An email drops into the Voice's inbox from Ladbrokes to let us know their latest odds for the by-election for the directly-elected position of Mayor of Bedford. The betting firm has made the Tories favourites at 1/2, but the Lib Dems' Dave Hodgson is a close second at odds of 2/1 – and Ladbrokes note: your man Hodgson is attracting all the early money in Bedford! Labour and the Independent candidates are also-rans in this election. So, guess what, folks? It's a 2-horse race! To find out more about Dave Hodgson's campaign to become Lib Dem Mayor of Bedford click ...
Just watched his smug little face on the news, yet another Tory multi-millionaire telling poor people to spend less. Alright for some!
blockquote>'Oh?' asked the dog, sounding rather withering. 'Listen, Fitz. Learn to think of all these things as stories. And stories can't contradict each other because, in the end, they're all made up. Nothing can take precedence then. All right?' 'I'm not sure I know what you're on about.' 'Well, you reckon the world you live in takes ...
...but doesn't get much for it. Last month I complained that Mark Oaten had agreed that his memoirs should be published on the eve of the Liberal Democrat Conference. At the same time it was announced that Oaten's publisher was looking for a serialisation deal. Well, he found one. Sort of. A single extract appeared in today's Independent. Which strongly suggests that Oaten didn't get much for it.
Sometimes life can be very straightforward if we look at it from the same view all of the time. Tonight, I saw the world from a different view. I started some canoe training over the summer. Tonight I went to Bath Poultney weir and saw for the first time the wonderful architecture from the river. As I am a big fan of decent urban design this quite enthused me. It gave me the realisation that river users have a different appreciation of space. We so often view the world from the horizontal plane of the pavement or as a car ...
The Queen normally mates with a dozen at a time but has been known to mate with 100 in the space of a few minutes, reports The Scotsman. Oh my god, you've come here to read about that Queen, no, no, no. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is not that kind of girl, I am talking about the Queen Honey Bee, obviously. You naughty people. Researchers all over the world are very worried about the fall in number of honey bees, the honey bee plays a vital part in the overall food chain so the dramatic fall in numbers is concerning ...
Leicester's Bowstring Bridge is not dead yet. The BBC reports this evening: Dismantling of the derelict Bowstring Bridge in the city's West End was due to start on 21 September but has been put back because of engineering works.
Am in London with my eldest looking at universities for next year. My how it's changed from when I were a lad! In many ways so much more professional, and so much more welcoming. Whilst there, I heard about the death of Keith Floyd. What a ...
I'm really not bothered about the SkyNews Leader's Debate tbh. We all know what it's going to sound like. I'd rather see a debate between The Oracle that is Vince Cable vs the 2 ugly establishment ducklings Osborne and Darling. George Osborne today stated that "We won the spending row"... err ... DENIED Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable today released a report that once again shows that he is one of the only leaders in Parliament capable of shaping the debate rather than just throwing generalities around. He released a report through the Reform thinktank outlining a wide range ...
Just to explain my comments policy for the hard of thinking. I *do* value politeness and civility more than almost anything. But that's an *almost*. If you support taking away fundamental human rights from people, and turn up here and say so, as far as I'm concerned that's you saying "Don't treat me like a human being, ...
Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable has today launched proposals for tackling the fiscal crisis, which involves cutting public spending, and urged politcians to be "upfront" with people about where the cuts will fall. In a pamphlet launched in collaboration with the independent think tank Reform, he argues that no areas of spending should be "ring fenced", and that every penny spent by the government should be justified. The pamphlet identifies nine specific areas where potential savings could be made, which he argues should be part of a radical system of reform. His proposals include:An end to bonuses for the ...
From the Daily Telegraph: The recent storm of protest against the "intrusive" nature of the ISA - which critics claim will discourage people from volunteering - could have been avoided if MPs had passed a better law, he said. "I'm surprised that some of the concerns are now being expressed were not raised by the legislators at the time," he said on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.I don't like to blow my own trumpet (as regular readers will know), but I refer readers to my House Points column in the Liberal Democrat News for 27 October 2006: On Monday MPs ...
So, the Leader of the Conservative group on Bristol City Council, Councillor Richard Eddy has criticised a local LGBT group for receiving a Big Lottery Fund grant. Instead of being thankful the money has in fact come into Bristol he described it to the Bristol Evening Post as "mistaken and misguided" and "an outrageous waste of money." So here we see the same old Tories slagging off gay groups getting monies to fight homophobic bullying - it is about time that people like Councillor Eddy went and saw for themselves how hard it is coming out and the damage that ...
Before he became a novelist and poet, Thomas Hardy was an architect. As a young man he studied under Arthur Blomfield, an architect based in Covent Garden. At this time the Midland Railway was building its independent line from Bedford to London, with a new terminus at St Pancras. The line entered this new terminus across part of St Pancras Churchyard and, says The Victorian Web: Blomfield was commissioned by the Bishop of London to supervise the proper exhumation of human remains and dismantling of tombs. He passed this unenviable task to his protegé Thomas Hardy in. c.l865. Hardy would ...
Liberal Democrat Voice has all the shortlists. Despite being the leading individual Lib Dem blog in the Wikio rankings as recently as June, this blog is not nominated in any category. I am disappointed but not surprised. On a brighter note, I am no. 69 (fnar fnar) in the Total Politics list.
Today's Independent carries an extensive excerpt from Lib Dem MP Mark Oaten's soon-to-be-published autobiographical book, Screwing Up, published next week – you can order it from Amazon using this link (and earn the party some commission). Here's the book blurb: Mark Oaten is a politician of nearly 13 years standing, having famously won the seat of Winchester in 1997 with a majority of only two, though a by-election later returned him with a majority of 20,000. More famously, he hit the headlines in January 2006 when, shortly after announcing his withdrawal from the race to succeed Charles Kennedy as leader ...
Well the Total Politics top 300 political blogs have now been announced, I was again astounded as my little blog has come in at 193 with a new entry - certainly my reading figures are definitely up and the best three days have been in the last 10 days. My little blog is in the top 50 Scottish political, top 75 Lib Dem and now in the top 200 political blogs, I am so honoured and humbled - thank you everyone for voting for me. Anyway, it goes to show that Lib Dem blogging in Scotland is going from strength ...
In the immediate aftermath of Emmanuel Adebayor's efforts to rile, wind up and taunt Arsenal fans at Manchester City last weekend you would expect football pundits to show a degree if common sense, but not, it appears, Garth Crooks. When other pundits on BBC's Final Score show were saying that footballs need to show responsibility for the actions and not exacerbate tensions in the crowd by deliberately running 80 yards to the opposite end of the pitch in order to taunt fans, Garth Crooks stands alone in supporting the rights of the overpaid £150k a week prima donnas to cause ...
It's breathtaking, really, that it has taken until today for the PM to admit that at least some cuts in public spending will be needed in future years. What the British public should be hearing from the political parties is a debate on ideas about what spending should or shouldn't be cut. And ideas are exactly what they're getting from Vince Cable and the LibDems. What about the other parties? Well, the Tories want to up the price of the salads sold in Parliament. And today we have it from Gordon that something will be cut sometime in the future ...
Veteran writer Troy Kennedy Martin has died. I'm sure the media reports of his death will centre on the fact he wrote The Italian Job, and they're not to be blamed for that as it is iconic within British film, but for me his most important work will always be Edge Of Darkness. A few years ago I started making notes for a long blog post about it, but then never got round to writing the post itself, so maybe it's time to get the DVD from the shelf and watch it again to do just that, especially before the ...
Last week, I was one of the first to blog about the Independent Safeguarding Authority and the threat it posed to normal human life and interaction. As the clamour grew to think again about this huge exercise in rumour-gathering and verdict-rewriting, the children's minister Delyth Morgan claimed the plans would help protect children from a repeat ...
Next on my list of things to do after the Lib Dem Blog of the Year posting was to take issue with this ill-informed column from Polly Toynbee, who sees a contradiction between highlighting the State's failings over the death of Baby P and the Soham murders and objection to the way the Independent Safeguarding Authority has been set up and will operate. Sounds like an attractive line of attack? Sure, as long as you don't trouble yourself with the facts. I'm not going to write that piece, though, because Sara Bedford has done a brilliant job that says it ...
Well done to Will and Rusty who got the right answer to the Trivia Quiz set on Sunday. The thing they have in common is that they have all studied a subject beginning with "psycho": -Jimmy Lea studied psychotherapy. -Connie Booth is a pyschotherapist. -Pamela Stephenson is a doctor of psychology. Derek Draper is 42.
A stargazing evening has been organised by conservation groups in Chipping Sodbury and Yate to give local people the opportunity to learn more about the sky at night. The free event will start at 7pm on Tuesday 29 September in the Watkins Room, Old Grammar School, High Street, Chipping Sodbury. The evening will begin with a presentation by Callum Potter of the Cotswold Astronomy Society. If the skies are clear participants will then proceed to the wildflower meadow on St John's Park estate to view the night sky, at approximately 8pm. People wishing to attend the viewing of the night ...
Those nice people at Lib Dem Voice have been messing with the fragile and egotistical heads of we bloggers over the last few days. They've been teasing us with hints of secrets for days on Twitter, whipping us into an anticipatory frenzy. They even gave us a couple of hours' notice that the shortlists were going to be announced at 11:25 this morning. They were on time, too and you can read the full list here. I had never had any expectation of being included in any of the shortlists, so I wasn't surprised not to see my name in ...
Bookmaker Ladbrokes have named Dave Hodgson as a 2/1 chance for beating the Conservatives in the Bedford Mayoral election due to be held on 15th October, with the Labour candidate out of the race on 10/1.
We're just putting the finishing touches to our plans for covering the Bournemouth federal conference (Security pass? Check. Emergency chocolate rations? Check. Peruvian dancing band booked for fringe? Check.) Now that we've been around through several conferences, there is always the risk of doing things just because that's what we've always done. So any last minute suggestions for what we should do in addition to or differently from our previous conference coverage?
And today's top story is....Gordon Brown Says a Word!This is the first time he has said the word "cut" with reference to what Labour will do with spending in the future. The Tories say he is now in "full retreat" on his previous position on spending.Is this really the most important thing happening at the moment?Let me be clear: the Prime Minister outlying his overall plan for Government spending
EU membership? It is a fact that a high proportion of the electorate within the UK are anti- EU. But, do they really want the UK to leave the EU? Let us assume that the Lib Dem party manifesto promises an IN-OUT referendum within one year of taking office. Bearing in mind that they campaigned for such a referendum at the time of the Treaty fiasco in the Commons last year, I think they will lose much credibility if this quietly disappears! Would this make enough of us inclined to vote for them, and might they actually be elected as ...
I have always been keen on election nights. There is excitement mixed with fatigue that leads to more excitement. However there is a limit to this great drama which unfolds in the early hours of Friday morning. If fatigue becomes sleepwalking then this is not a good experience. In July this year there was a by-election in Norwich North and the council there decided to count the votes on the morning. It seems that many other councils are now following suit. Now what generally happens is that the polls close at 10pm and there are exit polls telling us who ...
An issue I have had many complaints about in recent months is the extent of fly-tipping or the dumping of old furniture and other items in parts of the West End. At meetings of the West End local community planning partnership, Tayside Fire and Rescue has highlighted that on tenement stairwells, discarded items of furniture present a real fire hazard, and fly-tipping generally is a source of complaint from the vast majority of residents who wish the area to be kept in a nice condition. I am most grateful to the Waste Management Department who, earlier this week and at ...
The problems the Labour-Plaid Government have had in drawing down powers is well-documented; as are the worries about what will happen when Parliament is dissolved in a few months time. Many lawyers are worried that LCOs, which are the formal mechanism to transfer law-making powers from Westminster to the National Assembly, will fall alongside other pieces of legislation when the General Election comes along and will have to start part of the process again, making a ridiculously and insultingly long process even longer. Hopefully, the Government is giving this issue all the thought that it requires. After all, a considerable ...
It seems impossible to believe, but once again Freshers' Week is upon us. That most exciting time of year, when fresh-faced school pupils transform overnight into bleary-eyed students - all while scrupulously obeying government guidelines on alcohol use, of course. It's a great opportunity to try new things, or at the very least join new clubs and promptly forget about them. It's also the most important time of year for youth politics. The vast majority of student activists and party members are recruited at Freshers' Fayres, so it's important to have a decent operation to bring people in. That's harder ...
There is one thing that seems to be agreed upon when it comes to heroin addiction: the current approach isn't working. However opinion is of course divided on the answer as to whether a 'tougher' or a 'softer' approach is required. Cue the usual rational carrot vs. reactionary stick argument.Today's news brings a boost to the carrot camp: a trial run at prescribing heroin to addicts produced a
Vince Cable has outlined proposals for £14 bn of cuts to help tackle Britain's rather large mountain of debt. Alot of it is suitably vague; like the commitment to curbing centralisation in education which sounds very nice and laudable given that centralisation is a bad thing and according to the proposals will save £600 million. ...
Yesterday I had a moan that, on Radio 4's PM programme, a Labour/Tory spat about spending and cuts was followed by something really limp and wishy-washy from the Lib Dems attacking them for pre-election positioning, as if that's so terrible months out from a General Election. It came across as if the Lib Dems simply had nothing to say on the major issue of the day, but the sad thing is that the party has rather a lot to say on it. As Lib Dem Voice explains in more detail, the Sainted Vince has a plan. I haven't read it ...
As I'm sure many you will have heard, Google now offers Welsh-English translations. The service is a little clumsy and the language is far from perfect, but you get the gist of what's going on. It is undoubtedly good news for the Welsh language, and it means that I can read Vaughan Roderick's blog without having to wait for some other kind soul to translate it for me. Anyway, it seems that Google has taken the phrase 'Welsh to English translation' a little too literally. Go to Google translator to find out the English word for Welsh. No related posts. ...
I have heard of various amendments that are being tabled against the Real Women campaign, and it was today that I received an email from the Gender Balance campaign within the Liberal Democrats, expressing concerns around these proposed amendments. They are amendments Lembit Opik would be probably be proud to write about in his Daily Sport column. In seriousness, the amendments want to remove the proposals to tackle the unreal body image expectations in the media, and the 'name blanking' proposals intended to tackle discrimination at work. Removing the promise to tackle the unrealistic expectations that are often projected in ...
I've always had mixed feelings about Federal Conference. Years of being a wallflower amongst the 'beautiful people' (MPs, Peers, MEPs, PPCs, council group leaders and the like) have made the whole experience a rather fraught one. In the past, I tended to shuffle around Conference, huddling for social warmth with old friends, whilst everybody else rushed around, apparently part of some heady social whirl from which I was excluded. Retiring from active politics twice probably didn't help, and being a bureaucrat didn't help either. To be honest, the Party only notices its secretaries, treasurers, returning officers and the like when ...
It was all just a greenwash then - at least, that's the message Cornwall's Conservatives gave today when they rejected a proposal to sign up to the 10-10 campaign. That puts them at odds with their own Party Leadership - David Cameron, George Osborne (hell, even Ken Clarke) have all signed up to reduce their CO2 emissions by 10% by the end of 2010. But not Cornwall's Conservatives. At today's Full Council meeting there was a cross party motion asking for support for the Cornwall Declaration -a local commitment to tackle climate change. That is all well and good, but ...
Last night the Chief Executive Nick Walkley briefed the Lib Dem group on the Councils' 'Future shape' project. Future Shape has probably suffered from two major problems. Definition of exactly what it is and some very poor examples of what it might be ie the whole budget airline comparison. Dealing with the issue of what future shape is, is still not easy, even after a briefing. It seems to have started as a bit of 'blue sky' / 'out of the box' thinking (add your favourite management cliché here). It's probably easier to look at what problems were trying to ...
A wider range of meetings at which people get to question Parliamentary candidates should be exempt from election expense limits according to new guidance from the Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission's previous guidance was that costs related to hustings meetings did not need to feature in any of the individual candidate election expense returns if all the candidates for a constituency were invited. This was a welcome simplification of the previous position where many meeting organisers (partly for good reasons and partly for more debatable ones) believed that in practice they could only organise a hustings meeting if everyone agreed ...
Just a quick follow-up on yesterday's revelation that James Martin is an idiot. The Fredcast, a cycling podcast, managed to get in touch with a representative of Tesla to get their view on his comments. It's an interesting listen, though I think describing Martin's inane bloviating against cyclists as 'hate speech' is going a bit far, and good to hear Tesla distancing themselves from his comments. What's most interesting about it to me, though, is the discussion between them about how weird they find the British attitude towards cyclists and the way in which two non-British observers can be surprised ...
Although some of the problems with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) are very much to do with how they've decided to go about doing their job (see my letter to Sir Roger Singleton for an example), some of the problems are to do with how the law has been written. There are some MPs who will, or should, be now feeling a bit uneasy about their unqualified praise for that legislation. Take this from Andy Burnham, who in 2007 positively went out his way to associate himself with the legislation that created the ISA (under its previous name): The Safeguarding ...
Here's how it goes. Wikio rankings measure which blogs link to yours. In the last few months, Mark Thompson and Charlotte Gore have dashed ahead of the Lib Dem blogging pack - I'm one of several bloggers fighting it out in the second tier. The Total Politics awards saw 1500 blog readers vote for their favourites. On that measure, Ms Gore, crushing the yellow opposition mercilessly underfoot, came out at the top of the Lib Dem tree, 23rd overall (the Cafe was the third Lib Dem blog, behind Lib Dem Voice, and 37th overall). Now, promising all the glitz and ...
The Conservatives have selected Parvez Akhtar as their Mayoral candidate in the Bedford Mayoral by-election on October 15. The Liberal Democrats have already selected the well known Council group leader Dave Hodgson as their candidate.
Away from politics I saw a new sitcom on the Beeb last night. The BBC has an excellent reputation for new comedy and this one hit the nail squarely on the head. It was laugh out loud funny with great characters and some good situations. The premise about a woman having to return to her parents' home after ten years away is an ideal set up for a whole range of gags. I haven't seen anything this good since the underrated 'Smoking Room'. It contrasts completely with the appallingly cliched 'Lunch Monkeys' which has just started and which is set ...
So farewell then, Keith Floyd, and thank you ever so much for fostering my interest in cookery and food in general; so much so that I once had a cat that I named after you despite her turning out to be female. There have been sleb chefs before, and there are many now, but I'll bet there were few that had an ounce of your zest and enthusiasm. I'd like to see Jamie or Delia attempt to cook a traditional French dish for fifteen on their home patch where they take their food very seriously, like this; Of course, under ...
Well I now have the complete set. This blog is now official nearly one of the best blogs. After coming 11th in Scotland, then 11th Lib Dem, this morning I complete the set of being a nearly blog by being 101st in the Overall Total Politics Tops Blogs List 2009. Never in the history of political blogger has one blog come so close, so often to being in the lists that everyone decides to copy and paste. Yes folks one spot away from fame on all three counts. Thank you everyone for reading and voting to make this minor mathematical ...
The Great North Swim on Saturday turned out to be amazing - I got a real high from completing it despite being kicked in the face, elbowed, scratched and swum over by other swimmers. Not going off course was extremely difficult, and for the first ten minutes all thoughts of technique and breathing control went ...
Liverpool's planning committee today voted unanimously to reject the plan by Jack Allen Holdings for the waste site at Garston Dock (the one next to Cressington Heath). I went to the planning meeting with colleagues Peter Millea and Richard Oglethorpe. We all spoke against the scheme. Big thanks to everyone who organised petitions, wrote letters, put up posters etc so that thousands of objections came in. We very much hope that Jack Allen won't now try any legal appeal business over this and will realise that with other much better sites available on Merseyside they should turn their attention elsewhere. ...
[IMG: Fixing the walled planter on the corner of Oakfield and Upper Tollington] I was really pleased earlier this year when I was successful in getting the overgrown plant beds replanted on the corner of Upper Tollington Park and Oakfield Road (see previous post). However, a couple a weeks ago it was struck by a vehicle and the wall around the beds was smashed. According to a post on stroudgreen.org a large white van hit the wall and was half in the plant bed. I contacted the Council at the time to make sure the repairs were done quickly and ...
The Guardian has the story. And unlike the Tories or Labour he's saying exactly where it's going to come from. Nine specific areas of potential savings are identified as a start to a radical programme of reform. The main proposals are: > Zero growth overall for public sector pay (saving £2.4 billion a year), a 25 per cent reduction in the total pay bill of staff earning over £100,000 and a salary freeze and end of bonuses for the civil service (saving £200 million a year). > Tapering the family element of the tax credit - saving £1.35 billion. > ...
Today appears to be award day. I am at 117 in the Total Bollocks chart, up from 165 last year, which is not bad to say that all That Tory Blogger's mates will have voted. I've made myself a slightly amended button. Anyone who wants one doing of any of the other images, it's a five minute job, so do let me know: The nominations are also out for the botties, and I'd particularly like to congratulate Caron, Grouchy, and Millennium. Perhaps the year of Fluffy Justice is here at last? C'mon judges, put aside your cuddly toy prejudice and ...
The moves by the Welsh party to really start embracing online communication and campaigns have paid off with this years blog of the year awards. Welsh members have picked up a clutch of nominations. Congratulations to Peter Black who has secured a nomination for best blog by a Lib Dem holding public office, and also to the staff team who recieved a nomination for best use of e-campaigning for their video exposing Plaid and Labour's hypocrisy over FE funding. Finally a big thanks to people who nominated this blog for best new blog of the year. We have some super ...
Interesting story here about employees of a Las Vegas casino being arrested for scamming money from the poker room's bad beat jackpot. (via Tao of Poker) Especially interesting to me as the Planet Hollywood poker room was one I played at a few times when I was in Las Vegas last year, so it's possible that I may have met one or more of the people who were running the scam. However, I can't claim to have been affected by the scam as they were skimming money off the top of the jackpot pool, and I didn't win one of ...
... Fifty Six! Woop woop. Here's the full list, together with last year's positions: 1 Guido Fawkes 2 2 Iain Dale 3 7 Spectator Coffee House 4 3 Conservative Home 5 5 Political Betting 6 4 Dizzy Thinks 7 - Paul Waugh 8 13 Tom Harris MP 9 6 Devil's Kitchen 10 18 Daniel Hannan MEP 11 71 Tory Bear 1214 Archbishop Cranmer 13 9 John Redwood MP 14 17 2 Hopi Sen 15 - LabourList 16 150 Old Holborn 17 - Douglas Carswell MP 18 10 Benedict Brogan 19 - Obnoxio the Clown 20 - Alastair Campbell 21 34 ...
Nominations for the Liberal Democrats' Blog of the Year Awards 2009 closed on 4 September. Since then, the judges (Tom Brake MP, Ryan Cullen, me, Meral Ece OBE, Lynne Featherstone MP, Alix Mortimer, Stephen Tall, Cat Turner and Paul Waugh) have been poring over the entries for the six categories. It's been a big task, and a fun one, to distil so many excellent examples of Lib Dem blogging and e-campaigning into lists of the five best. Congratulations if you've been shortlisted, but if you haven't: remember that the shortlists are based on the judges' subjective opinions. The awards are ...
John Thain, who was himself saved by Bank of America that weekend, thinks that letting Lehmans fail was a huge mistake: "Allowing Lehman to go bankrupt was a tremendous mistake - it led to hundreds of millions, if not trillions of dollars, in losses." Niall Ferguson, who has edited a book on counterfactual history, thinks not, in a thoughtful (and mocking) piece in the FT, "Why a Lehman deal would not have saved us"* The critical point is that, like Bear Stearns, Lehman was just an extreme case of a general phenomenon. A relatively small number of very large financial ...
I don't know what to say about this. Keith is and was an inspiration; full of enthusiasm about food and drink (and The Stranglers); a man who lived life at full tilt, and died not knowing what an inspiration he was. That he thought that people aren't enthusiastic about cooking any more is the saddest thing of all. In these days of relentless pressure to conform to government-prescribed five a day and 21 units, Floyd was unpalatable for modern TV. But, for me, nobody came close to having his joy and love for fabulous ingredients, well-sourced and simply cooked. RIP ...
The BBC is reporting the success of a scheme where heroin is given to addicts in supervised clinics. The clinics have meant massive reductions in street crime in the surrounding areas. More than 100 users took part in the pilot - part funded by the government - in London, Brighton and Darlington. About three-quarters of those given heroin were said to have "substantially" reduced their use of street drugs. Research suggests that between half and two-thirds of all crime in the UK is drug-related. The Home Office says on its website that about three-quarters of crack and heroin users claim ...
Tory 'sources' have made it known that they will consider not raising pensions to the higher level proposed by the government, according to the Independent. Given the LDs' very clear plans to raise the level of the pension and to make pensions fairer, this is surely an open goal for us. I'm increasingly bullish about the next election as the LDs are likely to stand out quite starkly from the Tories and Labour as they fight over what they will cut or close. I do hope we can capitalise on this.
I seldom listen to the Today programme as it is a showcase for such idiocy on the part of the presenters that it simply isn't worth it. This morning I must have had a funny five minutes as I turned it on yet again. Sure enough John Humphrys took it upon himself to interrupt an expert on drugs who was providing some very interesting feedback about trials in helping addicts by introducing 'shooting galleries', thus regulating drug use and cutting crime. Unfortunately Humphrys thought he knew more than the expert so he spent the whole interview finishing his sentences, rather ...
Writing in this Sunday's Observer, respected civil liberties commentator Henry Porter described the Liberal Democrat Freedom Bill as "an excellent blueprint". Condemning the Labour Government's record over the last twelve years, during which "the conventions of liberty, trust and privacy... have been felled by Labour's chainsaw," Porter calls on the opposition to take action to restore what has been lost. "The opposition parties understand what is going on. At the time of the Convention on Modern Liberty earlier this year, the Liberal Democrats produced the Freedom Bill which covered everything from the intrusive Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to ID ...
I have resisted blogging fully about this till now. Councillor Linda Rhodes-Clayton (Hyde Park) quit the Lib Dem council group in Leeds a couple of months ago. The reason that Linda left the group is that she was not selected to stand for the Liberal Democrats in May 2010. Linda did not meet the standards that I would have expected from a Lib Dem councillor and certainly did not meet the standards that the people of Hyde Park and Woodhouse deserve from their local representatives. I hope that after May 2010 the people of Hyde Park will elect a council ...
Vince Cable has this morning launched a pamphlet published by the independent think tank Reform called 'Tackling the Fiscal Crisis: A recovery plan for the UK' setting out proposals for tackling the fiscal crisis. A PDF of the pamphlet can be downloaded here. Here's what the Lib Dem website has to say: In the pamphlet, he argues that there should be no "ring fenced" areas of spending and that all existing spending should be justified. Mr Cable claims the situation is probably more serious than the Government's proposals for a fiscal tightening of 6.4% of GDP over eight years suggest. ...
The controversy over the Prince of Wales using his position to influence planning decisions took a new turn today with confirmation that the Charity Commission has asked the Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment to explain its relationship with the heir to the throne. Their investigation is prompted by concerns that the charity has gone beyond its remit as a registered charity and tried to influence a number of planning decisions and a complaint that it is acting as his "private lobby firm": The Prince has already clashed with the architect Lord Rogers of Riverside, who said that the Prince's ...
Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable has launched a pamphlet published by the independent think tank Reform setting out proposals for tackling the fiscal crisis. In this pamphlet, he argues that there should be no "ring fenced" areas of spending and that all existing spending should be justified. He claims that the situation is very probably more serious than the Government's proposals for a fiscal tightening of 6.4% of GDP over eight years suggest. He argues that a fiscal consolidation of 8% of GDP over five years is more realistic, with the emphasis on controlling public spending, not higher taxes. ...
UKIP started the week in Strasbourg on ranting form. "The European Union is founded on misrepresentation, deceit and lies," West Midlands MEP Gerard Batten told the Parliament in his usual balanced way. "When it comes to further political integration 'No' is always the wrong answer so far as the EU is concerned, and so the Irish are forced to have another referendum." But although the Union flag on the desk in front of him incorporates the flag of St Patrick his remarks didn't go down too well with the Irish present. "An erroneous and condescending statement," said Fine Gael MEP ...
Ancient Britons felt blue. Romans came, saw and conquered, built a wall and left. Alfred burned some cakes. 1066 and all that. Magna Carta died in vain. Agincourt and Crecy*. Henry VIII had six mothers-in-law. Frankie and Betty bowled out the Armada. Charles I lost his head. George III went mad and lost America. Nelson was armless. At Waterloo Napoleon did surrender. Victoria invents sponge cakes and waterfalls and Prince Albert invents the Prince Albert. Two World Wars and one World Cup. Extra-time with the Argies. Is that all OK for the officially recognised patriotic version, Melanie? * But don't ...
Yes, folks, this is a short, teaser post to let you know that the shortlists for this year's Liberal Democrat Blog of the Year awards 2009 will be published this morning at 11.25 am. The nine judges – Tom Brake MP, Ryan Cullen, Helen Duffett, Meral Ece OBE, Lynne Featherstone MP, Alix Mortimer, me, Cat Turner and Paul Waugh – have been poring over the entries for the following six categories: * Best new Liberal Democrat blog (started since 1st September 2008) * Best blog from a Liberal Democrat holding public office (The Tim Garden Award) * Best use of ...
Remember him with one of his greatest films:
ITWire reports: The NSW Government has begun a long process of cataloguing all the data sets it collects and has now committed to making the free public availability of each set its default position in handling public information. The Department of Premier and Cabinet has created a website at data.nsw.gov.au to list all government data sets, outlining which sets are freely available and a timetable for those that are not yet available... And the roadmap, which overhauls how data is collected, stored and made available, is being conducted in conjunction with a $100,000 competition called 'Apps4NSW' aimed at encouraging the ...
With The Observer editorial and contributors calling for reform of drug policy over the last couple of weeks and The Independent yesterday announcing the resounding success of heroin prescription experiments, the time is right for the Liberal Democrats to rethink their approach to drugs policy for the next election. In 2002 The Observer published a poll that suggested that 2% of the population believed heroin should be legalised or decriminalised. In August of this year, a survey by PoliticsHome suggested 19% of the population supported legalisation of all currently illegal drugs, and over half the population supported legalising some of ...
The Guardian's latest promotion idea has to be the coollest yet. They are giving away reprinted editions of old children's comics. We have already had Jackie, The Beano and Roy of the Rovers and today we have the Bunty Summer Special from 1972. I used to deliver all of these as a teenager and I can recall that some of the attitudes reflected in the comic strips seemed a little dated even then. This morning's Bunty though is like stepping into a time warp. One story has a lawyer assessing a girl's femininity to see if she is eligible to ...
Some of the inventions put before Tomorrow's World in previous years have been remembered on news programmes yesterday. My fondest memory is of the programme which showed my son's design for an electronic board to improve wheelchairs. He was ten at the time and gained the nickname "The Ingenious" at his school. Nowadays he has his own high tech electronics company, designing and making boards for electronic screens.
A new campaign has been launched today called POWER2010. Its aim to allow ordinary members of the general public to ensure that the next Parliament makes a commitment to fix Britain's broken political system. It is formed from the 2006 Power Inquiry and will use mass campaign tactics and a unique people's 'vote' to identify the five changes to the UK political system the public most want to see. The priorities are created, prioritised and decided by the general public rather than interest groups. Parliamentary candidates of all parties will then be invited to support the reform proposals to be ...
Writing about the Market Harborough Arts Fresco on Sunday I praised the Ant Orkezdra. Here they are marching (though not in Harborough - this video shows them in Church Square on Sunday).
While the Detective Chief Superintent, Chris Stevenson, responsible for the Soham investigation says expanded ISA powers as going to far and called for a return "back on an even keel" the Government position softened. Possibly unlike Tom Harris MP they listened to public opinion from more than just parents, people like the NSPCC, senior Police Officers acting and retired. Retired Mr Stevenson said: "The furore that has gripped the nation since [Soham] has made us all paranoid. Is it in the interests of children? "Commentators keep referring back to Huntley and the events in Soham, citing this as the cause. ...
I was very intrigued by today's poll of 1,000 RMT Members which called for the re-nationalisation of the country's Rail network. 70% of their members are calling for the system to come back under state control, where only 23% were in favour of the current system. I should explain, that in my opinion, the current system is possibly the most confusing, inefficient network of interests I can think of. The infrastructure (the stations, the track etc) is upkept by Network Rail, a state-owned company which the Department for Transport has influence over. The services are run by Train Operating Companies ...
As someone with many contacts who work in the civil service, this morning's article on BBC News about bureaucrats having "no fear of the sack" is particularly interesting. The article only talks about "senior" civil servants. But I can assure you all that the article is applicable across the entire service. The problem seems to be that, ...
Hi all We are currently on Thailand (at this moment, we're on Phi Phi Island) on our belated 'honeymoon'. Back to Bangkok tomorrow and off to the North East areas on Saturday for a few days. I will be uploading some photos here in a day or so - check back and you can see us riding ...
2 Big Stories Brown will acknowledge need for cuts The BBC is leading with news that the Prime Minister will use the 'C' word for the first time! Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to admit for the first time that spending cuts will be needed, the BBC understands. BBC political editor Nick Robinson said Mr Brown would make his most explicit comments yet on spending choices in a speech to union leaders on Tuesday. Deliver us from Gordon Meanwhile, The Times reports that almost half of voters would replace Mr. Brown with... well, anyone: Almost half of voters think that ...
