With Nick Clegg and my local MP Danny Alexander joining in the chorus of calls for Speaker Michael Martin to quit, his days must be numbered. So who should take over when he either quits or is forced out? One possibility would obviously be one of the current Deputy Speakers - Sir Alan Haselhurst, Sylvia Heal or Sir Michael Lord. Unfortunately, Sir Alan is one of those who have been named by the Daily Telegraph as being involved in the expenses scandal. Sir Michael, meanwhile, is 70. Although I don't think he's yet announced his retirement, the chances are that ...
Ben Goldacre questions the methods used by Baroness Susan Greenfield.Constantly Furious thinks that Guido is mistaken. Although he puts it more vituperatively than that.In an insightful post, Skipper thinks that the expenses scandal might just trigger radical constitutional change. Do you know, I think he just might be right...Liberal Conspiracy thinks that Nadine Dorries has more questions to answer over her expenses. I predict she will respond in a forthright manner!
This weeks headline figures:1735 absolute unique visitors since 27th April 5033 visits Busiest day: Tuesday Readers' favourite browser: still Firefox, although it's down to 59.74% ( more Google Analytics statporn under here ) Exciting stats not from Google Analytics:# of unread emails: 21# of websites requiring work: 4# of blog posts I am committed to write that I haven't written yet: 11# of logos to design: 0 (yay!)# of Dreamwidth Invite Codes Available for handing out: 0# of times I forgot to take my happy pill this week and ended up taking it late: 0# of times eaten today: 5# ...
Doing the best to speed the Speaker on his way, tomorrow's Daily Telegraph reports: Parliamentary authorities, overseen by Michael Martin, the Speaker, gave secret permission for some MPs to over-claim for thousands of pounds in home loan interest in deals that led to the systematic abuse of the taxpayer-funded expenses system.
I have always been a but reluctant to follow the crowd. This is probably why I am a Lib Dem and an Everton supporter too (my support for Norwich is a local thing, much like supporting England, but Everton are my first team). So when MP3 players started to become the ideal replacement for older music players, I was somewhat reluctant to follow, sheep like, all the way to Apple and their iPod. My wife was also less than keen on their rather box like simplicity and instead opted for another brand, and in an attempt to avoid lots of ...
It has been a hectic past couple of weeks - here's a brief overview of matters I have not already fully covered: Tuesday 5th May : At the request of Friends of Magdalen Green, I chaired their AGM and am now acting chair of the Friends' group. Alex Coupar gave a very interesting and entertaining presentation on photography - you can read more about the Friends' 2009 photography competition at http://www.magdalengreen.btik.com/p_Photo_Competition.ikml. Wednesday 6th May : I attended the Community Spirit AGM at the Mitchell Street Centre. Community Spirit is a very active community group serving the north part of the ...
Nick Perry, the Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Hastings & Rye, has spoken out on the MP expenses scandal, which has savaged the nation's faltering trust in politicians. Nick is calling for all the candidates in the Hastings & Rye constituency to make their views on MP expenses plain to local people. Nick says, "Working in mental [...]
I woke up in Hithcin, and watched the Andrew Marr show before hitting the highway. Nick Clegg did well to be forthright on the subject of the Speaker. It put me in good heart for the day. It was tipping it down as I left Hitchin, but as soon as it stopped (about eleven) I was out on the doorstep in Watford, supporting Susan Gasczcak's campaign to win Watford West. This was good fun - although we probably didn't get as much done as Susan would have wanted. A feature of canvassing at present seems to be that a lot ...
Now it has been confirmed that St Albans District Council will consider the new application from Helioslough, we will have to dust off the "Hands Off Herts" logo. I cannot over-emphasise the destructiveness of the Helioslough proposal. There is no meaningful change in their new proposal. The monster freight terminal they propose would be a knife in the belly of St Albans. They are planning on our getting tired of having to raise yet more money and summon more energy to fight them off. Well we will prove them wrong. This is not a party political issue. It remains crucial ...
Fifty-six Lib Dem PPCs have put their name to an open letter to the Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin: Dear Mr Speaker, As Parliament continues to be dragged down by the allowance system, and its rules, the role of those in public service across the country is being undermined. We are Liberal Democrat candidates seeking to be elected to Parliament and yet we find ourselves disappointed, and frustrated, at the way in which this matter is being handled. Every day our residents are telling us loudly that this must stop and this must stop now. Three things ...
Here.
Alexander Rybak from Norway was a worthy winner; UK did reasonably well for a change. I rather liked the Malta entry.
Jo Swinson, LibDem MP for East Dunbartonshire, revealed in last Friday's Liberal Democrat News that her travel expenses skyrocketed after a mere year in the House of Commons. But it was not down to troughing. It was just that her young person's railcard expired! Jo is Britain's youngest MP and was just 25 - therefore qualifying for the railcard - when she was elected in 2005. Seriously, she reveals some more background to the exposure of Snoutgate on her blog.
A couple of MPs appear to have committed offences that should land them in court, and many more have done themselves very well at the public expense. But the causes of the anger over MPs' expenses goes beyond indignation at what has been done with our money. That anger is so great because this affair has laid bare what an unequal society we have live in. That inequality was seen in its most extreme form, at least before the credit crunch, in London. In an article I have quoted before, John Lanchester - writing in January 2008, just as the ...
In the UK the Turkish/Kurdish/Cypriot communities are the most politically intense I have met. Many are very good liberals and I am hoping they will get more involved in the British political scene. Historically most have supported Labour, but Labour's appalling foreign policy has disillusioned many, notably in relation to Iraq and Israel, and given that many also support Turkey's entry into the EU, with the intention of making the EU work (this latter point distinguishes the Lib Dems from the other parties), then there could not be a better time for the liberal wing of these communities to join ...
I guess I would have voted for Estonia. Graham Norton more or less warned us not to go voting for the Norwegian by letting us know it was the favourite. Mmmaybe I might have voted for Norway, but he really was impossibly cute (the Norwegian, I mean). And Graham Norton was a worthy successor to Terry Wogan. Nicely scathing where necessary without being ill mannered. Of course, I don't have anything to do with kitsch!!!
It's not the most original choice, as I saw this on Jools Holland's Later a few days ago, but I think I am in love. Mostly it's the plait. Lisa Hannigan reminds me a little of Bjork, though I suspect you are less likely to be attacked with a dried cod if you say the wrong thing to her.More about Lisa Hannigan on her own website.
Here's what the Keighley News says* about the ...
Like many activists I have been knocking on doors canvassing for the County and Euro elections. It has been going well and we have been getting good results across the county. But Because of work commitments I haven't been able to canvas for a few days. So Friday evening was my first opportunity to call on people since most of the stories broke about the MP's. To begin with things went okay, everybody were pleasant and friendly as usual and as I made my way through one of the many small villages in my ward. My canvas returns matched previous ...
As the aftermath of Baby a is being worked out-I sincerely hope that is being worked out (altho I would be more comfortable if all the new childcare measures being introduced in the borough were badged 'response to Baby a' as opposed to referring to Haringey and Baby P all the time) I noticed this brave comment from David Boyle. It begins: I don't really know why, but I find I've been haunted all weekend by the story of the mother who hit her child on the arm with a hairbrush because he wouldn't get dressed for school. Maybe it ...
Evil!! I got tagged with a meme by the lovably misunderstood Iain Dale, but it's the sort of random rubbish I actually like so I thought I'd have a go (I've also been tagged with a LDV one, eek!) 1. I once insulted John Savident (I said, I said, ee's Fred the Butcher from t'Corrie) by not actually knowing his name and being too embarrassed to call him Fred. 2. I also once met Rita from Corrie, and spent the next few years remarking that she was a 'really tiny old lady with an really huge wig' 3. I'm apparently ...
From The Sunday Times May 17, 2009 div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited { color:#06c; } Guess what song is Nick Griffin's ring tone. I was standing next to the British National party leader in a BBC green room last week when his mobile phone rang. Cue chiming guitar – it was Sweet Home Alabama. You guessed Ebony and [...]
Sun 17th
19:33
Well what manchester can do i am sure we could do better in Salford if we had the Leadership. what a...
Well we had one Young Swinton South Councillor running for St Mary's it was a great day, and yes we have one great sporting event but this is for the people and Local Charities so come on John lets get together and do it in Salford.
Time for some guesswork please. Just why did Fraser Kemp buy 16 different bed sheets in a seven week period on his expenses? I don't mean, "Why did he think the public should pay for them?" but "Why did he need 16 bed sheets?" I mean, what would you do with 16 bed sheets? That's enough to change your sheets every day for a fortnight, without doing any washing, and still have a couple spare. Even if the country voted in a referendum to give MPs as many sheets as they like, 16 would still seem a bit excessive. So ...
I joined the Mayor of Bury and a host of local Councillors at the annual Prestwich Clough Day earlier. As is traditional for this curtain-raiser for summer, it rained quite hard throughout. In fact, no sooner had I arrived than the heavens well and truly opened and unleashed a torrent of rain so powerful that I feared the Mayoral chains would rust. It didn't dampen the spirits too much though, and when the rain lightened later the crowds emerged from the tented displays to enjoy lots of community stalls and events. Amongst the highlights were PADOS - local Amateur Dramatic ...
{bnp-march.jpg} I marched against the BNP in Manchester yesterday. The march from Sackville Gardens was organised by NUS LGBT group, essentially highlighting the homophobic views of the BNP. Although there were surprising omissions, like Manchester Labour, it was mostly a cross party event and very encouraging. I would argue that separating the targets of BNP abuse is a bad idea. The march was very popular with the Mancunians who got caught up in its wake and it made me more confident that June 4th doesn't have to be the terrible election we all fear.
My eye caught a post from the Warwick and Leamington PPC urging a return to the spirit of the Chartists. I too have found my thoughts turning to the Chartists in recent days. Like many teenagers swotting for History O levels/GCSE I learnt a list of the six points of the Charter : Payment of MPs Equal electoral districts annual parliaments abolition of the House of Lords universal male suffrage and one other I can't remember at present Anyway I learnt the list in Leamington Spa where I went to school and at about the time I was doing my ...
As Lib Dem president Ros Scott has alluded, this is indeed a sad week for British politics. Yet again sleaze has smeared the political canvas, but this time the stuff is flying about at such speed that even we Liberal Democrats seem to be in the thick of it. However, it seems the electorate agrees that, while we are in it, we're not quite as bad. But should we rejoice in the likelihood of coming second in next week's opinion polls? I rather suspect not given that it will come at the expense of the rise in the BNP and ...
All, A service for Angela Noyce will take place on Tuesday at St. Edmunds at 11:45am. I understand that there are to be no flowers, but donations to a charity. Regards, Philip
I have spent most of this weekend with my godson Rupert and his family to celebrate his 4th Birthday.
I have come to the conclusion I am a Liberal Democrat, but have not yet pulled my finger out and joined the party. I am a student studying politics and have recently begun to question my political alliances. Back in September, at the beginning of my degree, I joined the Labour party - mainly due to its cheap member's fee. I no longer have any faith in the Labour party or Gordon Brown, whilst I would never consider voting Tory. Naturally my only remaining option was Lib Dem. Of course I could have aligned myself with a minority party, the ...
Nick Clegg made this comment to Andrew Marr and you can watch the video by following the link. I didn't watch the programme and picked up by this link via Nick Clegg's posting on Facebook, so a Hat Tip To the Rt. Hon Nick Clegg MP. I personally think Nick has done great by calling upon The Speaker to resign and I think most Lib Dems back his decision to call on him to resign. On another note the Blogger The Speaker is a little quiet about the Telegraph scams, maybe Martin needs to update his blog and move on ...
Final episode of Season 5 tonight on Sky 1. I've seen it, I can vouch for the fact it's going to melt your brains and make things start making sense. At the same time. Perhaps. Watch it anyway, for it is great and wonderful and all that. But perhaps you haven't been watching Lost. Perhaps you don't know what the fuss is about. Well, I'm on hand to help. Blu-Ray versions of the first two seasons come out on the 15th of June. Assuming you buy them straight away, I'm putting you on a diet of 3 episodes a week, ...
I wrote a blog post a couple of days ago saying that the reporting that abuse was being taken by campaigners was a myth and it wasn't the case. Today I have been out and about (before the rain started) and have noticed that people are upset because of the scamming MP's. MP's and Lords are destroying the image of politics in the UK and I am worried that their behaviour could lead to the BNP becoming stronger. If people turn away from main stream political parties then they will either not vote in protest or vote the BNP which ...
32) Vince Cable, The Storm: The World Economic Crisis and What It Means (London: Atlantic, 2009, ISBN 9781848870574). Good overview of how the crisis came about, although if you were paying attention as it developed, you may not find anything new here. Less good on solutions, I felt, possibly because there just aren't any that haven't already been tried.
I'd like to thank everybody who stood by the roads today and cheered all of us "runners" on. Especially those who stayed after the heavens opened and the wind started blowing horizontal rain into our faces all the way back from Old Trafford. People's encouragement from the side of the road is part of what makes the Great Manchester Run special. My time was nothing to blog about, though I was within the hour and a half, but it looks as though I'm going to be well over my initial target of £400 for Cancer Research, so thanks for everybody ...
The Scottish media has been widely reporting the growing controversy in the Church of Scotland over the campaign by a vocal minority on the Church's evangelical wing against the appointment of an openly gay Minister. This article in today's Scotland on Sunday gives a flavour of what is going on. The matter will be discussed by the Kirk's ruling body, the General Assembly, next Saturday. The Scottish Blogosphere has also weighed in with some exceptionally high quality debate on this including Stephen's thoughtful and personal posting from last week's Golden Dozen. This is of particular interest to Liberal Democrat Voice ...
You're probably aware that the old Ennersdale Primary School building on Leahurst Road is currently being used by Northbrook School as a temporary building while their site on Taunton Road is re-built. Ennersdale, was of course closed by the Labour Council back in 2002. The Council has now been approached by English Heritage, who have told them that they are processing an application to make the school a listed building. Once Northbrook move back to Taunton Road, the Council's plan is to move the Brent Knoll School to the Leahurst Road site, though as Brent Knoll is a special school, ...
{lha-asra-lee-high-road} If you're on the Council's waiting list for social housing (and 20,000 people are..!) then you might be interested to know that there'll be 35 new flats in Lee Green advertised over the next few weeks. The housing association LHA-ASRA has built 35 brand new flats on the site of the former garage at the corner of Lee High Road and Murillo Road (pictured). These are due to be advertised in Homesearch over the next few weeks, and should be available to move into from June. There are 21 X 1 bed flats, 12 X 2 bed flats and ...
Oh look - when the government said they'd abandonded plans to spy on our every move on the Internet they were telling a huge porky pie: What surprises me is that the outrage at this kind of government snooping on its citizens isn't wider spread and louder voiced. If Labour announced plans to open and [...]
Sun 17th
15:13Brown Bombshell bigger than debts from the Napoleonic Wars, First World War and Second World War com...
Frightening statistics from today's budget for 2009 reveal the extent of Brown's debt mountain. The revised borrowing figures for the public sector between the years 2008-09 to 2013-014 exceed the combined real terms (RPI-adjusted) borrowing required to defeat Napoleon (1793-1815), the Kaiser (1914-1918) and Hitler (1939-1945). The TPA understands that although these three foes are [...]
{neil-hamilton-and-martin-bell1} If the fallout from Snoutgate is a long-term breakdown of trust of politicians, does this mean that your electoral prospects could now better as a mere PPC rather than as an MP? In other words, is incumbency now potentially electoral poison. I'm more interested in the lower-grade stuff. The occassional item of soft furnishing. The odd electric toothbrush or lightbulb. A Kenwood mixer here or a new kettle there. It's not hard to see how the political opponents of such MPs could run their local campaigns. If you remember back to June 2006, the LibDems nearly snatched the safe ...
Who would you trust?
These past few weeks has seen a bloodbath in Westminster over the MP's expenses issue. What started off as the subject of office jokes with Labour MP's claims for bath plugs and porn films has turned to anger as we saw elaborate 'flipping' of second homes to maximise claims. The Tories have taken this to a whole new level with claims for chandeliers and moat cleaning for their stately homes. As tax payers we have a right to be angry. I have never had an issue with MPs claiming reasonable expenses. When I travel on business I do the same, ...
Here's what should have happened (well, actually, what should have happened is that the Lib Dems should have collectively published their expenses months ago, but in the absence of that...) and in what order: 1. Clegg to apologise and arrange for all affected MPs to make reparations – tick. 2. Clegg to commit party to return second [...]
Ok lets try and have a civilised discussion. But you will have to answer some questions. The Lib Dems are not dreaded. In AGMA and the LGA I engage with them in a very positive way so the problem is not me. Have you thought that the issue might be with your leader?I would like [...]
The Camden Council all-party Sustainability Task Force recommended reducing the amount of meat on menus in canteens, schools and care homes as part of our 2008 Food Report. We did not suggest that staff should go vegetarian as The Guardian claimed on Saturday. Our view was and is that we all need to eat less meat for environmental and health reasons and that when we do eat meat it should be better quality meat. The proposal was blocked by the Camden Conservative group on the grounds that informed choice was a better policy than restricted choice. Since then the NHS ...
It's all very well talking about the impact of the expenses scandal, but nothing beats being on the doorstep to find out how real people are thinking. So I've spent the morning in Langport, knocking on doors. And, to be honest, the level of Lib Dem support seems to be holding up well. Yes, I've met a number of people who aren't going to vote because 'you're all crooks', but when you probe further, you discover that many of them don't vote normally anyway. It was nice to spend some time with David Heath on his patch though. For those ...
Well done to Nick Clegg for putting his head above the parapet on the issue of the speaker. Ok it may be a few hundred years since we lost one, but that is no excuse for allowing him to limp on. It is abundantly clear the man has lost complete contact with the real world, despite his much lauded origins. Somewhere along the way he drew up the drawbridge in his own little moated ivory tower! He is clearly part of the problem, not part of the solution - the reason probably why he doesn't see it himself and recognise ...
Another successful day out leafletting in Irwell Riverside, just around the corner from the BNP candidate's house. So you can imagine how surprised I was too see the dumped fridges that my team spotted over a week ago, were still there! As I passed his house (saving myself the trouble of posting a leaflet through his door), I couldn't help but notice the overgrown state of his garden - if he can't take the time and trouble to tidy up his own front garden, what chance do the residents of Irwell Riverside have that the BNP will care about the ...
Just to be clear, I'm writing here about the abomination that is the idea behind Phorm; that getting internet service providers to inspect — illegally and without the informed consent of their customers or the owners of the websites they visit — just about all that they do online not so that they can improve their services but because they want to add advertisements. Indeed they would have the ability to replace the advertisement that a website owner has on their site — something like the Amazon or Google ad bars which are on this page and can help finance ...
I have linked to The Independent's proposals in respect of food.The new flat-rate allowance should cover only utility bills and rent or mortgage interest. A new subsistence allowance of £40 a day, to cover food and drink, should be made available, but only when Parliament is sitting. There is no reason why the taxpayer should fund MPs' Christmas turkeys or summer lunches. In a sense it shows in
A bit of a parish notice this. I'm going to stop writing about the MP's expenses scandal now. I've watched traffic to the blog plummet over the last few days - can't really argue with hard evidence that you're getting bored. So moving on then. Perhaps I should join Liberal Conspiracy in talking about the other great issue of the day: Left Wing Populist Leader In Saying Whatever It Takes To Get Elected Then Doing Something Else Once Elected complete non-shocker. That's a story right? Or, hey, the Chairman of Lloyds is having to step down over the shotgun wedding ...
{saltnpeppa} Do you remember "Good Friday"? This year. Great, wasn't it? I spent it alone in a house with perhaps the laziest cat this Jesus fella (or his dad, I get confused) has ever created. While Kit-cat (blame the owners for its name) formed a snoozing ball of fluff on the sofa, I killed my own life-minutes by surfing over our golden beach of Lib Dem Blogs and slipped onto this post on Liberal Revolution - Can we just get off mens' [sic] backs? Dangerously it got me thinking, and several weeks later my thoughts have finally ordered themselves into ...
Many congratulations indeed to Councillor Kuldip Singh Kang on being elected as Mayor of Newbury today.Well done to him for inspiring a wonderful Civic Service at St Nicolas church this morning. Credit is also due to Reverend Paul Cowen (the Mayor's chaplain) and to Reverend David Stone, Rector of St Nics, for facilitating such a mixed and uplifting service. It was marvellous to see members of
The Eurovision Song Contest was last night but, Eurovoting and Eurovisual fans, you can still get your entertainment fix. (You'll have to bring your own music though): From The Register: The European Parliament is treading bravely into the world of social networking in order to get the kids involved in the exciting world of European politics. Bureaucrats have created profiles on popular social sites including Facebook, MySpace and photo sharing site Flickr. There will also be ad-word campaigns and banner ads on MySpace. Elections run from 4 to 7 June, and the primary purpose of the campaign is to raise ...
Lots of emails flying about this afternoon with news that the BNP, who say they are so pro-Britain, have been unable to find 'British' images in support of their election campaign. First they have purchased a picture of two Italian models saying they are British pensioners. Then they have used a picture of a Polish Spitfire.Thankfully we had the support of the Polish during the Second World War
Just a quick reminder that you need to be registered to vote by the 19th, just two days time. If you may not be able to get to the polling station on June 4th then any applications for postal ballots must also arrive at your local council before the 19th. Click here to find out how to apply for a postal ballot, and find out if you're registered, and how to register to vote at www.aboutmyvote.co.uk.
Many people will tell you how hard they have campaigned to get elected as local Councillors yet many will argue that becoming an MEP is easier then becoming a Councillor. From my experience working for an MEP I have noticed MEP's don't do a lot of work with the grassroots which a Council candidate has to do and they are more rally based campaigners. I believe that if you have a massive bank roll behind you, your political party isn't hated by the general public and you are determined to make a change and work for the people who have ...
Graham Watson, ALDE leader and editor of Making the Green Energy Switch at a Time of Crisis, a cross party policy pamphlet published in February 2009, has warned European leaders against not developing green energy sources in Europe. "Energy diversity and energy security must be Europe's goal, and that means there are real benefits to new gas routes..." said Mr. Watson on the eve of a meeting in Prague between the Turkish Prime Minister and the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Georgia. "A European super grid supplied by solar, wind and tidal power offers Europe the chance to wean itself off ...
Under the initiative of the ALDE Group, on 6 May, the European Parliament rejected legislation that would have restricted internet access of users without adjudication. Marking a clear victory for those who advocate free access to the internet, this ruling has marked a clear division in the hegemony of the Socialists and Conservatives in the European Parliament. Liberal co-rapporteur Alexander Alvaro (FDP-Germany) said 'Internet users must not be denied access to what is today one of their main sources of information and social interaction." The parliamentary majority blocked a wide-ranging reform of EU telecom laws by rejecting an earlier compromise ...
One of a number of book launches that grace our festival. Book launch - Elaine Bousfield Tonight we celebrate the launch of the first novel by local author Elaine Bousfield. Albion, the first book of The Jewel Keepers' Trilogy, was published in early May by Kings Hart Books. It is a compelling fantasy fiction novel for readers aged 10 plus. Come along and listen to a reading, meet the author and enjoy a glass of wine. www.thejewelkeepers.com The Lloyds Hotel (Upstairs) | 8pm | Free There are of course a number of regulars that don't start or stop for the ...
The Leader's Office tells me Clegg is 100% behind the idea that the public should have the ability to recall an MP and force a by-election if they're found to be guity of wrongdoing by the Committee of Standards. Well, good. MPs expenses are "the tip of an iceberg" as far as what's wrong with Parliament goes and it's good to hear the same. But this is why the Speaker needs to go - this is the sort of reform that necessary (importantly, a Committee of Standards that will actually be willing to sanction those MPs that have crossed that ...
The whole expenses row is rather fun isn't it? The whole political class getting a good kicking, just like they need. How anyone can actually be surprised by this I don't know. Lord Acton's aphorism is at play here. Politicians are given power, power over us, power to take money from us. That is corrupting. You [...]
Southport MP opened his books to John Siddle in the Visiter this week revealing that he is 515th in the league of claimers. (I'm not sure why Siddle gets all these jobs; he was the one who Les Byrom -former Tory Leader-opened his heart to when he walked out on his erstwhile squabbling colleagues) Well done both Johns. Pugh's claims contrast dramatically with the mega claims of next door Lab MP Clare Curtis Thomas. I guess it is a bit personal with me but the Tory couple from Cheshire really seem to be getting off light. I fought two General ...
Sun 17th
11:43
CommentIsLinked@LDV: Nick Clegg - Voters' trust in democracy is shattered. We must restore it
Over at The Observer, Nick Clegg argues, after a tumultuous week in politics, that the public must be given more power than the politicians. Here's an excerpt: We are in the eye of the perfect storm: an economic crisis followed by a total collapse of public faith in politicians. One way or another, MPs' self-serving expenses will now, thankfully, be changed for good. But this must be a moment for fundamental change, not just tinkering to eliminate the worst excesses of the past. The uncomfortable truth is that these revelations are merely the tip of an iceberg - our whole ...
The Express is running a story about police in North Wales being sent to catch litter-droppers instead of dealing with more serious crimes. They may have a point, but one part of the Express article descends into farce. The Express tells us that "Compared with the same period last year, violent crime in North Wales has increased by 18 per cent, burglaries have risen by nearly 8 per cent and robberies have rocketed by an astonishing 115 per cent."I'd imagine they got those figures by visiting this website page. So let's have a look at those rocketing robberies. The good ...
The Armenians woz robbed on Eurovision 2009.
Just to say a belated congratulations to Bot'swana Beast of the Mindless Ones, who got married yesterday. Congratulations, mate.
I link to an article in the Mail on Sunday. To me the biggest concern about The Speaker is that he has hobbled parliament in its role as the voice of the people. He has basically acted as a trades union convenor for MPs trying to get the best deal for MPs, but undermining parliament as a result.I sent an email to all MPs about a week ago challenging the authority of the speaker. Then I agreed
Clegg has called on the Speaker to go, identifying the Speaker as a roadblock to reform of MP's expenses and the house. "A defender of the status quo is not the right person to do that job" This is unprecedented - no party leader has ever called on a speaker to resign before. It is so unprecedented that it wins Clegg top story on the BBC News website, the Guardian and the Times within minutes. I'm going to congratulate Clegg for this. He has finally found a way to show people what he believes in instead of simply telling people ...
So, Nick Clegg has bitten the bullet and called for the Speaker to go and those MP's under investigation to be deselected by their local parties. Firstly, Clegg deserves credit for this remark; "I do not think that the Speaker should be made a scapegoat for the failings of individual MP's". However, my point about this issue has been and remains simply this; there are more important things that Clegg should have called for first or announced as David Cameron did earlier in the week. He should have insisted that all Liberal Democrat MP's expenses will be published online, as ...
It was once said that Italy were the biggest enthusiasts of the European Union, and of closer political integration, because a European government could not be any worse than their own dire administrations. This week I saw messages by UKIP, BNP and one or two others saying 'let us govern ourselves'. Hmm, the flaw in this argument is that when you look at the Cabinet, and then you look at the shadow cabinet, you begin to wonder if the Italians had a point.
Today is the International Day against Homophobia (IDAHO). Some people in Britain and other parts of Western Europe might think such an event is unnecessary, as great advances have been made here in countering discrimination against peope on grounds of their sexual orientation. But the rough handling of Gay Pride activists in Moscow only hours [...]
Cllr Hands and I made an early stop at the Faitrade Coffee Morning at St John's yesterday morning. I understand that there was a good turn out with many folk making purchases. Further details can be found at: http://www.thefairtradestore.co.uk/ The firm is based at the Birkdale Trading estate on Liverpool Rd and so provides an opportunity to shop locally whilst supporting producers from the developing world. I was impressed by the range of goods available so please visit their web site. The photo shows Richard chatting to the firms founder.
Don't forget that today is the Prestwich Clough Day. This annual community event for the whole family celebrates the greenery of Prestwich and the fact that we've got some amazing woodland and parkland on our doorstep. There'll be plenty of stalls, activities and things to see and do (and eat and drink) in St Mary's Flower Park and through to the Church Inn. It's brightened up outside so hopefully lots of people will be there, including the Mayor of Bury Cllr Sheila Magnall and your local Councillors. I'll have a walk up there in an hour or so, which will ...
Following Nick Clegg's announcement that the Speaker of the House Michael Martin must go (an unprecedented step for a party leader) I am asking myself, could it have been influenced by this post by Charlotte Gore on Liberal Vision? I know that the blogs are closely monitored by the leadership and could it be that the feelings of the grass roots here have helped gird Clegg's loins here? I for one fully support Nick in what he has done here. Someone had to do it. Martin is useless and has to go. Blind adherence to convention is what has got ...
In a Democratic society as ours is the BNP are allowed to stand in elections and free to distribute their literature, via the Royal Mail in key elections as all political parties can. A small piece of paper dropped through the letterbox the other day, the BNP Election Communication, with three photographs on with explanations on why those people are voting BNP. But, they aren't what they seem, in fact these BNP voters/supporters don't exist! There is a doctor and the caption says - "I'm voting BNP because I see what immigration has done to the NHS. As a Doctor ...
Lib Dem leader has become the first party leader publicly to call on House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin to quit. The BBC has the story: Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has called on Commons Speaker Michael Martin to stand down, saying he has become an obstacle to much-needed reform of Parliament. Mr Clegg said the speaker should do the "decent thing" and step aside, saying he was not the "right man" for the job. He criticised the speaker for "dragging his feet" over the issue of MPs' expenses, causing such public anger. ... By becoming the most senior politician ...
Nick Clegg has this morning gone further than any Party Leader ever by calling on the Speaker, Michael Martin MP to resign. Nick did this on the Andrew Marr show just this morning. Come on Mr Martin, do the honourable thing.
{nick-clegg3} The LibDem leader has called on Michael Martin to go as Speaker, and the story is the top item on the BBC. According to today's BPIX poll, 54% think Martin should resign and only 13% think he should stay. A bold move, and one which puts Cameron in a tight spot - especially given the Tory leader's expressed, albeit equivocal, support for the Speaker last week. UPDATE: Conservative Home are saying that David Cameron should follow suit and press for Martin's removal.
We had a clue about it earlier this week when Vince Cable told us to await a statement on the matter. Now Nick Clegg has had the balls to actually call for the speaker to stand down. According to the Guardian's report yesterday there is a growing Labour backbench feeling against the man, which is important. You only have to read of Heather Brooke's tale of the Speaker's resistance to releasing
I took a little time to look at the key issues and where we stand as a party. I think to be honest hand on heart we had no chance to take the seat in pendlebury, what were we up against. The sad and untimely Death of Maureen what ever you policy or party she was a [...]
Since my blog post yesterday about the MPs expenses scandal and the correlation that I seem to have discovered between the likelihood of an MP being caught up in this scandal and the safeness of their parliamentary seat, I have gone through the data again. This is because I discovered there was an anomaly in that Margaret Hodge had appeared in my source data twice (not sure why this was). Also, the Telegraph list here was updated at about 3:00pm yesterday so there are a few more people added to the list. The new result is a value of 262.4 ...
This photograph comes from the Modern Mechanix website and shows an armoured train on the 15-inch gauge Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch railway during Word War II. The history page on the railway's own website says the line "was used extensively during the building of PLUTO (Pipe Line Under The Ocean) which fuelled the Allied invasion force". At the climax of The Elusive Grasshopper, Malcolm Saville imagined a trainload of policemen arriving at Dungeness to arrest the smugglers:As they ran down the platform they could all see the engine - not as tall as Dickie - and four miniature, unlighted coaches ...
In this morning's Observer Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg calls for major reforms to restore people's faith in politics: Newspapers carried images last week of a dark cloud hanging over the Palace of Westminster. But the cloud metaphor is too generous: politicians are not innocent victims of the weather. We created this cloud ourselves. It rose from the decaying of our democracy. It is because our political culture is so cut off from proper scrutiny that these Alice in Wonderland expenses rules developed. For too long, we have believed the hype about the mother of parliaments. The truth is that ...
I am suffering this morning. It was extremely ill advised to stay awake to watch the Eurovision Song Contest when I was already feeling tired and I suspect I will be feeling the consequences for a while. It was worth it, though - a show which has tutus, weird green aliens, fire, kinky boots and giant hamster wheels really has to be watched live, and I have to say that sharing the experience on Twitter with many of my friends certainly enhanced my enjoyment of it. I don't get the attraction of the Norwegian song which won a record breaking ...
Can't wait week of armchair gardening telly heaven on the bbbc.
In about an hours time I will set off for Swansea's cenotaph to take part in a Hope not Hate day event to commemorate those who died fighting fascism. There will also be those who will take the opportunity to compare the attitude and the policies of the present day BNP with that common enemy. There is much that I despise about the BNP but as I have said in the past it is important that we do not give them more credibility as an anti-establishment party if we can help it. That is why I think it is important ...
So voters are moving to UKIP because they don't trust the main parties....UKIP are, we are told, seen as the anti-sleaze party. Is this not the biggest joke ever?Perhaps there needs to be some time for word to get around. UKIP are the only UK party who fielded a candidate at the last set of elections who actually ended up in jail for fraud. And another was arrested and "denies charges of false
During PMQs last week, Nick challenged Gordon Brown to agree with him that no MP should profit on the sale of a second home that's been funded by the taxpayer. What I think is particularly good is that words matched deeds - he has committed every Lib Dem MP to this course of action, too. He isn't waiting for some Committee to rule that this should be the case, he's stating that case ahead of time. "A really simple principle is at stake: we are here to serve our constituents, not to make a fast buck on the property market. ...
Not my ward and no i am not into Councillor bashing. why do i ask, for one reason i used to live there. I remember in 1974 i got married houses could be achieved for the princely sum of around £3,000 a kings ransom, as far away to me as it is to the kids today. We [...]
The Daily Mail is reporting the distinctly unsurprising news that the Government has snuck through proposals to allow the taxman to snoop on us via the ID card database. Whenever we use our ID card, say to open a bank account, get a mortgage or buy some high value item, the information will appear on a Government database. Under new rules, laid before parliament just a few days ago, HM Revenue and Customs will be able to trawl through that database, looking for indicators that someone's fiddling their tax. Sometimes, of course, they'll get it wrong: the database won't prove ...
ComRes: CON 28% LAB 20% LD 14% UKIP 15% GRN 11% BNP 4% BPIX: Con 30% (-6) UKIP 17% (+7) Lab 17% (-6) Lib 15% (-1)
Two polls based on the outcome of the general election today one from ComRes and one from BPIX (A pollster that is not a member of the British Polling Council as Mike Smithson points out at every chance he gets. The results for the two polls are: ComRes: Con 40% (-5) Lab 21% (-5) Lib 18 (-) And now the BPIX: Con 42% (-3) Lab 20% (-3) Lib 15% (-2) This on average brings the poll results to: CONSERVATIVES: 41 LABOUR: 20.5% LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: 16.5% All in all I think the two polls pain an interesting picture and on average ...
Sun 17th
08:16Allmost 400 people on the blog yesterday and no BNP. the key points where Hazel and others who reape...
Do you ever wonder what other little fiddles they have going.Many years ago before i became a councillor i used to do some voluntary work for the G M P A,it meant spending a lot of time with people in our society who had been arrested and needed help You know it made me feel good [...]
Welcome to the first Sunday outing for The Voice's new daily post series highlighting two big stories from the media and two "must read" blog posts from Liberal Democrats. As it's a Sunday, there's also a bonus extra supplement. If you spot anything for future posts, do let us know on voice - voice.hat.libdemvoice.org.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one) 2 Big Stories Indian elections The big election story of the week is India: massive democracy, increasingly influential in the world and located right next to some of ...
The Sunday Times says: A former SAS major who supports the Conservative party has been named as the middleman in the ring that sold details of MPs' expenses to The Daily Telegraph for tens of thousands of pounds.John Wick, 60, who runs a corporate intelligence company in the City of London, is known to have approached newspapers on behalf of the people who obtained the data.Until a year ago he was a member of the Carlton club, which allows only supporters of the Conservative party to join.
This was the week that... · Parliament was rocked by revelations about the misuse of MPs expenses [more] · One of David Cameron's closest aides was forced to quit over his 'unacceptable' expenses claims [more] · Labour suspended a former minister from the parliamentary party [more] and accepted the resignation of the Justice Minister over the expenses scandal [more] · Two Labour peers faced suspension from the House of Lords after being found guilty of intending to accept money to amend legislation [more] · An opinion poll showed that Labour support has fallen to a record low [more] · A ...
From today's Sunday Times: The expenses scandal is poised to claim its biggest victim as Michael Martin, the Commons Speaker held responsible for blocking reform, suffers a volley of damaging allegations this weekend.For the first time one of his former aides has broken ranks to speak out about his "reign of terror" that allegedly prevented officials from defusing the expenses crisis.Martin is also facing questions after three senior law enforcement officials appeared to challenge his account of the botched police inquiry into Damian Green, the Tory MP.They will have to drag him out of the chair bodily - a reverse ...
