Following on from the truncation of their East Anglia rail franchise, today saw a question from Baroness Hanham, seeking to find out what the current position is. Luckily, a clutch of their regular victims were there to kick the company whilst it is down. From the Liberal Democrat benches, Baroness Scott of Needham Market (usual journey Stowmarket to Liverpool Street) commented, "As a poor benighted passenger of National Express East Anglia, may I ask the noble Lord whether he is aware of the steady deterioration in services with regard to cleanliness, refreshments, repairs to carriages et cetera, which is making ...
The following week's theme is Earth, Wind and Fire, a superb group from my youth! Starting with 'September' - from 1978!
One of the events that shaped my childhood was that on this day in 1967 at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, the first ever successful human heart transplant operation took place. The recipient, Louis Washkansky, was a 54-year-old who received the heart of a young woman, Denise Darvall, who had been died in a road acccident the previous day. One interesting footnote was the role of Hamilton Naki who, Barnard suggested, played a vital role in the operation, but whose role was downplayed/ignored because of South Africa's then racist apartheid laws. Amandla Ngawethu!
Politics Home has an opinion poll showing no public appetite for a military strike on Iran by United Kingdom. Similarly, there is no appetite for a strike by the UK or 'any other country' (ie, Israel) to 'prevent Iran developing nuclear weapons'. Furthermore, it shows strong cross-party resistance to the idea that British troops should ...
I have had discussions with Digital UK and Arqiva Terrestrial Broadcast, who own and manage the UK's TV transmitters about the recent TV reception problems, particularly BBC1 on analogue from the Tay Bridge relay transmitter, that serves much of the West End. I have had helpful feedback from Arqiva's marketing manager, who confirms that the recent BBC1 reception issues are resolved. He further indicates : "I have spoken with Digital UK and they have sent me the link below which takes you to a document on the Ofcom website. In section 7 the document lays out the terms for notifying ...
What does Keith Vaz and the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee actually hope to learn about cocaine from visiting London clubs? Doing sociology, I find it quite insulting that they feel that they can actually go into a club and conduct competent research to find information about such an important issue. It takes years of ...
Tonight I was pleased to to attend Halifax Choral Society's Christmas concert at the Victoria Theatre, they were on stage with the Black Dyke Band. It was a fabulous do, the Choral Society is the oldest continuous choral society in the world having ...
Police in Consett are offering purse alarms to vulnerable people to give them added security in the Christmas shopping season. You can pick an alarm up at the Police Station in Parliament Street, or alternatively ask the good looking young PCSO (he asked me to say that) in Consett who is usually carrying one or two to give out. We had an impressive display of the alarm's effectiveness at the Consett North Partnership last night.
A select committee for Children and Young People was meeting tonight to look at a report on a review of youth services in Stockton Borough. Lots of interesting and worrying issues, but one of the biggest is about the "iconic" new youth building called "My Place". Funds had to be bid for, and lots were availalble - but only for the capital costs of the building, nothing at all for the revenue...
Last week I was speaking at the Harpenden Branch AGM. They had given me 25-30 minutes (brave souls!) to talk about the current political landscape. I outlined my personal take on where all the "main" political parties are - noting that during the expenses scandal the media started chatting about the "3" main parties! My starting point, it has to be said, is values. If you understand someone's values you are more likely to be able to predict how they will behave in any given circumstance. I often quote my old pal Raj Lehal - who would say "we need ...
Thankfully the fellow passengers in Boston acted in unison in flagging down the train and one thanked the driver.
From the Westmorland Gazette: Kendal-born small-holder and councillor Peter Thornton has been chosen to fight the Penrith and The Border constituency for the Liberal Democrats. Mr Thornton, who represents Kirkby Stephen on Cumbria County Council, declared himself 'delighted' to be chosen by local party members.
The lovely Mr. Juan Lemmon reminded me that I need to review Shark In Venice.This is Not A Good Film. It's vaguely enjoyable, once, while drunk, but it lacks quality, in pretty much all departments. This can sometimes be forgiven - I forgive the makers of Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, because their film is so delightfully over-the-top, cheesy and stupid. Trouble is, Shark In Venice doesn't hit any of those. It's not particularly OTT, at least no more so than an Indiana Jones film; it's not cheesy, taking itself quite seriously and it's obvious that quite a lot of ...
Some of these reviews can also be found on Amazon.In November 2009 I read the following books: 1. Bridge of Ashes, by Roger Zelazny I liked the Zelazny book that I reviewed a lot, despite it being confusing and not particularly well plotted - all down to the quality of the writing which was just beautiful. This is better. The writing is still as good, but the plot is clearer and the whole work is just so much less confusing and hangs together better. Mind you, the overall impression is, four days after finishing reading it, one of "wow that ...
The Friends and Users of Staplehurst Shops are holding their annual Christmas Fair this Saturday from 12-6 on Staplehurst Road. This is always a really good event, and this year there'll be: * FATHER CHRISTMAS * TREE LIGHTING * * RAFFLE PRIZES * VARIOUS STALLS * * CAROL SINGING * BALLOON MAN * * BRASS BAND MUSIC * * MULLED WINE * MINCE PIES * If anyone's got any good quality bric-a-brac and unwanted books - please deliver to Matthew Hassett at the Station Pub tomorrow! The Christmas Fair also means the 273 bus will be diverted on Saturday – ...
It's #bbcqt day again and as usual the Live Chat on this blog will start tonight at 10:30pm. The panel will include the former foreign secretary and Labour MP Margaret Beckett, the shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley, the Liberal Democrats' treasury spokesman Vince Cable MP, the writer Clive Anderson and TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp. Join us from 10:30pm below. BBC Question Time - 3rd December 2009
Exciting news from the new Fortune Green Blog: West End Lane toilets are set for a starring role in a new film of the Richard Attenborough classic Brighton Rock. The toilets were scene of a famous Spotlight victory when the Lib Dems re-opened them as one of our first acts of getting the reigns of power in Camden in 2006. (Blair gave independence to the Bank of England, Obama closed Guantanamo, we reopened the toilets!)
In what has become a tradition almost as eagerly anticipated as the Queen's Speech, Lib Dem shadow culture secretary Don Foster has unleashed his annual broadside against telly bosses for broadcasting too many repeats. The Telegraph dusts off the same-old, same-old: Nearly 600 hours of repeats will be shown on Britain's four main television channels over the festive period according to schedules released by broadcasters. It is thought to be the highest ever number of Christmas repeats to be shown during the two week holiday period. ... Over the four main terrestrial channels some 580 hours will consist of repeated ...
Blogging will be a little light for a while as I'm writing my essay for the Mindless Ones, editing PEP! and writing about 15,000 words for that, and proofreading a book for my uncle. That said, I'm going to do a pop-drama and a Beatles review in the next couple of days... Meanwhile, links: The Association of ...
To be even handed - we have received this regarding building on "The Proposed New Neighbourhood in an Urban Extension to South/South West Bath: An opportunity to assess and discuss option SWB2 on the Odd Down plateau. Exhibition open on Friday 4th December and Tuesday 8th December 2009." The land and the exhibition may be accessed off South Stoke Lane where there will be signage to direct you
In February Colin Rosenstiel, Lib Dem councillor from Cambridge and general doyen of the party, was in the news because of an unfortunate contretemps involving his bicycle and an ambulance. So today's Cambridge Evening News has a familiar ring: Colin Rosenstiel, a councillor for Cambridge City Council for more than 30 years, was forcibly ejected from the 15.45 King's Cross to Cambridge train on Tuesday after he disputed a request from a ticket inspector to take his bike to a different carriage to avoid overcrowding.Colin says in his defence: "My bike was in an optimal position in relation to other ...
[IMG: Car crash on Bathwick Hill at canal bridge] Two cars crashed while avoiding a badly parked lorry on Bathwick Hill near Tesco. The accident happened at around 18:30 today (3rd Dec) causing damage to the front of both cars. The occupants are not thought to be seriously injured. The cars collided outside Miles House, just uphill from the canal and Tesco store. According to the police officer on the scene, a lorry parked on the South (downhill) side of the road stuck out into the carriageway causing drivers to pull out around it. One such driver passing the lorry ...
We are constantly told that if city bankers are not given bonuses, they will leave and work elsewhere. This is their justification for their greed and arrogance, and seemingly the world has bought in to this lie because nobody has bothered to question it. The problem is, the whole argument fails to hold water. The argument goes that if we do not pay these people millions they will leave, and they may go abroad. The problem is with this argument that they live in the UK, most are UK citizens, and most really do not have the urge to work ...
Back in August I wrote: During my recent travels across England by bus I was ... struck by the number of closed pubs I was seeing - in town as well as the countryside.The most notable closure was the Goddard Arms in Swindon's old town. This creeper-clad (creeper-dominated, in the photo above) building must have featured in a thousand prints of The Inns of Olde Englande. There is good news today in the Swindon Advertiser: The doors to the Goddard Arms swung open once more last night at its grand opening following a £2m refurbishment. The Old Town landmark on ...
I have received some casework as a result of my post regarding the BBC photographer being stopped by the police for taking photos of a London sunset. I have redacted the bits that could identify the person but you can still get the feel for the issue here: Two police officers came to my house and interrogated me, quoting the terrorism act, for taking photos of a xxxxxxxx in Hull. They threatened to take away my camera, memory cards etc. Apparently this is a high risk terrorist hot spot xxxxxxxxx. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx I had to ask myself if there was any ...
Further to our recent post here on Bracknell Blog regarding comments made by Ming Campbell about potentially abandoning the pledge, it is still Lib Dem policy, as Nick Clegg stated in an interview on Radio 5 live earlier this week to have an in/out referendum on membership of the EU. As others have pointed out elsewhere, policy is decided by the membership and the Federal Policy Committee, not the leadership or senior party figures.
Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, a leading Catholic cardinal and retired head of the Vatican's Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers has today said that gay and trans people "will never enter the kingdom of heaven". Now, I will be honest, and this is purely my own opinion, I don't give a damn what he thinks. However, there are many people who respect and listen to the Catholic Church and that is where I therefore get angry about things such as this, because people like Cardinal Barragan get listened to and can sway opinion, although the Vatican is distancing ...
Hands off the bankers, they are the driving force of the economy. That was Labour's message just 24 months ago. Labour and the whizz kids of the City were in love and the affair lasted a decade. Then it all went horribly wrong. Now Labour and the bankers are at each others throats, like a couple of ex-lovers or a married couple going through a very messy divorce.So today we have the RBS directors
It is easier, intellectually, to take an unreasoning religious attitude to economic truths, such as "Government Intervention does Not Work". Unfortunately, that also means it is stupid to . . .
For those of you that are interested it looks as if there will be a debate between the UCU, the Univeristy and the students union tomorrow night talking about the £35 million cuts at Leeds University. The debate is at 5 o'clock in the Yorkshire Bank Lecture Theatre at the Business School.
In his post on last posting dates (basically, "RSN!") Mark Pack over at t'voice very kindly linked to my post from a few years back about putting your address on your Christmas card. We've been living in our house for a number of years now. We bought it after the person who lived here before died. But there are a few of her friends who haven't heard even after all this time, and some are still sending Christmas cards. Actually, there's a good bit of news on that subject now. About the last person still to be sending cards sent ...
The reason I was out and about so early in Mill Lane was that I and other governors were accompanying a party of Class 2 children from Emmanuel School to the wonderful Geffreye Museum in Hackney. The Museum ( a former almshouse) contains rooms from the 1600s to nearly the present day with appropiate furnishings and household objects. The rooms were all decorated especially for Christmas and we were concentrating on a Victorian Christmas . The children got to explore and understand what life was like without electricity and TV and were very puzzled by certain objects ( like laundry ...
If you go to a quiet place and listen to the wind blowing, you will doubtless here a faint chorus floating on the breeze, as millions nationwide ask in unison "Where's Richard Baum been for the last two days, and why have there been no blog posts?" Well, I can answer the fretting masses by saying that I've just been a bit busy at work, and thus haven't had the time to write anything on here. That, plus nipping out to the football last night to see Manchester City fail to draw against the Arsenal u-12s. But I am back ...
Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg is inviting the people of Bath to tell him what they think about fixing the economy and rebuilding trust in politics. Bringing his series of 'Nick Clegg meets...' town hall meetings to Bath on Thursday 7th January, Nick Clegg will discuss with local people the issues that matter most to them. Chaired by local MP Don Foster the meeting is open to everyone to
* With a headline like this - how can you not read this posting?! West End Lane toilets are set for a starring role in a new film of the Richard Attenborough classic Brighton Rock. The toilets were scene of a famous Spotlight victory when the Lib Dems re-opened them as one of our first acts of getting the reigns of power in Camden in 2006. (Blair gave independence to the Bank of England, Obama closed Guantanamo, we reopened the toilets!) I've seen the film and don't particualrly remember a scene in a public lav so there's either revisionism for ...
I received the following email yesterday from Gateshead Council:I need your help! As you know next year Gateshead will be the European City of Sport. To support this and further promote our commitment to making residents much healthier, we will also be launching Active and Healthy Gateshead in January. (Date to be confirmed.)As part of the media launch we would like as many of you as possible to
Six blogs have recently joined Ryan's Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: Allum Bokhari – http://anotherliberalblog.wordpress.com/ Victor Chamberlain – http://victorchamberlain.blogspot.com/ Fortune Green Spotlight – http://fortunegreenspotlight.blogspot.com/ Simon Kaye – http://simontkaye.com/ Carl Minns – http://carlminns.blogspot.com/ Sanjay Samani – http://sanjaysamani.com/blog/ This time I note they split 50/50 between Blogger and WordPress. The debate on which is the best to use will rumble on I'm sure, though if you are a councillor don't forget the many merits of using ALDC's (Wordpress-based) MyCouncillor system. Good luck to all the new bloggers, and why not take a moment to pop over to their blogs, take a read and ...
Politics, they say, is a tough old world. It can be, but I've survived in it quite amicably for over quarter of a century. I don't mind being involved in robust and at times torrid debate. In fact, if truth be known, I've found it easier than in some other things I've been involved in. You tend to know exactly where you stand with people, for a start. Being involved in politics has been good for me - it's given me most of my friends, some of whom are lifelong and I love being part of a super community of ...
We had our group meeting last night in Gateshead and decided to put forward a motion inspired by the 10:10 campaign. The motion is as follows:Council notes that Climate change predictions show that without severe cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the world will be hit by drought, flooding and famine affecting all of us and poorest countries in particular. Some of these countries are already
What more could you wish for than mulled wine, mince pies and a pile of focus leaflets to deliver? Come along to the Leeds North West Christmas Action Day this Saturday (5th of December) to help Greg Mulholland and the team keep Leeds North West Lib Dem As Greg puts it: "With the General Election six months away we will also have delivery rounds to get out, envelopes to stuff and canvassing to be done. If you can make it on Saturday even for only an hour then we will be really grateful to you."
Given my love of chocolate, today's Daily Mirror front page at first made me happy. Four big colour photos of bars of chocolate! And David Cameron in an expenses scandal! But once I read the story, it quickly became clear David Cameron has done nothing wrong. He has interns. They get their lunch paid for. The lunches reclaimed and featured in the report were all very modest in their total cost. But – shock! Some interns decide to eat chocolate! Cue Daily Mirror outrage and a quote from the Taxpayers' Alliance. (Yup, you guessed it – they too were outraged.) ...
The wife of the Speaker, Sally Bercow has given a fairly candid interview where she talks about some of the things she did when she was younger. Get ready to be completely and utterly shocked: Apparently, when she was younger, she used to drink a bit too much. It started when she was a student and continued until her early 30s when she decided it was causing problems for her and she stopped.She also, occasionally used to go home with men she had met in bars. That's right! A woman, used to indulge in casual sex. What's worse is that ...
Well -for good or ill- we've made the decision to remove the Mill Lane/West End Lane/Fortune Green Rd traffic signals and revert to zebra crossings. It was a difficult decision - the traffic engineers wanted to wait to see the effect of the likely new Brent Cross traffic(see earlier post about this)but this could mean waiting years. Meanwhile more and more residents have complained about the "rat running" down the side roads as traffic tries to find a way to avoid the lights. The consultation came out at about 50/50 for and against, but certain factors such as the increased ...
[IMG: truck] While the Doha round of trade agreements sinks even deeper into a quagmire of bureaucratic hurdles and empty promises, Emmanuel Martin hits the nail right on the head in an article for Kenyan 'paper Business Daily. He correctly states that Africans have the opportunity to free themselves from trading constraints in spite of the stalled World Trade Organization (WTO) talks. The WTO's goal of reducing the import tariffs faced by developing nation exporters may be admirable, but the sad reality is that a disproportionate amount of the barriers to trade are actually imposed by African governments on other ...
Suspicious subjects for photos this season include sunsets and Christmas lights. And be especially wary of using the "wrong" sort of camera or taking the "wrong" number of photos (details which are, as yet, not revealed to ordinary, law-abiding shutterbugs). Two more photographers have been stopped by over-zealous police officers for taking photographs of public scenes, despite being within their rights to do so. First, a BBC photographer was stopped outside Tate Modern while taking this atmospheric shot: Jeff Overs, 48, was photographing sunset over St Paul's Cathedral when a policewoman, with a community support officer, told him she was ...
Positive news for Thameslink travellers - see First Capital Connect Strike - Pay deal in place to end dispute. With TfL repeatedly taking out both the Overground and Jubilee Line links from West Hampstead - having a reliable Thameslink is more important than ever. Do sign the petition Ed Fordham is helping run against the mess TfL is making of the ongoing closures.
I was sent a press release - below, from Embargoed! - the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights campaigning organisation about a Greek Cypriot football club: APOEL FC, who once again have been fined for chanting racist abuse and missiles during a UEFA Champions League match Their fans include nationalists and swastikas appear in the home stands on occasion. The Republic of Cyprus is an EU nation, and this should not be tolerated. Press release: UEFA should have been tougher, APOEL FC must apologise to Turkish Cypriots Wednesday 02 December 2009: Embargoed! welcomed the news that APOEL FC has been fined €40,000 ...
You have seen or heard the recent media speculation that the Government intends to include the British Waterways' property portfolio as a component of the £16bn asset sale. The Government has made no announcements and is steadfastly refusing to be drawn on the subject. However, the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has good reason to believe that Government is seriously considering taking British Waterways' assets and selling them in a Treasury 'fire sale' to raise cash – a decision will be taken in the next few days. Selling off its assets would mean that British Waterways would be £85 million short ...
Hello all, As of December the first it's christmas season as far as I'm concerned. I'm already listening to the christmas songs but I wanted to let you know about a couple of local Christmas related things that may be of interest. Firstly I wanted to publicise the Wesley Halls Panto, 'Carry on Christmas Robin' on the 18th December. This is a joint venture between Wesley Halls and Naborhood Day Centres for Adults with Learning Disabilities. Friday 18th December 2009 at 1pm Wesley Halls Community Centre 2 Shroffold Rd Downham BR1 5PE And for all those of you who will ...
I know that the World Cup is a big deal. I'm going to be pretty glued to it next summer. And tomorrow's draw will allow the anoraks among us to start predicting England's 'inevitable route to glory'. But does BBC Radio 5 Live really need to devote five hours of coverage to the draw before it even takes place? According to the BBC website: BBC Two/online from 1715 GMT, Jonathan Pearce commentating; full commentary on BBC Radio 5 live and live text commentary on the BBC Sport website from 1200 GMTThe draw starts at 5pm for goodness sake (so the ...
....in recent weeks across the MacBlogosphere. This post from Subrosa* is sadly just another in a long chain, but the reasons that Subrosa has given raises cause for concern to all bloggers. Unlike some of the bloggers out there I may have developed a rhinoceros hide. One of my former partners said I was far more public a person than they could ever be, but then again come election time my address get's posted in the newspaper and outside all the polling places where I am standing. Add to that I'm on the doorsteps engaging with local people a lot ...
Thu 3rd
14:20
Jackie Ballard appointed to Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority despite Tory opposition
The House of Commons has confirmed the appointment of Jackie Ballard, Lib Dem MP for Taunton from 1997-2001 – and who stood to be leader in 1999 – to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, the new independent body which will now run the MPs' expenses system. Jackie is currently Chief Executive of the RNID. Her appointment was not without its controversy, though, as the BBC reports: ... some Tory MPs were unhappy at the choice of Jackie Ballard saying she had not been an MP for long enough. ... Sir Nicholas Winterton and Christopher Chope ... tried to introduce an ...
Today's Yorkshire Evening Post designates this year the 'year of people power in Leeds'. It cites the examples of the Headingley Development Trust and the Royal Park Consortium who are now scrambling to pay legal costs following the Council's rather mean-spirited and wholly wrong legal action. It mentions the Conservatives latest policy-wheeze which is the 'Community Right to Buy'. Alot ...
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad from 27 to 29 November, how they are building a constructive relationship between the United Kingdom and Caribbean Commonwealth countries. The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead): My Lords, last week, Her Majesty the Queen made a state visit to Bermuda, the Bahamas and to Trinidad and Tobago. Her Majesty attended the Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago. In Port of Spain, at the summit, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister met the Caribbean Heads of Government ...
This has the potential to be a good victory for common sense. The Parking Panel met recently to look at charges in car parks across the county. The paper in front of them proposed equalising the charges is all the former 6 districts. This would have meant trebling charges in some of the cheapest car parks. You have to assume that this was the view taken by the Cabinet or it would never have seen the light of day. Sensibly, the panel decided that this was unacceptable. They ordered a complete review of all parking in Cornwall, including the Lib ...
I have just been informed that Assembly Commission and Welsh Government staff on the government secure internet were unable to read my blog this week. Apparently, it was deliberately blocked as one of the sites that staff are not meant to access. When I checked it seems that other political blogs were still available. As the Commissioner responsible for IT this is obviously a bit disconcerting, though it is worth pointing out that the Assembly Commission do not make these decisions as we are part of a larger government contract. I have been assured that this decision has now been ...
I was corresponding with a member of the Labour Party earlier today who claimed that he could not think of a single Lib Dem stance on anything past or present that he had agreed with. That's right, anything. Ever. I intend to pursue this with this particular individual further to see if I can find a policy or position we have taken that he actually does agree with. Of course he could just say "no" to all of them no matter what arguments I use so this is potentially an invidious task and I would be relying on him being ...
The Mansour family fled Egypt five years ago following months of harassment and serious threats to the family. After receiving no help (and torture and confinement) from the Egyptian authorities they settled in the Manchester where they became active members of their community. Now the British authorities are trying to deport the whole family back to Egypt. The police came to arrest and take them to a detention centre in the middle of last night for the 2nd time this year. They need our help. Please join me in writing to Tony Lloyd their local MP and Phil Woolas the ...
The Mansour family fled Egypt five years ago following months of harassment and serious threats to the family. After receiving no help (and torture and confinement) from the Egyptian authorities they settled in the Manchester where they became active members of their community. Now the British authorities are trying to deport the whole family back to Egypt. The police came to arrest and take them to a detention centre in the middle of last night for the 2nd time this year. They need our help. Please join me in writing to Tony Lloyd their local MP and Phil Woolas the ...
Bernard Theobald today announced his resignation as Leader of West Lindsey District Council. Cllr Theobald said " On Tuesday of this week a report appeared in the Lincolnshire Echo under the heading, 'Revealed: The Truth Behind Planning Outcry' claiming that a planning application submitted by me has resulted in an officer's suspension and investigation by the Audit Commission. This report is
I realised I hadn't written anything about Herman Van Rompuy's and Baroness Cathy Ashton's appointments so thought I should and earlier this week it appeared that Sir Ming Campbell dropped the Liberal Democrat referendum pledge so thought I should write on that as well.
[IMG: rbs.jpg] I don't know what planet the RBS Board are on but if they think that they should get their way and pay investment bankers £1.5 Billion in bonuses or resign, frankly they should resign. This bank is effectively owned by the British Tax payer that has pumped billions into keeping it afloat. There would be no investment bankers at RBS if it wasn't for taxpayers money, in fact there wouldn't be a Royal Bank of Scotland. It's been a hard year for many. There are many wondering how they will manage this Christmas, whether they can afford presents ...
Mark Reckons has a great post on the confused twitterings of Nadine Dorries MP when she was talking about Drug policy the other day. It really makes you wonder how some of these people get elected!
Iain Dale has been very consistent in tracking the case of John Hirst, a former prisoner who has been arguing that convicted criminals should not lose their right to vote in elections. Iain and I take different views on this matter (I believe that all UK citizens should have the right to vote unless they are convicted of an electoral offence and he doesn't). but I commend him on his assiduousness in this matter. Iain reports that the Government has failed to take account of the European Court of Human Rights' judgement that the current UK position (that prisoners should ...
Vince Cable was quite right on the Today programme this morning. The response to the RBS director's threat to resign if they are not allowed to pay the bonuses they want to their failed, cash-strapped, state-owned bank should be to say: go ahead. But we need to look a little more closely at the business of banking bonuses. They are paid out of a percentage of the profits of the investment divisions, sometimes up to fifty per cent. The money would otherwise go to the shareholders - the same ones who failed to exercise proper control over the bank they ...
Under pressure from a deeply unhappy David Cameron, the Tories' 'trustafarian millionaire' candidate for Richmond Park, Zac Goldsmith, has at long last pledged to end his non-dom status with immediate effect – his original plan, before the row sparked by the original Sunday Times revelations, was to become a full UK taxpayer next year. But you've got to love this 'man of the people' quote from his spokesman, who, when asked how much the change in tax status would cost Mr Goldsmith, replied: The benefits were very marginal. I don't know if it is £10 or £10,000." Hat-tip: the Evening ...
Nothing like that of Russia – yet while debating on OUTeverywhere this new Labour toady said `Vince Cable has the luxury of calling the bankers bluff knowing he'll never have to do it`. I replied `since your lot might not be in power you might as well get on with it`. His argument for NOT doing ...
The cosy consensus that was developing around Carwyn Jones' leadership was spilit apart today with the shock news that Finance Minster, Andrew Davies will not be seeking re-election in 2011. That is most probably just as well as it is likely that his Swansea West seat would fall to the Welsh Liberal Democrats anyway, but the timing of this announcement is significant and shows Andrew's disillusionment with the outcome of the Labour leadership race. Andrew Davies was a firm supporter of Edwina Hart's candidacy and is known to have been at odds with Carwyn Jones for sometime. His long and ...
The Liberal Democrats have unveiled radical new tax plans to help millions of people across the country. The party's new tax plans will see tax cuts for millions of people, paid for by closing tax loopholes, making polluters pay and introducing a 'mansion tax' on homes worth over £2million. Prospective parliamentary candidate for Aberavon, Keith Davies, said: "These are ambitious plans which will mean that up to 4,800 people in Aberavon pay no tax at all. "In addition to this, a further 18,960 people in Aberavon will save £700 a year - giving them an extra £60 a month in ...
So, what is the Conservative Party policy on Regional Development Agencies (RDAs)? Well, here is Iain Dale on the matter in February: Cameron Reinforces Pledge to Abolish RDA's & Assemblies David Cameron has given an interview to BBC South East, to be shown at lunchtime tomorrow in which he pledges to abolish Regional Development Agencies. Good. There had been some speculation that the Tories were wavering on that commitment. Or here is what Public Servant magazine reported last year of both Cameron and Eric Pickles: Tory leader David Cameron has confirmed what Public Servant magazine reported in its April issue, ...
The One Wales Government's credibility on Welsh Language policy was under attack again today with Welsh-medium teaching union Ucac and the Welsh-medium schools' association Cydag raising concerns about their new Transformation agenda, which aims to overhaul post-16 education in Wales. Both organisations believe the agenda, requiring local authorities to reorganise post-16 education services, will have a detrimental impact on Welsh-medium provision: Across Wales, schools, colleges and higher education institutions are compiling plans to merge and collaborate as a result of Transformation. For example, in Rhondda Cynon Taf plans have been unveiled to establish a bilingual tertiary system, with sixth form ...
[IMG: montesquieu] Montesquieu was a provincial French judge who turned to writing literature and history. His biggest and most influential book is The Spirit of the Laws. Montesquieu was part of the French Enlightenment movement, contributing to the Encyclopaedia which was the collaborative achievement of the thinkers of French Enlightenment. Montesquieu used a vision of universal laws of nature as the basis for laws of history. In that conception of history he looked at the relations between geographical conditions, mores (manners and customs), social conditions, laws and political institutions. He offered a model for understanding relations between physical, social and ...
Good morning and welcome to Daily View. With just 28 days until the end of a year, what an ideal time to hear Delia on Woman's Hour and prepare for Christmas – whatever your gender. Today is the anniversary both of Elvis's '68 Comeback Special and the awful Indian Bhopal disaster where, in 1984, a chemical leak killed thousands and injured hundreds of thousands. The Guardian has a photo series. Today we also sing happy birthday to Eamonn Holmes and remember International Day of Disabled Persons. 2 Big Stories Gays won't go to heaven, says cardinal Over in the Telegraph ...
Thu 3rd
11:00
Day 3259: OK you bankers, I accept your resignations - if only Saint Vince were Chancellor
Thursday: The Board of the Royal Bank-that-we-own of Scotland are behaving like a flock of Sir Desmond Glazebrooks, the incompetent but wily banker of "Yes, Monster" and "Yes, Prime Monster" fame, who would insist treating all the good chaps like good chaps because it wouldn't be being a good chap to do otherwise. "We HAVE to give out a BILLION-and-a-HALF QUID in bonuses or the good chaps will leave," they whine. "And if you won't let us, we'll all QUIT!" Well, HURRAY for Mr Dr Vince "the Power" Cable, Sage of Twickenham, calling their bluff: ok, he says, quit then! ...
Thu 3rd
10:54
Tales from Wales: I received a call from a Lib Dem member on the eve of poll that had a very strange...
When I was in Wales one of the things I was asked to do was act as the returning officer for an internal selection to pick our candidates for the regional list in Mid and West Wales. Having never been a returning officer before I tried to make sure, as much as possible, that all the ...
Today's Independent reports the views of Liberal Democrat peer, Lord Carlile who, in his independent non-party political role as the Government's independent reviewer of anti-terrorism laws has warned Police against misusing powers granted under anti-terror legislation. The paper say that his remarks come after a series of incidents, ranging from the innocuous to the bizarre, in which photographers were questioned by officers for taking innocent pictures of tourist destinations, landmarks and even a fish and chip shop: Police are allowed to stop and search anyone in a designated "Section 44 authorisation" zone without having to give a reason. But amateur ...
I cannot help but feel that Tory plans to ban extremists from broadcasting their views and engaging in protests go too far. There is a fine line between protecting the public from illegal activities and freedom of speech and normally those who cross that line can be prosecuted under a number of other laws anyway. It is difficult to know anyway how exactly a Tory Government will catch and prosecute Islamic extremists who use videos or satellite links to show sermons by banned preachers from the safety of other countries. It is also hard to see how they will stop ...
Guido has this article about about the troubles that the Tories are facing North of the border and about the upcoming referendum on Scottish Independence (if it ever comes). I struggle to agree with the Lib Dem position on independence. I don't understand why we aren't supporting a referendum on Scottish independence. Now I want to make this clear, I completely disagree that independence is the best thing for Scotland but I don't understand why the Lib Dems are against the referendum itself. The people of Scotland have consistently signalled they do not want independence so what's the problem with ...
Who checks that restaurants prepare food safely, take action against off-licences selling alcohol to children and act against shops using dodgy scales to con customers? That would be the Council's Environmental Health and Trading Standards section, who presented their annual report to our Cheadle Area Committee on Tuesday. You can read the report in full on pages 64 to 75 of the agenda (PDF, 2MB). Some of the work the teams undertake include; Investigating reports of food poisoning and infectious diseases Delivering a wide range of CIEH (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health) approved training courses in food and health & ...
For Comparison I have put the resuts for Poole in brackets Delivering Outcomes Assessment Overall Bournemouth Borough Council is performing: Well (Adequately) Outcome 1: Improved health and emotional well-being The council is performing: Well (Well) Outcome 2: Improved quality of lifeThe council is performing: Well (Well) Outcome 3: Making a positive contribution The council is performing:
The district council yesterday published advice about yet another cold calling scam. A fire and security company, claiming to be linked to Crime Stoppers and The Home Office, has been cold calling people - usually elderly residents. They offer a free alarm fitting service and once they have done this try to tie the client into a contract often leading to them parting with thousands of pounds. Consumer Direct and Essex Police have some good advice about dealing with cold callers here and here. At the recent Safer Communities Conference I spoke to a representative from Essex County Fire and ...
As part of the slow, painful and vital process of restoring public trust in Parliament and our democracy the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has been set up to oversee MP's expens...
Yesterday, the Welsh Labour Party announced that Carwyn Jones is to be their new leader. But not only their new leader, but the next First Minister of Wales when Rhodri Morgan shuffles off into retirement in a few days time. The country shrugged its shoulders. A few hours of coverage... but the next day, barely a sausage. ...
Jeremy Corbyn - MP for Islington North - managed to get an adjournment debate last night on the future of the Whittington - and he very kindly let me speak. For him and I, the most affected constituencies, we are joining forces to ensure that NHS health bosses get the message loud and clear BEFORE decisions are made - that local people are madder than hell at even the suggestion of closure or reduction. Interestingly, and I will look at Hansard later today, the Minister seemed pretty ticked off with the North London sector and the PCTs and the way ...
Even on a weekend away, there's just no getting away from my fellow Lib Dems. Up in Aberdeenshire to visit my school friend Suzanne, we were told on arrival that we were heading to the nearest town, Alford, to see the Christmas lights switch on. Turns out that doing the switch on was none other than Lib Dem MP for Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine, Sir Robert Smith. An easy man to spot, at his height! Suzanne, ever sociable, bounded over to him once he'd finished his raffle-drawing duties to introduce her family and, of course, me. After explaining how a ...
There are some things you really couldn't make up. Just imagine if you had made such a muck up of your job, taken so many short term risks that your company needed almost £37 billion of public money just to keep it going. Would you not think you were lucky to still have a job? After all, 3,700 of your lesser paid colleagues have been shoved on to the dole queue because of your short sighted incompetence? That's not to mention the misery your actions caused to people who are now losing their homes because they were lent money they ...
Al-Shabab, the Islamist militia which controls most of southern Somalia and almost all of the capital, Mogadishu, have told the UN foreign food aid program to stop sending food. David Axe, over on World Politics Review, has a slightly confusing article on the matter. Firstly, he implies that Al-Shabab taking an interest in agriculture is worrying as it suggests that they are viewing themselves with permanancy as the government of the area they control. Secondly, he suggests that Al-Shabab's decision is a disastrous one, with "huge implications... (for Somalia's) humanitarian crisis". 1. We shouldn't view Al-Shabab providing services or looking ...
Fascinating pictures on BLDGBLOG: Vardzia is a ruined honeycomb of arched passageways and artificially enlarged caves on a steep mountainside in Georgia. It is on a "tentative list" for UNESCO World Heritage status.
[IMG: Gatley Christmas Market] Local businesses joined together with Christmas cheer on Thursday the 26th November, for the Gatley Net Christmas Market organised by local business BOSSco in support of the CLIC Sargent Charity. 14 local businesses snapped up stalls at the Gatley.Net Christmas Market and brought the community, new and unique gifts for Christmas unavailable on the high street such as handcrafted items from Sue Rawlinson, Manchester Uni design students and Former Glory. Market goers were so positive with comments such as "It's great that such a variety of stalls have been brought to our village, their are some ...
This in from Peckham Liberal Democrats: Labour Councillor for Peckham Ward, Ola Oyewunmi has sensationally quit the party and applied to join the Liberal Democrats. In her letter of resignation she accused Labour of 'running out of ideas, energy and time.' Ola had been a member of the Labour party for more than 10 years and was elected as a councillor in 2006. Ola has worked with people with mental health problems for many years and it was a combination of Labour closing the emergency clinic at the Maudsley hospital and Nick Clegg's commitment to a fairer deal for people ...
The SNP tactic leading into budgets and was (until it actually happened) the same about votes of confidence in their ministers to resign en masse and cause a new election they thought. Well it appears that the Royal Bank of Scotland board are to take the same approach over their bonuses. The bank is looking to pay £1.5bn* in bonuses to its investment arm up from £900m last year. The board says it needs to pay this money to keep its top personnel with them and to keep them incentivised. Saying they need to act in the interests of all ...
Today I had the chance to chat with Mike Porritt, the editor of Village Views, a magazine for Whickham and Sunniside. We had a very long running chat about the state of politics, Afghanistan, my roots and lots of other things. Before I know it we had spent 2 hours discussing things!
Mark started as DG of the IEA on Tuesday. Here's a short video remembering some of his moments on air in recent times (Liberal Vision, Progressive Vision, NO2ID...you name it..). Good luck Mark and "thanks for all the cigs"
There's a move afoot by people including Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney, Melvyn Bragg, and Andrew Motion, to have Ted Hughes immortalised in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. Two years back, when Mayor of Hebden Royd, I unveiled a plaque at Lumb Falls ...
[IMG: 46 Redlands Rd 007] Yep. It's a picture of me in which I am actually smiling. Shocking, I know, (especially after my recent appearence on the glum councillors website) It's because I have good news to report this evening on two local campaigns we have been running in the ward against flawed developments. Members of the Planning Applications Committee overturned the recommendation by RBC planning officers and voted to REJECT a planning application to demolish 46 Redlands Road and build 10 luxury flats in it's place. This follows an active campaign I have led in the ward in recent weeks. It's ...
Let me start by writing that I don't think that people should drive and use a mobile phone at the same time. I was wondering if it is an offence to hold a mobile phone whilst driving and I was told that the police would check the phone records to see if you were using it. Let's say that you weren't. Would you still be prosecuted? If you have been stopped by the police and they have checked your records then they must be suspecting that you are driving without due care. What if you were holding a piece of ...
