The second day of the Iraq inquiry and it is already throwing up some very interesting issues. Today we learnt that the weapons of mass destruction that did not exist anyway could not be assembled to be used in the infamous 45 minutes claimed for them. Apparently Tony Blair knew this 10 days before the start of the war to get rid of the non-existent weapons of mass destruction. Seems as though
I've asked a few questions: 1. Who took the decision 2. Why was the decision taken 3. Why only two slots in four weeks 4. Why the short notice 5. If Melanie Phillips is chosen to replace Jo will there be a show in which a Conservative is replaced by a Liberal intellectual of equal standing to Melanie Phillips ...
After just over a year of writing a fortnightly Gearbox column over on the Wardman Wire, it's time to bring the series to a close. With too many other demands on my writing time, I'm quitting whilst I'm ahead (i.e. before it becomes late and irregular) but also with many thanks to Matt Wardman for hosting the column. Many stories got written up which would otherwise have been let drift had it not been for the fortnightly deadline, so many thanks Matt - and I hope the Wardman Wire goes from strength to strength.
I expect that like me you got your Leisure Facility consultation form today with your copy of Durham County News. It's the one with the Freepost address. I knew I'd had a niggling sense of irony that the consultants being used were pmp|genesis but then it came to me. PMP were the consultants used by Derwentside in preparing the fateful report to council in 2007 when it became clear that most of the money they'd been relying on for the "Sports Village" plan was not going to be available and we'd have to settle for something less. Soon we're to ...
Tonight is Tom's (he's blind) story, and it's got Bill Gaunt, him from the Champions, probably before your time late 1960s, a trio crash land in the Himalyas, rescued by monks from Shangri La and given super powers it was brilliant!
The Up North Combine reveals another side to one of my political heroes: Although a man of many interests John W. Logan was destined to become the pioneer of distance pigeon racing in England.
The Lib Dems' shadow chancellor Vince Cable today set out proposals today for the creation of what he's calling a National Infrastructure Bank. In his speech to The Civilisation Congress, Vince notes that the UK has one of the worst records for infrastructure investment in the OECD, and argues that there is an urgent need for a step change in infrastructure investment to create jobs, increase competitiveness, promote environmental sustainability and boost the economic recovery. Creating a National Infrastructure Bank - leveraging public funds with private capital - is, he argues, the best vehicle, especially with private investors beginning again ...
Having spent much of the day in Edinburgh with the "day job" with the dubious pleasure of getting totally soaked in torrential rain, this evening I firstly attended the second meeting of the "graffiti sub group" of the Local Community Planning Partnership in the West End at which we discussed how to tackle the graffiti problem in the West End and commenced planning a day of action at which a lot of graffiti in the area can be cleaned off. Later this evening, I met with constituents about a traffic issue and have arranged a site visit with the City ...
Anthony Giddens, one of the most influential sociologists, if not the most (to annoyance of many sociologists) was famously Blair's 'Guru', who pioneered the 'Third Way' philosophy that underpinned 'New Labour'. Well with the news that Phillip Bond, the pioneer of "Red Toryism", is launching a left leaning think tank, ResPublica, which will receive the full backing ...
Well not quite a letter but more, if the Wall Street Journal blog is to believed, a friendly helping of political advice. My first question when reading this has to be simply why? It is to be rightly presumed that Obama doesn't posses any fairy dust that will transform Brown's rather turnip-shaped government into a ...
I've just joined ACT, a Liberal Democrat "facebook" style Web site for people, members AND non members, to get involved in, to deal with the issues that anyone wants to deal with. Here's my starting page. Here's your starting page. See you in a Liberal Democratic UK in the future?
Policy Exchange seems to add nothing to the debate about whether fiscal policy can work or not, except a reiteration of what we already know: that they have made up their mind in advance. Meanwhile, the Left manages to be equally uninspiring. Ho Hum.
Ah, the joy of PMQs – Nick asks Gordon a question, Gordon fails to answer a totally different question to the one Nick asks. It's a regular pattern, but today it was clear to everyone that the Lib Dem leader had floored the Prime Minister over the issue of Sir John Chilcot's inquiry into the events leading up to the invasion of Iraq. Nick laid the trap neatly, asking the simple and straightforward question: It is vital that the Iraq inquiry, which started its work this week, is able to reveal the full truth about the decisions leading up to ...
the day after the election. As the results from each constituency are announced, it becomes clear the Tories will be 20 seats short of an overall majority; Labour's representation has been battered but not annihilated as some commentators and even some pollsters thought, is 40 seats short. A jubilant nationalist bloc - SNP, with a record 13 seats in Scotland and Plaid with a very respectable 5 seats in Wales - now has enough MPs to occupy a whole bench in the House of Commons. The Liberal Democrats, bruised by losses in the South to the Tories, only partially offset ...
On homeopathy:9.38am: Robert Wilson says it's an old business and popular in France.Phil Willis: "So is prostitution."
School Fingerprint RowA row's broken out over the use of finger-printing in schools in Southend. The local Liberal Democrats say the system is an invasion of privacy - but the Borough Council argues the issue is limited and only used fairly. Prospective MP for Southend West Peter Welch says he's spoken to a mum who's currently at odds with the school attended by her daughter. She says the child has been threatened with not having her Christmas lunch - if permission is not received to finger print her. But a Council statement says they aren't aware of any single cases ...
Michael's emergency motion to council: That this Council notes: • The importance of rail links in the district with 6.3 million journeys starting or finishing at St Albans City alone every year and a further 2.9 million at Harpenden. • The dispute between First Capital Connect (FCC) and its drivers which has lead to the imposition of a reduced emergency timetable, severely overcrowded trains and very poor punctuality. • The reliance of FCC on the goodwill of drivers to work overtime and on rest days to provide the service to which it had committed when winning its franchise. • The cost savings presumably accruing ...
Looking back at previous entries on the blog I worked out it was as long ago as July 2008 that I first started nagging officers to do something about parking problems faced by residents living on a number of roads around Hexham Road estate. I knew that we faced particular hurdles sorting these problems out because the land on the estate is partly the responsiblity of housing and partly the responsibility of highways... But still the responsibility of the same Council, I hear you cry! Well it took well over a year to arrange a site visit with officers from housing and highways ...
This site was brought to my attention by one of my members of staff, he knows the family and is keen to see that as many people as possible are aware of this case and take action. Please click on http://justice-for-symeou.com/ and take 5 minutes to read through the details of this case. On face value, ...
Eighty bus shelters have disappeared around Southend. And I'm beginning to doubt the explanation given by the Council for their withdrawal. The Council leader responsible for Transport issues had told the world that the withdrawal of the bus shelters was the responsibility of the advertising company: posting on the council's website the following message For the past 15 years 80 of the borough's 260 shelters have been supplied by media company Clear Channel have been funded by advertising. But the down-turn in advertising revenue means the shelters are now being withdrawn. I was contacted by a number of local residents ...
News reaches me from inside a recent Orpington Conservative PPC selection meeting. Top Tory Turnip Cllr Julian Grainger was scuttling around the room putting notes on chairs that the vegetables should uproot and storm the citadels of CCHQ. Unfortunately for Cllr Grainger, the CCHQ man at the front of the room thought differently and declared "We've gone round in circles long enough, thats enough
Rock musician Dean Heslop, 19, of West Dyke Road, will release his first CD album entitled simply "Dean Heslop" on 14 December. An earlier EP he put out has been played extensively on US college radio. The CD will be released on Middlesbrough-based Weedspell Records. The video to his song "Say You're Sorry" was directed by Saltburn's Adam Steele, and filmed in Middlesbrough, Saltburn and New Marske. At tomorrow's meeting of Redcar & Cleveland Council, Redcar Councillor Chris Abbott will ask the Council's Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure & Tourism to join him in congratulating Dean on his achievements. Chris ...
Liberal Democrat prospective MP for Redcar, is supporting the National Union of Students campaign on student fees. He has signed the following pledge. Ian Swales said: "I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and to pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative. "Like many others of my generation I was only able to go to University as the fees were paid. Leaving University with no debt enabled me to get on with my life without huge repayments weighing me down. It's no wonder that fewer children from poorer backgrounds are going to University. ...
I'm indebted to Councillor Joe O'Neill (Liberal Democrat councillor, Swinton South) for pointing out this article on The Manchester Evening News website that reveals that last year Salford Council paid out £1.7m in compensation claims for trips and falls. Collectively, Greater Manchester councils paid out more than £7.4m settling these claims, but Salford's figure was by far the highest. I commented on the story: "It's outrageous that Salford still spends more on trip compensation claims than any other council in Greater Manchester. It's obvious that if Manchester City Council can keep their claim amounts to about a quarter of Salford's ...
The latest "House of Comments" podcast with myself and Stuart Sharpe of the Sharpe's Opinion political blog is now live. The website for the podcasts is here and the fifth episode which we recorded on Tuesday 24th Nov is available to download via this page here (raw mp3 file here if you prefer). You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here. The format as usual is to invite one or two other political bloggers each week and discuss a few of the stories that are making waves in the blogosphere. This week, we were joined by Charlotte Gore, and ...
David Cameron has had a new idea – a real original. As the Guardian reports: A new Conservative government may keep parliament sitting through next August in an attempt to show its determination to implement its manifesto commitments, a source has disclosed. The move would send a message of a symbolic break with the current parliament's self-serving practices, the source said. Clearly, this is in no way related to Nick Clegg's 100 days campaign earlier this year in which Clegg said: Together, over the next 100 days, we could achieve nothing less than the total reinvention of British politics, underpinned ...
Today's Leicester Mercury reports on the last night of business at the Pump and Tap yesterday. The pub is being demolished, along with the Bowstring Bridge, to make way for a new swimming pool for De Montfort University.
I just don't get the Labour Party. They have moved heaven and earth to get some horrendously illiberal legislation through - remember ID cards, control orders and 42 days' detention, anyone? They were stubborn, intransigent and draconian. The Government believed passionately (and I think wrongly, obviously) that these measures were necessary and that passion propelled them to keep trying to do what they believed in rather than give up. Now, whether you think of the report of the Calman Commission goes far enough or not, if Labour were to implement the measures Jim Murphy announced today, there is enough of ...
Isn't it strange how sometimes two pieces of information arrive simultaneously that just go together to confirm a prejudice? This afternoon, Guido's post on Tory fundraising came to the top of my feedreader. The pithy title contains all you really need to know – Tories Raise More Cash than All Other Parties Combined – but if you're a fan of pie charts, you might want to give Guido the clickthrough. Guido's story is that of all the reportable donations given to all the parties in the Electoral Commission's third quarter, 55% of the moolah went to the Blues. This report ...
Last night I went for a walk around Manchester's Christmas Markets. For those unfamiliar with the concept, this is the 6 week period during the year when we do our bit for European harmony by allowing French and German tradesmen to set up shop in wooden huts in city centre squares and charge a king's ransom for handicrafts, whilst simultaneously hypnotising previously sensible English people into buying them. Thus I returned home last night with a wooden hedgehog-shaped placemat which can turn into a bowl. And I paid £30 for it. Normally there are about fifty million people crammed into ...
The Liberal Democrats have launched a new social network today called Lib Dem ACT. Its lovely jade and yellow colour scheme looks very fetching. You don't have to be a party member to join, so why not come along and see what it's like. For some the attraction will be undoubtedly that, at the time of writing at least, it has no farms, cafes, fish tanks, mafia wars or vampires in sight. There are some people I expect now to immediately depart Facebook and set up on ACT for that reason alone. In the words of the nice e-mail I ...
Remembrance Service and Civic Act of Remembrance I attended the Civic Remembrance Day service at Holy Trinity Church in Wallington led by the Reverend Stephen Coe. Members of the Boys Brigade and representatives from the Carshalton and Wallington Branch of the Royal British Legion made contributions to the service and all accompanied the civic procession down ...
It looks like the saga of the Abbey Hey Hotel is finally drawing to a close. Contractors are now on site ready to demolish the building. It's been a terribly long drawn-out nightmare for the neighbours of this once-landmark building, but it now simply a relief that it will soon be gone. Obviously, long-term questions about the future of the site will need to be addressed, but hopefully with this eyesore no longer in place, things should be much better.
The link is to an abstract.OBJECTIVE: To discover the outcomes for children placed late for adoption (between 5 and 11 years old) from public care and to establish which factors predict poorer outcome. METHOD: Data were collected prospectively (1993-2003) from a representative sample of domestic U.K. adoptive placements (N = 108) at the start of placement, at 1 year, and 6 years later. Most of
For the record, the last episode of The Thick of It didn't in any way bring back any memories of a radio interview with a Liberal Democrat candidate where I was frantically passing him handwritten notes. Not at all. No memory of that whatsoever. Hope that's all clear then.
Wallington Act of Remembrance As usual I attended the Remembrance Service in front of Wallington Old Town Hall together with the Deputy Mayor Cllr. Leach, representatives of the Royal British Legion, councillor colleagues, and my children.
Commenting after the Government announced details of an inquiry into alleged war crimes by UK soldiers in Iraq, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said: "Nobody doubts that the vast majority of our troops serve their country with the highest distinction. These are, however, extremely grave allegations and it is right for them to be fully investigated. "It is disgraceful that the Government had to be dragged by the courts into launching this inquiry, wasting time and taxpayers money on legal appeals. "The Baha Mousa inquiry has already raised fundamental questions about whether British soldiers were properly trained in ...
Wed 25th
15:24
Imagine the shock of a Tory Woman from Plymouth beating a Liberal favourite from Cornwall...
The shock of being beaten by a woman from Plymouth, who had no political experience to speak of, was quite a shock. It was compounded by the fact that the national leadership of the party was actively opposing a local Liberal candidate and writing letters in support of the Tory opponent. But, nonetheless, ninety years on ...
Schools have to teach topics set by the government. The teachers who have to teach PSE (Personal and Social Education) try their best, but frankly I came across an example recently that made me wonder whether they should be given the task in the first place. I tutor a little girl from a 'non-British' ethnic background and she needed some help with understanding a homework task recently. It was on the topic of multi-culturalism. The wording had clearly been arrived at in some teachers' or advisers' meeting. It was full of staffroom jargon and the children were supposed to go ...
Sound the trumpets, beat the drums, and unfurl the biggest, angriest Union flag you can find, for the first version of the soopersekrit database that is the National Identity Register is with us - comprising all of 538 names, one of which is not even a British national. Just 538 people after all the hype about launching them in Greater Manchester and to airside workers! I'm tempted to fire off an FOI request regarding how many of the 538 are civil servants working for either the Home Office or IPS. It's telling, too, that Sir Joseph Pilling, the senior civil ...
I was busy reading through planning committee papers earlier today when the following message flashed up on Twitter on the Reading hashtag - #rdg - in Twitter-speak. "Why the f*** are the Christmas lights on during the day in Reading Town Center?? What a waste" I wasn't following the correspondent but I was keen to find out more, so I tweeted him back offering to get in touch with Reading Borough Council for some answers. Another couple of tweets flashed up: "Thanks it's not that hard to have them come on when it's dark, a la street lights. It was ...
It may not come as a shock to many to discover that the Conservative front bench will, on the whole, benefit from the cut in Inheritance Tax, but the fact that they will benefit to the potential tune of £7 Million will. According to today's Daily Mirror calculations, 'Mr Cameron and shadow chancellor George Osborne are ...
News Shopper's Dan Keel reports: A PUBLIC exhibition is to be held on proposals for a new development featuring 3,500 new houses and 4,600 sq m of restaurants and bars. Residents are invited to the Convoys Wharf site in New Kings Street, Deptford, from 10am to 4pm on December 5, with a further meeting taking place ...
The Daily Mirror may well have a political axe to grind but their story today about proposals by the Tories to raise the inheritance tax threshold to £2million still makes a valid point. They point out that that 18 millionaire members of the shadow cabinet will save up to £520,000 each under this flagship policy. Amongst those benefiting will be shadow chancellor George Osborne, shadow foreign secretary William Hague and Mr Cameron. They go on to reveal that 18 out of the 32 members of the shadow cabinet will be better off by at least £120,000, whilst the estates of ...
The BBC has this local story: A former Somerset councillor has been disqualified from holding office after "illegal and pornographic material" was found on his council-owned laptop. Andrew Woolley was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor for the Lyngford Ward of Taunton Deane Borough Council in May 2007. Due to the nature of the material found on Mr Woolley's laptop it was referred to the Adjudication Panel for England. The panel ruled that he be disqualified from holding office for two years. ... During the time he was in office he was given two council-owned laptops to help him in ...
The Liberal Democrats have launched their second new website this month. This time it is a social network site called Act. Act is a new way for people who identify with the Liberal Democrats and engage with party actions to get directly involved in campaigns. By harnessing a more focused social network, supporters, activists and like-minded ...
You may have read last month that the performance of our local ambulance service here in Reading was heavily criticised by inspectors. You can read the inspector's report here. The South Central Ambulance Trust which runs the ambulance service is a relatively new organisation and covers a massive area - not just Reading, and not just Berkshire. As I've said before, due to a number of factors including its geographical location the population of Reading does not always get the provision of health services it really needs. In the Lib Dems we want more accountability for health services and less 'postcode lotteries'. Where you live should ...
An interesting start to this episode - a new character from Japan and we are looking back two weeks before the black out. Stereotypical Japanese parents and now we know why the Bryce was about to commit suicide on the pier.... However, if he has terminal cancer, how can he have a flash forward? Can destiny ...
The Liberal Democrats today launched Act, their new network for members and supporters website where you can interact with other members and get involved in groups set up within the party. It has the potential to transform how the party operates online, although we will have to see if it really takes off as these ...
Time is running out! Yes, the deadline for filing your papers to apply for approved candidate status for the 2010 General Election is just six days away. Hurry, hurry, hurry... Oh yes, and the deadline for nominations for the Cambridge selection is coming closer too - 5 December is the cut off date. It will be a quick turnaround affair, with the calling notice reported to be scheduled for issue before Christmas. Watch this space!
[IMG: Postcard from soldier at St Margaret's Heaton Park Camp in 1917] Until very recently I didn't know that the St Margaret's Road corner of Heaton Park was used as a camp during the First World War. This postcard was sent from the camp to Katie from Jack. It seemed that Katie was too busy to write back..... [IMG: Postcard Message from a Soldier camped in Heaton Park in 1917]
I was horrified last night to read a post on the web site of Vic D'Albert, a businessman and local councillor in Bury and the LibDem parliamentary candidate for Bury South. Vic's site is a good combination of local news and action, with some LibDem policies and principles. Here's Vic telling the story: A local business I know ...
The National Grid's "Consultation" over the pylon issue for North Somerset, is like some ghastly timeshare sales pitch. "Please tell us which option you prefer and why?" Our dilemma: Corridor '1' (wrong location, ill-considered, not value for money) or Corridor '2' (wrong location, ill-considered, not value for money)? In the National Grid's exercise in sham democracy, there isn't a 'none of the above' option and we need one. This whole exercise is designed to split our community right down the middle, setting one side against another. The time has come to stand together as one. Using 1950's technology for a ...
I refer to the police raid on the Atlanta Eagle Bar (and a nice excuse to put a pic of a Gay bar in my blog!) A class action is being taken organised by Lambda USA (LGBT rights in US group). Particularly pertinent is the allegation of anti-gay slurs and that there were no arrests. ...
I too saw the twitter on FB from Jo regarding her being dumped from QT. Does anyone know why? What's important is that we have both a Liberal Democrat on the show and for the BBC to tighten up its act and not dump busy people 48 hrs before the show. Also, who is the replacement? I ...
When they haven't rehearsed what they were going to say even when they're an expert. I have to say I cringed at Lord Oakeshott's performance on the Daily Politics. I'm not saying everyone should be perfect (and we all have our off days particularly me) yet this actually gave LESS value than if he hadn't had ...
The Liberal Democrats have launched their second new website this month. This time it is a social network site called Act at http://act.libdems.org.uk/
Estimated winter deaths last winter were the highest for 10 years according to the Office of National statistics - who highlight excessive deaths between December and March as compared to the rest of the year. The ONS estimate that there were 36,700 extra deaths due to winter last year a staggering increase of 49% In the North West the picture is even worse with winter deaths estimated at 5000 up from 3210 the previous year. An increase of 56%. It is an absolute scandal that the frail, the sick and the elderly should be put at risk in this country ...
Today on the WLDC website you can now claim back your overpayment for the Green Bin. The Conservative administration bowed to pressure from the Liberal Democrats to change their stance on refunds for the green bin service. This service was introduced in April 2009 for the over 65s and then in September 2009 it was extended to cover the remainder of the population. Cllr Scott Pritchard led the
Wed 25th
12:54We were ushered into the Mayor of Neuilly's office, little did I know 20 years later he would become...
Speaking about French 'A' Levels, one of those things you never realise is who people are before they become famous. This is true of people you went to school with but is equally true about people you meet as you go through life. My school arranged an exchange trip for those studying French, in my case ...
The Supreme Court has ruled that earlier court rulings that allowed the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the fairness of charges for unauthorised overdrafts will be overturned. The Banks are happy, obviously. They have said there had been major changes to current account packages recently, and pointed out that these unplanned overdraft fees could be avoided. I assume by that they mean that you can arrange to increase or arrange your overdraft facility to enable you to avoid having an unauthorised overdraft. Well I have attempted to do just that 3 times in the last 18 months and been ...
Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs shadow minister Jo Swinson commented on Twitter this morning that she was a "bit miffed at being dropped from #bbcqt panel at 48hrs notice: Iraq inquiry this week and no Lib Dem on panel!" I may be wrong, but I have a vague recollection that this might not be the first time this has happened to her, either. What is reprehensible on the part of the BBC is that it is choosing to run its main current affairs discussion programme without a Liberal Democrat on the week that the Iraq Inquiry starts. The Liberal Democrats were ...
I blogged a couple of days ago about the threat to A&E services at the Whittington Hospital. Local Lib Dem MP Lynne Featherstone has set up a petition to save A&E at the Whittington, which you can sign here. As Lynne has said:If an ambulance is called to your home in Hornsey & Wood Green, for many people, their closest A&E is at the Whittington Hospital. As a borough, we are already poorly serviced for emergency hospital services - without a single unit in Haringey itself. I am not opposed to local health services being more efficient, but my Liberal ...
The 'Supreme Court' (whatever that is) has ruled this morning that the Office of Fair Trading cannot investigate the fairness of high street bank charges for unauthorised overdrafts, in a move that will be hugely disappointing for millions of customers. The ruling is reckoned to be worth more than £2bn a year to the banks ...
An easy way to support ALDC at this time of year - WITHOUT spending any extra money - is to make use of our Amazon and ITunes links. Both of these work in exactly the same way - you have the normal full Amazon and ITunes websites, but for every purchase you make ALDC receives a small fee from Amazon or ITunes - you don't pay a penny more! Amazon is a mail order website, one of the biggest in the world. Amazon isn't just books nowadays, departments include: baby, beauty, mobile phones, clothes, electrics magazines and music. ITunes is ...
An date for your new Diary! The 2010 Local Government Conference will take place on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 June 2010 in London. Nick Clegg addressing the 2009 Local Government Conference in Sheffield. Friday will be satellite events during the day, and the Liberal Democrat Local Government Dinner in the evening. Saturday will be a one day conference featuring speeches, debate, training, discussion and exhibition. The Local Government Conference is jointly organised by ALDC and the LGA Liberal Democrat Group. Our previous conferences in Birmingham and Sheffield have been a great chance for Lib Dem Councillors and local campaigners ...
Party members will probably already heard about the Party's new "online networking and campaigning" website - Act. Why not sign up and join our group for all Lib Dem Councillors - ALDC! Act is a place where Lib Dem supporters can connect with one another, organise events and campaigns, share photos and videos, and talk about politics. It's open to anyone with Liberal Democrat sympathies, whether they're Party members or not. Nick Clegg has recorded a short video explaining what we want to help people to achieve: see the video on Act. Once you've joined up - click on "groups" ...
Cross-posted from the Mandate blog: What does and should the digital future hold for Britain? Those were the issues addressed by Conservative Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt and others, including Mandate's Sacha Deshmukh, at an event last week hosted by Polis and sponsored by Mandate. See the views of Jeremy Hunt and others in this video report via YouTube:
[IMG: Screenshot of ACT - the Lib Dems' action network] Today sees the public launch of ACT, the Liberal Democrats' new social action network. This is the second launch in our three-part strategy,following on from the new-look libdems.org.uk. ACT is a place where supporters can connect with one another, organise events and campaigns, share photos and videos and talk about politics. Our aim is to reach a community of Liberal Democrats that extends beyond the formal boundary of party membership. So although ACT will be maintained as a Liberal Democrat supporting community, it is open to non-members as well as ...
Wed 25th
11:24Agent's Training 10 - 'Seeing Roy Jenkins and Shirley Williams lose made me drink lots at the party ...
The 1987 General Election was unquestionably a very poor one for the SDP/Liberal Alliance. The 'Two Davids' appeared to be not singing from the same song sheet and the parties did poorly. SDP luminaries Shirley Williams and Roy Jenkins both went down to defeat in Cambridge and Glasgow Hillhead and moves began to merge the two parties ...
Chief Exec of the Lib Dems, Chris Fox, has just issued the following message to key supporters about the all new Lib Dem Act website. We reported on it's launch last week, now this adds more meat to the bones. A Welsh Lib Dems group has been created. why not join it.. —- I'd like to introduce Act, the latest part of our online strategy: http://act.libdems.org.uk/ Act is a place where Lib Dem supporters can connect with one another, organise events and campaigns, share photos and videos, and talk about politics. It's open to anyone with Liberal Democrat sympathies, whether ...
The document for St Albans Streetscape Design Manual is now on the Council's web site for public consultation. You too may be interested in reading the document and making comment. The consultation is being done using the web site to save on paper, but if you find it easier and more convenient to have a paper copy then please let me know and I will arrange for one to be produced and sent out to you.
[IMG: Guide to 2010 election book cover] Here is my chapter from the Total Politics Guide to the 2010 General Election, looking at the prospects for the Liberal Democrats: The 1997 general election turned out to be a once in a generation opportunity for many local Liberal Democrat campaign teams to gain a Parliamentary seat from the Conservatives. At the tail end of a by then deeply unpopular Conservative Government, the election saw unprecedented numbers of seats falling to the party. A few seats that were not quite gained from the Conservatives in 1997 did subsequently fall in 2001 and ...
The news breaks this morning that, apparently, the North Korean regime is going to ensure that it's long suffering residents will only be able to see their national team play if they are fortunate enough to achieve yet another Glorious Victory. Denial of the facts and rearrangement of them to prove otherwise is as old as ...
The Supreme Court have just spoken and they have announced their judgement: the banks can continue to charge for unauthorised overdrafts; their charges are not excessive. There is now a great deal of noise from campaigners who want the charges refunded to those who took money from banks that they weren't authorised to take and wasn't their money to take.So, I for one want to speak up for the
France, Germany, Japan, USA, Eurozone, all out of recession. They are part of the world that Brown claims to be leading. But the just announced revised figures for GDP in the UK show the economy continues to shrink. Of all the world's major economies, Brown's Britain is the worst performing. I wonder what all those self-righteous Labour members in Gateshead who regularly read this blog think of
It always amazes me how sensible the views of government ministers can be once they leave office. Lord Digby Jones who until a year ago was Minister of State for Trade is a good example. After leaving the government he was quoted as saying that his time as a junior minister was "one of the most dehumanising and depersonalising experiences" anyone could have. Perhaps his comments last night on Newsnight reveal part of why this might have been as it is clear that Lord Jones favours legalisation of drugs which as we know is anathema to our current government. Lord ...
Police today handed out letters at Gatley Primary School warning parents that they risk a fine if they park illegally when dropping off or collecting children. [IMG: Police parking letter] The letter points out that parents have been requested to park considerately and that certain parents have been written to. The police are now saying they will issue fixed penalty notices to infringers. In particular, the letter asks us parents to NOT block the pavement or road park on the bend at a junction park on yellow lines when they're in force drive whilst using a mobile phone block residents' ...
Now I admit to being a bit partisan. Yes, I would like the Liberal Democrats to form a government, introduce all of those things that I've been keen on over the years, and generally make the world a better place. However, if I can't have that, then all I ask for is that whoever is in charge gives the impression that they care and that they have a high level of competence. Which brings me, once again, to the subject of George Osborne. It appears that he has managed to make a mess of his claim for mortgage interest expenses, ...
Welcome news from the blog of Lynne Featherstone (who, apart from being a LibDem MP, is also chair of the party's Technology Advisory Board): We need postcodes to be owned by the public – not sold to the public. Postcodes are the basic pre-requisite for allowing services to be developed that support democratic accountability. It's an important issue because the Royal Mail's decision to take a hard line in enforcing its legal rights means a range of useful public services – including ones to help unemployed people find jobs and to help residents hear about planning applications near them – ...
Sometime in the next few days, Stockport residents should get the latest copy of The Stockport Review through their letterboxes. It may be something that usually spends little time between doormat and blue recycling bin, but take a quick look this time. OK, I don't expect you to be very excited at it being the first Review issue with my picture, but there's lots of useful information in there, not least the back page with the full A-Z of Council services. I'm interested in the Financial Review of the Year - on pages 12 and 13. Or, more specifically, how ...
Caron has been speculating a lot about the past Valentine's Night activities of various of our friends' parents in recent days. She even mentioned it when by anybody's reckoning it had nothing to do with marking one birth. I'm wondering how she will of the goings on at a croft near her own home city Inverness by Ian and Mary 50 years ago on that fateful night? Yes today we wish Charles Kennedy a happy 50th Birthday, former leader of the Lib Dems. All I will add is that all the best people were born in a year with a ...
Consett North Partnership is collecting goodies to provide Christmas hampers to deliver to residents in the area again this year. You can leave donations of mince pies, biscuits, sweets and tins at the YMCA shop in the Derwent Centre until December 14th. Please help to spread some Christmas Cheer in Consett North this year.
It is high time we spent another week with Rutland's most popular fictional peer. Liberator 336 has long been with subscribers. As it is Wednesday we shall start with... Monday Autumn has come to Rutland and the season of agricultural shows has drawn to a close for another year. While I always enjoy the opportunity to display my Longhorns, for me the highlight of these events is the sheepdog trials. It is, I hasten to add, many years since any dog was executed: these days they take place merely for entertainment. I fear, however, that the wider public has a ...
Only last week the Queen was made to read these words from her Government: "In Scotland, my government will take forward proposals in the final report of the commission on Scottish devolution." This was meant to be in the programme for Government before the next General Election, both the Lib Dems and the Conservatives said that much of what was promised last Wednesday would not be deliverable in time. Well the Independent is reporting that Jim Murphy the Scottish Secretary is going to announce the proposals to deepen devolution in Parliament today, but will concede that this will not take ...
Only a month to Christmas, but before you dash out pressie-buying, take a few moments to look at these. 2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here's are two posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: Talk of a hung parliament is good for the Lib Dems, says Anders Hanson. Which Conservative front-bencher isn't fit-for-purpose? So many to choose from, but the Honourable Lady Mark thinks he knows. Spotted any other great posts in the last day from blogs that aren't on the aggregator? Do post up a comment sharing them ...
The campaign to stop an 8-acre private soccer centre being built in Heaton Park is in its final stages ahead of a decision by Manchester Council on December 17th. Campaigners to save the park have been encouraged by a wave of rejections for similar schemes in parks in London. Campaigners in Morden Park found out this week that their campaign to stop their park being turned into a commercial soccer centre had been a success. Find our more from their website here. Regents Park, as well as parks in Morden and Wandsworth in the capital, have all been threatened with ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrat's Social Justice Spokesperson, Eleanor Burnham, has branded the Labour-Plaid Government's inaction on fuel poverty an "utter disgrace". Speaking in the wake of new "excess winter deaths" figures released by the Office of National Statistics, Eleanor said: "These appalling new figures show that excess winter deaths for Wales in the period 2008/09 went up from 1440 to 2500 – a shocking increase of 70% on the previous year. "The number of older people dying in Wales between the months of December and March has almost doubled. It is yet another shocking indictment of the Labour-Plaid government's failure ...
Oyster cards are arriving to the suburbian railways of Lewisham, Hither Green and beyond. But they come with a hefty bill, a bill you need a degree in billology to understand in full but in short means overall increase in fares, even higher fares for non-Oyster users (yes, there are those that don't need an ...
On Monday night I met with a journalist for an interview, in a reversal of roles he ended up confessing of a dark secret but as I swore to secrecy I cannot possibly tell you what that was. Why did I tell you this? Never mind. The place for the meeting was my suggestion, the ...
... was pretty dull, to be honest. Picked up some interesting bits of gossip - interesting to me at least - and some more responsibilities. Was re-elected as a voting rep. But aside from that, the most interesting bit was the beery gossip with Chris and Hywel after everyone else had left. Like being in the kitchen at a party, I guess. (this post brought to you by insomnia)
So, there's a new kid on the Bo Rhap comedy covers block. The Muppets It's certainly more original than the Zany Newsreaders, although I will always have a HUGE soft spot for George Alagiah, Rock God. And how awesome is Michael Buerk's drumming? The thing is, like so much else's of BBC News' output, that version will never recover from the excruciating contribution made by Nick Robinson and Jug Ears Marr. No, my favourite always has been, and always will be, the cross-channel and endearingly amateurish: Comic Relief Version. Partly for the Boyz From the Dwarf, and Seth from Emmerdale, ...
We took our Grandson Daniel (5) to his first game at Elland Road tonight and he met his new friend Kop Cat.
The National Accident Helpline have just advertised their service on TV. It was the advert in which an office worker slips on the floor and manages to make a successful claim. I didn't pay too much attention but I think they tell us that she got a few thousand pounds. I imagine that this was because there were no signs to say wet floor. However a lot of people can't read so it may be that the company did not have someone next to the water telling people that the floor was wet. About ten years ago my daughter broke ...
As some readers maybe aware my friend Colin Ross will have his beard cut throat razored off for charity at the end of November.
