It's looking like Trident's replacement is about to get canned until the next parliament. As LibDemKitty mentioned in her blog post there has been a sneaking suspicion among Lib Dems that Osborne's announcement re Trident's replacement being funded out of the MoD's budget effectively stalled the project. Today the BBC confirmed that the Government are ...
I got back home from holiday around 7pm this evening and settled down to reading council papers and the local newspapers from the past 10 days. A small story in yesterday's Journal caught my attention. Headlined "Queen's Speech delay sparks Labour anger", the article was about the decision to move the Queen's Speech from its normal November spot to late spring. The aim is to bring it into line
Good post. And no, not just because it's nice about me [IMG: :-)] So go read.
Elm Tree is a good place to be - official ! I was very proud of the place and people that we represent when I read tonight's Evening Gazette's "We're talking up Elm Tree" item. I cannot find it on thier website tonight, maybe it will come on tomorrow. But some nice people saying nice things about an area that I have fought for and represented for nearly 29 years.
Paper.li is a great way to make concise newspaper like editions of all the content that your Twitter followers (and those whom you follow) publish on a daily basis. Here are the ones that i have created from fellow political ... Continue reading →
James Lansdale has reported this evening on the BBC website and 10 o'clock news that Ministers are considering putting back the 'Main Gate' decision on renewing Trident beyond the current date of 2014. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11321861 Reports are that Ministers are considering delaying the decision to beyond 2015 - when the next general election will be held. A replacement for Trident could cost £20bn and delaying the decision could save billions in the short-term at a time when the Coalition Government are considering how they're going to fill the £155bn financial void that Labour bequeathed the nation. There is also of course, ...
It is probably worth starting by explaining who Rebecca McGladdery is in relation to Messrs. Woolas and Watkins. Miss McGladdery began helping the Liberal Democrats on a voluntary basis in March 2009 after posting a reply slip, printed on a ... Continue reading →
I was sorry to hear about the Coalition's plans to allow farmers to shoot badgers on their land. Another concession to the Tories? Maybe not, because a couple of years ago I wrote about an interview Nick Clegg gave to the rural affairs editor of the Shropshire Star. The paper quoted Nick as saying: "We are completely open to these trials. You are right - Britain's fascination with animals is curious to say the least. But this issue needs to go forward, even though plenty of people in the Liberal Democrats do not like this position."I am afraid that Liberals ...
If you are kicking your heels before the main event on Sunday (that's OUR fringe at 20.00).....Why not pop along to "Can the Coalition crack the "North-South" divide"? Liberal Vision's very own (sort of) Andy Mayer is offering a free-market view on this( not very tricky) proposition, (Sunday 1815-1930 Jurys Inn). I hope with all my heart that somewhere in his short but pithy speech he remembers the "super-casino" debacle we endured under the last regime. Ok Ok super- casino's may not "solve " the entire problem ..... but (a) I really really want one and (b) ..I really really ...
Today the court took its final evidence. Phil Woolas concluded his evidence first, then Rebecca McGladdery (a Lib Dem-turned-Labour volunteer who had previously made allegations that she was paid below the minimum wage by Mr Watkins), and finally Joseph Fitzpatrick, ... Continue reading →
My friend Spidey just posted a brilliant entry in her blog encouraging people to promote new political blogs. As a relatively new blogger myself I support this as building your regular readers and promoting your blog can seem like a daunting process. I would invite you all to read her blog and post and add ...
When I first started out blogging I wasnt sure in the slightest how to get my blog read by anyone other than those whom I told about it. The question of how much to push the blog (or not to ... Continue reading →
I hate to comment on a news story but watching tonights Channel 4 news was horrified and disturbed by the story about Roman Catholic proven paedophiles. They reported on 22 such paedophiles being arrested, charged, convicted and imprisoned for more than one year. Heaven only knows how many had been convicted for less than one year. Upon release they appear to be near universally protected. Provided a home, money and what appears a salary to live on. Effectively a job or pension for life where you don't have to ever work with the only prequisite being you're a convicted paedophile. ...
The BBC is reporting that the Government is set to put off a decision on replacing Trident until after the next general election. This move would both assist government finances over this Parliament and would sidestep the division on the Trident in the coalition which pits Liberal Democrats and some Conservatives against Defence Secretary Liam Fox and other Conservatives.
Malc and Jeff are having their first inter blog stooshie on the subject of the Pope's visit. The debate on there is brilliant. Jeff says that we should leave Benedict alone: The Pope may be a flawed leader of a flawed religion and there is of course no convincing reason for anyone to necessarily take his word as Bible but, amid the hustle and bustle of our post-recession lives, amid the attention-shortening gogglebox garbage that we all guiltily tune in to week after week and amid the community-loosening dispersal of increasingly individual lives, there is value in reflecting on what ...
I was about to send a letter into Plymouth's Herald newspaper when I thought: why not see if others want to sign it too. So, below is the letter I intend to send. Read it and if you want to add your signature in support leave a comment containing your name and where you live (ideally within the Herald's distribution area!). Alternatively, you can email me. Here it is: Next May, people across the country will vote on how we elect MPs. On offer will be a switch to something called the Alternative Vote (AV). Under AV, voters rank candidates ...
The Housing Minister, Conservative MP, Grant Shapps is to be the key note speaker at a fringe meeting hosted by Shelter and CentreForum called, What will the legacy of the economic downturn be for housing? This will offer a real insight to what the Conservative Party is really thinking (I hope), well certainly on housing anyway. Has the economic crisis really made us think any differently about the housing market, is it time we started to take the private rented sector more seriously, and will house-building ever recover? The speakers will consider how, in a tight public spending environment, we ...
Resurfacing a street is important, usually welcome and not generally considered that tricky. There's a process, starting with letting residents know that the resurfacing is due to happen and asking them to remove any obstacles then doing the job, ideally leaving behind smooth, neat pavements. Not telling residents then tarmacing around any plant pots which are innocently taking part in the various In Bloom contests isn't generally speaking how it's supposed to be done. [IMG: Wendy Helsby with one of the tubs] Of course, now lifting the tubs will be a lot harder now that they've been cemented into place. ...
My son has a cold. It's not too bad during the day, but at night he has been waking up coughing. The coughing is caused (delightfully) by gunk building up at the back of his throat. He's got an extra pillow to prop him up a bit, but sometimes it's not enough. To clear the unpleasantness is simple - sit up for a bit. On his wall are some pictures he and his brother drew a while back. He was coughing, so he sat up and looked at them for a bit. The coughing stopped. The cure was obviously...looking at ...
This report is from the Lib Dem Voice court reporter. You may also like to read Nick Thornsby's blog for more trial news Mr Woolas took the witness box for a third day in a row to answer questions in rebuttal from his own counsel. He insisted that photograph of a demonstrators often referred to in Labour emails as the mad Muslims had nothing to the article beneath which referred to Liberal Democrat candidate Elwyn Watkins pandering to extremists in the Labour leaflet called the Examiner. Next to be called to the stand was Miss Rebbecca McGladdery, who was a ...
Cardinal Newman wrote an essay called 'An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent'. His essay is divided in to two sections.1. Can I believe in what I don't understand?2. Can I believe what can not be proved?Yes, you can believe in what can not be proven because people invest their beliefs in God even though he can not be proven to exist. I am an Anglican and I agree with Cardinal Newman on point 1.I don't understand all of the Bible but I still believe in Christianity. On point 2 my faith in God can not be scientifically ...
Another succesful meeting of Roman Way residents took place on Saturday 4 September at Smannell Road Church centre. I was able to report back on progress in dealing with a number of Highways issues and residents once again had the opportunity to quiz me, town councillors and local police on matters of concern. PC Pete Nelson of Andover police gaver a detailed report on policing in the area and repesentatives of Raglan Housing were also present to speak to residents. The full notes on the meeting can be found by following the link below. Further meetings are planned for November ...
A long time ago, I did a degree in modern languages. To try and keep my skills from fading, I follow a few French and German language users on Twitter. And one of these, the French-speaking arm of the FCO let me know a few weeks ago of a planned event at the end of September. The UK arm of the European Commission is hoping to celebrate European Day of Languages with a day of multi-lingual blogging. The date is 26th September, and you can read all about it on the EC Facebook page for the event. We'd like to ...
Wed 15th
19:54
Thank heavens! Sarah Palin's soul sister is the Republican candidate for Senator in Delaware!
Oh joy! Oh rapture! Fun and games are on the agenda! Sarah Palin's soul sister, Christine O'Donnell, on board the Tea Party Express, has thundered into Delaware to be the Republican candidate for the November Senatorial election. Let joy be unconfined! In particular, we should rejoice that this lady (yes, she's attractive, yes, she has the most head-explodingly simplistic attitude to life) has a positively bulging archive portfolio of television appearances. TV libraries are, at this moment, being raided to produce tapes of her appearances as a "Christian activist". Here's a couple of clips from an outstanding appearance by Ms ...
There is lots of good stuff on the Guardian website's Development pages.
It's been a rather challenging day. The kind of day which make me wonder 'why do I bother?' I expect that everyone involved in public service has such days and I'm no different. Having been an elected Councillor for 6 years since I was elected in 2004 at the age of 21, I've dealt with many kinds of situations, people, problems. It's what we're here to do - to represent our residents to the best of our ability. Politicians generally get a pretty bad press and when confronted with the expenses scandal of last year, it certainly doesn't help. As ...
Today the identity documents bill passed its third reading in the Commons - this means that ID cards are now dead!! When the coalition agreement was published I almost wept with joy at this news hurrah! This has been a long hard campaign but it has been worth it - I just wish Labour hadn't spent almost £300 million of our money on a card that no one wanted and would not protect us anyhow. and even when they were introduced in Manchester all sorts of mayhem happened. You can read about that one here Anyhoo, today is not the ...
This morning's Western Mail highlights comments from former Plaid Cymru MP, Cynog Dafis, in which he adopts the old nationalist trick of pretending that independence is not the real aim of his party. Mr. Dafis says that he believes the perception that Plaid is bent on breaking up Britain is heeding the party's progress. He is right, because that is clearly the ultimate objective of the party and the vast majority of people are opposed to it: In a discussion paper written in the run-up to last week's Plaid conference, Mr Dafis stated: "It would worry me... if the demand ...
Cross posted at Gyronny Herald With the news that the remains of Charlie Armstrong, one of the so-called 'Disappeared' have been identified by DNA, another family will have their loved one's remains returned to them for burial. The disappeared include: Victim Disappeared Attribution 1 Joseph Lynskey Summer 1972 PIRA 2 Seamus Wright Oct 1972 PIRA ...
The World Forgetting, By the World Forgot uses the announcement of the nominations for this year's Blog of the Year Awards as the occasion for a meditation on the state of the Liberal Democrat blogosphere. "Ultimately," he writes, "we will not see new Lib Dem blogs grow to the same stature as the big beasts unless we give them a level playing field. It is my concern that Lib Dems online should be actively using their own methods to highlight the (very good) stuff just below the radar." I agree with him and that is one of the reasons that ...
I recently rearranged my bedroom in order to make my CDs more prominent and encourage me to listen to them more. Although I don't have a huge number of albums, it is a collection I'm reasonably happy with. Of course, it would be much larger if money were no object but other priorities have led to infrequent, (mostly) considered purposes. Don't expect anything too outrageous - my tastes are decidedly middle of the road. For the first in this new strand, I'm starting at the beginning and featuring a track from an artist beginning with, unsurprisingly, A: ABBA. In common ...
With the news that the remains of Charlie Armstrong, one of the so-called 'Disappeared' have been identified by DNA, another family will have their loved one's remains returned to them for burial. The disappeared include: Victim Disappeared Attribution 1 Joseph Lynskey Summer 1972 PIRA 2 Seamus Wright Oct 1972 PIRA 3 Kevin McKee Oct 1972 ...
One of the most senior figures (arguably the most senior) in the Liberal Democrats is the President of the Federal Party. The exact role of the President is buried in the depths of the Constitution, but Lady Mark Valladares, the consorthusband of current President Baroness Ros Scott, has prepared a guide to the sort of ...
[IMG: Old Road sign] Local residents have been raising the problems with traffic flow along Old Road for some time. Some want it to be one way out of town, some one way into town - and some feel that making it one way either way will turn it into a race track. I raised the issue at the Town Council meeting on Monday - and after a short debate the Council decided that as local residents were not united about what they wanted the Council couldn't take this any further. If you would like to comment about this - ...
[IMG: Scaffolding] The Town Council discussed the scaffolding at its meeting on Monday night. Although the work continues quickly, the builders do need the lorry (pictured) while the scaffolding is being put up. Councillors were happy that the truck remained until the work was completed (hopefully not too long now). If you have any comments - please let me know. Philip
It's very rare for Doctor Who to visit Ireland - the only other story set there of which I am aware is Simon Guerrier's Seventh Doctor audio, The Settling, which took a measured look at Cromwell's campaign. So I was looking forward to The Book of Kells as another Whovian take on my home territory, not worrying too much about whether it was any good. The setting is Kells, Co Meath, in the year 1006; the plot is basically people running around after the famous Book, trying alternately to steal it and to prevent its theft, which gets a little ...
It was a real pleasure to be on the front bench today for the Report Stage and 3rd Reading of the Identity Documents Bill. Good riddance! Labour thrashed around with the same amendments more or less that they laid at the Bill Committee Stage – same arguments as before. So I just refer you to my last blog post here as the same arguments were rehearsed. The part I covered today was again the transgender issue of whether there should be two identity documents to allow those who use both genders during the journey to transition as the Labour opposition ...
Yesterday I was part of a large congregation at St Swithuns Church, who had come to say farewell to Bill Lehan, one of East Grinstead's finest. Bill was a husband, father, grandfather, hotelier, distiller, engineer, inventor, wit, artist, subversive and wearer of curious hats. This is not an exhaustive list of his attributes. Few men have both the skills and the vision to recreate medieval siege machines. Bill was one of those men. He is fondly remembered by students at St Marys school for his assistance there with big art projects. He was a regular contributor to the local newspaper ...
[IMG: Logos] The Liberal Democrats are holding a Coalition Politics Discussion Evening next Tuesday (21 September, 7-9 p.m.) at Melbourn Village College (about a mile from Meldreth Station). It is being organized by my colleague Cllr Susan Van de Ven, county councillor for Melbourn. Whether you like or loathe the Coalition, whether you are bewildered or bored by it, the fact is that the General Election produced an inconclusive result, forcing a situation of compromise and cooperation in central government. This happens to coincide with a financial crisis that for most of us is unprecedented. They say a week is ...
Wednesday: First, I keep meaning to say: economics is more ART than SCIENCE, like History with CALCULATORS. Don't just take MY fluffy word. There ARE other opinions. They say ask TWO economists and you'll get THREE contradictory answers; or an economist is a man who can pick a fight in an empty room (especially if he's Mr Frown). But, Ms Jane asks: Can you explain what you mean by balancing the budget over an economic cycle? How do you know how long the cycle will last in order to do that? That's a TRICKY ONE, but I'll have a go! ...
Wed 15th
17:55VIDEO: Perhaps swearing at your first press conference is not a good way to start your campaign for ...
Paul LePage is running for Governor of the state of Maine, USA. This is a bit of a disastrous way for him to kick off his campaign... He later stormed out of the press conference.
[IMG: Mark Pack speaking at Kingston Liberal Democrats] Last night I headed over to Kingston Liberal Democrats to talk at their pasta and politics event about campaigning lessons from the 2010 general election. My route there took me via the lovely Art Deco building that is Surbiton train station, as used for a cafe scene in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and, according to an Evening Standard survey last year, the second best train station for bicycle parking in all of London. And with that, you now know all of my exciting facts about Surbiton station. I was glad ...
It was with a great sense of anger that I read today that one of the Pope's senior advisors Walter Kasper likened the UK to a third world country. The exact quote was "When you land at Heathrow you think at times you have landed in a Third World country." He also maligned the spread ...
"It is one very extraordinary thing, your British Constitution," said the ex-King of Ruritania. "All the time when I was young they taught me nothing but British Constitution. My tutor had been a master at your Eton school. And now when I come to England always there is a different Prime Minister and no one knows which is which." "Oh, sir," said the Major, "that's because of the Liberal Party." Evelyn Waugh Vile Bodies (1930)
I was a little surprised to see that a senior aide to the Pope has described Britain as "third world", with the Catholic Church trying to justify his comment as being about the UK's "multicultural society". Either way, it is hardly the sort of comment we want to hear from the Catholic Church. When you imagine all the names that decent law abiding people who enjoy our multicultural society might want to say about the Catholic Church, it is probably as well that this aide to the Pope has suddenly developed severe gout that will keep him from our shores. ...
Not only do we have to fund the State visit of Pope Benedict XVI, but now his Cardinals get to fling insults at our country whilst our Government must maintain a welcoming diplomatic front so as not to upset the Pope!! One of the Pope's senior advisers has pulled out of the papal visit to Britain, after reportedly saying the UK is a "Third World country" marked by "a new and aggressive atheism". Cardinal Walter Kasper, 77, made the remarks in a German magazine interview. The Vatican said the cardinal had not intended "any kind of slight", and was referring ...
Following the letter to the Guardian signed by Stephen Fry and others, Laurence England is seeking signatures to the letter below... We, the undersigned, welcome His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI to the UK as both Head of State of the Holy See and as leader of the World's one billion Catholics and to the Catholic ...
Recycling can be used to create thousands more jobs in the UK. We should be looking at what we discard as a resource to be used again and not as something to be buried or incinerated. It is vital that England follows the lead set elsewhere and target big growth in recycling and generate jobs from the process. The new coalition should take this seriously as it is a virtuous circle that wins on all fronts - less waste - less landfill (ban incineration) - more jobs - more local firms starting up - less polution - better environment and ...
Several friends have alerted me to the existence of a Protest the Pope – in their own words video. It is a useful reminder of who the pope's, and our. opponents are. It is also featured on Fr Blake's blog from St Mary Magdalen, Brighton Filed under: catholic Tagged: Benedict XVI, Fr Ray Blake, Justin, ...
Like so many Lib Dems, I'm really pleased our participation in the Coalition is leading to the end of child detention. But the crisis in the detention system goes much deeper and wider than locking up children. There is an urgent need to consider how we can use our influence to reform the detention system. To make this happen I've helped to organise a fringe meeting with London Detainee Support Group (LDSG), a charity that supports and advises detainees. Every week I see this crisis when I visit Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre as an LDSG volunteer. My role is to ...
Yesterday I was wondering how local Labour politicians will come down on AV. Emily Thornberry, Labour MP for Islington South and R'lyeh, immediately answered my question in a new article on Labourlist (which should surely now be called IslingtonLabourList for trading standards purposes). She declares her unambiguous opposition to AV. The main thrust of her ...
I really don't see why not. Announcement here, pledges here.
Two further roads are to have their footways relaid as part of the Amey Highways PFI contract. Knights Road will be done at some point in the 5 weeks after 20th September and Westley Road will be done within 8 weeks of the 27th October.
Has the TUC gone completely mad? The latest suggestions from the "brothers" gathered at the Trade Union Congress is for the elderly to take to the motorway system on foot to lead sit down protests against cuts! Well, that's very nice of Bob Crow, leader of the RMT union, and author of this remarkable call to action, to volunteer the elderly as the shock troops of this unbelievable plan of protest
The Lib Dems are proud of their internationalism. It was one thing to oppose the intervention in Iraq and to continue as mistakes after the fall of Saddam were laid bare, but Iraqis like myself are keen to see your party develop its policy seven years later towards Iraq and Kurdistan, the region where I come from which is the stable, secure, commercial gateway to Iraq and Britain's ally. The key question now is how can the LibDems support the Iraqi political process and ensure that Britain isn't left behind other European countries in business, cultural and educational exchange with ...
Pam and I have been doing a good deal of work over the last year on improving Schools Hill. As often seems to be the way, we've not made as much progress as we'd like in terms of real results. Here's a summary of where we've got to. I did some work speaking with the Police, Lady Barn House School and the Council to see if we could improve the school-run traffic situation. I was hopeful that the school might be able to put on a walking bus to avoid parents having to come along Schools Hill, but they feel ...
I seem to spend half my political meetings time these days appealing to Bury's Planning Committee to oppose various developers applications. Recently I, following residents concerns, called on the committee to oppose plans from the charity Turning Point to increase the number of bedrooms at their Glebelands Road premises from 8 to 12 with an additional extension at the rear. At the first meeting councillors expressed concern at traffic and parking implications and agreed to hold a site visit, which they held yesterday. I had argued both at last months meeting and last night that this was in effect an ...
I woke up this morning to find three LJ pingbacks in my inbox, which puzzled me slightly, as I haven't posted for a few days. Further investigation revealed the cause, and a lovely surprise it is, too: [IMG: comment count unavailable] comment(s). View DW comment(s).
...for property, that is, and it's one that's illustrated by his 10-minute rule bill that's he's speaking to as I write this. The idea is that the law should be changed to prevent banks from lending out any money you deposit with them without your consent, as legally when you deposit any funds they become ...
Plans to save the Royal Mail by turning it into a private sector company with a substantial minority employee shareholding have been met with a highly predictable response from the Communication Workers Union. The CWU, one of the most reactionary of old style trade unions, will target the 71 most marginal Lib Dem and Conservative MPs.The CWU has been a thorn in the side of Labour, never mind the
Wed 15th
13:47
NHS freeze of plans to restore kids' healthcare to Southport described as a 'betrayal' by MP John Pu...
John Pugh speaks out about child health care
Twitter is one of those political mediums that really can get the juices flowing and despite the fact that you are limited to 140 characters rampant debate often takes place. However, I grow increasingly tired of some of the anti coalition comments ... Continue reading →
An email from France where one of my fellow Birkdale councillors is meant to be holidaying brought news of that Birkdale Focus has been shortlisted for the Blogger of the Year Awards in the category for Lib Dem holding Public Office. The full shortlist is: A Lanson Boy by Alex FolkesAnders HansonBirkdale Focus Liberal Bureaucracy by Mark ValladaresLynne Featherstone MP Check it out for yourself and you will see that the competition is very tough. Many thanks to everyone who has supported the blog since it began in March 2007. In those days it's chief purpose was to chronicle the ...
Liberal Democrats are understandably confused about whether child detention is ending or not. Nick Clegg got the commitment to end child detention into the Coalition Agreement. Only last Thursday Sarah Teather promised: 'Rest assured. It will be done.' She also said: 'We have to be careful not to rush into this as we are dealing with the safety and well-being of often vulnerable children and it is essential it is done properly.' Quite how children's safety might be served by not rushing to end a practice proven to wreck their lives is a mystery that suggests leading Liberal Democrats have ...
Yesterday brought the news of yet another respected expert calling for a broader drug policy debate, this time with the specific suggestion of licensed cannabis sale: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11287130 I'm grateful to Prof. Pertwee for drawing attention to the cannabis legalisation debate, but would like to examine some of his proposals in more detail and consider what impact they might have relative to alternatives. The issue of age restrictions is an important one and I would be interested in hearing the Professor's reasoning for settling on 21 as the age at which someone can legally purchase the drug. If taking the cannabis ...
My colleague Richard Hands has been our 'progress chaser' over the spending of the extra road maintenance money that was included in the budget. Residents will note that Sandon Rd has already been treated under this initiative but we were anxious about the lack of action over Abbey Gardens. Richard received the following email today: Cllr Hands I have followed up you query in relation to when and if Abbey Gardens are going to receive micro surfacing treatment. I can confirm that it is down to be done and will defiinately been done before the end of November. Is has ...
I must say that when I have woken up in the mornings, this week, I feel I have entered a strange time warp, not dissimilar to Life on Mars. Aside from eating my Weetabix and half expecting Gene Hunt to come in and make some amusing quip about my clothes, the rhetoric from this years' TUC Congress has taken me a little by surprise with Bob Crowe even calling for a campaign of civil disobedience. Joe Jordan's blog, Policticomaniac has blogged on this in his excellent post 'Oh those Unions' , I worked in HR for years, and have read ...
My fat face is once again in the 'What Does Bracknell Think?' column of the Bracknell Standard. The question asked was "The Government has admitted more than six million people have paid either too much or too little tax over the past year. Some people face paying back around £1,400 and some will even receive a rebate. The Inland Revenue says the money must be paid back within a year, is this fair as it is that organisation that has made the mistake? My response published in the paper was; Yet again a government computer system was not up to ...
[IMG: A Barack Obama email. Photo credit: DavidErickson on Flickr] Looking at campaigning lessons from the general election, I've written previously about the question of quantity and quality of direct mail. Having run the party's 2001 and 2005 general election internet campaigns (and having first written HTML code using vi on a VAX mainframe in the early 1990s), the need also to get the latest of campaigning techniques right has also been a passion of mine. So I was struck by some of the figures published by UNITE about their general election campaigning - and note how in each pair ...
Dundee Doors Open Day takes place this Saturday - 18th September - and it is good to see so many West End buildings included - such as Dundee Central Mosque, DCA, Maggie's Centre (pictured), St Peter's Free Church, Tayside Fire & Rescue's Headquarters, various interesting buildings across the University of Dundee campus and the Institute for Medical Science and Technology in Wurzburg Loan, south of Ninewells Hospital. You can see the full details by clicking on the headline above or by going to http://tinyurl.com/dundeedoors.
Labour supporters have a lot to think about at the moment, what with electing a new leader and trying to work out what their party stands for. Well, I'd like to give them something else to think about - what type of Labour supporter are they really? To me there are two types of Labour supporters in the current British political landscape. One is the 'win at all costs' person who wants to see Labour re-elected with a massive majority and doesn't really care who gets trampled underfoot in the process. The other is a truly progressive person who is ...
Another of my Hay purchases was a biography of Winston Churchill that I picked up for a couple of quid. It was written by the Labour MP Emrys Hughes in 1950, and is basically a long election pamphlet explaining why Churchill would be a disastrous choice in the 1950 or 1951 election. It is a fascinating document and shows how the contents of campaigning has changed little in the intervening 60 years. Churchill is portrayed as a disastrous leader who is only ever right by luck and would lead Britain into war as soon as he could. To be fair ...
As reported in yesterday's Courier, the City Council has apologised that figures given to the newspaper and myself about the extent of homelessness in the city contained an error. I print below the clarification I have been given but, as I said to the Courier, the fact remains that the city faces a continuing significant challenge in ensuring that all homeless people requiring accommodation receive this. I am meeting the Director of Hosuing later this month regarding the issue of homelessness in Dundee. From the Homeless Services Manager : "Dear Councillor Macpherson Regarding the article in Thursday's Courier on numbers ...
Tonight is the once-every-two-months meeting of Bury Council, where the 51 Councillors in the borough gather together at the Town Hall, and where about 45 of them will sit and say nothing whilst the same half dozen or so as normal will do all the talking. There are four debates to be had tonight. They're on important issues, but are pretty much meaningless because the votes split down party lines and the Conservatives running the place will do what they like regardless. Still, that's democracy for you, and we can but try to get them to think differently on things ...
Another day, another Guardian headline about the wickedness and unfairness of the Coalition. Thus Saturday's headlines "Coalition cuts will hit poor 10 times harder than rich, says TUC" will have made many Lib Dem hearts sink. But as with so many Guardian headlines recently, the headlines, and the reports they are based on are not quite what they seem. The TUC report attempts to take the value of public services and allocate them across different income groups with the aim of showing the cuts are unfairly distributed. They have done this by taking a figure for the cuts over the ...
Some recommended reading for Liberal Democrat councillors and campaigners from the last week: TUC Conference normally precedes us in the Conference season, with much talk over concern over the savings that need to be made as a result of the last Labour Government.... Here's the Guardian in Unions threaten mass strikes over spending cuts. For a view on what Tory voters might be reading, here's the Telegraph editorial on The TUC still has its head in the sand. For a bit of common sense here's the statement from our Vince. Two other ideas on spending: the Municipal Journal covers the ...
Wed 15th
11:55
Lib Dem Conference Event: Lembit Opik, Guido Fawkes, Jeremy Browne, Richard Grayson, Stephen Haseler...
[IMG: guido] So... This is the week we've all been waiting for. Waiting, patiently. Silently. Waiting. Then waiting some more. Yet suddenly HARK! IT STARTS! Yes, that's right - the Liberal Democrat Conference 2010 begins this Saturday. I can almost feel your auricles fluttering from here. If you're going to conference, come to this: "Coalition, Cuts and Conservatives: an attractive agenda for the Lib Dems?" It features: GUIDO FAWKES! JEREMY BROWNE MP! LEMBIT OPIK! PROFESSOR RICHARD GRAYSON! STEPHEN HASELER! And me. Mark Littlewood, now head of the IEA, chairs the event. It's on Sunday 19th September, 8pm - 9:15pm. Location: ...
I wrote last month about my concerns about a new north south divide developing after the unemployment figures for Scotland continued to rise while we see a small fall in the rest of the UK. This month the situation is even worse with a more than 10% rise in the number of Scottish people unemployed between May and July. While the number of jobs filled in that period is up, surely that's can be accounted for by seasonal work and many of these people could find themselves back in the dole queue at the end of the Summer. Also, if ...
I see I'm not alone with struggling to get flooding problems sorted. But I can report one small success this morning. The issue was raised with me by a resident who works in Tulketh St near the offending drain. I finally got a note this morning confirming that action had been taken: 'Dear Councillor, Further to your e-mail of 16th August 2010, regarding a blocked grid in Tulketh Street, Southport that was overflowing and causing terrible smell. ....... work was issued to the contractor on G2R123 to have the gully checked. On inspection it was found that the problem was ...
When I was growing up it was illegal (or at least everyone thought it was) for my school to teach me about homosexual relationships, illegal for me to join the Armed Forces, there was no possibility of partnership rights (and still no legal ability to get married), even when I turned 16 it was illegal for me to have sex! I can only thank those involved in the fight (individuals, political parties, and charities) who helped secure the freedoms I and many other gay men and women enjoy today. This is why I am very keen to fight for others ...
The Rise and Fall of the Respect Party will make an interesting book one day and one key chapter will doubtless focus on the party's failure to stand a candidate in the Tower Hamlets Mayoral election, for which polling is on 21 October. It was Respect which organised sufficient signatures from the borough's electors to ...
From Stockport Council: Thousands of people visited Stockport Market last weekend to enjoy a historical spectacle spanning 750 years. The event was organised to mark the anniversary of the signing of Stockport's market charter, which took place exactly 750 years ago. Over 7,000 people enjoyed the whirlwind journey through time, where they encountered characters that would have formed part of market life in days gone by including minstrels, a rat catcher, peddlers and hawkers. The market stalls each represented a period in history and were brimming with produce that would have been sold, or activities that would have been part ...
220,000. This is how many Roma gypsies were murdered by the Nazi's, roughly 25% of the total Roma population living in Europe at that time. The reason I know that figure is because I have Roma roots, my great-grandmother being ... Continue reading →
[IMG: Make Poverty History by Nicolas Sireau - book cover] Nicolas Sireau's study of the Make Poverty History campaign follows the campaign through its creation and then year of existence in 2005. Sireau analyses a number of tensions in the campaign, in particular between those from a marketing and branding background versus those sceptical of such corporate processes and between those who took an insider or moderate approach to the campaign – seeking to win over political decision makers – and those who took a more radical or outsider line – more focused on wanting to change the system than ...
http://www.1010global.org/uk/about 1010 are promoting a Global Day of doing to get people and businesses actively doing things to build up awareness about CO2 reduction. Follow the link to join in the fun. We are all responsible for our part in climate change and each of us can reduce our own individual CO2 footprint. Individual change can be used as a powerful force to push buisiness and governmental change.
The comments by Lord Turnbull and Tony Blair are key simply because the former was the top civil servant and the latter the Prime minister at the time when things started going particularly wrong for the country's finances.I have extracted elements from Tony Blair's memoirs which basically talk about the economic problems we face now and how they were exacerbated by the government whilst he was
It was back to the demesne last night for Parish Council and, to be honest, there wasn't anything on the agenda to indicate that the meeting would be anything other than routine. It appears that we don't do routine... We normally kick off with a report from our Safer Neighbourhood Team, and PC Stefan Henriksen turned up in his hi-tech police uniform to inform us that, since our last meeting, we had been a crime-free zone. There had been a report of a stolen car at the last meeting, but it turned out that the vehicle had been misplaced. Let's ...
Nearly 800,000 EU citizens have signed the avaaz petition against GMO in Europe - let's hit 1 million! The European Commission has recently approved growing genetically modified crops in the European Union for the first time in 12 years! Caving to the GM lobby, the commission has ignored 60% of Europeans who feel we have to get the facts first before growing foods that could pose a threat to our health and environment. A new initiative allows 1 million EU citizens to make official legal requests of the European Commission. Let's build a million voices for a ban on GM ...
As, I think, Terry-Thomas (or possibly Snoopy) might have said, "It matters not who wins or loses, but how you place the blame".So who do we blame for the financial mess - the bankers or the borrowers ?Peter Black quotes an interview with former Cabinet Secretary, Andew Turnbull, which firmly blames the Labour Government's borrowing.On the other hand, Keynesian Liberal quotes an unpublished
At last night's Cheadle Area Committee the councillors were frustrated that no council officer came along to explain what was happening to deal with flooding problems on Landybridge Road, Cheadle Hulme and near the junction of Broadway and Wilmslow Road in Cheadle. In both cases the problems seem to be related to blocked or partially blocked culverts and there's an issue about whether the Council or United Utilities are responsible for getting it sorted. (Note that the flooding on Ladybridge Road yesterday was down to a burst water main which was very clearly down to United Utilities and they spent ...
The Evening Standard has reported: The Commons public administration committee, chaired by Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin, has launched an inquiry into "What ministers do?" The MPs are investigating whether there are too many ministers, what they actually do, whether they should be appointed from Parliament or outside and the impact that the number of ministers has on the public purse and effective government if the number of MPs is cut from 650 to 600. Mr Jenkin added: "Clearly if the House of Commons gets smaller and the number of paid ministers increases or stays the same, it means that the ...
There's no doubt there is an increasing global food crisis, with food prices set to soar further. And organizations like Avaaz are doing their bit to persuade governments to donate emergency food aid and reconsider agricultural policy. However, Avaaz, Greenpeace and others are also involved in campaigns to totally ban genetically modified (GM) crops. As we know, some activists are even trying to destroy scientific trials of food crops. In my opinion, this is short-sighted. The use of GM crops can defeat disease and increase yields, thereby providing a positive impact on the food crisis. On the negative side, there ...
"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."
Once upon a time in Marshside, two different companies had responsibility for cutting the grassed areas - Sefton Council and One Vision Housing. This may not strike you as a particular issue however problems arise when the two companies involved have different grass cutting standards. To make matters worse, the areas of grass managed by each company where situated opposite each other which made the difference in performance very very noticeable. Things came to a head when residents in Preesall Close began to notice that their area of grass always seemed to be a bit longer, had more weeds and ...
The Telegraph and the Mail today both have front-page stories on figures from the Office for National Statistics on just how overpaid public sector workers really are. The trouble is, it's rubbish. Both quote new data from the ONS stating that public sector workers earn more, on average, than private sector workers. Fine. I don't ...
The Tories only clung on to one ward in Southport last year -Dukes Ward. Essentially this is Shoreside Birkdale (home to championship golf courses and retired footballers) and the southern section of the Town Centre (which in socio economic terms is the most deprived in Southport) this is the only seat we have never won on Sefton Council. It is our belief that at the General Election John Pugh came very close to winning the votes in those polling districts. Dukes Ward is also the centre of the spectacular row that has broken out between local Tories leading to resignations ...
As you might have heard, following Ros Scott's decision not to stand for re-election as President of the Liberal Democrats, there's a rather unexpected election set to take place. So, if you're looking for a candidate to support who's not a middle-aged man who spends far too much time in Westminster, might I suggest you ...
In the absence of any particular political topic to blog about, this is going to be a meandering post on various thoughts I've thunk over the last few months. I recently read Ender's Game, by Orson Scott-Card, on the very strong recommendation (so strong, in fact, it was he who bought it for me) of Paul F. It is a marvellous book which avoids all the pitfalls of sci-fi that have so put me off the genre. In particular, it has a real emphasis on three-dimensional believability; and not just the protagonist, but his family and the wider circumstances of ...
Having posted on Council Leaders interest in Mansfield Town F.C. it would seem appropriate to draw attention to Southport Model Railway Society's exhibition to be held at Birkdale High School 25/26 September, as that is Cllr Robertson's real hobby
Readers may recall my posting after the Southport v Mansfield game which I squeezed in before nipping off to the Beer Festival. I failed to report at the time that Lib Dem Council Leader Tony Robertson was also at the game. He is pictured here with the Mansfield Manager. Tony has written round saying how much he enjoyed the game and the friendly atmosphere at the club. You can see the Club's record of Tony's visit here Tony hails from Mansfield and I think he is sporting his Mansfield Town supporters Club tie.
At last night's Cheadle Area Committee, Inspector Steve Gilbertson told us that police have made eight arrests following a series of robberies in the area, including at Tesco Metros in Cheadle and Cheadle Hulme. More news as I have it.
Last month a reader and fellow Liberal Democrat, Phil Pavey, sent the following letter to the Guardian. Unfortunately the paper did not print it so at Phil's request I publish it here instead. 25 August 2010 Dear Editor As a long standing member of the Lib Dems I have been waiting for someone prominent in the party to state the obvious about the government. But no-one has, so I will do it. The coalition's budgetary policy of cuts, quite apart from its dire social effects, is economic lunacy. It is cutting off your nose to spite your face. It is ...
i) births and deaths None that grabbed me. ii) broadcast anniversary 15th September 1979: broadcast of episode 3 of Destiny of the Daleks. Davros and the Doctor bicker, and the Movellans are revealed to be robots. iii) date specified in canon 15th September 1954: birth of Pete Tyler, Rose's father.
Labour politicians and activists are fond of arguing that the economic mess we are in is the fault of the bankers and/or a collapse in the global financial system and yet not every country suffered in the same way. What is unarguable is that the coalition government now faces a £155 billion deficit and a £800 billion debt and needs to put in place measures to deal with that. And before Labour adopt their outright oppositionist approach we should not forget that they had planned £44 billion of cuts and their Chancellor of the Exchequer wanted to put up VAT ...
HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL TEMPORARY CLOSING AND TEMPORARY WAITING RESTRICTIONS IN VARIOUS ROADS IN ST ALBANS NOTICE is given that the Hertfordshire County Council intend to make an Order under Section 14[1] of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to prohibit all traffic from using the following lengths of roads and to prohibit all vehicles from waiting at any time on both sides of these lengths of roads whilst works are in progress:- 1. that length of B691 Victoria Street/B691 Grimston Road, St Albans from its junction with Station Way south eastwards to its junction with Lattimore Road, a distance of approximately ...
I've just seen that a Labour MP is attending the upcoming Liberal Democrat Conference. Surely this means that an electoral pact between the two parties, if not a merger, is imminent? Of course, this is rubbish. But it's exactly the same kind of rubbish promoted by so-called "journalists" when a Tory MP was spotted attending ...
There are three big inter-linked decisions for Consett which are expected soon (one of them already overdue). I have been asked about them often since my return from holiday, but really have nothing new to tell. Arguably the decision on whether the government will fund a new academy for Consett is a little closer. When the decision was announced that funding for the Stanley Academy will go ahead (along with a further 76 schools across the country) the statement about the other 119 Academies which had previously been "under discussion" - including Consett - moved to a more positive tone ...
There were a few articles in today's Morecambe Visitor that caught my eye. I may mention others in future blogs but I will choose the article on page two entitled "Evelyn I'm no liar". It concerns the accusation that six Morecambe Bay councillors bullied the town clerk. You can read about it in my blog from Friday 10th September. According to the investigation there was no bullying, so there was no bullying, but according to Evelyn she didn't lie, so she didn't lie. And that's the situation in a nutshell. One person's talking straight is another person's bullying. It is ...
In the comments to my last post on this subject the lovely Andrew Hickey (second only to [IMG: [livejournal.com profile] ] burkesworks in the ranks of beardy bloggers according to public vote!) threw a spanner in the works. I had concluded that it would be pointless for me to run for president when I couldn't afford to win. Andrew responded to this by setting up a pledgebank pledge. Six mad buggers have already signed it. You're all mental, you know that? I know that, and I ought to because my doctor gives me pills for mental (20mg citalopram for those ...
