Julian Glover had an article in the Guardian this morning that is well worth reading: Why be spooked by social democrat squawking? The coalition should shrug its shoulders and confess: the charge its enemies lay at its door is broadly correct. This is an ideological government with a plan for a smaller, less centralised and more liberal state. The left dreads the obvious fact that spending cuts are central to this plan - and they are. The left senses that the government is staging a cultural revolution against social democracy - and it is. The coalition does not want to ...
Saturday 11th Septemnber (evening) Later in the day an exceptionally good time to celebrate, as a room as Newcastle Rugby Club was packed with North Eastern Lib Dems to congratulate Councillor John Shipley OBE, until recently Lib Dem leader of Newcastle City Council, on becoming a member of the House of Lords. He has started being, and will continue to be and excellent spokeman for the North...
Another post about unions straight away?! I'm sorry, but this one was important. Striking against the government So, unions are currently mobilising at the TUC to strike against the government. Now I know that being allowed to strike is a human right, and I am not asking to change the law here to change that. But I do want to draw a distinction between striking against a private company and the government, because I think they are fundamentally different. When you strike against a company because, for example, you want higher wages or to stop someone being sacked, you are ...
As Nick Thornsby has covered on his blog, today was the first day of the court case against Labour MP Phil Woolas over his election campaign. The case hinges on what Woolas put into his leaflets and, as a result, he was questioned about his attitude towards what is and isn't acceptable in election literature. The basis of the questions were the '10 golden rules' for keeping leaflets legal which have appeared in various Liberal Democrat campaign guides that I've co-authored over the years with Candy Piercy and Hilary Stephenson (with assistance too for the wording of the rules from ...
I've just taken delivery of a shiny new Amazon Kindle 3. I'm looking forward to giving it a thorough review – but here's a quick comparison between it and my venerable Elonex 511EB. [IMG: Kindle and 511EB side by side] Click for bligger Kindle511EBComment Weight 247g 195g Both lighter than a paperback. 511EB just about edges the Kindle out, but the extra 50g isn't going to strain your arms. Storage Size 3GB (internal memory available to user. Fixed) 4GB (SD card up to 32GB) 511EB wins it. Realistically, the Kindle's 3GB is more than enough unless you're storing lots of ...
One of my favourite pieces of music, which I first listened to on a trip home from London when I also read the book, Tears at Night, Joy at Dawn: Diary of a dying seminarian by Andrew Robinson of the Birmingham Archdiocese. I remember very well his mentions of the prayers for the canonisation of ...
Imagine your absolute horror if you've gone to the trouble of sterilising all the various bits and pieces of equipment to make up bottles for your baby, and then find creepy crawlies actually in the milk powder? I was shocked to see that's what happened to a dad in Derby who describes how he found two beetle like insects in a tub of powdered infant formula. We are well aware of the risks of formula feeding in places where there isn't a safe, clean water supply, but we don't tend to expect that there'll be any problems in this country. ...
Helen Mountfield is the lead counsel for Elwyn Watkins with James Laddie QC her able second from Matrix chambers. Elwyn was in the witness box first. Mountfield's opening statement was devastating in that it refered to email from Woolas' campaign team which wrote "we have to make the white folk angry" or as they put it 'angrey'. It would seem that all trials now have to refer to the European Human Rights Act. In particular the 1983 Representation of the People Act with section 106 being of particular reference. In the ECHR articles 3 and 10 refer to the right ...
In the first day of the court case against Labour MP Phil Woolas, the court heard from four witnesses: Elwyn Watkins (Woolas' Lib Dem opponent), Philip Reynold (Elwyn Watkins' election agent), David Hampson (Oldham Lib Dem party treasurer) and Phil ... Continue reading →
All, Thanks to the first past the post electoral system it's possible for an MP to be elected with less than a third of the voters voting for them! Many MPs are in so called safe seats, where no matter how little work they do, or how little they listen to the people they 'represent' they're almost bound to be re-elected. For many of us in Stratford-on-Avon its hardly worth voting in a General Election, the Conservatives will win. The voices of Lib Dems, Labour and Greens are disenfranchised. The same is true for Conservatives in the North and Labour ...
Over the weekend, I got chatting to a Liberal Democrat voter who is a touch wary about the coalition. The nature of my job means I spend a lot of time with people who think and talk politics but here was someone who didn't have anything to do with the political world, bar voting. I asked what it would take to get him to vote Lib Dem at the next election and he wasn't sure. He explained that right now he isn't unhappy with the coalition. It is just that he is uncomfortable with what might happen. He asked me ...
I mentioned in my earlier blog post, that of all of the comedic talents that I have come across, one stands head and shoulders above the rest. I challenge anyone to name me a naturally funnier man than Eric Morecambe. I merely have to think of him and I'm smiling. A normal family man who could make people laugh at the drop of a hat. Not a profanity in sight. None was needed. The look of his face was enough. I've had to dedicate a whole blog post to this, the funniest of men, as there's too much to show ...
Mad Men is back on British television screens. Episode one of season 4 began last Wednesday on BBC 4. The opener focused more on the ad world than anything else. For anyone working in communications it makes fascinating watching and for those who don't it is still compelling drama. Recommended!
Tower Hamlets' zealous park wardens locked me inside Victoria Park (again), reminding me that Boris Johnson once said how disgraceful it is that every evening, thousands of acres of London are placed Strictly Off Limits to the public. As the evenings draw in, the amount of London available to us shrinks and shrinks. It is ...
The candidates are confirmed: 1. Heledd Fychan - PPC for Montgomeryshire in the 2010 General Election2. Llyr Huws Gruffydd - PPC Clwyd West in the 2010 General Election and previously an Assembly candidate.3. Dyfed Wyn Edwards - Leader of Gwynedd County Council4. Liz Saville Roberts - Councillor in Gwynedd and Lead Member for Education5. Eryl Wyn Williams - Councillor in Denbighshire and Lead Member for Education.6. Paul Rowlinson - Previously a candidate in Conwy and Delyn As Wrecsam Plaid have noted, the Lib Dems list will include Eleanor Burnham and Aled Roberts, so potentially there could be two Council Leaders ...
Former Liberal Democrat London mayoral candidate Brian Paddick is one of up to 5 people asking for a judicial review of the Metropolitan Police's handling of the News of the World phone hacking allegations. Brian is understandably concerned that his privacy had been compromised and presumably wants to know what the Police knew and when about his case and wants a ruling on whether the Police had a legal obligation to tell him what they suspected. Everyone has the right to expect that if they're having a private conversation, then the only people who know what is said are those ...
Apologies for the continuing paucity of political content right now, but the longer I contemplate the current state of affairs the more depressed and angry I feel about the complicity of certain high-ranking party members. Thank heavens for our own David Ward, who is rapidly shaping up as one of the Party's more conscientious wing alongside the ever-reliable Bob Russell. I hope most sincerely that he continues to do the right thing come October 20th. It's still premature for any Labourites, Greens, etc to come chasing after me with membership forms and offers of cake (and sadly Dundee cake and/or ...
A while back I posted a picture of Che Guevara in my "Iconic Images" strand. Today, Stephen has posted a link to a picture of "Cher Guevara" on his blog today. Cher is not alone in being portrayed in this way - many others have, as you can see from the selection below: Kylie Guevara Che Madonna Gervais Guevara It's not just Musicians and Comedians at it either: Christ Guevara Cherry Guevara And one to make you chuckle: Che Gue-Thatcher For more on the iconic image of Che Guevara, see this micro-site for the V&A's 2006 exhibition all about it. ...
I have as of yet refrained from joining the discussion on introducing a graduate tax. There is a large part of me that instantly likes the ideas. There are two parts that really embrace my ideals. The first is that it would mean tuition fees would be abolish and once again we would return to a system that is truly fair, one where education free for all. Where it doesn't matter where you come
It's quite right that Elwyn Watkins who was the Lib Dem PPC is challenging the result of Phil Woolas's election in Oldham (see Phil Woolas campaign 'sought to make white folk angry'). For far too long candidates and parties have told half truths or invented false claims about some candidates by some from all parties. I want to see this stopped. It's not because Elwyn Watkins is a Liberal Democrat, after all Elwyn may lose a second time. I would support this even if this was a challenge from a Labour PPC to a Lib Dem MP. I believe some ...
I can't believe it, it has been over 3 years since my one and only placing in the weekly 'Top of the Blogs' rating on Lib Dem Voice, only to notice that I appear not once, but twice this week.The first is thanks to Charles Kennedy, who wrote to me following me criticising his slowness of coming forward to dismiss the claims by the press that he is about to defect to the Labour Party. I am still
Labour spent £760m on a programme to reduce the number of people on incapacity benefits called "Pathways to Work". Work on the scheme was contracted out to private providers. A report, issued today by the Labour-chaired Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons, reveals that the programme was largely ineffective and that the private companies did not give value for money.
A bit of background viewing for my trip to New York...
They can be found in the Wolverhampton newspaper the Express & Star: Chris Kelly, the Tory MP for Dudley South, said: "The new boundaries will be drawn up by the Boundary Commission which is completely independent of parties and government. "So I am not sure why the Electoral Reform Society has done this. Nor am I, but it is always fun to speculate.
Mr Speaker Bercow today agreed with Bob Russell, the Liberal Democrat MP for Colchester, that a Treasury minister should attend the House of Commons to explain planned cuts in welfare benefits. As a result, Chancellor George Osborne was forced to publicly defend his announcement of cuts on top of the £11bn already slated in the emergency budget. Mr Russell told Radio 4 this afternoon that we should not forget that Labour got us into the mess which made cuts necessary, but what Mr Osborne was considering could affect the most vulnerable in his constituency. The Independent also has the story. ...
Veteran Liberal Democrat politician Sir Cyril Smith has been laid to rest in Rochdale after a memorial service he organised from his deathbed. Hundreds of mourners attended the celebration of his life in his beloved home town. The famously-outspoken politician, who served the town as MP for 20 years, planned the celebration in a nursing home during his final weeks. His friend Lord Alton said he received a letter from Sir Cyril after his death telling him he must read the poem Death Is Nothing At All. "He was a brilliant political organiser," he told the congregation at Rochdale Town ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 186th 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 (5th – 11th September, 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. Let ...
You have to hand it to the "Heartbeat" production team. They have a sense of humour – and some chutzpah. There we were watching, with some sadness, the last episode of Heartbeat last night. One sensed that dear old Oscar was about to cop it. I don't know why - one just senses these things. And then, while the tension of the story started to reach a crescendo, PC Mason radios HQ while a man wearing a long dark hooded coat, carrying a large scythe over his shoulder, walks across in the background by Scripps' garage. "It's the grim reaper" ...
Also in today's Edmonton Journal, a report that the Harper Government is muzzling scientists working for Natural Resources Canada. NRCan was even prevented from discussing a study in a major research journal that had nothing to do with climate change, but was about a huge flood caused by a collapsing ice-dam that occurred 13,000 years ago. It's reminiscent of Bush's attempt to muzzle climate scientists.
The debate on the AV voting system is in full swing. What bothers me about the media coverage is that it is portrayed as the one issue on which the Liberal Democrat's commitment to the coalition agreement stands and falls. I for one am not especially hung up about AV. I think it is an improvement on the ...
Debates about Europe are being framed through a nationalistic lens. Arguments supporting it are not being made or heard strongly enough. We can blame ignorance, a euro-sceptic press, nationalists, and racists. But what can we do to ensure a proper fair debate on the subject? First, let's make a better case for Europe and describe ...
Part 21 of blogging my way through my first reading of Atlas Shrugged. You can find the first part here. Chapter 21: Atlantis Dagny is rescued from the wreckage of her aircraft by – drum roll – John Galt, the inventor of the static engine and the Destroyer she's been pursuing all this time. Of ...
The Leicester Mercury reports that a demonstration is to be held on Thursday (16 September) at 4.15 p.m. outside Leicester Town Hall against plans to build a football complex on Aylestone Meadows. The paper quotes Sue Eppel (Hello Sue!) from the Aylestone Meadows Appreciation Society as saying: The work they have planned, especially the floodlights, is going to have a devastating effect on the wildlife."Certainly it is an odd way for Leicester, which proclaims itself an "environment city" to behave. There must be many less environmentally sensitive sites where this complex could be built. The defence mounted by the Labour ...
CAPP's latest full page ad in today's Edmonton Journal features Syrie Crouch, who works for Shell, looking soulful with some rocks. Syrie works on C02 storage and she finds it exciting. I wonder if she was excited by the report that said that CCS cannot significantly counter the high levels of greenhouse gases emitted by the tarsands and the process cannot possibly achieve what is claimed by the oil companies and the Canadian government?
I promised this in my last blogpost, so here is my result from the EU Profiler test: I feel this plot nicely shows how I generally fit in rather well with the Lib Dems. The big difference is immigration - where I would like to see all restrictions lifted, the party advocates relatively tough controls. There is also interestingly a significant difference in the law and order category. (By the way, this access is badly labelled - I'm certainly not for more disorder!)
Mon 13th
18:29
State Visit of Sovereign Pontiff to UK: truly an historic opportunity not to be missed
This week sees a truly historic event taking place in the United Kingdom. For the first time since long before the Reformation National Apostasy, the Sovereign Pontiff will beatify an Englishman who is not a martyr. The Englishman in question is The Venerable (soon to be The Blessed) John Henry, Cardinal Newman, Cong. Orat.. For ...
Parliamentary elections are currently decided by "first past the post". The person with the most votes wins the seat. You could also call it "winner takes all" because the votes for anyone other than the winning candidate are effectively ignored. Liberal Democrats have long recognised this is unfair and as part of the coalition goverment have now got electoral reform onto the agenda. In May next year, there will be a referendum on whether the Alternative Vote (AV) system should be adopted. Proportional Representation is the real goal, but AV is a real step forward. Under AV ... " Voters ...
The coalition is not a marriage of convenience, but one of necessity. That should be the cautious and subtle response of Liberal Democrats to the call by Nick Boles MP, close ally of DC himself, who calls for an electoral pact between the coalition parties in the Times today. "This autumn both David Cameron and ...
Impossible though it is to cover constitutional matters in words of one syllable, for the benefit of Jack's rapidly shrinking brain, a summary; Fixed-term parliaments are good. They mean that all parties are on an equal footing and that governments and parliamentarians are held accountable regularly, not when they want to be. If you're going to have fixed-term parliaments, they have to be five years long. The European Parliament works on a five-year cycle so to ensure that elections are not competing with each other (and if you want an example of why that's bad, look at the London Borough ...
Sunday: I am FED UP of being called "economically illiterate" by people who clearly wouldn't know one end of the economy from the other. Usually it is the Egregious Ed, Mr Bully Balls who was, don't forget, special advisor to the Chancellor who outspent the government's income for seven years running while letting the banking sector play chicken with a housing bubble. This time, though, it was the Sickly Green MP Radio Caroline Lucas, repeating the same deluded, deceitful and frankly DANGEROUS dribble on the World this Weekend. I'll say this once: CUTTING SPENDING DID NOT CAUSE THE GREAT DEPRESSION. ...
Councillors get all sorts of letters and we try to deal with the issues as best we can. Sometimes though, it's difficult. Today I received an anonymous letter which has apparently been sent to every Stockport councillor, the local MPs, the BBC, Piccadilly Radio, GMR Radio, the Home Secretary, the Prime Minister, the Royal British Legion and several more. What issue is so critical, you might ask, that the writer feels the need not only to remain anonymous but also send the letter to so many important people (and me)? This world-shattering issue is in fact the order the automated ...
The following is a summary of the case being presented by Elwyn Watkins in a special Election Court sitting in Oldham. The case is being brought under Section 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (RPA 1983), which ... Continue reading →
While I do not oppose the Pope's visit, the complaint by Opus Dei's spokesman that nobody knows anything about religion in the UK and we Brits know more about Paul Newman than Cardinal Newman is a provocation. I decided to apply the 1066 and All That test -- i.e. everything I can remember about Cardinal Newman without Googling:He was a Roman Catholic cardinal.He was effeminateHe had a very good friend, never got over his death and asked that they be buried together, which makes him the Heathcliff of repressed homosexual priests.I know a lot more about Paul Newman.I'm puzzled by ...
It seems only fitting that the 182nd birthday of Leo Tolstoy would be an electoral epic. When the new government decided to reverse Labour's plans for Exeter and Norwich to become unitary councils with fresh elections next year, they also triggered deferred elections for the twenty-six seats that should have been contested in May. Added to this haul are five principal council by-elections and a pair of non-principal contests in the towns, for a grand total of thirty-three elections to report on this week. The big story, of course, were the deferred elections in Exeter and Norwich, both of which ...
Regular readers will know that at this time of year, I immerse myself in the glittery and sparkly world of Strictly Come Dancing. I don't often write about it on here as I don't want to try your patience too much. I have another blog, Strictly Sequins and Sparkles which follows the progress of all the dancers and where I write my reviews of the show. Today, I've posted on Jimi Mistry's and his partner Flavia Cacace's appearance on BBC Breakfast this morning and I've given info on how to apply for tickets for the live shows - which you ...
Recently, I have been reading the second instalment of Stephen Fry's autobiography, The Fry Chronicles. I completely and utterly unashamedly admit that Stephen Fry is one of my heroes in many ways (no, not that way—although one could be tempted). Within the delicately constructed opening lines, are these words: If a thing can be said in ten words, I may be relied upon to take a hundred to say it. I ought to apologize for that. I ought to go back and ruthlessly prune, pare and extirpate excess growth, but I will not. I like words—strike that, I love words—and ...
The Chair of the Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden has written to National Express Dundee requesting that the garden is mentioned as one of the stops as part of the route on the electronic displays on buses going along Perth Road. As a member of the Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden, I am very supportive of this propsal and have written to the bus company to make clear my support.
Further to my recent update on the meeting I had with Tayside Police regarding the issue of break-ins in parts of the West End, I am pleased to note tonight's report in the Evening Telegraph about the issue. See http://tinyurl.com/breakinstackled - the full story is in tonight's paper. It is reassuring that Tayside Police is putting resources into this issue and that this is showing results through improved detection rates.
The TUC has today attacked the Coalition Governments planned spending cuts, despite the details not being announced yet, and is threatening coordinated industrial action if jobs are "attacked". This is as frustrating as it is dissapointing as it is ideologically misplaced. Where were the TUC and their threats when Labour were spend happy, happily committing to spending billions of pounds on projects and services we could no longer afford due to the collapse in tax revenues? I don't recall Brendan Barber calling for pay or spending restraint then. But now it is different. The TUC like Labour want to label ...
NickClegg.com has noted the significance of today's legislation to establish the principle of fixed-term parliaments, removing from Prime Ministerial whim the timing of future general elections: "Establishing parliaments of fixed-terms is a straightforward, but fundamental, change in our politics. It is a simple constitutional innovation, but one that will have a profound effect." Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has pledged the introduction of a five year fixed term parliaments will have a "profound effect" and lead to greater stability in the political system. The Fixed term Parliaments Bill faces its second reading in the House of Commons this afternoon. "Establishing ...
I've received an e-mail from my union, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), an excerpt of which reads; Branches will be aware that government are using a little known procedural legislative process to push through the detrimental changes to the CSCS called a Money Bill. These bills are used to rush through emergency revenue generating measures, and DO NOT get readings in the House of Lords. They remain the property of the Commons only. The second reading of the Money Bill takes place on 7 September. We have calculated that there is literally only a handful of votes in ...
Iain Dale has the story here. As Iain says, this is further proof that the web is growing in importance compared to the traditional media.
The Telegraph reports that William Hague paid personally for Christopher Myers (and one other) to accompany him on a trip to Bosnia last July. So, we were told Hague had apointed this fellow with no foreign policy experience. And now, to further attempt to nail Hague, we are being told that Myers did actually have quite a lot of foreign policy experience because Hague paid for him to accompany him on foreign trips. They can't have it both ways.
Referring to The Art of War may seem rather pretentious, but there's some ancient wisdom in there that has bearing on the TUC's position today: "All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make ...
I have read this piece by the Honourable Lady Mark, and reluctantly come to the conclusion that winning the election for party president would not be practical. The main reason for this would be the following:The total budget is £5,000 per annum - this has to cover all travel expenses, including international events, and any other costs which might arise.I'd have to give up work to do presidenting properly, and given that I am the main breadwinner for my household... Even I can't run a house on five grand. Given that I can't really afford to win, it would be ...
Remember Phil Woolas? He's the former Labour immigration minister who shamefully refused to grant the Gurkhas the right to live here and who was eventually forced to back down by a Commons defeat on a Liberal Democrat motion and the impressive efforts of Joanna Lumley. Well, this week, an election court in Oldham is considering a complaint from the Liberal Democrat candidate in this year's general election this year, Elwyn Watkins. Mr Watkins is unhappy at the content of literature issued by the Woolas campaign and has made a complaint under Section 106 of the 1983 Representation of the People ...
This weekend I survived a drenching and a draw against Blakburn at home, but as the Trades Union leaders of Britain will tell you in dark, brutish and frightening tones, worse things can happen at sea. The week ahead sees no let-up, and in fact a couple of important meetings which may well start to set the scene for how Bury and Prestwich survive the bumpy road of cuts which we are about to embark upon. On Wednesday it is a meeting of the full Bury Council, when the 51 Councillors come together to question the leadership and debate the ...
My historical posts are much fewer and further between than, say, my political posts as they tend to take more time to research and write and there is not the same immediate press of the news cycle to make me focus on producing them. Many people however do mention that they like the historical posts as something a bit different from the usual political or technology blogs they frequent, so I'm thinking of writing more of them in future. As a result, I've been looking back through my previous posts and here are my favourite six: The 1906 election - ...
Mon 13th
12:53
A considered psephological answer to Nick Boles MP's idea of a Con/LibDem electoral pact
**Book publicity Warning** Nick Boles MP, who has a book out, urges the adoption of an electoral pact between the Conservatives and the LibDems. I find myself in the unusual position of quoting Baroness Thatcher: No! No! No! He seems to be predicating his argument on the AV referendum being lost: If the British people choose to keep the first past the post electoral system of electing MPs, as I hope, the pact would give Conservative parliamentary candidates in Conservative-held constituencies a free run against other parties: the Liberal Democrats would not put up a candidate and would urge their ...
A UK lawyer trying to stop the gravy train of libel shopping in London is like turkeys voting for Christmas, but Lord Lester, a leading champion of human rights and freedom of information is doing just that and more. He explains how on Liberal Democrat Voice.
Last night Me and my fellow partner in crime manage to get one of the other teachers (hereby referred to as Scottish Chris [so as to distinguish him from myself]) to join us in some outside Salsa. I have never seen this in England yet it seams to be very common here in the Ukraine as this group does it every Sunday evening and as I walked home I came across another salsa club that was still going
Welcome to another in my occasional series on useful, interesting or controversial findings from academic studies. Today it is a study into the impact of public service broadcasting which looked at the US, the UK, Denmark and Finland. These four countries were chosen because Denmark and Finland have a very strong TV public service approach, the US close to a pure-market based system and the UK is somewhere in-between. TV news in Denmark and Finland was more likely to have hard news ("news reports about topics such as politics, public administration, the economy and science"), with the US and UK ...
I'm not so sure co-ordinated strikes are really going to help protect jobs during cuts? This move will split the country and could build a concenus against the unions. I would prefer the union to offer other ideas to the coalition such as detail on where taxes could be increased and on what could be cut. Lets not go back to the old days of industrial action. We need to change the economy so that we are not reliant on public sector jobs but have our own industrial and services base. We need to redirect funds to change our economy ...
[IMG: http://www.wikio.co.uk] I had been ignoring Ex-cllr TP's Blog as it attempts to make 'savage' attacks against the Lib Dems (and the Redlands Lib Dems in particular!). I say attempts to make savage attacks because it's all a bit gutter politics, to be fair. He also seems to be following Labours lead in attacking the Lib Dems even if it makes no sense or if they have nothing alternative to offer. The reason I bring this up now is because one of our coalition colleagues, Cllr Richard Willis, makes a very good point on his blog: "Tony appears to be ...
[IMG: Al Gore speaks at the Engine Group] Last week Al Gore came to talk at the Engine offices (the group of companies where I work). As befits someone whose interests have roamed over many areas, his comments covered a broad range of the challenges we face in coming years. What most caught my attention were his views about how seriously China is taking environmental issues: Cross-national public opinion polling shows that the Chinese people are more aware of the climate crisis and more focused on solving it than the people of practically any other nation in the world. The ...
In Paris recently I visited Pere Lachaise cemetery. It is a vast necropolis with Oscar Wilde buried furthest from the entrance. This has not stopped a continuous flow of visitors since he was moved there in 1909 from his original resting place outside Paris. As you can see many of them pay their tributes in writing with marker pens or on post-it notes. Thus defacing the tomb does seem a
(if any happen to be passing by this way...) You might have heard that Phil Woolas is this week in an electoral court because of a legal challenge about his campaign in Oldham East and Saddleworth during this year's General Election. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of the electoral petition, look at the copies ...
From Stockport Council: Connexions has the responsibility to ensure that all school leavers from Year 11 receive an offer of learning before the end of September each year. End of August figures show we are currently on course to improve on the offers achieved last year, currently recorded as 95.8%. All the above achievements are possible because of the excellent working relationships between Connexions and local providers, including the FE Colleges, local work based learning providers, and the two new local Academies - Academy for Hospitality, Great Britain, run by De Vere Hotels, and Synapse - the Academy for Call ...
I have linked to an article in the New Stateman in which Mark Serwotka says the following:"Lots of political decisions are inefficient and wasteful, but none of those things is on anyone's radar. When people talk about reform, what they mean is cuts and job losses. We believe there should not be any reduction in public spending at all."The problem with this approach is it basically does not
Our libel law is complex, costly and out of date. It lacks certainty and sweeps too broadly in ways that threaten freedom of speech. That is why I have prepared a Defamation Bill to act as a catalyst enabling the coalition Government to give effect to their commitment to review libel laws, and to give Parliament the opportunity to make better law. Recent calls for libel law reform have come from the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee Report Press Standards, Privacy and Libel, the Ministry of Justice Working Group on Libel, and the Libel Reform Campaign led by a ...
Here in Dnipropetrovsk there are some upcoming Oblast and Mayoral elections and as such I thought I'd put up some of the pictures of the different candidates posters for you to enjoy. Here is the first one playing heavily on the nationalism side.
Is David Rogers secretly running a restaurant in Trastavere ? Here's my snatched shot of the restaurant owner. You decide. Incidentally the food was excellent.
I've always believed that we should have fixed-term Parliaments. Pasted below is an article I wrote for Liberator magazine about this in January 2008. Today is the 2nd Reading of the Bill that will, if it passes, introduce fixed-term Parliaments. What's your view? It's 80 minutes into an Arsenal-Tottenham football derby. Tottenham lead 1-0. Arsenal are piling on the pressure. The Tottenham manager shouts at the ref, "OK, that's it - can we have the final score now please?" The ref agrees, all the players troop off the pitch 10 minutes early and Tottenham get the three points. Sounds absurd ...
With another setpiece debate approaching fast, my thoughts have turned to a question that always troubles me. Not "Is this liberal?", because to my mind at least, quotas aren't, but, "Who decides who qualifies for such preferential treatment?". It is one of those 'elephants in the room' that lurks, just waiting to spring out and trample the unwary or imprudent. If the motion as currently written is passed, said elephant will be loose. Why? Because the definition of BAME will need to be nailed down, with individuals having to demonstrate that they are 'BAME enough' to qualify. At the last ...
Proof that it is not just history that can repeat itself, the news can often be recycled as well. In this case the Western Mail carried almost identical stories a year apart. It still remains a problem but one that is in the hands of the Deputy Housing Minister and the Finance Minister to address. Thank goodness Jocelyn Davies and Jonathan Edwards are in the same party.
This coming Saturday sees the start of National Eczema week - http://www.eczema.org/national_eczema_week.html As a child through to my early 20's I had Eczema. It felt terrible and at times really got me down. I still very occasionally have itchy skin to this day which I relieve with a, for me, miracle cream called Diprobase. My occassional Eczema in adulthood is brought on by stress now. Fortunately I don't get the prickly itchy craziness of my early years. If you have a child, family members, friend or colleague with eczema do get them to take a look at the National Eczema ...
"The cry for copyright is the cry of men who are not satisfied with being paid for their work once, but insist upon being paid twice, thrice, and a dozen times over" • George Bernard Shaw. Via "End the War on Freedom" I stumbled upon this piece in defence of copyright by Cathy L Z Smith on "The Libertarian Enterprise" site. A little context might serve to elucidate the background to this. A few months ago, I believe at the Porcupine Freedom Festival 2010 in New Hampshire, some liberty minded folk established something called "The Shire Society" and created for ...
I have today launched my September 2010 update to West End Community Council. Topics covered include : • Tackling break-ins • Refuse collection - Taylor's Lane • Sewage discharge problem • Bus Services • Tay Rail Bridge Disaster - 1879 - Memorial Group Update • Land at Glenagnes Road You can download a copy of my update by clicking on the headline above or by going to http://tinyurl.com/weccSept2010. The Community Council meets tomorrow night at Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall at 7pm.
After a relaxing day yesterday, I settled down to watch the 10 o'clock news. Now it was going to take something amazingly special to live up to the previous programme, which ended up with Robbie Williams singing Angels, but there were three things about the news bulletins that really got up my nose in a big way. Firstly, they are giving a lot of unchallenged time of day to Trade Union dinosaurs who are threatening us all with "class warfare" - their words, not mine. Before they even see the result of a Comprehensive Spending Review, the unions are asking ...
A year ago English Buildings wrote: Between the 1850s and 1920s, when there was still a growing demand for church buildings but often a limited budget for construction, scores of corrugated iron churches were put up in England and in the farthest outposts of the empire. These buildings were supplied in prefabricated form by commercial companies, some of whom, including Boulton and Paul of Norwich and William Cooper Ltd of London, grew successful in the church market. It was straightforward for an impoverished parish, or one needing temporary accommodation before a more permanent stone church was built, to find a ...
Another week, another missive from Labour trying to persuade me that the coalition is wrong. What really gets me is the routine homophobia used in these emails. Does Labour really think that the way to convert Liberal Democrats is to make homophobic jokes, or does the sight of two non-Labour adult males getting along in a professional manner push their berserk buttons? Seriously, is this the true face of Labour? Right-on on the surface if they think a relationship is allowable (i.e. approved by Labour apparatchiks), homophobic in the extreme if they don't approve? For the record, I am not ...
The weekend papers were full of speculation about the Labour leadership contest, which as it draws to a close appears to be a nail-bitingly close finish between the Brothers Miliband. According to pollster YouGov, Ed Miliband is set to sneak victory by the closest of margins after second preferences are taken into account; though the poll didn't appear to take into account the votes of MPs and MEPs who control one-third of Labour's electoral college. This is not, after all, a party which believes all votes should be equal, whether in Parliamentary constituencies or in their own leadership race. I ...
He may have his own reality TV show in the States but Donald Trump's manager at the Menie estate has been using police resources to stop scrutiny of his actions. Two documentary film makers had been arrested and their equipment seized for five days when they were investigating claims that Trump's contractors had cut off the water supply to the local residents, including fierce critic of the project Michael Forbes. Although Paul O'Connor, Trumps manager agreed to be interviewed freely and no documents were filmed. The two, Anthony Baxter and Richard Phinney, were arrested, DNA sampled and detained for four ...
The unions' campaigns against the cuts concentrate on the loss of jobs they will involve. I think this is a mistake. Of course there is a strong Keynesian case for governments providing employment when the private sector fails to do so: Keynes is alleged to have argued that, in a depression, if they can't find anything better, governments should pay some men to dig holes and other to fill them up again. However, in today's climate this argument is not going to appeal to that self-satisfied "Middle England," the alleged target of the TUC campaign, who unfortunately will not relish ...
Over at Liberal Democrat Voice Iain Roberts points out that proposals to privatise the Royal Mail are very much in line with party policy but that does not mean that we should allow the position to be misrepresented: The Government is not proposing to privatise the Post Office. And what's being proposed, far from being a u-turn, is Lib Dem policy. It was in our manifesto and now we're delivering on it. Here's what the Lib Dem manifesto says on the subject Give both Royal Mail and post offices a long-term future, by separating Post Office Ltd from the Royal ...
Mon 13th
05:53
Whoniversaries 13 September: Alan Bromley, Zygons #3, Hive #3, Planet #2, Battlefield #2
i) births and deaths 13th September 1915: birth of Alan Bromly, director of The Time Warrior (1973-74) and Nightmare of Eden (1979). ii) broadcast anniversaries 13th September 1975: broadcast of episode three of Terror of the Zygons. Harry saves the Doctor; Sarah rescues Harry; the Zygon ship takes off for London. 13th September 1980: broadcast of third episode of The Leisure Hive. The aged Doctor and Romana start to uncover the secrets of Argolis; one of the Argolins is uncovered as a disguised Foamasi. 13th September 1986: broadcast of second episode of The Mysterious Planet (ToaTL #2). The Doctor and ...
As we approach the Liberal Democrat Conference speculation about the outcome of the Government's Comprehensive Spending review, due to be published on 20th October, is starting to get beyond intense. It is said that anticipation is nine tenths of the pleasure. In this case the anticipation is proving to be as equally as agonising as the outcome. There is still a general understanding amongst the electorate that action needs to be taken to reduce the £155 billion deficit and £800 billion debt that faces the country. How far they or the government are prepared to go we have yet to ...
I am really encouraged to learn that the new Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, has decided to re-examine the proposed MegaTESCO in Stretford. This scheme, inappropriately linked to the redevelopment of Lancashire Cricket Club, is completely unacceptable and should be stopped. In my opinion the MegaTESCO will kill off nearby independent traders and seriously threaten the vitality and viability of local centres like Chorlton, Stretford, Whalley Range, Hulme and others. Before the election I joined other campaigners to hand in a petition to the Government Office North West asking for the planning decision to be "called in" (pictured). Unfortunately this request ...
I recently wrote about our attitude to alcohol and if we are to get the message across about the harm caused by its misuse then we have to win over the hearts and minds of those who portray it in the media. The same is true of many aspects of life. Are we to preserve the earth's resources and follow environmentally friendly policies? How does this link with programmes like Top Gear. I saw part of a Top Gear programme yesterday. It is not a programme that I usually watch but I thought that Jeremy Clarkson was acting like a ...
Turkish voters have given decisive backing to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's package of constitutional reforms in today's referendum, which saw a 78 per cent turnout. By a margin of 58 to 42, voters approved plans to make the military more accountable to civilian courts, to strengthen the powers of parliament, to lift the immunity ...
I'm currently reading a biography of David Jason. He's one my my many 'heroes'. As it happens, a number of others whom I also hold in extremely high regard are or also worked in the same field as him - making people laugh. I am quite frankly in complete and utter awe at those people who can make others laugh. I've found throughout the years that it's something that I have always attempted. I can remember playing the fool even in primary school - deliberately falling off my chair whilst making it look genuine so to get some laughs. Is ...
