I am very disappointed to read the BBC's news about twenty MPs (including Hendon's Andrew Dismore) having broken the rules "on declaring hospitality in questions or debates after visiting locations such as the Maldives, Cyprus and Gibraltar." The BBC says that Mr Dismore "broke rules more than 90 times, following annual visits to Cyprus, by failing to declare the hospitality when raising issues about the island in Parliament." I accept that the BBC also says that Mr Dismore "denies any wrongdoing and claims his questions about Cyprus were not sufficiently relevant to his trips to require a declaration". That notwithstanding, ...
In the US, Joshi calculates that, in cash terms, national income has risen $200 billion since the depths of the recession in March 2009. But corporate profits have risen by $280 billion over that period, while wages are down by $90 billion. ... In Britain, national income rose $27 billion in the last two quarters of ...
I was in Chopwell again today campaigning. It is true of a lot of parts of the constituency that they feel separate from Gateshead, the local authority. I live just over the Stanley Burn where in Prudhoe there has always been a tradition of a local parish council, of which I am a member. As one of the two senior councillors in Prudhoe my Town Councillor colleagues often use it to give me hell but local government is alive and well. I really think that, for the communities in Blaydon who are furthest away from the centre (I'm thinking of ...
Whilst perusing the Metro this morning, I was struck by the cartoon that appeared on the front. For those that didn't see it, it showed two air traffic controllers having a discussion about the latest figures from Unite, which talked about how many union members were on strike, how many phoned in sick, etc. The caption ...
After a pause of several months - longer than planned - Flash Forward has returned to our TV screens with two episodes back to back It's back with some very ropey computer special effects. It's also back with the old favourites: the attempts to do deep and meaningful which don't quite come off. But that's ok. Because there's LOUD BACKGROUND MUSIC TO TELL YOU. Or switching to black and white. As ever, it should be awful but instead it comes out fun. Just as with the smoking villain who says, "Only villains smoke, right?" followed shortly afterwards by "You may ...
The Tories really don't know their localism from their centralism. Apparently, instead of central government's inability to manage resources, the postcode lottery is an unavoidable consequence of localism. Thus, instead of addressing the inequality that is involved with provision of services, which includes an 'Inverse Care Law' where the most disadvantaged in society actually having less access to provision, ...
Like all Luton South residents who watched Channel Four's Dispatches tonight, I am totally appalled by what I saw. I have been campaigning on this issue for years now and once again it was clear that Margaret Moran is more concerned about herself than those os us who are her constituents. As a Councillor in the constituency I have been dealing with casework brought to me by fellow residents as they knew Ms. Moran wasn't there to help them. The same is true for all my fellow Luton South Liberal Democrat Councillors. We have been be honoured to work for ...
There's a double attack on Tory spin in Cornwall tonight. First up, there's the Conservative plans for the high speed rail line linking London to the North. South West rail user groups have attacked the plans as meaning that 'ordinary lines' in the South West will be neglected. Then there's the trumpeting of investment of up to £2bn in Cornwall. My colleague Edwina Hannaford is worried that the new affordable homes will end up being for people from outside Cornwall rather than the local families who so desperately need them. And another colleague, Graham Walker, has looked at the money ...
In case you missed it, David Howarth MP gave a speech last week, as part of the Hansard Society's Parliamentary Reform Lecture Series. The speech includes a discussion of the various systems that need reform: the government, the judiciary, political parties and the media. David Howarth also covers Lords reform, electoral reform and the loss of trust in our political institutions. He emphasises the need to restore power to local government. He cautions that the General Election will not be enough to end this crisis, which has partly been brought about by MPs' misuse of expenses. He ends by saying: ...
I watched tonight's Channel 4 dispatches programme which showed the MP for Luton South, Margaret Moran, effectively being interviewed for a job with a fake lobbying firm, despite the fact that she is officially "off sick" and hasn't attended the House of Commons since last April. I watched and I got angry. Even though I more or less new what was going to be in it and was not at all surprised at any of its revelations. I still got angry. What can you make of a politician "too sick" to attend and play her part in the law making ...
Hmmm, well I have my doubts about this one. Not the idea: that's obvious and right. Of course we need to build political consensus in order to carry through the tough spending cuts any party (or parties) which finds itself in government will have to implement. Only myopic Labour/Tory tribalists will try and pretend a government with the support of one-in-five of the electorate can decimate (in that word's literal sense) public spending to bring the deficit under control with any kind of legitimacy. No, the problem I have with Nick Clegg's idea is this: the name, 'Council of Financial ...
It would appear Simon Ashall of the Horsell Mouth's blog has an issue with my raising perfectly valid questions about the previous alleged conduct of Tom Miller, the Labour PPC for Woking. I quote: I was taken aback to read such a personal attack of Woking's Labour candidate Tom Miller by Spiderplant88 on her blog the ...
A very busy few days - with the Liberal Democrats campaigning across the West End and the Dundee West constituency as a whole. Pictured above is John Barnett, Dundee West Liberal Democrat candidate, in Cleghorn Street yesterday. I missed much of Sunday's campaigning as I have been in Belfast with the "day job" (photo below!) and returned just in time to attend my afternoon surgeries at the Mitchell Street Centre and Harris Academy, followed by City Council meetings tonight. At tonight's Council's committees, I raised questions about the Bike Boost initiative as part of the Dundee Travel Active project, the ...
Mon 22nd
22:20
Byers, Hoon and Hewitt suspended... or How Gordon Brown got rid of three Blairites in a single blow
So Stephen Byers, Patsy Hewitt and Geoff Hoon have all been suspended from the Labour Party having been caught up in the latest 'MPs for sale' scandal. Whilst he will have to endure a lot of digs from Cameron, I'm betting that Gordon Brown is not exactly unhappy at this. After all, all three are arch Blairites and would have been the leading candidates when anonymous and damaging briefings came out during the election campaign complaining that Brown wasn't up to Blair's level and how he was losing the election campaign. As strictly tarnished goods (there's no way the standards ...
Mon 22nd
22:13
Stephen Byers, Geoff Hoon and Patricia Hewitt suspended from Parliamentary Labour Party
This story is breaking on the BBC News site at the moment. It follows the Channel 4 Dispatches programme earlier this evening.
So reports the BBC: The Liberal Democrats have said if they won power they would stop the winter fuel allowance for people under 65. Anyone aged 60 can claim the allowance, worth £125 to £400, but the minimum age is due to rise to 65 in 10 years' time. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said his party would implement the change now – saving about £400m in public spending. He said just under £200m would be used to give extra winter help to about one million severely disabled people or those who are terminally ill. ... Mr Clegg told the ...
Mon 22nd
21:54
Retrospective change to registration for members of the armed services comes in to force
As a circular from the Electoral Commission explains: Until now, members of HM Forces and their spouses or civil partners registering through a service declaration have had to renew their registration every three years. From commencement of The Service Voters' Registration Period Order 2010 on 19 March 2010, the length of registration based on a service declaration is now five years and so, from 19 March 2010, service voters will only need to renew their registration at the end of a five year period. The extension of the length of registration will apply to all service personnel and their spouses ...
Yet another Cashcroft glossy Tory leaflet hits the doormats in Darlington. From it I learn that I am "tainted by town hall politics," and have "not served my country with distinction." Strangely, Capt Legard completely fails to mention that he too is a local councillor, albeit in North Yorkshire. His military career does, as usual, get extensive coverage. Capt Legard appears to believe that the
Freethinking Economist on what can happen to someone who is uninsured in the US healthcare system.Alex Massie hails the passing of Obama's healthcare bill as the most significant Democratic triumph in 40 years.Victoria Coren writing on CiF fills us in on the rather unsavoury behaviour of The Jolley Gang. Not as jolly as it sounds.The Media Blog is disappointed by the fact that Nigella Lawson is not fat and dirty as they had been led to believe.LizW explains her dislike of the phrase "Temporarily able-bodied" Monday bonus was brought to my attention by The Salted Slug. Comedian Doug Stanhope on ...
Speaking following the reporting by the Eastbourne Herald of the departure of Kim Hodgson, Chief Executive of the East Sussex Hospitals Trust, Nick Perry, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Hastings & Rye said: "As someone who works in mental health care locally, and who is only too aware of the pressure that colleagues are ...
It didn't take long to get the answer to my question: If Ramage's 1929 campaign song was the last to see action in a parliamentary battle in Southport which was the first? The answer is : 'Ahr Jarge' for Southport sung to the tune of God save the Prince of Wales. It dates from the 1899 by election when George Pilkington fought and defeated C.B. Balfour who was cousin to Arthur Balfour the Tory leader of the House of Commons. Pilkington won easily-by Southport standards. The Southport Guardian reports that after the declaration the victorious candidate went back to the ...
The Guardian reports: A ban on broadcasting video clips of the proceedings of the House of Commons on YouTube could come to an end in the coming weeks after months of delicate negotiations between the Palace of Westminster and broadcasters led by the BBC. Existing rules forbid YouTube or any other website, such as a newspaper's, from embedding any clips of parliamentary proceedings - meaning that the only way to watch parliament online is via the news clips from the major broadcasters, live on the BBC's Parliament channel or the Westminster website... Jo Swinson, the Liberal Democrat MP for Dumbarton ...
Good to see that a minuscule step towards a fairer health system has taken place across the pond. Despite the drivel spouted by many Republicans (and some Democrats) about the "socialist" nature of the reforms, (Socialist? You've got to laugh haven't you?) the Americans spend more on "health" than any other country in the world, both in total terms and amount per head. The fact missed out by most opponents and indeed commentators is the "race" factor, namely that of the approximately 40m Americans without any form of healthcare insurance, the overwhelming majority are either Black or Hispanic. One shameful ...
Last night I was catching up on some television which I had recorded during the previous week. One such programme was 'The People's Politician'. The presenter tried get Ann Widdicombe to reconnect with the electorate she represents.Now this is the same Ann Widdicombe who rather than serve her constituents decided to make a name for herself on the television, starring in Celebrity Fit Club and
I've made a video about the problem of potholes in Launceston, particularly in Cross Lanes. Whilst most potholes may have been made worse by the cold weather in the winter, these holes have been made far wider and deeper by the road lay out. With cars parked on one side of the road, all the traffic flow has to follow on the other side of the carriageway and there are deep ruts appearing. When lorries pass, and there are quite a few of them, the road crumbles even more. I'm in contact with the Council about these holes and will ...
"MPs offer political favours in return for thousands of pounds a day." Tony Blair has made millions since leaving Downing Street. Sir Alistair Graham: "The first principle for MPs is selflessness". Ho ho. The programme approached more than 20 MPs. Ten agreed to meet the "company" -Anderson Perry. Sir John Butterfill offered company his CV at the start of the meeting. The programme quotes David Cameron saying lobbying is the next big scandal waiting to happen. Butterfill: "I can organise a meeting in a minister's office or possibly ... he could come to you." Said he could arrange a meeting ...
Congratulations to President Obama on getting his health insurance measures through Congress. I have written before about the parallels between these and the reforms of the Liberal government before World War I. Thanks to Burning Our Money for the picture.
This is the programme I filmed for the party about conference. Starring Chris Huhne, it is the inside story of conference. So if you were not there, have a look to see what you were missing. And if you were there, have a look to see what I captured you doing!I finished editing the video yesterday. It's on the party's YouTube site rather than mine.
Today I signed up to Save The Children's campaign to get action to reduce child poverty on the political agenda at the coming general election, entitled 'Poverty Kills Childhood'. Save The Children have highlighted the shocking fact that the number of children living in severe poverty in the UK has shot up to 1.7 million - up 200,000 since 2004. The number of children who quality for free school meals also increased last year. This, after Tony Blair pledged to abolish child poverty by 2020. I agree that this issue has to be a top priority for the next government ...
It would have taken a heart of stone in recent days not to have laughed at the sight of Kitty Ussher destroying a promising ministerial career through greed and stupidity. But when I think of Ussher, the Labour MP for Burnley, I think of an article she wrote for the Guardian back in 2005. It appeared in the wake of the defeat of the government's proposal for 90-day detention before charge for terrorist subjects. Ussher wrote: Let's be clear about this: this country is a less safe place because of the actions of the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats and, yes, ...
BBC Radio Cornwall's Graham Smith has started a blog. Great to see you Graham.
I have just been watching ITV News. If their reports about Labour MP Margaret Moran are accurate then her behaviour is appalling. She has apparently been on extended sick leave as an MP since May last year (due to stress exacerbated by the expenses scandal) and yet when approached recently by undercover reporters posing as corporate lobbyists she was suddenly available to discuss things with them and claimed she was free and available to help them. Then an hour later another reporter contacted her constituency office posing as a constituent to see if they could speak to her and were ...
The widow's mite. It's a story with which everyone's familiar. Your generosity is not determined by the absolute value of your gift, but by it's relative value. For example, a person on the minimum wage donating £100 is more generous than Lord Ashcroft donating £1m. It's a good moral. But there's also a very practical reason why fundraisers should learn to appreciate the widow's mite. Because while most widows will have few liquid cash assets with which to be generous, the chances are they may have a good few illiquid capital assets to bequeath come the time. Earlier this month, ...
According to The Guardian, the Energy Minister, Lord Hunt, has been meeting industrialists in London today in a bid to calm mounting fears about the disruption that could follow a sudden shortage of oil supplies. In a significant policy shift, the government has apparently agreed to undertake more work on whether the UK needs to take action to avoid the massive dislocation that could be caused by the early onset of "peak oil" - the point that marks the start of terminal decline in global oil production (see Hubbert's curve below). See here for the full story in The Guardian. ...
Congratulations to David and Samantha Cameron, but isn't this copying Tony Blair thing going too far? First we had the moral panic over child criminals: now we have the new baby.
Fresh Squeezings From the Veins of the Internet Sexism in Comics, and 2000AD in particular - very long but very worthwhile post on how a comic which traditionally bats for the underdog still perpetuates thoughtless sexism. Fame at Last! I got linked to by the beeb. Will let you know if it results in a traffic increase to the blog; number of twitter followers has definitely gone up. Women buy 55% of Movie Tickets - so why are we still talked down to by Hollywood? The Hathor LEgacy has the answers. Things that give you hope: I was a BNP ...
...and it's shortening lives along the worst polluted roads by an estimated nine years. At the launch of the Parliamentary Environment Audit Committee report on air quality, chairman Tim Yeo MP said: "Air pollution probably causes more deaths than passive smoking, traffic accidents or obesity, yet it receives very little attention from government or the media. In the worst affected areas this invisible killer could be taking years off the lives of people most at risk, such as those with asthma." See here for the BBC write-up of today's select committee report.
This afternoon I was pleased to pay a return visit to the Centre for Youth and Community Development (CYCD). As a long term supporter of their work I was pleased to hear about their latest work in improving the quality of life for young people in our community. As well as supporting young people the Centre helps people from our Bengali community and today I met with them to learn about their work. Throughout our town there are organisations doing fantastic work helping people learn new skills and as a Councillor I have been proud to see the positive and ...
We've all moaned in recent months about the state of the County's roads and pavements and even our local radio stations are handing out awards for the biggest or deepest pothole etc. Very shortly we're going to have a new and potentially more serious problem on our hands. Whilst car drivers and cyclists tend to use the same mode of transport all year round, March / April brings many motorcyclists on to the roads for the warmer months. I've made no secret of my midlife crisis bike licence last year, and I've certainly never advocated people using motorbikes rather than ...
After their first event at M-Mad, Cornwall Anime have annoucned their next date. It's on April 14th at 7.30pm and the cost is £3 for members (membership is free) for which you get the film Final Fantasy VII - Advent Children as well as an episode of Pumpkin Scissors. All that and Keep It Secret, the Launceston based Japanese snacks company will be on hand to sell you some of their very tasty sweets and snacks.
Great news ! Craig Murray, Britain's former ambassador in Uzbekistan and author of Murder in Samarkand, has rejoined the Liberal Democrats. Welcome back, Craig !
I've been double tagged for this one, by both Yousuf, and Spiderplant. The idea is that you name a celebrity you really, really hate. The idea was started by our own Mark after he read an article in the Telegraph by Bryony Gordon, who said: I have a theory that almost everybody loathes one person in the public eye with such passion that the mere mention of their name is enough to make you combust with rage. This person has to be someone famous, someone you have never met before, someone who can pop up on the television for 30 ...
Great to see Labour doing all it can at the highest level to foster enterpreneurial spirit by taking money off companies in return for favours. Unfortunately - NOT the best example for our young people or even 'benefit cheats' who are much-attacked by the high and hypocritical well-padded government ministers
I usually go for a walk at lunchtime if I've been stuck in the office . Luckily I'm based on Hope Street in Liverpool. This is the street that links the two Cathedrals, so even a a dreich day like today I can go for a walk inside. Today I went to the Catholic Cathedral and was rewarded by hearing the girls choir rehearse. the circular layout of the building is ideal for my purpose. In the side chapels there are ofter exhibitions and today I stumbled upon a really impressive one about the Sreepur village in Bangladesh and the ...
At Comment is Free today, Simon Hughes (Liberal Democrat shadow secretary of state for energy and climate change) challenges the Tories over their "incoherent" new energy policy and calls for greater investment in renewable energy: Nuclear power has always required huge amounts of public money and David Cameron's signal that the Tories are ready to turn on the taps of taxpayer support risks billions which we simply can't afford. Both Labour and the Tories claim that they will not provide any public subsidy, but both know that this cannot be true when the nuclear industry that has never been able ...
I linked to this article earlier but it's worth singling it out. David Frum is a former Bush speechwriter who one might describe as a "moderate Republican" or, certainly, a Republican with his head screwed on. This article does a lot to explain the stupidity of the Republican position on health care. It also very intelligently points up the divergent interests of right wing politicians versus right wing radiohosts: Conservatives and Republicans on Sunday suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s. It's hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the disaster. ...we went for all the marbles, we ended ...
At long last the United States has dipped a toe into the 20th Century. Only 65 years after Britain launched our National Health Service America has got one. And about time too! Well done President Obama.
Tories buy campaigning package off the shelf from US company. Company also does some rather right wing work. This is either outrageous (Right wing? You shock me!) or unsurprising (Americans? Right wing? You surprise me!) Package as launched by Tories includes unmoderated twitter stream. Unflattering tweets start appearing. Site pulled. Lesson for the day: unmoderated feeds of content on political sites bring tears before bedtime. Those who have been awake for the last decade may not wish to call this "news". PS Myself, I'd have been suspicious of a US supplier that advertisers a "one pager" which is actually two ...
Maybe this explains why the Vauxhall plant in Luton closed during a Labour administration? As the former Secretary of the Luton TUC I sadly remember the damage the Tories did to manufacturing in our town and we have seen the same under Labour. Gordon Brown went on to say how he respected Mrs Thatcher and thought of himself as a 'conviction' politician. If he truly was a conviction politician, why didn't he do more to stop the banks we own paying out millions of pounds in bonuses to bankers with our money at a time when local people are struggling? ...
Just because you've started the day in one constituency, and campaigned in another, doesn't mean that your day is over. And indeed, that was true on Saturday, as we drove to Stoke, grabbed a coffee at our hotel, and grabbed an hour's break before heading to Alsager for the Congleton Liberal Democrat Dinner. Our candidate there is Peter Hirst, a fellow member of the Unlock Democracy Council, and it was nice to have a brief opportunity to catch up. Ros's speech went down well, and some robust questioning took place (lesson to be learned for the future, don't suggest to ...
Yesterday afternoon I was interviewed by the BBC (pictures coming soon) regarding the latest revelations about our disgraced MP Margaret Moran. Rather than doing work for her constituents Ms. Moran has found the time to meet with lobbyists while we are told she has been 'too ill' to do her work in Luton. Last year Labour Councillors told us that Ms. Moran hoped soon to be back doing her job but now we have found out the way she choose to spend her time while her constituency office closed down. Tonight's edition of Dispatches, Channel 4 8:00pm, will be the ...
I know many folk have been impressed by the blogging over at Mark Reckons. Mark came to most peoples notice when he did a detailed statistical analysis of the correlation between MPs who held a safe seat and the extent to which they abused the expenses system. This work was picked up by Radio 4 and by Polly Toynbe in the Guardian. Since then Mark has maintain a constant stream of excellent posts. If you've time have a look at his guest piece today on Lib Dem Voice And while we are looking at stories on Lib Dem Voice I ...
... as Craig Murray rejoins the Lib Dems. I've long been an avid reader of Mr Murray's blog. He is a fearless advocate for human rights, an expert on foreign policy, and a liberal through and through. Having finally decided to become a party member myself only a couple of weeks ago, after umm-ing and ahh-ing for various reasons, I count this as a sort of vindication.
It may be a Thursday night count in name... but the result may be 'gone' for some time... Take this example. Milton Keynes was going to count its vote on a Friday morning but thanks to the upcoming legislation is switching to a Thursday 10pm start. That is for both the MK parliamentary seats and for the local election counts too... when the results will actually be announced is not dramatically clear. The RO for this double Parliamentary count has never had to handle a general election and local election combined poll day before (1997, 2001 and 2005 were the ...
Today, the Resolution Foundation launches our open memo to the next government. In it, we propose five key priorities which we believe will improve outcomes for the UK's 9.4 million working-age 'low earners' - those people living on an average household income of £15,800 while remaining broadly independent of state support. These are families who may not be the poorest in society, and they are not in crisis. Nevertheless their economic independence is fragile and they are living at the very edge of their means. 56 per cent have experienced a drop in income since the start of the recession ...
Craig Murray, the former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan who was sacked by the British government for his outspoken commitment to human rights, has re-joined the Lib Dems. Craig was a party member until 2005, when he chose to stand as an independent against Jack Straw. He stood again as an independent in last year's Norwich North by-election. Writing of his decision on his blog, Craig says: Politics is about the governance of society, and that entails people working together and collaborating their views. It is by definition a social pursuit, so to attempt to pursue it entirely alone to avoid ...
I am really looking forward to tonight's game against Millwall as we will be there in person. The Yorkshire Evening Post says that "Grayson will give his players licence to "express themselves" on a crucial evening at Elland Road" Six pointers are traditionally thought of as for those that are battling it out at the other ...
Seven Lib Dem MPs have announced they're retiring at this year's general election. All seven are men: of their replacements, four are women. Here's the list in full: John Barrett (LD) - Edinburgh West Majority: 13,600 (30%) – second safest Lib Dem seat in the UK. Reason for leaving: to spend more time with his grand-daughters. Hoping to succeed him: Mike Crockart. Colin Breed (LD) - South East Cornwall Majority: 6,507 (13%). Reason for leaving: not stated. Hoping to succeed him: Karen Gillard. David Howarth (LD) - Cambridge Majority: 5,058 (11%). Reason for leaving: "to concentrate on my other life, ...
Vince Cable is the public's preferred choice for Chancellor, according to a poll by PoliticsHome. Of the general public polled, 31% chose Vince Cable above George Osborne, Alistair Darling, Ken Clarke, Peter Mandelson and Ed Balls. The poll also found that 79% of Liberal Democrat voters supported Vince Cable for the job, while Osborne and Darling received much lower levels of support from their own parties' voters. (Find the full results at PoliticsHome.) As Iain pointed out yesterday, Vince's recent recce to the Treasury does raise questions about how he could land the job. Of course, national polls like this ...
Interviews with, features on and photographs of the spouses of our political party leaders are very much the in thing at the moment. But why? It's true that party leaders have high profile jobs, where their actions can affect many of our lives and where the job requires working the sort of ridiculous hours that support from your family is vital. But they're hardly alone in that. Take newspaper editors, for example. On the appointment of a new editor do we get discussions about how well suited their spouse would be for the new role? No. So why single out ...
I'm working from home today, as I'm too ill to go into work (have also been too ill to blog for a few days). As our systems are temporarily down, I thought I'd take a minute to do a quick linkblog. Firstly, one that might interest Debi and Jennie (and any other feminists who like comics), ...
An essential feature of the Brown spin machine is the pulling of rabbits out of hats. It's all trickery and often as not the rabbit is as dead as a dodo, often the roadkill victim of a political story or posture adopted by Labour. Scrapping the 10p income tax rate was one such roadkill rabbit plucked out of a hat to gushing acclamation by Labour backbenchers who praised it when it was announced,
Nick Clegg was the subject of an hour-long feature interview with ITV's Mary Nightingale on Sunday night – if you missed it, you can catch up courtesy of itv Player by clicking here. (It's available online for the next 29 days). Helen Duffett examined the 1950s-style newspaper previews of the Dead Tree Press, which focused on the shocking news that Miriam Gonzalez Durantez (Nick's wife) has her own life, for LDV here. Meanwhile MediaGuardian reports that over 1.1 million viewers watched last night. Okay, so it's not as many as watched Gordon Brown be interviewed by Piers Morgan (4.2m), but ...
There are now a number of growing question time events to envolving Bracknell constituency PPC's. Today there is an event at Coopers Hill Community Centre in Crowthorne to debate local health Issues. This includes 4 national parties (Tory, Labour, Lib Dem and UKIP) althought I believe the UKIP candidate was unable to attend. This Wednesday (24th March)at Easthampstead Park School in Ringmead, Great Hollands, first time voters (sixth form students) will be questioning the PPC's, The PPC's attending are; Conservative, Dr Philip Lee Labour's John Piasecki Liberal Democrat, Ray Earwicker Green Party's David Young UKIP's Murray Barter BNP's Mark Burke. ...
An update on the exploits of Cornishman Talan Skeel-Piggins who was competing in the alpine ski-ing events at the Paralympic games in Vancouver. Talan competed in the giant slalom and slalom. He finished a wonderful 15th in the giant slalom and 31st in the slalom. Given that Talan's world rankings are 63 and 74 respectively, they're great results. (I'm slightly disappointed that Talan didn't make it into the round-up on BBC 2 today which was lamentably short given the attention paid to the main event and to the summer paralympics)
Junius on UKIP has drawn my attention to a recent blog post by Tory MEP and arch Euro-sceptic Daniel Hannan entitled "A response to my UKIP-supporting readers". In it he suggests that because the only people who are likely to be PM after the general are either Gordon Brown or David Cameron and that UKIP cannot win seats, UKIP supporters should vote Conservative. He goes on to say: What I'd ideally like - and what I assume my UKIP readers also aspire to - is a situation where UKIP no longer needs to exist: where it can award itself a ...
It's a relief that the Health Care reform has passed in the US. Perhaps now I'll be able to see the wood for the trees and understand what it means, once all the hoo-haa has died down. I suspect it will all turn out to be an historically good thing. It is very possible that the Republicans over-played their hand in 100% opposing the bill and have suffered a disastrous defeat- as former Bush speechwriter David Frum argues. I was watching the Tweets about this in the dying hours of the debate. Quite extraordinary. As a simple example, one Tweeter ...
Today's political-social-media-teacup-storm is the Cash Gordon website - the Conservatives' attempt to use social media to link striking BA workers with Gordon Brown's premiership. Mainly the tealeaves are being whipped up by this post from Political Scrapbook observing that the Cash Gordon website is a cookie-cutter from a Republican online agency. To which the Conservative response is "well, that's the platform, so what?" However, that's not really the point. Politicians can use social media to do two main things - reach out to new audiences, and motivate their supporters to take action in new ways. (There's a third, supplemental one: ...
I agree absolutely with Norman Baker MP about the need for people to get round the table and sort out the current and forthcoming air and rail disputes by negotiation rather than megaphone diplomacy. Ideally our elected politicians would be a credible force in promoting a negotiated settlement. Whether a Labour government can fulfil this role when it is so dependent on, and influenced by, the Unite trade union is another matter - and demonstrates the pernicious effects of 'big backer' money on political life.
I was having a look at data from previous elections recently with a particular focus on the number of seats and percentage of votes gained by the third party in the last few decades. The first thing that is clear and which I already knew is that in the last three general elections, the Lib Dems have consistently increased their number of seats. The figures are: 1997: 46 (+26) 2001: 52 (+6) 2005: 62 (+10) The huge leap in 1997 is often put down to our improved targeting campaign techniques championed by Chris Rennard. There is something else interesting in ...
So Stephen Byers MP sees himself as "a bit like a sort of cab for hire". I've just been watching open-mouthed the footage filmed of him describing how he interceded on behalf of National Express, to enable it to walk away without penalty from a contract to run the East Coast main line service, while holding on to profit-making public contracts elsewhere. This deal cost us, the taxpayers, millions of pounds. It appears that everyone is now walking away from Byers' description of events, including Byers himself. Gordon Brown is quite wrong to rule out an inquiry, and astonishingly complacent ...
Conservative AM Darren Millar is displaying rather unpleasant discriminatory attitudes towards vulnerable people on low incomes and is obviously out of touch with reality if he wants to prevent 'trailer park ghettoes'. Caravan Park Homes provide a valuable contribution to meeting housing need in Wales which is not met through current social housing stocks. There are several thousand semi-permanent residents of caravans, throughout Denbighshire not only along the coast, who would otherwise be homeless without caravan sites that allow them to live cheaply. It is an area that needs stronger legislation however to manage numbers and their impact on local ...
Friday night saw Ros and I in a rather fine inn just outside Craven Arms for an evening dinner in support of Heather Kidd's campaign to regain Ludlow from the Conservatives. The national swing might have made this seem unlikely, until an unexpected intervention from the former Conservative MP for the seat, Christopher Gill, who has announced that he will be fighting the seat for UKIP. All of a sudden. a 2,000 Conservative majority seems to be less than comfortable, and Heather and her team are determined to push them all the way to the finish line, all of which ...
Over the weekend the Rhodes / Rantzen / Dorries story rumbled on in the Tory press. Esther gave her account to the Daily Mail: "I thought TV was a nest of vipers... until I moved into politics". The Sunday Express claimed that Rhodes left BBC Three Counties Radio before he was pushed: "Esther Rantzen's Election Rival Faced Job Axe". And there was speculation about the true motives behind the Telegraph splashing with the story. I've got rather bored with this nonsense. The fuss seems to be no more than an unfortunate combination of over inflated egos and game playing by ...
I've already reviewed two of the titles in the new seven book series from biteback: Why Vote Liberal Democrat and Why Vote. But what to make of the other fives titles – covers Labour, Conservative, Green, SNP and Plaid? (Although a UKIP book was also publicised, it never got published as UKIP failed to produce the necessary copy.) Both the Labour and Conservative books are 'unofficial' in the sense that they are by prominent party members, but ones who have no official role in the party's policy or campaigning decisions – Rachel Reeves, Labour candidate for Leeds West, and Shane ...
I am horrified by ex Labour Minister Stephen Byer's touting for dosh using his 'connections'. My goodness - we are trying to get free of the horrific scandal of MP expenses and regain peoples' trust - and then this! And from three MPs who are stepping down - so clearly they are only interested in themselves and what they can get out of their ex-status. Normally in firms - there is a two year contract to not open up in the same business in the same area (or variations on) when you leave the company. Surely - at the very ...
I have noticed that there has been a large number of hits searching about the possible sale of arriva – I have no more information on this other than that which is in the press and online. As and when anything comes into the public domain, I will post here.
Happy Monday, everyone. And happy birthday to actress Reese Witherspoon (34), author James Patterson (63) and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (62). Now let's find out what's happening in the world ... 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: Budget 2010: Giles Wilkes guides us through what to expect of Labour's (last?) budget. Anna was porn for the job: so says Lembit Opik in his political column for the Daily Sport (with thanks to James Graham for bringing us Lembit's NSFW insights. ...
Having made it to Craven Arms rather earlier than I had expected, and with Ros delayed by a combination of an errant satnav and roadworks on the M6, I found myself with an hour to kill in a town perhaps not renown for its attractions. However, I was not alone. Although the station has no facilities at all, not even a ticket machine, and even the sole bench on the southbound platform is fiendishly positioned outside the shelter, an inveterate cat lover like myself is not completely devoid of activities with which to occupy himself. The station cat is a ...
I can't imagine that David Cameron is making many friends among the union movement at the moment - and I don't suppose that this is worrying him overly. But he appears to be falling out with his own right wing over the same issue. Tim Montgomerie, on Conservative Home, is annoyed that Cameron appears set to continue the union modernisation fund. With the unions pumping £25 million into Labour's election efforts, Montgomerie argues that there is enough cash to spare in the union coffers that they don't need Government funds.
OK, I finally succumbed. My phone has a podcast subscribing app, and because my sleep patterns are all to cock at the moment I'm missing a lot of my favourite radio4ness, so I am subscribing to podcasts. Are there any that you guys would recommend? I already have: everything I want from BBC radio, House of Comments, Pod Delusion and Droppin' Science. What else is essential? Am particularly interested in feministy stuff and sci-fi, preferably UK-based. ETA: oh yes, and I want PROPER urls, NOT bloody iTunes. I know most of you will realise that already, but just in case... ...
Stockport Council took part in another major operation to crack down on illegal activity across the borough focusing on Reddish, Brinnington and the Heatons. The Council's Licensing and Trading Standards teams joined forces with Greater Manchester Police and HM Customs & Excise in 'Operation Supervortex' on Friday 5th March. · Activities carried out during the operation included: · Underage test purchasing which resulted in three premises being found to sell alcohol to an underage volunteer. · Illicit alcohol seized in raids on off-licences including over 2,000 bottles of wine and 180 bottles of spirits. · Two prohibition notices were issued ...
This is an independently produced interview which has been submitted to us by BELD with the leader of the Liberal Democrat MEPs, Fiona Hall in September 2009 just after she had been elected to this position.
There is a truly astonishing two page spread in this morning's Western Mail which reports on a dossier compiled by the Welsh Labour party accusing the Conservatives of major splits over devolution. Labour have provided quotes from the three Welsh Tory MPs that show them calling for the abolition of the Assembly or stating that the body has not yet proved its worth. Two of those three MPs are former Assembly Members themselves. The Welsh Conservative Assembly leader Nick Bourne has hit back at the claims: "We'll take no lessons from Labour on devolution when one of their own candidates ...
I read on Andrew Reeves blog that former (Labour) Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell is touting himself to the Tories for a big foreign job after the general election. As Andrew points out, this shows a distinct lack of confidence in a Labour victory and also a disrespect for his constituents. But what struck me is that, had this been a Lib Dem, then the Labour Party would have been shouting about how this obviously showed that the Lib Dems were jumping into bed with the Conservatives.
I've just signed the Breast Cancer research pledge. 46,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK. You can find out more about this campaign here.
I went back to Braunstone Gate in Leicester on Saturday. The Bowstring Bridge has gone, though the bar next to where it used to stand has been renamed to remember it. The latest news is that Leicester Civic Society is appealing for funds to put up a plaque too. The photograph shows the site of the popular Pump and Tap pub that was demolished at the same time as part of the plan to clear the area so that De Monfort University can build a new swimming pool. De Montfort University said it had to demolish the pub so that ...
Though for some obscure reason he insists on calling it Nevill Holt.
Back in November we asked for bollards to be placed in Old Fosse Road, this had been in response to a request from a resident, as too may cars were driving over the grass churning them up. We are please to say these have now been installed.
Chris has asked Herts Highways to use their new jet patching equipment on Woodstrock Road South but has been told that these are only used where repair schemes are not imminent. Given that WSRS will be repaired 'within months' it is not eleigible. But HCC will provide uneven road surface warning signs. Gee, thanks.
Monday mornings are always the worst. A weekend delivering leaflets followed by an early start to go to work. Probably more therapy for me than all you readers out there but welcome to a new weekly series* funny clips courtesy of the good people at you tube to kick start the week. *only weekly until I forget or get bored!
A year ago the South of the Borough's Community Plan was brought to life in a workshop. Anyone was welcome was welcome to attend and participate, but we made sure that we invited leaders of as many local organisations as we could find. We also asked for volunteers to form a Community Steering Group, whose main task would be to turn the ideas generated at the workshop into a viable action plan. Everyone present was invited to join the online Community Panel which would act as a sounding board for these and other local issues. This was a new venture ...
Healthcare is passed. I remain puzzled by anyone who thinks this bill being passed is a bad thing. Consider this story of what happens in the US – the downward spiral without insurance. Or this one (at the bottom of a Brad DeLong post): Suburban Guerrilla: Late this afternoon I was gobsmacked by a Facebook announcement that ...
In a move that proved beyond doubt that Labour had lost all interest in supporting working people on low incomes, Gordon Brown's final budget as Chancellor saw the party double the tax for people earning less than £10,000, by completely scrapping the 10p tax rate. The following MPs voted against the Liberal Democrat proposal to reverse Labour's shocking plan (all Labour, unless stated): Aberavon - Hywel Francis Alyn and Deeside – Mark Tami Bridgend – Madeleine Moon Caernarfon – Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru) Caerphilly - Wayne David Cardiff North - Julie Morgan Cardiff South and Penarth - Alun Michael Cardiff ...
@sarabedford if you get 3G vodafone coverage at your location £25 for 3gig of internet 30 days to use it http://bit.ly/agxm76 in reply to sarabedford # @sarabedford ps comes in colours other than pink. only £15 to top up in the future and according to my map Vicarage Road gets coverage. in reply to sarabedford # @sarabedford should be from any shop, although it might be £35 there. in reply to sarabedford # @sarabedford I believe activation (else it could be a rubbish birthday present) in reply to sarabedford # RT @rachaelblogs: RT @marktempleton: Eric Pickles really is turning into ...
Richard's story: If they close A&E at the Whittington, it will cost lives. My son had an allergic reaction to nuts in 2004, and if the A&E did not treat him, he could have died. What else do you need to know?
The Sunday Herald has a great story today - "Former First Minister McConnell in secret job talks with the Tories". Jack McConnell has met with William Hague to discuss a job. We know that Jack McConnell has had a few false starts on the international stage with alleged promises of jobs such as the UK Government's next High Commissioner to Malawi by Gordon Brown that were put on ice given the awful poll ratings suffered by Labour, halting any such promotions leading to a subsequent by-election, which Labour no doubt would have gone on to lose. Mr McConnell met senior ...
I have been Tagged by @DazMando on his blog post "The which celebrity do you really really hate meme" The rules for this meme 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 ...
Like Clement Attlee I get driven around by my wife (Vicky), which suits me as I can read or sleep, however, this does mean she controls the radio and on Sunday's its BBC's Radio 1 Chart show. I'd noticed that there were a lot of covers being sung in the charts and I found out it was from ...
Yesterday I looked at how to fit a photo into a specific shape. The photo is distorted which may be to the advantage of the model if they want to be slimmer. On the left I have removed the words. I couldn't find the correct font but I didn't think that it mattered that the exaggerated inverted commas were left in situ. Now the field is clear to do with it whatever you like. I am not greatly concerned that I am putting words into the mouth of Danielle from Brighton, firstly because in this context it is obvious that ...
