Geez, I've been gone so long from the internet that returning was mildly filled with dread and anxiety. I have my LiveJournal friends page skipping back until I get bored, and digging through 232 unreads posts in my Bloglines, and yeah. The temptation to skip everything is really highg right now. So, what have I been up do for the past however long? I submitted my thesis I mean holy crap, people. There were times I thought I'd never get it done. "Should have finished her PhD by now was so ingrained as part of my identity (and, associated, my ...
Your chance now to input into DEFRA and end the insanity that is Incineration and move the Country to a sensible waste strategy based on the concepts of Zero Waste. Defra Consultation Link HERE Bath and NE Somerset Council was the first in the land to adopt a waste strategy based on the philosophy of ZERO WASTE and at the same time reject any form of waste disposal based on the flawed logic of incineration. The motion put by Cllr Roger Symonds and Seconded by me was amazingly endorsed by the full Council with nearly all Councillors supporting us. Are ...
This lunchtime I spent a windy hour helping man a street stall outside Angel tube station put up by the Islington branch of Take Back Parliament, the coalition of NGOs and lobbying groups that is campaigning for a reform of Britain's broken electoral and political system — and therefore for a 'yes' vote in next May's ...
TESCO have now submitted their application to convert the Bath Press site into a new TESCO supermarket. The proposal is for a mixed use of the site with a Tesco, parking, office and accomodation all on the site. This comes hard on the heals of the LIDL application on the Herman Millar site. Also recently the garage on the other side of the Windsor Bridge is converting to a TESCO express and the...
The Take to the Tees event peaked today with the first ever River Rat Race. 750 competitors ran, swam, kayaked, splodged through mud and other joyous activities.The wind was strong enough to cause concern over the tents and marquees erected along the riverside but the Council's events team was keeping a close eye on things and no insurmountable problems seemed to arise. Certainly the families
On holiday last summer I visited and photographed Trinity Hospital in Castle Rising, Norfolk. This time I visited and photographed Trinity Hospital in Clun, Shropshire. Both these groups of almshouses were established by Henry Howard, First Earl of Northampton, and there is a third at Greenwich. This time I was not seized by the warden and given a guided tour, and the Trinity Hospital in Clun has some 19th century additions. But the gardens are lovely.
At the start of the month I asked why political radicalism has become synonymous with a desire to see a permanent and massive public debt. Stumbling and Mumbling went further, pointing out that there are several reasons why the left should be suspicious of a large public debt.* So I was pleased to see John Pugh, the Liberal Democrat MP for Southport, writing an article for Liberal Democrat Voice in which he argues that "Liberal Democrats can act to reduce the deficit and be positive about the role of the democratic state". That is quite right and I am pleased ...
I attended a very useful meeting on Thursday with representatives of the Western Cemetery Association and the Director of Leisure & Communities and some of his team, about the cemetery and supporting the Association's work. The Association does excellent work in assisting with the conversation of the cemetery and we had a very positive meeting.
I was going to blog about this yesterday but I thought I would give this some thought and look into the claims and the facts around the story. So lets look at the assertion on the petition and look at what is actually happening / has happened. The Coalition Government's Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has announced that NHS Direct - the 24 telephone advice line staffed by nurses - is to be scrapped for a cheaper alternative. So lets break this down into the three component parts 1. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has announced that NHS Direct....is to be scrapped ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 184th 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 (22nd – 28th August, 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. Former ...
[IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Yann de la marne [IMG: Gran Torino Shooting] The Mail, I mean, in their article: "Memo to Foreign Secretary William Hague (49): Leave baseball caps to the teenagers". The poor fellow. He was off-duty and walking through London wearing a Bentley-motiffed baseball cap – a year ago (well before he was Foreign Secretary). He took the cap off as soon as he realised he was being photographed. But, oh no, the Mail now see fit to have a go at him for wearing a baseball cap – a year after the photo was taken. ...
[IMG: LibDem conference] The Twitter hashtag that's emerged as the one for people to use when tweeting about Liberal Democrat conferences is #ldconf. If you are following an event live, following a hashtag can be a great way of getting an extra feel for what people are thinking and doing. It's a bit like the difference between watching a sports event with or without the colour and noise of the crowd. However, if you're wanting to look back and see how people reacted - for example, seeing which bits of a speech got the best or worst responses - Twitter's ...
As some of my readers know, my partner Roger and I will be holding our Civil Partnership next January. This has led me into every card and stationery shop wherever I go. I've been surprised how many companies have embraced not just the wedding market but also the civil partnership market too. And when gay marriage becomes law, the whole wedding marketing scene will become so much easier. However, Clinton Cards have not embraced the Civil Partnership aspect at all. I popped into their branches on Princes Street and in Ocean Terminal and was somewhat shocked to see the photo ...
Sun 29th
16:37
Tax cuts vs Public spending: Danny Alexander's comments flag up the Coalition arguments to come
I've been critical these past few weeks of the news media's obsessional search to put a cigarette paper between Coalition politicians: mostly these have been the product of journalists' desperation to fill space. But today's interview in the Observer with Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander is, I think, significant for the future of the Lib/Con partnership. ... Alexander makes clear that total tax revenue will have to remain at least at current levels throughout the parliament to put the nation's finances back in order. "I think the tax burden is necessary as a significant contribution to ...
Lucy White enjoys climbing a tree at the Secret Garden (reproduced with permission of Alex White) I've written angrily before about common sense being flung out the window when it comes to "child safety". Despite my own over-anxiety as a mum, I realise that swaddling children in red tape is neither sensible nor effective. I've recently been made aware of another example of over zealousness on this issue and this time it's personal because it affects some of my favourite people in the World. My friend Alex sends her four year old daughter Evie to an outdoor nursery in Fife ...
We have reported the broken bollards at Noad's Corner to the Council.
The recent report on fathers who don't take paternity leave (Some 45% of new fathers said they did not take paternity leave) and the fact that David Cameron took paternity leave has put paternity leave in the news over the last few weeks. There has been plenty of chat in the media and radio phone in's, I have noticed some people have questioned why fathers are not taking paternity leave. I have even heard that they think some fathers who don't take paternity leave are bad fathers. They don't understand why they haven't saved up. Well as a father to ...
The moment that the English Health Minister mentions that he is considering replacing NHS Direct with the new non-emergency number 111 the internet goes mad. Accusations of Thatcherism and of destroying the NHS have been flying around all day, whilst Lord Prescott has even started a petition, which he says is to force a debate on the issue. Well I have some news for you, your Lordship, Labour have opposition days whereby they can table debates of this nature in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and if they make a good enough case the Speaker ...
Yesterday's Financial Times featured an interview with former Epping resident Griff Rhys Jones. He wasn't very complimentary about the town: His teens were spent in Epping, Essex, which he found "excruciatingly suburban ... A high street full of shoe shops and very, very quiet streets where people look behind curtains at people who arrive". He found it claustrophobic, vowing to get as close to the centre of London as possible: "I'm not a very sit-still sort of person. I tend to think 'oh, let's go out for lunch now; let's go do this now' or 'what shall we do tonight?'." ...
"A healthy pedestrian mowed down by a runaway omnibus" – Trevor Wilson's metaphor to describe the fall of the Liberal Party between 1916 and 1931 is quoted approvingly by Professor John Shepherd, co-director of the Labour Research Unit at Anglia Ruskin University, in a fascinating article in the summer issue of the Journal of Liberal History. One of the Coalition memes doing the rounds among some of the commentariat is that, by embarking on a partnership with the Conservatives, the Lib Dems have sealed their own fate, that a split is inevitable. After all, the argument goes, Lloyd George's pact ...
Tour of BedZED All councillors received an invitation for a tour of the borough's flagship eco-village, BedZED. The tour was conducted by BioRegional, the local environmental organisation behind BedZED based in Hackbridge. After welcome refreshments we were shown around one of the apartments in the development. Various sustainable design features were pointed out and explained. The ...
The next series or Doctor Who is going to have a mid-season split after seven episodes, which what Steven Moffat calls a "game-changing cliffhanger" at Easter "an earth-shattering climax". It will return in the autumn with a run of six episodes. It is not as The Grand Moff says splitting the series in two but making it two distinct series on the same budget with same number of shows. It means there will not be the long wait from the end of the series until the Christmas special. It also means that it is closer to the story arcing of ...
So the government under Labour piloted a new scheme This was a scheme to replace NHS Direct with a new 111 non-emergency number.Quoting from this:In the future, it could become the single number for non-emergency services, including NHS Direct.Ministers did know about it:Health Minister Mike O'Brien said: "Patients have told us that they need clear, easy advice on how to find healthcare quickly
Born in America to an English mother and a Serbian father, and coming to England at the age of 13, Lene Lovich enjoyed a varied career before becoming a New Wave icon. According to Wikipedia: attended several art schools, busked around the London Underground and appeared in cabaret clubs as an "Oriental" dancer. She also travelled to Spain, where she visited Salvador Dalí in his home. She played acoustic rock music around London, sang in the mass choir of a show called Quintessence at the Royal Albert Hall, played a soldier in Arthur Brown's show, worked as a "go-go" dancer ...
Sun 29th
12:45Pollwatch - State of the Leaders: how Clegg and Cameron are rated by the public (Summer 2010)
Last week, Pollwatch looked at the state of the parties in July and August; today it's the turn of the coalition government leaders. As with all polls, what follows comes with caveats. Only two polling companies - YouGov and Mori - this past month asked questions specifically to find out the public's views of the Lib Dem and Tory party leaders. (Harriet Harman's performance as Labour leader is not being measured). And each asks variants on the basic question - do you think Clegg/Cameron are doing a good job - to come up with their figures, so comparison ain't easy. ...
There's been a lot of controversy about the Government's decision to close down NHS Direct in England and, as usual, the Labour Party have gone into overdrive to save it. NHS Direct seems to me to be a very different organisation to NHS 24 which is effectively a triage service for out of hours care in Scotland. Where NHS Direct appears to just give advice, NHS 24's nurses will actually book the appointment at the out of hours service, or call an ambulance for you if necessary. The aim is that everyone who needs to be seen out of hours ...
This morning's Observer contains a stark warning from Treasury chief secretary, Danny Alexander that there will be no cut in the overall burden of taxation for at least five years. The paper says that with plans already in place to reduce tax on lower earners, Danny's comments appear to dash hopes of tax cuts for the better-off and middle classes until 2015 at the earliest: Alexander argues that the twin goals of deficit reduction and fairness, as well as plans for a greener economy, are part of the coalition agreement and will drive decisions on tax. "The plan we set ...
The track at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium is one of my favourites of the F1 calendar. It's fast and owes much of its lush, green beauty to the frequent rain showers its little micro-climate bestows on it. A weekend at Spa without rain is as unimaginable as going to a Liberal Democrat conference and finding nobody willing to talk about land value taxation. Spa nearly always throws up surprises. Michael Schumacher has won there from 16th on the grid. He and David Coulthard had their infamous coming together in the rain there. Force India got their first ever pole position and ...
Rather a sweet memoir of growing up as the headmaster's son in colonial Nigeria before and during the second world war. I liked it more than Chinua Achebe; there seemed to me to be more interrogation of political and gender power structures - one memorable scene has Soyinka's mother yelling her rage down the phone at the local British official at the Allies for bombing the (non-white) Japanese rather than the (white) Germans. The other point that grabbed me was the lip-smacking portrayal of Nigerian cuisine. I would like to know more about West Africa in general, and I guess ...
Niklas Smith argues vigourously for Free schools here. But is he right?
There are many who believe that there is no reason why people should vote as the likelihood of their vote counting is less than winning the lottery - see here or Feakonomics. For me, no matter how small my vote may count to the end result, I still want my vote to count and I ...
Niklas Smith has an article on Liberal Democrat Voice arguing that the party should support the government's new generation of free schools. This is a view I have a great deal of sympathy with, as I showed in a House Points column a couple of months ago. As I found when thinking out my views for that column, this is a complex question. And I have not been an elected councillor for nearly 20 years, which might affect my views too. But I joined the Liberal Party, and later transferred to the Liberal Democrats, because I believed that Labour's philosophy ...
I'm following in the footsteps of Stephen and Micheàl in posting this as it's worth sharing.The original came from Will McGarvey who was reposting Mitchell Sturgess on Facebook. If you know me at all, you'll have realised that it's not quite as the headline suggests..... 01) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning. 02) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall. 03) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People ...
The Amazon Kindle is a new, cynical way of Amazon selling books without having to pay postage modern format of reading content without having to waste trees. Amazon have recently redesigned their e-reader and is selling the new one with much fanfare. You can pre-order it right now and have it arrive just in time for conference – which hopefully will mean you can read your conference papers on it, if you have opted for paperless confereeing this year. And, what, I hear the tumults call, will happen to Lib Dem Voice? Well, worry ye not, for LDV is also ...
You'd tbink that readers leaving comments at the bottom of newspaper articles only started in the early 2000s.But it dates back to at least '96. That's 1696.According to Slate, In 1696, British publisher Ichabod Dawks left blank space in his pages for readers to supplement the words he printed. The first edition of Dawks's News Letter, dated Aug. 4, 1696, told readers, "This letter will be done
Scrapping NHS Direct and launch of a national '111′ service, announced by the Coalition, smacks of common-sense when you look at the figures. Every call to the NHS Direct cost £25.53 per call, and they refer out the majority of their calls as emergencies (some estimates put it at two-thirds). So with every trip to ...
Playing football with youngsters from deprived areas could look like good PR, but for it to work you need to adhere to the rules and avoid kicking any of them in the face. It is fairly obvious what the commentator is thinking when the incident happens. Just in case you want to ignore the very good advice to avoid doing this in an election year then maybe you should study this video so as to perfect your technique. Some of the kicks are less than accidental, one involves a headbutt and the sliding tackle by the coach into the already ...
Alun Davies AM took to the press this week to respond to rumours about internet allegations over an S4C contract. Alun, like people from all parties, has been making loud noises about the need for reform at S4C. Alun was "appalled at the material, which has been circulating in political and media circles since the weekend. The material wrongly suggests Mr Davies' company Bute Communications was awarded a contract by S4C in contravention of EU competition law, as part of a deal under which he relinquished his role as the broadcaster's director of corporate affairs in 2004" Displeased, Alun went ...
Labour hypocrisy continues to become their standard policy stance. At the 2010 general election they supported immediate legislation to change the electoral system to AV. A few weeks later they now oppose it- on the grounds that the Lib Dems and the coalition are for it. At the 2010 general election they supported the creation of a 111 number to replace the failed NHS direct project. Now they oppose it- on the grounds that the Lib Dems and the coalition are for it. So- since Labour sold their principles for the snake oil promises of Blair and Brown, I suppose ...
I rounded off the week by taking Lib Dem MSP Robert Brown and Mike Crockart the new Lib Dem MP for West Edinburgh on a visit to the West Edinburgh Neighbourhood Office. Robert is the Lib Dem Justice Spokesperson and the visit was to showcase best practice. As well as hearing of the radical decentralization of services we also met with Community Safety staff. Both teams did the council proud. The joint working at a grassroots level between Council and police in particular has shown amazing results in reducing crime and antisocial behaviour and the decentralized approach to Neighbourhood Management ...
Sun 29th
07:45
LDV survey: what party members think of the media reporting of Kennedy and the Coalition
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of a variety of key issues, and what you make of the Lib Dems' and Government's performance to date. Almost 600 party members have responded, and we'll be publishing the full results of our survey in the next few days. A week ago, the news media's silly season alighted on a suggestion that Charles Kennedy was about to defect to Labour, and flogged the story for all it was worth. LDV asked: The news media this past weekend was dominated by suggestions – which appear ...
Sun 29th
07:45LDV survey: what party members think of the media reporting of Kennedy and the Coalition
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of a variety of key issues, and what you make of the Lib Dems' and Government's performance to date. Almost 600 party members have responded, and we'll be publishing the full results of our survey in the next few days. A week ago, the news media's silly season alighted on a suggestion that Charles Kennedy was about to defect to Labour, and flogged the story for all it was worth. LDV asked: The news media this past weekend was dominated by suggestions – which appear ...
broadcast anniversary 29th August 1964: broadcast of 'The Tyrant of France', fourth episode of the story we now call The Reign of Terror. The Doctor, in disguise, confronts Robespierre; Susan and Barbara are recaptured; Ian is trapped by Leon's co-conspirators.
According to an exclusive article in the Independent on Sunday, former Foreign Secretary David Miliband says that his conscience is clear over alleged UK government complicity in extraordinary rendition and other instances of the Bush administration's use of torture in the US 'war on terror'. He seems to be trying to push some of the ...
According to the RSPCA elephants shouldn't be in zoos as they have higher levels of obesity and shorter lifespans. A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the controversy surrounding performing animals and concluded that animals may be treated well or treated badly in any venue and condemning animal performances mean that you have to come up with a code for all animals. So should Chester Zoo keep its elephants? The zoo rejects the RSPCA's claim and conditions at the zoo are there for all to see. You can't judge lifespans by a visit but statistical evidence may say that ...
