{Lynne Featherstone at police control centre} On Monday I went to visit the new, wham bam, all singing all dancing communications centre for the Met Police. Having spent much of my time when on the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) banging on about the appalling lack of response when people tried to ring their local police stations - today was pretty satisfying. About five years ago or so I carried out a survey of police stations with front counters across London. We rang them all - allowing up to 100 rings (6 minutes +) - for them to answer. The results ...
So Gordon Brown has received a number of standing ovations from the US Congress for what was a proficient and actually rather fluent speech to them today. I wonder how many of them he would trade in for some good news at home ?
Just a few snippets from tonight's full Council meeting. I have lost my voice today, so it was strange being there and not being able to speak ! most people had a laugh about it - but a few were seriously pleased. It was fun seeing the Tory leader of the Council defend the Labour Government policy on City Regions to the Labour group leader. But I have serious concerns about the lack...
'Newspapers' like the Daily Mail and the Express get savaged on a routine basis by bloggers, but almost as bad, because of its perceived respectability, is that once-great newspaper The Times. Over the decades since it was bought up by Rupert Murdoch, a paper that is synonymous with quality the world over has become merely [...]
Tonight was John's last formal council meeting in the Town Hall. It was a peaceful affair with no rants or major arguments but a number of very important questions raised and either answered or answers promised. As more co-operation is planned in our "city region" we need to know exactly what is being set up and what is being done in our name.At the end of the meeting a Thornaby councillor who
Oval Lib Dem Councillors are delighted that the campaign to save the planned De Lieto bakery on Brixton Road has succeeded. Its application was being blocked by the council who were worried, among other things, by people not liking the smell of freshly baked bread! When we learnt about the council's intention to refuse permission, we used our right as local councillors to refer the issue to the planning committee, so the final decision would be taken by elected councillors in public rather than non-elected officers. We circulated letters and emails to local residents about the issue, who gave us ...
This afternoon I was at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with Ajmal Masroor, LibDem prospective parliamentary candidate for Bethnal Green and Bow, with a petition from Tower Hamlets residents calling on the British government to be more proactive in promoting peace and justice in the Middle East. If I had been able to bend Gordon Brown's [...]
Max Clifford has said he is ready to tell Jade Goody "enough is enough" and she should withdraw from the public eye if her condition continues to worsen.This is welcome. I admire Goody's move in highlighting the realities of cancer.But I was rather concerned that, at the rate we were going, we might be in for a Bernard Manning moment.
I've been interested and involved in the development of Neighbourhood Policing since the launch of the first Neighbourhood Action Group in Redlands back in 2007. According to research undertaken by the Home Office into awareness of policing published today: 53% of people feel that they know little or nothing about their local Police team 58% of people say they know little or nothing about how to find out about where and when Police Neighbourhood meetings are held ...and only 66% of people actually know what local priorities Police are concentrating on in their area. These statistics are worrying and a blow to ...
None of us want the UK government to use intelligence gained by torture, do we? Support Craig Murray's quest to have his evidence heard by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights: It'll take you two minutes to write one email, and another two minutes to forward the link to all your friends.
Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader, Kirsty Williams has won the Devolved Parliamentarian or Assembly Member of the Year at the Women in Public Life Awards tonight.
Chris has taken up residents' requests for improved, white, lighting in the area. Chris agrees with residents that white lighting would be an improvement in safety terms and is hoping for a positive response from Dundee City Council to his request.
A Dundee-based street lighting partnership looks set to be extended following a successful initial three-year period. A report to Dundee City Council's planning and transport committee on Monday (March 9) recommends that the council's partnership with Perth and Kinross Council and Tayside Contracts be extended for three years. Committee convener Councillor Fraser Macpherson said: "The partnership was set up three years ago and involves an integrated team covering Dundee and Perth and Kinross with many benefits for the councils and Tayside Contracts. "It has proved to be a very successful and cost-effective arrangement, with reduced staff costs, savings through bulk ...
With the Prime Minister off gigging at the US Congress, it was left to Harriet Harman to stand in at Prime Minister's Questions, and face interrogation from Vince Cable for the Lib Dems and William Hague for the Tories. This was undoubtedly a pretty weak performance by Ms Harman (though, somewhat bizarrely, she has been lauded by the Guardian's Nicholas Watt), who managed to come across as both flakey and humourless. She was heavily reliant on her official briefing and proved unable to think on her feet - in short, she was a perfect stand-in for Gordon Brown. However, I ...
Hat tip to PJ who pointed out that Jeff had passed comment about the Lib Dem amendment to put aside a referendum bill for this Parliament. Jeff as the first part of his blog's name* would suggest takes the Nat approach that it is win-win for the SNP. However, he seems to have waylaid the middle 'tactical' part of his original remit. I can assume that my public pronouncements on the subject of a referendum mean that I am clearly counted when the Nat Whip Brain Adam says: "Mike Rumbles said he wanted the party to decide their policy - ...
This blog will be hosting the latest Carnival on Modern Liberty on Friday evening. (Here is a link to last week's Carnival to give you an idea of the usual content,) I would welcome your recommendations of blog articles on the following topics from the past week: Action: ideas and initiatives for raising awareness of civil liberty-related issues.Events: civil-liberty related events that you are either organising or would like to promote.Jeers: reports of the latest assaults on liberties.Cheers: good news and praise for the champions of liberty.What liberty means to me: think pieces about what liberty in a modern context ...
Background: last week I wrote a short article on Lib Dem Voice about the ippr's new report on surveillance and data protection, pointing out how it had been funded and lamenting the fact that Lord Ashdown has, in effect, been used to legitimise the argument. This resulted in a furious response from Lord Ashdown himself, most of which I have dealt with in the subsequent comments thread. There has been one lingering thread from all this which I have been quietly pursuing. Lord Ashdown listed a number of other funders for his Commission which I didn't mention. These are: DfID ...
My ears are still recovering from Deputy Leader's Question Time. The more the Lady Harriet got wound up, the more shrill was her tone. There were times when I thought she was simply going to explode and MPs were going to get showered by her aristocratic blue blood. Alas, it was bad news for the Labour Party - she survived to live another day, and, of course, mount a leadership bid if Labour loses
I'm running for Postgraduate and Mature Students Officer in the University of Manchester Students' Union elections. Here's the video I recorded for the campaign:
As if her comment to overwrite the European Convention on Human Rights to try and cease Sir Fred Goodwin's private property (his pension) off him. Saying they could retrospectively change contracts, which would be a real disincentive for foreign investors to invest in the UK. Harriet Harman was at it again in her personal vendetta to get at Sir Fred Goodwin. She claimed during PMQs. while standing in for the act performing to US Congress in Joint Session later that Sir Fred's pension was for his work with the Prince's and not for Banking, but for his work for the ...
Yesterday On an Overgrown Path posted a photograph: Igor Stravinsky greets Mistlav Rostropvich at the Royal Academy of Music, London in June 1964. Stravinsky was in England to conduct his Symphony of Psalms and Variations on the Bach Chorale Von Himmel Hoch da komm' ich her at the English Bach Festival in Oxford, and rehearsals were held at the Royal Academy.Mrs Stravinsky has her back to the camera, while the figure in the background extreme upper-left is the 20 year old John Tavener.Move forward 45 years and what do we find? This: Artists must now not only show proof of ...
It is very interesting reading the increasing number of articles in newspapers and on blogs which question the logic of the green scare. For several years now we have been told that the planet is dying and that we must act now to stop global warming by adopting all sorts of lifestyle changes. Hideously self-righteous people have told us how we can do all sorts, including buying greener cars, cutting air travel, recycling more and living better. Now, I like this approach to life as I think it makes a lot of sense. I haven't flown since 2001, though largely ...
I watched this film yesterday and it completely blew me away. Not since the Commitments have I seen a film so well crafted, good looking, engaging and simply enjoyable - even if it was far more hard hitting than I had expected. There is nothing like a good movie to forget real life to and this had everything - even a brilliant dance scene. Americans can make good blockbusters but they lack depth. only the British can make films which rely on a little more grey matter while also entertaining. 10 out of 10 to Danny Boyle. I thoroughly recommend ...
Yesterday I reported that a Labour MP (David Taylor) had made a joke about Essex girls in the Commons. As Russell once wrote a a trenchant letter to Liberal Democrat News after I made some mild jokes about Essex MPs, I naturally assumed that he would defend the honour of his fellow countywomen. So I checked his website. Nothing. I looked at Google News. The BBC quotes Lord Hanningfield (leader of Essex County Council) as calling Taylor's comments "pathetic" and "juvenile". The Braintree & Witham Times quotes Tory MP Simon Burns: "I am bitterly disappointed that in a sensible exchange ...
I did laugh at this story. Then I felt angry. Then a bit scornful. Then I decided to laugh in an angry and scornful way. Which made me feel a tad bit better about this whole story. Essentially, this story can be summed up as follows: Phil Woolas broke down into a teenage tantrum today, when it became apparent that the ONS wouldn't give in to the petty, ludicrous micro-managing censorship that has become the norm for this decrepit government. "They won't *blub* do what I tell *blub* them to do!" Woolas shrieked in a pitiful way to the news. ...
The attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan is deplorable, that's clear. The problem is that this is not an isolated incident in Pakistan and the reassuring, honeyed words (they generally have great radio voices) of various politicians and police chiefs will not solve the fundamental problems in Pakistan. Essentially it is a failing state with large parts of the country ungoverned and lawless, with the kind of religious nutters the bin Ladens would have round for tea taking control in the areas not under government control and with guns and other weapons widely available throughout the country. Plus they ...
The attack on the Science Museum for hosting a day celebrating Israeli science is rather mediaeval in its outlook. The same group of academics who attacked universities for their links with Israel institutions are now turning their sights on this hotbed of militancy and support for the occupation, a museum. The reasons given for this latest attack are that Israel science is largely focused on its military machine and the economics of occupation. Now, I would challenge anyone for the right to be Israel's fiercest critic but this smacks of a witch hunt. Doubtless Israel will have a good proportion ...
Something I have noticed before about PMQs and it was apparent again today is that a fair proportion of the time is spent not asking or answering questions but in paying tributes or other statements of this nature. Now, I need to tread carefully here as what I am about to say could easily be misinterpreted. I think it is absolutely right that the House of Commons pays tribute to fallen soldiers. I think they do it well and with heartfelt dignity and it is the least our servicemen deserve. However, the tradition that has become apparent recently of announcing ...
Every so often a fellow blogger comes up with something so good that it deserves circulating to a wider audience. Step forward Jeffrey Breslin and take your bow for this brilliant guide to Gordon Brown to the Americans. "Gordon doesn't usually have a straight tie, don't take it personally if it doesn't look like he dressed for the occasion. When Gordon is baring his teeth at you, that will probably be a smile. When Gordon's shoulders shake seemingly for no reason, that will be a laugh. And the sentences before it, believe it or not, will have been a joke. ...
This meme is doing the rounds on Facebook. Jennie says that it made its way round Livejournal four years ago so enjoy a moment of 2005 nostalgia! MY FIRST ALBUM...RULES: 1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit "random" or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band. 2 - Go to www.quotationspage.com and select "random quotations" or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album. 3 - Go to Flickr and click on "explore the last seven days" or ...
Monday: It seems that the Grauniad's resident misanthropic television critic has reached the limits of human endurance with the Hard Labour Government, resulting in THIS warmly-received splenetic diatribe against the politicos of the ruling classes. Or rather against ALL politicians of every stripe. But here's my problem: if you're fed up with the way things are, you've got two choices. Either, one: play by the rules, join a political party that WILL make a difference and change the system; or, two: organise a revolution. Anything else is just "shootin the breeze" as the ELEPHANTS of EVIL in America would put ...
I'm not ready to move to the new blog just yet (stupid amount of work) but I'm killing this blog now, anyway. A couple of critical errors I've made recently, including switching from tea to coffee and being a lot less fussy about the quality of food I eat (too much sugar and fat) is making me fairly irritable most of the time, and that's not the ideal state for this sort of thing, if I'm honest. Something's got to give, and it looks like it's this blog, considering how difficult I've found it to post of late. I want ...
Lib Dem Voice reported last week that Scottish Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott had made clear his opposition to a referendum on Scottish independence: Liberal Democrats do not support independence and we will not support a referendum that could let independence in through the backdoor." Today the Scottish party will go one stage further and move an amendment in the Holyrood Parliament calling for any idea of a referendum to be dumped until after the next elections in 2011. It is thought likely that Labour and the Tories will rally behind the Lib Dem amendment, which would ensure the SNP ...
I have a new Page. One of the first things that happened as a result of this was that someone offered a donation to our campaign. It hasn't arrived yet (as far as I know) but it is a promising start. Suggestions for improving the page are welcome. Especially good ones.
I am delighted that Southside youth centre will benefit from a £2m cash injection which will see it transformed into a fully accessible meeting place for young people. The two-year regeneration project at the Southside Community Project Centre will see the creation of facilities such as a music studio and a community café. The Whiteway estate in Twerton & Southdown have gone...
Soaring energy bills have left an estimated 16% of Bath residents in fuel poverty1 this winter, according to new figures from Consumer Focus, highlighted by the Liberal Democrats. Bath MP Don Foster is demanding the Government act urgently to help people struggling to pay their fuel bills and is calling on MPs of all parties to back the Fuel Poverty Bill being introduced by fellow...
Commenting on Phil Woolas' criticism of the Office of National Statistics, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said: "Phil Woolas should get his tanks off the statisticians' lawn." "Ministers cannot lay into independent statisticians simply because they do not like the figures they produce or dislike the timing of when they are...
John McCain tweets. He tweets about meeting this or that official, or being interviewed by KTVK 3TV News in Phoenix AZ etc etcBut what he is seemingly tweeting most about is his favourite subject: Earmarks. Just look at his recent earmark tweetings listed below (all taken from the Fiscal Stimulus bill, I imagine). The man's obsessed. He ran a substantial part of his Presidential campaign against
From Amnesty Blogs:Momentous news from The International Criminal Court today. For the first time a sitting head of state has been issued with an international arrest warrant. But how long it will take before the President of Sudan is arrested is quite another matter.An important legal precedent, I think. Some of us still dream of Blair and Bush standing in the dock at the Hague, but I think we
Just a really quick one, today. On Friday morning/afternoon, a small group of us from CSLD will be travelling north to Harrogate. It will be all of our first trip to Conference. Personally I can't wait. Although the polls have been fidgeting a little, we're starting the climb-back to where we were a couple of years ago. During a General Election campaign, I am almost without a worry, that our poll rating will increase dramatically. If we can reach such heady heights of 22% during none-election time, what heights can we reach during a General Election when the usually biased ...
Sadly King Edward's didn't win the £400,000. Thanks to everyone who voted.
Jack Allen holdings, the company with the proposals for the huge waste facility in Garston, is trying again. The original plans were withdrawn towards the end of last year. the company say this was to look again at the scheme - butht he thousands of objections must have been relevant. Now they have a new scheme which, despite some changes, would still cause a major problem for people living near the site (Dock Road) and for those near the roads that will form the lorry route. Jack Allen (or rather their PR consultants) have organised some exhibitions. The residents group ...
Is Harriet Harman's future Labour party leadership hopes just "political rumour" as she put it today. Whilst watching Prime Ministers Question I was puzzled that Harriet come out with something like that and I would have expected her to crack a joke at the Tory expense like Gordon Brown would have done. Harriet is getting geared up for Labour to lose the next general election and get rid of Brown as leader so she can take his position but I don't think its gonna be that easy. If the next Parliament comes out to become a hung Parliament a coalition ...
In case you're trying to email South Glos this afternoon or look something up on their website, both are out of action due to a power failure. UPDATE 4 pm - website is now visible
The latest issue of The Society For Individual Freedom's jounal The Individual has been published. It contains two excellent articles, the first by Joe Peacott criticising the idea that 'western culture' is somehow superior to all others and under assault by 'eastern cultures'. This is something I've been meaning to address - its a rather troubling [...]
Wallington Station Access Scheme Meeting with Officers Following up from the stakeholder consultation meeting Councillor Richard Bailey & I met with Paul Blunt, Traffic & Highways Works Manager and representatives from the scheme design consultants PBA. Richard & I wanted the station forecourt layout changed to reflect the concerns expressed by residents during consultation. The consultants [...]
The leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Kirsty Williams has criticised Plaid Cymru for trying to hoodwink Welsh students into believing that they want to keep Wales top-up free.Commenting on the letter sent by Plaid Cymru MP Adam Price to Education Minister Jane Hutt claiming that the WAG would be acting unlawfully if they pressed ahead with top-up fees, Kirsty Williams said:"Plaid Cymru are
Watching The Daily Politics earlier today and their coverage of PMQs where the deputies stood in, I thought that Harriet Harman did quite well and managed to skewer Hague a couple of times with well chosen political points (apparently he has taken £30,000 from RBS for public speaking recently and also used some of his own words about deregulation when he was Tory leader against him). Sure, she was a bit stumbly but no worse than many I have seen at the despatch box and even Hague stumbled over his words a couple of times. But during the discussion afterwards, ...
After moaning about Reading FC's defeat last Saturday, which I saw at Madejski Stadium, I feel duty-bound to mark their fantastic victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough last night. When they were 1-0 down I was beginning to despair. But the lads came back with two goals, from Doyle and Long, spectacularly breaking the goal drought which had lasted for 604 minutes of playing time.After
Little do we know of the leaders we elect. "We don't do God" said Alastair Campbell, in his most successful big lie ever. Thus it was that Britain voted for that cheerful scamp from the Ugly Rumours, who didn't believe in anything much except doing "what works". What we actually got was a religious fanatic, with a messianic self-belief which led him crusading into the morass of Iraq. These reflections came to mind recently, when Lib Dem Voice readers recently suggested my comments on Nick Clegg must be due to personal conflict. I can only say that I don't know ...
Cast your minds back three weeks, and there was much controversy about the financial rewards being received by bankers whose firms had been rescued from bankruptcy by taxpayers. Hmm, how times change. Anyway, it prompted Lib Dem Voice to ask our readers: What do you think should be done about bonuses in those banks recapitalised with taxpayers' money? Here's what you told us: >> 53% (212 votes) - No bonuses should be paid at all >> 27% (109) - There should be a government-enforced cap on bonuses >> 16% (66) - Payment of bonuses should remain at the banks' discretion ...
Of all the arguments that this government has put up to justify their attempted smash-and-grab raid on the natural rights of us all, the most wrong-headed, spurious and downright pernicious is perhaps the claim that "if you've done nothing wrong, then you have nothing to fear". To someone who has an absolute trusting faith in the state, this is true. Entrusting a perfect state, which both never did anything wrong and also never did anything with their data that a reasonable citizen might wish to disagree with, is one thing. But this is of course not exactly what's an offer, ...
BBC Radio 4's "You and Yours" has exposed a deception of the unemployed which involved advertising non-existent jobs in newspapers and employment web-sites, including that of Job Centre Plus. The firm pretended to be a national company expanding into all regions of the countries. Applicants were initially told that they had been accepted to take up a post in the new office local to them, then informed that the job was no longer available. Instead, they could work from home in return for paying a fee for training. The training consisted of a mailed set of instructions on how to ...
My colleague Oranjepan from Reading List has passed on some information about a consultation regarding recycling for businesses in Central Berkshire. It encompasses Bracknell Forest where I live and also Reading where I run a business from. I have to say that any movement in this area is welcome but it has taken long enough! We have run one of our offices in Reading for a year and a half and when we first moved in we discussed at length with the office management company about recycling and were told that there were no facilities. At all. Latterly, the management ...
Follow the link Revealed: Sir Fred Goodwin was still advising the Treasury until five weeks ago You could not make it up. Disgraced banker Sir Fred Goodwin was a member of a committee that officially advises the Treasury as recently as five weeks ago. A senior Labour member of the Commons' Treasury select committee is now saying that [...]
OK, let's get this done quickly. I'm told that I'm meant to do this, but until I find a way to make it even vaguely interesting, it's going to be quick. In February, my fifth month of blogging, I had 2,891 unique visitors to the Cafe. Several were drunk when they arrived, but I can't afford decent bouncers yet. This is up from January, my previous high, when I had 1,957 unique visitors. I can't say how excited I am to have nearly one seventh the number of visitors as Lib Dem Voice. Thanks to all my guests. I love ...
Yesterday I was appointed a joint Administrator of The Political Betting.com Appreciation Society by Jon Antill and I send out a message to members to get a warm reply. Many people have replied to the message I sent out and are happy to see that I have been appointed an Admin, one of the replies I got was from Nick Palmer MP who has started a conversation which I hope to continue with him. I have taken up the role as Administrator, as I think the group needs to be more interactive and I shall work to the best of ...
Spring conference takes place this weekend in the town of cake and tea - a spiritual home from home for us all! I don't mind admitting that conference has snuck up on me this time. Partly that's because I've been focussed on the Convention of Modern Liberty which only took place last weekend, but pleasantly enough I think it's also because there's no party crisis looming for once. This weekend will be much less of a nail-biter than Autumn '08 (Make It Happen), Spring '08 (Clegg's maiden voyage) and Autumn '07 (Campbell's swansong). Heavens, there's even an outside chance that ...
I've heard that Cllr Peter Scott local Labour leader told the last Full Council that Stockport was wanting `Stockport jobs for Stockport people`. This is odd as his reply to me regarding the fact that Stockport residents are refused the right to apply for range 1-3 jobs at Manchester City Council states that he wishes [...]
Ted Kennedy is to get an honorary knighthood. Hurrah! say I.Bear in mind other recipients of that award include Terry Wogan and Bob Geldof. So, the currency is not exactly of high value, although those two characters deserve recognition in their own right.But the award to Ted Kennedy has been questioned by a Tory frontbencher and Ann Widdecombe.We are talking about one of the most successful and
There are those Liberal Democrats who are beginning to feel that there is some common cause that we share with the Conservatives, can I suggest they read these postings all of which I stumbled on within a short period of time this morning: Firstly, a comment from the Conservative candidate for Morley and Outwood: The Conservatives are [...]
The BBC and its accurate reporting strikes again. This time they state that Chris Huhne is the leader of the Lib Dems. When will they learn?
I didn't do a netcast this weekend, and I won't be doing one next weekend, what with being at conference and all, and it's eating away at me... Here, then, is my approximation (tailored for the readers of this blog) The Guardian publishes another poll from Theos, the GodSquad propagandists: 89% [of Britons] dismiss intelligent design and 83% reject creationism as plausible explanations for the existence of human life. Bearing in mind that this is Theos we are talking about, the questions will have been designed with pushpolling for God in mind, so this is pretty amusing. Today's XKCD is ...
If you're planning to be in Harrogate this weekend at Spring Conference, don't forget that LDV welcomes guest submissions on most topics. We can't be everywhere at once so we actively encourage conference goers to submit articles. And if you're at home watching from afar, why not pen a piece on how conference is perceived from without the bubble? As at previous conferences, the LDV team will be filing copy, but will have to wait until we arrive in Harrogate to work out what just what facilities we have. Will it be a cupboard under the stairs? Will we be ...
We have now published the final version of the report from the Power of Information Taskforce that I have been chairing over the last few months. This has been both interesting and enjoyable for me, exploring ways to improve access to and use of public sector information, and thinking through new models for government to engage with social media.
Ah, global politics. It's all fun and games until somebody loses a press conference. And a trillion pounds.
Here's the timetable for the June local elections in England Notice of election to be published: Not later than Tuesday 28 April Delivery of nomination papers: During office hours on any day from the date stated on the notice of election Deadline for delivery of nomination papers: Not later than 4pm on Thursday 7 May Publication of statement of persons nominated: Not later than 12 noon on Monday 11 May Deadline for withdrawals of candidature: 12 noon on Tuesday 12 May Deadline for notice of appointment of election agents: 12 noon on Tuesday 12 May Last day to submit a ...
As an early morning listener to the Today programme, I occasionally worry that I'm still dreaming and, instead of hearing the real news, the words seemingly coming from Humphrys, Naughtie et. al. are being conjured up by my own twisted imagination. This was one such morning, as I decended the stairs and turned on the radio to hear the Daily Mail, no less, railing against doctors who over-prescribe pills to older patients not really in need of medication. The article is pretty sensible. It raises the issue of people being prescribed pills when there's no good evidence that they need ...
Less then two years ago the Conservatives backed Lib Dem proposal to cap political donations to £50,000 and just two days ago when the Commons voted on the amendment the Tories supported the government and voted against the Lib Dems! Yet the Tories like to call themselves "New Conservatives" and personally I don't see anything new about supporting Labour on policy which you once backed, it shows they are the same Conservatives who sent our troops to Iraq. I have an idea to why the Conservatives voted with Labour to block this amendment, its because this would have huge implication ...
Adam Price's front page article in today's Western Mail threatening to sue the Assembly Government if they introduce top-up fees in Wales is the finest piece of spin dressed up as principle I have seen for a long time. Mr. Price has written a letter to Education Minister, Jane Hutt telling her that her plans are unlawful. His reasoning for this is that it is in breach of the One Wales Agreement, which he says links the issue to the lifting of the cap on top-up fees in England. He says that this is an event that now looks unlikely ...
{road-works-at-icknield-way.jpg} Many residents have contacted me regarding the proposed closure of Smannell Road between Icknield Way and Smannell. Concerns have been expressed about increased traffic through Smannell and Little London, traffic using unsuitable local roads as alternatives, possible accidents outside the school, damage to the roads during the diversion and delays for emergency vehicles reaching Smannell. The road will be closed for up to three months from 23 March while road works are carried out at East Anton. This involves widening the road and installing new roundabouts. The decision to do so is made by the developers in consultation with ...
Once upon a time there was a young farmer and his wife just outside Darlington who decided to try organic egg farming. They bought the hens, invested in new huts and copious amounts of space for the hens to run around in. They fed them only the finest organic food with no artificial colours to make the yolk more yellow or routine use of antibiotics to keep the chickens laying longer.The Soil
Yesterday I attended Eve Aldridge's funeral at the Hatfield Road Methodist Church. It was packed. The size of the congregation was itself a tribute to the quiet impact Eve made on so many people just for being who she was. She used to be a Liberal councillor in St Albans. She came on to the council at the same time as I did so we were both "newbies" and would look to each other when we were unsure of some protocol. Her misfortune when it came to roll call votes was to have a surname beginning with "A" - the ...
A useful article from Ministry Matters here on services available from the independent Home Heat Helpline - 0800 33 66 99 -for vulnerable groups struggling to cope with fuel bills. Of course, making those bills fairer in the first place would also help. You can sign my petition backing the Fuel Poverty Bill here. [...]
The front page of yesterday's 'Times of India' carries this message, as part of its Lead India '09 campaign; I swear. I swear that this time I will stand up Not for what I believe in, but for what I don't. This time I will vote. Not for, but against. Against my own helplessness. Against my own laziness. Against two words called Chalta Hai*. Against short cuts in queues. Against cheating in exams. Against Kharcha Paani** in offices. Against powerless enquiry commissions. And powerful vote banks. Against religion in politics. And politics in religion. Against illegal constructions. And legal loopholes. ...
What happens if you force companies to value assets based on what they would be theoretically worth if sold today - even if there's no market, no buyers and no desire to sell rather than what they're actually worth? See, this is what's crazy about the banking crisis. 'Toxic assets' are toxic because their 'fair value' is considerably less than their market value, what they're actually worth. In reality no-one will buy these 'toxic assets', even though they're a bargain and likely to pay off in the long term, because they'd have to write them down as a massive loss ...
I don't know whether you saw the news about Jack Straw last week? The Justice Secretary made history. For the first time, he used the Government veto which is part and parcel of the Freedom of Information Act. Going against the decision of the Information Tribunal, Mr Straw chose to block the publication of two sets of [...]
It makes you wonder. Yesterdays awful attack on the Sri Lankan Cricket team in Pakistan will now result in a security review of every major sporting event in the world. In principle this is no bad thing. However, what will be the outcome? Will the London Olympics spend millions of pounds on a security review and then change nothing? Will every major football ground have armed police? What now for cricket? All questions that will be pondered over the coming days and weeks. Let sports fans unite and fight the law breakers and ensure sport stays as it is, sport ...
This blog's favourite scandal has been taken up by Monbiot in Dissident Voice: The corrupt judges were paid by the private prisons not only to increase the number of child convicts but also to shut down a competing prison run by the public sector.Taking bribes to bang up kids might be novel; shutting public facilities to help private companies happens — on both sides of the water — all the time.
This wasn't intended as proof of the problem, but considering Flask Walk in NW3 is one of the nicest passages around this photo reveals the problem. It's actually very hard to take the picture that captures the charm and the 'olde worldy' atmosphere. Of course down Flask Walk you have a great bookshop, penshop, cafe, pub, tailor, florist - it's a veritable hive of activity... (sadly no butcher) It's not without issues and problems and you can see the trade waste piled up. But if you don't go to Hampstead very often, then why not this saturday wander ...
If you are looking for updates on what's going on at Jacksons Lane arts and community centre, there's the website, but why not also join their email list. You can sign up on the website at http://www.jacksonslane.org.uk/ and hit the mailing list button on the left. Another thing to note about Jacksons - the centre has wi-fi access installed. You can access the internet - while enjoying a fantastic coffee or meal from the cafe. And as my pic hopefully conveys, Jacksons Lane is very, very near Highgate Tube......
Soaring energy bills have left an estimated 16% of Bath residents in fuel poverty1 this winter, according to new figures from Consumer Focus, highlighted by the Liberal Democrats. Bath MP Don Foster is demanding the Government act urgently to help people struggling to pay their fuel bills and is calling on MPs of all parties to back the Fuel Poverty Bill being introduced by fellow...
My friends and colleagues in my old stomping ground of Kingston have actually trumped the SNP. They have proposed a £1 per household reduction in council tax. Yes folks council tax can go down, as well as up or remaining frozen.
{AWElogo} If you were planning to go to Newbury to hear WBC's PAC decision on AWE Burghflied, then tonights the night. Peter Burt is co-ordinating a protest out side the meeting: Join the demonstration - West Berkshire Council Offices, Newbury. Wednesday 4th March from 5.30 pm.
Apparently the Nat Government has effectively turned down £13bn from Westminster aimed to get PFI projects such as schools and hospitals off the ground when the private sector element is not forthcoming. It clearly is one problem when there is a recession that private companies clam up in new capital investment if they can and focus on things that currently exist. However, as the SNPs Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) has failed to materialise after 21 months and because of their opposition and cessation to the previous PFI model on which SFT is based. There has yet to be a single ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VMZZU3lIpg Save Our Pubs
If you thought travelling by Ryanair couldn't get worse, you were sadly mistaken. Now they are thinking of charging for using the loo on the plane. Flushed with, and perhaps bowled over by their own cleverness, they have not considered the chain of consequences of this motion. Passengers desparate to avoid spending extra pennies will not dare to buy drinks during the flight. Net result -
@pigsonthewing consider yourself a purveyor of fine advice to HMG - comments and interest in report much appreciated #poit
Returning from Whitby down the M1, I made the unforgiveable error of stopping at Moto's Donnington Park Services. Britain's motorway services are so famously awful that it is hard to choose which is the worst but Donnington is a candidate. It is a vast aircraft hangar devoid of beauty or utility or of course service. Presumably Moto impose their exhorbitant prices to recover the costs of
I spent a long weekend in Whitby recently and I recommend it. Over the weekend the name Penrose came up again and again. I had packed Roger Penrose's "The Emperor's New Mind" in another forlorn attempt to finish the book. I needn't have worried. As I sat at dinner at the wonderful Magpie Café, a young bearded Englishman at another table explained the entire thesis enthusiastically to a young
