The Queens Speech is of course the news of the day. What a shock to the system to have Lib Dem policies being read out, almost as though it was the natural thing to do - well it is to some of us. Given the raucous sounds from Labour benches it is going to be a rough ride, but then they are not going to admit that much is what they ought to have been doing anyway. They should be ashamed that...
You may have read on local news websites about a Police armed response team being called out to an eviction in Moorland Road, Launceston where a woman had an air rifle. Having talked to the Police, it appears that the news reports are not completely accurate. I understand that an eviction was taking place but the householder barricaded herself in the house and told the eviction team that she had a gun. At this point the Police were called and an armed response team was despatched. Given that they had no idea what sort of gun they were dealing with ...
Tue 25th
23:18
Liberal Youth: I think that, maybe, I'm certain I have the final list of candidates (probably)
It has been a long, and occasionally bewildering, road for this Returning Officer. I have to admit that, after the General Election campaign, I was weary in a way that I have never been before, and somewhat disorientated, not perhaps the most optimal state for taking on the organisation of a Liberal Youth election. Luckily, with the accession of the coalition, my life has calmed down a little bit, and I have found myself rather enjoying having to deal with a bunch of charmingly enthusiastic young people, most of whom are polite, appropriately (but not overly) respectful and keen to ...
Huge congratulations to everyone who organised the consultation event in the town square today and to the more than 400 people who had their say. The Butter Market gazebos kept the sun off and there were display boards setting out the issues that face our town and to which people could attach their thoughts. There was also a very decent questionnaire asking for peoples' priorities. It was also great to see the range of people taking part - including a large number of young people. The Forum will now be collating the results and these will be well publicised. If ...
Newly elected Lib Dem MP for Redcar constituency, Ian Swales, has welcomed today's Queen's Speech saying that many important Liberal Democrat policies will be implemented by the coalition Government in the next 18 months. Mr Swales said: "I am very pleased that so many Liberal Democrat priorities that I have campaigned on during the election campaign will now be put in place to make our country fairer. "Policies like a fairer and simpler tax system, restoring the link between earnings and pensions, restoring freedom and civil liberties by scrapping ID cards and passing a Great Repeal Bill that we have ...
Today at County Hall there was a Communities Scrutiny discussion about how the Council should respond to petitions. This debate was forced on the Council by an arbitrary deadline set by the Government that is not longer in office. Unfortunately, because it has yet to be overturned by the new Government, Cornwall Council still has to follow the timetable set out. The first part of the debate was about what constitutes a petition. In fact, this debate was somewhat irrelevant. A petition has to be responded to properly and in a timely manner. Because Cornwall Council already has a code ...
A trio of tuneful and distinctive singers from Peebles - "an eclectic mix that ranges from 16th century madrigals through traditional folk songs to 1970s chart hits" Saturday 29th May 2010, 10.30am for 11.00am at the Wighton Centre - Upstairs in Dundee Central Library. Admission £5, includes coffee and newspapers served from 10.30 am Tickets available on the door.
We had an excellent meeting of the Friends of Magdalen Green committee this evening at which, following our concerns about recent damage to the green caused by disposable barbeques, a senior representative of the City Council's Leisure & Communities Department attended and we discussed alternative BBQ provision that would ensure no damage to the green. The agreed solution? Picnic tables with BBQ bricks - see below - as at Tentsmuir across the Tay. Information about our public meeting in June to follow ...
Tom King makes some excellent points about the Parliament Square protests here. I cannot believe the reactionary codswallop erupting from some of our more veteran volcanic commenters on this issue: Adam Boulton asks: Why should everyone else have to skirt round Haw's ego trip? Hello? Am I missing something? The Brian Haw campette is in the middle of Parliament Square where hardly anyone goes. You don't have to "skirt round" it. It's there in the middle. You might walk past it. It is not a problem. (And anyway he seems to have missed the fact that Haw isn't the issue ...
I got my netbook, an EeePC 1005HA, in December last year to replace my MacBook after experiencing a hard drive failure and not being able to afford to buy a new Mac. It came with Windows XP installed, though I traded the license for a slice of cheesecake and installed Debian testing/squeeze over the top of it. For a short while, it worked fabulously, but I started experiencing problems around the time I moved to London - first, it crashed mid-update and as the part being updated at the time was GNOME, I rebooted to find myself minus a GUI. ...
Just in from a Friends of Magdalen Green committee meeting and a cover of this superb 1980 hit from the Korgies was on the telly - on Luther on BBC1/BBC HD. The Korgies' version is rather better than that on TV tonight as this video shows :
Liz Kendall, the new Labour MP for Leicester West, has been reported to the Westminster authorities for taking a photograph during the Queen's Speech and posting it on Twitter, though it is not clear if any action will be taken against her. What Kendall did not know is that there is a ban on taking photographs in the Commons and Lords. (I know television pictures of them are beamed around the world, but I don't make the rules.) But she cannot be the first person to have broken this ban, as I have a clear memory of having seen an ...
Don't know what Towel Day is? It's the day when Douglas Adams fans celebrate his life every year by carrying a Towel around with them. Stephen takes us through the day with a series of Adams and Hitchhiker related posts. I'm only an amateur, but I have a feeling that the times of the posts are not what you'd call a coincidence. I will love Charlotte Gore forever for making me howl with laughter with this post about a certain Swedish shop we all love. You may want to hazard a guess about what kind of table I have and ...
Of course this the Towel Day IX, not to be confused with Ix (which means boy who cannot sufficiently explain what a Hrung is, nor why it should choose to collapse on Betelgeuse Seven). Of course a boy with just that name came to Earth to expand on the entry in the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy from harmless, to something more substantial. After some research he settled on the name Ford Prefect as being inconspicuous. But as the day draws to a close it is time for the immortal toast. To absent friends. So long and thanks for ...
No meetings today, and the weather was reasonably good so I went for my first long walk in a few months – probably the first proper walk I've done since the Roman Circus one back in February, actually. Mostly places I've been before, starting with the back route to West Bergholt (detailed here) and then following ...
just like heinz's many varieties this speech has it all and i really like it rock on nicky
It is worth spending a moment reflecting on just how remarkable today's Queen's Speech is from a Liberal Democrat perspective. We have become conditioned to believe that the policies we develop will never be implemented. A good intellectual exercise but nothing more. Yet here we have a programme for government of which we can be proud. It contains an extraordinary list of Liberal Democrat commitments on which we fought the general election. Right from the start the speech grabs attention: My Government's legislative programme will be based upon the principles of freedom, fairness and responsibility. Who would have dreamt of ...
Oh dear. Sky report that new Leicester West Labour MP Liz Kendall has earned the disapproval of Parliamentary authorities after posting a photo of the House of Lords after the Queen's Speech on Twitter. There are people who say that iPhones bring nothing but trouble, because it's so easy just to take a picture and tweet without thinking but to be honest I think that Parliament needs to be dragged into the 21st century. I really don't have a problem with somebody posting a photograph on a social network of an event that's being televised. Parliament belongs to us all ...
Charlotte Gore seems to have a problem with Ikea tables.Lib Dem Voice have details of the 23 Lib Dem policies that have made it into The Queen's Speech. Or 22 if you discount the referendum on AV which was not actually Lib Dem policy, but still, 22 aint bad for a kick-off.The Fink wonders why some Labour leadership candidates are holding back with their nominations and I am inclined to agree. Have they not heard of the Big Mo!?Alix Mortimer has a suggestion for a future attendee at Lib Dem Conference which I second. Tuesday bonus: Whilst I was working ...
The Minor Injury Service at the new Yate West Gate Centre will now open on the 22nd June. NHS South Gloucestershire says that it will offer a seven-days-a week drop-in service, for children and adults, to treat a whole range of minor injuries from cuts to sprains, from bites to shoulder and leg injuries. All patients will be seen by an Emergency Nurse Practitioner or an Emergency Care Practitioner who have a wide experience of dealing with minor injuries, and a digital X-ray facility is available on site. Patients do not need to make an appointment, and the new Minor ...
And that applies to both sides in the ongoing saga of the 'Democracy Village' that currently occupies Parliament Square. [IMG: Parliament Square] Parliament Square, in happier times. My instincts naturally told me I should side with the protesters, rather than those who wanted to see them evicted from their temporary home. This was not based on any knowledge of what they claimed to be protesting about. Rather, it was based on the tenuous and occasionally offensive arguments used against them. For example, Iain Dale has been railing against them for a couple of days, but his main arguments seem to ...
Tue 25th
18:56
New LDV members' survey now live: coalition, Labour leadership, & Lib Dem election assessment
The new LDV members' survey is now live. So if you are one of the 1,000+ registered members of the Liberal Democrat Voice forum - and any paid-up party member is welcome to join - then you now have the opportunity to make your views known. Questions we are asking your opinion on include: - your views on the full Lib Dem / Conservative coalition agreement; - how long you expect the coalition government to last; - what you think of the Labour leadership contest; and - your assessment of the Lib Dems' general election performance. It should take no ...
Ian Swales with local residents unhappy about the potential closure. The planned closure of Marske Post Office has been postponed, as a potential new owner has been found. Ian Swales, MP for Redcar, is reported to be delighted that the post office may be saved. He said, "I have spoken to the person interested in taking over and given advice about running the business and sources of funds. There's still a way to go, but I am very hopeful that the post office operation will continue. I will help in any way I can. "I want to thank the hundreds ...
As you've probably heard, the new East London line of the London Overground started operating its full service on Sunday, and I joined colleagues, residents and the Forest Hill Society for our own inaugaral trip to Dalston Junction. As you can see in the photo we had plenty of balloons, and also entertainment from the ...
Fascinating bit of research here from top psephologist John Curtice who makes the point that hung parliaments are now quite likely to keep happening, even under First Past the Post. He cites three preconditions for FPTP to be able to regularly deliver overall majorities: If first past the post is to be a reliable instrument for delivering single party majority government to whoever comes first in votes, three conditions have to hold. First, the system should dissuade most voters from backing third parties on the grounds that doing so constitutes a wasted vote. Moreover, when votes are cast for third ...
To be honest I love going on the stump, all of it! Even though you know it is going to be a very hard campaign. There are none harder than campaigning for a liberal party in the deeply polarised area West of the Bann. The hardest bit is getting started - Knowing that whatever you do, however hard you fight, however good your arguments or your candidates, you are going to lose and lose very big. The street pounding, the leafleting, the phone calls, the "grip and grin", the talking, talking, talking, persuasion, persuasion, persuasion, cajoling, joling, joling, joling. The ...
When Douglas Adams died he was working. He was writing! Yes that does deserve an exclamation mark as any Adams fan will tell you of Douglas's oft repeated phrase: "I love the sound of deadlines. The sound they make as they whoosh past my head." Yes he wasn't good at meeting deadlines, but when he wasn't restricted by them his creative juices coud flow. It seemed from this his last interview that he was sadly, prematurely cut off midflow.
Over the next few years, life in local government will all be about cuts. Councils of every political shade will be forced to shed jobs to save money. Local public sector partners will also be in the same boat. Redundancies, outsourcing and restructuring will be at the forefront of every Chief Executive's mind. Yet local authorities and their partners will also have to deal with the impact of putting thousands of people out of work. As the public sector shrinks to help pay the deficit, there is no guarantee that the private sector will pick up the slack. Unemployment and ...
I like a lot of what is in the Queen's Speech. It has a lot of Lib Dem policy in it, particularly the following two proposals: Freedom (Great Repeal) Bill Will limit the amount of time that DNA profiles of innocent people can be held on national database. Will tighten regulation on the use of CCTV cameras, remove limits on right to peaceful protest. The storage of DNA is a power devolved to the Scottish Parliament. The Bill would adopt the Scottish model. Identity Documents Bill Will scrap identity cards and National Identity Register introduced by Labour and cancel the ...
I was pleased today to see so many Lib Dem policies in the Queens Speech today. In particular I was pleased to see the proposed Pensions and Savings Bill, which among other things proposes to bring about "the restoration of the link between earnings and the basic State Pension". Long overdue and why labour didn't do it for 13 years is beyond me. It is essential that the state pension rises so I welcome this. Too many pensioners I met during the election were living in poverty. I trust Labour MPs will support this. The full list of bills and ...
The Local Government Association has given its response to the proposal by the Conservative/Liberal Democrat government to save £6.2billion. This response, (this is the LGA response, not necessarily the Liberal Democrat response), is as follows: Responding to the coalition Government's announcement of £6.2 billion of savings, Dame Margaret Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: "We all know cuts are necessary and councils are ready to talk to the Government about how these cuts are implemented and limit their impact on front-line services. Town halls have delivered savings year after year and know about taking difficult decisions on spending. ...
The Times reports that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is to get his own Question Time: The event, which has the broad agreement of the Speaker but is yet to be signed off by the new government, is likely to take place on Thursdays and be "bolted on" to Business Questions, where the agenda for the Commons is outlined. This will be seen as a sop to the Lib Dems who now sit on the government benches and lose the rights of opposition parties to cross-question the Prime Minister. Deputy Prime Minister's Questions will take place once a month rather ...
There is no agreement between Liberal Democrats and Conservatives in the European Parliament. We fight on, at the same time delighting in the Tory europhobes' anger and frustration at being denied the influence they had hoped to command. There is no special relationship between the different political groups (ALDE and ECR) to which the MEPs belong, and we respect the EU separation of powers between the Council of Ministers and the Parliament whatever government is in office. We have different jobs to do. All of which should help reassure those who fear that the coalition agreement risks diluting the Liberal ...
Local councils have started sending out threatening notices to the 300,000 people in England who get their water from a spring or a well. The 'Private Water Supplies Regulations 2009' require them to enforce compliance with new quality requirements. They can charge households up to £500 for carrying out a 'risk assessment' and further sums for sampling, investigating, and 'granting an authorisation.' I guess everyone who gets water from a private source knows that it has not been pumped full of bacteria-killing chemicals and, even when it tastes fantastic, may present a risk. If a collection tank is exposed perhaps ...
Am really rushed off my feet - buying a house, 2 documentaries (one already commissioned), plus film and theatre developments and trying to write 2 books. So sorry for temp lack of blogging.
Welcome to the fourth in a series of posts going through the full coalition agreement section by section. You can read the full coalition document here. A brief section on consumer protection offers a handful of positive policies – such as strong consumer protection, more pressure on credit card companies to keep their customers fully informed and clearer food labelling – which could have featured in any party's manifesto. There is also the well meaning but fantastically vague promise to "take forward measures to enhance customer service in the private and public sectors". Make of that what you will... The ...
There was a worry that once the general election was over this blog would go into decline. Having concentrated so much on the battle for Luton South, the concern was that after all the votes had been counted and the winner declared I would have nothing to write about. That has proved not to be the case. The election result was not an end of the excitement, but the beginning of an extraordinary period in politics. So there has been no shortage of things to write about nor of things that I have wanted to say. Yet, this blog has ...
Tue 25th
15:23
The acceptable "eyesore" of democracy - and the cobblers about "pomp and circumstance"
It's always good to read Iain Dale's Diary just to have something to oppose. First – "Pomp and circumstance": Labour may have tried to ruin many of our ancient traditions during their 13 years in power, but they couldn't quite ruin the ceremony attached to the State Opening of Parliament. Watching it, as I am at the moment, I am struck by what it represents and the centuries of tradition which have led to what is playing out at the moment. No other country in the world can do pomp and circumstance like this and we should be proud of ...
Just in case anybody thinks I have a complete downer on Plaid Cymru and their crazy ideas I thought it might be worth mentioning the entirely sensible comments of former Welsh Minister, Rhodri Glyn Thomas in this morning's Western Mail. Personally, I would disagree with Rhodri on the funding of education and health but otherwise he provides a healthy dose of realism for the fantasists in his own party and in Labour who believe that a kneejerk oppositionism is the only possible response to the new government: "We're into a new era, and it's the responsibility of us as politicians ...
I see that one of the first swings of the axe by the new coalition Government was £650 million on the transport budget. I wonder whether the good offices of our new MP will ensure the dualling happens. Somehow I doubt that this road will now be completed anytime soon.
This is a copy of a letter that I will be sending to Wembley Stadium, and to local newspapers in Cardiff and Blackpool to encourage fans to demand money back from the shoddy service that was given to us fans before, during and after the game. On the weekend, I visited Wembley Stadium to see Cardiff City take on Blackpool in the Championship Playoff Final. Unfortunately, Cardiff lost the game, but that's not what I wish to focus on today. I would like to congratulate Blackpool on their victory and hope the experiences I have listed below did not spoil ...
Whilst there is a lot that I love about Douglas Adams, there are a few things were we disagree. One of those if God. I believe there is one, Douglas believed there wasn't. What I do appreciate though is that he wasnt a lazy atheist he was someone who thought about it, often and he was someone who put his thoughts into words. Of course I would urge you like Douglas to look for yourself and don't his or my word for it.
Welsh Government Deputy Minister for Children, Huw Lewis appears in this morning's Western Mail describing the decision to scrap Child Trust funds as 'evil'. Huw may disagree with the decision but even he must at some stage regret the language that he is using to respond to it. After all if a policy decision such as this is 'evil' then what term will we use to describe child abuse or some of the other evils that exist in the World? How do we describe the failure of the Labour Government over the last 13 years to reach their own targets ...
In case you haven't seen it yet here is the Labour uncut website which has had its comments (questions for Ed Balls) takeover by various nefarious characters all looking for a cheap shot at Ed, naturally I saw an opportunity for a silly comment and welcomed it with open arms. I some how doubt ... Read more
The Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, Roger Williams, has welcomed the adoption of Liberal Democrat policies in the Queen's Speech. These include measures to make the tax and benefits system fairer and simpler, scrap ID cards and repeal unnecessary laws, and invest in high-speed broadband. The Speech also outlined a radical package to reform our political system, including plans for a referendum on the Alternative Vote, a wholly or mainly elected House of Lords, and a recall law to ensure MPs who have been found guilty of wrongdoing can be kicked out by their constituents. It confirmed ...
There is a strand in Liberalism stemming from the Utilitarians that is totally dismissive of the concept of human rights. Bentham called such rights 'nonsense on stilts'. John Stuart Mill, often considered the founder of modern liberalism, viewed such rights as individuals were conceded to have as depending on what led to the greatest happiness of the greatest number at any one time. Rights could change as circumstances and individuals did. Given that, it is perhaps surprising that Liberal Democrats seem to fear, almost as a knee-jerk reaction, any call for a review of Human Rights legislation. After all Schedule ...
Dear Huw, Please look at your own record when criticising the decision to take away the Child Trust Fund. Look at the Anti-Child record of this Labour Government. Look at the third of Welsh children who live in poverty, the 1,400 families living in temporary accommodation, and the 21,000 families living in overcrowded accommodation, look at the fact that British children are the unhappiest in Europe. Look at the fact that 65% of children in your own seat of Merthyr Tydfil that fail to get 5 good A*-C grades at GCSE. Look at the record levels of unemployment, and the ...
It was satisfying (and still a little surreal) to see so many Liberal Democrat policies make it into today's Queen's Speech, including the party's major priorities: fair taxes, a fair start for children, a green and sustainable economy, and a comprehensive clean up of politics. Making the tax and benefits system fairer and simpler, including a significant increase in the personal allowance and an ambition to increase it to £10,000 Restoring the earnings link to pensions Greater freedoms for teachers over the curriculum Measures to improve energy efficiency in homes and businesses Support for low carbon energy production Financial services ...
I have just asked the First Minister again on the issue of long-term empty homes around Wales. Shelter Cymru estimate that there are 26,000 such properties in the private sector, whilst the Government's own statistics put the figure at 21,000. I am pleased that the Deputy Minister for Housing has now adopted the Welsh Liberal Democrat policy of offering Councils the choice of imposing higher Council Tax on these properties so as to compensate the community for the blight that they have had to suffer, though she did not give us credit for the idea when she last spoke on ...
Transatlantic Shepherds Bush O2 - Lee H Photo off MySpace - click pic for link What can I say? Gritting through the pain until the pain became a heavy numbness and leaning heavily upon my walking stick I saw the most amazing gig I have seen in many a year. Also one of the longest gigs with only 6 songs played, I have ever seen. Hang on, it is the longest gig I have seen with only 6 songs played. But what a GIG!!! Opening with The Whirlwind (all of it, 77 + minutes) in the first set alone. the ...
Is that a headline you expected to read even a month ago? Yet today HM The Queen announced a large number of Lib Dem policies as part of the coming year's legislative programme, including the party's major priorities: fair taxes, a fair start for children, a green and sustainable economy, and a comprehensive clean up of politics. Here's the full list: 1. Making the tax and benefits system fairer and simpler, including a significant increase in the personal allowance and an ambition to increase it to £10,000 2. Restoring the earnings link to pensions 3. Greater freedoms for teachers over the curriculum 4. Measures ...
My Lords and Members of the House of Commons
I'm stressed. You can tell I'm stressed because I lost about two days last week to depression after a full blown anxiety episode - the details of which I'm not going into because frankly, they'd probably be triggering. You can tell I'm stressed because I woke up at 4.30 on Sunday morning in pain because eczema had flared up on my feet. You can tell I'm stressed because of the large amounts of time I've spent playing flash games/solitaire just so my brain can have the white noise. You can tell because my mindfulness has taken a huge hit. Socially, ...
Here is a selection of issues making headlines during the past week: Coalition government: 'Right thing to get into bed...' - Local politicians discuss the new Coalition Patients left on hold after problems with appointment system - More problems at Heathwood and Wrexham Hospitals CAMPAIGNERS who walked out of a council meeting have vowed to fight plans for housing development. Ashwell challenges MP in economic recovery This weeks bonus is the news that Reading will now also have a Lib-Con Coalition council If you know of any other local political stories then please add them in the comments below.
Recent TV viewers will know that the brilliant Stephen Fry went on his own Last Chance to See but of course it was his friend Douglas Adams who went first. In fact Douglas was only meant to go and see the Aye-Aye and other celebrities were meant to do the rest. But the partnership he struck up with Mark Carwardine and the passion he garnered for the subject of wildlife meant that he ended up doing the whole lot. Here is Douglas with towel (appropriately for today) talking about that first trip.
One the day when The Queen announced the following bill during the opening of parliament: Freedom (Great Repeal) Bill Will limit the amount of time that DNA profiles of innocent people can be held on national database. Will tighten regulation on the use of CCTV cameras, remove limits on right to peaceful protest. The storage of DNA is a power devolved to the Scottish Parliament. The Bill would adopt the Scottish model. The following happened: Parliament Square anti-war protester Brian Haw arrested Parliament Square protester Brian Haw has been arrested for obstructing police during searches of tents on the green. ...
I know this sounds po-faced, but somehow all the pomp and majesty of today's State Opening of Parliament doesn't quite seem to fit in with the dawning of the Age of Austerity. Is the ceremony we've just witnessed like a sort of political Shrove Tuesday where we feast on plenty before the lean years start? I just wonder how much it all cost and although I kind of like some of the quaint traditions, is it really necesary to have lots of Yeomen, for example, searching the Palace of Westminster vaults for Guy Fawkes when kids may not have enough ...
A couplet of TED talks from Sir Ken Robinson. The first is from 2006: The second is from this year: (In a manner of speaking Ken Robinson has already been to Lib Dem conference, because I'm pretty sure Clegg's speechwriters filched one of his anecdotes one year.) I'll let the talks speak for themselves, but ...
With very little to report on by way of by-elections, this week's one and only electoral contest was for a seat on Workington Town Council and sported no Liberal Democrat candidate, the ALDC by-elections team has decided to spend the week number-crunching our election results and are presenting some edited highlights here. With a net loss of between 129 and 136 council seats (the discrepancy between our - latter - figures and the BBC's appears to be the result of different approaches to classifying seats that have seen defections), it was a bad night for Liberal Democrats in local government. ...
So many things going on in the markets... and even as the North Korean regime tries to start a war, the Spanish banks fall to pieces, the Greek economy falls into smaller pieces, yet still the death throes of the Labour Party attract my attention. Oooo... Please, please: choose a Miliband, no pur..lease! I so want the Labour Party dead. These are identikit professional politicians - bloodless, passionless and unprincipled, they represent why the Labour Party lost its soul the day they chose Tony Blair as its "leader". That discount Caudillo trampled any basic principle that the Socialist Party ever ...
I should perhaps have been more explicit when I said 'Signing Off'. This is the last post on this blog until further notice. I have unexpectedly been offered an advisory position to the new government, and so for many different reasons can no longer keep this going. Many thanks to all of you for making ...
I'm intrigued which way Labour are going to play tonight's Annual Council. A cheery 'hello' to Labour members over the last week has been met by largely mono-syllabic responses. I don't think they have taken it well. I am looking forward to a particularly hysterical speech from Mrs. Ruhemann. Or maybe Tony Page will oblige with one of his fact-free contributions. It would be terrible if they walked out and spoiled Gul Khan's big day. That would be churlish. But in the spirit of inter-party co-operation I would suggest that Gul could save the council tax payers' money on the ...
Our politics emphasises the differences between parties. Much as voters say they want parties to work together, to agree more, to be more constructive, those that do it are often punished in the polls and at the ballot box. If you want someone to vote for you and not the other guy, it's more effective to say how you differ than how you're alike. "I agree with Nick" didn't turn out to be the winning strategy for Gordon Brown – Labour did better when they were shouting about where they disagreed with Nick – and with Dave. The result is ...
So we made the decision – the poker cards are in our hands and we have a long game to play. We are coalition partners in a Liberal Conservative government so let's make the most of it. To my mind it has three defining characteristics: 1. To act in the national interest for the long ...
.... For All the Fish Yes today as any Douglas Adams fan will tell you in towel day. Do you know where yours is? So to celebrate here is the opening title sequence of the film that Douglas was working on when he unfortunately died of a heart attack. There is some dispute about the worthiness of this opening to the film. But as Douglas was constantly tweaking with the concept I've also heard that it was his idea to open with a musical number. Lest we forget the so long and thanks for all the fish bit in the ...
Today's Queen's Speech will give us a much better idea than the coalition document about what the government thinks are the urgent priorities for the nation. The coalition document is a framework for the next five years, but it doesn't tell us anything about the order of those ideas... After all, how many times have ...
Welcome to the third in a series of posts going through the full coalition agreement section by section. You can read the full coalition document here. Traditionally Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have far from seen eye to eye over local government with devolving liberals and centralising conservatives taking fundamentally different approaches. However, this policy area offers a classic example of Cameron's move to take his party towards a liberal centre-ground creating some genuine overlap in outlook where very little existed before. Large parts of the Conservative Party's general election manifesto on devolving power could have been taken from previous Liberal ...
Tue 25th
10:06
A dire warning for School leavers - there are no jobs, no training and no university places left.
Well £6.2billion down – only £887bn to go. But what do the coalition decisions to date really tell us about the direction of this government? Well first, they are serious about protecting and enhancing civil-liberties – which is something we can all cheer about. Secondly, the other thing that is keeping Lib-Dems happy (or at ...
Much has been written about Theresa May's somewhat less-than-enlightened voting record on a variety of sex issues, particularly gay rights. And today I was perusing Lib Dem Voice when I came across this statement from a comment-leaver: "At least five of Nick Clegg's cabinet colleagues voted against Labour's repeal of Section 28" So, getting an assistant on the case, I thought I'd look into who exactly voted against the repeal. Some results are as follows. "No", rather confusingly, means they voted for the repeal. "Aye" means they voted against the repeal. Here goes: Ian Duncan Smith AYE Cheryl Gillan AYE ...
I was brought up watching Ray Alan and Lord Charles on the telly. They used to pop up all over the place. Ray Alan was a very gentle-mannered and affable chap. But his quiet manner belied his superb skill as a ventriloquist. You never saw his lips move even though Lord Charles used to be quite raucous and animated. And Lord Charles was very funny. – Usually drunk, making all sorts of irreverent remarks and lewdish references to the fairer sex. His bawdy cheekiness was in great contrast to the gentle manner of Ray Alan. He was a true and ...
Being gay (or any form of LGBTQ, or even just sympathetic to said people) can be hard. I'm not just talking about the abuse, the torture, the murder nor the legal discrimination. No, no, those things are as old as time itself and whilst disgusting, outrageous and indefensible, at least we have come to expect them. Fighting them is a daily exercise. What really tires me out though is the suggestion that LGBT people are involved in some sort of organised conspiracy. Just read the letters between an American fundamentalist and an African counterpart that can be found here (regarding ...
Dear Facebook, I don't like you this morning. Why? Because you've made some changes that (a) come over as you bullying me, and (b) create a whole load of duff content that's even worse than the Google Ad revenue chasing content-free spam sites which still clog up too many search results. Facebook used to be better than that. To be precise, when I logged in this morning you gave me a choice. Either link items of my profile to newly created community pages or have them removed, instantly, from my profile. No option to think about how it works or ...
What is this weird feeling I have when I see Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg being interviewed on television? Surely it's got to be some sort of first, a Government Minister looking people in the eye, answering the question put to him, being honest, open and sounding like he knows what he's talking about. In my lifetime, I've seen a variety of Ministers, ranging from the imperious and uncaring (Thatcher, Peter Lilley), arrogant (Salmond) smooth and slimy (Mandelson), spinning a web of bullshit, if you can have such a thing, perhaps a metaphor that shouldn't be mixed (Blair), unable to ...
Don't panic! Today is Towel Day. Seventy years ago today, the Battle of Dunkirk began. On this day in 1967, Celtic FC became the first British team to win the European Cup, beating Inter Milan 2-1 in Lisbon. Perfect Housewife Anthea Turner is 50 today, joining birthday boys Julian Clary (51) and Paul Weller (52) in a sixth decade. 2 big news stories Poll shows broad support for coalition The Guardian reports its ICM poll, which shows broad support for the coalition government. Support for [the Liberal Democrats] has also dropped three percentage points since the general election, to 21% ...
... as being on a Victoria Line Tube in this weather. That is all.
The idea of publishing all government expenditure that is more than £25,000 by the Conservatives has been their policy for a while now and it has been confirmed following yesterday's spending cut announcements. Nick Robinson on BBC News yesterday suggested that it could be a clever move ensuring that the public can go line-by-line through government expenditure and flag up clearly wasteful spending which would then be a target for cuts presumably backed by the same public that flagged it up in the first place. I am not so sure. Firstly, what criteria are they using to break down the ...
...hello Civil Society So a new government, a new way of politics? It's too early to tell if real change will empower community and voluntary groups to serve local places from this new Con/Lib Dem government. One welcome change that has come about almost immediately is the dropping of the ridiculous habit of branding our organisations the Third Sector. I have not heard the police or borough council call themselves Second Sector, and for that matter have you ever heard a business refer to themselves as First Sector? The problem with the phrase third sector? It meant very little to ...
It's funny how when you have little to say - some people still say a lot. Well I have not had much to say... and so have not posted much of late. I have a post on my mind... lets see what happens! I trust readers won't think I am saying a lot, when in reality I don't have much to say
Already the alleged chemistry between Nick Clegg and David Cameron appears to be having its effect, and not to the advantage of Liberal Democrat policies and priorities. Clegg is reported as "having come round to the argument for action to bring down (public) spending this year . " (Guardian 24/05/10). Surly the correct repose for Liberal Democrats in government to this crazy policy of cutting public expenditure in the middle of a recession is to point out that: we are junior partners in this coalitionour view is that expenditure cuts should not take place until economic recovery is assuredwe are ...
Alan Watkins, who died recently, was the man who coined the term young fogey for Charles Moore. Alan Watkins' son David was about to read him fellow columnist Simon Hoggart's article on the General Election fallout when he realised that his father had died. "Rather an extreme reaction," said Robert Harris in his address at the funeral.
Kevin Fetter stares at space. Some time ago he discovered a missing tool bag that an astronaut had dropped at the International Space Station. The video of a dot crossing the dark sky was a hit on You Tube. Now Kevin has found the US's secret unmanned shuttle, the OTV-1, which passes over Afghanistan every 90 minutes. Kevin lives at home with his mother and cleans floors for a living. Perhaps
Last night at the Annual Council the 'new' politics banded about from Westminister died. The Conservative Group on West Lindsey District Council decided that it would be better to have their members in all positions rather than taking the best people for the job. Despite reassurances from Cllr Keimach, in a long opening speech to his reign as council leader, the Conservatives voted on block all night for their candidate regardless of who they were. I can't say that I'm truly surprised, after all a leopard can't change it's spots, but I can't help feeling it's the residents of West ...
I popped a birthday cheque for my daughter in the mail today. Destination her Child Trust Fund. We set the fund up a year ago to take advantage of the discount voucher and in order to save money we hope one day she might use for university fees or bail a future boyfriend of whom we sternly disapprove. It's a scheme we use and circumstances permitting will continue to use until it expires on her 18th birthday. With the scrapping of the Child Trust Fund scheme, she will not have that option for her own children, and some Fund Managers ...
