In my previous post I wrote an open letter to Lynne Feathersone about her proposed ban on the enforcement of parking controls on private grounds; specifically on private estates. Where I live — in a small flat in a mansion block with a wonderful view looking over central London — is within such a private estate. It is pretty large: there are over 600 flats (apartments) and a similar number of houses, spread over a good-sized area of land, and there are two road entrances (except in bad weather when more side gates may get opened) and while each mansion ...
..........or.............100 Nights of the Long Knives and Runcible Spoons......? Hard to believe it is 100 days since that Tuesday evening in May when, for me, we as Lib Dems did the unthinkable. I had spent most of the previous few days intermittently chatting to a pal on FE who had consistently reassured me that there was no way we were going to do a deal with the Tories. And of course when Nick appeared to have achieved a coup in getting Gordon Brown to resign, I naively thought that the deal with Labour was done and dusted. I was under ...
I was pleased to find hidden in the business section of the Evening Gazette the very welcome news that local Councils can now sell surplus electricity they produce to the national grid. This was a Lib Dem initiative, that I am pleased to see happening quickly - although not many people will find out. Just whose manifesto cutting Child Benefit is in, is beyond me - but it definitely...
Over on the Total Politics website they've been poking fun at the 'house party' instructions issued by the David Miliband campaign. On reading the piece at first I thought it was being a little harsh, because house parties (where you invite electors – Labour members in this case – to a small event to discuss things face-to-face) have a great role in campaigning. And yes, the instructions are a bit detailed at points – but then many people will be hosting this sort of event for the first time ever. Then, however, I got to this part: Read your guests ...
Today's Guardian has a pretty decent go at covering who the key advisers are, on both the Liberal Democrat and Conservative side, how they are working together, who talks to who and so on. The piece has been praised by others today, but I only say "pretty decent" because it doesn't mention Alison Suttie. Talking about Lib Dem advisers without mentioning her is a bit like talking about Lib Dem MPs without mentioning Vince or my diet without mentioning chocolate. Previously for Ming Campbell and now for Nick Clegg she's played an absolutely key role in a deputy chief of ...
Further to my update last month on the impending gas and water work that will start next week in Thomson Street, I have received the following update from Scottish Water today : Our contractors, Morrisons, will begin a short programme of work to replace more than 300 metres of ageing water mains in Thomson Street, Dundee. Work is planned to start on 23 August and last for approximately 4 weeks. Our engineers will use the latest slip-lining method, in order to keep disruption to a minimum. Slip-lining involves easing the new durable, plastic pipe into the existing water main, which ...
All, The Conservatives running Stratford and Warwick District Councils have decided against a merger of senior management at the two Councils, rejecting a move that could have saved the Councils £1 million a year between them. The announcement has been greeted with dismay by the Liberal Democrats, who first suggested the idea in February, through identical motions put to the two Councils. A proposal to set up a joint working party from both Warwick and Stratford and from all political parties to look at the idea initially met with support from both Councils. Announcing that they were not prepared to ...
Dear Fraser, Today, the coalition Government is 100 days old. I want to take this moment to say thank you once again for all your support, all your hard work, all your generosity. Thank you for everything you did to help us win over a million more votes for the Liberal Democrats in the General Election. Thank you for getting Liberal Democrat ministers into government for the first time in generations. Today I made a speech about how the Coalition government is building a fairer society in Britain. Both David Cameron and I have always made it clear that we ...
Here's a post I wrote for the Young Fabian's blog. Everyone from the BBC to the Telegraph has reported Vince Cable's recent speech as in favour of a graduate tax. Most of the Labour leader candidates and the NUS have come out in favour it. But this isn't really much of a debate. The difference between the two systems is skin deep. Before tuition fees were brought in, higher education was free. Sort of. With the expansion of student numbers the grants were successively diminished and mortgage-style loans were brought in to cover the gap. Labour brought in a new ...
...and I still love him! Unfortunately, though, the option to embed the video is not available, so instead I'll point you in this direction. Andrew
This afternoon, I attended the first meeting of the newly "revised" scrutiny committee - this now includes the roles of audit and efficiency, previously covered in separate committees. This is a significant improvement (less committees=greater efficiency) and something I proposed a full year before it was implemented. The agenda was comprehensive and I asked questions on many items - the substantive matters including the lack of consistency in HMIe follow-up reports in that they do not update quality indicators when undertaking the follow up report. This was obvious in relation to the follow up report about the Whitfield Community Early ...
At yesterday's Cheadle Area Committee councillors approved the proposals for new parking restrictions on Coniston Road, Gatley, which aim to keep the junction safe and prevent parking down the road from causing problems for passing traffic, especially larger vehicles, such as fire engines. The proposals must now be advertised, allowing anyone the opportunity to object. They'll come back to Cheadle Area Committee (probably in October) when those objections (if any) will be considered. If councillors then decide to approve the plans, the lines can be painted and the new restrictions imposed.
...well not literally as I don't want to be seen encouraging drink driving. No what I'm talking about is the fact that Scottish scientist have found a way to turn "pot ale" and "draff" into biofuel. For those who have yet to go on a distillery tour the pot ale is the liquid from the cooper still and the draff is the spent grains. Therefore they are by products of the whisky industry, things that would otherwise just be disposed of. The scientists from Napier University found they could make Butanol from the two main by-products at Glenkinchie Distillery*. There ...
Today marks the end of the first 100 days of the Coalition Government. So how is it doing? Well its still very early days, but I think its a fair guess that the defining issue for this Government, as for most others, will be the economy. If the economy recovers well from the current recession, then voters will be likely to give it further support. If not then the odds would be that Labour would win back power at the next election. My assessment of progress so far is pretty postive; the medecine is undeniably bitter, but so far it ...
Over at The Observer at the weekend, Nick Clegg anticipated this week's Coalition anniversary with an article setting out some of the Government's achievements to date, but stressing that the Lib Dems and our Conservative partners are in it for the long haul: A coalition can only work if it is upfront about the differences between the two parties and explicit about the partnership it is seeking to create. It requires collective decision-making and a high level of candour as two different parties seek to govern together. ... our painstakingly negotiated programme for coalition government [is] all about a five-year ...
Old Hall Road in Gatley is one of the locations benefiting from the £2 million extra Stockport Boost funding put it to fix our roads after all the problems last winter. The section to be resurfaced (and no prizes for guessing - anyone who's seen it in the last few months will know) is from Pendlebury to near Leyland. According to the programme, it's due to be done in "summer" - whenever that might arrive. You can see the full list for this phase of work on the Council website here.
Six years ago almost to the day, I took my baby daughter to school for the first time. We looked over the photos yesterday and she really did look tiny. When she started, for the first few days, she had a "buddy" in Primary 7 who was there to show her the ropes and make sure she had people to play with at Play Time. That buddy, Carla, could now have left school, or will be going into 6th year. I hope she knows how she helped to make one little girl's first school days stress free. Anyway, it's Anna ...
I have spent the last 6 hours in sessions with the local business community regarding local economic partnerships. Whenever I get together with businesses I also use it as an opportunity to test the mood of local employers and to take the temperature of the local economy - and it was overwhelmingly positive. A number of port businesses reported increased trade flows and the fact they need extra staff to cope. A couple of manufacturers are taking on staff and the service industry was strong. It is fair to say no one had a downer on the future prospects for ...
Whilst on a quest for a plant stand this week with Mrs P, it was pointed out to me by a resident in Craig y Don that the Christmas decorative lights are on Morning,Noon and Night. A quick phone call was made to the council switchboard 01492 574000, where I asked for street lighting and reported it. Hopefully this fault will be rectified soon. Its amazing how people get used to seeing things and yet it only takes one individual to point it out and get it reported.
The annual Waterstone's ComRes survey of MPs' summer reading choices has just been published. You can read about the overall responses here, but I had a quick scan of the findings of the 12 Lib Dem MPs who replied to see what our party folk are planning to dip into during the parliamentary recess... The Idea of Justice – Amartya Sen = 14% Harry Potter = 14% Darren Shaw [do they mean 'Darren Shan'?] = 14% Solar – Ian McEwan = 12% The Third Man – Peter Mandelson = 7% The Wealth of Nations – Adam Smith = 7% De ...
Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader, standing in for the prime minister, delivered a speech to mark 100 days of the coalition government. You can read it here.
Yesterday I asked..... Lib Dem Voice is linking to an excellent article from Nick Clegg regarding his vision for a new political map and voting system. They helpfully post chunks of the article on the page with a link to the standard. A very special prize to the person who can spot what got my knee jerking in this paragraph... While there's no magic-wand solution [to missing voters on the electoral register] there are things we can do. Like exploring allowing registration officers to compare their records with other existing databases so they can actively seek out people not on ...
Mrs P wanted a plant stand for our hall this week and we looked in quite a few places. Driving through Deganwy this afternoon and not a parking space to be had on the road, I remembered Cllr Jason telling me about the Two free half hour spaces in the Pay & Display car park in Deganwy. As I drove in, there they were,two empty spaces. Loving a bargain I parked up and we both set off on our quest for the plant stand, not only did we find a suitable stand, we also had a chance to pop into ...
This sort of story reported in the Daily Mail makes one wonder about the reliability of the assessment processes used by local authorities.Whether there will be a serious case review or not is unclear. I think there should be some inquiry.
Lib Dems are idealists- it's one of the reasons I'm one if them. So why are we going to campaign for a non-ideal voting system? I'll try to explain that here, but note I'm not going to explain the systems themselves; I'll link to them as we go, though. "Proportional Representation" (i.e. MMCSTV) is the ideal electoral system for the UK, according to us. It retains a modified constituency link, while providing a choice of advocate for any casework a constituent might need. It is also proportional to a finer granularity; although no constituency-based system is fully proportional. Finally, and ...
I've mentioned Nokia on here a few times. For a mobile focused company, they seem to have a real problem with mobile advertising. It starts well enough with an animated GIF. [IMG: Nokia Advert] [IMG: Advert in context] The site it links to is http://music.nokia.co.uk/ – cleverly, Nokia redirect mobile users to a specific mobile version of the site. That's where it all starts to go wrong... Viewport Is Your FriendThis is what the user sees on visiting the advert. Better hope they've got great eyesight! [IMG: Zoomed Out Web Page] This is caused by having an obnoxiously wide graphic ...
Yesterday, was the second meeting of the Take Back Parliament - Birmingham Branch. It was a great meeting, well attended and well organised. It is apparent we have a lot of work to do between now and next May. The referendum represents an opportunity to make a once- in-a-lifetime change to our voting system - ...
If you haven't seen it yet, and you're not in a work environment, and you have at least heard of Ray Bradbury, you will love this: Rachel Bloom is obviously a name to watch out for in the future.
We have a well understood way of electing MPs and forming governments for UK-wide elections. Not that you'd know it from the comments of some, particularly those opposed to the coalition. Here's how it works. We elect MPs by first past the post. Those MPs then decide who forms a government. If a Prime Minister can get the support of a majority of MPs, he or she can form a government. If the PM loses that support, the government will normally fall. That system has produced some odd results over the years (as do all systems, depending on your view ...
From tomorrow the North West following the driest start to the year in more than 70 years. Please see below the letter I received from Philip Green, Chief Executive of United Utilities explaining the reasoning: We wrote to you at the start of last month to explain why we had taken the decision to ...
Today, the coalition Government is 100 days old. I want to take this moment to say thank you once again for all your support, all your hard work, all your generosity. Thank you for everything you did to help us win over a million more votes for the Liberal Democrats in the General Election. Thank you for getting Liberal Democrat ministers into government for the first time in generations. Today I made a speech about how the Coalition government is building a fairer society in Britain. You can read it here. Both David Cameron and I have always made it ...
Nick Clegg this morning delivered a speech on social mobility in which he outlined the Coalition's commitment to making decisions today that will promote a better future: a more prosperous economy, and a fairer society. Nick Clegg said: As of today, the new Coalition Government is 100 days old. Inevitably there is a plenty of discussion about our performance to date. Everyone will have their own view about the start we have made. I am proud of our achievements so far, from civil liberties, to political reform, to steps to reshaping our public services. And of course, our first Budget, ...
As a coalition-enthusiast, I need little reassurance that Nick Clegg and his Liberal Democrat colleagues in government are making their presence felt. For those that do, though, today's speech by the Deputy Prime Minister provided it by the bucket-load. His ... Continue reading →
A series of six lectures given in Westminster Cathedral in 2005 by Jean Vanier (founder of the Larche community), Mary McAleese, Timothy Radcliffe, Bob Geldof, Chris Patten and Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, addressing Europe and Christianity. Most of them are worthy but unsurprising. Chris Patten's is, of course, the best written. Bob Geldof's is weirdly wrong-headed and poorly structured on Europe but then very good on Africa. Mercifully brief.
Nick Clegg has expressed his frustration at the lack of response from the international community to help the 20 million people affected by the floods in Pakistan. Nick pointed out how much aid had come from the UK: "About close to one quarter of the aid already devoted to Pakistan has come from this country."The response from the international community as a whole, however, I have to say, bluntly, has just been lamentable. It's been absolutely pitiful."I find it refreshing to hear both Nick Clegg and David Cameron use such plain and honest language on many issues but particularly in ...
"When the history books are written, I want them to say that this government paid down the budget deficit..." [my emphasis]. Is that American history books? I hope British history books don't adopt that Americanism, which Nick Clegg seems to have picked up from David Cameron who used it in one of the TV debates. "Paid off", or "reduced" please, not paid down.
Wed 18th
15:45
Clegg on social mobility: "making opportunity a right of the many, rather than a privilege of the fe...
Nick Clegg today delivered his widely trailed speech on improving social mobility today, marking the 100th day of the Lib Dem / Conservative Coalition Government. You can read the full text below, also available at the party website. Lib Dem Voice Co-Editor Mark Pack has put on his professional hat over at the Mandate blog to offer his commentary, concluding there might be some internal juggling going on between the Coalition partners: Perhaps too there is a piece of internal coalition manoeuvring going on here: let the Conservatives be the hard-nosed people who balance the books and grudgingly win respect ...
We had the good news last night that the Council is in the process of developing a way to tackle fly-posting faster than at present. Right now fly-posting is dealt with by Planning enforcement (unless it's on Council property). Unfortunately, though understandably, it's low on their priority list with many other enforcement cases to deal with. The plan is to move the responsibility for sorting out fly-posting to the Area Conditions Officer. The details are still being worked out, but hopefully the result will be less fly-posting which gets removed faster when it does appear.
[IMG: Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister] Tackling the budget deficit may the coalition government's short-term overriding need, but its legacy will be both a stronger economy and also a fairer society according to the speech Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg gave earlier today. In a tightly packed room, Clegg addressed the massed ranks of the media in a way that previous Liberal Democrat leaders have only very occasionally been able to. This speech was a long way away from the days of Lib Dem party leaders addressing two journalists and a clutch of party staff in the Cowley Street main ...
Pam's been down to Broadway following concern from residents after the flooding last Thursday. It sounds like there's an issue with the culvert that runs down Wilmslow Road past Broadway and it's getting worse. We're very keen to get this sorted. The grids are being cleared on Broadway as I write and Pam and I have been, and will continue to be, in touch with Solutions SK and the Council to ensure whatever work needs to be done, is done. Last night at Cheadle Area Committee we spent some time discussing similar issues relating to a culvert along Ladybridge Road ...
Wednesday: So, we made it to one hundred days, a hundred days of the Coalition being "about to be torn apart any moment" by appalled soggy Liberal Democrats or outraged nutter-wing Conservatories. We'll do the scores on the doors in a moment, but before that I suppose the most significant thing about the Coalition turning 100 days old is the number of commentators who flatly insisted we'd never get here at all. Have you noticed that recently? The "life expectancy" of the government has quietly dropped from political discussion. It's become accepted that, actually, this government is going to stick. ...
Last month, YouGov's Peter Kellner penned a rather premature post, which stated categorically: The honeymoon is over. I took him to task at the time, and stand by my view that the Coalition is still regarded generally favourably by a plurality of the public. It's been interesting, then, to read some of the barrage of opinion polling which has greeted the Coalition's first 100 days. Perhaps most significant is this article in The Guardian – Coalition winning argument on economy – detailing ICM polling which shows 44% believe the coalition is doing a good job in securing economic recovery against ...
Labour Peer, Lord Foulkes who is also an MSP is to quit Holyrood in favour of the House of Lords, but not until May next year at the Scottish elections. In the Scotsman Lord Foulkes said: "I have made it clear my name is not to go forward even for an allegedly 'unwinnable' seat."Lord Foulkes has apparently, with others been disappointed by Holyrood. "Up until now, Holyrood has, for various reasons, disappointed some of us who were among the founders of the institution." Surely though as one of the founders as he states he should have influenced changes to improve ...
The Guardian today put up a piece asking 'What is Cameronism?', and offering up answers from a wide variety of 'worthies' including David Milliband, that well-known scholar of the Tory party. These answers range from the moronically vituperative ("I doubt he has a seriously ideological bone in his body") to the slavish ("It is a ...
Over on the BBC website is an illuminating story about one of the pieces of research behind how the BBC websites are designed. What it brings out is how some basic visual cues can make it much easier for people to recognise a web page as being from the BBC, Google or whoever. The relevance to leaflet design? Well, political leaflets put through letterboxes often only get a brief glance from their recipient before being dispatched to the (recycling) bin. In those few seconds you need to make the leaflet stand out, make it clear who it is from and ...
Jack Straw has revealed that he was relived that Labour did not form a coalition with the Lib Dems in May. The statement comes as the coalition at Westminster marks its first hundred days in power. Straw says he felt that they would have been scrabbling around for votes to get items passed - a point I made at the time. He also says there is inherent mistrust within Labours ranks of the Lib Dems. Well I have news for you Jack; it cuts both ways! The tribal behaviours I have seen over the years from Labour politicians does make ...
The stretch from 7 seconds in until 22 seconds in is fairly normal. But as for the rest... The advert was run by Luis Fishman in Costa Rica earlier this year. A former Vice President of the country, he failed in his bid to become President. The advert is also available on YouTube here.
Time to get busy on our local campaigns. Since the election we have gained quite a few new members but, with my membership secretary hat on, I am hoping to get some more. We have a busy year ahead of us - there will be the 2011 Swale Council elections and the Alternative Vote referendum to campaign on. Members: Overall we have increased our membership but sadly we lost a few. I guess this is understandable but we did say we would talk to whoever got the biggest mandate, and the public decided that would be the Conservatives. Some preferred ...
Ian Fleming once had Auric Goldfinger say: 'Mr Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."' Is the Welsh Government taking the same view about this news that there are in fact three empty schools around Wales, awaiting formal closure proceedings? Last week Education Minister Leighton Andrews said Carmarthenshire council's decision to keep Capel Iwan, near Newcastle Emlyn, open was "bonkers." Now Gwynedd and Ceredigion councils have confirmed they each have a primary school without any pupils. The BBC say that although Ysgol Abergynolwyn near Tywyn in Gwynedd and ...
The trouble with Tony Blair's on the face of it massively generous donation of proceeds from his memoirs is all down to his reputation. What would normally have been acclaimed as a fantastic act of generosity has become embroiled in a debate over whether it is "blood money" or the act of a man riddled with guilt. Of course one of the key reasons for that is that the proceeds will go towards a sports and fitness centre for ex servicemen. Perhaps as "education, education, education" was once his rallying cry it's perhaps a surprise that he hasn't sought to ...
Next year there will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to get rid of the first past the post system and replace it with the Alternative Vote system; The House of Lords is about to be reformed; the number of parliamentary constituencies is about to be reduced. As Liberal Democrats we have a once in a generation opportunity to shape the discussion about the kind politics which will best serve the British people. Our autumn conference fringe event will explore that – but not in the normal way, with the normal suspects. We want to do this in a ...
There is nothing really key about 100 days. It is a purely arbitrary point at which to assess a government.However, one key assessment is what the interest rate is on government debt. The figures from Bloomberg today are:UK (10 year) 3.037Ireland (10 year) 5.236Greece (10 year) 10.692Germany (10 year) 2.353That affects in the long term how much money is available for public services. Labour's
Yesterday afternoon I took some time out to visit Fairbridge to see at first hand the work it does with disengaged 13-25 year olds in Greater Manchester. Fairbridge aim to improve the lives of inner city youth, helping them achieve their true potential, whether that be returning to education, training, gaining employment or securing housing. Fairbridge take ...
Thank you to everyone who bought something, or donated, or boosted the signal, or just sent us hugs. We have now raised enough for Byron's operation. I am totally overwhelmed by how lovely you all are. Thank you, from both of us. Hopefully this will mean we will be able to have lots more times like the one in the picture. I'll keep you posted about what happens tomorrow, and thank you again. ♥
I was recently asked to write about the current situation in Wales for Liberal Democrat Voice but got a bit carried away. Accordingly, they are carrying the piece in three less-than-bite-sized chunks. The first two are here and here. I have reintegrated them into one article below and will publish the final part on this blog as well once Liberal Democrat Voice has posted it: The Welsh Assembly is in a unique situation. Each of the four parties represented there are in government at some level. Whilst the Liberal Democrats have entered government in Westminster for the first time, Labour ...
Some recommended reading for Lib Dem Councillors and local campaigners this week: Wednesday marked 100 days of the Coalition Government. Nick Clegg called the public to "Judge us on 5 years, not on 100 days" in a major interview in the Observer last Sunday. 100 days in The Observer's sister paper The Guardian has us on a (fairly respectable) 18% in the polls. In Local Government the main news in the last week has been the abolition of the Audit Commission. The Local Government Chronicle reports here as "Audit Commission and Ministers Trade Blows". Lib Dem Audit Commission member (and ...
I'm immensely fond of the original Doctor, William Hartnell, and it's a good week if you are too. After showing Hell Drivers on Monday, in which he's the villain and Patrick McGoohan's his heavy, at 12.45 today BBC2 present The Mouse That Roared, in which Billy's the heavy and Peter Sellers is most of the rest of the cast*. Now, if only they'd repeat a season of Billy's Doctor Who stories as well... And while not all of those still properly exist, tomorrow a CD boxed set of the "missing stories" is released (you can pre-order it for half price). ...
Beaconsfield Road: there needs to be yellow lines outside SS Alban and Stephen Church to provide proper sight lines around the main entrance. This was previously not a problem because of the bus stop outside number 14. The bus stop is now defunct. Chris is pressing the county and district councils to proceed with this as quickly as possible.
Yesterday saw signs that the reality of the economic situation is at least understood by some senior Labour figures, when the immediate past-Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling launched a thinly-veiled attack on former prime minister Gordon Brown, saying Labour lost the general election because it ignored the deficit. According to the Daily Mail, Mr. Darling said that Labour allowed itself to be sidetracked into an argument for investment over cuts, seen by many as a reference to Mr Brown's election mantra. And in a warning to his party colleagues, he urged them to accept the need to cut the ...
I guess one thing we can be grateful for is that the annual absence of politicians from Westminster is much shorter than usual. Maybe that's not so good for the MPs themselves. I've always said that the long Summer recess is not a holiday, but an opportunity to catch up with research and spend time in the constituency. Most of the MPs I know have had to be forced by their families into even taking a two week holiday during that time. The reason I say grateful for the curtailment is that it makes the silly season, where the press ...
Simon Hughes is a Lib Dem party stalwart and 'Treasure'. He won one of the most contentious by-elections of the modern period, one in which no party covered itself in glory, despite what the preening Labour Party might wish to declare. He has worked Southwark and Bermondsey - a difficult seat with many local issues just a few of which would tax politicians of lesser mettle - for decades now. He remains an important conscience for the party and a persuasive force for what might in less enlightened times have been referred to as the 'left'. Great guy. The trouble ...
[IMG: oxford fall] Oxford Fall, Veronica Stallwood An Oxford college fundraiser, reportedly drunk, plunges to his death from the top of the Tower of Grace – how could I not read a detective novel with such an alluring premise? The weak part of the novel is Stallwood's irritatingly bland heroine, Kate Ivory, who blithely ignores all warnings, and blunders into danger with all the insouciance of a 1970s' Dr Who assistant. I ended up half-hoping the murderer would dispatch her: it would at least have made her interesting. The strong part is the contrivance which shouldn't have worked: an ongoing ...
Previously, I referred to the fact that the Coalition Agreement contained three specific provisions relating to Wales. One of these concerned the drawing down of legislative powers over housing.The second provision relates to the way that Wales (and Scotland for that matter) is funded. This is a matter of some controversy here and the coalition agreement offers little clarity on how it is to be resolved. It is safe to say that the rather esoteric phrase referring to it needs to be subject to negotiation with UK Treasury Ministers so as to establish the best way forward. Funding has been ...
The forms for the 2010 electoral register have started to go out, and I received mine yesterday. Make sure you return it as soon as you can! Don't lose your right to vote. Next year we definitely have local elections, and almost certainly have the AV referendum for a better electoral system for Westminster too. You don't need to wait to return the form, and can respond to it by phone or on the web too. Details are on the form. If you are reasonably sure you won't be moving before 15th October then please don't wait: get the response ...
Mashable today features a story about Justin Long (a.k.a the US Mac advert guy, Justin in the US TV show ED [which was awesome], the hacker guy in Die Hard 4.0) having a jailbroken iPhone (one which allows no Apple approved apps). However I found the attached video from the article much more interesting. In it Justin Long talks about a random texts he started to receive from some "tween" and
Wed 18th
10:10
100 days of the Coalition: how the news media has turned out to be the biggest, sorest loser of them...
One hundred days. How the media loves a yardstick. We have US President FD Roosevelt to thank for the obsession with the first 15 weeks of a new government's activity: in a race against time to save the US economy from its Depression slump, he signed into law over a dozen recovery programmes. Some worked, some didn't... You can draw your own analogy. It is of course far too early to know if the Coalition will succeed. It is also far too early to know whether the Lib Dems will be boosted by our involvement in government, or if we'll ...
Wed 18th
10:10100 days of the Coalition: how the news media has turned out to be the biggest, sorest loser of them...
One hundred days. How the media loves a yardstick. We have US President FD Roosevelt to thank for the obsession with the first 15 weeks of a new government's activity: in a race against time to save the US economy from its Depression slump, he signed into law over a dozen recovery programmes. Some worked, some didn't... You can draw your own analogy. It is of course far too early to know if the Coalition will succeed. It is also far too early to know whether the Lib Dems will be boosted by our involvement in government, or if we'll ...
One you may have missed from November 6th 2007 The last time I visited the public gallery of the House of Commons was about eight years ago. The first thing I noticed in the chamber was Michael Fabricant's resplendent hair. It stood out like a beacon. I visited the public gallery again this evening. Lo and behold, the first thing that shone into my irises was, yes, Michael Fabricant's hair again. It's still there shining out after all these years. It's a bit like the light at the top of Big Ben tower which only shines when parliament is sitting. ...
I've often quietly muttered (not shouted you understand, I am English after all - regardless of what the Daily Mail thinks) at the TV news, "But why haven't you put a scale on that map?" as another map appears that gives you no clear whether the disaster being reported on is taking place over an area larger than the UK or smaller than my desk. A new site however has a far better solution to the question of understanding how big something really is. It's called, wait for it ..., HowBigReally.com. Go take a visit. NOW! Now, got to make ...
Clearly Nick Clegg has been doing a little too much 4chan lately, trying to keep up, or down, with the kids. Anyone with a bit of internet nous will have heard the meme: "adjective noun is adjective" – and it seemed like Mr Clegg was enjoying using it this morning. In two separate interviews on ...
For several months Pam and I have been working on getting a series of yellow lines put down in key places around Cheadle where residents have complained cars parking near junctions is causing safety issues. Yesterday's Cheadle Area Committee approved the final stage which means the order can go in and the lines painted. They are: On Grange Park Road (both sides) near the junction with Wilmslow Road. On Wilmslow Road north and south of the entrance to Whitegates On Wimslow Road north and south of the junction with Warren Avenue On Schools Hill at the junction with Daylesord Crescent ...
Here's the simple challenge, with £50 to charity of your choice on offer to the first person. Find me a story in a mainstream media outlet about exam results in the UK this year. Oh, and it has to have at least one photo. Oh, and the photo(s) have to be of photogenic boys, not girls. After all, there are plenty of such stories illustrated just with photos of girls, so there's bound to be plenty that's just illustrated with boys, isn't there? Tally ho etc. (Update: and yes, I mean the UK)
Following the announcement by George Osborne last week that the Ministry of Defence would shoulder the capital costs of replacing Trident, former Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Menzies Campbell called upon the Government to review the replacement as part of the Strategic Defence Review.
This morning's Western Mail reports that a flagship Assembly scheme to give serving Army personnel a 50% discount on their Council tax has flopped after only 15 families applied for the rebate in Wales. Welsh Liberal Democrat Housing Spokesperson, Peter Black has produced a report which shows that a few local authorities have taken some extra steps to promote the discount, for example by briefing staff so that they may offer it to relevant households, and some have included details in their newspapers or leaflets. However a number are relying on Welsh Government and Ministry of Defence publicity, which appears ...
I am usually sceptical about instant history book as they come out before there has been time for reflection or analysis and yet whilst events are still fresh in your mind. Too often therefore the instant history account simply tells you what you can still remember, and no more. However, Nicholas Jones's book does a good job of avoiding this trap by being rather more about Campaign 2005 - 2009 than Campaign 2010. The book may be titled Campaign 2010, but much of it is better reflected in the subtitle, The Making of the Prime Minister, for it is about ...
I am not doing the 100 good things in 100 days malarkey and if you want to read more here is the coalition agreement. But here are some reasons to be cheerful to keep you going Tax threshold rising taking many low paid workers out of income tax altogether Tax loopholes that allow the wealthy to pay less of their income in tax than their cleaners closed Earnings link to state pensions restored Making Bankers pay for their mess through a £2.5 billion levy The pupil premium targeted at the poorest pupils Reform of the banking system An independent commission ...
The first day of term is always going to be a bit miserable, but I was cheered this morning by Nick Clegg's appearance on BBC Breakfast talking about social mobility. One of the things that impressed me, was that when asked about declining poll numbers he chose to answer the question directly. He could have talked about the thousands of new members who have joined the Liberal Democrats since the Coalition was formed. He could have talked, as Mark Pack made the point on Sky the other night, about how Labour were ahead in the polls 3 months after Thatcher ...
I love Simon Hughes dearly but his call today for a 'coalition veto' while the sentiment is grounded in the right place his solution is all wrong. We are 100 days into a coalition, so we cannot yet say that decisions have been made without consultation. The deal was taken to the Federal Executive and Parliamentarians, with the exception of Charles Kennedy they agreed to it. Even the special conference of party delegates passed it. However, as far as being able to veto something divisive that the Tories may foist upon the Liberal Democrats yes we should have that. But ...
I voted for Tony Blair as Labour leader in 1994; I voted for him again to become Labour prime minister in 1997. I soon learned my lesson. As Prime Minister, he failed. Not so much domestically: sure, he disappointed but show me a political leader who doesn't. But in foreign policy, Mr Blair was an unmitigated disaster, the most incompetent post-war Prime Minister bar none (yes, even worse than Anthony Eden). His intentions are irrelevant: the results of his – and it was his – decision to wage war against Iraq have made Britain and the world less safe at ...
dates specified in canon 18th August 1951: Sarah Jane Smith's parents die in a car accident after attending the village fete at Foxgrove, as we see in The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith (SJA, 2008). 18th August 1941: start of the earlier timeline in Gary Russell's 2008 Torchwood novel, The Quiet Streets (haven't read it myself).
After thirteen years of Labour government, Wales was left with a third of children living in poverty, a wider gap between rich and poor than under the Conservatives and the lowest social mobility in Western Europe. Securing the economic recovery and getting people back into jobs is paramount for the Coalition Government. Tackling Labour's huge deficit is essential to restoring growth in the economy and giving people hope for the future. The Government has acted swiftly to ensure a referendum on law making powers takes place as early as possible. The Liberal Democrats in Government at Westminster are now delivering ...
Well after many months of planning, changing plans, applying for courses, actually completing my CELTA course, getting my grades, applying for jobs and many other little steps in between. On Monday I will move to teach English as a foreign language in the Ukraine for the next 10 months at least. As such obviously this Blog will be facing some changes that will no doubt reflect the change in my
James William Harding was perhaps the most enigmatic of my Great Grandfathers and it has taken many years of sifting through old records to find traces of him. He is also the least popular it seems and something of an ... Continue reading →
Every family has a complete and utter rotten apple and my family history is no different at all. Mine comes in the shape of one John Godliman who is distant cousin from the 1800′s. He has the distinguished honour of ... Continue reading →
Tuesday 17th. Going up the A19 with friends I was pointing out some "old" windmills along side the new wind turbines. The turbines, I must say, looked graceful on the skyline, and we were talking about how difficult it was to understand how so many people object to them. I was thinking about the parts of South Yorkshire where I spent a lot of my childhood where slag heaps and pollution rules...
Lord Pearson the leader of UKIP has stood down because he is "not much good" at party politics and UKIP "deserved a better politician... to lead it". Well he can't have been too bad within his own party as I presume they are a democratic party and he was elected leader. The trouble is Lord Pearson is right. He isn't good at party politics and I don't think it is unfair to describe his leadership as shambolic. So how did UKIP manage to increase their vote locally and nationally as the local campaign was shambolic too? I can only presume ...
