Over on Nadine Dorries MP's blog, she questions whether you can be addicted to Twitter? Firstly though, she plugs the fact that she has written an article for Iain Dale's book, before she then questions whether you can in fact be addicted to Twitter, she writes; In the article, in which I very clearly define the reasons why MPs should not blog or Twitter (yes, I know ) I mention someone who has posted 22,000 tweets in four months. Today, someone has emailed my office with the details of a political/personal Tweeter who has posted 35,000 tweets in a similar ...
So I blogged about the scourge of politics that is Nadine Dorries this evening and her comment that people on Twitter who claim benefits should be reported for benefit fraud. You'd think that having stuck her Manolo Blahniks (expenses claimed?) in her overly sized gob, she would get the message and shut up. But oh ...
Serious misconduct for personal gain will be a criminal act, while petty local vendettas will no longer get a hearing as the unpopular standards board regime is axed, Communities Minister Andrew Stunell has announced. Mr Stunell said the top-down regime set up by central government to monitor council conduct had become a vehicle for malicious and frivolous complaints. For example, one authority had to fork out £160,000 after receiving over 170 complaints from the same person. Each one had to be examined, but only three were considered worth investigating and after investigation all were dismissed. Local Standards Committees investigated 6000 ...
Given that it's now been a few months since the political landscape in the UK changed forever I think it might be a good idea to reflect on the successes the Liberal Democrats have had in government and the foundation for those successes has to be the coalition agreement. In light of this I'm providing the list of policies that are in the Coalition Agreement because the Liberal Democrats are in Government (well, according to the Guardian anyway). Of the 399 policies in the agreement, 174 are solely from the Conservatives, 91 are solely from the Lib Dems, 80 were ...
Today, has seen the publication of investigative report into Project Champion, by Sara Thornton, Chief Constable of Thames Valley. I think there were many who thought that it was not possible to have a truly independent review by Sara Thornton, sitting as she does as Vice Chair of the Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPO) ...
From yesterday's Plenary Record: Peter Black: Minister, I fully accept your intentions with regard to driving the research and development agenda in Wales. However, you will be aware that the number of patents that come out of higher education institutions in Wales is relatively low in comparison to other countries and universities of similar sizes. Given that the registration of these patents is crucial in turning these ideas and research into business ideas and high-quality jobs, how are you encouraging higher education institutions to address this particular failure? Leighton Andrews: The development of patents is important, but I must tell ...
It goes alongside other positive news, with Mr Davey also setting out plans to extend flexible working rights.
I know, I am going to be branded as rather sad for this but I am getting incredibly excited about this weekend. When I viewed this house almost a couple of months ago, one of the deal clinchers that made me take it so quickly was the open fireplace in the living room. I grew ...
Many constituents have written to me in support of Bristol City Football Club as they try to overturn the granting of "Town Green" status to the piece of land in Ashton where they want to build a new 30,000 seat stadium. The plans have been through the long process of gaining permission from both Bristol ...
One part of the job I really enjoy is getting out and about meeting residents on the Ward. The best way to meet residents is when delivering Ward News Letters. Today whilst out delivering I must have spoken to around 30 people and picked up a few issues to resolve along the way. Whilst delivering Victoria Crescent I had the chance to bump into a constituent that I knew was a great Gardener and shows vegetables and flowers in many Horticultural shows. I asked if he had anything on the go at the moment and he invited me into his ...
[IMG: howmany] Shock Horror! Proposals for the new night quota system for Manston airport, could result in as many as 10 a380 airbus super jumbo planes landing every night between 23:30 and 06:00, if the night quota as requested by infratil is allowed. Of course this is a worst case scenario and the reality, would be complete completely different, although no doubt you'll be reading excitable reports in your local papers and on other blogs, any minute, still if you wish to read the proposals I suggest you click here and perhaps keep an open mind. How did I arrive ...
Thu 30th
20:23
Brian's long-suffering wife, Esther, in "New Tricks" was once a very glamorous young actress
Susan Jameson in the 1969 BBC Drama "Take three girls" and (top right) in the 2010 BBC series "New Tricks" We're avid fans of the BBC series "New Tricks". Such a wonderful series. Such lovely luvvie darlings playing the roles! This week I idly let slip to the missus the blithe suggestion that I thought that the actress that plays the "New Tricks" character Brian Lane's long suffering wife, Esther, was once a very glamorous young actress in the BBC's highly popular sixties series "Take Three Girls". Of course, that set me off on an "Am I right or am ...
There are very few people in this world who can actually something so remarkably stupid and mean it like Nadine Dorries. Not content with making herself look like a fool on Tower Block of Commons and worse still, spearheading a hate campaign against Time Ireland (aka Bloggerheads) getting her minions to brand him a 'nutter' ...
I had a lovely welcome home this evening not only from the Mickster who licked me to death the minute I got in the door but also by way of my first Amazon orders in a while. There to greet me was my copy of the Total Politics Guide to political blogging in the UK ...
I was obviously pleased, but also relieved, to hear Ed Miliband say he personally would be voting 'Yes' in the fairer votes referendum in May. You could say he could ill have afforded not to, after the way he was elected. If you'd been rescued off a mountain top by a helicopter, it wouldn't look good if you then railed against helicopters in your first statement after being rescued, would it! Or if you railed against your country's diplomats after they'd got you out of jail in a tin-pot dictatorship. Ed Miliband came second in most rounds of the Labour ...
Non-fiction 2 (YTD 54) Unfinest Hour: Britain and the Destruction of Bosnia, by Brendan Simms The Great Transformation, by Karen Armstrong Non-genre fiction 3 (YTD 39) Silas Marner, by George Eliot Set in Darkness, by Ian Rankin The Shell Seekers, by Rosamunde Pilcher SF (not Who) 5 (YTD 60) A Wizard Abroad, by Diane Duane Visions of Wonder, ed. David Hartwell and Milton Wolf Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson Green Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson Blue Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson Doctor Who (excluding comics) 5 (YTD 51) Doctor Who Annual 1974 Festival of Death, by Jonathan Morris Dreamstone ...
Saying something highly uncomplimentary about your own party is one thing. Saying it, denying it and then having a recording surface of you saying it is rather different though. Step forward, Hazel Blears and her "wicked and malicious" comment:
Tonight's panellists are: Grant Shapps MP for Welwyn Hatfield Simon Hughes MP for Southwark and Bermonsey, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dems Diane Abbott @DianeforLeader MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington David Starkey Historian and TV presenter Brian Cox Actor specialising in bad guys (assuming it's that Brian Cox - they did tweet "actor Brian Cox") Join us from 10.30. <p><a >BC Question Time - 30/09/2010</a></p>
I've contacted both Presidential candidates asking them three questions - first to answer was Tim Farron. His thoughts are below: 1. How should the Liberal Democrats be campaigning now we're in Government? How should we be campaigning? That's a great question - I believe that we shouldn't forget all the good things we've learnt over the past couple of decades.. In Westmorland and Lonsdale we have not taken our foot off the gas and I want to make sure that we help local parties run the best campaigns they possibly can, we've followed the model that gave us our wonderful ...
Centre for Europe is looking for enthusiastic, motivated, pro-European volunteers to help campaign on European issues such as education and human rights. This is an unpaid position but if you are looking to develop campaigning and marketing skills and experience in a European context, this may be the role for you. It is based in ...
I knew Twitter would get me into trouble, or the Torygraph, which is probably worse, one day. Last week after Vince Cable's speech, I got a bit carried away with the moment on Twitter which I assumed would vanish into the ether unremarked, like most of the other 25000+ comments I've made. No, the Torygraph picked it up and recorded it for posterity along with some other examples of Cable adoration. My friend Allan said on Facebook that this was clearly one of my more intellectually stimulating comments. Well, thanks for that! Do you know what? Vince does rock and ...
While I was away men dressed in Domino's Pizza boxes began to appear on the streets of Market Harborough. The official line was that it was connected with the company's new outlet in the town, but I'm convinced there's more too it than that. You see, there are more of them every day. And now, as the photograph shows, there are Pizzawomen too. In a few days most of the town's population will be standing on the street in pizza boxes. The few of us left will form the Resistance, only to see our trusted comrades clad in cardboard the ...
We have had some potentially good news, here in Paradise-sur-Gipping, in that the persistence of our Parish Clerk appears to have finally paid off. Rosemary was of the view that getting Tesco to run a free shopper bus between Creeting St Peter and their Stowmarket store could only be a good thing, and I couldn't help but agree. So, she wrote to them, and followed it up when they were slow to respond. And would you believe it, we've been offered a weekly bus. Every Monday, should there be any demand, the bus will pick up mid-morning and return about ...
"You're a mentalist!" - Alan Partridge An article on the Guardian's 'Cif Green' section today actually makes the claim that: "Of course we could solve the problems of today if we reverted to a hunter-gatherer lifestyle." I would like to dispute this, if I may, and in doing so discuss further the rise of the ...
[IMG: spending files] Reporting on Kent county council matters is fairly sparse in our local newspapers, although Paul Francis, Group political editor of the Kent Messenger does a first class job of scrutinising Kent county council . I've just been taking a gander at a fine example of his work and that of Bob Bounds (Editor Kent Messenger), which concerns some of the more extraordinary spending by KCC bureaucrats on , well themselves actually . As many of you will be aware and county council is a four or five star council, I believe part of that rating surely must ...
Three hours on a train and there's plenty of time to catch up on some of those little jobs that have been shelved for the past couple of weeks due to conference. I was hoping to get more posts up during the week but the great thing about great plans is that they never go to plan.Anyway, my most embarrassing moment of the week was on Tuesday evening. We have just bought my mother's VW Golf.
Congratulations to Launceston firm Kensey Foods for signing a deal which means that they will only be using Cornish milk in future. The deal is with Trewithen Dairies and means that around 75,000 litres of milk every week will be shipped to the Pennygillam factory for use in its production of quiches and desserts.
One of the things that you realise when you become a local councillor is the enormous amount of voluntary work and community activity that goes on over the course of the year, much of which goes virtually unnoticed. And, when you then consider the numerous and varied community and civic events held each year it really does make you realise what vibrant active communities we live in. It was interesting then to hear the views of Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt MP advocating more localised television stations to tap into local communities and use more localised media to engage with communities. ...
The departure of David Miliband leaves politics generally the poorer. It also leaves the Labour party with a hole at the centre. DM may not have taken up a position that I would agree with every time he made it, but he was a centrist politician who understood the importance of remaining in the centre ground. As I said on Friday, his election as Labour leader at least would mark a recognition that
I am indebted to Matthew Clarke who has provided recordings from the press announcement of super fast broadband for Cornwall earlier today. You would have thought that, as we are asked to be ambassadors for the scheme, Cornwall councillors would have been given a full briefing on the deal. Unfortunately not. We had a chance to learn more at a meeting of East Cornwall councillors earlier in the week, but the officer pulled out citing an embargo on any details. The only notice we had was a perfunctory note sent out late last night from the Leader of the Council ...
I finally got round to watching (on the iPlayer) Panorama's follow up to the John Sweeney shouty investigation into scientology a couple of years back in which the reporter famously "lost it". I was looking forward to "The Secrets of Scientology" but found it rather pedestrian with lots of "this is the man who will tell me the secrets", "the secrets will be told soon by this man" build up with lots of fuzzy walking shots and not much pay-off. Whilst the programme was interesting and shocking (although depressingly not really as we all know what goes on) there was ...
So, Labour has a new leader, and as he enjoys his honeymoon the party is experiencing a surge in the polls. This is to be expected; indeed, it would be an odd thing if Labour slumped in popularity in the immediate aftermath of such an event. They experienced the same effect following the elections of Blair and Brown, and a fine thing it can be for energising the activists and uniting the party. It can also be an effective way of repackaging a failing brand. Changing the leader gives the impression that the past is now ancient history and the ...
Back in May, when the newly formed Coalition Government announced a consultation for next year on transgender rights, part of me smiled and part of me sighed. The part that smiled was obviously the part that feels transgender equality has progressed far too slowly. The part that sighed, however, knew that considering the rights of transgendered people separately from LGB rights would lead to opportunities for people and organizations to interfere. And I don't mean that our transgendered friends would try to screw over the LGB population. In fact for too long LGB folks have spent far too much time ...
I am currently heading down to London on the train for a few days. I've been asked to do some photos and video for someone. As usual, I choose the days of travel with impeccable bad timing. Having had loads of rain through the week which stopped me from getting out to pick various crops, today is sunny and warm, ideal fruit picking weather. I just hope the fruit survives until I'm back next week
While I'm more that glad to hear Alex Salmond say that Scotland should be fully supplied by renewable energy by 2025. But it flies in the face of his demands just last month to benefit from the £242bn of tax revenue from the North Sea over the next 30 years, by devolving that tax raising power. You see it is all well and good wanting to be 100% renewable in fifteen years Mr Salmond, but you are looking at benefiting from a carbon-burning economy for twice that length of time. The problem is of course that since the 1970s part ...
Keith Nevols, the Liberal Democrat who ran for office in Sittingbourne and Sheppey in the last general election, talks to Jill Hurst about the campaign, what he has been doing since May and what his plans are for the future. -Tell us a little bit about yourself? I have lived in Sittingbourne with my wife, Mary, for six years. I'm 42 and work in Westminster in local government. I enjoy watching football, films, history and travel. I am also involved with church activities as a member of the social committee. -You ran for MP in the last election in May. ...
This is my conference diary. At some point soon I will post up a selection of photos I took, along with some of the video.Saturday 18th September 2010Off to conferenceIt was all planned in detail. I would take our car to conference. It would be its last journey. It is being replaced and is heading for the second hand rust market. However, I hate driving and have not driven any long distance for
Its pretty much part of my weekly routine, on Sunday get home from the first shift of the week (hopefully not the last one), make a sandwich or maybe reheat the previous nights Chinese, quick scan through the paper then collapse on to sofa, eventually struggling to regain consciousness around midnight usually to find some god awful film on, or some shopping channel with a deranged bat trying to sell me, women's undergarments so I can drop a dress size, Mrs Me having left me for dead hours earlier. Still this Sunday woke up to an altogether more cultural offering ...
I am feeling completely scunnered with this Party Presidential Election. And while I'm at it, much though I love Liberal Youth to bits, I share Michael's unimpressedness that their Executive were so quick to back any candidate, especially at a time when they were signing up new members as the university terms start who were perfectly capable of making up their own minds without direction. Being told what to do by any organisation winds me up immensely, so their move may yet be counterproductive. Ros Scott is the best president this party has ever had, bar none. She is a ...
So I had a bit of fun the other day with Ed Milliband's speech, but there is much in there to be welcomed. In particular, rather than attacking the Liberal Democrats - Labour's favourite pasttime for the last few months - he almost sounded like one of us at times. Let's be honest, politics isn't working. People have lost faith in politicians and politics. And trust is gone. Politics is broken. Its practice, its reputation and its institutions. I'm in it and even I sometimes find it depressing. This generation has a chance - and a huge responsibility - to ...
Today is my last day of self enforced no car / motorbike usage. This last week has probably been hardest as I see the end in sight. Monday my bus didn't arrive, and the next one was late. Tuesday I got soaked walking to the bus. Wednesday the bus soared past me just as I was about to cross the road to the bus stop, and this morning the bus was late again. I've developed a few blisters from wearing the wrong sort of work shoes to do the 10 minute walk either side of the bus stop, but I've ...
Oh yes they do. Buried in the last couple of sentence of a press release this morning from Ed Davey announcing a rise in the "minimum wage" - a policy that, if I remember correctly, the Lib Dems actually opposed in their 2001 manifesto, preferring to leave such things to industry and regional specific groups, it states: The government has also announced that employers who deliberately flouted minimum wage laws will be publicly named under a new scheme. Mr Davey added: "Bad publicity can be a powerful weapon in the fight against employers who try to cheat their workers and ...
Some politicians are difficult to impersonate (apparently) because they are so bland and normal looking. So, at the opposite extreme, Ed Miliband must surely be manna from heaven for the impressionist. The pudgy baby face. The funny eyes. The voice! Nasal and sinussy. That funny splutter on certain syllables. -All delivered as if he is half-asleep. ..And all that soap opera with his brother to tap into. I would have thought Alistair McGowan is in pole position to deliver the best impersonation of Brother Ed. He has a similar shaped head to E.Miliband. I should imagine there's a lot of ...
I agree with Simon. And Sarah. At our fringe event at last week's Lib Dem party conference in Liverpool we were pleased to hear fulsome support for the work of charitable and voluntary organisations, and encouragement for them to get more involved in public life and in public service delivery. And both Sarah Teather and Simon Hughes emphasised something very important in their remarks - David Cameron may have coined the phrase 'Big Society' but it's a concept that chimes with beliefs about responsibility and community held by all parties. Simon Hughes reminded us the UK had a long history ...
There are hundreds of thousands of people across this region who need our party to be strong and to speak up in their interests.
Not his greatest work, but this is pure nostalgia for somone of my age.
The Tower Hamlets Mayoral election campaign continues to do its best to beat political fiction for implausible twists, witness the appearance and then disappearance of a disgraced ex-Assistant Chief Executive in Lutfur Rahman's election film as recounted on Harry's Place. The Liberal Democrat candidate is John Griffiths, who you can find on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and how to help his campaign.
I not a massive fan of the term "Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME)" and in an ideal political world it probably wouldn't exist. But we don't live in an ideal world and the term is required to designate certain segments of population in order to address inequalities – an uncontroversial statement in my opinion – so why does it cause such heated discussion? Too complex to answer here so I will leave it to someone else but I have some ideas on why the Diversity Motion caused a stir at the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference. Liberalism to me is a ...
The BBC's Question Time programme comes to Manchester tonight, as the Labour conference rolls out of town and I can walk again through the city centre without it resembling some kind of post-apolcalyptic police state populated by machine gun wielding guards. The most important question of the day is of course "How many goals will Manchester City lose to against Juventus in the Euro Vase group stage tie at Eastlands tonight?" and so I will be at the ground attempting to find an answer, rather than in the QT studio. Bury Lib Dems do have a representative in the audience ...
There are lots of tutorials for how to create a Kindle case from a hollowed out book. This is the first time I've seen one in the wild. [IMG: IMG_20100930_114414] [IMG: IMG_20100930_114428] [IMG: IMG_20100930_114424] Created by my colleague Elliot Moore. Share This [IMG: Add 'Home Made Kindle Case' to Del.icio.us] [IMG: Add 'Home Made Kindle Case' to digg] [IMG: Add 'Home Made Kindle Case' to reddit] [IMG: Add 'Home Made Kindle Case' to Technorati] [IMG: Add 'Home Made Kindle Case' to Stumble Upon] [IMG: Add 'Home Made Kindle Case' to Google Bookmarks] [IMG: Add 'Home Made Kindle Case' to Bloglines] ...
Yesterday Anna came out of school clutching a large brown envelope. I knew it couldn't be Parent Council bumph because it was addressed to both Bob and I, and it wasn't report time. I opened it and found this handwritten note from the Deputy Head of her School: Anna's talent for writing came to the fore and she produced a very thought provoking letter. Please ask her to read it aloud to you - you will be very proud.And I did ask her and she did read it out with such passion that I reckon she'll be good for some ...
The question for the proposed referendum on the UK Parliamentary voting system should be made shorter and easier to understand, according to an assessment published by the Electoral Commission. As I blogged back in July when when the original question was proposed, The Electoral Commission is statutorily required to consider the intelligibility of the question, before reporting back to Parliament, who will consider the comments and have the final say after Recess. Today's report examines the question: Do you want the United Kingdom to adopt the 'alternative vote' system instead of the current 'first past the post' system for electing ...
Today comes the news that Tony Curtis the film actor has died aged 85. There has never been a better excuse to show a man in drag on this blog, there is also a glimpse of Marilyn Monroe in her pomp for any straight male readers. More to follow. Tony Curtis 1925-2010
1) Flexible working right to be extended 2) Minimum wage rises to £5.93 an hour
From Stockport Council: Stockport Council's Library Service is carrying out a survey asking children and young people what they think of their local library. The survey will take place between October 4th -16th in all libraries in the borough. All children aged up to 15 years visiting a library during this time will be invited to complete a straightforward questionnaire. Parents and carers can complete the questionnaire for very young children and help will be given to anyone requiring it. It is three years since young people were asked for their views on the service. The previous survey revealed that ...
The really interesting thing about the Miliband sibling drama being played out is that if Ed had been the narrow runner up, there wouldn't have been any question about him being expected to get on with the job of, well whatever David asked him to do. When David ran, there was no suggestion that he was potentially stopping his brother Ed from becoming Labour Leader. What is it about the random fact of birth order which means that an older brother competing with a younger brother is exercising his birthright, but a younger brother competing against his elder siblings is ...
Following the decision of Ros Scott not to seek a second term the nominations to be the next Party President of the Liberal Democrats closed yesterday. It emerged that only two candidates have the required nominations to go before the all member ballot. The two candidates and their respective websites are: Susan Kramer and Tim ...
It has been a successful week in the Champions League for all the British teams: Debutants Tottenham Hotspur kicked off their home campaign proper with a crazy 4-1 win over Dutch side FC. They were awarded 3 penalties, 2 of which were scored by Russian forward Roman Pavlyuchenko, and one that was missed be Rafa Van Der Vaart. Van Der Vaart did though score a magnificent volley, before being sent off for 2 rather unnecessary bookings. Tom Huddlestone was lucky not to have seen red earlier, as TV replays clearly show him swinging his arm into a Twente player's jaw. ...
It has been a regular finding of both MORI and YouGov research that the public's trust in members of different professions has been steadily declining for many years. However, the latest survey from YouGov suggests this decline has stopped, with several professions – including politicians – seeing a recent recovery in their standings. In 2003 on average 49% of people said they trusted different professions on average to tell the truth a great deal or a fair amount. This fell to 42% in 2006 and 37% in 2007 but was 39% this August. The two point rise is not statistically ...
(Well, I needed to publish a test post to check something so I thought I'd try updating an old theory from James Graham about Lib Dems, link baiting and magic subjects to mention.)
How many politicians talk about engaging the voters? How many talk of engaging people outside of politics? How many achieve this? Nick Clegg seemed to enthuse many voters prior to the General Election but many didn't turn out to vote for the Lib Dems. So what should political parties do? The Tipping Point gives an ...
Julian Huppert, newly elected Lib Dem MP for Cambridge, has made something of a splash in his first months in Parliament, taking up a number of liberal causes, such as the need for more evidence-based and scientific rigour in government decision-making. The Digital Economy Act is one such cause. TechEYE.net reports: Julian Huppert said it was wrong to rush the controversial Act through Parliament before the last election and that the proposed measures warrant more discussion. ... The new MP for Cambridge said: "Most of the Act is fine, I just don't agree with every bit of it – and ...
Interesting to see that Labour has published publicly the votes cast for each candidate in the leadership contest for each constituency Labour party across the country. It sure made me chuckle to see that in Knowsley Big Bro David was the favourite while Andy Burnham polled the second highest votes with Ed trailing in third. Mr Balls and Ms Abbott were a distant fourth and fifth respectively while one member even managed to spoil their vote! Labour run Knowsley Council spent £32,950 attending this year's conference in Manchester but will the election of Red Ed as their new Leader bring ...
Firstly an apology for not posting any blog updates for the last ten days but I have been busy and it is conference season! I hope regular readers will forgive me (Ed- do you have any??!!) The Party conference in Liverpool was a huge success and despite the obvious agenda of the media who were determined to seek out splits and evidence of disquiet in the ranks of members I sensed a great spirit in the camp. Yes we face difficult times and yes Lib Dem Ministers are at the heart of some of the tough choices that the coalition ...
A pilot scheme involving 10,000 homes in Southwark starts on Monday 4 October. The pilot involves adding organic waste i.e. food to the weekly recycling collections via 240L, 23L and caddy brown bins and also biodegradeable plastic bags. [IMG: img00012-20100928-0828.jpg] Those homes in the pilot will have received a non addressed letter a month ago and another leaflet this week. Hopefully you didn't miss it! Clearly many will be surprised come Monday with the letter and leaflet being lost in the general masses of junk mail/leaflets we all receive. To confirm if you're in or out of the scheme you ...
Leaving aside the actual results there are many points of interest in the detail of the Labour leadership election. Here are 10 things you may not have seen... Even her own members don't want Diane Abbott to be leader She has the eighth biggest party (850) but only 21% of them voted for her as Leader. The big parties are all in London Of the 11 CLPs with more than 800 members 10 are in London, the exception being Luton. Union members really weren't that interested The union turnout was astonishingly low -overall only 8.75%. For some unions it was ...
[IMG: Cattitude. Ai haz it.]
There has been a certain amount of anguished debate in Estonia over the past few weeks over the way that Lithuania has been successfully attracting inward investment and Estonia has not. To a degree the comments from the Estonian establishment are well taken: Lithuania has been better at marketing and at providing incentives that the Estonian government -as a matter of principle- would not. However, this is not the whole story, and the Estonian government needs to understand the consequences of several critical decisions that have been taken over the course of the past few years. In short, the country ...
This post about Government adverts over at Liberal Vision remins me about the announcement I recently heard (repeatedly as I was waiting for someone on a delayed train) at Kings Cross station: "This is a safety announcement. Please do not run in the station and take care around the station and in the surrounding areas" Gee thanks, it would never occurred to me to "take care" in the station. Also taking care in the surrounding areas would be a thought that would never have crossed my mind!! I mean seriously!! There were other similarly pointless announcements endlessly repeated which I ...
Link Road will be closed for five weeks while preparatory works are carried out for the extension to Yate Shopping Centre. However, shoppers will still have access to the Shopping Centre and the Total petrol station from the Kennedy Way direction on a temporary access road. Buses will also access the existing bus station along this temporary road. Traffic can then rejoin Link Road by taking a left turn out of the shopping centre car park. Traffic wishing to use the overflow car park can access Link Road from the Station Road end and will have to leave by a ...
Unitl now two easy ways to report pot holes in Southwark - 020 7525 2000 or environment@southwark.gov.uk Now a third way for those with iPhones has been created. The CTC has just released an iPhone app which can be downloaded from the Apple iTUnes stoes called 'Fill That Hole'. I don't yet have one of these prized iPhones but a friend showed this app to me. Take a picture of the pot hole using the iPhone camera and complete a couple of details. The system knows where you are via GPS and reports it to the correct local authority. If ...
Kirsty Williams and the Welsh Liberal Democrat team have been really effective in the last few weeks in exposing the mismanagement of the health service here, firstly in the Health Minister's failure to be transparent and accountable over a half million pound consultancy report and the lack of strategic direction it exposes and secondly on cancer services. However, it is not just the opposition parties who are dissatisfied with the Health Minister's performance, it seems that there are rumblings amongst her One Wales partners as well. This Plaid Cymru blog from Wrexham puts things far more starkly than even the ...
Last month, following a site-visit with a constituent, I wrote to the City Council asking for a safety improvement for pedestrians crossing Perth Road west of the Riverside Drive junction (near the south end of Hazel Drive). I have now received the following helpful reply from the City Council : "We have investigated this matter and produced a small scheme to highlight and sign the crossing making the location more visible to the motorist. This improvement can be implemented when approved, hopefully later this year."
As I sat down last night to read through the news websites to catch up on the happenings yesterday, I came across a subject which I'd been thinking about since Tuesday, when we received our monthly dose of propaganda from Lincolnshire County Council. I've often thought whether pushing a free paper through every door in the county was the best use of public money. It seems that the Government have now decided that this could be the case. Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, has announced plans to stop the councils publishing monthly newspapers. The plan is to restrict them to factual ...
Well it's been a while since I last blogged and for good reason, the work days have definitely become more hectic and require much more forward planning. Most days I now have a morning lesson and then evening/afternoon lessons and as such have very little time to plan lessons during the day (meaning that Friday and a bit of Saturday are becoming necessary lesson planning time). When the lack of
Doing anything on Saturday 23rd October? If you're not, or are doing something that you wish to cancel with the excuse you've found something better to do with your evening, then why not come along to Colchester Arts Centre and watch me losing badly at Just A Minute, among other delightful spectacles: Warm Invitation To ...
Some work news: today sees the launch of MHP Communications, formed out of the merger of three firms in the Engine Group - Mandate (where I've been working), Hogarth and Penrose. With a new company comes a new website, www.mhpc.com, which has been keeping me busy helping colleagues with - though not stressed as it has been a real pleasure for us to be working with Fantastic Thinking. Here's the launch news that explains the reasoning for the merger: Engine, the UK's largest independent communications business, announces the integration of three of its public relations businesses, Mandate, Hogarth and Penrose, ...
The North West Lib Dems Autumn Conference will be held at the ACE Centre, Nelson, Lancs, on 16th October. It will bring the regional party's members together for our first conference since the General Election. With the new coalition government having an ambitious plan for many of the reforms we have campaigned for - electoral change, an elected House of Lords, and more - it will be a chance to consider the new political landscape here in our region and to plan for the referendum on the new voting system anticipated in May 2011. The registration form, and exhibitor's booking ...
The First Minister, Carwyn Jones, has finally responded to my letter asking him to investigate why the Health Minister has spent months denying the existence of a critical document which exposes the failures of Labour's leadership of the NHS. Describing the document as 'a compilation of slides' he has denied that the Health Minster was even involved in McKinsey's 5 year Strategic review of the Welsh NHS. Last year, McKinsey and Company were commissioned to carry out a review of the NHS and formulate a five year framework for health services in Wales. The Health Minister has consistently denied the ...
This is the first Doctor Who graphic novel to be officially produced by the BBC, using the talents of Justin Richards who is currently the most prolific of Who authors, and Mike Collins who is the main artist of the comic strips in Doctor Who Magazine. It's a pretty good effort; the new-style iDaleks are brought together with some staples of Dalek history (petrified forest, Varga plants, Robomen, Ogrons) and there is an actual plot with twists and things, as well as some cute Eleven / Amy moments, skilfully illustrated by Collins. If the BBC planned this as the first ...
He had his chance last year to rid this country of Gordon Brown. David Miliband dithered and then declined. Role on a year. Having had weeks to contemplate what he would do if his little brother beat him to the finishing line ...he then gets beat and dithers again for 4 days! The Liberals and Conservatives didn't take much longer to create a whole coalition agreement. And after all that navel-gazing his decision is, apparently, to do, what he initially thought he would do 4 days earlier. Once the crocodile tears have dried, Labour must surely be absolutely delighted that ...
broadcast anniversaries 30 September 1967: broadcast of first episode of The Abominable Snowmen. The Tardis lands in Tibet; the Doctor is captured by the monks of Det-Sen monastery at the urging of Travers who thinks he is a rival researcher. Meanwhile Jamie and Victoria go exploring in the caves... 30 September 1978: broadcast of first episode of The Pirate Planet. The Doctor and Romana, aiming for the planet Calufrax, discover instead that they are on the mining world of Zanak where the Captain and the Mentiads are in conflict.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have demanded that the Welsh Government adopt a radical new approach to financing redevelopment across Wales, which could see new town redevelopments funded through future business rates. The scheme, known as Tax Increment Financing, has been announced for England by Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg MP. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling for a similar programme to be introduced in Wales, so that Welsh towns and cities are not left behind. In a debate in the Assembly yesterday, Jenny Randerson AM formally proposed the introduction of a similar scheme for Wales. She said: "It is imperative ...
It's late and I find myself having trouble sleeping , so I catch up on some crap cable TV. Nothing too heavy, re-runs of Silent Witness and a glass of wine, .... but wait! What's this? A government informercial telling me that "reading will improve my life" (maybe an advert telling me sleep will make me more productive might have been more appropriate!). And I am sure, or did I dream it? No I am sure. Another one (this one a cartoon no less) telling me that it is dangerous to play with matches... OMG. What is going on here ...
A couple of years ago now, I was told that I shouldn't go listening to songs that make me choke on my tears, that make me think about the bad things that have happened, because it'll just drag me down. I guess it does seem like a bad idea on the surface, but for me, perhaps because I love such a lot of music with strong meaningful lyrics, it seems to help me. It gives me a four minute block of time when I'm allowed to sit and think, cry if I need to, and then push it all to ...
I answered a questionnaire today, set by a cultural studies researcher doing a doctorate on how family history research affects cultural identity. I don't think my replies will have helped her much. For example, one question was "How did you see other people's cultural identities before you started doing family history research?" My reply was "It was something I never thought about". I found most of the questions baffling. Are there really people who have thoughts beginning "My cultural identity is..." or "His cultural identity is..."? That is, apart from cultural studies academics. I attempted to answer the questionnaire for ...
I have been listening to the Labour Party conference in Manchester. I have heard guest speakers and the leader's speech or two. I have heard reports presented to conference. I have even heard the mention of debates but I haven't heard one speaker contradict another and I have only heard the result of one vote. How do they conduct debates? Incidentally the vote was 59,000 and something versus 24,000 and something so I am guessing it was nothing to do with conference. I did hear that one debate will be continued today but they use the word debate in a ...
