Diamonds Are Forever
This is the second in a series of blog posts addressing political taboos, which are not often talked about in mainstream political discussions. However, some of the barriers of discussion are breaking down around these taboos, which we will address. By Darrell Goodliffe & Jane Watkinson As the blog will show, the two main parties have [...]
This is the second in a series of blog posts addressing political taboos, which are not often talked about in mainstream political discussions. However, some of the barriers of discussion are breaking down around these taboos, which we will address. By Jane Watkinson and Darrell Goodliffe As the blog will show, the two main parties have not helped as much as they should with removing the stigmatisation around mental health issues. However, the Liberal Democrats have been the most open and forefront about mental health, which was partially why we both joined the Liberal Democrats. The media is also to ...
The Evening Gazette did do a story on our "50 years of service", very nicely written up too. I hope it might encourage some more people to put up for Council in the future. I was enjoying being grandma for the day but put in my place in history by 2 events. We used to joke at our mothers commenting on items in museums, saying they remembered using them. However seeing toys my own...
Yes, it's all your favourite 60s classics, right here in one playlist, including... (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction by Manfred Mann. This is an instrumental cover that alternates seemingly at random between a straight fuzzed-up guitar version and freewheeling hammond-organ-and-tenor-sax led jazz. Absolutely great. Surfin' USA by Melt Banana is a noise-rock cover version by the Japanese [...]
Went to see the recording of the first episode of a new Radio 4 comedy news quiz tonight: I guess that's why they call it the news. Chaired by Fred MacAulay, it's got a tough slot, filling the space between The Now Show finishing for the summer and The News Quiz starting in the autumn. Understandably for a first episode, there were a few rough edges - such as the malfunctioning buzzers (the humour arising from which will, sadly, I guess be mostly edited out) and the absence so far of much repartee having developed amongst the panel. Perhaps its ...
Below is the introductory page of a short, basic summary and evaluation of a placement I was on in July with the Scottish Government in Brussels. I was given £1000 from the Byron Criddle Scholarship Fund at the University of Aberdeen to do some personal reasearch. The trip was rather informal in the style of research (largely chats and observations rather than notes and interviews), but it
I recall last year when I arrived in Scotland (31st May) I decided to kick start my blog again. Some months later Caron texted me to say well done for getting in the Top 40 of Scottish blogs. To say I was gobsmacked was an understatement but very chuffed. This year I voted for many of my fellow Scots including Stephen and Caron when the Total Politics poll came up. So earlier this evening when Iain Dale put the list up on Total Politics I scrolled straight to the bottom to see how I had done and was amazed by ...
Fantastic visit to Action for Kids. I have been before a couple of times - and it never ceases to make me well up when I see the commitment and enthusiasm from those who work there and the benefits that flow from a day well occupied. Finding day placements, useful and rewarding ones, for those with learning disabilities is not easy. In Haringey we have the Harrington Scheme, the FAITH Centre and Action for Kids - and that's about it. But what a difference it makes. If it wasn't for this charity their attendees would be simply stuck at home. ...
We have been chasing up the council to take action to stop fly-tippers dumping rubbish on Palfrey Place, between Dorset Road and Richborne Terrace. We understand that the fly-tippers have now been identified and given a formal warning; further action can follow if the fly-tipping continues. We checked yesterday and all the rubbish had been picked up. But let us know if you see the problem is continuing! The picture above is one of the times fly-tippers used the pavement as their personal litter bin, taken last month.
Oops
The Total Politics Top 50 Scottish Blogs have just been released on the Web. Tom Harris MP retains his top spot over the strong challenge of SNP Tactical Voting* who supersedes the falling Greek Baby down to 4th as Underdog Bites Upwards takes the final podium spot. On the Lib Dem front we have a new top blogger in my good friend Caron climbing 23 to 7th heaven. I am a non-mover at eleven again this year. Just can't break into that top 10, although I was getting worried after I failed to appear on a number of the published ...
One of the quaint things about Southport Flower Show is that when the Council handed over the running of the Flower Show to a Charitable Trust the agreed rent was a bunch of red roses. Today the Mayoress of Southport turned up in person to collect the rent,
I am writing this in an internet cafe in King's Lynn and things are not looking so good back home. The Leicester Mercury reports: A final attempt to block the demolition of Leicester's iconic Bowstring Bridge has failed.English Heritage has decided it will not list the structure, meaning it cannot be protected from being pulled down by the city council next month.Leicester Civic Society has waited six months for the result of its application and will now struggle to save the Victorian landmark.The Bowstring Bridge, which is at the city end of Braunstone Gate, has to be dismantled so that ...
Two years ago I wrote: So there you have it. A levels are getting easier and students are having to work harder to distinguish themselves as a result. I am happy to stand by that view today. Those Lib Dems who have written in defence of the position that A levels are as challenging as they ever were (Mark Pack and Chris Ward) have not been at their most impressive in doing so. Last year I posted some evidence against that position. Incidentally, when did A level results become such a barometer of our national well-being? In my day (as ...
I've just finished Barack Obama's "Dreams from my father"! Hurrah! It only took me eight months! It is reassuring to know that I am not the only "three pages and then nod off to sleep" a day reader. Even a distinguished publisher such as Iain Dale is in the same boat, it seems. But it was worth waiting for his excellent review of Paddy Ashdown's auto-biography "A Fortunate Life". It really did put an extra surge of energy through my veins reading Mr Dale's enthusiastic write-up of this excellent book. My humble little review is here.
Anyone who disagrees with me is an "armchair-idiot".
The publication of the new Liberal Democrat policy paper on issues related to women has drawn most attention for those elements addressing issues of imagery and how it influences people. However, it almost certainly doesn't address the question of how the sexes interact. At least, I hope that it doesn't. After all, this really isn't an issue that can be addressed by policy, legislative or indicative. And yet, there is an issue to be raised here. I was brought up to believe in the old-fashioned notion of chivalry. A gentleman held doors open for ladies, offered them the shelter of ...
Our eldest lad Steven has been nominated as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the South Bank By Election on 17th September. There are five candidates contesting the vacancy caused by the sad death of Labour Councillor Marilyn Bramley, herself a By-Election victor last October. Steven Abbott - Lib Dem Joan Bolton - Con Martin Gordon Bulmer - UKIP Sue Jeffrey - Lab Vincent Smith - Ind The result last time By-Election 16th October 2008 The result. Marilyn Bramley (Labour).... 652 (49.9; -0.6) Toni Meir (Liberal Democrat) 288 (22.1; +12.3) Bernard Collinson (BNP)..... 206 (15.8; +1.4) Oz Sadiq (Independent..... 101 (7.7; ...
{The badly-damaged playfort at Stationers Park} I got back from holiday recently to discover that the Stationers Park children's playfort has been badly vandalised – and twice set on fire. I took a look on Sunday (see picture) and have contacted the Council to demand an urgent meeting with the Head of Parks to find out what is going to be done to improve security – and to repair or replace the fort. Its terrible that this popular play feature has been ruined during the middle of the summer holidays. When I visited the park was full of local kids ...
- a political party, that is! From The Register: It's official: the Australian Sex Party (ASP) is now a bona fide political party, entitled to appear on the ballot paper, raise funds and even – if they gain more than four percent of the primary vote – eligible for public funding. This follows a long drawn-out tussle with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), after several members of the public claimed that the Party's name was obscene. In a five-page minute (pdf) that carefully explored the precise meaning of the concept of obscenity and how it related to the electoral process, ...
"Outside the big cities, buses are often virtually non-existent and where they do run they're infrequent and expensive," said the Shadow Transport Secretary. Commenting on the news that the local bus sector has been referred to the Competition Commission due to concerns over higher fares for passengers, Norman Baker said: "Far from creating a flourishing and competitive...
"The Conservatives in Bromley are showing their true colours," said the Shadow Schools Secretary. Commenting on Conservative-run Bromley Council's proposal to subsidise private school places with taxpayers' money, David Laws said: "Like Daniel Hannan and Alan Duncan, the Conservatives in Bromley are showing their true colours, despite David Cameron's attempts to make...
As a tax payer, it really is comforting to know the following: Prince Andrew could attempt to become a professional golfer after managing to get his handicap down to four. The fourth in line to the throne could now apply to the Professional Golfers Association to take up the sport full-time, to become either a teaching professional or to compete on one of the professional circuits. ...Andrew's love of golf has drawn criticism in the past. Labour MP Tony Banks called him a "useless, overweight parasite" for hiring a private jet to attend The Open, while he once asked the ...
Wildlife crime is on the rise, with thousands of incidents reported in the first half of 2009, the Liberal Democrats have revealed. Despite this, very few people are actually being prosecuted. Information released to the Liberal Democrats in a Parliamentary answer shows: 3,064 wildlife crimes reported from January-July 2009, compared with 3,514...
"This surge in the number of young people not in education, work or training clearly shows they are bearing the brunt of the recession," said the Shadow Schools Secretary Commenting on today's DCSF figures showing an extra 100,000 young people have been classified as Neets (Not in education, employment or training), David Laws said: "This surge in the number of young...
Breathing a sigh of relief today, after weeks of waiting for his A level results, my son Firat, got the required grades (just!) to earn a place to study Music at Kingston University. I'm a very proud mum today. If he hadn't got a place, he was adamant that he would take a gap year and 'get a job', and do his retakes, as there was nowhere else he wanted to go. Had to point out that this is no longer an easy option for an 18 year old with no work experience, so there have been some difficult conversations.. ...
On balance, the decision of Scottish Justice Minister to release 57 year old Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds to return home to Libya is the right one. Megrahi, who has terminal prostate cancer, had served 8 years of his life sentence having been found guilty for the bombing of the Pan Am flight which exploded over Lockerbie in December 1988. Serious doubts remain over who was really responsibile for the bombing which resulted in the deaths of 270 people (259 on the plane and 11 on the ground). Canon Patrick Keegans was a parish priest in Lockerbie ...
from the Wall Street Journal
Caron's Musings has an excellent posting on the Megrahi case. I totally agree that compassionate release, based on the short prognosis from three doctors, is the right way to go. This sort of decision is a sign that we are a civilised country. I think that Hilary Clinton and the seven Senators who pleaded for Megrahi to die in jail might have had a leg to stand on if their own country didn't have 3297 people on Death Row at the last count. But it is very interesting to read Caron's commentary on the way this decision has come about: ...
For over three weeks now, a small group of dedicated Iranians have been on hunger strike in front of the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square, London, vowing to continue their protest until the United States guarantees the safety of thouands of their exiled compatriots who live in Camp Ashraf in Iraq, the major base for the [...]
I'm glad I wasn't the one who had to make the decision about whether to allow Abdelbaset Ali Al-Megrahi, convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, to go back to Libya. I think I would have decided the same way as Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. On separate occasions I was with two of my close family as they died, and I know what that feels like. The man cannot do any more harm. Is imprisonment about revenge or about keeping potential future victims safe from harm and re-habilitating offenders? In Britain it is not supposed to be about revenge. I'm glad ...
As the Guardian reports: Damian Green, the Conservative frontbench immigration spokesman whose arrest during a Home Office leaks inquiry sparked a parliamentary storm, has won a four-month battle to have his DNA, fingerprint and police records destroyed. The Metropolitan police told Green's lawyers he is to be treated as "an exceptional case". His DNA sample and fingerprints, taken when he was arrested, will be deleted within "a number of weeks". Meanwhile, for everyone else in Britain, different rules apply, despite a clear ruling from the European Court of Human Rights. To Green's credit, he does not want to be a ...
Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber, was freed from jail today. The BBC reports the words of Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill: "Mr al-Megrahi did not show his victims any comfort or compassion. They were not allowed to return to the bosom of their families to see out their lives, let alone their dying days. No compassion was shown by him to them. "But that alone is not a reason for us to deny compassion to him and his family in his final days. "Our justice system demands that judgement be imposed, but compassion be available. For these reasons and ...
The attractive Real Women web site and the magazine-style policy proposal document are in grave danger of making Liberal Democrat policy making popular. In general, I have a major concern about the document in that it is full of proposals but has very, very little in the way of evidence and preamble to explain why those proposals are needed. Most Liberal Democrat policy documents do set out ample evidence as background to their proposals. In this document, there are a few snappy bullet points and a couple of women's stories. But apart from that, the document takes the need for ...
Join Peter Black AM and Ali Goldsworthy in campaigning to change the government's mind on this. If like Peter and Ali you think that Credit Unions shouldn't be bailing out failing banks here are three things you can do to help get the Government to change its mind. 1, In just 1 minute, join the newly established Facebook group 2, In just 3 minutes, once you have joined encourage others to do the same from your friends list. Make sure you include any elected representatives 3, In just 10 minutes, write a note to your MP, saying why you object. ...
{CO11MetPolice twitter screenshot} The Metropolitan Police are trying new tactics to engage with environmental activists at next week's Climate Camp in London. The Met have opened a Twitter account @CO11MetPolice (named after its public order unit) which is intended "specifically to inform the Camp for Climate Action of any operational updates relating to the policing of their event starting on 26 August." From the Metropolitan Police website: If you follow us, you can expect tweets covering some or all of the following: •Operational updates about the policing of the Camp for Climate Action, relevant to participants •Information from emergency services ...
Mapspread - which is extremely helpful at uploading data from a spreadsheet and plotting it on a Google map. It then gives you a bit of code that you can use to embed the map.There's a simple example here where Tam (my partner) has used it to show local residents in the Crofton Park / Honor Oak Park area what problems she has recently reported to the council. Posted via email from Rob's posterous
Thu 20th
14:49
It's all down to The Power Of The Blog/Twitter/Facebook/MySpace/Google/(insert next month's Internet...
So, it turns out that standing on the street and trying to force your newspaper into the hands of people who don't really want to read it isn't a viable business model. We've also discovered the shocking news that Rupert Murdoch and News International don't like throwing their money into large holes for no apparent gain, and that the closure of a newspaper that most people in the one city it supposedly covered didn't read is worthy of national news coverage. Of course, it doesn't take long for this to be attributed as another sign of the end of the ...
The early release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds has finally been announced after days of trailing in the media. As with the release of Train Robber Ronnie Biggs earlier this month on compassionate grounds, I have found myself morally torn as to whether this is the 'right' thing to do. Part of me feels that criminals (which is what they both are) should serve they're time as sentenced, meaning that both Ronnie Biggs and al-Megrahi would die in prison. People against their release (mainly some victims families) have said that as they did not show ...
These two graphs are taken from the statistics at stats.wikimedia.org, using data up until 31 July 2009. The trends for other languages not shown in the graphs varies considerably, but for the English version of Wikipedia there are clear - and long running - signs of stagnation and decline when it comes to the generation and maintenance of content. (Click on either graph to view a larger version.) {Number of active Wikipedians per day} Number of active Wikipedians Red line = English. The other lines are German, Japanese and French. {Number of Wikipedia edits per day} Number of edits per ...
Like Caron says, I don't envy Kenny MacAskill this week. I remember the Lockerbie bomb on the news back in 1988, because that is not that long after when we had looked seriously at moving to Scotland and then weirdly when I moved to Scotland last year came through Lockerbie one day on the train and found myself back that day thinking how awful that must have been for everyone living there. These events leave their mark on different people in very different ways, I know how 9/11 affected me given the work I did over there with some of ...
Well, here's some real news for a change. The Scottish Government have decided to release Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds, pitting the USA and serial bandwagon jumper David Cameron against them. It will be fascinating to see what the ever truculent Americans do about this situation. Will they stop eating sandwiches and round up some tea to throw into a harbour once more? Will the families of the people killed in this terrible atrocity respond moderately or with characteristic American ire? Whatever the response the sad truth is that the real perpetrators of the bombing are unlikely to be ...
From the Independent today: 'Cameron in bid to end Tory turmoil over NHS' Brilliant! They just can't stop themselves, can they. Dave might be thought of as someone sitting on top of a large pot which is slowly heating up and whose occupants are desperately trying to get out so that they can spoil the planned feast. Unfortunately, even if he manages to keep the lid on the pot for the next 8 months or so, the meal he is preparing is going to taste pretty foul whatever. All Mandelson needs to do is keep his hand on the tiller, ...
The Today programme - pursuing truth wherever it may be - set Evan Davies out to ruthlessly probe cricket commentator Henry Blofeld about whether he would prefer to commentate on the ten second 100 metres at the World Athletics Championships. Blofeld, his cat purring on his lap as he sat laughing gently in his underground lair, said he rather liked what he did. Then he very amusingly commentated on the 100 metres and we howled with laughter. The editors of Today apparently overlooked the hours of drivel the commentators must speak around the intermittent bursts of activity at athletics meets, ...
Fascinating interview with Sir Patrick 'please voter, can I have some more?' Cormack on the Today programme. Sir Patrick sought to defend himself over the reports yesterday that he was calling for MPs salaries to be doubled in return for expenses being removed. Well, he spoke very well and he clarified what he said but at no point did he say that MPs should not have their salaries doubled. He accepted that this was not the right time to consider such a rise - what a guy, in touch with ordinary folk - but he still considered this to be ...
The Pirates are coming... Following the success for the Pirate Party in Sweden winning one* MEPs in June the UK Pirate Party (http://www.pirateparty.org.uk/) has launched to campaign on file-sharing and privacy and reform of copyright and patent law.
According to the buzz on Twitter, News International is proposing to close thelondonpaper. If this is true, I can't say I am surprised and there are likely to be more MSM casualties as blogs and other online media continue to grow in usage and readers. Closures of papers like this are starting to look inevitable, not least after Murdoch's recent shocking financial results. There are rumours that the Independent is struggling and there were also reports that The Observer might have to fold in the near future. I wonder which title will be next to fall. UPDATE: As I hit ...
The Conservatives might deny being a social engineering party, but like I have told readers previously they aren't worth listening to. The Conservatives at a local council level have already started banning swearing in public places, Cameron would ban protests outside Parliament, and now David Cameron wants to treble tax of alcohol as he believes it's too cheap. Cameron and his party are people who want the world to be perfect, and as Tory Bear has said in his title "Don't do it Dave..." is the only thing Tories can say. Cameron is not going to listen to the ordinary ...
(Apologies in advance to Norfolk Blogger, the strong words in here are in some part directed at you, but the worst of them are directed at society's attitude in general, and the Tories' ideas... not you!) Firstly, congratulations to my sister who got two As and a B! Unlike me, she did hard subjects (Maths, English and Music). Unfortunately, I went for those damned "soft" A levels. You know, Religious Studies, Theatre Studies and English. Curses to my unemployable soul. But wait a minute, let's look at some of this intellectual snobbery for a moment. Okay. Particularly around Media (yeah, ...
The proportion of people getting an A in their A levels is up, so either it's got easier to get an A or teachers and kids have got better. So here's the simple question that I always want to ask people who assume it must be a case of falling standards: if you think it unthinkable that teachers have got better at doing their job, do you apply that to your own career and that of everyone in your family? Is it the case that neither you, your colleagues, your loved ones or anyone you know with a job has ...
Last week I was up in Durham on a singing week in the Norman cathedral there. While I was there, I took the opportunity to meet with a group of local Lib Dem campaigners for the latest in our LDV interviews. In Durham, they're smarting from local government re-organisation; still proud of what Lib Dems achieved whilst running Durham city council; champing at the bit to build more social housing; and adamant the Lib Dems should not resile from their commitment to abolish tuition fees. Hear all that and more by clicking play below (or here if you are reading ...
Further to my last update on the good news that the administrators of the Riverside Drive former Homebase site had agreed to my request to restore the original pavement and remove the claustrophobic pathway to the north of the site, I have now been informed by an officer in the City Council's City Development Department that : "The works will commence on Monday 24th August and will be completed within 5 days. I will instruct the contractor to reinstate the footpath and kerbing etc. back to its original condition and alignment, which will allow the original means of access for ...
One of my regrets is that in my many visits to Shropshire I never got to have a drink at the More Arms. It was a large pub in the middle of nowhere on the Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle road that was open (intermittently) until 2001. I was once told by a passenger on a bus along that road that it used to come into its own on Sunday evenings when people came from the villages on the Welsh side of the main road to drink in England. The other day the Shropshire Star had some reminscences and photographs of ...
I've just read the 'Real Women' policy document from the Liberal Democrats. This is really good stuff aimed at 'real women' and the challenges they face. "Women face pressure from all directions these days. Hit hard by the recession, trying to juggle family commitments with work and home life, it's easy to feel like you're running just to stand still. The media screams out an endless list of things still to do: get a bikini body in 20 days, plan the perfect children's party, how to look 10 years younger. Despite great strides forward in equality, women still get paid ...
{bojondave} The Telegraph today outlines a predictably tedious announcement from Dave's Nu-Lite Conservatives regarding a "late night drinking crackdown" Jolly good, can't have anyone drinking late at night now, can we? Apparently Dave is considering a minimum price on alcohol: "Mr Cameron said that a Tory government would look at the 'unbelievably low prices of some alcohol'." Yes, unbelievable. Amazing the efficiencies a market can produce, eh? The announcement happily provides even more evidence of the ever-closing gap between the three main parties, as we all bundle pointlessly towards the centre of the bell curve. Sadly I can see Dave ...
As polling day draws to a close in Afghanistan I hope Mallalai Joya and the other brave women candidates do ...
Peter's post this morning about Credit Unions bailing out failing banks is causing outrage and discontent. Within an hour other bloggers had started picking it up. If like Peter you think that Credit Unions shouldn't be bailing out failing banks here are three things you can do to help get the Government to change its mind. 1, In just 1 minute, join the newly established Facebook group 2, In just 3 minutes, once you have joined encourage others to do the same from your friends list. Make sure you include any elected representatives 3, In just 10 minutes, write a ...
I have to be honest and say that I don't envy Kenny MacAskill. The decision he has had to make on the future of Abdelbasset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber is a hard one. He faces pressure from all sides. On one hand, the irrefutable medical evidence that Megrahi has aggressive, terminal prostate cancer and has only a few months left to live. If he were anyone else, he'd have been quietly released and nobody would really be any the wiser. On the other hand, we have US politicians and even the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, requesting ...
It's that time of year again. (Former) sixth form students walk up to the school gates together for the last time to find out exactly how well they have done in the tedium that is the AS/A-Level examination system, prefaced by the usual yearly whinges from armchair-idiots rubbishing the entire system and associating any positive correlation with "exams getting easier" and any negative correlations with "young people getting thicker". I was the first year to take the AS level. "Ah, that system seems so much easier!", the armchair-idiots chirped. This assumption was based on the one pro the system offered ...
This tickled me. It's takes a fair amount of brass to set up your HQ for a Regatta week in a pub. It takes even more brass to put your big sign up almost covering the name of the pub, as if you have comandeered it. Full marks to Fowey Town Band! In fact, I think I witnessed one of their "committee meetings" in the lounge bar on Tuesday night.
Hardly a month goes by without a call from Labour maverick Frank Fields on Gordon Brown to resign. The latest call is a bit different. It includes high praise for the Lady Harriet. It seems that Fields believes Harman will help Labour avoid a crushing election defeat. As a Lib Dem who has no desire to see the "socialist" brethren continue in office where they operate a reverse midas touch (they
Interesting news from Peter Black this morning that the FSA will be introducing an extra charge on Credit Unions (totalling around £8.5m) to help cover the cost of bailing out the banks. Yes, it seems that people who kept their money out of the banks - indeed, some of them likely turned to their local Credit Union for help when the banks wouldn't help them - are now going to join those being penalised for someone else's mistake. I'm trying to find details on the number of people in Britain who are members of a Credit Union (I can't find ...
Although John O Shea is often "inaccurate and badly informed", his post on Daniel Hannnan and the NHS is worth a link.In particular he highlights a Guardian Article about the NHS.The practise of people not having to worry when they are ill is something that has to be protected.There are problems with the obssession with targets which result in a system where often management priorities result in
Attempts by Welsh Conservatives to put clear water between themselves and other political parties slipped into confusion this morning with a letter to the Western Mail from their health spokesperson, conceding all the ground they may have made up with their core vote over the pledge to abolish free prescriptions. In his letter Andrew R.T. Davies states: Welsh Conservatives will not scrap free prescriptions and have announced proposals which will safeguard free prescriptions for most people in Wales. Allowing those who can afford to make a small contribution towards the cost of their prescriptions is a key segment of the ...
A question to David Cameron. When he says 'we believe in the NHS', who is we? After all, considering he and I and those of you who live locally in Oxfordshire are represented in the European Parliament by Daniel Hannan, who clearly does not believe in the NHS, 'we' certainly can't mean the Conservative Party. [...]
Nowhere quite as exciting as Swindon this time. I have arranged for a few postings to go up while I am away, but otherwise blogging may be light for a few days. Then again, I may find an internet cafe just over the road from the hotel, as I did in Swindon.
Peter Black AM has a post on Freedom Central this morning entitled "The failure of joined up government" in which he explains a quirk of the financial regulation system that seems to have had unintended consequences. It seems that because Credit Unions (the bodies that exist in communities to help people get access to credit and provide other services to those on low incomes) are now regulated by the Financial Services Authority that they are now liable for part of the cost of bailing out the banks. This is due to the FSA levying a charge on every organisation it ...
Nick Clegg and Vince Cable this week pledged to put a motion before Parliament to put pressure on the government and banks to act to return the money charged to customers by banks unfairly. Following an email campaign by MoneySavingExpert.com, Nick Clegg responded to an email sent to its members. He also stated the Liberal Democrats commitment to debate consumer protection at the...
A healthy natural environment is crucial not only to our quality of life but also to the sustainability of life on the planet. Liberal Democrats recognise that the threat to biodiversity and the depletion of our natural resources are as great a threat as climate change. Our Natural Heritage - Marks a step change in the approach of any major UK political party to the natural...
In the past I have called the First Minister the Thane of Banff and Buchan but this isn't about him but the actual 17th Earl of Buchan. The ransom in question is £67,250 of West Lothian Council money for signing over the feudal deed for the former Broxburn Primary School. In today's West Lothian Courier the story of how the majestic, though now boarded up and vandalised, building on Broxburn Main Street has unfolded since it was last used as a school 10 years ago. The Council who owns the building tried to sell it on to a developer for ...
Those mourning the loss of Ianto Jones on the last series of Torchwood may be pleased to know that there is a place where they can express their feelings. A small shrine has grown up in Cardiff Bay in front of the wooden building that serves as the back door to the Torchwood facility. My favourite is the card that purports to be from Captain Jack and just says simply 'you were so close to getting the hang of the job'. The shrine is already becoming a tourist attraction as can be seen from these photos. There is even a ...
With the recession upon us and people struggling to make ends meet one would have thought that any Government worth its salt would do everything it could to keep people out of debt and out of the hands of loan sharks. Certainly that is the rationale behind previous support for credit unions, who have built up a good reputation for working in socially and economically deprived areas and helping to keep people solvent. However, I have discovered that because Credit Unions are now regulated by the Financial Services Authority rather than the Registrar of Friendly Societies, who had the responsibility ...
A levels results come out today but as I wrote this blog yesterday I have not yet managed to read that results are better than ever. Our children are becoming more brilliant as the years go on. We should all be patting ourselves on the shoulder but we aren't because this improvement brings its own challenges. How do universities decide who gets a place and who doesn't when everyone is getting three or four A grade A levels? When I took a maths A level in 1979 I was shown previous A level papers and they were much harder. I ...
It's A-Level results day. No doubt there will be lots of stories about how it's all getting easier and "there was a better level of education in my day". This does miss out some important facts. The first of which, is well done to everyone whatever their grade. It's an achievement to get your A Levels and it can unlock many doors. Even the people who didn't get their desired grades and need
