Whilst I've no doubt drug usage is a big problem across Salford, I admit to rarely seeing any direct evidence of it - but today was a shock when I came across the left overs, discarded on a pavement at the top end of Nansen Street, Langworthy. Those that know the area, will be all too aware that Nansen Street is a couple of feet from the new Glendinning Primary School (currently under construction). Fast forward to September 2010 and this syringe would be within reach of hundreds of primary school children. I dare to think what disaster awaits if ...
I've got a lot of ideas for future posts (I *always* have far more ideas for posts than I have time to post them), and I'm going to write some but not all when I'm in Greece. I'm interested in which ones people would like to read about, so here's a list of what I [...]
Everyone who knows me, knows that I am very proud of being a Sheffielder. I love the city, and I am clearly not the only one. Think about it, it's very rare for a musician, actor or other celebrity to be from Sheffield without you knowing it. Actually, thinking about it, I suppose you wouldn't [...]
I'll be reporting this fly-tipped waste to Environmental Services first thing on Monday morning. I came across the first lot (top-image) on Greenland Street, which runs alongside the new Glendinning Primary School currently under construction. I noticed the remains of a fireplace on Exeter Street, which is a side street just off Seedley Park Road. Both instances of fly-tipping are at the entrances to gated alleys - which seems a common theme across Langworthy. Unfortunately, as well as causing an obstruction to residents wishing to get access to their alley, dumped waste is not collected by the bin men on ...
Or so the Mail on Sunday claims: Well-placed sources say that a number of Labour MPs are prepared to sacrifice themselves as part of a 'guerrilla campaign' against the Prime Minister.They include some older MPs who are prepared to bring forward their decision to retire at the next Election and others who believe they have been victimised by party chiefs over their expenses.Will Labour eat itself? More and more, Gordon Brown's determination to become leader without a contest looks like the decisive mistake of his career.
Apologies for the continued lack of posts – unfortunately I've had to work a lot of long days this week, as we're preparing for a release. I'm going to try to get a few posts up this weekend, and while I'm away next week (on holiday with my family, with no net access) I'll try [...]
Several things have happened today that all tie in together, as well as a lovely walk in Teesdale - where the water runs free, and something of that eternal flow, going where it needs to links with Liberty too. I had a rare e-mail from a friend who was deported to Congo. Life is very tough for him and his family now. What happened was unjust in the extreme, and yet he found it...
Conservative Home has this frankly frightful article that basically is criticising the Conservative line for not wanting to involve 'profit-making business' in it's desperate dash to force schools to opt-out of everything and be run as going concerns of not the local community but of whichever organisation takes an interest. Including, as the Sunday Times [...]
Gorse Hill City Farm is a couple of miles from the centre of Leicester. I was there this afternoon...
Stephen Tall has issued these questions for Lib Dem bloggers to answer over the weekend and so I thought I'd try to bash out my responses before dinner (UPDATE: not quite): What are the greatest successes of the Lib Dem blogosphere? Lib Dem Blogs remains a very powerful spine, although I personally find it is gradually being [...]
For once I actually don't have an answer, I genuinely, truly, madly, deeply want to know. He epitomises ALL that is wrong with modern Britain, the incivility, the bullying, the thuggery, the total idiocy masquerading as blunt-speaking. Whatever, one thinks of Gordon Brown, and I certainly am not a fan, to call him the c-word in public, is an insult too far. Please Auntie starve this gobby sub-golf club wiseacre of the oxygen of publicity, however much money he brings in in overseas sales.
John Barrett is to stand down as MP for Edinburgh West at the next election, announces The Scotsman (and lost of Lib Dem blogs too). As a service to ambitious young activists attracted by "the second largest Lib Dem majority in the whole of the UK after Charles Kennedy," here is a good site for finding accommodation in Edinburgh.
There was a report in the Daily Telegraph last year saying that the Churches Conservation Trust blamed the urban road schemes of the 1960s and 1970s for the decline in congregations. It quoted Crispin Truman, the Trust's chief executive, as saying: "Dwindling congregations is often cited as the reason churches are closed, but they are actually being destroyed because planning authorities came up with thoughtless road schemes that physically cut them off from their communities," he said."We think about the disastrous impact 60s tower blocks have had on skylines, but we should think of these road schemes in the same ...
Here's how The Scotsman reports it: EDINBURGH West Liberal Democrat MP John Barrett is to quit at the next general election. After eight years in the Commons he said he wanted a change and to spend more time in Edinburgh. He was due to tell local party members of his decision at a special meeting this afternoon. He said: "I'm now 55 and if I do the rest of this term and another one, I'm going to be 60. My health is good and I'm definitely not planning on retiring - but I would like to do something else." Mr ...
It's reassuring to hear that Ferrari F1 driver Felipe Massa is recovering following successful surgery after his accident. He's in intensive care in hospital in Budapest. I have to say that I have no medical knowledge to back this up, but it seems to me that short is good when it comes to any sort of surgery on the head and it seemed that he was in theatre for not much more than an hour, if that. I hope he's in ICU purely as a precaution and so they can monitor all the bits they need to monitor to make ...
It is with much sadness that I heard of the death of Harry Patch, the last British soldier to have served in the Great War trenches, at the age of ...
Stephen Tall asks for responses for this so here is my attempt:- What are the greatest successes of the Liberal Democrat blogsphere? I think here I would have to answer that the greatest success is the way it opens debate within our party. As is pointed out in the comments on Stephen's initial piece the Liberal [...]
Stephen Tall, Head Boy of the LibDem blogosphere, has asked for thoughts on the state of our little corner of the interweb. Here goes: What are the greatest successes of the Lib Dem blogosphere? 1. The LibDem aggregator. It's simple and very effective and I am yet to see anything even approaching it from the other parties. In particular, the democratic egalitarian nature of it is a wonderful re-statement of the spirit of our party. 2. LibDemVoice is excellent 3. Lots of new blogs are starting all the time. Some go quiet, some suddenly have a growth spurt, but it ...
I am pleased to advise that, following my raising residents' concerns about the road condition in the Hillside Road area, particularly near the junction with Glamis Drive, the City Engineer advised me: "I can confirm that an order has been raised to patch the section of Hillside Road from Glamis Drive up to Hillside Terrace. This work has been programmed for mid to late August weather permitting." I have also raised the need for full road resurfacing in the area - the road is really in need of this - and was further advised: "Resurfacing of Hillside Road is not ...
In the current edition of Attitude, actor Daniel Radcliffe comes out to their readership as a LibDem supporter. Better known to the world as the star of the Harry Potter films, Radcliffe who has just turned 20 and therefore will be voting for the first time at the next general election, stated "I rather like [...]
Stephen Tall over at Lib Dem Voice has challenged us to a very interesting weekend meme: When Iain Dale asked if Lib Dem Voice would this year co-sponsor Total Politics' Best Blog Poll 2009, he also set me some homework: to write c.1,000 words on 'the State of the LibDem blogosphere' by the end of the month? As you will see from the date, my deadline is fast approaching. I've got a few ideas of what I intend to write, but I'd greatly appreciate the insistence of Lib Dem Voice readers - as well as Lib Dem bloggers - to ...
The newly launched Get Elected research firm says that, If you're a candidate using Get Elected, you get the support you need when and how you need it. With our bank of political researchers, varying not just in geography, but expertise and political affliation, you'll get the researcher that best suits your needs – and one you can trust. As we work for candidates across all political groups, we are confident in being able to find someone suitable for your campaign. Candidates are used to making use of their own resources, that of volunteers and those of their party. So ...
Following a successful Lib Dem proposal, Birmingham City Council has introduced an online petitions facility, which will provide another way to make the Council aware of local views.Anyone who lives, works or studies in Birmingham can use the new system. Electronic petitions can be used as well as paper petitions or instead of them. The Council's response will be posted on the site so that
Met some very sensible people in Eccles that knew a Tory run Council or Government would be disastrous for them. about 3 hours ago Try half of Salford I agree with Cllr warmishams Statement it would be disastrous for the city and the country.
Today we have the story that now we are starting to screen people for Swine Flu on entering the country.This would have been better handled globally some months ago. This is the sort of process where a formula can predict infection rates. I think the rate of infection in the West Midlands has essentially stabilised. We do need to have a good look at the issue of when to screen people and when
Sat 25th
17:33
Well the residents complain there are no traffic wardens to be seen. So i set up a meeting with the ...
heres a good one for you. on Thursday morning there was no fewer than 4 traffic wardens in our road plus one mobile one. i stopped one outside my house and asked why there had been no sign of traffic wardens for 2 – 3 weeks. guess what his answer was. salford city council had banned the issuing [...]
Alright, I've never done this before, and I'd like to do it well. I know that the Local Government Association provides lots of training for 'big' councils, but what is there for the likes of me? So I've been doing some research. Apparently, the Department for Communities and Local Government provides support to the National Training Strategy for Town and Parish Councils, and this is administered by the National Association of Local Councils. Admittedly, I don't know what that support is, but it does at least exist. Questions, questions, always questions...
I am really sad today because John Barrett, Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, has announced that he is standing down at the next election. I've always got on very well with John. He has been a very good constituency MP, but I also shared an interest with him on various issues. It was John who spoke at the anti Trident march in Edinburgh in November 2007 and who addressed the protest rally against the Israeli action in Gaza in January of this year. I've also heard him talk several times about his trips to various parts of the world ...
When Iain Dale asked if Lib Dem Voice would this year co-sponsor Total Politics' Best Blog Poll 2009, he also set me some homework: to write c.1,000 words on 'the State of the LibDem blogosphere' by the end of the month? As you will see from the date, my deadline is fast approaching. I've got a few ideas of what I intend to write, but I'd greatly appreciate the insistence of Lib Dem Voice readers – as well as Lib Dem bloggers – to ensure my analysis is suitably rounded and informed. I've come up with five questions I want ...
Bloggers - from across the political spectrum - should be rightly humbled by the fortunes of LPUK in Norwich. Just 36 votes. It seems that the readers of LPUK blogs, although there's a lot of them, either don't live in Norwich, stayed at home or worse - voted for the Tories. See, the Tories seem to be able to have it both ways. You've got Dave "I'm not a libertarian" Cameron using their party's libertarians as political whipping boys to demonstrate his own Blue Labour credentials, yet many people still seem to think that if you believe in economic and ...
Fascinating piece in the pages of The Guardian today which really does expose the futility of the Afghan mission and Nick Clegg's continued support for 'liberal interventionism'. It is written by an Afghani women who was the youngest person elected to the new Parliament in 2005. She opens her article calling the democracy in Afghanistan a [...]
With talks around Brown's leadership after the disappointing, but not as bad as it could have been, Norwich North by-election result for Labour, it is interesting to consider some of the potential successors to Brown: David Milliband He did not want to be a Heseltine, and be the one with the shotgun. Instead, he may be carefully waiting until after the general election to formalise his leadership campaign. His intentions are clear, but polls suggest that Labour would fair no better under his leadership than Brown's. Maybe, his dishonesty is the reason for this, if he did not go writing ...
What a stage! What a race! The real battle of the Tour de France came down the the climb of Mont Ventoux and good choice by the Tour Organisers, the final hour of the ascent of the Giant of Provence lived up to it hype of being the place where the general classifications would be decided. The seven heads of state Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck, Lance Armstrong, Bradley Wiggins, Andreas Kloden, Frank Schleck and Vincenzo Nibali were the ones who kept together when the big group hit the slopes above Bedoin. They started to close down the leaders up the ...
Further to my Norwich North by-election awards nominations from election night, I declare these the winners. Missed Opportunity Award Winners - Greens (For proclaiming that they were set to snatch second place then failing to run a campaign worthy of 4th place) Best Campaign - Conservatives (For virtually not putting a foot wrong in terms of not doing anything that might expose their candidate to scrutiny) Worst Campaign- Greens (Where was their campaign ?) Best Candidate Nominees - Chloe Smith (Very on message, very much the Tory girl, very assured, if slightly boring) Best Minor Party Campaign Nominees - Craig ...
I can't remember a time when I didn't care what the outcome of a Formula 1 qualifying session was going to be. My devotion to the Brawn team knows no bounds, but their fate was nothing compared to that of Felipe Massa. It's pretty sickening to see a Formula One car immobile in a wall of tyres. Accidents and spin offs are reasonably common, but usually when a car hits a wall of tyres, a few minutes later you see the driver jump out and walk off and you silently thank all those people whose hard work made Formula 1 ...
I remember the Thatcher years well. One of my strongest memories is of my dad driving me to hospital, telling mum that he'd lost his job that morning. Dad had never been out of work before, he'd worked for the same company for over 25 years; as a result he drove taxis for a while [...]
Since Ian Gibson resigned his Norwich North seat a few weeks ago, the press have been making predictions and assumptions about Norwich which serve to underline that the press simply do not understand elections properly. The very earliest reports locally on TV were about how the Green Party would the main threat in this seat whilst the national press also adopted this view, along with the view that it was a shoe in for the Tories. This was a line the press had decided upon and a view that evidence, campaigning and visits to Norwich would not change or alter. ...
The news that long time friend of West Lothian Liberal Democrats John Barrett the MP for neighbouring Edinburgh West is to step down at the General Election has come as something of a shock to me. Indeed John was the candidate for Linlithgow in the first Scottish Parliament elections in 1999 before he replaced Donald Gorrie as the MP for Edinburgh West when he steped down after being sucessful in the same elections. On the two occassions outside of conference that I have seen John in action this year he has seemed to be right on form and looking forward ...
What is it with the Lib Dems and celebrities these days? Yesterday, Daniel Radcliffe came out of the closet as a Lib Dem, while today The Guardian reveals all about Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb's collaboration with hot, new rapping superstar Tinchy Stryder: Twenty-two- year-old Kwasi Danquah - better known to his increasingly agitated female admirers as Tinchy Stryder - is Britain's hottest new rapper, whose two most recent singles, Take Me Back and Number 1, reached number three and, appropriately enough, number one in the charts. He offers a noncommittal wave and nod in their direction, then returns his ...
A good friend of 'Liberal Bureaucracy', John Barrett, the Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, has announced that he will be standing down at the next election, after nine years of dedicated service to his electors. Here, in his own words, he explains the background to his decision. I have to admit to a touch of regret at the news, as he's one of the nicest guys I know, and a bloody good MP too. However, he's made a decision that is good for him, good for his family, and perhaps he reminds us that MPs are human too. Party ...
Rarely is so much rubbish written by Lib Dem bloggers than after an entirely normal by-election result. 'Rennardism is dead', 'leafets don't work', 'we should do it by email', 'the Lib Dem by-election machine doesn't work any more', 'we should deliver a pamphlet setting out our principles and detailed policies to each voter and trust them to come to the right decision' (OK, I made that last one up, but you get my drift). I do accept that there some other points of view that have a case. It IS reasonable to question whether the impact of parliamentary by-elections is ...
Having previously highlighted some of the good libel rulings from Justice Eady (here and here), and how rarely his rulings get overturned on appeal, it seems only fair to point out that he's just had a very different experience. As London Lite report of the Richard Desmond vs Tom Bower libel case, which Justice Eady presided over: Three senior [Appeal Court] judges unanimously overturned his decision to exclude the most crucial evidence in a libel trial and described him as "plainly wrong". Lord Justice Hooper went further and on three occasions said that Mr Justice Eady's decision risked "a miscarriage ...
"Was this a poor result for us- yes it was, but everybody lost bar Chloe Smith, and even she cannot go to take her seat until October." Andrew Withers, UK Libertarian Party responding to party achieving 36 votes 0.01% and 11th place in Norwich North by-election more of that at: http://lpuk.blogspot.com/
John Barrett, Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, will be informing Edinburgh West Liberal Democrat members today, 25th July of his intention to step down from parliament at the next election. Over 25 years Mr Barrett has been a Liberal Democrat standard bearer on the west side of Edinburgh, as a Community Councillor and campaigner, on Edinburgh City Council and at Westminster, where he was first elected to parliament in 2001. His majority of 13,600 is now the second largest Liberal Democrat majority in the UK, after Charles Kennedy MP. He was elected to Edinburgh City Council in 1995, was ...
Lots in the news on parking and the unfairness of half the tickets seemingly issued. Quite right too. I have always been a great supporter of parking regulations and proper enforcement - when the purpose is safety, traffic flow, helping businesses by providing a steady flow of parking spaces through the day (i.e. by stopping people taking up a space all day) and so on - but above all where those plans are suitable for the local circumstances and have been properly consulted on. It is difficult to be a supporter, however, as the reality on the ground is so ...
Cross-posted from Liberal Conspiracy: Grrrrrrrrr - so cross listening to the radio on Wednesday morning with Andrew Pierce of the Telegraph opining on MPs going off on '82 days' holiday. Holiday? My backside! If he thinks not being in Parliament equals being on holiday, then I trust he applies the same standards to himself - and any time he spends outside of the Telegraph offices he counts as holiday too! The truth is that for both MPs and journalists the job can and should involve more than being in the main office. Getting out and meeting people, for example, is ...
Irfan Ahmed seems to have developed either a paper or newsprint allergy I'm not quite sure which. But he's advocating a whole hearted shift from literature to email and he is right and wrong. He's right of course in that we should be living up to our environmental credentials and moving away from the amount of paper we want to use. He is also right in that the electronic age is upon us and we should be using more use of website and email shots etc. He's wrong in that there is no directory of everyone's email, whereas we do ...
The premises license application for 89-91 Livery Street has been thrown out by Birmingham City Council. I wrote to residents last month informing them of the application as I was not happy with the signage advertising the application. A large number responded to the Council which led to the application being refused on the grounds of public nuisance. Environmental Health also raised concerns on the impact of the Youth Hostel next door. {Livery Street}
On the face of it; after Norwich North and everything that has happened this would seem an odd headline. 'Senior Labour MP's blast Brown' opines the BBC but in reality the people mentioned are established critics of Brown are well established in the role so their view is hardly shocking news. This is not to [...]
A couple of months ago there was, if I remember correectly, a small political spat about MPs' expenses. Voters up and down the country quite rightly demanded change and polls suggested there was enthusiam not just for fixing the expenses issue but also wider reform of the system. So how might voters actually achieve that? One way would be to leave it to the politicians. Sure, they're the problem and of course we moan about them all the time, but they know what they're doing - they'll sort it all out. Or voters could turn to a party like the ...
Sat 25th
11:34
Searching behind the sofa cushions won't balance the books... time for a little intolerance, perhaps...
Amongst Liberal Democrats, the debate about where to cut, and where to invest, is a knotty one. Social liberals take the stance that now is an opportunity to invest, as a means of driving economic growth and repairing sorely neglected public infrastructure. Economic liberals see this as an opportunity to withdraw the state from significant areas of activity. And yet, I find myself torn. I'm a small state kind of person, who believes that government is there to enable, to hold the ring if you like, balancing the tensions of the market and the public interest (whatever that is). Ironic ...
I received a little missive through the local community mailing list today reminding members of the notice they had received to the effect that Oxford City Council will no longer, as from 3rd August, collect any extra bin bags left with your wheelie bins or wheelie bins whose lids won't close because of the volume of the contents, and that you will receive an £80 fine for not complying, and reminding you of the "rules of collection" like that you bin must be in a specific place by 7am on bin day and not before 6pm the night before and ...
Iain Dale has blogged about how 5000 of his readers are Cokeheads and for the record the 5000 doesn't include me because firstly I didn't take part in the survey and secondly because I don't do illegal drugs. A commenter on Iain Dale's blog sums up everything that I have to say and the comment is as followed: To enjoy your site, you need to be smacked out your head on Coke.
I'm puzzled about how swine flu figures are being arrived at. Quite sensibly people who may have swine flu are being discouraged from going to GP surgeries. They are being diagnosed by non-medical people over the phone. Fair enough, medical people are needed to treat the sick. But then we are being given statistics about the increase in numbers. I don't see how these figures are being arrived at. Going by the number who have already contacted flu phone numbers/internet links there has been an exponential increase this week. However I think a great many of them are the "worried ...
So Norwich North elects the youngest MP into Parliament and the BBC get the party she represents wrong. Mike Rouse has a blog post in which he provides a screen print to a caption of Chloe Smith's picture which calls her a Labour party MP! The BBC is funded by the tax payer and for the service they provide I don't think they are doing a great job. Now I make mistakes, everyone makes a mistake that's not the problem but people who are paid not to make mistakes are making them and that's just not acceptable. The BBC employs ...
My thoughts are very mixed. On the one hand we managed to steer clear of 4th place and the UKIP/Independent meme. I wonder what the balance was between doorstep and leaflets? I have reached a few conclusions: 1. The age of Rennard is dead in its philosophy – throw enough literature at a place and it provides [...]
Interesting...
Today is the day that the general classification will finally be settled in this year's Tour de France and for the 8th time in Tour history it will act as a mountain top finish. The roll of honour to win on the summit reads like a history of worthy post war recipients. 1958 Charley Gaul Luxemborg Individual Time Trail (Champion 1958, King of the Mountains 1955, 56 ) 1965 Raymond Poulidor France (8 times on podium 3 times each behind Anquetil and Merckx)1970 Eddie Merckx Belgium (5 Time Champion 1969-72, 74)1972 Bernard Thévenet France (Champion 1975, 77)1987 Jean-François Bernard Individual ...
Let's get the obvious out of the way first: if you fight a by-election in which both your total number of votes, and your percentage of votes cast, declines since the previous general election then the result is disappointing. There, I've said it, disappointing. Now let's look a bit harder, and try and work out what's going on, addressing directly the three questions: 1) should we have done better, 2) is our campaigning stuck in a rut, and 3) is the leadership to blame? 1) Should we have done better? The verdict that we should have done better - at ...
So any one who wishes to really debate the issues and want some real answers lets go for it. Lets throw out the Political correctness it's time for honest answers.
You may not have lived through what Thatcher gave this country. But i suggest you read up, ask why the Tories have been in the wilderness for so long.Ask the people who could not find work.They will never change, you have before you something that the other parties are short of including my own. A Smart suited [...]
In a week when the Defence Minister came to Wales and predicted that more British troops will die in Afghanistan the words of a former defence chief must carry additional weight. Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank, who is still Colonel Commandant of the SAS, has contradicted assertions by Lord Mandelson and Alistair Darling about the resourcing of British forces. He said that senior Cabinet ministers have let down the troops, misled the public and fought the war in Afghanistan in a "penny-pinching" way and added for good measure that Sir Richard Dannatt, the outgoing Army head, was "at the end of ...
Sat 25th
10:16Conservatives may need emergency budget after poll.Of course they will and we all no what that means
Conservatives may be forced to stage an emergency budget to calm markets and prevent Public spending will be a key battleground of the next election, with the Conservatives accusing Labour of ignoring reality by pledging to continue to spend. Hammond, who as "shadow" chief secretary to the Treasury is likely to be the man who would [...]
Sat 25th
10:04Martin Bell 'considering challenge to Blears' So when will he throw in his hat i expect it soon any ...
Martin Bell, the sleaze battling former independent MP, could challenge Hazel Blears in her Salford constituency at the next general election. The former journalist spoke of the move amid continuing anger about the communities secretary's failure to pay capital gains tax on the sale of her London flat which resulted in her repaying over £13,000. He told [...]
The Top Gear presenter really dislikes the Prime Minister doesn't he? Perhaps, when the General Election is called the BBC should ask him to carry out a series of interviews with the party leaders. It would certainly make for good entertainment and might even get people interested in politics again.
We are lucky to have what i believe one of the best within Swinton South. The problem is i do not feel the team have the resources to cope with demand. And put under pressure areas will suffer. i have grave concerns that true neighborhood working needs residents to be fully involved working in groups, having the ability to pressure councils [...]
What ever way i have turned over this issue i have come up against a brick wall.I have been critical over the inactions of the council. But yesterday i met with one of the councils solicitors and read a number of papers relevant to this issue i think i can state they have been working hard [...]
Just when you thought that the public sector had learnt its lesson about the correct storage and encryption of data another story hits the headlines. This time it is Neath Port Talbot Council, long held up by Labour politicians as an example of a high-performing local authority despite a number of issues that show that it is as vulnerable as any other council to mistakes and inefficiency. They are one of the few Labour run Councils left in Wales and have one of the highest Council Tax rates. If every Council asked their citizens to pay what Neath Port Talbot ...
Cross-posted from the Mandate blog: Levels of financial success and social media engagement go hand in hand for the world's top 100 brands according to a new report from ENGAGEMENT db: Financial performance correlates with engagement. Companies that are both deeply and widely engaged in social media significantly surpass their peers in both revenues and profits. For example, the study found that "Mavens" [the most engaged in social media] typically enjoyed revenue growth of 18% on average over the last 12 months, while Wallflowers [the least engaged] saw revenues fall 6%. (Quote from Marketing Charts) Correlation doesn't equal causation of ...
As I mentioned last week I am changing the format of these weekly roundups to include both Lib Dem and non-Lib Dem blog posts I have enjoyed throughout the week (and also some non-blog stuff on occasion). As before I will try to do at least one for each day: Saturday 18th July A rallying cry from Daniel Furr writing on Liberal Democrat Voice for liberals to embrace republicanism. Hear hear! Costigan Quist said that Labour's so called constitutional reform package is minor tinkering, if that. Hear hear x2! Sunday 19th July That Costigan chap again talking immense sense on ...
Two years ago Oleander Press republished The Night Climbers of Cambridge. The company's website describes it as follows: The Night Climbers of Cambridge was first published in October 1937 with a second edition rapidly following in November of the same year. Reprinted in 1952, the book has since been unavailable and has built up a cult following with copies of either edition becoming increasingly rare.Authored under the pseudonym Whipplesnaith it recounts the courageous (or foolhardy) nocturnal exploits of a group of students climbing the ancient university and town buildings of Cambridge.These daring stegophilic feats, including such heights as the Fitzwilliam ...
I don't think leaflets win elections it's that simple because I believe most people don't read them and for that reason I have an alternative to leaflets which is emails. Emails are great, thousands of people in every constituency have one and near enough every house hold has one in most constituencies, that's why I think we need to shift towards emails as a source to get our message to the general public. My look at the whole issue is that emails with links to videos of Vlogs and news stories is a better way of getting news to the ...
Despite their vote falling compared to 2005, the Tories won a good by-election victory in Norwich North. For Cameron, the result is very much in line with national opinion polls: it's good, and it's probably enough, but it isn't 1990s New Labour. Winning less than 40% of the vote suggests that the Conservatives aren't yet sweeping all before them. Where the minor party votes go to in the General Election could yet be critical in deciding the next government. Whatever people may say, the result really doesn't say much about Labour's General Election prospects. Governments have in the past lost ...
Liberal England is currently running a quiz with a copy of James Hogg's biography of James Robertson Justice as a prize. The questions are here and the quiz closes at 23:59 on Monday 27 July 2009. Motorbar.com says of the book:With a complete Filmography and eight pages of colour photographs and with black-and-white photographs throughout, James Robertson Justice: "What's the Bleeding Time?" is a superb biography that cele-brates the secret life and glittering career of one of British cinema's most recognisable personalities. As Ken Annakin says, in his Afterword:"...this book is a fine tribute".Through detailed research and original interviews this ...
After a truly horrible week (more of which later), I'm feeling human enough to write a little bit. I'm all excited about the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend. My beloved Brawn boys have had some fairly ugly modifications to their car, but, frankly it's not a beauty contest - all I really care about is that it makes it go faster. What's done for the Brawns, and allowed those pesky Red Bulls to get their claws into the championship, has been a combination of cold weather and circuits which don't require huge amounts of braking. Consequently, they couldn't get enough ...
Welcome to the weekend edition of our LDV feature, rounding up some of the best/worst/most curious political videos doing the rounds. What could be more approrpiate today than to take the theme of by-elections? First up, let's cast our minds back some 47 years: to Orpington, scene of perhaps the most famous Liberal by-election victory of all, when Eric Lubbock was elected the Liberal party's sixth MP: And now a slight change of tack – BBC2's Mock The Week's take on 'Bad Things For a By-Election Candidate to Say': And finally for today, why not end on an upbeat note, ...
A recent poll by PoliticsHome, shows how Cameron is not trusted by the majority of polled to implement his planned reforms as radically as he makes out. Hopefully, with the news of a Channel 4 documentary to be shortly aired showing several Tory cabinet members' (including Cameron) time in the Bullingdon dinning club at Oxford, this may be a sign that people are starting to see through the Cameron charm. Disappointingly but expected, the Tories won the by election in Norwich North, but if looked at closely, they failed to gain a convincing victory in terms of increasing the number ...
One of my first blog posts was on the loss of Joe Steele's the butchers in Hampstead village and so I was it passing the other week and thought I would capture the 'now'. The building has great charm and simple decor and there is something quite special about the early Edwardian shop front and internal decor of butchers, fishmongers and the like. Flask Walk remains one of the nicest features of the local area - if you haven't been then get yourself over to Hampstead for that early saturday morning walk and stroll... The preservation of the shop front ...
Tuition fees - this issue appears again and again like a nightmare. Even though the problem of tuition fees may not affect everyone in Britain it is still a burning issue for many young Britons and young foreigners who come to the UK to gain education. A couple a days ago I talked to a friend of mine - a young English girl who has just graduated from Essex University. After three years she has ended up not only with her degree but also with a huge debt of nine thousand pounds. I am a student myself, fortunately in Wales ...
National Parks are a special purpose local authority. They are responsible to the Assembly in Wales and DEFRA in England. In Wales the committees of the three National Parks (The Brecon Beacons, Pembrokeshire Coast and Snowdonia) comprise of two thirds appointed by the local unitary authority and one third appointed by the Welsh Assembly Government. In England a number of parish councillors are also appointed to the committee. There has been an argument that the committees, which have powers to take planning decisions, determine rights of way and maintain and protect the natural beauty of the areas the Parks are ...
Just as in his infinate wisdom Nick Clegg has decided that in his eyes our commitment to axe tuition fees should be an 'aspiration' this report in The Times highlights the poverty of such a position when it comes to our commitment to equality of opportunity: University and student leaders have accused the Government of reneging [...]
I am getting properly into this growing your own lark. The thing is that normal people, when drunk, go look at porn or cars or something. I have spent the last hour and a bit on various gardening websites. Why did nobody tell me I would become so obsessed? The frustrating thing is that I will have to wait for next year to do a lot of what I want to do. But I can get prepared! I want one of these! And a couple of these. And two or three of these, too. I might only have a tiny ...
I am sure my readers all know who Tinchy Stryder is, but I had better point out that Norman Lamb is the Lib Dem MP for North Norfolk. Anyway, there is an article about their unlikely collaboration in this morning's Guardian: Lamb ... is not the first parliamentarian to invite a rapper to the Commons, nor is he the first MP to express an opinion about British hip-hop: there was the former culture secretary, Kim Howells, who derided the briefly popular but trouble-prone So Solid Crew as "idiot macho rappers", while David Cameron managed to get himself embroiled in a ...
There must be something wrong when Berlusconi, the sex mad Italian Prime Minister, is called a Feminist. Believe it or not, Peter Popham in his article around the recent sex allegations regarding Berlusconi, does just that. Granted, it appears to be tongue in cheek. However, there is still a level of seriousness around the comments. Popham seems to think that Berlusconi is helping lift the women's careers by providing them with opportunities such as in the media empire he controls, or his government. On the contrary, as much the same as too much positive discrimination can act as a patronising ...
Jeff Jarvis (BuzzMachine) reports on plans by the Associated Press to protect article titles and links to the full content from being repeated elsewhere on the internet. As Clay Shiky re-tweeted it "Someone just sold AP a bag of magic beans"
