Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of Broxtowe Borough Council. A special welcome especially to the new readers that we have this week. Although September sees the restart of many activities I'm afraid that this newsletter may not cover everything that it should as I'm afraid that I left my notes in my office and I'm having to do this from memory. Hopefully I'll cover everything but if not I'll add them next week. 1. Stanton to Trowell Road - As you may know the developers wanting to ...
Photograph: Dan Chung I'm a keen classical fan and have been known to watch the BBC Proms from time to time when the programme takes my fancy. As a child I used to enjoy the Last Night of the Proms though I watch it less nowadays. But I've happened to be watching it tonight and am greatly pleased to have seen so many flags proudly being waved in the Albert Hall. Particularly, it's great to see so many Welsh Dragons being flown so enthusiastically there tonight. We are an Union of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ...
I may not be English, but it always sends a chill down my back and sometimes even brings a tear to the eye: here it is, as the author wrote it with his own original colourful background. Four questions, to each of which the answer is probably 'no'; and two aspirational verses, which though particular in this case, could reasonably be taken as universal:
Instead of introductions to the articles, PEP! 2 has an absurdist play running through the whole thing, around the articles. Here's part 1: Rassilon and Omega, two Time Lords, are sitting in a featureless void. There is a Doric column behind them. Rassilon is tossing a coin, much to the annoyance of Omega RAS: Heads ...
I have been recommending people with the slightest interest in folk rock to read Rob Young's book Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music ever since I started it. Not the least of its attractions is its index. I have already pointed out the run: Witchfinder GeneralWinwood, SteveWinstanley, GerrardBut you will also find: Jefferies, Richard, After London, or Wild EnglandJefferson AirplaneAnd: TrafficTraherne, ThomasBoth of which beat even the Edrich, W.J.Eliot, T.S.of C.L.R. James's Beyond a Boundary.
Below is news that Liberal Democrats withdraw from the Coalition in Wolverhampton, I may comment about it next week but this is a report from http://www.wolverhamptonlibdems.org.uk
Seems that I wasn't the only person to get an email from the Liberal Party this morning. For those of you who don't have the time to read the whole thing, the simple version: Dear Liberal Democrats, Worried about the difficult decisions that come with being in power? Join us and you'll never have to ...
I'll be – I hope – uploading PEP! 2 in the next couple of days, but PEP! 1 is *FINALLY* available from magcloud.com. It's quite expensive – $16 – but it's some of the best writing I've ever read (the VAST majority of the money is the cost of printing – 60 cents per issue ...
It's long been Plaid Cymru policy that they opposed nuclear power stations. Of course this has eternally caused a little bit of friction, as Ieuan Wyn Jones' constituency contains the Wylfa Nuclear Power Station and of course the site of ... Continue reading →
John Griffiths's campaign as Liberal Democrat candidate for the Tower Hamlets Mayoralty was launched this afternoon at a restaurant in Oborn Street (Brick Lane), with London Assembly Member Mike Tuffrey as guest speaker. Mike pointed out that Tower Hamlets is the second most deprived borough in London and the third most deprived in the country. ...
"When you read this you're tagged. Take a picture of you in your current state, no changing your clothes or quickly putting on makeup. NO PHOTOSHOP. Show your F-List the real you!" With U who was intently watching the people on the computer screen who were imitating her and her father.
Sat 11th
18:50
Who do you think should stand for the Lib Dem presidency (and what should they do if elected)?
Ros Scott's announcement that she is standing down from the position of party president has come as a surprise to Lib Dem members. First, because it has become almost traditional for party presidents to serve two terms — Ros's three predecessors, Simon Hughes, Lord Dholakia and Lord Maclennan all served two terms each, unchallenged. Secondly, because Ros herself is popular among the party's grassroots. Though her authority took something of a knock during the MPs' expenses scandal, the Voice's most recent survey of party members showed she had a very good net effectiveness rating of +30%. And, thirdly, because nominations ...
For most people in the western world - and many elsewhere - 11th September 2001, or 9/11, was quite a memorable day. Not for me. The day came and went without anything odd occuring. Strange as it might sound in these days of Twitter, smartphones and news on the go, I didn't find out about it the destruction of New York's World Trade Centre until the 13th - two days later. Since several people have asked since I tweeted about it, here's the story. My wife and I were taking the worst holiday we've ever had together. We'd flown out ...
A quick update about Walsall Conservative councillor Mohammed Munir, whose suspension from the party after postal vote fraud allegations were made we previously covered. His case has now gone to court and he was found innocent.
I have been doing more reading on the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque". It strikes me that some essential facts have been over-looked amongst the controversy: 1. The proposed building is not at Ground Zero – it's two and a half blocks away 2. It's not a (primarily) mosque – it's an Islamic cultural centre 3. At the proposed site, 45-51 Park Place, there have been regular Muslim prayers for months. 4. 59 innocent Muslims died in the 9-11 attacks. 5. A room in the World Trade Centre acted as a Muslim place of prayer for many years. The New York ...
Launceston's Cornish All Blacks took the spoils in today's first Cornish derby as they thrashed Redruth 40-15 at Polson Bridge. It was a hugely one sided match with the All Blacks holding the edge in every division of the game. Redruth had three players sin-binned in the first period and gave away two breakaway tries which effectively sealed the win for the hosts. Man of the match was clearly Ryan Westren who scored a hat-trick. Other tries came from Richard Bright on his home debut and replacement winger Kieron Lewitt (pictured). And AFC Wimbledon won to stay top of the ...
At Haig Ave this afternoon to see Southport play another former League side, Mansfield Town. Deservedly Mansfield won although the Sandgrounders had plenty of opportunities to score, Blakeman in particular was guilty of squandering chances. At this level of football segregation of the crowd is not as strict as it is (and needs to be) at higher level. We sat in the stand at the Blowick End and met many Mansfield supporters. Two couples who sat in front of us were making a weekend of it and it was interesting to hear the impressions of Southport. They were full of ...
Last Thursday's Area Committee received a report on the plans for the Wulfstan Way shops and gave Council officers the green light to proceed with a range of improvements including new pathways, extra seating with public art, fresh parking spaces, a noticeboard and road safety enhancements. It is hoped some of the changes will be in place in time for the Community Christmas Tree event on the 14th December. The committee also approved a planning application for a new bungalow at the back of 71 Mill End Road.
I got into an interesting discussion over dinner last night. About equalities and differences between the communities that have and have not in Bristol. Would the people of say Southmead want to really live in Clifton. Do we as human being always want more and more and look for self-improvement to the level that living places like that become the all emcompassing goal. Or should we be looking to the kingdom of Bhutan where happiness is key. Should we reject our hitherto materialistic whims. Because whilst some strive for financial equalities and redistribution of wealth does this make us happier ...
I blame the Tories. Ever since David Cameron became their leader, he's been determined to 'love-bomb' the Lib Dems. Love-bombing is the ingenious tactic by which other parties claim to believe in enough Lib Dem policies without, y'know, actually being Lib Dems. Labour leadership hopeful Ed Miliband was at it last month. Then earlier this week the Greens' Caroline Lucas made her pitch. And now it's the turn of the continuing Liberal Party: We appreciate over the last few weeks many LibDem Councillors and members have become increasingly uneasy about the coalition government. The fact that LibDem MP's will be ...
Having set out to write about 3 things last week, I find that things have changed! I was going to write about Wokingham council's review of the secondary school catchment areas in the borough. This is the Review of Designated Areas (known as catchments in non-council speak) which has gone out to public consultation this week. But a spanner has been thrown in the works, because 2 of the 7 secondary schools - The Holt and Maiden Erlegh - have put in expressions of interest in becoming academies. And of course, if they become academies then they will be running ...
Last Sunday I posted some pictures from the Bristol International Kite Festival. They proved so popular, here are some more from the day: Spinning Bowl Synchronised Kites Power Kiting Spirit(s) in the Sky I'm not sure what these are called... but I liked them! Andrew P.S. this is my 200th post but I decided against my usual 50-post analysis this time...
Far be it for me to stand up for the rights of women with children but on Thursday I was waiting for a bus into town and when the 16 pulled up, I moved to the side to let the lady and her baby on first. However, the driver said "does that fold?" "No" replied the Mum laden with bags of shopping as well. "You can't come on then" he responded. After a little bit I also waded in to ask why, I was told the rules clearly state it must be a foldable buggy or a wheelchair in that ...
I'm in Henley, at my County's campaign training day. As the weather is a bit grim, it's good to be inside. Ros spoke first, an unscheduled speech only possible because she had to drop me off - Henley isn't easily accessible from Creeting St Peter - before Keith House took centre stage. He had very kindly driven up from Eastleigh to impart his accumulated wisdom on the subject of winning. Given that Eastleigh are very good at winning, there was much to make me think, "Yes, I can use that.". And I plan to do just that. He very kindly ...
On this sombre day for the western world, but for Americans in particular, I was pleased to read that the now infamous Reverend Terry Jones has stated that he will not, now or ever, burn a copy of the Koran. The way that this back-water Pastor from Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida has managed to grab the headlines is incredible but it sadly demonstrates how ill at ease America is with itself. The furore around the proposed site of an Islamic Cultural Centre on Manhattan Island near the site of Ground Zero has heightened tensions at a particularly ...
Nine years ago, at around this time, I arrived home from Toddler group with a 2 and a bit year old Anna, switched on the tv to see if anything had happened in the World as was my habit, and shockingly found that in fact something had. Feelings of horror, sympathy for the people who had lost their lives in such terrible circumstances and their families, and fear about what on earth George W Bush was going to do in retaliation. I phoned Bob at work. He told his colleagues what had happened. His boss gruffly ordered him to get ...
I have lost track of which party David Marquand is in these days, but I was pleased to see him nominate Edmund Burke as his hero in the Guardian this morning. These days Burke is usually described as the founder of British Conservatism, but that is a description chiefly used by people who have not read him. The truth is that he was for many years the intellectual force behind the Whig leader Charles James Fox. Burke broke with him only after Fox uncritically endorsed the French Revolution. Burke foresaw the inevitably of the succeeding Terror, much as some 19th ...
Back from the archeological dig at Cheadle Green, where the archeologists are digging down to find out more about Cheadle Hall, which was demolished in 1958. I was there with Mark Hunter and Pam King, looking around the dig. Cheadle & Gatley Filmmakers are creating a video record of the event, which will be great to see. [IMG: Pam King at the Cheadle Green archeological dig] [IMG: Mark Hunter at the Cheadle Green archeological dig]
Yes to Fairer Votes, the group being created to campaign for a yes vote in the electoral reform referendum, has unveiled its steering committee: Pam Giddy, Chair John Sharkey, Vice Chair (and former chair of the Liberal Democrat general election campaign) Neal Lawson, Compass Peter Facey, Unlock Democracy Willie Sullivan, Electoral Reform Society Carina Trimingham, Electoral Reform Society The initial version of the campaign website is also up and running at www.yestofairervotes.org – and you can sign up to support the campaign and offer your help.
There have been a couple of articles in the press recently which have prompted me to write about a curious tale alive in our midst. It's this: There is such a thing as the 'womens vote' and politicians are attending to it. Recently David Milliband announced that he'll "be a leader for women". There is an letter in the Guardian today where various people declare that in fact it's Ed Milliband that has the concerns of women at heart. But what on earth are they talking about? There is a fallacy in their thinking and a dangerous one at that. ...
The House voted on the issue of Afghanistan on Thursday. This was the first time there has been a substantive vote on the issue. What it demonstrates is the merit of having a mechanism for the back benches to identify substantive issues to debate. (I speak as a member of the committee that does this).There are some real difficulties for the government in dealing with this issue. Apart from the
Many of you know for some time I have been a local Cllr on BHPC and the restoration of the Village Green has been one of my main causes . I am pleased to report that I passed a motion to get the bench returned to the Green on Sept 9th with the support of my fellow Lib Dems on the Council. The next step is for us to get a scheme of regulation to maintain the land. However its not just the Council's responsibility. We will need to approach the current owner of the Village Green just off Hornbeam ...
Come and pitch your idea for political reform to our "dragons' den" style panelists, Lynne Featherstone MP, Baroness Ros Scott and Alice Delemare (Electoral Reform Society), moderated by Katie Razzall from Channel 4 News. This fringe event is at 1-2pm on Wednesday, 22nd September at ACC Liverpool , Hall 11C. In the coming year we have a once in a generation opportunity to change politics for good: getting rid of the first past the post system and reforming the House of Lords. With Nick Clegg in charge of political reform, Liberal Democrats have a unique opportunity to shape the reform ...
In the Los Angeles Times, the writer of the "Happy Days" episode when Fonzie jumped the shark, Fred Fox Jr, writes a fascinating article about the famous episode. He kills the myth that the episode marked the decline of "Happy Days". He says that, at the time of the epidsode, the series was the crest of a wave and continued on the crest of a wave for several years after that: It aired Sept. 20, 1977, and was a huge hit, ranking No. 3 for the week with a 50-plus share (unheard of today) and an audience of more than ...
So when did we find out who Hex's mother was? Or have I just imagined that we know?
A few days ago I mentioned the changes to refuse and recycling collection coming in Stockport in November. Those with wheelie bins in Stockport today will get a new black bin which you start using in November. This black bin is for rubbish you can't recycle. It will be collected once every two weeks and replaced the bin bags we put out now. Food waste does not go in the black bin. We keep weekly food collections. We'll all get a kitchen caddy and a roll of 150 biodegradable bags for food waste. Any food can go in it - ...
St Leonards on Sea has had its share of the national news recently - Banksy has been to visit and has left his moniker on our seafront; and in the last few days we have had a local vicar sentenced to four years in prison for his part in a sham weddings scam which has broken immigration law and also, it seems, a Marriage Act from the 1940s. In case you missed it, the Independent has covered the case of Revd Alex Brown in detail. It transpires that no-one has been able to identify the motive of this errant cleric ...
Freedom Central reports: In a bizarre twist to the story of Ieuan Air, the Plaid Cymru Leader's own party have voted against the North-South Wales air link. An amendment was submitted to the Sustainable Transport Motion, which was passed, advocating a withdrawal of subsidies for internal air services. The money to instead be spent on rail improvements. Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Minister Jenny Randerson AM said "This humiliating vote will force Welsh voters to question what Plaid really stand for. They are for and against nuclear power. They are for and against tuition fees. They are for and against ...
El Presidente is standing down (no link due to messagespaceness)... This makes me sad. Ros is one of my political heroes; she doesn't make a big song and dance about what she's doing, she just DOES stuff, and gets very little thanks or appreciation for it. I was thinking, though. I'm pretty used to doing thankless tasks, and I'm used to having no money. Maybe I should stand? I promise to keep blogging, make sure they have proper beer at conference, and change my hair colour at least once a month ;) Seriously, though, I am actually considering it. I ...
The Social Liberal Forum exists to foster debate within and beyond the Liberal Democrats, with the aim of developing social liberal solutions and approaches which reflect these principles and which find popular support. James Graham, a member of the Forum's governing council, was responsible for this amendment, accepted without dissent, to the motion put to the Birmingham special conference at which the Liberal Democrats endorsed the coalition: "Conference calls for Liberal Democrats to work constructively in government to ensure that the the net income and wealth inequality gap is reduced significantly over the course of this parliament." His speech is ...
Double controversy surrounds the proposed Islamic centre (Park51) near Ground Zero, now that it's also embroiled seemingly as a trade-off proposition by the small-town church pastor, Terry Jones, and his threat to burn copies of the Koran, which has dominated the world news for days and sparked riots in many Muslim countries. An interesting article here from the New York Times to reflect upon about the existence of a Muslim prayer room in the trade centre and so remembrance too for the innocent Muslims who died on that infamous day. Muslim Prayer Room Was Part of Life at Twin Towers ...
The Leicester Mercury reports that a plaque remembering the Bowstring Bridge is soon to be unveiled: Leicester Civic Society has created the plaque to mark the Bowstring Bridge, in Braunstone Gate, Leicester, which was demolished in December. It will be unveiled at the Bowstring Bar, in Braunstone Gate, on Saturday, September 25, by John Husain, former licensee of the neighbouring Pump and Tap pub, which shut on November 24 and was demolished. The Bowstring Bar changed its name from Banter as another memorial when it reopened after refurbishment. The vice-chancellor of De Montfort University, which owns the land once occupied ...
Yesterday was the last day of Ramadan as well as the eve of the remembrace of 9/11. However, a few blocks away from Ground Zero in Manhattan there was an interesting gathering (watch here). At the site of the proposed Islamic centre ordinary New Yorkers mingled with Muslims neighbours to hold a rally in support of the centre being build. I particulary like the comment of one personn the clip who say the people of New York had welcomed the centre and already approved it there was no opposition from the city of New York. all the objections came from ...
Total Place was set up by the Labour Government as an initiative that looks at how a 'whole area' approach to public services can lead to better services at less cost. The strap line from the Leadership Centre for Local Government report was 'Learning to do things differently' and so was worth looking at for ...
I am on my way to a meeting of the Scottish Party Exec in Edinburgh.Up north, my niece Laura will be preparing for her second radio show on Monster FM, the station set up for this month by Moray Firth Radio to showcase the talents of a group of teenagers who want to work in radio.If you're in the MFR area, please drop what you're doing & tune into 87.7 FM & listen to my lovely niece between 10.30 & 12 noon.If I'd been more organised, I would have re-posted the full programme schedule before I left the house to ...
On 9/11 I was at the HQ for the GLA which was in Marsham Street – a temporary home (two years) – whilst construction of City Hall was being finished. I remember someone saying a plane had flown into one of the twin towers and running to find a television in some one's room. And then just watching mesmerised – at first not knowing that this was a terrorist attack – just worrying about how people were going to get out of that first tower. Of course – as on screen before my eyes – I saw a second plane ...
LJ has responded to the criticism of its cross-posting feature by removing automated cross-posting of comments from locked posts. People will of course still be able to cut-and-paste, as they always could, so you still need to make sure you either trust the people on your friends list not to do that, or can live with it if they do - but this removes the risk of accidental cross-posting of locked comments, and reduces the risk of newbies misunderstanding LJers' social expectations. Meanwhile, I had an incident last weekend which made me realise the security flaw in DW OpenID is ...
Following my highlighting residents' concerns earlier this week about the amber light not working at part of the above junction, the City Council has now assured me that the maintenance contractor has been asked to check the junction. I have also been advised that the lights-controlled signals here are scheduled for upgrade work in the very near future.
I'm pleased to see the 'Yes to Fairer Votes' campaign is gathering momentum, with the announcement of the first appointments to the team that will lead the call for a 'Yes' vote on the Alternative Vote (AV) in next year's referendum. The campaign is currently building the grass roots organisation that will take the message to the country ahead of next May. Campaign Chair Pam Giddy pointed out, "You can be an MP today with less than one in three voters on your side. "The system has produced safe seats where many MPs are set for life, and that's bred ...
From Stockport Council: Stockport's Intensive Start-up Support Service (ISUS) programme, provided by Stockport Council, The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and the Northwest European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), is celebrating a successful first year, with the creation of over 70 new businesses. The ISUS programme aims to ensure that individuals who are in need of support to start a business possess the relevant skills and confidence. It also works to ensure that they receive practical assistance to set up their business, as well as ongoing support to improve business survival and growth rates. Stockport's programme started in August 2009 and ...
A local Labour hack branded me a philistine over this, but I don't see that £150,000 spent on public art, when local services need the support is good value for money. Labour brought our economy to its knees, but in Manchester they aren't tightening their belts, they are blowing money on Manchester Day and this. Manchester Liberal Democrats have questioned the Labour Council's priorities in tough times after it was revealed that they spent £150,000 of public money on statues of acrobats outside the new temporary town hall. Around 1,500 staff and many Council services have transferred to a new ...
A book set during the year while the Master ruled the Earth, as seen at the end of New Who Season 3, with a rather good linking narrative by Dan Abnett, during the course of which Martha recounts four of her past adventures with the Doctor to people she meets. The embedded stories are less good than the framing narrative, with the exception of Robert Shearman's excellent "The Frozen Wastes".
Dear Deputy Prime Minister, I read your speech from Thursday to the Committee on Standards in Public Life with interest. It is good to see the progress being made in many areas of political reform, including the commitment made in the speech that, "in the New Year we will produce draft legislation to complete the modernization of the House of Lords". Much else too in the speech was good to read, but I think you are missing an important issue about how the changes to election expense rules introduced for the 2010 general election are driving political parties in the ...
[IMG: Tamar bridges] Since blogging about the British Academy study into how the new rules going through Parliament for drawing up constituency boundaries might work, I've spotted a couple of particularly good blog posts on the subject from Lib Dem colleagues. Former Kingston councillor (and one of the Liberal Democrat online pioneers) Mary Reid has blogged about some of the bizarre politics around the legislation whilst Cornwall councillor Alex Folkes (and one of the best blogging local councillors) has written about his concerns on how the new rules may work. Having a Parliamentary constituency which extends out of Cornwall into ...
Looking through the Onion site, I found this interesting article in the AV Club about time travel and when and where you'd choose to go live for a few years if you had the opportunity: Where and when would you most want to live for five years, restricted to a five-mile radius? Everyone says things ...
i) births and deaths 11th September 1981: birth of Lachlan Niebohr, who played Jack's brother Gray in the second season of Torchwood (2008). (So what happened to him after the Hub was blown up?) ii) broadcast anniversaries 11th September 1965: broadcast of "Four Hundred Dawns", first episode of the story we now call Galaxy 4, starting Season 3 of Old Who. The Doctor, Steven and Vicki land on a remote planet where the Drahvins and Rills (the latter assisted by the robot Chumblies) are at odds. But the Doctor discovers that the planet will explode the day after next. 11th ...
Longstanding blog readers may recall earlier postings about something called the JCPB, but if not, please join new readers in clicking on the Health Section and reading the postings of 5th and 28th January. Briefly put, the JCPB co-ordinated social care and mental health care between Herts County Council and the PCT, using joint commissioning from pooled budgets to provide integrated services to the many people who needed both. This had worked well for nearly 10 years, but recently officers have been whingeing about the cost of servicing the meetings. Board members themselves were more than happy for the JCPB ...
For those of us of a certain age the fact that the lunatic American "Pastor", who wants to burn the Koran, is called Terry Jones is an occasion of some mirth. The Pythonmeister Terry Jones had clearly already prefigured his namesake's future difficulties in the lyric melody of "Never be Rude to an Arab": Click below for details: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F67JhKT5bxU
Regular readers, if such exist, will have noted few posts during August. This is because I have been juggling some time-consuming economics work with quite a lot of holidays. The end of the latter this week involved a four hour wait in the Gare du Nord in Paris. where, to pass the time, I picked up a free newspaper (20 Minutes, 08/09/10) and found the following short article: OBAMA, UN PARI À 50 MILLIARDS. Des grands travaux très coûteux pour relancer l'emploi. C'est l'ambitieux pari de Barack Obama en plein chute dans les sondages à deux mois des législatives. Le ...
In a bizarre twist to the story of Ieuan Air, the Plaid Cymru Leader's own party have voted against the North-South Wales air link. An amendment was submitted to the Sustainable Transport Motion, which was passed, advocating a withdrawal of subsidies for internal air services. The money to instead be spent on rail improvements. Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Minister Jenny Randerson AM said "This humiliating vote will force Welsh voters to question what Plaid really stand for. They are for and against nuclear power. They are for and against tuition fees. They are for and against Ieuan Air. As ...
In an astonishing development in the phone hacking scandal, Channel Four are reporting that members of the committee set up to investigate the affair shied away from forcing News International chief executive and former Sun editor Rebekah Brooks to attend a meeting with them: After Mrs Brooks had repeatedly avoided being interviewed, four MPs on the Commons culture, media and sport committee wanted to ask the Serjeant at Arms, the Commons official in charge of security, to issue a warrant forcing her to attend. In an exclusive interview, former Plaid Cymru MP, and a member of the committee, Adam Price ...
The year was 2000, the programme was an experiment made by Channel 4. I can still remember vividly the song being sang by those bright eyed contestants during that first series. "It's only a game show, it's only a game show". Big Brother became more than that. Like it or loathe it, it became a phenomenon which epitomised the 'Naughties'. A Social Experiment I remember being genuienly transfixed by this utterly fascinating new programme that Channel 4 decided ro run on the back of its popularity in Holland. I was 17 during the summer of 2000 and completing my A-Levels. ...
With the Tories already looking to cut a quarter of their £22m spend on community wellbeing, prevention and housing related services the Liberal Democrats have pledged to defend vulnerable groups and scrutinise every line of the proposals. Adult Care Services have already written to everyone of their voluntary and third sector providers to warn them that all contracts, big and small, will be renegotiated. Allan Witherick, Liberal Democrat spokesman for Adult Care Services said: 'We all know that cuts are needed because the last Government spent all the money but we have to be sure that the council isn't making ...
It seems so obvious to me that Morecambe and Heysham need a link road to the M6. I have written about it several times as I do not see how businesses will stay in the area without it. So it was good to see the headline in the Morecambe Guardian yesterday "Link road limbo threatens jobs". Of course jobs will be threatened if it isn't built. If an employer hasn't already decided to move out of the area (and plenty have) then it is only a matter of time before they do. A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council estimated that ...
This Saturday, 11th September, sees the Vauxhall Expo 2010, taking place in Spring Gardens from 12:00 - 17:00. It will feature entertainment, exhibitions, demonstrations and a market place for voluntary and community organisations. The theme for the event is "Changing Vauxhall" - how it has changed, how it might change, and how you would wish it to change. In addition, during the event, two grants of £500 will be awarded to help provide activities or services in the community. The recipients of the grants will be determined by the people attending the Expo. For more information, visit www.vauxhallexpo.org.uk
