Ernestmarples.com doesn't exactly trip off the tongue and is not that well known. However, it is a vital part of making information that you or I might want not only accessible - but relevant - because it can relate to the locations we are interested in. There are (or rather, were) websites that we can access when we want to know, for example, if there is a planning application near us. There are websites that can take the information about jobs available through the Job Centre and send us that information. It is that very special feature - being postcode ...
A friend has alerted me to The Wave, a major day of campaigning being undertaken by the non-party group Stop Climate Chaos on 5 December, to coincide with the Copenhagen Summit. It sounds like it will be great fun as well as important, so the more people who want to support it, the better.
There's an intriguing detail in today's widely welcomed proposals for reforming how the House of Commons works. In a bid to weaken the power of the whips and to strengthen that of backbenchers of all parties, the House of Commons Reform Committee has recommended that MPs vote in secret for a new body that will control some of the business in the House. Secret voting would reduce the influence of the whips certainly, but it would also reduce accountability to the public. It's not hard to imagine a controversial decision by this new body – or a controversial election to ...
So reports the Lewisham News Shopper: A RACE and equality advisor to the Mayor [of Lewisham] has resigned from the Lewisham Labour Party claiming it runs an "apartheid system". David Michael, chairman of Lewisham Local Police Consultative Group and Sir Steve Bullock's advisor on community cohesion, was due to contest the Whitefoot ward in 2010 but has resigned claiming he was not supported by branch members... Mr Michael, a resident of Catford for 26 years, says he and a number of other ethnic minority candidates have been marginalised by the party in a "scandalous apartheid system", being put forward for ...
Down in Rochford District we form the opposition but there's only five of us, sometimes it can be a little lonely, particularly when you're the only Lib Dem on a committee!However one of the advantages of being in the Lib Dems, as opposed to being,say, independents , is that we can get advice and help from other experienced Liberal Democrats elsewhere (and although we are in a party we don't have
So reads the headline in today's edition of The Star from Sheffield. It reports on the latest fall out amongst local Conservatives over the sacking of their prospective Parliament candidate for Sheffield Hallam, Daniel Gage: A TOP Sheffield Tory told a parliamentary candidate he had to quit for missing town council meetings - but may have been able to stay on had he "slept with the mayor's wife" instead. Alan Ryder, deputy chairman of Sheffield Hallam Conservatives, emailed barman Daniel Gage, aged 24, after he stood down as the party's candidate against Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg at the general ...
Tell me what company you keep and I'll tell you what you are. Miguel de Cervantes Spanish adventurer, author, & poet (1547 - 1616) Example 1: I read on Matthew Harris' blog that Newsnight are featuring a major piece on Michal Kaminski tonight. The reporter (sigh of relief – it's not Michael Crick – not that he's not excellent – but attacks on the Tory party ought to be done by someone else occasionally – he's political editor now anyway), Andrew Whewell summarises the film here. I take my hat off to Mr Whewell. He seems to have done a ...
...even Assistant Chief Constables look to you as though they should still be in the Sixth Form. ...and the same goes for Bishops.
A local business I know has a vacancy for an Office Junior. They thought they would use the Job Centre service to advertise the position and rang up to give them the details. All was going smoothly until the employer stated that amongst the skills required would be "good basic english and maths skills". The person at the Job Centre was unsure about this and so went away to consult with his supervisor. On his return he told the employer that he couldn't ask for "good basic english" it had to be "good communication skills". The implication being that it ...
We had a super night tonight with the Christmas Concert, Lights Switch On, Fireworks and Carnival! Here's a few photos! Above : The Carnival Above : The Downfield Musical Society panto stars and a certain West End Councillor! Above : Very well attended Christmas Concert Above : Lord Provost John Letford, Ken Macleod, Sheena Wellington and panto stars switch on the lights! Above : Superb fireworks display! Thank you time ... With very grateful thanks to Rev Andrew Greaves, Lord Provost John Letford, Ken Macleod, Sheena Wellington, our local schools and Menzieshill High School, Adrian Milne who masterminded the concert ...
The Times take pop too seriously. It's not high art and the stars of yesteryear do not produce great music forever. Forget them, or risk missing out on the one and a half album wonders of today.
The leader of the Labour group on Pendle District Council suggests that Tony Greaves should sign up for an anger management course. Typical New Labour therapism. What Tony displays is righteous indignation. We could do with more of it.
Workmen have discovered a structural threat to a crucial part of the Guided Busway network. Cambridgeshire County Council were informed that rainwater pouring off the raised section of track on the viaduct could damage the structure and lead to it crumbling in future years. They dealt with this information by trying to keep the newly found problem a secret. Unfortunately for them the secrecy didn't last very long. It's disappointing to have to say this once again but the Conservative County Councils' instinct for secret meetings and back room deals is keeping the tax-paying public in the dark about exactly ...
Thank you for contacting National Express East Anglia Customer Services, we have received your email and we aim to get back to you as soon as possible. Our target is to answer 90% of our contacts within 6 working days. However, if your contact is urgent you may prefer to give us a call on 0845 600 7245 mentioning that you have already sent an email. We'll see, shall we?...
Tue 24th
20:19
Immature, Jejune and Puerile: The Nature of Politics from the Moreton West & Saughall Massie Con...
I really didn't know whether to laugh or cry. In my last blog posting I inadvertently labelled Kingfisher Way as Kingfisher Lane, and as I was also writing about Millhouse Lane in the next sentence, the two got mixed up, an innocuous mistake one might imagine. Not according to the puerile and asinine posting on ...
Tue 24th
20:16
National Express East Anglia - their contribution to saving the planet (this post may contain irony)
Sometimes, just sometimes, I find myself travelling backwards and forwards between London and Suffolk in first class, usually because the fare is marginally more expensive or, on the odd bizarre occasion, because it is actually cheaper. Today is one of those occasions, and so this posting comes to you from the 19:30 from London Liverpool Street to Norwich, the one train of the day when they provide an at-seat dinner service. Except, with the flair and competence with which NXEA are now renown, I am sitting in a darkened coach J for the second time in a fortnight because the ...
Imagine taking up a new role as Chief Executive of a big council only to find, on the day you walk into your office, that you are facing "one in a thousand years downpours" and a major civil emergency. Indeed, you find yourself slap back in the middle of the sort of crisis that most council chief executives probably won't face in the whole of their careers. Well that's what happened to Jill Stannard, who started work as the new chief executive of Cumbria County Council last Thursday, just as the heavens opened over her patch.
So often when I meet residents impatient for action, it comes down to delays or indifference from TfL. That certainly seems to be the case at Madras Place, N7. This is the dangerous crossing over the Holloway Road from St Mary Magdalen church to the Central Library and Fieldway Crescent. It's a busy point for ...
I forgot to plug my Comment is Free article which was published yesterday. In it, I give pretty short shrift to the ideas that Nick Clegg has just announced his intention to form a coalition with the Tories and that the Lib Dems should be bending over backwards to spell out their terms for ...
As part of an anti-crime campaign and to generally raise awareness of the technology your local police service have been introducing Smartwater to residents in the north of King's Hedges. When an item is marked with this technology (which is just a simple 5 second job) if the item ever turns up as part of lost or stolen property then the police will be able to "read" the tag in the water and return the item to it's original owner. As part of a program supported by the Fire Service and the City Council Smartwater was given away free to ...
[IMG: Dilbert.com]
From the New York Observer with a hat-tip to Political Wire: Documentary filmmaker and longtime Michael Moore collaborator Meghan O'Hara is currently working on a feature-length documentary about George W. Bush's military service in the Texas Air National Guard, ...If successfully funded, Ms. O'Hara's project would be the first major, in-depth documentary to dig into the murky subject.
Yet another November birthday today, but not one we can put down to a fun Valentine's Day. Mark Reckons. Mark's had an incredibly successful year and his post, which worked out that the safer an MP's seat, the more likely they were to be caught up in the expenses controversy is probably one of the most effective arguments for STV I've come across in my whole life time in politics. He also made me cry on my own blog when we were reminiscing about our wonderful grannies.
Tuesday: Suppose you're running a business and it is time to prepare some accounts. Things are looking a bit TIGHT, so here's a trick: borrow a load of CASH from a friend of yours and give it back after the accounts are done. That way, if suppliers look at your balance sheet, they'll see that you have plenty of money to keep paying your bills and so will carry on giving you credit. There's only ONE small snag - it's TOTALLY a fraud. So how did the Government get away with doing EXACTLY THAT for those banks that we own: ...
Tue 24th
18:00
As new railfreight inquiry begins, have we uncovered a fundamental flaw in Helioslough's traffic mod...
Today was the first day in the new Public Inquiry into developer Helioslough's appeal against St Albans District Council's refusal of their application to build a massive freight terminal with a few railway sidings attached in the crucial Green Belt south of the city. I joined the demonstration organised by STRiFE beforehand and then we all crowded into the council chamber to hear the opening submissions – so many of us that the council's head of legal services joined other council staff in pulling out more chairs so everyone could sit. In his opening remarks the Inspector, Mr Mead, specifically ...
Under other circumstances I might not have noticed this "Residential Development Opportunity" that I walked past in Ripon at the weekend. It seems to be an opportunity which has been available for some time! [IMG: Regeneration opportunity] What caught my eye, however, was the signboard bearing the name of GVA Grimley, "the planning, development and regeneration experts" that the county council has brought in to develop a comprehensive master plan for Consett. I know people who tried the county link to feed in their opinions (following my blog entry and the Advertiser article) were disappointed earlier in the week because ...
Back home and I discover that John McWilliam, MP for Blaydon from 1979 to 2005 died recently. He may have been a political opponent but he was always pleasant and courteous to deal with. I remember a few years ago bumping into him in the Commons and he took me for a drink in a bar there and used the occasion to tell me about the history of the building.My sympathies to his family.---Sent via
Readers of this blog will know I have been leading a campaign in Reading for a number of years to reduce the number of empty (private) properties in the Borough. You can find out more about our local campaign by visiting www.redlandslibdems.org.uk/emptyhomes This week is the annual National Week of Action on Empty Homes which is being spearheaded by the independent campaigning charity, the Empty Homes Agency. Because this problem goes far wider than just Reading. There are currently nearly one million empty properties in the UK and given we are in the middle of a housing crisis this is a national ...
Darwin's Origin of Species was apparently published 150 years ago today. Our ability to understand science hasn't increased by much since then judging by the cranky arguments put forward by climate change deniers. On the other hand the British public is showing an admirable sense of scepticism about ID cards - only 538 early adopters have signed up for one so far. But then they probably have your DNA anyway.
Almost a year ago on the 26th November last year, Woolworths went into administration. Today there is more potentially sad news for the High Street, today there is the first sign that Borders, the bookseller, is faltering. Their website has stopped taking new orders and there are rumour that they do not have enough money to make it through to Christmas. Borders of course suffers doubly, they are dwarfed as far as High Street bookselling goes by Waterstones' 303 stores to 45. Online they are obviously small fry compared to Waterstones. Of course unlike MFI that also disappeared around the ...
I was going to do a more detailed post on the Andy Coulson/bullying case but Anthony Painter has pretty much said what I was going to here. All I would add to what Anthony has said is that tribunals don't usually give out £800,000 for nothing and David Cameron needs to think very carefully about the message that his potential action (or inaction) about Mr Coulson regarding this could send out.
Martin Belam is one of those who has picked up on the story about the number of people contributing to Wikipedia falling away. He makes the reasonable comment: Not entirely convinced by this argument. Yes edit wars and holier-than-thou editors on Wikipedia can be frustrating, but frankly, with over 3 million English language articles already written, what is there left for the new novice editor to add? And yet, and yet. Whilst trumpeting the success of Wikipedia is one of the most commonly used examples in the "social media is changing everything" school of evangelism, so too is the claim ...
I just received the replies to my questions for tomorrow's Council meeting, here's the first. PUBLIC QUESTION NO. 20 LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM COUNCIL MEETING 25 NOVEMBER 2009 Question asked by: Mr M Calò Member to reply: Deputy Mayor Question How long has the Ladywell Playtower been under 24hr security and at what cost? Reply 24 hour security was installed at Ladywell Playtower on 12.05.06. ...
If you are reading this it means that I understood the lovely Mark Pack's instructions about how to blog from my Blackberry.You might think I must be really stupid not to have worked out what the wee envelope next to the blog title on the Blogger dashboard was for. You'd probably be right, but I've never claimed to be a geek.Now, if I could only figure out how to put the darned Libdig widget in, life would be perfect! ------------------
Victoria has spent the day here too, and among other things has unearthed useful documents from the archive. Doris has been here, a refugee from her flat where the landlords have been installing central heating - a bit late! Yesterday I spoke to my sister Livy, who at the age of 83 is in a care home in Sydney. Frances and Johnny are trying to organise a move for her to Canberra, to make it easier for them to visit. She sounded quite cheerful, though I know she's not in very good health. An interesting meeting yesterday with Shi'a friends ...
Fascinating article in The Times this morning in which it is suggested that Police are routinely arresting people simply to record their DNA profiles on the national database. The allegations are contained in a report by the Human Genetics Commission, an independent government advisory body. They say that three quarters of young black men are on the database. According to the Equalities and Human Rights Commission and this risks stigmatising a whole section of society. The report also criticises the piecemeal development of the database and questions how effective it is in helping the police to investigate and solve crimes: ...
I did the 6a overhang! Like a rat up a drainpipe! A very shouty sweary rat, but a rat none the less! Now all I need to do is find that bloody letter about the Local party AGM to find out where it is. I know it's tonight somewhere...
Here is Labour peer and happiness economist Lord Layard on the cause of long-term unemployment in Europe: Europe has a notorious unemployment problem. But if you break down unemployment into short-term (under a year) and long-term, you find that short-term unemployment is almost the same in Europe as in the U.S. - around 4% of the workforce. But in Europe there are another 4% who have been out of work for over a year, compared with almost none in the United States. The most obvious explanation for this is that in the U.S. unemployment benefits run out after 6 months, ...
I sent out an email to my email list to inform local people (hard copy will follow more widely) of the threat to close or reduce services at the Whittington A & E and about the threat to the North Middlesex A & E too. Both contain petitions for people to sign up to: The Whittington petition is here and the North Mid petition is at http://bit.ly/northmid. The responses are pouring in. In the first 24 hours, since yesterday afternoon, 745 people have already signed the Whittington petition and 89 the North Mid. It is already quite clear that local ...
All hell has broken out in the Assembly with the release of a joint statement co-signed by the First Minister to the effect that Labour will not even consider the timing of a referendum until after the General Election. According to legal advice circulated to all Assembly Members, if that happens then it is almost certain that a referendum will not be held within the timescale envisaged by the One Wales Agreement. That advice suggests that: overall, the approximate interval between an Assembly resolution and the holding of a referendum would be about 8 to 9 months. This coincides with ...
Commenting on the Joint Statement in the Response to the All Wales Convention, issued by Welsh Labour today, Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: "Labour today outlined their desire to stall a decision on a referendum until after the general election, making the Autumn referendum all other parties desire, impossible to deliver. Rhodri Morgan and Peter Hain have dealt a body blow to devolution in Wales, seeking to take control of a process all other parties wish to see move forward in the early new year." "Plaid Cymru, who joined with Labour on the promise of a ...
[IMG: 22951-1-menzies-campbell-mp] Sir Menzies Campbell MP has highlighted the serious questions that the "long awaited" Iraq Inquiry needs to answer as it gets under way in London today. Sir Menzies said: "This long awaited inquiry has a number of serious questions to answer. Why was it that Tony Blair felt it necessary for Great Britain to align so closely with George W Bush? Was the intention always to remove Saddam Hussein and bring about regime change? "Why did the Cabinet, with the notable exception of Robin Cook, not display greater independence? Why were there no proper preparations for the restructuring ...
This programme is an interesting interview with Professor Sir Michael Rutter about the effects of Romanian Orphanages on children.What I find particularly interesting is that his conclusion was that the children who left the orphanage before 6 months generally did not suffer from long lasting disorders."in all of our followups we have found no deficits in children whose institutional deprivation
Ian Swales collecting signatures on Redcar High Street. Ian Swales and the Redcar Liberal Democrats are delighted by the initial response to their campaign for a pier at Redcar. There has been extensive media coverage and an enthusiastic response from residents and visitors to the town. So far Redcar and Cleveland Council have not embraced the idea and have been defending their stance on not allowing the sea front redesign to include a pier. Lib Dem Council Group Leader Chris Abbott said: "The reasons given by the Council for not wanting a pier just don't stand up to examination. They ...
One seemingly obvious question - who spends most on local services - has in this country a rather disappointing answer. It is not just that we always suspected central government in this overcentralised country spent more than local government - the astonishing thing is how much more. We already knew that the Government Office for London actually spends more than the London Mayor, despite some real devolution of important responsibilities. But recent research shows that for an average of £7,000 of spend on public services in any one place, only £350 is discretionary spending by local authorities. Clearly this doesn't ...
Another week has seen the Lib Dem teams out delivering our Focus leaflets around the area, I must admit the weather has been dreadful, and my sympathies are with Eric, Pat and Gerald who were out on Monday and got absolutely soaked to the skin, my thanks to them for all their hard work. Danny ...
A bit of an immigration theme for this edition of my blogosphere round-up: Liberal Conspiracy has begun a series of posts on The Truth About Immigration, starting with the statistics on why people migrate to the UK. End Child Detention Now asks who benefits from locking up over 2,000 children in immigration detention centres. Enemies of Reason has found that the Daily Mail really wants more immigrants! (sort of...) And finally, on the news that the excellent Doug Stanhope will be contributing to the next series of Charlie Brooker's Newswipe, here is his unmissable Channel 4 show on immigration from ...
The BBC has the story about today's report that has once more highlighted how mental health services in Wales are still failing many children and young people. Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, the Wales Audit Office, Estyn, and Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales have joined together to demand that the Welsh Government takes action on these services. They say that despite some improvements, those aged 16 to 18 and the under-fives in particular are not getting the services they need. They want a national action plan to be drawn up within six months. Despite the fact that this report has been ...
Follow Nick Speed and Vaughan Roderick for updates and now Gareth Hughes joins them with a blog the offending press release joins them on Wales Home tbc...
Review of 2012 here
That's quite a scary headline. I must surely been writing about some horrendous totalitarian regime that's storing up people's genetic material for nefarious purposes. Actually no. Stephen has today highlighted that our very own Police Force is arresting people for no real good reason just so they can nab their DNA for the database, and if you happen to be a black male, your chances of having that happen to you are much higher than those of a white female like me. What's even more horrifying is that around a third of that figure is the DNA of children. This ...
Tue 24th
13:54
'Paddy Ashdown to welcome former Social Democrat David Owen to the Liberal Democrats today...' - The...
'Today Paddy Ashdown will be welcoming former Social Democrat David Owen to the Liberal Democrats,' read the press release. Myself and the local PPC decided that, in this desperate time for the party, we should try something creative to get the media interested in our campaign. It was, of course the real Paddy Ashdown, but the ...
Two hugely disappointing bits of news today. First, the claim by a retired Police Superintendent that the police are routinely arresting people in order to take their DNA for storage. Although the Association of Chief Police Officers deny the claim, what is not in doubt is that over 4m people now have their DNA stored on the national database, and that despite a European Court ruling demanding that the government stop storing the records of innocent people, the government still plan to do so for six years. As I found out at the last meeting of Bury Council, in Greater ...
It is clearly time for George to say something that sounds that it might be popular, and so he has leapt aboard the 10:10 bandwagon. Now clearly, as Liberal Democrats, we support the notion that organisations and individuals should cut their carbon dioxide emissions by 10% next year. However, in those places where we run councils, the commitment has to be backed up with action. George doesn't have that problem, and it shows. He suggests that government departments should achieve the called for 10% reduction and, if they don't achieve it, he'll cut their budget. It's a great soundbite, albeit ...
Lib Dem Voice sadly bids au revoir to one of our Contributing Editors – Richard Huzzey has understandably but reluctantly decided that his work on the other side of the Atlantic must come first. On behalf of the whole LDV team, can I thank Richard for all he's done, both 'behind the scenes' and for the public blog, writing approaching 150 articles for the site in the three years he's been associated with it. His first post, Thoughts on the Amazing Mrs Pritchard, continues to pick up a steady stream of Google-inspired traffic to the site. You can read the ...
There will be no collections on Christmas Day or New Years Day - both Fridays. If you normally have a Friday collection, your rubbish will be collected on Saturday 2nd January 2010 from 7am. Collections will take place as normal on all other days, including the bank holiday Monday 28th December.
The Liberal Democrat Shadow Charities Spokesperson and MP for Cardiff Central, Jenny Willott has accused the Conservative party's 'small state, big society' vision of being a means to get the charitable sector to underwrite the costs of delivering public services. Her attack on Tory headline party policy came at a keynote speech at today's NCVO Infrastructure National Partnership Conference 2009. At the Conference Jenny said: "The Tories' small state big society vision is a thinly-veiled part of a traditional Tory tax-cutting agenda. "David Cameron wants to handover responsibility for delivering public services to charities. "The Conservatives want the UK to ...
It's the question that was always going to come around again at some point. So, who would the Liberal Democrats work with if there was a hung parliament? The problem is that whatever Nick Clegg says about it, the press is inevitably going to try and read between the lines and claim that he means ...
There are two local meetings that I urge our local readers to attend. Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust The public meeting by the Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Which is holding its annual members meeting on Thursday, November 26th at 6pm at Post Graduate Medical Centre at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough. Presentations will start at 7pm. This is a great opportunity to make your views known to the trust's Chief Executive Julie Burgess as well as the Chairman & Governors.The bigger the turnout of the public the more it will demonstrate to Julie ...
Tue 24th
13:08
£800k pay-out to victim of Tory spin chief's "consistent pattern of bullying behaviour"
Today's Guardian reports the news: A News of the World reporter who suffered from a culture of bullying led by former editor Andy Coulson, who is now David Cameron's head of communications, has been awarded almost £800,000 for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. Matt Driscoll, a sports reporter sacked in April 2007 while on long-term sick leave for stress-related depression, was awarded £792,736 by the east London employment tribunal. It is believed to be the highest payout of its kind in the media, and legal costs could take News International's total bill well over the £1m mark. The award will ...
I was typing an angry complaint regarding the exclusion of a Liberal Democrat from today's You and yours prog on unemployment when I heard someone read out a spiel from what could only have come from Cowley Street. I am still sending one asking WHO made the decision to just have two parties on the show ...
Last week she was unknown in Britain. Today she is unknown all over Europe.
The long-awaited Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war opens today and whatever the rights and wrongs of how it is conducted (or indeed whether it should be at all) there will be at least one vital thing missing from the inquiry. A fundamental inquiry into the ideological underpinnings of why we went to war and, at ...
Subrosa has highlighted the fact that Murdoch is looking to remove his news content from Google and place it exclusively on Microsoft's Bing search engine. Personally I think this is a retrograde step even if he is going to have pay only content on his news websites (another retrograde step). During the expenses scandal in May I changed the details on my Jim Devine Google alert. I sent it not just to my Google address but also to my work email, I also changed the frequency from once a day to every mention. The reason for this was so that ...
[IMG: Stockport Boost] You might have seen the Stockport Boost campaign the Lib Dem Council have been pushing over the last few months. There are lots of elements, from attracting big name companies to Stockport - creating hundreds of jobs - to giving communities the ability to improve their shopping areas. The good news is that, although it's early days, it seems to be paying off. Unemployment in Stockport is down for the second month running, and I'm told we're the only Greater Manchester borough to see unemployment fall.
Last week I visited Sherd Lodge in advance of a decision by the Council last night on its future to lend my support to the staff and residents. When the decision was made that Sherd Lodge old peoples' home should eventually close the Council gave a pledge to residents and their families that the home would not close whilst it still housed permanent residents with spare rooms being used for respite and other short stay people. But the Labour dominated Scrutiny Board of Luton Council decided last night that the closure should go ahead in March whether or not the ...
It has been reported that Labour's ID card scheme is now up and running. The Governments newly appointed Independent Identity Commissioner has reported that as of last week there were 538 people on the register. Apparently all but 1 are UK nationals. Why anyone would want to shell out £30 of hard earned readies to obtain a bit of plastic that tells people who you are and tells the Government a good deal more, is beyond me. The scheme is being piloted across Greater Manchester at present at is expected to be rolled out across the UK from 2011. Labour ...
Just listening to the employment edition of `You and yours` and we're back to high unemployment particularly with young people. Tales of a young person spending all her time for 6 months in Sunderland ringing companies in the Yellow Pages, knocking on doors in the town centre and going to Job Centre. I feel that their ...
There seems to be a new scam taking place across the Country, including in the North West. People are phoned by somebody claiming to be from the Council and either insisting that Council Tax is owed and they will go to Court if they don't pay at once, or else that a refund is due. Either way, they attempt to get hold of bank details, which will result in the bank account being raided. There have already been instances of this happening in Bury. Neither Manchester City Council, nor any other local Council will phone up out of the blue ...
A marketing genius at Microsoft has hired the only UK girl-group everyone thinks was better in a previous iteration to promote Windows 7. Well thought-out, that man. (Also, I pity the fool whose job it is to read the submissions to the competition: "Win a private gig with the Sugababes! Enter your perfect gig ideas now..." - didn't someone just get sued for that sort of thing by Girls Aloud?)
I am at home, waiting for Marks and Spencer to deliver a coffee table. They have helpfully phoned me to tell me what time to expect the delivery. Phone rings: the driver tells me he will be with me in 10 minutes. Phone rings: the driver has got to the other end of Clayton Road from Claygate and can't get through the width restrictor. He says the satnav told him to come this way. I suggest he goes back through Claygate and takes the A309 to Hook Junction. Phone rings: driver says he got to Esher but the satnav send ...
Planning permission was refused last night.
[IMG: The DNA database has come under fire] The DNA database has come under fire The Government's own independent advisers on developments in human genetics have said there is "very little concrete evidence" of the usefulness of the Government's controversial DNA database in investigating crime. Speaking to the BBC, Human Genetics Commission (HGC) chairman Professor Jonathan Montgomery questioned the effectiveness of the DNA database, saying: "DNA evidence is important in the investigation of crime but it's far from clear that a database plays an effective role in that." With more than 5 million profiles the database is the largest of ...
It's May 1971 and the House of Lords is debating the weighty matter of industrial relations. Step forward Lord Mansfield: The older among your Lordships may remember a ditty of our youth called "It ain't gonna rain no mo'" which contained a number of rather amusing verses. One of them was: A peanut sitting on the railroad track, Its heart was all a flutter. The train came roaring round the bend— Toot, Toot! Peanut butter! In case you're wondering about the relevance of all this to industrial relations, fear not - he made it clear in the next sentence: I ...
Commenting on the Human Genetics Commission's review of the Government's DNA database, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said: "The Government's cavalier attitude towards DNA retention has put us in the ridiculous situation where people are being arrested just to have their DNA harvested. "Ministers make no distinction between innocence and guilt and as a result everyone is treated like a suspect. "Innocent people should be removed from the database and there should be a frank discussion about its effectiveness."
One of the first things that caught my attention when I got back to the UK on Sunday was the poll that showed a significant drop in support for the Conservatives. Talk was of a hung parliament, the likely outcome of an election in which those voting proportions are cast. The no-win-for-anyone scenario has been what I have been predicting for some time now, despite the talk in the national media
For those who have somehow overlooked the BBC's Charles Darwin season this year never mind, today is a day to celebrate all that is Darwinian.* Although Darwin Day, 12th February, was the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birthday, in 1809, today, 24th November, is the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species, which ...
No, not my campaign to enter the hallowed halls of Westminster – much to the relief of my colleagues who undoubtably feel they get more than enough of me on the council. Besides, I'm lucky enough to already have an excellent Lib Dem MP. This is a new feature on the ALDC MyCouncillor blog service. ALDC, the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors, offers a handy blogging service for all members. It's based on the popular WordPress platform and customised to help busy councillors and campaigners get blogging with the minimum of fuss. Over 500 people already have an ALDC MyCouncillor ...
Hertfordshire official opposition Liberal Democrat group has hit out over the failure of the Conservative run council to support the introduction of 20mph limits where residents want them. Criticising the recently agreed Speed Management Strategy Lib Democrat Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst said, "Whilst the new Strategy document has its good points, it completely fails to support the need for funding for 20 mph limits. Government policies now promote such limits as the way of reducing road accidents and deaths, yet in Hertfordshire we are left to try to find funding out of a tiny pot of money given to each County ...
I have just got on board my first East Coast train - ie the company that has replaced the total failure that was National Express. I am at Kings Cross waiting to head home to Gateshead. The livery is the same, the National Express symbols and words have not been changed (frankly there are more important things to spend money on at the moment) and the staff are the same. Let's hope however that
Tonight will see the West End Christmas Lights in Dundee switched on at 7pm by Lord Provost John Letford, Ken Macleod of Radio Tay AM and characters from Downfield Musical Society's Christmas Panto "Dick Whittington". It will take place at Seabraes (just east of Roseangle, opposite Airlie Place). There will be a Christmas children's concert beforehand from 6pm, in which musical contributions from Harris Academy, Menzieshill High School and local primary schools will take place. Guest singer is Sheena Wellington, Scotland's leading traditional singer. All residents are welcome to attend this free event which takes place in Dundee West Church, ...
Ho hum, the Tories are dragging each other on to the green bandwagon once more, having quietly slipped off sometime in 2006 when they thought no one was looking. Fresh from hugging huskies and putting a fan on his roof, Dave has clearly instructed George 'please take me seriously' Osborne to say something slightly mildewed and George has responded with all the gusto of an oil company executive with a gun to his head. Before we dismiss this latest Tory wheeze let's quickly revisit what the LDs have promised with regard to both the green agenda and the recession. Nickers ...
With the permission of "Go Dundee", I reproduce below some detail about their upcoming event on 3rd December : Just imagine... What will Dundee look like in 2020? What will it feel like to be in the City - in your part of the City? Imagine that Dundee has continued to flourish, has become a fantastic place to live across all parts of the city. What has enabled this? What stories would you tell about how we achieved this together? What has your part been? And what have others contributed? That's what Dundee Wave of Change is all about. A ...
The November edition of Total Politics has the second in a series from me on councils and communicating. The first part, Yes, council websites can, looked at lessons from the Obama campaign for local council use of the internet. This piece now looks at email in more detail. In October's Total Politics I wrote about the broad lessons councils can learn from Barack Obama's Presidential campaign, for both councils and election campaigns need to communicate successfully online with large numbers of the public. Despite this similarity of aim, many of the internet techniques which are now second nature to most ...
Leeds United have issued the following statement in response to an article which appeared in the Telegraph and Argus: Leeds United Football Club would like to clarify a newspaper story which appeared on Monday November 23. The story, which appeared in the Telegraph and Argus, alleges that the club has refused to supply tickets to family members of the Yorkshire Regiment, who are due to take part in a presentation at half-time of our game against Huddersfield on Saturday December 5. The club can confirm that this is categorically not true. The newspaper was told that the matter was due ...
The debate in my office has already started ... The email has been circulated suggesting that, instead of sending Christmas cards to our colleagues, we should all make a donation to a charity instead. It's a topic that comes up each and every year, and is doubtless replicated in offices up and down the country. For what it's worth, my personal approach has always been not to send Christmas cards to those people I see each and every day in the lead-up to the seasonal holiday: there will be any number of work do's at which I can wish them ...
Tue 24th
09:54The Scottish Lib Dems should now close any discussion on supporting an Independence Referendum - no ...
The recent discussion within the Scottish Liberal Democrats concerning the possible policy change to support a referendum on Scottish independence seems now to be dead, following a poll released in The Telegraph today. Although some had suggested, apparently for tactical reasons, that the party should entertain the idea Scottish voters, according to the poll, reject independence ...
A few things reported to the Council in the last day: Faulty streetlight outside 7 Turnfield Road, Cheadle Uneven pavement on Hawthorn Road outside the United Reform church Smashed bottle on pavement outside the Hollies, Oakwood Avenue, needs cleaning up. Litter in the alleyway behind 2-12 Pendlebury Road needs clearing.
The Iraq Inquiry, which begins today, represents what most believe is the last chance for this country and its establishment to formally acknowledge the consequences of Tony Blair's decisions, and the last chance for some culpability to be established for those consequences. For those of us who opposed the Iraq war from the very beginning - for those of us who went on the march - this is a significant day. I wasn't touched personally by it, I didn't know anyone who died there. Like most people in Britain, I was just watching from the sidelines in pretty much daily ...
On February 15th 2003, Bob, Anna and I took the train to Glasgow, It was a beautiful, sunny, crisp and therefore absolutely totally freezing morning. We walked from Queen Street station to Glasgow Green along with huge crowds of people from across Scotland. The thing that struck me was that many of them were ordinary people, not the usual suspects who always go on these things, not just the sometimes scary hard left rabble rousers, not just political activists. The Police estimate at the time was that there were 30,000 people there. The atmosphere was incredible. We seemed to be ...
Forget the Iraq War inquiry today. It begins taking evidence. So what? The damn thing is going to take years, and will probably still not tell us what most of us already know: it was criminally negligent, illegal and strategically the dumbest thing we could have ever done. Oh, and resulted in the deaths of ...
Yesterday, this blog passed a milestone. It is now a year since I did my first blogpost as a Lib Dem on here. It was about the BNP leaked membership list by the way and was entitled "BNP List - My Thoughts" and according to my analytics, 4 people read it. I'm happy to say that the readership has picked up a bit since then and I am very grateful to the more than 40,000 people who have visited this blog in its first year reading over 80,000 pages. The idea that I would get so many people visiting and ...
With the United Nations Climate Summit in Copenhagen looming, the UK - the first country to introduce legally binding carbon emissions reduction targets - should be showing strong leadership. Yet here in north London plans are afoot to drive a coach and horses (and cars and trucks) through the spirit of the Climate Act. In Barnet a glossy greenwashed blueprint drawn up for a controversial £4.5bn Brent Cross-Cricklewood 'new town' has gained outline planning permission. It is shaping up to be an eco disaster. The regeneration scheme, which has already been rejected by Camden, will generate 29,000 extra car journeys ...
Good news from my Muswell Hill Lib Dem colleagues - long overdue safety improvements are to be made to the car park behind Marks and Spencers in Muswell Hill Broadway. It may have taken eight years of campaigning by local Lib Dems and residents, but Haringey Council have now agreed that plans for improvemets will be drawn up soon. This is very welcome, as the car park is used by parents and young children as a route to local schools and the community centre. Cllr Gail Engert and her Muswell Hill ward colleagues are expecting the plans by the end ...
[IMG: Ed, Lynne and Nigel outside the Whittington A&E] Lynne Featherstone has launched an urgent campaign to save the 24 hour Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department at our local hospital – the Whittington. Under new plans being brought forward by NHS managers the Whittington could be downgraded to 'local hospital status' – putting the A&E service in jeopardy. The story is covered in the Hornsey Journal – article here. If the Whittington A&E closed Stroud Green residents would have to travel twice the distance in a medical emergency – to get to the Royal Free at Hampstead instead. There is ...
Does anyone know how Brian Eno - "stalwart member of 'The Roxy Music' and heir to the fruit salts fortune" according to Lord Bonkers - is getting on as Nick Clegg's adviser on youth affairs? We have not heard a great deal about this role since his appointment was announced. Some wondered at the time whether Eno was to old for the role. However, he is a full three days younger than Steve Winwood, who would obviously have been this blog's choice.
With chilling echoes back to the data collected in Nazi Germany on genetics the startling truth about the criminal database is that 3 in ever 4 young black, British males finds himself on the DNA database. In total there is also a third of all Black men. Of course the computer itself is colour blind. But as each entrant on that database at present has been stopped, arrested and sampled, even if released and not charged with any crime, shows the latest findings in a horrifying light. The Human Genetics Commission who drew up this report gets this figure from ...
If proof were needed that Independence is not wanted by the majority of the Scots and that a referendum now would be nothing more than a sheer waster of £9 - £12million then here it is in yesterdays Daily Telegraph. With a big hat tip to The Grumpy Spindoctor for spotting this one yesterday in the Daily Telegraph. I appreciate that we will see a few YouGov and other surveys having results produced within this next week as Alex Salmond prepares to produce his break up the UK bill to our MSPs in Holyrood on St. Andrew's day. Well these ...
I just noticed how full my things to link to bookmark folder is getting. So here, for your delectation are lots and lots ofFresh Squeezings From the Veins of the InternetThe Honourable Lady Mark has an important message for anyone who wishes to stand for parliament for the Lib Dems. Andrew Hickey made a lovely post for Transgender Day of Remembrance, which I completely failed to mark. I wish things like TGDoR were unnecessary, but unfortunately they are not. A neat explanation of the Concept of Schroedinger's Rapist It's not that all men are potential rapists, it's that until you ...
To whom it may concern: If you received through the letterbox this Lewisham Central Labour Party Newsletter (click picture to enlarge) be reassured, the Labour Party had no part in the Hither Green Cinema campaign and have not been authorized to tell people to write to them to support the campaign. Funnily enough they are doing this ...
Newsnight tonight had a fascinating, deeply troubling piece about Michal Kaminski, the Conservative Party's Polish ally in the European Parliament. This feature explains what was said on the programme. The Conservative Party should be deeply concerned about this matter - as should anyone who is thinking of voting Conservative. I unreservedly repeat my condemnation of the Conservatives' new alliance with the right-wing fringe of European politics. Churchill and Macmillan must be turning in their graves!
The Lib Dems' director of election communications, Jonny Oates, states categorically that Nick Clegg did not express a preference for dealing with the Tories over Labour. In rebutting yesterday's inaccurate press reports, all Jonny had to do was to reproduce the transcript of what Nick actually said: "In view of today's press reports about a balanced parliament, I thought it would be useful to provide the text of what Nick said on the Andrew Marr show on Sunday. As you will see, these comments do not indicate any preference between the other two parties in the event of no party ...
One seemingly obvious question - who spends most on local services - has in this country a rather disappointing answer. It is not just that we always suspected that central government in this overcentralised country spent more than local government - the astonishing thing is how much more. We already knew that the Government Office for London actually spends more than the London Mayor, despite some real devolution of important responsibilities. But recent research shows that for an average of £7,000 of spend on public services in any one place, only £350 is discretionary spending by local authorities. Clearly this ...
I refer to the dead tree media who seem to spin and turn without saying what Clegg actually said or meant. From now on we shouldn't say anything on it apart from that unless we ADD `have you asked both Labour and the Tories that question?` If they haven't he should just say `I refuse to answer ...
An article on yesterday's BBC news related to yesterday's Panorama. It was about murder convictions for people who were not directly involved in the violence and there was an interview with the mother of a murderer who felt an injustice had been performed. There was also an interview with the wife of Garry Newlove who was kicked to death by a gang outside his home in Warrington. She thought that justice had been done. So are you a murderer if you stand by and watch the person next to you murder someone? The law obviously says this is a possibility. ...
Inspired by this article in the Graun. You go to pay at a parking meter and it gives you £3 too much change. What do you do? View Poll: Moral Dilemma My own answer is the second one, and if that's not possible, the third. I would view it as theft to take the money. Yes, a small theft, with very little chance of any consequence for myself, but theft none the less. Mat says he would take the money, citing the harm principle. I can understand his argument, but it would feel wrong to me to take the money. ...
Nick Perry, the Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Hastings & Rye, has slammed Hastings Borough Council for making announcements about the Pier in the purdah period before the St Helens Ward by-election, the polling day for which is 10 December. Nick says, "The Council is sailing very close to the wind on this particular issue. As ...
