I really enjoyed meeting with Kath and Greg about Thrive, how it was working, and feedback from the event last month. It is all about working alongside people where they are, and giving them the power to be able to put their cases over and be listened to. I am pleased that progress is being made on some of the issues raised last month, not all the problems can be solved but as well as some...
Earlier in the year I was encouraging people to come along and contribute to a Community Plan meeting on 1st April. I'm pleased to say that about 40 local residents turned up, and they spent the evening scoping out a Community Plan for the South of the Borough Neighbourhood. This was a new approach to developing Neighbourhood policy. In the past the councillors have agreed a policy...
{Liberal Democrats now carry the torch of progress.} Liberal Democrats now carry the torch of progress. 28% at the last set of local elections. 5% points clear of Labour and our highest ever share of the vote. In 23 out of the 25 county councils we are now the main opposition to the Conservatives. And in many counties there are no Labour county councillors at all. In both the South East and the South West Labour were pushed to fifth in the European elections. In vast swathes of Southern Britain they're as irrelevant as the Tories are in many Northern ...
A brilliant post by Nick Clegg MP, over on the excellent Liberal Democrat Voice. I shamelessly reprint it here:- 28% at the last set of local elections. 5% points clear of Labour and our highest ever share of the vote. In 23 out of the 25 county councils we are now the main opposition to the Conservatives. And in many counties there are no Labour county councillors at all. In both the South East and the South West Labour were pushed to fifth in the European elections. In vast swathes of Southern Britain they're as irrelevant as the Tories are ...
I've been looking around the various government sites that are on Twitter. The first one I found was the Foreign Office. Then I found Communities. Downing St has an account, all about Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson. I've decided to follow FCO - it looks interesting. I thought about following Sarah Brown, who looks quite interesting, but I didn't feel up to it. The FCO has currently 5745 followers, and is following 5452. Communities has 3829, and is following 3896. Downing St has 1,016,522 (good for you, smashing the one million barrier, Downing St), and is following ... wait for ...
David Ottewell, of Manchester Evening News fame, has posted an interesting piece about a new consulatation paper released by The Department for Communities and Local Government. It seems amongst the noble ideas of devolving more powers to individual councils (something I am always in favour of), there is a suggestion that a directly elected mayor for Greater Manchester might be a good idea. The 58-page document - which can be read here - is currently going out for consultation. The report asks questions, such as whether city-regions could establish a single leader and if those wielding power are 'sufficiently visible ...
I rather enjoyed that. It was at least a marvelous change to see Victorians presented as young and energetic and sexy. For far too long we have been in thrall to the Bloomsbury view of them. As one of my alter egos, Professor Strange, once wrote: The Victorians do not get a good press these days. A random trawl of the Internet finds the American AIDS Czarina complaining of a 'Victorian society that misrepresents information, denies sexuality early, denies homosexuality particularly in teens, and leaves people abandoned with no place to go.' A sermon tells us that 'Thanks to the ...
I attended the launch of a new manifesto at the House of Lords today ("Making BrITain Great Again" - The Micro Focus Technology Manifesto) which is aiming to try and make sure that technology is the engine of the economy as we head into recovery. I sort of had two hats at this event. I had ostensibly been invited as a political blogger but I am also director and co-owner of a technology company (Southfacing Services Ltd) which does consultancy and software for energy efficiency in buildings. Now with these sort of events, my previous experience is mixed. Sometimes they ...
Tue 21st
21:33
I asked city west tonight over these figures, i hope they prove to be correct we must stimulate our ...
City West launches ground-breaking contractor agreement to ensure potential to create over 300 local jobs Source Salford online <!–Last Updated – 21st July 2009 at 06:44 PM –> Salford-based housing association, City West has launched an innovative contractor agreement whereby each of its contractors agrees to meet City West's high standards in quality installation, customer care, recruitment and [...]
Tonight i sat through Political executive Chaired By Cllr Warner. It was pleasant. funny at points and overall very productive. God i wish it was like this all the time. I would love to see us all together fighting the issues instead of each other. When your a back bencher in a third party you [...]
The mobile library service for Walcot will be cut if new proposals from the Conservative administration are approved. A Consultation period is now about to start on the proposals. We would ask that anybody who has an opinion on the mobile library service responds whether you are a current user or not. The mobile library currently visits: Morrisons (Weekly on a Tuesday one week and Thursday the next) Grosvenor Bridge Road (Fortnightly) Let us know your views by emailing david_dixon@bathnes.gov.uk and we will make sure that they are shared. You can read the decision paper at if you want ...
The Lyons Inquiry also considered whether to relocalise business rates. Relocalisation would allow local authorities to retain all receipts. Again, the Lyons Inquiry recommended that the existing national arrangements should be retained at present. Given the need to maintain fiscal discipline, ensure a high standard of public services in all areas and protect business from [...]
A few weeks ago I reported that the former England fast bowler Devon Malcolm now opens the bowling for the large Northamptonshire village of Brixworth. His new ball partner isn't bad either. It is Jason Gillespie, who was bowling for Australia only four years ago. It didn't stop Brixworth losing to Finedon Dolben the other week though. According to the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph, they are "fighting for their lives at the wrong end of the table".
I first blogged about this back on the 2nd July when the story broke and then again, here, on the 3rd July. Now, according to the BBC website the Police Officer responsible is to face prosecution. A police spokesperson said: "Following a review of the circumstances into the deaths of two police dogs, Nottinghamshire Police has taken the decision to suspend the police officer involved. The Met Office said it reached 28.1C (82.5F) in Nottingham on 30 June. The RSPCA has said the force reported the incident to them on the day it happened and had co-operated with the charity ...
Listen carefully and you can hear the familiar sound of an animal plunging down an abandoned Shropshire mineshaft. This time it is a two-year-old Patterdale terrier called Tess, and the good news is that she survived her fall. The Shropshire Star has a video and also a selection of photographs of the rescue. Then go to Flickr for a good photograph of the mineshaft in question. It is the former lead mine at Old Grit. Note the remains of the engine house and the Stiperstones ridge in the background.
A bid to call the by-election in former Speaker Michael Martin's Glasgow North East seat was defeated by the Government today in the House of Commons. MPs voted by 238-127 to move the writ for the by-election when the House returns after the summer. So, the people of Glasgow North East have already had no MP for one month, and now have at least three more to go. Four months without an MP. The earliest the by-election can be is November 5th, (although more likely to be November 12th) this is absolutely outrageous and plain silly. Why oh why did ...
{[info - personal] } awesomegore is pondering a new car. She has mentioned she might like an Elise to upstage her Evil Housemate of Doom, who has just bought a new car to pwn her little MX5. My suggestion is that, for one who has the personality and convictions of Ms Gore, there's only one car which is incapable of being upstaged. Jag XKR, British Racing Green, Cream leather. It's a Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag. I'm sorry, I didn't deliver the Focus leaflets. I left them in the Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag. Yes, I did run over your kitten, but I did it in a Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag. ...
As reported in today's "Courier", I have received an update about the legal position on my attempt to freeze all councillor salaries in Dundee to 2008/9 levels in 2009/10, given the significant financial challenges facing the City Council. Scottish Government's Public Service Reform Directorate advised me that, whilst it was not in a position to give a legal opinion, and said, ultimately that was for each council's legal officers to determine, the relevant rules are given in the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (Remuneration) Regulations as amended (SSI 2007/183 and amended by SSI 2008/415). On reading these, these appear to ...
...is disgusting. Lord Acton applies. Such a power in the land needs cutting down to size. Labour's epic fail has produced the greatest concentration of power, and unelected at that, in eons. Someone must have sufficient dirt on this o'er-reaching knob to have him fired for what, the third, or is it fourth time? Please! <!-- google_ad_client = "pub-8502734622986536"; /* 468x15 */ google_ad_slot = "9254756953"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 15; //-->
The BBC reports: Conservative communications chief Andy Coulson has told MPs he did not "condone or use" phone hacking when he was editor of the News of the World. Mr Coulson quit as the editor after a reporter was jailed for hacking. Although he said he had not known about it, he told the culture committee he regretted things going "badly wrong" and had taken responsibility by going. Lib Dem shadow home secretary Chris Huhne has not been won over by Mr Coulson's performance today: Andy Coulson's defence is that he did not know what was going on despite the ...
On 2 July 2009, the Constitutional Court of Slovenia held that Article 22 of the Registration of Same Sex Partnerships Act (RSSPA) violated the right to non-discrimination under Article 14 of the Constitution on the ground of sexual orientation. The decision was handed down in the case of Blažic and Kern v. Slovenia U-I-425/06-10. The applicants [...]
"Education, education, education" the mantra went all those years ago. Nearly a generation of school-children have flown by. Billions and billions have been poured in to state education and supporting services to raise aspirations. And look what they've got...lower so called social mobility, a higher proportion of posh-schoolers taking up more and more of the professional and higher status and paid jobs and the university places to prepare them for it. The trots are outraged. We must do more they say! More redistribution! Punish the wealthy more to pay for our failings they mean. Even so called liberals have been ...
This is one of the subtle manifestations of the damage that counter-terrorism legislation does to civil liberties. Sir Christopher Rose has produced a report which warns about the way anti terror legislation is used by local authorities for the purposes of "direct surveillance" including the bugging of public places and the taking of photographs of [...]
80 countries around the world consider homosexuality illegal, five of them punish homosexual acts with death ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association publishes the third edition of its report and map on State Sponsored Homophobia based on research by Daniel Ottosson. The report is a collection of legislation criminalising consensual sexual acts [...]
Campaigners' hopes that the new school year could bring improvements to school transport arrangements have been dashed by B&NES Cabinet members' decision to reject key proposals from a committee review. The Council's Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Panel meeting last night was dominated by a paper on the Transport to Secondary School Review previously initiated by...
(Guardian)The chief executive of the organisation responsible for regulating social workers was yesterday suspended over a backlog of cases, including allegations against professionals working with children.Mike Wardle, who has led the General Social Care Council (GSCC) for the last two years, was sent home by the council's governing body while an investigation is held into management of the
There are few things which bring such unalloyed joy to our humble household than the prospect of a new Midsomer Murders episode. There's one on tomorrow night called "The Dogleg Murders". (It's even got Rupert Vansittart, who plays Lord Ashfordly in Heartbeat, in it!) Indeed, and I am trying to control my glee here, it is the start of a new series and there is another new episode called "Secrets & Spies" on 29th July! I will have to lie down and apply a cold compact.
Lib Dem councillor and blogger Mary Reid has issued the following plea, which The Voice is delighted to advertise further: Lib Dem MP Phil Willis has put down EDM 1935 as follows: FUNDING FOR BLETCHLEY PARK (20.07.2009) Willis, Phil That this House recognises the signficance of Bletchley Park, historic site of secret British code-breaking activities during the Second World War and birthplace of the modern computer; acknowledges that the use of the intelligence gained at Bletchley Park and subsequent related actions of the Allies is said to have shortened the Second World War by two years, saving countless lives; and ...
The leader in today's FT says that the Tory plans to close down the Financial Services Authority and give its powers to the Bank of England represent unnecessary and counter-productive butchery: Under the Tory plans...an unchecked and unchallenged Bank may fall into groupthink about financial stability - as it did during the decade before the crisis. The Conservatives propose recruiting a handful of outsiders to sit on a financial policy committee to inject intellectual competition into the monetary authority. But it is unrealistic to expect these few people to spot and counter biases across the Bank's domain. All in all ...
It has just been uncovered that Peter Mandelson sits on 35 of the 43 committees, and quite rightly Paul Waugh comments on how this clearly shows where the power lies. With recent commentators debating about the likelihood of Mandelson using the proposed reforms that allow life peers to resign and stand for the House of Commons, this is clearly news that the government have tried to sneak out at the break of the recess. Mandelson is all but in name the Deputy Prime Minister, and is clearly holding the government together. He is being rewarded with committee positions that see ...
Philip Stephens in the FT says that David Cameron has made a basic error in promising to abolish Ofcom: The problem is that in promising to transfer Ofcom's work to Whitehall so it is more directly accountable to ministers and parliament, Mr Cameron has shown he has no clear idea of what it does. The central charge seems to be that Ofcom's views on public service broadcasting have strayed too far into realms better reserved for ministers. As it happens, I think Mr Cameron is mistaken, but the details of the argument are irrelevant beside the fact that broadcasting policy ...
A report by Alan Milburn released today says that top professions like medicine and law are increasingly being closed off to all but the most AFFLUENT families. Note, the most affluent, not the brightest and the best, but the wealthiest. We must work to close the gap between talent and privilege, we need a far fairer society where everyone gets an opportunity to contribute to the best of their abilities and not excluded because of an accident of birth. The full report is at well worth the reading.
This morning was set aside for a training session on council finance which all councillors are required to attend. The course was led by two experts from the Local Government Information Unit. Given my past involvement with councils, the course itself didn't tell me a whole lot that was new, but it is always good to have your knowledge re-affirmed (just make sure you haven't missed anything new). Perhaps the best element of the course was being able to chat with fellow councillors from different groups and to work with them during one break out session. And finding that a ...
An enjoyable little video of Boris being confronted, on his bicycle, about Rape crisis centres.
Councillor Milton Martin's defection from the Labour Party to the Liberal Democrats in Waltham Forest has now been confirmed. The local guardian has picked the news up.I can only repeat my sentiments of a couple days back: I am not necessarily convinced that is a true defection. Do the Liberal Democrat values really reflect Councillor Martin's values or is it a point scoring exercise against his
Haringey are at it again - or more accurately - they are not at it. Yet another 'consultation' on parking that has failed to be properly delivered. The local Noel Park LibDems carried out a survey that shows that one in six people failed to even receive the consultation document. Local people should have received their consultation documents in April this year asking their views on a proposed parking controlled zone for West Green and Bruce Grove. However, from the survey in Boreham Road and Westbury Avenue, carried out by local LibDem councillor Fiyaz Mughal, it is clear that many ...
There has been a rush this afternoon to get through the unfinished business of the House of Commons on the last day of the parliamentary session. Snuck in the middle of that was a SNP attempt to move the writ for the Glasgow North East by election. Many people including Scottish Unionist (I kid you not) were rooting for the SNP. Harriet Harman as Leader of the House moved an amendment opposing the writ being moved today. Saying that she wanted a by election when most people have the chance to vote. But wasn't it only last year that they ...
There's one thing not to move the writ for a by-election, quite another to actively block someone else trying to do it. The SNP tried to move the writ for the Glasgow North East by-election a wee while ago in the House of Commons. As far as I could tell, all the opposition parties, even the Tories, supported them, but Labour lodged a counter motion moving next business. In the end, Labour managed to defeat the opposition by 111 votes, but Paul Waugh, the Evening Standard reporter, tweeted that if the SNP had tipped off the Tories and Lib Dems, ...
Don Foster signs parliamentary motion calling for formal consultation on planned Furnished Holiday Lettings tax changes The Policy could lead to region's visitor spend decreasing by £574 million Bath MP, Don Foster, has given his full support to a new parliamentary motion, calling on the Government to review plans to repeal the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax rules...
I was quite shocked today to discover that children as young as 14 months old are being prescribed Tamiflu capsules because there isn't enough of it in liquid form. Apparently that's only being given to babies under a year old. How many babies and toddlers do you think could manage to swallow these? However, I do have it on very reliable information that they work very well broken open and mixed with Nutella. Lucky, that, then. Too late for this time, but maybe this is something to learn for the future....... LibDig This!
The Telegraph reports: Marta Andreason, the former Brussels whistle blower sacked by Lord Kinnock, has been blocked from taking a senior position at the European Parliament by MEPs fearful of future 'scandal'. Mrs Andreasen was blocked by Christian Democrat and Socialist MEPs from becoming vice-chairman of the European Parliament's budgetary committee on Monday. The centre-Right European People's Party and the Socialists broke parliamentary convention on the allocation of committee posts by demanding a vote by secret ballot to block Mrs Andreasen, who was elected as a Ukip MEP for South East England last month. Lib Dem MEP for the North-West ...
13:36 | 20.07.09 By Mark Shepherd The Homes and Communities Agency has approved extra funding of £18m to provide housing renewal in the north-west region. The grant will go towards the HCA's existing £125m Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders scheme. The fresh injection of funds was confirmed last week by Housing Minister John Healey. The five pathfinders – [...]
William Hauge's speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies has been widely touted in various newspapers and across the blogsphere. Most significantly it sends a clear message that a Cameron-led Conservative government will abandon the doctrine of 'liberal interventionism' something Nick Clegg, like Tony Blair, proudly proclaims he actually is. Personally,I won't be too sad [...]
It appears the Tories are a little jumpy, feeling the need to respond to criticisms of Chloe Smith on the back page of their leaflet. I note that they are still failing to admit that she was working for the Tory party, on loan from her employers. This blatant attempt to mislead could look silly if last minute opposition leaflets highlight that her website says something different from her leaflets. There is also a covering letter (hand written style) which I'll add to this posting later. It contains one blatant lie, referring to polls showing it is neck and neck ...
So the Telegraph reports: Ron Sandler should not be eligible for the job of chairman of Lloyds Banking Group because he is non-domiciled for tax purposes, the Liberal Democrats have declared. ... "The chairman of a nationalised, or part-nationalised, bank should not be a non-dom," Lord Oakeshott, Lib Dem Treasury spokesman said. "Ron Sandler should not become chairman of Lloyds." The Lib Dems opposed the appointment at Northern Rock of Mr Sandler, a former boss of the Lloyds of London insurance market. He was initially paid £90,000 a month as executive chairman but his salary fell to £350,000 after appointing ...
Am having a play with flickr. Seems OK so far. Anyone who is on there and wants to friend me, feel free. {gaslight} This blog is proudly sponsored by
Anglia News are reporting that Chris Ostrowski, the Labour candidate in the by-election in Norwich North, has swine flu. He is apparently recovering well at home. I do, of course, wish him a speedy recovery.
What do people think of the idea? I think it could just happen. This all comes from a blog post by Paul Waugh in which he writes about how Brown's spokesperson made the following comment: "It's fair to say this will be his last full working week...." Is Brown gearing up to resign as the leader of the Labour party over the Summer Recess and getting someone else like Alan Johnson to fill his boots? I don't know what is going too happened with the Labour leadership over the next couple of weeks but all I know is its going ...
The Tories are once again shown to be out of step with the wishes of those that matter, as the FT cast doubt on their proposals to dismantle the tripartite system. Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats rightly point out the problems around this, too. However, where the Liberal Democrats and Labour differ, is that Vince Cable has gone to the heart of the problem, in outlining how there needs to be a fundamental change in the way regulation operates, instead of a tinkering around the edges to prevent those greedy bankers and the like from hopping ship to another ...
Watching the BBC East debate on the Norwich North by-election last night I was amazed that the BBC allowed so many Tory Councillors not only to be in the audience (an audience they claimed of ordinary electors from Norwich North, but allow them to ask questions (even the first question) when many of them were not even councillors or residents of Norwich North. Indeed one was a senior cabinet member on Broadland Council and Norfolk County Council. Who does the BBC's research in to these things ? Hopeless Tory bias from the BBC again ! You can watch the debate ...
Tue 21st
13:30
CommentIsLinked@LDV... Vince Cable: Some banks have not acknowledged their near-death experience
Over at The Independent, Lib Dem shadow chancellor Vince Cable's speech to the London Stock Exchange is excerpted: I stand here to outline the Liberal Democrat proposals for significant changes to the regulatory structure of the City and its future direction. These proposals build on ideas we set out over a year ago in our New Deal for the City. Some of those ideas - macroprudential regulation of bank capital; linking bonuses to long-term stock performance; reform of rating agencies - have become part of the conventional wisdom and I don't need to rehearse them. You can read more excerpts ...
{bud-light1} The United States of America is - by some considerable margin - my favourite country in the whole wide world. This is, in no small part, because it has individual freedom and personal responsibility in its very DNA. That's why I was upset and disappointed to experience first hand yesterday something I believed to be an urban myth. Whilst sampling the delights of American high culture (i.e. spending the day at the Universal Studios amusement park in Orlando) in the oppressive Florida heat, my travelling companion and I felt the urgent need for a refreshing beer. But - despite ...
General Election 2005: Worsley Party Candidate Votes % ±% Labour Barbara Keeley 18,859 51.0 -6.1 Conservative Graham Evans 9,491 25.7 +1.9 Liberal Democrat Richard Clayton 6,902 18.7 +1.2 UK Independence Bernard Gill 1,694 4.6 +4.6 Majority 9,368 25.4 Turnout 36,946 53.1 +2.1 Labour hold Swing -4.0 Any one seen my calculator? i am not a betting man but that's pushing it. Any COMMENT!!
I wrote this post the week before last but for some reason never posted it. It's all incredibly anoraky, but I couldn't resist the meme where you have to list all the MPs who have represented you in your life. Mine is somewhat complicated by the fact I spent the first three years of my [...]
The Lib Dem campaign myth that the more leaflets=more votes is clearly not working and hasn't worked in recent years but Lord Rennard still thinks it works so he is putting it into practice in Norwich North. This all comes from a blog post by Charlotte Gore and personally I want to go into a bit of campaign talk with this blog post. First of all I think the more leaflets=more votes is a dead idea and no longer works as the Conservatives have more money and can get more leaflets out. Secondly with more and more leaflets going through ...
Google Chrome is, for a variety of reasons, my preferred web browser. However, I often need a second web browser running (e.g. to test what a site whose CMS I am logged in to looks like for someone not logged in). It should therefore be fast, light on memory and render pages in a fairly standard way. I've been struggling with Firefox but even with its latest version it still hogs large amounts of memory. Internet Explorer often performs better on the memory front, but doesn't really count as fast and light on memory either. So suggestions: which web browser ...
Peter Black AM's blog is today six years old as pointed out by a blog post and clearly I think Peter deserves a round of applause for his service to the Lib Dem blogosphere. Peter has been blogging since 2002 and clearly this is an achievement. Blogs are great as Peter will tell you (that's why he has been blogging for six years) and that's why I hope to carry on blogging and maybe writing for longer then six years!
How would you sum up what the Liberal Democrats stand for in, at most, 140 characters? That's Darrell's Twitter-inspired question today. Though I admit I read some people's Tweets, regular readers will realise that extreme brevity isn't really me - but, always up for a challenge, here are my first two bashes: "Freedom, fairness, future: freedom from poverty, ignorance and conformity; fairness and financial sense; green action to protect the future." "Lib Dem Principles: freedom, fairness, looking out for the future. Best way to do it? Give you the power in your own life and community." What would you say? ...
My paid LJ account runs out on the 8th of August. I will not be renewing. I will also be reverting to a non-sponsored account because I detest advertising. This are meaning several things:My LJ account, to which DW posts get imported, will no longer have paid account features - extry icons, etc. I will no longer have image hosting at my LJ It shouldn't affect anything content-wise, as far as I am aware. So why does this matter to you? Well, I want you to rec me an image hosting provider. I have a few criteria:I need to be ...
This is a video I made that is very pro Liberal Democrat, and anti Gordon Brown. Enjoy
Well - having fulsomely praised Speaker Bercow for his brave new world action in calling me from the front bench to ask a question during one of Gordon Brown's statements - I may now have to take it back! In the chamber yesterday - I saw Speaker Bercow furiously mouthing to a Conservative on the front bench. Said Tory Member leapt to his feet, ran to the back row - and was duly called by Speaker Bercow. So have I leapt to praise him too soon? Was he gently chided by the establishment post my post? Was my being called ...
Unlike Shane Greer I actually agree with the work of 38 Degrees and like their campaign to find out what our MP's are doing this summer. The campaign is in place to find out what MP's are doing over summer be it constituency work or going on holiday. Being an MP is meant to be a full time job, can anyone who works full time and has only public holidays off tell me of 12 weeks of holidays they have had? Being an MP has become a party for some MP's who do little to no work when in Parliament. ...
Tue 21st
12:10
Is Taverham (and Norwich North) beinng "conned" by an Independent wearing a blue rosette ?
In Taverham South in the Norwich North constituency there is a Councillor called Claudette Bannock. She claims on leaflets, in community newletters and at the council to be independent. The question is, how independent is she ? She is a registered member of the Conservative Party. She turned up to a recent local council by-election count wearing a blue rosette and was clearly part of the Conservative team and she was shown on TV yesterday as one of the crowd of Tory supporters greeting David Cameron on his visit to Norwich North. This really does beg the question, is Mrs ...
Shema Begum works at the Local Government Information Unit, which has just published a report entitled Primary Justice. This report proposes devolving control of power and funding for specific parts of the criminal justice system to upper tier local authorities. Shema explains more here. Our centralised prison system may keep the public safe while offenders are inside, but it fails to equip ex offenders to lead law abiding lives once they are released. We need a new localised approach. This is the verdict of a three month inquiry conducted by the Local Government Information Unit in cooperation with the All ...
Compulsory purchase orders are usually used by the Government or local authorities to acquire land that is required for transportation, education or health etc. The measures are not and should not be used for a private enterprise for a 'profit development' to get its way over private individuals. Donald Trump has been saying all along that his Golf Resort development at the Menie Estate at Balmedie is meant to help the local community. Yet having failed to reach a negotiated settlement to encourage the neighbours to sell up he has applied for compulsory purchase orders. He really does think he ...
Conservative Home requested via Twitter suggestions for spelling out the Conserative message in 140 characters....this just got me wondering if there were any suggestions for a Liberal Democrat message in 140 characters?
Many of us are depressed by the currrent weather, but people say the rain is good for gardens and allotments. Cllr Mandy Sainsbury recently judged the Dodington Allotments Association competition (just before the deluge started!) and here are some of her photos. Allotments are rather scarce. If you live within Dodington Parish (Birds, Shire Way, south side of Rodford Way, or the country area out to the motorway) and you would like to go on the waiting list, please contact Dodington Parish Council on 01454 866546. If you aren't a Dodington parishioner, the Parish Council can give you a contact ...
The Better Bath Forum have released the response of B&NES Councillors, Don Foster MP and St John's Hospital to the conclusions of their June meeting on night life in Bath. To read the responces follow the link HERE
In today's Guardian, Alaa Al Aswany concocted a rather ludicrous conspiratory fantasy. He suggests that the Western media take the 'Silver Ring Thing' seriously and that if the same tosh had been uttered by a Muslim it would be condemned as mysoginist. Of course, Al Aswany doesn't seem to disagree with the 'Silver Ring Thing' and, in fact, it says that it's in line with Muslim Arab culture. His
Police are appealing for information about a group of men who tricked their way into a pensioner's home and stole cash from him. The 84 year old was walking home from Yate shopping centre at around 12.20pm on July 18 when a grey car pulled alongside him in Church Road. A passenger told him he was working for a charity and persuaded him to reveal his address. When he got home he was approached by two men who said they needed to check a water leak. He let them, and then a third man, into his home, where he was ...
Heaven knows I'm not often one for finding sympathy with Nicola Sturgeon, but might she have a point when she says that if Scots are to be vaccinated against Swine Flu, then the money will either have to come from Westminster, or from existing budgets which have already been allocated for this year? The reason I ask is because the Scottish Government is limited in its options - it can't borrow to get extra money to buy the vaccine, it would be ridiculous to put the money aside every year just in case, leaving essential services bereft needlessly so we'd ...
So the ERC have banned Tom Williams from playing for 12 months and fined Harlequins 250,000 euro for the blood subbing at the Leinster match in the Heineken Cup.I have seen various accusations that he "may have used a blood capsule", I would like to see the proof.Meanwhile Schalk Burger gets a Yellow card and an 8 week ban for this eye gouging incident against the Lions and Bakkies Botha got two
I was speaking with my headteacher the other week. She said she still remembers where she was when she heard the news that Neil Armstrong had landed on the moon. As a 'young one' she wondered what my defining memory would be. To be honest I wasn't sure. Nelson Mandella being released, the Berlin Wall coming done, Labour's election victory, waking up to the news that Princess Diana had died,
You can read the latest swine flu advice from South Glos Council on their website. In particular, they stress that if you need anti-viral medication, rather than go out yourself and risk spreading the illness to other people, including health professionals, you should ask a "flu friend" to collect the medication on your behalf. If you have children, you can find the latest information about schools, nurseries, pre-schools, children's centres and other services online.
Research by communications regulator Ofcom has shown that between 2004 and 2008 the hours of regional news broadcast in Wales fell from 454 to 365, a drop of 15%. The figures, showing BBC's total Welsh TV production tumbled from 846 hours in 2004 to 716 last year. Meanwhile, the total hours of local television in Wales produced by ITV dropped from 536 in 2004 to 477 in 2008. Its Welsh news output declined from 294 hours in 2004 to 279 in 2008. The BBC remains the most popular source of local television news in Wales. It has a 36% share, ...
Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable yesterday delivered a speech to the London Stock Exchange. In the speech, he listed the ways in which the current regulatory model could be improved, and called for: RBS and Lloyds to be broken up before they are returned to private ownershipHighly paid bankers to publish details of their remuneration and confirm they are resident and domiciled in the UKThe FSA to remain as a unitary regulatorA long-term role for state banking, rather than the quick sale of state-owned banksThe scrapping of the 'woefully misconceived' Asset Protection Scheme Vince Cable said; "The Government has ...
One of the most frustrating aspects of being involved in politics is how long it takes to get anything done. Combined with the irreversible diminution of the powers of Parliament in the face of international political decision-making and the multi-national economy it is difficult to see how anybody can get anything worthwhile done any more, and yet they do. Progress in the area of constitutional reform is particularly slow, largely because it has proceeded piecemeal and without any overarching vision on the part of this government, but also because it is considered low priority, only wheeled out when Ministers need ...
Police are to issue silver bells to put in your pockets to stop pick pockets. What a fantastic idea . Who needs a data base state. Bring back Dixon of dock green.
Forests are being cut down in Brazil and Eastern Asia so that more food can be planted. But in the West we waste lots of the food that's being produced, at all of the stages to its reaching our plates, and even when it reaches our plates. Is it worth destroying forests so that we can choose what to eat and what to throw away? When I was a child it was regarded as very bad behaviour to waste food. Maybe we just have too much nowadays.
One of the things about being a by-election candidate is that everything you have ever said in public comes under scrutiny and, in some cases, reappears to bite you on the bum. We know that the SNP's selection process for Glasgow North East has been a bit of a living hell for them to go through and a complete farce for the rest of us to watch. We now discover that new, bright and shiny candidate David Kerr's cupboard is not devoid of skeletons with their feet in their mouths. Apparently, a couple of years ago, he told a seminar ...
28% at the last set of local elections. 5% points clear of Labour and our highest ever share of the vote. In 23 out of the 25 county councils we are now the main opposition to the Conservatives. And in many counties there are no Labour county councillors at all. In both the South East and the South West Labour were pushed to fifth in the European elections. In vast swathes of Southern Britain they're as irrelevant as the Tories are in many Northern cities. In the battle of ideas as well as increasingly in the electoral battle the Labour ...
The closure of Hornsey Central Hospital and then the long-delayed and much debated redevelopment of the site has been a long running local controversy (e.g. see the blog posts on local MP Lynne Featherstone's website). With debates over the sort of health services to be brought in to the site once the hospital had been demolised, the lack of good public transport links, frequent failures to really engage with local residents and the possible impact on other health services in the area, I've been a little sceptical as to how events will play out. Much of the debate over the ...
My name is Thomas Burridge, I am the Libertarian Party candidate for Norwich North. The Libertarian Party offers something very different from any other party that is contesting the election; it offers the people of Norwich North freedom. One might be forgiven for assuming that freedom would be a given in any country that can be called a democracy. However the sorry state of affairs is that we are more controlled economically and in our personal lives than at any time in living memory, The Libertarian Party wishes to end the new labour police state, we wish to remove attempts ...
BBC Look East had a debate last night between the three main parties and the Green candidate in Norwich North. It is not available online, but there is a video from some coverage done a week a two ago when the candidates did a speed dating event with the focus being on education. What is hilarious is the Labour and Tory attempt to assert their local credentials, something that April Pond for the Lib Dems and Rupert Read for the Greens didn't feel they had to do. There was from the Tories and Labour an element of willy waving, wasting ...
New research for the BBC has revealed we have a million fewer CCTV cameras that previously estimated. Not a huge surprise: if I remember correctly, the previous estimate was based on a count of CCTV cameras of one street in one London borough, around 2002, with the numbers being extrapolated to cover the whole country. But at 3.2 million, the number is still much higher than other countries. The BBC notes that "The borough of Wandsworth has the highest number of CCTV cameras in London, with just under four cameras per 1,000 people. Its total number of cameras - 1,113 ...
Please excuse the indulgence. I am commemorating the sixth anniversary of me starting this blog today. This is the 4,054th post. By my calculation that is an average of just under two posts a day. I have also offered to sponsor Jennie Rigg's blog for the next month. She is responsible for this neat little widget which I may steal and make a pernmanent feature on this site for the next year assuming that I am able to work out how to do so.
Among the many sacrifices I make to serve as a councillor, missing University Challenge is, in the grand scheme of things, not exactly life-changing. Still, when your alma mater is on one of the most successful runs in series history (semi-finalists each year since 2005 with three finals appearances and two-ish wins) and you had more than a little to do with that, there's an emotional bond that
From the Leicester Mercury comes final confirmation that the world has gone mad: A private security firm has taken over caretaker duties in four city secondary schools.G4S, formerly known as Group 4 Securicor, is being paid to carry out jobs such as maintaining the building, looking after the grounds, ensuring safety and keeping schools secure.School staff who notice a problem, such as damage in a classroom, now log the issue with a call centre.It signals the end of the traditional school caretaker, who for decades was an important figure answerable to the head teacher and employed locally.And don't take comfort ...
The Principal of Glasgow Caledonian University has branded the SNP candidate for the Glasgow North East by election a 'dangerous elitist' for his comments in 2007 that the university did "not have a reputation to tarnish" at this alma mater St Andrews. Now I have a lot to thank St. Andrews for, not least of which is that two Graduates of that institution have provided me two gorgeous nephews. But I ended up at a Polytechnic originally before coming away with a University degree when Kingston moved from one status to the other. I agree with Dr Ian Johnston's comments ...
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It is the 40th Anniversary of the moon landing, but there are a lot of people which include 20% Americans that believe it was a hoax. I have come across a video that you all may want to watch.
Congratulations to Freddie Flintoff and England for their fantastic victory yesterday. After last week's performance in Cardiff, I feared the worse, particularly as England hadn't beaten Australia at Lords in 75 years. Now Tory MP, the Sven Goran Eriksson lookalike Peter Bone, has hailed the victory as evidence that the Tories are on course for election success next year, saying "history repeats itself". He told MPs: "In 1934 there was a Labour government in deep trouble in the midst of an economic recession. The only bright spot that year was the England cricket team beating the Australians at Lord's. The ...
2 Big Stories Health Secretary Andy Burnham has attempted to regain the initiative after Monday's criticisms with the announcement of a pandemic flu service by the end of the week. Health Secretary Andy Burnham said the phone and website service will be able to provide flu diagnosis and access to drugs without the need to go to GPs. He also defended the government against claims from opposition parties that the service was a month late. He said the government had wanted to wait until the health service was under intense pressure before acting. Meanwhile the MoD, under attack for the ...
