You might notice that I have a new little thing in my sidebar, in between Holly's wishlist and my paypal link, and it looks like this: [IMG: Flattr this] Yup, I got my invite code for Flattr. If you've never heard of flattr, it's a sort of cross between hitting "like" on Facebook, and paypal. The video below explains all: I put in a small amount of money, I flattred Jesus and Mo (because, hey, they're Jesus and Mo, and the barmaid in that strip is my idol), and now I get to get flattred myself, assuming people like what ...
Wheatley Ward on Rochford District Council is a real Conservative stronghold - when the seat was contested in May, only the Tories and English Democrats actually stood.Following the sad death of Conservative ward councillor John Pullen, we've just had a by-election, in which the Lib Dems and Labour dipped their toe into the electoral waters here. However the result was, as expected , a
St Mary's stood on the District Line between Aldgate East and Whitechapel. It opened in 1884 and closed in 1938, later being used as a public bomb shelter during the war. Wikipedia adds: on 22 October 1940 the surface building was hit by a bomb and severely damaged. It was subsequently demolished and little evidence of the station's existence appears above ground today. The bricked-up platforms are still accessible to London Underground staff via an anonymous door off Whitechapel Road.David Leboff has gone through that anonymous door to make a film about the station for the BBC.
I said it was no good asking who was winning the public enquiry after day one, rather like a cricket match, but today I found out the difference. You get to the end of a cricket match and you know the result, even if it's a draw. In a Public Inquiry you get to the end and you still don't know the result. The Inquiry finished today. After the final witnesses the two barristers summed up. The county council barrister spoke first, and when he had finished I was convinced the Village/Town Green application was dead in the water. After ...
[IMG: Netherhall] This evening over 100 people crowded into the Cambridge Professional Development Centre in Trumpington to hear the two organizations bidding to run the new school set to open next year on Gunhild Way, where Netherhall Junior School is now. The Queen Edith's Federation team, presented first. The Head, Caroline Peet, spoke of their vision over the next ten years of two schools working in partnership. The Queen Edith's chair of governors, Pam Jones, described the other sort of partnerships that Queen Edith's has in the community - with educational institutions, faith groups and bodes promoting wellbeing and inclusion. ...
I buy books all the time and the house feels like a library... but the other day I came across one that literally had me laughing on the train all the way home. Robin Ince's Bad Book Club is what it sounds like Robin Ince has gathered up bargain books from charity shops all over the country and takes a look at genres from romance to autobiography, from science to self help. It's an absolute hoot so if you want a really amusing read, with some extra insights thrown in , do get it.
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 176th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (4th – 10th July, 2010), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox – just click here – ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. What ...
Just a quick note of best wishes to the doughty Stephen Wilkinson standing today, in less than auspicious circumstances, in Preston Riversway Ward. You've fought valiantly and won't have disgraced yourself. I know, voters told me so!
Episode IV: A Dying Hope* When I was only two Margaret Thatcher took away free school milk, yet somehow I still got mine through my primary school days. When I was a student and I was old enough to do something about it she started to completely phase out grants for students and replace them with loans. So it was that one of my first campaigns and indeed I think my first public march was on Westminster in the late 80s shouting for 'Grants not Loans'. The basic argument is the same that the more people have to pay for ...
Via Big brother watch comes the welcome news that the new Home Secretary looks like she is taking the issue of harassment of photographers seriously. Long standing readers will know I have had my own encounters with the police and jobsworths myself regarding my hobby Although I am pleased that this issue does seem to be taken seriously by the government I have blogged about apparent breakthroughs on this issue before. The key test of this, and many other, apparent breakthroughs on civil liberties will come when the Freedom bill is published. Then we will know if the great rhetoric ...
Too furious to blog about what I was going to, anyway. Two things have made me annoyed – one that matters, in the grand scheme of things, and one that doesn't. The one that matters is that the coalition government has voted that detention without charge for 28 days will be extended for another six ...
Today I spent some time campaigning for Lib Dem candidate Stephen Wilkinson in the Preston Riversway by-election (result not in yet). There we were, walking along by the river on a windy afternoon and, with a loud crack, a dead tree crashed down across the road just a few metres away from us. A lamppost which, we were told, had only been installed yesterday, was destroyed and a car damaged (very lucky it wasn't worse). [IMG: Fallen tree] Courtesy of Google, here's the rather dead tree before it blew over. View Larger Map
It's #bbcqt day again and the Live Chat starts on this blog from 10:30pm as normal. Matt Raven will be in the hosting chair. David Dimbleby will be joined by the Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham, former Respect MP George Galloway, Labour activist Sally Bercow, and the broadcaster Nick Ferrari. Join us below from 10:30pm: BBC Question Time - 15th July 2010
The BBC report: Police have confirmed they are investigating a complaint of an alleged breach of election expenses rules by Scotland's only Tory MP. It follows newspaper reports that a bill for £700 had been omitted from David Mundell's campaign costs. Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary said it had been asked to investigate. Mr Mundell said a mistake had been made in completing expense forms but this was due "solely to human error" and was "not any attempt to mislead". "Such mistakes are not uncommon in election returns and there are established procedures for dealing with them," he said. "Obviously, as ...
Thu 15th
20:15
Lib Dem pressure succeeds as European countries push for tougher action on global warming
Britain, France and Germany have joined forces this week to call for a major toughening of the EU's target for greenhouse gasses. They have called for the current target of a 20% cut by 2020 to be increased to 30%. In a statement they also played up the potential economic benefits of the move, "If we stick to a 20 per cent cut, Europe is likely to lose the race to compete in a low-carbon world to countries such as China, Japan or the US, all of which are looking to create a more attractive environment for low-carbon investment." As ...
A Channel 4 News investigation has raised questions over the election expenses of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith in the Richmond Park constituency that he gained from Susan Kramer and the Liberal Democrats in this year's general election. The report was on Channel 4 at 7.30 p.m.
Tory Education Secretary was forced to apologise after reading out the wrong schools when he announced the scrapping a school building programme. Labour politicians have moved quickly to criticise the coalition for cancelling the 'building schools for the future programme'. You would think Labour loyalists would keep quiet about the fact that after 13 years in government, so many schools have fallen into such a state of disrepair! We have all heard about the note left by outgoing Labour government "sorry, all the money has gone" what should have been added was "and by the way there are lots of ...
Oh my bloody god, Take That are back together with Robbie and have already recorded a new album. According to Robbie Williams, who left 15 years ago in 1995, before the band then split up (on my birthday) a year later has said he was "embarrassingly excited" and reuniting felt like "coming home" while Mark Owen added that it "feels like a dream". Mark Owen added: "Getting the five of us to be in a room together, although always a dream, never actually seemed like becoming a reality. "Now the reality of the five of us making a record together ...
The Coalition decision to raise VAT was, by some measure, the most controversial aspect of the Government's first budget. In our recent survey of party members, 42% opposed the move, though 48% endorsed it (however reluctantly) to deal with the deficit. The party's MPs have also been wrestling with the issue. The VAT increase was debated on Tuesday night in the Commons – in the end only Colchester's Bob Russell from the Lib Dems voted against the Government, siding with a Labour amendment. As Jim Pickard in the FT notes, St Ives MP Andrew George, and four other Lib Dems ...
A Channel 4 News investigation has raised questions over the election expenses of Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith in the Richmond Park constituency that he gained from Susan Kramer and the Liberal Democrats in this year's general election. The report will be on Channel 4 at 7.30 p.m. - and no doubt on the web after that.
Channel 4 News will tonight broadcast the results of an investigation which it claims show Conservative MP for Richmond Park, Zac Goldsmith, has serious questions to answer about the accuracy of his election expenses. The total allowable expenses for the campaign for all candidates was £11,003. Zac's official returns show he spent 98% of his limit, just £220 below the limit. Channel 4 News questions whether on three specific items – his spending on political signs, personalised jackets and campaign leaflets – Zac's claims would have been higher if he had complied with both the letter and the spirit of ...
Hot on the heels of news that Scottish Tory MP David Mundell is being investigated by the Police over his election expenses comes a report by Channel 4 News that questions have been raised over the expenses of new Richmond Park Tory MP Zac Goldsmith. The report claims that Goldsmith declared expenses for the short campaign (ie the 23 days leading up to polling day) of £10,783 - just £220 below the legal limit. There's nothing wrong with that. In order to maximise your chance of winning, a candidate will always try to spend as close to the limit as ...
Caron's Musings points out the stupidity of banning the burka Mark Reckons shows what political blogging and the Beatles have in common Cicero's Songs reveals The Truth about New Labour Stephen on why style wins over violence Iain Dale on why Graham Evans MP is a Hero to Parliamentary Secretaries Andrew Reeves gets in the ...
Vince Cable, Lib Dem secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, today delivered his much-trailed speech on higher education funding. The full text was published on the department's website, and is reproduced below. A shorter version appears on the Lib Dems' website here. This is my first attempt to set out my views on the university, and wider, HE sector and my aspirations for it. The background is a very sombre and difficult one, financially. Without doubt the most serious within living memory. David Willetts and I are working together to find a way of dealing with it. Much ...
As I have previously updated, residents in the Pentland, Ancrum and Tullideph areas are strongly against the National Express Dundee bus service changes in the area as these are highly detrimental to the local community. The residents' group for the area - Community Spirit Action Group - has raised a petition that is being distributed to local shops and I have set up an on-line petition in support of Community Spirit's campaign. The on-line petition is available at : http://tiny.cc/communityspirit. The revised 11/12 service poorly serves the area, with no buses before 9am or after around 3pm and absolutely nothing ...
While Mark Cavendish did win his third stage of this years Tour de France we will have to wonder if Tyler Ferrar's (Garmin) tactic of going from 500m out zooming past Cav's lead out man Mark Renshaw would have worked. We won't know as the repeated headbutts on Ferrar's lead out man Julian Dean and then the block of Farrar an the barriers has lead correctly I think to the Columbia man's disqualification from the Tour. Watch the below from channel F10 at about 4:22. Farrar stil managed to cross the line third after all of Renshaw's attentions so you ...
Birmingham's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 11.8% in June from 12.0% in May, which compares with the UK rate of 5.3%. Birmingham still has the highest unemployment of all major UK cities - Birmingham's claimant rate of 11.5% compares with the next highest cities, Liverpool and Manchester which both have a claimant rate of 11.2%. Acocks Green has seen the biggest fall in unemployment of any ward in the City over the past year (a fall of 167) and unadjusted unemployment across the ward now stands at 1,143 or 10.3% (claimant rate). There seems to be a trend that ...
It's amazing how the news seems to have been dominated all day, and some of yesterday, by a speech that Vince Cable is making on what to do with university tuition fees and student loans. Fancy that, a Lib Dem making the news for the right reasons... There's only one problem with this little bit ...
Back a bit I was mentioning the success of D66 in the Dutch elections. For many of us they are one of our most obvious partners in Europe. They are avowedly a social liberal party and stand separately in elections from their partners in ELDR the conservative(market) liberals the VVD. Thanks to the Google translation tool I was looking at their website and there are clearly things we could learn from each other on policy development-maybe that is something the Social Liberal Forum could take up. I was taken with their D66 House bloggers one of whom, Rose Marie is ...
Listening again to the Today Programme, I am amazed at the almost delusional way that Peter Mandelson thinks about himself. Evan Harris can barely believe his ears as the "dark Lord" repeats his absurd mantra that the Labour government was not harmed by the obsessive rivalry between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, and his own role within that episode of psychosis that we now remember as the Labour government was a positive one. A friend who had a senior job in BBC News and Current Affairs through most of the past fifteen years once described Mandelson to me as "simply ...
Last month, I covered concerns about the transportation of drugs between Ninewells Hospital, Perth Royal Infirmary and Royal Victoria Hospital by public bus. I have since has various exchanges with Professor Tony Wells, Chief Executive of NHS Tayside, on the matter. This morning, we had a useful discussion about the matter. Professor Wells has agreed that once the NHS Tayside Chair, Sandy Watson is back from leave, he'll put to him my request that the policy goes before the NHS Tayside Board for discussion. He says the Chair may prefer that it goes to the appropriate committee of the board. ...
To watch this. Today, 2 out of 3 farm animals on the planet are factory farmed. It does not have to be like that.
Ho, ho. ho I spent last Thursday being rounding abused by the Bootle Labour Party about the economic policy of the government. In particular Ian Maher worked himself up into a right lather about the VAT rise. At the time I thought this was a little fool hardy as my recollection was that Chancellor Darling had point blank refused to rule out a VAT rise (in the highly unlikely event of a Labour win). Now thanks to Peter Mandelson we know the depth of the Labour hypocracy. Sadly the full article is behind the Times paywall but the Guardian has ...
Well I, for one, was hoping for a quiet summer. Having been elected as the new Chair of the Youth party exactly two weeks ago I'm just about getting my bearings about where all the buttons to push are, so imagine my surprise when I found the big red button marked 'Higher Education Funding.' The issue of Higher Education funding is, perhaps, Liberal Youth's biggest single issue, and our policy, and that of the Federal Party, is probably our most recognisable to young people across the country; When you ask a student about Fees they will be able to tell ...
There has been a Facebook campaign in support of Raoul Moat as well as flowers left at the scene of Moat's death and yesterday David Cameron PM said during PMQ "There should be no sympathy for Moat, a callous murderer", this was after being asked to talk to Facebook and ask them to take the site down. I mostly agree with him that this support for Moat is odd. Of course the government should not be asking Facebook to take this site down. I don't believe the government will and I think it would be wrong for the government to ...
It's easy in incidents such as the Raoul Moat case to see everything in black and white. Good v.Bad. But often this is not the case. So while many seem to view him as some kind of anti-hero, fighting the establishment etc, others such as D Cameron call him a callous killer, I tend to look on the whole case as tragic for all concerned. The loss of life is always tragic and now that we learn that he himself was concerned about his state of mind and had asked for psychiatric help then that gives us a new twist. ...
Part of Claverton Down Road is to be resurfaced later this summer. Work will be done from Oakley all the way to Limekiln Lane. Currently this section is one of the roughest in the area; there is lots of loose grit on the road surface following the harsh winter. Small stretches of Oakley and Norwood Avenue will also be resurfaced at the same time. All work will be undertaken at night with the roads closed; they will be open during the day. Currently this is expected on the nights of 31st August to 3rd September. A traffic regulation order has ...
Is there any real problem with Manston, I'll point out at the beginning, that Manston Airport has never caused me a moments thought as to the environment although from time to time, concerns are manufactured by those middle aged articulate types seeking a cause, to give a direction to their middle aged angst, bit like me and my blog. In the old email in tray comes a reminder of hysteria generated by "activists" or Thanet busy bodies (a description which could apply to myself), as part of the proper monitoring function of Thanet council, a regular meeting of Airport Working ...
Over recent months, a group of councillors and council officers have been working with young people, investigating cyber-bullying in schools to understand better what it is, how widespread it is and how we can better tackle it in Stockport. The result is a report you can read in the Children and Young People's agenda for July 2010. There's far more than I can put here, but cyber-bullying is a serious issue. It can happen not just through PCs, but with young people accessing online services via mobile phones, Wiis and anything else with an internet connection. Sometimes the young people ...
A mistaken diagnosis that leads to mistaken and damaging policies: an invitation to Liberal Democrats to reflect on coalition policy before they meet in Liverpool in September. The coalition government is committed to urgent fiscal retrenchment. Measures agreed between the coalition partners mean that the coalition has adopted £6 billion of 'early'/Conservative public sector spending cuts, cuts that Liberal Democrats previously opposed. The coalition's emergency budget announced an increase in VAT from 17.5% to 20%, to be introduced at the beginning of 2011. The VAT rise was presented as an essential part of a plan to accelerate the elimination of ...
The BBC report that Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable is to propose a graduate tax for students in England in place of the present tuition fee regime. This would mean these students would repay the costs of going to university through taxation once they began working. At present, the government lends students money to cover the cost of fees, with this loan paid back when students enter work, until the loan is paid off. Under a graduate tax, the amount paid would depend upon earnings – compared with the current system in which a fixed amount is paid back. ...
Curiously, despite the fact that the original Orders creating unitary authorities for Norwich and Exeter were quashed by the High Court, the Lords is still debating the Bill which overturns them. Two weeks ago, Lord Howarth of Newport, and others on the Labour benches, tried to derail the Bill by having it referred as potentially hybrid. They won the vote to refer it, only to see it declared as non-hybrid. Undaunted though, they returned to the fray, with a series of further amendments, leading Ros to intervene on Amendment 3... Baroness Scott of Needham Market: Is there not a danger ...
You might remember I wrote the other day about Florence and Precious Mhango, a mother and daughter for Malawi, who are facing deportation to that country. If that happens, they will virtually certainly be separated and a vulnerable 10 year old will be sent to live with strangers and not allowed to see her mother. To me there is a very clear humanitarian reason for them to be allowed to stay in Glasgow where the community has taken them to their hearts. On Monday, 19th July at 5.30 pm there will be a vigil in Glasgow in support of Florence ...
As the title says, don't forget the LAP tonight. That's assuming, of course, that you hadn't either already forgotten about it, or had never learned that it was tonight in the first place. Whatever its status in your brain, the facts are that the Local Area Partnership meets tonight at 6.30 at the Macabbi Sports Centre off Bury Old Road (near the Woodthorpe pub). Come down for the open forum at 7.30 to ask any question about local public services you like. Or, if you can stomach it, come for the whole thing and hear various presentations and reports that ...
Earlier this week I did the following post over on Liberal Conspiracy: The possible impact of the alternative vote (AV) on British politics is almost always talked about in the context of seat numbers and tactical voting, with a dash of talk about legitimacy courtesy of AV meaning that each MP has to end up with at least 50% plus 1 of the transferable votes. Having a decent relationship between vote share and seat numbers is an important part of what a voting system should deliver (and the failure of first past the post to do that is part of ...
It's time for some positive marriage equality news! On the home front, two Labour leadership contenders, Ed Balls and Diane Abbott, have come out in support of marriage equality. Although Abbott clarified she has always supported marriage equality: "I have always supported gay marriage and made that case when civil partnerships were first discussed. Despite what may now be reported, it wasn't New Labour that first proposed civil partnerships but Ken Livingstone in his first administration. I supported it then, way before New Labour had the bravery to put this issue into legislation." Given the rather offensive responses of the ...
The latest "House of Comments" podcast with myself and Stuart Sharpe of the Sharpe's Opinion blog is now live. The 34th episode which we recorded on Tuesday 13th July is now available to download, raw mp3 file here or you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here. Failing that you can listen to it right now below: The format is to invite political bloggers on each week to discuss a few of the stories that are making waves in the blogosphere. This week we were joined by Sara Bedford of the Lib Dem "Always win when you're singing" blog ...
Last night I attended a meeting to discuss the Local Community Plan. This plan, which is available from he council and libraries etc details all the improvements that the Area Partnership (Council and agencies ie Police, NHS etc) want to make over a 3 year period. The current plan was agreed back in 2008 and runs until 2011. Now as a local councillor I like many people get frustrated that it often seems to take forever to get things done. So it was very pleasing last night to find that so far - with a year to go 44 out ...
That's the intriguing proposition in a pamphlet by Ben Rogers, published this week by the RSA. He starts with the case of first aid – point out how the widespread training of the public in first aid has helped supplement the core health services provided by the state – and then goes on to suggest a similar approach to anti-social behaviour: The Woolwich Model – Can citizens tackle anti-social behaviour?
As we told you in an item last week, the planning application for the Chipping Sodbury Waitrose supermarket and nearby housing has been submitted to South Glos Council. The plans are now online here and you can make your comments on the proposal until 13 August.
We have now called on 600 doors in my ward of Whickham South and Sunniside in Gateshead and so far persuaded 107 people to fill in a survey form about what they think of the creation of the Coalition government. The usual health warnings should be taken into acount: this is still a small sample so is subject to the usual statistical margins of error. We will, however, survey more residents in the
Nwhyte (over at From the Heart of Europe) posted a link to I write like. He did the nice idea of chucking real published authors at it to see what happened. So I thought I'd be boring and stick in a few of my posts and see who I write like. So my world cup final preview is Isaac Asimov I write like Isaac AsimovI Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing! OK fair enough. Not sure where the robots are but I can live with that. My Simak post would fit Asimov better but... I write ...
Although a large part of my Ward in Manchester borders on Tameside, the only times when I encountered Roy Oldham were when we were definitely on different sides of an argument. Particularly over Kingswater, an area which residents of Gorton, Abbey Hey, Denton and Audenshaw saw as a vital green lung, but Cllr. Oldham seemed to see as a space in need of development. However there is no doubt that he was sincere in his commitment to Tameside and particularly his own area. Local politics is full of people like Roy, who whether we agree with them or not choose ...
I can't find a website with this information, so here it is: WINCHESTER'S BIG LUNCH EVENT AT ABBEY GARDENS - SUNDAY 18th July from 12 until 3pm DELICIOUS FOOD FROM AROUND THE WORLD, LIVE MUSIC AND DANCE is all on the menu at Winchester's Big Lunch event on Sunday 18 July in Abbey Gardens, next to the Guildhall. For only £2 for three portions, guests will be able to enjoy authentic Indian, Chinese, Thai, Nepalese, Philippine and African dishes prepared by the city's varied restaurants and community groups. Portions are small so that you can try servings from several nationalities. ...
Thu 15th
12:24
Is it too much to ask for the government to have a clear line on suspected cancer cases?
In my review of PMQs yesterday I highlighted how Harriet Harman scored a hit by asking David Cameron whether the government would retain the "guarantee" for patients suspected of possibly having cancer to see a specialist within two weeks of a GP appointment. GOVERNMENT MESSAGE #1: Cameron declines to answer at PMQs saying, in terms, that the guarantee could be dropped if it is not improving cancer care for patients. What planet is David Cameron living on? Isn't it stark-staringly obvious that suspected cancer patients need to see a specialist p.d.q.? The moment the doctor intimates that cancer might be ...
Thu 15th
12:20Official: 4,500 new Lib Dem members have joined party since election and coalition agreement
Lib Dem party membership is up a remarkable 14% this year, according to official figures released by the party in England. 4,500 new members have joined the party since the election and the coalition agreement was reached, and the party is having greater success in retaining current members than in previous years. Lib Dem Voice reported last week the anecdotal evidence of one parliamentary candidate, Gareth Epps in Reading East, that Lib Dem membership has been on the increase, with a ratio of 10 new members for every one member leaving. Well, it's now clear that the experience in Reading ...
So the Prime Minister is seemingly furious about the public sympathy for Raoul Moat, as expressed on a facebook group. I can't believe he could think ordering facebook to remove the group (as requested by Chris Heaton-Harris MP, unsurprisingly a keen brand new Tory safe-seat occupying backbencher) is any kind of answer to his problem. There are those who are publicly sympathising with, lauding and mourning Moat. That fascination will only increase with time is the Krays or the Yorkshire Ripper are anything to go by. As much as David Cameron might not like that, the cult of celebrity killers ...
Three months ago, Thursday, 15th April, witnessed the UK's first televised debate between the main party leaders. Here's a reminder of the close of the first debate, which sparked 'Cleggmania' as well as the catchphrase "I agree with Nick", and the subsequent Twitter hashtag craze #nickcleggsfault ... (Available on YouTube here). Up to that point, Nick Clegg – though popular among those members of the public who had seen him in action – had a lower public profile than his deputy, Vince Cable. All that changed in one night, and with it the dynamics of the entire election campaign. In ...
How far should a government go in order to safeguard its citizens? Two stories have emerged concurrently that cast the question into new light. While most citizens tend to be happy with the theoretical notion of covert defence, security agencies usually try to keep the visceral practicalities of that defence obscured, as support for their methods often vanishes like spit on a hot rock when exposed to the full scrutiny of public opinion. Yesterday, I discussed the story of Shahram Amiri the Iranian who was kidnapped by / defected to the CIA in 2009. To my chagrin, the post was ...
So David Cameron thinks Facebook should remove the ghoulish support page for Raoul Moat. I am not sure what he thinks it would achieve. Anyone who uses Facebook knows that there are mad and stupid pages and groups on the site – and also some very good ones too. Charities and campaign groups flourish and ...
The UK Ambassador to Lebanon dared to observe that " The World needs more men like him [the late Ayatollah Fadlallah] willing to reach across faiths, acknowledging the reality of the modern world and daring to confront old constraints". According to reports the Ayatollah was pretty hard line & militant in his opposition to the USA & Israel. So predictably the Israeli Government protested & the 'blog' was taken down. Israel said "The British Ambassador must decide whether promoting terror and giving it religious justification can be considered a heritage to be cherished". If the Government of Israel applied this ...
It's been a long established pattern of British politics that the higher you go up the social scale, the higher turnout is in elections. The 2010 general election is no exception but looking through the numbers one class dimension comes out. Overall turnout collapsed after 1997 and has since had a modest recovery, but the pattern of that recovery across the classes is far from even. Amongst DEs, turnout in 2010 was 57%, still 9 points down on the 66% turnout in 1997. It was a similar picture amongst C2s (58%, still 11 points down) and C1s (66%, still 9 ...
Thu 15th
10:15
Mass Media Misses the Point of Thier Own Story! Solution Focused Politics makes the news but fails t...
One principle of social focused work is that we are already doing everything we need to be doing to solve the problems we have, we just need to do more of what is working and less of what is not. This principle should be a principle of politics too, but unfortunately it is not. While ...
Stockport Council's Executive recently decided to consult over the proposed closure of Offerton High School. Last night that decision was reviewed by the Children and Young People's Scrutiny Committee, of which I'm a member. The decision to go to consultation was supported by 14 of the 15 members present and opposed by none (Cllr Rowles abstained). What I'll do here is put down my personal thoughts as a committee member. I don't know Offerton School well - the only connection I have is my son attending the music service there every week, so if you'd like to comment from a ...
Today's Guardian reports the involvement of senior Labour figures, including Tony Blair and Jack Straw, in the illegal abduction and torture of British citizens by the secret services: The true extent of the Labour government's involvement in the illegal abduction and torture of its own citizens after the al-Qaida attacks of September 2001 has been spelled out in stark detail with the disclosure during high court proceedings of a mass of highly classified documents. Previously secret papers that have been disclosed include a number implicating Tony Blair's office in many of the events that are to be the subject of ...
Thu 15th
09:50
"I work in a modern tower block office in an alley where an Internet was invented in the 15th centur...
Who can resist a blog post that starts this way? If you too can't, then read this piece from Charlie Beckett.
There has been some speculation that given recent polls, David Cameron might consider ditching the coalition and going to the country again to try and get a mandate of his own. The Sun triggered more of this yesterday by explicitly asking in a tweet whether the highest poll ratings all year for the Tories (43%) with the Lib Dems languishing on 15% could persuade them to call a snap election to ditch the yellows. Here are three reasons why this just will not happen in increasing order of importance: 1) It's not just the Tories who are up. Labour is ...
Within hours of the court verdict squashing the Welsh Government's badger cull order I raised in business questions the need for an immediate statement by the Rural Affairs Minister. This is the text of the exchange: Peter Black: Could you arrange for a written statement on the plans for the Swansea to Ilfracombe ferry? You will know that the service was due to launch this year, but was cancelled due to the failure to secure a proper pontoon. Now the company has effectively advertised the boats for sale. I would be grateful if we could have a statement by the ...
Plaid Cymru Assembly Members must be getting pretty desperate to find reasons to attack the Liberal Democrats if this example is any evidence. Apparently, in a Radio Wales interview yesterday morning I appeared to rule out the introduction of a fair funding formula for Wales for five to six years, or so Plaid Cymru say. They have of course completely and deliberately failed to listen to a word I said. More importantly though they are also guilty of misleading the electorate by claiming that the £300 million underfunding referred to by Gerry Holtham in his report could just be conjured ...
Both the Conservative MP for Harborough Edward Garnier (Solicitor General, no less) and Liberal Democrat councillors in Market Harborough are campaigning against closure of the town's magistrates court. Are they all supporting spending cuts at a national level and opposing them locally? There is something of that, certainly. But I think there is more to it than that. As far the coalition has a shared ideology, it is a scepticism about big, centralised solutions. So it is legitimate to ask whether moving every trial to Leicester will save money and whether doing so will meet the need for justice to ...
15 July 1941: birth of Geoffrey Burgon, who composed the memorable incidental music for Terror of the Zygons and The Seeds of Doom (thanks, djm4), and also the music for Monty Python's Life of Brian and much else besides.
Just to let those of you in Colchester know, the next meeting of the Castle Neighbourhood Action Panel will be on Thursday 22nd July, starting at 5pm in the Town Hall. Any residents can come along and raise issues that they want the NAP to deal with, or if you can't make it to the meeting, ...
Lotus Chinese Floating Restaurant - Docklands, London - Chinese Restaurants "What could have been an excellent dining experience (good food, wonderful location) spoiled by dismal service and unhelpful staff. Having called ahead and been told that there was no need to book... we had to flag down a waiter after twenty minutes for our order to be taken... no effort to serve the right dish to the right person... painfully obvious that our main order was not only late but had in fact been lost... At no point did any of the staff we dealt with show any sign of ...
Chris has been lobbying for some time to ensure that the pedestrian phases in the centre of town are better co-ordinated. Both High Street and Chequer Street pedestrian lights have 'go bits' in them - basically encouraging pedestrians to cross when the traffic is stationary in addition to the usual phase. The effect of this is to clear waiting pedestrians so that the lights are less likely to be changed again once the traffic has started to move. The net effect should be to ensure a freer flow or traffic AND pedestrians. Let us now if this is not working ...
Something really good happened at the Public Inquiry into Village/Town Green status for Belle Vue on Wednesday. Near the end of the day four seventeen year old lads (and their football) turned up because they wanted to have their say. They'd read in the Chronicle that they might lose their fields and wanted to put their case. It was simple. They play there every day. It helps keep them out of trouble. They want the field to be kept. When asked questions they confirmed that they've never played for a team but often enough of them get together to have ...
My colleague, Julia Cherrett, asked the following question at Council last night. She illustrated it well with a case in Manchester and her own strong feelings on how the actions of people with epilepsy can be misinterpreted so badly whilst having a grand mal. "Can the Cleveland Police Authority representative assure us that a Taser will not be used on someone who is having an...
I don't normally write to the local paper about national matters but I was prompted to do so by a former Labour councillor. I hope that it will be published next week, expecially as it is a reply to a national comment... A strong opposition is a good thing, so I welcome David Whittaker's letter to The Visitor (July 14th) in which he criticises the Liberal Democrat/Conservative coalition's budget. In particular he dislikes the rate at which the Government wishes to cut the deficit and the impact on the poor. The fact is that the national debt has turned out ...
