Population caps are a singularly bad idea; from start to finish they are one of those ideas which appeals to 'common sense' but leads to rather sinister conclusions. It is in this context that the recent recommendations of the 'cross-party' group of MP's and peers should be judged. Firstly, it should be noted that in this ...
With all the fiasco over the (once again) failed Labour leadership bid, I think it is appropriate to reflect on the success of our own leader this week in comparisons to Brown and Cameron. The Independent has praised Clegg for his approach to the hung-parliament situation, whilst rightfully stating that the Liberal Democrats have to be clear with ...
The Post Office must do more to prevent violence in their stores. The murder of Craig Hodson-Walker in Fairfield was the tip of the iceberg. Many Post Offices in the parishes of Bromsgrove have been attacked and shopowners are questioning whether it is worth carrying on. Phil spoke to Loucas Thomas, owner of Blackwell Convenience Store, ...
From the Waltham Forest Guardian: An aspiring MP has gone to extreme lengths to protest against the three main political parties. Adam Osen, 50, has officially changed his name to None Of The Above and hopes to attract support from disillusioned voters as an independent parliamentary candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green. The move was suggested by Mr Above's brother, Gideon, who took the idea from the film Brewster's Millions, which sees a character run a political campaign under the same slogan. The former Mr Osen, a painter and decorator of Woodberry Way in Chingford, said his wife, Rebecca, 43, ...
LDV's co-editor Mark Pack was one of three bloggers asked by Channel 4 News for their take on today's extraordinary bid by two former cabinet ministers to unseat the Prime Minister. You can watch Mark's minute-long clip here. Here's a quick excerpt as a taster: Today's events have all the makings of a fantastic political farce because if you were to launch a coup against the prime minister now is just about the worst time to do it. "I guess it's just desperation because Labour know that under Gordon Brown they are facing a very heavy election defeat and they ...
I had an interesting conversation this evening with someone who'd been part of the Respond project some years ago in Stockton. An Australian who had been part of some of the work had commented that a large part of the problem in the North East of England was that it was ruled as a colony from London. She saw many of the same attitudes in that relationship as she had experienced in Australia/
I never did quite finish my series on Nick Clegg's pamphlet The Liberal Moment - the last posting on it I can find concerns chapter 7. But I did write an article on it for the latest issue of Liberator. Man of the Moment Nick Clegg became leader of the Liberal Democrats without most of us knowing very much about him or his politics. He entered the leadership contest with Chris Huhne as the favourite and fought a favourite's campaign by declining to become involved in detailed policy discussions. Before that he had served a term as MEP for the ...
Mumsnet, a seriosuly impressive bit of space on the internet, has done interviews with each of the main party leaders. Today, Nick Clegg had his turn, a transcript is available. Nick left a seriously good impression, as did Lib Dem policies. Well worth a read. there is always a demographic picked up as being crucial swing voters.Remember Worcester Woman and Mondeo Man? In 2010 it is the readers of Mumsnet who The Times says will be amongst those who decide this election. BRING IT ON.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - because it is the only explanation that makes sense, isn't it? How else explain the bad timing, lack of forward planning and all round repeated indecision?
Nick Robinson has just named the names of those in Cabinet that were standing by as Geoof Hoon and Patricia Hewitt too the heat for their letter. Harriet Harman David Miliband Douglas Alexander Jack Straw Jim Murphy Bob Ainsworth The dirty half dozen who were waiting to pounce. Was their intended successor a Miliband? Nick Robinson said that you can expect their offices to be issuing denials immediately. At least a lot faster than the statements of support for the Prime Minister earlier in the day.
While atTory party conference I visited the Politics.co.uk stand and got them to look me up. Their assessment of my blog was that it was excellent, although declaring that the funniest thing about it was the way I swoon over my leader.....for me the funniest thing was that they also described me as the "eminence grise" of conference - yes I had to look up what it meant :-). Well...........I have a confession to make..........its not Nick Clegg I swoon over.......its Michael White. Scary but true! None is his equal. Has any other political commentator his wit or charm? Or ...
Only in Britain, or, maybe, as Stephen corrected me earlier, only in England could you have a half hour news special at prime time on the weather conditions and not one on an attempt to unseat the Prime Minister. Ok, so that attempt was as ill advised cackhanded as the weather is disruptive, but still. You might like to read Eric Joyce, Labour MP for Falkirk West's view of today's events. It will be interesting to eventually discover, no doubt in someone's memoirs, what really went down today. Who pledged support to the plotters and then pulled the rug from ...
I did a short interview with Channel 4 News for their website today about the Gordon Brown plot (in short: "what a farce" and "good news for Lib Dem candidates hoping to gain seats from Labour") which you can watch here along with the views of Paul Staines and Kerry McCarthy. Meanwhile, ready your TV sets for 9pm, BBC2 Thursday evening when I'll feature in a documentary about the decade that's just been.
A vote for Labour or the Tories is a vote for tax dodgers in politics, a vote for letting guilty MPs off the hook, a vote for an unfair voting system. You go Nick!
I am no fan of the New Labour Project, that goes without saying. I have residual fondness for the Old Labour party and of course the whole of the Labour Movement, well my Post-grad studies were in Labour History! However, like many people I am ...
LATEST INFORMATION (from Council officers - my comments in italics if necessary) Weather conditions: Little change is expected in the weather for the next few days but it is very much 'business as usual' for Manchester as the city returns to normal. Travel advice and gritting: The latest Met Office advice is that the weather conditions are expected to last for the next few days but thanks to the efforts of the gritting teams all of Manchester's main roads are now clear. Gritting of all of Manchester's priority routes will continue this evening and the snow plough will continue to ...
There has been a lot of talk (both nationally and locally here in Salford) of gritting policy, or the lack thereof. It seems the official word in Salford is that primary routes are gritted, but other roads/streets and pavements are not. Salford Council justify their gritting policy by telling residents that "900 tonnes of grit have been used to date" and that the priority is for main highways and bus routes to be cleared. The advice (for those whose vehicles are stranded on their streets, like ours) is to "try to purchase grit from your local garden centre" – something ...
It seems almost compulsory for anyone with a website to put on show their pictures of the snow, so here is my contribution. [IMG: Trees at the top of St John's Road / Hartland Road / Kendal Avenue] If you look carefully at the top right hand photograph (Hartland Road) it shows the post and the buses operating successfully, so well done to them. It's a pity the police only got round to closing Kendal Avenue (bottom photos) after several utterly predictable bumps and near misses. We live in hope that one day the county council will add the road ...
I have to say that I've never really had any time for Iris Robinson. The vile homoophobic poison she's spouted saw to that. I will always stand up against that sort of bigoted hatred, wherever I find it. Tonight, though, I feel saddened by some of the reaction to the revelations about her affair. I'd always said that people's personal lives should stay out of politics unless there was obvious hypocrisy eg someone who'd banged on about the family being exposed as having an affair. I should rather shamefacedly admit to having a good laugh at the Tories who were ...
Yeah what a way to end a letter, calling for fratricide, or regime change. Well anyway Geoff and Pat signed off their letter which included the phrase: "Whatever the outcome the whole of the party could then go forward, knowing that this matter had been sorted out once and for all." It has led to a need for LabourList to conjure up a pledge of party unity, hattip to Yousuf. I personally don't think they have had a good start to the new year. The Tories even if they couldn't get their message straight were doing better, and Nick Clegg ...
So says Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg, in a very interesting interview with the BBC's HARDtalk. Here's the full quote: A vote for Labour or the Conservatives is a vote for corrupt politics. A vote for Labour or the Conservatives is a vote for tax dodgers in politics. A vote for letting guilty MPs off the ...
It looks like the latest (and very probably last) attempt by factions within the Labour Party to remove Gordon Brown has already run its course, with all the major figures in the Cabinet lining up to offer their public support to the Prime Minister. It doesn't really matter how weasel their words are, or whether ...
And another one down, another one down. Another one bites the dust... Just to recap: Bickley Tory Councillor Colin Bloom - giving up in May and now spending his time in Erith & Thamesmead Bickley Tory Councillor Gordon Jenkins - leading a double life camapigning in Eastbourne, where he now appears on the electoral roll Orpington former-Tory Councillor Peter Hobbins now an Independent after some
All South Gloucestershire schools will be closed tomorrow (Thursday 7 January). More snow-related details on the South Glos website
I picked these monthly summaries up when Charlotte Gore decided she was too important to do them. (She has since decided hers is no longer a Liberal Democrat blog - hence her absence from the list this month - but appears still to be thriving.) Next month I shall be passing the summary on to Mark Pack, who has kindly agreed to take over the baton. Mark is our only new entry this month, so with Lynne Featherstone dropping out of the top 100 and Charlotte sending back the Lib Dem coupon, we down to 14 blogs in the top ...
The last time I passed comment on the Irish family Robinson, I was slated in some of the comments that followed after Iain Dale linked to my post. However, today with the full revelation from Iris and response from Peter I feel that some further comment needs to be made. First off I agree with Iain that Peter looked to be on the verge of a breakdown during his interview earlier. What I'm amazed by is that he has been able to carry on without any hint of this since 1 March last year. Therefore unlike Iain I think he ...
An excellent article by Tavish Scott in the latest edition of Scotland on Sunday : "As we move through the festive period, thoughts in Holyrood turn to the Scottish Government's Budget. This is their third budget and a chance for ministers to make their choices clear. People are still losing their jobs - just before Christmas, Flyglobespan went bust with the loss of 550 jobs. We need a change of direction in Scottish public life from the Scottish Government. Their budget needs to respond to the challenges facing Scotland's economy. The choices I want to make for the Scottish Budget ...
We reported last month the sad death of Anna Werrin, the highly influential personal assistant to Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy throughout his Parliamentary career until his resignation as party leader. Today's Times publishes an obituary of Anna in its Lives in Brief section: Anna Werrin, personal assistant to Charles Kennedy, was born on June 14, 1959. She died after a stroke on December 18, 2009, aged 50 Anna Werrin was the personal assistant to Charles Kennedy, and throughout his leadership of the Liberal Democrats she was his principal aide, head of office and, effectively, his gatekeeper — and as ...
Stockport Council have a new website up and running - simple, lightweight and giving you key information (currently which schools are closed tomorrow and what's happening with refuse and recycling collections). The website is www.stockportalert.org.uk This is in addition to the standard Stockport Council website, which will also carry the information (but went down earlier this evening under the weight of traffic).
Wasting no time with Labour, or at least if seems Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt, in turmoil Eric Pickles calls for an immediate General Election. Admittedly we are weeks away from one being called but this is opportunism and also a very badly timed call for such action. There is talk of the freeze lasting another three weeks, parts of Scotland have been cut off for three weeks and may well be for another 3. So campaigning, voting and counting the ballots in some of the more remote Scottish areas would be impossible for a 3 or 4 week campaign ...
Weather Forecast Snow was continuous throughout the day today causing treacherous conditions. The Met Office predicts that early this evening, temperatures will plummet with clearing skys with road surface temperatures falling to -9c. This is likely to lead to the most hazardous driving conditions experienced this winter. Road and pavement conditions will be even more hazardous. Residents are urged not to travel unless absolutely necessary. If residents have to, the Council advises anybody to plan carefully for any journeys and keep a close eye on the weather forecast. The Council is liaising with partners such as police, fire and the ...
Oxfordshire's Tory councillors have been telling me on the radio that the council is working hard to keep roads clear and that all major roads are indeed passable. Well, no they aren't. I went from my village to Witney - one of the largest towns in the county - and I used the main road between Chipping Norton and Witney - again a route which might reasonably be regarded as 'major' as it links two such large places in this rural county. Well, dear councillors, the road had not been cleared one iota and the drive was pretty hellish. Add ...
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This information is copied from the Stockport Council website. Abingdon Primary - Closed Adswood Primary - Closed Adswood Nursery School - Open Alexandra Park Primary - Closed All Saints CE Primary (Stockport) - Closed All Saints CE Primary (Marple) - Closed Arden Primary - Closed Banks Lane Infant - Open Banks Lane Junior - Open Belmont Nursery - Closed Bolshaw Primary - Closed Bradshaw Hall Primary - Open Bramhall High School - Open to Years 9, 10 & 11 Bredbury Green Primary - Open Bredbury Green Nursery Unit - Open Bridge Hall Primary - Closed Broadstone Hall Primary - Open ...
Now the Christmas break is over the district council is much better at posting information on its website. The latest update is here and explains: Residents are requested to place all waste at the normal collection point... For as long as access is difficult and until the weather improves we will use all available resources to collect as much waste as we can. Once the weather improves and normal operations commence we will prioritise collections and collect from those properties that have been waiting the longest for a collection. So put your rubbish out as usual but don't assume it ...
2009 was a dreadful year for the reputation of the UK Parliament but the truth is that the backlash was the culmination of a number of outrages in recent years, not just a handful of stories about trouser presses and duck houses back in May. Indeed, the 2005-2010 Parliament has been mired in scandal, kicking off with the loans for peerages debacle. One is tempted to say we can't go on like this but the simple fact is that certain parts of the political establishment are determined to do all that they can to ensure that we do. As we ...
For immediate release. 6.1.10 BIG FREEZE UPDATE - 6.1.10, 4.50pm Note: Further updates will be sent tomorrow. Weather Forecast
There appears to be some skirmishing going on between Kerry McCarthy, the Labour MP for Bristol East and Twitter Tsar for the campaign ahead, and some of the Tory blogosphere and Twitterati. Now far be it from me to interfere in such an edifying contest, but are my blue friends entirely serious in their quest to replace Kerry with Adeela Shafi? An 8.3% swing is just about within the realms of credibility but it is, according to UK Polling Report, Conservative target seat number 160. A win there, and we're looking at a Conservative majority of about 65. Given that ...
People who bang on about how high the public spending to GDP ratio has become are badly missing loads of different points. You can be liberal, economically, and still support a 40% state.
Wed 6th
18:00
LibLink: Stephen Tall: "What kind of cockeyed electoral system produces that type of crazy result?"
Our esteemed editor Stephen Tall has an article for Comment is Free today discussing the question that Lib Dem leaders have to answer again and again in any election, but doubly so in such a febrile one as the one expected in just over a hundred days' time. It can be a tough job, leading the Liberal Democrats. The one question you are guaranteed to be asked is the one it's impossible to answer: what would you do if there's a hung parliament? Menzies Campbell, when he was leader, straight-batted it, refusing to budge from his mantra of "our sole ...
It's tempting to crow about the disarray in the Labour Party as the latest challenge to Brown's leadership emerges. However, whilst I think this will damage Labour in the polls, I suspect that Brown will weather this one and it will gently fade away. The truth is that Hewitt and Hoon aren't big enough hitters, ...
The first "House of Comments" podcast of 2010 with myself and Stuart Sharpe of the Sharpe's Opinion political blog is now live. The website for the podcasts is here and the ninth episode which we recorded on Monday 4th Jan is available to download via this page here (raw mp3 file here if you prefer). You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here. The format is to invite one or two other political bloggers each week and discuss a few of the stories that are making waves in the blogosphere. This week we were joined by Chris Mounsey from ...
We in Luton South know all to well the damage the MPs expenses has done and no effective action by the Government has been undertaken to address this. It seems that the Labour Party in Westminster and in Luton simply are not concerned about this urgent issue. In Westminster, and on his numerous visits to Luton, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has long argued that MPs must tackle the expenses issue now and called for MPs holiday's to be cancelled until it has been. Neither the Conservatives or Labour agree that this is an issue we must address as they ...
Watching the Labour Party slowly commit political suicide today has been far less pleasant than I would have expected. Switching onto the Daily Politics just before Prime Minister's Questions, we were treated to Andrew Neil and Nick Robinson joking together about the ridiculous possibility of an imminent coup against Brown. Over in the Commons, Brown managed ...
The combined effects of elderly people suffering respiratory illnesses in this continuing bad weather and a higher than normal rate of falls leading to fractures and other injuries, has meant that Darlington Memorial Hospital is on "Red Alert". It is full - there are no beds available for routine surgery patients and all but the most critical new admissions are having to be transferred
Wed 6th
17:32
Utterly totally useless information from the Met Office - See which version of the weather forecast ...
Here is a copy of the screenshot from the BBC Weather website (information provided by the Met Office) giving the weather forecast for the next five days. The first weather forecast is for Norwich (Norfolk) and features heavy snow on Friday and Saturday. The second weather forecast is for Norwich International Airport which is actually just three miles from Norwich City centre and is actually within the boundaries of Norwich. According to them Norwich International is getting completely different weather from Norwich (which is the same place) on Friday and Saturday ? Is it me or is this just totally ...
So school was open today. The decision was taken because all but one of our teachers were able to make it into school and there was sufficient cover for the 'teacherless' class. Surprising, or not really surprising anymore, the parents were not happy.Bearing in mind most of the children live within walking distance of the school and we left an answerphone message and a message on the school's
The icy weather is continuing, as anyone who's looked outside will attest to. I hope everyone's keeping safe. Obviously there are lots of side roads and pavements which haven't seen any grit, which is making navigating them a bit like a fun-free version of Bambi on Ice. I've found getting to work these last two mornings an adventure, that's for sure! I am like Captain Oates in a Peugeot 207. The deep snow has meant no bin collections which, due to Christmas and the snow fall then as well, has meant that some people have gone three weeks without a ...
This seems massively unfair on this guy. For downloading 30 songs he ends up being fined over $600,000. Surely there should be a more sensible penalty for each song downloaded. Something more in the region of $200 would seem much more sensible to me. I really feel sorry for the guy involved. A normal student being fined this much seems hugely disproportionate. The laws on filesharing on both sides of the Atlantic must be made much fairer and clearer.
It seems that refuse and recycling collections should be back to normal tomorrow, however clearly there are two days to be caught up on. Those of us who missed out collections should be collected at the weekend (Saturday or Sunday) so the latest advice is to take our bins back in (thanks guys, so easy to drag a full bin through snow) and put them out for Saturday. If this advice changes, I will let you know.
The great tennis champion Steffi Graf once told me she had difficulty making friends. It wasn't that there weren't people wanting to be her friend - the trouble was working out who were genuine and who were just in it for the reflected glory. I sympathised then, and I sympathise even more now. As Liberal Democrats, it seems everyone currently wants to be our friend, but there are two very different types of suitor. The first are those who are attracted to what we stand for, who recognise that while Labour and Conservatives may cramp the centre ground of British ...
The report has come through just as I have to head out. All chorlton ward Primary schools plus Chorlton High & Loreto High are closed tomorrow. Will add more details on this and other services later.
I've an article published today on The Guardian's Comment Is Free website looking at how Nick Clegg has responded to the sudden bout of speculation regarding the Lib Dems' intentions in the event of a 'hung parliament'. The specific question I was asked to address is: is Nick's position sustainable? I say yes: see what you think ... The election campaign is, unofficially, under way. There are now just 121 days until the expected polling day, 5th May, and it's a sure thing - oh, lucky voters! - that the political parties will be bombarding you with their key messages ...
In his hardest-hitting attack yet on the Labour and Tory parties, Nick Clegg has used an interview for BBC News's Hard Talk programme to denounce both parties for colluding in 'corrupt politics'. You can watch a three-minute clip from the programme here, in which Nick discusses Afghanistan. The Guardian reports Nick's comments here: Clegg uses an interview today on the BBC's Hard Talk programme to publish a list of "progressive" policies Labour and the Tories have blocked. He says: "A vote for Labour or the Conservatives is a vote for corrupt politics. A vote for Labour or the Conservatives is ...
Well it takes something to put fire in the belly and heat you up on a day like today. This morning before I walked out into -9C I was about to strangle the male present on BBC Breakfast who seemed over excited that it was a mere -6C in North West England. But I digress. So what has stoked the boilers today? Or rather who? Or rather Hoon, ably assisted by Hewitt. For Geoff and Patricia have had enough. The BBC are covering it live. Come to think of it wasn't it a January evening, though a rather warmer one, ...
I'm wondering whether Cornwall councillors should be making a trip to Iceland to campaign in their forthcoming referendum? As I understand it, the Council still has not had all of the money back that was invested by the former County Council and by Restormel in the failed Iceland banks. Yesterday, the Icelandic President vetoed a law that would have seen the money repaid. The Icelandic constitution is such that if a President uses his veto then the latter goes to a referendum. File under... tongue in cheek
[IMG: Addington Road] This photo was taken by my ward colleague Cllr Kirsten Bayes (@kirruth) of her front garden in Addington Road this morning.. Well, from what I hear, following last night's deluge the snow seems to be showing no signs of stopping and more freezing weather is forecast. BBC News 24 reported earlier this afternoon that 27 cm of snow had fallen in Reading (earlier this afternoon), only a few places below Aviemore! [IMG: Ruler] The Council issued a statement a little earlier saying that preparations are being put in place to deal with potentially another 72 hours of ...
This wins the Independent both Headline of the Day and Leicester-related News Story of the Day. Well done.
This evening's Acocks Green Ward Committee meeting has been cancelled, due to the bad weather. While the main roads are clear, thanks to the sterling work of the Council's gritting teams, the side roads and pavements are very icy. With temperatures due to drop sharply this evening, any snow that has melted in this afternoon's sun will freeze hard. So, as the agenda is very light, with no critical items, it seemed sensible to cancel the meeting. If you do have any urgent items you were intending to raise at the meeting, please let me know and I will do ...
Over at The Guardian's Comment Is Free website today, Lib Dem shadow home secretary Chris Huhne argues that, if they are effective and available, body scanners at airports should have been rolled out by the government years ago. Here's an excerpt: No one wants to have full body scanners in airports. No one wants to be electronically strip-searched at the start of their holidays. It is an invasion of privacy we would all rather avoid. But the foiled bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound plane over Christmas demonstrates that terrorists still have an unhealthy addiction to air travel, and we have ...
Regular readers of this blog will know that I'm a supporter of the campaign to stop Asperger's Sufferer Gary McKinnon being extradited to the US to face charges of hacking into US defence computers looking for information on UFOs. The extradition treaty between the US and the UK acceded to (I can hardly say negotiated) by this Government favours the US at the expense of the rights of our citizens. Home Secretary Alan Johnson decided recently that he would not stop the extradition. Sara Bedford wrote this excellent post last week contrasting the Government's attitude to Gary as against their ...
A memorial service is to be held for Sir Chris Clarke, the former Leader of Somerset County Council, who died in December 2009. The service will be held on 5th February 2010 at 2pm in Wells Cathedral.
So what are we to make of the first week of the year and the rush to political action? David Cameron and the Conservatives have been quick off the blocks with their NHS mini-manifesto and poster campaign. (I now have to live with Dave's airbrushed image on a wall about two minutes from my flat). Unfortunately for them, it appears that they didn't wait until they had all their facts and figures sorted out and so they have been having to issue corrections and clarifications ever since. The moral seems to be that if you are first out of the ...
The LGA Lib Dem Group has issued the following message cancellling the above event for tomorrow (7 January 2010). I am afraid to tell you that, due to the worsening weather conditions, Gerald Vernon-Jackson no longer feels confident that he will be able to make it to London from Portsmouth tomorrow and has therefore asked that we cancel this event. Apologies for the short notice, but we thought it best to cancel at this point rather than ask everyone to travel in for what would be a severely truncated agenda. I will send round any materials that I can gather ...
News yesterday that Iceland's president, Olafur Grimsson, has vetoed a bill approving the repayment of some £3bn to the Dutch and British governments due because of the failure of Icesave, reminded me of not only the Cod Wars between ourselves and the ...
This isn't about Fortune Green - but self indulgence! In my capacity as "Culture Boss" of Camden, I am responsible for the refurbishment of Kentish Town Baths. Probably not somewhere visited very often by residents of NW2/6 but greatly loved by local people over the other side of Camden! Falling to bits and neglected by previous administrations over many years, in 2006 we took the bold decision to restore the baths to their former glory. The total cost of the project is £25million which is a huge amount of money to be responsible for and I have been determined it ...
It's quite amazing given the events of the last few weeks; when both Labour and the Conservatives appeared to be limbering-up for an election-fight on a sightly more even footing than before that Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon should choose this moment to call for a secret ballot on the issue of Gordon Brown's leadership. Added ...
Twitter and the blogs are ablaze with discussion about the letter that Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt have sent to Labour MPs urging a secret ballot leadership contest. Guido has the full letter here. I watched the coverage on The Daily Politics earlier as the story unfolded with Nick Robinson saying what he thought was going on even though he had been in the dark as everyone else. James Lansdale who reported from Central Lobby during the programme suggested that Labour MPs were telling him, in private, on lobby terms that they did not want this. Fraser Nelson is suggesting ...
Toot toot! Hold tight! Another one coming on board the quango express. It's another new quango promised by the Conservatives with, as the Telegraph has reported, Nick Herbert, shadow minister for farming and environment, promising a farmers' conference that a future Conservative government will implement the Competition Commission's recommendation to create an ombudsman to rule on disputes between supermarkets and their suppliers. That is one more quango to add to the already long list: perhaps they should call it Offtrolley. Ah, you say. But that's an ok quango. Surely there's room for a bit of flexibility? Only problem is, it's ...
[IMG: nick-clegg-in-a-purple-tie] Am I reading too much into it ? Or is the purple tie sported by Nick Clegg at today's PMQ's an indication that he is determined not to give away any hints as to whether he is leaning to the reds or the blues. Purple, in these circumstances, will do nicely. I hope he got a lot of purple ties for Christmas.
Its' snowing. More snow is expected for the rest of the week and for the weekend. Lewisham Council communicated that only priority routes and footpaths where sheet ice would occur will be gritted, all else will be left to the snow to take over. This because the stock of salt is limited and until the arrival ...
Most good travel writing is a journey into one's inner self, but it is rare to find a book that manages to be equally incisive about the country concerned and the author. Rehman Rashid, who has worked as a journalist in various parts of Asia, including Malaysia, where he was born in the twilight of ...
My letter and story on the future use of the Guildhall have attracted two comments. The first was from Derek Kotz, partner of Labour ppc Sarah Evans. His comments have already appeared on a number of websites under his or Sarah's name. I will not therefore publish them again here. The second from "Ian Hindsight" queries the accuracy of my comments. These are made in my name and are verifiable. Unfortunately this doesn't apply to some others. I am happy to discuss this further with "Ian Hindsight" if he reveals his identity rather using a pseudonym.
This is the view from my window of Fortune Green today - so - stuck at home- I thought it was time to update this blog! I've been lazy over Christmas - spending time with family and friends and not worrying too much about the Council which always seems to go to sleep for a couple of weeks! Although I did get a call from someone on Xmas Eve - luckily it wasn't urgent! Before Xmas though we were all hugely busy! The worst thing was the failure of heating on West End Sidings estate which involved many phone calls ...
From the OUTeverywhere website (LGBT social networking site) A US citizen living in the UK and in Chorlton (part of Manchester Withington with Lib Dem MP John Leech) said: my Labour safe seat of Chorlton in Manchester had an 18yr incumbent...unseated by LibDems in the last election at everyone's surprise. Keith Bradley was a good MP, ...
Does Labour suffer from a suicide tendency? Are they really sufficiently off their trolley to take pot shots at themselves rather than their opponents right at the start of the unofficial election campaign? The answer seems to be yes. Just when Brown and Darling seemed to score a successful hit against Cameron on the married people's tax, Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt come sweeping in from the
Just watched the lunchtime news. I don't know if Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt know something we don't know - but on the surface this leadership secret ballot is madness. Cameron makes a dog's dinner of launching the Tory election campaign and Brown's erstwhile allies rush to help them out of their self-created mess. Can you imagine what Gordon is saying privately at this moment?
When you're feeling the pressure, maybe if your work colleagues are winding you up, for example, it can be really great if someone unexpected comes along and just makes you laugh, even if they're having a go. After all, whoever said laughter was the best medicine had a point. That's what it was like for notoroiusly dour Prime Minister Gordon Brown today. For a man who was again having to dodge the slings and arrows of outraged Blairites, he managed to land a few punches on David Cameron at PMQs but it was an uninspiring display from both men. Nick ...
Political betting has an article on the seat of Brighton Pavilion where Caroline Lucas is a strong challenger for the Green Party. If the post is correct then there is a very strong chance of Lucas winning the seat. So what would a Green Party MP mean for Westminster? The unfortunate truth is not a lot. We have a system in parliament where it is virtually impossible for an individual MP to make a difference. Just look at those who have been from small parties. Bob Spink, UKIPs only MP, has only been talked about in relation to his expense ...
Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt have written to all Labour MPs to call for a secret ballot to sort out the Labour leadership issue once and for all. I'll no doubt be able to write more, once I get out of work, and time allows. Anyone got any songs for Hoon or Hewitt to go with last night's blog entry?
Too many pathetic people going round saying `oh I can't vote for any of them`. I have an answer for them: `If you don't like it stand yourself`. There'll probably be many parties on their ballot paper and if they can't find at least some place to put their cross they must be self-deluded. There's only one ...
Julian German, Cabinet Member for the Environment and Waste, is still plugging away at his one man crusade to force those of us in the East of the County into fortnightly rubbish collections (as well as those in the West, but not those who live in the centre). Despite being opposed by the Lib Dems and Conservatives, Cllr German has succeeded in putting the scheme in the budget for two years time. No work will happen on the plan until next year at the earliest we are told, and the Cabinet will debate the matter in about 18 months time. ...
The relationship between the Welsh Assembly and Local Government has often been a fraught one with many ups and downs over the last ten years. When the Government of Wales Act was passed in 1998 many local council leaders were suspicious and wary. Their view was if we are to have devolution then why not devolve powers straight to local government. After all Wales had had unitary authorities since 1996 what was the point in recreating another tier of government? They had a point. The consequence of that attitude was that for the first term at least the Welsh Government ...
At today's environment and economy scrutiny meeting, an officer raised the possibility of a managed abandonment of some of Cornwall's road network. The argument is that road maintenance is very expensive and the budget is being squeezed tightly. So it would be better to give up on maintenance on some minor roads and concentrate all the Council's efforts on the most important routes. Graeme Hicks, Cabinet Member for Roads and Transportation, was very quick to stamp on this idea - and a good thing too. I have visited a number of countries around the world where the entire roads budget ...
Graeme Hicks is the Cabinet Member for Highways and Planning and as such is also responsible for parking. Given my thoughts on most of the things that Cornwall Council's administration comes up with, you might expect me to criticise anything the Graeme says or does. But today Graeme's comments on car parking hit the nail right on the head. When pressed on the need for car parking charges to be set at the right level to help town centre shops, Cllr Hicks agreed that charges for town centre short term parking should be low enough to encourage people to use ...
It was 30 years ago this week, on 7 January - the first Monday of the 1980s - that I pitched up at BBC Wood Norton Training Centre, Evesham to start my "A" Course, starting one of my two carreers (and one that continues in part to this day). Here from the VT Old Boys website is a picture from that first week of Course A72 (Television), yes I am in the picture, it you hit the link you will find
The Council's website includes some information on recycling or composting Christmas waste.Now that Twelth Night has arrived and decorations have to be taken down, the information on Christmas tree recycling may also be helpful. Christmas trees can be recycled at the Lickeys, Woodgate, Sheldon and Sutton country parks. For more information call 0121 464 8728.
One tweet I read earlier on rather cruelly suggested that if Geoff Hoon says you are doing a bad job then you must be doing something right. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the view of the majority of the country who most probably agree with the former Minister and his sidekick, Patricia Hewitt that Gordon Brown must go. However, as far as the country is concerned they want this event to occur through an election not another bloodless coup within the Labour Party. Still Charles Clarke and Frank Field are on board with this attempt to rally support ...
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey has today urged as 70 million population cap on immigration urging that the situation is taken more seriously by politicians. Whilst I am not sure arbitrary caps are necessary what we do need is stronger control and policing of illegal immigration combined with a greater recognition of the impact that large scale immigration can have on an area and the stresses and anxieties that it can cause the local indigenous community. The days of politicians avoiding the issue of immigration like the plague are long gone and with a a forthcoming general election the ...
In the annals of British History Herbert Samuel does not feature large - he's important but not a household name. But let's re-cap: - the first Jewish Cabinet member in Britain - an Old Gower (pupil of UCS) - First Governor of the Palestinian Mandate - First Jew to govern 'Israel' since ancient times - Liberal Party Leader 1931-1935 - First Jew to lead a political party in Britain So on my journey to Israel I was pretty excited to find this plaque still up at the start of King George V Street. KING GEORGE V AVENUE OPENED BY HIS ...
Just when we thought that this was going to be the most bizare general election in years - it just got nuttier. Geoff Hoon, former chief whip, and Patricia Hewitt have written to every Labour MP demanding a secret ballot on the Labour leadership. There is confusion over whether this fits any Labour Party rule book - most analysts are saying in times like this its all about "momentum" and you can effectively tear up the rule book. This will come down to a test of wills. Will Gordon Brown see off one more challenge? Or, given that Mandelson seems ...
I hope you and your family are safe and well during this recent spell of heavy snow and you get a chance to enjoy it too if you can! Sally Swift, the Council's Head of Marketing & PR has just updated councillors on what the Council is doing to deal with the current severe weather. I've attached the update in full below: "The MET Office have forecast more snow in Reading through today (Wednesday 6 January). Road safety continues to be the priority for the Council. Gritting took place overnight. Four snow ploughs are out and have been working throughout the night ...
[IMG: snow_car_] I have just come off the phone from a close friend of mine who lives in the country. He is one of those pilloried 4×4 owners. What has he spent this morning doing ? He and three of his mates (all 4×4 drivers) have been pulling people out of snow drifts, delivering provisions to isolated residences who cant get out, taking a person into the local hospital for dialysis as the usual driver cant reach them etc... Will he and his friends be hailed as heroes for having the foresight to own such useful vehicles in the countryside? ...
Poor Gordon Brown. He actually had (another) pretty good day at Prime Minister's Questions – of which more later – but that won't matter diddly-squat now ... all the news is of the latest move by some Labour MPs to defenestrate him. Yes, I know, it's hard to keep up. In 2008, Siobhain McDonagh [who she? - Ed.] resigned from the Government, calling on Mr Brown to quit. In 2009, James Purnell resigned from the cabinet, calling on Mr Brown to quit. The result: nada, nothing, niet. He's still there. And now in 2010, former cabinet ministers Geoff Hoon and ...
It is snowing in Cardiff but that has not deterred the BBC from filming scenes with the new Dr Who outside the Wales Millennium Centre. I had to pop over there anyway so I took a few snaps. The third photo has been borrowed from Twitpic.
As previously blogged - emailed Haringey CEO to ask for grit for pavements on priority roads and supply of pile of grit to each side road so we can help ourselves. This is the response I just received: Dear Ms Featherstone and Councillor Gorrie Thank you for your email and I share your concern about the welfare of residents in the borough, and I hope you will appreciate that our staff are working extremely hard to keep the borough moving. I know you will also recognise that the cold weather has been prolonged and shows no sign of abating, so ...
An old jazz man is dying in his bed. Someone fetches a priest to deliver the last rites. The priest rushes in, gathers himself, and then bending low to the wheezing jazz man, asks "Is there anything still bothering you, son?" The jazz man beckons him nearer with a withered trembling finger, and whispers in his ...
I'm back home after a couple of hours driving around Cheadle & Gatley to see how conditions are. I made a point of visiting residential roads and spoke to quite a few people on the way. Summary All the main roads are clear and, with light traffic, perfectly fine to drive down. That includes Gatley Road, Altrincham Road, Park Road, Styal Road, Church Road, Kingsway, Cheadle High Street, Stockport Road, Manchester Road, Wilmslow Road, Delemere Road, Silverdale Road and Schools Hill. The bus services are running, with some delays. Metrolink in Manchester is running a slightly reduced service. At least ...
At our conference in autumn, the Lib Dems passed a motion that would: Help women make informed choices by requiring adverts to clearly indicate the extent to which digital retouching technology has been used to create overly perfected and unrealistic images P.S. This is a bit of fun. Please don't leave comments telling me you are outraged ...
You can see the latest weather related news on the Council website - it covers school closures, gritting and refuse collections.
Over at HuffPo there's the story of Amanda Simpson, who has been named by President Obama as senior technical adviser for the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security. Why are the Religious wingnut Right so afraid? Because she's actually Transgender! What do you expect though from the religious Taliban who want people to get roles ...
Hostilities have started. The frenzied announcements and counter-announcements from the Conservative and Labour parties over the past few days point towards a long, grinding election campaign. Much of what we have heard so far is unsurprising: absurd pledges on spending, vitriolic attacks on cuts. But one development is new: both the old parties now claim to be almost identical to the Liberal Democrats. David Cameron and Gordon Brown are ostentatiously flirting with Liberal Democrat voters, clumsily trying to woo us. The local Conservative and Labour branches have been deperately attempting to recruit my fellow LibDems and I for a number ...
This is the story of two Gay men coming out of Court to go to Prison for having dared to commit to themselves before family and friends. This is what happens when you stoke up homophobia and should ever the BNP come to power in this country whose leader thinks `the sight of two men kissing ...
[IMG: permsec] In Nigeria, that is. AllAfrica.com has the whole story. My favourite parts: "The demonstrating staff locked all entrances leading into the Ministry ... and switched off all the lights, thereby preventing the use of the lift" "The Permanent Secretary was sighted moving about in his office, fanning himself with old copies of newspapers and making frantic phone calls." "Some of the demonstrating workers ... said they were demanding Sallah, Christmas and New Year gifts from the management."
"A modern Conservative Party should support marriage. We should use the law, the tax and benefits system, and other mechanisms to encourage families to get together and stay together." - David Cameron, speaking at a Policy Exchange meeting in June 2005 I have to admit that, as a conservative (small c) political party, such an approach makes sense. However, it does seem to contradict the views of those of a more libertarian bent. You see, such a stance smacks of social engineering, of persuading individuals to behave in a manner that is not necessarily in their best interest in the ...
Unpopular government seeks fourth general election victory in a row in midst of a recession. Sound familiar? Welcome to 1992. Back then it was the Conservatives in power facing a Labour opposition and David Cameron was working for the Conservative Party, as head of the political section of the Conservative Research Department. I suspect it's memories of 1992 that help explain the vagueness of Conservative tax and spend plans this time round. In 1992 the Labour opposition had spelt out its spending commitments in advance in some detail and so, when Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont sprung a surprise ...
Yesterday we saw possibly the most impressive collection of signatures in the world turned into a rather annoying little stumbling block for the British and the Dutch. In Iceland, a quarter of the country's population signed a petition appealing to their President to do something about a bill that had narrowly passed Parliament. Over here, our government ...
I had a nice quite walk in the snow this morning to clear my car in preparation of the frost to come. Everyone is very chatty, there are kids playing and very very little in the way of traffic. I only saw a milk float of all things and two snow ploughs and very very few cars. Like I imagine most people in Bracknell, I'm working at home today. The snow we have in Berkshire is so thick I never thought I would see anything like it again. Well I know we the Great British public will all ask, Why ...
I was on Wave 102 news this morning about the winter maintenance conerns and the need to get grit bins filled. I've had several further winter maintenance issues (and bin collection issues) raised by constituents this morning and have reported these to the City Council.
As a child you may have wanted to eat jelly and ice cream for every meal, to eat it until you were sick. Yet, for most kids, there were adults to prevent such greed from causing their offspring such harm. In the end we put away childish things and if we eat jelly and ice cream today it is with an adult sense of moderation. Learning such moderation is a large part of growing up. Yet our society today seems to reward the infantile and the irresponsible. The adult equivalent of jelly and ice cream is probably sex- and here ...
Epping Forest District Council yesterday published this apology for delays to the waste collection service as a result of bad weather. "The Council is very sorry for the difficulties which have arisen during the period 22 December 2009 through Christmas and the New Year period." Because of the combined effect of the revised Christmas collection calendar and the bad weather some people will go a month between recycling collections - which will not surprise anyone who has walked around local streets and seen the sacks piled high. [IMG: Recycling sacks awaiting collection in Beaconfield Road, Epping] At Monday evening's Cabinet ...
Because it is cold the issue of gas supply has come to the fore again. In part that is because a free market works well when it is a buyers market, but with a sellers market weak market participants (aka people without a lot of money) tend to lose out.Even if we don't have any more complex crisis this winter we are still likely to see an increase on gas bills.The underlying problem is that the
Just saw this post from Andrew Reeves on the security costs for Tony Blair. Apologies it's from ages ago, only just caught up with things from after Christmas. I completely disagree with Andrew. I know the security costs for Blair are large but that doesn't mean we just abandon him or only protect him when he is on official duty (as far as I'm aware he doesn't have any 'official duties' anymore either). Regardless of political disagreements that people may have with Blair he was Prime Minister for 10 years and therefore has made himself a high profile target. I ...
Well - it's time to see if the deluge of complaints after Haringey Council's (non-)gritting during the last snow have made an impact on London's worst council! In the snow before Christmas I emailed (in my Christmas message to my email list - if you would like to be on it let me know) for people to let me know the status of their road - and the result was that people reported (with road name, time and date) 26 Priority 1 roads ungritted; 63 Priority 2 roads ungritted and 50 non-priority roads remained untouched. I am sending the CEO ...
'It's all about fairness', is the refrain we can expect to hear a lot from Nick Clegg in the next few months, leading up to the 2010 general election. It was noticable that the word 'fair' was deployed in each one of Nick's four key policy areas set out in his Times article yesterday on the Lib Dems' approach to a 'hung parliament': fair taxes; a fair start for all our children; a fair and sustainable economy that creates jobs; and fair, clean and local politics. And it's the word which recurs in this BBC interview, where Nick states his ...
The Government is currently consulting on a new NHS Constitution setting out the rights of patients. You can view and make comments on the consultation online.
[IMG: dambisa] Africa remains the world's poorest continent with the world's worst employment opportunities. The International Labour Organisation estimates that up to 99 per cent of African employment is informal–outside of the fiscal system. The situation is dire and imposes increasing costs on taxpayers in donor states. In 2008 Labour spent £6.3 billion on Overseas Development Assistance and the Conservatives have pledged to increase this by almost £4 billion. In times of economic hardship £10 billion spending pledges need to stand up to scrutiny. But this one does not. Four decades of development "assistance" and trillions of dollars in aid ...
2009 was a difficult year for our community. The expenses scandal put Luton South in the headlines for all the wrong reasons and we were outraged to be denied the right to choose a new MP. Those of us that live in Luton are sadly all too aware of how Labour and Conservative governments have continued to let our community down. Our manufacturing industry has declined, we continue to loose jobs and we have suffered from not having an effective voice in Westminster. It is time for real change. As Lutonians we are proud of our town, know the challenges ...
You can find out how the snow is affecting Council services on the South Glos website, which also has a list of schools that are closed. All bin collections are cancelled today (Wednesday 6th January). No First Bus services in our area are running at the moment (1.30 pm) - see the First Bus website for latest details (click on "disruption" in right hand column)
Just seen on Lib Con that The Sun has been forced by the Press Complaints Commission to publish a letter from Stephen Nutt regarding the disgraceful smear published by the paper late last year about him and his siblings purely because they are related to former government drugs advisor Professor David Nutt that I blogged about here. Here is Stephen's letter: FURTHER to your article about photographs of me on my Facebook site, (November 14) I would like to make clear the pictures were not posted by me and while I had been drinking I was smoking a rolled-up cigarette ...
The Council has issued an update on its salting policy, particularly as it relates to grit bins and pavements. The position is that they are concentrating their efforts on keeping the network of A and B roads open. This includes a fairly substantial network in Launceston town itself, although not the estate roads. The Council is NOT salting or gritting pavements or roads they deem non-essential except in response to a request from the emergency services. The Council provides grit bins in various locations around the town and residents can take grit from these in order to make pavements and ...
Not suprisingly, the Council has cancelled domestic bin collections in Launceston and the whole of the North Cornwall area this week due to the weather. There were no recycling collections scheduled for this week. Hopefully things will be back to normal next week.
There is 5 to 10 cm of snow across the District with more forecast. There is some disruption to public transport and road travel. It looks as though many schools will be shut. All of which means that we will expect to offer a limited service this morning. We will be opening phone lines pretty much as normal as a priority, but the face to face reception will not be able to open till 10am. It is likely that we will be operating with a skeleton staff, at best, at the end of the day. At present the refuse and ...
Liberal Democrat councillors have been left asking who is telling the truth on the grit situation following misleading statements. One statement from the county council's portfolio holder for roads which has been contrasted by a briefing sent to all County Councillors from the council officers doing their jobs, without the political spin. Statement from the elected councillor responsible for roads says: 'have enough salt to keep the main roads gritted this week.' However this has been contrasted by the County Councillor briefing from Council Officer: 'with enough salt to last for approximately 6 more runs.' On one night of heavy ...
Happy New Year. Happy New decade and welcome to the first MacBlogopshere Wikio political rankings for 2010. First up I am going to start with an apology, with all the anticipation of the Bon Spiel being playable this year for the first time since 1979 I stumbled across Bishop Hill. Who describes himself as "not a bishop... not actually called Hill either...but an Englishman who lives in rural Scotland" who should have been on previous listings. So at the top Tom Harris has retaken the number 6 spot from Tory Bear to great rejoicing. That Cute Greek Baby clearly can't ...
At the end of last year, I blogged on the stupidity of pushing literacy on children at ever-younger ages, often before they are ready for it. Today, a report from a leading New Zealand university shows that early reading makes no difference to the reading age of children at the age of 11. The author ...
Refuse collections for today, (Wednesday 6 January 2010), have been cancelled due to the weather. This is the statement from the Council: The refuse collection has been suspended for today as it would be hazardous for vehicles to enter some untreated side roads due to the continued freezing conditions. Residents who should have had their refuse collected today are advised to log on to the council website at www.bury.gov.uk to find out more information about alternate arrangements. All staff which should have been working on refuse collections have been diverted to supporting the teams who are out gritting and snow ...
"David Cameron seems to be confused about what a fairer Britain means," said Nick Clegg's Chief of Staff.
Christmas greetings to my Ukrainian readers and to all who follow the Eastern Orthodox Christian calendar on this Christmas Eve! Here is a picture of kolach, Ukrainian Christmas bread, with thanks to [IMG: Ukrainian Christmas bread]
(Still a day behind with posts, will catch up soon – lots happening in personal life) Pillock wants to know how people would have dealt with rebooting Star Trek. (I'm almost certainly going to do this as part of Pop-Drama) Jon Blum almost convinces me that the Welsh Series has something going for it, while Tim at ...
We have been informed of the death of Mrs Vera B Dickinson. Mrs Dickinson was a Member of the former Prestwich Borough Council and served as Mayor of Prestwich during the Municipal Year 1953/54. The Funeral will be held at St Margaret's Parish Church, Prestwich on Friday 8 January 2010 at 1.15 pm. The Funeral Directors are Lilleywhites of Prestwich. The Union Flag will be flown from the Council's Official Flag Pole (corner of St Mary's Road/Rectory Lane) until the funeral.
Online astroturfing (or faking grassroots opinion) crops up at unfortunately regular intervals in discussions of both online PR and online politics. But it's got deep historic roots that are rarely mentioned. The story starts in the 4th century BC: Greek playwrights hired bands of helpers to laugh at their comedies in order to influence the judges. The Romans also stacked the audience, but they were apparently more interested in applause than chuckles: Nero - emperor and wannabe musician - employed a group of five thousand knights and soldiers to accompany him on his concert tours. But the golden age of ...
Snow and ice has caused waste collections throughout West Lindsey to be suspended for the day. Residents whose bins have not been emptied will have their waste collected on their next scheduled collection day. Anyone who needs plastic bags to store their waste in should contact Customer Services on (01427) 676676. Waste Services Manager Glyn Pilkington explained the decision to call lorries
One of the most annoying things about American politics, particularly under the last Bush administration, was the tendency to give legislation titles like House Resolution 2173: The Motherhood and Apple Pie Act. You could then browbeat your opponents with the line, "You're against motherhood and apple pie. You must be crazy/stupid/delete as appropriate." And now, New Labour have brought this to the United Kingdom, in the form of the Fiscal Responsibility Bill. Call me old-fashioned (and I am, I suppose), but legislation should give you idea of what it covers, not what it will do. So, the Energy Bill, for ...
[IMG: 16836_263311502505_765317505_4544044_7076379_n1.jpg]
Epping Forest seems to have been hit particularly hard by school closures if the list just read out by BBC Essex is any guide. Pupils at Davenant, Debden Park, King Harold in Waltham Abbey and St John's School in Epping all look set to have the day off. So do pupils at Oakview Special School and primary school pupils at High Beach, Lambourne, Moreton, Nazeing, Shelley, St Andrew's in North Weald and Thomas Willingale in Loughton.
How progressive are the Labour and Conservative parties? Listening to David Cameron brandy the word about, or Gordon Brown you'd think they are at the cutting edge. However, speaking on the BBC's Hard Talk programme Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg pointed out some of the areas they have blocked progressive ideas. "David Cameron talks about change, but none of the Conservative MPs who avoided capital gains tax or made huge profits flipping their homes were forced to resign. He promised to give people the right to sack corrupt MPs but then the Conservatives voted against a law that would do ...
The BBC reports that Peter Ainsworth, Tory MP for East Surrey since 1992, is to retire at this year's general election
No, it's not another strike. Refuse crews are instead out gritting and clearing snow as it is proving impossible to collect rubbish in current conditions. Leeds City Council statement is here. Seems even some councillors are having a bit of trouble!
I will update these as I get them for up to date information you can try Bury's Twitter feed which is here: Update at 9.12am School closures: Please find below the schools in Bury which have confirmed they will be closed today, 6 January 2010, due to the adverse weather conditions: Hollymount Primary Radcliffe Riverside High Peel Brow Primary Philips High School Fairfield Primary Holcombe Brook Primary Chapelfield Primary The Derby High School Sedgley Park Primary St Stephen's CEP Christ Church CEP, Ainsworth St John's, Radcliffe, Unsworth Primary, Bury Church High, Emmanuel Holcombe Primary, East Ward Primary, Lowercroft Primary, St ...
My first Daily View of the new decade so a pledge up front: none of these stories will be about the weather. 2 Must-Read Blog Posts Two posts from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: Which top Tory has U-turned on Married Couple's Allowance? Ewan Hoyle has a plan to reduce drug-related deaths and wants your help 2 Interesting Stories Yes please, Richard Writing his column in the Daily Mail, Richard Littlejohn suggests he'd like to sleep through the next five months. Sounds like an excellent suggestion – go for it, Richard. Sadly, I've a hunch this offer is as realistic ...
Yesterday I noticed that the bins were not uplifted. I didn't have anything to put into last weeks having just returned from Northern Ireland. This is due to continued disruption due to snow and icy conditions. The council have full details of what to do here. Basically it sums up as: Leave your bin out until it is emptied, Please do not contaminate recycling bins with non recyclable materials, Ensure all waste is contained within the bin and the bin lid is fully closed or it may not be emptied.Also be careful about where you park you car to allow ...
Jo Swinson (of the real women campaign) kicked things off this morning tweeting about the airbrushing of *that* Cameron photo. The Daily Mail, New Statesman, and Sam Coates have followed it up. The latter two calling for the original photo to be released if there really hasn't been much touching up. You can of course judge for yourself. [IMG: Airbrushed?!] Airbrushed?! If you want to compare that with other potentially flattering shots there is the one where Cameron was named GQ's second most stylish man. And that was in 2007. A quick google images search would suggest that there's been ...
The Lib Dem Chair of Transport Committee at the London Assembly Caroline Pidgeon AM has launched a campaign to improve Railway Stations focusing on five points: 1) Your station should be staffed throughout the hours trains are running 2) Your station should be deep-cleaned and all 'grot-spots' removed 3) We need a website where you can report any ...
With the cold spell due to continue for some time it is likely that eligibility for cold weather payments will kick in. As set out here these payments are made to those in receipt of Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance (income-related), income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or Pension Credit. If you get Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance (income-related) during the assessment phase or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, you must also receive a pensioner or disability premium or have a child who is disabled or under the age of five. Cold Weather Payments are made when the average temperature for an area ...
It is a strange day when the defence of civil liberties in Britain is left to the police, but that is exactly what happened today. As government ministers, civic leaders and 400,000 facebook members combined to call for Islam4UK to be banned from carrying out their planned demonstration in Wootton Bassett to protest against the war in Afghanistan, only Sir Hugh Orde, President on the Association of Chief Police Officers, has stepped in to defend the group's right to protest, however "unpleasant and offensive" their views. Much has been written about the views of the organisation and its leader, Anjem ...
The Conservatives will today announce a new tax policy to tackle the growing waistlines of British plebs. The plan, put forward by Iain Smith MP, would give cruton munchers £20 a week off their cumbersome taxable income. Findings by the Justice for Social Centres policy group, which Smith chairs, showed that eating crutons promote healthy lifestyles by 11 to 87 per cent. Speaking via his mouth, Smith said "so I put two graphs next to each other, and the lines seemed to sort of follow each other a bit, so then I thought 'Hey, this conforms to my pre-existing personal ...
Live from Reading, a fair few inches of snow have fallen in the last few hours and it is due to continue overnight. Most students will be returning to Reading on Sunday before term starts next week. With thousands of students returning on the same day, it may be sensible to return a day or to earlier, if you can.
[IMG: Katherine inspects any empty grit bin on Inderwick Road] After the chaos caused by the snow before Christmas, local activist Katherine Reece and I thought we would check to make sure the grit bins in Stroud Green are full. The bins allow local residents to grit the pavements clear near their home if they wish, and are usually provided in hilly areas. Our steep streets can be treacherous when icy, and I know many local older people feel trapped in their homes when the pavements aren't gritted. Therefore, we were surprised to find the bins at the top of ...
My LibDem colleague John Bridges has already queried when the service resumes and what the schedule would be. I suspect we will just have to hang fire till the snow stops falling and much more is expected. Of course, I will keep you informed of further developments.
So it's started... Not just the new year, and the new decade. But finally, the election campaign that has been waiting to happen since Autumn 2007. The voters will at last have the chance to have their say. All the punditry from the Westminster village may sell newspapers, but it is the views of the electorate that really ...
I am sure there are more comedians who have told this joke, but I remember Tommy Cooper apologising for laughing because it was the first time that he had heard that joke. Yesterday my blog finished with the thought that funding for gritting could be linked to the cost of treating injuries caused by the ice. I know there are difficulties with this. Did this person slip on ice in their drive or on ice on the road? Would they have fallen anyway because of other factors? The reason that I am revisiting this idea is because, like Tommy Cooper, ...
The Department for Transport, working with Hertfordshire County Council, has today published a consultation on the future of the Abbey Line between Watford Junction and St Albans Abbey stations. You can find the consultation itself at: http://www.dft.gov.uk/abbeyline A press notice announcing the consultation is also on the DfT website at:
