After a week in which I have suffered from a nasty dose of gastric flu, I've been cheered up by news of progress towards the arrival of my electric car, which I will have for a year, as a volunteer in the CABLED trial. We have been given dates for the test drive of one of the cars, which will take place on public roads around the Tata labs in the University of Warwick. Whereas the previous, private road test drive took place in a prototype version of the car, this test drive will be in one of the first ...
It is pouring down and I am still tired with the lingering bad cold. What better time to have a telephone conference instead of myself going down to London along with people from Bath and Oxford. An excellent meeting of the Local Government Association Selector panel on the Sustainable Communities Act, and what a time saving, money saving, carbon footprint saving way of doing things !
Tonight is the first of three nights for fireworks in Southport. Each year we host the British Musical Fireworks Championships. For the people of Southport and the countless number of people who drive in, this is three nights of thrilling displays and excitement. For my dog Sulby it's quite a different matter. She seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to loud bangs. She starts to look for somewhere to hide half an hour before the display begins. From past experience we know that anything resembling fireworks or thunder reduces her to a shivering wreck, She even gets ...
Apologies for the title but I couldn't resist re-creating what Andrew Reeves does with his blog in compiling a monthly report on the usage of his site. http://andrewrunning.blogspot.com/ I've always been a bit of a 'statto' or 'statt-oid' so here is my very own monthly stat porn figures for anyone who is remotely interested in who reads my little blog. A new beginning I re-began my blog after an 18 month gap on September 3rd so I've pretty much got a whole month under my belt. This first monthly summary of my visitor stats is according to an amalgam of ...
Alas, this was a rather easy list to compile by just searching past reviews for the words "disappointed" or "disappointment". Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker Olympos by Dan Simmons Fanny Kemble: A Reluctant Celebrity by Rebecca Jenkins Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh Pyongyang by Guy Delisle The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases The Alphabet: unraveling [sic] the mystery of the alphabet from A to Z, by David Sacks Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes Back to the Vortex by J. Shaun Lyon ...
Let us know what you think. The question is on the left, but if you want to expand on your views, comment away...
I've only once been to a Labour conference before, and was taken aback by all the sharp-suited young men stalking down the street, three abreast, talking confidentially. To be fair, there were quite a lot of sharp-suited young men at the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool, but they looked marginally more human. I was going to go to Manchester this week. I wish I had in some ways. My sense that behind Ed Miliband is this archetypal family tragedy, the destruction of his older brother's political career, has only grown during the week - and I feel increasingly that it ...
Like many libdems at the moment, I have been thinking about who to vote for as our next party president. I think Ros Scott did a great job, and she will be missed a lot, so there's a lot for the next president to live up to. I think Tim Farron, one of the main contenders, is great. Ever since I've been a regular conference-goer, and seen him at rallies, on the conference stage, at fringe events and so on, I've been very impressed by him. He has all the qualities I am looking for in a candidate for president- ...
After writing House Points for more than 10 years it was time for a change. Writing a weekly column can be a bit of a treadmill, and I was beginning to run out of. So instead I shall be writing fortnightly about television and other broadcast media. You can see the logic: for the most part the creatures who inhabit this world are more objectionable - and powerful - than anyone you find at Westminster. To sell this idea to the editor I had to promise to cover the heavyweight current affairs shows. But I suspect that in the long ...
Here is a selection of issues making headlines during the past few weeks: Local News Council approves plans for atomic research facility 'Hospital loan not a bail out' - A GOVERNMENT loan of £18million to the trust that runs two hospitals in Ascot and Slough is "not a bail out". Family homeless back on Civvy St - A war veteran, his wife and their two sons are having to live in a single room at his parents' because they do not qualify for council support. Vulnerable 'worst hit' by council cuts Local Links Green Gabbles has some pictures of The ...
There's a request been lodged with Hazel Potter at CBC for a Temporary Road Closure at the above location to enable patching and surface dressing work to be carried out in safety. See details below; also for alternative route for diverted traffic. The restrictions are to be in operation only when the necessary signs are erected on site. The Legal Order will be made to cover a twelve month period, however the closure is expected to take place on 3 periods of 2 days during November/December 2010, April/May/June and June/July/August 2011 between 0900 and 1530hrs. Specific dates will be advertised ...
Writing on Liberal Democrat Voice, Andrew Stunell argues that we need to take ownership of the concept of the "Big Society": "during the coalition negotiations, it quickly became apparent from talking to Oliver Letwin that what they call the Big Society was a very close match to the "Community Politics" ideas Liberals have been promoting since the '70s. Power should flow upwards from the grassroots, and not downwards from Whitehall." Ewan's liberal musings reproduces a speech on drug policy that he gave to a fringe meeting at this year's Liberal Democrat Conference in Liverpool. Nadine Dorries's recent comments on Twitter ...
Welcome to an experimental posting - an attempt at an interactive quiz! Here's how it's going to work: I've set my comments to require moderation, so people can answer in the comments section without seeing the previous responses. I'll accumulate answers over the weekend before publishing them and announcing a winner at the beginning of next week. Now, I know that this is the internet and you can easily go and get the answers but I trust you, dear reader, not to cheat. I also know you'll be wondering what the prize will be - as if playing for pride ...
Central Bedfordshire Council has agreed in principle to keep the current executive model which sees a council leader and a cabinet in place rather than a directly elected mayor. At the last Full Council Meeting, members agreed with an Executive recommendation to pass a resolution by 31 December 2010 to adopt the 'new style' arrangements that have been in place at Central Bedfordshire Council since its inception in April 2009. Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 the council is required to set out its executive arrangements which will come into effect three days after the ...
Liberal Democrat campaigner Nick Russell has been selected as the the party's candidate in the Kentish Town by-election on October 28. The Liberal Democrats have previously won two by-elections in this ward, one of which Nick won in 2008. And in May 2010, our two top-placed candidates were only 101 and 196 votes behind Labour. Visit Kentish Town Lib Dems' own blog for local news. If you're a Camden resident you can find your polling station by entering your postcode here. For more information on the Kentish Town by-election, see the Camden Council website.
Lot's of rumours are swirling around about a possible shortlist that has been drawn up of potential Labour candidates who can fight the re-run election in Oldham East and Saddleworth, should Phil Woolas lose his election hearing. Some names I ... Continue reading →
This was Nick Faldo speaking at the closing ceremony for the 2008 Ryder Cup in Kentucky: "See you at Celtic Manor in two years and remember to bring your waterproofs."
I blogged in December 2008 about the demise of Woolworths in Newbury. Their large shop space in the main street has been empty since then. I was delighted to walk past today and see the brand new Wilkinsons store there – all bright, gleaming and ready to open.
The thorny issue of parking charges will be debated again on Wednesday with the next meeting of the Council's Parking Policy Panel. The last decision of the Panel was to consult all Cornwall Councillors on the proposed scale of charges and 68 (out of 123) members have replied. Panel Chairman Andrew Wallis has posted on the subject and has (quite rightly) pointed out that he has sought to be as open as possible on this subject. Full marks to him for his post and for organising the consultation and keeping members generally informed on the subject. I have a big ...
... We'd say a big thank you to the 61,584 'absolute unique visitors'* who read Liberal Democrat Voice in September. That's almost 30% up on our August figure of c.48,000, and more than treble the equivalent figure for September '09 of c.20,000. This brings our absolute unique visitor readership for the last year to date (1 Oct 2009 - 30 Sept 2010) to 698,430, more than double the equivalent figure for 2008-09 of 344,608. The 5 top-read stories during the month were: +++ EXCLUSIVE: The MEP, the erotic award, the picture (21) by The Voice Half a defence of Paul ...
Fri 1st
18:35
Local paper pays touching tribute to hit and run victim, who was slagged off in comments
Full marks to the St Petersburg Times in Florida, USA who answer the question "What are local papers for?" A report of the death of a local man in a hit and run accident received a nasty comment underneath it on the web. As a result, the paper took the unusual step of publishing a long article detailing the man's life and paying tribute to him It brings a little lump to your throat: About 11 p.m. Sept. 12, a car struck Neil Alan Smith and threw him off his bicycle on Fourth Street N. The car didn't stop. Mr. ...
Clearly a blogger of distinction & taste with a good eye for talent lol :-0
Yesterday, I published this post saying how generally fed up with the Party Presidential election I was and how I couldn't make up my mind who to vote for. That is still the case. I haven't decided who to vote for and am going to take my time over it. I will vote, because I'm lucky enough to be in a party which gives each of its members a vote in these things and I think it would be wrong of me not to play my part and have my say. It is only fair to tell you that at ...
David Cameron makes the trip to Birmingham, for his party's annual conference, with polls putting the Conservatives almost neck and neck with the Labour party. The official opposition and his coalition partners have had their party conferences. Now it is his turn to set out his stall and address the concerns of the voters. Cameron has to prepare the electorate for the changes that the comprehensive spending review will bring while setting out a vision that will make the pain worth it. He also needs to take his party with him and calm fears that the Lib Dems are somehow ...
I spotted this on Iain Dale's blog. I went on the 10:10 website and clicked on mini-film to discover that they have removed the film from their site and apologised. Richard Curtis wrote the script apparently. In my view, the idea that your life is not worth living if you do not comply is frightening and not in anyway funny. But judge for yourself here:
I was speaking to an elderly lady who was visiting Southport last week. She had come with a party from Birmingham and was staying for a week. She was full of praise for the town-it is good sometimes to see us they way others see us. We met in a bookshop. She was trying to buy a large print book without much success. She told me the Library was shut. Well of course we have an excellent temporary library. I directed her and on my way lokked at the signage. I had raised the matter very early on with the ...
None of the obituaries I've seen so far have mentioned Tony Curtis's philanthropy. He helped restore the synagogue in Budapest. It is quite beautiful and well worth a visit.
Now don't get me wrong, I think that Ed Milliband has the potential to be a Labour business with whom we can do business. He has shown a better grasp of pluralism than most and he does think civil liberties are important. It is easy to score points on these and other matter after thirteen years it is all very well to talk about democratising the state but why didn't he and his colleagues do something about it whilst in government? More difficult still is the declaration that the Iraq war was wrong. Why would you vote for a party ...
I was supposed to do some filming today. I had been booked in to shoot some video at 3pm in London. Alas, the weather was vile. We have rescheduled it to another day. Instead, I spent time working on members' newsletters. Tonight I am off to see a play called Ghost Stories. Apparently it's had rave reviews. I shall report on it sometime this weekend.---Sent via BlackBerry
Whilst the good people of São Tomé and Princípe were busy celebrating their annual 'Agricultural Reform Day', an altogether less exciting spectacle was developing across the Atlantic. Of the six principal council by-elections that took place on the 30th, Liberal Democrats only ran in four, and came second in all of them! Admittedly, grabbing second place wasn't the greatest of challenges in the Alderley ward of Cheshire East, an election that featured only two candidates. Elsewhere, our strong showing in the South West continued with the Sedgemoor Lib Dems pushing the defending Labour party into third place, taking over 30% ...
It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week 1. +++ EXCLUSIVE: The MEP, the erotic award, the picture (21 comments) by the Voice. 2. Mail on Sunday's shocking Ed Miliband revelations (43 comments) by Iain Roberts. 3. Ed Miliband's new-found opposition to the Iraq war: what his voting record shows (16 comments) by Stephen Tall. 4. +++ Ed Miliband elected new Labour leader: loses on members and MPs, wins big among unions (109 comments) by Stephen Tall. 5. First thoughts on Ed Miliband's election as ...
The above shows Wartime Patriotism – Dandy style – click on it, it'll take you to see it larger... I never got to read Dandy or Beano when I was a child – mainly because I think my mother didn't want us to read the 'comic book language' instead of the more formal one available ...
This week we actually lost three Oscar nominees. Some were more widely publicised than others but all had a good innings. So today I'm going to celebrate some of their best work. First up is triple nominee director Arthur Penn. He was nominated for Alice's Restaurant (1969), The Miracle Worker (1962) and this his opus 1967's Bonnie and Clyde here is the final scene where the titular anti-heroes meet their fate. Whereas Penn died in Manhattan the next Oscar nominee was born there. In his later days he became the lovable survivor of the studios' star system. Tony Curtis was ...
Frequent readers of this blog will know I usually have nothing but love for Dr Vince Cable, now not only Secretary of State for Business but my local MP - if anything an even greater honour. [IMG: Vince Cable] So imagine my surprise when I read today's article on the Guardian website, claiming that the sainted Cable is supporting Dr Liam "Wingnut" Fox's attempts to protect his Defence budget from the swingeing axe of the Coalition. Specifically, Vince has apparently lobbied the National Security Council to save the £5.2bn carrier-building programme, claiming that it would have a hugely deleterious effect ...
Linden Homes and Wates Developments have been in touch about a public exhibition they are holding about their plans for Gondar Gardens Reservoir site. There's no extra details at the moment, apart from the subject of their email- "New Zero Carbon Family Homes in West Hampstead". It seems that they are trying to sugar the pill of building over a site of nature and scientific interest; trading biodiversity off against carbon emissions (and Camden's age-old need for family sized accommodation). I'm not sure this is a winning strategy for them but they are clearly determined to give it a go. ...
News just in from the Libel Reform Coalition and the outstanding lawyer and blogger David Allen Green: Sally Bercow, Labour political activist and wife of House of Commons Speaker John, has been threatened with a libel suit by the right-wing immigration think-tank MigrationWatch - Mrs. Bercow is being sued for allegedly libellous comments she made relating to a Daily Express article that quoted a
I've been surprised how little trouble Europe has caused the coalition so far. For all that we were vilified as ardent Europhiles during the election, it's not really been mentioned since. In allowing it to drop off the radar, I think we're now missing an opportunity. Labour were always too scared of mention the E-word; so paralysed by their terror of the Mail's wrath were they. Cameron too seems content to let the issue lie. The Coalition agreement makes it clear in no uncertain terms that this government won't go anywhere near changing our current relationship with the EU - ...
"News is what somebody, somewhere wants to suppress. All the rest is advertising." So said press baron Lord Northcliffe and he was not far wrong. If you are fortunate enough to generate some genuine news the chances are that someone, somewhere will wish you hadn't. When Nick Clegg became a news phenomenon after the first of the Leader's TV debates during the general election campaign, it didn't take long for the backlash to appear. By the morning of the second TV debate, I was in Bristol preparing a media opportunity for the Liberal Democrat leader at a community playgroup. We ...
You can now follow Virtually Naked on Twitter: @virtuallynaked Follow for the latest posts, as well as other bits of news and views!
Today sees the commencement of the Equality Act. Having taken the Act through parliament for the Liberal Democrats (all three parties supported the Bill) it is a great pleasure to see it come into force. For details just click on this link.
In 2005 I spotted that developer had made a Planning Application for 18-22 Grove Vale where the Dulwich Garden Centre is. The scheme look at best dull. Equally the Grove Vale library is two small shops unit poorly linked together. Great library in terms of children's books etc but poor building to provide library services. So I approached the developer and suggested that if they included a new Grove Vale library their scheme would be more successful. That turned into a long two years working with the developer, council officers and colleagues to incorporate a new 230m2 Grove Vale library ...
My native Ireland enjoyed a period of unprecedented economic growth in the late '90s and early nougties, and while many of the reasons are similar to the reasons Britain enjoyed periodic growth in the same period, one factor in the growth which was unique to Ireland were the use of Social Partnership agreements. These agreements were principally negotiated between the private sector employers, the government in a dual role as both government and large employer, the unions and social groups and organisations. Agreements such as these typically last about four years, and the benefit to the economy is that there ...
Campaign HQ is buzzing in Tower Hamlets as volunteers from all over London come to help John Griffiths' Mayoral campaign. Tomorrow (Saturday 2 October 2010) there's a big delivery day with the help of Sarah Ludford MEP (2pm) and Susan Kramer (11am), who is one of the candidates for Liberal Democrat President. To meet them, as well as Lib Dems from all over London, come along tomorrow: 1a Peel Grove, London E2 9LR (a short walk from Bethnal Green Tube, map below) You can keep up with Tower Hamlets Liberal Democrats on Facebook here and follow Liberal Democrat candidate John ...
As I am sitting on a train at the moment, it seems sort of appropriate to update an item I highlighted back in August - the unsatisfactory traffic signalling arrangements on Riverside Drive for drivers turning right (ie from the east) towards the railway station. A roads safety officer at the City Council has now updated me as follows : "The filter lane signal has never worked properly and the sensors were removed. The traffic signal engineers have informed me the filter signal head could be removed. I have just returned from a meeting regarding the phasing of roadworks for ...
At the last Environment Committee I asked quite a few questions about plans by the Council for clearing up all the fallen leaves on pavements etc. Obviously trees losing their leaves in the Autumn is a pretty predictable event but I was worried that in the past the people responsible for clearance didn't seem on top of it. Time will tell whether this year's clearance programme will be better. The good news is however that we already have a schedule for the work, which is due to start on Monday (4th). The streets on the plan are listed by ward ...
Artists Residency - Rob Ray in LIVIA Forest, Manchester Abandon Normal Devices (AND) is a new festival taking place across the North West. A catalyst for production and experimentation, it invites people to consider what are our normal devices and how might we abandon them. From the 1 - 7 October AND will be venturing into Manchester for a hybrid undertaking of cinema, performance and media art. Organisers have invited a diverse range of imaginative artists to challenge the behaviours and systems that define who we are, through politically deconstructed networks, archives and reconfigured stereotypes. Perceptions will be contested by ...
I've spent the last couple of days in Harrogate at my 'day job' employer's annual conference - and this is the first time I have attempted to update www.dundeewestend.com from a train on the East Coast Main Line ... so here goes ...! Lovely place Harrogate and beautiful weather yesterday ... Awards Dinner last night ...And not such a beautiful day today! ...
For some time the East Dulwich councillors have been proposing an expansion to Northcross Road Market on Saturdays. It's a success at 20 stalls and appears Northcross Road has plenty of space for more stalls. We're already arranging electric pop up points so the stalls will have electricity and they'll no longer need to run minim generators but more stalls say 30 or even 40 would really make the market more successful. Southwark council is now consulting on expanding the market. They're proposing that it increases from 20 to 30 stalls but importantly this expansion would apply not just to ...
Unusual political times indeed courtesy of the front page of today's Times. For a long time a central part of Liberal Democrat welfare policy was to integrate and simplify the tax and benefits system. The policy faded away from the party's priorities, partly because the details were never that straightforward; for example, how do you integrate a system based on weekly payments and assessments (benefits) with another one based on monthly and annual payments and assessments (tax, particularly income tax and PAYE)? A large chunk of that policy is now very much back on the political agenda, as ConservativeHome reports: ...
[IMG: community-groups-event.jpg] Don't forget to put the date in your diary.
A quick aggregation of the declared donations to the Ed Miliband for Leader campaign (so far – I'd expect some donations in the last stages of the campaign still to appear): £133,000 from trade unions (43% of the total) £80,951 from other large donors (i.e. over £1,500) (26%) £95,000 from small donors (31%) £308,951 in total Source: donations declared on the Ed Miliband website.
This is the speech I delivered on Sunday 19th September 2010 to the fringe event "It's Time We Talked About Drug Policy" kindly funded by Transform and Release. I thought it went pretty well. My dig at Melanie Phillips got a laugh again, so I suspect that will become an annual feature. Unless of course she comes to her senses on the issue of drugs policy. Stranger things have happened? I have also submitted the speech I delivered in the conference hall the following morning for consideration for Lib Dem Voice, so hopefully that'll be up in the next few ...
Russell Brand's second book, 'Booky Wook 2-This time it's personal' was released yesterday, and to celebrate he took to the stage of a packed out Hackney Empire. The evening was divided into two parts, the first was about 40 minutes of stand up, based around excerpts from the new book. It was devastatingly funny, with Brand recounting stories that veered from the sublime to the ridiculous, and that can't be repeated here. Amongst all the tales of chaos and promiscuity there is a hysterical chapter in the book based around an email exchange with former Smith's front man, misery guts ...
I've just finished watching John Humphrys' recent program, Unequal Opportunities. It explores the difficulties of closing the attainment gap between children from poor backgrounds and those who have more privileged upbringings. In many ways, it was a fairly facile bit of fluff. Starting off with the usual statistics on social mobility, we then saw Humphrys [IMG: John Humphrys] asking all the usual questions of independent headteachers, private tutors, the principal of a successful academy, and two inspiring headteachers who have turned around two struggling schools in inner-city areas. Of course, this being the BBC, the program offered no real solutions ...
Employment Relations Minister Ed Davey today announced that the right to flexible working is to be extended to parents of children under 18 from April 2011, benefiting an estimated 300,000 people. A consultation will be launched later this year looking at how to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees, and the design of a new system of flexible parental leave. "We want to help parents and create a fairer, family-friendly society. We will be launching a consultation later this year to make sure the law better supports real families juggling work and family life, and the ...
Well there we have it a church with climbing walls inside. A bit bizarre but I had a great time there. It's nice to see the combination of stained glass windows, architecture and walls to climb up. They have quite a good climbing / bouldering section upstairs where you can climb from a through to z. I couldnt get farther than d but then by the end it was p. My friend managed to do a to z very easily and then managed to bound onto the angled wall. bonkers. perhaps one day i will get it. ropes soon? although ...
Just a quick note that I can now be found on micro-blogging service Twitter as @jazzhandsrsbsns. Stupid length limits. Doubt I'll be using it much for conversation, but I've set up a TwitterFeed of all my entries here in case you find it easier to follow me there than to use an RSS feeder or ...
What difference does it make having Lib Dems in power? How are Lib Dems actually making cuts "fairer"? One example is what we have done in Bristol, when we reviewed redundancy terms. The statutory redundancy payout is a week's salary – up to a cap of £380 per week – per year worked. Bristol Council had a much more generous scheme: twice the weekly salary, with no cap. This sounds great until you look at the effects of this a bit more closely: at the bottom of the officer pay-scale the Bristol scheme was about twice as generous as the ...
Following on from Tuesday's First Minister's Questions, when Kirsty Williams put Carwyn Jones on the spot about the poor outcomes for cancer patients in Wales, the Western Mail reports that the failure of the One Wales Government to follow the example of the Liberal Democrat-driven Government in Westminster could well deny vital drugs to sufferers here. They say that the Rarer Cancers Foundation has called on First Minister Carwyn Jones to set aside £3m to give Welsh patients equal access to the medicines. A fund will become operational today in England to give cancer patients access to the treatments which ...
Just returned from an excellent conference on Federalisms organised by the Europaeum at St Anthony's College, Oxford. As well as the usual suspects, there were academics, politicians and journalists from India, USA and Europe. I found myself next to the complacent turncoat Roger Liddle at dinner but this was more than compensated for by the wonderful Bridget Kendall, whom I have always wanted
The national minimum wage increased by 13p an hour to £5.93 this week, benefiting an estimated one million, mainly women, workers. A new hourly rate of £2.50 was introduced at the same time for apprentices, who previously did not qualify for a statutory wage. The age threshold for paying the adult rate will be reduced from 22 to 21, giving an estimated 50,000 people a pay rise of more than 20%. To mark the increase, the Government announced that employers who deliberately flouted minimum wage laws will be publicly named under a new scheme. Liberal Democrat Employment Relations minister Ed ...
I write this having just got back from a very successful Lib Dem Conference in Liverpool. Everyone seemed to be in good heart, and keen to see what a Liberal Democrat government minister really looked like. Conference is a great occasion to talk and listen to activists directly, and so I really got stuck in. On more than one occasion I was "doing a Simon Hughes" and trying to attend multiple meetings at once! But, though we covered a diverse range of topics, there were two recurring themes - localism and the Big Society. Localism shouldn't need any explanation for ...
If you're an artist, ready your comments about how art can epitomise and challenge the modern angst with the state of our society. If you're a social capital enthusiast, ready your comments about metaphorically reintroducing bowling lanes to the urban environment. But otherwise just click, look and smile.
Scott Taylor is a Canadian war correspondent who is best known for his reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan. But recent years have also seen him in the Caucasus — a region he confesses he knew nothing about until he became involved. That steep learning curve forms the dynamic of his new book Unreconciled Differences: Turkey, ...
Spidey and Andrew have already taken Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire Nadine Dorries to task for her ill informed comments about Twitter. Just to remind you, the lady thinks there must be something wrong with you if you tweet a lot: I wonder if very soon someone is going to identify a Twitter syndrome and we get to read about people who have become compulsive Tweeters. Will we hear stories of people who Tweet, oh I don't know, say 50 times a day and need to go into re-hab?I will put money on that being a Daily Mail story one ...
As some readers will be aware when Gove's free schools were been rammed through parliament, I wasn't keen, neither was Ros Kayes whose campaign against them (aimed at Lib Dem MPs, given that conference had rejected such proposals at Harrogate in 2008) I supported. The problems with the bill and the idea of free schools was heavily written on and blogged about at the time so I won't spend any time doing that; I would refer you to Ros's campaign should you have had your head in the sand during that period. Suffice to say that the speed of its ...
Following on from my post yesterday on a Lib Dem Short Story Competition, it would be worth exploring the idea a little more. Music and politics has been intertwined for a long time and the Lib Dems already enjoy singing songs at conference. There was a song contest for the General Election 2010 which included ...
Nick Clegg was in Cardiff yesterday and it seems all journalists wanted to ask him was whether he had a blind spot for Wales. The Deputy Prime Minister's answer was spot on: Not at all, he said. At least he was in the Assembly on an official visit which was more than Gordon Brown had managed when he was PM. The coalition in London was very supportive of this Assembly he said, and Wales as a whole. Nick also answered those who had doubts about the coalition government by highlighting some of our successes: "We have done more in five ...
Last night I went to see Hamlet at Colchester's Mercury Theatre. This was the first presentation from the Mercury's participation in the interACT international theatre network, produced by the NI Drama Theatre of Skopje in Macedonian with English subtitles. I could wax lyrical about the performance, but I've found this review that echoes many of ...
This is a list of policies that were in our manifesto, and not the Tories', that are in the coalition agreement: We will bring forward detailed proposals for robust action to tackle unacceptable bonuses in the financial services sector; in developing these proposals, we will ensure they are effective in reducing risk. We want the banking system to serve business, not the other way round. We will bring forward detailed proposals to foster diversity in financial services, promote mutuals and create a more competitive banking industry. We will take steps to reduce systemic risk in the banking system and will ...
Whatever your stance on the public spending cuts we all face, one thing is clear and that is we are facing potentially massive changes to our public services. But the problems facing local councils and other authorities presents an opportunity as well. This is an opportunity to review fully what our services our councils deliver, why, how, when and to whom. I have previously called for a root and branch review of the council's budget - something rejected by Bury's ruling Conservative group at the time, but now if ever there was a case for such a review it's now. ...
As of today, I am no longer a woman. Today, I can be refused entry to a hospital that only operates single sex wards, despite being at a hugely increased risk of violence. Today, I can be refused rape counselling, despite being at a hugely increased risk of sexual assault. Today, I can be refused entry to sheltered accommodation, despite being at a hugely increased risk of domestic violence. As of today, the Equalities Act comes into force and I am a "transsexual person", despite holding a full Gender Recognition Certificate. And if you think this can't happen to you ...
The Watford Observer has been told the following. It seems that HCC thinks that keeping your books in order and knowing what money you have and where it is going somehow does not matter. Any householder in Hertfordshire who took this attitude would soon find that they were in financially difficult straits. Quote given to Watford Observer: A Hertfordshire County Council representative said: "The £21m over-estimation on our draft accounts resulted from a presentational error, where a figure was placed in the wrong area of the balance sheet. "This has no financial consequence - it does not impact on council ...
Chris has asked the county council to do a speed and traffic survey on Beaumont Avenue. The last one was done in 2005.
Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) is available to all eligible businesses. Those eligible for the relief have until 30 September 2010 to make an application for the period from April 2007 onwards. Businesses who apply for the SBRR after this date will only have the opportunity to claim backdated amounts from 1 April 2010 onwards. For more information or to find out whether your business is entitled to this relief please contact Business Rates on 0161 253 5035. Small Business Rates Relief - Who qualifies? Ratepayers who only occupy one business property in England with a rateable value of up ...
Fri 1st
10:20
Thinking of standing for election or re-election next year? The questions you should ask yourself
Knowing what it takes to be a good candidate and then a good councillor is vital to winning elections - and to then making something out of the opportunity the voters have given you. So here are seven questions to ask yourself if you are thinking of standing in the local elections next May or in a council by-election. What will you do different from a councillor of another party? There are decent people who will be conscientious and work hard in (just about) every party. And even in the most rural of wards, there is more than one person ...
Three years ago I drafted a personal and probably slightly eccentric list of the most influential liberal and Liberal Democrat figures in the UK. How the political world has changed since then! At that point Ming Campbell was still the leader (albeit that he had already announced his resignation). The economic crisis was but a whisper away, though the scale of it was still unclear. The prospect of Liberal Democrat ministers at Westminster seemed gloomy indeed. Alas some of the figures I named have died, others have forsworn their previously liberal allegiance. Yet, new Liberal Democrats can still be found- ...
We have previously reported on Conservative MP David Mundell's admission that he exceeded the election expense limit in this year's election. His expense return showed him within the limit but wrongly classified one bill. A correct return would have shown him over the limit. The police have decided to investigate the matter and news has just emerged that he was questioned by them several days ago. Mundell can apply for legal relief for making the mistake, though the police's interest suggest this is not as simple a case as most relief cases are where a simple mistake is involved but ...
The news release about the launch of MHP Communications said a new office space is being built for us, and lo it is true: [IMG: MHPC office being built] But the most exciting post-merger news is that as of 9:36 this morning none of the chocolate biscuits in our kitchen had been eaten. It would be rude to leave them uneaten, so I'm doing my duty.
@stephen_gilbert Well, we all have our own chat-up lines [IMG: :)] in reply to stephen_gilbert # RT @BetaRish Well obviously I bought 'Freedom' at lunchtime, obviously. >> Amazon delivering mine today, yay [IMG: :)] # RT @ TimGatt @AdamBoulton's guide on what to expect in the Labour leadership election announcement http://bit.ly/d3S8p5 < useful b'ground # RT @OllyGrender: Nick Clegg chats with Barack Obama backstage http://bit.ly/dp8mDF << d'you think Obama was nervous before meeting him? [IMG: :)] # YouGov's public trust poll for Prospect http://bit.ly/d0PIro (1) < LibDems more trusted than journos on (eg) Mail/Sun/Mirror. # YouGov's public trust poll for ...
For those of you who agree with Mark Twain that 'Golf is a good walk spoiled' you may want to look away now. The Ryder cup is back in the British Isles. Four years ago my late father was recovering from aa round of radiotherapy when the even came to Ireland for the first time, this year it is in Wales. But there are some strange terminoligies that get used in this biennial event so here is a quick glossary. Fourballs: As the name suggests the players go out in two teams of pairs playing a ball each. The lowest ...
In the battle for hearts and minds over the deficit and cuts, Labour have employed Ireland as evidence to support their anti-cuts position. Their argument is that spending must continue and that borrowing should be maintained to cover the gap between revenue and outgoings. The events in Ireland yesterday show what happens when that argument holds sway. Another bank bailout in Ireland took place
When I first got involved in politics my children were very young and so it was easy to find a baby sitter (usually my brother) all I had to do was give them a kiss and put them to bed. Then lipstick on and away I went merrily to council, community or local party meetings. I naively thought, that, as the children got older the need for babysitters would be reduced and things would be easier. How wrong I was. I am now a fully fledged football (& rugby) mum and all that this role entails - coach, taxi driver, ...
Last year, a fundamental change in the British judiciary occured on this day. For after centuries of being the final court of appeal in England (and the rest of the United Kingdom as it was annexed united to England, the House of Lords ceased to function in this way. During the fifty-fourth Parliament of the ...
From Fraser Nelson operating behind the Times paywall: Oddly, there has been almost no tension between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats since they entered government. The grassroot Conservatives – or "Tory right" as the party's mainstream has become known – do have a series of grumbles with decisions made by the coalition Government: the 50p tax rate, reducing prison numbers, the cuts in defence spending. But all these decisions are being taken by men wearing blue rosettes. In other words, when the LibDem conference was coming up, journos were all writing about "LibDem splits". Now with the Tory conference coming up, ...
So, continuing my monthly stat porn figures for anyone who is remotely interested in who reads my little blog, the monthly summary of my visitor stats according to google analytics is as below for September 2010. The busiest day on my blog last month was Wednesday 1st September and the story was about the coalition replacing NHS Direct but highlighting Labour's hypocrisy and lies on this as it was in their election manifesto, to do the very same thing - many thanks to Guido Fawkes for linking to the story. Last month I had 6,950 absolute unique visitors, over 2,500 ...
Marie Claire (and where else would I go for my news) reports Shocking 37% rape increase in London As the article later explains, all may not quite be what it seems. The 37% increase is in reports of rapes in London over the last 12 months. Is that terrible, or is it a good news story? From that statistic alone we just don't know. It could be that there have been 37% more rapes in London over that time – that would be a shocking increase over any period, even more so in just one year. But it could equally ...
Few people can be as famous as AA Milne and yet no-one actually knows his names... Alan Alexander... Alan was the son of John Vine Milne and Sarah Maria (née Heginbotham) and grew up at Henley House School, 6/7 Mortimer Road (now Crescent), Kilburn, NW6. Henley House was a small private school run by his father. One of the school teachers was Herbert George Wells who taught there from 1889-1890. So the time has come for Kilburn to assert it's historical pedigree and reclaim the fame that should be it's own. The critical bit was that Kilburn (on the Camden ...
In September 2010 there were 4,812 unique visitors to my blog, viewing 7,453 pages. Just over a thousand were returning visitors (i.e. people who have visited the blog more than once). Since I started collecting statistics for this blog last November I've just over 35,000 unique visitors. For anyone with a MyCouncillor website from ALDC who tracks their visitors using the "Hits" or "Hits Mk II" statistics and wants to gloat about how many more than me they're getting (or - unlikely as it may be - marvel at my numbers), my September figures are 46323 Hits and 12621 Hits ...
Why? I am sorry, I really do not agree with this one and I say that as someone who has suffered homophobic crime twice in my lifetime, one was a mugging and the other was more serious. Did I want the police to prioritise those crimes any differently to the occasion we were burgled, absolutely not, they were all crimes and I would want them treating no differently to any other crime. The Scotsman was carrying this story earlier this week and Assistant Chief Constable Mike McCormick, of Lothian and Borders Police, said: "We wanted to make sure our own ...
i) births and deaths 1 October 1988: death of Roy Herrick who played Jean in The Reign of Terror (1964) and Parsons in The Invisible Enemy (1977) and the voice of Xoanon in The Face of Evil (also 1977). 1 October 1999: death of Noel Johnson who played King Thous in The Underwater Menace (1967) and Sir Charles Grover in Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974). 1 October 2008: death of Ian Collier who played Stuart Hyde in The Time Monster (1972) and Omega in Arc of Infinity (1983), and reprised the role of Omega in Big Finish Productions' excellent Fifth ...
In yesterday's Guardian Ed Milliband was quoted as saying that it would have been "fantastic to have (David) serving in my cabinet...He is my brother and as leader of my party my door is always open for him to serve in the future." (my italics) But it isn't his party, it belongs to its members (who, incidentally, along with individual trade union members, voted for him by a massive majority of 175 000 to 145 000 - there is nothing "narrow" about his victory). The shadow cabinet, which is chosen not by him but by Labour MPs, surely belongs to ...
Time for another quarterly review of my reading plans, picking up from the last one in July: sf, in order of entry onto my LibraryThing catalogue (The Wizard Knight, Visions of Wonder). Thunderbirds Bumper Storybook by Dave MorrisAnalog 6 ed. John W. CampbellEarth Logic by Laurie J. MarksThe Space Opera Renaissance, ed. David G. HartwellIrish Tales of Terror, ed. Peter Hainingsf, in order of popularity on LibraryThing as a whole (Faust, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents).Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand The Book of Lost Tales 1 by J.R.R. TolkienA Song for Arbonne by Guy Gavriel KayHeart of the ...
Baku Past, Present and Future « Jonathan Fryer (tags: azerbaijan)
So I'm sitting on the sofa watching the signzone version of CountryFile, purely because the lady signing is hot1. I am fairly relaxed now about the fact that I didn't get enough noms to run for president2, although I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who tried to make it happen. It was a big hill to climb in a short period of time, and just because we didn't make it this time doesn't mean we can't plot and scheme for the future3. I am looking forward to the new series of Sarah-Jane, and lots of the winter ...
[IMG: Retweet] Seeing as there is a problem with teenage children killing themselves in the US and around the world due to the fact they are bullied and victimised because of their sexual or perceived sexual orientation I was extremely hurt and mortified to see this tweet from one of your VERIFIED accounts: "@50cent: If you a man and your over 25 and you don't eat pu**y just kill your self damn it. The world will be a better place. Lol" It is this sort of message and culture that this creates that makes children want to take their own ...
Since the Coalition, the big story in the media has been about a split within the Liberal Democrats, between "right-wing" and "left-wing", where the former are Thatcherite market libertarians, and the latter are Old Labour-style command-and-control socialists. The differences between these "factions" is exemplified by two books. The first is 2004′s "The Orange Book: Reclaiming ...
There is a by-election in Lancaster next week. It is for a ward in Morecambe and yesterday I was helping to deliver leaflets. We also spoke with some residents but the moment that stands out for me is being handed back a leaflet with the comment that it could be useful for someone else to read. What was the reason for this? Political apathy is my best guess although it may be that there is a commitment to another party or individual and this person was doing what she thought was the correct and polite thing to do. If the ...
Well another month has drawn to a close and it is time to pick the song that has best summed up the month past, or has been constantly on replay in my head or on whatever device I'm using. The original version of this doesn't allow embedding. Boo! Hiss!! However, it was played near the end of For the Bible Tells Me So and I got to listening to the lyrics again. The end result I think it sums up my September pretty well.
