The Daily Telegraph understands that detectives will imminently pass files on Labour MPs Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine, and peers Baroness Uddin, Lord Hanningfield and Lord Clarke of Hampstead to the Crown Prosecution Service. ...MPs Shahid Malik and Tony McNulty will face no further action, and police have ruled out criminal investigations into the practices of "flipping" or avoiding capital gains tax. Generally speaking "Hurrah" say I. HM Revenue and Customs has launched the inquiries into 27 MPs. MPs could avoid tax on their expense claims on the basis that they were "wholly, necessarily and exclusively'' incurred in ...
Just caught most of "It's only a theory", an excellent panel show on BBC 4, of which I was not previously aware. The panel includes one of my favourite human beings, Reginald D Hunter. They quiz experts who posit theories which the panel either approve or reject. Tonight they got their verdicts the wrong way round, for my liking. They rejected the excellent George McGavin, an Oxford entomologist or "creepy crawly" expert as they call him on the One Show, and his theory that the decrease in the world's bee population is more of a threat to us than global ...
Our Labour MP is big buddies with Harriet Harman. He was part of the winning campaign team when Harman made her bid for the Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party. And after two years of being in place as the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Hastings & Rye, I can report that I no longer need to ...
An update on Planning for an extraordinary meeting. After 1 hour 50minutes, the meeting ended in failure. Although the Liberal Democrats had put forward an amendment: to postpone the investigation until after the Audit Commission have fully investigated the complaints and then we would use the normal committees of the council to sort this mess out. The ruling administration voted this down,
Well Town Takeover and Homophobia is Gay Week are, sadly, reaching their end. However, in Reading we like to go out with a BANG, so tomorrow night there is the big debate on Higher Education funding. chaired by the NUS and with panelists from across the political spectrum. It's taking place in Palmer G10, Whiteknights Campus and starts at 7pm. Come along and voice your opposition to tuition fees! Reminder: Friday night sees Homophobia is Gay Week reach it's climax with our Homophobia is Gay bar crawl. University of Reading students meet at Mojo's at 7.30pm; non-Uni students at Reading ...
It was announced this week that Luton Central Station was one of the ten worst in the country and in need of urgent investment and attention. The Liberal Democrats put in place plans which would have seen a massive investment programme directly benefiting the rebuilding of Luton Central Station and revitalising the surrounding area. What we have sadly seen though is our economy grind to a halt thanks to failed government policies. This has meant the money that was to be invested into Luton Central Station and the surrounding area is no longer available. Liberal Democrat colleagues and I have ...
Today's Queen's Speech was nothing more than a fantasy speech from a government that has run out of road in a Parliament that has lost people's trust. This Queen's Speech won't give people the help and jobs they need in this recession. It won't solve our economic problems and it won't fix our rotten politics. Instead of pointless pageantry and empty promises of Bills that will never make it onto the statute book, the Liberal Democrats would have implemented an emergency programme of political reform. A programme which would change our politics for good by bringing in the power of ...
Those who follow me on Twitter will have noticed a couple of tweets yesterday along the lines: RT @adriansalmon – Why not give back to your UK university this #charitytuesday? http://bit.ly/Z0NDc Pls RT! Adrian's aim was to raise awareness that universities are charitable institutions, too, and to direct folk to a website he's set up listing the webpages of all UK universities with online giving sites. Here are some of the highlights of what Adrian's #charitytuesday Twitter initiative achieved: at least 102 tweets of the message reaching c.5,000 people (a guesstimate); some 634 click-throughs – a very reasonable average of ...
Just back from Mayor and Cabinet, where they were discussing the response to the Assembly's 'statement of community views' on parking. You may remember that this went to Mayor and Cabinet back in May - tonight's meeting received the report requested then (quite why it's taken six months is anyone's guess, but hey-ho). The report being considered tonight responded to our statement by making three recommendations to the Mayor: That all residents in Lee Green ward who aren't covered by existing Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) will be consulted on the potential introduction of parking restrictions (including the option for a ...
On the whole, I am an incurable optimist with boundless faith in the human condition. Rarely does a news story upset me! Anger me? Yes. Fire me with passion? Yes. Make me laugh? Yes! Today, thanks to an FoI request we've found out that the Ministry of Defence spent the equivalent of thousands of hours taking part in stunts for the tv show Top Gear. I find that astonishing. I'm not a fan of lads' tv, not a fan of Top Gear, not a fan of Clarkson et al. He reminds me too much of the minor public school bully ...
There's a term in fundraising which, for all its good intentions, I hate: 'giving clubs'. These are the groups set up by charitable institutions to encourage potential donors to make a gift at a particular level in order to qualify for certain exclusive benefits. So, for example, if you give £5,000 a year you might receive invitations to private dinners; £50,000 you'd get access to the director, etc. (Knock-off / add a '0′ to the levels according to the capacity of your donor base). At its most crude, charities might give these clubs graded names such as 'gold', 'silver' and ...
For me, it was the Flood Management Bill that summed up the Queen's Speech. It conjured up an image of Gordon Brown trying to hold back the waters of history - a little dutch boy with his finger in the hole in the dyke, looking up to see the waves crashing over the top. But some of the other bills were more bathetic. A bill on Child Poverty? A law, as Nick Clegg pointed out, that doesn't bring a penny of funding with it. It served only to remind us that Labour failed to tackle child poverty in the years ...
The appearance last week of the Christmas tree at Seabraes (see above) made it clear that West End Christmas Week is about to commence! As reported in tonight's Evening Telegraph, Christmas Week will be launched at 10am this Saturday (21st November) in Dundee West Church's Community Facilities (132 Perth Road but enter at top of Roseangle) where a West End Community Fayre is taking place. Many local organisations are participating and all local residents are invited to attend. Entrance is entirely free of charge and it will be a great way for local people to learn about all the organisations ...
Whilst the identity of the first European President has grabbed the attention, the process of appointing a new set of European Commissioners is already underway. Although European Commissioners are expected to stay away from party politics, especially of their home country, that is changing as the decisions they take are political and it is inevitable ...
Dear Fraser Today's Queen's Speech was nothing more than a fantasy speech from a government that has run out of road in a Parliament that has lost people's trust. This Queen's Speech won't give people the help and jobs they need in this recession. It won't solve our economic problems and it won't fix our rotten politics. Instead of pointless pageantry and empty promises of Bills that will never make it onto the statute book, the Liberal Democrats would have implemented an emergency programme of political reform. A programme which would change our politics for good by bringing in the ...
Well, I'm just about well enough to type one of these, after a few days of essentially staring blankly into space (went back to work today, though I probably should have had another day or so off). Proper post tomorrow, I hope: (BTW for anyone going to the Thought Bubble comic convention in Leeds on Saturday, ...
Please send your comments in on this simple question. Should an MP have their first home in the part of the world they represent in parliament (not necessarily in the constituency, but locally) or should their first home be in London (if they are not a London MP). Then the logical second question is, is your first home where your children go to school ? Please comment and let me know your views.
The concerns about street lighting policy I highlighted yesterday on www.dundeewestend.com were further reported in today's Courier (see http://tinyurl.com/lightspolicy or click on headline above to view) and if you press play on the above Blogger Upload you can hear my comments on Radio Tay News today too.
Local residents are being urged to show how much they love Heaton Park, in two new competitions staged by the "Save Heaton Park" campaign. Campaigners hope that the contest will highlight local residents' love for Heaton Park, which is being threatened by a privately-run soccer centre planned for a corner of the park. The myPark Art and Photography competition invites original photos, paintings, short movies or even mobile phone snaps of the St Margaret's corner of Heaton Park. Judges include professional photographer Mike Black. The myPark Poetry and Prose competition is looking for and poem orpiece of prose about this ...
A couple of weeks back, LDV posed the question, Do you support or oppose Tony Blair becoming the first President of the European Union? There's no room for doubt about the overwhelming view of readers of this site (who may or may not be representative of Lib Dem supporters more generally) – here's what you told us: >> 27% (144 votes): Yes – no matter what you think of Blair, Europe needs his leadership abilities >> 73% (389): No – he is the wrong person for the job Total Votes: 533 Poll ran: 28th October – 17th November 2009 I ...
Flooding across the County today with more bad weather predicted from 9pm tonight. A couple of telephone numbers that may be of use during out of office hours for flood issues: Conwy Emergency Flood Response Room 01492 577999 Conwy Careline 01492 515777 Floodline 0845 988 1188 or check http://www.conwy.gov.uk/ http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/
Yesterday saw the opening of this year's ELDR (European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party) Congress, which will see a galaxy of European Liberal Prime Ministers, EU Commissioners, party leaders and officials, as well as your correspondent, converge on the Hilton Diagonal Mar hotel in Barcelona. The theme of the Congress is 'economic liberalism after the financial crisis' and it is hoped that this will be an opportunity to develop a wider sense of the key themes of European liberal values and principles. And with Nellie Kroes, the scourge of the UK banking sector and Commissioner for Competition, taking part in ...
I have wanted to blog about the terrible case of Tulay Goren, a Turkish Kurd, missing since 1999, whose father is currently on trial for her murder, for some time. The terrible details have unfolded week by week. What incensed me was the evidence her father, Mehmet Goren gave, claiming he was a member of the PKK ( a Kurdish seperatist group) in the past, and did not believe in 'honour killings' As if this somehow gives him the credentials that he was a man of principle. I've heard this before. Men who have been violent towards their wives, boasting ...
Wed 18th
18:15
Nick's response to the Queen's Speech: " fantasy Queen's Speech from a government that has run out o...
So in the end the Queen's Speech wasn't cancelled – as the BBC reports: [Nick] Clegg, who had called for the speech to be cancelled and the remaining Parliamentary time before an election to be used to clean-up politics, said there was nothing in the proposed legislation to help create jobs, boost bank lending and fix the UK's "rotten" political system. And here in full is what Nick said today in response to the government measures announced by HM The Queen: All the pageantry in the world cannot cover up the fact that this is a fantasy Queen's Speech from ...
I was down at St Pancras today for a business lunch - there is a phrase you would not have written a few years ago - and noticed that Paul Day has now added a frieze to the base of his giant statue The Meeting. It does not make me warm to the statue, but it the frieze itself is a striking piece of work. I did not have my camera with me today, but Londonist has posted a video of it. The photograph above, which I took on an earlier visit, shows Martin Jennings' charming statue of John Betjeman. ...
It's mid-November and I'm still feeding people off my balconies. Last week I had ten members of the Transition Belsize Energy and Transport group round for dinner and served them salad with fresh peas in it. Yesterday I made pestos from rocket and nasturtiums. At the weekend we had scrambled eggs (not from next door's hens sadly!) cooked with nettles and fennel. Amazingly there are still a few alpine strawberries and cherry tomatoes on the back balcony. Of course I can't produce all the food that our two person household needs. I reckon I'm producing about 5-10%. But 5-10% is ...
From The Journal: A North East MP has insisted reports of his death are an exaggeration after rumours swept his constituency that he had died. Whispers grew across Blyth Valley from Sunday night that Labour MP Ronnie Campbell had had a fatal heart attack. But he would say that, wouldn't he?
The Government is proposing as one of its key pieces of legislation in the Queen's Speech to bring forward a Bill to impose a new legal duty on the government to eradicate child poverty by 2020. Noble in aspiration maybe - but it makes a mockery of serious government. Laws are not about warm words - or shouldn't be. This Labour government has so devalued both legislation and this legislature. The Queen's Speech was full of it. I felt so frustrated listening to Gordon Brown producing the same old tired lines. There is no life left in this Government - ...
There was a very entertaining exchange on Today this morning. Evan Davis was at his most animated, as he repeatedly taxed Peter Mandelson on a couple of the proposed new bills. What does the bill actually do which "guarantees" a good education? And what does the bill do that pledges to half the deficit in four years? The answers from Peter Mandelson flowed along like "Old Man River": .....We've talked about these subjects many times, Evan... ...schmooze.....wafle....waffle Dat ol' man river He mus'know sumpin' But don't say nuthin', He jes'keeps rollin' He keeps on rollin' along. In other words, ...
In anticipation of today's full council session, I recently wrote to Salford City Council to ask permission to make an audio recording of the day's events. The city's solicitor replied and answered that, no, audio recordings were not allowed - citing various reasons, including the possibility that the audio recordings could be "maliciously" edited. Other councils such as Gloucestershire County Council, Haringey Council and Canterbury City Council have their own in-house audio recording systems (connected to the chamber's already existing microphone loop) and provide downloadable audio recordings (in MP3 format) on their council's own websites. Why can't Salford do the ...
Last night was the monthly meeting of Launceston Town Council. The biggest topic of the night was the renovations at the Town Hall. The architect and the designer were both there to give presentations on their work and the Town Council gave its approval to go ahead. The scheme will cost around £1m overall and the proposed works will be on display at the Town Hall before work starts. It will mean a much more accessible building with a more welcoming feel and the ability to host small conferences as well as dinners, dances, shows and theatre. The second big ...
Yesterday I was delighted to be asked to chair a conference in County Hall on equality in Social Care. An audience of 80+ heard from Pam Vickery of the Care Quality Commission and Tracy Sweet of NHS Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and discussed topics such as religion and belief, literacy, mental health, data usage and human rights - and how all of these can affect the type of care a person receives and whether they have equal access to it in the first place. There were also the inaugural care equality awards with the winning team being the ...
Wed 18th
16:24
Tales from Wales - 'Don't forget the old people and don't underestimate the young people...' (Narber...
So, having arrived safely, and identified the local goat herders were next door, we found the room we were training the Election Planning Workshop in and began to set up all the kit. We arranged the desks and put out the handouts that people needed for the training, until from the window came, 'oh look,' as ...
The Warmer Winter campaign will be in the car park of Gorton Market tomorrow (Thursday 19th), offering help and advice on keeping warm this winter. There's also an advice session at Emmanuel Church tomorrow evening, 7:30 to 8:30. No appointment necessary, all welcome.
The Government has put out a consultation paper on the proposed closure of Launceston Magistrates Court in Dunheved Road. It looks like they have been learning from the Conservatives on Cornwall Council as the 'consultation' is so biased that there is only one possible answer. There have been court sittings in Launceston stretching back to the middle ages. But the claim is that the court building is now not fit for purpose. I agree that the current set up is not particularly tenable. The building is too small, there is no accommodation for prisoners, it is not accessible for people ...
As I blogged earlier the Queen's speech lacked ways to improve Government accountability, or any concrete ways to meet their aim to cut the deficit by 50%. Well David Cameron in his response has just pointed out that there are 11 Kelly Commission recommendations still to pass into law. He asked where were these issues in the speech. He also offered to give way to the Prime Minister if he said he was going to implement these before the election. He did this not once but twice, the Prime Minister's only movement was to turn and whisper the the Leader ...
If you don't feel sufficiently satiated by the fallout from the MPs expenses scandal, now you can throw custard pies at your favourite miscreant! Although the game is clearly a plug for a holiday company, it is quite entertaining to throw pies at an MP of your choice. I chose Douglas Hogg, of dirty moat fame, and I ...
Reproduced here from the Lib Dem website by request. EDUCATION AND SKILLS Too many children are still leaving school without the knowledge and skills to be successful. Finding a good school can be a real struggle, the curriculum doesn't stretch the brightest children and it makes it difficult to support those who need more help. Classes are often too big for teachers to control. Every child is different, so schools need to be free to teach children in different ways and get the very best from them. Liberal Democrats want every child to get a good education because it is ...
Last week, LDV reported the Tories' embarrassment in Nick Clegg's seat of Sheffield Hallam, where news had just emerged that the party's newly selected candidate had been kicked off a town council for failing to attend meetings. The Tories' Daniel Gage vowed at the time to fight on, promising a 20-year plan to take the seat from the Lib Dems. Just a few hours later he was 'resigned' by the local Tory association. The Sheffield Telegraph tells all: Daniel Gage, aged 24, was selected on November 7 as the Conservative representative to challenge Mr Clegg for his Sheffield Hallam seat. ...
The BBC is supposed to remain politically neutral and balanced. Many people think they aren't. I think the BBC does a good job of being 'politically neutral and balanced' in terms of sticking to their own internal rules about what that actually means, but I think the questions about what is 'politically neutral' needs re-examining in light of increasingly sophisticated political spin machines adept at squeezing through messages with hidden biases. This isn't the same as Victoria Derbyshire literally laughing out loud at a Tory spokesman but letting similar howlers from Labour pass without so much as a snicker on ...
The Guardian reports that Lord Strathclyde, the Conservative leader in the Lords, is threatening to balk Labour attempts to push new legislation through before a General Election. Apparently, he feels that, without the consent of Tory peers, nothing can be passed. It seems that, amongst his many skills, arithmetic isn't to be found. Firstly, he presumes that he can get his side to turn up and vote. The evidence of divisions since the summer recess is that he can't, especially after the dinner hour. Vote after vote that might have been won has been lost because Tories would rather be ...
I wanted to let you all know about The Wave campaign that we are currently supporting. WHATS IT ALL ABOUT? In early December, world leaders will gather in Denmark for a crucial conference on climate change. Their challenge will be to agree radical measures to tackle global warming. Our challenge is to demand they do so. That's why thousands of concerned citizens, will be joining The Wave on December 5th in central London. The Wave is a mass demonstration to show our support for a safe climate future for all. We will march through London in a wave of blue, ...
Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader, Kirsty Williams has welcomed the publication of the Report of the All Wales Convention. She said: "Welsh Liberal Democrats believe the Convention has done a good job, bringing the voices of people from across Wales into a debate all too often dominated by politicians. Credit is due to Sir Emyr and his colleagues for providing a thorough report, following months of consultation and research." "The report itself provides a devastating critique of the existing, half-baked settlement, confirming my belief that a referendum will allow Wales to choose a better, proper settlement, fit for the purpose of ...
Liberal Democrat Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Simon Hughes will today host a meeting in Parliament with campaigners against the extraction of oil from tar sands in Western Canada. He will reveal documents showing that the Government has made no attempt to carry out any form of environmental or social audit into its investments in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Commenting ahead of the meeting, Simon Hughes said: "The Government's failure to assess the social and environmental impacts of its investments in RBS demonstrates stunning negligence. "As a majority shareholder the Government should use its power to ensure ...
A friend has brought a quote from Sir Jeremy Bagge, a former High Sheriff of Norfolk and member of the executive of South West Norfolk Conservative Association, which appears in the Metro, to my attention. Sir Jeremy was responding, in an article about his opposition to the imposition of a female candidate that he disapproves ...
Commenting on the news that one of the UK's major mobile phone companies has sold on millions of customer records, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said: "This shameful incident shows the disdain with which some companies treat sensitive personal data. "Stiffer penalties for those involved in serious data breaches, whether in the public or private sector, cannot be introduced soon enough. "This sorry episode questions the Government's wisdom in getting communications providers to hoard increasing amounts of information about us."
So, the Queens Speech has been and gone and if you did blink you may well have missed it. We can easily brush aside the criticism of the Speech that it was 'electioneering'; as if this has never happened and all the past ones had been totally non-political. Looking through the Speech there is a ...
How strange - the Tory candidate for South West Norfolk easily withstood all that opposition from local party members and was formally adopted as PPC (again!)- and with an enormous majority!! I wonder why? After all that very public opprobrium and sabre rattling, all the 'outing' of the sins of her past and resentment that she wasn't local - she walked it!! She walked it, not in glamorous gold lame but in Tory uniform of Alice band and a dowdy blue frock!! Not so much 'spin' as homespun!!! Am I a bit of a cynic (moi?)or do I detect slick ...
So Brown's Labour Government has outlined it's so called legislative programme for the rest of this Parliament - all 70 parliamentary days of it. In essence this Queens Speech was the mother of all Party Political Broadcasts on behalf of the failing Labour Party. And as such was either an abuse of the process or a missed opportunity or both. While Brown has taken the opportunity to try and highlight areas of division at the next General Election he has completely failed to tackle the unfinished business of electoral and political reform that has dominated the past year and has ...
Last Saturday was the Devon & Cornwall Lib Dems' regional conference, held at the Marsh Mills Novotel. It was a real pleasure to chair a Question & Answer session at the conference on defence issues. The person being quizzed by party members was Nick Harvey MP. As well as being the Lib Dem MP for North Devon, Nick is also the party's shadow secretary of state for defence. It was so useful to hear directly from Nick about the big issues. His grasp and command of defence is absolutely first-class... on Afghanistan, on defence procurement, on securing a better deal ...
I enjoyed last Saturday. It was a good day. First & foremost, Lib Dems from across Devon & Cornwall debated new ideas put forward by Plymouth party members for action on housing. Did you know that over 2,500 families in our region are housed in temporary accommodation? That is a crisis and it demands action. What we're proposing is that properties that are left empty for very long periods are brought into use to house families in the greatest housing need. With so many people without a real home, it's just not right that people who own many homes leave ...
It hasn't been good being a Conservative in Sheffield Hallam for many years. Not only have they failed to make any significant progress in a General Election since they lost what was once one of their safest parliamentary seats back in 1997, but since then Nick Clegg has consolidated the party's hold on the seat. ...
A follow-up to my post When is it ok to ban a journalist?, about the habit in football of clubs banning journalists who say things they don't like (can you imagine the uproar if a public sector body tried to do the same?): Sir Alex Ferguson will have to end his six-year ban on giving interviews to BBC reporters under newly agreed rules coming into force next season. A motion was passed at a Premier League board meeting last week which made post-match interviews with all media rights holders mandatory for league managers, reports The Daily Telegraph. Manchester United supremo ...
As I expected, the Queen's Speech was a bit of a damp squib. There are various measures in there that are worthy in so far as they go but many of them will not see the light of day on the statute books as there is just not enough time. The most astonishing measure for me is the "Fiscal Responsibility Bill" which will put into law the promise to halve the defecit within a set timeframe. I have just been listening to John Healey, government minister on Radio 5 Live try to defend this measure and he did not do ...
Paul Krugman argues that US jobs policy is deficient in that there really isn't one. As he puts it, Here in America, the philosophy behind jobs policy can be summarized as "if you grow it, they will come." That is, we don't really have a jobs policy: we have a G.D.P. policy. The theory is that by ...
If you're not familiar with credit unions, they are financial co-operatives owned and controlled by their members. They offer savings and good value loans. They are local, ethical and know what their members want. They are a real alternative to loan sharks and impersonal banks. County Durham based Prince Bishops Credit Union has moved offices to make it more accessible to the public. The new Credit Union was created when East Derwentside Credit Union in Stanley successfully merged with West Derwentside Credit Union in Consett this summer. The credit union has moved from Priestman Avenue to Glenroyd House in Medomsley ...
Wed 18th
12:54There really is a Tory candidate who takes his nanny to constituency events with him...!
There are two men that epitomise the 'new' Conservative party, they are George Osborne and Jacob Rees-Mogg. Now, on the surface, George might seem to be quite a reasonable young chap, well-to-do maybe, but basically a good Cheshire MP. It may come as a surprise that he recently said that; his inheritance tax cut on properties worth ...
My government's overriding priority is to ensure sustained growth to deliver a fair and prosperous economy for families and businesses, as the British economy recovers from the global economic downturn.
[IMG: Flooding by High Grove Pub, Silverdale Road] I've been taking a look this morning at flooding outside the High Grove pub on Silverdale Road in Gatley. Something's caused the water level to rise in the woodland between the road and Cheadle Royal. The high water is pouring across the pavement, onto the road and down the hill to settle by the pub and the parade of shops. It's not clear at the moment what the problem is. It could be a blocked culvert or something else. I've spoken to someone from the Cheadle Royal team who's investigating to see ...
Note from HCC: Last night there was a water main burst at the junction of Harpenden Road and Batchwood Drive (Ancient Britain), currently the junction is working on temporary lights so delays are inevitable. I have just met Veolia Water on site and they are hoping to reinstate tonight, finishing around 9.30pm, when the road will be reopened.
Here's a thought that has always tickled the Head of State in the car-free People's Republic. I was reminded of it this morning by an exchange of Twitter fire between James Graham and Guido Fawkes. guidofawkes: 15 minute journey takes hour. Not like this in Wexford. jamesgraham: A truly free market road system would charge a ...
In today's Times, Lib Dem deputy leader and shadow chancellor Vince Cable advocates a 10% tax on bank profits to fund a 'safety net' until finance houses can be broken up and are no longer too big to fail. Here's an excerpt: Some bankers might claim that they are doing God's work. But the banks all owe their continued existence to the British and American taxpayer. Some have been supported directly — RBS, Lloyds-HBOS, and the fully nationalised Northern Rock — but all benefit from the guarantee that they will not be allowed to fail. UK banks have received the ...
They manage to mess up virtually everything but this one takes the biscuit. There have been frequent requests for yellow lines at the corner of Churchill and Jennings Road. This is to prevent pavement parking and is a safety measure to protect young people. I was frequently assured that this was in hand and would be in the next batch of traffic orders. Tonight there is a meeting of local residents and I asked for an update. The officers say they know nothing about it. Their boss now admits that it has 'fallen off the radar'. Another broken promise.
There are very few images of today's Valladares, flying or otherwise, for it is none other than José Sarmiento y Valladares (1643 - 1708), conde (count) de Moctezuma y de Tula, viceroy of New Spain from 1696 to 1701, and seemingly not a bad ruler relative to the time. His first wife was a direct descendant of Moctezuma, the last Aztec emperor, from whence his title came. Whilst viceroy, he established a night watch in Mexico City to combat crime and, whilst the penalties were fairly extreme (whipping for a first offence, branding for a second offence, the loss of ...
As I watch the Queen arrive at the Palace of Westminster for the pompfest that marks the State Opening of Parliament, I just wanted to put on record my feelings about our 80 year old Head of State who has sacrificed much in her own life to carry out the duty that was thrust upon her. I'm as republican as they come. I think that our Head of State should be elected and that a system whereby such an important role is filled by the next in line in a family whether they like it or not is outdated and ...
Colin Byrne, CEO of Weber Shandwick and former Labour Party press chief, recently knocked the possible importance of internet campaigning for British elections and suggested Hazel Blears was right with her YouTube jibe. He wrote in Saturday's Guardian: We surveyed 1,000 potential voters at the time of the recent party conferences. They were asked what communications channels would have an influence on deciding how to vote. When a parallel sample of consumers were asked the same question about purchasing decisions, by far the biggest influence was digital and social media (26%). Print and broadcast media ranked second in influence, with ...
For the last time in this the 15th Parliament of her reign the Queen has delivered the words that her Government's wishes. Well after all the pomp and circumstance has led to the Queen taking her seat on the throne in the House of Lords. When Black Rod entered the Commons though it was surprisingly sparsely populated on the Labour benches. (Oops*) Dennis Skinner shouted out "Royal Expenses are on the way!" in his traditional role as mischief maker in chief. Then all the Members, including the Lib Dems showing they still respect the authority of the crown just not ...
There is roughly a month left to submit your views on the Council run Consultation on the future of Chorlton District Centre. Surveys are available in Chorlton Library or online I think the survey is too basic, but I think it is important to have your say. Chorlton LibDems have conducted their own survey of 9000 houses after getting annoyed by the constant delays. I will blog the results in a few days. My colleague Victor Chamberlain said, "This is our opportunity for long term change for Chorlton."
Last night Darlington and Sedgefield Liberal Democrats held their AGM at Darlington Cricket Club. We had an excellent turnout in the driving rain, everyone was in very good spirits and the cricket club bar had a good evening. During this year we have had the fastest growing membership of any Lib Dem local party in the region with a one-third increase since last year's AGM. This is due partly to
The political thinktank Compass may be about to deal Gordon Brown a knock out blow to try and unseat him as Labour Leader. Generally the rule would appear to be that if there is an 'r' in the month then there is talk of a coup against the Prime Minister, but this time The Guardian would ...
The Labour government's aspirations will be paraded in an hour's time in the Queen's Speech - not written by HM Queen Elizabeth II. Lord Mandelson in this morning's Today said both that their targets had been met and that they were working hard to achieve their targets. Er?? Labour has had twelve years when they have presided over a widening gap in British society. He said to Evan Davis, "You can't have it both ways, you know, Evan." No, you can't. Evan Davies asked what was the point of writing new bills when existing bills were not going to be ...
There are flood warnings in place for various parts of Bury borough in river valleys today. The emergency planning team has been to Ramsbottom and has informed the Council that water levels in the area are extremely high, an officer from emergency control is stationed in the area and is keeping the Council appraised of the situation. The Walmersley road area is flooded, police and fire services are in attendance and people are advised to stay away from the area unless their journey is absolutely necessary. More information as it happens - but please be careful if traveling today. Update ...
The long awaited public enquiry to the dualling of the A11 between Fiveways and Thetford is to go ahead on Tuesday 24th November at Elveden Village Hall at 10 am. I have supported calls from Objectors Proposal 1 which would mean that the A11 would move away from Barton Mills and the Fiveways Roundabout. I believe if this proposal is accepted then the A11 could be a road fit for purpose for the forseeable future. The fact that the Highways Agency have back up plans for Traffic Lights at the Roundabout means they anticipate further congestion there. Local Residents will ...
I was horrified to discover yesterday that thousands of T-Mobile customers had had their personal information sold on to third parties by some of the company's staff. I might have been more sympathetic towards T-Mobile if it hadn't been for this incident I blogged about last year which to me showed that their attitude to personal data was at best nonchalant. I wrote then: "Anyway, I opened my mobile phone bill yesterday to find a letter from them saying they were switching me to online billing. All well and good, until I got to the bottom of the sheaf of ...
In the Times today, Danny Finklestein reflects on the Queen's speech and people's view of politics The Lib Dem blogger, Cicero's Songs also looks at the Queen's speech and comments on the principles behind making good laws And Tristan Mills defines what he means by the free market in his new look blog
SEVERE FLOODING is expected for the River Irwell at Strongstry and Chatterton. There is extreme danger to life and property. Act Now! Areas at risk are those adjacent to the River Irwell through Strongstry and Chatterton. Including North St, Strongstry Bridge, Chatterton Rd. Other areas at risk include Areas in the vicinity of, Bolton Rd North, and Cuba industrial estate. Flooding of low-lying land and roads is expected for the Upper River Irwell Catchment. The Upper Irwell catchment includes the Rivers Beal, Roch and Croal, Limey Water and their tributaries. Other locations which may be affected are around Farnworth, Whitefield, ...
If there's one member of Brown's Cabinet who has really impressed me, it's the Secretary of State for Transport, Andrew, Lord Adonis. This has come as something as a surprise to me, largely because in his previous incarnation as a minister of state at Education, he was the man almost wholly responsible for the kind of ...
I was quite amazed this morning on logging into Facebook to find that so many of my friends have birthdays today. Some I knew about, others, like Charlotte, I didn't. I'm sure that they will all be delighted to know that they share their birthday with Ant from Ant and Dec. This week has been quite busy for birthdays, too. I was trying to work out why this might be but my friend Jane got there first - we're more or less nine months from Valentine's Day! As a breastfeeding helper, I always found that my busiest times were April ...
I am concerned as any other resident about stories in the media about the theft of a laptop containing over 14,000 postal vote details. My data was also stolen. The theft appears to have been from within the secure section of the building and the data was password protected twice over although not encrypted. Lessons for the future: - the council should look at whether this data should be fully encrypted - policies on the use of laptop and their storage when unattended should be reviewed without delay. Further thoughts: - the council lost no time in writing to everyone affected: it held ...
There is an interesting piece of research out in Prospect magazine this month which shows that Twitter users are likely to be very high up the liberal scale. In fact they claim that only Lib Dems and Londoners as groups are actually more liberal. This chart sums up where Twitter users are positioned compared to other groups: They claim that this is why so many "liberal" campaigns have managed to gain traction on Twitter and list the following recent examples: Breaking the Guardian's court injunction banning them from naming mining company Trafigura.Attacking Daily Mail writer Jan Moir for "homophobic" remarks ...
Some residents were concerned that the height of the new kerbs would prevent parallel parking in an already narrow street. I have raised it with Herts Highways and got the following response: Further to my last email, Chris and I have visited site, Chris has also had a meeting with the works team supervisor. The kerbs which have been installed to a standard height will not look high once the final patching has been completed. We will continue to monitor the situation but should you hear any comments please let me know, thank you.
Every year on Queens Speech day (today) the new set of Early Day Motions is tabled. This means a new set of numbers starting with number 1. Anyone who wishes to get a low number needs to queue up until the Table Office opens at 10am today.No-one, however, tries to beat Bob Russell MP (aka Mr Colchester). Bob Turns up the night before and sleeps in his sleeping bag in the queue for the table
The Queens speech is set to be one that Her Majesty will have to read through clenched teeth. Leaving aside the fact that there are only seventy days left in the Parliamentary session before it is prorogued, the fact is that the "gracious speech" is set to contain yet more evidence of the moral and intellectual bankruptcy of New Labour. We are told that the government will introduce legislation to guarantee the right to a good education and to guarantee- with legal force behind it- that the deficit will be reduced. Could it be that ,like some kind of wavering ...
[IMG: The leaning lamppost] My campaign to get our ancient local streetlights improved was re-ignited this week when I saw this precarious lamppost in Nelson Road (pictured). It looks like its going to topple into residents' front gardens. The photo was taken at midday and the light was on – so I think the timer must be out of kilter too. I've reported it to the street-lighting officers – suggesting that this shows the need for a proper programme for reconditioning or replacing the lampposts. At the present rate of work these old columns will have to last another hundred ...
Wed 18th
07:58
"Twitter users: young, metropolitan and angry about civil liberties" - except where The Guardian get...
So writes today's Guardian: Britain's 5.5 million Twitter users are younger than average members of the public, slightly more likely to vote Labour, and distinctly more liberal, according to a survey published today. They are also more likely to live in London, less likely to live in the north of England, and marginally more likely to belong to a lower social class. The YouGov poll may help to explain why libertarian campaigns appear to flourish on Twitter. You can read the full story here. Watch out when you do as it becomes clear that the evidence doesn't quite fully stack ...
2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here's are two posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: Duncan Stott isn't impressed at how many Lib Dems signed this Early Day Motion. Has David Cameron found the radical solution to our country's education problems? The Futility Monster isn't convinced. Spotted any other great posts in the last day from blogs that aren't on the aggregator? Do post up a comment sharing them with us all. 2 Big Stories HRH takes a battering Has Facebook claimed another scalp? A Labour election candidate (local ...
Cadburys had rejected a hostile bid from Kraft foods to try and take them over with a £10billion bid and now it appears that American firm Hershey and Italian Ferrero are going to combine to try and outdo that bid. Most companies seem keen to get their hands on Cadburys high profit gum business but as Cadburys chocolate is a major brand here I am worried that Hersheys and Ferrero will want to introduce their own chocolate which just isn't the same. Cadburys claim they are not up for sale but Hedge Fund companies are buying shares up as interest ...
The All-Wales Convention has spoken. They have concluded that a 'yes' vote in favour of boosting powers is desirable and obtainable but not guaranteed. Is that it? I could have told them that for much less than the £1 million we have spent on this talking shop and without wasting two years in which we could have been making the case on an all-party basis for abolishing the costly and time-wasting LCO process that has effectively stymied the Welsh legislative process. This exercise has not so much advanced devolution as held it back. Plaid Cymru in particular should hang their ...
Government figures show that local authorities have more than doubled the amount of money raised from Council Tax in the past decade. Frank Little, prospective Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Neath, challenged Plaid Cymru to say whether they still supported the move to fair local taxation, or whether they had abandoned the policy with which they entered the last two elections. "Is keeping on the right side of Labour, and therefore ministerial seats in Cardiff, more important than axeing a regressive tax?" he asked. Liberal Democrat Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, Julia Goldsworthy said: "Millions of families have struggled ...
So 10 stations are going to be given £50 million to carry out 'urgent improvements'. This follows on from Network Rail's pledge of ploughing in £3.23bn into improving stations in England and Wales.After decades of underfunding and allowing our town centres/ stations to deteriorate, there is definite a need to improve the facilities for travellers, especially if the government wants to encourage
Over on T-Mobile's website, once you go to the home page and find the small pink button "Information on T-Mobile data being sold to third parties", which is dwarfed by the latest deals from T-Mobile there are three statements from T-Mobile. The first, including typo's (four in one statement) is here "T-Mobile takes the protection of customer information seriously. When it became apparent that contract renewal information was being passed on to third parties without our knowledge, we alerted the Information Commssioner's Office. Working together, we identified the source of the breach which led to the ICO conducting an extensive ...
An article in today's Independent about the catastrophic impact we humans are having on our beautiful blue planet. A group of scientists, led by Prof. Le Quéré of UEA, say we are heading for catastrophe because the CO2 emissions from industry, ...
Rotherhithe in South London Docklands has a long association with Scandinavia. The story starts in 1016 when the Anglo-Saxon Edmund Ironside (aka Edmund the Aetheling) was defending London against the Danes. King Canute (or Knut) of Denmark, the same one who commanded the tide, was unable to take his longships under defended London Bridge, so he dug a canal through the marshes from Rotherhithe to Battersea and dragged his longships round the bridge instead (for what happened next see the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle). More recently Surrey Docks took in Scandinavian and Baltic timber and the area became the home for many ...
I have dug up information to form a profile of the asylum seeker that was stabbed in the back by Alan Johnson. I am posting the details carefully as specific information could put his safety into jeopardy. All this information is from reports found online on local news websites. If you decide to find these stories, I ask that you don't reproduce his name or his country of origin. The man originates from a country in central west Africa. The country has an appalling human rights record; Amnesty International has catalogued its human rights abuses, and states that the cases ...
Care for the elderly is a priority for Gordon Brown. He is set to announce that Labour will prioritise free care at home for 280 000 people if they win the next election. I don't know what this means. I think the number is based on frailest come first but I don't know what constitutes frailty and I don't know the cut off point. Wouldn't it be nice to know that if you can only walk 20 yards you get benefit but if you can walk 30 yards you don't. The biggest problem for me is that we already have ...
I have written to all Labour members of Luton Council calling on them to demonstrate that they understand the concerns of Luton residents by signing the Moran Must Go petition currently being promoted by the Luton & Dunstable Express. My letter points out that whatever the cause of her absence, it has to be accepted that Luton South constituents are not being adequately represented. In these difficult economic times, when fellow residents are concerned about jobs and their families' future, it is simply unacceptable that we are not being properly represented in Parliament. All 17 Liberal Democrat councillors have signed ...
I knew the answer to this question each time I was elected, though the boundaries were different for the district and county councils. The answer next time round may be that there is no Consett North because the Boundary Committee which is reviewing these things thinks that the current division should have Moorside and The Grove added to make a bigger division with three councillors. If you have a view on this, leave a comment. Better still, write to the Boundary Committee at the following address: The Boundary Committee Trevelyan House Great Peter Street London SW1P 2HW Tel 020 7271 ...
