Here's an extract from the BBC article on the latest wikileaks revelations: In 2004, a German citizen was snatched in Macedonia and allegedly taken to a secret prison by the CIA. Agents had apparently mistaken him for an al-Qaeda suspect. A 2007 cable from the US embassy in Berlin details the efforts the US made to persuade Germany not to issue international arrest warrants for the CIA agents accused of involvement. In an account of a high-level meeting between US and German officials, the cables states that US diplomats "pointed out that our intention was not to threaten Germany, but ...
How to avoid a three-way car crash with most ministers voting for the Browne Report, some ministers and many backbench MPs abstaining and yet a further group of Lib Dem MPs voting against is now the main debate within the Parliamentary Party over tuition fees. Some changes to the original Browne report proposals have already been promised, but the debate has now moved on from the question of whether or not there could or should be more modifications to how people will vote on that modified package, which is unlikely to change any further at this point. Until fairly recently, ...
The coalition government will soon publish its Localism Bill. I hope to see a radical shift in power away from Westminster to local communities. Personally, I want to see local councils given more freedom over their planning policies so that they can shape their communities according to local circumstances, not constrained by a national template. ...
Hillary Clinton and the US State Department are in a state of shock this week, as more than 250,000 'secret' US diplomatic communications provided to WikiLeaks — reportedly by a young American soldier working in Intelligence in Baghdad — are being systematically filleted and published in five leading Western newspapers, including the Guardian. Today's crop provided a ...
Very pleased with this impulse purchase - remaindered for a fiver in (I think) the University Bookshop in Belfast. I was pretty familiar with most of the material, but Bryson puts it together well and crisply to give a good brief account of what is known about Shakespeare's life; the illustrations actually illustrate and are well chosen. The funniest chapter is the last, on the anti-Stratfordians who desperately need to believe that someone else (in former days Francis Bacon, these days more often the Earl of Oxford) wrote the plays. Worth looking out for. Also includes a CD of the ...
[IMG: bins.jpg] Monday update from County Hall Just to confirm that our Refuse and Recycling service has been suspended today. We will be able to assess whether or not we can resume collects tomorrow and will advise accordingly. Please advise residents that missed bins will be collected as soon as it is possible, weather permitting. Residents do not need to take their bins in.
... that it turns out the world as told through secret US diplomacy is, er..., pretty much the same as the one we always thought. Saudis not keen on Iranians? Chinese frustrated by North Koreans? Member of the Royal Family rude to someone else? Excuse me while I hold the front page for that scoop. Some of the detail is fascinating but the big picture so far is that the secret world turns out to be pretty much the same as the public one.
More good humoured are Laws's accounts of Paddy Ashdown, who comes through in the book as having played a central role as an advisor to Nick Clegg and others and who hasn't changed his habits: "I switched off my phone only to be woken half an hour later by Paddy who, having failed to get through on my mobile, had managed to track down my pager number instead. I cannot remember what he said to me at 3:15am, but I have the distinct recollection of thinking that it could have waited until a more civilised hour." Mark Pack reviews 22 ...
We cordially invite you, to come along for an evening of wit, fun and merriment and of course help us raise a few pounds along the way. Where: St James' Church, Wulfstan Way off Queen Edith's Way Ample parking on site and on Bus Routes 1 and 2 What does it include: Your ticket for the evening plus fish and chip supper from local provider. BRING YOUR OWN DRINK (Soft drinks will be available on the night.) Cost: still great value at £8 Bookings: We are limited to 60 people and these can be made from now until the Friday ...
How often have we been sold the lie, that East European labour is here because of superior skills, work ethic, blah blah blah. The plain and simple fact is that East Europeans are cheap, and British workers have been sold out by cynical politicians, Labour particularly helpful to the construction industry in allowing uncontrolled migration. The generations of British people who helped build this country's schools, homes, hospitals etc. are now paying the price, with poorer wages, less health provision, inferior education, inadequate housing and what do we have in return, nothing except excuses from affluent middle classes, who to ...
Further to my update about the proposed recital on Wednesday, Sheena Wellington of Friends of Wighton now advises as follows : "In view of the weather conditions, the Lunchtime Recital by The Wighton Singers, which was to take place on Wednesday 1st December at the Wighton Heritage Centre, has been postponed to Wednesday 8th. Tuesday afternoon's Scots Song Class has also been cancelled but it is hoped that this Saturday's Cappuccino Concert with Karen Hannah, fiddle and Alan Small on accordion will go ahead."
The Irish Bailout highlights the urgent need for the UK to get to grips with the national debt. Any financial package agreed with Ireland will come with stringent demands on cuts to the Irish budget to ensure that the country can meet its debt obligations. We cannot afford for a similar situation to arise in the UK. That is why the Coalition Government's plans for dealing with the budget deficit and the public finances are so critical. By criticising every single reduction in spending proposed by the Government, Labour and the SNP are burying their heads in the sand. It ...
Last year, I had the pleasure of opening the West End Boys Amateur Boxing Club at its new centre in the refurbished community facilities at Dundee West Church. The club has grown from strength to strength since then and Emilio Places-Rey who has been instrumental in the club's success has recently undertaken a visit to Hong King and Australia - meeting with boxing clubs there that have a similar mission to promote boxing as a positive way for young people to spend their leisure time. Here's Emilio below (on left) with Joe of Joe's Boxing Club in Sydney, with whom ...
News is abound on Twitter this evening that Jenny Willott, the MP for Cardiff Central and Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Chris Huhne as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, is preparing to resign her position over ... Continue reading →
Residents and local councillor Claire Young met a highways engineer in Nibley Lane this morning to look at changes to the yellow lines there. Following the recent resurfacing, the lines needed reinstating, but having seen "no parking" cones all the way down to the river, residents were concerned the double yellow lines might extend that far. The engineer was able to reassure everyone that the cones were actually there to keep the road clear so it could be swept. Residents wanted double yellow lines around the junction with the Badminton Road to be reinstated, as there have been problems with ...
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will be holding a consultation event in Thornbury next month. It will give local residents the chance to hear how the Government's proposed policies for energy have changed and also to ask questions about the inclusion of Oldbury in the list of potential new nuclear power stations. Representatives from DECC will attend the meeting, as part of the national consultation on the revised Draft Nuclear National Policy Statement, which runs until 24 January. The listing of proposed sites for new nuclear power stations is part of the national policy statement. The DECC ...
Just one planning application in this week's list. A "Two storey and part single storey front" extension to 11 Lauriston Place, reference 10/1151/FUL. As usual details are available from the City Council development control website, and in case of difficulty contact the team.
When a money-saving proposal to close the plant-growing greenhouse nursery at Botanic Gardens came before a Sefton council cabinet meeting, the Liberal Democrats suggested that the operation could be taken over by the staff as a "workers co-operative" and for every help to be given to the team to run their own competitive private business. This positive opportunity, which was agreed, has not been so far reported in any of the news media and therefore is not widely known We really hope that this will be possible and save the operation. The meeting was informed that it was cheaper to ...
According to the Express and Star this weekend, my local Conservative MP Paul Uppal has not published their expense claims online.
Along with colleagues Peter Millea and Ron Gould, I have a motion which should be discussed/voted on at the Regeneration Select Committee on Wednesday night (1st Dec). It's inspired by a local campaign we are involved in about the lack of non-charging ATMs (cash machines) in part of South Liverpool. We are hoping that the Council can its communication channels to help create a more Liverpool-wide sense of where the problems are. There is a blog set up to support the South Liverpool campaign. It is at http://www.atmcampaign.blogspot.com/ Meanwhile, the motion is pasted below: Access to Cash Notice of Motion ...
Tsk tsk: [IMG: Sign outside Mill Hill School, Barnet] Anyone got a spare apostrophe to send over?
I get regular bulletins from the local police (covering Speke/Garston and Cressington wards). They are getting a lot of information out these days (and even have a Facebook page). What's interesting about the most recent one is the crime figures. They've looked at April 2010 to the current time (I got this earlier in November so I assume the cut off is in October) and compared it with the same period last year. For the vast majority of types of crime, the figures are down, in some cases quite dramatically. Total crime reported is down by 17 per cent. In ...
"Jeffrey Archer is right" - not words that are likely to endear me to many Liberal Democrats. He spoke on today's Daily Politics about the petition presented by 100 failed Lib Dem candidates about tuition fees. I am one of around 600 failed Lib Dem candidates from the General Election, around 100 of whom (or a mere one in six) have signed this petition, and I most certainly did not sign. What Lord Archer says, among other things, is that the Liberal Democrats have got a leader who is trying his best to make the coalition work and these candidates ...
Open government. The right to know. It sounds like an episode of 'Yes Minister' but the revelations make by wikileaks in recent days is much more significant than could ever have been imagined by a Jim Hacker or a Sir Humphrey. These diplomatic and security revelations that are being made known by this whistle-blowing website are unprecedented and if their word it to be believed, are only the tip of the iceberg. Here in the UK, top security documents are usually embargoed under the '30 year' rule if not longer. But now, cables from across the world have been leaked ...
On June 24th this year I sent in to our local council a few small suggestions for saving money. Perhaps the simplest ran as follows: Stop sending councillors a first class letter for every planning application made in their division. We all receive a weekly list to check (by email). My suggestion was duly considered and in August I received a response which, very politely, told me that my idea was no good: The procedure of sending out first class letters was introduced at the request of Members. The reason letters are sent out 1st class, and in addition to ...
Free grit will again be available this Saturday and Sunday, 4 and 5 December, at two collection points - Woodcote Green Garden Centre & Nurseries on Woodmansterne Lane, Wallington and Kimpton Park Way Reuse and Recycle Centre on Kimpton Park Way, Sutton. You will be able to collect the grit from 10pm to 5pm on Saturday 4 December. On Sunday 5 December, it will be available from 10.30am to 4.30pm at Woodcote Green Garden Centre and from 10am until 2pm at Kimpton Park Way Reuse and Recycling Centre. Please bring your own bag or sack to collect the grit from ...
I've just discovered that I had a letter in last Tuesday's Independent about kosher/halal meat production, responding to this absurd exercise in sixth-form debating by Johann Hari. My letter as published reads: I support the right of Jews and Muslims to practise kosher and halal slaughter. I also oppose the "frightening rise in real bigotry against Muslims and Jews". According to Johann Hari, I am being inconsistent, as "the only consistent position is to oppose viciousness against these minorities, and to oppose viciousness by these minorities". Mr Hari is thus equating kosher- and halal-meat production with the actions of a ...
Part 31 in a series of posts blogging the experience of reading Atlas Shrugged for the first time. I've now finished the book, and this and the one remaining post to come are intended to summarise my thoughts on the work. You can find the first post in the series here. Catchphrases are handy things; ...
This is the start of an occasional series called Whig watch. I have already written about the similarities between the coalition and the Whigs. Since then there has been talk to the coalition continuing and what elements of policy the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have in common. Here are two I recently noticed. John Major on the coalition Dan Hannan and Nick Boles on the coalition and why Dan Hannan is a Gladstonian Conservative...
Mon 29th
15:24
Those 103 petition signatory PPCs and where their contituencies are on the LibDem target list
Petition is here – "target list" is here and is based simply on a ranking of the difference in percentage points between the winner of the seat and the LibDem candidate. There are six PPCs who signed the petition who are in the "top fifty LibDem target seats". That's 12% of the top 50 PPCs. Make of that what you will. The 103 PPCs represent 17.36% of the 593 seats we don't hold. So the distribution in the top 50 is just short of a third below that you'd see with an even spread across seats of all winnability degrees. ...
When you consider the NUS as a national voice, the fact that they were not able to stop top up fees being introduced in 97; the fact that they weren't able to stop top-up fees going up in 2004; the fact that they didn't even get a seat at the Browne review 2009 showed that they aren't necessarily a national voice. Aaron Bali, Southampton University Student. South Today 29th November Correct. They are Labour stooges who think a graduate tax is a "progressive"answer.
Salford Council hired consultants at a cost of £15,000 to find someone to head-up their crisis-riddled Children's' Services Directorate then gave the job to the man already doing it! You just couldn't make it up. Whenever I hear Labour councillors bemoaning having to make cuts, I look at stories like this, and I look at ...
News is trickling through that tomorrow's full council budget meeting has been cancelled. This was the meeting where councillors were being asked to vote on the cuts package promoted by the Conservative led administration. It's a shame that the decision has been taken so late in the day when many local residents have taken time off work to come and lobby councillors over the threats to local services. But if conditions are sufficiently unsafe to make driving hazardous then it is the right decision to make. And so we await a new date. We know that the Council Leader wants ...
For no other reason than that they cheer me up when Gideon is being a pain in the ovary, and you can never watch them too many times, here are some of my favourite dalek videos: Kitkat advert. Hitchiker's Guide to the Daleks. Dalek election debate. How to improve the new design daleks - short and to the point. And of course (you all knew this was coming, right?): My Pet Dalek featuring the most wonderful little girl on the planet. [IMG: Dreamwidth] [IMG: Livejournal] [IMG: Blogger] [IMG: Facebook] [IMG: Tweet this] [IMG: Delicious] [IMG: Flattr this] [IMG: LibDig] [IMG: ...
Over the past week, I've spent a good deal of time talking to business and shopkeepers in Launceston about Council proposals to change the car park prices. Whilst there is a little good news, the vast majority of charges will be increasing dramatically: The charges for parking will rise by an average of 42% with the biggest rise being for people wanting to park for four hours who face a rise from £1.60 to £3.70. In a move that will hit lots of local shop workers, the cost of a season ticket will rise from £195 a year to £600 ...
I believe if there is a lesson to be learnt from the latest WikiLeaks scandal it will be this: freeing up information provokes a lot of discussion, but no real harm. It is the storm that kills you, not the weather report. For all the data suddenly released, they will act as little more than a large collection of Rorschach tests where the reader sees what they want to see (for example, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad not surprisingly sees it as propaganda, or at least claims to). No doubt diplomatic skills around the world are being put to the test right now. ...
Crikey had email forwarded today from where I'm not quite sure, anyhow, it was to announce a meeting promoted by the Socialist Workers Party, now maybe I don't get out too often but I thought that the old SWP had withered and died with Mrs T's departure. However its clear that recent resurgence in political violence from Britain's inarticulate students, who eschew discussion, preferring to shout rather than talk is creating fertile ground for eccentric groups like the SWP to recruit. If you accept democracy, parties like SWP on the left and BNP on flipside have the unfortunate right to ...
This morning's Western Mail reports that an £89M injection of European cash could come under threat due to the virtual collapse of the Welsh Government's plans to reform the way farmers are paid to look after the environment. Experts also believe Wales' biodiversity and farmers' incomes could also suffer if the plans are pushed through. It seems that fewer than 3,000 out of just under 17,000 eligible farmers want to join the new all-in-one Glastir agri- environment scheme when it starts in 2012. Announcing the scheme in May last year, Ms Jones said: "Farmers produce food and manage the land ...
For all of those of you who are bored witless of my incessant rantings about the ridiculous journey that counts as my daily commute, I suggest you look away now. This mornings commute was not only one of epically cold ... Continue reading →
The 'No to AV' campaign is beginning to take shape, and alongside the familiar figures of John Prescott to name but one, some arguments of theirs are also emerging and we have to be firm in rebutting them — especially those which take aim at the Lib Dems. So here we go: AV will lead to more hung parliaments and coalition governments Not so. Let's remember that AV is NOT a proportional system and there is therefore nothing intrinsic to it that spells out more likelihood of minority parliaments. Pundits and experts have assessed likely General Election results under AV ...
The licensed trade in Camborne has certainly taken a hit over the past few years, with restaurants coming and going, hotels and pubs changing hands, The Plough (where I had my first ever bar job when I was a student) closing its doors for good. Who could forget the sad collapse of L2 Ltd, a business built up by a Camborne family, which employed nearly three hundred people at its peak? Two publicans who have weathered the storms and stresses of running a licensed premises are Gail and Dickie Bray, of the White Hart. They continue to offer the range ...
My neighbours have started to put up their tree and decorations, Sky has launched a Christmas channel and all the news media have started talking about the huge amounts of money due to be spent today on-line. And yet it is not even December. They reckon that on-line shoppers are set to spend a total of £537m today in what is predicted to be the busiest internet shopping day of the year. That will prove to be a massive boost for the economy but not so much for the poor high streets, who now seem to be the destination of ...
Registration is now open for spring federal conference 2011 and members can enjoy a couple of great early bird offers.
Candidates' Petition to MPs On another blog I have highlighted the petition on tuition fees sent to the 57 Lib Dem MPs on tuition fees. In writing it, it struck me that we are getting to the stage that the public is ending up with no confidence in the party as a whole. Are we ...
The Met Office are currently a risk of snow in Bury tonight (Monday 29 - Tuesday 30 November 2010). The forecast indicates that we might experience snow overnight, & during tomorrow mornings' rush hour. Please take the necessary precautions if you have to travel tomorrow. Tips on safe winter driving can be found here: The Councils' Winter Maintenance Teams will do everything in their power to keep major routes open. However, even a light snowfall can lead to traffic congestion, and possible school closures. If snow does fall overnight we will keep staff updated throughout tomorrow via email and ...
Cars were stolen from outside people's houses this morning when people left them "defrosting" with the engine running! Greater Manchester Police is reminding people of the dangers of leaving car engines running to defrost after three were stolen in the space of20 minutes this morning. Cars were taken from Beckley Avenue and Agecroft Road West between 8.00 and 8.30 this morning. In all three cases, the cars were driven away after the owners left their engines running outside the house to defrost. Detective Superintendent Mark Bell said: "People can be tempted to leave their car engine running on a frosty ...
This Wednesday 1 December starting at 7pm at Quarterhouse, Tontine Street, celebrity guest auctioneer Michael Hogben will be hosting the Town Mayor of Folkestone's Christmas Charity Auction. With 32 lots of art donated from artists across the area, the auction is a great opportunity to pick up a work of art and support the Mayors Charities - B-4-8s and the Rainbow Centre.
While browsing the 'Liberal Democrat' newspaper this summer, an advert leaped out at me - candidates wanted for the Welsh Assembly elections in May 2011. One word came into my head - Ceredigion. My campaign had begun. I spent some happy years as a student at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and have frequently gone back to the area. Ceredigion is a beautiful part of the country and is well recommended for holiday breaks - whether you like walking or cycling, driving around the area or just lazing on the beach. It is also an excellent place to study. 'I'm ...
The press seem to have made quite a thing of a week-old Lib Dem petition signed by losing candidates, that is rambling, contains no credible proposal to finance scrapping tuition fees, contains a typo in the title... "No to tuition higher tuition fees, yes to Liberal Democrat integrity" ...happily the first draft of the petition is much more clear has fallen in the hands of Liberal Vision. We reprint it in full No to being in power and taking tough decisions Dear Nick, We the undersigned would like you to remain true to a policy pledge that did not help ...
Just when people were thinking that Welsh Conservative Leader, Nick Bourne was getting a grip on his group, they appear to be in disarray once more with the sudden and unexpected resignation of shadow health minister, Andrew R.T. Davies. Nobody, least of all the Western Mail, seem to know why Andrew has resigned. There is some mention of him being intensely ambitious but that is it. I cannot help but feel that the return of former Tory health Spokesperson, Jonathan Morgan as Chair of the Health and Local Government Committee has something to do with it. Maybe Andrew felt threatened ...
On saturday night I skipped the delights of Strictly Come Dancing to check out a new initiative by local Police in partnership with Bury Youth Service. Heaton Park School on Cuckoo Lane was set up with DJ equipment and light ball games equipment. Youth workers supervised a couple of ball games that local children eagerly got stuck into. The turnout wasn't particularly great, perhaps due to the cold weather, but those that did turn up clearly had a good time and it was particularly enjoyable to see local Police and PCSO officers getting involved as well. I understand that the ...
More than 1000 people have now signed up to the campaign to save Launceston Library. The campaign was started when it became clear that the Conservative led administration at County Hall wanted to cut around £1 million from the libraries and one stop shops budget over the course of the next two years. The administration claims it does not yet know how it will achieve the saving but we know that they have an unpublished plan which would see the closure of all but nine branches across Cornwall. If that programme of closures were to go ahead then many branches ...
Two cars were stolen in the ward this morning by thieves taking advantage of empty cars with engines left running as cars defrost. It's tempting to start the engine and then retreat to the warmth of the house whilst the car defrosts, but this morning a Vauxhall Insignia was stolen from Beckley Avenue at 08.20, and an Audi A3 was stolen from Agecroft Road West at around the same time. The owners of both cars had left their keys in the ignition and their engines running as they went inside. Insurance may not be valid in such circumstances, so not ...
Concern has been raised that the fishing industry is under-represented on the new bodies which oversea fishing and conservation issues. The old Sea Fisheries Committees are being abolished next year to make way for 'Inshore Fishing Conservation Authorities' or IFCAs and, whereas the old committees had large numbers of people from the fishing industry - representing all strands of the business - the new IFCAs are dominated by scientists and people from conservation groups. I'm one of the Cornwall Council reps on the new body and, whilst I can't be precise, it does seem that there are only two or ...
A short clip, found on YouTube, as a tribute Nielson who created a great comic character in Frank Drebin.
See here. And then see here. Accusing the Tories of wanting to implement a panopticon-style society ignores the people who got there first.
Dog fouling on pavements and highways are often raised as an issue by Shepway residents. At a recent meeting of Shepway Council's Corporate Scrutiny Committee, questions were asked about the number of enforcement officers employed and penalty notices issued for Dog Fouling. There is one Dog Warden, and three fixed penalty notices have been issued in the last 12 months, with no prosecutions.
I have no doubt that a couple of weeks ago, in the weakened state in which he was left after putting off death for a while, 18-year old Paddy cat had gone blind. The evidence was convincing - he kept bumping into things, and he had difficulty finding his food dish. The vet couldn't make up his mind: "it's hard with cats." A steroid injection, a daily kidney pill, and some (apparently very tasty) paste in his food and he is now much restored and enjoying a healthy appetite. And he can see again. His sight is back - or ...
All twenty English Premier League sides scored this weekend, a feat that will go down in the history books as it had never been done before. In total, 41 goals were scored across ten games to produce a brilliant advertisement for English football ahead of the week that decides the 2018 World Cup bid. The goal blitz began at Villa Park on Saturday when Arsenal took on Aston Villa. The Gunners looked in superb form as they took apart a very young Villa side without managing to get the breakthrough. However, a defensive mix up was punished by Arshavin as ...
The Guardian CIF has radically shortened and buried in a panel a piece I wrote for them - at their request - on Wikileaks. Here is the original: The well paid securitocracy have been out in force in the media, attacking wikileaks and repeating their well worn mantras. These leaks will claim innocent lives, and will damage national security. They will encourage Islamic terrorism. Government secrecy is essential to keep us all safe. In fact, this action by Wikileaks is so cataclysmic, I shall be astonished if we are not all killed in our beds tonight. Except that we ...
The Tuition Fees battle continues to rage, with a petition signed by 104 PPCs from last May's Westminster Election having been sent to all 57 Liberal Democrat MPs. Personally*, I hope that if the MPs vote against Party Policy - that is, for the increase in tuition fees - they are challenged by their local ...
[IMG: Snow on the allotments] What's the Council doing about the snow? May I draw your attention to two parts of Cambridge City Council's website about snow: Firstly information on what the County and the City Councils are doing to respond to the weather, and also information on what residents can do is available on the Snow and Ice advice page. Secondly, information on any any City Council service disruption will be posted on the City website. We are also using the @camcitco Twitter account to provide some update. The County Council's twitter account also provides updates. See here for ...
[IMG: red car] Do you travel down Cherry Hinton Road? A pedestrian was hit by a red BMW at about 17:30 on Monday 8th November as she was crossing Cherry Hinton Road, and very seriously injured. The woman concerned is in her sixties, about 5′ 3" tall , with short brown hair. She was wearing a blue and black jacket and jeans on the day of the accident. If you witnessed this accident or were in the area (near the Cherry Hinton Road/ Wulfstan Way junction) on the 18th November, please get in touch with the police. Police would also ...
Mon 29th
10:36
Lessons from successful politicians: Bashir Ahmad who engaged mintority ethnic communities
In 2007 Bashir Ahmad became the first Asian and first Muslim member of the Scottish parliament when he was elected one of the four SNP regional members representing Glasgow. Four years later he was elected an MSP. He took his seat at Holyrood wearing traditional Pakistani dress and swore his oath in both English and ...
Many insider accounts have already appeared of the events retold in David Laws's book 22 Days in May: The Birth of the Lib Dem-Conservative Coalition. It is therefore one of the book's strengths that not only is it written in a lively style which gives some freshness to the now familiar sequence of events but it also adds many new insights. Although only briefly mentioned by Laws himself, perhaps the most important is how much the Liberal Democrats owe to Chris Huhne. In April, just before the second TV debate, I wrote, It's worth taking a moment to reflect on ...
I welcome a recent report from Cambridge University confirming that simply closing shop doors during the winter saves up to 50% in energy usage and carbon emissions. The report has led to the Close the Door campaign. What a great campaign. I'll be promoting it locally. Amazingly it really is the case that by simply closing shop doors CO2 emissions can be slashed, energy bills reduced and customers and staff left feeling more comfortable. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that keeping shop doors closed during the winter months is a win-win for everyone. Do take a look ...
Badge Holders * may usually park on single or double yellow lines for up to three hours except where there is a ban on loading or unloading and at a few locations where local schemes apply. A guide for Blue Badge holders published by Roads Service, 2003 Blue Badges: Park where you like It seems ...
Guido speculates on the mystery Labour minister mentioned in the Wikileaks cables as "a bit of a hound dog where women are concerned". The Guardian reports: The minister, whose name the Guardian is withholding, was "forced to apologize ... to a female ... who accused him of sexual harassment ... and has had marital troubles in the last few years". The confidential dispatch continued: "Contacts who know him well report he has manic depressive tendencies - 'he's very up one minute, very down the next', and at least one ... colleague has described xxx as a 'bully'." The head of ...
Let's remember the events that led to the choice of a referendum on AV: - Coalition negotiations opened between the Tories and the Lib Dems. - The Lib Dems have longed for a change to a fairer PR voting system and were hesitant about doing a deal without a commitment to electoral reform. - To try and secure cooperation with the Lib Dems, the Tories offered a referendum on AV. - While it was not what the Lib Dems really wanted (AV is not PR), it was enough to win them round and enter the Coalition. This is telling - ...
Given the weather, and with the decision made to close all Dundee schools today, my surgeries at Harris Academy and Mitchell Street Centre this afternoon will not now take place. However, I can be contacted at any time on Dundee 459378.
A quick post to draw attention to two parts of the City Council website. Firstly information on what County and City are doing to respond to the weather, and also information on what residents can do is available on the Snow and Ice advice page. Information on any any City Council service disruption will also be posted on the City website. We are also using the @camcitco Twitter account to provide some update. The County Council's twitter account also provides updates. I will copy here the advice on clearing Snow and Ice from the City Council and the national Snow ...
Mon 29th
09:23That petition in full - 104 LibDem PPCs beg MPs to save the party's integrity and vote against highe...
A press release from 104 LibDem PPCs on Derek Deedman's blog says: A petition, calling on all Liberal Democrat MPs to vote against the proposed rise in tuition fees when this is debated in Parliament before Christmas, has been sent to all the 57 Liberal Democrat MPs. This petition has been established in opposition to the coalition government's current proposed policy on tuition fees and has been signed by 104 of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidates at the 2010 General Election (over 15% of the total Lib Dem candidates). The petition was conceived and produced by Craig Bichard, with the ...
Many people have been introduced to libertarianism through the Nolan Chart (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolan_chart). What few may be aware of is that David Nolan died on 20th November 2010. David Nolan was a founder of the US libertarian party and a noted geolibertarian, ie one of the types of libertarian found in the Liberal Democrat Party. In honour of David Nolan I have produced a Nolan chart based on my interpretation of the views of candidates. This gives a timely reminder of how this chart can be used to inform discussions about libertarianism. Overview This matrix was created to try to interpret ...
As a follow up to my City of London election leaflet from the 1930s, here is a single-sided Conservative general election leaflet from 1885 for the Skipton Parliamentary constituency: [IMG: Skipton 1885 Conservative leaflet] The name handwritten in the bottom left corner is that of the voter to whom the leaflet was delivered, the handwriting not so much an attempt at personalisation as a reflection of the lack of alternative ways of individually addressing leaflets at the time. Indeed, overall the letter is far less personal than an equivalent is (or should be) today, with both the "Dear Sir" and ...
I see Eric Pickles is trying to keep the old war on Christmas meme alive. What a pillock. First off, he should have some self-respect and not import political slogans from right wing nutjobs in America. The whole "war on Christmas" nonsense started over there as part of the whole "why can't we live in the 50s anymore?" thing that many white people are going through. I do have a degree of sympathy for people not quite coping with the changes happening around them. But not the people that exploit them writing books like The War on Christmas: How the ...
Who signed this.... Now is the time to press all Liberal Democrat MPs to stick to what they believe in. At least 13 MPs have said they're doing the right thing. Until Elwyn Watkins says so, I shan't be going to Oldham East – the first [potential] by-election in over 15 years that I have opted not to go to for political reasons. Read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11860155 and I've just been appointed to the Parliamentary backbench committee on Business and Skills (shadowing Vince Cable) which should be, er, lively! PRESS RELEASE ON BEHALF OF 104 LIBERAL DEMOCRATS PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES ...
I don't want this to be seen as an anti-Microsoft rant. I'm a great fan of Windows Phone 7, my Microsoft 4000 keyboard is the only device I'm comfortable typing on, and my Xbox hardware is still going strong years after release. I'm also heartily impressed with Microsoft's continuing support of the Creative Commons. True, I don't use Windows at home – but I don't blindly devote my life to knocking them unfairly. But I do have serious concerns about Microsoft's attempts to enter the 2D tag market. While talking about QR Codes on Twitter, the Online Community Manager for ...
The British winter no longer comes as an annual surprise, but we are still not sufficiently certain that it will be so regular and prolonged as to make it worthwhile to invest heavily in snow-clearing equipment on the scale of, say, the Alps. So when there is heavy snow, as today, the the intermediate solution for avoiding chaos is for local authorities to have the powers to declare an "At-Home Day." This would mean that all non-essential workers - most shop and office workers, teachers and students, etc. - would be instructed to stay at home, leaving the roads clear ...
Not much surprising in the leaks of the US diplomatic cables: the fact that Obama doesn't much care for Europe has been obvious since he came into office, and it is also not much news that the Gulf Arabs hate the clerical regime in Iran. Of course for Brits there is the news that Prince Andrew engaged in "inappropriate behaviour". However anyone who has met him will know that he can be abrupt beyond the point of rudeness. He has most of his father's faults with none of his redeeming virtues. Mind you you don't need Wikileaks to tell you ...
The British Lefty commentariat became increasingly less keen on Labour while they were in office. The repeated failure of left wing policies in government (Brown) combined with outrageous hypocrisy (Blair) to reveal to many Labour supporters that their party was at best sanctimonious- at worst dishonest. So the left-sympathising, chattering classes began to look elsewhere. Some went Green, some went Liberal Democrat, most declined to vote. Now the chattering classes feel a certain relief- they see the Coalition being forced into tough decisions, while Labour has the freedom to try to make itself popular. Indeed there is secret delight that ...
The following press release went out overnight - all credit to Craig Bichard for all the work he has done on this and to all the ex PPCs who signed. My personal response is here. PRESS RELEASE ON BEHALF OF 104 LIBERAL DEMOCRATS PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES 'No to tuition higher tuition fees, yes to Liberal Democrat integrity' A petition, calling on all Liberal Democrat MPs to vote against the proposed rise in tuition fees when this is debated in Parliament before Christmas, has been sent to all the 57 Liberal Democrat MPs. This petition has been established in opposition to the ...
i) births and deaths 29 November 1942: birth of Michael Craze, who played Ben Jackson, companion of the First and Second Doctors, in 1966-67. ii) broadcast anniversaries 29 November 1975: broadcast of second episode of The Android Invasion. The Doctor realises that their surroundings are fake, including the android Sarah. 29 November 1980: broadcast of second episode of State of Decay. The Doctor and Romana realise that the castle is the spaceship Hydrax, and that the vampires are draining blood from the villagers. 29 November 1986: broadcast of first episode of The Ultimate Foe (ToaTL #13). Mel and Sabalon Glitz ...
The next couple of weeks, when this period of the Liberal Democrat history is documented, could turn out to be pivotal for the future of our party. For Lib Dems there are few issues as totemic as our tuition fees policy - as recognised by Stephen Williams, who came up against the immovable object that is Federal Conference. But Stephen, like others, despite their misgivings, signed the pledge. I have to say I fully appreciated the difficult job he had trying to revise our policy and had a certain amount of sympathy - with limited resources is it right to ...
From Forbidden Planet to Dracula: Dead and Loving It. From Airplane to Police Squad. So many classics, so much stuff to love, so many roles taken that Christopher Lee turned down because he didn't understand the scripts. Rest in peace Leslie.
BBC - The Devenport Diaries: Your Party or Your Wife? Sitting Green member will not commit to voting for his own party (his wife standing for a different party). (tags: northernireland) Fox Nation readers confuse Onion article with real news | Raw Story (tags: funny usa) Frustrated Obama Sends Nation Rambling 75,000-Word E-Mail | The Onion - America's Finest News Source (tags: funny)
In actual terms, someone earning about £25K today is close to the average, and probably struggling to get by. But a hundred years ago, that would've been a very comfortable living. Two hundred years ago, that would've put you in the very wealthiest sector of society, with servants to do your bidding and every need catered for. Triple that today, you're looking at a good earning for a member of the professions: a doctor, a lawyer, an MP. A hundred years ago, it'd give youa millionaires lifestyle. Two hundred years ago, a billionaires lifestyle. So I thought I'd do a ...
The snow has fallen already and it has even affected Morecambe. Where I used to live in east Lancashire the snow would often fall and last for weeks. It hardly snows at all here. On the local television news this week was an article about the council giving a free bag of grit to all householders. I wrote a blog last year about the costs of not using grit. There are injuries to the person, cars crash and they can crash into buildings. I suppose the "big society" means that the council shouldn't grit the streets and individuals pay for ...
Earlier this month my wife and I travelled down to London for a couple of days as a break, this was not our first visit we have done this couple of times already including earlier this year however we usually find that we can get cheap train tickets to London and have enough to do to keep ourselves busy for a couple of days.
Last week I spoke to carers in South Queensferry on Wednesday night. A very well informed audience the certainly asked searching questions. On Thursday I did the media launch for our winter crime crackdown. Each year we put investment into beefing up the police and community safety presence in the city centre. Edinburgh's night time economy enjoys a £12 million boost from our winter festivals and we want revellers to enjoy the party season safely. To that end we put in extra services to try to keep disorder down to a minimum. Over the years it has proved very effective ...
