caused as a result of a very small minority of the protesters on the NUS march today (especially around the Cenotaph – a monument to those who fought for freedom – including the right to protest), I cannot cannot defend ... Continue reading →
What A Crazy Situation! Good God, how we need an Alastair Campbell figure. Either stand by the pledge that you signed in opposition or bite the bullet - remind people that a majority of students didn't vote for the Lib Dem policy to abolish fees and, that especially on a day when the economic turmoil which effected Greece and instigated the coalition and that has just driven a 'coach and horses' through the Irish economy and then now looks like threatening Belgium, Portugal and Spain next - say 'look sorry, we've tried to make it as progressive as possible but ...
[IMG: MeeGo Conference Nights Out, #10] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: timsamoff It's a wry, ironic historical point (with perhaps an element of fantasy on my part). But then the words "Ireland" and "history" tend to be virtually synonymous. The British government can talk about helping "a friend in need" all they like but in actual fact the loan to Ireland (if it is confirmed) is a money-making wheeze for UK plc, albeit a bit of a risky one. We haven't actually got £8 billion to loan to Ireland, as we all know. So we'll borrow it at about ...
Having been involved in organising ten West End Christmas Week events, tonight's was easily the best in terms of Christmas night events we have run - the largest turnout of local people - hundreds at the Christmas Concert in Dundee West Church, such a great turnout that we ran out of room! - our most impressive fireworks display ever (thanks Rob!), a super carnival and great atmosphere. I am indebted to all who took part, helped with the organisation and in any other way helped make tonight a superb community night for the West End. Err ... so to the ...
Probably the last bit of devolved Lib Dem devolved lighting budget has now been drafted for East Dulwich. £50,000 worth of improvement. We'll allocated our funds to fixing 'red' lamp posts which are 70%+ corroded at the base. Eight of them. We'll fund the upgrade to lighting on Crystal Palace Road, Dunstans Road and Friern Road replacing old yellow SOX lighting. CPR will get SON lighting for the majority but Cosmo lights at the Lordship Lane end. SON lighting all along Dunstans Road and Cosmo on Friern Road as suggested when I consulted with local Police. We'll then have ensured ...
Cross-posted from Liberal Democrat Voice There were signs today that Prime Minister's Questions was getting serious and considered at long last. Ed Miliband asked a very anorakky question about the government taking away "all the funding from the highly successful school sport partnerships" There followed an almost scholarly exchange of statistics which left me none the wiser. Miliband's stats said Labour improved school sports. Cameron's said they ruined it. Was Miliband right? Was Cameron right? It was beyond me. Except I did notice that Cameron seemed to be almost exclusively quoting figures on "competitive sports". Ah. The old Tory Daily ...
I'm getting increasingly frustrated with Nick Clegg's statements on tuition fees (and that starts from a fairly high level of frustration with him for singling them out as one of our long-term policies that might have to go in 2009). Look, the point is not that the Lib Dem manifesto said that we'd phase tuition fees out. Everyone understands that we didn't win the election, so aren't in a position to implement everything in the manifesto. What we compromise about - and whether we compromise at all or just stay out of government - is up for debate, of course, ...
UKIP's Godfrey Bloom may indeed be a national embarrassment, as the Liberal Democrat leader in the European Parliament described him today, but he must also be a huge embarrassment to UKIP. Still, he's here to stay. Bloom's heckling of Martin Schulz, the German leader of the Socialists & Democrats Group - "EIN REICH, EIN VOLK, EIN FUHRER!" was out of order by the standards of any Parliament, but what gets me is the way in which he pretends that the European Parliament practices different standards to that of other democratic assemblies. I have little doubt that his words would have ...
David Laws is interviewed by Helen Duffett on Lib Dem Voice about his new book 22 Days in May: Why have you published this book now? You said you wanted to get matters on the record, but why not write it now and publish it in ten years? That's the way memoirs used to work, so why so keen to publish after only six months? Isn't history better judged from a distance? I think it's important for us now that people in the country understand how we made the decisions we made in May 2010, and what factors were uppermost ...
[IMG: City Hall] If you are a Liberal Democrat member in London and have not yet voted in our GLA list candidate selection, there's another chance to hear the candidates in person and pose your own questions direct to them on Thursday night. Battersea Liberal Democrats are holding a hustings at York Gardens Library & Community Centre, Lavender Road, London SW11 2UG on Thursday night; 7:00pm for a 7:30pm start.
I am pleased to annouce that in 2011 Camborne will be hosting its very own Saint Piran's Day festival. The idea to plan the festival was borne out of a motion I put to the Town Council a while ago and I am pleased that it is now coming to fruition. One of the many reasons why I love being Cornish and I am proud to come from Camborne is the community spirit and pride in our our heritage that the people of Camborne and Cornwall have. We already see this on celebratory occasions such as Christmas in Camborne and ...
I was writing a long ramble about the bad wirings in my brain and some of what I've tried to do about it all over the last eight or nine years, but then I couldn't be bothered, because in the end it comes down to one thing: I saw a new doctor today who actually listened to me, and seems to understand what I need and why, and it feels hopeful. I felt down afterwards, and I was going over it in my head, why I still felt low despite the Good Things to have come out of it, thinking ...
[IMG: Open Rights Group logo] Today is the fifth birthday of the Open Rights Group: The digital age is transforming society: bringing us greater democracy, transparency and new creative possibilities. When these freedoms are under attack, the Open Rights Group is there to defend them. Founded in 2005 by 1,000 digital activists, ORG has become the UK's leading voice defending freedom of expression, privacy, innovation, consumer rights and creativity on the net. Getting into the political trenches in the UK and EU, we mobilise our supporters to stop bad laws. Working closely with other campaign groups, we lobby government and ...
[IMG: Sarah Teather] Liberal Democrats believe that a quality education is the biggest opportunity to improve people's lives. Nothing is more important than giving every child a fair start in life. Today the coalition government published its white paper on schools - "The Importance of Teaching". It sets out our ambitious reform programme to raise standards for all children while narrowing the gap between rich and poor. It shows how the Government is delivering the fair start for every child that we promised in the Liberal Democrat manifesto. The White Paper announced four key reforms - Delivering a Pupil Premium, ...
I can't really remember that many really spectacular speeches that are so good, that capture the mood of the moment so perfectly that they give you goosebumps coming from the Holyrood Chamber. Patrick Harvie and Malcolm Chisholm on Megrahi come to mind. Malcolm Chisholm on Trident was another good one. And Patrick Harvie's speech on the 2009 budget may not have helped him in the long run but it was utterly brilliant to listen to. Today Tavish Scott showed why he deserves to be in that elite group. He gave what was to me the speech of the day, if ...
If you are experiencing problems from poor parking by Bath Spa University students attending the Culverhay Annexe these two numbers will be of use. Margaret Rideout, on 875626 in the School of Education and Kathy Flint, on 875633, again in the School of Education They both have access to the University's database whereby if they are given a car registration number on the...
Wearing one of my many hats, I am a Trustee of Belfast's local HIV charity, The HIV Support Centre. The Harrington Review into Work Capability Assessments that was published yesterday must be taken note of by Northern Ireland's own Social Development Minister, Alex Attwood MLA. Below is the text of a post on The HIV ...
For once, a piece about a national issue. Because it has profound local consequences. The government have put together a huge number of ideas for changing the way council housing and housing association housing ("social housing")works. They have - correctly - identified a number of problems. There aren't anywhere near enough properties for the number of people on the waiting list. Some people are on the waiting list who are unlikely ever to get a house. There are a lot of houses standing empty which people could live in if they were brought back into use. Lots of people are ...
There is much talk about fuel poverty in Northern Ireland, one of the ways that many people try to provide some heat for their homes is by using a free-standing heater. It may be a gas, an electric, or even an electrically powered oil heater. Whichever it is, it is vital that anyone using these ...
There is much talk about fuel poverty in Northern Ireland, one of the ways that many people try to provide some heat for their homes is by using a free-standing heater. It may be a gas, an electric, or even an electrically powered oil heater. Whichever it is, it is vital that anyone using ...
[IMG: swinsonburkeandhare-copy] *This image has been airbrushed and should not be confused with a photograph. The Liberal Democrat MP for East Dunbartonshire, Jo Swinson, has recently been consulting views on whether organ donation after death should be 'opt-out'. This to replace the current donor card 'opt-in' system. It would mean on death, unless your medical records stated an opt-out, or you carried some kind of 'no-donor card', the NHS might freely use your mortal remains for treatment and research. The result of Jo's survey showed 2:1 in favour in the idea. We at Liberal Vision would count ourselves amongst the ...
There's a really unpleasant campaign by Labour at the moment to go door to door and terrify tenants that the Government is going to insist that they all get evicted after two years. This is of course untrue. The Government is giving Councils more powers to adapt tenancies to suit the needs of their areas. Some places like Inner London have hardly any affordable homes and need shorter term tenancies. Places like Manchester need tenants who are living on their estates for the long-term, to bring in stability and to ensure good communities. So, the only way in which short-term ...
34% of eligible voters in the UK did not vote. That figure rises to 50% for students. Of those who did vote, 27.9% voted Tory, 31% voted Labour and 30% voted Lib Dem, 8.8% voted for other parties. In short around 15% of the student population voted for the Liberal Democrats - did they all expect the Lib Dems to win the election without playing an active part in securing that victory? Someone far more cynical than I would suggest the protests are perhaps more a form of post-election voting than anything else. While I am opposed to an increase ...
What would you rather the LibDems have done: a) Have all 57 MPs valiantly keep to their pledge and vote against the unfettered, uncompromising and unprogressive (Labour-initiated) Browne proposals for a cap-less full free market in tuition fees with no allowances for poorer students and then valiantly see these proposals go through with the votes of 500 Tory and Labour MPs (to be fair, now they are in opposition I'm sure some Labour MPs will now abstain but not enough to change the result). or b) Trade our votes with our coalition partners to make the Browne package better, fairer ...
Be careful - loan sharks operating - don't take up any offer of finance on the doorstep particularly as we get nearer to Christmas. There are more affordable ways to borrow money! A good source for money is the credit union. The Bath one is now part of the Bristol Credit Union. Details HERE
Just a quick reminder to Swinton South residents - if you have an issue you'd like to raise, or a problem you need help with, why not come alone to my councillor's surgery tonight. Surgery Details: Location: Valley Community Centre (off Dorning Road) Time: 6.30pm - 7.30pm No appointment needed. See you there!
Warlingham 4th XV are back at the top of the Surrey Foundation League, in spite of having our first league defeat last weekend. One of the many joys of lower leagues rugby is that you get points for just turning up. We picked up two points simply for knowing how to get to Merton Rugby Club's ground even though for most of the first half we seemed to have forgotten how to play the game. Meanwhile all the other sides at the top of our league lost 4 points through no fault of their own. League positions have been recalculated ...
People rightly ask opponents of tuition fees what would we do instead. My alternatives are actually very unlikely to happen. I cling to the old-fashioned view that education at all levels should be free and that society as a whole benefits from having well-educated citizens. We don't ask sixth-formers to contribute to the costs of their education just because they might earn higher incomes
Last night was difficult – I'm not quite sure why, but it was. I was watching the last episode of Series 1 of Queer As Folk (American version) with my friend Andrew. Right at the end of this episode is the scene where Justin Taylor, played so excellently by Randy Harrison, ends up as the ...
The BBC report that Tory MPs want a purge of the people responsible for running S4C. They want the entire S4C authority, with the exception of its chairman, to stand down, saying that they believe that members of the governing body are "part of the problem": Aberconwy MP Guto Bebb told BBC Wales: "Some members of the S4C Authority are more concerned with scoring political points against the coalition government than trying to move S4C forward to a secure future. "We've come to the conclusion as a group of MPs especially after yesterday's evidence to the Welsh Affairs Select Committee ...
In giving the Hugo Young lecture Nick Clegg (reprinted here on Comment is Free) contrasted the 'new progressive' outlook of the Liberal Democrats with Labour's 'old progressive' approach. The former 'focus on the power and freedom of citizens' while the latter 'are straightforwardly in favour of more state spending and activity'. In doing so Clegg arouses the ire of Jonathan Calder: 'Nick Clegg should speak about liberalism not "progressivism"' who endorses the view of Contrasting Sounds that 'the word "progressive" should be taken outside of UK politics and shot. Or rather, restricted to its technical meaning in tax discussions.' I ...
It's been a busy week so far. Monday was a special meeting of the Council at which two issues were debated - Radcliffe Civic Hall and the conduct of the Cabinet Member for HR in his dealings with Trades Unions. I went over the arguments the other day so won't again here, but Lib Dems abstained on both motions after having put forward our views in both debates. To be honest neither of the Labour or Tory arguments were compelling enough to support, so we didn't. It was nice to see some of the newer members of Council speak in ...
I was on the radio this morning debating with Max Brophy of the Education Activists Network - the group linked to the Millbank incident. While iPlayer lasts you can find it here, starting 1h05mins in. As always it is a shame I didn't get to respond to some of Max's points directly. The fairly preposterous line that there is an ideological attack on the public sector - when the share of national income spent by the government is simply returning to the level it was in 2006. And it is a little bizarre that something called the Education Action Network ...
James Carville, President Clinton's political strategist once famously said "I used to think that if there was reincarnation, I wanted to come back as the president or the pope or as a .400 baseball hitter. But now I would like to come back as the bond market. You can intimidate everybody." The European Union is now not only intimidated, it is actively terrified. The Irish bail-out is breaking down. The fact is that the blanket guarantee which the Fianna Fail government offered the banking system has bankrupted the country. Even despite a slash-and-burn budget, there is just not enough money ...
I have an article over on the Institute of Welsh Affairs site about the Welsh Government's budget and the economy. In it I argue that the budget takes economic recovery for granted.
Recommended reading for Lib Dem councillors and local campaigners from the last seven days: In issues around local government and elections we noticed: The Daily Mail reports on part of Nick Clegg's political reform programme in: Voters asked to provide signatures to prevent electoral fraud. The Telegraph reports on Eric Pickles thoughts on the pay of the LGA Chief Executive in: Ministers tell chief executive of Local Government Association to cut his £302,000 total pay package (nb since then the LGA has announced that Ransford will take a £200,000 paycut) From Lib Dem Voice: Andrew Stunell writes: Your Chance to ...
Woah! Really getting scary now. The shiny, expensive electronic road sign on the A40 this morning told me that it would be 20 minutes to the Oxford Park and Ride, up from 11 last week. Forget the Koreas. Forget William and Kate. Oxford is moving east! Thank God the county council invested in these expensive white elephants. Otherwise I would never have known this.
[IMG: Poll piechart] Earlier this week I went along to a session organised by the Economic & Social Research Council into how political polling performed at the general election. The openness with which different political pollsters discussed their approaches, the problems they encounter and how the different techniques used by competing firms compare was a credit to the British polling industry. But it also left me with two nagging doubts. One was widely shared by those at the event. No-one so far has really come up with an explanation as to why the polls just before polling day over-estimated the ...
Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams has criticised the Labour-Plaid Welsh Assembly Government for presiding over a sustained increase in spending on external consultants. Research by the Welsh Liberal Democrats has revealed that the spending on external consultants has increased every year for the past six years increasing from just £1.9 million in 2004 to a staggering £11.9 million last year (2009/10). WAG spend on external consultants by year: 2004/05 £1.9 million 2005/06 £2.5 million 2006/07 £4.3 million 2007/08 £4.6 million 2008/09 £11.2 million 2009/10 £11.9 million The continued rise in external consultants calls into question the ability of the Welsh ...
EU directives and binding regulations do not get a good press, but at best they can drive forward innovation, reduce costs, and benefit the environment. For years the car manufacturers maintained a voluntary agreement with the European Commission that aimed to reduce average CO2 emissions from new cars to 120g by 2012. Nothing much happened; the car makers instead made big profits by building 4WD 'Chelsea tractors' and the like. Eventually, at the beginning of 2008, and with MEPs like myself shouting at them, the Commission lost patience and proposed binding legislation. The car makers lobbied intensively to weaken the ...
UKIP's Godfrey Bloom MEP has been kicked out of the European Parliament Chamber and will be disciplined. He starting shouting the Nazi slogan "Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer" - One People, One Empire, One Leader - over the German leader of the socialist bloc Martin Schultz, who he claims is a 'national socialist'. UKIP don't do racist stereotyping but if they did....
Regular readers may remember a previous comment about conflicting numbers on the county council's "Your Money, Your Views" consultation website. In brief the website states a net budget of £436 million, but budgets of £454.2 million which you are invited to comment on. The response to my query (apart from congratulations for being the first to spot it) relates to an attempt to "Keep things simple" which led to a decision to exclude a credit figure representing "Corporate financing" of £18.2 million. All will be revealed at the AAP Forum meeting next Tuesday. And that serves as a useful reminder ...
We have got used to sordid sex stories involving politicians. What about a nice story of a near naked MP in a sauna with an also near naked journalist? Well, I am so jealous right now of LobbyDog who was in a nice hot sauna with Chris Bryant MP. You can read exactly what they get up to on LobbyDog's blog.
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The personality traits of many political leaders is important for a number of reasons and some have looked at successful politicians as compared personality traits with the performance of their governments. This showed four personal characteristics on which success of a political leader crucially depends. Rationality Authoritativeness Adventurousness Inspiration They then went on to form ...
Nick Clegg's Hugo Young speech last night is already generating plenty of comment in the old and new media. It was structured around a distinction between "old" and "new" progressives which is highly contestable. The characterisation of "old" progressives was not even a gross simplification. It was a caricature which, as Next Left has pointed ...
Pictured is Sir Menzies Campbell MP boarding a Tornado at RAF Leuchars (Photo courtesy and copyright of The Courier 1995) North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell and MSP Iain Smith have today launched a petition for the retention of RAF Leuchars as the home of the Eurofighter. It is available for signatures at www.SaveRafLeuchars.org.uk and a paper version is downloadable from the site. Commenting on the petition Sir Menzies and Mr Smith said: "The massive support for RAF Leuchars has been compounded over the past few days since rumours that it may be in line for closure have circulated. ...
Benedict Brogan of the Telegraph is convinced that the date of the Royal wedding is a gift to the AV campaign. Quite apart from the pathetic tabloidism inherent in trying to force any story at all through the prism of the forthcoming monarchical nuptials, this is so obviously stupid I find it difficult to believe ...
My office in Sheldon has closed today. This is because of threats against the safety of my staff and potentially also against constituents visiting for help with their problems. The police have advised us to close the office.Those people who are making the threats need to recognise that the people who suffer are my constituents who may be homeless, destitute or facing arbitrary action by the
[IMG: Geek of the Year 2010 logo] I am incredibly gratified to be in the running for Geek of the Year 2010. Thanks to The 405 for picking me as one of their favourites. You can check out the other entrants on Facebook – don't worry, you don't have to vote for me! You can also find GeekOfTheYearUK on Twitter.
14) Doctor Who - The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter, by Russell T. Davies and Benjamin Cook 15) The Book of Lost Tales I, by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien Both of these books are about the creative process of writing, though writing in very different situations. Davies and Cook exchanged emails and texts for the last two years of Davies' tenure as show-runner of Doctor Who (ie 2007-2009), so the narrative is spontaneous, spur of the moment, and feels very genuine (though of course the reader cannot know what has been edited out in the process). I had ...
Less than a week after the less than pleasing OFSTED report for Hertfordshire's Children's Services the Conservative controlled County Council has been fined £100k for breaches to the data protection act. The council sent faxes containing sensitive information concerning child sex abuse and child care proceedings cases to the wrong fax number. The council has apologised. Chris White, Leader of Hertfordshire's Liberal Democrat Opposition group said: 'This complacent council has done it again. It can't fix the roads. It can't get its accounts straight. And it can't prevent itself from sending confidential papers to the wrong address. 'It's not as ...
Amidst the unfolding disaster of North Korea, and the market confusion as the ECB contemplates how to cope with sovereign guarantees of Banking black holes, it is easy to overlook the developing crisis in Russia. Two stories caught my eye over the last twenty four hours. One is in the FT, showing that Russian capital flight is now touching $3 billion a week. The other story is in the London Evening Standard and is an update on the terrifying story of how the Russian State stole Hermitage Capital from its rightful owners, and then brutally murdered the lawyer who tried ...
broadcast and webcast anniversaries 24 November 1979: broadcast of first episode of Nightmare of Eden. Two spaceships collide coming out of hyperspace; the Doctor, Romana and K9 start to uncover murky doings with the addictive drug vraxoin. 24 November 2008: broadcast of second episode of The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith. Sarah's parents sacrifice themselves to prevent the Graske's plan. 24 November 2009: release of fourth episode of Dreamland.
Kirsty Williams has criticised the Labour-Plaid Government for presiding over a sustained increase in spending on external consultants. Research by the Welsh Liberal Democrats has revealed that the spending on external consultants has increased every year for the past six years increasing from just £1.9 million in 2004 to a staggering £11.9 million last year (2009/10). WAG spend on external consultants by year: 2004/05 £1.9 million 2005/06 £2.5 million 2006/07 £4.3 million 2007/08 £4.6 million 2008/09 £11.2 million 2009/10 £11.9 million The continued rise in external consultants calls into question the ability of the Welsh government to deliver efficiency savings of £50 million in Central ...
New Lib Dem plans will protect our local Post Offices after years of Labour cuts. Your Focus Team is pleased that the Liberal Democrats in government are delivering on another one of their promises. Under Labour 5,000 Post Offices were closed. The Lib Dem plan will see the Post Office: Becoming a One-stop shop. A central point of our community life again. Investing £1.3 billion into the Post Office Network, protecting the 11,500 remaining Post Offices. Having more services. Offering information for jobseekers, Access to over 80% of bank accounts including RBS and NatWest. ...
In an article for Monday's Guardian Nick Clegg has attempted to move the party's language on the inequality debate, and is strongly hinting at shifts in the way the Coalition will move on from Labour's target-obsessed anti-poverty agenda. "The need to make choices is revealing an important divide between old progressives, who emphasise the power and spending of the central state, and new progressives, who focus on the power and freedom of citizens." Whilst wishing he would just say 'socialists' and 'liberals', rather than old and new 'progressives' which is playing into the bizarre code-language of left-wing groups embarrassed by ...
I have suffered many indignities from the countries top organised crime syndicate, the British banking system. Over the years I've had banks, pay my wages back to my employer, mug me with their hole in the wall machines, not pay the mortgage, use me as an unpaid language coach after hours queuing on the phone. In recent times I've changed my bank, and now have one that uses English as a first language and everything has been smooth till tonight. Having the day off I thought I'd cook tonight, although my offer to do corned beef fritters and beans, was ...
None of our other European partners would produce a newspaper front page quite this good. This mornings headline in the The Irish Daily Star
Phil Ainsworth, a spokesperson for Blackburn Town Centre Partnerships was on the news last night following the decision to let the Tithebarn development to go ahead in Preston. This means that £700 million will be spent to revitalise the shopping centre in Preston and as you can imaging, neighbouring towns are not particularly happy about this including Blackburn. Phil was disappointed but said there were a lot of positives to come out of the report for Blackburn The inspector supported Blackburn's (and Blackpool's) claim that the development will harm their own business but Eric Pickles thought it would not adversely ...
