There was an unusual twist to tonight's Gladstone Club Annual Dinner, held at the National Liberal Club in Westminster, as the guest speaker, economics writer and Chief Executive of the Work Foundation, Will Hutton, asked each table to come up with things they wanted him to talk about in his speech. Not surprisingly, there were ...
This morning felt the coldest of week, and we started our survey of residents in the mist. We were in Prittlewell all morning and a lot of the residents weren't - or at least weren't at home. But we stuck at it and ended up talking to a reasonable number of residents. I surveyed the adjoining streets some months ago - so most of the issues were familiar. But it was interesting to see how many people are fixing their attention on national politics just now. There certainly seems to be a group of idealistic, older voters turning from Labour ...
Saw this news story on the BBC News website today - about a website that some people have set up which contains a pile of personal information people have posted online. I haven't visited the actual website (called 'Please Rob Me') but the article says that you can basically figure out when people will be away from their homes. It finishes with Crimestoppers saying: Details posted online are available for the world to see; you wouldn't hang a sign on your door saying you're out, so why would you post it online? Sensible advice, but reminded me that delivering in ...
They still don't get the expense scandal. BBC News - MP's anger at expenses 'ban' on first-class travel
From one of the latest YouGov polls: Does the expenses scandal... Makes me more likely to vote at the coming election, to express my anger at the way some politicians have behaved 14%< Makes me more likely NOT to vote, because politicians are much the same, and I don't trust any of them any longer 12% Net: +2% Make no difference, I will vote anyway 64% Make no difference, I will NOT vote anyway 5% Don't know 5% The usual caveats apply that this is only one poll and also that people are often more likely to give what is ...
At the Scottish Social Media dinner, I promised the ladies sat opposite me that once I had done my gym induction, I would blog about it and it would help as a motivational tool for me, so here goes. I am nearly two stone heavier than any of the Scotland rugby team's forwards, I know I am also considerably older, but I know I need to lose weight and look after myself. So, tonight at 6pm the fightback started. I am a member of the Newhaven David Lloyd Gym, and tonight Richard (my personal trainer) took me through my paces ...
[IMG: Sanjay and Cllr David May inspecting potholes in Forfar]
With thanks to Friends of Wighton, here's an update regarding events this weekend! A Cappuccino Concert given by distinguished Scots singer Sheena Wellington, in aid of the Friends of Wighton Outreach and Education programmes, will be held this Saturday 20th February at 11am in the Wighton Heritage Centre, Local Studies Department, Central Library. Coffee and newspapers available from 10.30am. Concert tickets are £5 to include coffee and newspapers and are available from Rainbow Music, 35 Cowgate, Dundee, 01382 698397. The Saturday fiddle class will be held as normal but in the Conference Room, diagonally opposite the Centre and you are ...
I was out in the rain first thing tomorrow for a walk-about at Leegate with Lee Green's new Town Centre Manager, Salma Hathbul. Salma's just started working for Lewisham and is covering Lee Green, Crofton Park and Ladywell town centres. Paul, Sven and I met with her at the Town Hall last week and decided it'd be good to have a walkabout 'on the ground'. We had a walk around the Leegate Centre and discussed the various shops that have moved on over the last few years, and also some ideas Salma has to kick-start some positive activity at the ...
I've been in Glasgow for the past couple of days with the 'day job' but back in Dundee tonight. No surgery at Blackness Primary School as the school was closed today (an in-service day) but tonight saw the West End local community planning partnership meeting take place at the Tartan Coffee House in Perth Road. The main subject for discussion was a presentation by the Project Director from the City Council on the West End primary/nursery project (St Joseph's/Park Place) and this attracted attendance from local residents, including members of the West End Parents' group. Other matters discussed included parking, ...
Dear Luke, Thank you for your comments. Whilst I understand the points that you make, I have to disagree as to their import. Taking your first post; Assume for a moment: Gordon Brown called the GE and it is taking place in 2 weeks. Every moment is vital and Liberal Youth own a printer, folder and stuffing machine that works at light speed. It would be a waste of time to open every request for a ballot and return them in dribs and drabs, so the exec decide to just print all the ballots and post them out to every ...
Just taking a gander at some Labour propaganda stuffed through the door earlier today, in the Dane Valley area, a couple things struck me first the rather self important style, not quite sure where Cllr Sandra Hart would get that from, perhaps Cllr. Clive Hart, could help on that, secondly the apparent rewriting of history. Take this from Sandra "I'm delighted to see that (as per my request) the former eyesore site at the lower end of Millmead Road has now been cleared." no mention that residents and other candidates including Bill Furness Libdem in the recent by election also ...
Senior Labour backbencher Bruce George is to stand down at the forthcoming general election. Bruce George has been MP for Walsall South since 1974 and from 1997 to 2005 he was the chairman of the cross-party Commons Defence Select Committee. Bruce George said he had decided "with an extremely heavy heart" to stand down after 36 years for health and family reasons. Bruce George, has a majority of 7,946. From his own website: During his time in Parliament he has specialised in Defence having been chosen to serve on the House of Commons Defence Committee when it was set up ...
Yes, the manifestos have been vetted, candidates have been given a bit of time to canvass for support in advance, and now voting is under way. Watch this space for a result declaration in due course...
The length of Nibley Lane nearest to Badminton Rd will be closed for major resurfacing between 8.00am and 5.00pm next Monday and Tuesday, subject to any delays due to weather etc. This is a busy cut-through from Shire Way and the Westerleigh road, especially in the rush hour, so people will need to find an alternative route.
Not very, if the "Scrap ID cards" campaign on MyConservatives.com is anything to go by. At the time of writing, it has raised only £100 towards its £5,000 target and got the signatures of just 46 people. Oh, and no – it's not a new campaign that has only just been added. Indeed, from the statistics on the embedded YouTube film, the campaign looks to have been there since 28 September, which makes it one third of a signature per day.
The ruling from the PCC today that it had decided not to uphold the 25,000 odd complaints against Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir's disgusting article about the death of Boyzone member Stephen Gately should not really have come as a real surprise. However, the ruling does throw up some rather worrying concerns that make me think ...
With good reason, you may say, but I was feeling inspired.
Earlier today Mark Thompson wrote what is the point of the Press Complaints Commission in light of their ruling on Jan Moir and her Stephen Gately piece which lack cajones? Well now his view and mine are both being backed up by Peter Tatchell he says: "The Press Complaints Commission should be disbanded. By failing to uphold its own standards and enforce its own Code of Practice, the PCC has demonstrated that it is unwilling, unable and unfit to regulate newspapers. We need a new press regulator with principles and teeth. "Jan Moir's commentary on the death of Stephen Gately ...
So Nicholas Winterton doesn't think that its fair that he can't travel first class any more? Doesn't want to travel with the 'different people' and doesn't want people 'looking over his shoulder'? Let the dog see the rabbit. Here is one daily commuters take on this pathetically jaded and disconnected Old School Tory. My epic commute ...
It's #bbcqt day again and as usual the Live Chat on this blog will start tonight at 10:30pm. The panel will include the veteran Labour politician Lord Hattersley, the former deputy governor of a province of occupied Iraq and prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate Rory Stewart (who also tried to become the Tory candidate in my constituency of Bracknell) , the Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone, the economist and former head of policy at the Institute of Directors Ruth Lea and the actor and novelist Tom Conti. Join us from 10:30pm below: BBC Question Time - 18th February 2010
The big news hereabouts today is that: Harborough District Council wants to close the toilets attached to the Market Hall, in Northampton Road, as well as four others across the district in a bid to save £50,000 a year in maintenance costs. The plans were approved by the council's all-Tory executive committee at a meeting on Monday and will go to a meeting of full council for ratification next Thursday, February 25. So now Harborough Tories won't even let you go to the loo. They are even worse than they were in my days on the district council. Well done ...
I was going to refrain from blogging on Sir Nicholas Winterton's disastrous interview with Stephen Nolan on FiveLive earlier. However I've seen quite a few tweets defending his views, so I thought I'd add my two-penneth. Sir Nick's main argument was that as an MP he had lots of work to do so is entitled ...
Blogging Labour MP Tom Harris has an interesting story today, revealing that Tina Stowell, the BBC's head of corporate affairs "is not only a wannabe Tory candidate, but still has a live website proclaiming her love of all things Cameron." But Tom doesn't point this out in order to fulminate or demand her resignation: And you know something? I don't have a problem with this. I would much prefer to know the politics of someone I'm dealing with because at least you know where they're coming from. She wants to become an MP? Good for her! I hope she gets ...
This latest story which has been well publicised story were Sir Nicholas Winterton has angrily denounced plans to reduce first-class travel by MPs and a Tory spokesman said Sir Nicholas's remarks were "the out-of-touch views of a soon-to-retire backbench MP". Of course continues to anger the public, many of whom travel in standard class. But this did remind me of something that happened when I decided to get a first class ticket for a gig when travelling from my then work in Weybridge to London way back when I was in my early 20's. Remember this is back in the ...
You may have wondered what was happening to the site of the Moor Lane Junior School, since it amalgamated with Buckland Infants and moved to the Buckland site. This amazing cake may give you a clue. The Moor Lane Centre provides an integrated service for children with disabilities and their families, and today it was opened in style. Basically, what Moor Lane offers is a one stop shop for parents and carers, where they can receive medical, social and educational support all under one roof. Consultants from the hospital, occupational therapists, educational special needs professionals, speech therapists, family case workers ...
The campaign for better transport have written a letter to Gordon Brown in which they say:We were surprised to hear your dismissive response when the issue of the number 41 bus in Birmingham was raised at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 3 February.John Hemming MP rightly pointed out that bus cuts are symptomatic of a national problem and that the London system of bus franchising should be
One of the issues I have been campaigning on in Reading is improving public health. This is closely linked to my passion for tackling inequality and campaigning for a fairer Reading. As Chair of the Housing, Health and Community Care Scrutiny Panel since 2008 I have led a number of scrutiny reviews on health issues in Reading including recent investigations into dementia care services, the local ambulance service and children's health. You can find out more about the campaigning I've been involved in on health issues over the past few years over on my ward blog. As Vice-Chair of the ...
The Look In continues to be a thorn in the side of the Borough Council, After the protest it appears that their has been some new developments. 1. I have been in contact with one of the Campaigners who helps run one of the Facebook groups to save the Look In Cafe see here and here. Angela also helps out with the Alzheimer's group, she send me the following emails; This was sent after a recent radio Berkshire interview that Dale Birch (Borough Council leader) stated on Meridian news that the Look In Cafe could be saved as the 'community ...
I'm not going to comment too much on the Jan Moir/PCC thing. Millennium says everything I could have wanted to. I am annoyed to be on the same side as the Egregious Tory Tosser, though, who is holding forth on the radio at the moment. I am, instead, going to concentrate on good things. I have arranged for a bit of time off from work next week to use the return train ticket which is burning a hole in my pocket. I shall therefore be in London and surrounding areas Monday evening till Thursday lunchtime. If you live in or ...
Out and about in the ward wih my colleagues Glenn and Kirsten last weekend I noticed that the entrance to Reading University halls on Upper Redlands Road was pretty untidy. The University is currently redeveloping its halls. There was a lot of mud on the pavement and highway - not very pleasant for residents and visitors.I noticed as well that grass verges on Upper Redlands Road were damaged. I'm not sure if this is connected. I wrote to Reading Borough Council and officers are now organising a visit with the site manager to discuss the University's responsibilities during construction and to ...
An account of our recent seminar was published in the Bangladesh newspaper Independent: Pandemonium at seminar on HR in Bangladesh STAFF REPORTER A seminar on Democracy and Human Rights in Bangladesh was abruptly ended when the supporters of Awami League and BNP started shouting at the British House of Lords in London on Monday, according to ANA. The report said that the International Bangladesh Foundation organised the seminar at No 3 committee room of the House of Lords with vice-chair of the British Parliamentary Human Rights Group Lord Avebury in the chair. The seminar was attended, among others, by BNP ...
If Sir Nicholas Winterton wants to travel up to Macclesfield in a first class carriage he is more than entitled to do so. This is after all a free country and we protect people's liberties. Of course the fact that "They are a totally different type of people" would not entirely endear him to the masses of potential voters who inhabit standard seats, or the future voters running up and down the aisle, who will all still be children when Sir Nicholas retires this year. Of course some of his other arguments for coming down from Macclesfield do not make ...
The Fortune Green Councillors inboxes are bulging with emails complaining about Tesco/parking/traffic/the "Alfred Court" (Sager) building/ allegedly incompetent Council officers ( many of them based on inaccurate information.) We try to keep to date answering them but its hard work! FACT Camden Council and local residents opposed the Sager building and it was turned down FACT Sager appealed. A Government Planning Inspector overrode Camden and gave the development planning permission -lock, stock and barrel! (Flats, gym shops and all) FACT - At this point Camden had no say over the permission except to ensure it was carried out as planned. ...
Local Lib Dems Andrew, Claudette and Ishbel have been joined by Caroline Pidgeon at Vauxhall rail station as part of Caroline's work to help make London's rail stations safer. We are delighted to report that following Caroline Pidgeon and Cllr Rob Banks raising the issue with Transport for London, the rail underpass at South Lambeth Place (behind the local team in the photo) now has all its lights working properly (8 of them were out on what is a key route from Vauxhall Park to the bus, rail and tube station). In addition to this, we have got Lambeth to ...
A totally un-political post for a change! I was most happy to see the BBC News website talking the other day about a film being made about the rivalry between Seb Coe and Steve Ovett who as you all know are the most celebrated and respected middle distance runners this country has ever produced. The ...
This is my first attempt at one of the mydavidcameron.com posters, inspired by my earlier posting.
I got my first lap-dancing related hate mail the other day. The writer (who was not anonymous) suggested that I had nothing better to do with my time and argued that I belonged in the Stasi. One of the hazards of politics is that you occasionally take a clear public view and someone doesn't like it. My crime was to have issued a statement in support of the new rules on sexual encounter establishments. Since the 2003 Licensing Act, lap-dancing clubs had been subject to the same licensing regime as pubs and restaurants - in particular, there was a presumption ...
Well you can't really call it a judgment, can you? The fact that the complaint has not been upheld does not mean the concerns did not need to be addressed, but rather that the Commission did not find that it was right for it to censure the newspaper on the grounds of the Code. How can the Press Complaints Commission have any credibility at all after publishing a sentence like that? Basically it's saying "ok, you were wrong, but we ain't going to do anything about it." It's hardly surprising, really, when you see who makes up the Commission - ...
Thu 18th
15:53
Clegg blasts Tory MP Sir Nicholas Winterton: "Sadly some MPs still just don't get it ..."
Nick Clegg has just tweeted his reaction to Sir Nicholas Winterton's railing against moves to reduce first-class train travel by MPs – the Tory MP said he needed "peace and quiet" while travelling, and that standard class carriages are occupied by "a totally different type of people." The Lib Dem leader's having none of it, slamming Sir Nicholas's plea with an exasperated one-liner: "Sadly some MPs still just don't get it ..." Well quite. The Tories have been quick to disown Sir Nicholas, acidly dismissing "the out-of-touch views of a soon-to-retire backbench MP". The trouble is the Tory party does ...
As party of the Parliamentary Reform Lecture Series organised by the Hansard Society, David Howarth MP (Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Solicitor General) will give a talk examining the Liberal Democrat's priorities for reform of Parliament. It's at 6pm on March 15th. It's being held at the Houses of Parliament and is open to the public. Please email hans_admin@hansard.lse.ac.uk - hans_admin.hat.hansard.lse.ac.uk.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one) to register. The talk is one of a series the Hansard Society is running (one each ...
It's a bit of a complex story, but a summary is that local bloggers are often now doing a better job than the national media. In 2005 in Kennington a secondary school called Lilian Baylis got moved to a new site. The use of the old site has been much debated locally since then. The Guardian today majored on a report that claimed that Lambeth council is about to become a 'John Lewis' council, using this site as the primary case study. It turns out, if you do good old fashioned journalism (as the Lurking about SE11 blog has), that ...
Winterton's outburst on Radio 5 today is no surprise. He wants to travel first class. He means that he shouldn't have to mix with '"a.. totally different type of people." Let us remind ourselves about these rightwing Tories who have been licensed to spout their nasty thoughts for more than a generation; their visits to the all white regime in South Africa, their opposition to the Northern Irish peace process, their obsession with denying lesbian's rights, their moralising and snobbishness. Finally Michael Howard sacked one of them for telling racist jokes. The catalogue of shame would take too long to ...
Paul Richards has a piece on LabourList today entitled "Tory proposals are designed to fatally wound Labour by 2015". In it he discusses three Tory pledges and links them together to form a theme that he claims will make it much harder for Labour to win any subsequent election. He starts with the pledge regarding only English MPs being allowed to vote on legislation affecting English seats: In 2008 Ken Clarke MP, then chair of the Tories' 'democracy taskforce' published a proposal for restrictions on non-English seat MPs voting on some of the stages of bills which affect England. David ...
I cannot resist bringing this news to the masses. Wild horses wouldn't drag a comment from me though... HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is sponsoring a new TV series looking at turning around the fortunes of struggling small businesses. The Business Inspector sees entrepreneur presenter Hilary Devey showing companies how to avoid the consequences of not taking reasonable care of their tax affairs. A mini-advert for HMRC, which is co-producing the series, will appear at the start and end of the show as well as during the commercial break. This will display a link to the Business Link website (web), ...
Campaigners are asking the London Mayor to come clean over the safety record of the King's Cross one-way system. Camden Council officers promised to see if 20mph limits across whole neighbourhoods would work after hundreds of residents signed our petition for 20mph limits. We have learnt that area-wide 20mph limits halve the number of deaths and ...
A long standing and respected local chair of a constituency is removed by the Tory high command after falling out with the candidate. An everyday story of the Conservative party as the tight knit central command of the Conservatives sweep away local autonomy.It is interesting that the methods used appear to be different. In the case of Southport the chair was just removed and an outsider imposed. In Westminster North (is that the home of Lady Porter?) an emergency meeting was held. Judging by the local journalist who gained entry Pickles was throwing his weight around. Is this another case ...
Links to be added later - apologies, its the weakness of the Blackberry. The dinner has been a great success and a big thank you to Craig McGill - from Contently Managed dot com for organising it and inviting me. The speakers in order were, Tom Harris MP - then we ordered the starters - then me - then we ate the starters - Patrick Harvie MSP was next although continually interrupted by the arrival of the main courses - then we ate the main course and finally Councillor Alison Thewliss. Unfortunately the Conservatives were unable to find anyone for ...
Last month I blogged about my long-running local campaign for a better response from the Police and Council in Reading to anti-social behaviour and crime reported by residents. This has long been a top priority for me as a councillor and if elected MP for Reading West I pledge to devote a lot of my time to getting action taken on anti-social behaviour. I read on getreading today that the Home Secretary, Alan Johnson visited Dee Park in West Reading earlier this week to "discuss issues surrounding crime and anti-social behaviour" with councillors and community leaders. Although others may see ...
A couple of short videos looking at the improvements at Bedford Park in Birkdale
Conference notes with concern: That 21 injecting heroin users have contracted anthrax infections from contaminated heroin in Britain since December last year, with 10 of these infections proving fatal. That the Health Protection Agency advice issued in response to this developing crisis is unlikely to reach injecting heroin users and unlikely to significantly change their behaviour, and that treatment service availability is often insufficient if users do seek help. Conference further notes: A growing number of European states are providing treatment-resistant heroin addicts with pharmaceutical heroin for supervised consumption and have observed considerable benefits both to the patient and to ...
Last month the Tories threw out a Lib Dem plan for the Tropicana http://tiny.cc/ZdW3m now they tell Nightingales to come back in nine months http://tiny.cc/ah2NT
Thu 18th
14:00
Day 3336: the PCC - Not Worth The Papers Who Pay to Have it Printed aka There's Been a Jan Moir-der
Thursday: The PCC (Press Cover-up Cronies) have come to the opinion that twenty-five thousand people were wrong and Daily Hate Mail scribbler Ms Jan Moir-der is NOT a LYING, INTRUSIVE, HATEFUL HOMOPHOBE. But let's be honest, that's a COMPLETELY UNNATURAL decision. Grown-up inquiries don't just lie down on the sofa and drop all the charges, so there's probably some very SORDID and DISGUSTING reason why they've rolled over and come to that conclusion. No, don't worry! Apparently, according to the PPC, it's FINE for me to say that because I've mentioned the facts and the rest is just my opinion. ...
The latest "House of Comments" podcast with myself and Stuart Sharpe of the Sharpe's Opinion political blog is now live. The website for the podcasts is here and the fourteenth episode which we recorded on Tuesday 9th Feb is available to download via this page here (raw mp3 file here if you prefer). You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here. Or you can listen to it right now here: The format is to invite one or two other political bloggers each week and discuss a few of the stories that are making waves in the blogosphere. This week ...
The Guardian reports that the Press Complaints Commission has rejected a complaint from Andrew Cowles, the partner of the late Boyzone singer Stephen Gately, over a Daily Mail article by Jan Moir originally titled "Why there was nothing 'natural' about Stephen Gately's death". Moir stated that Gately's death was not natural, despite official reports to the contrary, and claimed that the circumstances were "more than a little sleazy". Over 25,000 people complained to the PPC over the article, claiming that it was homophobic and slanderous. The article went on to compare Gately's death to the suicide of Kevin McGee, and ...
Councillors on North Area have been sent the draft agenda for the March 4 meeting of the NAC. As usual the meeting will take place at Manor Community College, Arbury Road, with planning at 6.30pm, and the main meeting at 7.30pm. The planning items appear to be in West and East Chesterton, and one in Arbury. The main agenda includes Feedback on the 2009 Youth Summit, including a report on actions resulting from itThe traditional open forumThe Police are coming in to look at the local priorities.And we'll be getting an update on the Environmental Improvements Programme.
The latest ecops update includes a reminder that the next police surgery will take place in Arbury Court between 11am and 1pm next Wednesday (24th February). This is an opportunity to meet the local team and raise any concerns you might have in an informal setting. The local police team are very nice! (and very keen to help.) The ecops newsletter also says that the crime figures appear to be on the way down again.
Panic ye not about the relative radio silence this end. No, I have not been kidnapped by the aliens that used to hang around over Michael Howard's house, nor have I got into any fights with EHT transformers; I've just been busying myself with assorted electronic bits and bobs in between the usual work and a quick trip down to Baaarns-leh to eat pancakes, get sloshed on cheap South African red wine and listen to wilfully obscure prog rock[1] (incidentally pancakes are best eaten with Nutella, but as some of you on here know there are many things I like ...
Cast your mind back two weeks, and you may recall the BBC making a hash of selecting its panel for the weekly political discussion show Question Time. In the week when the big political issues were the Iraq war, electoral reform and MPs' expenses – on all of which the Lib Dems have a distinctive contribution to make – the BBC chose to stuff the panel with an official Labour representative (Lord Falconer), and two former Labour MPs (Clare Short and George Galloway); and, for balance, an official Tory representative (Theresa May), and professional right-wing agitpropette (Melanie Phillips). Many Lib ...
"My strong instinct is swerve. As the man says in Dodgeball - the world's greatest ever film - dodge, dip, duck, dive and dodge." Mayor Boris Johnson, September 2009 (link) At Mayor's Question Time of 27th January the Chair of the Transport Committee at GLA Caroline Pideon AM has tackled Mayor Boris Johnson on the issue ...
I've decided to publish the Lib Dem group budget overview online so that residents can take a look if they wish. Our priorities this year have been sticking to a 0% rise in council tax, whilst improving key services like housing adaptations; roads and pavements; winter contingencies; litter and street cleansing; and community safety. We've ...
MTPT (a Liverpool Conservative - they should have him stuffed) has a fascinating post on the background to Luciana Berger's travails as the new Labour PPC for Liverpool Wavertree. Talking of travails, Liberal Bureaucracy keeps us up to date with the latest goings on in Liberal Youth. Still, things are far worse in the Socialist Workers Party, where everyone is resigning. Solomon's Mindfield has the details. Let us pause a moment to remember the wise words of Nick Cohen: ""Like a minor public school, the SWP is a home for dim, middle-class children." Miserable Old Fart asks if all those ...
The Tories love VAT because it is a tax on spending, it is easy to collect and enables rates of Income Tax on the highest earners to be reduced. Taxes such as VAT always have the biggest impact on the poorest in society because naturally a larger proportion of their income is spent on day-to-day items.
You would think that a year after the first 'expenses scandal' was exposed in the national media, our MPs would actually realise that there needs to be a radical change in the way MPs can reclaim their expenses. Yet, it appears that one MP is still out of tune with what needs to be done to restore faith in our elected representatives.Sir Nicholas Winterton today is being reported as saying that
... but under the proposed criteria for letting bloggers have lobby passes, I wonder if several existing lobby pass holders should lose theirs: The general criteria we would agree with is that the person applying for the pass should be a proper journalist with a track record of journalism; that they should be operating for a respectable news organisation or website with a reasonably large number of subscribers or viewers; and that they should be using the pass for the purposes of journalism, rather than coming in and commenting on stuff. (PR Week) Note particularly the bits about not just ...
I don't quite know why my infantile funny bone so enjoyed the debate over a place name in Yorkshire. Perhaps it is because I have been watching videos of Open All Hours, and could imagine the reverend tones with which the debate over Tickle Cock Bridge must have been conducted. It took me back to my childhood, when we might find names like Christmas Pie amusing and names like Wyre Piddle laugh-out-loud hilarious. Indeed we would take a detour to go through it. There are, after all a plethora of amusing names across Britain, from Middle Wallop, to Lower Slaughter ...
There must be a few red-faces amongst the Welsh Tories today after a leaflet being distributed by them in Cardiff showed up their own poor record on Council Tax. As Walesonline reports Cardiff North Tories have come under fire for putting out an A4 double-sided leaflet in Liberal Democrat colours, using one of Lib Dem's party's favoured typefaces and designed to look clearly like a Lib Dem leaflet, with only one small line of print to suggest it had been put out on behalf of their Parliamentary candidate, former MEP Jonathan Evans. The leaflet criticises the Liberal Democrats in Cardiff ...
I have just heard what Tory MP Sir Nicholas Winterton said about standard class train travel on Stephen Nolan's 5 Live show this morning. You can listen to the highlights here. He said that the sort of people you get in standard class are "a totally different type of people" to those you get in first class. He said that there is too much noise and people would be looking over his shoulder all the time. He also suggested that that is why business people travel first class. Stephen tried to point out to him that business people often travel ...
I knew that it was going to be a bad interview for Sir Nicholas Winterton, when he asserted 'The public are wrong, yes, the public are wrong'. His comments were a reaction to public disquiet about MPs expenses, and in particular a ban on MPs travelling first class. The ensuing interview, which lasted almost an ...
Nicholas Winterton must be a Labour mole.
So now we read that the Press Complaints Commission has found the Daily "Hate" Mail "just failed to cross the line" with their bile-filled article on the untimely death of singer Stephen Gatley. Although the article was described as "in many areas extremely distasteful", it does make you wonder what the second best-selling daily paper has to do to get even a mild ticking off.
Let's face it: even Vince Cable can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear but I think the majority of British voters would trust him rather than Darling Osborne - I mean Darling or Osborne - to deal with our national finances. According to the Liverpool Daily Post of 22nd January this year: ' SHADOW chancellor George Osborne was ordered to repay £1,666 after breaching expenses rules over claims for the mortgage on his second home. But the cross-party Commons Standards and Privileges Committee found the Tatton MP's breach was "unintended and relatively minor".' Well, that's a relief ...
Nick Clegg has proved himself a class political act with his strategy in the event of a hung parliament. No coalition, but voting support for either larger party in return for commitments to promote the education of those on the lowest rung, reform the tax system to reduce income inequalities, boost the green economy (environmentalism and bash the bankers), and to introduce a fairer voting system. So Liberal Democrats can now talk about issues they care about rather than answering questions about which other party they might support. If the finesse works a treat we even get the others talking ...
The release of the UK UFO files has reminded me of my UFO experience twenty or so years ago. I was travelling home from work in the early evening. When I stepped onto the platform at Peckham Rye I saw that all the other travellers were facing the same direction, staring into the sky. It looked like a scene from Close Encounters. Following their gaze I was mesmerised too, by a glowing, shimmering oval sitting next to the setting sun. One of my fellow travellers suggested it was a fire on the ground reflected in the clouds. That didn't seem ...
No, I'm not referring to his star on the Hollywood "Walk of fame", which he unveiled last week. I am, of course, referring to the "Ringo Starr bus" which I spotted in Liverpool. This is my photo of it – the arrow points to the little sign which says "Ringo Starr bus".
Even the keenest, most aggressive deficit cutting rhetoric used in any of the main political parties still envisages a large deficit for many years to come. Politics over the next decade is likely to be hugely shaped by this backdrop. It won't squeeze out all other issues but, just as the 9/11 terrorist atrocities caused civil liberties and foreign affairs to dominate much of the political debate in subsequent years, the deficit is likely to dominate over the next few. What will the practical consequences of that be? What issues may come to dominate political debate? Privatisation returns How to ...
Although the real political problems started when Brown `did a deal with the devil` over bank regulation `you scratch my back I'll scratch yours` I think his current problems were guaranteed when he achieved a sustainable majority with an unsustainable 35% of the popular vote – indeed only 22% of everyone on the registers. Unless the ...
What the FT and Japan are reputedly warming to are very different from the Robin Hood Tax, I think.
It's been over a month since we last gazed into our polling crystal ball (because we have other kinds of crystal balls too...) and I suppose it might be time to update it. But when you see the results, you'll wish I didn't... Conservatives: 40% (N/C) Labour: 22% (N/C) Lib Dems: 21% (N/C) Whoops. Seriously? No changes at all? Yes. ...
Two clever ideas about how to deal with Greece are probably politically impractical.
I got my first lap-dancing related hate mail the other day. The writer (who was not anonymous) suggested that I had nothing better to do with my time and argued that I belonged in the Stasi. One of the hazards of politics is that you occasionally take a clear public view and someone doesn't like it. My crime was to have issued a statement in support of the new rules on sexual encounter establishments. Since the 2003 Licensing Act, lap-dancing clubs had been subject to the same licensing regime as pubs and restaurants - in particular, there was a presumption ...
A protest song against the threats to the Whittington Hospital has been penned and launched. You can hear it here. Come sing it as we march on the 27th February from Highbury Fields to the Whittington.
It was great to be back in Swansea for the Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference. It's a city that I am very familiar with as I spent a great part of my childhood growing up there. It's a city where lots of my aunts, uncles and cousins live and that's why I want the best for Swansea. Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg told conference delegates that Swansea West was a target seat for us at this year's General Election. Now I know that many Welsh voters have voted traditionally for one of the other main parties. So why should Welsh voters ...
I have just learned that the Press Complaints Commission has ruled in favour of Jan Moir with respect to the article she wrote last year following the death of Stephen Gately (I blogged about it at the time here). There is some analysis of the ruling from Andrew Reeves here and Stephen Glenn here. 25,000 people complained to the PCC about this article, more complaints than they have ever had about any single article which left many people repulsed at the unfounded comments about a man who had just died. If the PCC think that this article was fine then ...
Welcome to my second Daily View of the week, as Alex continues his Caledonian cultural capers. On this day five years ago, the ban on hunting with dogs came into force. As a long-term campaigner against blood sports, I don't think it's been the most successful piece of legislation ever. Today is also the anniversary of Margaret Thatcher's u-turn of 1981, when she withdrew plans to close 23 pits and agreed to reduce coal imports from eight million to five-and-a-half million tonnes over the next year. As we know, it was only a short reprieve. Two must-read blog posts Mark ...
Darlington's Town Clock has gone pink. Despite its role as a traditional meeting place for those on a date, the new pink colour, which shines out through all the viewing windows in the tower too, is not, as some Twitterers suggest, a Valentine's Day tribute. No, it's to encourage support for the Cancer Research Race for Life. Darlington's Race, in South Park, will be on Sunday June 13th. I used
There's another advice session at Emmanuel Church, Blackwin Street tonight, 7:30 to 8:30. All welcome.
My colleague, Mark Pack, has indicated an enthusiasm for the proposal for an independent Office for Tax Simplification. And yes, he and I would almost certainly agree that the tax system is now more complex than it has ever been. However, he perhaps misses the point as to why the system is as complex as it is. Luckily, I discussed that yesterday evening. So, why am I so unconvinced by the idea of an independent Office of Tax Simplification? Firstly, Mark misses the point altogether when he discusses rewriting the tax code so that it is easier to understand. That ...
I see this story has made the morning papers. See the Guardian for an example. May I respectfully point out that I discussed it in October 2008 and indeed mentioned it in Liberal Democrat News many years before that? Liberal England: First for news about politicians encountering aliens. And then there was Calder's Comfort Farm: Just now I returned from the village to find an alien seated at my kitchen table. It held the morning's newspapers in its tentacles and was studying them intently. "Shall I take you to my leader?" I asked. It shook its heads. "I don't think ...
Back in October last year following the tragic and very sudden death of Stephen Gately, Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir stuck the knife in and kicked out making some wild and unjustified accusations. I, among many of my friends, colleagues and many others blogged about this at the time, you can read the posting here. At the time, emotions were running high and Jan Moir said; "In what is clearly a heavily orchestrated internet campaign I think it is mischievous in the extreme to suggest that my article has homophobic and bigoted undertones." This was her understanding of how the ...
So the Press Complaints Commission PCC have reached their verdict on Jan Moir's piece after Stephen Gately's death, the timing of which they said was "in questionable taste". They said: "It would not be proportionate to rule against the columnist's right to offer freely expressed views about something that was the focus of public attention." They had also passed it on to the Crown Prosecution Service who ruled that it was not unlawful: "In December 2009, the Metropolitan Police passed the article and statements from two complainants to the Crown Prosecution Service to determine whether or not any crime had ...
There is an important Council by-election in Bridgend today so I do not have much time for blogging. However, this article caught my attention last night and I thought it was worth mentioning in passing. My hearing is not as good as it should be. I had a number of operations when Iw was a child and as a result I sometimes have difficulty picking out what people are saying against background noise. As a result I tend to have the television on loud. Even I have noticed however that once the programme breaks for adverts the volume is significantly ...
Those of you who follow these things will be aware that recent events in Liberal Youth have been consistently interesting, if less than entirely ideal. Following the resignation of Elaine Bagshaw as Chair, and consequent other resignations, the remainder of the Executive Committee have required bolstering with a series of co-options pending an opportunity to hold elections as specified by the Constitution of the organisation. The nature of those elections is now the matter of some debate, and I find myself in a slightly uncomfortable position. A petition has been gathered, calling upon the Executive Committee and myself as Returning ...
Heavens, this is complex... Alright, we've co-opted the Vice Chairs, now it's time for the General Executive Members. I am currently finalising preparations for a ballot of the Executive Committee but can announce that we have six applicants. They are, in alphabetical order by surname, Caroline Boyd Cara Drury Usaama Kaweesa Callum Leslie Callum Morton Ed Sanderson Due to some minor confusion over the necessity to file a manifesto, some e-mail difficulties on the part of candidates and Returning Officer, and a touch of misinformation, the manifestos are being sorted through, and members of the Executive Committee will be called ...
In times when the internet is king and rules many people lives, it is sometimes worth standing back and looking at the impact the cyber world is having on the real world for many people. What should be a pleasurable experience of contacting friends through social media or searching for that elusive piece of information ...
Once again the Conservatives on Wirral continue with their playground politics. Over at chrisblakeley.com under the title of New Labour and Lib Dem's say No! Chris Blakeley tells us that he moved a resolution regarding the electrification of the Bidston-Wrexham Line. He goes on to tell us that sadly this resolution was voted down by ...
On the 4th December last year I wrote about Margaret Beckett's mistake when talking about the Mansion Tax. She thought that 86 000 was 86. I don't remember an apology but at least she had the decency to look embarrased. This week the Tories are making mistakes (nothing new there then) on their teenage pregnancy figures. Does it really matter if 54% is actually 5.4%? They are only figures to support an argument that the country is going to the dogs under a Labour government. Incredibly this was actually the explanation that the Tories gave! "A decimal point was left ...
