We hope you've been coping during this extended period of extraordinary weather. I'm pleased to say the burst water main on London Road we reported on Friday was fixed very rapidly by Thames Water. We hope you were one of the thousands of households in Redlands who were without water for several hours and you were not too badly affected. Kirsten and I were in close touch with Thames Water throughout the incident and we were very impressed with the quick, calm and professional way they sorted the problems out. I picked up a complaint over the weekend from a parks and access ...
The monthly Acocks Green South Police Tasking meeting was cancelled this month, because of the bad weather. As a result PS Tom O'Keefe has issued the following update on the priorities agreed at the December meeting: 1. Edenbridge road at junction with Lakefield close - One of the youths who lives in maisonettes on Edenbridge has been identified as cause / encouraging groups to hang around his address and cause nuisance, this youth is further mentioned in a number of residents calls and police stops. His address is being visited jointly with housing with view to action being taken and ...
As a prospective parliamentary candidate for North West Durham I get all sorts of information. I think it's important that you get to share it. "Take it away" is an Arts Council initiative designed to help more people get involved in learning and playing music. The scheme allows individuals to apply for a loan of up to £2,000 for the purchase of any kind of musical instrument, and pay it back in nine monthly instalments, completely interest free. Anyone over 18 can apply, and the priorities are: to encourage children and young people to develop their interests and skills in ...
A bit more time was spent filing which involved going through some very old files to make space. I was intrigued by the campaigns when I was on the police authority in the late 1980's. As well as Police Authority members declaring if they were Fremasons, and questions on the use of CS Gas, I was campaigning against a target centre that was going to be a shared training centre for the police and...
A joke that is timeless goes: The first Jewish president of the United States is elected. He invites his mother to the inauguration. As she lives on the other side of the continent he arranges luxurious transport: Limos, military choppers, Air Force One. The works. At the White-House she is treated like a queen. When she returns home she meets a friend who asks her "I didn't see you at synagogue, how was your weekend?" to which she answers: "You remember my son the LAWYER? I visited his brother." Yes, I come from a culture where education is paramount and ...
1973 wasn't all Garry Glitter and Mud. There were some good records in the charts. It's just that you had to look hard to find them.
Of course currently all eyes are on just one Northern Irish political family. Of course at the start of last month that family consisted of 2 MPs, 2 MLAs and 2 Castlereagh Borough Councillors (yeah Gareth Robinson also represents the East Ward), not forgetting the post of First Minister. But as Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward said "devolution is bigger than one man", so with the fallout of Northern Ireland's first family can devolution survive? I would say yes. My reason for this stems from the fact that a few years ago even my jaw scraped the floor. It was ...
I looked at the front pages of all the Sunday papers this morning in the newsagent, as I tend to, and it struck me how many of the stories were about health and safety regulations. There was the story about parents having to accompany their teenage children to the loo in Glasgow cafes (unlikely, that one). There was the lead story in the Sunday Telegraph warning us that clearing the ice outside your house can open you up to legal action. Not to mention all the stuff about gritting being banned for similar health and safety considerations. Before I dismissed ...
How nice it's been this last week, everytime Nick appears in the media he seems to say what I think he should be saying. Whether it's responding to the hung parliament question by saying we are not for sale or his personal comments on Gina Ford's baby rearing techniques, he seems to be hitting the nail on the head. With the comments on child rearing I think he may have inadvertently stumbled across the holy grail of genuinely reaching previously unreachable/politically unengaged people if the comments on this mumsnet thread are anything to go by. We just need to make ...
Welcome to this week's selection of the best in British blogging. Politics As you see, we start with something new: a video. It comes from Paul Staines' Guido Fawkes blog. I have sometimes been puzzled by Guido's pre-eminence in British blogging - why is there such a readership for stories about Gordon Brown picking his nose? - but this film on "The Hubris of Nick Robinson" is a classy production and explains what the blog does with all those interns. Guido is promising more good things in the run up to the general election. Writing on Liberal Democrat Voice Mark ...
There's now a consistent murmur in the media's coverage of the snow spell about how people clear snow from outside their homes in other countries, how it might be a good thing for people to do the same here (example) and how it might not quite bring down The End Of The World (Legal Department) on your head if you clear snow from outside your own home and someone falls over. Two things have been notably missing from the coverage though. First, any example of a successful legal action in such a case. There is plenty of "Oooh, well perhaps ...
So Islam4UK have decided to cal off their proposed march through Wootton Bassett. The group's leader, Anjem Choudary, claimed that they had 'successfully highlighted the plight of Muslims in Afghanistan', and that 'no more could be achieved even if a procession were to take place in Wootton Bassett'. Islam4UK had previously said it had chosen the Wiltshire town, known ...
In a well argued article, Vince Cable correctly refers to how it is wrong to expect the state to have to support a personal area such as marriage through the tax system. As Cable rightly states, it is very unlikely a few extra pounds in a couples' pocket will make them want to stay ...
John Rentoul thinks not writing for the in-turmoil Independent. Sunny Hundal isn't too bothered if it is (preferring, much like myself, the younger Miliband) while comments on the LabourList thread indicate a growing sense of unease with David Miliband's hesitancy and trustworthiness. Some of Rentoul's commentary is baffling such as the assertion that there is; evidence of a new ...
I have just arrived back in Wolverhampton from Thailand and a 24 hour stay in Dubai. Dubai is truly unique - a true gift to shopping, which of course I hate, but apart from lots and lots of shopping centres there is quite a bit to see and do - 24 hours is not enough!
There was a rumpus in the papers the other day about the new Tory advert which is appearing all over the place from billboards across the land. Some say that David Cameron, whose face peers down at us all from on high, has been airbrushed to make him look even smoother than he already does. I haven't studied the picture that closely myself (I think there's something really off-putting about his eyes), but to me a much bigger concern is that the designer of these posters has left a massive expanse of white space around his head, which is just ...
At least the plot forced Brown to take a more mature approach to fiscal strategy.
Tomorow a series of Question and Answer sessions will begin in the European Parliament, to see if it will approve the nominees for the next European Commission. Each nominated Commissioner will have a three hour grilling, starting with Cathy Ashton from noon to 3pm tomorrow. Baroness Ashton — who was briefly Leader of the House ...
I note that Lib Dem bloggers are praising Will Hutton's article today and it's a strong article. On AQ Polly Toynbee spoke of her differences with Labour and was quite frank about it. At the end of the day though you can have all these nuances of opinion and call yourself an `Independent Labour columnist` or whatever. At ...
Campaigners have expressed disappointment that Test Valley Borough Council will not be debating changes to local bus routes at its January meeting. A motion submitted by me and Mike McGarry calling for a review of the changes and the subsidy given by Hampshire County Council will be deferred to the council's Overview and Scrutiny committee for consideration. It is a pity we will not be able to discuss the proposals now. I would now expect the committee to look at this and report back to full council as soon as possible. The county council must accept Andover is a growing ...
Some readers will remember that I wrote to the General Manager of the Northern Line about the mooted proposal to permanently split the line between its Bank and Charing Cross branches. Having sent my email on 6 December, I enquired as to a reply on 19 December, and received a note on 22 December saying: "I am currently investigating the various points you have raised. Unfortunately, this is taking a little longer than I had originally anticipated. As soon as I have all the necessary information I will write to you in detail." I do not appear to have heard ...
David Cameron, sensing an opportunity to say something his right-wing will like, has told Andrew Marr that he desperately wants to cut immigration and that a population of 70 million is 'too much for Britain'. Ever the demagogue he expressed 'concern' for our 'burdened' public services; "I think we should be focusing on the pressure on ...
Today was the first day in quite some time that minor roads have been visible through the snow. Possibly the weather is going to get very much better. Below is an update about tonight's gritting operations. 9/10 January 2010 Gritting operations to all priority routes commenced at 19:30 hrs and were completed at 23:00 hours. Although the snow flurries that were forecast did not transpire, the streets were started to freeze after dark with ice forming on untreated areas. RST's fell to minus -4 with air temperatures falling to minus -1, which were again 2 - 3 degrees higher than ...
I would like to thank Richard Millett, a Conservative candidate in Mill Hill in the 2006 local elections, for writing the following on his blog: "The Liberal Democrats have some very reasonably minded people in their party, including Vince Cable and Chris Huhne, and some good candidates, including Matthew Harris who is very active in the Liberal Democrat Friends of Israel." I am delighted to be called "a good candidate" by such a source. Richard also writes: "If you have the urge to vote Liberal Democrat then vote for them at the local council elections. They have some interesting policies ...
Will Hutton, the leftie's economist of choice, has an excellent column in today's Observer highlighting the crucial link between education and fairness in society. While Hutton (unsurprisingly) doesn't go so far as saying it, his clear implication is that Labour has failed to tackle the root causes of unfairness in Britain; we are living in ...
I have today launched my January 2010 update to the West End Community Council. Subjects covered include : ■Winter Maintenance ■Flooding at Richmond Terrace tackled ■Wheelie Bins ■9X bus service ■Car Parking The Community Council meets this coming Tuesday (12th January) at Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall at 7pm. You can download a copy of the update by clicking on the headline above or by going to http://tinyurl.com/weccjan10.
Here by the fire, in my favourite chair, it is clear that life is going to be rather tougher for the British people over the coming years. Admittedly, with people to look after my every wish, to feed me tinned sardines in tomato sauce and, from time to time, roast chicken (with the skin on for preference) and gravy, that doesn't include me. I tend to leave my people to deal with the tough issues, like Afghanistan, the War on Terror and, to be honest, most things unrelated to fishing policy. However, I was moved to comment on the whole ...
Back in 1979, then Labour PM Jim Callaghan returned from Guadeloupe to face a barrage of questions from the press and political opponents about the state of a strike-torn country, denying allegations that Britain was in chaos. Britain, was was a country divided then, strikes had been erupting all winter in protest at the government's 5% pay limit. We'd had a bakers' strike, lorry and tanker drivers were on strike, and by the end of the month, water workers, ambulance drivers, sewerage staff, and dustmen were out, heralding the "Winter of Discontent". All of which brings me to the lamentable ...
For all political anoraks with a passing interest in US Politics, it's worth considering a purchase of Game Change, Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin and the race of a lifetime by John Heileman and Mark Halperin about the 2008 Presidential campaign. It contains a whole slew of enticing nuggets, of which I have learned via my daily staple, Political Wire - and Politico: Hillary Clinton was so confident she would get the Democratic nomination that she had two top advisers planning her transition for after she won the general election. When Obama offered Hillary Clinton the job of ...
Welcome to the 151sh of our weekly round-ups from the Lib Dem blogosphere, featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (3rd – 9th January 2010), together with a hand-picked quintet, usually courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget, by the way, you can now sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox – just click here – ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Liberal Democrats and Labour ...
Sunday 10 January 2010 (1500) Severe weather update GMPTE is advising passengers to expect the ongoing disruption to public transport to continue tomorrow due to ongoing severe weather conditions - and for demand on services to increase as more people start travelling to work again. Many bus services have been operating today, but main roads continue to be the best served routes because of the icy conditions. Metrolink has been running regular services across the network and rail operators have been operating as a full a service as possible. However, demand on services is expected to be significantly higher from ...
I recorded this video when I was out campaigning in Eggbuckland earlier this week. It's all about how the Lib Dems would make education better and fairer. Enjoy!
Despite the news yesterday that the players wanted to stay on to compete in honour of the driver, coach and press officer who died. It appears that the Togolese Government are still insisting that the team fly home. Team coach Hubert Velud said: "For the moment, it looks like we're leaving. But I can only speak in the conditional, because for the last three days everything changes every other hour." Captain Emmanuel Adebayor tells that he and the team are now accepting the authority of their Government. "This Friday at 1430, we were all dead on that bus. We sent ...
[IMG: Raleigh1-26-08_80] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Daysleeper724 Trivia series continues to intrigue and amuse.Political Wire's Here's a good one: For twenty consecutive years, from 1981 to 2001, the United States had a left-handed president. But this one really tickled me, coming from an office where there are (at the last count) five Pauls: For a 26-year period between 1975 and 2001, every governor of North Carolina was named Jim. (That's North Carolina's Capitol building in Raleigh above, by the way)
This information copied from the Stockport Council website, accurate at 3.58pm on 10th January. School Opening and Closure Information Education Establishment Status for Monday 11th Jan Abingdon Primary Open Adswood Primary Open Adswood Nursery School Open Alexandra Park Primary Open All Saints CE Primary (Marple) Open All Saints CE Primary (Stockport) Open Arden Primary Open Banks Lane Infant Open Banks Lane Junior Open Belmont Nursery Open Bolshaw Primary Open Bradshaw Hall Primary Open Bramhall High School Open, please see school website. Bredbury Green Primary Open Bredbury Green Nursery Unit Open - Operating from main school site. Bridge Hall Primary Open ...
Sun 10th
17:56
The Contented Little Citizen Book? Clegg's approach to parenting reveals his attitude to politics
Being a parent, like being a liberal, means being alive to the needs of the individual. Using systems sparingly, to free, rather than to oppress. I'm a liberal, and a mother of four, so I was interested to read Nick Clegg's interview in today's Sunday Times, in which he refers to The Contented Little Baby Book: "The Liberal Democrat leader, a father of three, described Gina Ford's approach to bringing up babies, which involves encouraging them to stick to strict routines, as "absolute nonsense". Speaking about trying to follow the guidelines in Ford's bestselling book, which has brought her a ...
I know I promised to blog over the weekend but I'm afraid I didn't really get a chance. Sorry! So what was the event like and how did it go? When we arrived at the hotel where the event was held we were split into small groups of about 12-15 people who we'd be with for the rest of the weekend. Our group was pretty balanced. We had a Lib Dem, a couple of Labour supporters and a couple of Tory supporters as well as a lot of other people with other views. This made for a really wide ranging ...
Didn't really believe this when I saw it. After writing about an excessively large fine for filesharing this week, there then pops up this huge fine for speeding. Is it normal in the Swiss legal system for fines to be decided based on the perpetrators wealth? Very interesting system if it is.
That's the nub of my quick video message, below: You can vote over at Lib Dem Voice here.
Sun 10th
17:01
How delaying the General Election count to Fridays, could screw up decisions on council control
This year's general election, (it's nice to be able to say that at last, rather than speculating on the year), will be the first in a long time when a large proportion of the votes will be counted on the day after polling day, rather than on the night of the election. Current estimates show ...
It will come as no great surprise to connoiseurs of the Conservative Party's love of money (and complete disregard of what anyone else thinks) that Zac Goldsmith has once again appeared at the centre of a Tory financial scandal. You will remember that Mr Goldsmith recently came under the most fleeting scrutiny for his 'non-dom' ...
Written over last summer by Professor Anthony Seldon and a mini-army of assistants, Trust is at heart both an optimistic and a pessimistic book. Optimistic because one of Seldon's arguments is that "trusting and being trustworthy are the sovereign human virtues we need today [and] trust is natural: we were born trusting and the state of nature is to be trusting". Pessimistic because his formula for restoring trust is not a simple checklists of policies but rather a harder and more fundamental shift in how individuals behave and a recipe of broad change across nearly every part of public policy. ...
Excellent to see the Forgotten Spaces initiative from the Royal Institute of British Architects. Prizes of £5,00o, £2,000 and £1,000 are available for people who identify an unused site and come up with an idea for how to put it to use. The competition quotes the clever example of what's been done with the previ0usly derelict space under the A40 flyover. It's now been put to use as a sports centre. So get your thinking caps on and take a look at the competition details or visit the National Theatre between 24 May and 4 July to see best ideas ...
Will Carling has written a good piece over on Rucku "Flood V Cipriani - Martin Johnson's dilemma". As a Quins fan I can only agree with him. The flat play of Nick Evans makes for a far more attacking style of Rugby, sometimes risky, but all the better to watch. Of course international squads don't have the salary capas that club rugby has, so you can build a more complet all round team.
These days classical liberalism is out of favour. Some would probably argue it has had its day, others than it is alive among certain conservatives. It certainly appears to no longer be the driving force of the Liberal Democrats, at least for now. That doesn't mean there aren't classical liberals still out there thinking about policy issues and how to win people over to their view. One part of doing that is being able to tell the classical liberal story. That means knowing what the story is and developing ideas that are relevant to the problems and challenges we face ...
This weekend, I was promised, as a local Councillor that the missed collections from Tuesday and Wednesday would be caught-up with this weekend. There were caveats, bins which were iced in place obviously couldn't be moved, and they couldn't be bothered to collect the recycling, but the promise was clear. Looking around Gorton this afternoon, unless they are intending to break the land-speed record in the next two hours, it is clear that this primose has not been kept. Residents who took our bins in and put them back out again on Friday night have still not had our refuse ...
[IMG: Snow in Bathwick] The 'Big Freeze Update' from the council is abridged below for public information purposes. Whether the 'big' refers to the length of the update or the severity of the freeze is not made clear. it is cold and will remain such for some considerable time; it has and will snow, road and pavement conditions are described as extremely hazardous grit was delivered to the council on Friday; it will be used sparingly on major routes and in grit bins, not on residential roads or pavements as per this map most schools will be open on Monday, ...
It should be no contest, you'd have thought. Public spat between million selling child-care author and a politician. Who's the public going to instinctively trust? And what's the general tenor of online comments on the stories going to be like? So when I saw the news that Nick Clegg has said that Gina Ford's highly prescriptive and detailed child care instructions weren't for him and his family, I expected the coverage to be at least mildly critical and the online comments to be far more so. That's not how it has turned out though. It's both to Nick's credit (the ...
Information Nation
Children and young people have been seen walking on the ice at Kingsgate Park Lake, Yate. The ice is very thin, and an unexpected fall into icy water can be fatal even if it's shallow. Parents, please warn your children about this.
It seems that the Liberal Democrat's narrative for the general election campaign is going to be themed around fairness. This has been welcomed by Stephen Tall, critiqued from a communications point of view by Nei Stockley and analysed by Jock Coats. Its proponents will argue it fits in with the party's policy themes and will resonate with the voters. Its doubters will say that all the parties are talking about fairness. It certainly puts the party more in the social democrat camp than the liberal one. It certainly moves the party away from a classical liberal position. As Liberal Vision ...
Two days ago I got the number 18 bus from East Jerusalem Bus Station, Nablus Road, and went to Ramallah - it was only brief and I hope to go back this week. But what I saw was full-on city - with an economy, with ambition, with potential. If it were (and this risks sounding trite) a part of London you would call on the council to take it's responsibilities seriously and crack on with the physical and economic regeneration that would move it forwards in leaps and bounds. But whilst the government, people and army of Israel feels compelled ...
This is from the councilThe Met Office predicts that temperatures will remain very cold, with no significant thaw expected. Road conditions are expected to remain very icy. Further snow fall is forecast to continue during Sunday and throughout the week. As a result, road and pavement conditions will remain extremely hazardous. The long-term weather forecast indicates the extremely cold weather
In user testing, why didn't anyone suggest to Microsoft that you should be able to delete a Windows 7 Theme by dragging it to the recycle bin? Why doesn't Windows 7 tell users that you cannot delete a theme while it is in use? I don't particularly care about the answers, I just wanted to share my frustration with the world; frustration that pedantic attention to detail is missing from tech.
The BBC kicked off a series of programmes about the Obama presidency with 'By the people: the election of Barack Obama'. Coming in at 110 minutes and covering the primaries as well as the general election campaign this is serious political television. Not to say that there aren't human moments. The most touching, and amusing, was a nine year old boy doing some telephone canvassing for the Obama campaign. Exasperated by the potential voter who couldn't see to understand what he was calling about, he caught himself from putting the telephone down on her and delivered a polite goodbye before ...
Last Wednesday's Area Committee meeting discussed the issue of a need for a temporary replacement library for Southport over the next 3 years. We had a 7000-strong petition passionately presented by a local resident, Mrs Paddy McNeish, calling for Southport Indoor Market to be used as a temporary home. The petition was followed by a debate on a motion moved by my colleague, Birkdale Councillor Richard Hands. Richard called on Sefton's Cabinet to reverse its previous decision not to provide a temporary town centre Library for Southport residents. Regular Birkdale Focus Blog readers will recall that Conservative and Labour councillors ...
So, in the fallout from Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt's attempt to 'clear the air', Alistair Darling announces that Britain faces the toughest spending cuts in twenty years. David Cameron responds by saying that his Party will "go further" in cutting the deficit than Labour. Apart from the nonsense that they can go further than Labour - there comes a point when the budget deficit is eliminated and you can't go any further - there is still very little in the way of firm commitments. The occasional moan about the amount spent by the Central Office of Information (£500 million), ...
Sunday: Can you believe Mr Balloon would say that a successful, popular British producer (and exporter) ought to have their operations squished in order to benefit less well-performing operations? Restricting the people doing best in order to give a helping fluffy foot to their less-commercial rivals... wouldn't he call that a bit, well, SOCIALIST in any other context? And yet he DOES say this: "I think sometimes there are sort of territorial extensions ... into areas where, frankly, they are in danger of sort of squashing the smaller commercial operators." Who's he talking about? Oh, it's the BBC of course. ...
Will Hutton has a rather excellent piece in the pages of Comment is Free arguing that not only does class still matter but it 'effects everything we do'. He argues that; Britain is a chronically unfair and increasingly closed society and private education plays a central role. His piece severely undermines the notion that Britain is a ...
... just be glad you didn't live a hundred years ago. For the first 1910 general election, Parliament was prorogued on 3 December 1909 and the final day of voting (polling took place across several days) was on 10 February, 10 weeks later. Oh, and then there was a second general election later in the year.
For a while now I have been thinking about applying to go onto BBC's Mastermind. I usually do OK in my armchair at the general knowledge rounds but the sticking point has been picking a suitable specialist subject. Or, as the application form makes clear, the four subjects. It looks like you have to declare enough subjects to take you all the way through to the final! Anyway, Dazmando from Bracknell Blog suggested that it might be fun to get my reader's views on which subjects would be best and/or the most appropriate. Therefore I have decided to run a ...
Since I've been involved in local elections I've long suspected that we spend our money more efficiently as a party (partly because we don't have as much of it and partly because we're tight!). At the last by election we had in Leeds I overheard Tory councillors complaining because we managed more than double the amount of literature within the election budget than them. The fact is we didn't bother doing the very expensive glossy magazines that they did. Instead we hit the streets with hard hitting, simple and regular literature with local stories and a strong political message and ...
Friday: Did Harriet Harman engineer the snowplot silliness? Radio Four's Weekly Political Review* did their review of last year and after twenty-five minutes of talking up Conservatories and down Hard Labour, suddenly Mr Peter Riddler remembers there might be a BROADER spread of political opinion and asks: "So, the Liberal Democrats... Jackie Ashley, has it been a good year for Captain Clegg?" And La Ashley replies: "Well no, but I'll say who has had a good year: Harriet Harman..." So much for the Guardianista insight, but you must admit 2009 aside, 2010 has started with a GOOD WEEK for Harriet ...
Just passed again through the new corridors at Kings Cross Underground Station. I find the blank advertising panels make a stronger statement than the commissioned art - Full Circle by Knut Henrik Henriksen. Their temporary blankness makes them even more poignant. See and download the full gallery on posterous Posted via email from Helen Duffett's posterous
3) Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Yoga: Your Home Practice Companion (London: Dorling Kindersley, 2010, ISBN 9781405349185). Covers much the same ground as the Sivananda Companion to Yoga, with a bit more detail on some aspects and less on others. The style of the photos and layout is more contemporary and feels fresher. From a purely personal point of view, I also rather enjoyed seeing a model whom I actually know from the centre, meaning that I can vouch for her being a genuine practitioner. I think I may have seen the other two around as well. I liked that all ...
The way the style-rich waste their money brings awkward disrepute on capitalism . . .
Off of the back of the failed coup on Gordon Brown this week, the Conservatives unveiled yet more details of their sketchy financial strategy to the masses confirming that they would do what we already knew they would. hack and slash at public services thus making sure that normal Joe Public like you and I ...
Describing yet another plot to oust him from the post of Prime Minister as "an act of silliness" Gordon Brown has once again proved that he is missing the point when it comes to gauging how the mainstream labour party and the country at large feels about his prime ministership. "They have got to be free ...
Richard Bacon on Twitter has been asking for questions to put to David Cameron tomorrow. Here's what I would like a firm answer to (too long for Twitter!): If you form the next government, will you use a tax on non-doms to help pay off the deficit? You originally pledged to introduce this to fund an ...
The "War on Drugs" as it is being currently fought has massive unintended consequences for the environment. As over 40% of the estimated global cocaine trade is being intercepted, with little effect on prices to the consumer, it can therefore be logically argued that 67% more coca bush is being cultivated than is necessary to meet demand. Coca is being cultivated in some of the most biodiverse countries in the world. Colombia especially is concerned about the loss of valuable rainforest habitat. The policy of burning intercepted drugs only drives this destruction further, as does the US policy: Plan Colombia. ...
The Royal Caledonian Curling Club may have sought and failed the correct clearance from authorities to hold a bonspeil on the Lake of Menteith for the first time since 1979. But the cancellation didn't prevent a return to more innocent times before health and safety held such sway. A Facebook group that had been set up announced soon after the announcement of the cancellation shouted out: "Bring your stones, bring your skates if you prefer, or just bring your self. Take heed of the warnings but do it anyway. See you Saturday."So yesterday 2,000 curlers turned up, to enjoy the ...
So the human pinata, more commonly known as Headteachers and teachers, has today again been continued to be bashed. This time there have been calls to reduce school holidays when days have been missed due to bad weather, a similar system to America.What concerns me is there is not a wider debate. This 'freak' weather has occurred for the second year running. Why are schools being singled out? We
We are told there are 140 grit bins in Camden - not actually a lot! There is one round the corner on my road which I know has been filled (and emptied )several times but several seem to have gone missing including one at the junction of Sarre and Westbere Roads. However, as conscientious local Councillors we have reported this and got this immediate response: Unfortunately it seems that the bin we had at this location was stolen. We are ordering 20 new grit bins to add to the 140+ that we currently have on the streets and as soon ...
It is being widely reported this morning that Myleene Klass has been warned by police after wielding a knife at some intruders who were in her back garden attempting to break into her shed. The Telegraph reports it as follows: The youths approached the kitchen window, before attempting to break into her garden shed, prompting Miss Klass to wave a kitchen knife to scare them away. Miss Klass, 31, who was alone in her house in Potters Bar, Herts, with her two-year-old daughter, Ava, called the police. When they arrived at her house they informed her that she should not ...
I have just got back from Debden after doing my weekly shop. Whilst I was waiting for the bus, I looked up and noticed a local shop open. In need of a flask, I went over and purchased one. Thanking the very helpful guy behind the till, he said that hardly anyone has been out and business has been at a standstill. It got me to thinking that we have a responsibility all year round, but especially
LATEST INFORMATION Weather conditions: The Met Office forecasts some outbreaks of snow in the afternoon, possibly into the evening. Temperatures are slightly higher than they have been, although still remaining at about zero or minus one degree celsius. Manchester remains open for business as usual.Travel advice and gritting: The major roads in and out of the city were gritted on Saturday night with 50 tonnes of salt. 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 enough. The ...
Looking at weather forecasts from various sources, it is clear that by the end of the week most of the country will be having rain, as opposed to snow, and evening temperatures should be above freezing, meaning an end to the ice and snow. And all I can say is thank goodness for that !
Nick Clegg was slated when last year he called for 'savage cuts'. Last week Labour woke up to the idea that we cannot go on spending the way we are without either increasing the amount of tax we pay or cutting spending. Now it seems that the Conservatives have realised the inevitable, that big spending cuts are necessary. But, being Cameron's Conservatives, they cannot stop there. They want to
I am tired of reading arrant rubbish about student visas in the newspapers. So let me (as someone who helps to administer a small private college) supply an insider's view of what is really happening. Most political parties support the new "Points-Based System" of immigration rules as a Good Thing, and maybe it would be, if only the Home Office was fit for purpose. In practice, the UK Border Agency simply cannot keep up with its workload. Therefore the process of licensing private colleges to sponsor student visa applications is running months late and has actually tipped the balance of ...
This morning's Sunday Times reports that the Tories hid donations of £40,000 from Zac Goldsmith, his brother Ben and two billionaire brothers in an apparent breach of the law. They say that the donations were recorded on official records as coming from Unicorn Administration, an intermediary company that helps run the finances of the super-rich. But the paper reports that it has discovered that in fact they came from Zac Goldsmith, his brother Ben, and Ben's wife Kate, a member of the Rothschild family. Another donation of £14,390 came from the Reuben brothers, property developers and aluminium tycoons who made ...
Peter Brookes in The Times 9 January 2010 Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward has insisted that the "devolution process is bigger than one man" as the DUP after expelling Iris Robinson turns its attention this week to her husband. A Senior Free Presbyterian Minister, the church founded by Ian Paisley, the Rev David McIlveen has joined calls for the First Minister to step down saying: "I do believe that his position is becoming increasingly untenable. He has a major problem with regard to solving his own family difficulties and I personally cannot take the view that a person's private life ...
Liberals and Conservatives united together in a British general election to fight for freedom and vanquish Big State corporatism: Over half a century ago, mind. *** Disclaimer: this poster, photographed by me, is from the Bodleian Library's modern political papers archive – copyright is believed to reside still with the party. Could Cowley Street please contact me - stephen.hat.libdemvoice.org.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one) if they wish this image to be removed.
Peter Watt used to be General Secretary of the Labour Party. His book is making the front pages today. He left that job when it was discovered that he knew that businessman David Abrahams was making donations to Labour via third parties - something that is against the law. The Tories have admitted today that they received donations from Zac Goldsmith and his brother Ben via a third party called Unicorn Administration. Their breach of the law is said to be an 'administrative error'. Irony alert - the day the Tories choose to bury this bad news.
As the Social Media '09 conference before Christmas, I talked about the revamping of Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone's website which I was involved in last year. Comparing Lynne's very first website from 1999 (hand written flat file HTML) with her current site (database driven WordPress site), it's not just the look but also the technologies which have changed hugely in that decade. You can now watch an edited version of my talk over on the Social Media '09 site, with a fuller transcript on the site below the clip and my slides are here. (Memo to self after watching ...
One feature of a Labour Party in opposition is the yearly elections to the Labour Shadow Cabinet. Like Paul Waugh I was always surprised that Blair didn't get rid of these elections when he would have been able to in the late 90s. There a few things that can be said about these elections when (or if) they take place. I think it's pretty safe to say that neither Hoon or Hewitt will be featuring in the line up after their recent antics. Other, previously unassailable rising stars of the Labour Party, may also have a few problems getting elected ...
The latest revelations that donations from Zac Goldsmith to the Tory Party may have been covered up are in the papers, So what are Tories bloggers saying about it ? As of 10:16 am Iain Dale says nothing. Guido Fawkes, who claims to be independent but leans heavily in his postings towards attacking almost anyone except the Tories, says nothing. Conservative Home says nothing. Tory Radio says nothing And of all the other Tory bloggers, I could not find one mention. In stark contrast, after revelations about Gordon Brown, this issue was being discussed on Labour Websites and blogs like ...
We have had to move the URL for the "House of Comments" podcast to houseofcomments.com. If you want to know the details of why this has happened, Stu has a detailed explanation on his blog. Because of the way iTunes works, your old subscription will now not update any more so you will need to resubscribe. You can do this very easily via this link. Apologies for any inconvenience. For the uninitiated, it is a podcast hosted by me and Stuart Sharpe of the politically unaligned "Sharpe's Opinion" blog. Every week we also feature one or two other political bloggers ...
Just perusing what folk are saying on Vote 2007 website (a site for political geeks who love talking about constituencies and by-elections) Someone wrote on the Islington South & Finsbury website: Seems that Bridget Fox has been going out in the snow knocking on doors and there's an action weekend this weekend. People like that. A Labour responder ...
It can be forgotten that political decisions result in life changing events for many. Such as the decision to go to war in Iraq. The film The Hurt Locker demonstrate how hard it can be to carry out the wishes of general and politicians. This film comes across as non-political but is infact has political overtones its just not overtly political. Director Kathryn Bigelow's (who directed Point Break) has done a brilliant job of converting the wartime experiences of journalist Mark Boal into a engaging and absorbing account of an American Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. I was gripped from ...
It sounds such an appealing title; 'The Contented Little Baby Book', But follow the advice contained within at your peril! Nick Clegg today critisised the methods prescribed in the book, having learnt for himself that they go against all natural instinct to love and cherish your children. The book first came to my attention many years ago when quite a few of my friends were talking about this
Having spent a couple of hours yesterday effectively digging my car out of a lane at the top of a hill in Cwmbran I have every sympathy for those whose travel plans have been disrupted by the weather. I had no choice but to take my car into the hell hole in which it ended. I had to transport an elderly relative with a broken ankle, who could not get down to a clearer road. There are many others in a similar position. I am old enough to remember similar experiences in 1981, when Britain had one of the coldest ...
Taken yesterday, this photo shows the Old Grammar School with Symington's corset factory (now the offices of Harborough District Council) behind it.
Isn't it a bit cowardly for Conservative Home to ignore the latest revelations on Zac? Or is it that they've come to the same conclusion as everybody else – he's going dahn.
From the Green God Stewart Brand
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] So the old blog has been running for about a year so here are the pointless statistics I'm sure you're all desperate to know... hmmm... Number of unique visits = 18,305 Total visits = 89108 Average number of unique visitors per day = 50 Top 5 Stories of the year: Civic Pride PAC meeting - AWE application Hmmm, didn't want to touch this topic but... The trouble with twitter (how wrong was I?) The Stats
I was able to make time on Friday afternoon to go for a good tramp around Epping and Coopersale's frozen streets (and to drop off a final few Focus leaflets). [IMG: Trees along Bury Lane, taken from Bolt Cellar Lane] The effects of the snow are showing up in the form of at least one broken street sign and rapidly deteriorating road surfaces (it would have helped if those particular potholes had been repaired when they first appeared many weeks ago), which I have now reported. I also did a circuit around Swaines Green and then later walked across the ...
It's Sunday. It's 7am. It's time for an exclusive peak at the next Conservative Party election poster, but first the news. 2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here's are two posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: Some Good News for Nick Clegg: Nick Thornsby mulls over some new poll findings on what attributes the public associate with each of the three main party leaders. Community spirit alive and well in Bandon Rise: Jayne McCoy on how one group of residents took action rather than bemoaning what others have or ...
Here is a map of the routes currently receiving pre-salting as a result of the restrictions currently being applied. [IMG: pre-salting-routes.jpg] For full details of services and issues during the current severe conditions look at the relevant section of the county website via the link.
I arrived in Sussex without suitable footwear for snow. I'd left my Uggs and Emus in Alberta, but although ideal for dry snow they would get ruined quickly in our wetter stuff. This is wellie weather, so after a visit to Harper and Eede I'm now the owner of a pair of green Hunters to go with my old Barbour jacket. Needless to say, the effect is more Duchess of Windsor than Peaches Geldof. It strikes me that there could be few better auguries of a Conservative election victory than the fashion revival of Hunters and Barbours. I see that ...
The armed attack on the Togo team coach yesterday, in which the driver, a press officer and assistant coach were killed and 2 players injured has led to their withdrawal from the Africa Cup of Nations. Both the Angolan government and tournament officials spent the day persuading the players to stay for their group matches. But clearly the half hour under fire on their way the players are not prepared to play as their first choice keeper said: "None of the team is ready to play, we're all devastated, everyone wants to go and see their family. "We came here ...
Tory blogger and political commentator, Iain Dale has published his predictions for the General Election and surprised himself at how well the Liberal Democrats have come out of the exercise. He predicts the Liberal Democrats will win 69 seats, a net gain of seven. This is a shock to some people but not to many Liberal Democrats who have thought for some time that we can come out of this election with more MPs than we went in to it. This is not to say that I agree with all of Iain's predictions. His assumptions for Wales for example, in ...
One of RU Lib Dems main campaigns has been to put pressure on the university to reinstate the Bulmershe shuttle bus. The bus provided by the University had run regularly between the two main campuses and was a vital service for students. It was cut in the summer without the consultation of the Student's Union or the Bulmershe JCR and despite the fact it was advertised in the most recent prospectus. The University gave flaky reasons stating it was a necessary cut due to the difficult financial circumstances and it would reduce the university's carbon footprint. RU Lib Dems and ...
Congratulations go to Redlands Councillor Daisy Benson who was selected as the Parliamentary Candidate for the Liberal Democrats in Reading West. I have known Daisy for a few years now and have never met a more dedicated local campaigner. She genuinely works hard and voices the concerns of all her constituents. I am personally grateful for the work she put in to ensure the reinstatement of the housing accreditation scheme, improved street lighting within the ward and raising awareness of graduate unemployment in the recession. But my list really could go on! Reading West are lucky to have the opportunity ...
Hello! Hope everyone had an enjoyable Christmas break and have returned to Reading safely. We look forward to seeing both old and new faces in what is sure to be another action packed year for RU Lib Dems. Remember our first weekly meeting is this Monday (11th) at 7pm in The Lounge (Old Nursey near the Students Union). Don't worry if you have missed other events as these meetings will run every Monday same place, same time throughout the term. If you need to get in contact with us please don't hesitate - rulibdem@hotmail.com or phone Peter on 07891691038 x ...
[IMG: img_4642.jpg] Very little traffic in Shipston on Wednesday! I managed to get home on Tuesday evening following a four hour journey from Cirencester - and the one thing I've learnt is not to do that again in a blizzard. Despite the chaos it brought to the local community - bins uncollected, burst pipes (including at the medical centre, resulting in no heating on the coldest day of the year) I saw a lot of kids out with their parents enjoying the deepest snow for 15 years. I hope you've not had too many problems - and roll on the ...
I am sorry to harp on about the weather because my main theme of a few blogs is that we weren't prepared for the snow but we should have been. What is so irritating is that a local government spokesman is now telling us that we are too ready to criticise. It has been an unprecedented winter and an unprecedented event and we have to take extraordinary measures. My big problem with this is that we weren't prepared from day one. We are told that councils were well prepared by having six days worth of salt ready. Could I make ...
