At the time of writing the most remarkable rescue mission is getting underway in Chile. The 33 trapped miners who have been buried alive for the last two months have shown remarkable resilience and spirit in the most testing circumstances. I cannot begin to imagine what these men have been through and what their families have had to endure. I wish the men and their families and the team of rescuers the very best of luck.
A simple email to Martin Tod (co-founder of Flock Together) was all it took to get the Northern Ireland local party of the Liberal Democrats listed in the same manner as the Brussels & Europe local party on Flock Together. I only hope that the Federal Party site will follow suit – eventually. Watch out ...
I do appreciate that the Booker Prize is not an election. It is not a contest in which one takes sides, cheering the winner and deprecating the losers. My delight at The Finkler Question's winning is not based only on its being a superb book, although it is that. No, what astonishes me is not only that the British Left's contemporary debate on Israel/Palestine can form the backbone of a truly great literary novel, but also that the novel in question could then win the Booker. The Finkler Question is a deeply significant view of life in this country today, ...
You'd have thought that after spending much of the last month finishing writing a book on the Beatles which required listening and relistening to every track they ever recorded multiple times, that I'd have had enough John Lennon for a while. And you'd be right. But then, a day after I finished my book and ...
Everyone is getting very morbid, waiting for the results of the spending review next week. The news about how university education is paid for is not good. So instead of writing something political (and where did I read that bloggers are all drunken young men with cauliflower ears this morning) I am going to tell you about willaid. Go to www.wilaid.org.uk. It is a partnership...
Oh my god, I bloody well ache all over at the time of writing this, despite this now being some six hours after my gym session. This was my first session back at the gym with Richard Kerrigan for a while so I knew it would be tough, but given I am doing the 10k run this coming Sunday at Hopetoun House - I am running with Elspeth Finlay, Fiona Lang, Beverley Hope and Jamie McHale and my chosen charity is is the Bobby Moore fund for Cancer Research UK. If you would like to sponsor me, however small an ...
Well done US District Judge Virginia Philips. She has declared the "don't ask, don't tell" policy of banning openly gay people from serving in the US Military unconstitutional. The lawsuit was brought by the Log Cabin Republicans, a pro-gay Republican group, on behalf of openly gay military personnel who had been discharged under the policy. Supporters of the ban say allowing gay people to serve openly in the US military would lower troop morale and hinder military readiness. This is complete rubbish. We are living in the 21st century and social attitudes have moved on from the old intolerant past ...
Norwich South MP Simon Wright recently met local publican Philip Cutter, landlord of the Murderers Pub on Timberhill, to hear some of the issues facing the City's pubs.
Good news: Cambridge City Council have voted on and approved a revised equalities policy saying that they will not use the various (bad) exemptions in the Equalities Act relating to those undergoing gender reassignment. I was there for the discussion last night, but Sarah asked me not to talk about it until the press release went out today. For those who don't know, Cambridge had the first Trans mayor in the UK (Second worldwide, I think) a few years ago and has had at least three Trans Councillors that I know of. I think it is proboably one of, if ...
Firstly, I am in favour of free university education. This is for fairly standard reasons; graduates earn more and thus pay more tax, they are more likely to give to/volunteer for charity and vote and do all the things "good citizens" do. They pay back far more than they cost in the long term, and have all sorts of positive externalities that aren't measurable. But we can't afford that just now, as we know, so we're looking at compromises. And I have two problems with the current system that I'd like to see fixed. Firstly, the explicit debt problem. While ...
...and expect to get away with it. You see, the electorate are not daft saps that you can just say con. Signing a pledge to get their vote means you have to honour it. Its what a member of the public asks you to commit to and the fact that they have taken the time ...
There is rightly a debate about the signing of the NUS pledge by Lib Dem MPs, including myself, and what happens now about the Browne Report and any subsequent proposals.The pledge said:"I pledge to vote against any increase in fees in the next parliament and to pressure the government to introduce a fairer alternative"It is clear from that pledge that the objective is to have "a fairer
Reveived from the City Council today : Dundee City Council proposes to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of replacing a gas main. The Order is expected to be in force for four weeks from 25th October 2010. Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months. The effect of the Order is to prohibit temporarily all vehicular traffic in Park Place Dundee from the junction with Old Hawkhill to the junction with Smalls Lane. Please forward any comments you may have regarding this proposal to the Network ...
Leaving aside the trauma of Liberal Democrat MPs who signed the pledge to oppose increases in tuition fees for the moment, there are two points that need reiterating this evening. The first is the one I made yesterday. Once a university education became the normal expectation of approaching half the nation's young people, sooner or later the system of funding the sector from education was bound to collapse. The second is the question asked by Jackie Ashley in the Guardian yesterday. She wrote: Isn't it bonkers to wrap up the cost of university research with the job of teaching 19-year-olds? ...
Hooray. (For more on why it's a case of hooray, see my previous posts about the plans for a new theatre near Finsbury Park station.)
It became very apparent on Twitter that Vince Cable and Nick Clegg did not speak for the Lib Dem grassroots today. Neither did they speak for 30+ Lib Dem MPs including Dr Julian Huppert and Tim Farron who promised to vote against any move in the House of Commons to remove the cap on tuition ...
I await final confirmation of this but I hear a very strong rumour that the Tory whip Anne Ibbs has been deselected in Formby by the Tories in favour of failed Tory Parliamentary Candidate Debbi Jones. It would be a spectacular own goal by any standards. Anne is well liked and although she has been frequently sent to the 'naughty step' by the leadership she has won widespread respect. Debbi Jones by contrast did very badly at the General Election. I genuinely thought that a Tory Victory in Sefton Central was a nailed down certainty. It was theirs to loose, ...
Next year will be Census year. Census day itself is 27th March. Last time, errors in the Census meant that Manchester was undercounted, which cost the City millions of pounds in lost funding, so it is vital that everybody is counted properly. There's also a load of temporary jobs from going door to door to entering the data, all paying more than the minimum wage. Details of these jobs are available on www.censusjobs.co.uk.
This post is rather belated due to work, holidays, Lib Dem meetings, council meetings and my new toy – but I've finally found time to sit down and write about Autumn conference in Liverpool, and type up my brief intervention (1 minute speech). It was great to be back in the city where I lived ...
Once again we bring you good news. My Birkdale Ward colleague Simon Shaw has updated the psephological research he carried out a month ago. That showed that, in the 57 principal council by-elections held between the General Election and the end of August, Lib Dems had made net gains of 3 seats in that period. The full story from early September is HERE Simon has continued his analysis to the end of September and the picture continues to be very encouraging. Counting the 26 city-wide elections in both Norwich and Exeter at the beginning of September, there were no fewer ...
Tuesday: It's been a BAD day, really. First the Browne Report is published saying: "tuition fees are unfair... let's double/triple/quadruple them!" Then Mr Dr Vince comes to the despatch box putting a brave face on it, saying we're making the best of a bad job. The Coalition Agreement, chapter 31, says: "If the response of the Government to Lord Browne's report is one that Liberal Democrats cannot accept, then arrangements will be made to enable Liberal Democrat MPs to abstain in any vote." But really ANY response short of an enormous RASPBERRY deserves a fluffy sight more than just abstaining. ...
I am not best pleased with Vince Cable today. If I were married to him, I might still cook his dinner but he'd be eating it on his own while I went and complained about him to my friends over a bottle of red wine. (Bob, if you're reading this, I NEVER do that about you). I think he's wrong to have painted Liberal Democrat MPs into a corner whereby they either disobey the party whip (and messing with Mr Carmichael and his wand is not an easy thing to do), or go back on a pledge they made to ...
So the leaks from the Browne Report were right. The cap on university tuition fees will be removed. A real rate of interest will be applied. The cost of studying for a degree will reach the level of a small mortgage. Many young people will have a lifetime of debt hanging over them as they ...
[IMG: Kyrenia Harbour] All, Sorry to anyone who's tried to get hold of me this week - as you can see from the photograph above I've been in sunny Cyprus. I did get back in time for last night's Town Council meeting - and I'll be talking about that later. Regards, Philip
Thanks to Keris Stainton on Twitter, who pointed me in the direction of this post by Joanna Goddard showing Italian MEP Licia Ronzulli taking her baby into the European Parliament. This was as a form of protest for women's rights, but to be honest, I don't think we're going to get much progress on balanced representation until this is the norm and politics becomes much more family friendly.
Tue 12th
19:56
Chelmsford's premier Charity Fireworks extravaganza is on Saturday 6th November. Raising money for K...
Chelmsford's premier Charity Fireworks extravaganza is on Saturday 6th November. Raising money for Kids Inspire: Fireworks 2010
There are many many controversies in Who fandom, and there is no opinion you can assert without offending one faction or another, but one of the least controversial opinions is that the writer who was consistently the best in the old series was Robert Holmes. Holmes can be accused of being a hack, it's true, but if he was a hack, he was a great hack, taking elements from everywhere he could find them (classical mythology, his own politics, and famously, Hammer horror films) and fusing them into glorious, memorable stories. He had a great sense of dialogue, and his ...
I had a diary cockup today. Somehow I got my council scrutiny committees mixed up. My diary said it was the "Place" scrutiny committee (ie the one dealing with environment). When I got there, I discovered it was "Healthier Communities" scrutiny committee. As I am not a member of healthier communities I realised then why I had not been sent any papers for the meeting. Anyway, I decided to stay.
Today is National Coming Out Day in the UK, many people will have notice twitter being alive with this yesterday but that was the USA and other countries. It is a day to celebrate the rights of LGBT rights achieved and the fight for those yet to come wherever that may be. Coming out is a strange phrase it suggests one particular occasion instead of one of various events that someone who identifies as LGBT has to go through, on a day-to-day, person-by-person basis. Here are some of my coming out stories. To my parents: I told my Mum while ...
So our worse nightmare has happened. Vince Cable has sold out the party's principles of fairness and has agreed to implement Lord Browne's recommendation for financing universities. And what do our MPs do? Sit back and remain silence.I believe that Education should be free at the point of delivery. As described in an episode of The West Wing, education is the golden bullet. It provides the
Tue 12th
18:47
Some Initial Thoughts on the Browne Review: This Could be a Real Test of Whether We Really 'Get' Coa...
I don't want to blog in too much detail about Lord Browne's report into Higher Education funding yet; not least because I haven't read all of the report. A few initial points stand out, though. Firstly it's worth saying that ... Continue reading →
In May, people voted for the Liberal Democrats because they wanted a different kind of politics, where politicians kept their word when they got into Government. Everyone knows we are in coalition, there's a huge budget deficit, and we're not going to get our way on everything. That doesn't mean we should simply give up on one of the key issues we've made our own over the last decade. It means we should fight our corner and prove we mean what we say. Of course Labour have no alternative to what's in the Browne report and their criticism is opportunistic ...
Thursday, September 30th... Ros likes the sea, she enjoys swimming and snorkelling. Me, I have a pact with the sharks - they stay in the water, and I stay on the land. And so it was with some misgiving that I was persuaded the day before that hiring a boat for the morning was a good idea. However, this morning, I turned up in Latsi, just west of Polis, willing to give it a try (I understand that there are no sharks in the Mediterranean so, if you don't tell, I won't), and listened whilst the finer point of driving ...
I know I'm a bit of a stuck record on this point, but here is some concrete evidence of how the blokosphere works against women, all the while pretending not to: Mark Pack blogs that the majority of UK bloggers are female. Someone asks him how he knows that; he replies that he got it from the ONS. Mark would never have known about that ONS data had I not told him about it, but it never enters his head to credit me with the information. It's just information, it's in the public domain, it doesn't really MATTER where he ...
An email arrives from Olly Kendall at Insight Public Affairs: "As David Cameron and Ed Miliband prepare for their first clash tomorrow at midday, our briefing '30 facts for 30 minutes' is a light-hearted look at that great British institution - Prime Ministers Questions - detailing 30 facts about the weekly political joust that you ...
...and I hope a work of Fiction. Cross posted from Stephen's Linlithgow Journal Sitting in his rocking chair in 2050 Stephen Glenn is talking to his eldest great-nephew about to head up to Belfast Metropolitan College rather than Cambridge University or Oxford University, where 40 years earlier he would have been smart enough to go. ...
The BBC has belatedly noticed that there is a problem with the foreclosure business in the US as I reported in my last post, but entirely fails to convey just how very big and very bad the problem is. For instance, the BBC reports that: Some US banks have already imposed their own moratorium on foreclosures while ...
One of Conwy's corporate commitments is to provide more allotments for our residents. I am pleased that we will soon be offering up to 60 plots to people on our waiting list including up to 12 plots that are raised and can be accessed by residents with disabilities. We currently have 355 people on our waiting list and will offer these allotments to people within a 3 mile radius, who have been waiting longest. This site will have its own water source powered by a solar pump and is situated off Tan Y Bryn Road Rhos-on-Sea. I am looking to ...
Whilst up north this weekend I was digging through about 15 years worth of family photos - basically everything my mum hoarded since she left my father. I was particularly looking for photos of my dad and I, which was particularly difficult as it was usually either him or me behind the camera, but there are a few. I also found some great ones of me from when I was massively into cycling just before my accident, and some other crackers as well - seriously, seven year old me had the best fashion sense ever *grin* Anyway, I have a ...
...and I hope a work of Fiction. Cross posted on Liberal Democrats in Northern Ireland Sitting in his rocking chair in 2050 Stephen Glenn is talking to his eldest great-nephew about to head up to Belfast Metropolitan College rather than Cambridge University or Oxford University, where 40 years earlier he would have been smart enough to go. It was Thatcher what started it you know? I was there a fresh-faced young student back then, with hair, stop your sniggering. No where was I? Oh yes I was a fresh-faced student. Back then there was what was called a maintenance grant. ...
QR Codes are big news at the moment – both Google and Bit.ly announcing URL to QR services. What's interesting is their differing approach to error correction. From the creators of QR Codes, Denso Wave QR Code has error correction capability to restore data if the code is dirty or damaged. Four error correction levels are available for users to choose according to the operating environment. Raising this level improves error correction capability but also increases the amount of data QR Code size. The more error correction, the easier the code is to read if a bit of it is ...
The subject of child detention for immigration purposes was raised by Liberal Democrat peer Roger Roberts in Parliament yesterday. I've expressed my frustration often enough at how journalists sometimes get in the way of the news with their insistence on introducing, talking over and then summarising what other people are saying, rather than letting us hear the actually words for ourselves. So taking a leaf out of my own book here is full transcript of the question and follow-ups from Hansard: Asked By Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will end child detention in immigration ...
With thanks to Mat O'Marah via Colin Ross... This is a copy of a post I've made elsewhere, it has nothing to do with nails, skin care, fake tans, waxing or even hair. It has everything to do with something so much more important then all of that. Saving lives!! 12th October 1998. That should ...
Congratulations to Stephen for his well deserved inclusion in the Golden Dozen #190 for his post I'm Not a Statistic...But Came So Close As Mark Pack said on LibDig, Stephen's post was A moving and thoughtful piece about bullying and suicide Filed under: Blogging Tagged: bullying, Golden Dozen, Lib Dem Voice, Stephen Glenn, suicide
On page 16 of the Final Edition of the paper copy of today's Belfast Telegraph there is a story by Deborah McAleese about how Colin Duffy was led into the dock at the Coleraine Magistrates Court looking dishevelled with a sports jacket scarely covering his bare torso Mr Duffy's solicitor told the court that his ...
The party has just issued the text of Vince Cable's statement to the House of Commons, responding to the publication today of The Browne Report on higher education and student funding in England. "With permission Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the future funding of higher education and student finance, in the light of the report published today of Lord Browne's independent inquiry. Lord Browne was asked to undertake his review in November last year. The review was set up by Labour on a cross-party basis, and that is how we want to proceed. I and ...
I've written an article on this for the Liverpool Party Central website which is at this address
The only thing everybody is now talking about is government spending and how to reduce it. As the torch is shining into more and more areas and on those who will be affected – mothers, students, benefit seekers, public sectors workers and so on- we hear the inevitable OUCH NOT ME ! as if until now nobody actually understood ...
I recently received through my door an astonishing first – a locally-focused Tory campaign leaflet. There's a by-election campaign underway in Kentish Town in another close fight between the Lib Dems and Labour, so the fact that the Tories made an effort to get something out ... Continue reading →
I've got a meeting, along with my colleagues Peter Millea and Richard Oglethorpe, with some reps from Enterprise Liverpool later this week. The people were seeing are basically responsible for litter clearance, street lighting and highways maintenance. We organised the meeting because between us we had quite a few issues involving places in our ward - Cressington. If you live in Cressington and want to suggest a location for us to talk to them about or visit can you please let me know. For some reason getting onto the internet on my computer is a bit hit or miss at ...
The recommendations coming from Lord Browne are contrary not just to Liberal Democrat policy, but to our principles. Education is vital to liberty and democracy. 'Great improvements in education ... are the only thing to which I should look for permanent good' said John Stuart Mill and so highlights Nick Clegg's special advisor, Richard Reeves. So how can we support Lord Browne's report? It is simply not possible to hide the shock that we feel, in response to Lord Browne's proposals to saddle students in need to loans with absurd levels of debt by lifting the fee cap altogether. We ...
It's not a great time to be 11. It wasn't in 1979 when Mrs Thatcher's axe started to fall. There was barely a book in my school that wasn't held together with sellotape and shared with about 3 others at a time. 11 year olds living in England face a much more difficult life than their parents had. Those aspiring to higher education could face unlimited bills for tuition, which they'll be paying back at 9% of salary - that's quite some tax hike - if Lord Browne's proposals go through. You're looking at students coming out of university owing ...
The debate over the Browne review of higher education funding has only just begun, and the most negative responses, predictably have come from those who haven't read it, or are wedded to unworkable and regressive systems like the graduate tax or pure state funding. From this corner we hope the government adopt the proposal in full, as an entirely workable compromise between the parties, building on the best elements of the previous government's innovation in the sector. In response to Simon Hughes statement we believe this proposal will help drive quality by changing the role of government from provider to ...
Last winter saw chaos on the roads of Wales with schools being closed for prolonged periods and a huge increase in excess winter deaths, an increase of 74% compared to the year before. The Welsh Liberal Democrats will use their opposition day debate tomorrow to call on the Welsh government to develop an action plan to reduce excess winter deaths, work with Local Health Boards (LHBs) to increase capacity for the predicted increase in slips and falls, ensure that at risk groups receive the flu vaccine, improve calculation for Cold Winter Payments and work with local authorities to improve access ...
Local labour big-wigs haves wasted on time in getting their knives into Ed Milliband Cllr Paul Cotterill, the Labour Group leader on West Lancashire Borough Council, offers the following analysis of the new Labour leader: I think Ed M's come over as a bit of triangulating turd, if I'm honest, and if such a thing exists. His campaign has been driven by the 'values' that I think he thinks people want to see in his campaign and potential leadership. This is best reflected in the more stupid rightwing view is that he is 'tacking left'. He's not tacked left in ...
So, poll time again, and sod the politics as it's too soul-destroying for words. Instead I'm going to talk about the Beatles. View Poll: Who's the Fabbest of the Four? Give your reasons below. FWIW I'm going with Hari Georgeson, because recently I came across shedloads of old '70s radio stuff that really show Lennon up as hamfisted; Some Time In New York City has to be the worst album ever made by a top-drawer rock star - kind of Dave Spart goes for primal scream therapy - and don't get me started on Happy Xmas War Is Over, which ...
Don Foster, Lib Dem MP for Bath, has given an exclusive interview to the Gay Football Supporters Network where he discusses homophobia in football and his own love of the sport. From the Gay Football Supporters Network website: Why do you think that we have made so much progress in football regarding racism (Kick It Out etc) and yet homophobia remains prevalent in the sport? Why do you think there are currently no openly gay professional players? I think that groups such as yours have a vital role to play in challenging prejudices. We need to see individual fans, supporters ...
John Pugh has spoken to the Liverpool Daily Post about Student fees Dr Pugh said: "I signed that pledge for very good reasons, having thought long and hard about it, and I do not propose to change my mind now. "I do accept there is a wider problem of university funding which needs addressing. "We do need a further serious review but it should not be based on ever-increasing hikes in tuition fees. I intend to stick to that."
With the publication of the Browne Review report into student finance, there are many who are already speculating that its proposals are the settled view of the UK Coalition Government. Nothing could be further from the truth. I believe that up to 30 Liberal Democrat MPs have already said they will vote against the lifting of the cap on tuition fees. If that is correct then more power to their elbow. However, as the Independent makes clear today, this report is in no way the last word on the matter. They record that the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, ...
University Fees – a rare venture into mainstream politics in terms of what I usually blog about. As a result, I have no clue how many people that read this blog will be interested but I'd like to pose an open question. Yes, I sort of already answered the question in the title but I'm by no means certain of the outcome. I'm going to ignore the mainstream debate over who is right and who is wrong for now, partially because every time I think I've figured it out, some new bit of information pops up. It's confusing watching everyone ...
Yesterday The Sun made a big issue of the countries hotspots of welfare dependency, a grim league table with Margate rolling in at Number 7, obviously I'm not placed to comment with any authority as my Labour buddies will be only to happy to remind you. With no wish to be kind to either Labour or Tories I'll give you my highly inaccurate thoughts and background, firstly the "welfare state" as a concept first explained to me, when I was a kid, was set up as a safety net for those who through no fault lost their jobs or were ...
Two of the biggest "mass market" brands are using QR Codes in their advertising. ASDA – the UK arm of Walmart – and Martina Cole – one of the UK's best selling authors. Here's the poster in situ [IMG: Martina Cole Poster with QR Code] Here's a close up of the code [IMG: QR Code] It's a reasonable physical size and the information density isn't particularly high – so well done on that front. I'd place a bit more whitespace around the code – but it scanned easily enough on my phone. The website itself is ok. Nothing stunning. [IMG: ...
The Coalition Agreement says: "If the response of the Government to Lord Browne's report is one that Liberal Democrats cannot accept, then arrangements will be made to enable Liberal Democrat MPs to abstain in any vote." Simples...
Excellent advice from the police on how to reduce your chances of becoming a victim of burglary. Even during autumn and winter one in three burglaries are through open or unlocked doors and windows. Op Gotham Flyer
Former Foreign Minister of Germany Comments [on] Moldova's Perspectives Actually I know Meckel personally, and while he was indeed foreign minister for four and a half months, it was in the post-Communist government of East Germany, not of Germany as a whole! (But I suppose any part of Germany is still Germany.)
We've heard that there are going to be quite a few more people working at or from the Royal Mail sorting office on Whitehedge Road. I imagine this is to do with the imminent closure of Copperas Hill. Obviously the Royal Mail needs to find places for its staff to work, but we are worried that an extra influx will cause the parking problem in the nearby streets to become unamanageable. Now there is a car park at the sorting office. And it may be that Royal Mail management have a plan. So I have written to the sorting office ...
The Manchester Airport site is reporting planned closures to the M56 in both directions from junctions 9 to 6 for the next two weekends, with the slip road at junction 7 closed for the whole week. The M56 will be closed eastbound from its junction with the M6 at Junction 9 and Westbound from Junction 6 at Hale Barns from 10pm Friday 15th October until 5am Monday 18th October 2010 and again from 10pm Friday 22nd October until 5am Monday 25th October 2010, to enable the work to be carried out safely. The M56 Junction 7 westbound exit slip road ...
I am, as you are aware, a civil servant. Whilst this condition can be treated with cups of tea, a little time spent with pieces of paper and a generous pension (and it isn't actually that generous, before anyone starts), it does come with a thicket of rules. So, for example, if I accept hospitality, or have it foisted upon me, from a foreign government, even if it is only because I'm accompanying my wife on a visit, I should declare that, shouldn't I? What if, in this instance, the foreign government concerned isn't formally recognised by the United Kingdom? ...
You're clever people, you know stuff. And so do I. However, I don't know everything, and there is always scope for improvement of anything, so what do you make of this?... All complaints submitted for action by the Regional Party shall be transmitted to the Regional Secretary for consideration in the first instance. On receipt, the Regional Secretary shall ascertain whether said complaint should be dealt with at Local, Regional or State Party level, seeking clarification where appropriate and ensuring compliance with the English Party Membership Rules. If the requirements indicated above are met, and the complaint is accepted as ...
Firstly, thanks to Mat O'Marah at http://www.salongeek.com/blogs/fozzyo/15972-has-stop.html for reminding me that it was 12 year ago today (12 October 1998) that Matthew Shepard was murdered for being gay.
Ongoing support against hate crime I am delighted that the IFA, GAA, and Belfast Giants are continuing to support the Unite against Hate campaign with the next Unite Sporting Weekend taking place this weekend coming. As Vice Chair of the LGBT Independent Advisory Group to the PSNI, I appreciate the work that the PSNI put ...
Five months ago I signed a pledge opposing tuition fees, I was a candidate in a General Election for a party that stated in it's manifesto that a Lib Dem Government would phase out tuition fees over the course of this parliament. And unsurprisingly, I am a member of that party, a party with a long standing opposition to tuition fees. So today with the publication of the report into the future of University funding and tuition fees I was dissapointed that the initial response in the media was so supportive of a report that could see fees rise by ...
Fees should be capped at current levels for students and the extra funding required in the fees debate, should come from business (banks, manufacturing, services etc), Unions and also from NI revenues. HE institutions should seek partnerships with business from all parts of the world in other to obtain sponsorships, bursaries and also funding. They could develop greater links with industries and syndicates. The system advocated here has its roots in the German tripartite system of economic policy development and consultation, and can be adapted quite easily for education policy and educational capacity building, as best practice. Society should have ...
The link is to Hansard where I have made progress with the idea of requirign those people contracting to supply services to the government to take on some long term unemployed and some people with disabilities.John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley, Liberal Democrat)I congratulate the Secretary of State on the proposals for the universal credit, which will make it worth being in work. As well as
Who rules where is a fascinating new blog by my friend and sometime colleague Fred Carver, which will become an essential resource for election geeks around the globe. Fred says: "This is a forum for discussion of the politics of the world. If you have strong views on the elections in the Philippines, or feel that Bingu wa Mutharika could be doing a better job then this is the website for you." It has sections on recognised states (United Nations), de facto states, colonies and dependencies, as well information on all the upcoming elections. Fred has started blogging each country's ...
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats Simon Hughes has paid tribute to Claire Rayner, the NHS campaigner, agony aunt and Liberal Democrat member who died yesterday: Claire Rayner was a wonderful, no-nonsense, agony aunt to the nation, but also she was much more than that. Claire's campaigning was an inspiration to millions and especially to Liberal Democrats, who were so proud that she was a member of our party. Continuous work and campaigning to improve our National Health Service for all our patients will be the best sort of tribute our country can give her.
"In his report on the financing of Higher Education (HE), Lord Browne has made several recommendations that, if implemented by the government, would put at risk the key principles in Higher Education - widening participation, fair access and financial equity - that must remain at the heart of Liberal Democrat policy. Business Secretary Vince Cable has recently sought to reaffirm the Liberal Democrat commitment, and that of the Coalition government, to the principle of fairness in Higher Education. Large increases in fees will lead to even greater debt, working against fairness because the poorest students will tend to have the ...
Credit should go to the Labour Party for their openess in releasing the detailed figures of how their members (and MPs and Unions) voted in their leadership election. I've extracted the figures for the two Luton constituency Labour parties and posted them below. ABBOTT, Diane BALLS, Ed BURNHAM, Andy MILIBAND, David MILIBAND, Ed Luton North CLP 30 18 2 191 52 Luton South CLP 17 20 9 89 67 SPOILT VOTES CAST BALLOT PAPERS DISTRIBUTED TURNOUT Luton North CLP 0 293 825 35.5% Luton South CLP 1 203 344 59.0% There are some interesting things to note from these figures. ...
Well, The Browne Report is now out there, and you can read it below. Vince Cable will make a statement this afternoon setting forward the Coalition's initial response. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems' deputy leader Simon Hughes has just issued his reponse, as follows: "All Liberal Democrat MPs are very conscious of the positions we have taken on higher education and the policies we campaigned for at the last election. We all have a duty to read and consider fully Lord Browne's proposals and the Government's response. Today will not be the last word on policy for funding higher education in ...
It was sad to wake up to this tweet from Jay Rayner, the Observer's food critic much feared by Masterchef contestants: My dear old mum, Claire Rayner, died yesterday aged 79. I, like so many others, will miss her terribly.I was reminded of this incredibly moving article in which he wrote of finding out the extent of the incredible cruelty inflicted on her by her parents. Her long marriage and close family life show how that sort of damage can be turned around if never forgotten. He and all of his family have my sympathy today. I remember the name ...
Dear Nick Clegg and Lib Dem MPs, Like all of you I signed a pre-election pledge to vote against any increase in tuition fees and to seek to introduce a fairer alternative. Like most of you I probably had a picture taken signing it. As you can see from the picture I signed it right next to the name of the Deputy Prime Minister up in Perth at conference. I'm pleased that in light of the Browne proposals at least 30 of our Liberal Democrat MPs are prepared to honour the pledge that they signed before the election by voting ...
"Liberal Democrats are the only party which believes university education should be free and everyone who has the ability should be able to go to university and not be put off by the cost."LibDem manifesto 2010.Did we mean it ? If we give way on this issue, we will not only lose the votes of a generation, we will signal to the Conservatives that we are a pushover.
Patient Opinion is a site for anyone to register their stories and experiences about the NHS which are then sent to the relevant person/department. The idea is that patients and carers know what the service was like and for them to come up with ideas about how it could be better. Patient Opinion was founded ...
There are good reasons for having laws that require local councils to be politically impartial in their publicity work. The Mayor election currently underway in Tower Hamlets has shown, once again, the big problem with the existing rules (for English and Welsh councils). [IMG: Tower Hamlets Council logo] The council wanted to include a 200 word statement from each nominated Mayor candidate in the latest council newspaper. With the option open to every nominated candidate, this would have been a fair and useful step. However, the restrictions on council publicity do not simply require the council to be fair, they ...
With so many of my Sefton colleagues getting active as bloggers I thought I'd pick out a 'quote of the week' from their postings. The winner this week is Tony Robertson reporting the local Tories assertion that it is undemocratic that they have no councillors in the Sefton East Parishes area: 'we did not put up many candidates and those we did put up lost so that is not democratic'! Read the full story here
So Lord Browne's review has been published and thrown a potential grenade into the coalition. However, his proposals do not have to be implemented, they are merely an indepedent recommendation. I'm not willing to comment until a Government proposal has been put forward, but I obviously want the Lib Dem MPs to stick to the ...
Well, I've had a quick read of the report, and having a look at the report objectively there are some positives to take out of it. I'm particularly impressed with the way that it has made attempts to make the financing as fair as possible. I wanted to try and give a measured response, as I have been reading my twitter feed which can sometimes be very unmeasured! I still think that the Report too 'institutionally focussed', in that we really need to be thinking of innovative ways to ensure people get the skills they need, but not necessarily through ...
Well well, you learn something new every day. I had always thought "fine words butter no parsnips" had some sort of culinary origin to do with how you have to actually do the work and not just talk about it. But little did I know until I hit Google that the verse the phrase probably originates from talked about buttering fish along with parsnips - and one of the earlier similar sayings was also about fish. Somewhere along the way, the fish got left out. Poor fish, I say.
[IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] [IMG: Testament of Youth - Entire Series - 2-DVD Set [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - United Kingdom ]] photos by Dave Hylands
Being in coalition means a need to compromise. When a coalition is required, it means that no one party has won the election outright. It means that no one party can lead a government unimpaired, with an ability to enact their policies as they see fit. So it is with the Westminster coalition. There are many governmental initiatives that are Tory led which makes a number of us Lib Dems feel queasy. At the same time, watching the Tory conference last week in Birmingham, it's clear that their rank-and-file aren't at all happy at how some of their policies have ...
Part 27i of blogging my way through my first reading of Atlas Shrugged. You can find the first part here. Chapter 27: 'This is John Galt Speaking' Welcome, one and all, to the Big Philosophical Revelation Chapter, in which Rand spends sixty pages outlining her philosophy via her ideal male, John Galt. Some may consider ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 190th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (3rd — 9th October, 2010), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. The ...
Disappointing news that the Labour Council has rejected LibDem proposals to consider balloting tenants on the future of council housing management in Islington. I should declare an interest as Homes for Islington (HFI), Islington's ALMO, is my freeholder. As a leaseholder, I've had a generally good experience of them. The few pieces of work they've ...
James Taylor speaking at Lib Dem Scottish conference James Taylor, Liberal Democrat candidate for the Mid Scotland & Fife region has shown his support for a limit in pay ratios in a speech at the weekend. Speaking at the Scottish Liberal Democrat Autumn conference in Dunfermline Mr Taylor gave a speech at the party's Scottish ...
[IMG: mariovargasllosa] Liberal Vision has already celebrated the award of the Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo, and now we celebrate the award of the literature prize to the liberal Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, whose great literary achievements have been accompanied by major contributions to politics, and to political commentary in the Americas and in Spain. For an overview of his literary achievements go to William Boyd at The Guardian and Marie Arana at The Washington Post. Neither do justice to Llosa's political views though, respectively describing Llosa as 'libertarian right' and 'neo-liberal'. Llosa defines himself as a liberal and ...
You might have thought that scrapping central government targets would result in local bodies being able to cut at least some of their own monitoring and reporting setups. But in an Alice in Wonderland style twist, Home Secretary Theresa May's decision to scrap the "confidence target" for the police has been followed by the Met Police setting up a new "Confidence and Satisfaction Board". In June Theresa May announced that the police would be judged on cutting crime, ending both the set of performance targets bundled up as the Policing Pledge and also ending the judging of police by whether ...
Thank you everyone who has been thinking about or praying for brother Duncan. According to my mother he has started to eat again, seems to be a diet of grapes that she takes him, but at least it is eating. Hopefully, the Health & Social Care service will start working with him – or possibly ...
We have been promised that the Coalition will be the greenest government ever. Well, maybe. The jury has yet to start considering the evidence. One of the first instances to be cited will be the government's approach to the draft EU Regulation on Light Commercial Vehicles. Its object is to reduce CO2 emissions from white vans and their like. The European Commission has called for average emissions from new vehicles to be reduced by 2020 to 135g/km from about 200g/km today (which is also where they were a decade ago). This should be a win-win proposal for business and the ...
I happened to come across this blog piece (A Lanson Boy: Parky sticks it to Richard Bacon) by Alex Folkes that emanated from a Radio 5 Live interview yesterday between Richard Bacon and Michael Parkinson on the subject of Russell Brand. Whilst I'm not the biggest 'Parky' fan in the world, it's difficult to not hold much respect for a man who has a mamouth media history to his name having interviewed pretty much every 'big name' that there was to interview during his time at the top. Richard Bacon on the other hand, I regard closer to a z-list ...
Sometimes you know someone, know they are a good person and are completely shocked when allegations are made that they have broken the law. In such cases, it's absolutely reasonable to hang on to your previous views of them until the outcome of the court case. But in other cases, them being found guilty or innocent is not what should determine your view of them - for you already know far too much about what they have got up to in other respects and it ain't good. [IMG: Jeffrey Archer] So it was with then Conservative leader William Hague and ...
Dear Andrew Marr, Leaving aside questions of age, health, social skills or hair cover up top, the majority of bloggers in the UK are female. So I suspect your description of bloggers as male says more about you than about the bloggers? But thank you for calling me young! Yours etc.
Consett Green Spaces have today put out the following statement. I will return to the subject at greater length when I have been able to read and consider the inspector's report thoroughly: We have received a copy of the Inspector's report for our Village Green Application for Belle Vue, Consett and he has recommended refusal. Consett Green Spaces Chairman, John Campbell, said "While our initial reaction was obviously one of disappointment, we are delighted that the inspector accepted all our evidence about how local people have used this land, and our argument that the existence of football pitches in no ...
From Stockport Council: Stockport Council's Adoption Service has been rated as "outstanding" in all areas. The inspection was carried out in September and the report from Ofsted states 'this is a service which demonstrates a highly developed commitment to children and their future through adoption; this commitment is also evident in all other aspects of its responsibilities in respect of all those affected by adoption.'
Lord Browne is wrong on tuition fees. It is simply not right to ask students and their families to contemplate 30 years of debt. It will deter poorer students from going, no matter what measures are put in place to make the system more "progressive." I went to university between 1999-2002. Even the £1,000 fees that I paid at the time, and £3k a year in a loan to live on, topped up with jobs in term time and the holidays, has me paying off £200 a month 8 years later on an interest rate of zero. Raising the fees ...
So the leaks from the Browne Report were right. The cap on university tuition fees will be removed. A real rate of interest will be applied. The cost of studying for a degree will reach the level of a small mortgage. Many young people will have a lifetime of debt hanging over them as they study, continuing through the years when they would hope to be setting up home and starting families of their own. What will the Liberal Democrat MPs do now? Before the general election, Vince, Nick and the rest of the Lib Dem MPs committed to abolishing ...
Frank Little writes: Regrettably, I was unable to attend Federal Conference and thus also the AGM of the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors, or I would have been able to post this sooner. The new president is Cllr Veronica German AM (Torfaen). A former LibDem Lliw Valley councillor now resident in Warwickshire, Sarah Boad, is secretary. The official Welsh representative is Cllr Kevin O'Connor (Merthyr Tydfil).
Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition (you have until 1.30pm on Wednesday October 13th to join them) criticising the government's proposed cuts in the science budget - and over 2,000 scientists, medics and engineers came together at the Treasury last Saturday to demonstrate their support for UK science - you can read a round-up of all the bloggers' reports here. As part of the
Great Oxendon still has a pub on the Market Harborough to Northampton road, but there is no shop and the village school has closed and become the village hall. There is also a tiny former Nonconformist chapel, which now seems to serve as an outbuilding for a modern house. The owners keep it nicely, but under my Rural Properties (Restoration of Original Use) Bill they would still be obliged to preach two-hour sermons to the locals every Sunday.
Wednesday, September 28th... As most people know, Cyprus is a divided island, with the EU member, the Republic of Cyprus to the south of the Green Line, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Turkey, to the north. However, the line is not a continuous one. The enclave of Kokkina, known to Turkish Cypriots as Erenkoy, is surrounded on three sides by the Republic of Cyprus, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The hills are studded with military bases, each with its own rather curiously camouflaged bus stop on the Greek side (after all, how ...
i) births and deaths 12 October 1965: birth of Dan Abnett, author of among others Big Finish audios The Harvest (2004) and Nocturne (2007), Tenth Doctor audio stories The Forever Trap (2008) and The Last Voyage (2010), Torchwood audio Everyone Says Hello (2008), most of the Tenth Doctor book The Story of Martha (2008), and Torchwood novel Border Princes (2007) plus various other comics and short stories. ii) broadcast anniversaries 12 October 1968: broadcast of episode 5 of The Mind Robber. A grand battle of fictional characters allied to either the Doctor or the Master ends with the destruction of ...
silkyraven, asrana and I are singing in a concert for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust at 7 pm tomorrow, Wednesday 13th October, at St. Mary's Aldermary (opposite Mansion House Tube). The programme is a series of unaccompanied short pieces illustrating the history of church choral music, including some plainsong, Byrd's Ave verum corpus, Tallis' If Ye Love Me, the Allegri Miserere, Purcell's Remember not, Stanford's Beati quorum via, Bruckner's Locus iste, Durufle's Tota pulchra es, Britten's Hymn to the Virgin, and a bit of Rachmaninov's Vespers. A soloist will also peform secular pieces by some of the same composers by way ...
It is widely believed that the coalition government is winning the argument on the need for making cuts and dealing with the growing deficit. After all we are wasting millions of pounds on interest payments that could be invested in public services. So why isn't the Government applying these same standards to our young people?Why is acceptable for the young generation who want to get a better
On 25th October, between 1.30pm and 3.30pm at the Marryat Hall, Dundee Community Safety Partnership is running a See Off Scams event. Advice and practical information to help you deal with: * Bogus Callers * Bogus Telephone Calls * Bogus Emails * Doorstep Callers * Scam Mail Further information can be obtained on the Dundee City Council website or by calling Dundee 436260.
I was away from home last week and threw away the papers, but think it was in Wednesday's Guardian that the following three items appeared: Sales of tickets at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi are not going very well, as they are too expensive for local people - the equivalent of about 70p, which is half a day's pay in New Delhi.People on housing benefit in Central London will be forced to move out, away from relatives and friends, when the new cap on benefits is introduced.A lady with an income above £44 000 a year moaning away that ...
To me, it seems a very big leap to say that the coalition is abandoning the welfare state principal of universality, just because it is removing child benefit from higher rate taxpayers. As Michael White has pointed out the welfare state has always been full of quirks and anomalies. The way some politicians and commentators have reacted, you would have thought that Osborne had announced the introduction of means tested health care. I'm much more worried that the coalition will do the opposite: that is maintain universal benefits at the expense of the welfare safety-net. Based on my observations since ...
[IMG: save-pubs-and-clubs] David Nuttall, Tory MP for Bury North has tabled a 10-Minute Rule Motion to amend the smoking ban which will be presented after Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 13th October. It's a crying shame that this initiative has been siezed by a Conservative MP - not a Liberal. As has been said before, as a party we are in serious danger of being "boxed-in" by the Tories as the party of "wet-lefties" rather than the natural home of liberalism. If left unchecked, this will be a political disaster for the Liberal party's future, but probably what we deserve, ...
Outraged of Edinburgh writes:Dear Mr Free PressCheck out the Oxford English Dictionary online.It's AMERICAN!I wanted to check my use of "utilise" ('scuse the pun) but it wasn't there, only "utilize". Organize is but not organise.Think I'd better give up the writing and go back to colouring in pictures (or is that coloring?)Outraged is quite wrong. To start with, in almost all cases you can use "use" instead of "utilize". Shorter words are generally better than longer words with the same meaning, longer ones only serving to obfuscate or to show off.Getting to the meat of Outraged's question, -ize is better, ...
Liberal Democrats are generally proud of our democratic policy-making process, and the quality of its content – if sometimes also bemused by its sheer quantity. Policy documents tend to have imposing but vague titles, inviting a bit of a guessing game as to their real subject, like "The Power to be Different" (local government), or ...
I've just noticed a curious thing. The Luton Borough Council website has Labour councillor for Saints ward, Morel Benard, down as having retired from the Council last Monday. As a fellow member of the Council this is news to me. I certainly haven't had any official notice of her stepping down. I wonder what is going on? The relevant web page is here.
I have spoken with a couple of people who could have voted at the recent Lancaster City Council by-election but they didn't. Local elections were not seen as important for either of them and they are not on their own. Less than one in eight of the electorate voted in this election. How are we going to get voters interested? For that matter how are we going to get candidates interested? The obvious answer is to reform the system. Let's have a voting systme that means votes count. Why should any individual bother to vote, after all who has heard ...
