Our weather quite understandably domiates our lives as we plan meals without going shopping, anxiously look at weather and road condition updates, work round cancelled events, try to keep warm, and worry about people travelling and those not able to cope in these conditions. After out latest "e" news tonight to constituents telling them of the latest news it was a welcome change to get 2...
Fri 8th
22:09
Personal attacks on Brown highlight the engrained level of disability discrimination in society
There is no wonder that Greg Stone's discriminatory comments found their way onto Guido Fawkes's blog, when you consider the level of discrimination Fawkes' distributes himself. For example, his blog on Gordon Brown where the words 'madness', 'bonkers' and 'prime mentalist' are used when talking about Brown. Furthermore, this very offensive image of Brown is ...
According to a ComRes poll for the BBC's Daily Politics program 60% of people think that Labour is the 'most divided' political party. It is a political truism that parties seen as 'divided' are damaged goods electorally though the fact that this is the case should lead to questions about what exactly voters expect from their politicians. They ...
I'm going to change topic for this post. I'm heading a little further West. During his failed Presidential nomination Rudy Giuliani the former Mayor of New York didn't stop reminded the people of America that he was there during the 9/11 attacks on his city. It was his claim to being the man to deal with the big questions. Today however, he is getting so caught up in Republican rhetoric against Barack Obama that he is trying to turn the attempted Christmas Day attack against the President. On Good Morning America this morning he claimed, "we had no domestic attacks ...
My comments on the latest situation regarding the weather and winter maintenance in the West End and across Dundee were reported in last night's "Evening Telegraph" and today's "Courier" - you can read the article from the Tele by going to http://tiny.cc/wintermaintdundee. I was pleased to receive confirmation from the City Council's Chief Executive today that Winter Maintenance policy will be discussed at the City Council meetings on 25th January. I have reported a number of other problem areas to the City Council, following residents raising concerns - including Kinloch Park and Shepherd's Loan.
Phill Davison has some amazing photographs from his exploration of the old mine at Grinkle, a mile inland from Staithes on the Yorkshire coast. Thanks to BLDGBLOG.
I post this from the 20:00 hours service from Liverpool Street to Norwich, possibly my favourite journey in the world. Nothing remarkable about that, I suppose. Except that, according to National Rail Enquiries, the train has been cancelled, it has ceased to be, it is an ex-service. No wonder it's so quiet...
There are many, many reasons why the snow coup melted away so quickly. In amongst them is the lack of any groundswell of support, whether from backbench MPs or activists around the country, for the latest attempt. Today's Guardian throws an interesting light on the detail of how such grassroots opinion is followed in contemporary politics: Downing Street on Wednesday monitored the Labour grassroots response to Hoon and Hewitt through Twitter, finding little or no support for their push. That certainly partly reflects Labour reaction but it also reflects the degree to which Hoon, Hewitt and their allies are of ...
With the news that she's recovered enough to go on a week's luxuty holiday in the French Alps, I think she's fair game... Remember, she's still drawing three public salaries. By the way, Peter Robinson already has Iris Robinson's letter of resignation, because he asked for letters of resignation from all his MLAs to be given to him in advance in 2007, should it become necessary for him to enact them. So why doesn't he just implement the letter? Hat-tip: Slugger O'Toole
Following on from the last post, I was speaking to a mate of mine on the phone who told me that Nick Robinson (Yes, that one) was national chairman of the Young Conservatives in the 1980s. Curioser, and curioser.
I have, of late, been pretty critical of National Express East Anglia, due next year to be the late and unlamented franchise holder for trains across the East of England. Increasingly decrepit trains, withdrawal of catering services, cleaners and customers services, mark the signs of a train operator merely attempting to minimise costs until someone capable takes over. The key defence that NXEA put up is that they have improved punctuality. And indeed, across the entire network, they have achieved their 91% target. So far, so good. However, I use their mainline services. Ironically, this is the one area where ...
Last night the BBC ran an exposé on the dealings of Iris Robinson both personal and professional with her young lover and his business. It is UPDATE now available on BBC iPlayer but thanks to HardyBucker on YouTube here is a taster of the show. Originally posted at 13:33
To The Sage, Gateshead (or Newcastle, as the Conservative Shadow Spokesman for Local Government, Bob Neill, called it, bless him) today for the first North East Local Government Summit. Sadly, numbers were much depleted by the weather. Of the 12 or so Darlington councillors who had signed up to go, only me and Ian Hazeldine managed it. The trains were running fine, which is how I and most of the
nYesterday a neighbour's dog, enjoying playing in the snow, ventured too far out on the ice on the Tees, fell through and drowned. Today I took an hour off with Denis and walked down to the Teesdale Way to look at the river - almost completely covered in ice. There were still dog-owners letting their dogs play off the lead and I couldn't bear to watch in case one went too far.I was glad of my
I'm boiling with rage here having just heard `The News Quiz` with a supposed friend of the Party (Sandi Toksvig) saying `In the interest of balance we've had jokes about the Tories and about Labour are there any other smaller parties that we can do jokes about. No. What about the Liberal Democrats?` The real point ...
One of the reasons I joined the Young Liberals as a teenager in the mid-1970s, was the party's stance on South Africa and the condemnation of that stain upon humanity, apartheid, ironically pronounced "apart-hate" in Afrikaans. I remember the ...
A colleague has been stuck since Christmas in her cottage by the River Deveron near Huntly. She and her husband have made good use of their time...
My House Points column from today's Liberal Democrat News. Seasonal stories It was a quiet holiday in Market Harborough. The Conservative-run district council had promised us a fun-filled late shopping evening on the last Saturday before Christmas, complete with a visit by some real live reindeer. People came from as far as 40 miles away to see them, only to find that the council had cancelled the event at the last minute. In case it snowed. Of course, we all know these idiocies are really the fault of the lawyers and insurance companies, but it still made my Christmas to ...
Dump their future or dump Peter – I know which I would choose. I'd have no truck with this guy asking questions like `Since Iris has dumped you under the truck – why don' t you divorce her?` He's trying to say that he wants it all to go at his pace by placing himself before an ...
The refuse collectors have been out again today in Chessington and Hook, trying to complete the missed collections from Wednesday. They have managed most roads but some side roads are still inaccessible. They hope to finish them all tomorrow, so if that applies to you do leave the bins out for one more day. If the roads are worse tomorrow then they can use Sunday instead. There are real problems in Barwell Lane and Five Acre Farm, and they are simply going to try to access them if they can.
What could be simpler: five categories, each with five links. And it's Friday. 5 most-read stories on LDV this week 1. The Independent View: Wootton Bassett demonstrations: another Muslim point of view (12) by Shaaz Mahboob 2. General election prediction: new figures out (9) by Mark Pack 3. Can you come up with a punchy Lib Dem slogan? (56) by Stephen Tall 4. 20,000 road signs in kilometers - an evil EU plot? (34) by Iain Roberts 5. Ten predictions for the general election televised party leader debates (7) by Mark Pack 5 active LDV Members' Forum threads [ Poll ...
Babish: You broke some laws, Abbey, and quite frankly you should be ashamed of yourself, but this investigation isn't about that. Abbey: Look... Babish: It's about the criminalization of politics. An attempt to do in the hearing room what they couldn't do at the ballot box. Abbey: I understand, but we don't have the luxury... Babish: Abbey, stop eating fruits, stop eating vegetables, it's doing something bad to you. Fruits and vegetables will seduce you, like a woman, with their... Abbey: Oliver! Babish: Truth isn't a luxury. You're going to go in there, you're going to swear an oath, you're ...
Avon and Somerset Police report how building international relationships with police forces in other countries has helped lead to the arrest of a violent criminal from Poland. A year ago Avon and Somerset Police played host to a number of police officers from Poland. This programme included a three month secondment to Staple Hill. While out on a plain-clothes patrol, one of the Polish police officers spotted a man who she believed was wanted in Poland. Investigations were undertaken which led to a European Arrest Warrant being issued in Poland. On December 23, the man was arrested from his home ...
This is the message I've received from the Council: "Our contractors, Solutions SK, are doing everything they can to collect the borough's recycling & refuse in the adverse weather. This advice is given at 17.21 on Friday 8th January 2010 and remains valid provided there is no further deterioration in weather conditions (more snow) over the weekend and before operations commence at 07.00 hours on Monday 11th September 2010. We are again asking residents to place all their recycling and refuse out at the front edge of their property by no later than 7am on the day of their collection. ...
Having made a mess of explaining his party's policies on marriage earlier this week, the Conservative leader has now started dropping some of his key policies as the realisation dawns that they may not be deliverable in the current climate. According to the Independent, David Cameron has embarked on a a "softly, softly" rewrite of his party's programme for government because of the economic crisis it might inherit. The Tory leader said he was no longer committed to providing an extra 5,000 prison places or to abolishing income tax on savings for people paying the basic rate of tax. Tory ...
multi-tasking by filling up my Kindle while watching Poirot. That's what Sunday nights should be about. # have finally taken advice of @markpack and registered for http://NutshellMail.com Let's see if it works # Jan 2005: Mr Brown's reputation will become tarnished by the time of the 2009 election, which it is his destiny to lose http://bit.ly/6JESv4 # deeply unimpressed to discover my WiiFit age is 44. I am 32. # for the record, WiiFit reckons I have ideal BMI and excellent centre of gravity – so not all bad. But 4-effing-4. Boo, hiss. # @MarkReckons perhaps it just automatically adds ...
Former Conservative Welsh Office Minister and the last person to be elected as Leader of the Welsh Tory Assembly Group, Rod Richards sticks his oar in again this morning, with the proposal that Welsh Language Channel, S4C should be disbanded. Mr. Richards, who was a minister in the Welsh Office in John Major's Government from 1994 until 1996, said millions of pounds could be saved by closing the channel and transferring Welsh language programming back to BBC Wales. Currently, S4C receives around £120m of public money, both directly from the UK Government and from the BBC in contracted Welsh language ...
Amy Kitcher, who is one of the youngest councillors in Merthyr, added, "Maybe it is because I am still in my 20's that I see the importance of giving young people an ear and, hopefully, a voice. "Young people have already come to me with their concerns about the closure of local sixth forms and lack of suitable play equipment in the borough. I hope that by giving young people a regular, dedicated opportunity to discuss local issues it will encourage even more to come forward." Amy will also be using modern techniques for advertising the advice surgeries too like ...
Apparently there are a thousand of them so I'm assuming a lot of people have. I haven't seen any Leeds yet. Has anyone else? Loving the mickey takes of the posters so far. Here, here and here. This one has to be my favourite though even if it's a bit pro tory. Let me know if there are any more good ones.
It's 5 o'clock on Friday time for the weekend to kick in.The 8th of January is the inspiration for the links this week. On this day in 1790 in New York George Washingston gave the first State of the Union. It will hardly surprise you that coverage of that speech is not available on YouTube. So what am I to do. The answer is obvious as I cannot show you that piece how about an extract of a State of the Union speech that also never made it. That's right the Sam Seaborn passage about curing cancer. 1297 on this ...
Penny Otton, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Children and Young People, has responded to a piece in yesterday's East Anglian Daily Times critical of Suffolk's GCSE results. "The fact that Suffolk's GCSE results started to fall below the national average when the Conservatives took control of the council in 2005 is a sad indictment. For the 12 years in which Liberal Democrats jointly ran the County Council Suffolk was admired as one of the best education authorities in the country. So why has it all gone so badly wrong? Your correspondent John Parsons (EADT 7th Jan) rightly identifies that the ...
It was very pleasing to note from the latest National Assembly research on carbon dioxide emissions, that the Welsh capital has made the most progress in Wales. A not insignificant reduction in CO2 emissions of 10.8% was made in Cardiff between 2005 and 2007. That figure is over a percent more than the area with the second biggest Welsh reduction. The research also revealed Cardiff also has the lowest domestic carbon dioxide emissions in Wales. Since first taking on the leadership of Cardiff Council in 2004, the Liberal Democrats have worked hard to place environmental concerns at the heart of ...
David Cameron told us a few years ago that we should be more understanding of the issue of those "hoodies" who exhibit antisocial behaviour. Now we know why. He employs people with the same credentials as your typical hoodie.
It's snowing. It's cold. Much of Britain is housebound. Here are some top tips to keep your constituency campaigning in the snow. Telephone canvass! Get your photos for next year's Christmas card now! Use time trapped indoors to review your plans. Have you ordered your ink, sourced your suppliers and got a name next to every action point? How's that to-do list looking? Are you practicing Inbox Zero? What better time to start! How snowy are your neighbours' roofs? If some houses in your street / ward / constituency have the snow and ice melting faster than others, then it's ...
This from the Hull Daily Mail website. What can you say :-) Watch the snow live Follow the snow as it happens on our live weather map.
Boscombe News! Please send me your news and events. info@boscalicious.info If you are forwarded this email and wish to subscribe direct, Please go to http://www.boscalicious.co.uk Editor: Lisa Northover Boscalicious Reader Survey: Take our survey on crime in Boscombe http://bit.ly/8wzqXf 200th Anniversary of Bournemouth It?s here! check the website to see what?s planned and to see if you can
After having a whine on here yesterday about a lack of further information from the Council about the ice and snow, today we have a bit more. As regards missed bin collections, the Council have confirmed that there were difficulties with completing the full rounds from the Prestwich area in the run up to Christmas. We were unlucky that it started snowing on the day our bins were due to be collected. The service was affected by snowfall and certain areas could not be accessed safely. Other areas however were OK and collected as normal. And for some houses, one ...
Writing on Next Left, Sunder Katwala makes the point that; 'Big government' is often attacked as political rhetoric. In the abstract, we all like to be agin it. Yet, on every specific issue, from child protection to the collapse of the banks, most of the public calls are very often for government to do more. How true ...
Susan Wildman - Salford's head of marketing has quit her £75,000 pa job after four years in post. In 2000 the post attracted a salary of £33,000. I wonder how much it will be advertised for this time? Mind you, with a massive budget of £2.5-3m for 2010/11 to spend on marketing, PR, and spin (compare ...
All the local councillors, plus our MP, were invited to a meeting today about the plans to improve the Kingsway/Gatley Road junction. Myself, Cllr Pam King and Mark Hunter MP were able to make it, along with representatives of Stockport Council and Manchester Urban Traffic Control. We had a full discussion about the junction itself, plus some related issues including traffic on the South Park Road estate. What I'll do here is to first detail the plans for the junction, then go into more detail. Three steps to improve the junction 1. Reduce the traffic light cycle time The current ...
It seems that Manchester City Council is officially a fair-weather recycler. I have been advised that they're not going to bother collecting last week's recycling bins which have been waiting collection since Tuesday or Wednesday at all and apparently have no plans to bother collecting next week's recycling bins either. Regular refuse will be collected, though if your bin is frozen to the ground, the advice is to stick it out in black bags (and hope that the collection will take place before the local dogs rip the bags to shreds and scatter the rubbish everywhere, street sweeping being impossible ...
Fri 8th
15:28
Problems in the snow? Don't know where to go? Who you gonna call? Suffolk County Council!
Yes, I know that it doesn't scan (think Ghostbusters) but what the hell... Hotline for cold weather The weather is forecast to remain extremely cold over the coming days so Suffolk County Council will extend its usual customer service helpline to operate over the weekend. The Emergency Snowline will respond to calls from the public on issues relating to the weather, anyone having difficulty accessing services on their usual numbers could also use this number if they are concerned. Staff on this number will be able to deal with calls related to the current weather conditions such as social care ...
LATEST INFORMATION Weather conditions :The cold weather is expected to stay for the foreseeable future, with some light snow forecast over the weekend, but Manchester is open for business as usual. Travel advice and gritting :Manchester has received a delivery of salt and is continuing to grit all major routes in and out of the city and staff are working hard to keep the major public transport routes clear. The freezing weather conditions across the country means deliveries of salt are now being controlled and prioritised by central government and we are working closely with them to ensure we have ...
Fri 8th
14:39
Why should Women Liberal Democrats support a motion calling for control and regulation of drugs?
The stories of how prohibition affects women give the drug policy reform movement the strongest arguments we have. The one experience more than any other that motivated me to campaign for drug policy reform was watching the documentary film: "Killer in a Small Town" The film tackled the story of the 5 young women who were murdered by Steve Wright in Ipswich in 2006. The film-maker spoke to their families and friends and attracted attention to the fact that these young women were seemingly ordinary girls from ordinary families who had apparently just made a few bad decisions in their ...
On the one hand we have this story from the Times with the revelation that senior party figures in the Labour Party fear the may go bankrupt after the next election and on the other hand the figure for spending in the European elections shows the Labour Party spending rising at an astronomical rate. So are they running the party like the country? When you're broke, spend even more?
News from Kettering and Wellingborough Liberal Democrats: Local Liberal Democrat members have chosen local campaigner Chris Nelson to be the Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for the Kettering constituency. Chris Nelson was born and brought up in Kettering – attending Millbrook Infant & Junior Schools as well as Ise Community College – and has a degree in law from Oxford Brookes University. He contested Ise Division in last June's county council elections and works as an aide for Northampton Liberal Democrats and Bill Newton Dunn MEP. He takes over the role from Roger Aron – who contested the constituency in the ...
[IMG: bush] Those who attended Liberal Vision's fringe debate (/free boozing sesh) in September will have enjoyed the soothing old school inflection of Tom Clougherty, a dapper young cove from the Adam Smith Institute. On their blog today he re-hashes a justified moan from Dan Mitchell, who tears into the Bush-Repuiblican criticism of Obama's fiscal expansion. While not defending Obama's policies he points out that the Republicans are just as bad–and deploys some nice colourful graphs and that, too. GO HAVE A READ. AND SEE MITCHELL'S BLOG POST HERE.
Paul Waugh has a very interesting piece just published on his blog reminding us that when Labour is in opposition, the Shadow Cabinet is elected by the Parliamentary Labour Party. Apparently, people like David Miliband and Douglas Alexander might struggle to get the votes to remain a member of the Shadow Cabinet should Labour lose the next election. It could also lead to some interesting appointments such as Jon Cruddas and perhaps others currently languishing on the back benches. It's one of those things that I expect Blair and Brown intended to change at some point (given their centralising and ...
I know we are obsessed about the weather in this country but really after dominating every news bulletin for the whole week I really don't think it's news anymore. I am sick to the back teeth of turning on the TV to find out what's happening in the world only to find news anchors telling us how cold it's been and what chaos it's causing today. As if that is not bad enough we are then shunted off to a variety of locations around the country which now all include a visit to the salt mines of cheshire, a field ...
That, at least, is the view of the Politics.co.uk website, which profiles hundreds of political websites. Including mine, and here's what they say about it: This blog from the editor of Lib Dem Voice is full to the brim with links, interaction and detailed, well-written posts. Its fairly lengthy posts are updated with an alarming regularity leaving us to wonder when it is Stephen finds time to do anything else. It's a little Lib Dem centric but don't let that put you off, the content is well-researched and full of interesting titbits from the world of politics. Easy to use ...
[IMG: Prestwich in the Snow] The road down to the Edenfield Unit of Prestwich Hospital - obviously cleared by the hospital because the services down there don't have the option of closing.... [IMG: Prestwich in the Snow] By comparison, Highfield Road - a road to a local School - 5 minutes later.
The fourth budget scrutiny meeting has just finished and now there is just one to go (the meeting of the childrens committee scheduled for yesterday was postponed when only two members could make it through the snow). The biggest concern at today's event was about what we do not know. There is a budget heading of about £20 million for items said to include One Cornwall, Icelandic Banks, Pensions and so on. But to date we have little idea of what money is allocated for each of these and why. Whilst we don't have full details for, say, leisure centres ...
It is simplistic to look at straightforward tables and conclude that we can't grow with debt levels high.
For Japan, boldness is the safe option. Is the same true for us?
All this week Salford Council has being doing an admirable job of keeping critical services running, with reduced staff and resources. The council's website at http://www.salford.gov.uk has (and continues to be) an invaluable source of the latest information. Here are the updates for Friday 8th January 2010: All refuse/recycling collection services are suspended. We are assured that when collections recommence, any black bags (properly sealed) WILL be collected as well. All Salford schools are closed again. A decision will be taken later today regarding Monday. Check http://www.salford.gov.uk/schoolclosures.htm Pendleton Gateway is open, but they are closing at 4.30pm Salix Homes are ...
So who's this who has sent me a news release by email, complete with a disclaimer at the bottom which says, "This e-mail is confidential"? That'd be the Law Society. Not as if you'd particularly expect them to get legal wording correct and appropriate... Oops [IMG: :-)]
Following on from yesterdays note about waste collections in the snow: The council were unable to collect black bins from some areas this Wednesday and Thursday, and so have arranged (weather permitting) additional collections for next Wednesday and Thursday. The scheduled composting and recycling services planned will be carried out as normal.
Well as I wrote at the start of the week the Health select committee has came out and endorsed minimum alcohol pricing as a way of curbing excessive drinking. Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of government interfering in the market like this the simpler question is will it work? I have to say that on the basis of information on the PCT website the answer is no. The report, which is very easy to read, contains a number of interesting facts regarding drinking patterns in Hull that I may blog about at a different time. On this issue the ...
Harrogate BC, WoodfieldLD Greta Knight 688 (62.6; +4.1)Con 246 (22.4; +7.5)BNP 92 (8.4; -4.1)Lab 73 (6.6; -7.5)Majority 442Turnout 26.99%LD holdPercentage change is since May 2007Contact: Michael Newby 01423 542112 and 07767 761749 michael.newby@hotmail.co.ukParty defending seat: LD. Cause: Death.
George Galloway, 'Respect' MP for Bethnal Greeen and Bow, has got himself into the news again by being thrown out of Egypt. Things are never dull where the former Big Brother spectacle is concerned. Predictably, news of his expulsion (for trying to return to Gaza, to which he had earlier been with an Palestinian solidarity ...
[IMG: Winter in Bathwick] As the cold snap continues, here's a public service announcement relayed from BathNES council: schools are closed main routes (Bathwick Hill, Claverton Down and North Road) will be gritted, roads not gritted now will not be in future there are NO rubbish or recycling today; please take the waste (and christmas trees) back in information and updates are at http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/bathnes, but this has crashed a few times.
This risks being one of the most unlikely blog post yet - and I sense you have doubts already... bear with me. The American Colony Hotel (much recommended by a friend) in East Jerusalem.The road sign for Nablus Road - which is where the Hotel is...And Palestinian Pottery - specialising in hand decorated tiles Est 1922. The Hotel is the heart of diplomatic, international visitors in East Jerusalem - a regular hang-out for journalists, businessfolk and politicians. But the Amercan Colony Hotel also has an amazing history and heritage to it and a visitors book to wonder at. The Nablus ...
I've seen a number of reports that this is the worst winter in 30 years – including this from the Scotsman: BRITAIN was in the grip of the worst winter weather for nearly 30 years last night, with widespread disruption and warnings that temperatures are expected to plummet as low as -20C by the weekend. Up to 16in (40cm) of snow was forecast for southern England, while both rail lines and two major roads to the Highlands were among the key transport links blocked. Supermarkets reported panic buying by shoppers hoping to stock up on comfort food and anti-freeze. Salt ...
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is running a public consultation on MPs' expenses, to run from 7 January to 11 February 2010. The IPSA was created by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, in response to last summer's public outcry at MPs' expenses and allowances claims under the existing scheme. The body is independent of Parliament, Government and political parties. Respond online or in writing with your views on a new scheme for MPs' expenses. The topics it covers include: Accommodation Travel and subsistence MPs' staff and offices Other expenses There's also the chance to make further suggestions and to comment ...
Commenting on David Cameron's admission that he 'messed up' over his plans for a marriage tax break, Nick Clegg's Chief of Staff, Danny Alexander MP, said: "David Cameron didn't just mess up because he blundered in an interview, he messed up because his policy is incoherent and fundamentally unfair. "It is unfair because it gives tax breaks to married couples where one person can afford to stay at home, but does nothing for couples who both work. "It is unfair because a family that loses one parent will have their tragedy compounded by an effective tax rise. "And it is ...
You couldn't make this up! Some MPs think their mission in life is to sign as many early day motions as possible. New one, old ones, completely out-of-date ones! They'll sign them. And that's when they start to get into difficulties.So step forward time-travelling David Anderson, Labour MP for Blaydon. Mr Anderson loves EDMs. The more, the merrier. He signed around 600 in the past year, though
[IMG: thinking] As a worryingly obsessive follower of Liberal Vision, you will no doubt have experienced eye-widening shock on 28th December when a new button was added to the menu (above). "Liberal Philosophy?" you mused, "What treasures await for us now? How much better, by Jove, can this site possibly get?" Ignoring pleas from your family / spouses / by-the-hour sex workers to return to whatever they wanted you to spend the bank holiday doing, you clicked on the button to discover a chronologically-ordered list of Barry Stocker's synopses of philosophical texts. Most splendid, yes? The list, I should say, ...
Ian Swales, Liberal Democrat prospective MP for Redcar, has made a submission to Parliament's North East Regional Committee inquiry into Corus. His document "a Positive Plan for Corus Teesside" was published before Christmas and has already had a good reception from Corus managers, Union officials and local politicians. The plan calls for investment at Corus to reverse the fortunes of the declining site and suggests ways in which this could be financed. Ian Swales said: "If Corus and the Government want to see it happen, Teesside could once again become a world leading site for the production of steel. What's ...
Thanks to Helen Duffet of Liberal Democrat Voice for pointing out that today is the 1,139th anniversary of the Battle of Ashdown in which Alfred the Great, then a prince aged twenty-one won a battle against the invading Danes. As it happens I'm reading my copy of Lord Ashdown's autobiography, A Fortunate Life, at present. Paddy signed our copy with the inscription, "Best wishes and thanks for all you do for us". There are some laugh out loud moments, such as a story he heard as a little boy near the Ulster/Eire border. Customs officials watched a man crossing the ...
Today should be Elvis Aaron Presley's 75th Birthday. He only visited the UK once in his live, and that was en route to Germany for his national service. Here is a montage of pictures of him at Preswick Airport. But of course Elvis was a performer so we need a little less conversation. Let's Rock, everybody let's rock. And one final iconic image and a great song.
Lib Dem voice has a well reasoned critique of a particualarly strange article from the Independent that I was quoted in (well they copy and pasted it from here anyways!). Not complaining too much though. I did end up on page five of a national newspaper!
Icelandic defaulting throws up more issues than I can competently cover in a single post.
My Aunt Hettie is not going out of her flat during this period. She broke a hip last year, is 90 years old - and very sensibly she is holed up for the duration. But most of us have to go out. Most of us understand that when it snows it can be dangerous and slippery and we may well fall over. I want us to be like Canada or the USA where we all clear the snow from the space in front of our own dwellings. But according to the Law Society (and the debate at Question Time in ...
Gorton is famous for ite neighbourliness and I know that a lot of people have been helping each other out during the freeze. However this weekend, it's worth everybody having a think if they know of any neighbours who might be likely to have problems getting out and about (for a range of reasons) and check that they're ok, that they are able to keep warm and have enough supplies to get them through the cold snap. That little bit of human contact might make all the difference to an elderly or vulnerable neighbour.
Presenting a new analysis of the merits of the two main ways of converting party vote shares in to seat number projections: Although uniform national swing (UNS) calculations are widely used to extrapolate likely seat numbers from party's national ratings and have the merit of simplicity, they are not without their critics. For example, in November ConservativeHome ran a piece from Quentin Langley which said, That it [UNS] continues to be used when a superior system was developed more than three decades ago is a testament to incompetence in the media... The Proportional Loss Hypothesis (PLH) developed by Dr Gordon ...
Thanks to Arthur for contacting me earlier today to let me know some residents living around Erleigh Road are currently without water. My colleague Kirsten Bayes who lives in the area is also affected. I contacted Reading Borough Council and Sally Swift has responded as follows: We had reports around 6.30am of a burst water main in the London Road outside RBH, Thames Water are in attendance and two lanes of the road are closed whilst work takes place. I have spoken to Thames Water Press Office and the are throwing all the resources at the problem because of the close ...
Social media news releases are the topic of discussion over on the PR Week blog today. It's got a quote from me that was necessarily brief, so here also is the slightly longer version: The hype and hatred dished out since the creation of social media releases four years ago have both turned out to be misplaced. News releases still regularly result in stories being run because, when done right, they're not the road to hell. Social media releases have only had a limited take up because they're not a shortcut to heaven. Good PR teams mix and match between ...
Many people like to criticise those of us who think climate change is happening because of the crafty way we've segued from "global warming" to "climate change" over the past several years. "Look at winters like this one!" they cry. After all, how can we possibly be warming when our weather seems to be getting worse? ...
I have given a lot of stick to police tactics and issues such as ID cards, DNA etc on this blog but I will go out of character for a moment and write in praise of Humberside police. Today's Hull Daily Mail.) is running a story regarding Humberside police forces' steady improvement over the last few years. In it they profile Hull's policing commander chief superintendent Hunter. Mr. Hunter came into post around two years ago and I was immediately impressed with his attitude. He spoke in plain English, cut through the crap and came across as (what I would ...
The Tory councillor in charge of roads and pavements has admitted the County Council is no longer filling salt bins. Salt bins are placed in notorious black spots all round the country to allow residents to scatter the salt on roads that will not be covered by the county council's gritting operation. Liberal Democrat Leader Chris White said: 'This is a dangerous game of "Russian Roulette". We realise the country is short of salt, as a result of a foolish cost saving exercise that has bitten many councils hard. But to stop filling bins in known accident hot spots is ...
I have seen this fascinating picture on the TV and on various websites in the last 24 hours. I think it is going to become one of those iconic images that sums up an entire news event, in this case it being the weather in January 2010 in the UK. It was apparently taken by NASA's Terra satellite and shows the entire country covered in snow.
According to Liberal Democrat Voice - http://www.libdemvoice.org/
Easiest to pass on all the information I have: "Dear all.As you are all doubt aware conditions are still bad however generally main roads are passable and therefore the crews are going to make an attempt at getting to some of the properties that were due for collection today. The work we are going to attempt is:-Blue binsSudbrook, Langworth and Dunholme Black BinsWelton and Saxilby.
Cross-posted from the Mandate blog: According to the Telegraph and Daily Mail, consumer power has chalked up another victory thanks to the power of Facebook: Facebook campaign forces Pears soap makers to abandon 'disgusting' new recipe (Daily Mail) Pears Traditional Soap abandons new recipe after Facebook campaign (Daily Telegraph) The Telegraph is a little more circumspect than the Mail with its use of "after" rather than "forces", which doesn't suggest quite the same degree of direct causality. But there's no doubt what general impression the reader is meant to take from the story. However, take a look at the group ...
This morning's update from Camden... The latest weather forecast for today shows snow flurries of up to 3cm are possible in London but mainly across the east and southeast of the capital. Winds will remain north to northeasterly. Roads Gritting of priority roads continued last night and has started this morning. All main priority routes remain open and buses are running. We have enough grit to last today and tonight covering our main priority roads. We are expecting further deliveries of grit today. Many side roads are covered in sheet ice and remain hazardous. York Way and Arkwright Road NW3 ...
Of course, we are all aware that the ubiquitous Mr Dale is keen to find a nice seat to run in, and in Suffolk Coastal, perhaps the perfect opportunity has finally come onto the market. How could one not want to represent Woodbridge, with its fine dining and even finer shopping? Or Aldeburgh, with its links to Benjamin Britten, its atmospheric shoreline and cosy cottages occupied at weekends by city dwellers in search of peace and tranquillity? Best of all Southwold, with a more than decent brewery (Adnams, the beer from the coast), the products of which he quite possibly ...
I have become more closely involved with Manchester's Unite Against Fascism since attending a vigil against Muslim Grave desecration in November. The next meeting is on 12th January, 7pm at the Manchester Central Church on Oldham St.
Well, I must say I have rarely enjoyed such a rarefied treat of political nerdism as BBC Northern Ireland's "Spotlight" programme last night! My remote got quite a bashing as I went back and forwards to relish every drop of info. Unfortunately it is not available on iPlayer but dear old Auntie Beeb has helpfully written a full SP here. Iris Robinson is ill. I wish her all the best. However, I think she would be well advised to immediately resign all her public positions: councillor, MP, MLA. When I was a councillor we tended to declare an interest even ...
I've arrived in Sussex from Alberta, but there is no escape. At least here I'm not the biggest wimp on the block because I won't leave the house when it is below -30 C, and I can be very contemptuous, in a North American way, of six inches of snow, and temperatures below freezing being an excuse for half the British population to skive off work. Why is that? Yesterday the roads in this village were clear enough for careful drivers. The pavements were still treacherous, but wouldn't have been if everybody had cleared the snow from in front of ...
The plans for the Consett Academy are available to view online here There's a massive amount of detail but please don't be put off, and do read it. In Planning matters "knowledge is power". The odds are therefore stacked in favour of the professionals, but local opinion still counts - provided it is relevant. Tomorrow I will post a summary of things which are allowable planning issues. By sticking to them you can make sure that anything you submit is relevant and has to be taken into account. Putting in other things which are irrelevant to planning weakens your case, ...
January 2010 Dear resident, First of all, Happy New Year! I hope that you had a relaxing and joyful time over the festive period and were lucky enough to spend time with loved ones. Sadly, as my mother passed away just before Christmas, it was not such a good time for me this year but as ever I did enjoy the chance to spend a little more time with family and friends. Thanks to all of you who have been in touch with messages of sympathy - they are much appreciated. With a New Year comes new challenges and let ...
Last night the gritters were out across the County (seen pictured here on Arbury Road) gritting the major routes. Due to the shortage of supplies, Cambridgeshire County Council now only has 5 days worth of salt left (on the basis of not doing any secondary work), and due to the worsening salt situation in the North of England and Scotland there is every possibility that new salt will need to be directed to those regions first. On Monday there will be a review of the precautionary gritting regime to ensure that the most essential roads continue to be gritted - ...
PUBLIC SERVICES UPDATE: 7.1.10, 6.15pm In response to the atrocious weather conditions, Bath & North East Somerset Council has issued extensive updates about the local weather, road conditions, and services information. This evening's full update can be accessed on the Council homepage - www.bathnes.gov.uk . See below for a services summary and the main sections that have changed since our morning Big Freeze update. Schools Update It is anticipated that most schools will be open or partly open on Friday 8th January. Individual decisions will be taken by Head Teachers in consultation with Governing Bodies based upon the circumstances for ...
Photo by Sabine J Hutchinson http://www.virtual-shropshire.co.uk A seasonal photograph (taken in February of last year) from Virtual Shropshire. It shows the view east to the Long Mynd from the National Trust car park below the summit of the Stiperstones.
The BBC Spotlight programme looking into the dealings of Iris Robinson and her teenage lover has led to all sorts of reaction. First up as the BBC Report Ulster Unionist leader (and the Minister of my old department under devolution) Sir Reg Empey says Iris's position as MP, MLA and councillor are all untenable. The Independent look at the sex, money and bigotry that surround the Robinson's as the revelations have come out. Looking at how the revelations we have only just heard about affected his ability to perform as first minister they say: "For many months, Peter has been ...
Caroline Lucas, the Green Party PPC for Brighton Pavilion, has issued a "clean campaign pledge": Voters are fed up with negative campaigns, which spend more time rubbishing other candidates than talking about policies. That's why I'm urging the other parties to show respect for the people of Brighton by signing up to the pledge too. The last prominent Green candidate to make noises like this was Rupert Read, who stood in the Norwich North by-election. His reputation for political cleanliness suffered when he and his running mate were eager participants in an internal election that was so dirty that the ...
All information is from Bury Council more recent information here: https://twitter.com/BuryCouncil Schools that will be closed on Friday 8 January 2010. All Saints Primary School Butterstile Primary Cams Lane Primary School Chapelfield Primary School Christ Church CE Primary Cloughside Elton High School Gorsefield Primary School Greenhill Primary Higher Lane Primary School Hollins Grundy Primary Holly Mount RC Primary Holy Trinity CE Primary Mersey Drive Community Primary Millwood Special School Our Lady Of Grace RC Primary Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School Park View Primary School Philips High School Prestwich High School Radcliffe County Primary School Radcliffe Hall CE/Methodist Primary Radcliffe ...
Suspicious Minds. Steamroller Blues. Can you guess what it is yet? No, not Labour and the Tories' fortunes this week, but Elvis Presley's 75th birthday. It's also the 1139th anniversary of the Battle of Ashdown. 2 (nearly) Big Stories Coups and cricket balls: both spun, neither won: Cabinet almost backed our coup, rebel MPs claim Fresh doubts about Gordon Brown's authority surfaced last night as rebel Labour MPs claimed that most of his Cabinet came close to backing the attempted coup against him. One ringleader of the revolt told The Independent: "My understanding was that only three or four Cabinet ...
Resolve to communicate better with your members - http://bit.ly/56Vn0p # Political correctness and Doctor Who | And another thing... - http://bit.ly/7qwED0 <- Make sure read to the final para # Historical telegram fact of the day: address for National Liberal Federation used to be "Liberalize, London" # @rfenwick Been purging my follower list of spam entries, so making it nice and easy for you! in reply to rfenwick # @SamuelCoates Ta. It's good for picking up and putting down in short bursts, e.g. if you might have a busy time coming up at work [IMG: :)] in reply to SamuelCoates ...
The first by-election of 2010 has resulted in a Liberal Democrat gain from the Conservatives in Harrogate. The result: Greta Knight 688 62.5% (+4%) Con 246 22.3% (+7.5%) BNP 92 8.4% (-4.1%) Lab 73 6.6% (-7.5%) Turnout was 26.99% The by-election was caused by the death of the previous councillor – who had been elected as a Liberal Democrat but subsequently defected to the Conservative Party. Composition of the council is now Con: 27, LibDem: 21 Ind: 6, so the Tories lose overall control. Greta said, "All credit must go to those electors who turned out to vote in such ...
The consultation on Hertfordshire school admissions arrangements for 2011/2012 opened on January 4. The county council is looking for feedback from parents, carers, schools and community groups on a proposed change to the existing admissions rules, to move from the 'shortest designated route' method of measuring home-school distances for admissions purposes to 'straight line distance' measurement. Feedback is also requested on: • The nursery admissions oversubscription criteria • The full set of admissions arrangements for all community and voluntary-controlled schools • Schemes of co-ordination in operation • Sixth-form admission arrangements • Published admission numbers The consultation period opens on January ...
Sadly I have been forced to implement some rudimentary copy protection on my blog after I became aware that some sections of it were being reproduced elsewhere without my permission. Should anyone wish to republish anything I write here, please just email me at: steve@stevemiddleton.info for permission. Thanks! [IMG: Share/Bookmark]
Did you manage to get to work through the snow? Did you manage to get to work but then find out that you had to take the day off because your child's school was closed. I have written about the cost of snow to industry, the NHS and to the individual but what happens in these examples? Unions will work hard to get employers to pay for parental leave and for time off for bad weather. Employers will work hard to only pay employees when they are working. It strikes me that some people will strive harder than others to ...
Dear Khalid Mahmood,
The Survivors of Nevill Holt School Facebook page writes: David Ross (owner of Carphone Warehouse) brought Nevill Holt for £1.6 million and it is now his country house. Word on the grape vine is that after Mr Ross's financial downturn he may be selling up to none other than Ozzy Osbourne. We covered David Ross's financial problems earlier this evening. Nevill Holt is held by most literary scholars to be the model for Bonkers Hall.
