Did you see the news on Monday night? Of course there was the lead story about the political X-Factor that we will be getting at the time of the General Election - with the three main party leaders going head-to-head. [I hope that we will get some similar opportunities here in Hastings & Rye.] And there was the ...
Royal Mail Freepost services are an excellent way for the public to contact the political parties, candidates, elected representatives etc to raise issues at no cost to themselves. All parties use the service. Occasionally all parties hit problems with phone directories, bricks, hundreds of envelopes etc being posted through the system. And all parties discuss what can be done to stop it with
Following on from my previous posting about how utterly useless Gordon Brown actually is, a stumble through YouTube this evening brought me this little gem. Our very own unelected Prime Minister, and Al Gore got themselves lost on their way to a meeting at the recent failed Climate Change summit and walked into the wrong ...
There was a terrible irony in the fact that the recent cold snap came over the weekend that the Copenhagen climate conference ended in failure. The anger that many people, including me, felt when the world's leaders failed to reach a legally binding agreement was totally justified. At the level of the negotiations, the fault did not lie with the developed nations. The EU made a reasonable offer, Barack Obama took America further than it had ever gone before, and even Gordon Brown pushed for a deal harder than his more climatically telegenic predecessor ever did. But we would be ...
via news.bbc.co.uk There is nothing about a British Soldier being killed in this pointless war that can be deemed as friendly. Further proof if it was need that the sooner that we are out of this ridiculous war the better. Read more on my posterous site http://spiderplant88.posterous.com/ Posted in General Rantings ...
via news.bbc.co.uk What is about the UK that a little bit of snowfall brings the enture country to its knees? There really is nothing that we seem to be able to do right when it comes to the weather! Posted in General Rantings
Frank Little writes: I was waiting for one of the sites which I regularly visit to comment on these results, but surprisingly none of them picked up on them. By-Election Results: Thursday 10th December 2009. Bedford BC, Kingsbrook LD Andrew Gerard 661 (49.4; +3.1) Lab 370 (27.6; +3.5) Con 150 (11.2; -9.2) Others Ind 85 / Ind 73 (11.8; +11.8) [Green (0.0; -9.2)] Majority 291 Turnout 13% LD hold Percentage change is since June 2009. East Dunbartonshire UA, (Ward number 3) Bearsden South LD Ashay Ghai 1110 (29.4; +3.0) Con 1261 (33.4; +9.0) SNP 783 (20.7; +1.6) Lab 626 (16.6; ...
Having spent an interested morning yesterday at Swansea Council's Neighbourhood Support Unit and freaking out my work experience student at how detailed the CCTV coverage of Wind Street is, I called in this morning to meet doctors and nurses at Morriston Hospital's Accident and Emergency Department. Despite it being early in the day the department was still very busy. Obviously the snow has taken its toll but so has the fact that Morriston Hospital is running at 95% to 100% occupancy on its acute beds and some wards are closed to admissions in Singleton due to a novovirus outbreak. This ...
It has taken many months to get the information from the Welsh Assembly Government but at last the Western Mail has been successful. They quite rightly point out that although the number of local health boards shrank from 22 to seven and dozens of highly-paid top management posts disappeared, no-one was invited to apply for voluntary redundancy or otherwise forced to take it. Despite questions in the Health Committee and Plenary all we have been able to get from the Minister on this is vague statements about her not being in favour of redundancies and that Health Boards are working ...
Canada's third party, the NDP is usually described for British audiences as "old Labour". Linda Duncan, the NDP MP for this riding (constituency) has written me a letter. I forgive her handwriting, because like me, she used to be a lawyer. It says: "Dear Jane, Thanks for your feedback. We have not suggested addressing Climate Change will not cost everyone. Our [illegible] is that major reduction can be acheived [sic] by directing stimulus money to home and business retrofits and deployment of greater renewable power and public transit. but [sic] families and small business can only do so much. The ...
My daily trawl through the politics pages of the BBC News website brought up a quaint little story this evening with the admission from former defence secretary John Hutton that he was the minister who said that "Gordon Brown would be 'a fucking disaster' in the role of prime minister" during the coup that ousted ...
It is the humble opinion of this author that in their different ways both these forces are the standard bearers of progressive politics in British politics. So, how do they compare and contrast? Looking at the Liberal Democrats first it has to be said that the left is disappointing. The Social Liberal Forum was a promising ...
The heads of customer services (Martin Herbert) and information & communication technology (Wallace Gray) at the Student Loans Company (SLC) have resigned. In a report published at the start of this month it was revealed that only 5% of calls to the company were answered at the peak of the delays in payments earlier this term. Some of the board members of the SLC were apparently only finding out the extent of the issues that students were facing due to the SLC's failures through news reports or the Facebook Groups set up by students facing financial difficulties when their loan ...
Interesting video courtesy of the three Dewis over at Politics Cymru.
Some things it would seem never seem to change. In the days of old, when the Conservative party could not get what they wanted the resulted to dirty tricks and underhand tactics to get the desired result. You would have thought that they had learned from their mistakes when they were unceremoniously dumped from power ...
So the Office of Fair Trading is withdrawing its attempt to force the banks to reduce their charges for going overdrawn to reasonable levels. This is a pity: we all have stories about the way banks behave to their customers. For a week or so, I was charged every time my account fluctuated above the critical level. If I hadn't bothered to put money in, I would only have been charged once. But regulating the banks into reasonable charges was always going to be a difficult call when the underlying economics of the situation allows them to charge pretty much ...
Writing about the prospect of debates between the party leaders back in September, I said: The arrangements under which the party gets close to equal treatment with the two main parties during election campaigns were hard won. If Sky TV is allowed to tear them up (if there is more than one debate, will Nick Clegg be invited to all of them?) we are unlikely to gain from it. As far as the media are concerned, the story is Labour vs Tory, Brown vs Cameron. The Lib Dems and Nick Clegg are a distraction to this and if they can ...
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for all your support in 2009. Phil Ling
Looks like Wokingham's gritters did a reasonable job on the main roads - unlike Reading, where I unexpectedly had to spend the night after getting trapped in the gridlock on Monday afternoon. As we drove home this morning the contrast between the main roads in Wokingham and the main roads in Reading was marked. But Reading cannot be totally to blame - because how could gritters get through gridlock? On BBC Radio Berks I heard Martin Salter (Labour MP) praise Reading council (Labour) for its efforts (and the rest of the public services) whilst this morning Rob Wilson (Tory MP) ...
Just sat with my boys watching Dad's Army (the film) on BBC2, although not a patch on the TV (and radio) series, it is nevertheless a lot of fun to watch. I'm sure thateveryone has their own favourite moments, mine is from an episode called "The Deadly Attachment" in 1973, the platoon are looking after a captured U-Boat crew: German U-boat Captain: I am making notes, Captain, and your name will go on the list; and when we win the war you will be brought to account. Captain Mainwaring: You can write what you like, You're not going to win ...
One of the things that tickles me in the round of Council committee meetings I participate in each month is the plethora of different professions I am exposed to. Although my key interests on the council are on the transport / infrastructure side of things, I have made all sorts of forays into other bits. And every part of the council has its own special languages. Some of the words they use in reporting their work to councillors make me chuckle. Here are three recent examples 1 – "Dayburn" Dayburn is how street lighting engineers refer to streetlights being on ...
Next "Christmas Week" upload!
There was festive cheer at West End care home Magdalen House today when bakery chain Greggs kindly donated 100 Christmas Pies to the residents to wish them all a very Happy Christmas. The festive gift was part of Greggs' sponsorship of the recent West End Christmas Week events. The picture above shows Lesley Christie, Area Manager for Greggs and Nicky Brown, Manager of the Perth Road Greggs shop, holding the pies, together with residents and staff of Magdalen House and myself. We are very grateful to Greggs for this generous gesture for the folk at Magdalen House.
My colleague Cllr Ricky Duveen (Lib Dem transport spokesperson) has drawn my attention to a report that went to the Environment Scrutiny Panel back in September about how the Council would respond to adverse weather conditions. It contains the following information about the Council's duties and policies in relation to winter weather which I thought readers might find informative: The Council has a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980. Section 41 was amended in October 2003 to place a new duty upon local authorities in England and Wales to ensure that safe passage along the highway is not ...
Is this a sign of things to come from the blogosphere As we all take part in an election battle are we the bloggers about to become a bit nasty. I'm no fan of Kerry McCarthy MP, I follower her on Twitter and I'm quite unimpressed with what I read from her Twitter account. I don't think she is cut out to be an MP myself, but that's just an opinion. I am also aware that she has had the famous 2nd bed expense claim. However I think this campaign is nasty and demonstrates how nasty the election could get ...
I don't normally link to Conservativehome. But there's an important article on there tonight about Lord Hanningfield's plans for Essex County Council. The writer clearly thinks it's a great idea:IBM have won the huge £5.4 billion, eight year, contract from Essex County Council for a mass privatisation of their services. This follows a report in March that IBM were competing for the contract
The council today said: Council Refuse and recycling collection teams are working and collected from main roads this morning and will do from those side streets where pavements are not too icy later on. If residents' waste is not collected as scheduled today they are reminded to take it back off the pavement and put it out for next Tuesday's collection. The Council plans to catch up on those
I was interviewed on Radio Tay News earlier today about our photocall at Magdalen House (more on that, plus photos, in a moment ...!) - you can hear the news item by clicking 'play' above.
Scenes I captured early this morning in Newbury after a few inches of snowfall.
So the PC and SNP are playing to the gallery to muscle in on the NATIONAL TV debates. Fine – put candidates in all the 600+ seats then. And that goes for UKIP/Greens/BNP – put your money where your mouth is and put forward candidates in EVERY SINGLE SEAT. Only parties that do that (barring a ...
I have been assured that the main roads, including Hyde Road were gritted at least six times on Sunday, but grit doesn't work when the snow is on top. It seems that the weather forecast was a little inaccurate about the early afternoon snow-dump. So I take back what I grumpily said at the time and note that tonight the main roads were clear on my way back from work. Mind you, the recycling collection didn't seem to have bothered with my street, don't know if that's widespread. It can't be the weather, as the regular rubbish was collected. I've ...
Apparently, there is no business like snow business and the recent snow has elevated grit and gritting to the status of a political issue. The Guardian has an editorial praising it and asking rhetorically; Councillors and council staff may have got one big thing right this time by responding to the snow and gritting the roads. ...
News reaches t'Voice (via the Middleton Guardian) that Lib Dem Irene Davidson has become the new leader on Rochdale Council – and in doing so has become the first female leader of the Council. Coun Davidson, who works as a prison officer in Manchester, will be replacing the leader Alan Taylor, who decided last week to stand down due to ill health. Earlier this year, she stood in for Coun Taylor during one of his bouts of illness. She was acting leader when Rochdale hit the national news headlines after installing its Christmas light decorations in August. Councillor Davidson said: ...
The Planning application for Belle Vue was due to be submitted on Monday. I telephoned the Planning Dept at County Hall yesterday but the application was still not in, and I was promised an email once it was in and validated. No email has arrived so I assume that this application still hasn't been submitted. There has been a fear that this application would be submitted in the run-up to Christmas which would result in a significant loss of opportunity for local people to raise any concerns. Government guidelines are for major applications like this to have a 28 day ...
In much happier news, I am delighted to hear that Arthur Taylor, the three year old son of Truro MP Matthew and his wife Vicky, has been given a provisional all clear after his battle with cancer, after eight months of intensive treatment and a major operation two weeks ago. Commenting, Vicky and Matthew Taylor said: "The last eight months have seemed an eternity of worry, and especially the last two weeks. The operation brought a real risk of disabling Arthur, and we could not know if the chemotherapy had been successful until the tumour was analysed. But it has ...
[IMG: St.Mary’s Church] Last night I was privileged to have been able to attend the first Prestwich community carol service. The event was held at St.Mary's Parish Church in Church Lane and we were delighted to been able to welcome the Mayor of Bury, Cllr Sheila Magnall. Over 300 braved treacherous ice and snow to attend the event, making it a great success. What was particularly special was that it was a collaboration between local churches and St.Mary's welcomed Father Allen from Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church, who read from the Gospels. In addition there were many from ...
[IMG: Beer & Spirits, Kenworthy Road E9] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Emily Webber A week or so ago, I went for a little walk with my dog, driven by a quest for some bottles of beer. I don't like leaving our dog alone outside a shop, out of view (as you have to do when you go into a big supermarket), so I wanted to find an off-licence where I could keep an eye on him from inside. I walked to three off-licences of which I know locally and they were all closed down – permanently. Bearing in ...
I just called in on residents who have been experiencing heating problems on Hadrians Walk West to check they are OK. They are still waiting for things to be sorted and were none too pleased with Reading Borough Council today. I also called the Council to check up on a gentleman of 92 who came to our surgery last weekend who has been struggling to get central heating installed in his own property for two years. He is now going to get a community care assessment (at last) and I hope he will get more care as a result. On my way back to the car I stopped to chat ...
Residents in Ardwick Road, Ranulf Road and Burgess Hill have approached us to see if we could get their area covered by Barnet's new 20mph zone. As the purple line on the map shows - Camden meets Barnet halfway down Ranulf Road. Barnet's new zone only covers areas of Barnet - so as soon as you cross the border - you are faced with some rather illogical 30mph signs. As this happens halfway up the hill drivers are speeding up as they leave Barnet and enter our equally residential part of Camden. We've just recieved a response from Camden street ...
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond is demanding that the Scottish Nationalists be included in the UK-wide TV debates to be held ahead of the next election. Their equivalents in Wales, Plaid Cymru, are also demanding to be involved. This is despite the fact that there will be separate debates in Scotland and Wales that will include their parties. You can read all about it HERE. What on Earth do the Scottish Nationalists or Plaid Cymru have to say that is relevant to the people of Plymouth? Or, for that matter, Portsmouth, Canterbury, Norwich, Chelsea, Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield, Manchester, Newcastle... or, ...
[IMG: snoplough] County Councillor Allan Knox has been inundated with queries about whether not people's streets have been gritted or more importantly - whether or not they should be gritted. The council policy revolves around priority roads and a map of all priority roads in Lancashire can be found here and a map of priority roads in Clitheroe can be found here. Whatever the the rights or wrongs of the county council's policy it states the following: The criteria for this prioritisation of roads is as follows: County Motorways (e.g. M65 Junction 10-14) All Principal "A" Roads All "B" Roads· ...
Christmas is getting closer you can almost imagine the sleigh bells are getting polished and the tack to hold Rudolph and chums in place in getting buffed. Yes there are three sleeps and three songs left that had been number one at Christmas in the decade. So 2007 was the next act from the X-Factor and local lad Leon Jackson with When You Believe. In 1985 Shakin' Stevens managed to conjure up a Christmas Number One with Merry Christmas Everyone. Keeping up the Christmas theme, you can tell I'm getting in the mood now, lets have the St. Winifred's School ...
It was suggested to me by someone who's been involved in politics for far longer than me that all these rumours of a March general election may not be as innocent as they seem. We have to ask who has the most to gain out of rumours of an early general election? The public? Almost certainly not. I would argue that the majority of the public don't follow political news closely enough to care whether the general election will be in 4 months time or 6 months time. The media? I suppose it's a good story but there isn't much ...
Only last week I, and our present intern, were out in the West Fife villages distributing leaflets to our members. One such member lives on the estate of Lord Elgin in the village of Culross. Driving my car down the lane, past the big house where the Earl's son lives, I proceeded to the member's house. I parked ...
No, you're not dreaming, Y Barcud Oren service is resumed (now that my lecturers have, however briefly, stopped making me write essays on trust law!). And, with 2009 drawing to a close, it's a good time to check in on how the answers to the year's great political questions have developed. Take Me To Your Cliché 2009's first great saga was Rhodri Morgan's retirement and, eventually, the race to succeed him. But to say that nothing happened in the Welsh Labour leadership contest would be an insult to quantum mechanics. The three people we expected to run ran, the process ...
Once upon a time when I was the age of my nephews the local council here, and indeed the residents were more able to cope with the onset of quite treacherous wintry conditions. Over the past few days we have only had less than an inch of snow on three occasions. On the previous two occasions this has usually thawed out totally and there have been no issues a couple of hours after even on the residential roads. Today however is different. The snow turned initially to slush, but the temperatures are sub zero later on and the slush has ...
I was very saddened to hear of the deaths of two people I worked with. The first is Anna Werrin, who has died following a stroke. Anna was Charles Kennedy's Head of Office throughout his leadership of the Liberal Democrats and subsequently managed Chris Huhne's second leadership campaign in 2007. I worked closely with Anna in both roles as I was taking photos for the Party. I always felt that Anna was a figure of importance that the media never really cottoned on to. She never sought the limelight but had a magnificent political brain and managed really difficult situations ...
Every evening in Bangkok, as I walk from Sathorn to Silom to have dinner, I pass a sacred tree, which juts out into the pavement, the base of its trunk painted white. Ranged around it are scores of votive offerings, most of them tiny model elephants. They've been there as long as I can remember ...
Speaking to traders in the Indoor Market this afternoon, it is clear there is much anger about the deplorable state the town centre has been in for the past few days. Here are two snippets:1. When the decision was taken to pedestrianise much of the town centre, a retailer on the Town Centre Board asked what steps would be taken to ensure that the newly pedestrianised areas, which include many
The following statement has been issued by Bury Council today (Tuesday 22 December 2009). Due to the atrocious weather conditions, the waste and recycling collections have had to be suspended for the remainder of today (Tuesday). A decision on collections for Wednesday and Thursday will be made on the morning. Reluctantly, we have been forced to take this decision to protect the health and welfare of our collection teams, who are finding it impossible to navigate through some of the borough's streets. We understand any frustration that residents may have, but the weather has left us with no choice. We ...
For the first time in Britain, the leaders of all three parties will participate in a televised debate with each other, during the general election campaign. Fairness dictates that Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, takes part in all three debates and fairness further ensures that the three debates are shown on three different television channels: ITV, Sky and the BBC. The decision to hold these debates raise various questions about how we do politics. Constitutional implications The convention of our unwritten constitution is that the voters elect a party to govern. That party chooses a leader and that leader ...
Thanks to everyone who has been in touch via Email, Twitter and Facebook to thank me for my regular updates and posts - much appreciated. I'm glad readers are finding this stuff useful and I'm sorry so many people seem to have had such difficult and stressful journeys over the past 24 hours. The latest press release from Reading Borough Council can be found here. Earlier today all RBC councillors were emailed a briefing note, from the Council's Highways department which I am sharing below in the interest of all Reading residents affected by the bad weather, and all those who are keen to understand ...
I'm glad to hear from Nick Clegg that the Liberal Democrat Party is sticking to its principles on the scrapping of tuition fees. In an email to me Nick Clegg says, "We were right to oppose tuition fees from day one, and have been right to continue to oppose any lifting of the cap on the limit of fees. The government has been obsessed with artificial targets for how many people should go to university, while putting barriers in their way in the shape of fees. My priority is making degrees affordable, and that means scrapping these unfair fees, including ...
It's the future of campaigning you know: [IMG: Bar chart in the snow]
Braving a ridiculously cold weather and armed with stopwatches and clipboards this Sunday a team of Lewisham Libdems were joined by a handful of thermally resistant residents and timed the Courthill Road junction. With people at each side of the junction raising a hand whenever the light they faced was red we could ascertain that there ...
The Pulitzer Prize winning site PolitiFact.com has named Sarah Palin's comments about universal healthcare as the winner of their 'Lie of the Year' award. Nearly 5,000 readers of the site chose Palin's statement to receive the award from a shortlist of eight nominations. In the citation, the web site said, 'Of all the falsehoods and distortions in the ...
Dorothy Thornhill, Mayor of Watford says of the snow: "This kind of weather is here to stay now and our current policy (as a nation) of gritting the main roads then expecting a thaw to take care of the side roads and pavements is no longer going to work!" So, I say what do we do? Deposit grit bins on every little slope that is likely to contribute to The Great Gridlock? All live closer to where we work? Buy 4x4's? Close companies down for the winter? Create more laybys so that abandoned cars have somewhere to be abandoned? Or ...
The clamour for a change to our pernicious libel laws grows louder every day. In November, Index on Censorship and English PEN published Free Speech is Not For Sale, a report into the state of libel in England & Wales, and the bizarre phenomenon of libel tourism. Impressed by this report, Jack Straw announced the creation of a working group to deliver reform. Lib Dem peer Lord Lester announced on the BBC Radio 4 PM programme he will begin drafting a libel bill, and MPs have begun to sign EDM 423 (tabled by Dr Evan Harris) which demands a libel ...
So let's be clear about this... - There will be separate debates in Wales and Scotland featuring Plaid and the SNP as appropriate; - The SNP will not be running enough candidates UK-wide to have a chance of forming a Government; - Alex Salmond is not even going to be a candidate at the General Election And yet Mr Salmond is still thinking about taking legal action in order to secure himself a space in the UK wide leaders' debates. Is this a case of ego above reason?
Some good news: I've received confirmation from Cllr David Stevens, Conservative Chair of the Council's CCEA Scrutiny Panel that my request for an urgent investigation into the response of the Council and other bodies to the bad weather we have experienced here in Reading over the past few hours has been given the green light. The exact scope and format of the review will be agreed on 28 January at the next meeting of the CCEA Management Panel. As Vice-Chair of the Panel I will be present at the meeting and able to shape the scope and remit of the investigation. The scrutiny ...
I enjoyed an unexpected night in last night because of the cancellation of the district council's Cabinet meeting. The decision to abandon the meeting waas understandable given the state of Epping High Street at 5 pm and congestion on the local roads. I hope no-one turned up to watch the meeting from the public gallery and was disappointed that there was nothing to see. (The advantage of watching the meeting via webcast on the computer is there is no need to venture out in the cold!) However the postponement means some important decisions have not been made, including some relating ...
Due to the atrocious weather conditions, the waste and recycling collections have had to be suspended for the remainder of today (Tuesday). A decision on collections for Wednesday and Thursday will be made in the morning. Bury Council has informed local councillors that reluctantly, they have been forced to take this decision to protect the health and welfare of collection teams, who are finding it impossible to navigate through some of the borough's streets. The Statement from Bury Council goes on, "We understand any frustration that residents may have, but the weather has left us with no choice. We will ...
Given the weather conditions yesterday evening and the journeys that people have had in this morning we have decided to take different approach to keeping open today. It is expected to freeze tonight but not snow, however travel will still potentially be tricky. We will therefore be sending most staff home at 4pm and running a skeleton service on volunteers who have less tricky journeys. What we could not have known yesterday was that the M1 and M25 would both have accidents and that traffic would be diverted into the District, which had a knock-on effect on the traffic and ...
Due to the adverse weather conditions, the refuse collection service has been suspended. In addition, Council administrative buildings will be closed from 1pm, and will not re-open until 29th December. Emergency services will continue to operate as normal. Rick
Yesterday, at the end of a post sticking up for the Taxpayers' Alliance's eligibility to be counted as a charitable organisation, I took the TPA to task for failing to make it easy for supporters to make the most of their gift by not including an option to Gift Aid any donation they chose to make. A couple of people commented in response that I was a bit harsh on the TPA, arguing that it's still possible for donors to submit a Gift Aid declaration to the charity (for the charity to reclaim its Gift Aid), and for the donors ...
On Friday, Nick emailed all members to outline our position on the abolition of tuition fees. It was great to see our position, agreed by both the Federal Policy Committee and the Parliamentary Party, broadly welcomed on LDV and elsewhere. Saddling students with huge debts as they leave universities, particularly at a time when many are failing to find jobs through no fault of their own, is clearly wrong. And the prospect of such debts putting talented young people off going to university is equally wrong. That is why our plan to scrap tuition fees over 6 years from the ...
I still prefer the original, but this a great cover of the best Christams song ever.
[IMG: mop_snow.jpg] Having spent perhaps more time than most out and about in the last two days, I thought I'd share what I've seen around our area in the way that Stockport's responded to the snow (which, as I write, is falling heavily again). Please use the comments to share your experiences too. I was out at around 9am on Monday morning. At that time the roads weren't all completely clear, but none that I drove on was especially slippery and all were easily passable. I spent the day driving and walking around Gatley, Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme, Bramhall and Woodfood ...
Towards the end of last week the 'Arbeit Macht Frei' sign was stolen from over the gates of Auschwitz. The BBC has the story here. What kind of people would do this? The whole point od the Auschwitz-Berkanau museum is that it's so real. The sheds are still there, the crematoria, the barbed wire, the gates, the guard towers and the sign. Places like Auschwitz should be preserved forever as closely as possible to their original state. It's only through this constant reference to the past that we as a society avoid making the same mistakes. What we too often ...
Liberal Vision have received an anonymous tribute to Nick Clegg! In the name of the seasons festivities it is hereforth published on behalf of the author (who also sends their apologies to Monty Python...). Bravely bold Sir Cleggy rode forth from Cowley Street He was not afraid to defy, O brave Sir Cleggy He was not at all afraid to be say no in nasty ways Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Cleggy He was not in the least bit scared to reverse party policy Or to have his activists wail and his MPs rebel To have his team resign and ...
Tue 22nd
10:54
'Forget the toothbrush, you can buy one; dignity is priceless!' - The Press Officer's Guide Lesson 1...
As a young man I was elected to lead the Liberal Democrat delegation to the British Youth Council. I led a small but excellent team of Lib Dem activists who had a significant impact on the nation's leading youth organisation. As part of the political engagement of BYC I was regularly invited to attend meetings, conferences and events ...
Another one where I don't know the details, but I'll be interested to find out. Greater Manchester has been designated the UK's first Low Carbon Economic Area (LCEA) for the Built Environment the Government announced today. Ministers have been working with environment and economic chiefs in the city region to be named as the UK's fourth LCEA. The announcement means that over the next five years Greater Manchester will become a world leader on this agenda and enjoy a range of additional benefits linked to jobs and investment, sharing its expertise throughout the UK and beyond. The Low Carbon Economic ...
The accepted wisdom is that it is "protocol" not to oppose the Speaker. Yet there are plenty of examples that this is simply not true - Selwyn Lloyd, for one, was opposed, and there are other examples (and we are not talking pre-war or the mists of time). What is going on in Buckingham is extraordinary. The Speaker is unpopular with his local party - not just a large block of Conservative MPs in Parliament – and his wife has shot through the Labour Party hoops and jumped other hurdles to go on the list of approved Parliamentary Candidates. Nobody ...
As well as consulting on parking restrictions around the new Council offices on Badminton Road, the Council are asking for your views on improvements to cycling and pedestrian facilities in the area. You can find more information online. Maybe this is also an opportunity to sort out the confusing Stover Rd junction layout - we've seen people coming from Yate turn right too early and meeting Stover Rd traffic head-on.
Because British politics is boring me again – I'll believe the leaders debate when I see it – it's time to look at what's going on in the States... Recent developments have resulted in the Senate's leadership managing to give just enough bribes and throw enough of the progressive parts of the legislation into the fire ...
Tuesday: As the Office of Fair Trading finally gives up hope of forcing the banks to trade fairly, let's hear the glass spires of the Square Mile ring out with those much loved ol' City carols... "Away in a Mammon..." "Once in Royal Bojo's City, Stood a Lofty Banking Shed..." "While Shareholders Watched Their Stocks by Night..." "We Three Kings of Orient Are... Looking for a Remortgage Deal for Dubai World..." And of course "Silent Night, Holy Night; Of the Regulator, Not a Sight..." As Tiny Tim himself might say: God bankrupt you all, every one! .
Last week I received the usual pile of fast food leaflets. Amongst it was a greeting card. Not in an envelope. Just the Houses of Parliament with fake snow plastered across the card. The simple message 'Merry Christmas from Eleanor Laing MP'. Looking closely at the tiny print on the back page it was clear that this was paid not by the local Conservative organisation, but from the taxpayer
Sad news has reached us here at Lib Dem Voice that Anna Werrin has died of a stroke. Anna worked for Charles Kennedy from the year he was first elected to Parliament, in 1983, and was his head of office until his resignation as leader of the Lib Dems in 2006. She was subsequently Chris Huhne's campaign manager in his second leadership attempt, in 2007. On behalf of the team here at LDV, we extend our sympathies to Anna's family and friends. Please do leave your tributes in the comments thread, below.
Some five days after the first heavy snowfall, Post House Wynd has finally been cleared and gritted along with much of the rest of the town centre, which has been covered with snow and sludge for nearly a week. If it's possible for shoppers to stay away in droves, they have been over the past few days. It's really taken far too long to get this done. Many of the pedestrian routes into town, such
Most literary scholars now accept that Nevill Holt in Leicestershire is the model for Bonkers Hall. And I have commented before on certain parallels between the careers of Lord Bonkers and Nevill Holt's current owner David Ross. You may also recall that his lordship's diaries occasionally mention Bonkers House in Belgrave Square. Which makes the following news story all the more fascinating: A millionaire Tory donor and close friend of David Cameron is to face police questioning within the next few days over a mysterious fracas involving a young Eastern European woman. The blonde Lithuanian made an allegation of assault ...
It's snowing again in parts of the borough, as nature continues to try the patience of everyone not lucky enough to be off work or school. Navigating the roads of Prestwich before 8am, as I had to do again today on the way to work, is no fun at all, despite the best efforts of the gritters! I have another update for anyone wondering about gritting and bin collections in the borough - Last night the Council's gritters were called out at 18.30 and each did a full grit. They went out again at about 21.00 and again did a ...
[IMG: IMG_0002[2]] I've been drinking out of this mug for years. I've got a couple more Labour ones, a Tory one, and a bright yellow SNP one with "INDEPENDENCE" emblazoned on it (my favourite). Anyway, it's been ages since I actually registered what was written on this mug, only noticing the other day when I was making some coffee. It seems so metaphorical. "Economic stability", which so many people believed Labour had given us, has been heavily tarnished, never to return. In these last few lazy days before Christmas, I thought that I'd share it with you. Feel free to ...
Photo by Sabine J Hutchinson http://www.virtual-shropshire.co.uk From St Mawr, published in 1925: They came at last, trotting in file along a narrow track between heather, along the saddle of the hill, to where the know of pale granite suddenly cropped out. It was one of those places where the spirit of aboriginal England still lingers, the old savage England, whose last blood still flows in a few Englishmen, Welshmen, Cornishmen. The rocks, whitish with weather of all the ages, jutted against the blue August sky, heavy with age-moulded roundnesses. Lewis stayed below with the horses, the party scrambled rather awkwardly, ...
Following yesterday's appalling weather conditions, all RBC councillors have just been sent this message from Michael Coughlin, Chief Exec of the Council: "I thought I would write to let you know in summary form, the sequence of events and our response to the extreme weather and gridlock across the town this afternoon and evening. Like much of the South East we experienced an unexpectedly heavy fall of snow from around 1.30pm. (The weather warning was received some 1Hr 45 mins after the first heavy snow). Reading appears to have been particularly badly affected. This continued unabated for an extended period ...
Following the second prolonged period of snow this year Liberal Democrats are demanding a rethink of the gritting policy of Conservative run Herts County Council. After three days of snow or below zero temperatures, many residents are now asking why their roads and pavements have not been gritted. Although it would be unreasonable to grit every road in the county, the County Council does not appear, despite having massive supplies of road salt, to be able even to grit those detailed on its web site. Cllr Stephen Giles-Medhurst commented: 'In my own county division of Central Watford and Oxhey have ...
With my mother currently snowed in and her pre Christmas visit abandoned, and both my father and other half contemplating whether to make trips to the frozen Scottish Border it's difficult to answer when people ask what we're doing for Christmas. Staying home mostly seems to cover it! Whilst I deal with all the domestic things that mysteriously happen "as if by magic" over the holiday season, the younger members of the household are building an igloo in the back garden. I hate driving on snow at the best of times and accomplished a very controlled, slow speed, 180 degree ...
Is your Council paying people to pollute? I know my Council is. The milage rates paid to employees (and Councillors) on my local Council for casual users are:- 451-999cc - 42.9p/m; 1000-1199cc - 47.7p/m and above 1200cc - 60.1p/m. So the bigger the engine, the more CO2 emitted and the more people are paid. I'm asssured by our officers that these are the nationally agreed rates, although this has not stopped us paying a generous milage rate for those who cycle. The first question is - 'Is there any Council out there which pays a fixed rate irrespective of engine ...
The latest ComRes poll has caused something of a stir; not only does it show a drop in the headline figures for the Conservatives but it also provided some other worrying data. The Independent loudly proclaims that it shows Cameron has not 'sealed the deal'. However, even at high points for the Conservatives I would argue ...
My 3500th post! A bit of festive fun. I was trawling around on YouTube and found this hilarity from RTE in Ireland. It happened last March. A minister, called Maire Hoctor, appeared via a link to record an insert into a programme called "Prime Time". Unfortunately, the Minister fluffed her lines and stopped talking. No problem, said the presenter. "It's not live". So, the presenter asked the question again, and the minister started answering again, and then fluffed her lines again and stopped again. Obviously, these false starts should have been edited out of the recording which was eventually played ...
Tue 22nd
09:00
192 governments agree in Copenhagen that climate change is manmade and dangerous so why doesn't the ...
Copenhagen was a bad, fudged, inadequate, non-binding deal, which not everyone signed up to and which has weakened the structures of international decision-making (see here for the Friends of the Earth view). But one important thing did come out of wreckage - in the final analysis not one government in the world denied the existence of manmade climate change nor the importance of trying to combat it. That contrasts strongly with the position of the BBC which is utterly hamstrung by its fear of being seen as a campaigning organisation and by the addiction of its news editors to controversy ...
[IMG: Photocopier] There are two major problems with Lord Mandelson's desire to crack down on illegal file-sharing by using an awful lot of stick and no carrot. First, it means he's come up with proposals that avoid the boring old-fashioned stuff like innocent until proven guilty and no punishment without a fair process. Second, though, it also takes an extremely old-fashioned and rigid attitude. It's one of saying "stop the world, then throw it into reverse as that's the only thing we can do". The reality is that one of the most effective - and tried and tested - ways ...
The last meeting of the year of the Gorton 100 Committee in 2009 took place last night and I'd like to say a huge "thank you" to everybody who made the last year possible. This group, made up of residents and local groups have put together a series of events which have celebrated Gorton's past, present and future. There have been park festivals, Morris Dancing, steam engines, some fantastic exhibitions and talks, fancy dress, games ancient and modern, lanterns and fire eaters. It's been all the better because it hasn't been an "official celebration" organised by the Council (though a ...
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] [IMG: torystrike.jpg] Over in the the Grundian there is a story which claims that the Taxpayers' Alliance, an influential pressure group with links to the Tory front-bench, had set up a charity under a different name so it can get tax relief on donations. This 'charity' was then organising up to 40% tax subsidies on individual donations. The Chief Executive has denied that there is any alliance or that the organisation is operating as a 'Tory-front' - yet several policy recommendations have found themselves being suggested by the Tory front-bench at a later date. For instance, the public ...
Just a brief post, photo and tags to come later when back at my desk.I know it doesn't sound a major announcement that a King Penguin chick has been born at Edinburgh Zoo.However, its the first one for some five years now and that's the important part.The unnamed chick (until its sex is known) is related to Edinburgh Zoos most famous penguin Nils Olav - you know, the one who was awarded a knighthood by the Norwegian King's Guard?The chick is two months old now and yesterday was allowed out of its special pen.Welcome to Edinburgh.Seriously though, this is a ...
[IMG: picture-4] Following public consultation, the traffic safety scheme outside of Prestwich Arts College is to go ahead. The scheme provides for a short stretch of 20mph ourside the school, including a "raised table". More information here
Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Minister, Jenny Randerson AM has called on rail companies to use 2010 to simplify fare structures and cut the costs of travelling for passengers. She was speaking after First Great Western introduced new restrictions on its cheapest tickets for flexible travel, meaning many passengers travelling into London from South Wales could face up to 20% higher fares. First Great Western has replaced its previous off peak ticket with a new fare at the same price but with more restrictions. These restrictions are now covered by a new fare, at a 20% higher rate Jenny Randerson ...
While out delivering Christmas Cards at the weekend I took some pictures of Acocks Green in the snow. It may have been cold, but it was lovely and sunny and perfect for a brisk walk! Here are some of the pictures I took: Woodcock Lane Bridge [IMG: Woodcock Lane Bridge] The Canal from Lincoln Road Bridge [IMG: The Canal] Olton Croft [IMG: Olton Croft]
A disastrous evening on the roads for local people just trying to get home from work. Arriva removed their buses from the roads, Luton and Stansted airports closed. The roads around the Three Counties were gridlocked. And all because it snowed. My own journey of an hour (tops) on a normal rush-hour took 5.25hours. When I was coming home I think I saw 2 real problems at M1 Junction 10. Firstly, traffic has to move up a slope from the spur road to get onto the roundabout above the M1. My car slipped lots. I almost didn't make it, and ...
What does the world think of the way we deal with our weather? We have television screens showing pictures of great disruption caused by snowfall when it looks like God has shaken icing sugar over the land. Airports can't deal with this amount of snow and the Channel Tunnel has closed indefinitely. If planes aren't safe in cold weather that is one thing but the excuses that I was hearing were about problems caused by the amount of snow on the ground. Last night around 10pm I took a very pleasant walk along Broadway in Morecambe. It was snowing fairly ...
