The Hastings & Rye Lib Dems had a bit of a treat last Friday night... Chris Rennard - former Chief Executive of the Party and nationally renowned by-election guru – one of the Party's 'Hall of Fame', came to visit. We had a bit of a fundraiser, and a chance to think with him about our current ...
I had my first karate lesson tonight, and I really enjoyed it (even though I was rubbish) and I've come back home to watch QT. I feel somewhat guilty for thinking that Humphries is better than Dimbldore, given that the poor man is injured. But I am really enjoying seeing Woodward eviscerated. That said, my brain and body are tired, so in lieu of proper content, have some:Fresh Squeezings From the veins of the Internet [IMG: [info - personal] ] innerbrat has a brilliant post about the usefulness of the medical and social models of disability as applied to various ...
Tonights Prestwich Area Partnership was dominated by news that the Area Partnership Manager is to be moved to a different area. Bury Council Management have decided that Area Partnership Managers will be rotated around the Borough every two years to help them develop their personal skills. It was clear tonight that their was considerable upset and anger at the news. I made a short statement on behalf of Prestwich Councillors that I nor my fellow councillors have ever been consulted on this decision. I further confirmed that we believe that to rotate managers would be detrimental to the efficiency of ...
Thu 12th
23:14
Alan mate, it's too late to show leadership, but it's never too late for common sense.
The Home Affairs Select Committee has called for the extradition of Gary McKinnon to be halted due to his 'precarious state of mental health', withdrawing from Alan Johnson the opportunity to be a leader in this situation. However, it's not too late for him to act. The Home Secretary should order McKinnon to be placed under house arrest in the UK, so that the care he needs can be administered easily. Gary McKinnon's skills as an individual who can penetrate Government security systems should also be considered by Mr Johnson when deciding McKinnon's long-term fate. McKinnon was capable of hacking ...
For the past few weeks I have been contributing the occasional post to The Corridor. This is because its owner is struggling to find the time to blog at the moment, but wants to keep it running. So he has asked a few other cricket fans to help out. I was talking about this with someone at my writing club this evening, and we hit upon the idea of blogsitting. It would work like this. If you were going on holiday, busy with your day job or needed a break from blogging then I would offer you the following service. ...
Conservative members on Sefton Council's ruling Cabinet voted with Labour to close down Southport's main library service for three years.
"Rupert Murdoch doesn't think Barack Obama racist, says spokesman" Also Vicar of Rome - Catholic, and Ursidae defecate in Sylvania.
This afternoon, I attended part of the Balgay Stakeholders' Group meeting at Lochee Park. The group is a good opportunity for the Friends of Balgay, city councillors and Leisure and Communities Department staff to discuss issues affecting Balgay Park and Hill. I had to leave early as I was chairing the final formal meeting of the West End Christmas Week Committee for the 2009 event. We had a very productive meeting - Christmas Week 2009 (West End Xmas Factor) is looking great and we'll be announcing the full details in the next few days. The meeting ended with a very ...
The tone of the news on radio and TV when reporting repossession rates rising has tended to suggest that things are not quite a bad as people feared. Unfortunately that's not the case in County Durham. The government has named 34 repossession "hot-spots" across England, and of those 5 are former "district council" areas in County Durham: Chester-le-Street, Derwentside, Easington, Sedgefield, Wear Valley. Only two of the former districts, Durham and Teesdale, escape. It's a depressing picture, but more important than ever that people across the county are aware that the county has a team dedicated to helping people with ...
Thu 12th
22:14
Failed defeat of homophobic "free speech" amendment shows the need for House of Lords reform
With the news that the government have conceded defeat over the amendment proposed by Conservative Lord Waddington, which claims that inciting hatred towards homosexuals is part of 'free speech', the need for the House of Lords to be reformed has never been so great. Comedians worried about criminal prosecution also stirred up moral panics, as ...
Interesting piece on Politics Home with it's 'PH100′ now predicting a closer election result. Meanwhile, over on Conservative Home they are saying the mountain may not be as hard to climb as the pundits say it is. I think the 'PH100′ shift is understandable considering we have seen some slight signs of a Labour recovery. ...
I just blogged ...
I received the BNP's latest leaflet the other day. It is a glossy national one with an image of a family that they have probably purchased (the picture not the family) off the web. In the leaflet they have highlighted the 'successes' of 3/4 BNP councillors. The striking thing is that not one of the councillors is local to Loughton or to Epping Forest. Is this because they have nothing to brag
Myself, Eric, Gerald, and Ronnie were out today braving the cold weather to deliver our Moreton West and Saughall Massie Focus around the area. The teams will be out again during the week, speaking to people and getting their views on issues that concern them. Our aim as Liberal Democrats is to ensure people have ...
Good to see some imagination and effort going in to putting to good use those development sites which the recession means are otherwise going to stand empty: The City of London Corporation is actively encouraging alternative uses for plots where development has been hit by the credit crunch. The Richard Rogers designed "cheesegrater" was put on hold last year. Developer, British Land, is now running a competition for young architects to find a use for the site for up to 5 years. You can read more on Londonist.
I need a new car stereo, cos the fancy detachable faceplate on the cheap piece of shit I've got right now keeps falling off, and so the music stops. Anyone got any suggestions?Features I need: it Just Fucking Works - is this even possible, or do they have stupid proprietary connections? It needs to plug into an 04 reg Toyota Hilux. both bass *and* treble no fucking disco lights aux in so I can plug my ipod in a USB port would be nice, but not essential no fancy removeable bits to fall off and get lost if it has ...
In his blog post on the 4 November 2009 the Conservative Councillor for Moreton West and Saughall Massie Chris Blakeley, states that "the very popular and well used Moreton Family Centre on Pasture Road, that helps lots of mums, dads and grandparents is closing down as a direct result of the Labour-Lib Dem cuts. They, ...
I need some Bluetooth headphones, can anyone suggest any?Features I need: works with iphone stereo sit on the ear, not stuffed inside the ear band goes around back of neck, not over top of head can be bought online doesn't cost all the money in the world USB charging strongly preferred I don't care if it has a microphone and other jibber-jabber in it. In fact, I'd rather it didn't. I have already tried the Sony DRBT21GB, which only works in mono so is going back to the vendor tomorrow.
The Bradford Telegraph & Argus reports: Four Conservative party supporters from Bradford tried to rig the voting system in the run-up to a General Election in a plot to "harvest" postal votes, a court heard today. Mohammed Sultan, Mohammed Rafiq, Reis Khan and Jamshed Khan sent off for postal voting applications under false names or had legitimate applications re-directed to them, Leeds Crown Court heard. Their aim was to get "their man" Haroon Rashid, 39, elected to the Bradford West seat in the 2005 General Election, said prosecutor Mark Ainsworth. Earlier this year, Haroon Rashid was cleared of conspiracy to ...
The GP practices at Shotfield plan to move into Mint House during November to allow work on the redevelopment of Shotfield Health Centre to begin. Access ramp is temporary You cannot fail to have noticed the new access ramp that has been built in Jubilee Gardens to help patients get into Mint House. Although of practical benefit ...
Good news at Pitfold Close. The application to build houses and flats on land to the rear of the close has been REFUSED by the Council. The application didn't even get to the stage where it'd be considered by a council planning committee – council officers refused it under their delegated powers.
I read today that civilians working for the Ministry of Defence have pocketed getting on for £300 million since 2003 - the year we invaded Iraq. In the first seven months of this year alone, £47m has been handed out as bonuses. Meanwhile, some Army privates earn a salary of less than £17,000 per year, and the bonus they get for being on the frontline in Afghanistan is just £13 per day. In my latest phonecast, which you can listen to using the player above, I argue that the frontline forces must come first. As some of you may know ...
I moved an amendment at Committee stage of the Equality Bill which would make it against the law to discriminate on grounds of caste. The Bill moves to protect a number of 'protected characteristics' such as sexual orientation, disability, race, age and so on - but not caste. The Government would have none of it. As far as they were concerned they had seen no evidence. They had consulted - and there was no evidence in the responses of any problem. Of course - the Government had consulted with essentially those organisations who condone the caste system - therefore (as ...
King's Church Catford are part of this years Caring Christmas Trees project. Simply by buying a quality real Christmas Trees from the Caring Christmas Trees website you will be supporting homeless people. Order online and select the size of tree and location/day that you would like to pick it up. Every Caring Christmas Tree bought helps a homeless person receive shelter and support through the work of The Jericho Road Project which is run as part of King's Church Catford (charity no.1082666). The Project began in 2001 and currently provides housing for 26 people whilst also working to reduce rough ...
Sefton Council's ruling Cabinet has thrown out throw a proposal to relocate Southport's town centre library to the currently vacant space at the rear of Southport Market Hall during the 3 years of work on the Arts Centre and Library buildings. The decision of the Labour and Conservative majority on the Cabinet has been condemned as "disastrous" by Liberal Democrats on the Council. Despite being the largest party on Sefton Council the Liberal Democrats were outvoted by 6 (3 Tory/3 lab)to 4 at Thursday's (12th November) held at Bootle Town Hall. Work on the £15 million Southport Cultural Centre project ...
This blog started out as primarily a comics blog, but over the last few months there've been fewer and fewer posts about comics. There's a reason for that. I've been reading as many comics as ever for the last few months, but aside from Grant Morrison's comics and League: Century, none of them have been about ...
I am indebted to my colleague Cllr Tatersall for the report below on a bit of this morning's cabinet meeting. David is a trained journalist-good (Pitman) shorthand and takes an excellent verbatim quote down accurately. I mention this only because we have a certain councillor who has been known to insist that minutes of meetings are changed because they didn't say xxxx. Tiresome when many of us were so gobsmacked at the time we are unlikely to forget. Anyway for the avoidance of doubt we deployed David's skills -and one or two other tested means to hold the Tories to ...
Images of my left hip, before and after the operation to put it back together. The metal plate is apparently made in only one size, but I'm going to have a look at what there is on Google about this technology. Not surprising that its still a bit painful after three weeks, though its certainly improving gradually. Today I had an appointment at 10.45 at King's orthopaedic clinic, waiting until 12.15 to be seen. The doctor said he thought a mistake had been made, because there isn't any treatment needed. But L asked what was required to improve my bone ...
Lloyds Banking Group who are supported by the tax payer are being investigated by the UK Border Agency for flying Indian staff to the UK to do the work of UK-based IT staff. From a letter obtained from the Lloyds TSB Group Union to its members it states that "The Group has known for some time that 1,300 Indian contractors have been flown to the UK to do the work of IT staff and many of those have been moving from project to project and have worked for the Group for many months, if not years. Whilst some of those ...
In May 2006 residents of Bickley ward in Bromley elected three Conservative councillors to represent them: Colin Bloom, Gordon Jenkins and Catherine Rideout. In August Colin Bloom announced on his blog that he was giving up being a councillor at the May 2010 elections to concentrate on getting elected as the MP for Erith and Thamesmead. So then there was 2 (although Cllr Bloom still gets paid his
Nick Clegg's latest 'Meets You' public meeting – in which he gets out of Westminster and meets real people across the UK – comes to Oxford tonight. I'm going to be live-tweeting the event over @libdemvoice – just click here to keep up with what Nick's asked and what he says. at Wesley Methodist Church, Oxford, waiting for Nick to speak. Couple of hundred people here. a rather bedraggled-looking – well, it is raining – Evan Harris (MP for Oxford West) has just arrived. Steve Goddard (candidate for Oxford East) introducing Nick, looking forward to overturning Labour's 963 majority. Nick ...
From this evening's Leicester Mercury: A last-ditch effort to save Leicester's historic Bowstring Bridge from demolition has failed. Campaigners' final hopes of preventing the destruction of the bridge in the West End were dashed yesterday when their latest appeal to have the Victorian landmark listed was turned down. The application was rejected by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, which upheld an earlier decision by English Heritage. It was ruled that the bridge was not of sufficient architectural or historical interest.I don't blame them: I blame Leicester City Council.
The Government is planning to remove legal protection from listed buildings in Britain. The provisions are contained in draft legislation which will encourage local authorities to demolish listed buildings on economic or social grounds. This legislation threatens numerous buildings including 19 in the Redcar district alone. Local conservationist Alex Stamp said "to remove legal protection is unacceptable and an astonishing indication of the Governments hostility where distinguished architecture is concerned., the idea that local Councils could demolish buildings such as Redcar clock, Saltburn war memorial or Middlesbrough railway station when they like will be a shock to local people. Professional ...
Thanks to today's news I am reminded again of Carry On... Up the Khyber: Brother Belcher: I've never ridden in a cart pulled by cows before. Captain Keene: Bullocks, Mr Belcher! Brother Belcher: No, I haven't, honestly.
There was a bit of a row at the Cabinet meeting yesterday about introducing Cornish language street signs as part of a wider Cornish language strategy. The proposal is that, when new or replacement street signs are needed, these either be in Cornish or bi-lingual. There would be encouragement to use Cornish names wherever possible. Thus, Plas-an-Gwarry would stand on its own (it is Cornish), but Richmond Hill would have (in smaller letters) Bre Richmond underneath. Whilst many councillors were in favour and the Cabinet voted it through, others, such as Morwenna Williams and Fiona Ferguson, were very much opposed. ...
It's #bbcqt day again and as usual the Live Chat on this blog will start tonight at 10:30pm. The panel will include Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Shaun Woodward, the Conservative shadow security minister Pauline Neville-Jones, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on communities and local government Julia Goldsworthy, the cultural commentator and writer Will Self and the rowing champion, double Olympic gold medallist, television presenter and writer James Cracknell. Liberal Democrat Voice also sometimes have an open thread for BBC Question Time which is posted just before the start of the programme. Join us from 10:30pm below. BBC Question Time ...
Inflation reports, QE is not working as the Bank promised, and lots of other stuff.
[IMG: David Sutton Loses seat] [IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] Well, there has been another freedom of information request for councillor cases processed via the Councils internal system, for the period July-October 2009. Whoever keeps doing this - well done! I think we should be regularly held to account, and it makes for better and more open democracy. I'm sure this will get the usual complaints from the Tories, all I can say is that I report issues - they get resolved - and I'm happy the statistics are accurate for me. We have a new system in place which is supposed to ...
I've reported a faulty streetlight on the alleyway between Belmont Road and South Park Road in Gatley. The streetlight is the one immediately on the Belmont Road (west) side of the railway line, labelled as "2" on the post.
Great news - Camden Council has won a bid to make Belsize and the surrounding area a Home Energy Efficiency Programme pilot for the whole of London. That means up to 1,000 households will each receive 10 energy and water efficiency measures installed for free. It's to test out the concept for the whole of London. Those who have hard-to-heat homes which need solid wall insulation and double glazing will also be signposted towards a new Pay-As-You-Save pilot, which I spent a year arguing for with the government, and which will start at the same time. Basically the PAYS scheme ...
It's time that Liberal Democrats called for British troops to be pulled off the front line in Afghanistan. The justifications for their continuing presence vary with the day of the week and the desperation of the advocate. I am not convinced by any of them. I don't know how we would recognise 'success' if it were to be claimed, and I don't believe that our involvement is making the streets of Britain any safer. Alone amongst the three party leaders Nick Clegg has voiced concerns not simply about shortages of helicopters (in the Great War the call was always for ...
So Sally Bercow, wife to the Speaker, has been selected as one of three Labour candidates standing in the St. James ward for the Westminster council's elections in May 2010. So what? Mrs Bercow is a person in her own right. Women have had the right to vote for 90 years and thankfully it's not very ...
As Gordon Brown was speaking unveiling 'tough new immigration proposals' over on LabourList Majorie Smith was contemplating the immigration 'conundrum'. It is best described as a conundrum that arises from the conflict between principle and practical politics as Smith outlines. On the one hand Labour should indeed be 'internationalist' in its outlook but on the ...
Perhaps Cornwall's Conservatives have been learning from the Government on how not to conduct a consultation. A report out today from the House of Commons Public Acounts Committee says that ministers showed a "real lack of concern" for communities across the Westcountry when ordering the closure of dozens of post offices across the region - including Newport Post Office in Launceston. The report says that the consultation was 'little more than window dressing'. By stating the number of closures in advance, the Government had, to all intents and purposes, already taken the decision they were consulting on. The report goes ...
The Southport Visiter sent their reporter to the market recently to see what the traders thought of the idea about moving the Library to the market hall whilst major capital works are being done. Here is his report: Southport Market Traders have welcomed plans to temporally house the Atkinson Library in the Market Hall
[IMG: Queer Question Time Birmingham] An all lesbian and gay panel took to the stage in Birmingham last night for Queer Question Time. Peter Tatchell (Green) - Human rights activist and Parliamentary Candidate for Oxford East Nikki Sinclaire (UKIP) - MEP for the West Midlands and candidate for her party's leadership Iain Bowen (Lib Dem) - Birmingham City Councillor for Acocks Green , Philippa Roberts (Lab) - Parliamentary Candidate for Hereford Gareth Compton (Con) - Birmingham City Councillor for Erdington Chairman Steve Ball kicked off the debate, in the style of BBC's Question Time, in front of a decent crowd ...
Thanks to Lib Dem Voice from bringing us these two: David Cameron is under fire for having his private snapper take pictures of him in the Whitehall Garden of Remembrance before the Armistice Day Service yesterday. I have to say that I don't think Mr Cameron has necessarily done that much wrong - although it has clearly hit a few nerves. Whilst Andrew Parsons (the photographer) might have breached rules about who is allowed to enter the garden to take photos, I think it is right that our politicians demonstrate their support for our troops, active and retired, living and ...
So I like mutuals but I still can't stand Brown and the majority of New Labour. Having been relentlessly attacked by Murdoch's Sun, Brown is sucking up to the school yard bully by telling him that he's got cool clothes, a great punch, and is the best at football. Murdoch shouldn't be supported or held in "high regard". He wields way too much power in the democratic process. He should lose some of his undue power, not have his ego stroked. Brown, you are a spinless scared child.
The not-at-all-hypocritical RyanAir are at it again. They have announced that the route from Newquay to London will not be returning in their summer timetables having been pulled at the last minute from the winter run. The only RyanAir flight now due to operate from Cornwall will be the flight to Alicante in the summer timetables. They couldn't possibly cancel that too could they?
David Dimbleby will miss Question Time tonight after an unfortunate accident with a bullock on his farm. Whether he is on Question Time or at home on his farm, he is always very close to what one might politely call "Bovine Scatology", of one sort or another.
David Cameron has been accused of exploiting Armistice Day for political gain, raising questions of where politicians should draw the line when it comes to photo opportunities, and what behaviour is appropriate when honouring the war dead. As The Mirror reports: They ... began a carefully-choreographed photo session. The Tory leader had clearly been instructed on how to behave and moved briskly from pose to pose in the 20 minute shoot. He walked around the garden, often bending down to read the names of the dead etched on crosses and carefully studying the wreaths of poppies. Photographers normally keep a ...
Dimbleby to miss Question Time in Weston after accident with bullock! Get well soon David ... http://ping.fm/32UHn
Mountsfield Park is one of the biggest green spaces in Lewisham, and in the recent years has been doing a steady progress, picking itself up from the its very own dark ages of degrade of not long ago. Quite instrumental to this renaissance is the Mountsfield Park Users Group (MPUG), a group I attended since its ...
All them cornfields and ballet in the evening.
With the new, restored-Thames, version of the London tube map due out soon, I thought it would be fun to dig out my 1987 copy of the tube map. Back then there was a Thames, an East London Line and Aldwych - but no Terminal 5, North London Line or DLR expansion: [IMG: London tube map 1987] (Click on image for larger version)
I see that there is another story in this morning's papers about bonuses paid to civil servants, in this instance at the Ministry of Defence. And yet again, levels of outrage are high, predominantly from those who, I note, aren't civil servants. Might I politely suggest that, before getting on their high horse, they actually find out why these bonuses have been paid (yes, and that includes you, Mr Reeves...)? You see, contrary to popular opinion, most civil service employees are equally opposed to bonuses linked to performance, and yet these have been foisted on us by governments who seem ...
All known Liberal Democrat candidates and retiring councillors in London received a bumper mailing this week with information to help them win in 2010. Next year's London elections are a big challenge. It is likely to be the first time there have been local elections and a general election on the same day - ever! But there are many places around the country who have considerable experience of winning both councils and parliamentary seats on the same day. Likewise, recent elections results show that it is possible to buck the trend and keep picking up council seats even in Labour ...
Holy fuck. The Labour government are doing something which doesn't involve attacking immigrants (grrr Gordon), taking Liberties or people's broadband connections. Mutualized public services? With actual local control? Run by the workers and the users? Maybe even a bit of co-production? I'm completely taken aback. Labour have produced something, finally, that makes you remember why they're a great historic party with some remaining committed suporters. I've got to have a cup of tea. This is too much. Mutuals are good. They'll lower costs. Improve services. Give greater control to the end user and the frontline staff. I mean... wow. Good ...
Chris Davies, our Liberal Democrat MEP, shares his views on Afghanistan and would like to know what you think. If I have time to think about it properly, I may be getting in touch. The fraudulent elections held in Afghanistan, and the further death and maiming of British soldiers serving in the country, have forced me to think hard about the situation. I have written to Nick Clegg to give him my views and I want also to share them with readers of these occasional LIB DEM NOTES. I believe that our troops should be pulled off the front line ...
The Liberal Democrats have revamped their website at www.LibDems.Org.Uk - it is better than the last version but I still find it very clunky and not user-friendly.
News form the Guardian today suggests that the new Speaker's wife, Sally, will be standing for Labour in next May's elections in Westminster. This must underline Conservative objections to his holding the office of Speaker, and make many wonder if he would survive an incoming Conservative government. She was selected last night for St James' ward ...
PricewaterhouseCoopers, admininstrators of the former Homebase site in Riverside Drive have advised me of the sale of the site at the end of last week : "I am able to confirm that the sale of the site completed on Friday. The purchaser is H&H Properties (UK) Limited of Dundee." The "Evening Telegraph" printed my comments about the sale last night - see http://tinyurl.com/homebasesale. It appears from today's "Courier" that the new owner intends to press ahead with the exisiting planning approval for over 200 flats. This is, in my view, a missed opportunity to consider a smaller scale development on ...
The Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Sheffield Hallam, Daniel Gage, would face a pretty uphill task to defeat Nick Clegg in any event. But he's just made that job a whole lot harder, by being kicked off a town council for failing to turn up to meetings. The Sheffield Telegraph reports: Daniel Gage, one of five Tories on Dronfield Town Council, has been disqualified after failing to attend a single council meeting in the last six months. Mr Gage, aged 24, said he is 'heartbroken' to have been kicked off the council just days before he was due to launch his ...
My grandmother used to say if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. She was usually right. I think I'll stop talking about what other people are doing or not doing and get on with doing stuff myself – like preparing for yet another Westminster Council by-election... ...
First, though, an update on the Neighbourhood meeting yesterday. We (the local councillors) agreed the planning application for Chessington Nurseries, and adopted the Neighbourhood Community Plan. We were not at all happy about the latest planning application for the Red Lion pub site, and listed our concerns and those of residents nearby for the Development Control Committee, who will be deciding the application next month. Now a bit of gossip - you may have noticed activity going on in the old Woolworths store in Hook Parade. Rumour has it that a carpet firm is moving in. I'll be very pleased ...
Thu 12th
11:53
Tales from Wales: Myself and a Lib Dem MP attended a Plaid Cymru Parliamentary Party Meeting by mist...
Having worked in Wales for a few years for the Liberal Democrats, as the party's national campaign manager, I seem to have a number of stories that might be of interest. But, the first one is concerning a time before I worked there. Those old enough to remember will know of the old jokes of the ...
A number of residents have raised queries about the programme of external cyclical maintenance programme in the Logie Estate and I have now received this update from the City Council's Housing Investment Unit : "I have been forwarded a copy of your enquiry regarding the ECM programme which is currently on site in the Logie area. There have been a number of matters which have delayed us notifying all of the owners in this development of the planned works and hopefully the following update will be of assistance to you in responding to any further enquiries you may receive. Letters ...
Friday 9th October saw an important development in plans to improve the District's Museum Service when senior officers of the St Albans City and District Council and the New Museum for St Albans Action Group met. Discussions focused on how best to reflect and make accessible the history of the City and District and to start to provide a 21st century service. Dr Jill Singer, speaking for the New Museum for St Albans Action Group said: "The City and District has been described as a microcosm of England with almost every aspect of life and times throughout the centuries found ...
As an advocate of liberalisation of drugs policy, one of the questions I often get asked is exactly what sort of system would I want to see for how drugs could be distributed if they were legalised. I respond along the lines of requiring a proper regulatory framework and I have my own ideas about how this could work but the exact nature of how this could be implemented is subject to debate even amongst those of us who advocate liberalisation. As I type, Steve Rolles of Transform Drug Policy Foundation is at the Houses of Parliament to discuss a ...
Thursday: The new 2009 Forbes Power List has been published and the two persons from Great Britain on the table of the World's 67 most powerful people (apparently one for every one-hundred million humans) are the Prime Monster Mr Frown and our very own Mr Mark Thompson! I've got that right, haven't I? Clearly, it really WAS a VERY GOOD blog post. OBVIOUSLY this is only the list of the most important HUMAN BEANS. I eagerly... and modestly... await the list of the World's most important ELEPHANTS... ...still waiting... ...still waiting... ...still waiting... .
Public Servant magazine has run a piece from me titled, "Is Google coming to government?" Here's what I wrote: [IMG: Google logos etc.] A smart public sector decision maker needs to understand not only that that people now expect information to be available online but also that by putting it there it can spark a whole new set of ideas at virtually zero cost, writes Mark Pack Where do you look for information? For years, government has been run by people for whom the instinctive answers involve books, ring binders and libraries. But we are seeing a new generation rise ...
Kirsty Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire): Does the Minister intend to investigate the claim made in evidence given to the Finance Committee that up to a fifth of the NHS's budget may not be being spent efficiently. (WAQ55104) Edwina Hart: No. Unbelieveable.
The Daily Mail, not a rag I have any time for, last week called Skerne Park in Darlington a "crime-ridden estate" where "private police" were being paid by local residents to patrol their "lawless streets." Today, the Echo carries a piece by Jim Entwhistle who has been out on patrol with Fearless Francis Jones, the former boxer and night club bouncer turned born-again Christian who heads up
I went to the council "cabinet" meeting in Barnard Castle yesterday - about as far away from Consett as you can get to take the decision to close our two comprehensive schools and start a split-site Academy school - and was struck by how much the same feeling is across the county. The questions were the same sort of questions. The answers were read from sheets written by officers. Here's a selection. A question about delays in broad-band provision in Teesdale. A response that says that the delays are technical and the county is committed to delivering broadband to Teesdale. ...
Much ink has been spilled over what letter or symbol is best used to describe what the recession will be like. Some have said it will be a V – a sharp drop followed by a sharp increase. Or maybe it'll be a U, a sharp drop, followed by a prolonged stagnation, followed by a ...
Anybody who reads this blog on a regular basis will know that I have a strong interest in civil liberties issues and that for this reason I have opposed ID cards from the start. I have also had huge concerns about the retention of the DNA records of innocent people. It is a interest shared by Cardiff Central Liberal Democrat MP, Jenny Willott, who has proved to be a tenacious and principled campaigner on these issues. In this morning's Western Mail, Jenny quite rightly claims that the latest Government plans to store innocent people's data for six years will allow ...
This morning's Western Mail reveals that the Welsh Government are paying consultants £750,000 as part of a four year management contract to run a European aid programme. London-based Navigant Consulting has been taken on to manage a £55m scheme known as Jessica, aimed at regenerating urban areas in the poorest parts of Wales. Commenting the Welsh Liberal Democrat shadow Economy and Transport Minister, Jenny Randerson said: "This represents a large expenditure on consultancy services and it's disappointing that the Assembly Government has not developed this financial expertise in house. "It's therefore vital that this contract delivers good value-for-money and a ...
The link is to the debate about the Court Fees.The old 1215 Magna Carta was changed on numerous occasions, but there are still some sections of the 1297 Magna Carta that are in force in the UK.This can be seen here on the statute law database.One of the sections that remains in force is Section 29.NO Freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or be disseised of his Freehold, or Liberties, or free
Thu 12th
09:53
Last week in the Lords (part 2) - "actually, Goliath tends to beat David nine times out of ten"
The week closed with further debate on the Coroners and Justice Bill, where Lord Lester of Herne Hill moved Amendment 19; in clause 154, page 101, line 17, at end to insert: "( ) it is a heinous offence, and" in an attempt to tidy up the Government's flawed attempt to prevent those guilty of the most serious crimes from benefitting from publication of the details of those crimes. As he put it, "Like the Mikado, I hope the Government and the House, will appreciate that, "my object all sublime", is to, "let the punishment fit the crime, the punishment ...
Thu 12th
09:46
Timetable junked as FCC Thameslink descends into chaos - does anyone care about train users?
[IMG: station-entrance.jpg] FCC Excuses to Passengers page (and they will still keep downgrading us to mere 'customers' rather than stakeholders or passengers - after all we pay the taxes which subsidise company profits on top of the outrageous ticket prices). Customer information: Thursday 12 November 2009 Revised service on the Thameslink route We are extremely sorry that a shortage of train drivers has forced us to cancel a large number of services on the Thameslink route between Bedford, Luton, central London, Sutton,Wimbledon and Brighton. To allow us to operate as consistent a timetable as possible over the coming days, we ...
[IMG: british-police.jpg] Liberal Democrat Councillors have expressed dismay that nearly a half of all fixed penalty notices issued by the police for public disorder offences remain unpaid each year. Liberal Democrat Leader Chris White said: 'This is an astonishing figure. The public rightly assume that when the police issue a penalty it will be paid - not ignored. The excuse in part is that the paperwork is not always correctly completed - but this is simply not good enough. 'There has to be rapid action to ensure that those committing criminal acts do not get away with non payment - ...
We are beginning to see more and more mornings when vehicles are frosted over. Many people in residential areas may be tempted to leave their vehicles with the engines running whilst they nip back inside their houses to keep warm. Unfortunately car thieves are aware of this and now that winter is here they will be up and about early in the mornings driving around residential areas looking for easy pickings. Don't leave your car engine running on the street or your driveway unless you are stood with it. If a criminal steals your car with the keys in the ...
You can find it here.
A couple of weeks back Professor David Nutt, an advisor on the subject of drugs, was in the media because some things he said contradicted the government's position on the reclassification of cannabis. Soon after Alan Johnson sacked Professor Nutt claiming that he had campaigned against government policy. I thought there was something fishy about this, it didn't seem to me like the statements were campaigning, even with the media leaping on them in the way they did. But with work and family I didn't have time to look beyond the headlines. Turns out my feeling was right. Dr Evan ...
First, a recap from 2007 for new readers: You may recall the story of James Purnell and the photoshopping incident - an NHS Trust faked a photo featuring him, the Trust and he then gave differing accounts of how it happened, he then bombed out in a rather funny TV piece trying to defend his line that he didn't know what was going to happen and wasn't in any way to blame for the fakery and then Pink Dog got dragged into the whole saga. Yesterday the Telegraph and today the Mail have unearthed more evidence, and it's looking pretty ...
The National Liberal Club is so beautiful - the rooms of great elegance and glorious design - and such a friendly, non-stuffy atmosphere. The Reverend Paul Hunt is in his third year as Chair and was warm, and friendly and welcoming - as is the club itself. It has all the charm, grace and magnificence of a club - with none of the stuffiness. When I had looked in my diary for my Wednesday night engagements, I had seen 'Toast to the Health of the National Liberal Club' at their 127th Annual Dinner. I had met a young man at ...
Thu 12th
07:53I really hope people are going to describe the result of the Glasgow North East By-Election properly...
No doubt BBC News and Sky News will be broadcasting live from a public building tonight and into tomorrow morning to give us the result, and subsequent comment, about the by-election in Glasgow North East. I have been impressed by the level of media coverage in Scotland about the by-election, which many are saying might be ...
[IMG: Nick Clegg conference speech] Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg today challenged Gordon Brown at Prime Minister's Questions on planned cuts to Housing Benefit. Current Government plans are to scrap excess payments to local housing allowance claimants where their rent is lower than the rate of the allowance. This would see some of the poorest families in the country up to £780 a year worse off. Nick asked: "How is it possible that in the middle of a recession, with unemployment now at two and a half million and rising, this Government, a Labour Government, wants to change the local ...
Collision, ITV's drama this week, reminds me of the 1949 Ealing film Chain of Events. As Wikipedia says: The film opens with a long shot of a Liverpool-bound train waiting to depart from Euston station. The train leaves with various characters on board. After dark, the train is still travelling north at speed when a light being waved by the trackside is seen by the driver. Alerted to possible trouble he applies the emergency brakes, but a road tanker stalled across a level crossing is looming up just ahead. Plainly, there is not enough room to stop. Just as the ...
Good morning. Today in 1990, Tim Berners Lee published a formal proposal for the world wide web. Today nearly twenty years later, here we all are. And isn't it frightening that 1990 is nearly twenty years ago?! 2 Big Stories Labour's plan for 'John Lewis' public services The Guardian is reporting that the Labour party are proposing mutualising public bodies – and the Guardian thinks the concept of mutualisation will be so alien to its readers that the only way of explaining it is by analogy to John Lewis. Hospitals and schools would be transformed into John Lewis-style partnerships under ...
Thu 12th
06:57
50,000 MoD civil servants get £47million shared in bonuses while 51,000 troops earn £16,...
You really couldn't make this up, in the six months between April and October this year 50,000 Ministry of Defence officials, or civil servants have received £47 million in bonuses between them. While our frontline troops have to go out and buy their own uniforms and kit to ensure they have the basic equipment they need and the average soldier only earns around £17,000 per year. This is exactly why Nick Clegg was right to launch the Liberal Democrats campaign for fair pay for our troops some months back you can sign the petition here. Over 51,000 (Over a Quarter ...
Okay folks, on a recent campaigning trip in Glasgow North East I spotted this new product and I must admit it brought a smile to my face and more smutty innuendo than you can shake a stick it in my head! But, I thought I would pass this one onto you. So, using the comments section, let us open the November caption competition to you, the readers of my blog!
My work colleagues in London and Scotland know and some share of my frustrations about the sheer volume and the close proximity of bus stops in parts of Edinburgh. My bus journey in Edinburgh takes the same time as my old train journey from Kent into London, which is completely ridiculous. So, my suggestion to Lothian Buses is to stagger the services to particular bus stops as they are on George Street, and Princes Street once it reopens. Let us take Leith Walk for example and my bus, the number 10. The bus turns onto Leith Walk and the first ...
I just finished my first post for GeekaChicas ( [IMG: [info - syndicated] ] geeka_chicas_feed) and am waiting for the editor to approve it, and edit it for horrendous HTML cock-ups etc. I hope nobody minds my British spelling... The subject of the post is The Sarah-Jane Adventures, and how awesome it is, and I'll let you know when it's up. If it goes up. * wibble *
David Cameron's speech on Tory ideas to tackle poverty should make interesting reading! When they were last in power they stood idly by as child poverty doubled. Why should anyone believe that they are now the right people to abolish it? ...
I am a part-time photographer. See my blog http://photographyfornovices.blogspot.com/ and for the first time yesterday I received an album from Italy. It is one of those albums in which the photos are printed directly onto the page. I looked at the charges from other photographers and deducted a few hundred pounds. I wasn't sure of the exact costs as there are so many variables, but now that I have my first album I know that I can lower my prices even more. I was a physiotherapist till 2008 and I worked in the NHS. I never worked privately but if ...
This months unemployment figures paint a similar depressing picture to recent months, though the rate of increase has moderated. Indeed because unemployment always tends to fall in November, the unadjusted figures fell in Birmingham, though the adjusted figures continued their rise - to 12.8% against a national average of 6.0% The focus of the news reports today has rightly been on the level of youth unemployment - which is now 943,000 (18-24 year olds) or 19.8%. This is terribly damaging; when people start their adult lives with a long period of unemployment it makes it much less likely they will ...
