Google blog announces possible withdrawal from China – that's a biggy.
All, For many years now there has been a Register Office (for births, deaths and marriages) at the Town Council offices at Clark House. Although by appointment only, it has meant that people from Shipston and the surrounding villages haven't had to travel to Stratford or even further afield to use the service. The Town Council has received a letter terminating their lease from the end of March. I challenged our local Conservative County Councillor about this at the Town Council meeting last night. He said that he was not aware of this happening! In case you didn't know - ...
The British government has banned a radical Muslim group called Islam4UK, which gained notoriety recently by suggesting that it would hold a march in the English garrison town of Wooton Bassett to protest the deaths of Afghan Muslims killed in British and NATO military action. Had the group gone ahead with the march (which was far ...
[IMG: Northbrook visual] Before Christmas, I wrote here and here about the controversy over the changes to the Northbrook School front window, which had been approved behind closed doors by Lewisham Council without any consultation with residents or their local councillors. I'm pleased to say that following a meeting with residents and the Lee Manor Society held just before the Christmas break, the designers have come back with a revised window which addresses many of the concerns local people had – the image to the right illustrates how this will look (we're waiting for a better visual from the designers). ...
We are delighted to announce that RU Lib Dems will be hosting a talk by Professor David Nutt on Monday 25th January. Professor Nutt is one of the most highly respected, yet controversial figures in drugs research and is the former Chairman of the government advisory body on drugs policy, the ACMD (Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs). In this role he was seen to be outspokenly critical of the classification of some drugs, publishing several papers in noted medical journals on the correlations between Dependence/Self Harm; risk assessments between taking some drugs and other activities (f.e. horse riding ...
Ooops! Blank post courtesy of Virgin Trains - back in Bromsgrove now so let's hope this works................. I'm just on my way back from FPC, on the train to Bromsgrove hoping that the train isn't as late as it was last night, causing me to miss my connection with an hour wait for the next one! Anyway last night I was at Shadow Cabinet where, with Lynne Featherstone being the only woman, I was overwhelmed by the distinct white maleness of the brood. OK, a few women were missing, but it doesn't take many to result in none.............Let's hope this ...
Steve Webb, Lib Dem Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, has extracted figures from Government which show that up to a third of people who are entitled to claim Pension Credit fail to do so. That figure could represent well over 3,000 people in North West Durham. Pension Credit is one of the key benefits which entitles people to Cold Weather Payments of £25, triggered when temperatures are sub-zero for seven days in a row. Sadly lots of pensioners who've never got to grips with Pension Credit, which is intended for pensioners on low incomes, will therefore be missing out. It's ...
All, The District Council has announced new dates to attempt collection for those (like me) who haven't had their bins emptied because of the poor weather. The full release is here: http://www.stratford.gov.uk/news/news.cfm/current/1/item/711 but, as I understand it, refuse in Shipston will be collected tomorrow, Wednesday, and green waste and recycling will now be collected on Tuesday 19th. They will collect up to three extra black sacks. Regards, Philip
There was a very interesting and informative presentation at West End Community Council tonight about Transition Towns and in particular the successes at Monimail/Cupar in Fife. It was really inspiring and a number of us are keen to meet to look at ways the West End community can participate. The video above is well worth a look.
The Manchester Evening News carries the important news that Liberal Democrat councillor Dale Mulgrew, who has just become the deputy leader of Rochdale Council, is the son of the comedian Jimmy Cricket. "And there's more!" Please yourself. That used to crack us up in the 1980s.
[IMG: Empty grit bin] Following a discussion at the Council meeting last night the Town Council has agreed to buy three grit bins to cover the bottom of Tilemans Lane, Hay Meadow and The Tannery. Although we have to buy the bins, the County Council will be responsible for topping them up. After the decision was made there was a discussion about which other areas could do with them. Please let me know if you or the residents in your street would like one, or write to the Town Council directly. Let us know where you would like it placed. ...
I have received an email from the General Manager of the Northern Line, confirming that the Northern Line is already split between its Bank and Charing Cross branches at certain times of the day, with plans to extend this split further by the end of the decade. I have replied making clear again that I consider this to be a bad idea and asking TfL to consult passengers before implementing it - they currently have no plans to consult! It transpires that the line is already split northbound during what Transport for London (TfL) calls "the AM peak". TfL's plan ...
Just a quick reminder that the next Local Assembly meeting is on January 19th from 7.30pm at Northbrook School (at the former Ennersdale School site on Leahurst Road). Flyers should be hitting doormats across the ward this week. On the agenda will be the usual assembly priorities: Manor Park – with an update on the propsed work on the Manor Park building and bridge (more details on Paul's blog) Leegate – we'll be launching our residents' survey on how local people would like to see Leegate change in the short and longer term Youth provision – an update from the ...
Absolutely loving this group have a listen More info here
Soundings having been taken, and the Constitution referred to, an election for a new Chair of Liberal Youth, to hold office until the next round of Executive elections after a General Election, will take place, with the result to be announced in York on 28 February. A call for nominations will go out as soon as possible, closing fourteen days after the announcement, so as to allow maximum time for any candidates to make their case. Postal ballots will also be available, as I believe it to be vital that as many as possible of Liberal Youth's 3,500 members can ...
One of the things that has highlighted the utter incompetence of Labour to me and underlines why they do not deserve another chance in power has been their handling of the swine flu outbreak. In the first place, they had a policy of mass over reaction in the media coupled with a complete lack of real action by the government when it came to taking real action. The government's overreaction might have made sense were it not for the fact that the UK government was pressing the World Health Organisation to not declare the swine flu out break as a ...
So, Alistair Campbell stands by 'every word' of the now infamous Iraq 'Dodgy Dossier'. Good for him; he might have convinced himself but he is one of the few in the wider country who is convinced. He says that it was 'not intended to misrepresent' and 'could have been clearer' but yet admits he gave 'presentational ...
Alan Johnson has a shocking record as home secretary, decision after decision has been a reflection of Labour's inability to guard civil liberties. Banning Islam4UK is just another bad decision by Johnson, and another blow to our civil liberties. As Think Politics have rightly argued: "There's no other way to put it if you value freedom or ...
People in Warwick and Leamington are rightly frustrated with their politicians. I am going into the election with a clear direction and a manifesto that is short, direct and to the point. Fairer Taxes We will introduce fairer taxes by closing loopholes for the richest, introducing a tax on mansions and tax cuts of £700 for everyone else. Fair Start for every Child If your child is at a local school we can promise investment to help reduce class sizes, improve discipline and develop one-to-one tuition. Fairer & Cleaner Politics We would also give you the right to sack your ...
Weather Forecast It appears as if the worst of the weather is now behind us, although temperatures will remain very cold, with possible snow fall in some areas on Tuesday evening and it still is snowing! The long-term weather forecast indicates the extremely cold weather is likely come to an end towards the weekend where there is likely to be a thaw. Although the vast majority of Council services are back to normal, contingency plans are being developed in case of further bad weather or the anticipated thaw does not materialise. The Week in Numbers To understand the scale of ...
It's tricky to know where to start with this, and all I am really clear about is that my brain is about to burst, I have seen and heard so much. But let me try and make a start and tell some of what I saw with pictures. Today I went to Gaza, an early start to be there for the 8am crossing and a full day with UNRWA leaving Gaza at 3pm (it takes about an hour to get through security - not because it is busy but because it is a long and thorough process). Can I also ...
I have done a complete U turn. That's something I do often. After initially balking at the idea, I have downloaded Mrs Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel. It's gentle, (both musically and satirically) and it's a great way to introduce a new generation to the talent of Paul Simon (and of course, er, Art Garfunkel). I originally heard the track via my music teacher's racey Red Convertible Triumph Vitesse's 8 track player. ...Kicking back the roof, foot down on the gas, North Devon's summer passing by...wonderful memories. Taegan Goddard summarised Irisgate very well: Sometimes movies are based on scandals, but ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black, will be holding his first two advice surgeries of the year this week. Mr. Black will be in Glynneath Library on Friday 15th January from 3pm to 4pm. He will then be available at Neath Central Library from 4.30pm to 5.30pm. No appointment is necessary.
Whilst watching feral youths scampering about on a frozen canal a few days ago, including one utter fool who was on a bike, deliberately bouncing up and down to try to make it break, a rather nasty little thought crossed my mind. I wanted the ice to break. I was hoping, praying to some non-existent entity. ...
So the government has banned Islam4UK. Great, that's another blow struck for the terrorists. Our political leaders think that our democracy is so flimsy that a single loon making outlandish claims he will never deliver on can lead to yet another clampdown by the scaredy Labour government. Brilliant. Or, to put it another way, isn't democracy about free speech, no matter what the stench which accompanies that free speech might be? [Within reason - yes, I know, there are always lines which shouldn't be crossed but a march by a few dozen nutters?!] Isn't the fact that muslims still choose ...
Someone called Peter Bartram arrived at work today to give us some training. The name seemed familiar. "Did you once publish a biography of David Steel?" I asked. He did. We got talking. "Don't you write Lord Bonkers?" he asked. I do. We got on famously after that. Peter has his own website.
The Usual Suspect has been at it again. So has the Telegraph. Newbury Sound's deejay (Stuart McGinley) last night breathlessly announced that the Usual Suspect 'reckons we're in for 30 years of global cooling'. What do you think? – he asked. I wrote in, but my email was not read out (not last night anyway). My reply gently pointed out the difference between "climate" and "weather" (which the deejay seemed to be using interchangeably as if they mean the same thing), quoted the Met Office's chief scientist saying that 2000-2009 were the warmest years since records began, and ended by ...
It became clear this weekend that some the new heating systems installed by One Vision Housing Association have not worked and that the procedures put in place by One Vision have not been adequate both in terms of getting the heating and hot water back on and in effectively communicating with tenants. One has contacted me again today outlining her struggle with the association: '.... the tenant initially rung the emergency out of hours contact centre about this matter at 7.20 am on Friday 8th January. As at the time of writing this e-mail (8.15 am Monday 11th Jan), no ...
Walking home from the station tonight someone asked if I would show a poster protesting against the development of Windy Ridge on the edge of Little Bowden. I agreed to do so. The Harborough Mail will tell you about the issues at stake: An inquiry into the so-called Battle of Windy Ridge is due to start tomorrow (Wednesday, January 13). A Government-appointed planning inspector will preside over a three-day public inquiry in Harborough over the latest homes row at the so-called Windy Ridge site, off Glebe Road in Little Bowden. Developers Mosaic Ventures and Fletcher Homes want to build 141 ...
Last week Conservative Party Chairman Eric Pickles has visited Luton and argued that people are 'disillusioned with politics' and I quite agree with him; but it is because of people like Mr. Pickles that people are rightly outraged at the rotten state of the current Parliament. Mr Pickles has claimed tens of thousands of pounds from we taxpayers to pay for a second home less than 25 miles from his other house, is a key member of a party which has failed to sack their MPs that 'flipped' their second homes to get more tax payers money and avoid paying ...
Over the past couple of weeks I have been greatly concerned about the number of distressing accounts I have received about the recent power and gas cuts. While to some of those in a more fortunate position power cuts and bad weather are a nuisance, to others it is a much more serious concern. While we all have been affected by the current weather conditions, it is hard to imagine the worry the most vulnerable people in our community have felt at loosing the ability to cook and keep them warm. Through helping and speaking with residents throughout our community ...
Article 6, paragraph 16 of the Federal Constitution of Liberal Youth states; "Where the office of Chair is or becomes vacant the Executive may designate a Vice Chair to be acting Chair, until a proper appointment may be made under 10.6.a). The acting Chair shall assume all responsibilities of the Chair. Where an acting Chair is not appointed the Vice-Chairs shall jointly exercise the powers and responsibilities of the Chair." As I understand the position, on that basis, and for the time being only, Alan Belmore is acting Chair, being the only extant Vice Chair. The Federal Executive may then ...
Today's BBC news was interesting for anyone interested in the freedom of humans from oppression by their so-called democratic governments. Innocent men who were held for over two years without trial and tortured, Shafiq Rasul and Rahud Ahmed, were able to meet one of their former guards after he contacted them to apologise on Facebook. The next story was about the European Court on Human Rights' decision that ruled illegal the Stop and Search powers used in a draconian manner by some police forces (sorry 'services' — another 1984-ism). For a while people who look like they have Asian ancestry ...
My view is that a lot of what the Lib Dems were looking to do; free personal care for elderly, free childcare, extended shared maternity leave, citizens pensions is not feasible when you are also talking about making cuts in government expenditure not just rebalancing the books. We are already proposing cuts to trident replacement, abolish ...
Rachel Sylvester in The Times today draws an interesting analogy out of the child rearing reading material of the political leaders. Considering all three have young families and have said something about families in the last week, there is some logic in her thinking. But after pointing out that Gordon Brown can't decide which school of thought to follow "tough love" or "tender loving care" it leads to the interesting contrast between the other two main party leaders. Of course we all know what Nick Clegg's view are after the weekend interview in The Sunday Times, indeed all the 'broadsheet' ...
Michael White has done an excellent blog here on the banning of Islam4UK where he hopes Alan Johnson has called this one correctly. Michael writes 'My own prejudice is against bans unless absolutely necessary. Society is stronger for taking on the nasties in open debate and proving the merits of mutual tolerance. That goes for the BNP and their ilk just as it does for tabloid demagogues. Repression only feeds extremism and other unpleasant side-effects as the current woes of both Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams and the DUP's "Swish Family Robinson" Underline.' These paragraphs above really sum up my ...
You would have thought that there would have been at least a vague hint of contrition from Alistair Campbell. Perhaps a small concession to the obvious reality that Labour got it utterly wrong over the war. But no, nothing of the sort. As far as Campbell was concerned, he had no regrets at all. He stood by the "evidence" that weapons of mass production existed in Iraq and said Britain should be
..all the Wokingham schools are open again from today (Tuesday 12th). They did their damnedest to clear the snow from their entrances, car parks, walkways etc. Secondary schools had the extra complication of needing to make sure the school buses could run. And some schools struggled to provide lunches. They did the very best they could. And what was the reaction of our current MP, John Redwood? To ask a question in Parliament yesterday morning (Monday 11th January), as follows: Should not schools that have to close for snow find alternative days during the year when they can replace the ...
Yes, it just hit us again. We thought geekier readers might like these links: Rain and snow precipitation radar map (enter town or postcode in left hand column to centre map) Twitter map updated from #uksnow tweets
Yes, I've been out with the camera and snapped a few photos around my ward. Here are some of them:The three above are of the Sandy Lonnen, the medieval lane that runs from the Derwent Valley, between Whickham and Sunniside. We walked down it on Sunday to go to Hollinside Manor House. Here are some of the photos we took when we got there.(and through the square window)(I can imagine that this one
According to Iain Dale, who has gone through each Paliamentary seat in the UK, the Lib Dems are set to win 69 seats in the general election. This somes much more realistic than the apocalyptic rumours of a loss of more than 20 that some in the mainstream media are espousing. Lib Dem campaigning has never worked in the same way as the other two parties. Our campaign is based on heavily fought local campaigns and not on large national swings. I hope the media realise this and don't dismiss the Lib Dems just because of not exactly brilliant national ...
My back hurts, and topical application of my lovely Monty Python box set isn't helping. So have some:Fresh Squeezings From the veins of the InternetNick Clegg's rubbishing of Gina Ford seems to have garnered almost totally positive coverage. OK, so Gina's not impressed, but everyone else seems quite happy to have an MP actually stating an opinion and not equivocating. Who'da thunk it? I do like this mickey-take in the Graun though. Speaking of MPs, if you've ever fancied a go at being one, there's a new game on the parliament website. It's pretty resource intensive, and even on easy ...
2010 was promising to be a very good year. Liberal Youth Wales had just elected a renewed Executive. Matt Smith became our new Chair, Hannah Griffiths our Youth Officer, and Craig Matthews our Vice-Chair. Sian Cliff returned as our Communications Officer, Ed Wilson as Treasurer and I stepped enthusiastically into the role of Campaigns Officer. As a small (but growing!) force in Welsh politics, we continually look to the Federal Liberal Youth for support and help. Over the past year, under the Chairships of Corey Shefman and Richard Morgan-Ash, we increased our membership by over 50%! It was an incredible ...
Do you like this logo? It's been created by an advertising student at Edge Hill University (where I work) for the Friends of Garston Park group. We'll be using it from now on if we get anything printed. Our next meeting is on Friday 15th January at 6 30 pm at Long Lane Church. Do come if you can. We have also set up a website for the group at www.fogp.blogspot.com
There are a couple of pots of money for grants to be given to groups based in the Cressington ward. It's going to be done in a new way which involves public voting. There'll be a Participatory Budgeting meeting to vote on the applications for the grants on 22 February at the Bridge Chapel Centre. (I'll blog more details nearer the time) However the key thing now is for groups to get the bids in. Each pot has 5,000 pounds. One is for environmental type work and the other for things connected with health and wellbeing. Information is available from ...
BBC Spotlight news yesterday carried a story about cold weather payments - special help for fuel bills for people receiving various income related benefits. The decision as to whether you receive a cold weather payment depends on the weather reading at one of 85 weather stations around the UK. If you are a benefit recipient then you will automatically receive the payment (£25 a time) for each period of 7 consecutive days when the average temperature drops to freezing or below. For full details, click here. The catch is the location of the weather stations. The Department for Work and ...
After the the crisis hit Greece, it became clear that the country's political leaders had forced the Greek statistics agency to produce false accounting. Instead of the actual numbers, the country reported a slew of figures that seemed to show that the country had eschewed its old spendthrift and incompetent ways and embraced the rectitude of the Maastricht economic criteria. In fact instead of a single figure deficit, the country has been running much bigger deficits and then lying about it. The effect of discovery was to send the country towards a serious crisis and to see a dramatic expansion ...
The number of published opinion polls into British general election voting intention hit a twenty plus year high in 2009 with 141 polls carried out during the calendar year. That is the highest figure since at least 1987 (when my records commence)* and more that completes the polling industry's recovery from its post-1992 nadir. You can see the quarterly trend in this graph: [IMG: Number of opinion polls per quarter] (Click on image for large version) As I explained previously: The 1992 general election was a bad one for the British political polling industry. During the campaign, the vast majority ...
General Question to the Leader of the Council "Communities Secretary John Denham has announced £52,632 from a fund to help many of the hardest hit areas reopen or re-use empty shops. Funding was allocated to the top half most deprived local authority areas based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation and the highest vacancy rates. Please can you tell me how and where this money will be spent?"
This morning's Western Mail reports on comments by the Welsh Government's former Permanent Secretary to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee in which he made the astonishing claim that UK Ministers do not trust their Welsh counterparts with sensitive information. I suppose that is fair enough when it comes to highly sensitive state matters but as Sir Jon Shortridge makes clear, it can impact on the business of government here in Wales as well as cause confusion due to the failure of Whitehall civil servants to understand the devolution settlement and the context in which they work. In his written submission ...
Tue 12th
15:30
Day 3299: The Not-at-all-sexed-up Dossier Did NOT Mislead, claims Mr Alistair Henchman... so THAT'S ...
Tuesday: Lord Blairimort's enforcer, Mr Alistair Henchman, is at the Chilcot Enquiry defending the Iraq Dossier. That dossier: "Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction - The Assessment of the British Government" (pdf), aka the SEPTEMBER Dossier (NOT the subsequent FEBRUARY Dossier "Iraq - Its Infrastructure of Concealment, Deception and Intimidation", aka the "Dodgy Dossier", which was a complete fabrication*) is the one that said Mr Saddam still had Weapons of Mass Destruction and could launch them within forty-five minutes. "I don't believe the dossier in any sense misrepresented the position," said Mr Henchman. Apart, obviously, from being COMPLETELY WRONG. Asked about ...
David Blanchflower has this piece in the New Statesman which makes interesting reading. Firstly, it torpedoes the assertion that underpins the 'cut the deficit' discourse; that the 'recovery is established'. Lending is weak; business growth rates are low across the board and projections are not for an economy firing on all cylinders in 2010. So, ...
From my schooldays I have been a keen football supporter. For many years I stood on the North Bank at Highbury, graduating to the Clock End as I became an away fan. I took out all the frustrations of the week via my vocal chords. I still do it today, except I sit in a comfortable ...
A photo borrowed from the Twitter account of Simon Evans to illustrate Carwyn Jones' debut First Minister's Question Time. As Simon says somebody in the BBC needs to catch up with current events.
First up, there's a report from the Hansard Society which has surveyed MPs and their use of the internet ("A study into how MPs use digital media to communicate with their constituents"): [IMG: Usage of internet by MPs - Hansard Society graph] (Click on image for full size version) It is clear from the survey that the internet has permeated the culture and day-to-day life of our MPs and that many value the benefits of internet use and greater connectivity. It is interesting to note some of the findings, not so much the saturation of email (as this might have ...
An editorial in this morning's Financial Times takes to task David Cameron's views on immigration, which he expressed on Sunday's Andrew Marr Show. Here's what the FT has to say: David Cameron, the Conservative leader, is wrong to back calls for capping the UK population at 70m over the next 20 years through immigration controls. The target and ...
The Reading University Lib Dems have invited Professor David Nutt, the former head of the government's Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs (see previous posts) to speak at an event on Monday 25th January. They have very kindly asked me to chair the event which I am pleased to do. According to the invite, all are welcome to attend. Here are the details from the Facebook page for the event: Professor David Nutt is one of the most highly respected, yet controversial figures in drugs research and is the former Chairman of the government advisory body on drugs policy, ...
The Council has provided an update on bin collections, which have suffered badly with the double whammy of Christmas and snow. At present the efforts of bin collection staff are focusing on the collection of general waste (black) bins, to get rid of any backlog. The advice is to leave out your black bin on the normal collection day. The Council are allowing two extra black bags together with a full bin. I think this is an inadequate amount, given that for many people there hasn't been a collection for three weeks or more. If you're due for a blue ...
What Clegg's jettisoning of party policy yesterday says about his election strategy, and the next Government's challenge. Here is a brief roundup of policy pledges Nick Clegg's Liberal Democrats commuted and committed to yesterday. "Put on hold" Extending free childcare to all 18-month oldsFree personal care for the elderly A "citizen's pension" based on residency not NI contributionsTuition fees to be realised not in the next Parliament but "over six years" Retained Raise the starting rate of tax to £10,000 More one-to-one tuition and small class sizes at primary school10% levy on banks' profits as long as the banks are ...
Cross-posted from the Mandate blog: The news that Habbo Hotel, the extremely popular social network for teenagers, is launching a tie-up with Facebook is not only significant in itself but a sign of things to come. It's immediate significance is in ease and convenience: Facebook users will be able to use Habbo Hotel without having to register separately, users of both will be able to find their Facebook friends in Habbo Hotel and actions in the latter will be shared back with the former. Beyond the immediate convenience, this tie-up signifies two bigger trends. First, for many people the story ...
St Albans City and District Council's waste and recycling teams are out in force following disruption to the service during last week's icy weather. Waste collection services have been put under severe pressure in recent weeks due to the treacherous weather conditions. Andrew Robertson, Head of Environmental and Regulatory Services at St Albans City and District Council said his team made a sterling effort after the first major snowfall before Christmas to catch up with the time table. "Our efforts paid off and we were able to get on top of things across most of the District. However, this last ...
If the Government Office for the North West receives enough requests, they may call in the Lancashire CCC/Tesco planning application for a 166,000 sq ft store in Gorse Hill, so the Secretary of State can make the decision instead of Trafford Council, which might result in a Public Inquiry which would be very good news indeed if the results of the last Public Inquiry is anything to go by. Please email GONW and ask them to recommend the application is called in. For help with your letter/email, follow this link: and open the document called 'sample call in letter'. ...
If the Government Office for the North West receives enough requests, they may call in the Lancashire CCC/Tesco planning application for a 166,000 sq ft store in Gorse Hill, so the Secretary of State can make the decision instead of Trafford Council, which might result in a Public Inquiry which would be very good news indeed if the results of the last Public Inquiry is anything to go by. Please email GONW and ask them to recommend the application is called in. For help with your letter/email, follow this link: and open the document called 'sample call in letter'. ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the new First Minister to act on his commitments to education in Wales, by reversing the higher and further education cuts his government voted for in late 2009. Kirsty Williams commented: "The New First Minister made some bold promises in his leadership manifesto, notably outlining his belief that 'education is the route out of poverty'. Sadly, the First Minister voted to cut college and university budgets by 5% this year, so his first act must be to reverse this terrible decision by tabling a supplementary budget." "Unless he shows leadership and reverses the ...
LDV yesterday reported that Elaine Bagshaw has resigned as Chair of the party's Liberal Youth organisation. Well, two quick updates to that story: First, the Liberal Youth executive has issued a statement thanking Elaine for her contribution as Chair since 2008. You can read it in full here. Secondly, James Shaddock, Liberal Youth's Vice-Chair Communications, has today followed Elaine in resigning his post. You can read his statement here. An eventful 24 hours in the life of Liberal Youth. Feel free to contribute your informed speculation below ...
The consultation process has begun on the future of City of Leeds School and future use of the site should the school be closed. Please respond to the consultation and let the council know your views.
With great regret, Liberal Youth Chair Elaine Bagshaw has resigned from the executive. Liberal Youth released this statement in response: It is with great regret that Liberal Youth must announce the resignation of Elaine Bagshaw, Chair of the organisation. Elaine's resignation statement can be read at: http://liberalyouth.org/news/chairs-resignation-letter. The executive of Liberal Youth would like to express our profound thanks to Elaine Bagshaw for all her hard work during her Chairmanship. Her dedication to Liberal Youth and the Liberal Democrats has been of the highest order and has helped Liberal Youth completely transform during her tenure. The past 18 months have ...
I've been doing some work on helping to write the Keighley Town Plan this morning; that's "plan" in the sense of blueprint, not in the sense of map. I'm a member of the steering group. I've been putting together things that Keighley people said (in the Town Council Survey) they wanted for the environment, with ideas to solve some of the problems. Some of the problem solving ideas were suggested by residents in the survey, some were my own ideas and some were helpful suggestions by Nader Fekri, our Lib Dem parliamentary candidate. Nader and I had a discussion about ...
Tue 12th
13:40
Up to 5,000 pensioners in Bury North will miss out on Cold Weather Payments - Lib Dems
Up to 5,000 pensioner in Bury North will miss out on Cold Weather Payments triggered by the recent weather, according to analysis of Government figures by the Liberal Democrats. Cold Weather Payments of £25 a week are paid to people on low incomes who receive a qualifying benefit, such as Pension Credit, which goes unclaimed by as many as 1.7m pensioners nationally and by 5,000 in Bury North. It is a scandal that pensioners on the breadline are missing out on these payments, worth an estimated £42.5m across the country. Fuel prices are at an all time high, making Cold ...
The BBC online Magazine has posted an article about the winners from the recent cold snap.They go into detail about various winners. Corners Shops Soups Car washing firms Pond life Winter Sun Destinations You know what I think they are missing one very obvious one. Maybe is is because of the local news coverage that I get where I am, but certainly one winner of the recent month of winter has been the Scottish Ski Resorts where business is booming with some of the best snow conditions in Europe at present.
Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that over 5000 pensioners in Bury South (and 10000 across Bury) could be missing out on crucial cold weather payments. Overall the party has identified that up to 1.7m pensioners could be missing out on the payments that are triggered by 7 days of sub-zero temperatures, according to analysis of Government figures by the Liberal Democrats.Cold Weather Payments of £25 a week are paid to people on low incomes who receive a qualifying benefit, such as Pension Credit, which goes unclaimed by as many as 1.7m pensioners. Commenting, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for ...
Just watched a preview of a programme on later tonight about a chap who's been hiccoughing continuously for two years. Now normally, this sort of "human interest/medical/freak-fest" programme doesn't do it for me, but I remember Chris Sands from a news item last year. It turns out that he's had a tumour on his brain stem which was causing the hiccoughs. The tumour has been removed and Chris is on the road to recovery and the hiccoughs seem to have also vanished. In the course of tonight's programme he says something interesting though, commenting on getting an MRI scan whilst ...
Today's opinion poll analysis on Political Betting must be Labour's favourite because on face value it shows them holding up their support-admittedly at 24%. What is of interest in the small print is the results for the North of England which puts the Lib Dems at 25%. Now in all honesty there are some Lib Dem black holes in the North, so to make it to 25% does imply some pretty spectacular performances ....
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] [IMG: four_steps-300×232.png] Yesterday the Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg outlined the principles behind the party's General Election Manifesto. There has already been cries from other parties of the Lib Dems "dumping polices" but, in fact, the new Manifesto is a bit more realistic. Much was made of the national party not pledging to scrap tuition fees about a month ago. But this just wasn't true, the policy was just made more realistic. Actually, we will still phase out tuition fees over 6 years, instead, as this is far more affordable and realistic. So what are the ...
For the first time ever in British politics, Labour have been in power for a whole decade, from 2000 to 2010, the noughties. So what were the Labour noughties like? This is the second post in the series. This post isn't meant to be particularly partisan (but I always find it hard to be totally neutral!). It is intended to be a list of the governments last 10 years of political successes and failures. Feel free to add any yourselves in the comments. 2000-2002 This was a defining era for the Labour Party and its ideas on international relations, security ...
To recap, the four steps to a fairer Britain which Nick Clegg laid out yesterday were: Fair taxes. A new, fair start for all children at school. A rebalanced, green economy. And clean, open politics. In terms of what's there, no huge surprises. After the MPs' expenses scandal, it's no great shock (and very welcome to many members) to see political reform back in the list of top issues for the party. The emphasis on early years education reflects a common theme of Nick Clegg's speeches before and after becoming party leader. Expect that story about 'a young child in ...
Up to 1.7m pensioners will miss out on Cold Weather Payments triggered by the recent weather, according to analysis of Government figures by the Liberal Democrats. Cold Weather Payments of £25 a week are paid to people on low incomes who receive a qualifying benefit, such as Pension Credit, which goes unclaimed by as many as 1.7m pensioners. Commenting on the Liberal Democrats website, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Steve Webb said: "It is a scandal that pensioners on the breadline are missing out on these payments, worth an estimated £42.5m. "Fuel prices are at an all time ...
The Home Secretary, wishing to appear tough (Don't they all ?), has banned Islam4UK under the Terrorism Act 2000. This legislation which originated in Roy Jenkins' original and "temporary" Prevention of Terrorism Act should be repealed. The state backed by whatever majority should not ban groups of people, however small or unpopular a minority. It's called Freedom of Association. The state
Watching Nick Clegg trying to set out a clear and consistent approach to this coming election while at the same time that I am reading a book on Quantum Theory (and trying to understand the narrative of how that theory evolved), a couple of concepts crossed over in my mind. One is Albert Einstein's guideline for explaining science to the world "Make it as simple as possible, but no simpler" The other is a phrase Einstein drew on for solace, from the works of the philosopher and playwright Gotthold Lessing that the aspiration to truth is more precious than believing ...
Last night's City Council committee meetings were lengthy, at some three hours in total, and a number of important subjects were discussed, including : Parking : The long-awaited report on residents' parking, looking at five areas of the city including the area approximately east of Sinderins from Roseangle/Magdalen Yard Road in the south to Blackness Road in the north (termed 'West End' in the report) and the Invergowrie Drive area finally appeared on the agenda of the City Development Committee. The report (see http://tinyurl.com/parkingreport) gave the outcomes of the surveying work and informal consultation on the difficulties residents in the ...
The Met Office has issued the following warning for the Cheshire area for Wednesday 13th January: "There is a moderate risk of a severe weather event affecting parts of Northern Ireland, southern and central England and North Wales. A band of snow will move slowly northeastwards overnight and into Wednesday, gradually easing through the day. Accumulations of 1-3cm are likely in many places, perhaps with 5cm locally. The strong east to southeast wind is also likely to lead to drifting of snow. Issued at: 1109 Tue 12 Jan"
So: whose fault is it? The winter chaos I mean. It was fun before Christmas but we have all grown heartily sick of it and there is now rumour of crisis. The Independent on Sunday's front page was a bumper crop of statistics: £690 million in lost production, 14,188 cancelled trains, 25 deaths and so on. The Army is on standby in Kent, the fire brigade is delivering meals on wheels and farmers report that they can't get crops out of the ground. Meanwhile there are warnings of gas shortages. Locally people are cursing councils for failing to grit roads ...
Greg Stone yesterday resigned as Lib Dem PPC for Newcastle East, a month after revelations over comments he posted anonymously on Guido Fawkes blog. Reporting the story on 19th December, the Telegraph wrote: Using the pen-name Inamicus, Mr Stone left his comments on the Guido Fawkes website as part of a weekly live discussion of Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, in which many contributors make personal criticisms of MPs. Among Mr Stone's targets were David Miliband, the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, the justice secretary, and Jacqui Smith, the former home secretary. He twice attacked Hazel Blears, the communities secretary, ...
The universities have already been told that they face cuts in their HEFC grants next year of about 6%. That is a cash cut in the grant and nothing for inflation.There are some universities which are now on the edge financially and are likely to end up merging with others. One of the difficulties they face is that the financial cost of reorganising staffing is now sufficient to take out cash
Greg Stone has resigned as Lib Dem PPC for Newcastle East as a result of the fallout following some lewd comments he made during one of Guido's PMQs live chats a year or so ago. Amongst other comments were a reference to whether Hazel Blears was on Botox and asking whether she had had a stroke and describing a Labour MP as a "sour-faced bitch" There was various coverage of the comments last month in the press (for example here) and there had been calls for Mr Stone to stand down. So on the surface, a PPC makes some ill-advised ...
A councillor remuneration report commissioned by Cornwall's Conservative led administration has been published and recommends an increase in the basic allowance to £14,600 from the current level of £12,000. Council Leader Alec Roberston is set to get a £7k rise taking into account all the different allowances he is entitled to - he will get a total of £44,605 a year. Back in June, the Liberal Democrats made a manifesto commitment not to raise allowances for the four years of this council. We proposed a motion to put this into effect soon after the new council started work only to ...
Today's poll in the Times putting the Tories at 41%, with Labour on 28% and us on 19%, does not show any significant degree of difference from the previous poll picture. In other words the position of Labour continues to be dire. The behaviour of the Hewitt-Hoon Labour Suicide Action Team has hardly helped their own party to make the recovery they need to stand any chance of salvaging even a
Tue 12th
10:30
The Labour Party & Scottish Devolution, 1967-79: a case study in British political expediency .....
As trailed here, over the next few weeks I'm publishing 'The Labour Party & Scottish Devolution, 1967-79: a case study in British political expediency', the thesis I wrote as an undergraduate some 12 years ago. You can catch up with what's been published to date here. 'Beginning to be converted to the least possible': devolution launched Devolution: Labour's ideological dilemma Decentralisation - the essence of devolution - has proved difficult for Labour, prompting Kavanagh to refer to the party's attitude as 'in part at least, an enigma' (D. Kavanagh (ed.), The Politics of the Labour Party (1982), p.166). Traditionally, Labour's ...
The severe weather recently has played havoc with Cornwall Council's ability to collect rubbish. Not surprisingly, the bin lorries cannot safely negotiate icy roads - particularly not hills - and so local residents have seen their rubbish bags sitting outside their doors for a week now. The Council asking residents to be patient and they will collect as soon as possible. The problem comes with the advice being issued to take uncollected rubbish back into your property. If your black bags have been sitting in the street for up to a week then they are not exactly pleasant and bringing ...
Tue 12th
10:10
The Guardian's approving verdict on the Lib Dems' manifesto principles is correct ... but for the wr...
Nick Clegg will have enjoyed reading this morning's Guardian editorial (Nick Clegg: Liberal parenting) over his breakfast porridge today. The paper commends Nick for yesterday's launch of the principles which will underpin the Lib Dems' election manifesto. At the same time it betrays the Guardian's usual unawareness of the party's democratic decision-making principles. According to the Grauniad, Nick "ordered his party to drop some of its favourite policies", issuing "instructions" in order to transform the Lib Dem manifesto from "a third-party wishlist" into "a credible agenda for directing a government". Hmmm, not so much. In fact, all that Nick talked ...
I've mentioned a few times on this blog about Geoff Hoon's rather uneasy relationship with his local party and local activists. It seems that the BBC have now picked up on these splits in the Ashfield Labour Party and are running a story claiming Hoon may face a vote of no confidence. Based on his previous relationship with his local party, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he lost. This can only be good news for Ashfield Lib Dem PPC Jason Zadrozny who has a real chance of taking this seat off Hoon (or whoever the Labour Candidate is) ...
The PR angle to the current snow falls was the subject for a guest post I did over on the ReputationOnline site: The current snow and ice blighting many of our roads also provides an excellent opportunity to many firms to demonstrate that their rhetoric about responsibility and care for their communities is matched by the reality. How? Simple: by clearing the snow and ice from the pavement outside their premises. Although taking care of the pavement outside your own property is a habit more common in other countries than our own, it is a simple step that both produces ...
Cutting the cost of Whitehall and quangos. We will cut the cost of Whitehall bureaucracy and quangos by at least a third by the end of the next parliament. Ah yes, one of my personal favourites, and clearly one of politicians everywhere. The problem with this is, that if it were so easily achievable, everyone would do it. There is no doubt that there is too much bureaucracy in this country, and much of it could be more efficient. However, how did we end up with all of these quangos and bureaucracy anyway? Governments have been so keen to avoid ...
To me it's unbelievable that as one of the most affluent countries in the world, we can't provide a roof over everybody's head. It's bad enough that people sleep rough at any time, but in the depths of Winter, and this hellish Winter at that, the fact that people are sleeping outdoors in Princes Street Gardens is something we should be deeply ashamed of. I'm very grateful to Wendy Fraser (aka PJ) for taking the time to write down this moving account of her time volunteering for Crisis in London these past two Christmases. I read with interest, and despair, ...
On this day in 2001, Sven Goran Eriksson took over as manager of the England football team. On the same day, the carers of eight year old Victoria Climbié, who died after being tortured and fed like a dog, were found guilty of her murder, leading to questions being asked of Haringey Social Services. Today is the 281st anniversary of the birth of Edmund Burke. It's also the 59th and 56th birthdays respectively of US radio 'personalities' Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern. 2 Big Stories Four steps to a fairer Britain Yesterday saw Nick Clegg set out the priorities which ...
Having spent the Labour leadership hustings telling the same joke about people mistaking him for BBC weatherman Derek Brockway, Carwyn Jones' first plenary statement as First Minister today, is on the weather.
The Lib Dems' willingness to sacrifice items from the era of shopping list politics demonstrates how they can be trusted in power by the bond market, and is a welcome, mature move from the leader
Last night there were no trains north after 6.30 pm - one resident paid £90 to get a taxi back from Farringdon. This morning, the 0750 was cancelled with passengers on it because there was no driver. The scene at St Albans has been described as chaos. Why has their franchise not been removed?
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] [IMG: 3795057798_aefbafd444_b.jpg] Lib Dems have held the seat at Harrogate BC, in Woodfield ward by 688 votes (Compared to the Tories 246). Labour came fourth in the this election - seems the sins of the past are catching up with them! But this must be great news of Lynne Featherstone, who must now be set to retain her Parliamentary seat gained at the last general election - good luck Lynne!
Sometimes headlines seem like an endless succession of repeats- a kind of Groundhog Day from a 24 hour media with little short-term, let alone long-term, memory. This morning we have had the annual complaint from Universities- not co-incidentally just ahead of the annual budget discussions they must have with the Education ministry- that they are in a "crisis" that will lead to unimaginable cuts. Now, I am not one who imagines that all is rosy with the universities in the United Kingdom. Far from being the ivy-clad, ivory tower of cliche, many of Britain's higher education establishments are actually quite ...
As soon as I realised how many obscure old British films LoveFilm has I signed up to it. One of the best I have seen so far is The System. It was shot in 1964 when Michael Winner was justifiably one of the great hopes of British cinema. The System tells the story of a group of young men in a seaside town who play and prey upon the girls who visit it. They are led by Oliver Reed in one of his early starring roles and the rest of the group contains several faces that were about to become ...
West Midland UKIP Member of the European Parliament Nikki Sinclaire has resigned from the Europe of Freedom & Democracy (EFD) group in the EU Parliament, she will still remain a UKIP MEP but will sit outside the EFD grouping.
I read with sadness of the death of Miep Gies who was the last surviving member of the group who helped protect Anne Frank from the Nazis. She worked as a secretary in Otto Frank's company, and got to know the family well. With her husband (Jan) and ...
I am somewhat surprised by developments at Liberal Youth. Alright, I am nearly always surprised by developments at Liberal Youth, but this is unexpected. It appears that Elaine Bagshaw, having been elected in what was a rather unfortunate contest as recently as March, has now resigned as Chair. As an office holder of Liberal Youth by dint of my position as Returning Officer, I keep a measured distance from the affairs of the organisation (call me a professional neutral, if you must), so have no idea what has actually happened to bring about this event. However, this does mean that ...
OK, so only one of those statements is true. Watch this video and see if you can guess which: Interesting to compare Sweden's "carrot" approach to TV licence fee-paying with the UK's "stick" method, which majors on the £1000 fine. Whilst TV licenses in Sweden and the UK cost a similar amount (around €200 or equivalent), fee evasion in Sweden is much higher. According to the latest figures from the Broadcasting Fee Association the estimated evasion rate in Sweden is 11%, compared to 5.1% in the UK. Swiss and Austrian TV licences are among the most expensive in Europe, yet ...
It is not often, indeed this is likely to be the only time, you'll see this blog praising a beauty pageant, but I will make an exception for this one. Yes there is a swimwear round and yes there is a talent round. It is the location and the competitors that make this newsworthy rather than the event itself. The location is Beijing, this Friday, the winner will be crowned Mr Gay China. In a country where being gay was illegal until 1997 and still classed as a mental illness until 2001, this is a major step forward. One of ...
These days the Southeastern Railway website opens with a photo of a man holding an enormous watch in front of his face, the caption says "it's time for change". At seeing it many will think "indeed". There's a widespread feeling among South East London commuters that last week suffered the consequences of the 3 days of ...
I like American Football. I think that taking part in team sports can help you in life and individual general fitness is not a bad thing to take through life. The things that I like in particular about American Football are that you have the chance to plan tactics which are quite advanced. So too are the laws of the game. I was a physio to an American Football team in Blackpool and Manchester when the game was big in this country. In fact I have been following the game for over 25 years and I take pride in telling ...
