElogo} At the Planning Application Meeting (PAC) on the 4 March 2009, Item 21 may be of interest: Application Number: 09/00163/ADJ - Item 21 Page 209 Applicant: MOD Address: AWE Burghfield, Burghfield, Reading, Berkshire - Out Of Borough Proposal: Construction of Main Process Facility (MPF) and Support Building with 16 lightning protector towers, associated Plant Building, gatehouses, vehicle inspection bays, sub-station buildings, security fence, access roads, hard standing and Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) infrastructure Recommendation: Observations Sent The observations letter has now been sent from RBC, calling for a holding objection and the escalation to a higher authority I had ...
The leader of the four strong Conservative Group on Swansea Council is in a hurry. He wants to be running things and making decisions. His view is that Scrutiny and other Committees are a waste of time and that his energies are best directed towards holding the executive to account. He believes, as do many more of us, that the best model for a local Council was the former Committee system, whereby multi-party meetings actually made decisions. Unfortunately, that system was abolished by an Act of Parliament in 2000. There is an alternative model, involving a multi-party board that has ...
The Lib Dems have published their new Freedom Bill to roll back authoritarian laws. You can read more on the Freedom Bill website and sign the petition here.
The week has ended, and there's still no recording of Monday's Full Council meeting on the Haringey website. Tuesday's Cabinet meeting is up there, but no explanation is offered for the absence of the council meeting the day before. Three or four years ago, the Council received Government dosh for broadcasting ('webcasting') our golden words to an unsuspecting world. By midweek, the lack of a tape for Monday's meeting was beginning to look a bit fishy. And I'm hearing that the Council feels it should not be promoting the views of a particular deputation from a group of residents. There ...
We're down on the far eastern border of Hampstead Heath on the Highgate Road... It's a part of the heath that when you use if regularly you know it well and if you don't go there often then it takes you by surprise. The key element is the stunning view up the heath (towards the white marker stone) looking north west (towards Harrow?) and the great green expanse of the heath really opens up and looks just - well breath taking - pic below. But there is also the entrance and the lovely clutter of shops around the Swain's Lane ...
A new study by Crossrail this week shows how much the economic benefit of the Crossrail line will be for each area. They reckon the Borough of Ealing will benefit to the tune of nearly £57 million. The report shows the enormous benefits that will flow to our Borough from Crossrail, with stations at Southall, Hanwell, West Ealing, Ealing Broadway and Acton Main Line and I am keen to ensure it goes ahead. There will be a very large increase in the number of passengers using all these stations, and Ealing Broadway in particular is already one of the busiest ...
{Bout as useful as} - Non-story alert - Hapless Labour candidates blog still pledges support for review of immigration policy affecting Gurkhas - 1 month on! How out of touch is this candidate? When so much has been happening in Reading over the last month... My advice would be, visit Reading once in a while. May be even when there isn't some council meeting for you to be photographed at! Or, ooh I don't know, talk to your local party... oh right, they don't like you. LOL I think this sums up the Labour party as a whole, out of ...
As many of you know, the lamentable decision by Ealing's planning committee to approve the appalling Arcadia scheme has been called in by the Secretary of State. This was fantastic - although unexpected - news! A Public Inquiry will now be held in Ealing to finally decide the matter. This post is to fill in some of the background. Council officers are currently sorting out procedures with the Government Office for London and the Planning Inspectorate. Once this have been completed, the formal notification of the call-in will be sent out to anyone who commented on the application. I understand ...
...but an enjoyable one. I woke up at 7:30 (which happens in the morning too, who knew?) for no apparent reason, and then found myself completely unable to fall back to sleep despite crippling exhaustion. On rising, I finished off (most of) my Molecular Genetics assignment and handed it in, precisely 15 minutes before the [...]
8am: at the airport for a visit and discussion of the plans to extend the runway. Two and a quarter hours of discussion, and site visits for Graham Longley and myself. 3pm: visit to KeyMed, probably the biggest private-sector employer in Southend and a tremendous company. I am tremendously impressed, in many ways. We are there for longer than I expected - but I haven't seen everything yet. Very much hope to return in the future.One of the issues that emerges is the extent to which the single market is important to KeyMed. 8pm: Tapas evening thanks to my wife. ...
Anyone who feared that current economic difficulties might have diverted people's attention away from international questions would have been disabused by the healthy turnout at Thursday night's Pizza and Politics at La Forchetta in Bethnal Green, hosted by Tower Hamlets LibDems, when the Bethnal Green and Bow PPC Ajmal Masroor and I spoke on prospects for [...]
