A lot of people are saying that we are entering a new era of democracy in terms of how politicians communicate with their electorate, especially with the introduction of social media. Most Parliamentary candidates now use Facebook, Twitter, and the blogosphere to bypass more traditional media, and I of course am no exception to this. However, newer versions are appearing all the time, and one I was particularly intrigued by was WinkBall. The idea is simple. They go to major events, or on to the street, and record a video, or rather a "Wink", of people saying whatever they want, ...
On Friday 26 March I was fortunate enough to attend the birthday commemoration of poet A.E. Housman, Bromsgrove's most famous son and author of "A Shropshire Lad". The invite was courtesy of The Housman Society. The event is important as it reinforces to people what Housman contributed to the Arts, but also why so many places ...
Had a great day out delivering leaflets, first in Birtley then in Blaydon. Then it was over to Dunston Hill for a session of canvassing with our excellent candidate for Dunston Hill and Whickham East, Sonya Harding. She is relatively new to politics at a formal level, having been involved in very grass roots campaigning to date, so it is great to have her enthusiasm for the month ahead. We formed a dynamic duo on the doorsteps and I think residents were quite chuffed to be canvassed by both their local and parliamentary candidates at the same time. Sonya hadn't ...
Mon 29th
23:28
One thing is clear from the Tory blogs, Osborne did not do well in the Chancellor's debate
Looking through the main Tory blogs tonight, not one posting has been done after the Chancellors debate on Channel Four. Now if Osborne had done well or even slightly well, the Tories would have been crowing about it. Their silence speaks volumes about Osborne's performance.
I was invited to the "Community Empowerment Network" which has lots of members of community ofganisations, run by SRCAGA (Stockton Residents and Community Groups Association) to talk about J"ust a Minute". I wanted their views on my idea for part of the 700th anniversary celebrations for Stockton Market in May. People will have the opportuity to have one minute to stand on the soap box by the...
Today I spoke in a debate initiated by Caroline Cox on the Armenian Genocide, mainly on the attempts we have made over the years to engage Turkish MPs in a debate on the evidence, and particularly the authenticity of the testimonies in the Blue Book of 1915. The Turkish Grand National Assembly sent a petition to the British Parliament in 2005 asking us to repudiate the Blue Book as a fabrication of wartime propaganda, and we have been trying ever since to engage them in a dialogue on the authenticity of the evidence.
My recent post regarding Tom Miller and his apparent unwillingness to debate certain issues was, in the light of day, a tad harsh. I have spoken personally with Tom and he has kindly agreed to do an interview for this site. I have posted Tom's answers without edit or censorship so that Tom has a ...
I am standing down as a councillor on May 6th, when we will have the elections to Kingston Council. My reasons are very simple - I have done my bit and feel ready to move on now. Not surprisingly, Ian and I have discussed this for quite a while and we decided to stand down together. We both have work and projects that will keep us fully occupied. In my case, I am revising a book that I wrote a few years ago and have some ideas for future publications, while Ian continues working at the hospital. I will also ...
Friday evening Lindsay, Lyulph and I went to the National Army Museum for a talk by Alison Weir (see below) on Eleanor of Castile, whose biography she wrote over ten years ago, and about whom she has just published a novel, The Captive Queen. She said that when she first spoke to her publisher about the biography their reaction was that nobody would want to read about a 12th century woman they'd never heard of, but it turned out to be the best seller of all her historical works. The transition from historian to novelist was difficult, but in answer ...
The first ever TV debate between the three candidates to be the next Chancellor has seen Lib Dem Vince Cable win a clear victory. In a Channel 4 on-line poll carried out immediately after the debate, Vince out-polled both Alistair Cameron and George Osborne.
The first ever TV debate between the three candidates to be the next Chancellor has seen Lib Dem Vince Cable win a clear victory. In a Channel 4 on-line poll carried out immediately after the debate, Vince out-polled both Alistair Cameron and George Osborne.
The first ever TV debate between the three candidates to be the next Chancellor has seen Lib Dem Vince Cable win a clear victory. In a Channel 4 on-line poll carried out immediately after the debate, Vince out-polled both Alistair Cameron and George Osborne.
The first ever TV debate between the three candidates to be the next Chancellor has seen Lib Dem Vince Cable win a clear victory. In a Channel 4 on-line poll carried out immediately after the debate, Vince out-polled both Alistair Cameron and George Osborne.
Well having watched the whole debate (whilst hosting a live chat on here) I think Vince won it hands down. He was deft, funny and seemed much more human than the other two as well as nailing a number of points. He got lots of warmth and recognition from the audience, so much so that Tim Montgomerie on Con Home is now insinuating that the audience might have been packed with Lib Dems. That's pretty thin stuff. Tim has also scored it a win for Osborne. We must have been watching different debates. Osborne was outclassed by Cable (and also ...
Britain's answer to the three tenors, the Chancellor Debate, was televised on Channel 4 at 8pm tonight, and was must-see viewing. I urge you to make time to watch the highlights, and to watch them again if you saw the broadcast already. It will give you a real feel for the difference between the three parties' fiscal policies and their vision for taking Britain forward from recession over 5-10 years. It was fascinating and very worthwhile viewing: even our 15 year old son sat down to watch as he wandered in half-way through en route from computer to fridge via ...
I'm not sure about the language (for broad public release, anyway) but the sentiment is spot on. Perhaps with a slight adjustment, I can see posters on the roadside.... Thanks to Chris Wiggin for re-tweeting this from the creator, @bemusedpuma!
Mon 29th
21:59
Want Vince Cable to be chancellor after that great TV performance? Join the Liberal Democrats. It's ...
Want Vince Cable to be chancellor after that great TV performance? Join the Liberal Democrats. It's only £10 (£6 for students) http://is.gd/b5Fd7 Join Us is.gd Our members are ordinary people bringing about real change in Britain. If you agree with what we stand for, play your part by joining the Liberal Democrats.
...And can I just say: How can you have "a tax on dead people", as George Osborne kept on going on about? Yes, you can tax estates. But I'm not worried about my estate being taxed after my death if it pays for decent care in my retirement. Are you? Why on earth did Osborne quote the salary of the head of Barclays in relation to banks which we, the public, bailed out? Doesn't he realise that Barclays didn't receive a penny of public money during the banking crisis?
I am confined to the Blackberry so won't be writing any long analysis of the Chancellors' debate on Channel 4 right now. I admit to real nerves before it started. The Almighty Vince, as the only contender with any sort of positive reputation to speak of, had most to lose. I needn't have worried. He was awesome! Don't take my word for it. He got by far the warmest and most sustained applause from the audience.My ever so quick summary gives just 3 words to describe each contender in ascending order of their place in the food chain of chancellorship..George ...
A quick initial reaction to tonight's Channel 4 debate between "the Chancellors", with a more considered response, possibly, to follow. Alistair Darling performed about as well as I expected. He got across the "we can get through this if you stick with us" schtick reasonably well. No great blunders, landed a few hits on George Osborne, but wasn't terribly exciting. George Osborne performed worse than I expected. Some of his answers were very weak and he had a curiously flat delivery. The only real emotional impact was his reaction to Vince Cable skewering him on his inheritance tax cut for ...
First thoughts - the Leaders have a lot to live up to. The debate was orderly (and well chaired) and all got their chance to have their say. There was no knock out blow, but I still think that Vince Cable came out best. I would say that, wouldn't I. But the online vote at both the Guardian and C4 agrees with me and the tweetminster sentiment scores say the same thing. So does Gary Gibbons of Channel 4 News. And Andrew Sparrow of the Guardian (80 for Cable, 69 for Darling and 60 for Osborne) And the Mumsnet readers. ...
Well, there we go then. Channel 4 have got in there first, kicking off the historic series of debates which are going to be a feature of this general election for the first time ever. So what to make of it all? Naturally, as a Lib Dem, and a sane person to boot, I thought Vince ...
First off, I'd like to point out, I wrote this as I was watching, so it probably isn't perfect especially when it comes to the quotes as likely they'll be paraphrases, but, nonetheless, these are my thoughts as I was watching! So without any further ado; the applauseometer, basically measuring how often the audience applauded ...
The Government's budget was a case of too little too late for the thousands of people who have been suffering under Labour's broken promises for the past decade. Vince Cable remains the only politician who predicted the mess we're in now and has created a safe, sensible, affordable plan to put us back on track. You can view my response to the budget here:
On Saturday I launched my 'Shop Local' campaign in the thriving market town of Harleston to encourage people to make local towns their first port of call for everyday goods and services. My campaign is supported by Robin Twigge, Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses in South Norfolk, who met me there to discuss ideas to help the district's small businesses thrive. Harleston is a fantastic market town with lots of independent shops, innovative businesses and new businesses investing here. I'd like other towns and large villages in the district to be able to follow in Harleston's footsteps by ...
As reported in tonight's Evening Telegraph, I have said that the City Council has to listen to the concerns raised by Audit Scotland in its Best Value 2 (BV2) report just completed - and act upon these concerns quickly and decisively, particularly in relation to current unsatisfactory scrutiny arrangements. Following previous criticism from auditors about the council's ineffective scrutiny arrangements, the Scrutiny Committee was established, but its terms of reference are thoroughly inadequate and this had been made clear to the SNP administration by myself and other opposition councillors at the time of the committee's establishment. However, the SNP failed ...
Here are the verdicts on how it went: Overall verdict Very well chaired by Krishnan Guru-Murthy. Cable frequently got applause. Darling held his ground well, but Osborne often weak and looking shifty. No-one got in a killer blow that will shift lots of people's views, but debate will have confirmed praise for Cable and doubts about Osborne. You can watch again Vince's opening and closing statements. Other people's verdicts The audience: I make it 6 rounds of applause for Cable, 3 for Darling and 1 for Osborne The journalists: "Audience pretty much unanimous cable won, hacks too privately, but many ...
This afternoon I held two surgeries at the Mitchell Street Centre and Harris Academy - but my Thursday surgery at Blackness Primary School will not take place, as the school Easter Holidays start with the end of the school day on Thursday. Surgeries start again on Monday 19th April with the end of the school holidays, but I can in the meantime be contacted at any time at esurgery@frasermacpherson.org.uk or on Dundee 459378.
A while back, Left Foot Forward ran a piece attacking the party's tax policies for not being progressive. That results in many responses around the place defending the party's policy and today Left Foot Forward runs a piece from Danny Alexander defending the party's policy: As the person responsible for drafting the Liberal Democrat manifesto I wanted to respond to the report on our proposal to raise the income tax threshold to £10,000 - paid for by closing loopholes that unfairly benefit the best off, a new mansion tax, a crack down on tax avoidance and an increase in aviation ...
Hello from the green room at Channel 4 studios on London's prestigious South Bank. Channel 4 kindly asked if I would like to come and blog from the green room at this mildly historic event. So I said yes. Already I have seen Quentin Letts, Polly Toynbee... and Lord Bragg struggling to get out of the building with his swipe card. Still, I expect it is Security or Health and Safety or something, and he is a Labour peer. So welcome to the world you made, Merv. So what are the prospects for tonight's event? In a strange way, Vince ...
Chris's story: I very much support your efforts to keep the Whittington A & E open. As a disabled person distance is an issue. I have had reasons to attend the Whittington with a broken foot, resulting from a fall. To have got somebody to drive me to the Royal Free for follow up and to help me once there would have been unthinkable. Cuts in patient transport, and the long waits to be collected and returned, mean that for disabled people a hospital vist for an injury could take a whole day or an overnight stay - much longer ...
Having failed to find anyone else doing one of these I thought I'd host an impromptu Live Chat for the "Ask the Chancellors" debate on Channel 4 tonight at 8 featuring Alistair Darling, George Osborne and Vince Cable. We will start just before 8pm below: Chancellor Chat
Tonight is a very important night for the Lib Dem campaign with the start of the TV election debates looking at the different chancellors and their economic proposals. On the one hand it is a great chance to put out the Liberal Democrats policies and ideas and have them heard by a larger audience then we
... and I am concerned that tonight's debate on Channel 4 between the three prospective Chancellors will prove the Bard correct. The guiding principle with TV debates is that whoever goes in with the most to lose is on a hiding to nothing. Tonight Vince Cable will appear on our screens, knowing that he is the nation's preferred choice for Chancellor, and knowing that he must produce the sort of nigh-mystical performance that has become associated with his name. It is hard to see how he can live up to his reputation. He is a slow, considered speaker, not given ...
If playing the man and not the ball is a sign of weakness, then Conservative Central Office must be a pretty desperate place. The latest set of Conservative posters, featuring Gordon Brown and a variety of statements blaming him for the state of the economy risk inviting the question "And what are you going to do about it?". And, unlike the famous 'Labour Isn't Working' poster, there is a rather thin set of policies on offer this time. It just seems like a collection of cheap shots for, let us be honest, there is no evidence to suggest that Gordon ...
I recently mentioned concerns about the discoloured water supply that occurred during part of last week in part of the West End, including Abbotsford Place - the matter was covered in today's "Courier" including my comments about the issue. I have now had the following feedback from the Regional Community Manager at Scottish Water, to whom I have given residents' feedback : "I understand there were operational problems with a service reservoir supplying the Logie area of Dundee. This issue was resolved on Thursday however as the supply returned to normal, it stirred up the sediment that is normally present ...
This morning I attended a meeting at the Kingsway Medical Practise. Building work is near to completion, but negotiations are still ongoing to resolve the contract between the Surgery and the Primary Care Trust (PCT). There seems to be an awful amount of bureaucracy involved in moving a surgery a few hundred yards. We had similar problems ...
At 8pm tonight, Channel 4 will be screening the Ask the Chancellors Debate between Vince Cable, Alistair Darling and George Osborne. The programme will be live on Channel 4 and you can also follow it on Twitter and Facebook. You can find out more details on the Channel 4 website: www.channel4.com/microsites/A/askthechancellors. During the debate, Channel 4 will be holding an online poll encouraging viewers to rate the performances of the respective Chancellors.
Given what I've said in the past about the Press Complaints Commission, I'll admit I was pleasantly surprised by this ruling just out over Rod Liddle's comments about crime in London: The Press Complaints Commission has upheld a complaint about an entry by Rod Liddle in his blog for the Spectator. This is the first time that the PCC has censured a newspaper or magazine over the content of a journalistic blog. The piece in question was published on 5 December 2009 and claimed that "the overwhelming majority of street crime, knife crime, gun crime, robbery and crimes of sexual ...
Over at The Independent, Lib Dem spokesman on Work and Pensions Steve Webb answers questions from the paper's readers, such as 'Aren't you having it both ways on the deficit?' and 'Isn't Clegg really a Tory?' Here are 3 of the Q&As ... Why haven't British politicians learned the lesson of welfare reform in Wisconsin? Cut benefits, create jobs, and end a dependency culture. Christopher Rope, Ipswich There are plenty of people who receive benefits through no fault of their own, so how is cutting benefits across the board morally defensible? The phrase "dependency culture" is insulting to those who ...
Unfortunately I'm at a meeting this evening and will only be able to watch "chancellors" debate on-line later. What I can't wait to see is George Osborne's probably futile attempts to justify making a national insurance cut after weeks and months of calling for action to be taken on the £70bn deficit. I trust Vince 'the brain' Cable will demonstrate the intellectual and arithmetic failings of the wannabe Tory chancellor. After a panicky couple of weeks it looks like the Tories are returning to their core vote after failing to make any headway on the middleground. [IMG: Share/Bookmark]
New rules published today by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority mean that MPs will no longer be able to profit from taxpayer-funded second homes, nor claim for gardening, cleaning or first-class travel.* However, the scheme has stopped short of a ban on MPs employing family members. Instead, no more than one "connected party" (i.e. close family member, spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner) may work for each MP, within approved salary and job description guidelines. Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, Chair of the IPSA said, No longer will MPs benefit from a slack allowances system. This system brings MPs' expenses into ...
I'm going to be producing reams of words here, there and everywhere about the Chancellor's debate, so I ought to get on top of the big issues. Help me out on this one. (PS: This post is being updated as my feeble understanding rises) The Conservatives put cutting the deficit top of their list of priorities, ...
Today the Conservatives announced their new policy pledging to reverse the planned 1p rise in National Insurance contributions from both employers and workers. See here for my previous post on this subject. This time we got his ideas about how this would be paid for. The big idea is that the Tories in government would seek to renogotiate contracts with companies to try to get a better deal for the taxpayer. The argument is that many contracts were signed when interest rates were much higher and there was a booming economy which allowed companies to charge more (and the government ...
I recently took time out to speak to the National Network for Interpreting on the value of public service interpreters. Public service interpreters provide an excellent and valuable public service that can be invaluable in some situations. It is very important that a translating service is available especially in my constituency where we have a very diverse ...
At long last, what seems to be the final word on the expenses episode, from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. Hurrah! I must say that I think it is absolutely crazy that MPs will still be allowed to employ their spouses – it wouldn't be allowed in business. The IPSA originally recommended to end spouses working for their partners. Their consultation overwhelmingly supported this. But they caved in after pressure from whingeing MPs. It's ridiculous and totally inappropriate. Having said that, I'm delighted that we've at last got the final word on the whole sordid mess, and particularly cock-a-hoop that ...
Predicting the impact of criminalising mephedrone is difficult. Its use is a cultural phenomenon, and predicting how culture will progress in the future will always be speculative. But here's my best shot. The existence of mephedrone is testament to the inherent desire of humans to want to get high. This trait can't be changed by the government. So four things are likely to happen: Mephedrone users will continue to use mephedrone. They like the feeling that the drug provides, and will continue to seek (and may be addicted) to the high it provides. Instead of suppliers who were complying with ...
(Click on the schemes to see them as full size) Allcroft road Thames Valley Police have made written representation to the council with regards to following a collision at this junction, where visibility for vehicles turning out of Whitby Drive, is obscured by parked vehicles on Allcroft Road. Residents on Lancaster Road have raised similar concerns with us about lack of visibility at this junction. As unrestricted parking only occurs on the southern side due to a no waiting Mon-Sat 8am- 630pm on the northern side. It was recommended by TVP to stagger the unrestricted parking on both sides of ...
Just a brief note to highlight coverage of Jill Campbell's campaign for a flyover at the notorious Laurencekirk Junction of the A90 in a recent Press & Journal article: Campaign stepped up over killer junction This is not a Lib Dem local campaign, it is one that is being run by Jill, Julie and other local people in the area. It really warrants cross party support, but unfortunately the other parties have not thrown their weight behind Jill.
Liberal Democrat Voice is running a special appeal to raise funds for five of the party's very best general elections candidates - all of whom have a real chance of winning but need your help NOW to ensure they do win. Click here to make a donation TODAY. Today we're highlighting the campaign of Sal Brinton, Lib Dem candidate for Watford ... Watford nearly proved to be one of the shocks of the 2005 General Election, as Sal Brinton took the Lib Dems from a distant third place to a very close second. Just 1,148 votes separate Sal from Labour ...
I have decided to add some new feature post to the blog. This is because I have now been blogging since May 09 (so a year once the general election is over) and have read a number of blogs which has inspired a number of ideas. I think it's now time to improve my blog and add these extra features to keep the blog fresh. New features will be Tweet highlight Sometimes I will write a point on tweeter that while short (140 characters) does make a relevant or short point that perhaps Bracknell blog readers would like to comment ...
You may remember that in November last year the Council agreed, following pressure from me and local residents, to put up 'Access Only' signs on New road. At the time I was told that these could be installed by April 2010, following a consultation. Well, we are still waiting for the consultation, and I have now been told the following from officers: "The access only consultation documentation is currently being written up. Statutory consultation will be carried out shortly subject to officer checks and legal processes. The legal advert will be copied to yourself at commencement of the consultation period ...
Cheeky Kevan apologises to St Joanna (why insult her in the first place?!!!)
A new scheme of MPs expenses has been announced today and it does toughen up the regime in a good way. The measures proposed by Sir Ian Kennedy include: • The second-home allowance will be scrapped, meaning MPs will only be allowed to claim for rented properties. • MPs will only be able to claim for rent if they live 20 miles from Westminster or more than 60 minutes' travelling time. • First-class travel is scrapped. This is all good stuff but word has it though that MPs will still be able to claim a £15 a day food allowance. ...
I did two delivery rounds today and my legs are now feeling the effects. I walked from my house in Sunniside to Whickham and started by delivering the Cedars with a leaflet highlighting how the Conservatives cannot win in Blaydon and only the Lib Dems can beat Labour here.From there I headed over to the Broom Lane/Cornmoor Road area. On the latter road in particular, the drives are long. I mean,
Ahead of this evening's debate between Alistair Darling, George Osborne and Vince Cable, you might find this little summary of the party's fiscal policies helpful: The party's proposed tax cuts (such as raising the basic rate income tax threshold to £10,000) will be paid for by tax rises elsewhere in the system (such as ending the higher rate tax relief on pension contributions) The party's spending savings (such as scrapping ID cards) will be spent two-thirds on cutting the deficit and one-third on other policies (such as the pupil premium) As to exactly how much savings will be identified, that ...
[IMG: Sanjay with Chris Banks, owner Highland Scene, Montrose]
[IMG: Sanjay visiting Glamis Post Office with Cllr Alison Andrews and owner Hugh Nicoll]
Sometimes objectification makes me laugh. Sometimes I even do it myself (see icon). But sometimes it really upsets me. I wish I knew what the differences were between instances of each. Is it that all objectification is wrong, and I am being bad when I laugh at it or do it myself? Or is it that some objectification is harmless, and some is malicious and hurtful, and that there's a difference between the two, and if so, what is that difference? Is it that objectifying men is funny and ironic, poking fun at a priviledged group, but objectifying women is ...
New rules published today by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority mean that MPs will no longer be able to profit from taxpayer-funded second homes, nor claim for gardening, cleaning or first-class travel.* However, the scheme has stopped short of a ban on MPs employing family members. Instead, no more than one "connected party" (i.e. close family member, spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner) may work for each MP, within approved salary and job description guidelines. Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, Chair of the IPSA said, No longer will MPs benefit from a slack allowances system. This system brings MPs' expenses into ...
They used say "deficit" every second word. Now George Osbourne is spraying around largesse without a care in the world as to where it will come from: "efficiency savings, darling" he says, waving away enquiries with a limpid hand. LibDemVoice reports on Saint Vincent's response to Osbourne's "schoolboy economics" plus the IFS view: The Conservatives claim that the spending cuts can, in effect, be rendered painless by efficiency savings that they say their advisers have identified. Whether or not that is true, using the bulk of these spending cuts to finance the NI cut means that they are not available ...
First off, before I get started, let me say quite clearly and absolutely that I do not hold with people downloading music and films illegally. There are proper outlets for such media and they mostly require payment, a portion of which goes to the performers and creators involved. I categorically consider them wrong. Saying "illegal" though is, I believe, going too far as such behaviour appears to me to be a civil, not criminal, matter. However I believe that life is not so straight-forward when it comes to certain other media available via the internet. There are, for instance, many ...
First, the success:Mat's netbook is one of those ones with windows 7 starter, which means that (among many other things) you can't change your desktop wallpaper. Unless you download software. There are lots of software packages out there that offer advanced customisation options, but if you just want to change your desktop (and conserve resources) then Oceanis Change Desktop is the way to go. My desktop is now ( this: ) which is v cute, I think you'll agree (thanks to the fabulous Dirty Whoers for the image) Second, the failuresRemember how I had to reset my phone to factory ...
Mon 29th
14:15
Vince slams Osborne's "schoolboy economics" (and the IFS aren't keen on the Tories' tax plans either...
It's only a few hours since shadow chancellor George Osborne launched the Tories' plans to cut Labour's proposed increases in employers' National Insurance, and already you can start to hear the sound of it unravelling. First up, Vince Cable, the Lib Dems' shadow chancellor: This is school boy economics. When you have a £70bn permanent hole in the Government's finances you simply can't propose cutting tax revenue unless you spell out exactly how you are going to pay for it. The Tories say they are going to pay for a cut in National Insurance through 'efficiency savings', but haven't a ...
Ingrid Chetram is another of the Lib Dem candidates for Lewisham Central. I was born in Guyana, South America and moved to London when I was 24. I am now the proud mother of 3 teenage sons and work for a homeless day centre in Deptford SE8. My experiences can colourfully embroider a tapestry like none you ...
This was Philip Hammond's excuse on the `Daily Politics` today regarding the funding of Labour's NI increase reversal. When forensically questioned about this he replied `we can't be totally sure because we haven't looked at the books yet` – `The Government hasn't opened them up to us` but experts say..... Now, If I were in the ...
Happy Monday afternoon, everyone, on the day in history when the Royal Albert Hall was opened by the Royal Victoria (1871), Dr John Pemberton brewed the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta, Georgia (1886), and voters in Washington DC became eligible to vote in presidential elections (1961). And now let's move forward half a century, to the present day ... 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: Wearing the crucifix - a national crisis? – Paul Walter injects ...
Too often us dogs just appear in films for a bit of humour or cuteness, as if that's all we're good for. But at last here's a film that does us dogs proper credit, especially our tongues:
Exciting news today for pot hole fans: the mega long-running saga of the pot holes at the junction of Stroud Green Road and Morris Place is nearing the end game. For nearly a year Thames Water has been hunting out one or more leaks in the area (with the continuing leaks preventing proper repairs to the road) as you can read about here and here. Around six months ago some work was done on the drains, with new drain covers put in, but the problems persisted. Now though it looks like progress is being made as patch repairs have finally ...
Mon 29th
13:04Talking to more students about citizenship. Lots of ideas about what they would like to see change i...
Talking to more students about citizenship. Lots of ideas about what they would like to see change in #chelmsford
Planning on posting out letters in April? If you're using stamps, remember the cost of first and second class stamps goes up on Tuesday 6th April – so buy your stocks of generic 1st/2nd stamps in advance. Full details of the new prices on the Royal Mail website.
Plans to move GMT forward by two hours in the summer and one hour in winter will be a boost to many of us as we have longer evenings to enjoy in the warm weather. Winters will be a bit more of a chore in the mornings but once again the evenings will allow more of us to enjoy those valuable rays of sunshine after school and work. The only problem I can see is for parents of small children persuading them that they must go to bed in summer when it is even brighter. I look forward to endless ...
One of the small pleasures of a Sunday evening is an hour in front of the television watching Lark Rise to Candleford. Yes, of course it's a totally unrealistic and saccharine representation of a period that for the rural working classes was often grim and harsh, but nonetheless it's an hour of weekend escapism - and, as Dorcas Lane would say, "it's my one weakness". Last night's episode featured the Declaration that everyone who worked in the postal service of the time was required to sign before a magistrate, starting: "I do solemnly promise and declare that I will not ...
So this is the big plan of the Conservatives in advance of the General Election. They would block some of the National Insurance rises planned for next year. The plan will apparently benefit 7 out of 10 employees and it will be paid for by cancelling some as yet unnamed projects and by 'efficiencies'. The Labour Party is also declaring that 'efficiencies' will pay for their limited promises to cut the deficit. Conservative proposals for 'efficiencies' include halting spending on major new IT projects and cancelling some existing ones, negotiating significant cost reductions in the contracts held by government departments ...
At tomorrow's Full Council meeting we will be debating the web-casting of council meetings. The motion is a cross-party effort inititated by Andrew Wallis and sponsored by my colleagues Rob Nolan and Jeremy Rowe. I'm fully in favour of the move as it would increase the openness and transparency of the council. I don't however, pretend that it is a silver bullet to increase understanding of the council's workings, nor do I think that there will be huge numbers of people eagerly tuning in to watch us debating. However, it is a useful extra tool which should not cost a ...
Should be very interesting.
Sorry for the lack of updates - things have been really busy on the campaign trail. Last week I managed to squeeze in loads of different campaign-related thing and still fit in plenty of time to do my ward casework in Redlands. Here's just a brief summary of some of the things I got up to in Reading West last week. Hustings at Denefield SchoolOn Thursday I went to Denefield to attend a special hustings. This was my first hustings so far and it was great that it was held in a school. I have been campaigning for years to ...
The idea of using AVE (advertising value equivalent) calculations for measuring the benefits of social media gets a general thumbs down over on the PR Week website where there's a feature looking at this question. My comment on it was: Social media doesn't perform one task; it performs many - marketing, customer service, PR and more. You can't collapse all of those different impacts into one measure. You can read the full piece here and some background on AVE in the piece I did for Reputation Online.
Two deadlines are coming up this week: Publication of notice of local government election: Not later than Monday 29 March Publication of version of electoral register used for nominating general election candidates: Thursday 1 April For a full timetable see General election and local election timetable, 2010.
On 31st March regional assemblies will be abolished. There will probably be neither bang nor whimper. I will be sad. This was one of the projects of New Labour that nearly took wings. And it leaves a void in both regional governance and in our own party's thinking on what we do about devolution. In the longer term there are also questions about the viability of the Union - if Scotland, Wales and to a much lesser extent London are allowed (if that is the right verb) to run themselves, why can't the rest of England? More to the point, ...
How do you catch a cloud and bring it down?... If the Observer is to be believed, Labour intend to target George Osborne as the weak link in the Conservative leadership team. What astonishes me is that it has taken them so long to reach the conclusion. It may be that, in tonight's 'Ask the Chancellors' debate, George will do quite well against Alistair and Vince, especially if it boils down to a battle of soundbites. However, he still has a barrier to negotiate before he can establish a degree of credibility where it really matters, with the pundits and ...
The vast majority of ordinary people who remain opposed to fox hunting will be bemused by the news that the Tories will be enlisting the barbour cavalry to help them win marginal seats this time. The Independent reports: Hundreds of hunt supporters are under orders to ride into action in key marginal seats within hours of a general election being called, in the knowledge that David Cameron will allow a return to hunting with dogs if he gets to Downing Street. Documents seen by The Independent show that hunt masters have been rounding up supporters and sending them to the ...
The proposal by Labour to enlist its supporters to design its first set of billboard posters for the election campaign has come in for a fair amount of derision on Twitter and blogs, especially from the Tories, but actually it is not that bad an idea. Anybody who has seen what the internet has done to both Conservative and Labour campaign posters in recent months will know that there is a good deal of talent out there. Furthermore, recruiting the poachers as gamekeepers always helps to limit the damage. I think the other point is that given the state of ...
Ultra-loyal fans will remember how infuriating I found Cameron's assertion last autumn about poverty, and how bad for poverty reduction Brown et al have been. Now they are at it again, in their latest increasingly negative poster campaign. The one that really drives me nuts is the first – "I increased the gap between rich and ...
While browsing through the newspapers websites this morning looking for some inspiration, one thing rather surprised me: Since last week's Budget, polls have suggested that Labour has regained support on its handling the economy. It turns out that the BBC, no less, commissioned a poll to find out what the people's verdict is on the respective Treasury ...
I made another nut roast last night for myself, djm4 and thekumquat. It's definitely getting there. This time I used one celeriac root, one parsnip (I would have used more had I had them), three large potatoes, two sticks of celery, a leek, a clove of garlic, the juice of a lemon, fresh parsley from our garden, an egg, a bit of walnut oil, and three bags of macadamia nuts. I ground the nuts much smaller than last time. The consistency was much better - the roast held its shape when I took it out of the tin, and although ...
A leading Welsh Liberal Democrat has said that money saved by abandoning the Cardiff-Ynys Mon air service could help councils repair roads after the hard winter. Speaking after the Western Mail revealed that the Welsh Government is paying the local council £400,000 a year to operate Anglesey Airport, the civilian terminal at RAF Valley built to cater for North-South flights to Cardiff Airport even though the service's operator Highland Airways went into administration last week and flights have been suspended. Jenny Randerson, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Minister, said: "There's an element of farce entering into this. "I would have ...
I don't often venture onto the "Hear All Sides" page of the Northern Echo, but Gill Cartwright's letter last week claiming that the Lib Dems' perceived "silence" about BSF "speaks volumes" provoked me to put pen to paper.My letter has been published today, and here it is in its original form, which is slightly different to the printed version, once the sub-editor got his hands on it:Sir,I can
Down Road, Winterbourne Down will be closed from 29th March to 1st April so that it can be resurfaced. This will involve planing off the old surface and laying a new one between Kendleshire Farm and the western side of the bridge over the river. There is also a great deal of work going on around the new Council offices, with both resurfacing and pedestrian/cycle path works on Badminton and Stover Roads. On Westerleigh Road in Westerleigh there will be temporary traffic lights on Tuesday 30th and Wednesday 31st March so that the road can be repaired.
Supporters of hunting across the country are being sent to help in the marginal seats the Conservatives need to win to form the next government, in the expectation of a free vote on hunting with dogs early in a Cameron government. From The Independent: The hunt chairman [of the Avon Vale Hunt], Tim Page, wrote: "I would like us all to reflect on what is at stake if we do not succeed in helping get a Conservative government elected at the forthcoming general election, and, importantly with a sufficient majority to give the time to a free vote on the ...
It's several years since I discovered the terrible unfair funding Haringey children get and started the Campaign for Fair Funding . Our children get £1318 less per head for their schools than neighbouring boroughs like Camden, Islington and Hackney. We have now reached the point where the Government is finally consulting on the funding formula for schools to start in 2011. After a long campaign and lots of help from all of you - we now have the opportunity to respond forcefully to the consultation that could help address that existing unfairness that sees Haringey's children getting £1318 less per ...
This Wednesday (31st March) the Camden Council all-party Sustainability Task Force will look at whether every Camden Council action should be obliged to minimise use of natural resources like carbon or water; to increase the community's ability to withstand external shocks like peak oil; and make residents genuinely happy! At the moment everything Camden does has to be signed off by the council's Finance Director and its Legal Team. But should policies also require a sustainability sign-off? We'll be hearing from Duncan Law of Transition Brixton and Lucy Neal of Transition Tooting who'll talk about resilience indicators for councils; Sam ...
There's nothing like a practical example for learning a skill. So here's a little example of how to take a story and then carefully apply journalistic skill and judgement to make it into one of those proper stories they put in newspapers. Or something like that [IMG: :-)] The core of the story is this: child climbs up tree, child climbs down tree, stranger walks up to child, school staff walk up to stranger, stranger walks off, police have a word with stranger. Fact 1: "At no point was any child ever stuck in a tree". How do you report ...
I know it's early in the morning, and I don't want to seem churlish or anything, but it seems at first glance that the SNP's new big idea on affordable housing is a bit like trying to shift 10 tonnes of gravel with a 5 ml medicine spoon. I know they say every little helps, but I would have hoped for something more ambitious. What they're wanting to do is for Councils to team up with developers to build 1000 houses across Scotland, and then rent them out for 5 -10 years before selling them off. I see 2 big ...
Today is Passover and so hag same'ah to all my Jewish friends. Also interstingly it is also the feast day of St Gwladys, whose main church is at Bargoed where Doris Hare (who played Mabel, Stan Butler's mum, in On the Buses) was born. I've liked the name Gwladys ever since I came across it in a Jeeves and Wooster story about an artist called Gwladys Pendleton or Pendlebury, with whom Bertie falls in love, and of course it all comes to naught. I remember Jeeves being very dismissive of the name, saying that it was not a particularly attractive ...
I've been itching to see this since yesterday when it started being heavily touted round Twitter by people I like such as the lovely Mister Doctor Chocaholic and fellow Lib Dem Blogger and F1 fan Jeremy Rowe. It fulfils all its promise as it takes the scaremongering, bigoted ill-informed rubbish printed by the Daily Fail and puts it to song. Absolutely brilliant. Enjoy! Follow Dan and Dan on Twitter here. I have no idea who they are but I'm looking forward to seeing more of what they produce.
I don't know why, but the tragedy of the Catholic church sex scandals was leavened for me this morning when I happened to notice the by-line of the reporter who has been dispatched to cover the scandal of sexual abuse in the Vienna Boys choir... I am told that Roger Boyes is a very distinguished man. Unfortunately I have been unable to suppress a fit of the giggles.
With the would-be chancellors' debate on Channel 4 this evening, this is a good time to recall that Alistair Darling was not always the monochrome figure he appears today. As I once recorded on this blog, before Darling joined Labour he was a member of the Trotskyite International Marxist Group. And in his early Labour days, he was a hard-left council leader in the mould of Ted Knight or Derek Hatton. So extreme was he that the Scottish Labour establishment sent George Galloway along to talk some sense into him. Galloway later remembered those days: When I first met him ...
Classic Rory Bremner
Mon 29th
07:05
Pope Benedict wrong to describe criticism of child abuse in the Catholic Church as "petty gossip"
I have blogged about paedophiles and child abuse within the Catholic Church before, you can read it here. So, regular readers of my little blog will be happy (or not) to see me say a small well done to the Catholic Church for finally highlighting publicly some of the work they are doing to eradicate this despicable behaviour by some of it's own clergy. Of course it is not just the actual deed of abuse that is wrong, it is also the cover up by various people in senior positions within the Catholic Church that is as wrong. Pope Benedict ...
Unlike the Lib Dems who announced a full tax package [PDF link] at the same time covering who would gain and where this was being paid for, the Tories have announced a cut without the consequences. There was great fanfare last night that seven out of ten would benefit from them halving the Labour increase in National Insurance conributions (NIC) planned for April 2011. But there is no announcement as to where or when they will make up the £5bn shortfall. There are two possible alternatives that George Osborne may, or more likely not, reveal in the Chancellors debate at ...
@dabr have you thought about allowing users to geotag their tweets? should be possible on android 2.0 and iphone 3.0 in reply to dabr # @edent http://m.artesea.co.uk/ does a Geo Request and then uses Google (Reverse) Geo Lookup API call to get the location. in reply to edent # Major #cashgordon <script # @edent it uses navigator.geolocation which is supported in android 2.0, iphone 3.0 and Firefox 3.6 not sure what Blackberry use. in reply to edent # RT @higgis: I propose a new verb. Usage: "holy shit, they've made a right #cashgordon of that" # RT @MsEmmaMorgan: The ...
[IMG: Vince Cable] I've been looking forward to this debate for a while now, ever since I heard it was happening. The state of the economy is the most pressing issue facing the people I talk to in Fallowfield, and so in a way this debate is more important than the three televised Leaders' Debates between Nick Clegg, Gordon Brown and David Cameron. Vince Cable is the Lib Dem's Shadow Chancellor. He's got a PhD in economics, and is former Chief Economist to Shell, which makes him the most qualified person in the debate. He was on the ball spotting ...
I spent today at Keele University. My daughter had her first concert as a member of Keele Rev (or Revelation Rock-Gospel Choir) [http://www.keele.ac.uk/socs/ks21/] It was not what I expected there were show tunes, praise and classic gospel. The evening was spent at Late Service [http://nn-no.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2370618631] where Kat led the singing. What more could a proud dad want.
In recent blogs I have written about the nature of our democracy. What we take as a shining example of government may not be as perfect as it seems. I pointed out that it is obviously wrong to 'buy' a seat at Westminster. We have improved the system by gradual reforms but that doesn't mean that it is perfect. There is a huge problem if we can't get people to vote. There is a huge problem if the government is decided by the way that some marginal seats change hands every four or five years. It is much more likely ...
With thanks to Freemania
