Guardian star columnist and earstwhile backer of Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Polly Toynbee, has called on readers to vote LibDem in the European elections on Thursday. Following a similar recommendation in The Observer yesterday, is this indicative of a radical shift in the Liberal Democrats' fortunes? Link:
Cranmer questions Gordon Brown's Presbyterian ConscienceJames Forsyth thinks there could be chaos on Friday. What, worse than there is already!?Dave Osler writing on Liberal Conspiracy thinks that it's time to nationalise VauxhallDizzy writing on Dizzy Thinks thinks that it's not time to nationalise VauxhallAnd yet another mention for MC Carswo and his further conversion to my way of thinking. Now he is calling for a constitutional convention.
The atmosphere in British politics currently is one of decay and transformation. It's like the breaking down of an `ancien regime` with the `royal courts` going out of favour with the masses and those same courts trying to defend their positions against new tramlines of thought that they can neither understand or control. Whether it's Labour [...]
Blimey, I am so fed up with the positivists - those puritanical creatures who disapprove of anything that doesn't fit their stringent ideas of academic proof. Evidence-based, of course, but only very narrow kinds of evidence actually count with them. Now here is the poor old vice-chancellor of Westminster University being hammered in public for the temerity of running a course on homeopathy: Now, I happen to be someone who has found homeopathy very helpful, and I've tried a lot of complementary therapies - some of them not very successfully, sometimes disastrously. But I'm not one of those people ...
Sorry, a number of people have left comments, but on the wrong page. So We have moved them here. We do not censor comments. Apologies at the delay, it took some time move them. 13th, 2009 | 7:57 am I feel that Hazel Blears should resign as the MP for Salford, when she has worked to [...]
Local Liberal Democrats are celebrating the news that East Sussex Hospitals Trust is to introduce 'pay as you leave' parking at the Conquest and the Eastbourne District General Hospitals in the Autumn, despite having decided in March 2009 to postpone the plans for a year. Responding to the Trust's statement, Nick Perry, the Lib Dem parliamentary [...]
Unsurprisingly, Conservative Home has already called the latest Com Res poll (which shows the Conservatives dropping 10%) a rogue. Mike Smithson on the seminal Political Betting thinks it is to do with the weighting that Com Res use; "The difference between ComRes's weightings tonight and the standard approach of ICM is to inflate the Labour headline [...]
I spoke at the Council's Cabinet meeting this evening on a number of issues.As well as talking about the great work Daisy led on Private Rented Sector housing, and welcoming some common sense around the King's Meadow Pool, there was a great deal of discussion about the ContactPoint database.The database was the subject of a well-researched article in the Chronicle last week. For those not familiar with it, ContactPoint is a database intended to contain details of every child (person under 16) in the UK, including their name and address but also some of their educational and NHS data. At ...
President Obama has said in an interview with the BBC this evening taht he is doing all he can to ensure the Queen is invited to the D-Day commemerations on 6th June. Two thoughts immediately leap to mind. The first is that many thousands of British soldiers fought and died bravely on D-Day for the liberation of Europe, and for the French not to have ensured that the Queen was invited as a matter of course is a national insult. Second Gordon Brown, as Prime Minister, should have ensured that she was. His failure to act is lamentable. He eventually ...
Left to my own devices, I often gravitate towards the BBC Parliament channel. When I flicked on this evening, Kelvin Hopkins, the single homed MP for Luton was talking very engagingly about local democracy. So far so good. Until an intervention by Diane Abbott, looking particularly smarmy, making a smart-arse remark about PR not allowing a link between MPs and their constituencies. She obviously doesn't know what she is talking about (nor do I, by the way) and was fortunately put in her place, pronto, by Martin Horwood. This prompted me to do a bit of self-education on proportional representation. ...
A new course is about to start at the Cornerstone in Langworthy to help Salford's community groups to get themselves noticed. The course will cover things like writing press releases and supplying photos, facing up to media interviews and getting your point across in the best way possible. The course is suitable for any community organisation, from kids' footy [...]
Something lighter and refreshing (well it's eye candy for me!) in these heady times: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8062540.stm
Along with Janet Whitehouse I was calling round on people in Bower Hill and Allnutts Road on Sunday morning. We were delighted to see that preparations for the re-opening of Allnutts Post Office are already well underway. One of the conditions imposed by Essex County Council is that Allnutts Stores should have a new shop front, so on Sunday the old one came down and a new framework went in. {Work underway on the new Allnutts Stores shop front} It's clear from talking to residents in the area that people appreciate the hard work that Janet put into getting the ...
I have avoided talking about the polls that have come out this weekend and I have ignored the fact that both the Independent and the Guardian have called on those who are truly progressive and pro-European to vote for the Lib Dems. I have avoided talking about these things for a simple reason: the 'death' of a party is all too often exaggerated. However I can't avoid this. Polly Toynbee, the arch-Labour cheerleader has called on anyone who is pro-European to vote for the Lib Dems on Thursday. I honestly never thought I would see this day come!
When I was trawling through the Telegraph's summaries of MPs' expensegates, my eye was caught by Laura Moffat, MP for Crawley, who now sleeps on a camp-bed in her office when she can't get home at a reasonable hour. There all sorts of critical comments under the story - proving that at the moment, as an MP, you can't do anything right. But I think this lady deserves some praise. The spirit of David Penhaligon (sleeping arrangements section only) lives on?
Yesterday, Gordon Brown announced that he was setting up a National Council for Democratic Renewal. At this point, who can say if this will stop voters' anger but it sounds a bit like a 'bad bank'. It is certainly designed to take out all that is toxic in parliament.
From party politics to parking, the official traffic order consultation notices for the extensions to the Hither Green East and Bankwell/Old Road CPZs have gone up on lampposts in the affected area. These extensions have already been approved by residents - 72% were in favour of the extension to Hither Green East and 60% in favour of the Bankwell/Old Road CPZ extension. This latest consultation is the official one that's legally required to make the traffic order. Residents have 21 days from 27th May onwards to make objections or other representations, should they wish to do so, and the detailed ...
Mon 1st
21:43
why do every time i think of Conservatives my mind goes blank and these pictures pop up?
Time passes but they never change.
Today I am ashamed of my membership of the Liberal Democrats. Thanks Polly. This recommendation should be trusted more than your 'Only Gordon Brown can save Labour' piece because? Oi Vey. First the Observer. Now the Guardian. I see an attempt to snap Brown's arm off behind his back, they're twisting it so hard. Before Lib Dems get excited by this 'overtaking Labour in the Polls' business, this 'lowest polls for Labour ever' business, this actual endorsements from something other than Lib Dem Blogs and/or the Independent they need to remember that if Labour and the Lib Dems were both ...
After a few weeks where I've been pretty hesitant to mention my involvement in party politics for fear of people asking me about my expenses (I haven't got a moat, a second home or even a pink laptop, for the record) I've had a bit of a spring in my step over the last couple of days. The first boost was Nick Clegg's launch of the Take Back Power campaign last week, which pretty much sums up what I think needs to happen to restore faith in British politics. What's more, Nick's outlined a 100 day plan to make it ...
The hardest bit about politics is not deciding where you'd like to spend money, but deciding what gets priority. I was shocked to find that the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre was under threat following the end of three year funding pledges from VISA and the NSPCC. Yes, you read that right - a credit card company and a charity underpinning what "The Independent" describes as an organisation credited with breaking up or disrupting 166 paedophile networks, 82 of them in the past twelve months. According to the same report CEOP has been temporarily bailed-out by a £500,000 ...
Back in October 2007 I suggested offhandedly that Jose Mourinho should become the new leader of the Liberal Democrats. Rather to me embarrassment that posting made it into the top 10 Lib Dem blog posts for the year. I don't suppose the idea will work so well in reverse, but I was amused by this observation from Decca Aitkenhead in today's Guardian: Clegg is much more animated in real life - more colloquial, less plummy - than he often appears on TV. People say he looks like David Cameron, but in fact he looks uncannily like a younger version of ...
Things are indeed achanging in the Guardian Media Group. Sunday say The Observer unequivocally urge its readers to vote Liberal Democrat for the first time. And now Polly Toynbee is urging a vote for the Liberal Democrats in the European elections and in many local elections too: Throw out bad councils, and vote for Lib Dems in Europe... The most consistently wise party on Europe, [the Lib Dems] never flirted with Tory press populism, but that principled stand came at a high price. On the economy or crime co-operation, "stronger together, poorer apart" is a good Lib Dem pro-EU slogan. ...
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June 01, 2009 ANTI-BNP campaigners are warning that the extremist party has focused its resources on the north west in this week's Euro poll after deciding the region represents its best hope of winning a seat. The party – which wants black and Asian Brits to leave the country – is mobilising all its activists in a bid to [...]
Of all the ill considered, micro managing nonsenses that have oozed out of New Labour the Standards Board is amongst the most discredited. It attracts silly complaints. It focuses on trivia. Is often plain daft. I got cleared of a complaint. The board decided what I was accused of was not a breach. Okay. So why go on to declare that I was guilty of what I was accused of? Bizarre. Others have had far worse experiences. It is clear that instead of all this bureaucracy what we need is transparency. MP's expenses have been cleaned up because of the ...
So this time last month I posted some visitors figures for the first time and was largely told off for caring about such things. Bloggers, you see, are only supposed to be secretly obsessed with their readership figures. My mistake {:)} It's not the number of visitors that matters - it's about finding a niche and filling it well. My niche seems to be 'being a Lib Dem that drives everyone nuts' and long may that continue. Be that as it may, Guido was in a mischievous mood and linked that stat-porn post on his, 'seen elsewhere' bit which seemed ...
On Friday night I called into Iain Dale's radio show to talk about electoral reform and proportional representation. I had a good stab at trying to persuade him, a sceptic on this issue of the merits of a proportional system. They have just uploaded the podcast so in you are interested, have a listen to it here. I am on from about 8:00 minutes until about 18:00 minutes in (or via the embedded player below). There were also further calls later that picked up on this theme including a particularly interesting one from a chap in Canada where they had ...
I was delivering leaflets yesterday and came across a letterbox that was really tough to open. When I did prise it open, out fell a hand drawn leaflet asking the householder to 'Vote for Diversity' in the Britain's Got Talent contest. I'm not sure whether this was an organised campaign or one inspired by there being so many election leaflets flying about in this part of the world, but it's nice to see that campaigning is catching.
Well - I always knew Labour Haringey were in a hole - and clearly they just keep on digging! It's Highgate councillor Neil Williams who is putting his arm to dramatic use: {Cllr Neil Williams and the Kenwood Road pothole}
Egg forget to tell me something. I complain that they forgot to tell me. They point out that their procedures including telling me, and so reject my complaint. So in the world of Egg Customer Service as long as it says on a piece of paper that they should tell people, it doesn't matter whether or not they actually do. Yes, well. File this in the "how not to do customer services" file. Related posts:Abbey Customer Services: a touch of Kafka I wish to complain about an Abbey department not replying...Dalai Lama Customer Services Hello to the mysterious internet traveller ...
From the BBC website: Liberal Democrats have apologised after a campaign leaflet was sent out which uses a swear word to describe a Cornish nationalist candidate.The paperwork was distributed on behalf of Anna Pascoe, Lib Dem candidate for Cornwall Council elections on 4 June.It calls Mebyon Kernow candidate Stuart Cullimore a "greasy-haired twat".It appears that around 40 copies of the leaflet were distributed. It was described by the Lib Dem agent as "some kind of prank that's back-fired". More on the derivation and history of the word "twat" on Wikipedia.
You can help end fuel poverty 1. Write to your MP and ask them to support the Fuel Poverty Bill and sign EDM 1069 2. Write to Joan Ruddock MP and Ed Miliband MP asking them to support the Fuel Poverty Bill 3. Join their Facebook group, End Fuel Poverty Coalition 4. Follow them on Twitter
I just got the second edition of About Time 3,by Tat Wood, which is apparently three times the length of the first edition. I just wonder if the sentence "Miles cornered the market in sarcastic, whiney petulance and prima-donnaism, but here he went too far, and we're left wondering how Lawrence was put in charge of [...]
I can't begin to express the depths of my sadness tonight. Ray Powell, our District Councillor for Ramsey and candidate for the County Council on Thursday, passed away suddenly this afternoon. Ray was a down to earth man. Despite his roots elsewhere he had become both a Ramseyman and a Fenman and to most local residents was nothing more or less than 'Mr Ramsey'. One of nature's gentlemen. We are all too busy to fully take this in tonight and my guess is it will hit us even harder on Friday. We have lost a fellow Liberal Democrat and a ...
Here's something I've seen popping up across various blogs in the last few weeks: There's too much capacity in the Car Industry Clearly, during a recession, the demand for new cars is going to be lower than it was - that's true. Even when people want to buy a new car, they're less likely to be able to finance it at reasonable terms. At the same time, we've got the Car Scrappage Scheme, gifting everyone £2,000 for turning in any car for £2000 (who's paying for the cars to be actually scrapped by the way?) which, assuming it works, turns ...
Yesterday's Mail carried Lib Dem deputy leader Vince Cable's clarion call for his opposite number at the Treasury, Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling, to resign. (He was later joined by Nick Clegg - you can hear the interview with him HERE - who is looking for another scalp after taking Speaker Michael Martin's a fortnight ago). Here's an excerpt from Vince's article: It's time to get MPs off the front pages and the economy back on. This cannot happen when key figures in Government (and Opposition) are tainted by scandal themselves and lack moral authority. There is a danger that the ...
Another tail of postal voting trouble; this time from West Sussex. In the Henfield ward ballot papers were printed and sent out to postal voters with the UKIP logo next to the Liberal Democrat candidate and with the Liberal Democrat logo against the Labour candidate. Corrected ballot papers have now been sent out. UPDATE: Things also went wrong in Riverside ward, where the UKIP logo appeared next to the Peace candidate.
Right, I will almost certainly regret doing this but I have decided to do a Statporn entry for May. I have not done one of these before, I guess because my traffic was fairly light (although steadily growing) but last month was incredible (for me anyway). I never know which one of these is most important but I got 21,931 Pageviews from 16,534 Visits and a total of 13,355 Absolute Unique Visitors. As a quick reference, my figures for the preceding 5 months Pageviews (when I first really started blogging properly and started recording the Analytics) were: December - 94 ...
An interesting snippet from today's YouGov poll: Here are some proposals that have been made for reforming our political system. In each case do you agree or disagree with it? Introduce a new voting system for electing MPs which would link the number of seats to the total vote of each party, and make it harder for a single party to win general elections outright. Support: 52% Oppose: 20% Amongst Conservative voters: Support: 40% Oppose: 33% Not surprisingly, Liberal Democrat voters are much keener, but it's interesting to note that a majority of Conservatives agreed with this question. The other ...
The last couple of weeks have seen the Polls fluctuate widely. The Liberal Democrats have been 4th and 2nd UKIP have also been 4th and 2nd, clearly this contradicts slightly.
A sumptuous interview with the Cleggster in the Guardian. Something to bask in. It is noticeable that Nick Clegg seems to be in the fortune telling business: "I've got cards up my sleeve," he says coyly, but won't elaborate. Instead, he offers, "Let me spell out what I think is going to unfold. There's clearly something unsustainable about MPs saying, 'We've done something seriously wrong but we are going to hang around until the next general election.' I think for the most serious abuses, instead of having MPs adjudicated by party panels behind closed doors, the adjudication will have to ...
Following on from the sensational Sunday Telegraph poll yesterday, today's Ipsos MORI poll has Labour down on 18% level with the Lib Dems who are also on 18%. This backs up the poll yesterday which had Labour in third place 3 points behind the Lib Dems. Perhaps more importantly as stated over on politicalbetting.com Ipsos MORI's results focus on those who are 100% certain to vote and disregards those might say they would vote one way (but then don't show up to vote). In addition Ipsos has good news for Nick Clegg: Nick Clegg is the only one of the ...
On Wednesday I gave my memories of Danny La Rue. Today came news that he has died. There is a good tribute by Michael Billington on the Guardian's theatre blog.
Oh dear, it appears Lib Dems in Cornwall have been caught out after an "in joke" went horribly wrong after some prank leaflets. You can read about it HERE. I have, in the past, set up dummy leaflets, but my tone has always to parody something. When doing an all night print run in 2003 when we ordered take away pizza to keep us going (along with lots of diet coke), I set up a leaflet with my council running mate that printed bar charts showing which pizza would finish first along with quote like "Everyone knows in North Norfolk ...
Some of these reviews can also be found on Amazon.In May 2009, I read the following books: 1. Lord of Misrule: the autobiography of Christopher Lee There's not much to say about this, other than that it's a very accessible book, and a delight to read, unlike most autobiographies. Lee tells the tale of his life simply and with a gentle wit. Perhaps my only little complaint is that this is an expanded version of an earlier edition of his autobiography (previously sold as Tall, Dark and Gruesome) and the new material, largely concerning his roles as Count Dooku in ...
... We'd say a big thank you to the 41,636 'absolute unique visitors'* who read Liberal Democrat Voice in May, our second highest total ever. That's up by almost 35% on last month's figure, and is an 80% increase on a year ago. This brings our absolute unique visitor readership for the last year to date (1 June 2008 - 31 May 2009) to 267,369, an increase of 108% on the equivalent figure for 2007-08 of 128,191. The 5 top-read stories during the month were: 1. By-election results: Tories fail against Lib Dems (17th November 2006) 2. Gurkhas win court ...
Their latest idea - a service that combines commute times, property prices and the beauty of an area in order to show you where you might want to live - looks very neat. It is also, once again, a good example of how letting people get at data results in all sorts of unexpected conclusions. The idea of using maps to show commute times isn't new. Adding in property prices may seem obvious. But would a group of civil servants plotting an official transport information service have really thought up the idea of adding in beauty too? Perhaps they would, ...
{barnes-hope-not-hate.jpg} Those of you who want to keep the BNP from taking up a seat in the European parliament, might be interested in handing out leaflets (probably the excellent newspapers produced by the Mirror) tomorrow. Follow the link to find more information. I will be leafleting in Chorlton tomorrow, if you want to join me. I will be at the Library at 6pm.
Which is to say, people who say well, I WOULD vote Lib Dem, except they might go into coalition with the tories! And I hate the Tories! So I'm voting Labour! Our local council is run by a Tory/Labour Coalition. So I'll never vote Labour because they are willing to go into coalition with the Tories... Oh, hang on a minute! Vote for the party whose policies match your beliefs, not the one you think is most likely to keep out the one you hate the most, or the one who your parents voted for, or the one who once ...
I've received the following message worth sharing: A Women's Agenda in a time of sleaze and recession – June 2009 Just over a year ago we ran a quick survey to find out your thoughts on voting in the local and Mayoral elections of May 2008. A year later some of us have the opportunity [...]
The following appeared in todays Guardian Newspaper. Alistair Darling came under fresh pressure to quit as chancellor yesterday when the Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, said he should be sacked for profiting from his parliamentary expenses. Clegg has been making increasingly pointed attacks in the wake of the expenses scandal and was the only party leader to call for...
{s771405362_7065332_1270975.jpg} The graph on the right hand side of this page says a lot. At the last election the Greens came a distant third, almost 2000 votes behind the Liberal Democrat candidate. Since then, the Conservatives on the District Council have abolished the Council's Environment and Climate Change Panel. In Shipston it is clear that the only person who can realistically oppose the Conservative short-sighted attitude to environmental issues is Philip Vial. The Labour Party didn't stand last time, but in the last election in Shipston the Labour candidate received just 64 votes. If you would like a progressive councillor ...
....or at least not terminally depressed. Etched on my memory is the big red graph line going down behind the newsreaders on the BBC with headlines like "SHARE CRISIS" and "CREDIT CRUNCH". The media caravan has moved on with its scorched earth policy, to expenses and Susan Boyle. But it would be nice if some attention is paid to some good news in the economy. Honda Swindon reopened production today! Hurrah! The Dow is up 200 points today, despite the GM bankruptcy! The FTSE is up 2% also today - that's up 4% or 180-odd points in the last five ...
A glittering series of events are planned around the official opening by Mary Wilson of the exhibition The Story of the Supremes From the Mary Wilson Collection, at the Bath & North East Somerset Council-run Assembly Rooms in Bath this summer. The V&A exhibition, in collaboration with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland Ohio, opens to the public on 25 July and runs until the 31...
"I'm living in London on £27 a day while David Cameron is claiming a damn sight more for his big house in Oxford". Dennis Skinner.
Mike Smithson has the details of the latest MORI poll. Con 40%, Lab 18%, LibDem 18%, Others 24%. Staggering stuff. Nick Clegg is the only party leader improving his public standing.
Mon 1st
17:03Thanks again to city West for acting very quickly to the complaints of anti social behaviour
Well again City West are coming through, more updates on Thursday. Anti social behavior is an unexceptable part of our life . We have the tools so lets use them. I would also like to say thank you for taking up our request to change the times of our walkabouts it will offer a chance to meet more people [...]
More welcome news of Labour councillors crossing the floor in the NW
{dave-atherton} In case you missed it, yesterday was World No Tobacco Day. Guest contributor Dave Atherton argues for the party to take a more liberal approach to the smoking ban. "Nearly two years after its introduction, I am still finding it difficult to believe that the smoking ban has not been recommended for amendment by the Liberal Democrats. It came as a complete surprise when Liberal Democrats voted 5 to 1 for the ban and what were the twenty five absentees doing? Sharing a cigar in Ken Clarke's office, rolling their own in the Strangers Bar, or being forward thinking ...
General Motors filing for bankruptcy. Some clue as to why this has happened may be gleaned from this little slide show of the "GM Junk heap". My favourite is the Hummer H2 (below) - what a disaster! Mind you, they produced nothing as catastrophically disastrous as the Ford Edsel. Children used to point and laugh at that one in the street.
Former Sheffield Hallam MP Richard Allan explains why over on his blog: The process of deciding law in the European Parliament is much more complex than in Westminster. In Westminster virtually every word of our laws is drafted by the Government with the odd amendment passed in the House of Lords where there is no Government majority. The scrutiny process can throw up errors and occasionally creates such controversy that a proposal is delayed or abandoned. But it does not generally offer individual MPs the opportunity to make substantial changes to the law. In the European Parliament, individual MEPs with ...
Dave's über-green Nu Tories are to campaign on climate by having jolly good knees-up on a roof later this month. Hurrah! Pimms O'Clock! Tickets are a snip at just, erm, £75 a head, and for this you will be able to mingle with "leading green entrepreneurs and investors, eco philanthropists, and a variety of high profile business, celebrity and media opinion formers with a passion for the environment." Eco philanthropists? Woo! Check out the Facebook page, kids. And the flier: {climatecampaign}
I has doned gardening this morning! All my little herb pots in our tiny yard have been tended and mended and watered. We have basil and mint and garlic and lavender at the moment, and I have one spare pot which I am thinking of getting Oregano or something to put in. What is a good herb to grow in British climate, oh f-list of wisdom? My brain is still a bit weekendy, given that today is my first day off all week, so here are some images and links to things what have caught my eye if you fancy ...
Just spent a few minutes reading this long interview with Nick Clegg in the Guardian lifestyle section today. Helen wrote about it for LDV a few minutes ago, and excerpted a few of the best bits, but I will just add in a para that I think people should read: [...] What can Clegg offer that Cameron's hoodie-hugging, broken Britain-fixing Tories can't provide? "Do you think," he snaps back, "that the Conservative party as an establishment party is going to take on the vested interests in a tax system? Is going to say to middle-class folk that little Johnny will ...
{alan-johnson} With expectations of a full scale Labour meltdown in the local and European elections this week, we are in another wave of speculation about whether the Prime Minister is about to be ousted in a coup. If the Labour Party had retained any sort of sense of self-preservation, Brown would have been shot long ago. But perhaps this time, his Cabinet colleagues will finally grow a backbone. Surely, it's way too late for the government to stand even a remote chance of clinging on for a fourth term. Their real challenge is just to avoid full scale electoral oblivion. ...
As many of you know, part of my day job involves working on refugee law cases. I come across a lot of angry-making things doing that, but one of the worst is the Labour Government's practice on asylum detention. Asylum-seekers are routinely detained purely for administrative convenience; refused asylum-seekers can be detained indefinitely, without even the 42-day maximum accorded to terrorism suspects; and children are detained without the protection of the Children Act (which normally requires authorities to give priority to the child's best interests.) The Government has opted out of an EU Directive, and announced its intention to opt ...
More positive press for the Liberal Democrats today: following yesterday's Observer editorial, sister paper the Guardian today has an interview with Nick Clegg. His first interview in his family home, with his wife and children around, the G2 piece is a mix of lifestyle and political issues. Clegg had never allowed access to his family home before, but from what I saw he could give WebCameron a run for its money when it comes to cuteness. Deep in leafy Putney, the front door opened on to a vision of middle-class domesticity - a newborn baby dozing in a basket, and ...
Mon 1st
13:29It's a funny world you will all no my personal feeling over the BNP but a couple of comments i have ...
The BNP claim to be a party of the people and i wrote to their candidate asking if he would like to debate issues relating to Salford. I received no reply, i have stated openly my distaste of their policies ,and they have the right in a democracy to challenge mine. We have problems in [...]
Jonathan Fryer a the London euro candidate who is most likely to get elected this year has written a blog post about David Cameron and his new friends in Europe and you can read his blog post below: It is often said that one can judge a man by the company he keeps. So no wonder Tory grandees such as Chris Patten and Leon Brittan are appalled that the Conservative Party leader David Cameron is making new alliances with some of the most unpleasant parties in mainstream European politics, as a consequence of pulling out of the centre-right EPP grouping ...
I nearly missed the news today ! I was just in time to turn my radio on to hear that Gordon Brown has contacted Simon Cowell to see if Susan Boyle is all right ! Well, that's a relief ! It's so good to know that the Prime Minister has his finger on the pulse. You couldn't make it up, could you ? Well you never know, Gordon, might be worth the odd vote on Thursday...the very odd vote. Roll
A rather surreal Sunday morning yesterday. It all started on Saturday night with an urgent call from the Lib Dem press office. Could I do an interview with Radio 5 Live tomorrow morning? Yes, OK. A few minutes later the call came through from 5 Live: they were planning a panel discussion to take place [...]
Please find attached a pdf copy of a letter being distributed to residents providing information for residents about the forthcoming Oasis concerts on 4th, 6th and 7th June. I also attach a list of frequently asked questions that is on the back of the letter. oasis_hp_letter_front.pdf oasis_hp_letter_back.pdf
Veteran Lab Cllr Anne Graham has today defected to the Liberal Democrats. She represents Reddish North ward on Stockport Borough Council. The ward is in a deprived area that abuts Manchester Council and is in the North of the Borough. Local Lib Dems have welcomed Anne into the party and look forward to working with her on [...]
On Friday I was off to do a Reg 33 visit to a children's home (in this case somewhere providing short stays for disabled children and young people). We (that is the councillors who volunteer for these) visit unannounced to check that all is OK. Sometimes there are children and young people around and sometimes it is just the staff. On Friday apart from one young lady it was just the staff as they were waiting for a new group to arrive. It meant I had a chance to look round the building and rooms in a bit more detail ...
A licence application has been received for the Priest's Retreat pub. This was briefly Luna Carribean Restaurant, but that closed down which meant that it returned to being a closed-down pub. Now the Council has received an application from China Sun Restaurant, which my spider-senses tells me is probably a Chinese Restaurant. The applicants want an alcohol, music and dancing licence from 11.00 - 23.00 seven days a week. I know some people living near to the Priest's Retreat in the days when it was a pub had some concerns about the noise. As with all applications there is time ...
The arts centre at Kings Place is sponsoring a haiku-writing contest for Londoners. Entries are flashed up on screen at Kings Cross station. Islington haikus Twitter your lines to take part What a great idea!
It has come to my attention that Lab Cllr David Owen of Reddish North ward died on Friday. Whatever the difference I had with his politics he was a hardworking councillor for the communities he represented.
Sunder Katwala, writing for Next Left, says that the current crisis put's our party in something of a dilemma. This is something I have alluded too in past comments. Sunder acknowledges that we are having a 'good crisis' with none of our MP's suffering too badly and our agenda for reform being the political flavour the [...]
As reported in today's 'Courier', over the weekend, I was contacted by residents who were angry at the litter mess on Magdalen Green had been left in by some people picnicking on the Green in the warm weather. The Green was a fair mess, particularly on Saturday morning, and although the majority of people using the Green in the good weather were very responsible, unfortunately there's a minority who appear not to care and left the green covered in litter. I think everyone likes to see Magdalen Green well used by people as it's a lovely place to visit, but ...
Further to my item last Friday about vandalism to the above, I have received this update from the City Council this morning : "We are installing a paper bin today at Cleghorn Street - any further acts of vandalism will undoubtedly affect the future of this site. We will monitor it closely at present, and if it were to be moved in future, we would certainly look at relocation within the general area it currently serves."
I have been trying to work this out and have used the following formula: 72(MEP's)/100=0.72. And then 0.72 x the % in the polls. Is this the right way to work out the number of MEP's that a party will get if the polling % is the actual outcome? If it is then the results for my adding up are: labour 12 ukip 12 lib dems 12 tories 19 The results above are from a YouGov euro poll which doesn't include the BNP for some reason and personally I believe that it should. But this adds up to only 55 ...
Firstly I must apologise for the paucity of blogs over the last 10 days or so. There were several reasons including breaking my right arm (yes I am right-handed) and having both daughters and their families here to stay at the same time - an event last enjoyed almost 3 years ago. I trust that I'm forgiven for spending some time enjoying their company and the unusually consistent weather.I
Q: What investment could you have made on 15th November 2008 that would have made you 12% in just over six months?A: Buy the plucky pound, sell the dollar. Here is the graph: Unfortunately, that is the day that George Osborne chose to warn the world of a potential sterling crisis. But to be fair to him, the pound did fall against the Euro, quite alarmingly, until it emerged that the Europeans were even deeper in the mire than we were. On that one we are back roughly where we started. The point is that the dollar has fallen, quite ...
From all the articles on the BNP website about the North West and the BNP election it shows that Nick Griffin is campaigning hard in Cumbria and places which is what I had expected him to do. The people of Cheshire and Cumbria are the people that are piss** off with main stream politics and are going to vote the facist party and them being angry is due to many reasons. The Conservatives were strong in places like Cumbria and Cheshire but not this year and the Tory vote from these areas is seriously going to reduce and no one ...
A Bootle councillor has 'crossed the floor' to join us, the Lib Dems have crossed over Labour in the recent opinion polls and Cameron has allied himself with a bunch of extremely socially conservative catholics. One at a time. Paul Larkin is a good guy. I was around when there was a steady stream of Labour switchers in the early 80's. Some like Shirley Williams, David Marquand etc were very welcome. Others were not. Indeed ridding ourselves of them became a precondition of forming a coherent party. If they had hung around we would not have had a clear position ...
I am disappointed at the decision by Stagecoach Strathtay to withdraw the 72 bus service around part of the West End, although relieved that concerns about the 69 service which covers a larger route in the West End are unfounded and it is not being withdrawn. I was contacted at the end of last week by constituents concerned to learn that the 72 bus, which provides a limited service to Windsor Street 4 times a day on weekdays, was being withdrawn by Stagecoach Strathtay. There had been absolutely no warning about this - indeed a list of proposed bus changes ...
Sounds like a David Bowie song, but no this is actually happening. David Cameron wants to break with the EU centre right block which has Sarkozy and Merkel in favour of Franco-Apologists, Lithuanian Fascists and other miscellaneous miscreants; and his party are having none of it. This is a real chance for us to demolish his hopes [...]
It's day 23,456,936 of the MPs expenses scandal (or at least it feels like it!) and the spotlight is on Chancellor Alistair Darling. His sin, according to the Daily Telegraph, was to claim on two homes at the same time. Effectively, he claimed in advance for the service charge on his flat and shortly afterwards was appointed Chancellor with a posh address in the exclusive and sought after suburb
This was our hotel {Posted by Picasa}
It is often said that one can judge a man by the company he keeps. So no wonder Tory grandees such as Chris Patten and Leon Brittan are appalled that the Conservative Party leader David Cameron is making new alliances with some of the most unpleasant parties in mainstream European politics, as a consequence of [...]
Well - a constituent have just emailed me about the Labour leaflet they've just received. His remark was: 'This leaflet arrived and is pathetic and quite frankly offensive. Do the Labour party take voters for numpties? Clearly they do!'
What is it about physiognomy and fascism ? Can you really judge a man by his boat ? Look here at these chaps. OK, the prat on the right could be in any party, even mine. After all, we've got Lembit Opik. The chap on the left, however, could only be a fascist, couldn't he ? He could be a Tory of course, but actually he's Barry Bennett, BNP Euro-candidate in the South-West, whose opinions
Good news on the Harroby Road casework - the developer of the new flats has informed Highways inspectors that remedial work to repair the road outside should be complete by Friday 5th June.
On Saturday night the UK voted for Diversity - not just the dance troupe, brilliant though they are, but the idea. This group of talented dancers are of mixed race. The people of Britain voted them into top place in "Britain's got Talent". Diversity is based in Dagenham, Essex, the heartland of the BNP. The Brits know talent when they see it. All the contestants in the BGT final were talented, especially the top three. The people have spoken, and our votes went to an ethnically mixed group, an ethnically mixed soloist and a lovely lady with learning difficulties (but ...
More pressure for an Autumn election in the press and elsewhere. But another possible Autumn story may have an impact on that. So far we have not had great outbreaks of H1N1 'swine flu'. But cases are increasing slowly and the pre-conditions for a pandemic wave definitely exist. One persuasive epidemiological model suggest that H1N1 will rumble along at a nuisance level over the summer, inhibited in part if we have a summer outdoors in the sun. However when schools and universities and general workplaces start up again in September and October, H1N1 will be at a stage where it ...
Government regulators paid out £25m in bonuses to staff last year despite serious problems in many of the areas they regulate. £5½m of the bonuses went to executives earning over £100,000, according to figures revealed to the Liberal Democrats. Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show that: The FSA paid £19.7m in bonuses to staff last...
{diary.JPG} June 3rd - Save Heaton Park meeting from 7pm St.Margarets Church House. June 4th - European Elections Polling Day - polls open from 7am to 10pm. June 4th, 6th & 7th - Oasis come to town! June 9th - Polefield Tenants & Residents Association June 9th - St.Michaels RC Primary School Governors Meeting June 21st - Prestwich Carnival and Parade, St.Mary's Park June 24th - Full Meeting of Bury Council, Bury Town Hall from 7pm Don't forget in addition to the Carnival there is a full range of LovePrestwich Festival events taking place virtually every night between now and ...
Over the last few years I have spent a lot of time working on issues before the European Parliament. This experience has shown me just how powerful MEPs are in making laws that have a significant impact on life in the UK. My area of particular concern has been telecommunications where the great bulk of the rules are decided at a European level. The process of deciding law in the European Parliament is much more complex than in Westminster. In Westminster virtually every word of our laws is drafted by the Government with the odd amendment passed in the House ...
In all our local excitements on expenses and so on, we sometimes forget that the LibDems are fighting the EuroElections as part of an International grouping, ALDE. Some people are actually looking at the policy positions presented by ALDE and commenting. Take a look for example at this comment on energy policies. The Eurotrib site tends to equate Liberalism with neo-Liberal 'market worship' by the way, many contributors putting it in the same basket as the policies of the last US administration. The tone of some comments elsewhere can be gauged by another post on Eurotrib which says 'when something ...
The last week of the election campaign is upon us - Friday the count will be held and we'll see how the votes have been cast. I'm thankful for blue skies and sunshine - having last canvassed in November this is a lot more pleasant and my woolly jumpers and thermals have staying packed away! My election shoes are very comfortably worn in now. The family are well into the swing of things second time around - the boys have finally worked out that their contribution is to help with washing up without grumbling! My mother has got things running ...
The words of the Mama's and Papa's song always conjure up a lazy Sunday in summer to me. And today that's exactly what the Whelan household have gone for. I'm never keen at disturbing people with canvassing on a Sunday so we've made the most of the good weather and had a quiet family day. We had an unusual and early start to the day when we saw a pair of deer walking through the streets of Caldecote. Walking boots on, we went for a five mile walk across the fields at 06:00 and I think I can best describe ...
The Lib Dems 4 Parliament site brings news of two selections closing in June: Plymouth Moor View Plymouth Sutton & Devonport Both close on 5th June. Details here.
Following the Latest ICM that I reported about on this blog their were a few points that I picked up at UK Polling Report which I thought I would share with you here: In 1987 the Lib Dems were ahead of Labour and since then have only been ahead of Labour in one poll back in 2004. But the Lib Dems did catch Labour up in one poll which was for a by election back in 2003. So since 2004 the Lib Dems have been behind Labour and now we have again come infront of them in a poll. But ...
It's Monday morning, and I'm on the train, listening to Brahm's Piano Quartet no.1 in G minor. And, whilst I'm genuinely sceptical about the merits of modern music, combined with the countryside passing by the window, it makes for a pleasant transition from rural to urban. And, perhaps, that is why we commute, that transition from country to town and back. For the young, or for the wealthy, commuting is to be avoided. For the young, the bright lights and noise and bustle are the very acme of modern life. Clubs, bars, music venues, and all of the things that ...
Well - the new all singing, all dancing Hornsey Hospital will open in the relatively near future. But despite raising the issue of public transport needs to the new facility since the day of its inception - and requests to Peter Hendy (TFL Commissioner of Transport for London) and Haringey Council and all - they are still 'having meetings' about it. We need to make sure that this new medical centre is properly served by adequate public transport. They took away the W2 when it was closed some years ago. Official figures from the health trust acknowledge that the area ...
Well, I'll believe when I see it! LibDemVoice has been pondering the significance of the Observer's endorsement in releation to the Guardian. The Grauniad has always been frustratingly mealy-mouthed about the LibDems. For years people like Polly Toynbee have written long pathetic articles saying how we need electoral reform, opposition to Iraq, a more redistributive system, a more sensible approach to drugs, a less punitive justice system, civil liberties, more transparency etc. but hey that Labour party might just start doing it so keep the faith brothers (despite the last decade of evidence to the contrary)! Just like those socialists ...
I do not have any children of my own but I know many people who do and am aware of the worry they have suffered at the prospect of their child having an MMR jab because of the misinformation that has been spread about this vaccine. It is important therefore that we undertake a massive re-education programme about the importance of this vaccine, especially in the light of the measles outbreak that is starting to grip parts of Wales. I am grateful to Lynn Neagle's researcher for reminding me about this article by James Randerson in the Guardian. In it ...
All main parties seem to be making positive noises about reducing the size of the House of Commons. Too many MPs, it's argued. We could save money if we had a lot fewer. I disagree. In money-saving terms it's a drop in the ocean, completely symbolic. Let's look at what MPs actually do. 1. Debate and vote in the Chamber That's what most of us think of when we consider MPs. All those men (and the occasional woman) sitting on the green benches, making long, tedious speeches before they file through whichever lobby the whips have decreed. And sure, this ...
In many respects it is not unusual anymore to see senior figures in Plaid Cymru publicly contradicting their own government. It is becoming such a frequent occurrence that it is difficult not to draw the conclusion that the party is in terminal chaos. OK, that maybe wishful thinking, but it does not look good. What is significant about Party Chair, John Dixon's latest criticism however is not that he has aired it but the terms in which he has couched it. Mr. Dixon writes about the disastrous funding system that is currently operated by the Welsh Government to support post-16 ...
As a ward councillor i belong to a minority party i joined this party because of it's belief in democracy.I firmly believe in the process of proportional representation, sadly over the last couple of weeks have seen this process eroded. As an opposition councillor you will be asked to sit and scrutinise the process and [...]
Gorton Library are holding an exhibition about Belle Vue from 1st June to 22nd June as part of the Gorton 100. Saurday (06/06/09) is going to be a "nostalgia fest" with talks and other events. Lots of people have great memories of Belle Vue, so do come along and share your experiences.
Speaking on Radio Wales just now the Secretary of State for Wales, Paul Murphy said that a system of recall for wrong-doing MPs was worth looking at. However, he cautioned that there would need to be safeguards, after all he opined, most MPs do not get more than 50% of the vote and already have the majority of the electorate ranged in opposition to them. He did not though go on to follow his own logic to its conclusion, namely that a proper system of fair voting involving the single transferable vote in multi-member constituencies would overcome that problem. It ...
Mon 1st
08:45Well i asked the question who is going to take Hazels seat? and the answers have started to come in ...
My view even though it might not go down to well.Last week i took a cross section of the public and asked the question who would you vote for?, i offered a list of alternatives. Most went for an independent, it worries me as a main stream candidates where do we go from here.In IR well [...]
Alistair Darling must be very worried this morning after the latest revelations in the Telegraph regarding the fact that he claimed for two properties simultaneously. It seems to me that with all the other information that had come out about Darling, he is now more implicated in this scandal than some of the others who have already announced that they will step down and/or been removed from their party's front benches. In that case of Mr Darling it is vital that he is seen to be above all this. He is in charge of the nation's finances and any suspicion ...
Mon 1st
08:31
".. homophobes, anti-Muslims, climate change deniers and Nazi sympathisers?" Edward Davey challenges...
The Conservatives have not exactly told the world that they are breaking away from the centre right grouping in the European Parliament. (I blogged about it here.) So who are they hoping to align with after the elections? It appears that they have been talking secretly (or not so secretly) with hard right parties, some of which are clearly racist. Edward Davey, who apart...
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Published by Hannah Wooderson for 24dash.com in Housing Friday 29th May 2009 – 9:27am House prices rise by 1.2% House prices rose by 1.2% during May as buyers continued to return to the market, figures showed today. It is the second time in three months that house prices have risen, with the cost of property also increasing [...]
This morning's headlines had me singing into my hairbrush: "My my, at Waterloo Napoleon did surrender Oh yeah, and Brown will meet his destiny in quite a similar way..." Faced with a whole legion of bother (MPs' expenses, this week's elections, constitutional and electoral reform and rumours of a leadership coup) the Prime Minister marches into a critical week: 2 Big Stories And yet: Cabinet revolt won't force me out, declares Brown Today's Independent reports Brown's determination to stay on as PM and speculates on his plans to reshuffle the Cabinet: Labour MPs return to the Commons in a grim ...
At least that is what The Independent is saying this morning. Amongst other things such as "But it is the Liberal Democrats who have been the most consistently constructive British party on the European Union, a stance which has given their honest criticisms of Brussels' shortcomings all the more credibility." This comes on top of The Observer fingering the Lib Dems as deserving of support yesterday. Meanwhile, expenses gate continues to rumble on, making it even harder for this election to be about Europe. Now its the Chancellor who is getting hot round the collar, with the Telegraph claiming he's ...
The 1908 Small Holdings and Allotments act makes it a legal requirement for councils to provide sufficient allotments to meet demand and gives them the power to make compulsory purchases of land to enable them to do so. We waited two years for our allotment and I often meet people who tell me they've waited ages. [...]
One of the disadvantages of the Summer months is that the light makes me more likely than ever to wake up at half-four (though the temperature's more conducive to being in my nuddy, a reason to be cheerful, obviously). And when very short of sleep, I tend to be slower and grumpier. How to raise my spirits, as putting on a DVD might wake my beloved? So, this morning's thanks go to Mat Bowles and Nyder's Dyner for particularly cheering stories about books they found on the Internet. And to Ian Dury, for putting a great song in my head. ...
Woke up with my back locked solid... bloody leaflet rounds. # Bof. Tired and battered after a ridiculous working Sunday. #Scrum estimation meeting, IRL & Indy Lights and more motorsport. Need a weekend. # (Bof)x2. Just remembered I have to do a quote for a possible new client. Think I'll review it tonight and nail it in the morning. #
Sunday 31st May It is a lovely evening and we are preparing to sit down and enjoy our evening meal when the phone goes. It was someone with an accent we could not understand and there was a lot of background noise. It appeared to be about where we bought our electricity but it was so difficult to hear. Had a similar call last week from someone wanting to know if we were still using British...
Obama's People by Nadav Kander a set of photographic images of President Obama and his administration by Nadav Kander opened at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery on 18th April 2009.
