The Selector Panel of the Local Government Association, looking at proposals from Councils under the Sustainable Communities Act met today. A most interesting meeting. Lots of proposals to look at, over 100. Each one was looked at carefully to see if it met some quite stringent criteria before being agreed to put it forward to the Minister. Sadly some really good ideas did not meet all of the...
How can I resist this essay on The Rumpus? It is a meditation on "Higher Love" - which is not one of my favourite Winwood songs either - and takes in Reagan, Derrida and Levi-Strauss: I would volunteer the hypothesis that no matter how abject the pop confection is, there is often a moment of the sublime hovering in there somewhere ... and that Steve Winwood, with his rather thrilling past, his past of greater accomplishment, was calling forth this possibility of music, that it can fuse us to some more interesting set of forces and meanings, something more comprehensive ...
Jonathan Calder last night broke the news (well to me, anyway) that Irfan Ahmed has had to pull his blog permanently following further outrageous comments. The final para of the Pendle local newspaper story is apposite: The comments are not the opinion of the LibDems and neither has anything on my blog ever had anything to do with the view of the LibDems in Pendle or across the UK. Well, quite.
I am utterly mystified about why people search for Baronness Ashton and Jewish Conspiracy. Help me - who the hell are you?
Well sorry I was not posting my usual 5PM Friday snippet for the last two weeks. Last week I had no t'internet. This week my little laptop has been playing up. However, as this weekend I'll be spending Saturday at the Lib Dem Blogger's Unconference in Edinburgh, I thought I better do my usual weekend tweet. So courtesy of Dublin FM104 radio with a little help from Norwegian stars A-ha For my non-Irish, or non-football following readers here is what has made the former Arsenal playing Ireland's most hated man. Having lost 1-0 to the French at Croke Park in ...
Orpington Conservative Councillor Peter Hobbins has been suspended from the party after criticising candidates with foreign names – and Central Office for picking them. As News Shopper reports, Councillor Hobbins wrote: "Not one of them has a 'normal' English name. "They want to be the PPCs for Orpington and asked me for my personal advice on how they would be the best candidates for the Orpington Constituency. My view? For hells sake. "Why are the Candidates Department so keen on these foreign names?!!!! "The candidates department are simply rushing these names through. "They have absolutely no idea about how Associations ...
Disgusted, Tunbridge Wells.
I've got a lot on at the moment (got a piece of coursework to complete and also going to Thought Bubble tomorrow) so I don't have time yet to reply to my backlog of email, or to the increasingly interesting comments for the last post (I will do, especially Zom's ones...). But one thing I do ...
[IMG: Bramall Hall] Bramall Hall will be hosting a special Tudor Living History Day on Sunday 22nd November. People can immerse themselves in the sights and sounds of an authentic recreation of the 16th century as the Davenport family welcome you into their home. Visitors can find out more about traditional crafts such as spinning and carding, embroidery and the art of calligraphy. Or learn about the health properties of herbs and spices in the Still Room with Good Wife Kate. There will be an opportunity for children to help the family cook prepare the herbs for baking and roll ...
I am posting this from the first class lounge at Euston. I shall fulfill a long-held ambition and catch a sleeper train later this evening, waking up in Edinburgh for the first Lib Dem Bloggers Unconference. Meanwhile, here is this week's House Points column from Liberal Democrat News. The Queen's Speech They've gone again. Only four weeks after the end of the summer recess, the Commons had a break before this week's State Opening. Some observers seethed about MPs' long holidays; cynical old hands reasoned that at least it limits the damage they could do. But the real problem is ...
You have to hand it to her. She's been doing her homework. When asked about Iran's nuclear ambitions, it all flies out in a stream. She sounds quite confident and assertive on the subject. Just one slight snag. She needs to bone up on the difference between Iraq and Iran. – A bit of a giveaway that.
Having Cathy Ashton appointed to one of the top two jobs in the new EU structures should have been seen as a foreign policy negotiation triumph for the British Government, getting someone from this country in the heart of decision making and power wielding in Europe. But instead the story has been dominated by other issues - Tony Blair and David Miliband in particular. Even when Labour gets it right, they shoot themselves in the feet. Classic government on its last legs behaviour.
One of the things that has been bothering me for the last week or so is the rising number of Southend schools fingerprinting their pupils. I know that some people don't get excited about this sort of thing. But in my view it is both an invasion of privacy in its own right, and a terrible way of teaching schoolkids to take it for granted I became concerned about the issue when a Southend mum told him about the impact of refusing permission to take fingerprints from her children. Her daughter was told she wouldn't be allowed to eat the ...
091690/VO/2009/S1 Mr Brendan McBride MCC Private Sector Housing Central Operations Division Manchester City Council 3 - 5 West Street Clayton Manchester M11 4EF Alleyway To Rear Of 5-19 Crossland Road And 2-12 Redland Road Chorlton Manchester M21 9DU CITY COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT Installation of 2.4 metre high gates to alleyway 091691/VO/2009/S1 Mr Brendan McBride MCC Private Sector Housing Central Operations Division Manchester City Council 3 - 5 West Street Clayton Manchester M11 4EF Rear Of 1-17 Hackness Road And 2-20 Eleanor Road And 10-22 Whitehead Road And 5-17 Kingshill Road Chorlton Manchester M21 9HB CITY COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT installation of 2.8 metre ...
Having googled this topic some more, researching a further posting, I came across this on the TfL website Having carried out succesful trials, we are pleased to announce that all new buses entering service after 2012 will be hybrid powered! source Interestingly, TfL is quite keen to point out the benefits of these buses, namely 89 per cent ...
Is it just me that is wondering why TfL has not made it mandatory that the buses being implemented in place of the articulated ones are 'environmentaly' friendly ones, using the new hybrid electric/diesel engines? Considering that the 38's now have a 90 second headway at peak hours, which means there are more buses on the ...
Boscombe News! Please send me your news and events. If you are forwarded this email and wish to subscribe direct, Please go to http://www.boscalicious.co.uk Editor: Lisa Northover Clean Time This Saturday, Come and enjoy a Thai curry, soft drinks &disco, al free - just turn up! 5pm - 1pm, Bourne Spring Centre St Marys Rd Springbourne. All welcome. Tonight at Reef Encounter soul-drenched
Cllr Nigel Roberts asked the following question at the recent full council - Rush Hill is difficult as physical things to slow traffic down, like sleeping policemen, are difficult due to the gradients.Maybe something is going to happen.Rush Hill has a problem with speeding traffic. Rush Hill as a result of the speeding traffic has had a number of accidents, please could the Executive Member
What could be simpler: five categories, each with five links. And it's Friday. 5 most-read stories on LDV this week 1. NEW POLL: Who do you least want to be Prime Minister in a year's time: Gordo or Dave? (43) by Stephen Tall 2. How do the messages on the main political party websites compare? (10) by Mark Pack 3. A Labour gain, but no revival (25) by Iain Roberts 4. Lib Dem Voice publishes exclusive general election prediction (43) by Mark Pack 5. Nick's Sheffield Hallam opponent quits as Tory candidate after just 10 days (15) by The Voice ...
Beddington & Wallington Local Committee The main items on the agenda for this meeting were the Beddington and The Grange Parks Draft Management Plan, an update on Public Realm projects and a report for decision on Footway Parking in Cul-de-sacs. In Questions from the Public one of our community reps requested a more detailed breakdown of the ...
The Electoral Commission has today cleared the Lib Dems of any wrongdoing over donations of £2.4 million in 2005. I'm not going to go into the whole story, but needless to say this is welcome news for the Lib Dems. I just wanted to point out the complete hypocrisy of Tories. Take this from Iain Dale. ...
I hold no brief for Ed Balls – far from it. But it's always great to have an opportunity to see Michael (aka "Mr Smug") Gove squirm – as he undoubtedly does here. At the Commons, Gove often reads out examples of "easy" questions from GCSEs to support his case that standards are low. Here, he is hoist by his own petard when Ed Balls reads out some tough questions from GCSE papers which Gove is reluctant to have a stab at, for some reason.
Conservativehome report that Peter Hobbins has been suspended from the Conservative Party. Interestingly his Facebook profile is, for now, visible to the any Facebook member. Now he belongs to some very interesting groups, especially for a school teacher. There are two groups for Peter's ex-girlfriends. With only one member - him. But more interestingly there is an interestingly titled group -
I have a lot of UKIP readers who bombard me whenever I do any posts on their favourite subject the EU. I again expect them to bombard me with their comments in reply to this post too, we will wait and see. UKIP have around 16,000 members. By way of contrast the Conservative Party had around 290,000 members the Labour party had 176,891, the Liberal Democrats 73,000 and the BNP had 10,000 members, I could not find any info on the Greens. I just wanted to highlight just how active the UKIP members are. The main parties have allot of ...
I rarely get the time to read the free Yellow Advertiser that drops through my door but due to my recent throat surgery I seem to have much more time on my hands for reading. I'm very pleased that I did read the Redbridge and Ilford copy dated the 19th Nov. Rebridge Council is being urged to take a stand against proposed cuts which would see the elderly forced to pay for public transport again. The Government has said it will stop the special grant of 29 million for the freedom pass for pensioners in the capital which gives over ...
The application for the controversial 42 storey "Octave Tower" block on Bondway by Vauxhall tube will have its first hearing at Lambeth's Planning Committee next Wednesday (25th November). The area it would go is the other side of the railway line (behind where we are standing) and would dominate Vauxhall Park and the surrounding residential area of Vauxhall Grove, Bonnington Square, Langley Lane and Lawn Lane. Evidence collected by local residents shows a clear loss of sunlight to the surrounding residential area. Over 120 people have objected to the plans. Details of the report from Lambeth Planning Officers can be ...
turns out it's pretty much as cheap to buy a new bike as it is to replace my stolen back wheel. C'est la vie, and au revoir £230. # RT @MarkReckons RT @carbonkid85 Nice to see Nick's thoughts on the Queen's Speech in the BBC's most read list. # RT @alexfoster Isihac back on #bbcr4 this evening at 6.30pm, Sunday lunchtime and on IPlayer. <– Huzzah! (Tho surely ISIHAC all-capitals?) # @jamesgraham true, but it pays the bills. # Oh noes – I agree with @Donal_Blaney http://tiny.cc/gpiGl quickest way to increase charitable giving is to make donations tax deductible # ...
Correspondence has been released between various protagonists in the saga of the sacking three weeks ago of Professor David Nutt from his position as chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. One of the letters is from Professor Nutt to the Science and Technology Select Committee outlining the sequence of events from his perspective. As Evan Harris has already made clear in a very detailed blogpost here the sequence of events and the behaviour of Professor Nutt was in accordance with the rules and regulations he was working under. You can read Professor Nutt's letter for yourself ...
This report from NHS West Midlands shows that there is a mixed picture across the region in terms of GP consultation rates but increasing numbers of hospital admissions and patients in critical care.Key MessagesAcross the West Midlands there has been a mixed picture in patients presenting at primary care centres with influenza-like symptoms, some PCT areas show an increase, other areas show a
Liverpool is a great city, and a great place for a conference. So, I'm glad that the Liberal Democrats are going back there in September 2010, after being the first political party to have a conference in the city in Spring 2008. But this week's mailing from the Mersey Partnership is not exactly going to ...
I know you are all wondering about the key events that have taken place today. No doubt there will minor news items about it being the wedding anniversary of Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh and maybe even mention of today being the day of the great fire at Windsor Castle in 1992, but ...
I can hear the sighs of relief percolating from Cowley Street even now. Some may argue that it's the equivalent of getting off on a technicality, but it's still a "not guilty" verdict. With a bit of luck this decision will silence Dale and his dittoheads once and for all - and if the Party's fundraising gurus have anything about them, they will jolly well have to make sure they're seen as monster, monster clean on such matters from now on because you can bet the press and the usual braying mob of Tory snots will have the knives out ...
Mike Powell and the Pontypridd Liberal Democrats welcome Chris Rosser, town councillor and former chair of the local Plaid Cymru branch, to the party.
This application was called in by Joyce Lusby. For more information click on the following link (Ref 5/2009/1911):
The new President of the European Union is the gloriously-named Mr Herman Van Rompuy, the Prime Minister of Belgium. On seeing his photo, my first thought was I didn't know Sven Goran Eriksson had gone into politics - I hope the EU do better than Notts County. Mr Van Rompuy's name, pronounced, I think, Rumpy, is a headline writer's dream. Now if Ed Balls becomes Labour leader, sub-editors everywhere will be leaping for joy. As I said earlier, I think we should have elected the President. Still, we must wish Mr Van Rompuy luck in his new post. Despite the ...
Not had one in Hinckley yet!
Ten blogs have recently joined Ryan's Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: Bryan Wallbridge - http://british-liberal.blogspot.com Chris Bowers - http://chrisbowersforwealden.blogspot.com Jane Leaper – http://mynewldblog.blogspot.com King's Hedges - http://kingshedgesfocus.blogspot.com Lisa Northover - http://boscombewest.blogspot.com Nick Radford - http://nickradford.blogspot.com Prue Bray - http://pruebray.mycouncillor.org.uk Qurban Hussain - http://qurbanhussain.blogspot.com Robin Meltzer – http://robinmeltzer.blogspot.com Liberal Democrat Climate Change Network All but one are using Blogger, the exception being Prue with the ALDC MyCouncillor system. If you're thinking of starting up a blog yourself, both have much to recommend them but there are a range of other strong contenders too as Mat explained last month. Good luck to all ...
Disappointed to see that the Planning Inspectorate overturned the ruling of the Planning Committee, and granted planning permission for a new dwelling on Flamville Road in Burbage - despite the protests of the Parish & Borough Councils, and the local residents. Below is the official ruling on this: Main Issues 3. I consider the main issues to be the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the streetscene and on the living conditions of surrounding residents by reason of overlooking of 12 Flamville Road. Reasons 4. The site, which has a front and side to Flamville Road, ...
[IMG: farmersmarket.jpg] As you can see from the above, Christmas comes early to Prestwich this Sunday when we turn on the lights at the end of the Christmas Farmers' Market. Come to the Longfield Centre on Sunday for the market from 09.30, and the lights switch on at 15.30. Flicking the switch this year is someone from Coronation Street. The poster above tells me that the character she plays is called "Becky," but since I don't watch Corry I won't be able to pick her out of the crowd. Which is a good job, because she won't be in the ...
Cheshire East UA, Cholmondeley Con 1764 (77.6; +6.6)LD Bryan Halson 508 (22.4; +4.9)[Lab (0,0; -11.5)]Majority 1256Turnout 19.61%Con holdPercentage change is since May 2008Doncaster MBC, RossingtonLab 637 (26.9; +1.1)Others 1553 (65.6; +5.3) (English Democrats 551, 3 Independents 506 / 420 / 76 )BNP 101 (4.3; +4.3)LD Robert Mitchell 78 (3.3; +3.3)[Con (0.0; -13.9)]Majority 86Turnout 24.6%Lab gain
The American anti-healthcare right has been making a big fuss about "death panels". According to Sarah Palin a system where a panel of people decide whether society can afford to pay for your health care costs is "downright evil". Guido backs her up stating that NICE has a limit of £30,000 per year for a "quality year of life". So a Nationalised, single payer system does have death panels. This is true. It can't keep everyone alive at exorbitant cost if it can't afford to. Its very unfortunate. But so is people getting ill in the first place. So are ...
Last night was the launch party for the Darlington Credit Union, painstakingly pieced together over two and a half years by merging together the four existing credit unions in the town. Much of the credit for this must go to my friend Cllr Alan Coultas who chaired the steering group. The Credit Union is now large enough to employ a full-time salaried co-ordinator, another good friend of mine,
Despite protestations from the SNP Government in Edinburgh about the quality of the advice they received concerning Mr Al Megrahi's medical condition he would still appear to be alive and well, living in Libya. Having depended so heavily on the evidence that he should be released on compassionate grounds, as he had less than three months ...
If you hadn't noticed already, Unity over at Liberal Conspiracy has composed an open letter to the PCC objecting to the idea of encompassing blogs under the body's remit. If you sign up in the comment section, you'll be added to the (hundreds of) signatories on the letter. Click here to do just this. Or tell me why I'm wrong in the comments below.
Well, it amused me: CHOP CUP from :weareom: on Vimeo. Hat tip: Dave Gorman
So the Lib Dems won't be handing back the £2.4m donation from 5th Avenue Partners Ltd after all. Yay. I do hope however (against all the evidence?) that this won't now result in large numbers of Lib Dems crowing about how the party's actions have been vindicated and that the was never any question that ...
I called for a report into the future of Manchester Leisure Centres recently. I knew full weel that Chorlton Leisure Centre needed replacing and hoped the report would outline how to do it. The report stated that Chorlton Leisure Centre was in 'the lowest quartile for customer satisfaction', but any major work would require imaginative financial solutions. There has been a lot of work done to the Leisure Centre recently, but I think it amounts to no more than a sticking plaster. Much more needs to be done. I have sent out a letter to local people seeking their views ...
Here is the full statement from the Electoral Commission; The Electoral Commission, the independent elections and party finance watchdog, today announced the outcome of its investigation into donations made by the company 5th Avenue Partners Ltd to the Liberal Democrats. Donations totalling over £2.4m were made in 2005. The investigation considered whether there had been breaches of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA). In particular, it looked at whether the company, reported as the donor, was a permissible donor. It also considered whether the company was in fact the true donor. If a party accepts impermissible donations, ...
The Local Government Association is recruiting a new Head of the Liberal Democrat Office to replace Ed Fordham who is leaving the post to concentrate on getting elected as the new MP for Hampstead and Kilburn. The job description says that: "Liberal Democrats in Local Government are looking for a experienced senior advisor to manage the political activity in the Local Government Association (LGA). You will work directly with the Leader of the Group, the Executive and Cabinet furthering our interests within the LGA and also within local government. Working across local government in England and Wales, in Westminster and ...
There seems to be a problem brewing at the Lincolnshire branch of Conservative Future. Less than 10 days since a grandstanding on the Conservative website, Fraser McFarland has been ousted from office. Maybe it was the more 'open communication' within the local party that led to the 'recent incidents' and the decision to remove him. It appear the decision has been made by the Regional Chairman,
When I first learned of the location of the 2009 Liberal Youth Autumn Conference, I immediately paid my £15 to register. I had only been to one party conference before - the 2007 South West regional, which included the leadership hustings - so I was unsure of what to expect. I only knew one person who was going, and I was tired and annoyed at the rain, not to mention the parlous state of the trains that evening. But when I arrived in Portsmouth, there were helpful signs pointing to Conference. This was an excellent omen of what was to ...
Tomorrow Saturday 21st November there will be another round of pruning and clearing and planting at the Hither Green Station railway embankment along Springbank Road organised by Hither Green Community Association. If you're interested please email Joanna at info@ourhithergreen.com with your boot size, she must make sure that there are enough steel-capped boots for everyone. ...
Lucky me! I've got another piece on Comment Is Free, in the Liberty Central section. Funnily enough, this may not be the strangest thing that happens today - if the other thing happens there may be a space-time paradox catastrophe event - you've been warned. The piece is about whether or not it's right for the Government to kick entire families off the internet without going through the courts (well, duh). So here's the key question: do we want to live in a society where people can be cut off from the internet without a trial, without a jury and ...
For more information click on the following (Ref 5/2009/1678)
Finally! In yer face Dale. Ahem. Anyway, in summary: "Having considered all the evidence in this case, we have concluded that 5th Avenue Partners Limited met the requirements to be a permissible donor. The Electoral Commission will be taking no further action in this case." UPDATE: LibDemVoice has the announcement here.
European Liberal Democrats, meeting at the annual congress of the ELDR in Barcelona, this morning passed a resolution (which I proposed) stating clearly our support for Turkish accession to the European Union, providing Ankara fulfils all of the so-called Copenhagen criteria for membership. This is in sharp contrast to the negative comments about Turkey´s EU ...
At a ceremony last night John Swinney, 'Lord High Everything Else' in the Scottish Executive, was awarded the prestigious honour of 'Politician of the Year'! This is obviously a great accolade for Mr Swinney who has presided over the most catastrophic events in Scotland's financial history, since the Darien Scheme. Mr Swinney's provocative title of 'Cabinet Secretary for ...
[IMG: 20mph limit] A really interesting (for me, anyway) article on the law around 20mph limits and traffic calming. I didn't know that the law said you had to have traffic calming measures if you had a 20mph limit. (Although I'm sure some places have 20mph without traffic calming - Crossacres Road in Wythenshawe for a start). The law seems to be that you can have a 20 mph limit without traffic calming measures, but only if the traffic is already quite slow - at least 85% of vehicles should already be going 24mph or slower. However, the Government research ...
I was delighted to have been able to attend the Groundwork Environment Awards last night in Bolton. I was there mainly as Chair of Prestwich Area Partnership, we were a finalist for a community award because of the success of the Love Prestwich campaign and The Big Clean. Sadly we didn't win- so my oscar style gushing acceptance speech remains unused for another year, however it was a tremendous evening. It was fascinating to see so many wonderful projects across the public, private and voluntary sectors highlighted and showing what can be done to improve our environment and work towards ...
Fri 20th
11:11
+++ OFFICIAL: Lib Dems cleared by Electoral Commission over Michael Brown's £2.4m donation
Here's the full statement just released by the Electoral Commission: Donations by 5th Avenue Partners Limited to the Liberal Democrats: statement 20 Nov 2009 The Electoral Commission, the independent elections and party finance watchdog, today announced the outcome of its investigation into donations made by the company 5th Avenue Partners Ltd to the Liberal Democrats. Donations totalling over £2.4m were made in 2005. The investigation considered whether there had been breaches of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA). In particular, it looked at whether the company, reported as the donor, was a permissible donor. It also considered ...
That's what the Electoral Commission is suggesting in its 'farewell' press release to mark the handing over of responsibilities for local government boundaries to a new body: Max Caller, Chair of the Boundary Committee and Electoral Commissioner, said: "The new Local Government Boundary Commission for England's job will be to keep the map of local government in England in good repair. Having fair local electoral arrangements is important to ensure that every voter, wherever they live in a council area, has a vote of similar weight in electing their representatives. "We estimate that, by 2014, a quarter of all English ...
A Town Councillor and Chair of the Pontypridd Plaid Cymru branch has resigned from the party claiming that they have "lost all sense of direction and become nothing more than Labour lackeys." Chris Rosser is currently serving on Pontypridd Town Council - he plans to continue that role, but as a member of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. In his letter of resignation Cllr Rosser stated that he had "Decided to join the only political party that, as far as I can see, offers a genuine alternative and puts people first. A party that shares my view of the importance of ...
I have blogged before about the PCT proposal that new films being shown in Liverpool Cinemas that show smoking should be given an 18 certificate. Well the consultation on the proposal is over now and the Licensing Committee meets next week to discuss it. The Committee's recommendation has to go to Full Council, the next one of which is 9th December. Here is the link to the committee paperwork (there is rather a lot of it) It is of course possible that someone will come up with the argument to persuade me that this proposal is a good idea. But ...
When you want to assess the costs of various episodes, you must take into account debt costs, not just the level of debt.
I don't know where on earth I was last weekend but apparently there was a bit of a Twitterstorm about Paul Clarke. I'd never heard of him until loveandgarbage mentioned it last night. I thought at first he was an old Big Brother contestant - remember Paul and Helen, anyone? Every so often we bloggers get all hot under the collar about stupid things happening, about authority being exercised excessively and unjustly, just for the sake of it. A while ago, I got very exercised about Government plans to register anyone who comes in contact with children and the ridiculous ...
Gatley Primary's always been a good school, but under the leadership of Michelle Murray, Vanessa MacManus and the rest of the Senior Management Team, it's been going from strength to strength over the last couple of years. For the governors, this is sub-committee week (and somehow I seem to be very bad at getting the right dates and times in my diar). Between the governors we've been reviewing the school's achievements and plans, and I can only say that it's nice when the main role of the governors is to congratulate the staff and children on their achievements. We're lucky ...
Early this week the women members of Parliament and the European Commission were up in arms (or more accurately in neckties, demonstrating in front of the Council of Ministers' HQ) to point out that the best man for the job is often a woman. Liberal Democrats have known this, of course, since John Stuart Mill's writings 150 year ago; and it bears noting that of the women Commissioners who have been nominated, most are Liberals. The appointment of Cathy Ashton as High Representative for foreign and security policy marks a new departure, however. I welcome it not because she is ...
At Forest Heath's Scrutiny Committee last night, we had a report on stakeholder involvement in a meeting in a meeting planned at Palace House Mews on the 14th December. We are forever hearing all those buzzwords about 'Community buy-in' and 'stakeholder involvement' these are usually euphemisms for bringing in unelected people into a process and saying that an unpopular policy has some sort of community support. I say what of the 'unempowered', 'the too busy' or 'those that are generally happy with most things in live'. So I suggested that we should ask people to come along and represent their ...
I consider myself to be fairly pro-European. I have argued that the Lisbon Treaty did not require a confirmatory referendum, in fact calls for such plebiscites seem to be becoming far too common in what is still a representative democracy, being used to resolve party differences rather than give people a genuine choice. I can also see that there is a case for a permanent President of the European Council and a High Commissioner and support the creation of those posts, but the method of appointment and the way that this has been carved up behind closed doors does give ...
[IMG: The headine outside Ferme Park Road shops - opposite the stabbing site] A number of residents have expressed their concern to me about the recent late night stabbing by the junction of Stapleton Hall Road and Lancaster Road. The victim was attacked at around 4am on Friday 13th according to reports in local papers, and was seriously injured. No wonder people are concerned when you see the stark headlines outside the Ferme Park Road newsagent - which is facing the scene of the attack (pictured). I've asked the police and the Council's community safety department to provide an urgent ...
It appears to be one of those days: the media have all got different bits between their teeth this morning. So let's take a quick peek: The Telegraph, in their never ending attempt to keep stories about someone's expenses the number one topic for discussion, decide today it's the BBC's turn, as Mark Thompson, the director ...
Leaked emails published by Duncan Borrowman reveal a dismal state of affairs in the Orpington Conservative party, with Councillor Peter Hobbins writing comments such as, "Why are the Candidates Department so keen on these foreign names?!!!" and criticising members of the Conservative Party's list of approved candidates for not having "a 'normal' English name". Duncan's post says, Racism is alive and kicking in Orpington Conservatives, as revealed in a couple of emails sent on the Bromley Council email system to their local councillors and constituency chairman in the early hours of this morning, and leaked to me today. You can ...
Yes.
The Lib Dems (or more accurately from what I can work out a Lib Dem, Sam Lockwood) has adapted Ning to make a specific Lib Dem Social Network. You can check it out here. In essence Ning allows you to create your own social networks and has the potential to be an extremely important campaigning tool, as networks are created around special interests. On sites like facebook networks tend to focus on schools, unis, workplaces etc. So for campaigners it can be incredibly useful for finding and empowering like minded people. There are 1.8 million people on Ning, and it's ...
Last night I attended an evening reception at the STV studios at Seabraes, Greenmarket, at which Rob Woodward, the company's Chief Executive, gave a very interesting presentation on the future of Scottish broadcasting and STV's broadcasting plans. The company's proposals in the area of news broadcasting are innovative. However, I asked about what steps STV is taking to ensure that STV viewers on Sky get the correct local version of the STV news as STV viewers via Sky currently get the 'Aberdeen/North version' of the local news as opposed to the 'Dundee/Tayside' local news on STV news at 6pm. Mr ...
A fascinating story this morning from BBC South's political editor, Peter Henley. Gosport Tories are holding a hustings tonight to find a replacement for their "Duck House" MP as their candidate. 70,000 letters (notifying voters of the event) from David Cameron were sent out so late that when many of them arrived with voters, the deadline to register to attend the hustings had already passed! The phrase "more money than sense" occurs to me, considering the total cost of £40,000 for the whole exercise, much of which must include the spend on the letters. Officials have had to hastily waive ...
I'm on this week's "Pod Delusion" podcast again which describes itself as being about "interesting things": From scepticism to lefty liberal things, it's commentary from a secular, rationalist, 'Guardianista', sort of perspective. A bit like From Our Own Correspondent but with more jokes. This week you can hear me discuss the way the media handle numbers and statistics related to politics and economics.
With many people thinking politicians are just in it for themselves these days the Labour Party is not helping the situation by being so reluctant to sort out the mess in parliament. On the other hand, do we really want them to be the ones to try to do it? Won't that be a bit of a recipe for disaster?
Sir Hugh Orde, the chairman of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), has had a pretty successful career in the Police, handling difficult jobs like the inquiry into the the circumstances of the murder of Stephen Lawrence and ultimately becoming second head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. He is not a man with a political axe to grind. Therefore, his forceful criticism of Conservative proposals to place local Police forces under the control of new directly elected commissioners should be taken seriously. In recent years, there has been much discussion of the problems of modern policing. The ...
[IMG: Stockport Police c. 1890] Yesterday was our monthly meeting with the police and various Council departments, looking not just at crime and anti-social behaviour but also parking, speeding and litter issues. Overall, the news in our area is good. Crime is down, especially burglary and robbery, and a stronger police presence between now and the New Year aims to make sure it stays that way. This was our last meeting with Inspector Dave Turner. He's been a real asset and we all wish him well in his next role. I look forward to getting to know his successor, Steve ...
Welcome, Daily Viewers, to November 20th; it's 17 years since fire broke out at Windsor Castle, causing tens of millions of pounds worth of damage. It's also 24 years since Microsoft released Windows 1.0. 2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here are two posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: The Isms of Cruddas Giles Wilkes at Freethinking Economist on why it's not enough to think about thinkers. The forgotten work and the financial penalties for women as primary carers – by Jane Watkinson at My Liberal Democrat Political Ramblings. ...
RT @Scobleizer: Blog Post: All about my Twitter lists: http://bit.ly/3Kriej < Good ideas for getting best from lists # @rfenwick Good thing I didn't pick that other night... [IMG: :)] in reply to rfenwick # Reminder how long old tech lingers for - 30k in UK still have black and white TV licenses http://bit.ly/4kVEds # Though http://bit.ly/4kVEds seems to be wrong to think 30k licenses = 30k viewers. More than one viewer per license surely? # "How do the messages on the main political party websites compare?" See my word clouds at http://ldv.org.uk/1680 # Looking for best tool to find ...
Yet more proof that the Conservatives may have tried to change their clothing but underneath they are still the same party of sleaze and racism. Over at Duncan Borrowman's blog, he has an extraordinary post from emails sent to him. Conservative Councillor Peter Hobbins complains of the campaigning inexperience of the candidates, and when referring to candidates Dilon Gurmal and Cameron Cutie Zerha Zaidi among others says; "Not one of them has a 'normal' English name.... "For hells sake. Why are Candidates Department so keen on these foreign names?!!!! ... "Maybe I should change my name to something foreign - ...
I learned recently that Durham County Council are soon to join the Scores on the Doors scheme to give star ratings to eating places throughout the county. You'll be able to check cafe's and restaurant's scores online, and no doubt the five star rated ones will be quick to put their star rating in the window. Since that aspect is voluntary I don't suppose you'll see too many one star signs. I'm not sure how soon the scheme will start in the county, but if you want to see how it works visit and check out your favourite restaurant ...
The fallout from the meeting on 17th November continues to cause waves, not only are their inaccuracies in the reporting at the local paper, Liberal Democrats are being attacked by the Conservative administration for bringing down the motion. This is simply not true. The Liberal Democrats have made our position clear since the meeting on 28th September and at subsequent meetings. Even the
when Phil Woolas says that they need a law to halve the deficit so that civil servants know they're serious about it!
Updates over last week are shown in italics BROKEN PROMISE 1: Lemsford Road: resurfacing was repeatedly promised and I even checked the text of a letter I sent to local residents confirming that it would be done two years ago. Last year I was given further reassurances but am now told that it is on hold awaiting the end of building works. There is now a tentative date of February next year but they have added in new reasons why they won't be willing or able to do it. BROKEN PROMISE 2: I was assured that there would be additional ...
If it's not enough to have two Lab/Tory talking heads on tonights' This Week it's even more unfortunate that Diane Abbott is allowed to parade her deliberate ignorance or subconcious ignorance of the Lib Dems on that show. I complained before about that programme's lack of airing of a Lib Dem counter-balance when it came to ...
Fri 20th
00:06
Pop-Drama: I Cross The Void Beyond The Mind or A Man Is The Sum Of His Memories, A Time Lord Even Mo...
Going from the easiest character to get a handle on, we come to the hardest one. Millennium Elephant's Daddy Richard has actually sent me his own idea of how to revamp the Doctor, which I've carefully not looked at prior to writing this so I can go in with a clear head (though I'm looking forward ...
I like political debate. I like to listen to it, to write about it and to take part in it. I was recently involved in a conversation about Cyril Smith. I also like Cyril. I met him a couple of years ago and I was able to tell him that I had heard him speak many times and I had never heard anything that I didn't agree with. I didn't mention that I had only heard him three or four times, but he had spoken at length so there was a lot with which I could disagree. Anyway, back to ...
The above is the national motto of Belgium, and means "strength through unity". A few years ago, the then Belgian PM Guy Verhofstadt said, "Belgium is the laboratory of European unification". I have long had great respect for Belgium, and her contributon to the European Project. As a student of the history of the EU, I well know the hard work and vision of people like Paul-Henri Spaak, Jean Duvieusart, Victor Leemans, and Jean Rey amongst many others. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Belgium herself is an "artificial" construct, where the Francophone Walloons and the ...
