Whilst smoking my pipe outside the Joint Regional Conference of Devon and Cornwall and Western Counties Liberal Democrats in Plymouth today, I came across this living proof of the social range of the party. Note that the wall ashtray holds a used Rizla packet from a roll-up user and the butt of a cigar from the more prosperous smoker who, I am reliably informed, was Chris Fox, party chief
Last Tuesday saw a full council meeting. On the agenda was the Green Space Plans. The Lib Dem administration had an amendment in, that the plans went on to the next stage. They will then be put together by officers, objections submissions taken into account & will then be devolved to the Neighbourhood Partnerships. Democracy in action. The Conservatives had tabled an amendment seconded by Cllr Jethwa, Stockwood, to scrap the plans, needless to say she mentioned her public meeting, filled with Stockwood residents who had been misled by her into believing that the whole of Stockwood would be built ...
[Originally posted on Bristol Running Resource, 21/11/10] Do you prefer your running solo? Or would you rather a bit of jostling in the pack? They are very different experiences, and both can be enjoyable. But I guess I do most of my running these days with a partner. There are many advantages to running with ...
As I marched through Trelowarren Street on Remembrance Sunday, it was with great sadness that I saw that Camborne's last greengrocers, Stokes, had closed its doors for business for the last time. When I grew up, there were three greengrocers in Camborne - the little one at the top near the magistrates' court, the one next to where Iceland is today and the one on the site of the now former Stokes. I'm sure some of you remember even more shops where you could buy fresh produce in times further back. In an age where obesity and ill-health is a ...
The most spectacular funicular in Lisbon — often missed by tourists — is the Ascensor da Bica, which starts from inside what appears to be a normal building in the Rua de Sao Paulo west of Cais do Sodre and climbs steeply up the hillside before entering the narrow Rua da Bica de Duarte Belo, ...
The other day some people were discussing what the number one single was the day they were born. With me it was Running Bear by Johnny Preston (hubba, hubba). But in looking that up I discovered that this track had also been in the top 10. Which helps to explain why I cannot remember a time when I did not know this tune, even if I did not know what it was called. It turns out to be not Theme from a Summer Place, but Theme from A Summer Place - the theme from the film A Summer Place. Are ...
In September, I raised the issue of litter in the Brown Street/Hawkhill area, following the opening of the Tesco Express store on Hawkhill. At that time, the City Council agreed to provide an additional litter bin - at it was placed near the new casino. However, there have since been complaints about litter further up Hawkhill, past the store - and that the bin at the casino is often full. I raised this with council and have received the following positive response : " ... firstly the bin should be getting emptied at the weekend as we do have staff ...
[IMG: 004.JPG] Well, I have unsurprisingly been de-friended by Cllr Connolly and some Labour people in the wake of what I have snappily termed Facebook-Royal-Parasite-gate. But life goes on, as the pictures above and below show. They are of this weekend's Saturday Surgery, where local Lib Dem Councillors head out into the centre of Prestwich to meet residents and say hello, talk about any issues they may have, and get support for our local campaigns. The photo above shows this week's line-up, with Cllr Steve Wright of Sedgley ward on the left, me in the middle and Cllr Vic D'Albert ...
I've started a separate blog about cooking called Scallion Rap.
So much for a government committed to "the big society". So much for a government that said it was going to talk to us seriously - not treat us li [IMG: hmmm glitzy !] ke idiots - not tell us what to do. So much for a government that was going to get out of the way of business. So here we have a government that, if reports are to be believed, at the first hurdle is buckling to pressure from a government funded lobbying group and that age old nonsense about "saving the kids" - and seriously considering forcing ...
The Unemployment figures up to the end of October have been published and show a continuing slow fall. The national seasonally adjusted claimant totals fell by 3,700 to 1.465,400, while the Birmingham figures fell by 129 to 45,815. This is a rate of 11.3% and compares to 12.7% a year ago. We remain the City with the highest unadjusted unemployment rates of all major english cities, but are now only marginally worse than Liverpool and pretty close to Manchester too. In Acocks Green unadjusted unemployment fell (by 3) to 1,184, made up of 837 men (13.5% claimant rate) and 347 ...
[IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] After the courts overturned the General Election result several hundred people congregated outside the Liberal Club in Chapel St to celebrate the subsequent by election victory. The report in the Southport Guardian dated July 12th 1911 reads : The scene was indeed animated. The result came through at 11.15pm that the former candidate for Southport had been successful and a great cheer went up when Mr E Rhodes announced the fact to the crowd. Iain Sharpe over on the Eaten by Missionaries Blog caught my attention last week when he reported that the last ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 196th 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 (14th -20th November, 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. Tuition fees: ...
If I am right about the shape of Britain in 2020, and I would only be right if a lot of assumptions prove to be correct, will these changes help create a culture of liberty? As regular readers of this blog know, what interests me is the creation of a liberal society. I see no reason why politicians from all three main parties, and other parties, cannot help that happen. Another way of looking at the question is to ask whether a culture of liberty is needed to make the various coalition policies work. My guess is that one needs ...
In May, I asked out loud what we might expect from a Whig government. As we rush towards Christmas, it is becoming a little clearer the direction the coalition is trying to take us. They may not achieve everything that want to do and there is no guarantee of re-election but for the sake of argument let's imagine that after the general election of 2015 the coalition between the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrats continues. Let's also imagine that their economic strategy works and is seen to work. Finally, let's imagine that they are not thrown off course and ...
and explains why here. Last week a Labour blogger announced he was stopping and then wrote one more post.
It was very pleasing to see the new bench on the Village Green earlier this week. Im sure that it will be well used by local residents and is a welcome addition to the landscape.
[IMG: Shamrock Vector Image] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Vectorportal Spare a thought for Brian Lenihan. He's the Irish Finance Minister. For months, nay several years, I've heard him appearing on Radio Telefis Eireann's Radio One, talking in great detail about all the work he has been doing to restructure the debt of the Irish banks. They've even created a very bad bank – NEMA. But after all that, they've finally had to cave in. The Taoiseach will address the nation in half an hour to announce that they are succombing to international help. My advice? Have a few ...
There's a very good argument against Control Orders over on LibDemVoice. I suggest you go and read it.
My attention is turning to the 'campaign for fairer votes'. I attended a meeting in Theydon Bois this week where the guest speaker was Keith Sharpe from the Electoral Reform Society. It is unfortunate, however not entirely surprising that our local MP Eleanor Laing is not in support of a yes vote. A yes vote next year would spell the end to safe seats and a seat for life. Where lazy MP's take their constituents votes for granted and do not work their hardest for the local community. It will give all voters the chance to make their vote count. ...
I love being vegetarian. Don't get me wrong, there are some annoying aspects of having a restricted diet – but mostly it's plain sailing. I also love visiting food fairs – but recently it has felt like I've seen every vegetarian product under the sun. There doesn't seem to be much more innovation in veggie friendly food. This year, I went to the Good Food Show (well, MasterChef Live – but hardly anyone is there for the TV tie in) to see what was on offer. The usual range of meat substitutes were there – sausages, burgers, powerfully flavoured tofu. ...
Pam and I have asked for the one-way sign outside 162 Kingsway (at the junction with South Park Road) to be repaired - the front of the sign has fallen off. Do let us know if you spot any more signs that are broken - either physically damaged or a sign that should be lit at night but isn't.
Pam and I have been out and about, and have reported about fifteen potholes to be repaired: 3 deep potholes along kerb by entrance to shopping parade, Foxland Road, Gatley Pothole in centre of road, outside 53 Foxland Road, Gatley Pothole outside 10/12 Appleby Road, Gatley Several potholes near junction of Gainford Avenue and Borrowdale Avenue, Gatley Pothole on Oak Road, Cheadle by junction with Sycamore Walk Pothole outside 13 Wensley Road, Cheadle Pothole outside 3 Mardale Drive, Gatley Pothole on Kingsway Service Road, by junction with Mardale Drive, Gatley We've also asked for pavement to be repaired outside 5 ...
I went to an event in the House last week to celebrate the Rugby Football League's efforts to tackle homophobia in the game. The RFL brought their gay equality campaign to Parliament to an event, hosted by my LibDem colleague Greg Mullholland MP. The RFL chief executive Nigel Wood said: "Many believe rugby league to be a brutal sport. I will not disagree that the on-the-field product can appear combative and aggressive but it is always played in the correct mindset of competition and fairness. This latter point translates across all those involved in rugby league and is the reason ...
[IMG: Spy Wars book cover] When it first came out in hardback in 2007 Tennent H Bagley's book immediately caused a storm in intelligence circles for its detailed dissection of the Yuri Nosenko defection case. Controversies over Nosenko's defection in 1963 - was he a genuine defector or was he a KGB plant? - have always had a wider significance, for two primary reasons. Nosenko presented evidence about what JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald got up to in Russia. In addition, the Nosenko case was central to the beliefs of a group of CIA officers, led by James Jesus Angleton, ...
The leader of the Labour Party in Bury has apologised for calling the Royal Family "parasites" in a Facebook message last week. Cllr Connolly said "I regret what I said and I apologise for the phrase I used. Local people and hardworking families have to pay for their own weddings and I hope that Prince William and Kate Middleton do just that." If he regrets what he said, I wonder why he said it. I have no idea whether he still thinks the Royals are parasites or not. I also wonder how many local people and hardworking families Cllr Connolly ...
I'm a big Peter Kay fan. I said as such in a recent blog post where I wrote of my love of good natured, down-to-earth comedy. I'm also a big musical fan and of Queen and of Freddie Mercury in particular. Again, I also mentioned this in another recent blog post. So imagine my amazement and delight to have these two very different enthusiasms, merged together into a bizzare, surreal but fantastic performance last night! Peter Kay - A Musical Maestro As I mentioned in my 'Love of Laughter' blog mentioned above, I was due to attend with my Alyson, ...
Sun 21st
13:50
Opinion: Ireland has many economic problems.....but it isn't an argument against the Euro
As my native Ireland teeters on the edge of bankruptcy and bailout, sections of the British press have taken the opportunity to view Ireland's difficulty as the Europsceptic's opportunity. Some of the comment has centred around the idea that British taxpayers will be asked to 'bail out' their feckless neighbours, as, apparently they were with Greece last year. This article aims not to explore that argument further, as it is a debate too reliant on uncertain future events, and is framed within a Britsih nationalist context which it is not appropriate for me to explore. Instead I want to focus ...
A bizarre headline you may think? If the EC Directive had gone through, the dog sled racing teams would have been limited on the total number of dogs that can be moved from one country to another at any one time to five per person. The Directive would have stopped Scottish sled dog teams participating in races in mainland Europe. This barking mad EU Directive has now been reversed after interventions from Scotland's Liberal Democrat MEP, George Lyon and Tory MEP, Struan Stevenson. The European Commission has now also ruled commercial passports for individual dogs, which cost £150 each, will ...
If Ed Balls criticises you for being too liberal, you're probably doing something right. He told today's Andrew Marr Show "if you always sway to the liberal view, you get things wrong". So the view of the now Shadow Home Secretary is that liberalism, and the civil liberties associated with it, are bad and lead to mistakes. After he was at the heart of a government who lead 13 years of authoritarian intrusion on civil liberties this probably shouldn't come as surprise. Coalition high command should take his comments as the ultimate compliment that they are winning the argument on ...
Nev (a small blue bear on the CBBC programme "Bear Behaving Badly") has a policy that I believe we Lib Dems should adopt in the concept of diversity in local government, that policy is "More Please!". Since the introduction of councils to the internet, everyone is now able to see who represents them and in most cases it's usually a white, older, gentleman. In my own county of Ceredigion (which has 42 members) there are only five women and worse than that there are no coloured councillors or members of other ethnic groups at all (despite Aberystwyth having a large ...
To say that this week was interesting would be a bit of an understatement. On Monday I flew down to London to attend a dinner given by HRH Prince William of Wales at Windsor Castle on the night before he announced his engagement to Kate Middleton. Sir Michael Parkinson had asked if my family and ...
[IMG: BIG SECRET] News of the World, on page 7, I noticed an item I consider, assuming it's true, both dangerous and stupid. Lucy Panton (Crime Editor) in a piece with this headline "SECRET TRACK DEVICE ON HER" the tale starts with this "Kate has been given a piece of jewellery fitted with a secret James Bond-style tracking device which she must wear at all times to foil any kidnap attempts" It waffles on a bit more and then the Crime Editor, Lucy Panton adds this gem "The exact location of the tracker will remain a closely guarded secret" surely ...
There is an interesting article that a friend directed me to on naked body scanners in the Washington Examiner. It's about how boby scanners do little to improve security (items can still be hidden in body cavities) and the strong lobby in the states that has ensured it's rollout accross US airports. See 'Naked scanners': Lobbyists join the war on terror A point that the above article does not touch on is how safe are these boby scanners. They use a short but very high dose of exposure to X-ray's. See AFP's 'Naked' scanners at US airports may be dangerous: ...
Sun 21st
12:28
UPDATED: "Promise", "Break", "Betrayal", "Commitment", "Manifesto", "Pledge", "Trust" - all these wo...
UPDATE 12:25: I have now watched the actual interview with Vince Cable on the Politics Show. Basically, Vince used the red herring approach. The red herring, that is, that the LibDems promised to scrap tuition fees in their manifesto but we didn't win the election. We entered into coalition and had to abandon that manifesto commitment, along with others abandoned by both us and the Tories. The reason that is a red herring is because it ignores the pledge with Vince and other LibDem MPs signed to vote against increases in tuition fees. That was done on an individual basis ...
"The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society". These are the first fourteen words of the Preamble to the Constitution of the Liberal Democrats. It was this statement that finally made me decide to join the Lib Dems nearly ten years ago, and has kept me campaigning, working and fighting for and on behalf of our party ever since. The control order debate has been raging lately, within the party and in the press. I wanted to explain why I feel so strongly about the issue of control orders and why I set up ...
Later this week, Edge Hill University will find out whether it has won this year's University of the Year title. The big awards ceremony is Thursday evening (25th November). It's the second time in the last few years that Edge Hill has been nominated, so fingers crossed this time.
[IMG: Organ Donor Register] Or any organ for that matter. Obviously I'm not talking about now but after you die. Every year hundreds of people die while waiting for an organ transplant and many others lose their lives before they even get on to the transplant list. There is a serious shortage of organs and the gap between the number of organs donated and the number of people waiting for a transplant is increasing. That quote was taken from the NHS Organ Donation site. There is no reason why everyone isn't on the Organ Donor Register. There are no religious ...
While editing the Houghton Regis News Desk on facebook, I drew attention to the proposals by Central Bedfordshire Council for various cost cutting exercises. School crossing patrols, street lights, the manning of CCTV cameras, the closure of a resource facility for after school homework club, the closure of employment facilities for some of the most mentally and physically challenged people in society, not to mention the curtailment of fly-tipping response were all among the cuts proposed that will directly affect Houghton Regis. But the one thing that seems to have polarised public annoyance is the proposal to close the Houghton ...
Every so often I get asked some questions by Yougov. And at the moment I'm filling in a survey for them which has asked the question "Which is your favourite type of cuisine?" Though the choices offered were wide-ranging — Caribbean, Turkish, Chinese, Mexican, British, Spanish, Vegetarian, Japanese, American, Malaysian, Lebanese, Indian, Persian, Greek, Thai, French, South American, Italian and Other — the very concept of selecting just one to represent my tastes is an impossible task; all have their esteemed place in my choices. In the end I selected Japanese through my love of sashimi, but I'll likely have ...
A strange period for Chelsea FC at the moment. Carlo Ancelotti, the team manger who in his first season took Chelsea to win the double - the FA cup and the Premier league, appears to have fallen out with Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich. As usual the fans are told very little, or just get the official club spin. Firstly, Ray Wilkins gets sacked - another in a long line of staff to be losing their jobs recently at Chelsea - but is this Abramovich flexing his muscle over Ancelotti, or is this more penny pinching? The statement from Chelsea ...
47) David Allen, Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life ( London: Piatkus, 2008, ISBN 9780749941031). This is the third of David Allen's books, but I'd recommend reading it second, after Getting Things Done and before Ready for Anything. It reviews the principles of Getting Things Done and gives a little more detail of the rationale behind it, but doesn't stray into spirituality the way Ready for Anything does and is more sympathetic. Definitely worth reading if you like some of the individual principles of GTD, but haven't got a clear picture ...
Ok it was over a century ago but the artist collectively know as the Glasgow Boys started out painting realistic images of the things round about them and did so in a very 'natural' way. I first came across their work by chance when walking in Galloway as a student 40 years ago. I was staying in the 'Artist Town' of Kirkcudbright and came across a small exhibition of one of the Glasgow Boys, E.A. Hornel, whose work was preserved in his old studio by a local trust. Anyone who had read Dorothy L Sayers book 'Five Red Herrings' was ...
During the 2005-10 Parliament I blogged several times pointing out how the trends in turnout in British elections were more positive than many of the media reports suggested. One reason for this was simply an interest in the gap between the widely accepted clichés in political and media circles about turnout and the reality. The other was that the gap is not simply of academic interest, as misplaced stories of turnout can in turn alter turnout. Whether it is because of a herd effect (you know that other people are voting, so you copy them) or social pressure (you know ...
i) births and deaths 21 November 1924: birth of Malcolm Hulke, co-author of The Faceless Ones, The War Games and (uncredited) The Ambassadors of Death, sole author of Doctor Who and the Silurians, Colony in Space, The Sea Devils, Frontier in Space, and Invasion of the Dinosaurs, and writer of seven novelisations (DW&t Cave-Monsters, DW&t Doomsday Weapon, DW&t Sea Devils, DW&t Green Death, DW&t Dinosaur Invasion, DW&t Space War and DW&t War Games) and co-writer of The Making of Doctor Who. 21 November 1937: birth of Ingrid Pitt, who played Galleia in The Time Monster (1972) and Solow in Warriors ...
In 1974 there were two General Elections. This is a Conservative leaflet from the first of those - Feb 1974. It went out in the Hazel Grove constituency - which was marginal between the Liberals and Conservatives at that time (the Liberals won in the February election, the Conservatives took the seat in the October and then held it until Andrew Stunell's 1997 victory). The leaflet looks like a fairly generic one, which simply reprints a Daily Express article exhorting people to vote Conservative, with the headlines Would you send a puppet to the palace? and For everyone's sake vote ...
The latest batch of peerages show how urgently we must "get big money out of politics". For the Tories it was "business as usual" - rewarding the largesse of wealthy donors with seats in the Lords. Obvious examples include Stanley Fink, Michael Bishop and Robert Edminston, who have given millions to the party. So far, so predictable. The more interesting story concerns the appointments on the Labour side, where Ed Miliband seems to be trying to draw a line under Labour's murky "cash for peerages" past. According to The Times: " He decided against handing seats in the House of ...
Several recent moves show that the developers are serious about this site. Chelverton Deeley Freed has bought the former Lanes hardware shop in the High Street. This would give them a way through to the river and onwards to the Waitrose site. The Gazette quotes a company director saying that they want to create a pedestrian link with three, four or five new shops at the rear of the building. In another move Sodbury Town Council has agreed to give up its lease on the Wickwar Road car park. There are currently 180 free spaces. Under the Waitrose plan the ...
Nobody likes an apologist. So why are the Liberal Democrats apologising for every decision the Coalition takes? Continue on this road and the party is heading toward electoral annihilation. This apologist outlook has stemmed from the strategy the Lib Dems have operated with since 1997, namely, attacking the government from the left. The strategy must be broadly viewed as a success. Only a month prior to the election the party were ahead in the polls, and although they suffered a net loss in regard to seats, the party gained a notoriety amongst the public not witnessed for over 80 years. ...
BBC Wales reports that the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales has rejected calls to reform the way that Councillors are policed, claiming that new guidance has helped reduce the number of cases referred to him: Peter Tyndall was criticised after a series of high-profile cases including one where a councillor called Scientology "stupid" on Twitter. Decisions to take no further action have made a "laughing stock" of the role, says Peter Black AM. The Scientology remark occurred when Cardiff councillor John Dixon used Twitter to post his view as he walked past a Scientology centre in London. Swansea councillor Rene ...
Hidden right at the bottom of the this article, published by The Independent, was a throw away comment that Lorely Burt, Chair of our Parliamentary Party and MP for Solihull, will vote against the rise in tuition fees.Lorely was one MP who my petition, Lib Dems Against Tuition Fees, was sent to, because more than 183 people had signed it. 183 being a significant number because if this number
My Brookvale and Kings Furlong colleague Cllr John Shaw has re-launched his blog which you can visit HERE. Our wards are joined along Penrith and Essex roads and therefore we often work together. Many of the issues John blogs are relevant to Eastrop.
The Liberal Democrats have always prided itself on being the most democratic political party. Prided itself allowing its members to make decisions on all aspects of policy (and some time this has led to the media having a field day when reporting on our conferences), which in turn creates a volt of ideas that the leadership choose from to form basis of the party's manifesto at election. But it
It is far too early to find a link to this article on the Wales on Sunday website and I don't want to give the impression of being obsessed with Peter Hain, however I thought it worth highlighting the story about the blame game in this morning's paper as a good example of Labour tactics since they lost power a few months ago. The Spin Doctor column points out that Shadow Welsh Secretary, Peter Hain's golden rule is that everything that goes right is the responsibility of the previous Labour Government, whilst anything that goes wrong is the fault of ...
The BBC is reporting that Vince Cable has argued that there's been no betrayal of students by the Lib Dems, and that he's working to get the best deal for students. We didn't break a promise. We made a commitment in our manifesto, we didn't win the election. We then entered into a coalition agreement, and it's the coalition agreement that is binding upon us and which I'm trying to honour Vince speaks in an interview to be broadcast on the Politics Show later today.
[IMG: Sanjay Samani visiting Bervie Braes]
The link is to today's story in the Sunday Telegraph about The Sims.Those interested in the issue should see the effort that the Civil Servants are putting in to refuse to admit the truth about adoptions from care. Something like 40% of the children leaving care (defined as subject to a care order or police protection) are leaving through adoption.When you consider the children under 10 then it
I noted an article in the Forfar Dispatch about Angus Council contract for new housing stock last month. I agree with "An Angus Employer" who complained in a letter [4 November] that the contract was not awarded to a local Angus business. Unfortunately Councils in Scotland are tied to the procurement policies of the SNP government. They have centralised the process and made it extremely difficult for smaller local businesses to be approved to even bid for contracts. The approval process and level of paperwork is beyond local builders and service providers. I have discussed this very issue with builders ...
[IMG: Sanjay visiting Montrose Beach with Alison McInnes MSP]
Consett North Partnership are holding a Race Night to raise funds to enable them to carry out a range of projects to improve local people's lives. The Race Night will be held at Consett YMCA on Saturday December 4th, starting at 7.00 p.m. Admission is FREE and there is a cash bar. A good night is guaranteed for all. Just get in touch if you want more info. Friends of the Park, in conjunction with Leisureworks, will be holding a Christmas Fayre based in the Park Lodge (Heritage Centre) of Blackhill and Consett Park on Saturday December 18th, running from ...
Yesterday I received a request by email to sign a petition for the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party to keep its word on tuition fees. I could not sign it as there has to be a clear difference between what the Liberal Democrats in government can do and what everyone else as Liberal Democrats can do. As part of the coalition government we can't keep our word. All our policies were costed in May but we haven't implemented all our policies (especially the ones that save money). The problem isn't that we have gone back on our word, the problem is ...
