Lynne Featherstone, LibDem MP for Hornsey and Wood Green and now the Minister of State for Equalities and Criminal Information (sic), was the guest of honour at Sutton Liberal Democrats' annual garden party this afternoon, in the spacious garden of perennial host Jayanta Chatterjee. In keeping with the Coalition Government's new age of austerity, she ...
Being from Liverpool, and seeing the pauper's grave that author Robert Tressell resides in on numerous ghoulish occasions with my family, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists was probably something I'd heard of before it was healthy to. My family, many of whom are quasi, pretend socialists, embarrassed about the liberal black sheep in the family, insist ...
Chop two strong red onions and four cloves of garlic. Fry in a humungous amount of butter with some mustard, chili powder, and powdered ginger. Once the onions are done, add your mussels, enough white wine to barely cover them, and some concentrated fish stock*. Depending on how salty the stock is you may want to add some sugar. Cook until the liquid has reduced and turned to gloop. Remove from the heat, and add some chopped baby pea pods. Stir in the peapods, and serve with lemon rice and the remainder of the wine.* you must use a concentrated ...
When Cardinal Wolsey fell from favour with Henry VIII over his failure to persuade the Vatican to annul the king's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he lost all his titles accept Archbishop of York. Then he was accused of treason and summoned back to London. He died at the Abbey of Saint Mary de Pratis (also known as St Mary of the Meadows) outside Leicester on the journey south and was buried there. Today the abbey ruins give their name to Leicester's Abbey Park. Wolsey is commemorated by a statue (given by the Wolsey knitwear people), though he looks bemused ...
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Timothy Garton Ash believes that the Liberal Democrats should change their name to the Liberal party. Helen Duffet of Lib Dem Voice disagrees. What name the party decides to call itself could be seen as a bit of a diversion. The real question is: can the Liberal Democrats stay together as a party over the next five years? The party, like all political parties, is a coalition. It has liberals, social democrats, green socialists and radicals as members. There has been plenty of speculation about what might destroy the coalition government. The truth is that the coalition stands a good ...
Another laptop display bites me slightly in the behind. Turned on my laptop (just over four years old) this morning to find the display ghosting (photo though due to the ghosting, I can't tell how well it's come out). It's got worse over the course of the day (and it was happening in the BIOS so I know it's not a software problem). For quite a while, the display has flickered increasingly badly so I've bit the bullet and ordered a replacement. I'm a little annoyed as I'd planned to wait until I start my next post (whenever and wherever ...
Sat 10th
19:04
Analytical, pragmatic revolutionaries who see both sides - understanding the leaders from Generation...
Do you really know what you're getting from Generation Jones - the people who now rule much of the world? Earlier this week, Cari Oke (a fellow Joneser) commented on how leaders from our generation are more likely than our forebears to strive for the greatest possible agreement when political choices have to be made. As Gen Jonesers hover on either side of the half-century mark, are we seeing the telltale signs of our empathetic natures? . . . President Obama, born in 1961, is well known for his ability to see many sides of an issue and his belief ...
The English Defence League describes itself thus: "We, the English Defence League, are a grass roots social movement who represent every walk of life, every race, every creed and every colour; from the working class to middle England. Our unity and diversity is our strength. We have members that represent our culturally rich, "patriotic" and nation-loving populace. People who can see the threat of "Islamism" for what it is: a vile and virulent ideology based on 7th century barbarity, intolerance, hatred, subjugation and war."About page Protest The Pope says this on it's front page: "If you believe, as we do, ...
I remember the day I self-identified as a Liberal Democrat. I was a teenager, perhaps 16 or 17, (disclosure: I'm now in my mid 30s) and was actually watching a political debate that was taking place on what was, at the time, 'yoof' TV. The three main parties were represented. I can't recall who the other two people were, but the stand-out performance was from Simon Hughes. Everything he said just made sense and for the life of me I couldn't understand why the Liberal Democrats were not in Government. This was the point at which I became politically aware. ...
Yesterday evening I was invited along to Beaver Road School for their Summer Showcase 2010. The evening started with some Indian music that was followed by strings, guitars and then balalaikas before strawberries and cream at half time. The second half was opened with the keyboards and then included woodwind, percussion and brass. The finale ...
[IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: ahisgett [IMG: Red Kite 5a] It's been an absolute joy to see red kites in new areas recently. Up until five years ago, the only time I saw a red kite was on a beer bottle label. Then about three years ago we started seeing a pair (which we believe were introduced) around Kiln Green, Berkshire. They seem to be really thriving after near extinction in this country. Over the last few weeks I have seen one hovering over the M4 in Berkshire. And yesterday I saw one flying over Shaw, Newbury. Well you ...
My ward colleagues, John McClurey and Marilynn Ord, and I were out again this morning talking to residents about the Coalition Government. It is the first time for three weeks that we have been out door knocking as other things have cropped up in the meantime (mainly trips to London to take photos of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at various Lib Dem gatherings). The response again was good.
Here.
A new poll just commissioned by Lib Dems for Drug Policy Reform (of which I am a member) and conducted by Vision Critical shows that 70% of people are in favour of cannabis being legalised. It also shows that more people are in favour of legalising amphetamines (speed), magic mushrooms and Mephedrone (the drug recently banned by the government) than are in favour of keeping them prohibited. For ecstasy there is still a small majority in favour of prohibition (54%) but 39% are in favour of legalisation in some form. Even heroin and cocaine have around a third of people ...
here. I appreciate being their own election guru.
[IMG: Example phone mast] I've received notification that O2 and Vodafone, working together, are looking to site a new phone mast near the junction of Kingsway and Broadway in Cheadle. The mast will look like a lamp-post, but with a fattened top instead of a lamp, and with a couple of cabinets at the base of the mast (similar to the one in the picture, which is just an example I found on the Internet, so don't bother trying to spot the location). If you have an opinion about a phone mast being sited at this location, please let me ...
I wish we had been able to webcast last nights council meeting. If transparency is going to be the way that our citizens hold us to account then we have an obligation to make our deliberations accessible. Many of the old guard bleated away about parliament being televised but it has done away with some boorish behavior. The silly things that elected people say ought to be known to their electors as should the contructive ones. I suspect that webcasting council meetings would give folk cause to weigh their contributions more carefully. You can see what I mean by having ...
Much has been made about the shorter sentences handed out by the judicial system in recent weeks with many people, myself included, claiming that they simply dont work,either in reducing crime, or prevented criminlas reoffending. The case of Raoul Moat is further proof in this argument. Moat was released from Durham prison having served a ...
There's no prize at stake - just the opportunity to prove you're wittier than any other LDV reader ... (Credit: Mark Garnish). Here's Ed Davey, Lib Dem Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (to give him his full title), in the stocks at a school fete last week. What do you think he might have been saying or thinking? The winner of our most recent caption competition, the "Chris and Evan open the floodgates" edition - according to The Voice's judging panel of one - was this one by Tim Leunig. Got a photo ...
At 7pm last night police discovered Raoul Moat was discovered near a riverbank in the Rothbury area. He was discovered armed and negotiators brought in who talked with him for several hours. However at 1.15am the suspect shot himself. The police confirmed that no gun shots fired by police Up until that time, Police had ...
I'm cheering for the Netherlands following my "Arsenal players" policy: Van Persie has played more than Cesc, and van Bronckhorst used to be a Gunner. It has been a good tournament overall. A very slow start, but we've had some cracking games since. Germany's demolition jobs were impressive, but they weren't enough to get rid of the Spanish. We've had controversy and cheating (Uruguay's last minute handball versus Ghana, which the ref got spot on). We finally had goals from free kicks and range as people got used to that ball. (Japan's two against Denmark will live in the memory.) ...
Blackwood Local Authority: Caephilly Borough Council Electoral Region: Wales Last contested: 2008 Clare Caple (Independent) 469 votes (30.5% -25.3%) Ian Chivers (Conservative) 170 votes (11.0% +4.2%) Nigel Dix (Labour) 545 votes (35.4% +13.7%) Andrew Farina-Childs (Plaid Cymru) 355 votes (23.1% +7.4%) Labour GAIN from Independent with a majority of 41 votes (4.9%) on a swing from Independent to Labour of 14.5% Chadwell Local Authority: Redbridge Borough Council Electoral Region: Greater London Last contested: 2010 Wilson Chowdhry (Green Party) 413 votes (16.3% +2.3%) Julian Peter Leppert (British National Party) 115 votes (4.5% +4.5%) Gary Ian Monro (Conservative) 580 votes (22.9% Unchanged) ...
Two thoughts about the drama in Rothbury last night. The first is the ridiculousness of the rolling news coverage from Sky and the BBC. They had little to report once it was known that had been found and was threatening to shoot himself. After that they were in the way, both metaphorically and literally. The parallel Stephen Tall draws between their coverage and The Day Today is instructive. I also have a lot of sympathy for Johann Hari's view that this level of coverage increases the risk of copycat killings. Every violent, inadequate individual now knows how to become a ...
The Press Association reports: Former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has urged the Government to look at ways of "mitigating" the impact of an immigration cap on universities. Mr Kennedy, rector of Glasgow University, challenged universities minister David Willetts over the policy at question time. "Given the Government's policy on a cap on immigration, you will be aware Universities UK and many others right across the sector are worried about the impact this will have," he said. "Ten per cent of university staff across the UK are non-EU nationals – 2,500 staff at the Scottish universities alone. "What can you ...
Stopped for lunch at an agricultural research institute on my way to the east of the Volta Lake. Very excited because I am visiting a large project to produce Fair Trade mango and pineapple juice for export to the UK. I have been advising on it (free) for three years now and for the first time we are moving towards full production. Hope I will get some photos to post.
Is it fair that people should be allowed to get on by making the most of their talents? A lot of people would agree that it is. Is it fair if the gap between rich and poor in a society is not too great? A lot of people would agree that it is. And that is the trouble with fairness. It's not just that different people have conflicting ideas of what constitutes fairness. It's that most of us individually hold these conflicting ideas at the same time. So while focus groups will enthusiastically support the idea of a political party ...
My English teacher at school made me read Clifford Simak's novel Way Station. It made a big impact on me, and I really enjoyed it. I've had a soft spot ever since for that book, but somehow never managed to read anything else by him. On a previous visit to Hay I purchased a few books of his to see if they were as good: City and Cemetry World. I'll confess that neither is quite as good as Way Station, but they were good enough for me to try some more. So on my last trip to Hay I aquired ...
Dunfermline High School. A building falling to bits. A building which should have been rebuilt, or even refurbished, to make it meet its pupils' needs well over a decade ago. Who was in charge at the time? Labour, in administration in Fife Council. Who was arguing for a new Dunfermline High School for years? The Liberal Democrats, including now MSP Jim Tolson. Who are delivering that new High School in administration in the Council after Labour were kicked out? The Liberal Democrats in coalition with the SNP. That certainly makes Labour's rage about the cancellation of the school building programmes ...
I see Richard Grayson-the man soon to be the Professor of of 20th Century History at Goldsmiths-a former Director of Policy for the Lib Dems, has written a pamphlet for COMPASS about the political origins of the coalition. I confess I do not fully sign up to his analysis and rather take the line that Iain Sharpe took after a previous intervention form the Professor: 'I wince a little when I read Richard Grayson's reference to "two approaches" to Lib Dem policy, "Orange Book" and "social liberal".' Iain went on to say, 'This makes me feel more uncomfortable as I, ...
Three months ago Lib Dem Voice reported that David Murray had withdrawn as Lib Dem candidate for the Shropshire seat of The Wrekin as the result of an on-going police investigation. The BBC reports the outcome of the case: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him and no further action should be taken. Mr Murray had denied the claims and said he was pleased with the outcome. He said the claims had been made to damage his chances at the election. "It [the sexual abuse claims] came out of the blue. It was supposed ...
Sometimes you just cannot be bothered to fight; awash with ever more depressing news the anger merely simmers as other issues engulf the already clouded mind. The recent temperatures have not helped, I am by nature more an autumn/winter person than a long hot summer. So the heat has made my already lethargic malady worse, that and the total refusal of my body clock to adjust to BST and its inability to sleep when required. It is not that there hasn't been things to comment on this week:- The Schools Rebuilding Programmes scrappedThe proposed date for the AV referendumThe Supreme ...
Alex Smith has an interview with David Miliband up on LabourList at the moment. He asks some good questions (particularly one about the banana which seems to annoy him!) but his response towards the end about the AV referendum is frankly bizarre: "...we've got to be a party that sees democracy as our ally, both internally and in the country at large. The Tories are going to give political reform a bad name with this AV referendum. As it happens, I support AV, but that's beside the point. They're going to give it a bad name because people will say: ...
Damn you, Danny Baker, for giving me a colossal earworm with the subject line. Rum old performance actually trying to listen to it, though; thanks to the way that the bandwidth is carved up everything keeps cutting out every ten seconds or so, and doubtless that'll apply too regarding the coverage of the second ODI. Hence I've fired up one of my old Hackers which still sound great over forty years after they left the factory. There's something chunky and reassuring about listening to a radio with a big speaker in a rexine-covered wooden box, and all the better when ...
Over the last 24 hours, I have been struck by two diametrically opposed views of the coalition from leading Liberal Democrats. First, in today's Guardian, there is an extremely upbeat interview with Nick Clegg. As usual, he's bruisingly honest, but fantastically upbeat. We know the Clegg shtick by now, don't we? The interview write-up is entitled "This will be the most liberal parliament in a generation". Excellent. Heineken and San Miguel mixers all round (thinking about the Clegg family tomorrow night). In sharp contrast to this, I saw an extremely sensible and rational Warren Bradley on News 24 yesterday. He's ...
I went to two events yesterday that epitomise Haringey's finest: the Haringey Dance Showcase at the Asian Centre and then Young Haringey Heroes awards at the Bernie Grant Centre. The Dance Showcase was a delight. It was a collaboration across three of our community centres - the Asian Centre (which hosted), the Irish Centre and the Afro-Caribbean Centre. The performance started with a chair dance with very beautifully clad older ladies in amazing saris who told the story through their hands and movements sitting in chairs and went all the way through to Irish dancing with the most wonderful young ...
Sat 10th
10:45
If Cameron is "potentially the best all-round prime minister of the modern era", it's thanks to the ...
That's the hyperbolic claim of The Guardian's Martin Kettle: These are still very early days. The coalition has to get through difficult votes on AV and negotiate the most difficult spending round in a generation. The economy may tank. Yet in these first weeks even opponents should concede that Cameron has played a blinder. He is showing himself as potentially the best all-round prime minister of the modern era. Labour's hopefuls should learn from him. No doubt about it, Cameron wins this season's political golden boot. Wildly OTT? Yes. But it's not completely without its justification. For example, Mr Kettle ...
From the Council: Stockport Council is undertaking a Community Governance Review of Offerton Park Parish Council. The Council received two petitions from Offerton residents asking for Offerton Park Parish Council to be abolished and was legally obliged to undertake the review. The review will consider what are the most suitable governance arrangements for people living in the Offerton Park Parish boundary. It will also consider the best ways of ensuring local democracy and the delivery of local services for residents. For more information on the Community Governance Review visit www.stockport.gov.uk/communitygovernancereview or email communitygovernancereview@stockport.gov.uk.
In an interview in the Guardian yesterday, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg urged Labour to ask some searching questions about what has happened to itself, and why it is appearing as a backstop to progress in so many issues of progress. He expressed deepening disillusion with Labour and asserted that the coalition government is advancing more liberal-progressive policies than Labour achieved in its heyday. "Civil liberties, political renewal, devolution of power, green sustainability: all are being achieved at a pace, and with a radicalism, that Labour did not manage in 13 years," he said.
I drove to the Hague and back yesterday afternoon - normally I would go by rail without hesitation, but it was such a hot day that I decided I would prefer to be in control of my own air-conditioning than subject myself to the whims of the train's electrical system. This gave me quite a long period of audiobook listening (it took about two and a half hours each way), and since I'm still eagerly waiting for The Guardian of the Solar System to appear on the Big Finish website, I dug into the archives and found this Torchwood story ...
The news yesterday that Liverpool Lib Dem leader, Warren Bradley had spoken out about coalition cuts and his fear that the party would be wiped out, sent a shudder through my spine. His description of feeling physically sick when he heard about the cuts to the BSF budget reflects the way I have felt since that fateful day in May. More worrying for me was the news that many of his Lib Dem councillors were considering leaving the party - my huge plea to them is don't do it!!!! Now, more than ever before, those of us who love this ...
The Borders railway, or Waverley line as it has become known was closed on Monday 6 January 1969 as part of the Beeching Axe. The last passenger service on the line (and the last train to traverse the entire route) was 1M82 21.56 Edinburgh - St. Pancras sleeper, on Sunday 5 January 1969 hauled by Class 45 D60 "Lytham St Annes". The picture shows the Borders railway line being dismantled in 1969. Ever since then, and before, there have been campaigns to reopen the Waverley line. Recently those campaigns have finally been successful and now become a reality. The current ...
Like many other Liberal Democrat politicians I have been the subject of what Nick Clegg describes as 'the collective bile' of the Labour opposition. Their strategy appears to be to try and destabilise the Liberal Democrat part of the coalition by playing on the unease felt by some activists at the difficult decisions we have had to make in government to get the economy back on track after Labour's failure left the country in the lurch. Labour apologists argue that it was an international crisis and that it was all the banks' fault, but that ignores the fact that the ...
Sat 10th
09:20The Saturday Debate: should the public be able to declare political affiliation on the electoral reg...
Here's your starter for ten in our Saturday slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate: In many states in the US people register themselves as "Democrat" or "Republican" (with also various options for "Independent" etc.) when they join the electoral register. These lists can then be used by the parties to hold primaries or caucuses to select candidates, letting only registered supporters of the party to take party. Open primaries* where anyone can vote are also held in some places, but if you only want your party's supporters to vote in a primary then wrapping registering ...
When I signed off my Tour report on Wednesday after Mark Cavendish had failed on the road to Reims I said: "Cav has been one to bounce back before when he hasn't won as expected with a double, Friday's stage is also for the sprinters. So we wait and see." Well who needs Paul the Octopus? Two stages later and in first Montgaris and yesterday in Gueugnon it was the Manx Missile that shot to the front in the final 200 metres and was never headed. He is now level on 12 stage wins in the Tour with other great ...
The former Labour government withdrew its offer of nearly £9million it had promised Haringey for new primary school buildings. Yes - it was Labour who renegged on the money - not the coalition. I am putting this out there - because locally Labour are trying to say this is down to the coalition. No - it's not. PS This is not the money already committed to Rhodes Avenue primary school expansion. But of course - now Labour want to whip that funding away as well.
I recently highlighted residents' complaints across the West End about the extent of weeds on some streets - for example, Blackness Road and surrounding area - and I have received concerns about this issue from some other streets, such as Bankmill Road. In my earlier article I gave feedback from the City Engineer at Dundee City Council who explained that, traditionally, weeds spraying work by Dundee Contract Services (DCS) was undertaken 'east to west' across the city, rather than it taking place by doing the streets most badly affected first (as I had suggested). As a follow-up, the City Engineer ...
"I get a little sentimental" from TOTP during the week of my 11th birthday!
I checked Twitter just before 10 last night and found that my timeline was full of news that something big was going on in Rothbury where Police had been looking for Raoul Moat, the man wanted for the murder of one man and the serious injury of two others. Way back on Tuesday, when the Police first closed Rothbury down, they politely asked the media not to set up camp there. Well, we rightly have a free press, but we don't always have a sensible one, so every news bulletin has come from the Northumberland town ever since. Even when ...
Thos who know me will have observed that I am fascinated by the political significance of numbers, whether that be in election results or science fiction awards. One number that has been flagged up to me a couple of times in recent days is 108 - the number of members of the Northern Ireland Assembly. As so often in political history, the path leading to that fairly arbitrary number is a succession of accidents and very occasional deliberate planning. I'll work up the full detail some time, but the story is this: the Northern Ireland Parliament set up in 1920 ...
As we reported recently, South Glos Council is still planning for a new development of 3000 homes to the north of Yate, despite pressure to review local housing need now that government targets are being abolished. As South Glos isn't doing anything except the formal consultation on their outdated Core Strategy document, Yate Town Council has organised a public meeting at 7.30 pm at Yate Leisure Centre on Friday, 23rd July. Steve Webb MP will talk about housing development and local councillors will respond to local residents' views and questions. Steve said "I think there is a lot of confusion. ...
This is the first of what I imagine will be six or seven intensely detailed volumes, detailing every available account of events remembered by the participants in Bloody Sunday. It covers [22.1] what happened in the area of the Rossville Flats car park and in the adjoining waste ground to the north. There is no doubt that in this sector Jackie Duddy was killed by gunfire, while Margaret Deery, Michael Bridge and Michael Bradley were wounded by the same means. Patrick McDaid, Patrick Brolly and Pius McCarron were injured, though whether by gunfire or otherwise was a matter of controversy. ...
Homophobic bullying is on a spectrum of bullying. There have been recent media reports showing that charities working with children in Wales were concerned about the extent of bullying in Welsh schools. There is undoubtedly a general problem, not only in Wales, but across the UK and homophobic bullying is part of it. Any headteacher who tells you that there is no bullying at their school is not aware of what is going on. Any headteacher who does not believe that there is the potential for homophobic bullying at their school is not living in the real world. I do ...
i) births and deaths 10 July 1941: birth of Jackie Lane, who played companion Dodo Chaplet in early 1966. There is some fan lore that she was born in 1947, but this is clearly contradicted by Nicholas Briggs' Reeltime interview with her, as well as by the story that she was considered for the original part of Susan and lost out on A Taste of Honey to Rita Tushingham in 1961. 10 July 1970: birth of John Simm, the most recent Master, from Utopia (2007) through to The End of Time (2009-10). ii) broadcast anniversaries 10 July 1965: broadcast of ...
This sounds pretentious to me too, but its 12.54 am here and I have just got home after a working day that started at 7.20am - and yes, just meetings all day and then dinner and drinks with business contacts can indeed be work, even if it is enjoyable. Have to set off in six hours for the North of Volta region, so really no chance to blog for some time. Serves me right for not being back in Ghana for too long.
The Crisis & the Euro | The New York Review of Books Soros speaks. NB that he tends to get things right. If he is right this time, we euro-users are in trouble... (tags: eu economics) Jack of Kent: The Improper and Disgraceful Conduct of Hackney Council A bizarre story, essentially of a council electoral office going too far and then hoping nobody much will notice. (tags: ukpolitics) Some more probability thoughts further to the previous discussion... (tags: mathematics) Government system, not electoral process, at fault Eoin O'Malley, who I haven't seen for years, makes the point that having ministers ...
This evening I joined about 100 Egyptians and friends from Amnesty International and other human rights organisations for a very dignified demonstration at Marble Arch in protest against torture in Egypt. The problem has been endemic in Egypt for many years but it has particularly come to international attention recently with the savage beating and ...
A few weeks back, the Daily Torygraph had a week of giveaways of Doctor Who CDs. I didn't get them because I refuse to buy that wretched snotrag of a paper, but they have recently announced an offer to get rid of their back stock, and are selling all seven CDs for 'P&P only' – ...
Here we are on the second day of the hosepipe ban in the north west. The last time this happened was in 1996. I can't remember 1996 but I can remember floods in November. I also remember yesterday when I was in Great Harwood and the gutter of Mercer Hall couldn't cope with the amount of rainfall. The roads were like rivers and this water was going straight into the drainage system. We have plenty of rain, plenty of leaks and plenty of water, but not enough for us to use our hosepipes. It seems that we have to accept ...
Simon Wright, MP for Norwich South, has won the 'Bupa Fitbug Parliamentary challenge on behalf of the Liberal Democrats, with two other MPs winning for their parties: Rt Hon David Davis (Conservative) and Fiona Mactaggart MP (Labour). Members of Parliament were challenged to walk the most steps over two weeks in the hope of winning a £1,000 Bupa donation to a local charity of their choice.
