The basis of the current debate on votes for prisoners is the Article 3 of the First Protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights, and a case bought by a former convict, John Hirst, arguing the UK's blanket ban was in breach. "The High Contracting Parties undertake to hold free elections at reasonable intervals by secret ballot, under conditions which will ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature. " In 2005 he won. Or rather the court decided the ban was "disproportionate", upheld on appeal. Meaning the onus was on ...
Following my blog post a few days ago I'm pleased to report that we've had a good response so far from local residents to our local consultation on parking issues around Cintra Avenue. Generally speaking the majority of respondents from Cintra Avenue and Warwick Road agree that lack of parking enforcement of existing highways regulations is a problem, along with dangerous parking on junctions. There are also concerns about the area being used by non-residents for overnight or long-term parking. However, at the moment I think it's fair to say the jury is out on potential solutions until we get a few more responses. ...
Whist there are shouts of joy from Liberal Democrats who long for electoral reform, the passing of the bill that will see a referendum for AV and a reduction in the number of MPs looks almost certain to be overshadowed as quickly as the bill was passed.The BBC are reporting that students could face yearly tuition bills of up to £,9000. When Lib Dems are talking about fair size constituencies so
Norwich South MP Simon Wright is backing calls in Parliament to "Save the Cheque". Simon has attended a meeting today with parliamentarians regarding the future of cheques, and has signed up his support for a parliamentary motion opposing their withdrawal (EDM 507).
Walking through the ward today I noticed a few houses had put out green waste sacks. Sadly for them, the collections stopped for the winter last month. Any green waste now has to be home composted, taken to the site at Haverton Hill for composting or as a last resort, put in the green wheelie bin. The final dates were clearly laid out on the leaflet that came out in spring and they've been the
After Saturday in Clun and Sunday in the Stiperstones, I left Shropshire and England on Monday, catching the train from Shrewsbury to Porthmadog. I had to stand for two or three stations, but after that it was a lovely ride. We were passed by a steam excursion at Machynlleth and west of there the route ran through long wooded valleys until we reached the coast. It must be spectacular at this time of year. The line splits at Dovey Junction - a strange, remote station almost in the Dovey estuary. One line runs south to Aberystwyth and the other north ...
This morning, I attended an estate walkabout in Logie with council officers from various departments and my ward colleague Cllr Richard McCready. This was a good opportunity to look at any repairs required around the area and also to check that issues raised from the last walkabout earlier this year have been properly resolved. And ... its certainly "walkabout week" with other parts of the West End - the Blackness Residents' Association area and the Pentland area - being tackled later this week. This afternoon, I had the pleasure of attending the Al-Maktoum Institute's Graduation Ceremony 2010 at the Marryat ...
Today Durham County Council has announced that it may revoke the closure of Consett's two comprehensive schools in the face of uncertainty about whether the Government will agree to fund the cost of a new building for a Consett Academy. It's a terrible position for the children, their parents, and the teachers at the two schools. They have been pushed and pulled this way and that over the last twelve months, and are still unsure of what awaits them next September. The blame lies fair and square with Durham County Council. The council should never have ordered the closure of ...
Yesterday I attended the Council's Cabinet meeting where I responded to two petitions from residents in Dee Park and Coley Park concerned about changes to the Neighbourhood Warden service. One petition requested that the Cabinet reverse its decision in favour of 'maintaining' services organised by Labour. To do this would represent a failure to deliver the services residents across the Borough have consistently asked for, and a failure to deliver services that demonstrate value for money for taxpayers - so unnacceptable to us on both counts. Cabinet took the decision to redesign the service earlier this year following a review ...
Controversial Labour MP, Luciana Berger has hit the headlines once again for her lack of knowledge about Liverpool - the very city she represents! This time Luciana was invited to participate on BBC Radio Five on Sunday night, but apparently she had no prior knowledge of who was to participate alongside her until she arrived at the studio. So, when she knew Kelvin MacKenzie, the former tabloid editor who was responsible for infamous slurs against Liverpool FC fans following the Hillsborough disaster and still today remains a despised figure on Merseyside. Within minutes Luciana Berger was being attacked on twitter ...
Thirty Six Days of Me – Day 02: Your first love, in great detail Discussing my relationship with someone else, particularly a relationship that is ended, is particularly challenging for me, who has a tendency to remember and hang on to unhappy memories rather than the other sort. Discussing any person in particular tends to be a catalogue of their failings or my failings and what we did that was wrong and why we're no longer in contact. I don't want to do that this time. I was starting the second year of my undergraduate degree; he was a bartender ...
Regular readers will know of my interest in - and debt of gratitude to - Nick Clegg's great great aunt Moura Budberg. It was writing an article about the old girl for the New Statesman website that got me a fortnightly column there for a while. Back on this blog, I suggested three years ago that anyone who shares this interest should also read the Times obituary of Budberg's daughter Tania Alexander. The good news is that Alexander's memoir An Estonian Childhood has recently been republished as a Faber Find: The tone of her memoir, mainly set in Kallijärv, is ...
All, Incredible news from Stratford District Council this week. After they shut their Telegraph Street offices in Shipston almost a year ago, the District Council provided a poorly advertised and irregular service from other buildings. From last Friday it ended this service. This means that if you want to contact the Council you have to telephone, or even travel to Stratford. The Council says that they were poorly attended - but Richard Cheney and I believe this was because of their infrequency and poor advertising. Most people didn't know when or where they were happening (and there may be a ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 193rd 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 (24th — 30th 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. Nick ...
If you're an Obama-fan or a US Democrat-fan then there won't be much to be cheerful about in the US mid-term election results. But there are a few chinks of light which can provide merriment. 1. The Delaware Senate seat Mike Castle was 13 points ahead of Chris Coons (Democrat candidate) in August. Castle is a popular and experienced Republican. If he had been chosen by his party as their candidate for the Delaware Senate seat, they could well have won the seat occupied for many years by Vice President Joe Biden. Instead, by a margin of 3,540 votes, they ...
Commenting on new research published today which shows that Secondary schools are performing worse in Wales than England, Kirsty Williams AM, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said: "The Welsh Liberal Democrats are fully committed to creating a fair education system that gives every child in Wales a fair start in order to reach their full potential, whatever their background. "This report makes for worrying reading, finding that there has been a fall in educational standards in Wales of 1.92 GCSE grades per student per year. After decades of priding itself on the higher educational standards we promoted in Wales, ...
In 2004 the journalist Adam Curtis made an excellent series of films for the BBC called The Power Of Nightmares: The Rise Of The Politics Of Fear. In those films he made the point that, back in the 1950s, politicians ran for office with a positive agenda, promising to make our lives better through forward-thinking ...
The Social Liberal Forum welcomes the Coalition Government's commitment to building 150,000 affordable homes over the course of this parliament, which goes some way to benefiting some of the 4 million people on social housing waiting lists. However the SLF remains concerned that the proposed changes to housing benefit, announced by the government as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review, are likely to impact particularly on vulnerable families in inner-city areas across the country. The SLF is particularly concerned over the following aspects of the government's proposals: * cuts to housing benefit for the long-term unemployed receiving Jobseeker's Allowance * ...
Kirsty Williams AM Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for the Environment, Sustainability and Rural Affairs has today welcomed the passing of the Wales (Waste) measure in the National Assembly for Wales. The Measure aims to reduce the amount of waste and litter and to develop more effective waste management solutions here in Wales. Changes include introducing statutory targets for local authorities to meet in terms of recycling household waste, and gives ministers the ability to make retailers charge a fee for single use carrier bags. Kirsty Williams said: "I am pleased that the Assembly has today passed the Waste Measure, which ...
GUY FAWKE'S NIGHT, 6 til 10pm, Fri 5 Nov In true community spirit, we have organised an evening of entertainment to celebrate Guy Fawke's night. Forget about trekking off to find some fireworks, we've got them right here. We'll be having a BBQ on the Terrace from 6pm, serving bangers (what else?). We'll also have parkin and treacle toffee. Before the Children's Fireworks Display at 7.30, we have Chinese lanterns for the children to write their names on, make a wish and release. The main fireworks display will be at 9.30. We're spending a small fortune to give you a ...
(Because I need an excuse for that, obviously) Just to let you all know that I have decided to attempt NaNoWriMo again this year, so blog posts will be even sparser than usual until the end of the month, or until I abandon it, whichever comes first. I may post some samples and updates on ...
This blog now has its own Twitter account. You can keep up to date with all the latest posts by following @spiderplantland
NHS Bath and North East Somerset is undertaking an assessment of local pharmacy services. This can be found on our website at (pharmaceutical needs assessment). This is to ensure we have got the right services in the right places to meet the need of residents. As part of this consultation we are inviting you to make your comments by completing our online survey (will be live on website this
Extra evening journeys provided leading up to Christmas and during the period of Bath Christmas Market.Operating on Thursday evenings from 11 November to 23 December, plus 26 & 27 November and 3, 4, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21 & 22 December.Sunday and Public Holiday service operating on 14, 21 & 28 November and 5, 12, 19, 27 & 28 December.Extra Saturdays journeys on 27 November & 4, 11 & 18
I am reading the spirit level a fascinating book detailing how societies facing the greatest income inequalities have poor health, housing and pretty much everything else. What I realise is its not just poverty. Its the difference between those at the top and the bottom. What the divide is. Whilst I would not advocate a full blown socialist model in all its glory, I would advocate the type of liberalism that allows people to run their lives to enable then to reach their potential. With the state enabling and supporting this fluidity. Better mental health, teenage pregnancy and many other ...
Parking was always one of the trickiest issues for local government; it is at one and the same time a potential moneyspinner and political dynamite. The reason? Quite apart from being in effect a stealth tax (though not a very stealthy one), parking arrangements are about access to resources which affect livelihoods so passions are bound to run high. The ...
Not before time, the government is finally to abide by the decision of the European Court of Human Rights, and lift the blanket ban on votes for prisoners that has been in place since 1870. The Electoral Commission has already been thinking about the practical details of implementing this decision, which won't necessarily be straightforward. But I really don't have a problem with the principle behind the Court's ruling. Imprisonment isn't just about punishment. It's about three things: keeping the public safe from people like serial killers and rapists who are serious dangers to life and limb; depriving people of ...
Well, not really, but the reason why the Fawcett Society have claimed today as Equal Pay Day is that women working full time earn on average 16.4% less than men. This means that women are effectively only being paid up until today while men get paid until 31 December. And these figures are only average. Apparently in some areas, like finance, the differential can be 55%. But hang on, we have a law to deal with that, don't we? The Equal Pay Act? I mean, that's what Made in Dagenham, the film with sweary words in that Equalities Minister Lynne ...
Northern Democrat No 56 Oct 10 This is the latest edition of the Northern Democrat whch I produce for Lib Dem members and supporters in the North of England. It includes coverage of the Lib Dem presidential election and North East regional conference.
Because of the planned 24 hour Tube strike which starts this evening, we've regretfully decided to cancel tomorrow night's hustings with Tim Farron and Susan Kramer. The event had been due to take place at 7:30pm on 3 November at Woodbridge High School, Woodford Green. You can still watch last month's online hustings on Youtube here: Also you can visit the candidates' websites - Tim Farron Susan Kramer Please remember that ballot papers have to be in by 10 November.
As Liberal Democrats we get used to people constantly bombarding us with the results of the latest poll, just as we get used to seeing headline figures that in no way reflect the real balance of the findings. Figures plucked out of the middle of the poll to tell the story the media want to tell. Yet it isn't just the media – sometimes even academics who should surely at least appear to be a little more neutral indulge in publishing selective figures. The latest poll to have come from YouGov is a case in point. The headline figure of ...
We are hearing the news that a body has been recovered in Waterfoot, County Antrim by the teams searching for Peter Wilson, one of 'The Disappered'. I am glad that another family it seems is going to be able to bury the remains of their missing member soon. However, I found the comment of Sinn ...
Myself and local Cllr Victor Chamberlain were delighted to attend the annual Beech Road Park Halloween Party on Sunday. The event which was aimed at small children included traditional apple bobbing (organic apples donated by Unicorn), a scary stories tent, face painting, spooky paintings and of course competitions to find the best pumpkin and halloween outfit. ...
As well as helping Michael to draft a response from the Northern Ireland Liberal Democrats to the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister's (OFMDFM) draft Strategy for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration I sent off my six postcards to my MLAs here in North Down. They read: Dear (fill in name) I write ...
Although it didn't seem very optional when I flew through Las Vegas airport earlier this year, it seems that now the TSA are threatening to give people intimate patdowns if they refuse to go through their new backscatter machines. I can picture the scene now. The nice and terribly camp young man walks up to security and indicates that he doesn't want to go through the machine. "I'm sorry sir," comes the reply, "if you don't go through the machine, one of my colleagues will have to search you very thoroughly indeed". The passenger eyes up the collection of well-groomed ...
This weekend I had the pleasure of chairing a debate for the East of England Conference. Before the day began I had trepidation about the emergency motions. Normally emergency motions are unusual, if not rare. However this year we faced a choice of Community Hospitals versus Tuition Fees, both controversial, both worthy of debate. In my heart of hearts I really wanted Tuition Fees to be debated and I knew I had to remain neutral as chair of the session. Although my stance on tuition fees has never been hidden, I have as a parliamentary candidate signed the pledge, I ...
If you want to find out why these two campaigning postcards somehow managed to end up back on my desk, then I suggest you scoot on over to LibDemsNI and find out. What do you mean you're not following LibDemsNI on Twitter? That's how you get all this stuff first.
Earlier I posted elsewhere about the continuing bomb alert in the north of the city of Belfast. I said: The bomb alert that is causing disruption in the York Road area of the city near the Alexandra Bar is concerning. There are many young children who live in this area. The roads around it, particularly ...
With many thanks to Oliver Jones and the Highways Department, the anti-skid surfacing outside the Spar shop on Dutson Road has, at last, been replaced. Regular readers and local residents will know that the surfacing was not applied properly by the contractors and was coming away in huge sheets. The delay in fixing it was down to the contractors but persistence has paid off! There is still one patch of defective surfacing at the junction with Ridgegrove Lane and I am chasing this up. Also at that junction with Ridgegrove Lane, a pair of safety mirrors have been put up ...
On balance I think that the cut in the number of MPs needs to be made. Not only do we need to have equitable constituencies but we also have too many politicians. That is true in Wales in particular where we now have about 1200 Principal Councillors, 60 Assembly Members and 40 MPs. If there is a 'yes' vote in March there is no justification for having so many MPs as most of the domestic issues and laws will be decided in Wales. Even if voters refuse the request to give the Assembly primary law-making powers, the case for retaining ...
Party A is in politics to gain power so they can put their policies and principles into action. Without power, what they can achieve is limited so they – sensibly – are willing to compromise and indulge in some give-and-take. Some policies are dropped or changed because to not do so would see less of the programme getting through over all. Deals have to be done, compromises made, unexpected situations dealt with – this is the real world, after all. The party pushes through some policies it doesn't really believe are in the the best interests of the country – ...
With only ten games of the Premier League season gone it seems ridiculous that a quarter of the league's managers have already found themselves subjected to pressure and speculation surrounding the safety of their jobs. [IMG: Roberto Mancini] Image via Wikipedia For various reasons, Avram Grant, Roy Hodgson, Chris Hughton, Roberto Martinez and now Roberto Mancini have all been cast under a shadow of uncertainty regarding their jobs. With not even a third of the season gone, such a situation seems to highlight the fragile and delicate nature of football. Admittedly, West Ham have had a poor start to the ...
New research published today which shows that Secondary schools are performing worse in Wales than England is very worrying. The research shows that the in 2010 GCSE results for Wales 66.4% of pupils achieved 5 A*-C grades compared to 69.1 % in England. For A levels the overall pass rate was 97.1% in Wales compared to 97.6% in England. Fewer pupils in Wales achieved top grades. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are fully committed to creating a fair education system that gives every child in Wales a fair start in order to reach their full potential, whatever their background. This report ...
At a Westminster Hall debate today I called for the reform of the Welsh Grand Committee. It is important that the work of the Welsh Grand Committee carries on in this Parliament but it needs to be more under the control of Backbench Welsh MPs and less under the control of the Government and the Secretary of State. Backbenchers need to have the opportunity to determine the frequency of Grand Committee sittings and influence the subjects to be considered. Already the Welsh Grand allows questioning of Secretary of State for Wales on a wide range of issues and in recent ...
As many reader will now I now reside in North Down won in May by Sylvia, Lady Hermon with 63.3% of the vote. I also stood in Linlithgow and East Falkirk where Michael Connarty beat me and the rest of the field once again, gaining 49.8% of the vote. Now these are both exceptional cases where in one case the MP has gained a majority of the vote and in the other were even on a preferential system you would expect that the First Past the Post (FPTP) candidate would have been elected. No doubt some of 3rd or 4th ...
The following figures show (approximately – see notes below) the number of Liberal Democrat voters from May 2010 who read different newspaper titles: The Sun: 796,000 Daily Mail: 576,000 Daily Mirror: 396,000 The Times: 340,000 The Guardian: 331,000 Daily Telegraph: 278,000 The Independent: 233,000 Daily Express: 190,000 Daily Star: 136,000 These figures have been calculated from the data provided in The British General Election of 2010 and are based on survey data for newspaper readership, party support and turnout. The newspaper readership figures include people from age of 15 and also adults who are not eligible to vote. Therefore all ...
[IMG: Prison fence] The question of prisoners gaining the right to vote has been in the news today following the government's announcement that it is going to abolish the blanket ban on prisoners voting in general elections. However, although in today's media coverage the ban is widely dated to the 1870 Forfeiture Act, it is has been overlooked that the ban in fact was removed for a couple of years during the 1960s. The 1870 Act stated that those convicted of a felony could not vote in elections for Parliament, and covered England, Wales and what became Northern Ireland (but ...
Political campaigning in Britain is about to get a lot cleaner - or a lot more nasty. We will learn on Friday whether Phil Woolas, the shadow immigration minister and Oldham East & Saddleworth MP, is to be debarred from office for making false statements in this year's election campaign about the Liberal Democrat candidate's personal conduct. Two High Court judges will deliver their interpretation of the 1895 Corrupt and Illegal Practices Prevention Act from the Civic Hall in Uppermill, Saddleworth. If their thumbs go down I am told it will be the first time in 99 years that such ...
I'm not a lawyer. I'm not someone who uses big words to get an argument across. I'm not an expert in the judicial system of this country. I am a regular hard- working citizen getting along in the world. Today however, I am in the eyes of some, not a regular person. I am a despot, a tyrant and a member of the "yeah, kill the fuckers with my torch & pitchfork" brigade. Something I am certainly not if you knew me in person. Why this hostility and lack of reasoned debate from some quarters? Because I dared to express ...
I am struggling to get over the cold which laid me low last week and has stubbornly refused to disappear since. As a result, I am less capable of independent thought than normal, and today's offering is thus another shamelessly stolen Lib Dem press release I'm afraid. So... Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable has announced a £1.3 billion funding package over the next four years to maintain and modernise the Post Office network, it says here. Dr Cable said the funding package will secure the long term future of the Post Office network and ensure ...
I was interested to read today that because of a European Court of Human Rights ruling the Government may be forced to restore the vote to prisoners in the UK. Whilst I understand the inevitable outcry from many who will question the morality of giving criminals the vote, I think it does bring into sharp focus the question about the role of prisons and how we treat our prisoners. Personally I believe we have a duty to society to try and rehabilitate those that have committed a wrong against society. And, of course there is the point of once you ...
Well, I've not often had weeks like last week, and I hope to goodness I don't have one again. That was the week in which: I worked ten times my contracted hours to make sure the party's East of England regional conference last Saturday was a successMy kitchen was taken over for a week by my beloved offspring's (still unfinished) craft project - every available surface covered in painted planks and no room to make a sandwich or iron a shirt Every white blouse I own was ruined in an unfortunate accident involving burgundy-coloured gloss paint from above project, white ...
I managed to get myself on the list for the Institute for Government's (IfG) debate on the Future of Lib Dem Thinking and attended the discussion in the beautiful John Nash building that adjoins the official London residence of the Foreign Secretary. So what is the future for us? The line up saw Lord Clement-Jones, Julian Astle of Centre Forum, Timothy Cox of Liberal Vision and Neil Sherlock, who has advised both Paddy Ashdown and Nick Clegg, discuss the coalition and where next. Lord Clement-Jones kicked off with the admission that the coalition is hard to swallow and that we ...
PR Week has a piece on today's figures from The Times and Sunday Times, including this from me: Mark Pack, head of digital at MHP Communications said: 'In order to make full sense of these figures we need to know how they break down between people making a one-off payment for 24-hour access, people buying more than one period of 24-hour access and people who have purchased permanent access. The risk is that people look at the headline figure and assume it means more readership and more revenue than is almost certainly the case. However, these figures look more promising ...
Tue 2nd
12:08
Update to County Council members - New government advice on snow clearing and salt bins information
The guidelines, provided by the Department for Transport, state: "There is no law stopping you from clearing snow and ice on the pavement outside your property, pathways to your property or public spaces." In response to concerns from the public about being sued, the guidelines continue: "If an accident did happen, it's highly unlikely that you would be sued as long as you are careful and use common sense to make sure that you don't make the pavement or pathway clearly more dangerous than before. People using areas affected by snow and ice also have responsibility to be careful themselves." ...
We live in a democracy. Nigel Dodds MP was elected in an election earlier in May to represent the people of North Belfast in the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Westminster. We may assume therefore that Mr Dodds received a majority of the votes cast. Yes? Not under the system used for Westminster elections ...
From Monday, South Glos suspended the routine mechanical sweeping programme to concentrate on clearing leaf fall - targeting known problem areas and responding to requests from residents reported through the Street Care Helpdesk. Initially the sweeping programme will be suspended for three weeks. If you want to report a concern, please contact Street Care on 01454 868000 or e-mail streetcare@southglos.gov.uk
This morning I attended the grand opening of Chorlton's Age UK Mobility Shop by the Lord Mayor, Cllr Hackett.
Like many people last evening, I received an email from the leader and deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats on the subject of voter registration. Whilst I agree that we should encourage everyone that can / should be on the electoral register to be on it. I feel that I must point out that the ...
So Rambling Jim Naughtie has been flown over to the USA, the evening schedules have been cleared to host a results programme and Britain waits anxiously for the US mid-term election results. Fetch my slippers and the Bourbon, Mabel-Sue, for it's going to be a long night. Or more probably it isn't for almost all of us, with the exception of the few hundred people in Westminster and White City who think this is a crucial night for global democracy, as well as the few hundred American ex-pats living here who might actually care about their home country. Is the ...
I'm rather spoilt for choice this week. With the Westminster Village all in the froth over the 'ginger rodent' jibe against young Mr Alexander ( personally I think he has got off lightly) we have news from Tony Robertson of the bad mouthing that our local Tories indulge in. Fancy likening Tony to that muderous thug Robert Magabe! the story is here. I was also taken with the report in the Cambridge Ward blog about the recent fundraising event. Such postings are the meet and drink of a local blog-well in this case the Fish and Chips. (If we were ...
6 months after the election, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke in the House of Commons, in only his third visit to Westminster since leaving Downing Street. His speech was as as riveting as we have come to expect:
My old friend Edis Bevan (Warwick and Leamington YL's circa 1970) raises some important questions about the anglo french military alliance or 'entente frugal' as one wag had it this morning. He asks: Does the proposed UK-France 'defence' deal breach the nuclear non-proliferation treaty? That is a question we need answered as soon as possible.The deal also locks us into a 50 year nuclear commitment, on the face of it wrecking the window of opportunity for a nuclear rethink won by the deferment of the Trident renewal.As I see it, it is not possible under the treaty for a country ...
Just a quick post to let you know about two consultations going on in Colchester this week. First, some of the Better Town Centre ideas – including the creation of a car-free High Street – are on display this week. They're in a shop in Red Lion Yard during this week, and will also be ...
The European Court of Human Rights has said Britain should allow prisoners the vote. This is a tricky one to navigate around. Liberals rightly see restorative justice as far more important than banging people up behind bars. To call the policy of 'prison works' outdated gives it too much credit, as it implies that once simply putting people in prison actually worked. It doesn't. Many people who are in prison shouldn't be there, and society could be better served but finding alternative consequences for lower level crime. However, those that are in prison having been convicted of offences have broken ...
There are two entrances and exits to Sainsburys at the Winnersh crossroads. The main one is on Reading Road and is controlled by traffic lights. The other one is in King Street Lane AND IT IS ONLY FOR PEOPLE COMING FROM OR GOING TO ARBORFIELD. Sorry to shout. BUT... The entrance in King Street Lane exists purely and simply to remove the need for people coming from or going towards Arborfield to go through the crossroads. So you can come from Arborfield and turn right into Sainsburys. And you can go back towards Arborfield by turning left out of the ...
I was confirmed in my view that death taxes are not working properly after my trip to Derbyshire. Sotherby's were mounting an exhibition of sculpture at Chatworth. There are more photos if you click on the picture. Surely a first stage of reform would be to tax the recipient not the giver. New Labour have lulled us all into accepting such an appalling maldistribution of wealth. I wonder what Vince's mansion tax would have raised on this property?
In an unusual move, HMRC has issued the following statement in response to claims in the media about the company's tax liability following a tax settlement for £1.25 billion in August. "We cannot comment on the detail of the settlement but we can confirm that it was reached by HMRC following a rigorous examination of the facts and an intensive process of negotiation that tested the arguments of both parties. "As a result it was agreed that Vodafone's liability was £1.25 billion and at no point was a liability greater than that established. There is no question of Vodafone having ...
Does the proposed UK-France 'defence' deal breach the nuclear non-proliferation treaty? That is a question we need answered as soon as possible. The deal also locks us into a 50 year nuclear commitment, on the face of it wrecking the window of opportunity for a nuclear rethink won by the deferment of the Trident renewal. As I see it, it is not possible under the treaty for a country to buy warheads from a nuclear armed power even if is itself a nuclear armed state. All Nuclear states have to build their own warheads. Joint development procedures need to be ...
At Cheadle Area Committee on Tuesday 9th November we're looking forward to a presentation from the Cheadle Archeological Society on the Cheadle Green Dig. The excavations at Cheadle Green happened a few weeks ago and lots of people came along to see what was happening and even have a go themselves. Other items include: presentation on the 2011 census Planning application DC045256 (new flats for rent above the shops at 14-20 Old Rectory Gardens, Cheadle) is back again after being first discussed last month - the officer recommendation is to grant the application. Planning application DC045260 - rear extension to ...
I am speaking at a conference in Glasgow on Sunday to promote Scottish Independence. There are many reasons I support Scottish independence (and Welsh independence and Irish reunification). But among those reasons, and the one which I shall be expounding on Sunday, is that the United Kingdom as an entity is fundamentally tied to US military and neo-imperial interests. Neither Robin Cook nor Lib Dems in government have been able to separate the UK from aggressive foreign occupations, ruinous military expenditure, addiction to weapons of mass destruction and a contempt for international law. The UK must be broken up. ...
This morning's news is that prisoners are to get the vote. It's a long running case with the European Courts that started in 2005 and on which the government has finally relented. This is political, so perhaps the change in government to a more liberal one has contributed to this. Conversely, the Conservatives are not known for their positive attitude towards prisoners. There's a predictable backlash about people being punished and they should lose their liberty, to which I have one thing to add: Not everyone is in prison for punishment. Some people are on remand and have not been ...
There is a really very high quality dialogue going on in the comments section on yesterday's post Diplomacy, Dictatorship and the Uses of Torture.
I know this is fresh from a blog post about sticking to the argument rather than making it personal, but in this case I'll make an exception. Tony Page really plumbed the depths in last night's cabinet meeting telling the public that if a woman should be attacked or assaulted in Reading then he would hold me personally responsible. What an odious little man. The more I think about it, the more I see quite what a disgusting thing it was to say and Labour's sewer politics in action. I hope he'll reflect on what he said and will apologise ...
Roy Greenslade has the story in the Guardian. I would link to the Times but don't subscribe at the moment.
It is election day in the US and here is hoping the mad Tea Partyers don't do too well. Obviously I am hoping the Democrats do well, and especially Suzanne Kosmas in Florida's 24th - I fear she may not buck the trend though, interestingly Florida is the one place I hope electors don't vote Democrat in the Senate race but or Charlie Chist instead to defeat the Republican.
I've just come back from a delightful weekend in Paris. Delightful for me – not so for my wife. Rather than quietly admiring the artwork in the Louvre, I ran around gawping at the huge range of 2D codes on offer on the streets of Paris. There are some great examples of how to do 2D code marketing – and how not to do it. I'd like to run you through a few of examples I found. I've enhanced the photos to make the codes a bit more obvious – that should make scanning them easier. QRQR Codes seem really ...
As Lady Thatcher emerges from hospital, she must have been somewhat buoyed by a poll that suggests that she remains the most influential woman in the World. However her influence rests with a period of office that came to an end nearly twenty years ago. With the benefit of the hindsight given by those twenty years I think its is possible to begin to make a judgement on the eleven years that she served as Prime Minister. Certainly for all the adulation that the Conservatives offer her now, she was not generally popular either in the country at large or ...
Liberal Democrats on Redcar & Cleveland Council are concerned about the Labour Council stopping green waste collections without enough warning.The Council has stopped its alternate weekly collection of green waste from 1 November for the winter as a cost cutting exercise. However, the Council only informed the press of this on 26 October.Lib Dem Councillor John Hannon (Kirkleatham Ward) said:"I appreciate the need to save money, but the Council should have given people much more notice. How are people supposed to plan ahead when big changes like this are sprung on them?""I have already received several complaints from residents who ...
Liberal Democrat Councillor Mike Carling has reunited the swimmers, coaches and parents from Redcar Swimming Club for a pre-Christmas swim thanks to the temporary pool at Rye Hills School.Mike was a swim coach with the club until its closure 10 years ago.The club had 120 young members and provided a valuable resource for the town. The closure of the baths was a real blow to Redcar.The British Gas Pools for Schools programme has helped to make this possible, along with Tees Valley Leisure, the Council and the School Sports Partnership.Cllr Carling said: "The temporary pool will provided much needed swimming ...
Party members are unusually lucky with the current contest for President of the Liberal Democrats. It is rare for there to be two credible, high-profile candidates standing at the same time but this time there is a real choice between two such people. Some differences between Susan Kramer and Tim Farron were obvious from the start of the campaign and are swaying some voters, depending on their views on matters such as how important (or not) it is for one of the party's most prominent posts to be held by a woman, whether an MP has enough time to do ...
Susan Kramer and Tim Farron were both asked the same ten questions about their bid to be LibDem President and given the option to reply in whatever format and at whatever length they wished. Susan's answers are below and you can find Tim's answers here. My own commentary on the answers and race more generally is here. Note: this is the full set of answers provided by Susan. The eagle-eyed will notice that one answer is missing. I've let her campaign know and will add the missing answer if it is subsequently supplied. (Also on YouTube here.)
Susan Kramer and Tim Farron were both asked the same ten questions about their bid to be LibDem President and given the option to reply in whatever format and at whatever length they wished. Tim's answers are below and you can find Susan's answers here. My own commentary on the answers and race more generally is here. 1. Many parts of the Bones Commission were deferred until after the 2010 general election. Now that it has happened, what would your plans be for implementing, modifying or mothballing those outstanding parts? The Bones report was insightful and a lot of thought ...
i) births and deaths None that grabbed me. ii) broadcast anniversaries 2 November 1968: broadcast of first episode of The Invasion. The Tardis lands invisibly, and the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe seek help successively from Isobel Watkins, and Tobias Vaughn of International Electromatics. 2 November 1981: BBC broadcast repeat of "An Unearthly Child", the very first episode of Doctor Who, kicking off the "Five Faces of Doctor Who" repeat season. 2 November 1987: broadcast of first episode of Delta and the Bannermen. Ken Dodd sends the Doctor and Mel to 1950s Wales where a holiday camp is being infiltrated by ...
Continuing my monthly stat porn figures for anyone who is remotely interested in who reads my little blog, the monthly summary of my visitor stats according to google analytics is as below for October 2010. The busiest day on my blog last month was Friday 1st October and this was mainly because of my story about Nadine Dorries MP losing the plot - many thanks to the Guardian's Society Daily section, written by Patrick Butler. Last month I had 1,693 absolute unique visitors, a massive drop from last month (the power of Guido). They made 2,162 visits and 2,776 page ...
I see that my friend and colleague Michael Carchrie Campbell has taken to task one of the email Lib Dem members received last night. I'm going to take to task the other. Nick Clegg, after the announcement of the Browne Report inviting comments to be sent to him. Apparently according to last nights email the special email address that was set up received over 1000 responses. Yet only five points were raised in the response all carefully worded to sound supportive: concern that the proposals would result in a free market in higher educationsome key progressive elements of Browne's report, ...
The opening paragraph of the preamble to the Liberal Democrat constitution states (emphasis mine): "The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. We champion the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals, we acknowledge and respect their right to freedom of conscience and their right to develop their talents to the full. We aim to disperse power, to foster diversity and to nurture creativity. We believe that the role ...
This is my 100th post. Since I started blogging on 8th April, 208 days ago, that is almost but not quite a post every other day. As I've had several long and blog-free holidays in that period that's not to bad a record. Blogging has replaced my previous hobby, which in pre-blog days was studying French. Many older people seem to suffer from insomnia, which seems to take two forms: those who go to bed but can't get to sleep, and those who drop of easily but wake up very early. Thankfully I fall into the second category and, rather ...
I have two credit cards from two separate banks. My monthly gym membership fee was paid from card A. This morning I noticed that for the last two months the membership fee has been paid from card B. This was totally without my authorisation and I've never given the gym the details of card B. I had some expensive dental work done in September which I charged to card A, and I'm guessing that when the gym fee was due the card was at the limit. So they collected from card B. I've read about this happening: there's some way ...
Like many people last evening, I received an email from the leader and deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats on the subject of voter registration. Whilst I agree that we should encourage everyone that can / should be on the electoral register to be on it. I feel that I must point out that the ...
Thirty Days of Me - 01 Introduce Yourself. Alright, let's do this thing. Hey folks – I'm Debi, also known as IB but mostly just known as Debi. I'm nearly thirty and still a full time student, currently in my eleventh (11th) year of post-school education, having spent four years as an undergraduate and 6 doing a PhD in palaeontology. I'm currently studying for a masters in education at Bank Street College in New York and it's kind of nice to have found something I love doing this hard. I was born and spent my childhood in a large village ...
1. Time/Exhaustion It's fair and accurate to say that I'm busy right now. To add to that: I'm constantly freaking exhausted right now in a way that if you're a teacher or full time educator, I'm sure you'd understand all too well. It's deceptive to look at hours spent teaching in a day and think 'Oh, that's not so bad' but I come home from the day unable to do much else than flop down on my awesome couch and watch TV or play games. Obviously, having worked in education before, I was prepared for this level of tiredness knowing ...
Wycombe Liberal Democrats submitted the motion (below) to our Regional conference which was overwhelmingly passed with just 3 votes against. Our Parliamentary Candidate Steve Guy proposed the motion saying that he had given an undertaking to students in Wycombe that if elected he would vote against increasing tuition fees. Callum Morton, Student President at Amersham & Wycombe College spoke on behalf of local students, asking Conference to back the motion and send a clear message to MP's that they should honour the pledge they made. The motion will be sent to the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party at Westminster and all ...
On Not Being Obliged To Vote Democrat Why abstention may be the right choice - with reference to Tuesday's elections, but with wider applicability. (tags: usa politics)
How do you decide natural political boundaries? Well they could fall within geographical boundaries like Lancashire, but Lancashire didn't get any local enterprise partnerships when three bids from the north west were not good enough last week. One was called Pennine Lancashire - whatever that means and one was from Blackpool Wyre and Fylde and the other was from the Lancashire County Council. There are signs that distinguish Lancashire from everywhere else because it is a place where everyone matters. I am not clear why Blackpool should be independent of the rest of Lancashire but there is obviously a case ...
