I don't understand the SNP. Why cancel prescription charges for everyone when we are in the middle of a major recession? The SNP's, Nicola Sturgeon announced to the SNP conference in Perth that the sick should not have to pay for "Labour's economic mess". Erm, sorry Nicola but your own SNP run Scotland's NHS, not Labour and it is you as Health Minister who is taking the money away from frontline NHS services and in return giving everyone in Scotland free prescriptions. What a backwards way of prioritising funding. I am able to afford a prescription should I need one, ...
I'm pleased that so many people are interested in reading this blog and commenting on it, but I'm saddened by the number who feel it necessary to hide behind the screen of anonymity. I have decided to put down today some of my thoughts around the issues of Egglescliffe School and Ingleby Barwick school places which I have previously written on here, spoken about in Council meetings and in public
I had a very useful meeting yesterday with the Leisure & Communities Department of the City Council about increasing allotment provision in the West End. I'm keen to see this taken forward in consultation with community groups and would be pleased to hear from residents with an interest in this matter - just e-mail me at allotments@frasermacpherson.org.uk - many thanks.
OK, I'm biased - as as huge fan of Dusty Springfield, this was an awfully good song choice - but isn't Mary Byrne simply superb ... Two years since she won an Irish TV (TG4) talent show called Nollaig No 1 as Mary Lee - definitely one to re-release in 2010, I'd say ... PS : Matt Cardle is very talented and has a great career ahead of him.
Northern Regional Conference for the Lib Dems - and don't believe what it says in the media - it was a good day, and the biggest turnout ever. I have known me go up there on my own, but there were 12 of us from Stockton, and it would have been more if not for the horrid cold / flu. First time we had a Cabinet Ministers there too ! Ian Swales MP from Redcar gave an excellent...
Caron's Musings: Don't vote yet in the internal party elections!: "One of my favourite things about being a Federal Conference representative is that big thick envelope of manifestos and ballot papers which ..."
Leicester's excellent civic society has launched a new campaign: Save St Saviour's Church. St Saviour's is a massive brick church in the Highfields district of Leicester. It was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the architect of the Midland Hotel at St Pancras, and built between 1875 and 1877. It has been out of use for five years and has recently suffered from vandalism. The church, its stone-faced spire contrasting with the red brick bulk of the rest of the building (not sure about that, Sir George), will be a familiar landmark to anyone who travels through Leicester by train. ...
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of Broxtowe Borough Council. 1. Water Leak There is really only one place to start this week, which is the burst water main yesterday. At about 1.50am the main water pipe burst, flooding a number of properties and leaving 17,000 homes without water. The emergency services, council staff and Severn Trent people all worked extremely hard through the night to evacuate the flooded properties and to stop the flow of water. We then activated our emergency plan to get water to as ...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem party members think of the party's reponse to The Browne Report into higher education funding and student finance in England. Some 567 party members have responded, and we're publishing the full results of our survey this weekend. In the first part of our survey, we reported how Lib Dem members think higher education should be funded, and what changes, if any, would make the Browne Report acceptable to them. Now let's look at what party members think our MPs should do about that pledge... Should Lib Dem ...
My colleague Liberal Democrat councillor Haydn Preece will be holding a surgery in Ainsdale Library, Liverpool Road, this Friday October 22nd between 5:30pm and 7pm. Ainsdale ward residents are invited to discuss with Haydn any issues that have arisen in Ainsdale, personal support or matters on the national agenda focusing on the Coalition at this crucial stage. The next three Ainsdale surgeries will be at Ainsdale Library: Next Friday October 22nd. Friday November 12th. Friday December 10th. All will be 5:30pm -7pm. Haydn can also be contacted on 07768000818 or email preecehay@aol.com I should add that the next Birkdale surgery ...
Via [IMG: [personal profile] ] miss_s_b, Mitch Benn has made a video in which he sings about the BBC in the style of the Daily Mail Song, and it makes me happy :)
St.Francis park is located just north of East Dulwich railway station. It's the main pedestrian through route to get to and from the Sainsbury's Dulwich store on Dog Kennel Hill. When the planning applications was agreed to build on Metropolitan Open Land it was also agreed that Saisnbury's had to provide and maintain a public open park. Well they have but the maintenance is rock bottom and I suspect Sainsbury's HQ don't know how rough and ready this maintenance is. So I've asked them. I've also asked when can they work towards achieving a Green Flag award for this park. ...
Paul Walter has picked up on some less than flattering comments, including from an anonymous Liberal Democrat "grandee", about Danny Alexander: Danny has gone completely native...He should be the Lib Dem man in the Treasury. But he has turned into the Treasury man in the Lib Dems. Perhaps Danny could look slightly less pleased with himself and wipe that smile off his face. Paul's full post is here but some better news is over in The Mirror, echoing a point also made in the report Paul quotes: Cold weather payments to the elderly and the poor were saved yesterday in ...
All, A disappointing night on Monday for those independent traders in town who are seeking to develop a loyalty card for Shipston. The card is designed to be a single loyalty card for any independent shops that want to join the scheme, and is supported by Stratford District Council. Several shops are investigating whether it would suit their needs - and with competition from large stores many feel that it would help keep independent shops open - particularly at a time when there have been several closures in Town. Paul Rathkey, the Deputy Mayor, proposed that the Town Council should ...
There has been some scepticism about the possibility of the Boris Bikes causing a critical mass of cycling that will turn our city into a pedal-powered Utopia. My experience of cycling in Paris this week suggests that it could. The Vélib hire-bikes are everywhere in Paris, and since their introduction the number of people cycling ...
I have received the following update from Dundee City Council : THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 : SECTION 14(1) THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of new gas supply works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Strawberrybank, Dundee. This notice comes into effect on Friday 29 October 2010 for one working day. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Alternative routes for vehicles are available via Perth Road/Windsor Street/Magdalen Yard Road. For further information contact (01382) 433168. I have sought assurances for residents ...
While canvassing in South Manchester I have met a number of people who do not accept that cuts are necessary on the scale suggested by the government. The common mantra is that the banks who caused the collapse should be made to pay, not the taxpayer, or, by implication, the poor who rely on the taxpayer. Telling people on the doorstep about the Banking Levy meets with the response that this has not stopped bankers receiving enormous bonuses. Reminding them that 50% of these bonuses end up in the treasury is just as ineffective. The public seem to want more. ...
Better reproductions of the exhibition boards used by Linden Homes and Wates Developments in Emmanuel school recently are available on their website - www.formerreservoirgondargardens.co.uk. Its certainly an interesting proposal - but doubts abound as to whether it is the right use of the site. We also have our doubts about who would pay the rumoured £1.5 million per house to live below ground. Teletubbies perhaps?! If you want to find out more about what the GARA residents think or for details of their special meeting - email them at info.gara@gmail.com We will keep you informed about any further developments.
As reported in today's "Courier", I have expressed concern about the proposal by Royal Mail to close the 'undelivered mail collection centre' in Crichton Street and transfer the service to the Edward Street depot. Although the Edward Street depot is handy for some West End residents in the Blackness/Milnbank area, for many West End residents it is not a convenient location - especially for those who rely on public transport and, in particular, the elderly. I have written to Royal Mail outlining my concerns about their proposal.
London Region Liberal Democrats have postponed the Mayoral candidate selection, possibly for up to a year - although it's hoped that nominations will be reopened much sooner. The Local Government Chronicle said this week: A selection had been due this autumn after which the party hoped it could get its candidate well enough known to take on incumbent Boris Johnson (Con) and Labour's Ken Livingstone in May 2012. But regional chair Jonathan Fryer said the process had been halted because an insufficient number of approved applicants were available to put before party members. "There will be a reopening of nominations ...
It seems to be an increasingly common view now that saying that the state of the country's finances are much worse than expected is a dishonest ruse and of course we knew how bad it was. Well, let me draw your attention to this one counter-example. Remember way back when during the election campaign when we were boldly going further than all the other parties in spelling out what cuts we would have to make? I distinctly remember repeated assertions that we would save about a billion by taking the tough choice of cutting our commitment to the third tranche ...
WESTMORLAND and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron has warned of a Lib Dem 'rebellion' if the coalition Government allows university tuition fees to rise. The former Lancaster University administrator said he and other Liberal Democrat MPs would vote against any attempt to implement Lord Browne's higher education funding recommendations. The peer's report on HE finance, published on Tuesday, argues that universities should be allowed to charge what they like for degree courses. Currently fees for undergraduates are capped at £3,290 a year. But Mr Farron said the move would be 'totally unfair' to young people from relatively modest backgrounds, saddling them ...
Cambridgeshire County Council is reviewing the library service in Cambridge (see previous post). To our great alarm, the Tories who run the County Council have refused to rule out closing libraries. As part of their decision-making process they have been doing counts as well as consulting. There has already been one count at Rock Road Library and another is scheduled to take place next week (Monday 23rd-Saturday 17th October). They will be counting the number of people who use the library as well as the number of books. Please take time to visit the library next week and encourage your ...
(Those of you who aren't interested in the internal politics of the Liberal Democrats may want to look away now.) As I'm a Conference representative for Colchester Liberal Democrats, the ballot pack for this year's round of internal party elections has landed on my mat with a resounding thud recently. Unsurprisingly, now we're in power, ...
Sorry Nick. Sorry Vince, I can't find the figures that back you up Both Nick and Vince have claimed that there was no option but to reverse their pledges on tuition fees. The public sector finances were in a far worse state than they expected and they had no option. That would be a justification that would be just about sellable to people. A promise made in good faith which became unsustainable due to information not known about at the time could be legitimately broken. The problem is, I can't really find much that backs that claim up. My starting ...
Well, they let me out again! I must say that I was going slightly round the bend this time, as you may have gathered from my tweets etc. Anyway, I get home to find a signed copy of Aggers' book and a photo from my Sis, a lovely box of chocs and a card from my fellow school governors and a fantastic array of girlie goodies from Jess, an old friend with whom I have recently been back in touch with. I was so touched that I cried. Thank you so much!! Its great to be home and I'm looking ...
Thanks to all involved in the It's Your World environmental event at Yate Sports Centre today. It was good to see just how many local and regional environmental organisations there are. Quite a lot of the people attending are involved in several of the local groups - we have quite a "Green Network" in our area!
London Region Liberal Democrats have postponed the Mayoral candidate selection, possibly for up to a year – although it's hoped that nominations will be reopened much sooner. The Local Government Chronicle said this week: A selection had been due this autumn after which the party hoped it could get its candidate well enough known to take on incumbent Boris Johnson (Con) and Labour's Ken Livingstone in May 2012. But regional chair Jonathan Fryer said the process had been halted because an insufficient number of approved applicants were available to put before party members. "There will be a reopening of nominations ...
I'm a liberal. I don't like banning things. I'm an environmentalist, I think destroying the planet is a Bad Thing, and am fairly convinced by the science on climate change. But, as is always the case, liberalism wins out. Banning traditional lightbulbs is a bad idea. Sometimes, they're the most efficient method of both heating and lighting something; lava lamps my be kitsch decorative junk not to everyone's taste, but there's no reason to ban them. Snake and reptile housings also benefit from a combine light/heat source, etc. Sometimes, they're simply a very cheap alternative, and when you're living on ...
The Prestwich consultation session on the Garage Sites Review being undertaken by Bury Council and 6 Town Housing will take place on: Thursday 21st October 5pm to 7pm Longfield Suite All Council and Six Town Housing garage sites are being reviewed to ensure that they are fit for purpose and properly used. Options identified so far include retaining as garage sites, housing development, allotments, community gardens, play areas, sale to adjacent properties to extend gardens Proposals for garage sites in Prestwich: Downham Gardens, Langley Grove and Roman Road to be retained for the foreseeable future Beechcroft, Newtown, Sherbourne Court and ...
PACT Priorities (14/10/10)An Odd Down PACT Meeting took place on Thursday 14th October 2010 at St Philips School.The following priorities were agreed at that meeting.: Implementation of 20mph speed limit on Upper Bloomfield RoadCleansing and provision of bins at Oolite and Odins RoadParking at Bloomfield Rise during school drop off/ pick up times The next PACT Meeting is scheduled for 17th
Perhaps one of the biggest issues in Britain today is education and having heard various members of my family rant on about it, it's one of the most emotive subjects I've come by. This week we have had all the talk of university tuition fees and I've been listening very carefully as it does affect me, but whatever level whether it be primary, secondary or further education, the Lib Dems are the people who usually stand up for our pupils and students. In Dunfermline at the Scottish Liberal Democrat's conference I (a very nervous young first timer) got up on ...
[IMG: Mark Pack's letter in The Independent] Sean O'Grady and others have focused in on how much money may or may not be saved in the government's cull of quangoes. It's an interesting question for sure, but misses the reason many people have long wanted to cut the number of quangos. Since the 1970s, many have rightly warned how the transfer of powers to quangos undermines democratic accountability and builds up a large slice of the public sector that is firmly insulated from the public. The major cull of quangos is a very welcome reversal of that long-term trend, taking ...
Well. It hasn't been a great week for the Lib Dems, has it? We've taken a hammering from Labour and their student wing (you know, the NUS) over the Browne Report into university funding, and the good news about the pupil premium turned into an exercise in damage control rather than what it should have been: ...
The New Statesman and The Guardian this week have been reporting on a new report about inequality in Britain, which shows that black people make up less than 3% of the population but 15% of the people stopped by police. People of Afro-Caribbean and African descent are also imprisoned nearly 7 times more than their share of the population, compared with 4 times more in the US. This indicates that there's still a long way to go to improve problems of racism in the UK's criminal justice system. This is an issue that I hope will be taken seriously in ...
At our Cheadle Area Committee on Tuesday, councillors voted to have a "Pride in Cheadle" awards next year (including Gatley and Heald Green - the name may be changed a little, though what to call our area without it getting too wordy has always been a challenge). We will be asking for nominations in a number of categories including Contribution to Sport, Environment Champion, Most Neighbourly Resident and Young Volunteer of the Year, with an awards ceremony. The likely timetable will be that we'll advertise it in the new year with the awards ceremony in May or June.
Fandom peeps! You have to watch this video! And when you've given up punching the air and shouting Yes, yes, that's it EXACTLY!, watch it again. Because it's just that bloody awesome. And some of the juxtapositions are excellent. And I'm sure the little bit where he points at the Sky is entirely coincidental... [IMG: [personal profile] ] magister says he gives it 24 hours before something appears on YouTube with clips/stills/photos from each of the mentioned things. I'd like to see that :D [IMG: Dreamwidth] [IMG: Livejournal] [IMG: Blogger] [IMG: Facebook] [IMG: Tweet this] [IMG: Delicious] [IMG: Flattr this] ...
Woe! My party election pack hasn't arrived yet! Yay! Mat's has, and he's still asleep, so I can sneak a peek at his.... At first glance the most difficult set of candidates to order is going to be for FPC. There are SO many people on that list I want to get on there, and only a couple that I really don't want. I would love to tell you who those are, but unfortunately federal party rules do not allow me to do so because this would count as electronic campaigning. Whoever gets on to all the committees needs to ...
They say Tony Blair had it and because of it David Cameron considered him unbeatable. But the magical ingredient of electability disappeared eventually and he would have been beaten had be not been beaten by his own party. So we can only assume that electability can come and go. This is either because it is ...
Reading the news about the First Minister's comments about integrated education in Northern Ireland has got me thinking. It really isn't that long ago since I spoke in a debate, nay, I seconded the motion, at Alliance Party Conference in the Dunadry Hotel, in 2009. The motion was proposed by Alliance Youth, – I was ...
Vince Cable is, if you'll pardon the pun, deep in the Browne stuff. Lord Browne's proposed reforms to higher education funding – and overall rise in tuition fees they represent – have quite understandably upset a significant portion of the party. Cable's whole-hearted endorsement of them has led to the accusation that we've gone back on one of our core principles in the name of political expediency. This accusation is not without merit, but let's map out the situation as best we can. Significant cuts are in the pipeline for higher education. Already this year restrictions have been placed on ...
How can we expect to retain the trust of the electorate if, for then years or more, we called for the abolition of tuition fees, top up fees etc and now claim that, miraculously, raising fees is somehow 'progressive.'
One of my favourite things about being a Federal Conference representative is that big thick envelope of manifestos and ballot papers which arrives at the time of internal party elections. I haven't been a rep for the past few years and I really miss my chance to vote. I used to take it very seriously. There is nothing like spending half an hour deciding between your 12th and 13th preferences. Anyway, ballot papers have been despatched to Conference reps and many of you will be spending time this weekend poring over the manifesto booklets. I think that it might be ...
Anyone who has been through the Malls will have noticed that much of the canopy has been removed. This the start of major works taking place over the next 40 weeks. I can't wait for it to be completed. If you want to see what it will look like when it is done click HERE. Of course carrying out demolition and construction work in a built up area is not easy. The Malls area is busy during the day and close to many residents at night. However the Council and developer are working really hard to make sure those living ...
My renewed blogging and reading of blogs, particularly reading Lib Dem Voice has taken an unexpected turn (hopefully not a twist. Ed.) this morning, as I am now looking into gym membership. What? Yep, you did read that correctly, it's a tad unlikely one is sure, but, um, with inspiration from Andrew Reeves' blog, you ...
A detail from the government's current consultation on introducing elected police commissioners: Commissioners will have a set four yearterm of office and term limits of two terms. The Government intends to apply the existing framework for the conduct of local government andParliamentary elections including the recognised eligibility criteria for standing for public office, in preparing for the first set of elections in May 2012. We are considering the appropriate voting system, and believe that a preferential voting system is the right option. (Source: section 2.12 in Policing in the 21st Century: Reconnecting police and the people) I very much doubt ...
Well, we can see where the SNP's priorities lie from their plans announced at their Conference, and they're not with the poorest and most vulnerable people, that's for sure. This reminds me of research done by the Scottish Liberal Democrats last year which shows that over the whole of their four year term, the SNP will have given 133 times more every year to a household on £100,000 than they have to households on £15,000. That doesn't seem very fair to me. At the time, Tavish Scott said: "Over four years, the SNP will have spent £950m on a set ...
Yesterday in a speech the Rt Hon. Peter Robinson MLA, Northern Ireland's First Minister, spoke about the need for to end the "benign apartheid" of the Northern Irish education system. He is advocating setting up a commission to looking at total integration of the different sectors. There already is a growing integrated sector within the ...
A glimpse of her golden smile As she bends low through the trees Fingers outstretched To gently caress your face One final kiss as the river mist rises And she is gone Lost below the horizon
Yesterday morning at 9.30am I had my last session with my personal trainer, Richard Kerrigan at my local David Lloyd gym (Newhaven). Various evil exercises set by Richard, including one where I take on the Superman pose, or as Richard put it a ballerina - sometimes a PT is there to be hated :-) Certainly yesterday was easier than Tuesday's session, but yes, I do ache a little today. Yesterday was based on my core and cardio, with some weights thrown in for good measure. Although with my left shoulder is not as strong as my right so some of ...
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) have looked at the Browne Report. Their conclusion raises some interesting points. our analysis suggests that graduates with higher earnings would repay unambiguously more than their lower-earning counterparts. Under Lord Browne's proposals, this would for many become a 30-year graduate tax of 9% above £21,000 (with this threshold indexed in line with earnings). Indeed, for the lowest-earning 30% of graduates the actual level of fees makes no difference to how much they repay Paradoxically, therefore, the more fees go up, the more the system approximates a graduate tax – indeed, a pure graduate tax ...
I have one of the cruellest family's in the world. Most of the time I don't even think about them. Its a defence mechanism after being abandoned so cruelly during the one time in my life when I really needed them to be there. Today however, the wound is open again thanks to a cruel younger sister who seems ...
Today's little something from the political archives is a Labour Party political broadcast from 1993, back when Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie were young and Labour was attacking a Conservative government for leaving too many tax loopholes open for the very rich. As it turned out, when Labour got into power they closed the loopholes mentioned in this broadcast but left plenty others:
Foreign policy is a nexus of issues and relationships.. Once you get an important issue seriously wrong, it has ramifications across the whole. A seriously misguided enterprise like the occupation of Afghanistan spreads its poison across whole areas of foreign policy. Only one such consequence, but a very bad one, is British support for the Karimov regime in Uzbekistan, and other Central Asian dictatorships. This is based on our "need" for Uzbekistan as a transit route for supplies to Afghanistan. I had already noted the extraordinary enthusiasm of the current British Ambassador for promoting the Uzbek regime and apologising for ...
Mark Pack is standing for the interim peers panel, below is an email I received that I thought you might like to see:
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem party members think of the party's reponse to The Browne Report into higher education funding and student finance in England. Some 567 party members have responded, and we'll be publishing the full results of our survey this weekend. How you want higher education to be funded First, we asked: How would you prefer higher education is funded? Here's what you told us: 54% – Through general taxation (as was the case before 1998) 26% – Tuition fees paid by students after they have graduated according to their ...
broadcast anniversaries 16 October 1965: broadcast of "Temple of Secrets", the first episode of the story we now call The Myth Makers. Achilles slays Hector (who was distracted by the Tardis appearing) and decides that the Doctor is Zeus. Steven is captured by Odysseus, and the Tardis stolen. 16 October 1976: broadcast of third episode of The Hand of Fear. The RAF fail to destroy the reactor; but the hand regereates into Eldrad the Kastrian. The Doctor agrees to take her home, but she is impaled by a booby-trap. 16 October 2009: broadcast of second episode of Prisoner of the ...
It is the first day of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Autumn Conference and I am ensconced in the Castle Hotel in Brecon and about to attend a Community Housing Cymru breakfast. I don't normally do breakfasts but I have made an exception in this case because they asked nicely and because we are in the run-up to the election and this event will make an important contribution to discussion about the party's manifesto. The Western Mail also carries coverage of the conference with Kirsty Williams making it clear that the Coalition at a UK level does not apply in this ...
Yesterday I did the first stint of some temporary part-time teaching of economics at a local School of Management. One of the perks of the job is a free copy of the Financial Times, which I accepted in order to pass the time on the bus-ride home, as I'd had to leave in the morning before my Guardian had been delivered. The FT front page headline concerned a "tax blow" to "pension pots." Apparently the amount on which you can claim tax relief on contritions to your pension is to be reduced from £225 000 (per year!) to £50 000. ...
The recent Millennium Cohort Study that shows that children born in Wales this century are more likely to be living below the poverty line than their peers in the rest of the UK, is a damning indictment of Labour's record in Government. It is yet more confirmation of the failure of Labour to tackle child poverty, even when the money was available in the good times. Labour's failure in London is compounded by the failure of the Labour-Plaid government to make even the slightest dent into the scourge of child poverty in the last few years. In fact, child poverty ...
Promoting Belgian surrealism | KBS-FRB The King Baudouin Foundation will award the Jacqueline Nonkels Prize to "any person or body who successfully contributes, even in part, to raising awareness and publicizing Belgium's surrealist heritage, as well as to its preservation, restoration and conservation". Just thought you ought to know. (tags: belgium)
"There is a hard road to recovery ahead, but we are determined to ensure it is a road that leads to fairness too." We are taking action to cut the deficit because we have to. Last year, one in every four pounds the government spent was borrowed. That's not how you'd run a home, and it's not how you should run a government. It won't be easy, but it's the right thing to do, and is in our long term national interest. The least progressive thing of all would be to burden future generations with the debts that Labour left ...
Next week's comprehensive spending review (CSR) will include a £7 billion "fairness premium" to help children from poorer families as they go through nursery, school and university, Nick Clegg announced today. The package will include free pre-school education for two-year-olds from disadvantaged households, a "pupil premium" providing extra cash while they are at school and a "student premium" to help them in higher education. The new cash is expected to support children from the poorest 20% of families. This was a key Liberal Democrat election pledge that we are now delivering in Government In the Spending Review we will provide ...
I am a couple of days late buying my Wednesday local paper and when I glanced through it I saw that my letter had not been printed. Regular readers will know that for the first time in my life I am engaging in a correspondence battle with the Labour Party. When I say "battle" it isn't a conventional battle. It's the sort of battle in which you could fall asleep. A Labour supporter wrote about the damages caused by cuts in the public purse. I wrote back saying that cuts were inevitable and that's when the miracle happened - I ...
Here's a fascinating article by Nicholas Watt in the Guardian about the cuts process. It includes this quote from a "Liberal Democrat grandee" (presumably that can't be Lord Razzall, can it?) saying: Danny has gone completely native...He should be the Lib Dem man in the Treasury. But he has turned into the Treasury man in the Lib Dems. Perhaps Danny could look slightly less pleased with himself and wipe that smile off his face. He should not look so pleased when he is imposing such serious cuts. So Alexander's offence seems to be smiling. And, in fairness to him, later ...
15/10/10 Great celebrations this morning over yesterday's news that Preston Park will not have a school built on it. Not usual for me to be in a park at 9 in the morning drinking champaign - but it was Faritrade and there were rather a lot of us to share it out ! Good to celebrate and enjoy. The Evening Gazette came along to take a photo, which people were very pleased about - but the paper...
