It's reported in the Telegraph that Liam Fox has made his first faux pas as Secretary of State for Defence, stating that the UK is not engaged in Afghanistan for the "education policy" but to assure UK security. There are two issues with this, the first around who owns the policy for being there, and ...
I've written an opinion piece on the Social Liberal Forum website about why the Labour Party is making a major strategic blunder by embracing the "Con-Dem" narrative. This is a theme I expect to return to a lot over the next few weeks and months, at least until saner voices within Labour start to ...
Back in September I co-authored an article in the Guardian with Neal Lawson, Chair of Compass, about the need for a "coalition of progressive ideas" between Liberal Democat and Labour members. In truth, Neal did most of the heavy lifting on this, but I had no trouble signing up to it. In particular, I was keen on how we defined this so-called coalition: Progressives in all these parties are committed to greater equality and dealing with the challenge of climate change, but the binding value is pluralism. We recognise the value of difference, distinct histories and tradition but are using ...
They kept that quiet. OPERATION Flintlock has begun. American special forces have been descending on Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal in a joint exercise, expected to last another week or so, to combat Islamist terrorism in the region. It is the latest stage of an evolving partnership between America and much of west Africa. They should probably be wary about that, given what US Special Forces did to Somalia in the name of "Islamic terrorism".
[IMG: Stop the War] Rest assured: we will never forget. Ed Balls and Ed Miliband want to let you know that they think it was wrong - but only retrospectively. John McDonnell thinks their stance amounts to a 'Road to Damascus conversion'. Meanwhile, David Miliband thinks it's no longer a 'divisive' issue and that we should 'move on'. But Diane Abbott reckons it remains one of the key triggers of discontent among the Labour Party's grassroots. Worst of all, Andy Burnham says "I still believe that it was right to remove Saddam so that Iraqis could have a hope of ...
At the Yeovil constituency post-election party I handed David Laws a present to help with his job as Chief Secretary of the Treasury - a knife sharpener. Not a knife, because I didn't want to promote cuts but a sharpener because I wanted him to make fine cuts. David has referred to it in his interview in the FT.
I am fast coming to the conclusion that the Langtons - a group of villages a short bus ride, or even a walk, to the north of Market Harborough - are a sort of paradise. Fine houses, good pubs, interesting history (try J.W. Logan and William Hanbury). And as acute a critic as Down at Third Man described his first encounter with East Langton cricket ground thus: On the roadside, in the gloaming, between high trees, he spots the spectre of an enchanted cricket ground. Passing by in an instant he is certain that he has seen the mythic cricket ...
I don't know about you but very often I come across a blog or a twitter profile and the author refers to themselves as "left of centre" or "left leaning". This seams to rang from those who are left of centre...those who are actually right of centre but would prefer to think of themselves as left of centre, ... Read more
And so, Alex did not wake up and it was not all a dream. What with the way that the loose ends from the past were flying all over the place in the final series of Ashes to Ashes, it was going to take either a grandstand finish or a corny Hollywood-style conclusion to draw the line under the Bollyverse, and thankfully for all of us who stayed to ride with the Guv over the five series of LoM/A2A Ashley Pharaoh and Matthew Graham delivered with interest. There had been the odd clue dropped along the way, but even here ...
On Friday 7 May, without pausing for sleep, the Social Liberal Forum started lobbying for a Progressive Alliance – or, failing that, for a Grand Alliance of all parties. It was soon clear that that was what the vast majority of Liberal Democrat members and supporters would have liked. And what the majority of Lib Dem MPs would have preferred. So, naturally, many of us were disconcerted and disappointed by the outcome. How could we end up sleeping with the enemy? Should we blame Nick Clegg? Should we blame our negotiating team? I say, Balls! Ed Balls, that is, the ...
This morning's issue of The Times has a front page lead about the security authorities' concerns about David Cameron's insistence on walking around Whitehall. Cameron has also refused police motorcycle escorts when he is being driven in a car and demanded to be allowed to keep his BlackBerry smartphone. The newspaper says: There is increasing nervousness about the protection of the Prime Minister, who officials believe is making himself vulnerable to terrorists, lone obsessives and cyber-criminals.Well, maybe. But if you were in a responsible position and worried about the prime minister's security, wouldn't you have a quiet word with him ...
Sat 22nd
17:45
The LDV Saturday caption competition - the rather belated "Clegg & Cameron love-in" edition
There's no prize at stake - just the opportunity to prove you're wittier than any other LDV reader ... (Photo via EPA/ANDY RAIN). Here's David Cameron with his boss, the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg waving on the steps of Number 10 as they begin their task of leading the new coalition government. What do you reckon they might be thinking? The winner of our most recent caption competition, the "Nick Clegg meets Tardis" edition - according to The Voice's judging panel of one - was this one by Rob.
This morning, following concerns from residents, I reported to Network Rail the damage to the fencing at the rail line on Magdalen Green near to the footbridge over the railway at the green's west end. It is a great concern that children, adults and dogs would have no difficulty getting onto the rail line and I have asked Network Rail for urgent repairs.
The little white & black dog is our Bunty, and the larger dog is Millie, her older cousin. As you can see, Bunty is an expert in negotiation!
I suppose I could start a meme about this, if I could be bothered. Oh go on then, I will. I hereby tag Caron of the musings, Millennium of the Elephant and Mark of the reckonings. One of the, perhaps satisfying – perhaps depressing, things about surviving for a few years on this planet is that you find out the hard way not to do certain things. 1. Don't handle keys or mobile phones near drain grates. Unless you want to get very dirty and exhausted, or enjoy playing with metal coat hangers. 2. Don't submit your handwriting to a ...
The Welsh Language Society held a rally outside the Senedd this morning to protest against the inadequacy of the Welsh Language Measure. I was not able to be there but I fully sympathise with the points that they make and we will no doubt be seeking to amend it in due course. Interestingly, one of the key speakers at this rally will be newly elected Plaid Cymru MP, Jonathan Edwards. He has three suggestions as to how the measure can be improved: Firstly, I believe there's a need for a clearer and less ambiguous clause in the measure regarding establishing ...
I have previously mentioned the excellent Retro Dundee blog - and it has recently covered past times around the Hawkhill, including an interesting item about the former Corner Bar - now the Hawkhill Tavern - on the corner of Hawkhill and Peddie Street. It includes a great video clip of the area from the 1960s. See http://tinyurl.com/hawkhillpeddie. The photo below is from the 1980s :
How can it be the action of a civilised society to take a woman who has fled domestic violence and send her back to Pakistan with her 8 month old baby where she is at risk from reprisals from both her and her husband's family? Home Secretary Theresa May is imminently deporting Sehar Shabaz and her 8 month old daughter Wania. Sehar was at the centre of controversy earlier in the week after she and her baby were detained at Dungavel after both Tavish Scott and Alistair Carmichael had said that child detention would stop. It has now been confirmed ...
Just wondered. Last night on Sky she said "George's brother, Jeb, as you know is Governor of Florida". (I listened to it three times to check what I was hearing.) Well, er, no, he isn't actually. Charlie Crist is. Jeb Bush ended his term of office as Governor of Florida more than three years ago on January 2nd 2007. Or is this the strange American thing where they refer to people as a job they did years ago, even though about ten people have done it since? Like they call Presidents "Mr President" even though they left office twenty years ...
The full Coalition agreement, published this week, contained the following commitment: We will extend anonymity in rape cases to defendants. (Section 20 "Justice", page 24) This issue wasn't mentioned in either party's manifesto; nor, I believe, during the election campaign. Neither was it something to which the previous Government aspired. It had been voted through at the Liberal Democrat annual conference in 2006, but allowed to lie dormant since. The Lords approved it as an amendment in 2003 but it went no further. As such, it's a rather a bolt out of the blue. In the not-too-distant past, there was ...
As Convener of Edinburgh Community Safety Partnership I opened a conference on the topic of Hate Crime and remote reporting in particular yesterday. Edinburgh was the first City in Scotland to produce a Hate Crime Strategy a fact of which I am very proud! There have been many milestones in this campaign which is aimed at initially raising awareness of Hate Crime so that we can eradicate it altogether. To do that we need to get a proper picture of the problem, work with victims and perpetrators so we can change their behaviour. One of the problems we have is ...
One of the things that you can be certain about is uncertainty, and publishing the lists of candidates tends to demonstrate that theory. So, we've had some corrections... Matthew Folker isn't running for the post of Vice Chair Campaigns but is running to be Chair. Elizabeth Gawen isn't running to be Vice Chair Communications, but is running to be Vice Chair Campaigns. Sean Barnes is an additional candidate for General Executive Member. I'm trying to clarify the position of another candidate who apparently has a Facebook group but hasn't actually lodged a nomination form. More news as we have it... ...
I've been rather occupied elsewhere, and it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't produced my monthly report. So, here goes... April was, I have to confess, a bit disappointing, partly because I was so busy travelling around with Ros on the campaign trail, I didn't have much time to blog. I'll warn you now, the May figures are going to show a major improvement... Anyway, here are the numbers. Well, on the positive side, readership was down, with just 2,255 visits in April, compared to 2,602 in March (down 13.3%, or 10.4% adjusting for the uneven number of days), ...
Cross-posted from Liberal Democrat News: "This will be the first real internet election," was the oft-repeated claim made in the run up to 2010's national poll. So how did that claim stack up against the reality? Some will point to the hype surrounding the leaders' debates as evidence that television remains the dominant force. Ten million tuned into ITV on 15 April, and 'Cleggmania' gripped the nation for the next fortnight. Meanwhile, the principal gaffe of the campaign – Gordon Brown's 'Bigotgate' – was captured not by a citizen journalist, but was an old-fashioned 'hot-mike' incident caught by Sky News. ...
Catching up with the Moulsham Lodge Action Group at the community day at St Lukes
[IMG: The National - High Violet] I first became aware of The National at university. I was asked to review the lead single from what turned out to be their breakout album Alligator. That single, Lit Up, was revelatory, an instant introduction to the signature National sound: understated but insistent and, at times, wearily triumphant. Alligator itself seethed with the energy of a band becoming aware of its own place and its own potential; on tracks like 'Mr November' that energy occasionally threatened to overpower the band. There then followed a period of extensive touring which, I believe, had a ...
Sat 22nd
13:22
Vote labour - Vote for hypocrites - Vote for toadying candidates who are wise after the event
I know I ought to be astonished to see that Ed balls and Ed Miliband are now criticising the war in Iraq, and Labour's record of being one of the two main instigators of the war. The problem is, nothing about the duplicity of the Labour Party comes as a surprise anymore. The two "Ed's" excuse for being able to come out as anti war is that they were not MP's in 2003. The problem is, there excuse falls apart when you realise what they were doing in 2003. Now if Ed Balls was that upset about the war in ...
I am getting a little annoyed by that statement, repeated on 'Question Time'. First of all it was from Melanie Phillips. This week it was repeated again by a member of the audience. In one sense the statement "no one voted for this" is correct. Strictly speaking, no one did vote for this new government. But then again, no one has ever voted for a government in this country. It's a parliamentary system. We vote, and have always voted for, a member of parliament for our local area. All the elected members then decide, ultimately, who should form the government ...
To mock the Daily Mail is, however satisfying and amusing, to largely miss the point: it is its own best self-parody. Today's a case in point, as it dawns on the paper that a coalition government actually does mean the Lib Dems have some power. Devoid of irony, the Mail explodes with outrage: Clegg's power grab: Deputy PM will have even more influence than Mandelson did Yes, that's right: quite outrageously the leader of the party which won 23% of the national vote is set to have more power than an unelected peer. What is the country coming to? If ...
Coming back to my home base on Friday - after a week in the Home Office - my first 'visit' of the new term was to my old school - Highgate Primary. It couldn't really have been more appropriate if we had tried - because Highgate Primary has within its boundaries - the Blanche Nevile School. Blanche Nevile is a school for deaf children which provides a child-centred, sign-bilingual, bicultural education for deaf children from a wide range of London Boroughs. The deaf and hard of hearing children have some classes on their own and some integrated - and it ...
The Cabinet Office website has details of all the Cabinet Committees and who sits on which. What's notable from the Liberal Democrat perspective is the depth of both Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander's involvement in them. Danny sits on eight of the eleven committees whilst Nick is Chair, Co-Chair or Deputy Chair of five. The role of Cabinet Committees has varied greatly over the years, but in a government where negotiating policy agreements is at the the heart of its day-to-day work, the committees will be more than just talking shops passing the time until the Prime Minister decides.
Road works are to be carried out at Station Road (B4060) in Yate from 1st-26th June. These will involve upgrading an existing pedestrian crossing, widening Station Road (to accommodate three lanes on the approach to Morrison's roundabout), amending an existing island and carrying out three utility connections. The road will then be resurfaced. The work will be done in three phases: Phase 1. 1st June - 13th June. Civils work. Morrison's Roundabout to JunctionThe Glen. Access to all roads and car parks will be available at all times via Link Road. Phase 2. 14th June - 20th June. Carriageway Resurfacing. ...
On Monday Lib Dem Councillors persuaded the Cabinet to add a legally binding minimum recycling-recovery target of 50% to its revised contract with SITA and to revise arrangements to encourage people to reduce waste. Cllr. Dave Hockey said after the meeting "It's a good job we were on the ball and made sure that this key target is to be included in the revised contract for SITA and is legally binding. "This target is made possible because at long last the Tory administration has finally accepted the benefits of providing the kerbside plastic bottle and food waste ollection service that ...
Yesterday I took part in a panel on this topic at #Jeecamp2010. You can watch again the live tweeting of the event here. The main point I made was that the combination of opening up government data, extending freedom of information and publishing details of government contracts will provide a flood of raw material. It not only will make it easier for those outside the traditional media to cover stories in expert detail but also will make it necessary for them to do so for the health of our democracy - because the traditional media is unlikely to be able ...
This article first appeared on the Liberal Democrat Voice blog on Friday 21 May. ========================================================== [IMG: Don Fabio] Watery sunlight creeps through the gap between the plush curtains as you groggily open your eyes. A cappuccino rests on the bedside table, next to the designer spectacles which have become your trademark. Wearily, you begin to sit up, turning on the DAB radio as you sip the smoking tide. But in the dulcet tones of Evan Davis you begin to discern a disturbing development. "In a shock move, the Football Association last night voted to open the selection of England's final ...
I have to admit, I didn't guess who 6620 was. That was a really good finale; tied up a lot of loose ends, did so without deus ex machina, and felt like it reached a conclusion for each of the characters without actually closing all of them off forever. And yet... and yet... It felt rushed, especially the climactic scenes; I read somewhere that the original cut had been 20 minutes longer, and this doesn't surprise me. I didn't cry, although I expected to. I think I need to watch it again. ( Spoilers under the cut ) All in ...
Under Major, Blair and Brown, the UK Government has followed a deliberate policy of running down its internal IT expertise and relying on external providers – mostly big companies like Capita and EDS – to provide IT expertise, systems and services. The result, many argue, has been expensive IT that's been very successful in maximising the profits of the consultants but rather less good at meeting the needs of the public sector or, for that matter, the public. Project after project has run massively over budget and time, with the companies responsible often seeming to be rewarded for their shortcomings. ...
Monday, a visit from old friends Akin Birdal and Akif Wan, with Ali Has, to discuss the current situation of the Kurds in Turkey, and particularly the crackdown on the Kurdish political party the DTP, and its 20 MPs. Turkey is still a long way short of compliance with EU requirements on freedom of expression, assembly and association, and there needs to be more work on making Praliaments, media in Europe aware of these problems. The EU enlargement commissioner does produce a report towards the end of each year on the progress Turkey is making towards satisfying the conditions, but ...
I'm not a huge fan of either Lily Allen or Lady Gaga, I like some of each of their music but wouldn't know the name of any of their albums. Both are products of the internet generation, both are young, pretty, musically talented and media icons; though Lily's star does seem to be waning a bit in the last year. Both played hit sets at Glastonbury last year. You would expect them both to have similar opinions about file sharing and people downloading their music for free. Lily's opinion of file sharing is well known, she is [was] a leading ...
My colleague, David Tattersall, has the story over on the Meols Ward blog. Pity Conservative parliamentary candidate Brenda Porter. Not only did she have her campaign billboards defaced, but local paper the Southport Champion began its report on the vandalism by describing her as "Southport paramilitary candidate." Not quite the image the touchy-feely Cameronite Tories wanted to project.
This has nothing to do with poltics and hat tip to Alison Wheeler who put this up on her blog; this is just sooooo cute! <p>Meet the sloths from Amphibian Avenger on Vimeo.</p> Posted via web from jochristiesmith's posterous
Council: Workington Town Council Electoral Region: North West Electorate: 3,350 Lillian Baldry (The Labour Party Candidate) 324 votes (69.1%) Stephen Stddard (Non Party Independent) 145 votes (30.9%) Lillian Baldry is therefore duly elected Labour HOLD with a majority of 179 (38.2%) Turnout: 14%
As we start to prepare for a referendum on the Alternative Vote, two words are bothering me. They are Proportional Representation. These words massively simplify the possibilities of electoral reform and unfortunately cloud the issue. Some talk about 'Electoral Reform', but this is far to vague for a referendum and I believe we need a new mantra. Not PR or ER, but PV. Preferential Voting. This may sound like a tedious matter of semantics, but when it comes to elections and referenda, the structure of your rhetoric will determine the nature of the debate, and the eventual outcome. Switching the ...
I'm quite excited to report that I have been accepted as a participant in the CABLED electric car project. This is the local part of a national trial running with a wide variety of electric and plug in electric hybrid cars. There will be 110 cars from six manufacturers being trialled for 12 months on the streets of Birmingham and Coventry, with the aim of helping to understand the environmental and economic implications of electric vehicles. It will include not just the cars themselves but the installation of public charging points. The car I have been selected to drive is ...
Peter Bingle, chairman of Bell Pottinger Public Affairs, writes a daily blog that covers politics, opera and anything that catches his eye. It is witty, clever, insightful and very much a reflection of the author. Here he muses on the 'retirement' of Lord Mandelson from the political stage. It is an affectionate and quite brilliant piece.
I saw the recent news item that reported Ken Clarke and David Laws had agreed to cuts in legal aid, which, on the face of it, isn't out of the question. I realise that there are cuts that have to be made but the larger question is 'how do we make sure they are reasonable?' There really needs to be deliberation with people who work in a particular area before the decision is made. I would like to see the ministers engage with the industries and those that work in them beforehand rather than have to backtrack after the cuts ...
I have been thinking a lot about communities and I was trying to think of a suitable metaphor for one. At first I thought about a multi-celled orgabusim, how they have different cells that all make up one whole. However I realised this left no possiblity for leaving that organism and joining another. So I ... Read more
First thought: it's interesting that most usage of 'the Coalition' are now using the capital C of the proper noun for it, which implies some sort of permanence to it, perhaps. This is helped by official Government documents using the same convention, of course. The implication, though, is that Britain is being run not by ...
The Electoral Commission is currently consulting on its draft performance standards for Counting Officers in Great Britain, which will supplement the existing standards for Electoral Registration Officers and Returning Officers. Counting Officers are the people who administer a referendum in a particular area, much like in the London Assembly and Mayor elections the borough returning officers administer the election in their area on behalf of the London Returning Officer. Here is the response I've sent in: Dear Lindsey Taber, Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the draft performance standards for Counting Officers. My comments are as follows: Performance ...
Is there a war going on? Today Ed Balls said in the Telegraph that the war on Iraq was was "wrong" and "a mistake". Going on to say: "We shouldn't have changed our argument from international law to regime change in a non-transparent way. It was an error for which we as a country paid a heavy price, and for which many people paid with their lives. "Saddam Hussein was a horrible man, and I am pleased he is no longer running Iraq. But the war was wrong." Ed Miliband told the Guardian the decision to go to war was ...
See, a week into a Liberal Democrat coalition government and what do we have? Brilliant sunshine. Surely this never happened under Labour. Unfotunately, I can find reason to whinge because I am not going to be spending the day lying in the garden soaking up rays, but will be ensconced in a Scottish Liberal Democrats' Executive. And it's bound to go on for ages because people will want to talk about the election and the aftermath. It will be great to see people though and no doubt we'll end up in the pub at lunchtime. Not, of course, that I'm ...
I have really been enjoying this series of Dr Who, despite my pre-season cynicism. The change over to Matt Smith didn't result in a younger David Tenant as I feared it could but instead he has his own uniqueness about him whilst keeping some constant elements of the Dr's character. He also appears to have some real flaws having ... Read more
I blogged a while ago about how we had spent a small amount of money from the sum that ward councillors can allocate on checking whether trees could be planted on Stamfordham Drive. The results were positive and we then asked Council staff to consult people living on S Drive about whether or not they wanted trees planted. The survey forms have gone out now and a few have already come back. The deadline is this coming Friday (28th). If you live on S Drive and have had a form do please send it back as it's important we have ...
A few days ago it was announced that the number of unemployed people in the UK had risen to over 2.5 millions. Yet since the initial announcement there has been little mention of the this in the media, and the coalition "programme for government" declares that tackling the alleged financial crisis is its first and most urgent priority. In the 1970s, when Michale Foot was minister responsibly for employment, we watched with bated breath as the number of unemployed people rose inexorably towards 500 000. There was serious discussion as to whether or not a stable society could survive if ...
Today the Prime Minister has been busy executing section 13 of the coalition agreement, leading on not leading in Europe. Sending a somewhat confused message that could be interpreted as a willingness to block eurozone countries from legislating to support the single currency, regardless of whether or not it involves the UK. But analysis of the evolving new European policy will have to wait, there is still half a coalition agreement to review. IMMIGRATION: A liberal-conservative immigration policy was always going to be a curious pushmepullyou. On the liberal side an end to detaining children and greater focus on tackling ...
Sloth! Cute!
