Sidmouth St written repLocal Lib Dems said that the planning committee's rejection of a dorm for 114 students right next to the protected, peaceful St George's Gardens were "a victory for democracy". Lib Dem campaigners Jo Shaw and Elizabeth Stanton Jones told The Camden New Journal in August that they were concerned that developer the ...
Having recently travelled down to London and seen the obsession some parts of the country have with installing speed cameras almost every couple of miles along some roads, I have to agree with the Tory idea that most speed cameras could be culled. Whilst speeding is a crime, it is not a premeditated crime intended to be at the expense of someone else. I happen to think flashing signs, better road markings and the occasional risk that a police officer might be standing there with a speed gun does provide the necessary inducement to slow down. The problem though, for ...
This has to be some sort of joke, right? Some bizarre Situationist Milgram-inspired prank to expose just how many members of the population are willing to spy on their fellow citizens just for the prospect of a feeble reward if they spot someone straying out of line. Otherwise, if it is true, then it's finally happened. ...
So the Conservative Party is gradually coming clean. And it is clear already that as part of their "pain for all" plans phase one is taking a scorched earth policy to public spending. With a freeze on public sector pay, delayed pensions, restricted pay limits and a 10% cut to public services this is a scorched earth policy designed for more than control of public spending in mind. The more I here from Cameron, Osborne and co. the more I believe this weeks announcements are part of a concerted attempt to scare the British public into accepting the most demanding ...
So, time to start thinking about the wisdom of writing policy ideas for Labour because, like Nineteen-eighty-four, they don't spot the satire, they don't spot the joke, they don't really see the problem. Oh, sure, they've managed to make it a bit more accessible and voter friendly, but the basic idea of putting the unemployed to work monitoring everyone else on CCTV from their own homes, which I wrote up as a piss take here, is apparently going to become a frickin' reality according to the BBC. Sick. I feel sick. UPDATE: I realise it's a private security company doing ...
I seem to be part of that. Just as I approach the 65 year retirement age it'll move to 66, if George Osbourne has his way. Then, according to Will Hutton (one of the three people in the world who understands this stuff) interviewed on BBC Breakfast this morning, the retirement age will go up to 67 in 2021 - again slipping frustratingly out of my reach. What did us Baby Boomers (or perhaps 'Generation Joneses') to deserve all this?
Thought I'd share an incident with you that happened this afternoon. Around about 3pm I received a phone call from a resident who was in quite an anxious state. The call was regarding a future planning application and some tree felling on the site. The resident stated that they believed some of the trees being felled had protection orders on them and I was aware that the site had a number of trees with what is called Tree Preservation Orders (TPO's). When you receive a call like this you have to act quickly. I made a call to Conwy's Regulatory ...
It's almost as if the Conservatives take for granted that they will be elected next May/June and are now working to ensure they get re-elected four years later. Why else would they set out to so unpopular? Medicial Examinations for the sake of 25 quid a week, a public pay freeze and moving the retirement age to 66. They know how to make themselves unpopular. Why is it that they suddenly think people will find cutting public spending a good thing? Financial prudence - since when was that a vote winner? Perhaps if it was demonstrated to people that their ...
What should we make of the news that Tracey Emin is threatening to go into exile in France as a protest against the new 50p tax rate? Sometimes these cases are clear. In the case of bankers, we clearly cannot afford the risk that we shall have to bail them out again, so it is better that they leave. In the case of Michael Caine, it would be a shame to lose him. Tracey Emin is more difficult case. None of us wants to be the sort of philistine who thinks it is clever to laugh at modern art, but ...
Welcome to the 137th of our weekly round-ups from the Lib Dem blogosphere, featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (27th September – 3rd October 2009), together with a hand-picked quintet, partly courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget, by the way, you can now sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox – just click here – ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Will the real ...
There was classic evidence that Boris is a jewel in the pantheon of British characters on last night's ITN News at Ten. He was interviewed at length about the Lisbon Treaty referendum by Tom Bradby outside the Manchester conference centre. There were a lot of wordy answers from Boris, who was obviously having to perform quite terrifying intellectual gymnastics. ....Trying to prove that he was not out of line with David Cameron previously when in fact he seemed to be. After the interview was over but the camera was still rolling (words which may send a shiver down most politicians' ...
A brief update to my blog post last month about how Hackney Council had removed one of Banksy's most famous pieces of art / graffiti (delete as you wish). Liberal Democrat run Sutton Council is taking a much more interesting and enlightened approach to a Banksy in its patch: The fate of a mural by graffiti artist Banksy hangs in the balance as the public have been asked to decide whether it should be preserved. The vote in London borough Sutton has seen initial support for the artist... Despite usually operating a zero-tolerance stance on graffiti, the council has made ...
The Yes vote in Ireland poses a real problems for the Tories and the Lib-Dems Now that Ireland have voted yes to the Lisbon Treaty, I see that David Cameron is promising a referendum on the treaty IF the Poles and Czechs manage to delay ratification until he wins the GE. I understand from press reports that ratification by Poland is imminent but that there is even some sort of undercover agreement with between the Tories and the Czech President to try to delay the Czech ratification! If this ruse fails and it is ratified by all 27 members before ...
Stephen Fry, along with other celebrities including Patrick Stewart, Eddie Izzard and Jo Brand has signed an open letter calling on the Tories to distance themselves from some of their new European allies. One of whom Michal Kaminski addressed a fringe event at the Tory party conference on the same day that LGBTory were to hold a first ever Conservative Conference Pride event on Manchester's Canal Street. The letter said: "It is not just that your new Polish allies oppose gay marriage and adoption but that their vile rhetoric - branding homosexuality as a 'pathology', gays as 'perverts', and describing ...
I spoke at a couple of events at the Conservative conference. I saw nothing of what went on in the hall, and in fact the more spread out nature of the event in Manchester means there was little chance to soak up any atmosphere. Just rain. Elsewhere I blogged a few impressions. Non-Tories are still a bit nervous of being associated with Conservatism - still, after 12 years. But at the events I spoke at - on poverty, and public sector spending -there was no sign of that raucous, nationalistic, braying Toryism that drove me far away from them in ...
Lib Dem Voice has published my views on the election debates controversy in the latest in the series of posts from Scottish Lib Dem bloggers, Haggis, Neeps and Liberalism. You can find it here.
If you find yourself at a loose end in Welshpool on Thursday evening, hurry along to the Edinburgh Woollen Mill fashion show at the Old Station. There, says the Shropshire Star, you will encounter Lembit modelling the latest fashions. He is taking part because the event is raising funds for the local branch of the Motor Neurone Association.
Today saw the Tory shadow chancellor George Osborne deliver his conference speech to the party faithful in Manchester, including setting out a number of spending cuts: >> Public sector pay freeze in 2011 – except frontline military or people on less than £18,000 >> Keep 50p top tax rate for now >> End Child Trust Funds for all but the poorest families >> No tax credits for families earning over £50,000. His Lib Dem opposite number Vince Cable is distinctly underwhelmed: "This set of deficit reduction proposals is Lib Dem Lite. The sum total amounts to nothing more than a ...
This two-day event has been running since 2004 and gives you a unique opportunity to experience first hand the issues and decisions faced by the British Red Cross international emergency response unit (ERU). Visit the Red Cross website for further information and to find out how to apply to be part of 2010's challenges!
If we have to have a Cameron government, then I would much prefer an Iain Dale or a Dominic Grieve as Home Secretary than Chris Grayling. (All are, naturally, a disappointment compared to Home Secretary Huhne under PM Clegg!) Yet I fear Iain's chances of getting the job are only slightly worse than Dominic Grieve's (as the Murdoch press is rumoured to have insisted Grieve was moved from his shadow Home Office role). Writing about his visit to the Arts Alliance Music in Prisons fringe at the Tory conference, Dale notes that politicians are tough on crime when they reduce ...
YouGov is, for the first time in Britian, running a daily tracker poll over the party conference season. It is an interesting idea, but the results are sometimes a bit all over the place. However the more interesting findings, in my opinion, have not been the daily voting intentions, but some of the issues that have ...
I was greatly amused by this. Check out the website of Dave Clelland, Labour MP for Tyne Bridge: http://www.david-clelland.org.uk/index.htm.The 2nd photo down the page is really a lesson in why care needs to be taken with the camera! Check what's behind you. And then reject photos that make you look like you have sprouted Bugs Bunny ears!And just in case Mr Clelland should have the offending
The Echo has a report on the odd story about our MP that was in the Mail on Sunday. If you missed it, this tells a rollicking tale of Amess causing a security alert on boarding a flight to Washington, and a hygiene alert on leaving it. The Mail put it like this: A senior MP on an official parliamentary trip was almost barred from a flight to the United States after telling check-in staff that Osama Bin Laden had packed his bags. Tory David Amess was allowed to travel on the Virgin Atlantic plane from Heathrow to Washington only ...
I've not yet watched all of George Osborne's speech but the pay freeze for public sector workers is obviously intended to be the main proposal for the media to report. But I struggle to take anything Osborne says seriously, because every time I hear phrases like 'terrible deficit', 'debt crisis' or 'fiscal responsibility', the question pops ...
The compromise reached between the One Wales Government and Westminster on the welsh Language LCO appears to have set hares running amongst some Plaid Cymru members. A number of Plaid Assembly Members have expressed their dissatisfaction with the outcome whilst the Minister himself was clearly discomfited at the launch this morning, unhappy perhaps at the concessions he has had to make. Expect some more grumblings in Plaid Cymru ranks as the details sink in though how loud they will grow has yet to be seen. Some of the dissatisfaction can be traced directly back to the behaviour of the Secretary ...
Right, serious debate time. Which is funnier: Conservapedia attempt to correct the notorious liberal bias present in the Bible, or; This piece of art, which has to be seen to be believed (and check the detailed descriptions in the box to the right) There's only one to way find out....PRAYERFIGHT!
Last night's Panorama looked at the route taken by African migrants and asylum seekers into Europe and the UK. It followed the "chain" of movement through Libya, Italy and France that is being "pushed" back by the authorities. Along the route, migrants experience highly dangerous transportation, cramped, squalid living conditions and political oppression, simply for having the will to move away
Huw Lewis has a campaign website at long last and it is really rather good. Looking through I found at least one sentence that might cause some comment and some real highlights in the mythbuster section. We are told that Huw lives in Merthyr Tydfil with his wife Lynne Neagle (Assembly Member for Torfaen) and their two children James (7) and Sam (1). So that is the home in Penarth dealt with then. In the mythbuster section he tackles head on some of the charges that have been levied against him. He is a lifelong devolutionist, who cut his political ...
Some useful advice on burglary prevention has arrived from the Met police: Burglary continues to fall, despite this, it remains one of our top priorities. Our dedicated Burglary Team are working hard to arrest known offenders and investigate burglaries thoroughly. They are fully supported by an equally dedicated Forensics Team who aim to attend all residential ...
The City Council's Housing Department is proceeding with a kitchen and bathroom replacement programme for the Logie Estate - and it has been brought forward to this financial year. Along with the contractor, the Housing Investment Unit arranged for a display container to be on show in Logie Avenue yesterday and today, to allow tenants in the area to see a display kitchen and bathroom - so people can see the standard of work and the different finishes, colours of units, handles, etc that they can choose for their home. It was organised on a "drop in" without the need ...
Over the weekend, Lib Dem Voice has invited the members of our private forum (open to all Lib Dem members) inviting them to take part in a survey, conducted via Liberty Research, asking a number of questions about the party and the current state of British politics. Many thanks to the 200+ of you who completed it; we're publishing the results on LDV over the next few days. You can catch up on the results of our exclusive LDV members' surveys by clicking here. First up, LDV asked: What is your view of Nick Clegg's performance as Lib Dem leader? ...
Yesterday, I was challenged to a Twitter race, by two esteemed colleagues, Alan Belmore and James Shaddock. The challenge is to see who could gain 500 Twitter 'followers' first. Although just a bit of fun to start with, it started me thinking about the ways in which people use social media, and the different tools and techniques that campaigners can use to further their message. Automation, quality content, bulk following, pleas for assistance are all methods to obtain an audience. Paid-for solutions are, of course, out of my nonexistent budget. But do they really work anyway? Please feel free to ...
Miss Rigg has written her own lyrics and asked rather nicely where my blogger's version of a Boomtown Rat's classic is. She only gave us a sneak peak seeing as mine is going to be a journey song of a transformation and I'm still working on it here is the first verse and first chorus, more to follow. There's blue screen of death on my VDU I don't know what to do. And EARS crashed the system not an hour ago I'm feeling such a fool. But the PPC just the other day Told me I had to get online ...
[IMG: siamese_cat_pic] A good friend of mine was out late last night and had asked me to feed the cats for him. This I duly did and texted him once they were in and fed to say all was well. He emailed me this morning to thank me but confessed that they persuaded him they had not been fed...so he gave them some extra cat munchies when he got home. Here is my reply..... "Hmm that's how it starts......guilty parents over indulging their latch-key cats....next thing you know your cats will be hanging out on street corners on Friday nights ...
I've done a post for the new Reputation Online site, produced by the good folks at Centaur/New Media Age: Accusations of 'spam' and 'spamming' are often hurled about, covering everything from receiving dozens of emails advertising Viagra through to a journalist complaining about receiving one legitimate press release from a PR person. So what is spam? Read the answer over on ReputationOnline.
When I was young, I wanted to be a doctor. And if I hadn't dropped a grade on my Physics A level, I might now have become the paediatrician I always wanted to be. Faced with a sudden change of direction, I became an analytical chemist, a bank manager and then a public affairs manager. I've hung ...
Tue 6th
15:30
Foster on online pay-per-view for England World Cup match: football's "making a fast buck" at fans' ...
Well, the good news for Lib Dems is that it should be safe to go knocking on doors on Saturday afternoon knowing you're not going to interrupt an England World Cup qualifier on the telly. The bad news – if you're a football supporter without home access to the Internet – is that you can't watch England take on Ukraine. The BBC explains: England's World Cup qualifier in Ukraine on Saturday will be shown exclusively live to subscribers on the internet who will pay at least £4.99. All previously broadcast England matches have been available on TV. Kentaro – an ...
An argument in our office this week broke out. Simon claimed that he once had Doughnut Flavoured Skips. The whole team really didn't believe him. Google searches found a couple of people claiming to remember them but nothing concrete. So I emailed United Biscuits (owners of KP) and got back this reply: Hi Ryan, Thank you for contacting us concerning Donut flavoured KP Skips. We can confirm that we did produce these and that they were discontinued quite a few years ago and are unlikely to be manufactured again. Before any product reaches the shelves, extensive and costly product development ...
Since Glee Club I have had a little refrain going round in my head. This article in the Indy has spurred me to actually write it down, Cthulhu help me. To the tune of the Hippopotamus Song by Flanders and Swann:A bold young economist was standing one day On the banks of the cool river Ham. He gazed down at Twickenham as it peacefully lay By the light of the evening star. Away on the hilltop sat combing her hair, His fair young economist maid. The young economist was no ignoramus And sang her this sweet serenade. CHORUS Vince, Vince, ...
A few weeks ago a senior Estonian political leader said to me that he believed that the biggest threat to Estonia's security came from Latvia. It was not, he explained, that he had any ill-will towards Estonia's southern neighbour, but their failure to get to grips with the economic crisis could have paralysing consequences for the whole of northern Europe, including Estonia. Now concerns about Latvia are once again increasing. The emergency financing from the IMF and the EU needs to be rolled over and the government is going through a budget process that is contemplating massive cuts in expenditure, ...
Can you believe it? When local industry sought help from Lord Mandelson's Business Department they got a frosty reply, according to a report in the Gazette today. "I was sorry to hear about the recently announced closures of some chemical plants on Teesside," he said. Governments across the European Union are helping their industries facing tough business conditions. They include Holland, Germany and Poland. But not the UK's Labour Government. Local Lib Dems have supported the Save Our Steel campaign, but we have repeatedly pointed out that the buck stops with Gordon Brown's Government. It's no good local Labour MP ...
Tue 6th
13:57
National Trust says sale of land for East Middlesbrough bypass would be dereliction of duty
From the Evening Gazette, 5 October 2009 - 'SELLING off land at Ormesby Hall estate for an East Middlesbrough bypass would be a dereliction of its duty, says the National Trust. The proposed new single-carriageway road is at the centre of a controversy between Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland councils. Middlesbrough Council wants the road to be built with a number of measures to alleviate traffic problems on routes into the town from the south. Redcar and Cleveland's Cabinet has confirmed its opposition to the road plan. It prefers to make progress on alternative measures to ease traffic congestion - ...
Now we are onto tidal power. This one is an amalgamation of two blogs I wrote some time ago on the subject, but the issue is still very loaded and this is why I want to speak on this issue. I am personally in favour of the smaller barrage for the area between the two road bridges. I would have liked to have seen the larger one built but it would have taken too long and would have been too expensive, although it would have provided 5% of the UK's energy needs. But we must at least build the smaller ...
Who does Alex Salmond think he is? With all three main party leaders having now agreed to participate in televised debates in the run-up to the next general election, Scotland's Opportunist-in-Chief is threatening to throw his toys out of the pram unless he's included in any debate shown north of the border. But Salmond is indulging in pure gesture politics once again. As my colleague Stephen Glenn has pointed out before, Salmond has no right to expect to take part in a leaders' debate when he won't even be a candidate at the next Westminster election. He leads the fifth ...
Welsh Liberal Democrats have called upon the Assembly government to explain why investment in skills and education has seen cuts deeper than any other area of Assembly expenditure. Commenting on the budget Kirsty Williams said: "We're in the middle of a recession that is hitting young people particularly hard. We're also struggling to provide the skill base that will drive economic growth in Wales for years to come. To hit colleges and training providers with a 5% cut at this time makes little sense. Our post-16 education providers are already struggling to balance the books, these cuts could be devastating." ...
HAVE YOUR SAY ON BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE REDCAR and Cleveland Borough Council is currently undertaking Statutory Consultation on its Building Schools for the Future plans. The Council's Cabinet Member for Children's Services and Education, Councillor Ian Jeffrey, said: "This consultation forms part of the next stage in our exciting plans for Building Schools for the Future. I would like to encourage everyone to come along and have their say on the proposals." Councillor Jeffrey, added: "The Building Schools for the Future programme is a vitally important part of the jigsaw that will eventually see 21st Century learning environments ...
Here is a reason to love and cherish Dave. Genuinely. There is a smashing piece of commentary in the Independent today from Steve Richards which discusses the problems of promising things in opposition which you are then bound to if you win power. He was of course referring to Dave and his pledges over Europe, namely to hold a referendum and to withdrawn from the European People's Party. Richards discusses this in his usual eloquent way but, rather like Brighton Rock, it is the very last line which strikes the killer blow. He frames his piece around Dave writing his ...
Ian Swales pledges to "do his bit" for British Armed Forces Ian Swales, Liberal Democrat Prospective MP for Redcar, has pledged to do his bit for the British Armed Forces family. Ian Swales met with representatives from The Royal British Legion at the recent Liberal Democrat party conference in Bournemouth where he was presented with a copy of the Legion's manifesto for the next general election. The manifesto sets out priorities for the next Government to improve conditions for the British Armed Forces past and present and their families. It encourages MPs and parliamentary candidates to "do their bit" for ...
The Conservatives "in control of" Bury have scored another policy own goal this week, forcing at least two local junior football clubs to their knees with threats of legal action over water-testing bills. It was reported in the Bury Times this week that the Council has sent a bill for £600 to Unsworth Junior Football Club, who will be charged for their Legionella water test. This testing was previously carried out for free, but after a policy change implemented by the Tories, the clubs themselves now have to foot the bill. What was already a fairly unpleasant story was rendered ...
After a bit of a hiatus caused by holidays, illnesses and general rearranging of schedules, I got back to breadmaking last night. I made my basic bread recipe, but added a slug of beer (Fuller's Organic Honeydew, since that's what I was drinking) to the dough before the first kneading. This (obviously) made a wetter dough than I usually work with, which made it a little more difficult to handle, but also seemed to give a slightly fluffier bread with a more even rise, so I will probably do it again. It doesn't seem to have changed the taste of ...
RESIDENTS LET DOWN BY SWINE FLU ARRANGEMENTS Residents in Redcar and Cleveland are being let down by the swine flu arrangements. Those needing Tamiflu are expected to go to either Stockton or Whitby to pick up the drug. Liberal Democrat prospective MP for Redcar has personal experience. He said: "I had some flu symptons and rang the help line. After a long pre-recorded introduction I was put through to two of the staff arguing between themselves and they couldn't hear me. Eventually I got through and was given all the help I needed. However I was amazed to be told ...
As part of the relaunch of this site, I've changed round a bit the RSS (news) feeds which people can subscribe to. There are now two main feeds: Blog - just includes the blog posts All content - includes other content, such as news releases If you are subscribed and don't know to which one it is - chances are it is the blog posts only. Now that you can also get the news releases in together, it may be a good time to switch! It being WordPress, you can create a myriad of other feed combinations easily by typing ...
Do you want to work an extra year before you retire? This is the proposal from the Conservatives who are, according to Eric Pickles, the party of civil liberties. They are also the party that will get people off benefits and back to work. If you have your own story of unemployment then you will realise that life is not black and white, for example if you have any skill whatsoever you may find that it is difficult to get work in your field. Are the Tories really saying they want brain surgeons to work at McDonalds? Pick your own ...
I recently received notification of a proposal to place a mobile phone base station and 17.5 metre mast at Newman House, Queens Road, Barnet EN5 4DL. The mobile phone companies have been trying to get a mast in this general area for a while now and judging by the emails in my inbox this latest attempt is no more popular than previous applications. The problem of course is that we all have and want to use mobile phones but none of us want the associated equipment nearby. My own view is to consider how visually intrusive the proposal is and ...
Hurray! It's that time again when the Review trawls back through a couple of year's worth of reviewed stuff and tries to decide who deserves a lovely Ripplestone Review certificate for glorious music, outstanding cinema, great family entertainment or simply a nice day out. The nominations can be found here and results will be posted on The Ripplestone Review in January 2010.
Dear SirI like David Pedrick-Friend the Labour Party Candidate for Torbay. He reminds me of one of those Japanese soldiers, stuck on a Pacific Island, who for years after the surrender didn't realise...
It was time to meet a real live politician, and so off to the Transport Bhawan to meet the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways. We didn't have long, but there was time to find out what his priorities are. Curiously, there is a division between road and railways, at least as far as the Indian Government is concerned, and perhaps that might have something to do with the importance of railways in the Indian psyche. The three million employees might be another factor... Unfortunately, the delegation strayed into talking about trains, and the Minister was, in fairness, happy ...
In early November, Chorlton will host its 5th Book Festival. It remains an officer led affair, which is unusual for a Chorlton festival. Most things that go on in Chorlton take on a life of their own. The aim is is find people passionate about books who will want to shape the 2010 Book Festival. I spoke with Library manager David Green yesterday about what help is required. Basically, leafleting in your area and for want of a better explanation, stewarding the events. As you might suspect that isn't as demanding as stewarding Man Utd Vs Arsenal. At the Planning ...
Cross-posted from The Wardman Wire: [IMG: Sleepy person] Both the recent controversies over whether or not general election counts should take place on the Thursday night and whether or not the 2012 London Mayor and Assembly elections should use e-counting touch, in part, on the question of the accuracy of manual counts. This is an area where systematic evidence is very thin on the ground. For example, when recounts take place, there is no formal recording of the different recount results nor, when a result is declared, a formal recording that a recount took place. As a result, systematic analysis ...
It was my neighbour who pointed out to me the implications of the posters you've all seen round Consett. [IMG: Circus] If the county was really worried about possible contamination on the steelworks site, why would they allow the circus there this week? The "toxic smokescreen" put up by some councillors can be seen for what it is. Poisonous.
Janet Whitehouse and I have been contacted by residents concerned about anti-social behaviour and violence outside Club 195 in Cottis Lane, Epping, especially following the shocking incident on Saturday 26 September which has been extensively covered by the local press. Last Wednesday the district council responded to a request from the police and temporarily suspended the licence of Club 195. This temporary suspension was due to be reviewed yesterday (Monday 5 October) but the hearing has been postponed until Wednesday. This is not a full review but will simply decide whether the temporary suspension should continue pending a full hearing. ...
The result of the Irish referendum has been long expected, and as a result I think that most commentators had discounted its significance. In fact, I already detect some significant political shifts that are taking place. Firstly there is no doubt that the "antis" are beginning to accept defeat. Even the bumptious and increasingly erratic Dan Hannan points out that a referendum on Lisbon alone makes very little sense. He argues that the referendum should be an in-or-out question and he will be campaigning to leave. So perhaps the first result of the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon will ...
Redcar and Cleveland Council is giving thousands of young people across the Borough the chance to have their say on local democracy. Council staff have created a range of activities for young and old in primary schools, youth centres and a care home, including helping with mock and real elections. Now, to coincide with Local Democracy Week, the Council is bringing young people into Redcar and Cleveland Town Hall's Council Chamber at Eston for a series of innovative events. The meetings, in the shadow of the Council's imposing crest, United We Endeavour, will be a Democracy Commission on Friday, October ...
ON THE BUSES While I think of it, bus routes 25 and 73 are among those to be reviewed during 2010, so if anyone's got any input, could I have it by Friday please. NOT ON THE TELLY So we can't watch the England international on TV. That's the free market for you. I can't help thinking ...
Unfortunately, I am unable to give you the full information regarding the information regarding the potential fraud and mismanagement in planning, as during the debate it was decided to slap a gagging order on all information relating to this. Here is the link to the public minutes: Council Minutes, 28th September 2009 At Paper G, you can see that an internal committee is being set up to
Tue 6th
10:00
Making Camden a Borough of Opportunity for older people - free conference / activity day
The Homes for Older People project is Camden's plan to invest £30million to build two new care homes, both with nursing care and one with extra care sheltered housing.The Charlie Ratchford Resource Centre for older people will also be rebuilt, with new extra care sheltered housing above it. Residents can find out more about how these plans are progressing, and how we are making Camden a Borough of Oportunity for older people, at a special conference day on Friday 30th October. The conference day, aimed at residents aged 50+, runs from 10am - 4pm at Haverstock School, 24 Haverstock Hill ...
It's clear from last week's `shopping-list` Brown speech that Labour (apart from Mandy) has given up the intellectual ghost. We await the November PBR though people who are neutral about these things regard Labour as a dying government that happen to have the keys of office. Most political pundits regard marginal places such as Gravesham as ...
When a member of the Tory inner circle publishes a book slagging off the most respected and successful Conservative Councillors in the town we need to take note. For starters the book asserts: "the egocentric actions of this pious and overly slothful duo have worked against the best interests of not only of the main Conservative party.......' For me it all began late last week when I was e-mailed by someone who managed to locate a copy of a most interesting book written by a leading light in Southport Conservative Party circles, as well as husband to Tory Council candidate ...
The publication of the Assembly budget yesterday gave the first indication of the impact of the new financial climate on Welsh services. Frankly, it is going to be tough and it is going to get tougher. All the mainstream parties recognise that and the debate, when it takes place in November will centre around different priorities and how we should best use the resource we have to alleviate the impact of the recession on Wales, whilst shoring up public services as best we can. However, Plaid Cymru appear to be taking a different tack. They seem to think that Wales ...
......his way into the TV debate for the Leaders of the three main parties who are all setting out their pitch to be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. I do think a TV debate in Scotland could take place between Tavish Scott, Alex Salmond, Annabel Goldie and Iain Gray. Yesterday, Scottish Lib Dem Leader, Tavish Scott MSP said; "The SNP are quite entitled and should be part of debates in Scotland, but they should not be allowed to get away with bullying broadcasters. They do not represent opinion outside Scotland and have no role to play in ...
The Indian Summer of a September we've been enjoying has now turned into Autumn and the annual nail-biting contest between frost and gales has begun. If frost beats wind by a few days we get glorious golds, but if storms arrive first we lose the leaves before they change colour. Leaves don't turn golden until the temperature drops below zero, so I like a forecast of frost. Not sure if this is philosophical or it's a seagull moment.
There must be a general election due - both Labour and the Tories are trying to win over "Middle England" by bashing the poor. On the Tory side, we have the attacks on incapacity benefit, with plans which suggest that poor people will only be motivated to go out to work if they are threatened with losing their benefits. On the Labour side, we have plans to treat 16 and 17 year old mothers as though they're criminals by banging them up in hostels until they're proved to various busybody authorities that they're nice enough to be allowed out. Firstly, ...
The George bit of the David & George show says Labour is seeking to "suck up to business" and the Tories were not "bedazzled by big money" and would "not fawn over" wealth creation. He surely jests. Assuming the Tories win the General Election (by no means as certain as some would believe) there will be at least 50 MPs with Financial Services backgrounds. Moreover the Tories have recruited two exceptionally wealthy City performers (Michael Spencer CEO Icap and Stanly Fink former CEO of Man Group) as the Party's co- treasurers. Cameron has also created a network of supporters, many ...
So Alex Fergusson is upset that the ref didn't go on playing injury time until Manchester United could score the winning goal - like they did previously with a more compliant referee. Boo hoo. How sad.
The Norman Great Hall of Oakham Castle, says Culture24, is: a late 12th century fortified manor house, is one of the finest domestic buildings of the period. It stands within walled earthworks, and remains of an earlier motte and bailey castle are also visible. Within, the columns are decorated with sculptures of medieval musicians, and other fine Romanesque carvings survive. On the walls hang over 200 unique presentation horseshoes forfeited by royalty and peers of the realm to the Lord of the manor of Oakham. Until 2001, Rutland's magistrates' courts were held here regularly, and the Great Hall still occasionally ...
It was highly entertaining to see Jeremy Paxman interview Boris Johnson last night on Newsnight. Boris was most definitely not "on message" but I guess trying to make him toe the party line is a bit like trying to herd cats! However Jeremy's attempts to Paxo him did not really work out as you might expect... Boris answered Paxman's questions about the Lisbon treaty and David Cameron's Bullingdon days in his own inimitable style, giving as good as he got and taking the interview off on some fascinating tangents. He even at one point delivered a direct to camera statement ...
Yesterday's news that the SNP will take legal action if they're not involved in the election debates was the first sign that it's not going to be plain sailing to get this new idea off the ground... In fact, the reason why Brown was so stupid to dither over the issue for so long was the ...
A very strange story appeared last night on the BBC news and reported here on the BBC website. Apparently George Osborne will announce today that the pension age for men is to be raised from 65 to 66 in 2016 - about a decade earlier than planned - and he 'hasn't ruled out' doing the same for women. 'Conservative sources' said this would raise around £13 billion, which is a very very large cut. Leaving aside for a moment the fact that what they would do with women's pension ages appears to be something of an afterthought, how could you ...
David Cameron has said that with 2.5 million people unemployed in this country that we are facing a "jobs crisis". So what is the big scheme to deal with this? Well George Osbourne has announced a plan to cut the employers National Insurance contributions for the first 10 employees of a start up company. The net effect? Well even Osbourne says this will only create 60,000 new jobs in the first period of a Conservative government. So the net effect that this plan is going to have on 2,500,000 unemployed is reduce it to 2,440,000. Wow! That looks impressive. How ...
Zori are flat and thonged traditional Japanese sandals made of rice straw, cloth, lacquered wood. They first appeared in the US around World War II and in Europe a little later usually as rubber imitations of the wooden thong sandals long worn in Japan. I have long accused the Tories of being good on sound bites and poor on policy. Today comes news of their position on the Lisbon Treaty. Or rather the lack of a position. BoJo wants a referendum, and now! just so that Blair can't be President. Eighty percent of the party want a refrendum so they ...
2 Big Stories Chancellor-on-way-out promises freeze in public managers' pay: The freeze in effect represents a pay cut. And by targeting the richest public-sector figures, it will be seen as a sign that the broadest shoulders must carry the heaviest burden. Chancellor-in-waiting proposes raising retirement age: Shadow chancellor George Osborne would raise the state pension age from 65 to 66 from 2016 if the Tories win the next election to help tackle the UK's debts. 2 Must-read Posts Cllr Daisy Benson gave her readers a story about the human stories behind the unemployment statistics: This morning, on my way to ...
[IMG: [info - livejournal.com] ] minnesattva confessed that her first crush was commander Data. I can empathise with that; always having had a thing for Mister Spock, of which Data is the modern example. But here I am posting a picture of my first crush: Christopher Lee in Taste the Blood of Dracula. ♥ Just that voice... Mmm...
It's a portmanteau neologism. And I've done a video about it, which largely explains itself, so here it is: (You'll need YouTube annotations switched on – if the various links don't come up at the appropriate moments, use the menu on the triangle in the bottom right-hand corner to switch them on.)
Residents in south Lewisham are being driven to despair by the constant droan from railway carriages parked at the end of their gardens. The carriages, which belong to Southeastern railways, are left on the railway sidings every night and over the entire weekend, with their generators running and lights on. I received an assurance from Southeastern railways two months ago that they would do their best to reduce the disturbance, but the problem is as bad as ever. Surely it's not too much to expect the railways to turn off their generators at night. Not only is it a huge ...
I've got several other posts planned out – one on Darkseid, one on the Beatles, a new playlist, and so forth, but I've spent most of today reading the new Pratchett (not a masterpiece like Nation, but solidly entertaining and summing up a lot of my conflicted thoughts about football – and at this point, ...
We are busy supporting residents living near the small park on Reigate Road, who are sick of the aggressive dogs and drug syringes, which make the park a no-go zone for some. One man told me, "I'd never let my kids play there." We're working with the police to find the root causes of the problem, and I'll be going out on patrol with them this week to talk to local people. Cllr Pete Pattisson
Hundreds of local residents in south Lewisham have backed our campaign to demand fair rents for housing association tenants, like Phoenix Community Housing. Rents in Lewisham were due to rise by 6%, but the Government offered cash to the Labour-run Council to keep rent rises down. There was only one problem - this only applied to council tenants, not those who transferred to Phoenix. However, when Lewisham Council tenants moved over to Phoenix, they were promised that their rent would not rise above the level of council tenants. Another Labour promise broken.
Guest article by Geoffrey G J Payne Soon after I joined the Liberal party in 1983 I discovered something that surprised me. Many of the best Liberals were not members of the party, and some were even members of other parties. This presented both a challenge and an opportunity. It was frustrating that these people were not in the party helping develop it's political position. Yet clearly the potential was there; a Liberal party that could reach out to people beyond it's current core supporters. And that is how it has remained ever since. Today when you go to Lib ...
Saturday: Today you find me strapped to Daddy's tummy and ready to be deployed as an AIR-BAG. That Moomin is consorting with REAPERS and I'm not having some time-looping Cortina run down MY Daddy, even if he HAS just confessed a habit of wandering into traffic! Paul Cornell was a key figure in defining the Doctor Who New Adventures. Treating sci-fi backdrops as emotional landscapes rather than mere technical manuals (predating - just - Buffy the Vampire Slayer's similar use of fantasy) added vivid colour to the early books and changed the whole direction of the range. For the better. ...
