IDENTITY card plans have caused anger for years. First they wanted everyone in Britain to carry one. Then they saw sense and scrapped the scheme.But now they've gone for a bizarre halfway house where ID cards aren't compulsory but people can buy them for 30 quid! After shelling out seven tenners for a passport, folk in Manchester,where the pilot scheme is starting, have the option of making it a round 100 by buying a useless ID card as well. Labour plan to extend the scheme to Cumbria, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cheshire next year. So if you Northern lads have a ...
I first starting thinking about how I would write a letter to my sixteen year-old self when I first saw them in the Gay Times 25th Birthday issue half expected a meme to spring up out of it. It hadn't done until recently, so as Jennie Rigg was considerate enough earlier to tell me to consider myself tagged if I wanted to be. So as this was already 75% written since the meme appeared on my friends' blogs here you are. Stephen Glenn Scotland* 2009 Stephen Glenn Bangor Northern Ireland 1995 Dear Stephen, You may be only sixteen but already ...
Two pieces of unwelcome news today. First of all our MP, from whom most of us hear only rarely, has written to everyone in Eaglescliffe again telling them, amongst other things, that their councillors haven't consulted them about the school/Preston Park issue. Her local knowledge is so good that she sent those letters even to the very councillors she's complaining about. She carries on with
Back in August one of my Sunday music videos featured a Bonzos song from the 1960s children's series Do Not Adjust Your Set. Thanks to LoveFilm I have now watched the discs mentioned in the comments on that post. The chief interest in these episodes today lies in seeing Michael Palin, David Jason, Terry Jones and Eric Idle when they were all ridiculously young. The sketches, a mix of silliness and satire on television conventions, appealed to the youthful studio audience, to judge by the laughter on the soundtrack. I know that I used to watch this show because I ...
At long last, what was widely known in Westminster Village circles has rippled out beyond: John Hutton was the cabinet minister who told the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson in 2006 that Gordon Brown would be 'a fucking disaster' in the role of prime minister. Well done to BBC Radio 4's Eddie Mair for wringing the admission from a reluctant Mr Hutton. But it prompts two questions. First, if this was Mr Hutton's view – albeit one from which he has subsequently resiled, in public at any rate – why did he choose to become one of the 308 Labour ...
Yes, I do have a self-interest, but the news that Labour are going to further cut universities' funding really makes you wonder why they make out that education is an area that will not be hit by cuts. It clearly has been. How is it fair that students, as well as being saddled with a ...
Earlier this evening I drove across to Irlam to attend a meeting called by residents opposed to council proposals, which involve building on 40 hectares (almost 100 acres) of land at Barton Moss. The plans seems to be to use this green belt for industrial use and "off-setting" this loss of valuable green belt by re-classifying some land in Little Hulton as green belt. The council says this will result in "no net loss of green belt land". Residents local to the area are quite rightly upset about these plans to remove what little green space we have left in ...
I've finally got my hands on the minutes of the meeting of Plymouth City Council on Monday 30th November, in which we can see how every councillor voted on the CityBus sale. On 30th November, councillors voted 24 to 17 to sell off the council-bus company lock, stock & barrel to private operator Go-Ahead. Below is how every one of the city's 57 councillors voted, or in some cases didn't vote. Cllr Mary Aspinall (Sutton & Mount Gould) - voted against the sale of CityBus Cllr Richard Ball (Compton) - voted for the sell-off Cllr Terri Beer (Plympton Erle) - ...
Having been up to the graveyard yesterday on my father's birthday and seeing the diggers digging some fresh graves, it is horrible to think that at this time of year when some of us are celebrating having family together others are losing some of theirs. Just now I opened the BBC entertainment page and found that two stars of my childhood have passed away, neither are big names that you would recognise straight off unless you are a Tele geek. The first is Alaina Reed Amini one of the black actresses from Sesame Street, who finally succumbed to a two ...
Dazamando finds it odd that the Conservatives do not support proportional representation because 'it seems most tactical voting is directed against the Conservatives. Firstly, if you accept that point then you have to remember that PR will actually broaden the range of anti-Conservative options because it will make other smaller parties more viable. However, there ...
Personally I'm a supporter of, and generally release stuff under, the GPL licence, version 3, but Jonathan Rosenberg — Senior Vice President of Product Management at Google — makes a good case for utilising the Apache licence instead for the open sourcing of software.
It's easy. I'm not launching my own URL shortner. That's all. Woof woof.
Back from snowy East Anglia, I've been busy this afternoon catching up on what's been going on across the web. I was especially struck by an article by TomPapworth on the prospects of a "World Government". Posed with the question "[If] democracy creates stability and raises living standards... why not introduce it on a worldwide scale?" , Tom answers in short order where the pitfalls in this particular form of utopia lie. Tom: Great article. Everyone else: Read it for yourself HERE.
Hot on the tails of the news that P&O refused to recognise an ID card as a European travel document comes this investigation from the Manchester Evening News: THE national identity card scheme was in chaos last night as an M.E.N investigation revealed some of the country's biggest travel companies are telling customers that they can not be used instead of passports. Some 1,736 people in Greater Manchester have bought the £30 cards after the Home Office promised they could be used to travel in Europe. But customer service staff at nine major travel companies - including British Airways, Eurostar ...
The Badger Trust has confirmed that it is to apply for a Judicial Review of the decision made in September 2009 by the Welsh Government to include the killing of badgers in its bovine tuberculosis eradication scheme. The Badger Trust has effectively challenged the legality of the decision: David Williams, Chairman of the Badger Trust, said: "It is with some reluctance but nevertheless firm resolve that we must, as an organisation dedicated to the welfare and protection of the badger, enter into these proceedings at the highest level. The decision is unjust and goes against the scientific evidence, and the ...
Local traders and residents in this area of Highgate won a bid for funding for a Christmas tree to brighten up a little patch of land in this very heavily trafficky corner between Archway Road and Muswell Hill Road. You can read the sad tale here in the Evening Standard. The picture shows my Liberal Democrat colleagues standing by a very pathetic looking Christmas Tree - a tree that actually cost £150 but which, by the time Haringey Council had erected it, cost £1500. The local residents and my LibDem councillor colleagues are pretty cross - to put it mildly. ...
Christmas theme continues with the timeless classic from Harry Belafonte.
Although the following Traffic Order will come with it the inconvenience of temporary loss of parking for a limited time, I am very pleased that Scottish Water is undertaking flood prevention works at Richmond Terrace. I raised the matter with Scottish Water some time ago, having visited residents to see the effect of flooding at their properties. I am grateful to Scottish Water for its proactivity in working to resolve this matter. Dundee City Council proposes to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating Scottish Water flood prevention works. ...
Back in September, new regulations meant old fashioned incandescent (OFI) light bulbs can only now be sold in clear types. In our house we were down to one light fitting with an old fashioned bulb in it. The R63 spots in the kitchen were replaced this time last year, following an assignment for an OU course on sustainable living. I've not regretted it either. The bulbs light the room just as well as the ones they replace, and they have outlasted enough of the old type to be saving me money. Which left one solitary light fitting in the bathroom ...
Earlier on today I emailed the Chief Exec of Reading Borough Council a list of roads in Reading where snow, ice and lack of grit is still a real problem. This was based on information I picked up from Reading residents via Twitter, Facebook and email. They included: Grit bins at junction of Thirlmere, Lyndhurst & Romany Lane (empty for 2 days) Whitley Wood Road - pavement and highway thick ice (secondary route) Prospect St - junction with Baker St & Argyle road closed earlier by police as impassable (secondary route) Beecham Road (very icy) Ennerdale Road - lack of gritting and ...
Akmal Shaikh, a Briton from North London, is facing execution in China on 29th December. He has a long history of mental instability and has suspected bipolar disorder. He was apparently duped by some criminals into carrying a suitcase which contained drugs. I have just sent an email to Gordon Brown, via the Downing Street website, asking him to intervene on Mr Shaikh's behalf. I urge you to do the same. Today the Foreign Office has told Amnesty International that the UK Government and Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be using the next few days to "renew and intensify" UK ...
Construction of the new footway on Manor Road, between Chaingate Lane and Tanhouse Lane (click for map), is due to start on 4th January (weather permitting) and is expected to take 4 weeks to complete. Unfortunately, due to the narrow width of the road, Manor Road will need to be closed to motorised vehicles for the duration of the works, although a pedestrian and cyclist route will be maintained. An alternative route using the B4058 and B4059 will be signed for diverted vehicles. The existing bus service will continue, but will take the following diversion route:- Manor Road (North) - ...
You probably won't need telling that the road and pavement conditions around Launceston are pretty horrendous still with ice making any sort of venture outside very difficult. For me personally it is very tricky as I have 16 concrete steps up to the front door of my flat and they have become next to impassable. I know that many people are worried about going out at all. Those who have yet to finish their Christmas shopping will be hoping for a rise in temperatures tonight. I have been asked by many local residents why the Council is not salting more ...
I've been asked by the people at the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors - ALDC for short - to write a regular column for their website (or occasional, depends whether they like it). My first effort, giving Lib Dem councillors around the country an insight into what has happened in Cornwall since June can be found here. The main point in make is that Cornwall Council is very different to those I have worked in and with before. That is sometimes a good thing - there's a lot more consultation about the budget - but also sometimes a very bad ...
You may remember that I got a tiny bit excited in the Summer when Michael Schumacher announced his albeit short lived return to F1. Unfortunately, that didn't come to fruition because of his neck injury at the time, but that episode clearly poured fuel on that one smouldering ember of passion for being a full time racing driver. I guess it's a bit like being thrown back into an election campaign at full pelt having sworn you'd never do it again because the last one nearly killed you. That passion and drive never really leaves. It might occasionally hide, but ...
[IMG: BNP Christmas poster] I spotted this poster on my way through Barking yesterday – it features Nick Griffin, the BNP's Parliamentary candidate for that constituency, raising a glass and purporting to wish the locals a Merry Christmas. It's in a high-traffic spot, and I'm told there are other such posters around the town. Griffin said when he was selected for the seat back in November that his party would concentrate more money and resources on Barking than they had done for any other election campaign. Ironic that Griffin chooses this moment to highlight some of the benefits brought to ...
First Bus have announced their services for the holiday period: Christmas Eve - 24 December Normal service Christmas Day - 25 December No service Boxing Day - 26 December Sunday 27 December Normal Sunday service Monday 28 December Normal Public Holiday service Tuesday29 December Normal Saturday service Wednesday 30 December Thursday 31 December New Year's Day - Friday 1 January Normal Public Holiday service Saturday 2 January onwards Normal service Bath Park and Ride services The Newbridge, Lansdown and Odd Down Park and Ride services will not be operating on Sunday 27 December and Friday 1 January. A Sunday service ...
[IMG: c] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: davidhglover Nothing sums up better the visceral hatred in American politics, particularly through the prism of the health care reform debate, than this. Prompted by the, admittedly vague, remarks of Senator Coburn, "Tea parties" have been praying for the death of dear old Senator Robert Byrd. He's 92 years old and in frail health, and is, one of the 60 votes the Democrats need to prevent filibustering in the US Senate. The mere fact that he has had to be wheeled into the chamber at all hours of the day and night, ...
The observant among you may have noticed on the Bromley Council website that another councillor has joined Cllr Hobbins as an Independent. Cllr colin Willetts has, I understand, been in a bit of long running bother with the Standards Board for England. I also hear that the Labour Party have been a bit red faced over it. Well it seems that Cllr Willetts is now an Independent! Did he jump, or was
I've been rather caught up with shopping and avoiding the ice, so haven't written much lately. But we've just had some really good news about a long-running campaign. Back in May, on my old blog I wrote about the need for a bus to take Chessington pupils to Hinchley Wood School. About 140 children from Chessington and Hook travel out of the borough (as they have every right to do) to attend this school. They used to be served by a special school-time bus that also ran through Claygate, but Surrey decided to withdraw it because it was underused by ...
The cynical bare-faced hypocritical cheek of Blears is both astonishing and legendary. First she backed a government decision to close maternity units across the country, then she came to the protests when our local hospital had its maternity unit closed. Now the local paper has published a story saying she's fighting for the retention of ...
A constituent contacted me yesterday furious about THIS article which appears in RBC's "Housing News" (Winter 2009 edition)- a free newsletter sent to all RBC tenants... [IMG: Ho Ho Homeless] At the very least the choice of words for the title of an article about the need for tenants to avoid getting into arrears is unfortunate. It is also deeply insensitive. My constituent "Mrs A" was particularly cross because she is one of 25% of RBC tenants who do not receive housing benefit to cover their rent: "We are struggling to pay bills on low incomes as it is...without this. It's ...
Snptacticalvoting is living up to its name with this post on Anti Tory Tactical Voting. The idea behind it is that if there are no Tories in Scotland then it would "Arguably offer up an ideal platform for the SNP to advance its arguments that Scotland should govern itself". I agree with Jeff of Snptacticalvoting that it would. But this does brings up a different question. Why do the Tories still not support Proportional Representation? I don't know if it's because I have always lived in Tory territory in the south and now in Bracknell Berkshire. But it feels as ...
Sometimes I'm too trashy even for my liking. How on earth can I have been an active Liberal Democrat for over a quarter of a century without knowing that one of the most famous Liberals of all time, four time Liberal Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, shared the same birthday as my beloved Granny, 29th December? Obviously not the same year, as the GOM (Grand Old Man, or God's Only Mistake as Disraeli rather snippily put it) was born on 29th December 1809. The eagle eyed amongst you will have spotted that this means that come next Tuesday it's 200 ...
The Manchester ID Card Pilot, already noted for its distinct lack of uptake by Greater Manchester residents is hitting further trouble, as almost no travel companies seem to know what a genuine one looks like, that they exist and whether they're an official form of ID for travel. P&O don't seem to be the only company unclear about their status. Of course, if staff don't know how to spot a genuine ID card and can't read the biometric data to confirm that the person carrying the card is genuine then they can't accept it as ID, as various travellers are ...
We only have two more years to cover of the noughties Christmas top selling singles. But 2008 saw the start of a campaign of anti-X-Factor domination. In 2008 the Christmas Number One did go the the X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke with her Version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. However, Jeff Buckley's version was just behind it at number 2 (the first time any song had achieved this on the same week for 51 years) and Cohen's original was at 36. Of course Hallelujah if not Leonard Cohen's song is a very traditional Christmas sentiment. Here is one of my favourite versions ...
Please take a look at this video about an unfinished branch of the London Underground's Northern Line. Yeah, the topic sounded boring to me too, but it is so well made it deserves your attention: Forget kittens and illegally uploaded music videos, this is YouTube at its best. The makers have created a documentary about a potentially boring subject into an engaging, entertaining and informative story. I don't agree with his opinions, but the presentation style and the execution is very impressive for an amateur production. Clearly they have spent a lot of time making this film, and I feel ...
The Oval area, in common with much of central London, saw a blizzard on Monday afternoon and we are still seeing the effects of it on nearby streets and pavements which are covered in sheets of ice. We have reported some local streets and pavements for gritting but if you know of anywhere you feel needs extra attention email us - oval.news@googlemail.com
If you're waiting for either the next mono review, or for PEP!, you'll have to wait a little longer, I'm afraid. I'm in Minnesota, having arrived at my in-laws' house at 2AM yesterday local time, 'only' 29 hours after we left, thanks to what was initially a two-hour delay because it didn't occur to anyone to ...
There's been a fair degree of criticism of the Lib Dems' parliamentary by-election performances in the last couple of years: the 2006 'glory days' of beating Labour in Dunfermline, and coming oh-so-close against the Tories in Bromley have seemed an increasingly distant memory. So, let's celebrate an arena where the party is doing well: local government by-elections. And not merely doing well: in fact, doing better than the other two major parties. (Hat-tips to John's Liberal Revolution blog and to middle englander on the Vote 2007 website). Here are the summary results of the 280 by-elections held during 2009: Lib ...
Bournemouth has been shortlisted for a prestigious local government award for our Boscombe Spa Village Regeneration project. The Local Government Chronicle Awards are among the most highly-prized in local government and making it into the final six is a significant achievement in itself for the council. The LGC Awards judges will look for councils that have showed vision, imagination and
At this time of year the rubbish collection dates shift around a bit to take account of the Bank Holidays. The revised collection dates are (normal collection date –> revised collection date): Friday 25 December –> Tuesday 29 December Monday 28 December –> Wednesday 30 December Tuesday 29 December –> Thursday 31 December Wednesday 30 December –> SATURDAY 2 January Thursday 31 December –> Monday 4 January Friday 1 January –> Tuesday 5 January Monday 4 January –> Wednesday 6 January Tuesday 5 January –> Thursday 7 January Wednesday 6 January –> Friday 8 January Thursday 7 January –> SATURDAY ...
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] I may be safely in East Anglia visiting family, but clearly Daisy is still on the case. The situation in Reading sounds terrible... Not much better up here - Freezing fog warnings for today. Seems the whole country wasn't prepared for this. If climate change results in a snap global ice age our way of life would surely end [IMG: :(]
Wed 23rd
15:11
Update as to weather conditions and gritting operations in Bournemouth as of 3pm today.
Latest weather forecasts predict temperatures on road surfaces will remain above freezing into the early hours in Bournemouth therefore it is unlikely Council gritters will be doing any road network runs before midnight tonight. However the situation will be further assessed in the early hours tomorrow and a decision taken as to whether further gritting operations are necessary before dawn. In
I gained an interesting insight into the delays and general chaos that continues to afflict Southern Trains; Thanks to a chatty conductor this morning. Trains across the network are in the wrong places and when some drivers start work at 4am, more trains get out of location each morning that ice makes a commuting driver's train late.
I'd like to wish everyone a merry Christmas, and well over the whole festive season. I will be taking a few days off the blog over the weekend, whilst I unwrap presents, eat myself into an early grave, and watch Manchester City 3-3 Stoke on Boxing Day. If, though, there are any emergencies for which you need the help of your local Councillor, please do get in touch. I hope everyone has a peaceful, happy and enjoyable Christmas. Rick
I have had a lot of correspondence over the last few days asking why more roads and pavements have not been gritted during the cold snap. Anna Bawden in The Guardian has put the cost of recent gritting activity into context in this article in today's paper: "Far from putting everyone in a festive mood, the snow has led to a repeat of the hand wringing at the state of the UK's infrastructure that we saw back in February when similar wintry scenes brought the country to a virtual standstill. Certainly, it seems crazy that in one of the world's ...
Six months ago, Lib Dem Voice reported the sad news that Arthur Taylor, – the two year-old son of Lib Dem MP Matthew Taylor and his wife, Vicky – had been admitted to hospital after doctors found a tumour on his spine. So it was wonderful to read on Alex Lanson Folkes's blog that Arthur has been given the provisional all-clear by doctors. Here's an excerpt from the Taylors' statement: 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 ...
Both the SNP and Plaid Cymru are circling the wagons against the recently announced TV debates with the former threatening legal action as a result of their lack of representation. I have sympathy with their position; what more encouragement could you give to nationalism than the editorial in The Times? It contemptuously dismisses the SNP; Much as ...
A number of residents have complained to me and Sheila Burton about Clarence Road not being properly gritted. We have this response from Herts Highways: A recent instruction has just been sent to carry out salting on all pre-salting routes (including Clarence Road) later this afternoon. I have flagged up the issue with the winter maintenance team and I do not foresee any further problems with this stretch of road.
[IMG: Snowpic2] Well, two days after the heavy snow falls in Reading it looks as though things are still a long way from getting back to normal and many residents are still struggling. Here is just a small selection of some of comments on the subject on Twitter (follow #rdg for more like this): "Just had a look at our path outside alongside our main road.. not gritted and looks and feels like an ice rink... GRIT THE BLOODY PATHS" (Whitley Wood Road) "Our street is a gritted street. RBC claims it has been gritted. Where's the grit? (Prospect St) "Have ...
I've seen a few of these so far and Jennie Rigg has tagged everyone who wants to be so I thought I'd have a crack myself... Dear Mark, I know things have been going quite well for you recently. You have just started at sixth-form college and have already made some good friends. However you will go through some difficulties over the next couple of years. Although it will be very hard, as you will find with all adversity it will ultimately make you a stronger and more resilient person. Part of the fallout from this will be that you ...
You may remember that back at the beginning of December we launched our 'Best MP' campaign to highlight the fact that not all MPs should be tarred with the same brush as the 'expenses cheats.' We asked users of our website - Yoosk - to send in their nominations for Best MP and to send us the questions they would like to put to the nominees. All eight nominated MPs agreed to answer and you can compare what they said on our website now and cast your vote in our Poll, which will be 'live' until the 31st December. Here ...
[IMG: 2009 Principal Local By-elections] 2009 has been the best year for Lib Dem success against the Tories in local government by-elections in this parliament. There is an old Lib Dem adage "Where we work we win" and this seems to be the initial conclusion of ALDC's analysis of the 2009 principal local by-elections. With 17 net gains we have had our best year since we made 17 gains in 2006. [IMG: 2009 Principal Local By-election Matrix] The difference in 2009 was that we made 11 net gains off the Tories, helping them to 25 net losses for the year. ...
Its hard to get away from the view that the outcome of the Copenhagen summit was pretty depressing. Global leaders have failed to deliver a binding agreement. Instead we have a non binding pact or 'Accord' that most delegates merely 'noted'. As the BBC's environment correspondent, Richard Black said, this is unlikely to keep global temperature rises to less than the 2C rise that UN scientists say is the limit we can allow to avert serious climate change. Given that the science is accepted by the world's leaders, their failure to respond to the challenge in a serious way, is ...
Barack Obama's first year in office has not been a resounding success. In 'The World Today', Chatham House's superb monthly, Nicholas Bouchet rounds up Obama's "First Year Blues". Let's start at the opinion polls. Obama ranks midway between his two democratic predecessors. At similar stages of their presidencies Carter was at 56% and Clinton was at 49%. Obama comes in at 52%. "More importantly... is the fall in his approval rating between January and November among independent voters from 62% to 50% and among Republicans from 41% to 18%." This bodes very unwell for the upcoming Congressional elections. The Obama ...
Although Peter Mandelson's decision to slash University teaching budgets by millions of pounds only applies to England it is likely to have an impact on Wales by reducing the amount of money we receive through the Barnett formula. Colleges over the border will now lose £135 million on top of £180 million in savings they alteady have to find over the next 18 months. In addition a review of tuition fees began last month and will conclude after the general election. It is expected to recommend that they be raised considerably from the current £3,225 a year. That will certainly ...
Six Degrees - Our future on a hotter planet by Mark Lynas is one of the most important books I have ever read. I have given away something like 100 copies of that book. It is fundamental to my understanding of why we need to take immediate and dramatic action on climate change. However I started to worry about Mark when he flip-flopped his way to a new position on nuclear saying that it was suddenly a critical part of the solution even though a new round of atomic power stations will never be opened in time to solve the ...
This blog post from Matt Withers has to be the story of the day and is worth reproducing in full. That is twice in one week I have been nice about Matt. It must be Christmas. I phoned Conservative Central Office this morning to seek a reaction to this interview, in today's Daily Mirror, in which Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies warns the BBC will be dismantled by the party if they get into power next year. They wouldn't comment on it, I was told, because "Mr Davies is a backbench MP and, as such, his opinion isn't necessarily ...
The position is largely unchanged from yesterday, save that the refuse teams are managing to get to more streets today. It will however be some days before all streets are done and the advice remains to put bins on the boundary on the correct day and then retrieve them only once they have been emptied. The roads are very icy and we are following up some comments about particular areas with Herts Highways.
I can't believe that a Labour MP (Nick Brown) would turn over his Christmas card to reproducing a very old picture of Nick Clegg dressed as Ziggy Stardust. It indicates a very strange sense of priorities. You can't fault Clegg's taste in music though. "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" is an excellent album. I am disappointed though. I had hoped that we would be treated to a photo of Nick Clegg dressed as Marge Simpson. I was informed that such an incident took place. The wig must have been outstanding.
NOTICE is given that the Hertfordshire County Council intend to make an Order under Section 14[1] of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to prohibit all traffic from using the following lengths of roads, except for access:- 1. that length of Beechwood Avenue, St Albans from its junction with A1057 Hatfield Road northwards to its junction with Sandpit Lane, a distance of approximately 800 metres. The alternative route for traffic will be via:- Sandpit Lane, Clarence Road, A1057 Hatfield Road and vice versa 2. that length of Central Drive, St Albans from its junction with Beechwood Avenue eastwards to its ...
The long term pattern still holds: life gets better. And 2009 could have been a lot worse. Though 2010 . .. .
So this cold snap has been going on for almost a week now. With freezing temperatures and regular snow showers, the roads and footpaths are becoming more and more dangerous.The council has ensured that the main roads around Epping Forest had priority and I was pleased when travelling to work last Friday that the roads (especially the main access road to Waltham Abbey, Woodriden Hill) were
New Years Day is 125 days to the important local elections in London and much of the rest of England on 6 May 2010. We do not need to tell you that these are vital elections for both the Liberal Democrats and the people that we represent and campaign for. Candidate Support Programme - For the first time we'll be sending out a Liberal Democrat "Candidates Handbook" in January free to all Lib Dem candidates in the local electons. It will contain all the essential advice that candidates need about elections, staying on the right side of the law, campaign ...
Bahhhhh humbug and all that. Christmas has now hit my radar screen. I'm off to Newcastle now, on the bus, to do some Xmas shopping. Thank goodness for vouchers. They make much better presents than actually buying something for someone that they don't want. I did however spend a hour on the allotment in the snow this morning. We are aiming to have a self-sufficient dinner on Xmas day. So I picked
The last Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was undertaken in 1998 and the die is now cast for the remaining months of this government. As the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said in his last speech on the subject of defence, 'The nation must debate and decide what we want our country to do in the world and then fund it, so that it does not slip by default into the second division'. A major decision with respect to foreign and defence policies and their funding awaits the next Prime Minister and this decision can no longer be fudged. We could ...
I've just got this news from Andy Bryce, the District Council's Head of Waste and Recycling Services. I think they're doing a tremendous job in the circumstances, and they've done well to get a full turnout of staff today. I managed to get about 100 yards this morning before twisting my knee on ice. I hope all the staff manage to complete the day safely, and have a good christmas.There's
I've praised BBC Four many, many times in this blog but last night's programming was almost exemplary. Fine tributes to Oliver Postgate, Clement Freud, and the Open University, but pride of place went to another British liberal institution that is impossible to replace. Some of the bon mots uttered by the great man in John Mortimer: A Life In Words were enough to make you want to burst out cheering, and what a pleasure to see someone using the word "libertarian" as it's meant to be used; doubtless the neo-Thatcherite yahoos who describe themselves as such would have been horrified ...
2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Yesterday was a busy one on Lib Dem Blogs, though a lot quieter if you take out the posts from Lib Dem councillors and campaigners giving people information on snow, gritting and road conditions. John Ault on the perils of paper underpants Darrell Goodliffe picks out some interesting points from the latest ComRes poll (and it's not the headline figures, which are all over the shop in recent polls). Spotted any other great posts in the last day from blogs that aren't on the aggregator? Do post up a ...
Here's controversy. Yesterday I left my village in Oxfordshire and drove across the country, through all the areas worst affected by the recent snow, including Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. I arrived at my destination in Norfolk at roughly the same time I would have done at any time of the year despite having driven at between 50 and 60mph, as the conditions demanded. I didn't skid once. I didn't find any roads impassable - in fact they were all perfectly clear. This is clearly controversial because the news and the papers are full of that staple of headline writers: 'travel ...
His blog interviewing people on the subject of `Would Parliament be better if MPs spent more time at debates than listening to constituents` is a fundamental question and to my mind the person that I most admired is the one standing down, David Howarth. The point surely is not whether they shouldn't do casework but what ...
The town of Hebden Bridge – where I work – is a lovely town all year round, but in the snow it looks beautiful. Over the last few days I've taken a few photos around the town, and I've uploaded a few of them to Flickr here. My camera is just an ordinary compact camera – ...
My favourite bedside reading, Aaccountancy Age, has the story: Vince Cable has emerged as the accountants' choice for the next Chancellor following the pre-Budget report. In a poll of around 600 readers conducted by Accountancyage.com both before and after the pre-Budget report, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader and shadow chancellor proved popular with members of the profession, with 44% and 45% of voters wanting him as next chancellor rather than political rivals Alistair Darling and George Osborne. Here are the results in full: Pre PBR George Osborne 45% Vince Cable 44% Alistair Darling 10% Post PBR Vince Cable 45% George ...
With Mr Eugenides.
So many of the blog posts about climate change end up becoming partisan mud slinging contests so it was very refreshing yesterday to come across this little gem from Graeme Archer on Conservative Home. Graeme is a statistician and has some experience of working with atmospheric modelling as part of his post-doctoral work. His considered view is that there is a problem relating to man-made climate change and he was surprised at how quick others were to tell him that he did not know what he was talking about when he tweeted a link to some work questioning the veracity ...
Courtesy of Alex Foster, I now have a fab new way of wasting my time extensively researching headgear: http://www.ratemyturban.com Meanwhile if you're after a reminder of why getting the details of leaflet design right matters, take a look at this piece on the design of restaurant menus.
Wed 23rd
09:30
Would Parliament be better if MPs did less casework and spent more time there listening to debates?
Yoosk have picked one of my questions to pose to MPs in their competition to find Britain's best MP: Would Parliament be better if MPs did less casework and spent more time there listening to debates? It's not a question I'd give a simple yes or no to myself, but I thought it could flush out some interesting answers from the shortlisted MPs - as it has. You can watch their responses here: (Also on YouTube here.) You can also vote for Britain's best MP on the Yoosk site (top right).
As the Stockport Express reports: [Greater Manchester Police was] ranked either bottom or next to bottom in four national tables produced from the results of the annual British Crime Survey. The tables showed that the area suffered from a higher rate of so-called 'acquisitive crime' - which includes robbery, burglary and car crime - than the five other English forces judged to be most similar. It also came bottom in the proportion of these crimes which are detected. In our area, in my experience, the police are doing a good job. Our new Inspector Steve Gibertson (covering Stockport West: Cheadle, ...
I was not altogether surprised that Eurostar had managed to strand four of its trains in the Channel tunnel. They have form. I was on a train in the summer similarly stranded, although thankfully not under the sea. There was little water and no food. There was also no meaningful information – and no concern. We finally reached St Pancras long after the Underground had ceased running. Passengers were marshalled into snaking queues hoping to find late night taxis. Because my daughter and I were able to escape onto Thameslink - which curiously and usefully runs all night - we ...
Christmas approaches. Serious journalism, if it's not already dead, disappears in a lather of mince pies and cooking sherry. The interns take over the office, desperate to impress their bosses as to their work ethic. The world keeps turning... John Hutton warned us that Gordon Brown was going to be a "fucking disaster" after all. Only now ...
A friend who lives in Sadberge phoned Darlington Council to complain that the salt bin on their road was empty and to ask if it could please be re-filled. He was told by the Council that there was no salt available to fill up the rural bins. He was told, "The Town Centre takes priority, you know". My friend asked the Council employee to repeat what he'd said, so he could record it. The salt bin
Dear Glenda, In my opinion Copenhagen was a catastrophic fiasco. Here's why: The US refused to accept responsibility for its historic emissions which amount to 25% of all the greenhouse gases in the atmosphereThe host nation Denmark tried to bounce developing nations into dropping the Kyoto Protocol, under which the developed countries still have emissions reductions commitmentsDenmark were also exposed trying to pull together a secret deal struck with only a few rich countriesThe EU failed to lead from the front by offering to increase its emissions reduction target (from 20% to 30%) and is still only offering about half ...
Here is a message I've received about the possibility that Keighley's unique Christmas Day bus service may be adversely affected by SEVERE WEATHER: Question:- What traditionally happens in Keighley, and nowhere else in the UK, on Christmas Day ? Answer:- The Town Council funds the provision of a free public bus service using heritage vehicles and volunteer drivers from the local Bus Museum! Every Christmas Day since 1995, the Trustees of Keighley Bus Museum Trust (KBMT) have provided a "free-to-users" bus service across the Town for those who have no personal transport or those who choose to leave the car ...
The FortuneGreenSpotlight blog is mostly concerned with the very local goings on. However, at times we should have a side-glance at a wider scene. As the Audit Commission has recently published the results of their 'Comprehensive Area Assessment' it is a good time to do this and see how Camden is regarded in the local authority world. We're delighted that Camden has been rated as one of the top performing areas in the country. The Audit Commission don't come out with a specific league table - but the people in the Municipal Journal have done the work for us and ...
From a party news release: Commenting on the OFT's decision to drop its investigation into the fairness of bank overdraft charges, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said: "This is extremely disappointing and a blow for millions of bank customers. "Having come so close to overhauling an unfair system of charging that penalises vulnerable groups of people, I know that the campaign will not just stop. "The Liberal Democrats will continue the fight for fair bank charges in Parliament and push for a change in the law if necessary so that high street banks cannot keep ripping off their customers."
News that the government is to cut university funding by more than £500m, and yet at the same time, without a hint of irony, the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is also asking universities to protect quality and access to higher education. This is short-sighted, anti-egalitarian, and economically illiterate, running in direct contradiction to the government's stated aim of expanding the tertiary sector. Now, I must declare a personal interest here, as a beneficiary of the first-ever four-figure grant (£1,010) to go to university, I am eternally grateful for the opportunity. Without said grant there was no way that my parents, ...
It's the season of goodwill to all so Manchester City Council decides to call an Executive meeting with the minimum notice, the day before Christmas Eve in the hope that people wouldn't notice that they are planning to ignore the outcome of the public consultation on the closure of Ewings School and close it anyway. Ewings is a centre of excellence for speech and language disorders and has truly excellent outcomes for the pupils. The Council are attempting to justify it in the name of "inclusion" and the fact that some pupils with special needs do better in mainstream schools ...
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] [IMG: torystrike.jpg] The Times reports that the CONservative shadow cabinet ministers have been squeezing in significant earnings, including one payment of £2,000 for apparently no work at all, before a ban on outside jobs. Looking at the latest MP's register of interests it would appear that Cameron's shadow cabinet have been raking in the extr a earnings months before the ban. This includes William Hague, who was paid £2,083 by AESSEAL in return for an apparent zero hours worked. Tories at the trough - who would of thought...
Welsh Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson, Peter Black, has criticised the way in which patient waiting times appear to be manipulated so as to meet Government targets, following the release of new statistics. The statistics, released today, show that the number of patients who had to wait longer than 14 weeks (the standard set by the government) for an inpatient or day case appointment in March 2009 was only 288, but by November this had risen to 8,285 patients. For outpatient appointments, the number having to wait more than 10 weeks or over (the standard set by the government) in March ...
Thanks to icy roads and pavements, delayed starts and traffic problems, the problems with bin collections continue. Because Saturdays are already being used to catch up on Christmas public holidays, SITA won't be able to use them to catch up on the weather-related delays. Therefore black bin and green box collections are being prioritised for collection before Christmas Day, but green bin collections are being suspended, except for households on the food waste trial. If you are awaiting a collection, please leave your black bins and green boxes out if it is safe to do so, otherwise take them in ...
Jolly seasonal posters have started appearing on hoardings around Barking in East London, showing British National Party leader Nick Griffin toasting everyone with a glass of wine and wishing them a Merry Christmas from himself and the BNP. If anyone had any doubts that the party was going to fight the parliamentary seat seriously at the forthcoming ...
Commenting on the OFT's decision to drop its investigation into the fairness of bank overdraft charges, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said: "This is extremely disappointing and a blow for millions of bank customers. "Having come so close to overhauling an unfair system of charging that penalises vulnerable groups of people, I know that the campaign will not just stop. "The Liberal Democrats will continue the fight for fair bank charges in Parliament and push for a change in the law if necessary so that high street banks cannot keep ripping off their customers."
... since mine is refusing to behave itself (again), and what do I find? Charlotte Gore has tagged me in a meme to write a letter to my sixteen year old self. So here it is.Dear me, I know you're going through hell right now, and the only way you're getting through it is believing that things will get better. Well, I'm here to tell you that they will. Just not necessarily in the way that you expect. I don't regret anything now that I am twice your age - yes, you make it past 25 - so much for ...
Over at The Times, Danny Finkelstein has cast doubt on the possible impact of the televised party leader debates at our next general election: By the time of the campaign proper they are probably too late. We should be having these debates now if we want them to be influential. In his piece, Danny draws on the evidence from the US (only – not from other Parliamentary democracies with TV debates, tsk tsk). However, there is some very relevant evidence from the UK. It's from the polling carried out by The Times's own pollster, Populus, at the time of the ...
The murder of Collette Aram took place before DNA testing was available. Hutchinson was interviewed as part of the original investigation. If the investigation were taking place today Hutchinson would be asked for a DNA sample and there would be no need to call on a database containing DNA from his relatives. The number of old unsolved cases like this one, where DNA evidence could still provide a clue, is finite and must be few in number and dwindling. These cases hardly provide a justification for the expense of maintaining a huge DNA database, let alone the interference with civil ...
Hat tip: Vote 2007 The votes are in and the winners of the vote-factor 2009 are: Cue cliched music and the exaggerated stoic look of the announcer The Liberal Democrats There have been 280 local by-elections in 2009 and the Lib Dems have a net gain of 17. Of the gains 14 came from the Tories and 7 from ...
My children support Blackburn Rovers and when they come over for Christmas I will ask them what they think about the sacking of Mark Hughes by Manchester City. I will watch football on the television but I find it hard to become passionate about a sport that is such a high profile business. I have a lot of sympathy for the fans who decided to follow FC United. I don't think the fans of any football team will think of themselves primarily as part of a business venture but if they do then they have to consider the ninety minutes ...
I have written about John Hutton before and I disagreed with most of what he had to say. In fact if there was an award for the MP with whom I disagree the most it would go to Mr Hutton. Yesterday he was in the news as he was the cabinet source who described Gordon Brown as an "f...ing distaster" if he ever became prime minister. Well done Eddie Mair for informing us. I have a dilemma because I would like to strongly disagree with anything John Hutton says, but in this case I find it so hard to do. ...
