It sounds like a story from Lord Bonkers' Diary, but it is true. I once wrote about the oil wells in Nottinghamshire that contributed some three million barrels to the Allied effort in World War II. This evening's East Midlands television news reported that exploratory drilling is taking place n this oilfield to see if it can be exploited further. IBTimes has the story: UK and France oil explorer Egdon Resources says drilling has begun at the Dukes Wood-1 well in Nottinghamshire. Operations are expected to take around two weeks. This is the first well in evaluation of the rejuvenation ...
Readers of this blog will be familiar with my campaigning in Redlands and across Reading over the last few years to get empty private homes brought back into use. Great news today as Nick Clegg announced new proposals to reduce the number of empty homes in the UK, increase the number of family-sized homes to rent and create 65,000 jobs. It's the latest addition to the Lib Dem manifesto and I've posted full details over on my new campaign blog.
My apologies for no posts recently, this was due to Internet connection problems and a change of Internet provider. I will catch up as soon as possible but am away this weekend on an election training course. Chat soon!! Mike
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a communist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me... and there was no one left to speak out. Today is the birthday of Martin Pastor Niemöller who was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945 for his opposition to the Nazis' state control of ...
Earlier this week I highlighted how Nick Clegg's speech laying out the foundations of the Liberal Democrat general election manifesto was based around four steps in which health and crime did not feature. Those two policy areas have been dominant in the party's campaigning over the previous three general elections – in particular in marginal seats. However, whilst the party seems to be at least dallying with downplaying the emphasis on those two issues from the key national headlines, Labour is headed in the opposite direction. Labour's 1997 five pledges included one each on health and crime, whilst their likely ...
A correspondent draws my attention to the Vice President of Nigeria: Goodluck Jonathan.
We have been promised that normal refuse collection service should be resumed next week. Well, provided that we don't live on an icy road, a slippy road or one with snow piled up on the pavements, our bins haven't frozen to the spot, or anything otherwise out of the ordinary. Seriously, this week has seen more or less normal regular rubbish collection return (apart from a bit of Moston, where it seems black ice has chosen to congregate and throw a bit of a party. I will refrain from speculating on whether or not that's understandable given the location). Next ...
The FT has just broken the news that David Cameron will use his speech at Chatham House tomorrow to tell us his plans to redirect DfID funds into what looks on first glance like a resurrection of the Colonial Office, at least at the top level. He will call it a "stabilisation and restructure force" overseen by a new National Security Council. First impression: on the one hand we all know how tragically ineffective the effort to achieve development goals with military action has been during the last decade. Perhaps because these goals weren't really at the forefront of decision ...
Continuing what is becoming something of a theme, here is another staircase that looks good for adults and doubles up as fun for children and dogs. Cats not permitted, obviously.
Five days ago, LDV launched our search for our annual Liberal Voice of the Year, open only to non-Lib Dems, with you, our dear readers, forming the electorate. Voting will close this Sunday, 17th January. Here's how the votes currently stack up: 11% (69) – Guy Herbert, general secretary of NO2ID, for his campaigning work against the database state; 30% (180) – Peter Tatchell, for his tireless and fearless international human rights campaigning; 13% (79) – Joanna Lumley, for her campaigning for justice on behalf of Gurkha veterans; 2% (13) – Rory Stewart, for his straight-talking common sense on Afghanistan; ...
Now one can fail to be appalled and deeply moved by the tragic scenes that have greeted us all from the news of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake to hit the city of Port-Au-Prince in Haiti over the last few days. The scenes of devastation that increase by the hour down the tubes or our comfortable ...
So the Tories want to replace units of alcohol with centilitres (a word that isn't even in this spell checker's vocabulary of words!) of pure alcohol. Are we surprised, yet again, another Tory gimmick 'policy'. How is it sensible to replace a system that people are becoming more use to with a system that actually sounds harder to understand? What difference does this ...
"The World's Astonishing News" is one of those crazy Japanese TV programmes that used to be featured on "Tarrant on TV". It specialises in "dramatic re-enactments" – like the one immediately below (mind you, goodness knows what it is about). Well, bless them; they recently, effectively, saved the life of Christopher Sands of Lincolnshire. He'd been hiccupping for 3 years and undergone a vast number of unsuccessful tests and potential cures. But it took dear old "World's Astonishing News" to take him to Japan and get him an MRI scan to show that a benign tumour was causing the hiccups ...
When I saw a planning application for 2 large houses to be built behind Percy Place to replace one house in perfectly good condition, in the conservation area. I thought that to reject the planning application would be a no brainer. How wrong was I? Despite over 30 objections from local residents and Bath Preservation Trust, the planning officer was minded to approve the planning application. So I asked it be be referred to committee for decision, thinking that surely a committee of sensible Councillors (do we exist?) would at least give it a good hearing in public and come ...
Question Time is being covered as ever by Mark Reckons here in a live chat. I will be there as Dazmando. Today we both went to the Reading David Cameron Direct event in Reading and I expect we will also be 'Chatting' about this as well. I plan to blog on this later in response to Mark Reckons forth coming blog on the David Cameron Direct event. Do please click on the link above and join in or just read our posts while watching.
The Spectator is organising a debate: "In this year of the Pope's visit, is it time for England to become a Catholic country again?" This confirms that the British right is very odd these days. What kind of Conservative are you if you do not believe in the Established Church? And the list of those speaking in favour of the motion is telling. It includes Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the recently retired Archbishop of Westminster, and Reverend Dom Antony Sutch, former headmaster of Downside and regular contributor to the Today programme's Thought for the Day. Roman Catholics, like every other ...
If, like me, you're a South Eastern Trains commuter, then you've probably had some 'interesting' journies to work over the last week. I didn't get to work at all last Wednesday, then ended up getting the DLR in on Thursday and Friday. Last Friday, I met some old colleagues from Hyde for a drink in town, and we had to finish up at about 8pm so we could get back to south-east London. Once again yesterday, the slightest amount of snow seemed to bring things shuddering to a halt. Greenwich blogger Darryl has chapter and verse on the various initiatives ...
I have a new car. It is another Skoda, this time a Skoda Yeti 4WD. Whilst people might question why I am buying aq 4WD, I simply point out that my wife has to drive cross country to work, barely ising any A or B roads and for my job, my school never closes, no matter what the weather. We were in school last week when all other schools were closed. So with both me and my wife needing to be able to get to work, we need a car that is capable as, to put it mildly, the weather ...
Bury Council have arranged a Budget consultation event to be held at the Peel Room, Bury Town Hall on February 2nd, starting at 7pm. The event will outline the budget position facing the Council, which may or may not be set to the tune of the Death March in a room lined with blankly-staring corpse-like figures dressed all in black and carrying scythes. The budget itself will be finalised by a full meeting of Bury Council on February 24th (7pm), which you are welcome to attend too if you wish. As part of the exercise officers will outline the options ...
In celebration of (one of) my bins being emptied today - I thought that a less than serious post might cheer us all up. The site http://mydavidcameron.com/ has a few newer versions of the famously airbrushed poster put out by the Conservatives a couple of weeks back. Click the link and have a look - you can even design your own. Let me know if you do! Credit to Mark Pack for the poster above. Regards, Philip
We have been hit hard by the snow recently, across the whole UK not just Scotland and there have been all of the accusations about Councils and Governments being prepared, or under prepared for the weather. Here in Edinburgh we have had it fairly easy compared to some parts of the Borders or the Highlands with the volumes of snow. I was down in Hawick and Galashiels which is in the Scottish Borders this week and was really taken by the sheer volumes of snow piled up everywhere and also really quite pleased to see the Council being very pro-active ...
Lord Clement-Jone's Live Music Bill is to be debated in the House of Lords tomorrow, the Bill is aimed at amending the Licensing Act to make it easier for musicians to perform in small venues. According to CAMRA, local pubs are closing at a rate of 52 per week. Under the Government's 2003 Licensing Act ...
I've had an interesting day of certain news stories being thrust my way via friends either on Twitter or Facebook. First the shock, later you'll see what else I received, far right former Republican candidate for the Presidential nominee Pat Robertson has come out to say that the Haitian earthquake was because Haitian's made a pact with the devil to release them from French colonialism. One has to ask what the United States did to be rid of the dreadful Brits? Now seriously, how low can this man go. His actual words were: "You know ... something happened a long ...
Thanks to Malcolm Redfellow, who has plenty more spoof Cameron posters to show you.
This is real: Cass Sunstein, a Harvard law professor, co-wrote an academic article entitled "Conspiracy Theories: Causes and Cures," in which he argued that the government should stealthily infiltrate groups that pose alternative theories on historical events via "chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups and attempt to undermine" those groups This is The Onion: I'd ...
Nick Clegg in an interview with attitude magazine, reported yesterday in the Independent, has pushed the LGBT rights agenda further forward than any leader of a mainstream UK political party ever has. Nick calls for an end to the gay blood ban, the introduction of marriage - rather than civil partnerships, anti homophobic bullying policies to be introduced in all schools - including faith schools, guaranteed asylum for LGBT people fleeing discrimination abroad and a review of Uganda's membership of the Commonwealth. This really lays down the gauntlet to Cameron and Brown. Labour have done a huge amount on LGBT ...
Perseverance pays off. After months of the Tories and the Labour party blocking moves to have a temporary Library in Southport during the two and a half year closure of the present one for renovation a glimmer of hope. At this morning's cabinet meeting the Lib Dem moved a motion to get the officers to evaluate the new options for a site. Thanks to all the support we have received from the people of Southport-over 7000 people signed our petition-we have woken up the local Tories. Lib Dem councillors have been working hard behind the scenes to find a town ...
Low lying properties in Newport are set to get vital flood protection works starting in two years time. The scheme is one of those that has been approved by the South West Regional Flood Defence Committee whose meeting I attended yesterday. The scheme will cost around £400,000 in total and will protect a number of properties near to the River Kensey. Although flooding from the Kensey has not been a major problem in recent years, it is always a threat and levels have been worryingly close to bursting point as recently as November. The works will provide a high degree ...
Whoda thunkit?
I was in the bizarre situation yesterday of walking to a meeting in the morning in Gateshead because it was quicker that using any vehicle on the roads. I was supposed to be in Gateshead at 9am. I am taking part in a health promotion drive with other councillors and it starts with a health check. That was my 9am meeting. The bus I got from Sunniside took me as far as the Teams when I decided that
[IMG: IMG_0172] [IMG: IMG_0174] Now that the ice and snow has begun to melt it has become apparent that, once again, Redlands has become the victim of mass tagging by graffiti 'artists'. The tag 'OMG' can be seen all the way along the length of Addington road. This week I reported graffiti in the following positions: On the corner of Addington road with Redlands road all over the fencing Addington road/Redlands road junction, Virgin Media box On the bus stops on Addington road Addington road/Hatherley road (Provident Credit) there is even more graffiti. I had reported some here recently but ...
St Albans City and District Council is to urgently investigate the emissions benefits of asking car drivers to switch off their engines while waiting at the Peahen Junction lights on Holywell Hill, St Albans as part of plans to improve air quality in St Albans City Centre. The move follows a meeting between officers from Herts Highways and the Environmental Health department of the District Council, local councillors and a representative of the Holywell Hill Action Group on 22 December. The Council has already extended the area covered by the Air Quality Management Area Order for the Peahen crossroads, a ...
#bbcqt is BACK BABY and as usual the Live Chat on this blog will start tonight at 10:30pm. The panel will include the senior Labour politician Peter Hain, the Conservative shadow secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform Ken Clarke MP, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on home affairs Chris Huhne, the comedian and writer Shappi Khorsandi (Mmmm.. Shappi..) and the columnist and former newspaper editor Kelvin MacKenzie (for Jaysus' sake...). It's being broadcast from Finchley which is Thatcher's old stomping ground. I will be back in plenty of time from attending a "Cameron Direct" meeting in Reading this ...
Just occasionally an idea comes along that is simply too good not to pass on. So it is with James Hansen's proposal for a 'fee-and-dividend' solution to controlling carbon dioxide emissions; it's remarkably similar in concept to Land Value Tax. Hansen points out that a successful approach must recognise a fundamental truth; that as long as fossil fuels are ...
We have met with senior council officers and have been in touch with Transport for London staff over getting lights repaired and pidgeon proofing fixed on South Lambeth Road (by Vauxhall Grove), South Lambeth Place (the underpass leading to the tube station) and Miles Street (the underpass leading to the Bondway self storage site and the bus station). TFL have now said they will be fixing the lights, and the council will be taking more action over pidgeon - proofing the South Lambeth Place underpass, jet-washing the pavements and the area of white-tiled walls, and we have also asked them ...
div align="center"> [IMG: Great British Eatery] I've blogged before about the terrific Great British Eatery at Broadway Plaza. Well, later this month, they're heading to London hoping to take away the title of "Best UK Fish and Chip Shop"! Best wishes to the lads and hopefully it'll be another gong to add to Birmingham's growing culinary reputation following Lasan's win on Gordon Ramsey's F-Word last week. I fancy some fish and chips now...
Details arrive at the Voice of a launch of our General Election housing policy: The Liberal Democrats today set out plans to bring a quarter of a million empty homes back into use, making homes available for people who need them and creating 65,000 jobs. There are over 760,000 empty properties across England which are no longer used as homes but can be brought back into use with some investment. People who own these homes will get a grant or a cheap loan to renovate them so they can be used: grants if the home is for social housing, loans ...
Ladywood looks set to benefit from a share of 101 new local authority homes as part of a £5.4m Local Authority New Build (LANB) grant. New affordable homes are desperately needed in the city so I welcome this news. I urge the Council to ensure these homes are insulated to a high standard, to keep living costs down. According to the press release, the homes will be built to "high energy efficiency standards meeting Level four of the Code for Sustainable Homes", which sounds positive.
A press release lands on Liberal Bureaucracy's e-doormat... On Wednesday 27 January, Unlock Democracy will be hosting a lecture by John Denham in the Grimond Room, Portcullis House, Westminster, starting at 7.15 p.m. All parties talk of devolving power to local communities. This series of lectures is designed to find out what exactly they mean by Citizenship Empowerment. This is the second of a series of lectures Unlock Democracy is hosting, examining the vision and philosophy of each of the main three parties regarding Citizen Empowerment, and follows on from the success of the Sustainable Communities Act, the campaign for ...
I'd just like to promote a new campaign by Nick Clegg and LGBT Lib Dems calling for Marriage Without Borders - removing the gender restrictions on marriages and civil partnerships, and improving international recognition of same-sex relationships. Please sign the petition; if you're on Facebook you can become a fan, but do make sure you sign ...
Sincere congratulations to the people of Bodelwyddan for taking control of decisions made about their community. The Liberal Democrat party have long advocated that decision making powers be handed back to local communities and I admire their strength and commitment for taking the initiative. They should be justfiably proud of their well orchestrated campaign that sends a very clear message to Denbighshire County Council. Too often plans are steam rollered through with no regard to the feelings, opinions and needs of the people who are directly affected by them. We must hope that DCC listen to the people of Bodelwyddan ...
So the Independent reports figures unearthed by Paul Holmes MP: Innocent people's DNA profiles are being removed from the national database at a rate of barely one a day, figures showed today. Home Office minister Alan Campbell said just 377 profiles were deleted in 2009 after appeals to police chiefs. Liberal Democrat policing spokesman Paul Holmes, who uncovered the figures through a written parliamentary question, described the situation as a "disgrace". Mr Holmes said chief constables were being discouraged from removing the genetic fingerprint of innocent people until new legislation is passed, which he insisted would not happen before the ...
Following the sad death of Kabeer Hussain, the by election for a new councillor in the ward of Hyde Park and Woodhouse will be held on the 18th of Februaury. I will be saying a bit about the election as it goes on on this blog but will have to be a bit careful because I am the election agent for the Lib Dems.
I wasn't able to get to the Cabinet meeting yesterday as I was at the regional flood defence committee meeting (blog later). But I understand that there was a real set-to about the proposed office accommodation plan. I did receive a briefing from officers on this plan earlier in the week and I agree with Jeremy Rowe and others that it hardly reaches the level that the people of Cornwall deserve for an important report. The gist is this: The previous seven councils operated a lot of buildings and the new council doesn't need nearly so many. Which makes perfect ...
Congratulations to all those shortlisted in the various categories for the Councillor of the Year awards, run by the Local Government Information Unit and CCLA. Particular congratulations to the nine Liberal Democrats: Warren Bradley (Liverpool) – Leader of the Year Carla Butler (Newhaven) – Young Councillor of the Year Alexis Rowell (Camden) and Paul Tilsley (Birmingham) – Sustainability councillor of the year Alex Folkes (Cornwall) and Dennis Meredith (Northants) – New Councillor of the Year Daisy Benson (Reading) and Alex Perkins (Canterbury) – Online Councillor of the Year Tracy Ismail (Islington) – Community Champion of the Year Good luck to ...
There has been much gnashing of teeth over the appointment of Herman Van Rompuy and Baroness Catherine Ashton as the President of the European Council and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Much of the griping about the democratic deficit and the failings of the EU old boys club comes from the UK and the British press. Even as a confirmed europhile, I can't say I disagree with them. But sadly, we can't really hold up the Westminster system as being the ideal model of democracy to apply to Europe, can we? After all, the UK is not ...
With devolution proving to be a real success in other parts of the UK, isn't it time we tackled the issue of devolution in England? Surely it makes sense for the UK to reconfigure its institutions such that each constituent entity is on an equal footing?
"The verdict of the Dutch Iraq Inquiry is yet another devastating blow to Labour's flimsy claims that this war was in any way legal," said the Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary.
[IMG: clegg.jpg] Nick Clegg has today written to Gordon Brown urging him to go before the Iraq enquiry before the General Election. Earlier he had raised the issue during Prime Ministers Question Time in the House of Commons. It is clear from comments made by Alistair Campbell and from questioning by the enquiry itself that it would be more than useful for Gordon Brown to make himself available to answer questions as to his role in the Iraq affair. In fact it is clear to me that if we are to draw a line under the Iraq war controversy at ...
Congratulations to the 2008~2010 Winners: Best Place Reviewed Winners: Pencarrow House, Cornwall and Hall Place & Gardens, Kent Best Exhibition/Event Reviewed Winner: Open Day ~ Rochester Airport, Kent (2009) Best Album Reviewed Winner: Paul Weller ~ 22 Dreams Best Album Track Reviewed Winner: Radiohead ~ Weird Fishes/Arpeggi Best Family Movie Reviewed Winner: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Best Older Audience Movie Reviewed Winner: Sweeney Todd Best Movie Overall Reviewed Winner: Wall-E Click here to go to The Ripplestone Review website
A few Thursday updates : * This morning, along with councillor colleagues, I had a very useful meeting with the Waste Management Department and the Environmental Health & Trading Standards Department about the problems of refuse presentation at various locations. This gave the opportunity to raise issues in specific streets in the West End where residents have complained about poor refuse presentation or wheelie bins being left out on the street permanently. The officers present gave very useful updates on their various initiatives to help tackle this problem, that is a source of many complaints from constituents. * Further to ...
Yesterday the Commons Speaker granted an emergency debate after John Hemming claimed he had been "intimidated" by a firm of solicitors. The text of the email from Withers LLP, the company in question, has been published in Hansard.
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 fourth 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. 2007-2010 The last couple of years have seen a sharp decline in Labour support, the worst local ...
Good morning afternoon and welcome to Daily View on a largely uneventful day in history. 152 years ago today, Napoleon III wasn't assassinated. It's the day Martin Niemöller was born, the author of the words about Holocaust victims, "First they came for the communists, but I was not a communist so I did not speak out." Today Richard Briers, Faye Dunaway and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are celebrating birthdays, and we remember Lewis Carroll's death. 2 Big Stories Haiti victim search All the papers lead today with news of the continuing search for survivors amongst the debris following the massive earthquake in ...
Don't get excited, it isn't an apology from me to them. You may recall that I lodged a complaint with the shambles that is National Express East Anglia in late November, after another of those deeply unsatisfying trips that they seem to increasingly specialise in. Given that their published aim was to reply to 90% of complaints within six working days, I was expecting a response in the first week of December, possibly the second. That response didn't come, and still didn't come, and by Christmas, I had begun to start thinking about another complaint. I'm a busy man though, ...
Following yesterday's Prime Minister's Questions, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg is writing to Gordon Brown, urging him to indicate to the Chilcot Inquiry that he would prefer to appear before it ahead of the election. The text of the letter is as follows: Dear Gordon, I am writing to urge you to indicate immediately to Sir John Chilcot that it is your strong preference to go before the Iraq Inquiry ahead of the General Election. Following developments yesterday at Alastair Campbell's hearing, your personal role in the decisions that led to the war in Iraq has now come under the ...
So the second of the open goals for the Liberal Democrats provided yesterday was contained within a letter Gordon Brown wrote to the Transform Drug Policy Foundation (reproduced in full here: ) The key paragraph is this: "We do not intend to undertake an impact assessment comparing the costs and benefits of different legislative options for domestic drug policy. We see no merit in embarking upon such an undertaking in view of our longstanding position that we do not accept that legalisation and regulation are now, or will be in the future, an acceptable response to the presence of ...
Three things happened at Christmas which I found depressing. Firstly, after explicit instructions to the contrary, a relative who shall remain nameless (though not blameless...) purchased for me the DVD of Michael McIntyre's stand up comedy tour, despite me finding him about as funny as a compound fracture. Second, the Christmas turkey was woefully mis-cooked despite my best efforts. And finally, every day for a week either side of the big day I was on the receiving end of ever-angrier phone calls from residents busy tumbling about on icy pavements and falling head first into snow drifts. The first two ...
Just over a year ago, I highlighted how YouGov consistently found the Conservatives relatively more popular amongst women than men compared to other pollsters: YouGov, MORI and ComRes are the three of the main polling companies who also provide a gender breakdown of party levels of support using the same methodology as for their headline voting question... Whilst YouGov consistently finds the Conservative party more popular amongst women than men, the other two consistently find the opposite. There is a similar difference amongst the pollsters when it comes to Labour support, though this time the gender pattern is reversed. With ...
An opportunity is being provided to view the redevelopment plans for St Helier Hospital under Better Healthcare Closer to Home. The plans include replacing Ferguson House with a more modern, fit-for-purpose building containing 346 beds of which at least 50% will be single rooms, as well as housing most of the hospital's clinics, outpatients and a ...
Commenting on Defence Minister Bill Rammell's claims that the effectiveness of the armed forces is under threat from the 'risk-averse' culture of modern civilian life, and that the public must accept that no protective measures or upgraded kit can guarantee their safety, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said: "This looks like an attempt by the Government to cover its own back on equipment failures. "It is misleading of Bill Rammell to suggest that the only issue is a risk-averse civilian culture, when there have been significant examples of kit shortages endangering life. "The sad fact is that a ...
The Brown Funk on answering questions on the Iraq war to the Chilcot enquiry before the General Election is unlikely to lead to mass protests in the streets - unlike the events of 1812 when Parliament decided to hold enquiries into the fiasco of the 1810 Walcheren expedition in secret. That resulted in protest crowds thousands in the streets and a near-miss for a violent revolution. When one radical commentator was thrown into Newgate goal without trial for putting up a poster denouncing this 'outrage' the radical MP Frances Burdett made a stinging statement denouncing his colleagues for arbitrary practices. ...
There were two news stories yesterday that were absolutely vital to the future of our country. Both granted the Lib Dems the opportunity to make considerable political capital at Labour's expense. And it appears both opportunities have yet to be seized. I shall come to Gordon Brown's dogmatic, blinkered position on drug policy later. I do go on about drug policy a bit so felt I should first raise the Labour party's inner turmoil on the AV referendum (as highlighted by Michael Crick http://tinyurl.com/ye3a8oq). The Liberal Democrats have remained stubbornly silent on this issue for many months now despite the ...
Good on Nick for doing this and urging the Prime Minister to stand up and get his backside into the Iraq Inquiry before the General Election, he signed all of the cheques to pay for the illegal war so he should therefore face the consequences.I blogged about this before Christmas and stand by what I said back then, these people made the decisions so should face the Inquiry now, not when it suits them. Let's stop the whitewash and the excuses and have them explain their decisions to take us into the illegal Iraq war, we already know that Tony ...
Excellent story on the Gazette website - instead of picking pensioners up to go shopping, drivers for Yate, sodbury and District Community Transport have been delivering essential groceries to those stuck inside their own homes. On days when the schools have been closed so they didn't have to run the schools contracts, Community Transport drivers have been collecting groceries for pensioners and people with mobility problems. The most popular items have been basics like bread, milk and soup. The Ring and Ride service has still been operating but cannot get up some of the icy streets, so anyone who requires ...
After attending the POWER 2010 event at the weekend I was really inspired about our democracy and had my faith in the British public renewed! Channel 4 were also at the event and we featured on the news on the Sunday night. We were the group that they chose to film to show how the discussion process works. They were mostly a really nice bunch of people and, although we didn't always agree, we had some really interesting discussions over the weekend. You can watch the news report here.
It's funny how the past few years have seen an increasing degree of attention being paid to how the BBC conducts its affairs. Perhaps it's the result of the Freedom of Information Act turning us all into snoopers, legitimately wanting to know where our taxes are going. And that's the BBC's problem. It likes to think ...
Calls for the First-Past-The-Post voting system to be abolished in the UK were given a real kick-start last year after it became clear – thanks to the work of Lib Dem blogger Mark Thompson – that it was MPs with large majorities who were more likely to be implicated in cheating the expenses system. It's obvious if you think about it: if you were given life tenure in a safe seat where the Labour/Tory majorities are weighed not counted, how concerned would you be with the irksome business of being transparent and accountable? To put it bluntly – as Nick ...
Not only did Gordon Brown sign the cheques for the Iraq War - he failed to pay for the peace.
Thu 14th
10:15
Thousands of pensioners in 'affluent' Kingston are missing out on cold weather payments
When the temperature dips below freezing for more than a week, millions of pensioners become eligible for cold weather payments of £25 per week. KT9 residents have qualified for one week so far this winter. Anyone who already receives pension credit is entitled to the cold weather payment, and it will arrive automatically. The problem is that many people entitled to pension credit don't apply for it, so they miss out on the cold weather payments as well as the very useful pension credit cash. In fact, some research by the Department for Works and Pensions suggests that up to ...
My son's primary school is a wonderful institution, but I must admit I am beside myself with rage that it was closed again yesterday, after a few flurries of snow. And I am much calmer about it than some other parents, whose jobs and lives are less flexible than mine. What is galling about this is the way the public sector under New Labour has come to treat us. A £50 fine per day if our child doesn't attend school for what they consider an adequate reason. A £100 fine if we don't get our tax return in on time. ...
The following image is a key slide that looks at the effect of the Pre Budget Report on national public finances. The uncertainty is on the down side rather than the up side.
My younger self would have found much to recommend about the proposals put forward for a public vote by Power 2010 following their 'deliberative poll'; and indeed my marginally wiser current self still sees much to recommend in ideas like fixed-term parliaments. However, one of these options – currently, the second most popular one – ...
Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti this week where the government fears 100,000 could be dead I have been e-mailed the details of the following appeal: SOS Children Appealing for funds for Haiti Emergency [IMG: Sponsorship sites in Haiti] Although we, as a well established charity in Haiti since 1982 have not managed more than brief contact with our offices and field workers in Haiti, it is clear that there will be a massive need for emergency relief work after the earthquake yesterday. Therefore we have decided to appeal for funds to help the people of Haiti. After the massive ...
With due deference to the Conservative Party's keenness to cut inheritance tax but hesitancy on other tax matters: [IMG: David Cameron: spoof election poster] Thanks to mydavidcameron.com for the template, and the site is well worth a visit to see some great other uses of the template.
Since the snow started falling before Christmas I've been trying to keep people up to date with what's happening in Stockport with gritting of roads and pavements, schools opening and refuse collections. I've had lots of comments from a wide range of people - many concerned that the Council isn't doing enough to grit the roads and pavements they use. I've also been seeing what's happening elsewhere - it's clear that the same sorts of comments are being made about pretty much every council in the country. I'm quite sure that improvements can be made. In Stockport I think there ...
Interesting research by Prof Heaven Crawley, of Swansea University's migration policy research centre today, which concludes that most asylum seekers are primarily concerned with escaping from persecution or war, and less than one-third of the research participants specifically wanted to come to the UK. Rather than being economic migrants who had made their decision based on information about asylum systems, employment opportunities and access to welfare benefits as some people believe, three-quarters of the participants had no knowledge of welfare benefits and support before coming to the UK: "These findings also strongly suggest that creating a tougher asylum system and ...
Cross-posted from the Mandate blog: A great photograph will boost not just a story's chance of being covered in the press but also the likely size and placement of its coverage. Now there is a new add-on available: social media. The media loves a story with a social media angle. Recently the Daily Mail andThe Telegraph both credited Facebook with persuading the manufacturers of Pears soap to change its formula - despite the Facebook group containing just 31 people. Insubstantial attempts to add a social media sheen to a story will (usually!) be found out, but done properly they give ...
Good to see a thaw is now underway. Let's hope we don't get any more snow over the next few days so that everyone can get back to normal. Many people are still waiting for their grey and red bins to be collected. Advice from RBC is to leave grey bins and any excess waste out for collection. Streetcare teams will be working extra days to clear the backlog. With large amounts of snow and ice still around people are understandably concerned about flooding. The Environment Agency are saying that they are not expecting any property flooding during this 'snow ...
So said a senior Conservative Councillor to me following the revelation that nascent plans to close the newly opened Stroke Unit at Darlington Memorial Hospital had been leaked to the Labour Party's candidate in the General Election - a backbench councillor with no reason to be informed ahead of the rest of us, other than the naked desire for party political advantage.In a statement to the
I do not like being at odds with my party leader but sometimes it is inevitable. The Liberal Democrats are, after all a liberal party in which the individual views and opinions of members are respected and diversity encouraged. That is why it has been possible to accomodate differing opinions within the Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly group on the proposed badger cull in North Pembrokeshire. Those members representing the more rural areas have taken on board the views of many farmers, whilst others of us have looked at the evidence and taken a contrary view. That process has been helped ...
ITV journalist, Gareth Hughes has a valid point when he questions how Carwyn Jones' new Special Advisors or SPADs were appointed. He points out that when Rhodri Morgan took office as First Minister, one of his first decisions was to publicly advertise and recruit his Special Advisors. He says that this was to be commended and although there were some lapses from this principle later, Rhodri's initial decision was the right one: Surely, it is essential in a modern Wales that all post are subject to open recruitment. It is not a question of political correctness but practical politics. How ...
The Publican reports: Ex-Beautiful South singer Paul Heaton is looking for venues to perform at as part of a cycling tour to promote traditional pubs. Heaton will begin his 720-mile Pedals and Pumps trip in May at the set of the Rovers Return in Manchester. Travelling by bike, Heaton will be aiming to play 15 gigs with his band across the North and Midlands at a range of different pubs - and hopefully stay the night. He is not coming anywhere near Market Harborough, but he is looking for a pub to play in that is within 10 miles of ...
Stopping Child Trust Funds, except for the poorest families and disabled children. We will stop new spending on Child Trust Funds for better off families. But to protect the poorest and most vulnerable, disabled children and the poorest one third of families should continue to receive both new Child Trust Funds at birth and top-up payments. As a Liberal Democrat, one can hardly oppose this as a concept. After all, we're calling for the abolition of Child Trust Funds too. However, calling for their total abolition means that that you cut out all of the bureaucracy involved, with a resultant ...
We will all have seen the harrowing news reports about the Haiti earthquake, reports of badly injured people being left in hospital grounds to die because there isn't the medical help to treat them, people living out in the open with no access to food or water. The quicker help can get there, the more lives can be saved in the immediate few days and then there will be a long process of rebuilding and helping the people who have lost everything they have. The Disasters Emergency Committee launched their Haiti Earthquake appeal at midnight. When the broadcast is available, ...
I'm pleased to have got an email from Airedale Hospital saying they are going to look at the issue of dropped kerbs once the weather makes it possible. That's good, my broken bone won't have been in vain then. They are also going to keep more of an eye on vehicles parked along the road next to Accident and Emergency because it is only meant to be a dropping off point for patients and cars should not be there for more than ten minutes at a time. If they are there for too long others can't park there. I've had ...
From the BBC: Ministers offer concessions on copyright changes Ministers have given a concession over what critics claimed were "draconian" powers which would enable them to crack down on online copyright infringement. A clause in the Digital Economy Bill would have allowed ministers to amend existing laws on online piracy without the need for further legislation. Google and Facebook were among firms to complain about the measure, saying it would hamper digital innovation... Section 17 of the bill, which has attracted the most anger, would give ministers "reserve powers" to draft fresh laws to tackle net-based copyright infringement without needing ...
A correspondent who was caught out by the parking charges at the Victoria Centre and with whom I have been in correspondence wrote to let me know what had happened in his case. He is a blue badge holder, and after writing to the company and sending them a copy of his blue badge they agreed to forego the charge. As the position becomes more well-known I hope that these incidents will decline until they are negligible. In the meantime it's good to know that this website provides real value to some constituents, and that the people managing the car-park ...
The news story of the day has to be Haiti. I'm not going to do anything else this morning but round up what the papers are saying. The Times calls Haiti the unluckiest country after it is struck by the 7.0 force earthquake while many parts of the country are still recovering for the 4 major tropical storm that hit the island in 2008. President Préval, whose presidential palace was wrecked, described stepping over dead bodies in the parliament building and hearing the cries of those still trapped. The Guardian leads with Préval's claim that the death toll could reach ...
For a number of reasons I think it would be sensible for me to take a sanity break for a couple of weeks. If you need to contact me I'll still be phoneable and textable, but I'm going offline for a while, so don't expect me to be blogging or twittering or answering emails. Thank you for understanding, and I'll see you in a couple of weeks.
Local Walcot residents have set up a local auction website aimed at residents in and around Bath. Worth checking out is www.bathbay.co.uk!
Liberal Democrat councillors on the Council's Safer Stronger Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel have warned that the improvements in street cleansing promised for Bath may be impossible if the job cuts which have been threatened in the Council's Environmental services section actually happen. Bath City Liaison Forum delivered a very detailed report on improvements to cleansing services in the City of Bath, and these recommendations were accepted by the Cabinet member for customer services. The services are already being delivered with very limited resources and any reduction in services would not be looked on very favourably by local residents. Liberal ...
With no apologies for plagarism, this posting is a 99% copy of this posting! 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 over the last couple of weeks suffered the
And so for blog number two on David Cameron, or should I say the slimmer face, slimmer nose and more hair version of him. Today I have cropped the image so that it fills the whole of the photograph. Before cropping I distorted it so that it now looks like I am stood in front of the billboard. It is now clearer how the rule of thirds applies. Personally, I would have left him his normal shape and made the image slightly larger so that his eyes, not his forehead becomes the focus of attention. I have combined my politics ...
