I'm a bit concerned that all the clocks in Bloggerdom appear to be running a little fast. As a horologist this is very disconcenting. Now you have until midnight on Fridar to vote. That is 2 days or 2880 minutes from Midnight Wednesday or now. LibDemVoice that the bongs for 10 o'clock tonight left 48 hours but this is of course 50. Norfolk Blogger thought it was the case at 17:49, but when even the Blogmeister Mr Dale himself thought so at 18:48 who can blame the others. But Yes, that's right folks now really it is only 48 hours ...
Keighley's traffic problem really needs some kind of ring road system around the town. This would make it possible to improve traffic flow without sacrificing Park Wood to a so-called "relief road". At the same time, by improving the flow of traffic around the town it would cut down on the temptation to use streets such as Parkwood Street as rat runs. The Keighley Town Council and the Keighley Traffic Advisory Panel are working on ideas to solve the problems. Bradford Councillors, including their leader Kris Hopkins (who is Conservative parliamentary candidate for Keighley), are saying nothing. Well of course ...
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Here.
Tomorrow it will be two weeks since my last posting, mainly because I've been down with swine flu for the last four days, feeling totally exhausted and with a temperature though not a high one as some people have experienced. We were to have been staying with Richard and Oriel in Norfolk and then going on to Lynn for the Hanse festival but have had to cancel the whole trip. Today I was better, still with a bit of temperature, but have spent some of the day trying to keep pace with the flood of emails. One very good piece ...
The Croydonian has been running selections from the Hansard of 100 years ago. His latest trawl covers Dreadnoughts, Crete and condensed milk. If you like that sort of thing, try the wit and wisdom of J.W. Logan from 1896 too.
In one of my much mourned (by me at least) columns for the New Statesman website I wrote that in a just world Nicholas Whittaker's Platform Souls would have done for trainspotting what Fever Pitch did for football. The book was also a strong influence on Professor Strange when he gave his thoughts on trainspotting and autism. I have just discovered that the whole of Platform Souls is available on the web, so you can enjoy it for yourself: In December 1994 a man found guilty of stealing rare bird eggs was described by the prosecution as a kind of ...
Was in Stockport having my hair cut and he asked me whether or not I was from Portugal or Spain! I asked him `where did his family come from` and he said `Northern Iraq Kurdistan`! This is in Stockport! I may return as I'd love to travel to Sulameinayeh. Perhaps get some contacts as he flies [...]
{Click here to vote in the Total Politics Best Blogs Poll 2009} Yes, that's right folks, you have until midnight this Friday to cast your votes in the Total Politics poll of Top 10 favourite blogs. This year, the poll is being co-promoted by Lib Dem Voice, LabourList and Iain Dale's Diary. For full details and rules, please see our previous LDV posting. Then email your Top Ten Favourite Blogs to toptenblogs - toptenblogs.hat.totalpolitics.com.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one)
So, Peter Mandelson hints that Gordon Brown will participate in an Leaders TV debate at the forthcoming General Election (I still think it will be in October). Gordon Brown's Downing Street spokesman slaps that down and says no way. So Cameron then writes to Brown to clarify; "I am writing to ask you to clarify the Government's position on the issue of a television debate between the leaders of the main political parties. Five months ago, when I challenged you at Prime Minister's Questions to a televised studio debate, you refused. This morning, Lord Mandelson said you were open to ...
In Lord Bonkers' first ever Diary - or at least the first he dictated to me - there was the following entry: SaturdayA quiet day at home dusting my library and worming the setters. My visit to Southport has led me to ponder the benefits that tourism can bring to a town. If all we hear of global warming and the threat to the ozone layer is true (although I have to say that we managed very well without one in my day, and who is to say that we were any the less happy for it?), soon much of ...
I have finally started to write my first ever crossover story. "Harry Potter and the Charmed Trithor", is set in the worlds of Harry Potter (of course, lol) and Charmed. It starts off during the Summer of the second year, with flashbacks to the first. There are two main focuses to this story, the first being the relationship between Harry Potter and Rachel Halliwell; of how their soul-bond grows and develops over their years at Hogwarts together. The secondary story revolves around the Thorson triplets, who are characters from my own world that I am creating. They are part of ...
Binky and Boo was a 1988 animated short directed by Derek Hayes (the same guy who did the rather spooky "Skywhales") . I've not yet found a copy of it on the Internet anywhere, but I did find a brief reference to the film in a Google scan of an animation text-book. It's the life story of a music-hall double-act at the end of their clowning careers: I seem to remember that the animation presents a sort of potted biography of the clown's lives in the form of scenes from their painful lives as remembered from Binky's scra-book. I saw ...
In a BBC article today, there are concerns about the gender pay gap's increase from 21.9% to 22.6% (Fawcett Society have it at 17%), but is important to recognise that these concerns have been around for at least 40 years. Whilst it is important to address the pay gap, acknowledge the report and that the government do have some useful ideas of how to tackle the gap, there has to be a recognition of the historical context of the occupations women are more likely to do, which the Fawcett Society highlight. Many women choose to do the so called 'five ...
Shane Greer wrote a piece yesterday entitled "Life isn't fair - deal with it" in which he explains how from a humble background, he fought against the odds through determination and grit to get to his current position as a barrister and more recently to be involved with politics and publishing. I have great admiration for anybody who is able to overcome disadvantageous circumstances and to triump over adversity in this way. However, the jist of the rest of Shane's article is that people should not rely on the state for answers and should instead rely on themselves. He says ...
Here are the facts, as reported by The Guardian based on this research by housing charity Shelter: More than one million children in England now live in overcrowded homes, a rise of 54,000 in the last two years, a charity warned today. New figures released by Shelter highlight the record number of under-15-year-olds living in cramped conditions, with one in 10 children in overcrowded housing. The figures, calculated from the government's annual Survey of English Housing, reveal the problem is particularly acute in London and among those living in social housing. One in five (331,000) children in London and one ...
It has not been the greatest day for the leader of the opposition; he admitted that the electorate still needed alot of convincing to elect a Conservative government, slipped-up saying the British public was 'pissed-off' and vowed never to make a t*** out of himself by Tweeting. Irony is truly a wonderful thing especially in [...]
Being involved in scrutiny can involve long hours, hard work and is not something that will ever get you rich. It can have a very positive impact on people's lives though. And I'm talking in particular on the lives of people who for whatever reason are not able to speak out on issues that affect them - for example, children. This was brought to my mind again today with social work and child protection back in the news both locally and nationally. Locally, because a new independent chair of the Local Children's Safeguarding Board has been appointed. I wish Stephen Barber, the new Chair ...
For the second year running I'm asking Iain Dale of the Total Politics Blog awards and the organisers of the LibDem Blog awards to exclude this blog from consideration. I am delighted for people who find these awards fun. I don't. I blog for fun, I don't blog to not win awards. I find the whole apparatus of Blog awards completely odious. Blogging, for some reason, is the most overly awarded endeavour in the entire field of human activity. There's a whole tedious awards season which seems to last six months of the year. It's quite pathetic given the titchy ...
Thought I'd pitch in with my thoughts on the troubled Equality and Human Rights Commission. I remember being on the London board of the original Commission for Racial Equality when this new all singing, all dancing Equality Commission was first mooted. All the race bodies and leaders of different groups in the community were against it - including Trevor Phillips. The leaders of the other commissions (women and disability) were all against it - as they all appeared to resent to some degree (and not surprisingly) giving up their leadership positions and becoming commissioners under someone else - particularly when ...
Over at The Guardian's Comment Is Free's 'A New Politics' strand Lib Dem blogger James Graham argues that if Gordon Brown is serious about electoral reform Lib Dems should support him – but we must be wary of any proposed referendum. Here's an excerpt: Moving to the alternative vote system might be an improvement but it is a baby step, hardly worth having a referendum over at all. Even the Jenkins-designed alternative vote plus is not without its problems. Developed 10 years ago in a failed attempt to appease Tony Blair, it is a classic example of triangulation politics. As ...
Iain Dale's top ten blogs has just 48 hours until the polls close. If you want to vote, Click HERE to link to Iain's site and from there you can find the link to vote.
It is interesting that David Cameron hams it up to try to please particular audiences. It so transparently contrived. Just after elected Tory leader, he appeared on a London community radio station for the "young". When asked to give a message to the audience he said "Keep it real". Come off it. This man was brought up amidst antique family furntiure in one of the poshest parts of Berkhire -Leckhamsptead. I've been there several times. "Keep it real" is not a phrase you hear in the Stag pub there. "Yah", "Ew" and "Tally Ho" you might hear. "Keep it real" ...
In the wake of the expenses scandal, there were a number of people putting their names forward or had others putting their names forward as strong independent candidates who would work to kick out those who have abused the system. Amongst this group was Esther Rantzen. Ms Rantzen said that if Margaret Moran , the Labour MP for Luton South, did not stand down, she would stand against her. All well and good. After all, if Ms Rantzen is dedicated to cleaning up politics she would be a formidable opponents of anyone who had abused the system. The problem is ...
I have recently spoken to a Labour MP and have discussed the outcome of the general election, the MP agrees with my view that Labour will do better then they are currently being predicted to achieve. We also spoke about what Nick Clegg would do if Parliament was hung and Labour had more seats then the Tories and here is my verdict... If Nick Clegg, supports the Tories then he will lose the support of the left of the party including myself, many PPC's who could at the time be MP's among many other high profile Lib Dems. But if ...
Is it just me or were the use by David Cameron of a couple of "naughty" words not entirely a mistake? I mean, he is a practiced PR man and the result of this so-called "blunder" has been wall-to-wall positive coverage of Cameron being a normal bloke who your man on the Clapham omnibus can relate to and also no doubt increased online views of his interview. I bet if Nick Clegg said something similar the media wouldn't notice...
I wasn't tempted, but new Conservative councillor Alan Dobbie might want to pick up this book bargain I spotted on Saturday. It's for sale in Alan's own patch, in one of the pound shops in the High Road, Wood Green (Poundland, I think). It seems there's still work to be done to tempt the voters in Wood Green.
I've written a new piece on Comment is Free about the prospects of electoral reform. The gist: The one thing Labour can't afford is to have the Lib Dems on the other side of a referendum on electoral reform. With that in mind, Clegg should be hardening the Lib Dem line on electoral reform. Incremental change is simply not good enough at this time of political crisis; if Clegg doesn't wish to become Brown's patsy, he needs to get used to saying so. The "pragmatic" line of going along with AV or AV+ on the basis that it would be ...
Bath & North East Somerset Council has announced that a special commemorative brass plaque to celebrate the life of Harry Patch and his dedication to his country will be placed at the Guildhall in Bath. Harry was the last British soldier from the First World War. He was born in Combe Down, Bath, in 1898 and died on July 25 aged 111. The council was honoured to...
Lembit Opik, the man I supported in the Lib Dem Presidential election has done it again and has got himself a women that any guy would love to get a hold off! Lembit Opik is according to reports now seeing Katie Green who he recently launched a campaign with. Clearly, Lembit can't argue he is a hard working MP especially with Katie around his arm! Lembit will always be Lembit...
Ok, I want to know who Stephen's mole in Ferrari is, but it turns out he called it right. Michael Schumacher is indeed going to replace the injured Felipe Massa at the European Grand Prix in Valencia. In a way I'm annoyed at them for announcing it so far in advance - I'm not sure I can bear to wait 23 days to see him in action! One of the first posts I made on this blog was the day Schumi retired. He's such a special talent that even if the car isn't up to much, it'll be so exciting ...
Conservative leader David Cameron dropped a couple of clangers this morning on Christian O'Connell's Absolute Radio morning slot. When asked if he used Twitter, the rather course reply was "The trouble with Twitter, the instantness of it too many tweets might make a twat." What's interesting is just before he made that rather forgetable faux-pais, he commented that "politicians do have to think about what we say" - therefore, what an odd phrase to use immediately after! While not the worst language I have ever heard first thing in the morning, it's something that the person who wants to be ...
As I create artwork for leaflets, posters and flyers, I would like to share my work with readers. I shall create a Label, and shall update it with all my work from my portfolio. Starting with a business card that I designed in about 5 minutes! Update: I have been asked to blank out personal information and will do on all other work that I shall share on the website.
Matthew Sowemimo, Director of the Social Liberal Forum, has written a new opinion piece on Liberal Democrat Voice arguing for the party not to be timid in the way it presents its agenda: The party's pre-election manifesto - A Fresh Start for Britain - is based around strong themes and ones that have the potential to give Liberal Democrats the distinctive profile we need in 2010. The outline democracy, green economy and fair taxation agenda is something that will be welcomed across the party. However the impression is being given that many of the spending commitments debated, and scrutinized within ...
This is a question that runs through the heads of everyone and anyone, who runs for Parliament. Many PPC's think about this before standing for Parliament, whilst standing for Parliament or just after getting elected. I am going to express my thoughts on the issue, in this blog post. First of all, I think it all depends on the constituency, using Pendle as an example I shall continue with the post. The people of Pendle expect an MP who has a constituency office, which is accessible 9-5 5 days a week. They don't care if an MP has a Westminster ...
A lot of my Lib Dem friends got rather excited by the news leaked last week that Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe admitted to Attitude magazine's Youth edition that he was most likely going to vote Lib Dem at the next election. For those of you who were holed up under the stairs at Privet Drive here is what he said: "I actually rather like Nick Clegg. But ya know, cat's chance in hell. At the next election I will almost certainly vote Lib Dem. If all the people who liked them voted for them you could change politics overnight ...
Last year I blogged about 13 year old Hannah Jones, who had chosen to reject possibly life-saving treatment to enjoy what life she had left. Hannah was left suffering from a terminal heart condition as a result of chemotherapy to treat a rare form of leukaemia, and a transplant was her only chance for long-term survival Hannah [...]
I am not going to be able to blog or check the blog for a short while. Apologies.
At a Federal Policy Committee meeting earlier this year I argued that the Lib Dems had a responsibility to talk about the threat to the environment from the growth in the world's population (which has more than quadrupled since 1900), and I mentioned in support that Sir David Attenborough had talked about this issue. To my surprise, I was denounced by another committee member for (allegedly) dragging Sir David into politics. So even though the denunciation was twaddle, in that environmental science is not politics, and someone of Sir David's national treasure status is way above politics, I won't drag ...
The party's pre-election manifesto – A Fresh Start for Britain – is based around strong themes and ones that have the potential to give Liberal Democrats the distinctive profile we need in 2010. The outline democracy, green economy and fair taxation agenda is something that will be welcomed across the party. However the impression is being given that many of the spending commitments debated, and scrutinized within the party over a period of years are being indefinitely effectively set aside as 'aspirational'. The language that has been reported in the media about key commitments, like widening access to university by ...
There now seems to be a dominant discourse in British Politics that wants to see the rebalancing of power from central to local control. However, this discourse has a central theme of contradiction running through it, which sees a disjuncture between rhetoric and policies regarding localisation. It is true to say that, the Tories do fair the worst in regards to this contradiction, however, all three parties have examples of this inconsistency within the discourse. The Tories have a low level of democratic decision making in terms of their policy ideas, with their polices being largely determined by think tanks ...
One of the first decisions made by the LibDems when we took over Milton Keynes Council in 2002 was to support the development of an 'extracare' retirement village - an alternative to the traditional 'care homes' for older people. Now this very development is the centrepiece of a six-part BBC TV programme 'Silverville', the first episode going out on Wednesday 29 July at 10.45pm on BBC ONE Have a look and decide whether you think this kind of 'retirement village' is what we should be encouraging more generally in the UK. Were we right to back this initiative? The programme ...
The Western Morning News is reporting that London Mayor Boris Johnson is asking the Government to give him a greater share of cash to build affordable homes - saying that London has bigger problems and so deserves the lion's share of the funding. Counties that would lose out if Boris had his way would include Cornwall and Devon. I see no problem with Boris arguing the case for London - that is his job. But the dilemma comes for the Conservative Party nationally. If they are to be the Government after next year's election, would they accede to Boris' call ...
Carol Caruana becomes the first Liberal Democrat to be elected to the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. In a political earthquake, Carol won more votes than the Conservatives and Labour combined. Kensington & Chelsea council had been a 'two party state' for far longer than the modern Liberal Democrat party has existed. That all changed on Wednesday 22 July...
Today the Labour government launched the 'Future Jobs Fund' : £1bn of public money which is set to 'create' 150,000 jobs. "We are determined not to lose a generation of talent because of the recession," said work and pensions secretary, Yvette Cooper MP, announcing the scheme. Sounds great, doesn't it. Except that it isn't - particularly if you are a young person looking for work in Reading. This cash will be a drop in the ocean when as figures released in June showed there were 900,000 people aged 18-24 out of work, a rate of 16.6%. This is the highest youth unemployment has been for 15 ...
De facto Deputy Prime Minister Lord (Peter) Mandelson has hinted that his boss might be ready to debate Nick Clegg and David Cameron in the run-up to the general election. The London Evening Standard has the story: In an exclusive interview, the Prime Minister's most powerful ally suggested that Mr Brown would become the first incumbent of No10 to agree to the idea. "I don't think Gordon would have a problem with that," he said. "While Cameron is good with words, he doesn't have the ideas or policies to back them. I think people would see through the smile. "The ...
Political Betting has the story; the media has launched a campaign to make Mandelson the leader of the Labour party leading to the general election. This is something that I wrote about in June, but I don't think anyone took it too seriously at the time, maybe they will change their minds about the topic? Political Betting also writes about how Mandelson has been quoted saying it is "exceptionally unlikely" that Brown will lead Labour into the general election. Now I for one, am not a Mandelson fan, due to the number of resignations by the man. I would rather ...
{Click here to vote in the Total Politics Best Blogs Poll 2009} Alright, so the whole things is redolent of a convention of crack whores but... yes, it's time once again for the 'Total Politics' Best Blogs Poll, where a bunch of desperately sad people, craving recognition and stature, prostitute ourselves in search of votes. You'll note that use of the word 'ourselves' there... However, I'm not actually going to ask for your vote this year, although if you have already voted and included me in your top ten, you are most kind and the cheque will be in the ...
Do you receive health or social care in South Glos? Do you want to help make the services better? Then why not join the LINk (Local Improvement Network)? The next meeting is taking place in Westerleigh village hall on Monday 3rd August from 2pm to 4pm. There will be a short talk from the Independent Complaints and Advocacy Service. For more information ring Sarah Booker on 0117 9589351 or 0117 9589349.
{David Nikel and Cllr Roger Harmer} The Selly Oak and Edgbaston Liberal Democrats have selected Birmingham Councillor Roger Harmer to fight the Parliamentary seat of Birmingham Edgbaston at the next General Election. Roger represents Acocks Green ward and has been a Councillor for 14 years. Birmingham Edgbaston is made up of four wards, Edgbaston, Quinton, Bartley Green and Harborne, covering much of the south-west of the city stretching from the fringes of the city centre right out to the Worcestershire border. It shares a large border with the Ladywood constituency around the Rotton Park, Hagley Road, Five Ways and Attwood ...
Lord Mandelson has 'all but committed' Gordon Brown to facing a 'head-to-head' debate with David Cameron according to The Times. I think it would be fair of Liberal Democrats at this point to protest 'well where is Nick Clegg?' Commanding the third largest group of MP's in Westminster surely should entitle you to representation at [...]
...diligently covering the Obama administrations efforts to create peace in the Middle East. Though it seems something is not quite right in this picture... hmmm. A wry smile for those who can see it.
Wed 29th
13:21
Birmingham Councillor Ayoub Khan fails to overturn ruling in smear case - Birmingham Evening Mail
Birmingham Councillor Ayoub Khan fails to overturn ruling in smear case
How many times have the Tories accused the Lib Dems of dragging politics into the gutter? I have to say, there are times when I agree with them. But Tory candidate, Leah Fraser, has taken negative campaigning to a new level by taking out a full page advert on the expense claims of her opponent, Labour MP Angela Eagle. Is this the start of a wider Tory campaign? I fear the next election could be one of the nastiest elections ever fought. I don't think we've seen the last of this and I'm sure there are Lib Dem candidates probably ...
The ongoing media fuss over Ronnie Biggs being in intensive care in Norwich is certainly filling some news gaps locally and nationally in what is usually referred to as the silly season, but it does serve to highlight that elements of our justice system do work. Firstly, I have every sympathy with his family who must be going through a very difficult time at the moment. I can understand why they are arguing so strenuously for his release, but sadly i completely disagree with them. Biggs family argue that as an elderly ill man he represents no risk of re ...
Lembit Opik is back in the headlines, this time for pulling the wonderbra bird, 21 year old Katie Green. I have to say good on you boy. But, I just don't get it. Can someone explain it to me? Yours, a very jealous Cobden
Liberty Street, London SW9, is an enviable address with a suitably distinctive street sign. Unusually for London, the sign features The Village Font, (a derivative of Albertus™) which was used in the 1960s TV drama The Prisoner. Bonus font fact: Liberty Street is just around the corner from the Type Museum in Hackford Street. Tantalisingly, the museum is not open to the public at present. As with the Village in the Prisoner series, I'd like to know what one has to do to end up inside... Posted via email from Helen Duffett's posterous
At least according to a post on a strange conservative website from several years ago. My attention, since you're wondering, was drawn to this by a friend of a friend, who I had the pleasure of having a friendly disagreement with at the pub the other week (regarding passports and the ID database - he supports both, combined). On the article, he said: "Personally I think that there is a lot of junk and assumptions in this article, but it does highlight a few 'minor' flaws in your ideological system..." Personally, I don't even know where to start with this, ...
I've always been a keen supporter of animal welfare. As an eight year, my idea of a fun day out was to visit the Ada Cole Memorial Stables near Nazeing. I grew up to be an active member of organisations including the League Against Cruel Sports and I was delighted when the Hunting ban was passed, [...]
A quick flick over to the BBC's website and I see this handsome headline on the politics page: "Election not in bag, says Cameron" It's a curious thing, being certain to win. Cameron has to avoid looking triumphalist, smug, or complacent, otherwise winning might not be quite so certain. He's also got to keep his supporters and voters eager to vote - something put at risk by a foregone conclusion. This is straight out of Tony Blair's Election Playbook, funnily enough. Tony went to enormous lengths to play down expectations running up to elections, to send out the message that ...
I hesitate to offer a review of a graphic novel. This one's seven years old and, if that wasn't bad enough, I'm not even an expert. I read comics from time to time but I don't have the breadth or depth of knowledge of the genre of someone like James Graham, so the chances of me making a fool of myself are high. In my younger days I read 2000AD. Later on I enjoyed a lot of Gaiman's work - Sandman and the like - and Moore, of course, but the whole DC/Marvel superhero thing pretty much passed me by. ...
Digital UK yesterday announced the digital switchover dates for the Dundee area (and the rest of the STV North region) and I was quoted in last night's "Evening Telegraph" welcoming this - but stressing the need for viewers' queries on the switch to digital being fully and promptly addressed and that the Help Scheme for the over 75s and people with disabilities be well publicised. Here's the e-mail update I received yesterday from Digital UK (I have removed transmitter information for areas outwith Tayside) : Dear Colleague, I am writing to let you know that Digital UK is announcing today ...
Plaid Cymru's Parliamentary Candidate for Montgomery has revealed her strategy for the General Election in her latest blog post. It is to forget policy and local issues and attack the sitting MP personally instead. In her post, Ms. Fychan hits out at Lembit Őpik for the fact that he has taken up with a 21 year old model and has joined with Katie Green to conduct a perfectly legitimate campaign on the way that model agencies play on body image and the impact that has on young people. It is a particularly pertinent campaign in the light of the work ...
The Western Mail has an example of the sort of language that led both the Welsh Affairs Select Committee and the Assembly's own Legislation Committee to call time on the drafting of the Environment Legislative Competence Order. The aim of the LCO is to give the Assembly powers to tackle litter and pollution and boost recycling rates but MPs and AMs have been baffled at the complexity of the document, particularly the long list of policy areas explicitly left out of the transfer of powers. There are even exemptions from the exemptions, known by civil servants as "carve-outs": In their ...
My argument for bringing drugs under effective legal control is not a libertarian one. I have never taken drugs and never intend to in the future. Nor do I wish for anyone else to take drugs. My argument comes from my experiences watching television documentaries, weeping as I witness the emotional pain presented, and wanting to do something to prevent such pain happening again. My empathy with the people I see perhaps comes from my own experiences witnessing my brother descend into psychosis three times in my teenage years and the effect this had on my family. While I have ...
So David Cameron is it trouble for using a couple of 'naughty words'. During a live radio interview, the Conservative leader said that he didn't like the immediacy of Twitter, continuing "Too many twits might make a twat." At a later point of the interview, Cameron spoke about the expenses scandal, saying "The public are rightly, [...]
The Met Office claim that they labelled June, July and August as the 'barbecue summer' to help journalists with their headlines. There is no suggestion at all that they might have got their forecasts wrong. If I was them I would get some new spin doctors.
There are many contenders for the "worst Government IT project" crown, but the CORE (Co-ordinated Online Record of Electors) project is a strong contender. Eight years on from me sitting in a meeting being told it would start appearing that autumn, it is still years away from delivery - and has just been put on indefinite hold. In its original guise of LASER (Local Authorities' Secure Electoral Register), and now as CORE, the project promised to make all the electoral registers for the country available from one central location, in a consistent data format. Since 2000 political parties have to ...
A very odd woman was paraded on the BBC this morning as a 'Celebrity' who will be standing for Parliament at the next General Election. She was, apparently, the 'star' of a TV show called That's Life which was on the television when I lived in France and Belgium. From what I can gather about the show emigrating to France was probably not far enough. But now this woman, whose career has made her wealthy from the taxpayer paid TV License fee, sees herself as a champion of the people of Luton South and wants to be their MP - ...
I had a useful and fascinating meeting yesterday in the Welsh Government's Emergency Co-ordination Centre in Cathays Park. The meeting was with the Minister and her officials to get a briefing on swine flu but the attraction was clearly the chance to look around the Government's nerve centre. My one regret is that I did not take photographs though I am not clear whether that activity would have resulted in me being clamped in irons or not. The centre was a bit like a cross between the Grid off Spooks and Churchill's war cabinet room. Plenty of new technology and ...
It was only a matter of time before Twitter was subverted to serve the needs of Government and so it has come to pass. Sir Humphrey however has put his own unique stamp on the social networking site and in doing so has rather missed the point. Neil Williams, head of corporate digital channels in Lord Mandelson's business department, has produced a 20 page, 5,382-word Twitter strategy document which advises departments to spend an hour a day posting between two and ten tweets, each of 140 characters or less. His advice is that messages should be limited to issues of ...
So Esther Rantzen is to stand for Parliament in Luton South. Surprise, surpise - oh no, that's another aging ego-ridden celebrity. Her candidacy may have fulfilled the requirements of five of Kipling's 'six honest serving men', but leaves one of them a long way away - probably having missed the EasyJet flight to the town's [...]
The government has yet to grapple with the challenge posed by the Governor of the Bank of England: that if a bank (or other institution) is too big to fail it is too big. One approach is to make it easier for big institutions to fail. Resolution powers could be put in place such that large and complex financial institutions can be wound down in an orderly manner. The key assets required to continue the operation or provision of the 'public service' would be easily and quickly extractable from the organisations that currently supply the service. Banks would be required ...
My father tells me that the monsoon has been somewhat erratic in India this year, although Mumbai appears to have returned to its usual state for July - wet, with occasional periods of extreme wetness. However, not everywhere has been that fortunate. Bihar, one of the states on the east coast, renown for its poverty, remains dry. So, farmers there have decided to decided to shame the gods into bringing rain by sending their unmarried daughters to plough the fields naked. Apparently, this is thought to be the most trusted social custom in the area, although I'm not convinced the ...
2 Big Stories Kingman steps down from UKFI As the Press Association reports: The company responsible for the taxpayer's stakes in ailing banks saw a leadership shake-up as chief executive John Kingman announced plans to step down. Mr Kingman, who has led UK Financial Investments (UKFI) since it was formed last November, will step down from the £143,000 post in "due course" for a career in the private sector. Lib Dem deputy leader Vince Cable is worried by this upheaval at the very top of UKFI: UKFI is one of Britain's most powerful bodies and these changes at the top ...
We have two planning applications this week to bring to your attention. The first application is for the Division of house to 3no self contained dwellings at 9 Freeview Road Twerton. If you want to view the application or to make any comments then please follow the Link HERE The Second application is for the Erection of a rear extension at 29/30...
Slow off the mark as ever, teekblog follows in the footsteps of Sense about Science, gimpyblog, Le Canard Noir, The Lay Scientist, DC Science and many other publications in 're-printing' Simon Singh's Guardian article on chiropractic from 2008. This version has been edited by the powers that be to remove the content that triggered the British Chiropractic Association's lawsuit against Singh,
Sage words from the Lib Dem shadow chancellor on BBC Newsnight Scotland yesterday: Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable has said large banks such as Lloyds and RBS should be broken up as they pose too great a risk to the taxpayer. ...Mr Cable said it was unhealthy to have banks of that scale.He said they should be split up before they are returned to private ownership.He also criticised the combination of ordinary banking, such as business lending and mortgage payments, and so-called casino banking "These two things should not co-exist in the same institution .... "It is highly unstable. ...
The House of Commons Commission has rejected claims made in this morning's Telegraph that MPs have given themselves a £9,000 expenses deal by "stealth". In a written statement the commission said it was "absolutely not true" that the £25 overnight subsistence allowance was agreed on the sly, and argued that the allowance was approved by [...]
Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Housing , Communities Tuesday 28th July 2009 – 3:31pm A reclusive woman's body was kept at home by her daughter for more than 12 months after she died, an inquest heard today. Doreen Hulme's decomposed body was discovered underneath a duvet in bed at her home in December last year. [...]
Time is running out if you haven't yet voted in the Total Politics poll for 2009. Here is a reminder of the rules: You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and ranks them from 1 (your favourite) to 10 (your tenth favourite).Your votes must be ranked from 1 to 10. Any votes which do not have rankings will not be counted.You MUST include ten blogs. If you include fewer than ten your vote will not count. Email your vote to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com.Only vote once.Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents are eligible or based on UK politics ...
Bust-up over 'Babes' Written by R. E. Brooke Friday, 12 June 2009 13:24 By Rose Brooke A PARLIAMENTARY candidate has declared a holy war on a massage parlour after a bust-up outside a church. Richard Carvath, 33, who intends to stand against Hazel Blears at the next General Election, alleged he was verbally [...]
I could so easily by offended by this. I'll admit that I am by much in the Daily Mail and its fellow tabloids, though years of exposure does inevitably dull the sensation. The article is about the atheist summer camp. The headline gets off to a bad start. "Camp faithless: Is Britain's first atheist summer camp harmless fun or should we be worried?" Or perhaps neither. Perhaps those pesky atheists are doing something a little more than harmless fun, but there's no need to be worried either. Then we have a reference to The God Delusion as 'the atheists Bible'. ...
Are minority parties failing to make the breakthrough and why. Why are parties who should be reaping the benefits not. New Labour are at one of it's lowest points for many years, and what ever spin the Tories gush out in torrents they will never be anything apart from a group of people with one vision, [...]
It may be American Football close season, but this ain't about sport but Livington MP Jim Devine. As if it wasn't bad enough that the MP has claimed phantom shelving and had his flat rewired at public expense from a non-Vat registered electrician, he's not even bothering to do the job his pay and expenses are supposedly supporting. Since he was deselected for the seat earlier this year Devine has only voted 24% of the time. This is a disgrace but not as bad as Margaret Moran who is in Esther Rantzen's sights in Luton South, who after claiming £22,500 ...
Wed 29th
07:16
Are the people of this city getting accurate information in the right format on where to acquire ser...
I have attended a number of meetings this week and numerous issues have come to light . I am disappointed with feedback i have received. Most people i have spoken with seem to have little idea on services they can use . Where to complain to if unsatisfied and very little knowledge of what is really happening [...]
So, what do you think of it so far? Thanks to the herculean efforts of the The Voice's Ryan, we've got a new look and new features. The biggest change on the home page is the introduction of three featured stories at the top, so that the best content can stay prominent for longer without being pushed aside by the latest blog posts. There are also many changes which reflect the declining proportion of our audience who sit at a computer and come to the home page. Whether you view the site on the move (new mobile version), like using ...
Old FlagNew Flag any comments.
This morning as I went out the door I lifted my Livingston scarf and placed it around my neck. It is not cold outside nor is it a football day, but I'm doing it to so that I still support Livingston. The scarf I chose was the one celebrating our winning the CIS Cup in 2004 whilst in administration (pictured). Five years ago when the club first entered administration as will all clubs that face the uncertainty of such times the fans on the terraces started singing "Livi, til I Die", ironically this is to the tune of "I'm H.A.P.P.Y". ...
Following the success of PACT (Police and Communities Together) meetings in Swinton and other areas of the city, Langworthy is to get in on the act. The aim of these PACT meetings is to help the Police better work with the local community in the area and as well as the Police they are attended by local councillors and our neighbourhood manager. Langworthy's first PACT meeting is on Thursday 6th August, at the British Legion Club on Langworthy Road at 6pm. I would urge anyone with crime, environment or other local issues to attend and speak with local officers about ...
Over the week-end I wrote of the death of Harry Patch, it was interesting that he had refused to discuss his war experiences, until about a dozen years back when approached by the BBC for a documentary. He was quoted as saying "if any man tells you he went over the top and he wasn't scared, he's a damn liar". He later said how when faced with a German soldier he remembered the commandment, 'thou shalt not kill', and couldn't kill him and instead, shot him in the shoulder, which made him drop his rifle. But as the German carried ...
The National Work Placement Exhibition comes to the NEC in Birmingham on Thursday 29th October 2009.
