worse than waiting for a train, waiting for them to do something about what we have been calling for. 9 years ago I was campaigning to get the bridge at Thornaby Station renewed so that it was fit to use by people with whlled luggage, pushchairs, wheelchairs etc, and make it possible for them to use the bus. These call were met with derision at the Council when I wanted it putting in our future...
Well, I hope that subject line got your attention. If there is one thing I regret about this weekend's hot topic, Chris Grayling and his words on gay bed and breakfasts, and the whoops of joy that have erupted from non-Tory circles as another "Tory gaffe" becomes this weekend's political quarry in a spectacle as unwholesome as some would view pink coats riding across hill and dale after Charles J Fox it is this... This week it is likely our legislators, pretending to have balls to show to the baying tabloids, will vote to kill numerous, unknown but just as ...
I'm doing to just give you the list of Scottish blogs in the top 100 political blogs this month. No padding as I'm busy. Though I will apologise in advance that next months will be late, the 5h May will be the eve of poll it appears. 1. 8 (7) And Another Thing....Tom Harris 2. 16 (21) Cute Greek Baby 3. 30 (29) Subrosa 4. 33 (27) Alex Massie 5. 43 (32) SNP Tactical Voting 6. 49 (48) Stephen's Linlithgow Journal 7. 58 (49) Bishop Hill 8. 61 (79) Rantin Rab 9. 62 (62) Caron's Musings 10. 77 (65) Andrew's ...
An obituary of William Mayne was posted on the Guardian website earlier this evening and will appear in tomorrow's paper. Written by Julia Eccleshare, it passes briefly over his conviction for abusing girls and gives a full but intermittently unethusiastic account of his writing career: A recurrent theme of Mayne's stories was how children could see and accept magic and magical explanations, while the adults around them create rational stories to explain the same outcome. There was no sentimentality around Mayne's sense of children's belief. Instead he simply posited that children are as at home with unreality as reality, while ...
Today's Guardian "Police 'ignored News of the World phone hacking evidence'" shows how the police restricted the scope of their investigations into the News of the World phone bugging scandal under Andy Coulson's stewardship. Peter Black has covered this in detail already. I will just consider the figures. Whereas the police have been saying all along that only a handful of people were victims of the NoTW's illegal behaviour, they in fact had, according to the Guardian, "4,332 names or partial names ..., 2,978 numbers or partial numbers for mobile phones and 30 audio tapes which appear to contain an ...
Norman Baker launched a Liberal Democrat plan for massive rail expansion today. He said, "High speed rail is hugely important, but it is only part of the 21st century rail network Britain needs. Our plans will reopen thousands of miles of track across the country and make our railway great again... The Liberal Democrats will transform the railways with the biggest expansion since the Victorian age." The plan is to create a Rail Expansion Fund of nearly £3bn from which councils and transport authorities can bid for money to pay for rail improvement and expansion projects. The reaction from the ...
Looks like I was right then. Along with about half a million others...
Following my most recent update about the intended digital radio switchover, there was an interesting and pertinent article in today's Guardian on the subject - see http://tinyurl.com/guardian-digital.
Somehow I can't quite imagine a Prime Minister's election calling soundbite including the phrase "the provisions of the Representation of the People Act" any more. Nor indeed the response of the major parties to an election been called to be having special meetings of senior party figures. None of this modern flying start stuff. (Also on YouTube here)
As something of a closet railway enthusiast, it's great to see Norman Baker making a pitch for the gricer vote at the General Election. Crossrail and high-speed rail links from London to the major cities are all well and good, but what of the rest of the country that isn't served by rail, notably those towns and villages where a railway runs through but no trains have stopped since the steam age? Much kudos to Norman for this idea, and in these days of congested roads and the ensuing effects of their ever-increasing traffic on the environment, how forward-thinking to ...
I spoke too soon. Jaime Campbell has been quick off the mark!
But notice the boots have lost their shine - because presumably the policeperson wearing them from "The Bill" is now out of work. (By the way, the Tory ad folk seem to have finally wised up to the fact that it is difficult to spoof white type on an irregular black/grey background. But I doubt that will stop anyone).
In the latter stages of each series of MasterChef the producers try very hard to find someone scary for the contestants to cook for. Last year it was an officer's mess. Last week it was some bigwigs from the Women's Institute. This evening it is an Indian royal family. These supposedly scary diners seldom turn out to be fierce. Their comments usually amount to no more than "it was very tasty". But isn't there something rather distasteful about this search for "important" customers? Something class based? A good chef - a MasterChef - does his best whoever the customer is. ...
The Lib Dem's plans to divide league tables up so middle class dominated schools are 'shown up' more when they are 'failing' is hardly going to help improve the quality of state education. I oppose league tables anyway: they encourage schools to use selection and exclusionary practices so that they 'look' better, but when in reality ...
It's not from the Shropshire Star: it's from the Daily Telegraph. But it may well still be true.
I have complained before that attacking or laughing at the Daily Mail too often takes the place of hard thinking among the liberal left. And it easy to have a go at the Mail. Take their recent front page about the woman who was fined and told to wear an electronic tag for selling a goldfish to a boy of 14. Turn to the Guardian, as all we lefties do, and you find that there was more to the case than that: An animal welfare officer also found a cockatiel in the shop that was in such distress it had ...
I am lying on the couch after a day in the office feeling more knackered than I should be the day before a General Election is called. I had a conversation about guilt 0with a dear friend of mine who has to completely sit this one out due to illness. We both feel really weird but I guess we have to accept where we are. By this time of night I am generally fit for nothing. The nice shiny new toy makes it very easy to throw a blog posting together. This is why I can tell you how much ...
One of those timeless questions at which Google excels. Here are some answers: Rolling in faeces...is really very common. Possibly a dog's ancient instinct to mask his scent, which would then enable the animal to sneak up on their prey without detection. Even if your dog does not hunt, she may not like the way that she smells—especially if you've just given her a bath! Or she just likes the smell of the faeces. Rolling in carrion (dead animals) is also common: Lots of dogs do this, unfortunately. The leading explanation is that they're instinctively disguising their own scent so ...
Mon 5th
20:31
Which party has been using cancer drugs as an election issue and has been caught telling fibs ? Step...
Oh come on, we all know that the Tories will say just about anything to win the election. And after their attacks on Gordon Brown for misleading parliament last week you might expect the Tories would have attempted to take the moral high ground. Sadly not. It seems the Tories are prepared to even tell lies about cancer treatment and cancer drugs in order to win votes. Surely trying to win votes by scaremangering ill people is a new all time low ?
During the general election campaign we will be running a series of diary pieces from party president Ros Scott. To kick off here's her campaign diary of this month so far: 1 April I'm fed up with waiting for Gordon Brown to call the election, so I've started without him. Maundy Thursday saw me up bright and early to catch the 8.35 train to Sheffield for my first official visit of the campaign. I met up with Paul Scriven, leader of the City Council, and our Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC) in Sheffield Central. Paul is both a highly effective council ...
Signed up another new member while out this afternoon. It's all going very well!
If you're still trying to find the Liberal Democrats' narrative for the general election, you can now see a large part of it. Here's Exhibit A: Vince Cable's closing remarks in the Channel 4 Ask the Chancellors debate last Monday night. "The Labour government led us into this mess ... The Tories presided over two big recessions in office, they wasted most of the North Sea oil revenue, they sold off the family silver on the cheap." "Now they want to have another turn to get their noses in the trough and reward their rich backers. The Liberal Democrats are ...
Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Wycombe, Steve Guy, has created a website where you can follow the campaign. Steve also wants your questions and comments. Find out more at www.steveguy.org.uk. Steve said: In this increasingly connected age, voters want access to their candidates and their views. I hope that by providing this website, I can keep people up to date as the campaign progresses. I will be providing news, videos – even a Twitter feed. I'd love people to send me their questions so that I can answer them where everyone can see too.
Peter Black, quite rightly, says that the new revelations in today's Guardian about News of the World journalists and phone hacking pose serious questions for the Metropolitan Police. Given Andy Coulson's place at David Cameron's right hand, they also pose serious questions for the Conservative Party. Rest assured: it may not all be brushed under the carpet, as a white knight has appeared to fight for truth. His name? Lembit Opik. Then again... A while ago I wrote about Paul Heaton and his Pedals and Pumps cycle tour. Now John Leech MP (as in Lib Dem MP for Manchester Withington) ...
Recently Baroness Warnock argued for a return to a tripartite system. This would kick-in, under her suggestion, at the 13+ cut-off point that is common in independent schools. Coincidentally the NUT has criticised Tory plans to introduce technical schools, claiming this would bring in selection at fourteen. The Tories are not trying to bring in selection at 14, but it is cloudy as to why this would be bad thing if they did. Let's first get to grips with what is actually being debated. On the one hand you might allow schools to set-up their own character and ethos and ...
Mon 5th
19:46
David Nixon assisted by Les Dawson and Anita Harris, via Farmhouse Kitchen, Crown Court - oh and Pat...
Subtitled: "I don't know you, do I?" I was launched into an elongated saunter down memory lane by Stuart Maconie with his Freak Show on BBC 6 Music last night. He plays an extraordinary mix of music. I never thought, for example, that I would listen to and enjoy the theme from Farmhouse Kitchen, which, incidentally, is called "Fruity Flute" by Reg Wale (you can relive it, if you so wish, through the wonder of You Tube – bottom box below). Anyway, no sooner had "Fruity Flute" finished than Mr Maconie was spinning another innocuous tune which seemed quite enjoyable ...
Alex Massie discusses what he describes as the political consultancy racket.The Futility Monster suggests that Chris Grayling is a shining example of The Peter Principle in action.Strange Thoughts has something to say about Margaret Moran's strange behaviour.Bracknell Blog thinks that Tories are forgetting James Carville's famous maxim.Fred Kaplan writing in The Slate thinks he knows why suicide bombers have not struck US subways. Easter Monday bonus is a handy cut-out and keep guide to the major milestones in the incipient election campaign (assuming Gordon Brown as expected visits Her Majesty tomorrow) courtesy of Sam Coates off of The Times: April ...
Rebecca's story: When my son was approximately 6 months old he had a bad cough and he produced some spots of blood as he was coughing. I took him to my GP who referred me immediately to the A & E at the Whittington. As this is my local hospital my child was born there so I was familiar with the place and I felt comfortable going there. We drove ourselves to the hospital. The journey took no more than 10 mins which meant I did not have to worry for an unnecessarily long time. We were seen quite quickly ...
Yesterday, Sir Alec Bedser died at the age of 91 in Woking. He has lived and worked in the borough for most of his life. Known by many locla people for his hard work and dedication, especially to many charitable causes, he will be remembered and missed by the whole community here. My local councillor ...
[IMG: funny pictures of cats with captions] see more Lolcats and funny pictures If the last day of the month is a Bank Holiday, I shall have to choose two.
Quite by chance, I came across this on google today and have spent a few hours now playing with and looking at various datasets which are available (and there is a huge amount available) Definitely worth looking at!
Welcome to this latest LDVideo instalment, and today as a special holiday treat we're highlighting four political video clips showing the Tory leadership team at their most embarrassingly gaffe-prone. First up is this one from Tory shadow chancellor George Osborne, committing a diplomatic faux pas by referring to "the Sarkozy box" used by the diminutive French president when speaking from behind lecterns. (Yes, it's sort of funny. But when you're hoping to be this country's chief finance minister, it really is better to avoid needlessly antagonising world leaders – as David Cameron might also learn) ... (Also available via PoliticsHome ...
On Thursday, I spoke at a hustings meeting organised by Barnet Muslim Forum and a group called YouElect. It was a really lively meeting with a great question and answer session. What's nice is that even on controversial issues, such as Israel/Palestine, we managed to have a lively discussion without tempers fraying. You can see the candidates' opening speeches if you click here. I spoke second of the three candidates. I'm due to speak at at least three more Hendon hustings meetings during the election campaign and I thoroughly look forward to doing this.
We are now only hours (well perhaps 48 hrs) away from the election being called. Once Brown has decided on a date, we can get really stuck into this election and make a difference! LD2010 is the way!!
A great new website has just been setup by Rob Fenwick (the founder of Lib Dem Voice and my colleague back in 2005 on the Liberal Democrat internet campaign): Campaign Digest. It looks like it will become an essential source of information, particularly with its daily snapshots of the front pages of the main party websites – tracking how they change during the campaign – and its archiving of email content from the different campaigns. Well worth bookmarking and visiting regularly.
My last, flippant post on the death of Eugene Terre Blanche brought an interesting comment thread, in which not only did we attract some new South African commentators, we started up interesting disagreements along unusual fault lines between regular commentators. So I thought I might probe further with something less flippant. I am not actually in favour of hacking people to death as a form of political action. But I am unrepentant at failing to be moved by the death of an out and out Nazi, who thrived in apartheid times in a system in which he was able to ...
Peter Hain set the tone for the forthcoming General Election today when he referred back to the time of Tory Secretary of States from England running Wales from afar with a side-swipe at his existing Conservative Shadow that suggested that she would be more of the same: Mr Hain suggested that if the Conservatives win the election Ms Gillan would not be able to spend enough time in Wales while still carrying out her constituency duties. The Neath MP told the Western Mail: "We now have seven Tory general election candidates who are English councillors, and the question for Cheryl ...
Looks like we'll finally get the general election called this week, but how much is up for grabs at the ballot box? As Lynne Featherstone points out in a short clip I filmed at the weekend, it's not actually that much when you think about it: (Also on YouTube here)
I was very disappointed to see the ugly public spat over donations and expenses, over the last two weeks, between Mike Weir MP and Angus Tory candidate Alberto Costa. Angus residents deserve better from their prospective representatives. Now that their arguments have spilled over into the national press, including the BBC News website, is it not high time that Angus candidates agree how we can restore trust in our democracy? With the recent lobbying scandal, I was particularly surprised to find that Mike Weir MP, voted in 2006 against a Lib Dem motion for limits and full disclosure for corporate ...
A relatively inexpensive (£1.1 million) project kicked off in 2007. The idea was for local authorities on each side of the English Channel to work together for mutual benefit in some specific and limited areas. As the Espace Manche Development Initiative website explains: Identification of the challenges in the Channel area and publication of a document defining the strategic orientations for the horizon 2007 – 2013; Deployment of tangible initiatives structured around five themes: * Tourism: creation of a common database on target tourist populations. * Fishing and fish resources: constitution of a consultative regional council for fishing in the ...
Today's Guardian suggests that allegations that News of the World journalists hacked the phones of celebrities will not be going away too quickly. The paper says that police, who investigated the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World, obtained previously undisclosed telephone records which showed a vast number of public figures had had their voicemail accessed, and then decided not to pursue the evidence. They say that this raises fundamental questions about the behaviour of Scotland Yard, which has claimed repeatedly that it found evidence of "only a handful" of people whose mobile phone messages had been intercepted by ...
I have just posted a short piece about him on The Corridor.
Blogging has recently been (and will continue to be) light, mainly because I need to concentrate my writing energy to my imminently due final-year dissertation. I couldn't resist a quick post, though, on this hopeless story that appeared in today's Sun, attempting to portray Vince Cable as an unprincipled, opportunistic amateur (no, really). There are about ...
Chris Grayling continues to make headlines for all the wrong reasons, most recently due to comments he made about how B&B owners should have the right to turn away gay couples. This follows other problems Grayling has caused such as his initial reaction to the news that General Dannatt was going to be a Tory adviser (he misunderstood and thought he was going to be a Labour adviser and hence questioned whether it was a gimmick) and misusing violent crime statistics leading to a rebuke from the UK Statistics Authority. Can David Cameron really afford to keep someone like this ...
A ComRes survey of 101 Parliamentary candidates "who are likely to win or retain their seats" has found very heavy use of social media. Around half the Parliamentary seats in the UK have not changed hands even once between different political parties in the last forty years, which helps explain why overall levels of take-up amongst MPs and candidates is usually on the range modest to quite good (though in fact often compare very well, for example, with large UK firms). However, as this survey indicates, there are much higher than average levels of take-up amongst those were the election ...
Here are the Liberal Democrat entries in the top 100 political blogs as ranked by Wikio: 1 (7) Liberal Democrat Voice Falls 1 2 (17) Mark Reckons Rises 3 3 (49) Stephen's Linlithgow Journal Falls 1 4 (50) Craig Murray New* 5 (57) Liberal England Falls 6 6 (59) Liberal Vision Rises 2 7 (62) Caron's Musings Non-mover 8 (65) Mark Pack Rises 2 9 (74) Miss S B (Jennie Rigg) Rises 15 10 (75) Freethinking Economist Rises 23 11 (77) Andrew Reeves's Running Blog Falls 12 12 (80) Quaequam Blog! Falls 3 13 (81) Peter Black Falls 10 * ...
As the Conservatives look set to help Labour push the flawed Digital Economy Bill into law before the election, Mike Simpson, Lib Dem candidate for SW Surrey, questions his opponent in the election – the Conservative media spokesman. Dear Mr Hunt Digital Economy Bill: another Parliamentary scandal? I am puzzled: why are you and the Conservatives working with the Government to get the Digital Economy Bill passed before the election? It can't be because consumers will have to pay an extra £300 million for internet security to avoid being disconnected or have their bandwidth throttled. Or because businesses could find ...
Peter Black's posting of last Friday has been confirmed: the Conservatives don't want to give Wales any discretion on forced housing sales, according to the BBC. The Conservatives have shown that they are still Thatcherite and little-Englanders.
James Crabtree's excellent recent piece for Wired about the Conservative Party's use of technology and new media raised some questions over the party's Merline database: If each constituency has roughly 50,000 voters, even a superhuman (and wealthy) candidate can hope to reach about only half of them. This is where Merlin -- the party's little-publicised campaigning software, commissioned by Francis Maude back in 2005 and built by a small London-based tech outfit called Conchango -- could really make an impact... Candidates can feed in data from surveys posted through voters' doors to create better targeted local "canvass sheets". (This data ...
Happy Easter Monday, everyone, on the day in history when (in 1621) the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England – as Eddie Izzard once remarked of the Pilgrims, "They set sail from Plymouth and landed in Plymouth – how lucky is that?" Just 55 years ago, Winston Churchill quit as Prime Minister, handing over the reins to Anthony Eden. Meanwhile the sports fans among you might like to know that 1904 witnessed the first international rugby league match, played between England and the fantastically named 'Other Nationalities' team of Welsh and Scots. But without ...
I recently mentioned that the City Council's Waste Management Department had confirmed to me that residents' complaints I had raised about graffiti at Marchfield Road, Scott Street and Seafield Road would be cleaned off. I am pleased to report that this had now been carried out with graffiti at the west end of Scott Street removed, street signage in Marchfield Road cleaned up and a Virgin media box, a wall, a telephone box and a GPO box all cleaned up last week. The anti-graffiti initiative in the West End continues, with a community anti-graffiti action day taking place next month. ...
The longlist for the Orwell Prize 2010 for blogging was announced recently. There are a number of political bloggers on the list, all of whom are very good and deserve their place. However there was one name that I was hoping to see on there that was missing. Anton Vowl has done brilliant work on his "Enemies of Reason" blog. He consistently skewers press and particularly tabloid hypocrisy with a wonderfully pointed invective style which is both very funny and deadly serious in the subjects he covers. A post that he did last October is one of the best (if ...
It is apparent that the Tory run Westminster council has more pressing priorities than that of those who live in its environs. In order to address issues relating to subsidence and as part of a grand plan to rejuvenate the gardens, they where closed in September 2008 and landscape consultants where appointed to come up ...
So reports the BBC: The Liberal Democrats have set out plans to reopen thousands of miles of railway tracks and stations. The scheme would be funded by cutting capital spending on roads by £3bn. Its new Rail Expansion Fund would lead to the biggest expansion of the rail network since the Victorian era, the party claims. Motorists' group the RAC Foundation said it would be a waste of taxpayers' money when only 7% of UK journeys were made by train, compared to 90% by car. However, Lib Dem transport spokesman Norman Baker said the plan would "make our railway great ...
With an average of 39 pubs closing a week, I was glad to hear of the work that former pop star Paul Heaton is doing to raise awareness of their plight. Paul is going to embark on a "Pedals and Pumps" tour, raising awareness not only of the declining pub trade but also of the health ...
Should enter the language as a way of demonstrating how darned expensive some minor item of consumption is. I mean, I can understand why my cappucino (80cl of warm milk) has just cost me 5chf. It's 2127m here, and free-market competition is prevented from playing its fullest part. High rent-seeking, needed to repay the coat ...
I recently met with the Equitable Life Members Action Group (EMAG) in Wythall to support their campaign for Equitable Life pensioners to be compensated after the demise of the company's pension scheme in 2000. Over 1 million pensioners are affected nationwide (1,000 in Bromsgrove) and the Parliamentary Ombudsman has found government regulation was at fault and recommended ...
So says Melanie McDonagh in the Telegraph. It is a remarkable piece, wrong on so many levels. You have, I suppose, to feel sorry for David Cameron. Just when he thinks he's got all bases covered - he's made up to gays with an interview in Gay Times Crikey! Was that making it up to gays? He made a complete Horlicks of the interview and made it clear his party had not changed a jot. Just watch it here – it is mind-blowing. ...what's wrong with thinking aloud about the boundaries between equality and conscience, between people's rights to determine ...
I can see how the slogan 'we will cut the deficit not the NHS' would work as a guarantee. But now the Tories are promising to not increase National Insurance and some how ensure that cancer drugs that are not approved by NICE for funding reasons are still paid for. Is this some kind of magic? It maybe right to ensure that people can get hold of cancer drugs but something else will have to be cut to pay for it. I certainly would like too see all of us get the medical drugs we need. Once upon a time ...
A lot has been written about the growing gulf between the voting public and their representatives, voter apathy and low turnout. Candidates and the media do their best to engage voters but it's an uphill slog. At this election in particular a low turnout is a real risk because people have been put off voting at all by a succession of scandals. A lot has also been written about how the internet may help candidates connect with voters. Who knows whether this will be seen as the first 'e-election'. But it has struck me for a while that candidates' online ...
The first sighting of the new Lib Dem battle bus. How exciting! It is very yellow!
Mon 5th
10:55
There Will Be a Slight Break in Transmission of Who Daily as your editor falls asleep...
So I was doing Who Daily last night, and the wife came into the room to ask me how it was going, and found me snoring with my head smooshed against the keyboard. Given the weekend I have had (24 hours of work work, 8 hours of Lib Demmery, a whirlwind visitation from Hairy Git, AND watching the new ep of Who and spending hours on the phone to Duracell Bunny squeeing about it...) it wasn't really surprising, but it was a bit embarrassing... On the down side, this means an incomplete who daily reaction post got posted last night. ...
Example 1: A Conservative shadow Home Secretary says just the other week that it should be acceptable for a gay couple to be turned away from a B&B should the proprietors say they want to on no other grounds than their sexuality. Example 2: An Ulster Unionist B&B owner from Antrim is prevented from going forward to the UUP v Conservative decision to stand as the MP for Antrim South for saying in 2006 he felt 'uncomfortable' having same sex couple stay in his B&B, before the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007. Quite rightly Antrim Mayor Adrian Watson who ...
Don't worry, the above title isn't the plot line of a future episode that sees the Doctor join forces with the Liberal Democrats and deliver millions of Focus leaflets before defeating the evil forces of Labservative. Nor is it the plot line of the new Doctor taking on the Liberal Democrats to stop all the focus leaflets going through people's letterboxes in the next few weeks. But as Mark Pack (or rather Dr Mark Pack) points out, it seems that Liberal Democrats are big fans of Dr Who. And there is evidence to support this. Obviously, Labour and Conservative party ...
It's not been a great month for newspapers reporting their own polls. Despite the concept of newspapers accurately reporting their own polls – i.e. a story that they've paid for and been given the full details of – being a fairly basic standard to aim for, we've had such low lights as the skewed graph in the Mirror along with its over-hyped language and the Sunday Times so twisting the findings of its own poll you'd have thought there must have been two. Not to forget the attack in The Telegraph attack on that dodgy process of weighting poll numbers; ...
Dare, dare again, always dare! The words spoken by Georges Danton in the National Assembly in 1792, as good a motto for a political party as any. The character was brilliantly portrayed by Gérard Depardieu in Andrzej Wajda's eponymous film of the ...
40 hours on and I've barely recovered from the assault on my emotions that was Matt Smith's debut as the Doctor. I think it's all going to be all right after all. I'd wondered how the programme would adapt to the departure of both Russell T Davies and David Tennant and whether Stephen Moffat show he could do comedy as well as creepy. He can. Oh yes. He can. I'll start with the only thing I didn't like - the first part of the theme music. It's monotonous and doesn't sound as if it's really going anywhere. Then it bursts ...
Don Foster MP has written very sensibly for Lib Dem voice about the need to consider having safe standing areas at football grounds. The fact that this would also make economic sense for fans and football clubs alike seems eminently sensible. You can read more about it HERE.
Grayling's real thoughts, as exposed by the Observer (where Grayling says that B&B owners shouldn't have to admit gay couples if against their Christian belief if the B&B is in their own home) and David Cameron's stuttering inability to answer on gay issues during an interview with Gay Times has seen Conservative poll ratings fall amongst the gay community in response to a Pink News survey. http://bit.ly/aaQDqb I should hope so too! Making the right noises for political purposes is not enough - and the Conservatives have been exposed as still having a very long way to go to transform ...
The fuss over Chris Grayling's off message comments regarding homosexuality and the potential refusal of goods/services is rather interesting to me for two reasons reasons: the man himself, and what it says about the party. The latter point is rather simple. One cannot help but feel that what Mr Grayling said has deep resonance within the ...
Only one deadline coming up this week, but watch out for a batch early next week: Close of nominations for local government election (including parish / town council elections): Noon on Thursday 8 April Proclamation of dissolution / issue of general election writ: Monday 12 April Statement of persons nominated for local government election: Noon on Monday 12 April Receipt of general election writ: (Probable date) Tuesday 13 April Publication of notice of general election: (Probable date) Tuesday 13 April Deadline for withdrawal of nominations for local government election: Noon on Tuesday 13 April Deadline for appointment of election agents ...
I love Bob Dylan. Apparently China doesn't. I read this morning that his planned concert tour has been cancelled because the authorities refused to let him play in the major cities. So - China having the Olympics didn't work then! I thought that was meant to be the new China putting its best foot forward and kicking its bad old human-rights record into the history books. Well - no surprise really. Google and now Bob have the truth at first hand. At least China isn't ageist! They still think Bob is a danger at 68 - and perhaps they are ...
The Daily Mirror wins by returning to the glory days of Fleet Street in its coverage of Chris Grayling: B&B gay gaffe MP axe call
Yes Minister on foreign policy and diplomacy
Mon 5th
08:42
Apparently, because I support a non-league team, it's safe for me to stand. Does that make me a more...
I note that Liberal Democrat policy on football stadia has changed recently, in that we now believe that football fans should be allowed to stand, having supported the abolition of standing areas after the Hillsborough tragedy. So, what do I think? I'm a supporter of Luton Town, Bedfordshire's finest football team. In the past twenty years, we've played in every division between the top flight and the Football Conference, the apex of the non-league pyramid (I'm still in shock at the notion of having to play Eastbourne Borough. And where is Forest Green, anyway?). It's mostly been downhill all the ...
Chris Grayling's the Conservative shadow Home Secretary comments about it being acceptable for B&B owner to turn away same sex couples first came to light late on Saturday evening. That has given leader David Cameron a whole 36 hours to issue the following comment (I'm posting it in full): " ." Grayling himself has issued the following apology: " ". Has this had an impact? Well Pink News were in the middle of running their second monthly poll on the LGBT community's voting intentions and it certainly has done. The Lib Dems are now the most popular in the overall ...
I think despite my love of the sign in Tanza Road and http://474towin.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-all-in-name.html) , the affection I hold for the streets I have lived in locally (Quex Road, Sumatra Road and Christchurch Hill)... This is definately the front-runner in the competition for the best street sign in the constituency... It's all in the name. But sadly the close reading of the explainatory plaque says the name is infact from the Goulding family rather than a level of wealth acquisition. But not bad for a period dates from the 17th century... (Anyone wanting the full story should clcik on the ...
The Liberal Democrats were the party who fought for the current rail expansion that is going on in Scotland ahead of the 2003 election. Living as I do in Bathgate I get an almost daily update on the progress of one of those projects with the Bathgate to Airdrie extension. Today plans to shift £3bn from road to rail projects has been announced as part of the Lib Dem plans for a greener UK. In what will be the biggest rail expansion since the Victorian era thousands of miles of tracks. Precise details of what will be opened will have ...
Finally, the LGBT voters of Britain, well the ones that read Pink News anyway are starting to see that perhaps the Conservatives and David Cameron are not quite what they thought they were. The recent Pink News poll shows that David Cameron's recent Gay Times interview and Chris Graylings comments about bed & breakfast owners having the right to turn away gay customers are having an effect on the views of LGBT voters. The Conservative record on supporting gay rights is nothing short of shameful. David Cameron cannot pretend a quick apology for Section 28 will make up for the ...
Transport for London (TfL) is currently consulting on the location for 2500 new countdown displays for bus stops to be rolled out across London next year. The map of the locations for Lewisham has been published, unfortunately not one of these displays has been allocated to Hither Green Lane (click on map to enlarge). We Lewisham Central ...
Turned out not to be so superior after all. It is sometimes hard to remember it is always wrong to be glad when someone dies. Must stop smiling about Terre Blanche (was that his real name? Too good to be true). If I have to refrain from smiling about the death of Terre Blanche, I do hope nobody kills Tony Blair, or I shall have to refraiin from peals of laughter and dancing for joy.
I was shocked and horrified to read that the leader of a political party had been threatened with violence and even death by some members of his own party. That it was in this country was doubly worse, and then it transpired that this was a story ...
And a few links before I go to bed (Mark Thomas and When Worlds Collide posts tomorrow). Jess Nevins rewrites the King In Yellow in the style of The Cat In The Hat Rachel Zall on homosexual cooties Lib Dems reviewing The Eleventh Hour – Millennium Elephant (and Daddy Richard), his Daddy Alex (with stuff about Quatermass and ...
I wrote about Chris Grayling on the 12th December. He had spoken out of turn and he has done so again. This time he has been recorded at a private meeting and he suggested that bed and breakfast owners should have the right to ban homosexual couples. He has been defended on the grounds of his voting record supporting gay rights (why is he not defending himself?) but his recent comments are at odds with the law. We can't discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation. There may be many other reasons why we can discriminate but this isn't one of ...
If you are looking for a course or college, the Directgov course search can be really useful.
Want something groovy on the telly - yes, obviously, Doctor Who's back, and something on that below - want something groovy on TV tonight? After BBC2 was splendid enough to show Hammer's The Quatermass Xperiment on Friday, tonight at 1.50 they're showing the even more splendid Quatermass 2, probably the best and tautest of all the Quatermass film remakes. It was also a major inspiration for Doctor Who: Spearhead From Space, large chunks of which you may recognise in last night's The Eleventh Hour. And I've got a Harry Potter question for you: who do laws against underage wizardry protect? ...
Saturday: Once upon a time, there was a story made out of other stories. The little girl who grows up while the Doctor's back is turned. The fiery redhead in the TARDIS, the runaway bride. The escaped convict, on the run from the heavy-handed space police, in disguise as a human so they can't spot her. The patients in their beds, ready to make you jump. The Doctor stealing his clothes from a hospital locker room - done that one twice before! And the Doctor's new companion with a secret to do with time. And he's lying to her already. ...
