The surrounding parishes of Bromsgrove are full of greenbelt, and there is a lot of pressure for affordable homes, as Bromsgrove is the 2nd most expensive area for homes in the West Midlands after Solihull. A challenge for policy makers, and specific planning decisions are generally a local authorities decision not one for local MP. On ...
No one had ever mentioned, though I should have guessed, that once you become a prospective parliamentary candidate the amount of literature from lobby groups and charities is enormous. Most are fine and well intended, but you still have to read everything and then decide if personally I, as well as the party, should be ...
I find myself in something of a moral quandary at this point in my life. At a time when i am evaluating lots of things that are going in my life, i find myself with another choice to make that could take me in a totally different direction to the one I ever planned on ...
"This is not to be taken as a sign I have returned to blogging," says Charlotte Gore sternly. We shall see. In the mean time, she shares with us "the vows Gordon Brown made to Sarah Macaulay in 2000 at a surprise (and secret) ceremony in North Queensbury". Gary Allanach recalls a visit to Chernobyl and worries about the Tories' enthusiasm for nuclear energy. Do you have any famous relatives? No Geek is an Island has lots. Calum Cashley remembers his SNP colleague Billy Woolfe. In the course of doing so he seems to say that the party owns an ...
At the moment all the ITV regions bar those in Scotland are watching the Nick Clegg interview with Mary Nightingale. So what you say? Well we have had the Gordon Brown interview with Piers Morgan and the David Cameron one with Trevor McDonald. The latter is the issue, there is one Conservative MP in Scotland, their leader in Scotland Annabel Goldie has said that Cameron can win the Westminster election without taking seats in Scotland. Oppose that to Nick Clegg who has 12 of his MPs in Scotland is determined that his party will take more. Of all the people ...
Punk rock and Thatcherism both grew out of exasperation with the failure of 1970s Labourism. And in 1978 Paul Weller announced that The Jam would all be voting Conservative at the next election. It seems that this announcement was just reaction against the unreflective socialist politics of those he met in the music business. Yet a few years later Weller was a leading light of Red Wedge, the movement that was meant to rally ver kids against Thatcher and make them elect Neil Kinnock as prime minister. I do not think Elvis and Mozart combined could have managed that. The ...
Douglas Alexander's soundbite about wanting to make 2010 the "word of mouth" election has got a fair amount of coverage in the last few days, such as in this mostly thoughtful piece by Andrew Rawnsley. Why do I only say "mostly thoughtful"? That's because it's a good piece, but also displays a weakness so common in contemporary British political commentary. It's the feeling that it's more important to talk about what an American did a couple of years ago than how the British political system has worked over the last few elections. Because if you want "word of mouth", and ...
You will remember Tony Blair telling us that the war in Iraq was in no way linked to the fact that Iraq is one of the world's major sources of oil. Everyone asked the question why it was that a poor impoverished country like Zimbabwe with a despot in charge was being left alone by international forces whilst Iraq faced the wrath of the US and the UK. People wondered back in 2002 and 2003 whether if Zimbabwe had oil, would Mugabe be allowed to get off scot free, but no, Tony Blair said it was definitely NOT about oil. ...
I got to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo this week at a cinema in Chichester - the nearest to me that was showing it. It was worth the journey. Nice cinema apart from not having the sound properly calibrated, so the environmental sound and sometimes the music came from some very odd places some of the time. I've read the books, and enjoyed them greatly. If you haven't read the books, you will want to know that the film thoroughly deserves its 18 rating. It has a rape scene, a torture scene, several assaults and several sets of ...
Tonight it's Nick Clegg's turn for a Sunday evening party leader's interview - with Mary Nightingale on ITV1 at 10:15pm. Miriam Gonzalez Durantez (Nick's wife) also appears in the programme. At first I was dismayed that Miriam might be wheeled out as yet another politician's wife, dreading revelations about socks or other foundation garments... Until I watched her in this extract : I don't like that name: "political wife". I'm the wife of a politician... I don't have a role. I'm just married to him... ...It's a personal choice and I think it's perfectly possible to have a normal life ...
Tonight it's Nick Clegg's turn for a Sunday evening party leader's interview – with Mary Nightingale on ITV1 at 10:15pm. Miriam Gonzalez Durantez (Nick's wife) also appears in the programme. At first I was dismayed that Miriam might be wheeled out as yet another politician's wife, dreading revelations about socks or other foundation garments... Until I watched her in this extract : I don't like that name: "political wife". I'm the wife of a politician... I don't have a role. I'm just married to him... ...It's a personal choice and I think it's perfectly possible to have a normal life ...
There's an episode of Doctor Who, I think it was in the story Remembrance of the Daleks, but I'm sure Daddy Alex will correct me if I'm wrong, where 80s girl Ace (one of my favourite assistants ever) turns over a card in the window of the 1963 B and B they're in and almost jumps with horror when she realises that it says "no coloureds". The idea that it could ever have been legal to refuse anyone a room in a B and B on the basis of their ethnic background would fill most of us with disgust. It's ...
I couldn't really let today pass without a mention of Sharpeville in South Africa. Half-a-century ago and a world away in apartheid South Africa, every black person had to carry passbooks. This physical everyday shackle of oppression listed the person's name, birthplace, and "tribal" affiliation, contained their picture and serial number, showed whether they had paid their taxes or been arrested, and unless it was signed monthly by their employer, the African could be herded with the other unemployed into a "native reservation". All Africans had to carry them about their person at all times, and they could (and were) ...
I'm having a little down time watching the Stephen Gately tribute and as the show started I suddenly remembered another connection between the two of us. We're both Irish (though North and South)We're both Stephen Patrick G.We both sing.But on his first birthday (St. Patrick's day) after his death that was also the day that I was selected to once again stand for Linlithgow and East Falkirk. Maybe this campaign is my own little personal tribute to that other Stephen Patrick whose memory I defended against a certain newspaper article on this blog back last year.
The Campaign for Libel Reform has organised a Mass Lobby of Parliament, to take place this Tuesday (March 23rd), offering people the chance to raise the Campaign's demands with their own MP and to make a public show of support to the likes of Simon Singh and Peter Wilmshurst who are bravely defending potentially devastating libel cases.The Campaign has raised awareness of the urgent need to
One consequence of progressing from obscurity to semi-obscurity (yes, it's been spectacular) is taking the Budget ever more seriously, in case some misguided soul asks for my opinion. I need to stay informed. So, what do people think will be the headlines? This is what I have gathered so far, in haphazard fashion*: Despite more in the ...
Brown your quartered rabbit in lard, then gently simmer for ages with the lid on (so the liquids don't reduce) in a saucepan with a pint of dark ale, a tin of chopped tomatoes, an onion, a few cloves of garlic, a handful of sage, and some black pepper. Top up with pork stock until the rabbit is just covered. Once the meat is cooked, remove the quarters and strip the meat from the bones. Return the meat to the pan and continue to simmer with the lid off until the liquid has reduced to gloop. Serve with mashed taters.Keep ...
Here is a photo of Cecil Beresford Ramage who fought Southport in 1929. He was married to Cathleen Nesbitt who was the recipient of Rupert Brooke's love sonnets. Thanks to Richard Hands for tracking down Miss Nesbitt. You can read the detail of Ramages time in Southport and the great impact he had in Michael Braham's history of Southport Liberals which is available online at our website-you can also get a better look at the song book there
In honour of Barack Obama's healthcare bill I made a (de)motivational poster: If you want to know more about Barack Obama's healthcare reform go to http://healthcare.cato.org/
I only ask, you see, because in the newspaper online I read of the unions: Their intransigence is beginning to hurt the government's standing, as the YouGov/Sunday Times poll shows today. But in the full polling tables up on the The Times website I read: Will the strikes, and the prospects of disruption for BA's passengers, change the way you vote in the election? Yes, it will make me less likely to vote Labour: 4% Yes, it will make me more likely to vote Labour: 1% No difference: 80% Don't know: 15% That's about as tepid a finding as you ...
The Chief Fire Officer, in his annual presentation to Neath Port Talbot council last Friday, made a plea for automatic fire suppression systems to be included in all new public buildings, especially schools. He revealed that the Afan Lido, which suffered a severe fire in mid-December, was not equipped with sprinklers, which he was sure would have limited the damage. Councillor Frank Little, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council, commented: "There may be some excuse for not building in sprinklers to the original 1960s building. However, the benefits were well-known by the late 1990s, when there ...
From Paul Krugman, via Brad DeLong: [Stephen Roach} seems to have subscribed to the Underpants Gnomes theory of trade balances: 1. Increase savings 2. ????? 3. Exports! To be honest, sometimes I feel that I've spent most of my adult life knocking down the same misunderstanding, over and over again. I wrote about more or less the same issue more ...
Yesterday while canvassing the streets of Bayswater, you couldn't help noticing the number of runners about. There's always more at this time of the year – partly it's a spring thing, and partly it's because the London Marathon's just around the corner. This must be why I saw one woman running in a ballet tutu ...
I know that isn't the most exciting title but bear with me. There are many ways to describe the twentieth century but one that brings together how we did business, ran politics and thought about life seemed to be systems theory. From the way that factories built things to how we constructed our welfare system, the general principle was built on theories that stemmed from management experts. These theories were developed to address how to manage large workforces, get the most out of the production process and deal with employees. Of course, it wasn't just systems theory. There were political ...
On 16th March I sent the following email to Michael Connarty my Labour MP and opponent once again in the General Election regarding the worrying advance of the Digital Economy Bill. Michael, I am rather concerned by the events in the Lords yesterday of the passing of third reading of the Digital Economy Bill. Further I am concerned that as we approach the end of this session this complex issue is going to pass unto the statute books without proper scrutiny, consultation or consideration when it returns to the commons. I spent a lot of the end of last week ...
One thing I really can't stand, as I've said many times before, is when politics, flags and patriotism get mixed up. I don't care who does it, but any party wrapping themselves in a flag and claiming it for themselves just brings me out in hives. So you can imagine that I started foaming at hte mouth this afternoon when I read this from the SNP's official Twitter feed: Alex Salmond closes conference - lets get a saltire over the constituencies of Scotland#snpconf#snp The Scottish saltire is for everybody, for all Scots, regardless of age, religion, gender, political affiliation or ...
Police forces across England and Wales are teaming up with local councils in a welcome move to encourage agents and candidates to abide by the Postal Voting Code of Conduct. They will be sending letters to agents and candidates asking them to personally sign up to the Code of Conduct. In previous years the Code has been a national agreement negotiated by the Electoral Commission with, on the one hand, electoral administrators and, on the other, the main political parties. The involvement of both parties and administrators means the Postal Voting Code of Conduct strikes a balance between recognising the ...
Here's my latest column for the Muswell Hill Flyer and the Highgate Handbook: [IMG: Recycling batteries] I try to be good with recycling - but when it comes to batteries it is sometimes quite difficult because there isn't an easy and convenient place to put them locally. We have battery recycling bins at Parliament - so that makes it easy for me. But how many of us do bother to take batteries to the recycling centres? I don't know - but I suspect the odd one or two just gets put in the normal rubbish. So - I just wanted ...
This afternoon I was quite amused to see this tweet from aspiring Labour Council candidate Sally Bercow. Sally is standing for the St James Ward for Westminster City Council. I can't quite work out from the tube map exactly how many Circle Line stations there are in the ward, but there are certainly some. It seems strange that she had no idea until today that the Circle Line no longer went round in a Circle. Now I, living 500 miles away, knew that. Only because on the night of 12th December last year wonderful Lib Dem Voice contributor, blogger and ...
[IMG: Chocolate Cat Caper cover] The Chocolate Cat Caper was the first in a by now long-running series of American detective novels featuring ex-Texas trophy wife Lee McKinney - and chocolate. The book is a light and pleasant treat - much like a good nougat chocolate from a selection box. It's Murder She Wrote or Agatha Christie with added chocolate. Though crimes are committed it's not a dark book, there are deaths and moments of tension, it's more about the plot than the prose and there is a large range of characters most of whom had a motive (just fancy ...
It is fantastic that Daniel Radcliffe is taking politics so seriously given this is the first general election he will have been able to vote in - it is obviously even better that he is going to be voting Liberal Democrat. In today's Daily Mail, or should that be the Daily Prophet, although the Prophet is a good paper by all accounts, they are running the story "Harry lends his magic to Lib Dem's campaign" this follows the news last year in the interview with Daniel Radcliffe in Attitude magazine. Daniel Radcliffe AKA Harry Potter said; 'I'll be voting Lib ...
Sun 21st
16:45
Pollwatch - State of the Parties: Lib Dems 18%, Labour 31%, Tories 38% (Mar. 2010 so far)
With 15 polls already published so far in March, it's time for a mid-month reality check on the state of the parties. Some parts of the media watch the polls with breathless excitement, investing even the smallest fluctuations with a significance well beyond what they can bear: a bad-tempered PMQs, a 24-hour Westminster Village row, an ad campaign – any and all of these are sometimes said to have affected the polls. Well, maybe. But most poll movements are within the margin of error, so it is only looked at over a reasonable period of time that you can detect ...
Friday, March 19, 2010 by Daily Sport. WITH the General Election looming, people are looking at candidates hoping to become MPs. One Lib Dem candidate, Anna Arrowsmith, who's standing in Gravesham, Kent, has been getting extra attention because of her old job as a porn director. Arty Anna used to produce and direct blue movies for her own company, Easy On The Eye Productions. People have been giving her stick over this, as if shooting feisty flicks will make her a bad MP. Really? Anna has proved herself to be a great candidate who cares about her community. That's what ...
Friday, March 12, 2010 by Daily Sport. NOW I do like David Cameron - he's a decent fellow. But Dangerous Dave & Co have been getting stick this week for trying to whip up a national panic in the run-up to the General Election. The Torynauts have been telling folk there will be an "economic meltdown" if they don't win, and that folks who value their jobs should be voting for them.Hmmm, I can see a few problems here. Firstly,the recession was a worldwide matter, not a party political thing. And secondly, the Tories don't have a great record on ...
It's been brought to my attention that Ladbrokes are offering odds on the General Election here in Lewisham East. Interestingly, they agree with the Lib Dems' assertion that Lewisham East is now a two horse race between Labour and the Lib Dems. Latest odds are: Labour 1/8 (fair enough in a seat they've held for 18 years) Lib Dem Pete Pattisson 5/1 Conservative 12/1 Green 100/1 Bookies obviously consider Pete best placed to challenge Labour on May 6th. Votes for the Greens or Conservatives just risk helping Labour scrape in again.
Alastair and Gill, and two of their friends, were at a party round the corner last night, and Alastair called just after we got home o ask if they could stay the night, which they did. They all crept up the stairs like mice when they got in at some unearthly hour, but I heard them, being a light sleeper/ This afternoon Alastair and Gill went off the Richmond, to see Alastair's cousin and possibly to have a walk in Richmond Park.
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Group in the Welsh Assembly had a confidential briefing with British Telecom last week on their plans to extend high speed broadband access across Wales. During the course of that meeting we learnt that there can be a huge cost to getting even basic broadband provision to isolated communities across Wales. I do not think though that any of us thought that it could get this expensive: British Telecom has been accused by a businessman of being unfair to rural areas after quoting more than £56,000 to install broadband at his farmhouse. Tony Simkin, of Beulah, ...
The result of the latest YouGov/Sunday Times voting intention poll is Conservative 38% 296 ss (+98) Labour 31% 276 seats (-80) Liberal Democrats 19% 48 seats (-14) Others 12% 12 seats (nc) Hung Parliament, Conservatives 30 seats short Not as good a result for the LibDems as I would have expected, however it does leave the door open for a chance of government by consensus or a coalition.
It was last summer that Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe first indicated he would be backing the Lib Dems at the election, coming out as a party supporter in an interview in Attitude magazine. Now, it seems, Daniel's endorsement is official according to the Daily Mail: In next month's US edition of Vogue, Radcliffe - who will be able to vote for the first time at the General Election - discusses his affiliation to the party. 'I'll be voting Lib Dem, without a shadow of a doubt,' he said. 'Nick Clegg rang me and we had a good chat. He's ...
Nick Thornsby did a quick interview with Chris Davies, Lib Dem MEP yesterday and has posted it on Lib Dem TV. You can watch it here. He asks some good questions. I was especially interested to hear Chris' views on the UK's drugs policies and they seem to strongly chime with my own. Hopefully Nick will be contributing more interviews and material to the site in future.
Today's Observer has an article that suggests that Cameron's new Conservative Party may after all be as skin deep as many of us have claimed in the last few years. The paper refers to accusations that the Conservatives have been "pandering to prejudice" by omitting pictures of their non-white election candidates from campaign literature in areas where they are fighting the BNP: Claims by the Tory leader, David Cameron, to be promoting ethnic diversity were called into question after an entire series of campaign calendars issued in east London - the front line of the fight against the BNP - ...
First, from Chris Dillow: our gilt rates do not makes us a more risky proposition than Italy: Granted, UK five-year yields are slightly higher than Italy's: 2.81% vs. 2.72% for benchmark bonds. But this is not a pure measure of creditworthiness. Bond yields also depend upon inflation and currency risk. One reason why gilts yield more ...
After mass at st cuthberts today - talk on Cestria credit union which destroys loan sharks by providing cheap loans and good savings Tel 01914922777. They work from Pelton Fell, Chester-le-st, Ouston and Grange Villa
Am I the only one who doesn't really get the point of the protest by Man Utd fans? They don't like the current American owners, the Glazer brothers so they are all wearing the green and gold colours - which were the original colours of the old club. With me so far? Even I understand that part. Usually when you protest you don't then go and support the very thing you are protesting about. That's where the Man Utd fans are weird. Because they are still going to their beloved Old Trafford week in, week out. Paying the very same ...
Alice's story: Over the 16 years that I've lived in the area, I've had to use the A&E at Whittington Hospital on several occasions. Having an A&E just a short bus ride away makes all the difference; when you're in a situation that requires attention at an A&E, you don't necessarily have the presence of mind to take everything you need with you. I've had to take both my son and daughter to the A&E at Whittington Hospital and it is just a comfort to know that if we need to fetch anything from home for them like a teddy ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 161st weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (14th – 20th March, 2010), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can now sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox – just click here – ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Colin Firth on why ...
I've written to the Crown Estate to object to their plans to sell-off homes in Lee Green on behalf of myself, Paul, Sven and Pete. 100320 Crown Estate Consultation
I have not been confident of the stability of Russia since the economic crisis broke with full force two years ago. The fact is that Putin has taken a leaf out of Russian history, by centralising power and then decreeing a policy of modernisation- little understanding that the twenty-first century version of modernisation demands decentralisation and flexibility. If Putin is no Stalin or Ivan the Terrible, neither is he the more enlightened despot he would prefer to model himself upon: Peter the Great. The Russian Federation is so vast that its scale has historically terrified its leaders- repeatedly they have ...
Prompted by a snark from springheel_jack about the phrase "temporarily able-bodied": I get that some people, disabled and otherwise, like "temporarily able-bodied" as a way of reminding people that taken over time, disabled people are not really a minority. I get that reminding people of that can be useful. I get that some people will only change their behaviours if we can appeal to their enlightened self-interest. It still makes me itch, though - it's verging on twee, it brings the emphasis back to bodily differences rather than the social model of disability, it ignores altogether any disabling that isn't ...
It appears that Redlands ward has been hit by graffiti taggers again. This environmental degradation really gets residents down, as you can imagine and we are determined to ensure the Council stays on top of the problem. Out talking to residents around Erleigh Road yesterday I came across a lot tags - on Erleigh Road itself there has been an outbreak of tagging in red paint - including this road sign on Denmark Road: [IMG: Graffiti on Denmark Road] A few weeks ago I also reported this tag (below on Hatherley Road): [IMG: Graffiti on Hatherley Road] A short walk ...
A few months ago, I heard Ian Hislop, the editor of Private Eye, when asked which party he supported say: "I support the Vince Cable for Chancellor Party". The interviewer took it as a bit of a joke- after all there was no such party, was there? This morning I see in the Independent on Sunday that John Rentoul is suggesting that a lot of voters would like to see Vince Cable as the Chancellor, but he suggests that in order for the voters to get what they want, they should vote Labour. Oh really? I thought that was the ...
Yesterday evening, Lindsay and I attended the Ahmadiyya Muslims' Annual Peace Symposium. The keynote speaker, His Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, spoke about the duty of Muslims not only to proclaim that Islam is a doctrine of peace, but to put the principle of 'Love for all, and Hatred for none' into operation in their own lives, and he reviewed the effects of strife in various parts of the world on the victims. His Holiness presented me with the first Ahmadiyya Muslim Annual Peace Award, in recognition of 'outstanding services for the advancement of the cause of peace'. I have ...
Oliver's Battery Parish Council has recently received planning permission for new sports facilities at the Recreation Ground. These comprise a hard-surfaced and partially fenced "multi-use games area" and an attached, fully fenced, tennis court. The multi-use games area would include a basketball hoop and would be partly separated from the tennis court by a practice wall. The wall would be
We all understand the disproportionate effects of first past the post (FPTP), but what about the distance it puts between voters and politicians? The size of constituencies used in FPTP, and the even larger ones used in STV, mean that politicians can't hear the voices of individual communities clearly. The link between voters and MP gets weaker the larger the size of the constituency they are elected in. There is only one electoral system that will make the gap smaller and deliver proportional results, non-contiguous first past the post. For an explanation on how this works, click here. (For reference, ...
...'History in the making' – so runs the headline on The Huffington Post today. Today, there's likely to be an actual vote on the Senate bill in the House (the Slaughter option has been abandoned) and it looks like it will be passed. It'll then be signed by Barry and an easy 51 votes in the Senate will pass needed amendments. Nancy Pelosi got another five House votes committed to her yesterday. The Stupak abortion hold-outs have been divided. Talking of Barry, he made an absolute stonker of a speech to the Congressional Democrats yesterday. Worth watching – below. It's ...
You know how kids these days are all out of control, and in the good old days there was rarely any bad behaviour at all? Here's a first person account from a 1949 Manchester police officer, having been summoned a school where trouble was afoot. Did the police deal with it in the best way? You decide. There were boys everywhere. As our lady informant had quite rightly said, there were hundreds of the little sods. Some were balancing on the railings, some were ripping slates off the shelter roof, windows were being broken and stones flying about. Some boys ...
I am a volunteer with the British Red Cross – find out how you can be one too! It doesn't take a large person or a huge amount of time to be a volunteer. Find out how a little of your time can make a big difference by visiting the British Red Cross' website
And so another week at Bonkers Hall draws to a close. Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West 1906-10. Sunday An enjoyable breakfast - kedgeree, devilled kidneys, eggs and b - quite up to Cook's usual high standards. She does well to produce it, I later learn, because a leopard has escaped from my private menagerie and invaded her kitchen, with the result that she is forced to beat it off with a ladle from time to time. As she later remarks to me, "Cooking doesn't get any tougher than this." Then to St Asquith's where the Revd ...
Michael Portillo's Power to the People swept across Britain, and parts of the question, to ask the question: how can politics reconnect with people? The answer was in the title of the programme. Portillo, in his easy, television-friendly way, spoke to different people who had got involved in their local community and took control. From the people who took over a local shop that was going to be closed down to the parents who want a local secondary school, the point was made over and over again. His conclusion was that people will do things when there is an urgent ...
The New York Times reports on what is happening in the US as campaign ads go viral on the web.
I have been Tagged by Mark Reckons on his blog postThe which celebrity do you really, really hate meme. The rules for this meme taken from Marks Reckons blog are; They must be famous and also that you have never met them. I am going to exclude politicians or people you hate for political reasons too. It has to be just based around their face or demeanour or something else equally shallow and irrational! And you can only pick one so if you have loads it has to be the one you hate the most. However irrational though you must ...
In the Guardian today...
Yesterday was fun. I did a full shift at work, and then went to my friend Reenie's 50th birthday party. Reenie is a lesbian, and lots of her friends are lesbians. I reckon there were about five blokes in the whole place. I did lots of dancing, and a reasonable amount of drinking, and there was some kissing and cuddling too. It was really nice to be in an atmosphere and a place where I felt completely unjudged and unwary about what people might think of me for being bi and having odd hair and all that sort of thing. ...
Tomorrow at 10.30am at the Swansea Civil Justice Centre in Quay Street (opposite Sainsburys) the courts stage the last chance to stop the badger cull in North Pembrokeshire. The Badger Trust has brought an application to judicially review the Minister's decision to go ahead with the cull and the hearings will take place on Monday and Tuesday of this week. The Trust is also making a separate formal complaint under the Bern Convention on the Conservartion of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and are expecting a preliminary decision on that issue by the end of the month. The Wales on ...
Totally unrelated to the general topic of this blog, however I am a big fan of Lady GaGa and thought this was an interesting article.... More relevant stuff to follow
At the Lib Dem regional conference in Rochdale yesterday I recorded a quick interview with Chris Davies, MEP for the North West. I asked him about Nick Grifiin's expenses, the Lisbon Treaty, drugs and a few other things. You can see the interview on Lib Dem TV HERE.
At the Lib Dem North West conference held yesterday in Rochdale I interviewed Chris Davies MEP. I asked him about the Lisbon Treaty, his views on drug law reform and Nick Griffin's expenses, among other things.
Further to this response and having heard Nick interviewed on Today, I was able to write this: I complained about an interview with David Cameron you conducted on the 7th January where he was not asked once about a hung parliament. As this is an issue that equally affects all parties, I drew comparison with how you treat interviews with Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats. These interviews are dominated with questions about hung parliaments at the expense of being informing (one of your missions!) about policy. You replied: "As regards to the questions put to Lib Dem ...
Most people, including one of my fellow Darlington Labour bloggers, think PACT in Darlington stands for Police and Communities Together, which, since PACT meetings are all about local residents meeting the police and agreeing priorities in their local ward or neighbourhood, would seem to be logical.In fact, however, it stands for Partners and Communities Together (not Partnerships either, Nick!).
After this post yesterday, I have now followed up with a complaint to the BBC: On the 9am news you reported that David Cameron had announced that he wants to introduce a levy on the banks and that Labour support a similar scheme but only with international agreement.The Liberal Democrats were not mentioned in this comparison despite having had, very publicly, supported a banking levy for some time. Then on the 10am news you repeated the above but we got a snippet of a speech from David Cameron which was basically a word for word copy of a speech made ...
The February unemployment figures came out this week. Seasonally adjusted unemployment fell to 12.7% in Birmingham, from 12.9% in January, while it is up from 11.5% a year ago. This is over twice the national rate, which is now 5.8%. In Acocks Green the unadjusted figure rose by 5 in the month to 1,365 (or 12.3%), and is up 180 in the past year. Across Birmingham the unadjusted figures fell in the month by 37 to 51,226 or 12.8%. Birmingham continues to have the highest unemployment of the core cities with the gap to the next worse city, Liverpool, having ...
You may be mistaken to think this post is about Gordon Brown. It is not. The man in question is the Conservative Mayor of London who has decided in his wisdom to reduce the opening times of 4 of our tube stations here in Epping Forest. Some will only be open for 1 hour a day during the weekend.Ignoring the fact that Boris Johnson when campaigning for the election of Mayor of London said he would
Conservative candidate for the Western Isles, Sheena Norquay, has dropped a rather large brick by calling for a "new harbour wall" for Achmore, a village with no coast on Lewis. Apparently it's a favourite topic of local people for sussing out which incomer politicians know anything about the island. Tee hee! Here's a link to the story on Mark Pack's blog, Lib Dem Voice: Nick's speech
A petition with the 6,000 signatures of concerned residents in our area was delivered to NHS Lincolnshire headquarters in Bracebridge Heath. Together with Councillor Tom Brown, Pat is appealing for the restoration of a round the clock A&E service at John Coupland Hospital in Gainsborough. There is a minor injuries clinic at the Hospital which treats over 10,000 people a year and is open from 8am
It's Sunday. It's 9am. It's time for jenga, but first the news. 2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here are two posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: A failure of scrutiny on digital bill: Peter Black blogs about the letter signed by, amongst others, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidates Bridget Fox and Julian Huppert. Danger of Parliament rushing through legislation without proper debate? Who would have thought it. Elementary errors: Giles Wilkes on the important difference between a stock and a flow. More interesting and useful than I've made it ...
I'm a bit like a sort of cab for hire The fare? usually between £3,000 and £5,000 a day plus expenses. Just a few of the things an MP shouldn't say to someone they haven't even googled, or, indeed, someone they have. There's plenty more here. Hewitt and Hoon also feature.
This is our campaign video in the North Durham election. The music was specially written for the campaign by "Courage Playing Blind". Enjoy.
The Treasury are taking Liberal Democrat economic policy seriously. They have called in Vince Cable for detailed discussions with the permanent secretary Nicholas Macpherson about the Lib Dems will be demanding from both Labour and the Conservatives in the light of a coalition, and the possibility that neither George Osborne or Alistair Darling will be Chancellor but Vince. Of the meeting Vince has said: "[Nicholas Macpherson] wanted to know what we attached priority to. He wanted to know what we felt strongly about." He added that the Liberal Democrat ideas on tax and spending were well received and he wasn't ...
The diversity and equality report report provides an overview of the excellent diversity & equality related work carried out across the Council during 2009 and demonstrates how we are progressing against some of the key equality targets we have set ourselves. Commenting on the report, Cllr Marin Candler, the Members' Equality Champion said: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those elected Members, employees, customers and partners who help the Council to ensure that our services and employment opportunities are open and accessible to everyone in the borough. This report reflects their excellent contributions to promoting equality ...
A week or so ago I was on a panel for an event with this title organised by Glasshouse Partnership and the BCS as part of its Savvy Citizens campaign. The panel also included Elizabeth Sparrow President of the BCS, Jag Singh of Messagespace and former adviser to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Paul Staines author of the Guido Fawkes blog and Labour MP Derek Wyatt. The event was chaired by Michael Cross, a freelance journalist and regular contributor to The Guardian. The event was very enjoyable and was structured such that the first half was spent responding to ...
I'm sorry I've not posted for a while: I went to the Lib Dem spring conference last weekend, then my husband was away working for three days, leaving me home alone with our two teenage children in the taxi years, plus a full-time job. It made me think and commiserate, as I do from time to time, of how a single parent manages. The spring conference was very good value: fun and thought provoking in equal measure and a chance to meet lots of thoughtful, caring people who I look forward to seeing again. Back in the saddle now, I ...
The Observer today carries a story about the curious lack of photos of the Conservatives' black and asian candidates in Barking and Dagenham. The candidates exist (to the Tories' credit) and their names and contact numbers are on the leaflets, but the photos are all white. The Conservatives denied that the move amounted to deliberate "airbrushing" of ethnic minority candidates. They insisted that the lack of photographs of their non-white candidates on all campaign calendars dropped through letter boxes was because their list of candidates had not been completed when the material was published. But they could not explain why ...
Yesterday Obama gave a speech to Democratic congressmen and women about healthcare reform. We remember the election speeches with the soaring rhetoric – easier to do than when you're fighting for what you believe in in Government. By all accounts it was his best Governing speech yet. Take a look for yourself. ...
A superb photograph of Perth Road at Mid Wynd and Ryehill Church (now flats) from Photopolis.
We have been advised of the following road closures by Hertfordshire Highways: A405 North Orbital Road will be closed 9.30pm - 5.00am for 4 weeks starting on Monday 22 March. 2 Phases: PH1: M10/A414 Rbt - Tippendell Lane Rbt, PH2; Noke Rbt - M25 J21a Working Hours: 9.30pm-5.00am Main Diversion: M25 J21a to J22, A1081 London Colney Bypass, A414 North Orbital Road, A405 North Orbital Road (and vice versa). Non-Motorway Traffic Diversion: PH1 - A5183 Watling St / B4630 Watford Rd. PH2: A5183 Watling Street / Park St / Frogmore / Radlett Rd, B462 Watford Rd / Radlett Rd / ...
In what's believed to be unprecedented in recent times, Vince Cable has held talks with Nicholas Macpherson, the big cheese at the Treasury, about Lib Dems economic policies and what might happen in the event of a hung/ balanced parliament. Cable was unaware of such meetings having taken place with Lib Dem shadow chancellors before previous general elections. The talks were a sign that the Treasury was "taking seriously" the prospect of his party playing a leading role in economic policy in what could be the first hung parliament since 1974. Vince has also declared himself ready to serve as ...
Liberal Democrat Spokeswoman for Youth and Equality, Lynne Featherstone has launched the party's 'Free to be Young' policy paper. The policy outlined how the Liberal Democrats will ensure that all young people have better access to after-school facilities, comprehensive support and training for those entering the workplace and legislation in place to stamp out homophobic bullying. The paper includes proposals to: Introduce a new 'Paid Internship' scheme allowing 800,000 young people to receive a 'Training Allowance' of £55 a week for up to 3 months Support schools, colleges and apprenticeship schemes to promote opportunities for disabled children and young people ...
Ex RUSU President Rhiannon Horsley signs our Student Bus Fares Petition, flanked by Lib Dem councillors Gareth Epps and Warren Swaine. RU Lib Dems have long campaigned for a student discount on Reading Buses. We led the campaign last year and were happy to see it resurrected by students who voted it as their chosen campaign for Spring Term. I was delighted to find out that Reading Buses have announced the following intiatives; Group Saver – travelling as a group of four with 4 Busabouts for only £6.50! Under 19 years? – get a READI-id and get child prices on ...
According to Virgil "love conquers all" this a propos of today being World Poetry Day. And my favourite (today at least) lines of English poetry? "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside ...
Don't forget the Birkdale Coffee Morning at 101 Dunbar Road, Hillside next Saturday 27th March, 10.30 to 12 noon. This is our next social get together in Birkdale and is always a great success. It will be interesting to see how May's orchard is getting on!
Liberal England: Man of the Day: Cecil Beresford Ramage MC Jonathan Calder corrects my memory over on Liberal England. He points out that Cecil Ramage the Liberal candidate for Southport in 1929 played the Crown counsel whose powerful prosecution did much to secure Louis Mazzini's conviction in Kind Hearts on Coronets not the defence barrister. Whilst we a on such trivia Ramage was the youngest Liberal candidate for Southport-until I came along in 1983 and pinched his record being a few months younger. I await correction from Michael Braham but I fancy I also took his record for the largest ...
I have written about political posters in earlier blogs. This means that I can write about them in my politics as well as my photography blog. There is so little content in them that they are ripe for parody and that was the title that I gave to them previously. Here I am showing you the original photograph on the left. The only thing I did to change it to the photo on the right is to fit it into a 6"x 4" format. It didn't really matter about the cropping here because I am not going to print it, ...
