When it first opened in the mid nineties Deep Sea World at North Queensferry was attracting massive crowds - up to five thousand a day. The queues were so long it took staff an hour to walk from one end to the other to entertain the waiting visitors.During my visit yesterday I discovered that special world below the Forth Bridge hasn't lost its appeal. That underwater moving walkway still sparks the imagination and the Centre is constantly evolving with new exhibits.But what shone out was the contribution that the staff make to the experience. From when I first walked through ...
I'm immensely grateful to MPs Alistair Burt, Jim Fitzpatrick and Chris Chope for their support today. If it wasn't for them my Driving Instructors Bill on the power to suspend driving instructors convicted of serious offences would have failed to get its Second Reading.It's very unusual for Presentation Bills to progress without debate on Private Members Business. The Government and Official Opposition regard it as standard practice to object and it only takes one MP to object for a bill to fail to proceed.Last month when my Bill was up for consideration it received an objection but thanks to Alistair, ...
In 2004 UN-HABITAT responded to the problem of evictions of squatters, low-income renters, indigenous peoples and other vulnerable groups with inadequate or no legal security of tenure by establishing the Advisory Group on Forced Evictions (AGFE) that reports to the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT. The Advisory Group's mandate is to monitor forced evictions and to identify and promote alternatives such as in situ upgrading and negotiated resettlement. On May 14 I chaired a meeting in Committee Room 3 to hear from a UK group which is reporting to UN-Habitat on the evictions of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups throughout Europe, ...
Ros's message to Party members, and her earlier blog entry have drawn some interesting comments. I'm not going to respond to them - that isn't my job, nor does my opinion matter particularly. However, the sight of my fellow Party members with the sun glinting off their pitchforks and the smell of burning torches in the air does oblige me to provide a little information... Ros is in Cornwall, campaigning with our candidates for the critical Unitary and European elections there. She isn't carrying a laptop, her PDA reception is bad, and she's spending all of her time meeting the ...
Peter Oborne writes in tomorrow's Daily Mail: So what should we do? One part of the answer is to cherish those politicians who really are honest and decent. It is important that this number includes David Cameron.Top of the list, however, is the wonderful Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable, who claimed next to nothing in allowances, bought no flats, stole no taxpayers' money and made the daily Tube journey from his home in Twickenham to Westminster. (And, of course, he got it dead right on the economy.) How we need him as our prime minister!What a wise commentator the ...
Parliament must move quickly to reform the disgraced expenses arrangements or voters will never forgive MPs This is now about salvaging public trust of the political class It already feels like both a cliché and an understatement to say that this has been a bad week for politics. The barrage of revelations about MPs' expenses has caused immense damage to the standing of all MPs, and Parliament itself. For many people all of the worst stereotypes of a sleazy, self-interested political class will have been confirmed. Mistakes have been made on all sides, as have apologies, and money has rightly ...
I've been messing around with writing poetry recently, and my thoughts went back to those glorious days of yore when artists didn't have to worry about pleasing the masses. All they sought to do was win the attention of a single wealthy patron, who would shower them with sufficient coin to ensure they could continue to produce their art with only the occasional diversion into hagiography of the patron or their family. With that in mind, I decided it was time to demonstrate my hagiographical skills, but who should be the lucky recipient? Then, I caught sight of someone who ...
The Daily Telegraph reports that the Labour MP for Bury North, David Chaytor, has made illegitimate mortgage claims of £13,000. The paper also reports that Mr Chaytor has "flipped" his second home on a number of occasions. Mr Chaytor, currently in the USA on an official parliamentary trip has, according to the paper, admitted to making an "unforgiveable error." You can read the article here. Rick
Well if you listen to Norman Tebbit you would think so. This week he called for people to "teach the big parties a lesson" because "what is wrong is that the people who are currently in it [the House of Commons] are misbehaving". But if he really believes that the current crop of MPs are [...]
Blimey, you catch up on your Wire Season 4 viewing and all hell breaks loose. It is with heavy heart and limp jaw that bring you Richard Younger-Ross: His expenses files show he claims on his Additional Costs Allowance for his £1,556 monthly rent but has also put in receipts for a series of high-cost furnishings. In May 2004 he put in an invoice for a £1,475 chest of drawers and a £725 free-standing mirror bought at John Lewis. They were made from solid cherrywood by the leading French furniture maker Brigitte Forestier. The MP was reimbursed by the fees ...
There is a possibility that National Express may have to give up the East Coast franchise. The idea has been doing the rounds for some weeks. It appears clear that, as the bid for the franchise was made during the Brown boom years, they have offered too much. Now that we are in the Brown bust years, the projections of revenue and passenger numbers are simply not enough to provide the income to
The slogan "Tariff Reform Will Tax Poor Mens Cupboards to Save Rich Mens Pockets", was adopted by liberals of the distant past, but it remains just as true in today as it was then. 15th May is the anniversary of the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, an early victory by Liberals and others in the battle for free trade. The Campaign was mounted by the Anti Corn Law League led by the 19th Century Liberals Coben and Bright. The global credit crunch and associated recession is encouraging some to argue for protectionism. Gordon Browns attempt in farce when ...
Election campaign meetings usually involve party leaders making a speech in one place, then the same speech in another, and another, and so on. It must be incredibly tedious. However when Nick Clegg comes to Hackney on Tuesday (see http://www.flocktogether.org.uk/event/5157), he will speak on the theme of Turkey's membership of the EU. A topic far away from the current media frenzy on domestic issues, but one that is vitally important all the same. It certainly is of interest as to whether Turkey opts for the European model of democracy and capitalism (the Euro model of which is different to the ...
{heritage-survival-band.jpg} Its Official Launch day at St Clements. Festival Saturday Launch Event Come and help us to celebrate the official launch of the 2009 Festival with music, dance and crafts (see below). This is an event for all the family, with food and drink, bouncy castle, face painting and live performance stage. There's also plenty of food, with everything from sticky donuts to organic, vegetarian, Fairtrade goodies. Performers include Upasana, Hullabaloo and Hotbone, Samba Roxo and Jade's Trick. St Clement's Church | 12 noon-4pm | Free I will be in Manchester in the afternoon at a Demo, but will try ...
Daniel Kawczynski, my MP in Shrewsbury & Atcham, has posted this rather self-righteous video on the Telegraph's Right to Reply section. Not for him the grubby business of the London property market, oh no. It's hotel stays all the way for Daniel. Not just any hotel stays, mind you, but specially negotiated-down hotel stays. Except, here, elsewhere on the Telegraph's site, we read that fellow Tory backbencher Stephen Crabb flipped his home so that his primary residence was... half of a flat he shared with Daniel Kawczynski! The MP then designated a room in another flat, rented by Daniel Kawczynski, ...
From the Guardian website this evening: Michael Martin will stand down as Speaker by the next gener al election after senior Labour figures warned his position was becoming "not tenable".As MPs prepare to table a no confidence motion against him next week, friends of Martin say he is making plans for his resignation and wants to go on his own terms.Lord Foulkes, who has been a friend of Martin's since they were elected in 1979, said it was "logical" for him to stand down in the next year. Martin, 63, will have been Speaker for 10 years next year.It sounds ...
Having reflected further on the problem of MPs over-claiming for their legitimate (well, sometimes legitimate) expenses and paying them back, I have come up with a solution. I do hope that some Honourable Member will take up this modest proposal.The problem is that many members, having accidentally claimed for things that they have indeed spent money on but should not have been able to claim for, do not have the money available to pay back what they owe. I propose that they raise this money by selling favours. I am sure that, for example, there is some MP who has ...
Today's election broadcast from the Conservatives simply features David Cameron talking to camera about MPs and their expense claims. The message is meant to be about him facing up to the problems and talking frankly about them. But listen to his language: I want to start by saying sorry ... sorry for the actions of some Conservative MPs... [The] principle of thrift should apply to Conservative MPs too. So from now on I want them to claim what is reasonable to do their job... Members of my Shadow Cabinet, including Michael Gove, Oliver Letwin and Andrew Lansley, have agreed to ...
Richard Younger-Ross is the subject of allegations on the Telegraph web site concerning four mirros and a book case.
Final tomorrow - and here's the last of my Eurovision updates - from 1971 - Monaco's winning song.
The BNP have got to Surrey. I know they have a full slate of candidates in Essex but Surrey? The BNP? Yes, I received my first ever BNP leaflet today, entertainingly entitled "The New Battle for Britain", nicely emphasised by a black and white photo of a flying Spitfire. The backpage is the best with a headline "British jobs for British Workers (where I have heard that before ?) - because We've Earned the Right!" which is justified by: TRAFALGAR - THE SOMME - DUNKIRK - D-DAY - THE FALKLANDS I don't know whether that disqualifies me from a job ...
From Newspeak: The current [BNP] leaflets feature a section titled "Why we're all voting BNP" with photos accompanied by a bit of text, presumably this is to encourage people to think BNP voters are just like you. Unfortunately for the BNP none of these voters are real and you can prove it by using web-based reverse image searches. Rather unfortunately for the *British* National Party, it looks not only as if none of the people are real supporters, but several of the photos are most likely of people who are not British. Ooops.
Conservative Home, 'Continuity IDS' as it is fondly sometimes called, deserve some praise for launching There is Nothing British about the BNP. Ignoring the slightly nationalist overtones for the moment; I doubt you will find any spirited arguments for immigration for example, in the spirit of a bit of cross-party unity the site has some plus points. The section on the BNP not delivering on it's promises is rather key to my mind and does have some useful ammunition. It's links work and the site it takes you too has a long list of how abject BNP councillors are when ...
Russell Court Residents Association Inaugural Meeting Cllr Richard Bailey & I attended this first meeting to set up the Russell Court Residents Association at the request of Sgt. Peter LeShirley. He was keen for the ward councillors to be on hand to offer advice & help with any issues that might be relevant. Also at the [...]
I have always been fond of the collective nouns used in English: A flock of sheep, a herd of cattle, a pack of hounds, a troop of monkeys, A flange of baboons, A pride of lions, a pod of dolphins, a shoal of fish, a school of porpoises. Then there are the rather lovely bird names: a congregation of plovers, a colony of penguins, an ostentation of peacocks, an exaltation of larks, a murder of crows, a parliament of owls... Ah yes, Parliament. What -I wonder- would be the collective nouns for those involved in this current sorry saga? A ...
The Daily Telegraph has now turned to the puzzling accommodation arrangements of Nadine Dorries, the Tory MP for Mid Bedfordshire. She replies on her blog - lots of random capitals but few answers. Later. rhetorically speaking... sums up the positon helpfully.
Here's the story from the Not The Barnet Times blog: Yesterday, Not The Barnet Times broke the story that Mike Freer was wasting £10,000 of taxpayers money providing legal services for a councillor being investigated by the Standards Committee. The real scandal of this story was that the council's insurers were willing to provide a lawyer at no cost to the taxpayer, but the councillor in question wanted one of the biggest London firms to act for him instead. Our friends at The Barnet Times followed this up with an article of their own in which they named the councillor ...
The Scottish Prison Service has backed down from its plan to name the new prison being built in East Dunbartonshire Bishopbriggs Prison. The proposal had sparked virtually universal outrage amongst local residents and local Lib Dem MP Jo Swinson was at the forefront of the campaign against this name. She even roped in Scottish Lib Dem Leader Tavish Scott to help. It's a great result for common sense and it just goes to show that vigorous campaigning by local communities can pay off. LibDig This!
I watched the BBC 6 o'clock news earlier today and was interested to see a piece they did from Bracknell with local MP Andrew MacKay who is currently mired in scandal about his second home allowance. During a brief interview he claimed that the feedback he is getting has indicated that he has the backing of the vast majority of his constituents. However there is currently a poll on the "Get Bracknell" website (affiliated with the Bracknell Forest Standard) which indicates that following the unacceptable expenses claims 80% of respondents think he should step down as MP and only 12% ...
....when he automatically assumed he could barge his way to the front of the queue on a flight to Newcastle a couple of years ago. What made it worse was the self important grin he gave to those who were unimpressed by this display of arrogance. I'm so surprised (Not) he's coming out of this expenses [...]
And what a terrible week for politics generally - but I did have to chuckle at this video! I reproduce the e-mail I have received from my own party's President today, with which I concur. Just for the record - in eight years on Dundee City Council, my expenses total is NIL. As is the total of Cllr Helen Dick, my LibDem colleague. Dear Fraser It has not been a good few weeks to be a be a politician. Liberal Democrat parliamentarians have made mistakes and errors of judgement. I would like to apologise to you - the members ...
Neil Bradbury, our new candidate for Blaydon, has set up his own blog at http://neilbradbury.blogspot.com/. So pay him a visit and, no doubt, some of you may even want to respond to what he writes!
I've spent the last two evenings stuck in the Town Hall, so thought I'd explain what I've been up to. On Wednesday, I attended a meeting of Mayor and Cabinet. I don't make a habit of going to these, but there were three things I was interested in on the agenda. Firstly, the Mayor was (finally!) agreeing the rent increase for 2009/10. This was delayed as the Government announced - very late in the day - some extra money for rents. This has caused chaos as Lewisham had already announced the rent rise, and so has had to freeze rents ...
By some extraordinary coincidence I happened to be campaigning in Scunthorpe yesterday and in Dewsbury today just as the stories relating to those town's respective MPs were breaking. The Elliot Morley story broke it the morning and as I arrived in Dewsbury it had been just announced that Shahid Malik had resigned as Justice Minister. [...]
{Bastiat} If you're a filthy capitalist like myself then you like money. Here's where you can get some and this time you don't even have to be a kid. The "Bastiat Prize for Journalism" is won annually by a writer, based anywhere in the world, whose writings "eloquently and wittily explain, promote and defend the principles and institutions of the free society." This year the award includes the: Bastiat Prize for Online Journalism In other words - a prize for bloggers. The winner of this one gets $3,000, while the print-media section of the prize offers $13,000 in rewards. Click ...
The Environment Agency have written to South Gloucestershire Council to say that they are now prepared to conditionally withdraw their objection to the planning application for a composting facility near Tormarton. This follows the submission of further technical information by the applicants to the Environment Agency regarding odour management as part of the Environmental Permitting process. However, there is still the holding objection to the application by the Highways Agency which needs to be resolved before the application could be reported to Committee. There is no indication at this stage of the timescale for the Highways Agency to lift their ...
The number of people who lost their homes soared by more than 50% during the first quarter of the year, figures showed today. A total of 12,800 properties were repossessed by first-charge lenders during the three months to the end of March, up from 8,500 a year earlier and 10,400 during the previous quarter, according to [...]
It's an ancient tradition to beat bounds of parishes on Rogation Sunday - to walk the boundaries so that local people become familiar with them. In our area we beat the bounds of Yate Common. This year's event will start at 3pm this Sunday (17 May) from the kissing gate on Westerleigh Road opposite St Briavel's Drive. All are welcome for this enjoyable easy walk!
Tomorrow (Saturday 16 May) there will be a chance to share your views on local health and social care needs at a Meet and Greet event in Yate Shopping Centre. For more information, take a look at the consultation website.
Disturbing and shocking revelations about the Iraq War just keep coming. The latest is a piece in the Washington Note by Col Lawrence B Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell when he was Bush's Secretary of State. A Republican, Wilkerson clearly detests Dick Cheney whose been touring the media extolling the virtues of torture in keeping [...]
The Liberal Democrat President, Ros Scott, has emailed out the following message to party members: It has not been a good few weeks to be a be a politician. Liberal Democrat parliamentarians have made mistakes and errors of judgement. I would like to apologise to you - the members of our party that tirelessly contribute so much to our cause - for those mistakes. At the meeting of the Federal Executive on Monday we will discuss the issues of expenses and the party's reaction to it. I can guarantee it will be a full and frank exchange of views. However ...
The Times reports: Suspicions that the Liberal Democrats are to lead a move to oust the Speaker grew today after a top party figure hinted that a critical Commons motion could be lodged. Vince Cable, the party's deputy leader, disclosed that there would be a party statement about Michael Martin next week after Chris Huhne, the Home Affairs spokesman, made an outright call for the Speaker to go. Mr Cable said that he and the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg were expecting to make a statement on the issue of the Speaker on behalf of the party within the next ...
The Federal Executive (FE) is the party's governing body, comprising of directly elected members and representatives. It meets about every other month and is chaired by the party president, Ros Scott. I thought there was probably further work that the Welsh Rep could do on engaging with party members about what issues they would like to see discussed and on reporting back. Hat tip to the chair herself, Ros Scott started doing regular reports from FE earlier this year and prompted me in to action. The FE meets on Monday and as the Welsh Rep I wanted to start briefing ...
I didn't need convincing that Britain's energy future must be renewable, but if I had, this morning would have convinced me. Together with Ridchard Grayson, PPC for Hemel Hempsted, I visited RES. RES are leader in wind energy, and Richard and I were given a fantastic insight into the issues involved in increasing the UK's installed capacity by CEO Dr Ian Mays. The HQ itself is zero-emissions buidling, part financed through an EU grant. It showcases many carbon-freindly technologies, such as wind-power, use of natural light, use of fuel crops, pv, and a 75m borehole to provide cooling in summer. ...
This week I have seen at first hand the anger of the public, normally taciturn on matters politique, on the expenses scandal.The Additional Costs Allowance is at the heart of the problem.Nick Clegg suggests a givey-backey scheme whereby the MP claims mortgage payments and then sells the property when they stop being an MP and gives the profit on the equity back to the state. There are several
John Prescott has saved the minimum wage and you can read his blog post over at Go Fourth about the matter by following the link. Today I am pleased because the Tories wanted to kill it as I wrote in a blog post earlier this week but Prescott challenged them. Maybe me wanting a minimum wage is because I am from a working class family who works hard and I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth like the Conservatives who wanted to kill the minimum wage. John Prescott, I owe you one...
My second trip to the Sky studio's this week (the first can be seen here) and I'm on to talk about MPs expenses. Clearly there has been lots of shenanigans and as someone who is self employed and has to not just fill in expenses but put together accounts I know there are lots of ways that I can pay more or less tax. as someone is relatively well paid I take the view that if I don't pay my fair share how can I expect anyone else to. so, no more cries of 'I was in the rules' from ...
All combined for a typically broad ranging Prestwich Area Partnership meeting at Heaton Park School last night. FESTIVAL Area Partnership manager Carran O'Grady and Festival Organiser David Curtis gave a joint presentation on arrangements for the 1st Prestwich Festival which kicks off on sunday with the Clough Day in St.Mary's Flower Park. From an initial hope that we may have about 10 events this inaugural festival has grown to a whopping 50 events. Much credit must go to the efforts of David and Carran amongst others. OASIS The Area partnership had requested an update on arrangements for the June Oasis ...
I have noted that the Fees Office has taken a beating over the unfolding saga of MP expenses. Perhaps now is a good time to look at the apparent performance of the Fees Office and its staff. This is not intended to be a criticism of individuals, nor should it be interpreted as much. A recurring theme has been the phrase 'I consulted the Fees Office before making my claim'. Assuming that it is true, and we'll probably never hear from Fees Office one way or the other, there is a real question about its efficiency. I deliberately set aside ...
Mosque goers have today been warned by the Imam that the BNP are running in the European elections in the North West and the Muslims should get out and about and vote against the British National Party. Bring it on BNP you are going down as the people are sick and tired of you and your dirty political agenda!
By-Election ResultsGateshead MBC, Chopwell and Rowlands Gilldate: 14/05/2009Lab 1221 (53.2; -3.9)LD Ray Callender 898 (39.1; +12.5)Con 177 (7.7; -8.6)Majority 323Turnout 32.15%Lab holdPercentage change is since May 2008Anglesey UA, Llanbadrig date: 14/05/2009Ind 255 / 201 (100.0; +0.0)Majority 54Turnout not knownInd holdInd unopposed in May 2008
Another pillar of Labour's war against liberty crumbles. The BBC reports that Justice Secretary Jack Straw is backing down from introducing secret inquests. Labour's original plan was that Government ministers should be given the power to make an inquest secret, perhaps if national security was at stake (of course, we'd never know whether it really was because that would be secret). In the face of concerted opposition, they backed down and said High Court judges would be making the decision. And now they've given up on the whole idea.
Personally i think this time it will be the ballot box and not the postal votes, Labour are rock bottom but i have to say the BNP issue concerns me, they will not win, but their vote level could knock out other parties that could offer real hope. I hope the people of Salford are [...]
Please watch the above video of the people who gave Jacqui Smith a plaque doing some gardening for Alan Duncan MP the Tory who was paying his gardening bill with our money until the Parliamentary authorities warned him off.
That paradoxically named fringe party, Respect — born of a union between the Socialist Workers Party and anti-Iraq War Muslims — is entering its death-throes. Two Newham Respect Councillors, Asif Karim and Hanif Abdulmuhit, have quit the party, while in Tower Hamlets, Respect split into two separate factions some time ago. Most tellingly, Respect has now failed [...]
Stronger together and all that - so how are our European partners faring in these interesting economic times? These is an interesting series of postings coming up on A Fistful Of Euros on individual country performances, up so far are Italy, Estonia, Spain and Latvia. Spain. GDP falls by an annualised 7.2% in first three months of 2009 Italy. GDP falls by an annualised 9.6% in first three months of 2009 Estonia. GDP falls by an annualised 15.6% in first three months of 2009 Latvia. GDP falls by an annualised 18% in first three months of 2009 Thoughtful reportage and ...
Each year we get the same old record it's only the amounts that change. £120,000 In the last three months. Look back over the past years of LABOUR rule and add up the cost.
To Helen Mair's in The Park in Marshalswick to meet a bunch of mums whose children did not get any of their ranked preferences for secondary school in St Albans this year. Anne Main, county councillor Chris White and district councillor Chris Brazier were also there in a crowded living room. It is quite clear that the system is broken in the whole south-west of the county. Last night I was in Bedmond and the same issues were being raised on the doorstep. It must be heart-breaking for any parents and I thank my lucky stars that my own children ...
Still happening. Not much more to say
As if my shopping list for Nick Clegg's priorities wasn't already long enough, I also think this whole expenses furore is the absolutely perfect hook for the root and branch electoral reform the Liberal Democrats have been advocating since the dawn of recorded time. It's maybe not one for immediate execution, while public anger abates and basic reparations and undertakings are being made (see my previous post). But the kind of systemic corruption that has been exposed over the past week is clearly linked to our topsey-turvey electoral and constitutional system. Cicero explains in more detail, and I see the ...
The European election campaign is officially underway. We're knocking on doors seven days a week in Islington. Voting cards have gone out, and the first election addresses are hitting the door mats. Having worked alongside a hall full of Lib Dem activists over a very long weekend sticking and stuffing thousands of the things, I [...]
According to Stephen Grey in his book 'Operation Snakebite' Major Haston, the Deputy Chief of Staff for UK forces in Afghanistan was in 2007 repeatedly driven to buying spares for his troops' equipment on the INTERNET using a credit card. (Grey pp130-131) There is a list in the book of frightening logistics shortfalls.. for example a quarter of the new mastiff armoured vehicles being out of service at any one time because of a lack of cheap spare springs. Not to mention simple design flaws in other UK armoured vehicles that, in Haston's view makes their drivers and front-seat commanders ...
Should 'Clean Up' Clegg defy convention and get himself thrown out of the Chamber by calling on the Speaker of the House to go? James Forsyth at the Spectator seems to think so. Could this be an opportunity for "Clean Up Clegg"? If it's such an obvious win, why isn't Cameron being encouraged to do this? Hat-Tippage
I have taken part in "Twenty Questions to a Fellow Blogger Part CXIX: Colin Ross" on Paul Burgins' blog at http://paulburgin.blogspot.com/
{ros-scott} Ros Scott's blog has the following post.. "The Liberal Democrats at Westminster are engaged in two main tasks. In both Houses, the details of individuals' claims are being gone through to ensure that they comply with existing Parliamentary rules. Nobody is going to be hung out to dry on the say so of a newspaper. The second task is to reform the existing system, something Liberal Democrats in both Houses have tried to do in the past and been thwarted. Maybe this time, the other Parties will be prepared to take the hard decisions they have ducked in the ...
The first ever Prestwich Festival will begin this weekend, with the annual Prestwich Clough Day in St Mary's Flower Park on Bury New Road from midday. Hopefully the weather, which looks pretty ominous, will come good. The Festival, which has been organised by the Prestwich Local Area Partnership, now has over 50 confirmed events taking place between the Clough Day and the Prestwich Carnival on 21st June. over 35 days there's something for all the family across Prestwich, from a Farmers Market to tea dances, and from the Prestwich Has Got Junior Talent competition to sports tuition from FC United ...
At last night's mayor making I showed a picture of Maureen-our new Deputy Mayor-on a tandem with her ward colleague Fred Weavers. In response to several requests I've posted the photo on our website: http://birkdalelibdems.org.uk/ if you follow the links to 'photo gallery' you can get a high quality version
How many times do I have to repeat the fact that we did not own the precinct. In effect they had a leasehold interest which was worth more than ours. Thank you for your helpful advice but I think I am able to judge the mood of my group rather better than you. I keep [...]
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland this according to ePolix Mark Lazarowicz the MP for Edinburgh North and Leith said: "Why on earth am I bothering to pay back the money? That's actually the view which has come back from a large number of people I have been in contact with. "I do wonder to a certain extent whether, in some hysterical atmosphere in Westminster during the week, possibly I over-reacted to the situation. "Speaking to some of the Lib Dem MPs in particular who have paid some sums of money for relatively small items, I do wonder if some of ...
Clegg's response to the expenses scandal Let's start by giving praise where it is due - Nick Clegg may not have done the truly brave thing and published everyone's expenses before the Telegraph could, but he did haveone real, concrete response ready for the expenses scandal and it was this: Liberal Democrat MPs will pass all gains from their second homes back to the taxpayer on sale. Talking of concrete, I was impressed by the "ton of bricks" imagery, which clearly went down well with the Metro. Also set in stone is his exhortation to Cameron and Brown that all ...
Lembit Opik's expressed his support.
There's been a lot of coverage and blogs, about MPs and expenses, recently. Firstly, I agree 100% many of the claims are absolutely despicable. However, I do want to make a point about families. On a personal point, both my parents are Lib Dem Councillors. This, obviously, does not mean they have to live in London. But just so people do realise, their role is a great strain on me and my siblings. Alright, its not like we all sit there in our rooms rocking ourselves to sleep and crying. But sometimes it is hard. Our telephone never stops phoning. ...
Although no one nominated me for that 7 Reasons Why I'm a LD "meme" thing I thought I'd tantrum and BLOODY DO IT ANYWAY. This can be merged, thought I, with a response to a question posed to us folk t'other day, from a comment-leaver called Nick. Nick said: "As a Classical Liberal myself I could never bring myself be a member or to vote for the Lib Dems. It seems to me that the party is dominated by people with a high tax and interventionist bent. The conservative party has a strong libertarian current running through it that is ...
First impressions, having attended this important public debate at Swiss Cottage School. Camden officers have together with Cllr Andrew Mennear, Executive of Schools agreed to explore the short-term options of additional temporary classrooms on the spare grounds of Fitzjohn's as suggested by Cllr Chris Philp and other local schools having sufficient grounds to accommodate extra temporary classrooms. I managed to get some of my ideas heard, the first of using "Portacabins" style classrooms which can be assembled during the summer as a fast track "pragmatic" approach to meeting the immediate needs of the 133. The second of using parts of ...
Courtesy of Don't Panic Media: As their blurb puts it: Alan Duncan, the Conservative MP who is supposed to oversee the party's policy on expenses, claimed £127,658 under the second home allowance and almost £4000 on gardening expenses. Alan made his millions in the oil industry before he became an MP working for the decidedly unethical Vitol, a company that dealt with apartheid South Africa, did business with Serbian war criminals and was mixed up in the oil-for-food scandal. Up until a few weeks ago Alan also held a position at Arawak Energy an exploration company owned by Vitol where ...
We have had an official reply from TFL regarding improvements to local bus routes 59, (Streatham Hill to Kings Cross) 133 (Streatham to Liverpool Street), and N133 (Mitcham to Liverpool Street) . TFL are proposing that the 59 will get the frequencies increased in the daytime Monday to Saturday to every 6-7 minutes and an increase in peak hour journeys going North to Kings Cross to a bus every 5 minutes, and an extra bus at the start of the day. The 133 bus will see an extra journey in the morning and evening peak periods and the N133 will ...
In July last year, I e-mailed Andrew MacKay my local MP as a concerned constituent asking him why he had voted against transparency on MP's expenses. Here is a copy of the text from my e-mail: Dear Andrew MacKay, I am interested to know why you voted yesterday against the measure which would have caused MPs expenses to be audited by an external body. I thought this measure was wholly sensible and would over time have helped to start to restore the reputation of parliament and MPs expenses claims in the eyes of the public.I run a company and we ...
There will be a FAIR TRADE COFFEE MORNING on Saturday 16th May, 2009. The venue is the Church Hall, at St John`s Church, St Johns Rd, Birkdale. (near to the Tesco Express on Liverpool Rd) Commencing at 10am until 12noon. Entry is FREE and free, easy parking is available nearby. The Southport based business, THE FAIR TRADE STORE, will be displaying a full range of beautiful Fair Trade Gifts, Every Day Items and Food and Drink for sale. Check out their full range at http://www.thefairtradestore.co.uk/ Tea, Coffee and snacks etc will also be available and a raffle will be held. ...
Update - This is intended to e slightly tongue in cheek. For all those who take it seriously and want to do % instead, I could ahve done this for MPs being accused of serious expenses fiddles (flipping, etc), and as I read it not one Lib Dem has "flipped" his or her second home. Indeed one Lib Dem MP is accused of getting Sky TV, which to me does not seem like an offence at all.
There's a lot of cross-over between the world of politics and the world of poker. It's perhaps why I like both almostly equally. Being successful in Poker demands effortless deception, strategy and the ability to see through your opponents strategies and deceptions. Then you need skill, knowledge and experience - in the case of Poker it's about understanding probability and specific probabilities. You need a bit of luck too, because to be a real winner in Poker you need to be willing to take risks, to gamble. Finally, you need to exercise enormous self-discipline, because Poker is, at its heart, ...
In the sixth in a series of looking at each of the regions (and nations) for the European Elections I today examine the Northern Ireland (or the north of Ireland if you prefer).
Matthew Amroliwalah deserves an award for his interrogation of Andrew MacKay here. It's a classic to be savoured and enjoyed.The Independent reports that MacKay and Kirkbride took £282,731 from the taxpayer for their two second homes. So by my reckoning, given that one home was kosher, that's £141,365 they've ripped off from the taxpayer for claiming on a non-existent second home. Mackay says he
I do not normally Blog news stories unless there is some local community connection here in Belsize or Camden. But having just read an absolute corker of a story from Germany this lunchtime, I like to share this with you all! BBC News: German motorway strewn with notes
{g20-police} So much has happened over the past few days that it is very easy to overlook statements that would, in more sane times, be top of the news agenda. One such statement was made a couple of days ago. As it seems to have gained little or no attention, I thought it worthy of note.So please excuse me stepping back a day or two... In Wednesday's Telegraph there was a statement by Steve Morley from the Metropolitan Police that "claims would be jaw-dropping in a Third World dictatorship let alone in the country of hope and glory". Was he ...
I've finally received the 'official' photos from the launch of one of our Cycle Town initiative. This scheme provide bikes for visitors to hire from hotels and from the Eco Centre. In the picture Left to right: Simon Shaw, Mike Booth, Fred Weavers, David Pearson, the Chair of Cycling England, Ronnie Fearn and me
I produced the original article for LDV on the 8th May and it is reproduced here: Stephen Tall has written a salient piece on LDV, What must happen for the Lib Dems to overtake Labour? The question posed is not as unrealistic as it may sound. The Liberal Democrats, I believe, can be the main party of [...]
Over at her blog, the Lib Dem party president Baroness Ros Scott reports back to members on how the party is going to deal with the vexed issue of MPs' expenses - and specifically those allegations which relate to Lib Dem MPs: The Liberal Democrats at Westminster are engaged in two main tasks. In both Houses, the details of individuals' claims are being gone through to ensure that they comply with existing Parliamentary rules. Nobody is going to be hung out to dry on the say so of a newspaper. The second task is to reform the existing system, something ...
Plaid Cymru's multi page collection of caveats and excuses currently masquerading as the Welsh Language Legislative Competence Order will come under scrutiny tomorrow from their own supporters when Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, the Welsh Language Society, holds a rally outside the Senedd in Cardiff. Unfortunately, I am not able to attend but I did contribute towards the cost of their newspaper advert and fully support their cause. The fact is that the way that the LCO is currently drafted will severely tie the Assembly's hand when legislating on the Welsh language. It will leave MPs with a veto on the ...
Our daily review and preview of the day's big stories... 2 Big Stories MPs' expenses dominate the headlines ... again Another day, another bleak day for Parliamentary politics. Former Agriculture minister Elliot Morley was suspended from the Labour party for claiming £16,000 in expenses on a mortgage he had paid off. Meanwhile, Andrew MacKay, a senior aide to Tory leader David Cameron, resigned after claiming tens of thousands of pounds in second-home expenses on a London property that his wife, Tory MP Julie McBride, designated as her main home. And as if that wasn't enough, the House of Lords took ...
The BBC's Daily Politics show, going out at noon, has an opinion poll on the expenses scandal - apparently 2/3 of the electorate want a General Election now.
The BBC website is reporting that Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson, Chris Huhne has joined those calling on Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin to go over the fiasco behind the publication of MPs' expenses: Mr Huhne told the BBC: "I think Michael Martin will have to go. I don't think he's the right person to do this job." Speaking on BBC 2's Newsnight, Mr Huhne said: "Whatever his virtues in the past, the truth is we need new leadership to make sure we grapple with this issue. "I think that the Speaker needs to be a reformer ...
Yesterday, I noticed Peter Henley (BBC South Today political editor) on Twitter was tweeting from outside the place where Andrew MacKay is staying in our Bracknell constituency. He said that people were coming by to ask about when the meeting was going to be. I asked Peter if he knew and he tweeted in response: @MarkJThompson not totally fixed..they're worried they can't find the right venue - mad stad?! Which obvously means the Majedski Stadium (Reading FC's home ground)! I guess they have been overwhelmed with interest from people wanting to attend and are concerned the venues they are looking ...
Last year I wrote about blogging in adversity: When things go wrong or bad news breaks, it can be tempting to hunker down and say nothing. If you're a blogger, particularly one who allows comments, the idea of having to write something for your blog can be very off-putting. The thought of ignoring the keyboard and just wishing that time would move on more quickly can be very alluring. But is that the right response? It is a situation on which I have advised various people over the years, and nearly always the best advice is actually, "keep blogging". The ...
Nick Clegg has already stated that the Lib Dem MPs are not going to make any personal gain from the Westminster second homes allowance and has been widely applauded for doing so. However, yesterday as he approached the Holyrood hacks all Tavish Scott would have had to say was that neither he not any Lib Dem MSP would benefit from the Holyrood scheme which is being run down anyway and all would have been fine under the bird of Liberty. I feel that Tavish made a error when being asked about MSP's home to answer merely by pointing the situation ...
The last couple of weeks have been so busy that I've barely had time to blog. Which is a pity because there's so much to write about... – helping launch the One Hour Bus Ticket campaign – chairing consultation event on women's policy with Lynne Featherstone MP – protesting against the permanent closure of [...]
Have been playing with Twitter for a couple of months now, so have I got it right? The etiquette of Twitter is reciprocal following: you follow me and I'll follow you. All twitterers seem to get sucked into the competition to build up the highest number of followers. So I follow lots of people who I've no interest in, and they follow me in return. Neither of us has the slightest intention of reading each other's inane ramblings, but we've each picked up another follower and so can piss a little higher up the wall. Occasionally you might find someone ...
Forever delayed but back at last in the wake of the most important Wednesday of the Welsh political year (and I'm not referring to Lembit's council tax summons...) Here's Your Starter For Spring, All Conferring The Assembly has of course been off on recess, which gave everyone time to get through the rest of spring conference season. Having survived Tory attempts to Welshify themselves at a cricket ground and Plaid's efforts to cast off the cottage burning we were first to the plate in the second half. The result was record turnout for a Welsh Lib Dem conference, a jam-packed ...
A poll by The Sun for the European elections points to the following outcome: CONSERVATIVES 29 LABOUR 20 LIBERAL DEMOCRATS 19 UKIP 15 GREEN 6 SNP/PC 4 BNP 3 Now these are interesting results and as many have indicated UKIP might win more seats then Labour and come third in the polls pushing the Lib Dems up to second with the Tories leading. Iain Dale writes about how Tory campaigners are taking abuse from people on the street personally I think its the Tories and Labour who are only taking the abuse and the Lib Dems are not. I myself ...
{balls} The adorable couple have, apparently, been flipping homes like nobody's business. "We paid for their million pound property portfolio" says Guido. In just one term of Parliament, the couple have claimed (according to my hurried and admittedly flawed mental arithmetic) £102,000 in "second home" claims alone. CLICK HERE FOR MORE, CLICK HERE FOR MORE
Last nigh Alf Doran was installed as Mayor of Sefton. Alf is a popular choice and is well liked and respected across the council. We all wish him well.
Southport's Food and Drink festival is underway. After Cabinet yesterday we went to have a look round. I've already reported on the 'Love food hate waste' campaign. There was lots more beside-including many local suppliers and producers promoting their goods. It is well worth a visit.
What is freehold? Freehold title gives you absolute ownership of land and property. These properties are therefore more desirable and worth more. What is leasehold? Leasehold title gives you the right to occupy property for the period of the lease only after which it reverts to the freeholder. The leaseholder owns everything within the walls [...]
Tim Montgomerie the Tory blogger and another Tory have launched a campaign called "There's Nothing British About the BNP" and personally I like the idea. With the campaign they hope to bring out the BNP for what they really are and for this I think Tim deserves a medal. The BNP are a racist part that doesn't want people like myself in the UK and because of this I don't want them in government or elected at any seat be it a town council or a seat in the European Parliament. Please all visit the campaign site that has been ...
I said at the beginning of the series of articles in the Daily Telegraph that partisan point-scoring might well prove to have the same efficacy as a boomerang with serrated edges, likely to do much damage to one's own side. And indeed, there has been comparatively little criticism from within the Westminster village. After all, why criticise when you might be next, especially given some of the charges that have been made (Alan Reid, for heaven's sake, what were the Telegraph thinking of...)? The public have, not unreasonably, taken a very dim view of the emerging details of apparent fraud ...
The Gravy train page of this blog now has 50 MP's/Peers listed on it as passengers of the gravy train from Westminster. I probably have missed someone or another out but as I have counted its 50. Is it just me or is that a whole lot of sleaze?
The country is awash with proposals for reforming the system of MPs' expenses and allowances (Lynn Truss, please note position of apostrophe). Here are two more. Firstly, remove certain support functions from individual expenses altogether. For example, parliament itself should employ the support staff, as happens in the European Parliament. (It would be helpful if leading members of the
Well said, Ed. Our MP makes the front page of the Surrey Comet with a blistering attack on the MPs who have made outrageous claims for second homes. He says that MPs who have convinced themselves that they are doing nothing wrong have "lost touch with reality". Flipping properties is "verging on the criminal". He does not claim a penny for a second home, even though, as an...
Bumped into Labour PPC for Calder Valley, Steph Booth, last night at the Todmorden Scouts and Guides Gangshow. Considering I've reported and commented on some of the recent furore in the PPC selection and not always in a flattering terms, I must say both she and Tony were genuinely polite and friendly towards me. Credit where credit's due. That's not to say I won't be watching the press for more news on Labour's Calder Valley woes. {Share/Save/Bookmark}
Saturday: ooo EEEE ooo! Open hailing frequencies and set phasers to POPCORN! We've been to see Star Trek, the latest big screen adaptation of the adventures of Captain Quirk and his crew. This movie is EASY to sneak into, so long as you have TRANSPORTER TECHNOLOGY to BEAM you into the FRONT ROW! We even got me a STAR FLEET UNIFORM for the occasion! Red Shirt! That's GOOD isn't it? {Posted by Picasa} Anyway, this film had produced universal happiness and positive responses everywhere, so I shall let Daddy Richard write a review. What could POSSIBLY go wrong...? (spoilers follow) ...
There seems to be a line being drawn in the expenses disgrace between those MPs who may have committed fraud or who have manipulated the 'rules' to maximise personal gain - and those who have claimed for things that never should have even been thought of as a claim. In the case of the former it is in my view a matter for the law and resignation, and for the latter a matter of paying back, public humiliation and the electorate's verdict in due course. And then there's the rest - who claim only for normal office expenses and proper ...
Asked By Baroness Gardner of Parkes To ask Her Majesty's Government how many intending purchasers have been helped to buy properties under the MyChoiceHomeBuy scheme; and what funding remains available to prospective purchasers. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Andrews): Since 1 April 2008, the Government have helped 3,123 purchasers to buy a MyChoiceHomeBuy property. This week, the HCA has released £126 million specifically for MyChoiceHomeBuy to help a further 3,000 households. Baroness Gardner of Parkes: My Lords, I thank the Minister and I am delighted to hear that further funds have been released. ...
When, I saw the listings for Question Time 5 minutes before it was about to start, my face fell. I managed to blog off this quick post questioning the wisdom of this but secretly hoping I would be proved wrong. I wasn't. That was horrible! Commentators over at the LDV QT post have picked up on some of the "unhelpful"/misjudged things he said but really he was a hiding to nothing from the beginning. As per usual we have the whole rollcall of establishment rallied against us. (I include Dimbleby in this. When we cut off Ming when he was ...
Liberal Democrat Councillors were tonight forced to vote against their own motion when a wrecking amendment was tabled by the ruling Conservative Group. The amendment was also supported by Labour and independent Councillors. The Lib Dem motion was to have clearly shown the Council's opposition to expansion on environmental, economic and congestion grounds. Councillor...
CON 41(-2) LAB 22(-5) LD 19 (+1) Results from YouGov poll for The Sun and reported by Political Betting
I notice this morning after mounting criticism from amateur geographers in Scotland and beyond still list Alan Reid MP for Argyll and Bute on their list of shame with the extract: Alan Reid claimed more than £1,500 on his parliamentary expenses for staying in hotels and bed-and-breakfasts near his home.These were hardly just up the road from Cardross. Nor when taking in the island nature, CalMac timetabling, weather rescheduling at standard of roads in much of the outlying reaches of Argyll and Bute. There has been growing outrage over MPs making outrageous claims. But not call for Martin Beckford (pictured ...
Fri 15th
08:02
We must not obscure Tory intentions on minimum wage by a labour hack we all don't like the Party but...
I'm not saying the expenses row is trivial. It is not. Some of the revelations have been genuinely shocking. But there is something else going on in Westminster that requires a little more attention than it is getting. Because it goes to the heart of the difference between the main parties. I don't mean the [...]
Well, I can't say that the training has gone well, but I am looking forward to Sunday - or rather the run being over. The good news is that the generosity of local people, friends, colleagues and relatives means that I've nearly reached my initial target of £400 for Cancer Research, though it would be wonderful to exceed this. I'm trying to get a button to appear next to this blog. The Great Manchester Run is a lovely event and it's always cheering to see how many people turn out to encourage us all on our way. An occasional shout-out ...
My House Points column from Liberal Democrat News. Speaker cornered The 19th century journalist Walter Bagehot famously divided the British constitution into its dignified and efficient parts. At its best, the role of Commons Speaker fulfils both these roles. But with Michael Martin in the chair it is neither dignified nor efficient. It was not just that, in Nick Clegg's words, "the Speaker got it wrong, very wrong" on Monday. His performance was the most embarrassing thing seen at Westminster in living memory. He spectacularly misjudged the public mood over MPs´ expenses, positioning himself as a shop steward defending his ...
I'm down in Cornwall, having arrived last night for the start of a weekend of campaigning in the West Country, with a certain amount of relief at having put some distance between myself and the increasingly poisonous atmosphere at Westminster. Not that I envisage an easy ride on the doorsteps; to say that people are angry about what has been happening doesn't begin to cover it and it will take many years to undo the damage. The Liberal Democrats at Westminster are engaged in two main tasks. In both Houses, the details of individuals' claims are being gone through to ...
Interesting poll, rubbish headline - It's New Lowbour. Sorry, Sun, not up to your usual standards. In the wake of the expenses scandal, the YouGov/Sun's latest opinion poll has the Tories on 41%, Labour down on 22% (surely this must be getting near the bottom of their absolute core vote) and the Lib Dems on 19%, up a little. Compared to recent YouGov polls, that sees Labour falling even further (they've been knocking along at around 27% for the last month and in the low-to-mid 30s for a few months prior to that). However, Labour should take solace that their ...
{norman-lamb} {BRITAIN/} Chris Huhne (on Newnsight) and Norman Lamb have now both come out calling for the Speaker to go - with Norman making it plain that he will back Douglas Carswell's motion. Michael Martin's days are surely numbered. It's important for the LibDems to steal a march on the Tories here, and for Nick Clegg to endorse and reinforce the calls of his two frontbench spokesmen. Another Julian H augmentation: Betty Boothroyd is, allegedly, "just appalled at the way Martin has behaved". This comes via the Daily Mail via Bernard Salmon's Sound of Gunfire blog. Which reminds me that ...
The following is a list of stuff I thought was important enough to link to before I went to bed:My mum is doing the race for life with her sister (my auntie Susan). Please give her some money. And don't forget to tick the tax relief Gift Aid box.Chicky Yog has an excellent and timely reminder on why we should all register to vote - you can do so here until the 19th of this month.Reclusive Leftist has an excellent post on the gender-bias evident in reportage of early Goddess figures.If Labour and the Tories are so scared of the ...
Neil Gaiman's Journal: Entitlement issues... The shorter Neil: George R.R. Martin is not your bitch. I still don't get why people can't understand that authors and other creative types don't have on/off switches. I wan the next book too, but I want it to be good, and released when it's ready. In the meantime, I have a whole library full of other books to read. (tags: writing neil+gaiman george+rr+martin entitlement) Stumbling and Mumbling: Immigration & GDP Oh look, something else we already knew but have to keep repeating because people refuse to believe it. Immigration makes us better off. All ...
Today this blog is one years old, I know I can't believe it myself it has been a great year and I hope that the readers have also enjoyed reading the site over the year. First of all I would like to thank Blogger for allowing me to use their service to write this blog for free, then I would like to thank Lib Dem Blogs for linking to me and sending towards my blog about 40% of my traffic. After that I would like to thank the readers of this blog who have stuck with the blog in thick ...
