I was phoned when I got home yesterday afternoon by the Northern Echo wanting my comments on the Housing Benefit Cuts. I told them that we should not forget that Labour's system was not at all perfect and did not help those on low wages amongst other anomolies, and we do not know what there plans would be. Also about the amendment Stockton and Northern Region Lib Dems had to a Party Conference...
So I went to the doctor and... Well, the lump that I christened Gideon after our dear chancellor turns out to be a tumour about the size of a walnut in the area of my left ovary. The C-word hasn't been mentioned; I need to have more tests to find out what it is. All that is known at the moment is that there is a lump of something that shouldn't be there. I'm not losing weight abnormally. My blood tests came back normal, which is what I am clinging to at the moment, because if it was a horrible ...
Talking today MPs Edward Leigh and David Winnick are worried about the fact that an electoral court has dealt with Phil Woolas as it saw fit. They seem to want Woolas's peers to lie in judgement. Do they honestly think that after the past few years the public wants our MPs to sit in judgement ...
There are few things worse than when a young life is snuffed out. It is worse if that young life sees no option for themself but to take their own life. Recently there has been a lot of global headlines recently for the number of young LGBT people who have felt pressure from bullies to ...
It's from 10am-3pm at Crossens Community Centre, Rufford Road. Free admission. Toys, festive stalls, mince pies, music, tombola, and much more...and hopefully Father Christmas will be dropping in.
It's been a while, but this made my blood boil... I recently read a letter from Goodmayes Labour Councillor Ali Hai in the Ilford Recorder which for want of a better choice of words really irritated me . In it he claims that research from 'eminent drug experts' equates alcohol abuse as a greater problem than Heroin or Cocaine addiction. That in itself didn't annoy me, it was the absolute hypocrisy he showed in referring to Dr Nuttell as an 'eminent drug expert' - this is of course the eminent scientist the previous Labour Government found it necessary to sack, ...
In May the Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg campaigned hard on their message of fairness and I am sure many on you no reading this agreed with Nick, it was time to shake up politics for good, out with the old and in with the new. Coalition with the Conservatives was met with some concern ...
Mon 8th
22:05
Do you remember how Labour's London campaign collapsed into chaos and confusion in 1998?
No, I don't either. Which leaves me puzzled. Because, you see, Labour MP and campaign coordinator Andy Burham has said that his party would not be working much for a Yes vote in the AV referendum as, It would be a recipe for chaos and confusion if Labour candidates were also supporting AV in their literature. Odd then that it wasn't a recipe for chaos and confusion in London in 1998 when there was a referendum on the same day as other elections. And I'm sure that the fact that the 1998 referendum was introduced by a Labour government whilst ...
It's a sad day. Jack Duckworth is dead. In Coronation Street's 50th year, he was one of its most iconic characters and now he's gone. He and wife Vera were one of the best comedic and well-loved double acts on TV for decades. Possibly the only couple that came near to out-shining them on the cobbles were Hilda and Stan Ogden. A British Institution - Coronation St I've watched the soaps since I was a child. It's a family thing. I used to watch pretty much all of them. But over the years they've slipped by the wayside. Emmerdale? Not ...
When those nice people at Oxfam sent me off to New York a few weeks ago I managed to remain a good Liberal in what I wrote. In fact, as I learned more development issues I found that principles like political reform and a free press were immensely important in this field. The only time I forgot myself was when I posted a Richard Curtis video. That video made the case for a financial transaction tax, better known as the Robin Hood tax. With world leaders about to meet in Seoul for the G20 summit, an alliance of 183 organisations ...
After my Monday surgeries at the Mitchell Street Centre and Harris Academy, I attended tonight's City Council committees. Amongst other matters : * At the Leisure & Communities Committee, I asked a question about the restoration of headstones and memorials in the city's cemeteries. * At Policy and Resources Committee, I queried the extent of contingency funding for the proposed new Olympia swimming and leisure facility and adjacent car park. * At the same committee, I queried revenue costs and targeted savings in relation to the council's telephony infrastructure. * ... and also queried the budgetary arrangements in relation to ...
Rather a good Seventh Doctor story, with Ace returning to the Doctor/Benny setup, and mysterious and murderous goings-on in orbit around the planet Lucifer, but in a setting invoking many of the more space operatic Who stories - particular shout-outs to Colony in Space and Caves of Androzani, but various others are also referenced. Lots of incidental characters who almost all get decent treatment (in narrative terms). We also have the reunion of the Doctor and Benny with an older, hardened Ace. Both authors went on to greater things than this, but it is a good start. Posted via LjBeetle ...
I recently installed the Android PBC player application – 10/10! Is as stable as and slightly better than the iPhone LBC. If you have an Android phone and listen to LBC, get it and install it today! Android apps at AppStoreHQ
Last week's announcement that the coalition has ended the post office closures programme is a major step forward. Read the full blog here: But what really warmed my heart was a speech by a Conservative BIS minister quoting William Morris, calling for a return of the guilds, and condemning "the anonymous, impersonal supermarket or out-of-town megastore". I look forward to the coalition's plans to tackle them - but I'm not holding my breath...
Laura Sandys, fails her first big test, as many of us appreciate local MP's have been a big disappointment here in Thanet, North and South, according to the Kent News Ed Vaizey Minister with responsibilities for vaguely defined cultural stuff, has responded to Thanet South's MP's attempt to get some commitment to improved television transmission, with the opinion that there is "no absolute right to TV coverage. As I understand it, clear strong transmissions of television programmes here may interfere with France, for me this is not a problem since, the French have never given a toss for the impact ...
It was announced on the news on LBB 79.3 earlier this evening, that a review into the number of fire engines was taking place. Reported on LBC's website With 27 engines removed in the run-up to industrial action – Chair of the London Fire Authority Brian Coleman has questioned whether London could cope with a ...
Tom Harris, the MP for Glasgow South took himself to a new low today when he started tweeting about control orders and civil liberties. I was particularly struck with this little ditty which started the whole thing off: Just read the Telegraph's splash. Any minister who puts civil liberties ahead of security should be in student politics, not government. When I challenged Mr Harris on his comments, I have to say that I was in no way prepared for what was about to follow. I challenged his comment as being the "Same old Labour authoritarian garbage." Labours record on civil ...
I was astounded today by the comments of Labour MP and former Government minister Tom Harris, who stated on his Twitter account "Any minister who puts civil liberties ahead of security should be in student politics, not government". The comment is a reaction to the current disquiet amongst most Liberal Democrats and some Conservatives about the ...
Early today I posted about whether I was the "only gay in the Province". Of course I know I'm not and indeed attending the LGBT Consultative Forum meetings here in Belfast shows just the diversity with the LGBT community that exists here all doing their best for that section of Northern Irish life. Of course one member of that community, who I know rather well, also took up the cause up on his blog. But Michael being Michael did more that just blog and sent an email off to Tris Reid-Smith, Editor-In-Chief, GT (Gay Times) and Pink Paper and got ...
[IMG: image207018900.jpg] All, Ainscough Strategic Land are a company that has been talking to local organisations about potential development on Campden Road. As many of you know this has been listed as a site for housing and a foodstore. The Town Council is meeting with them on Wednesday - but are not allowing the public in. I'm disappointed by this - the development will affect everyone in Town. I'll let you know what I can. Philip [Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]
Following my blog post earlier this afternoon about the Pink Paper Awards, Tris Reid-Smith, Editor-In-Chief, GT (Gay Times) and Pink Paper, got back to me by telephone and then sent this formal response which I reproduce here as was promised. Historically Pink Paper, when it was in print, didn't distribute to Northern Ireland or the ...
Stafford Hospital run by Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust is now at last subject to a public inquiry after years of complaints from patients and relations, some whom suffered 'unimaginably', when treated at Stafford Hospital. According to BBC news 'a 2009 report condemned conditions at the hospital, said to have caused hundreds of avoidable deaths.' 'The last ...
I spent the weekend in Wales, which oddly reminded me once again of the joys of living in Manchester. It's great that in almost every direction, an hour and a half's drive from my front door will lead me somewhere beautiful. My London friends can barely get to the end of the Jubilee line in that time, and they have to pay a billion pounds for a studio flat. And yet they still live there for some reason, whereas I can go to Llangollen (a place with no "th" letters but plenty of "th" sounds) like I did on Saturday ...
At the weekend I had an email 'from' Simon Hughes asking me to Make history for the Lib Dems in Oldham - it was a call to arms for the by-election following Phil Woolas having his election declared void.
Good news today which I discovered via the Department of Communities and Local Government's Business Plan, which was published by the Coalition Government today as part of a drive towards greater transparency. Priority 4 of the Plan relates to housing aspirations: 'Meet people's housing aspirations, including by providing local authorities with strong and transparent incentives to facilitate housing growth, as well as making the provision of social housing more flexible" Action 4.8 of the Plan in particular caught my eye: 'Develop a strategy to bring more empty homes back into use, working with local authorities, housing associations and some of ...
One of our Lib Dem MPs, John Hemming, has an interesting analysis of the proposals for tuition fees. It seems that 54% of students will not have to pay back the full fees, and will instead be paying what is, in all but name, a graduate tax. On top of that, the lowest-earning 25% of graduates will end up paying less than they do under the present system. You can read the article in the Comment is Free section of the Guardian website.
Mon 8th
17:22
Question: When does a $10 million trip cost $2 billion? Answer: When Fox News is involved
[IMG: twenties] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: TheTruthAboutGlenn Beck on Fox News has thrown out the figure of "$2 billion" as the cost of Obama's trip to Asia. Based on past similar trips, it would seem that $10 million is a reasonable estimate of the cost – double it to $20 million for insurance purposes. But even then, Fox News have put a figure out there which is one hundred times as much as a relatively wild estimate. Brilliant. CNN has the details.
Frequently in London, I often have a moment or two to catch up on email, blogs, news and all that malarkey using my smartphone. My mobile phone provider in addition to offering me 3G, also offers unlimited access to something called BT Openzone, one of the few times I was able to connect successfully to this was outside a coffee shop in West Hampstead, after I'd just had a coffee not realising this was one of the few locations where BT would allow me to connect. Often my phone blocks access to my 3G internet connection, claiming to have connected ...
I have created a new poll on this site in response to the ongoing question about the proposed removal of cheques from the UK Banking system in 2018. Please vote in this poll. Filed under: Banking Tagged: cheques
I want to reassure my friend Stephen that he is most certainly 'not the only gay in the Province'. Although I suspect that the TUV and others would almost certainly wish that he were. Indeed, I am only now getting to see his post as this morning I was with other representatives of the Northern ...
I have been using the
The move by the coalition government in Whitehall towards more transparency may be a step in the right direction, but it needs to be only part of the general move to make government at all levels in the United Kingdom transparent. I look forward to seeing websites like this throughout the local government and regional ...
"If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress." Barack Obama "Our party has long prided itself on its commitment to education as the great leveller; the best way to create social mobility and equality of opportunity in society" – words written by Jo Swinson MP in her article yesterday. I agree with her, and that's why I disagree that a near tripling of fees meets that commitment. That's why I will be lobbying MPs to vote down the measure in the House of Commons in December. There is much that is ...
It is the last couple of days of the campaign to succeed Baroness Ross Scott as President of the Liberal Democrats. VN has endorsed Tim Farron from the start, believing he has the skill set as a communicator and campaigner to make the Lib Dems proud of their achievements' in government. Get those ballots in to Cowley Street quickly, polls close on the 10th!
Today County Hall was taken over by groups of young people from across Cornwall. They were invited by the Chairman of the Council to come and discuss issues that affect them. Groups ranged from primary school pupils through secondary to groups of carers and volunteers. In total there were nine presentations on different subjects. In the audience were Cornwall Councillors (although not as many as I would have hoped), and representatives from organisations that work with young people. Perhaps the stand out presentation was from young carers. There were some very moving life stories told and it really rammed home ...
From Sky: The Speaker has suggestered there will not yet be a by-election in Oldham East after the MP, Phil Woolas, was accused of lying. ...Speaker John Bercow said Mr Woolas had launched a fresh request for judicial review after his first was rejected. This will take place as soon as possible so the constituents of Oldham East and Saddleworth can urgently find out who will be their MP, the Speaker said. He told MPs the would not be discussed in the House of Commons until the review is complete. The legal team working for Mr Woolas hopes the legal ...
Last week I learned that McCarthy and Stone are appealing against the Council decision to refuse permission to build a block of flats in the town centre on the former Webbers Garage site. I was surprised by this. McCarthy Stone specialise in retirement living and have a had a good reputation in the past. They seem determined to ruin that reputation by pursuing this planning application. They
I left it very late before casting my vote in the ballot to elect the new President of the Liberal Democrats. I also haven't until today blogged about the contest, which is surprising given that I have strong and very particular views about the role of party president and have often blogged about it before. The reason for this is that I have had great difficulty making up my mind about the choice we have had this time and who to vote for. I like and respect both candidates and both would bring different qualities to the role. Susan Kramer ...
An explanation of the current proposals WHAT THIS MEANS FOR STUDENTS Everyone will get higher education free at the point of entry. No one will be asked to pay for university upfront. Over half a million students will be eligible for more non-repayable grants for living costs that they do now Almost one million students will be eligible for more overall maintenance support than they do now All students can get at least £3,575 per year to help with their living costs; rising to more than £7,000 per year for those from the poorest families, and higher for those studying ...
Over at The Guardian's Comment is Free website, Lib Dem MP for Birmingham Yardley John Hemming has penned a robust defence of the Coalition's plans for higher education funding in England, taking as his starting point the IFS's findings that more than half of students will pay 9% of income over £21,000 a year for 30 years: "In other words this new system is a graduate tax in all but name." Here's an excerpt: It is, however, not an open-ended graduate tax as it has a cap. The cap works in such a way that graduates with higher earnings get ...
Tom Harris MP said something on Twitter this morning that I have serious issues with. Just read the Telegraph's splash. Any minister who puts civil liberties ahead of security should be in student politics, not government. This kind of statement misses out the point. We've had control orders and detention without charge. They haven't protected me or anyone else. In fact they put people at risk because these powers can be misused and can allow people to be detained who disagree with the government in power. Am I being melodramatic? Perhaps, but one could argue that these powers were in ...
I'm just on my way back from a meeting with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission regarding the Equalities Act that was informative, if not entirely productive. There is apparently a degree of debate between the EHRC and the Government Equalities Office (Who actually write and implement these laws) on what the Equalities Act means in practice, with the EHRC positioning themselves during the meeting as wanting more from the GEO in the code of practice than the GEO were willing to approve. Firstly, and quite worryingly, the EHRC legal team told us that the GEO believe that a GRC ...
It's now six months to go until the 2011 'all-out' Swale council elections - the most important local elections for many years. I have suggested to my colleagues that we put together our manifesto. We should ask ourselves - if the Liberal Democrats won 24 council seats (!) and took control of Swale council, what would we do? I would like us to produce a short document setting out our ideas. (Ideally this document would go through every door in Swale but of course that won't happen). Naturally we won't win 24 seats - it's proving difficult to get 24 ...
Phil Woolas was, and still is, shameless over his teams General Election campaign. The Court ruling against him does not represent the death of normal political rough & tumble nor will it 'chill political speech' as he claims.It simply requires election literature & political statements to have a nodding acquaintance with that old fashioned concept called truth and some tenuous understanding of the word 'fact'. The opposition in Nevada prior to last weeks election were told that the incumbent supported using tax money to give Viagra to sex offenders. Fox News told Americans that President Obama's trip to Asia would ...
I've had word that there's going to be an informal meeting for people in Colchester interested in the Yes to Fairer Votes campaign. It'll be at the Albert pub on Cowdray Avenue on Friday night, starting aroun 7.30pm. Details and more information here. I'll be there, will you?
Latest figures released by the office for National Statistics show Bury witnessed a decrease in Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA) claimants from the previous month. Claims were down 1.3% to 4,112, a significant change from the previous month where there was a 2.4% increase in claimants. The fall of JSA claimants was witnessed across Greater Manchester and the United Kingdom, both seeing a decrease in JSA claimants of 0.4% and 1.1% respectively. Bury still has the lowest number of JSA claimants in the Greater Manchester area (4112), overall 3.5% of the population are claiming JSA in Bury, third lowest in Greater ...
I am joining Angus councillors David May and Alison Andrews in backing the call by Liberal Democrat Energy spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP for the Scottish SNP Government to join in the Green Homes Revolution. UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne has announced that by 2015 100,000 Green Deal workers could be employed in the effort to make Britain's homes warmer and cheaper to run. The UK Government is in negotiations with Scottish Government officials to extend the Green Deal across the UK. Backing comments by Liam McArthur MSP, Montrose Cllr David May said, "The Angus and Mearns area ...
[IMG: Sanjay Samani and Cllr David May visiting flooding site in Brechin]
Hansard, 15 March 1950, brings us this gem: Lieut.-Commander Hutchison asked the Postmaster-General whether, in order to avoid unnecessary expense and to economise in the use of paper, he will amend paragraph 6 of the Regulation made under Section 79 of the Representation of the People Act, 1949, so as to permit folders of a maximum length of 9 in. and a maximum depth of 4½ in., to be sent by post. Mr. Ness Edwards The greater the size of the folder the greater will be the danger of trapping other items in the post and delaying them. For this ...
Foreign Secretary William Hague apparently pledged on Thursday to alter Britain's law on universal jurisdiction - a move which could again bring up the question of Liberal Democrat MPs voting against Government motions. According to an Israeli Embassy official, Hague told Benjamin Netanyahu that the coalition will be moving as fast as it can to amend the universal jurisdiction law, with the aim being that a draft amendment will be put before parliament in the coming months. The move comes on the back of Israel's postponement of all strategic dialogue with Britain as a protest against the current law. Israeli ...
Labour MP Michael Meacher is facing the threat of legal action after he took to his blog at the weekend to repeat some of the allegations made by now disgraced Labour MP Phil Woolas despite the court ruling that they were false. Michael Meacher represents the neighbouring seat of Oldham West and Royton and claimed on his blog on Saturday that, "In the course of the one-week election court proceedings it appears that Watkins himself admitted that he had spent some £200,000 on the election, which is 7 times above the maximum permitted limit." Yet the court judgement (which appeared ...
So much has already been written about the N8′s atrocious software. It's a popular (and fair) stick to beat Nokia and Symbian with. One thing that is always mentioned is how amazing the hardware is. I disagree. The hardware is as poor as the software. I think this picture symbolises that problem. [IMG: N8 and HDMI lead] N8 and HDMI lead The N8 has an HDMI port. A mini HDMI port. The image is of a full sized HDMI plug trying to fit into the mini port. It won't fit, of course. But what you can see is that there ...
The courts have comprehensively rejected an attempt by Labour MP Phil Woolas to get a judicial review over the ruling that he broke the law in the May 2010 general election and is therefore barred from holding office: Phil Woolas loses request for judicial review over Oldham election case
The Guardian has just posted this story: The politician, who was also barred from standing for election for three years, was found to have deliberately lied about his Liberal Democrat rival in campaign literature. He was quickly suspended by the Labour party, which said it would not support any subsequent legal battle to have the decision overturned. Shamash said: "It is correct [that the judicial review request has been lost] but we are renewing it immediately. It was not about the substance, it was about the jurisdiction." The judge decided that judicial review was not the appropriate course, he said. ...
I'm furious! It's taken me several days to calm down enough to write a blog post that would not see me thrown out of the party, or at the very least lose a number of friends. But here I am, back on the issue of 'graduate contributions', the new, wonderful euphemism for student fees. My ...
Last month I highlighted how the proportion of Liberal Democrat local election candidates who are female is, though relatively good, flat-lining well below the proportion of the electorate or the party membership which is female. One reason for presenting the figures is that I think local government representation is much under-discussed when talking about the diversity (or not) of the party's candidates. It's important both in its own right (especially as councillors often wield more power than MPs) and also because local government is one route to becoming a candidate at other levels of government subsequently. Following on from that, ...
Responding to the suggestion by Arbroath Cllr David Fairweather that Community Councils be disbanded, Liberal Democrat campaigners for Angus, added their support for the great work done by Community Councils. Sanjay Samani, campaigner for Angus and Mearns, said: "As secretary of Alyth Community Council, I am fully aware of the crucial role they play in local communities." "In particular, Community Councillors do a huge amount of work on a purely voluntary basis. They organise a tremendous amount of events, discussions and fund raising for local people. In Alyth, sub groups set up by the Community Council are responsible for the ...
Here is a link to yesterdays Politics Show's feature on scottish housing and the challenges we face in Edinburgh.
Just read a blog post by Labour's Tom Harris where he took a test to see where he sat on a political spectrum and thought I'd give it a try. If you had asked me before I would have said I was in the Economic Liberal camp. Well if this test is to be believed ...
[IMG: Sanjay Samani visiting Laurencekirk Junction]
This may come as a shock to many friends and friends of friends in the LGBT Sector in Northern Ireland, or a relief to Iris Robinson, but apparently the LGBT community doesn't exist in Northern Ireland. How do I know this? Because Pink Paper tells me so. Well not so much Pink Paper as their nominations survey for their readers awards. I recently opened it to find I had 8 choices of geographical location: ScotlandNorth WestNorth EastWalesMidlands and the EastSouth WestLondon and the SouthSouth CoastConspicuous by its absence is Northern Ireland. This is from a Paper that on its website ...
Welcome to the now very delayed 8.29 service from Stowmarket to Liverpool Street, which has fallen foul of over-running engineering works at Shenfield and a person taken ill at Maryland. I will, at least, be eligible for a refund of part, maybe all, of the cost of my ticket, but it's a bonus I could do without. On the other hand, NXEA have announced the trial of a new breakfast service, on the 7.40 and 8.10 services. Yes, the cooked breakfast is back, which potentially makes me very happy. The catch is that it's only available to first class passengers. ...
Mon 8th
10:48
Fantastic #chelmsford #roundtable fireworks night on Saturday; appears to have raised more for local...
Fantastic #chelmsford #roundtable fireworks night on Saturday; appears to have raised more for local charities than last year.
Although we had to wait until Sunday evening for the biggest clash of the weekend, it certainly did not disappoint. With current leaders Chelsea travelling to an improving Liverpool side, many were looking forward to what turned out to be a pivotal clash that has reduced the gap at the top of the table. A rejuvenated Fernando Torres struck two world class goals in the first half to condemn Chelsea to only their second defeat of the season. Chelsea arrived at Anfield choosing to leave out leading goalscorer Didier Drogba, perhaps a sign of Chelsea's confidence or some would say ...
The numbers of animals used in experiments has been rising steadily over the past few years; up to 3.6 million in 2009 (whilst the number of individual procedures is far higher). It represents the presence of a vast amount of suffering. In its Programme for Government the Coalition promised to 'work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research'. Our work has been supported by the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) who warmly welcome our pledge, which is undoubtedly overdue. But how does the Coalition intend to turn aspiration into reality? Animal experiments are demand-led and ...
Preached last night at St Paul's. 27 minutes including reading (John 1.43-end). Available as Ogg Vorbis or MP3 from the church website. Podcast subscribers will get it automatically of course. About two minutes in, I refer to New Jersey – I actually mean New Hampshire. Just to be clear.
I'm looking forward to Thursday when I will be doing a Question Time style debate at the University. Especially looking forward to meeting Henry Kelly. I promise, there will be no Game for a Laugh or Going for Gold jokes.
Went out for a walk in Kenwood yesterday. The sun was shining (for the first five minutes) and I love Kenwood and Hampstead Heath – nowhere better to see the seasons change. Kenwood was in beautiful autumnal colours and looking just wonderful. The point of mentioning this is only to say that on walking out of Kenwood the way I exit you get the most wonderful view of Athlone House – one of the most amazing landmark buildings overlooking Hampstead Heath. This beautiful building is still under threat – despite proposals for its demolition being decisively rejected by Camden Council. ...
Prime Minister David Cameron and his Deputy Nick Clegg have launched business plans for government departments. They considered it so important that they even got GOD a podium and a speaking slot. GOD, known to his mum as Cabinet Secretary and head of the Civil Service Sir Gus O'Donnell. The plans replace the targets that Labour obsessively put forward with milestones and timelines. Sit down if you're finding this all a bit too exciting, the ministers behind Cameron and Clegg looked just as inspired. The plans will be published online for the public to check against. It is all about ...
An interesting piece from Julian Glover today in the Guardian about the up-and-coming Oldham by-election got me thinking. Is it time for pollsters to ask if people would vote for the coalition if there was a general election tomorrow? Pollsters ask if the voters approve of the government and they ask which party you will vote for if there is a general election tomorrow but, as far as I am aware, they do not ask respondents how you would vote if you were offered a coalition candidate. It would be interesting to see the results of that question.
In reading what was a rather well balanced (for a change) and interesting article on the Guardian website this morning about the forthcoming by-election in Oldham East and Saddleworth, I was distracted by a paragraph later down the article which made me feel rather uneasy. Whilst talking about the forthcoming battle and how it could be seriously be the first real test of the Liberal Democrats time in government with the Conservatives, the author Julian Glover wrote the following: In London, meanwhile, a few Lib Dems are furtively meeting diverse Conservatives to discuss what has become known as Coalition 2.0: ...
Simon Hughes sent LibDem members the following email following the guilty verdict passed on Phil Woolas over the Oldham East & Saddleworth election scandal. Dear Lisa, I'm writing to you from Oldham where history was made this morning. In May's General Election, Labour beat Lib Dem Elwyn Watkins in the Oldham East and Saddleworth constituency by just 103 votes. An election court has today ruled that the Labour campaign was so misleading that it actually broke the law. The court ruled the election void and an election will now be held. This is a decisive condemnation of what was a ...
The election offence for which Phil Woolas's election was overturned is, deliberately and rightly, drawn narrowly and precisely (a point Nich Starling made very robustly on his blog and which Iain has also made on Lib Dem Voice). The law gives very broad scope to contentious and aggressive claims, partly because – as Arthur Balfour succinctly put it when pushed to expand the law in 1905, "It is evidently not easy to go further, if only because of the difficulty of distinguishing between the mis-statements which are due to malice and those which are due to mere stupidity." The offence ...
Further to my recent update about the events planned for West End Christmas Week, and with many thanks to Rob Carstairs who has done all the hard work on putting together the 2010 Christmas Week website, the 2010 updates can now be seen at www.seabraesfireworks.co.uk. There's still some sponsor information to be uploaded to the website but it already shows that Christmas Week is looking great this year - its 10th anniversary year!
From the folk at WestFest! : Dundee WestFest is holding a fundraising McCabaret Night on 20th November. Venue is Dundee Arts Society, Roseangle - Doors open at 7pm. Tickets priced £15 (£7.50 concession) - supper included. Come and join us for an evening of quirky Scottish entertainment! Tickets will be on sale in the Westfest Shop - 93 Perth Road - or you can email westendfestival@rocketmail.com and we'll reserve them for you. This is an evening not to be missed!
Those of us fighting to secure the future of Wales Welsh language channel, S4C received a bit of a setback this morning with the publication of the results of an opinion poll that found that most people in Wales, including a narrow majority of Welsh speakers, believe S4C should show programmes in English. The Western Mail says that the YouGov poll, commissioned by S4C programme Y Byd ar Bedwar being broadcast tonight, found 53% agreed the channel should show English programmes, with 18% disagreeing and the rest not expressing a view. Welsh speakers were more evenly split, with 36% backing ...
This morning's Western Mail reports that Liberal Democrat-led Wrexham Council stands to receive almost £35m of net payments, simply by fitting solar panels to less than a third of its housing stock and 13 other council-owned buildings. Wrexham's calculations exclude reductions in energy bills, thanks to the free electricity available at each solar-fitted building. The total windfall, including those savings, could be about £1bn. The annual electricity bill for Cardiff County Hall alone is about £500,000. Wrexham's executive board will decide next week whether to approve the installation of photovoltaic (PV) panels on the roofs of 3,000 of the council's ...
Remember the euphoria among Liberal Democrats in the lead up to the General Election this year? The excitement, the hope and the expectation would be dashed as the results came in showing an increase in vote but a loss of seats (typical FPTP result!). And to be honest we've been on the back foot since then. Every move we've made has been criticised from the left (TRAITORS!) and the right (OPPORTUNISTS!). And being the nice people we are, many of us have taken these attacks to heart, tried to make excuses, and ended up attacking our leadership to prove our ...
The reliving of my summer holiday, you will recall, has reached Porthmadog. Whist there, I was intrigued by the rails of the Welsh Highland Railway running down the main street near the Harbour station. As this film shows, they are now in use. What you are watching here is explained on the Ffestiniog Railway website: Saturday October 30th saw the first trains ever to run from Caernarfon to Porthmadog Harbour Station. (The original Welsh Highland never achieved the final three mile link from Dinas Junction to Caernarfon).Note, too, that the tracks cross the Cambrian Coast line on the level. I ...
George Galloway, once an MP who then turned into Rula Lenska's milk lapping pussycat in Big Brother, now writes for The Daily Record. Today George hints heavily in his column that he may well stand for the Glasgow regional list in next years Holyrood elections. I, myself, am coming under serious pressure to be a candidate, not in Oldham but in Glasgow, and for the Scottish parliament in May. Given there are 208 days to polling day, he has a while to decide which party to stand for, if any. I wonder what has made gorgeous George think about this, ...
Part 28 of blogging my way through my first reading of Atlas Shrugged. You can find the first part here. Chapter 28: The Egoist The chapter opens with Rand's pantomime socialists all standing agog at the sheer wonder of Rand's arguments in the previous chapter. Naturally, nothing has anything to say in response beyond the ...
Remember the euphoria among Liberal Democrats in the lead up to the General Election this year? The excitement, the hope and the expectation would be dashed as the results came in showing an increase in vote but a loss of seats (typical FPTP result!). And to be honest we've been on the back foot since then. Every move we've made has been criticised from the left (TRAITORS!) and the right (OPPORTUNISTS!). And being the nice people we are, many of us have taken these attacks to heart, tried to make excuses, and ended up attacking our leadership to prove our ...
The Independent's Andrew Grice has spiced up the story of a Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate's defection to Labour with the help of some figures – which turn out to be incorrect. Andrew Lewin, who stood in Hertford and Stortford in May, has switched to Labour "in protest at his leader's acceptance of Conservative policies and abandonment of key elements of his party's programme." The article refers to Lewin: at 23 the youngest Lib Dem candidate in England at the May election when in fact the youngest Liberal Democrat candidate was Alan Belmore, who was aged 20 on polling day, when ...
One of the arguments against a graduate tax as a means of funding higher education (see earlier blog No Graduation without Taxation) is that such a tax would only produce a stream of income in the future, whereas the universities need money now.The National Union of Students, which favours a graduate tax, suggest that this circle could be squared by selling bonds, which would provide funds now against the promise of the future income stream. As far as I can see there is no similar scheme in place to provide "upfront" cash for the universities now from the £6 000 ...
Reuters reports on the situation outside Laayoune in the occupied Western Sahara, where locals are protesting with their feet against the continued Moroccan occupation. Latest reports are that the Moroccans are planning to clear the camps by force and have cut off cell phone signals to as to prevent sneaky stuff like uploading video of what they are doing. You probably won't read much about this in the international press because Morocco is a darling of the West and news editors generally don't care much about the Saharawis. (BBC, Guardian, etc, where are you on this?)
i) births and deaths 8 November 1956: birth of Richard Curtis, executive producer of The Curse of Fatal Death (1999) and writer of Vincent and the Doctor (2010) ii) broadcast anniversaries 8 November 1975: broadcast of third episode of Pyramids of Mars. The Doctor and Sarah fail to blow up the rocket, and the Doctor is transported to Sutekh's chamber. 8 November 1980: broadcast of third episode of Full Circle. The Doctor and Dexeter analyse their samples, but Romana lets the Marshmen onto the starliner. 8 November 1986: broadcast of second episode of Terror of the Vervoids (ToaTL #10). One ...
Waste Services at Central Bedfordshire Council are marking European Week for Waste Reduction from Saturday 14 Nov to Sat 27 Nov. During this time they are hosting a number of swap shops events, which will include two evening swap shop events for adults, six mums and babies swap shops and two school swap shops, to highlight two of the campaign themes 'A longer life for products' and 'Less waste thrown away'. Swap shops promote reuse, helps save money and ultimately stops unnecessary waste going to landfill. CBC is also emailing parish councils asking for support in terms of displaying the ...
Central Beds Council needs to cut its cloth by 28% following the spending review. We'd been expecting to make cuts of the order of 20% and the merger between South and mid-Beds was originally driven with efficiency savings in mind. Luckily for it, Council tax accounts for a higher proportion of income than the average local authority, so it's less dependent on money from central government than other authorities. The Council's Executive has issued a first proposal of service reductions to include: 1. Reshaping the youth services with a greater emphasis on volunteering. 2. Halting funding to the music service ...
It would be great if somewhere in Belfast we could have a statue of either Christ the King or even better of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Perhaps opposite the Spirit of Thanksgiving across the river Lagan, next to the Odyssey Complex?... read the rest at Hiberno Catholic Filed under: Blogging, catholic, Sacred Heart
UK trade, the EU, and the Rotterdam Effect Nosemonkey looks into EU trade figures. (tags: eu) cassiphone: A Reader's Guide to Lois McMaster Bujold Tansy Rayner Roberts gives an excellent overview and ideas on where to get started on the Vorkosigan saga (but doesn't cover Bujold's fantasy books). (tags: sf)
I was watching the football match between Hibs and Hearts yesterday. With three minutes to go Hearts were winning 2-0 and the Hibs captained was sent off. There were no complaints. What caught my eye was when the injured player was trying to come back on the pitch you could see things thrown towards the player and the commentator said that the police would have to move in. The player moved onto the pitch away from the missiles and he was called back by the physio. I don't know how dangerous the missiles were. I don't know if it was ...
