A hundred and fifty years ago, about 280 British MPs gathered at Willis's Rooms in King Street, St James's, London, to discuss uniting to oppose the continuation in office of the then Tory Prime Minister, Lord Derby. The majority of Members present were Whigs, but there were also Radicals like John Bright and Peelite Tories [...]
I passed Drayton Village Hall today and missed David Cameron by five minutes. Just as well as I would have felt obliged to ask why the Tories have broken their own campaign pledge in Norwich North. What have they done wrong ? Steven Glenn outlines it all so well HERE.
A young woman and her baby that are here seeking asylum from Congo were arrested last week to be deported back. She was given no time to pack, friends took a change of clothes for the baby. Her partner, and father of the baby has permission to stay here for 5 years and is working in Leeds. He has been taken into hospital ill with desperate worry about their deportation to such an unafe...
In the early hours of 20th July 1969 I was watching a very fuzzy TV in my flat. It was very difficult to make out the figure climbing slowly down a ladder, but we did hear THE WORDS, if rather indistinctly. I was in my first year of teaching, but I got to work on time, even though I had had little sleep. The 14 year olds I was teaching cast a world-weary look at me when I asked them...
I went along to the Waltham Forest South Scout District Annual General Meeting this evening. Dad was there in his capacity of Deputy Mayor. In his speech, dad spoke of the effect that all the leaders have on the young people in borough, helping them to become active citizens.It is reassuring that the Princes Trust has set up a partnership with uniform organisations working across London helping
A busy day, including attending the Recess Sub-Committee of the City Council, where I spoke on a number of agenda items, including the Council's mortgage scheme and the proposed planning local review body. Tonight I chaired the Friends of Magdalen Green committee meeting - a really good meeting, reviewing the recent Fun Day, planning an autumn coffee morning and discussing other initiatives. I advised the committee that the Leisure & Communities Department has informed me that work on the bandstand to repair a damaged pillar is due to start on tomorrow and last for 3 days. Lastly - and with ...
Part of the Lib Dem team at Saturday's Save our Steel rally in Redcar. Left to Right back row. Steven Abbott, Debbie Abbott. Front row Cllr Mary Ovens, Ian Swales Prospective MP for Redcar, Cllr Chris Abbott, Jackie Carling, Ann Wilson, Eric Howden, Lib Dem Candidate in Thursday's Dormanstown Ward By Election, Cllr Mike Carling, Cllr Glyn Nightingale.
Those were the letters sent to St Albans District Council in connection with Helioslough's second application to build the freight terminal. Tonight's meeting of the St Albans Planning Referrals Committee duly threw the application out No real surprise there. The big new news is the opposition of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) to the proposal. They have produced a devastating analysis to show how it is virtually impossible to combine the increased demand for passenger train slots following the completion of the Thameslink 2000 upgrade and the paths required for slow moving extra long freight trains entering and ...
From our back door on Friday From our front door on FridayPosted by Chris. I have sent in the following request for a Scrutiny Panel investigation into the flooding problems in Redcar and the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland as a whole. I find that there seems to be a certain amount of concern about whether enough is being done by the relevant authorities to reduce the threat of flooding, which is devastating to those it keeps happening to. I would like to suggest that a Scrutiny Panel is set up to investigate the problem of flooding in the Borough ...
Nick Clegg has (rightly) attacked the Government's proposed Constitutional Reform Bill: "For all his claims to be big on constitutional reform, Gordon Brown has ducked all the big issues," said Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, adding that there was nothing in the legislation on changes to party funding or the voting system. "These tepid plans are a victory for caution and conservatism." That's not all: The reform is seen a staging post to a more comprehensive overhaul of the Lords with proposals for a mainly elected chamber due to be published later this year. MPs voted in 2007 for an ...
Why? Well three separate COUNCILLORS have said the same thing to me. Things are changing with new Labour. Like what? since Blears kept her seat i get the feeling something happening.Can't put my finger on it but you no when it comes your not going to like it. Or could it be Labour spin? well i [...]
A lesson in how not to do online advertising, courtesy of the ITV website. There I am, reading a story about the Tour de France. I get to this sentence: [Bradley Wiggins has] hardly warranted a mention in the French papers: but I reckon a few sports editors might have to rethink that policy now. The word sports is hot-linked. Ah, perhaps a link to something more about the French papers? So I try to click on the link. Problem number one: nothing happens for (relatively speaking) a long time. Slowly, a graphical pop-up appears. It's an advert. Oh well. ...
It remains to be seen whether or not the Lib Dem by-election machine - in it's current form - has well and truly had it's day. Either way, this is Chris Rennard's last campaign, and fingers crossed this means that the party will start thinking about ways of willing by-elections that don't depend on physical quantity of leaflets put through letterboxes. According to the Gospel of Rennard, that's how you win. You literally put more leaflets through doors than anyone else. Meanwhile the Tories are up to 12 leaflets, while the Lib Dems are slightly pipping them to the post ...
Apologies for no update last week. My excuse is that I was both tired and busy. Never a good combination for getting things done that I can get away with putting off. Which also explains why I had a lot of laundry to do this weekend. This has to be one of the most exciting opening paragraphs ever written. I'm guessing you probably don't wanna hear about my sock shortage, so on to blogs. Alan Ap Huw is one of few blogs that looks at the effects of the sacking of Sian Caiach as Plaid PPC for Ogmore. While he ...
Guido definitely thinks so; however, allowing for the normal 'Guido being Guido' ie, a tad sensationalist and Sun-like most people would think he would have a point. However, there is the counter veiling point that especially for MP's with families this length of holiday is approaching essential and then of course there is constituency work. Sadly, Guido does [...]
Over the past couple of days Liberal Democrat Voice has posted (part 1 and part 2) several bloggers' summer reading recommendations. My own choices are in part 2 and I thought I would tell you a little more about them here. My first choice - The Long Affray by Harry Hopkins - was one of a number of rural history books reviewed by John Patrick in the November 1987 issue of History Today. He wrote: Rider Haggard hated poachers, describing them as 'cowardly villains recruited from among the worst characters in the neighbourhood'. He would have had little time for ...
Here is Labour's second freepost. This means they have delivered two leaflets to the city wards, one to other wards, they've had two freeposts, and one posted. This is an unbelieveably poor effort for a held Labour seat. On top of that I was phone cavassed this evening. It perhaps says much about Labour's campaign that this is the second time they have phoned in a month and I told them last time I was a Lib Dem member. They didn't know I was a postal voter (we used to tag postal voters on the computer in North Norfolk for ...
I have a good readership in SW London. So...I have had two notices.Firstly... a job... EXP Support are looking for an intern. They do sponsorship for Harlequins based in Twickenham. Details here.Second free hot drink at Montezuma's chocolate in Kingston. Go to their Facebook group...
Oh dear. I've just read the following report of David Cameron's latest defence of Norwich North candidate Chloe Smith: David Cameron has told voters in the upcoming Norwich North by-election that Tory Chloe Smith is the only candidate who has campaigned in a "positive way". The Leader of the Opposition said Labour had just produced "smear after smear" while Ms Smith was the only one to sign a clean campaign agreement. He was rallying Conservative supporters at Drayton Village Hall. Oh dear. Signing something isn't how you will be recognised of being a clean campaigner it is what you say ...
With Daniel Radcliffe said to be picking up £8.65m for his latest Harry Potter film, it has made be wonder what all the fuss was about with MPs expenses. Apparently there is no public outcry about actors. I guess that's all right, then? We all come into this world with nought, and leave with nought. Something happens with money in the middle of all that. What I want to know is, do you think £185,000 (minimum) a year is appropriate for a Chief Executive of Central Bedfordshire Council? The argument being that this salary sits between established unitary Councils of ...
Is there nothing worse than a sanctimonious celebrity lecturing us on the ills of society and government when they actively support that government ? Ex Eastenders actress Michelle Collins, on The One Show, started telling the hosts about her charity work for Barnardos and how she was campaigning with them to get the government to do something about loan sharks and then started telling us about what happens to the most vulnerable in society during a recession. She said that she was campaigning to get the government to do something about this. The problem is though that the government are ...
Welcome to the 126th of our weekly round-ups from the Lib Dem blogosphere, featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (12th – 18th July 2009), together with a hand-picked quintet, mostly courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down. This week's collection has a slight by-election flavour, you may notice... 1. How Doctor Who Made Me A Liberal on Alex Wilcock's Love and Liberty blog. A 2004 article from Outpost Gallifrey tops the Golden Dozen a mere 5 years later. 2. ...
On Saturday I heard that the suits worn by the first men on the moon were stitched by elderly women. They were the only ones with enough expertise to sew the suits, gloves and boots accurately enough for the walk: a pinprick out of place could have caused disaster.
I'm fed up with snooty people like the SNP's candidate for Glasgow North East, David Kerr, belittling the achievements of those of us who were educated at Paisley (now West of Scotland Uni) and Glasgow Colleges (now Glasgow Caledonian Uni).It's far too easy to run us, and those institutions, down without recognising what we and they achieved and continue to achieve.I am proud to say that I was educated at Paisley, where I secured my degree in biology, and at Glasgow, where I secured my diploma. The institutions have a good reputation for their partnerships with industry and for improving ...
Swine Flu has well and truly arrived in Norwich after the city avoided the worst of it for some time. But it is interesting to note the different reaction of two city firms to outbreaks amongst their staff. Let's take company number one, a large international financial services and insurance company. My brother's best mate works in IT at the insurance company and recounted the story of a member of staff who was feeling unwell, suddenly became feverish, ran to the toilets and was very ill and vomited in the toilets, but very little of it went in to the ...
Paul Dale has done a video about Birmingham's care system. See the link for this (I have not found the way of embedding it yet).
Was the sponsorship of the BBC Philharmonic a key issue when discussing the move to Salford. If not what would have been the outcome if we declined. It's just when i read Manchester proposals the Philharmonic was in their bid also. And if we were being realistic what chance did Manchester really have? the land [...]
Nick Clegg, Leader of the Liberal Democrats has called for an anti-trafficking phoneline to be set up to combat human trafficking. Research published by the Home Office this week showed that human-traffickers see Britain as a 'soft touch' where massive profits can be made smuggling in coerced women. In Italy, a freephone trafficking hotline for clients to anonymously report concerns...
It's taken a while top get all the judges together, but we can now award Name of the 19th Century. And the winner is... Samuel Danks Waddy. Anna Raccoon, to whom this blog will be eternally grateful, has rediscovered him. Wikipedia will tell you a little more about his career: He was elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Barnstaple, Devon on 3 February 1874 but resigned this seat in December 1879 to stand in a by-election in the Sheffield constituency, taking the seat on 21 December 1879. However he held the Sheffield seat for less than four ...
BBC chiefs knew their plan to move 1,600 staff from London to Salford would cost licence fee payers millions of pounds, internal documents have revealed. By James Ball Published: 9:00PM BST 18 Jul 2009 Since the move was proposed in 2005, executives at the Corporation have maintained a public stance that the project, involving the transfer [...]
...has the Redemption Blues.
Mon 20th
18:08
Statement from the Norfolk Church Leaders re the Norwich North by-election on July 23rd
The following statement was released today by Church Leaders in Norwich Prior to the European and County Council elections on June 4th we issued the attached statement. We reiterate those same concerns in the context of the Norwich North by-election on July 23rd. It is important for us to do so since the British National Party candidate styles himself as 'Revd' and is often to be seen dressed as a clergyman. He belongs to no known denomination and voters should not be mislead by his adoption of clerical dress. The policies he promotes are not shared by any of the ...
To read Part I, published yesterday, click HERE. For me, it's the most difficult decision of the year – which books to take with me on holiday. So, I thought, what could be better than to pick the brains of my fellow Lib Dem bloggers, and ask them to select just two: one should be a political book - whether you want to re-read it, or try something new you've been recommended. The other should be your own choice of summer reading - the book you're most looking forward to reading (again, could be something new or something old). Here's ...
David Cameron's claim to have modernised his party is today exposed as a sham. The Tory chief's MPs remain opposed to gay rights, equality for women and abortion, making them the most right-wing in a generation, a Mirror probe has found. The voting record of the 49 Tory MPs elected for the first time in 2005 [...]
We received this yesterday (I think). It is a Lib Dem tabloid. We also received a letter today, which makes it 14 Lib Dem leaflets.
In a passionate article published in the Daily Mail on 9th July 2009, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg condemned the Government's failure to protect its own citizens. Read excerpts from the article below. A vulnerable man hung out to dry by a government desperate to appease America It is the basic duty of a Government to protect its citizens. Sadly, this is a duty our Labour Government has chosen not to extend to Gary McKinnon. Despite what the U.S. authorities say, Gary McKinnon is no cyber-terrorist. He is a computer whiz with a serious medical condition. That is not to ...
Monday, July 20, 2009 Angry: Gordon Brown Gordon Brown was so angry about emails sent by his former adviser slurring senior Conservatives that he could not speak, Damian McBride said today. The aide quit No 10 in April when it emerged that he had sent emails making unfounded personal allegations about Conservatives, including party leader [...]
Mon 20th
17:30
Please note the rumour that the next meeting of the get Hazel out campaign is at my house is not tru...
It's at Normans, no only joking before you all turn up.
Mon 20th
17:27God i was in the pub last night and someone tried to sell me some Tamiflu.seems like coke is not the...
Guards to protect swine flu drug depots preferred MARK BLUNDEN, London Lite Monday, July 20, 2009 Tamiflu is to be offered at distribution centres A ring of steel is being set up around NHS supplies of Tamiflu in London and across the UK. Security guards will be brought in to protect the swine flu medication when more [...]
Just had a meeting with key members who put together sports packages. Keen as Mustard, but the funding must have slipped out past the door when we entered. Twice this year myself and mole Junior have identified packages but these people are starved of funding.So i am going to ask to see Cllr Merry and [...]
In one sense the latest batch of opinion polls is terribly dull although the 'Others' top-line support continues to slide slowly. The fact that it is the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats receiving benefit from this suggests that the people who drifted were mostly of the flaky 'protest voter' variety in any case. Politics will fall [...]
It has been great fun helping April Pond and the Lib Dem team this weekend at the by-election HQ in Norwich North. A great way to spend some holiday time. Today April did great on the Radio phone in interview, it was a great pity though that no-one tackled Chloe the Tory who claims she's independent and not part of the politics of today or the Westminster scandal...... Because in today's The Times "She (Chloe Smith) describes herself as a "business consultant" but is vague about what she does for Deloitte. Perhaps this is because she is on secondment to ...
I'm not quite sure what I expected Matt Smith's incarnation of the Doctor to look like, but I certainly expected something a bit quirkier and edgier than this. I can't really see the Grand Moff making the Doctor in any way boring, but I am not enamoured with the colour scheme or the general approach of making a good looking young man look like an aging professor. It doesn't give him gravitas - it just looks odd. And that hairstyle is just wrong. However, I'm sure the scripts will be marvellous and it'll all be fine - and if necessary, ...
This is the digital version of the 12th Tory leaflet that they specially delivered to my house only (whilst ignoring the rest of my street). Thankyou to the Tory (I think) who sent it to me by email rather than the costly non-eco friendly way they were using at the weekend. This is, according to my file, the 12th Tory leaflet. The Lib Dems are on 13 (including one new one today- see later post) , Labour 5 (including one new one today - see later post), UKIP 4, Green 1, and all the rest on one.
Public opinion polls show that a big majority want British troops to leave Afghanistan. According to a recent opinion poll by ComRes, 64% think that British troops should leave. Yet their opinions barely register amongst our elected representatives. It is not hard to guess why the public think this. What are our troops doing there? What are they hoping to acheive? How much longer will all this go on? It is nearly eight years since our troops entered Afghanistan. Many times we have been told how well they are doing. Yet instead of leaving, we are sending in more troops. ...
Monday: Daddy Alex has already updated you on today's FLYING PIG headlines, though he DIDN'T mention the The Today Programme's interview with the man who should sort out all the confusion because he's in charge of Planning for Pandemics, or "Lord of the Pandemonium" to give him his full title. Erm... Anyway, I'm going to tell you about the OTHER annoying BUG that's doing the rounds: Mr Balloon's apprentice chocolate button counter, Master Oboe. Today he claims that he has a PLAN for SOUND BANKING... hmmm, Master Gideon is something that SOUNDS like BANKING? Whatever do you think THAT means? ...
{mc} Figures secured by North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell show that the number of people unemployed in the constituency in June 2009 has risen 72% compared with the same period last year. Commenting on the figures, Sir Menzies said: "In the last twelve months there has been a sudden, large increase in the number of unemployed people in North East Fife. What's worse is that these figures are going up month on month, with no sign of improvement. "What's happening in North East Fife is happening across the country, often to a much worse degree. Pressure is mounting ...
Yesterday's Observer feature – the revealing 'This much I know' – featured ubiquitous Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik. Here's a couple of excerpts: The press has created for me a persona as a wacky guy who goes out with beautiful women, and there were times in my life when I would have paid for that image. But it really annoys me when people ring up and say: "What are you doing going out with so and so?" I could be banging [Plaid Cymru MP] Adam Price and it wouldn't affect my ability to do my job. I joined the Liberal ...
I am working a six day week at the moment, which impairs the blogging somewhat. Still, at midnight tonight, I shall be unveiling a new sponsor. And when {[info - livejournal.com] } burlesque_bunny starts back at the pub on the second of August I shall be back to more reasonable hours... Things I ought to be blogging about but haven't time:The tories stealing our thunder on the economy and being rewarded with two days' worth of leading headlines. winning the cricket! Open For Dogs. Yes, yes, I know, The Kennel Club are evil. But if we can make a decent ...
The local NO2ID group has our next street stall on Sunday 25 July, from 12 noon, near Angel tube. Come along and say hello!
I criticised Craig Murray a few weeks back for failing to understand that placing election posters on road signs, traffic lights, street lights, etc, was not something that was done in Norwich or Norfolk and that it was out of order for him to turn up in Norfolk claiming to be local (after claiming to be a Scottish before) when clearly he was not following the rules. After this Mr Murray's cronies weighed in, even quoting the Town and Country Planning Act as justification (whilst ignoring the fact that this relates to election posters on the land of people who ...
A new approach on blogspot to the issue of miscarriages of justice has been set up. It is on the link.
I've had a meeting this morning with an officer from the Planning and Development Department to discuss Kensey Valley Meadow. We toured the development looking at the current state of play. As regular readers will know, I'm concerned about: - the lack of work on the development; - maintenance issues - when the roads will be adopted - the promised play area The latest news on all these is: Elan Homes are currently at work on a number of the plots where the buildings have been built. I understand that they are fitting them out for sale. But there is ...
I've just tried to find a number via BT's online directory service. If you type Cornwall into their search engine it decides that you mean Cornwell in Oxfordshire.
According to the BBC, today both Tories and Lib Dems will formally outline their current plans for dealing with the regulation of the banking sector in a post election world. Neither, it seems, are prepared to think "outside the box" as that early century cliche went: the Tories looking at returning banking oversight to the Bank of England, whence it came a few years ago, the Lib Dems more firm on plans to break up the biggest banks, starting at least with the ones in de facto public ownership. However, one thing we can be pretty sure of: neither will ...
Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable has been delivering a speech on reform of banking regulation to the London Stock Exchange, outlining the ways in which the current regulatory model could be improved. Here's the skinny: RBS and Lloyds to be broken up before they are returned to private ownership Highly paid bankers to publish details of their remuneration and confirm they are resident and domiciled in the UK The FSA to remain as a unitary regulator A long-term role for state banking, rather than the quick sale of state-owned banks The scrapping of the "woefully misconceived" Asset Protection Scheme ...
Now, I know I'm feverish and delirious, but I know when you're having me on. I can't believe Labour have lost the plot this much... ...in a leaflet that has supposedly gone out in their name in Norwich North. Surely they couldn't be that crass or that stupid? This must be a hoax, a plot to discredit them, mustn't it? That was my first thought, but Charlotte said that as far as she knew it was a genuine Labour leaflet and I trust her. Then I looked a bit further afield, and apparently it's not the first time they've used ...
We noticed a over month ago that the lighting in the Thames riverside path under Vauxhall Bridge - leading from the MI6 bulding to St George's Wharf - was in need of replacing, with several lights not working properly. We asked TFL to do it, but despite their promises that it would be fixed, we checked this weekend and still nothing has happened, so we have asked them again. We have also reported fresh graffiti on Vauxhall Bridge to be cleared up.
The PCT is asking Liverpool Licensing Authority to exercise power to give 18 certificates to films that show smoking (apart from those showing it in a bad light). There is a consultation which has just started. Here is the link. The closing date is in October.
2 Big Stories Andy Burnham on "conflicting advice" about swine flu There's even conflicting advice on whether "conflicting advice" is actually conflicting... From the Guardian: "There isn't conflicting advice. The advice has been clear all along that women who are pregnant should take extra precautions as they would anyway - they should really follow the advice about hand hygiene, they should consider avoiding crowded places. This is the advice we have given out all the way." David Cameron's 'new look' Tory MPs are the most extreme for a generation From the Mirror: David Cameron's claim to have modernised his party ...
After reading Paul Walters blog I went on one of my thinking modes and thought about a way political parties can campaign and I think "An hour at the pub with..." is a great idea. Imagine if Nick took this idea up and went around the country meeting people in their local pubs and just socialising? I have said time and time again that politics should have no boundaries and socialising with the voters should become an important part of the campaign as in my opinion it could help massively. Why don't the Lib Dems set up social events throughout ...
Or perhaps that should read "on" the FT, as we are talking about the Alphaville blog. Paul Murphy can't hide his contempt. Heading up the piece "George Osborne, claptrapper" he sets out the Osborne problem in a few paragraphs "There was one thing missing from George Osborne's cosy Sunday morning chat with Andrew Marr on the BBC, and his subsequent View from Europe interview with George Parker, the FT's political editor: evidence that this man quite has what it takes to be Britain's next Chancellor of the Exchequer."In fact, quite the opposite. Osborne's headline-grabbing promise to scrap the FSA betrayed ...
Mr Cable told the BBC that while he agreed with the Conservatives on the basic issue of economic management, he accused them of being "obsessed by moving around bureaucratic furniture". Instead, it was necessary to focus on the way regulation works, he said. Mr Cable will use a speech later to argue that major reform is needed to make banks less of a threat to the UK economy....
The Liberal democrats had a good night on 17th July holding the four seats that they were defending the tories had a bad night holding one seat that there were defending and Labour holding one and gaining a seat from the conservatives. The Results are Erewash BC, Abbotsford Con 471 (53.4;+2.1) Lab 306 (34.7;-14.0) Peter Aanonson LD 105...
George Osborne does not know very much about the global financial system. He took an upper second in History before failing to become a journalist. The only non political jobs he has ever held are as a data entry clerk for the NHS and at a well known London department store. After failing in his ambition to become a journalist, he began to work for Conservative Central Office. With a short stint working as a special advisor to Douglas Hogg at the Ministry of Agriculture and then in the boiler room at 10 Downing street, he stayed with the Conservative ...
In recent days the Government, the Royal College of Midwives, National Childbirth Trust and the Department of Health have got themselves in a right old muddle over their swineflu advice for pregnant women. Having a pregnant wife this has been a little annoying to say the least. Muddled advice does nothing to allay people's fears, it increases it. We've had weeks of people dying of "underlying health problems" which is so vague that it covers all medical conditions. The media (inc.BBC) are the guiltiest parties in over egging the fear pudding. The main evidence being the last year's news cycle ...
The Federal Executive met on 13 July in an atmosphere somewhat less frenetic than at its previous meeting (18 May). Since then, Chris Rennard has resigned as Chief Executive, and I updated FE on how the process of appointing an interim Chief Executive had been determined and applied. The successful candidate, Chris Fox, was in attendance and I can announce that he took up his new duties with immediate effect. In October, the FE will discuss the process by which a permanent replacement will be appointed. In carrying out this process, my confidence in our senior management team has been ...
Treets are back! I used to buy them with my pocket money. They were the 70s forerunner to M&Ms and inspired an uncle to tell the following awful/brilliant joke, long after they'd stopped making them. (I don't think he'd realised). Anyhoo, drumroll please... "Once I got a peanut stuck in my ear, so I poured in some chocolate and it came out a Treet." Best bit was the baffled audience. Now it's my turn to be baffled, as I've found Treets in a stub on Wikipedia: http://bit.ly/xdaxf Posted via email from Helen Duffett's posterous
It's that time of year when bloggers enter the battlefield of competition for best blog! Total Politics asks blog-readers to vote for your top 10 favourite blogs. This year the poll is being co-promoted/sponsored by Lib Dem Voice in conjunction with LabourList and Iain Dale's Diary. The rules are simple: 1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and rank them from 1 (your favourite) to 10 (your tenth favourite). 2. Your votes must be ranked from 1 to 10. Any votes which do not have rankings will not be counted. 3. You MUST include ten blogs. If you ...
NOTA (None of the Above) registered as a Political Party in March 2009 after initially being declined by the Electoral Commision as it was an acronym of "None of the Above" - a prohitibited expression. NOTA exists solely to advocate, promote and facilitate the POSITIVE abstention facility on ballot papers - giving power back to the electorate At the moment - many of the electorate see the present political system as being a choice between - beng run over by a bus or being run over by a train! NOTA is doing the job of the Electoral Commission whose Chair ...
Andy Burnham has just given a rather muted interview on Today in which, immediately after a doctor's medical advice on swine flu, he was desperate not to give any recommendations at all. Here's the full transcript: 'Mmmwah wah mmmwah wah mmwah don't ask me mmmwah wah mmwah it's not my fault mmmwah wah mmwah medical professionals mmmwah wah mmwah you're not getting me like that Tory who force-fed his kids the Burgers of Death...' Combined with this morning's ash and sackcloth from Damian McBride ("The Prime Minister was so angry he could hardly talk..." '...But he could still throw things'), ...
The sun is warm, the view from the platform over towards Needham Lakes is green and lush. Behind the platform, a fieldmouse is searching for berries and the air is filled with birdsong. How's your commute going?
It's sometimes easy to come out against the nanny state, to rail against those politicians and civil servants telling us what to do, how to live our lives. Telling us to drink less, smoke less, exercise more, eat our five-a-day and the rest of it. On occasion, our lovely tabloids are rather good at it. But sometimes we can see the limits to that approach; the time when the Mail - amongst others - just want nanny to tell us what to do, even if nanny really isn't sure herself. Swine flu has presented a wonderful example. The Daily Mail ...
The Western Mail reports that the investigation into expense claims made by the Assembly Government's overseas arm will check to see whether rules relating to air miles and other benefits have been complied with. The inquiry was set up following the publication of details showing that employees of International Business Wales (IBW) had spent more than £700,000 in a year on taxpayer-funded corporate credit cards. The money was spent on flights, hotels, living accommodation and food expenses undertaken by IBW staff, whose role is to drum up inward investment from businesses based in locations like North America and the Far ...
I thought I had left early Monday morning train journeys behind me. How wrong I was! Here I am, on the 6.54am train from Newcastle to Carlisle, surrounded by people with backpacks and bikes. As for me, I'm in my suit! It didn't take long for the party to catch on to the fact I am back full time in the North East. Since I returned, I have had a steady stream of requests to go to meetings, take
So this is it. Forty years ago millions of people were glued to their TV sets as Apollo 11 made its final approach to the Sea of Tranquility and for the first time a manned vehicle landed on the moon. Of course what the world was really waiting for was the emergence of Commander Neil Armstrong to lead the way. "This is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" That was it. People of my generation and my parents were hooked on space. Even those of us who weren't around to see that first lunar walk live ...
I reported on the latest crisis to hit David Cameron's new European grouping a few days ago when Edward McMillan-Scott, who is the longest serving Tory MEP had the whip removed for standing against Michal Kaminski, an MEP from the party's new Polish allies, in a vote for vice-presidents of the Parliament. Saturday's Daily Telegraph reports that Mr. Kaminski has taken exception to accusations by Mr. McMillan-Scott that he might be a racist. Under the heading 'Feud grips new Tory Euro grouping' they say that leader of the right wing European has threatened legal action against Mr. McMillan-Scott. For his ...
It was said of the Bourbons that they learnt nothing and forgot everything. Labour lost in Crewe and Nantwich when they fought an old style class-based campaign that alienated and failed to resonate with the electorate. Judging by this leaflet they look set to repeat the mistake in Norwich North. This is apparently a genuine piece of literature circulated in that by-election. However, important as it is to retain the ban on fox hunting, it is doubtful if that is the major motivating factor for electors when they go and vote on Thursday. The news I have heard from the ...
Fifty years back Prime Minister Harold Macmillan told us we'd never had it so good, and in crude economic terms the trend has continued. However, one question still remains, "why does health within a population get progressively worse further down the socio-economic scale?" A cracking book by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett (The Spirit Level), not only tries to answer this question, but comes up with even more profound findings, namely that countries where there is a big gap between the incomes of rich and poor, mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, obesity and teenage pregnancy are more common, the ...
Stephen K Amos will be at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham on Thursday 5th November 2009.
