I have precious few minutes before 2010s National Poetry Day ends. This years theme is apparently home, so without further ado here, as every year, is a new poem. The frosty wind is blowing The bus is only slowing The traffic isnt flowing The Tube train isnt going The RMT are crowing Im not to-ing and not fro-ing My blood pressure is growing I want to be at home
Stockton Council's Cabinet will meet in public in Stockton Central Library at 1630 on 14-10-10 to consider a report on the future strategy for building work on schools. Among the recommendations from Officers is one " that the strategy should not include any further work on option D2 of the four options proposed for investigation to deal with the demands for pupil places in the South of the
Some very interesting TV news has come out today – it's been announced that the BBC are to produce an adaptation of The Man In The High Castle, produced by Ridley Scott from a script by Howard Brenton. While there's some justifiable excitement about the director of Blade Runner returning to work on a story ...
Thu 7th
22:50
Scottish Conservative candidate Colin McGavigan describes carers as "the great unwashed"
The Scottish Conservatives are not having a great week, on Tuesday one of their candidates called Scots thick and then he resigned. I blogged about this yesterday morning Conservative candidate Ivor Tiefenbrun describes Scots as "so thick" and his subsequent resignation yesterday evening Conservative candidate Ivor Tiefenbrun resigns over insult to Scots. Then this morning we woke up to hear that the Scottish Conservative candidate for Clydesdale, Colin McGavigan had tweeted: "kids in care: why do the carers look like the great unwashed? They're supposed to be carers not warders." These comments by Colin McGavigan were made in response to ...
So, Labour has its new Shadow Cabinet. The trouble is that it's remarkably similar to Gordon Brown's last lot of ministers. In fact, every single one of them was a minister under Brown. And what's more: they all voted for ID cards;of those who were MPs at the time, all but two voted to go to war in Iraq;of the eight Welsh MPs who stood, none got elected;but eight (out of 19) come from the area between Leeds and Sheffield;the nearest Shadow Cabinet member to Cornwall is John Denham from Southampton (more than 150 miles away)
National Poetry Day is an excuse to share this poem by John Davidson with you: As I went down to Dymchurch Wall, I heard the South sing o'er the land I saw the yellow sunlight fall On knolls where Norman churches stand. And ringing shrilly, taut and lithe, Within the wind a core of sound, The wire from Romney town to Hythe Along its airy journey wound. A veil of purple vapour flowed And trailed its fringe along the Straits; The upper air like sapphire glowed: And roses filled Heaven's central gates. Masts in the offing wagged their tops; The ...
Like Backwatersman, I was never a great admirer of Norman Wisdom. In fact, I now live in fear that someone will broadcast a series of his films. But this clip from The Bulldog Breed is not without interest. Take a close look at the greaser and the sailor who confront one another at around 2:15. Trivial Fact of the Day: Wisdom's son Nicholas played two games for Sussex.
Unfortunately my experimental BlogQuiz flopped with the receipt of only one entry! Alex, whose blog can be read here, gave me five correct answers with a particularly full answer for Question 1... In fact he spotted a flaw in the question and not only gave me the answer I was looking for but corrected my mistaken assumptions! For that, of course, I am eternally grateful! Here are the questions again with Alex's answers: As well as the Commonwealth Games, athletes from England and which other 3 countries can also complete in the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships? Hmm. ...
Today's governor's meeting at Consett Junior School reported that in last summer's SATs 88% of children achieved Level 4 or better in English, and 89% achieved Level 4 or better in Maths. That was a very welcome return to the long term pattern after a blip last year, and a tribute to the hard work of both pupils and teachers. Of course there's always much more to any school than just the academic subjects, and in any school the proof of the pudding is in the .......... well, fire drill in this case. The sticky toffee for pudding being prepared ...
The next City Council meeting will be held at 2pm on Tuesday 12 October 2010 and the agenda has been published online.Items on the agenda include:the Annual Report (pdf, 298KB) of the Cabinet Member for Adults & Communities (Lib Dem Councillor Sue Anderson (Sheldon Ward));the Annual Report (pdf, 142KB) of the Council's Lead Member on the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority (Centro); a
Welsh Labour will not be happy tonight. Not happy at all. Labour's Shadow Cabinet elections have just been announced and not one of the 19 'winners' are Welsh MP's. 49 Labour MP's put their names forward for the 19 places directly available in Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet. Of those 49, 8 were Welsh MP's. But Labour's 258 MP's who voted for their top 19 candidates, decided against putting Peter Hain, Chris Bryant, Kevin Brennan, Wayne David, David Hanson, Huw Irranca-Davies, Ian Lucas and Alun Michael onto the front bench. A Kick in the Teeth for Welsh Labour This is a ...
I've contacted both Presidential candidates asking them three questions. Susan Kramer's answers are below, you can also see Tim Farron's here... Q1 How should Liberal Democrats be campaigning now we're in Government? We must maintain our distinctive Liberal Democrat voice based on our shared values. Obviously local and regional issues will dominate the upcoming local council, Scottish, Welsh and London elections. Our Scottish, Welsh, regional and local parties and grassroots must shape the campaign. It will be necessary to establish that when our beliefs call for it, we can take a party view independent of the coalition while making it ...
Earlier this week the Leicester Mercury reported that government spending cuts may lead to the cancellation of De Montfort University's planned new sports centre. The paper quoted the university's vice-chancellor, Professor Dominic Shellard, as saying: "Money for the sports centre has been set aside and, of course, we have every expectation that it will go ahead as planned."However, in the current economic landscape and with the comprehensive spending review on the horizon, it would be disingenuous to suggest that we don't have a duty to look very hard at every penny we spend." This turn of events is of interest ...
A blogger calls out some very powerful people for breaking the law and then suffers a denial of service attack. Coincidence or conspiracy? You decide. The blogger in question is the feisty and indomitable Yves Smith of naked capitalism and the attack happened yesterday. A Wall Street insider she has been fearless in exposing the ugly side of US capitalism and ...
By Sunday, I had just about got used to finding myself stood just metres away from Nick Clegg, Simon Hughes, Vince Cable or someone of equal epicness from the party... As a result of a delayed breakfast and the added distraction of the Andrew Marr show on in the hotel lobby, I sadly missed most of the speech by Tavish Scott which I had aimed to see that morning. Therefore, my first full session was the Consultative Session on Strategy from 10.40am-12.10pm. Don't be fooled by the name - this was actually really interesting... It was a discussion as to ...
A week ago, new Labour Leader Ed Milliband sacked Nick Brown from the job of Chief Whip of the Labour Party. Instead, his chosen nominee Rosie Winterton was able to stand for the post uncontested. But it looks as though, had there been an election, Brown would have held onto the post. What's my evidence for this? Well, in the Shadow Cabinet elections - the results of which have just been announced - all 19 winning candidates come from the top half of the alphabet. All those candidates with surnames beginning with the letters N-Z were soundly beaten. Someone will ...
It is National Poetry Day. Last year's choice was by Edward Thomas. You can find links to earlier choices in that post. Naming of Parts To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday, We had daily cleaning. And to-morrow morning, We shall have what to do after firing. But to-day, To-day we have naming of parts. Japonica Glistens like coral in all of the neighboring gardens, And to-day we have naming of parts. This is the lower sling swivel. And this Is the upper sling swivel, whose use you will see, When you are given your slings. And this is the ...
Thu 7th
19:19
Candidate demonstrates how state is treading water - literally - but he is an approved swimming coac...
This has to take the biscuit as the most bizarre political ad. I have ever seen. It even beats Carly Fiorina's "Wolf in sheep's clothing" ad. I mean – why keep the suit on? It's from John Orzel, candidate for the New York State Senate.
Tonight on Question time David Dimbleby is joined in Birmingham by Baroness Warsi, Charles Clarke(Sorry, had to be done), Susan Kramer, Max Mosley and Rageh Omaar Join us below from 10:30. <p><a >BBC Question Time chat</a></p>
Lord Hutton is right about the fundamental unfairness of final-salary pension schemes. The only surprise is that it's taken anyone close to government so long to notice or, alternatively, that they've 'noticed' even now. (Which option you prefer depends on just how cynical you are about government and politicians). I have been aware of this since ...
This is my column for the Ham & High this week: I've never forgotten a woman coming to my advice surgery and sobbing her heart out. Reason? Her young son - her young black son - had been stopped by the police while he was playing Hide and Seek in the grounds of a local hospital. His mates had run off and left him to face the music. Rotten mates! Except he hadn't done anything except play a game we have all played - with lots of good places to hide. His mother was crying because despite the police letting ...
After a very busy and productive day yesterday I arrived home and was asked if I would like a "cuppa". It arrived in this Mug that my girls gave me a few years ago for Fathers Day, not a lot more to add to this really, I just had a nice feeling. I am a very lucky man to have such a great loving family.
[IMG: Mark Pack speaking to Camden Liberal Democrats about electoral reform] Last night I was back in Kentish Town ward, this time talking to Camden Liberal Democrats about the fair votes referendum - why it is important and how to win it. As with other similar talks I've given around London, I plugged two of the key pro-electoral reform groups. Yes To Fairer Votes is the umbrella campaign group, bringing together the many supporters of electoral reform from across the political spectrum. One of the members of the Yes coalition is Take Back Parliament which has many active groups around ...
I've just listened to an interview on PM with a man who has — with his partner — a total of eight children; four were hers before they met, one of the subsequent four was planned, the remaining three weren't. I note this because he was being asked about the Government plans ] for a cap on child-related benefits. Unsurprisingly, Labour have added it to their list of things they are annoyed about (despite the high probability that had they been re-elected they'd have had to undertake very similar actions) but I am in whole-hearted agreement with the plans, indeed ...
"Alcohol and tobacco are far more dangerous drugs than cannabis, but no one is being killed in an alcohol or cigarette black market because those drugs are legal, regulated and taxed." Joseph D. McNamara Retired Chief of Police for San Jose, California Back in August I signed The Vienna Declaration to show my support for ...
I'm sure we all think the same thing every year when we watch the first episode of the Apprentice, which started its new run last night on BBC1 - namely that the new group of candidates is the worst, most egotistical shower of prats we have ever seen in our lives. Then we kind of get used to them. And there's a rare few we even get to like. Or maybe not. As Keris Stainton said on Twitter last night: "...there may be one or two I don't want dead by the end"The Apprentice has given us many moments of ...
The Transport Secretary has announced the network option the Government prefers for taking high-speed rail north of Birmingham.Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Transport Lib Dem Norman Baker has welcomed the announcement to include a 'Y' shaped network providing links to the Midlands, North West and the North East. He said "The 'Y' link will mean the great majority of the British population will have direct access to the high speed network will deliver major economic benefits totaling many millions to the economies in the North." "It is a clear demonstration of this government's commitment to creating ...
"Alcohol and tobacco are far more dangerous drugs than cannabis, but no one is being killed in an alcohol or cigarette black market because those drugs are legal, regulated and taxed." Joseph D. McNamara Retired Chief of Police for San Jose, California Back in August I signed The Vienna Declaration to show my support for ...
"While the phrase 'climate change' is familiar to many — and a scientifically accepted phenomenon — the phrase 'climate prosperity' is newer. It is a phrase the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy wants Canadians to embrace." The Canadian Government's spin on climate change. Richard Littlemore dissects it here.
Here is the transcript of my question to the Rural Affairs Minister yesterday on her new plans for a badger cull in North Pembrokeshire and the consultation she has initiated: Peter Black: Will the Minister make a statement on her strategy to tackle bovine TB. OAQ(3)1150(RAF) Elin Jones: We are continuing with our comprehensive approach to eradicate bovine TB. This approach was accepted by the European Commission in our TB eradication plan for 2010. My most recent announcementshave concerned a consultation on TB in non bovines and the culling of badgers in an intensive action area in west Wales. I ...
"Enough of the cuts already!". We should be shouting. Not because of some ostrich-like desire to deny we're part of a coalition that's taking a scythe to public spending, but because the message is wrong. It's not the cuts stupid, it's not even the economy stupid. It's the vision thing, clever. Businesses are not in business to cut costs. Of course, they need to be efficient to compete (which includes not burdening themselves with debt that they can't cope with). But their purpose, the reason someone set them up in the first place, is to make something or sell a ...
Lib Dem Voice can reveal that the rare Election Petition Court which was held in Uppermill for the constituency of Oldham East and Saddleworth earlier in September will be delayed in giving its verdict. Mr Justice Nigel Teale, one of the two High Court judges hearing the case, originally indicated that they would give their verdict sometime in mid-October. Helen Mountfield QC asked whether there was a likelihood of a verdict at the end of the week of giving evidence, but Mr Justice Teale made plain in the politest and firmest way that neither he nor Mr Justice Griffith Williams, ...
Michael Moore MP, Secretary of State for Scotland, was in Dundee earlier today and, along with our two Dundee LibDem parliamentary candidates Alison Burns and Allan Petrie, I had the pleasure of meeting him during his visit. The photograph below is of (from left) Allan Petrie, myself, Michael Moore and Alison Burns, pictured at RRS Discovery.
It was a very, very long meeting of the Parking Panel at County Hall yesterday. And whilst I thought it was wrapping up when I had to leave at two, the meeting apparently managed to drag itself out until 5.30pm. The outcome is that the proposed groupings of car parks was signed off with a few small amendments. The proposed charging hours were signed off in a similar manner. The biggest issue was that of the charges themselves. As I have blogged before, the Panel chose to consult all Cornwall Councillors on the various options and the proposal favoured by ...
I have been charting a new movement in politics. One of collaboration and partnership between government and citizen. Some of these projects are the other side of the world, some are large scale projects, but a look on today's LibDemBlogs sees a couple which caught my eye. Fraser Macpherson attended a Community Spirit meeting and ...
As a party it is fair to say the Liberal Democrat's will have come away feeling happiest this conference season. The leadership (and press office,) was probably expecting a difficult time, with mini rebellions continually springing up from the sandals and beard brigade. What actually happened was the party came together, had a rigorous debate, made positive decisions, and rather enjoyed people caring for once. Labour will feel better having elected a leader.Unfortunately, that new leader is Ed Miliband. Only time will tell if they got right man, but they will feel that they are on a firmer footing now, ...
As I have discussed before my reaction to Richard Curtis' 10:10 video can be summed up as Meh! I couldn't, and still can't, really get worked up either way. On the one hand I don't think it's really funny but on the other I don't think it betrays a secret plan for 10:10 to start a campaign of eco terrorism. It was just a very ill advised piece of advertising. I have just read a blog by Jane Griffiths regarding this issue and she has made me reflect on my lack of emotion on this issue. He case is summed ...
A low point in William Hague's otherwise excellent conference speech on Sunday was his cheap shot at the Alternative Vote system and its role in the outcome of the Labour leadership election. The result, he implied, was some sort of mathematical anomaly; somehow unfair. But there's nothing unfair about the election of Ed Miliband. If the election were repeated tomorrow using the first-past-the-post system, with only the two Milibands standing, the result would be the same. What the AV system showed was that a majority of the Labour party electorate preferred Ed over David. And there's nothing unfair about that. ...
Lazyblogging today; a combination of work, video editing, and vodka works reasonably well as an antidote to the Conservative Party Conference, about which I have nothing to say other than to point you in the direction of this first-rate post by The Curmudgeon (h/t Mr C. Yogurt), and this observation by none other than Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman, in which he applies the same values to American politics which I've been maintaining about the way it's done this side of the pond for years; and about which I have chewed, and will continue to chew, many people's ears ...
In the second half of the 20th Century, Quakers — or Members of the Religious Society of Friends, to give them their formal name — tended to hide their light under a bushel. Proselytising was a no-no, though they were not an exclusive sect. One just had to stumble across them, as I did in ...
Nurses and Policemen probably feature in election literature more than people in any other occupation. That's a bit unfair in a way, but these two groups of people tend to be seen as representative of hard pressed public sector workers. They do enhance the quality of our lives - but then so do the bin men, the road gritters and the people who work in the morgue, the librarians, housing officers and school janitors. Anyway, it was nurses and policemen who had star billing at FMQs today. There are flaws in the way that the SNP Government deal with the ...
The fag packet answer to the welfare bill? The announcements about cutting child benefit to those families where one individual earns over 44k a year come as quite a shock to a country having basked in the glory of universal benefits for so long. Announced in with the measures was a cap on the total benefits an individual could receive at £26,000 a year, this sounds good but I'm not sure what this takes into account (if it's a full benefits package including housing, disability, child tax credit, welfare to work etc then with a big family it may actually ...
The Guardian's Polly Toynbee and The Spectator's Fraser Nelson were asked to conduct an audit of Labour's 13 years in Government by the BBC's Daily Politics programme. Nelson's analysis is unsurprisingly brutal, but what was interesting was the low marks and withering criticism offered by Toynbee, a leading lady of the left. Feel free to post your own scores and reasons in the comments sections.
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Last night I was delighted to attend Prestwich Arts College's annual awards night. I was invited, as a local councillor to attend the presentation in the company of the Mayor of Bury, Staff, Governors, students and special guest, Chef and Restauranter, Andrew Nutter - a former pupil. A short question and answer session from Mr Nutter was followed by a string of presentations for achievements to year 8 students upwards. What I found particularly heartening was the enthusiasm the students showed for the peers as they collected their awards. There was genuine recognition of achievement amongst the students who took ...
When I arrived at work this morning, my career was five years longer than it was when I'd left the house. During my 20 minute journey, Lord Hutton's report on the future of public sector pensions was released, advocating a later retirement age, changes to what employees put in, and changes to what they get out. Since I'm a public sector employee full time (as well as being a Councillor in my spare time) this affects me personally, although at 29 I am still decades away from retiring. Even further away than I was this morning, in fact, which is ...
Well here we are, in the cockpit of history. The Today programme yesterday reported that David Willetts had been yanked back from the Conservative Party conference to negotiate with Vince Cable over student fees, looking for a deal before the Browne Review delivers its report. What kind of deal is possible? This is a crucial question not just for Liberal Democrats but for the whole country because Nick Clegg holds a powerful hand and the way he plays his cards may shape the future our universities and the role they play in this country for a generation. The right of ...
Flick's asked me to cross-post this item I've just put on our West Hampstead blog: I've just heard that Thames Water will be doing work this weekend (Friday 8 October to Sunday 10 October) on Finchley Road by Burrard Road. The works are to repair a water main. Here's what it will involve: · Finchley Road will be reduced from three lanes to one lane southbound, between Weech Road and Croft Way · No right turn into Finchley Road from Burrard Road · No right turn from Finchley Road into Burrard Road · The pedestrian crossing will be closed Apparently ...
The next video from Lib Dem Conference is now edited. This is it: Nick Clegg's speech as Leader and Deputy Prime Minister.
Liberal Democrats in Angus and Mearns have always called for cross party support for Jill Campbell's Laurencekirk Flyover Campaign. So it is welcome that SNP MSP Nigel Don has finally decided to lend his support. However, there are some serious questions about whether he fully understands the issues at hand. Why has he TWICE suggested that Jill's petition be closed whilst sitting on the Scottish Parliament's Petitions Committee? Sitting with Jill Campbell and fellow campaigner Julie Watson in the public gallery at October's Petitions Committee, we were all staggered to hear Nigel Don repeat this suggestion. He claimed that the ...
Two brilliant articles have surfaced recently. One by the excellent Freeman Magazine pointing out, quite rightly, that American Conservatives are actually Military Keynesians and in surprising agreement with them is Keynesian Economist Paul Krugman. They advocate spending a ludicrous amount on Defense, in a manner wholly unrelated to foreign policy and defend it even if it's so obviously for the purposes of gerrymandering (e.g. Rep. So-and-so has a military base in his district) under the pretense that anything that keeps America safer is a good thing. But this brings us to the issue of the Tea Party. If this highly ...
According to figures from Baroness Warsi to the BBC's Daily politics Tory membership is down by a third to 177,000 since Cameron became Leader.
There was something rather strange about David Cameron's leader's speech yesterday, and I have been trying to put my finger on it. It was partly the slightly strained delivery, partly the muted response from the audience. It was partly peculiar because he was talking about the involvement of ordinary people to an audience which, arguably, rarely meets them. But I've slept on the question and I think I have the answer, and this explains why the enthusiasm might not have been there for the Conservatives who were actually listened. The reason was that Cameron was giving a Liberal speech and ...
[IMG: emotivephoto] but then of course the image of say a clerical worker in local government or even a teacher etc would be less emotive . I can certainly empathise with that anyone in the public sector who has been expecting a generous pension, at the end of their working days however I'm not quite sure why I had to fund it . Currently one in every 5 pounds paid by myself and other taxpayers to fund local government, goes just on pensions, why has this ever been allowed to occur. No doubt of the next few hours a precession ...
I've not yet had time to fully digest all 176 pages of John Hutton's interim report on the future of public sector pensions, but here are some parts which have stood out so far and look to be the key issues for the future: I have been struck both by the enormous complexity of the subject matter, as well as by the degree of misunderstandings and confusions that surround any debate about it. My report tries to dispel some of these myths. It is mistaken to talk about 'gold-plated' pensions as being the norm across the public sector. In the ...
Hull Fair-goers are being encouraged to get on the buses for this year's event which runs from Friday 8 October to Friday 16 October (excluding Sunday 10 October). There will be an extra park and ride operating from the Humber Bridge car park and will run from 3pm - 11pm Monday to Friday and 12 noon - 11pm on Saturdays. The existing park and ride 701 from Priory Park will be operating additional services up until 11pm. Those travelling to the fair are encouraged to go by public transport as there will be limited parking available this year at the ...
This year's final of Gorton's Got Talent will be held this Saturday at Cedar Mount School from 6 p.m. onwards. Last year's show was brilliant and I'm reliably informed that Gorton will turn out to be just as talented this year too. Do come along, it should be a great evening. £2 on the door on the night.
All parties have their own forms of democracy. I'm sure that none are perfect and it is for that party to choose or change their internal democracy. But Labours electoral college and elected shadow cabinet does appear to have some floors that could be improved and updated. Today Labour will announce their shadow cabinet today. This brings up the question of not allowing the Labour leader to select the shadow cabinet. Ed Miliband will have to rely on those who are voted in through the Labour parliamentary party. Jack Straw on BBC Five Live today said "It's fine if your ...
As you may be aware, we have a meeting once a month for residents to discuss any local policing issues they may have with police officers and PCSO's. These priority setting meetings have now been given the far snappier title of 'Have your Say.' The next meeting is going to be held at Eton Court on Park Road West on the 14th October, starting at 7pm and will be chaired by PC Steve Keefe. Current priorities that local police are looking at include speeding traffic in Park Avenue, Park Crescent and Fylde Road. Please come along and let us know ...
I haven't watched This Morning in ages, but I randomly switched it on a few minutes ago to see new Leader of the Opposition being interviewed by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby. This is the politician's equivalent of a cuddle. It's not what you'd call a Paxmanesque grilling. Even so, every time Phil did have a bit of a go at challenging him, Ed looked like he was like a rabbit caught in the headlights. If he can't cope with a fairly relaxed affair like this, he's going to find Prime Minister's Questions next week a bit of an ordeal. ...
Glorious, glorious invective. Now, excuse me whilst I go update my Facebook status...
The New Synthesis project is an international partnership of institutions and individuals who are dedicated to advancing the study and practice of public administration. While they hail from different countries, different political systems and different historical, economic and cultural contexts, all share the view that public administration as a practice and discipline is not yet ...
Asylum is a human rights issue. Given the tone of public debate in the last few years, you could be forgiven for not realising that, or having forgotten it. Asylum policy is about ensuring that people who have suffered appalling persecution are given the protection they're entitled to. That's not mentioned very often either. So it was heartening to see a room full of people at the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool for a discussion organised by the Refugee Council and UNHCR on 'Asylum Policy: Honouring Our Refugee Protection Commitments'. The meeting brought together Tom Brake MP, Roland Schilling (UNHCR ...
[IMG: Labour Party logo] It's a perennial question faced by parties who have been voted out of power: does the road back to power require a major change in the party or just minor tweaking? The Conservatives judged it wrong after 1997, and it took another two election defeats before the party set about significantly recasting itself. Initial political pundit reaction to the 2010 election was to warn Labour against making the same mistakes. Yet the historical record is far from clear on this. After all, Labour has twice been voted out of power at general election and bounced straight ...
For my new project I am having to learn all about Mainframe Computers, the level of knowledge that has seen me through a lifetimes career in IT; "they are big blue things" is now way out of date, not least because as I found out the other day they are now painted black. So I found these interesting articles on Mainframe Computers 'The Gen Xer's Guide to Mainframes. Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 -
After I posted this meme about Twitter and all it means to me on Sunday, I tagged some people and four of them have so far responded: Kate really was an early adopter of microblogging - I suspect she even joined before Andrew Reeves - but then she was blogging way back before any of us. You'll have to look to see which celebrity followed her because he liked the word ditsy in her profile. Spidey explains how Twitter helped her through a really difficult time, giving her both information and support.I also love her confession that when she over ...
The cuts have started. They have begun amongst the Prime Minister's speech writing team. Content counts, but style matters - especially to the audience. Cameron's conference speech in Birmingham was rhetoric light, sleep-inducing heavy. Could this climax have got the Conservative party faithful to their feet if they hadn't been expected to perform for the TV cameras: "Let's come together. Let's work together. In the national interest." Uuugh! There are times when it matters what you say. And there are times when what matters is how you say it. Here's a freebie for Cameron. Next time, try it this way: ...
Ian's family have a great tradition - the annual Reid Family Party. Every summer, up to 40 relatives meet up in someone's home for Saturday lunch and tea. We always seem to be lucky with the weather and are able to expand into the garden. This year's gathering was just three weeks ago and was the reason why I arrived late for the Lib Dem Conference in Liverpool. In 1982 Christopher Reid published a poem about these events, and I quoted it on National Poetry Day in 2006, adding cryptically 'I was there'. He described the tall trees and flowering ...
From Stockport Council: Do it yourself is increasing in Stockport libraries as Central Library becomes the latest to use self service kiosks. The kiosks use Radio-frequency identification (RFID) self service technology to issue and return library books and other items to customers in a fast and With staff no longer required to check books in and out, they have more time to provide advice on reading choices, give information on Council and other services, support ICT users, and interact more personally with residents to make sure they are getting the most out of their local library. Kiosks have been installed ...
The interim report published today by John Hutton into public sector pensions has produced no surprises. It reveals what we already know: we are living longer, current provision is unaffordable in the long run and those in the public sector pension scheme will have to pay more into it and work longer. The proposal to end the final salary scheme was well trailed under the last government. So again
Today is National Poetry Day and the theme this year is Home. However, as you may be aware from my recent posts that means a lot of different things to me, that come out in this poem. So this is a story from comtemplating teen suicide, though coming out, to being who I am today. I Home is where the demons lived Home is where I moped. Home is where I first thought shit! It's time to bring an end to it. Home is where they bullied me Home was from where I had to flee. Home held many bad ...
Thu 7th
09:47
Cemeron's speech has shown new political battlelines for pro-establishment vs anti-establishment
Following David Cameron's speech the verdict is... either a failure of David Cameron to explain or a failure of those listening to try and understand. Depending on who you are depends on your position. I find it very interesting that we have a Tory talking about a fundamental change in relationship between state and citizen ...
One of the problems with being a campaigning party, in opposition for eighty years is that when you acquire power expectations are often too high to meet. No doubt the Liberal Democrats will reach that stage at some point, but in the meantime Plaid Cymru are almost certainly there now on the Welsh Language Measure. Despite publishing over 100 amendments yesterday, they have still not satisfied Welsh Langauge campaigners, who have formed part of their core vote for decades, or the opposition for that matter, that they have delivered everything required of them. According to the Western Mail, there is ...
It was very lucky that I was at my parents' house as a phone call came in to the house asking to speak to my father. Well he can certainly listen – but that's not good enough when they want to know if he can make an appointment tomorrow. What is particularly annoying is that ...
The possibilities of better use of technology to improve government have often come up on this site, so readers may find of interest what the Cabinet Office's Draft Structural Reform Plan (a set of priorities for each department) says on the matter: [IMG: Cabinet Office logo] 3.1 Increase powers of CIO to drive the integration and improve value for money of ICT infrastructure i. Set up infrastructure for new CIO office and increase central CIO powers ii. Start the roll out cross-departmental asset register on a common ICT infrastructure iii. Publish performance details on all ICT projects above £1m 3.2 ...
Gombards, Worley Road and Stapley Road are to be 'microasphalted' next week ie a new surface is going to be put on top of the existing one. Readers will recall that we have long complained about these roads - especially Worley Road where the county council botched the repairs 18 months ago. The roads will thus be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
Labour had been considering it for months before the General Election. The Coalition decided it was necessary after they'd seen the books – much to the discomfort of many Lib Dems. It's the VAT rise – to 20% on 1st January 2011. Many people have said that it's a regressive tax and we should have increased basic rate income tax instead, suggesting that would be fairer. Is that really true? Partly, but in reality the case is less clear cut. We don't pay VAT on food, children's clothes, books, newspapers, magazines or sporting activities nor will the VAT rise affect ...
One of the little luxuries I allowed myself on a recent visit to San Francisco was a visit to Samovar Tea Lounge on Yerba Buena Gardens. Tea seems to be taking over from coffee with the hip young things of Silicon Valley just now so it was nice to see this little video with Leo ...
The figures for the month of August on ambulance response times show that whilst across Wales waiting times have improved slightly, performance in some areas remains patchy and falls below government standards. Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Veronica German said: "Whilst across Wales these statistics represent a slight improvement, in some areas results are not so encouraging. "In Powys, for instance, the percentage of calls leading to an ambulance arriving within eight minutes is only 56.7 per cent and in Gwynedd it is not much better at 57.3 per cent. They didn't do much better in ...
broadcast anniversaries 7 October 1967: broadcast of second episode of The Abominable Snowmen. The Doctor persuades the monks and Travers that he does not control the Yeti; but the control sphere that they have acquired comes to life... 7 October 1978: broadcast of second episode of The Pirate Planet. The Doctor and Romana realise the true nature of Xanak, ie that it is in fact a pirate planet.
The Liberal Democrat constitution says that "no-one shall be enslaved by ignorance". Therefore it was appalling to read this morning of the death of 12-year-old Holly Stuckey, a pupil of Maesteg Comprehensive School, Bridgend, South Wales. She didn't know as much about sex education as some of her classmates. They had branded her a lesbian and bullied her. In September a few days into the new term Holly who was asthmatic came home out of breathe and died in her father's arms. It was only later that he found tormented letters from her saying she 'felt like no-one'. Her school ...
If you do this in an email, I hate you - The Oatmeal oh god yes (tags: funny internet)
The Tempest Trailer: Helen Mirren as Prospera, and what looks to be a very well put together film. But, y'know, wizards and magic and all that, that's fantasy, must be for the kids, right?
There are signs when you come into Lancashire that tell you that it is a place where everyone matters. I always blow a sigh of relief when I see this sign as I am so pleased to leave a place where some people don't matter. Sometimes headlines or signs don't actually have much meaning. There is a row in Morecambe that I wrote about on the 23rd September. It concerns the allegation of bullying by six Morecambe Bay Independent councillors in Morecambe in relation to the former town clerk. Well the row rumbles on. This week there is a letter ...
Norwich South MP Simon Wright has backed a UK campaign highlighting the importance of school crossing patrols, and is calling on primary schools in Norwich to nominate those lollipop people who are playing a significant role in improving local road safety.
