My longest standing political interest is public health. From the age of 10 to 13 I watched my father decline and die from bowel cancer and respiratory failure. Politics is learned by many people from books and seminars. My childhood experiences have largely formed my values. Transforming public health and social mobility are the two ...
The following is included courtesy of Meols Cop Youth Centre Democracy Debate14th October 2010Meols Cop Youth Centre in conjunction with Meols Cop High SchoolNearly 50 young people where given the opportunity to debate their questions with a representative community group from their community which included Councillor Fred Weavers, Councillor Mike Booth, Mushtaq Khan Sefton Youth Service , Katy Hands ex youth centre/ school student and former Mayoress, Sergeant Paul Riding and Angela Rice (UKYP) rep from Sefton Youth Service The young people enjoyed meeting with their invited guests for Democracy Day. The prelim meeting and greeting session held in Meols ...
Saturday morning, off in the freezing cold to the Cumberland Basin in Bristol's harbour to meet up with local sea cadets and marine cadets. Bristol's had the cadets for over a century, one of the oldest branches in the country. I see the cadets make model boats, makeshift shelter frames and watch the marines storm ...
The government announced today that the vote on raising tuition fees will be next Thursday, December 9th. With just a week to go the momentum seems to be with those opposing any increase. Yesterday, Simon Wright, MP for Norwich South, became the 15th Lib Dem MP to publicly state that he will stand by his pledge to vote against a rise in fees. His reasons for doing so are worth reading. After praising the positive aspects of the government's higher education proposals he commented: "However, an increase in tuition fees is part of that package. Over the last few weeks, ...
Map of Qatar Every English fan is so up in arms about 2018's FIFA World Cup being awarded to Russia that they have failed to notice something about 2022's. It is being awarded to Qatar, a nation with a disgraceful human rights record, especially in the area of LGBT rights. Article 201 of the 1971 Penal Code punishes sodomy between consenting adults (irrespective of sex) with up to five years in prison. There are also incidents of these laws being enforced on non-citizens. Now there are LGBT football fans, I know I'm one of them. What happens if we want ...
The guru of microfinance, Muhammad Yunus, who won a Nobel Peace prize in 2006 for his work in providing small amounts of loans to poor people is in the news today for all the wrong reasons. He set up the Grameen Bank which is a microfinance organisation and community development bank. Microfinancing is especially helpful to the poor because the bank takes very little collateral or none at all. This type of lending has helped many people especially in Asia. Today it is being reported that Mr Yunus is being investigated for possible alleged financial mismanagement of the Grameen Bank. ...
Yeah I suppose it is, its just watching the local news BBC Southeast a few nights ago, Tuesday I think, when eventually the presenters had dug themselves out of the unseasonal snow drifts, to report on actual news, I got the impression I might have just woken up in some totalitarian state. Admittedly Kent is far from some Stalinist regime or even a Banana republic, however the report that I found so startling revealed how a senior officer at Kent Council has been asked to take two months leave of absence and county councillors have been informed by email that ...
Some of you are wondering what's happened to the Batman post you were promised last week. Well, the answer is, it's morphed into a seven-part series called Eschatology And Escapology, which will be a companion in many ways to the Hyperposts. The seven parts will be on The Omega Point, The Fourth And Fifth Worlds, ...
I trekked up to Manchester on Tuesday afternoon, despite the snow, and spent most of the evening wrapped in a duvet on my friend Alison's sofa watching TV; I seem to have come down with winter lurgy - stuffed up and sore and achy. My asthma really doesn't like the cold either, and just being outside without moving leaves me struggling for breath because the air is so wet; obviously the right word for it is humid, but it doesn't seem right because it's snowing, not hot and sticky. Whatever; I've never felt that much difficulty breathing before, even when ...
This information comes courtesy of the DirectGov website. There's no law stopping you from clearing snow and ice on the pavement outside your home or from public spaces. It's unlikely you'll be sued or held legally responsible for any injuries on the path if you have cleared it carefully. Follow the snow code when clearing snow and ...
I've read a summary of a study that found that students drank 8.6 alcoholic drinks per session IF they mixed it with energy drinks, compared to 4.7 when students consumed alcohol alone (Drug and Alcohol Review vol29 p.331). The American Food and Drug Administration has written to manufacturers stating that caffeine is an 'unsafe food additive in strong beers'. Apparently alcohol mixed with energy caffeine drinks results in users becoming three times more intoxicated than those not mixing alcohol with high energy caffeine drinks. This has huge implications for licensing in Southwark and generally in the UK. It seems clear ...
Two pieces in the New Statesman have crossed my desk recently, and I thought I'd pass them on. First, a quick Q&A with Lib Dem peer Julia Neuberger, including this rather positive outlook: Are we all doomed? Absolutely not! Not only are we not doomed, we've got a bloody great responsibility to turn things around when we feel as if we are. Me, I always feel as if the Eco-Apocalypse is just around the corner. And secondly, David Laws pens a piece in reply to Andrew Adonis's review of his book. I am one of those many politicians across all ...
A slightly disappointing Rebus novel, for once; the obvious suspects turn out to be indeed the criminals. Rankin may have been trying to write a character-based novel, and indeed he gives Rebus three good female characters to spark off (his ex who is now his boss, his new lover and his protégée) but rather forgot to supply an interesting plot to go with it, dazzled instead by these newfangled computer thingies. So not really one I would recommend highly.
The Gorton Police are organising a huge fundraiser at Gorton Monastery on Sunday evening, 6 p.m. onwards. It is ticket only, each ticket costing £10, but there are still some places available. Not only is there a great bill of music and other entertainment, there's going to be a great raffle and lots more, all in a good cause. If you want to go, ask a Police Officer. Seriously, please contact Gorton Police Station asap to reserve a ticket. It should be a greate evening.
Next Monday sees a great tram crash in Coronation Street. It sets the scene for a week of deaths, a wedding and a birth - just a normal week in suburban Manchester then! It will culminate with the soap celebrating its 50th birthday next Thursday, 9th December with a live 1 hour episode. To pay tribute to the world's longest current runnning soap, I'm going to blog a quote from Corrie's past each day up until the big day. So, quote No.1... "There's some very peculiar people in this Street" - Ena Sharples.
Please note that unless I say otherwise I am only talking about British politics here, and where it matters, about English politics, not those of the wee pretendy parliament, and certainly not about the politics of the rebel colonies. I will also paint with a rather broad brush apart from when talking about my own personal views.I've got into lots of political arguments recently, and I thought it would help if I were to write some long-form explanations of why I hold the positions that I do.So, first, I'm a Liberal. This is merely a description of someone who wishes ...
Winter Watch is a great programme that needs more promotion so I am going to post the information here. I'm not convinced that homeless people generally have access to the internet, but perhaps if someone reads this and knows of ... Continue reading →
Ever heard of 'My Home Finance'? Well let me enlighten you. They are a new nbot for profit organisation led by the National Housing Federation (with support from the DWP) and the Royal Bank of Scotland. What do they do? ... Continue reading →
Like David Cameron, I too am bitterly disappointed that we've lost the chance to host the World Cup in 2018. It'd have been a golden chance to round off an amazing decade of sport for the UK, but sadly it's not to be. A combination of internal FIFA politics, the British media's insane suicide strategy of publicly exposing the corruption of FIFA delegates and then asking them to vote for us, and a Russian bid which genuinely had things our's didn't, means that it'll be at least another 20 years until the World Cup comes here. On the plus side, ...
This week has mostly been about parking. With Reading's concentration of Victorian terraces mixed with flat blocks of various types, it is a major headache. And that's even without it having been run by years under Labour in a customer-unfriendly, 'computer says no' way which sees it the permanent number 1 topic of council complaints, with an internal review which Labour tried to bury last year pointing out the complete lack of customer focus. Labour's system meant you had to fill out forms giving identity in triplicate just to get a permit. Woe betide anyone moving into a permit zone ...
As the second test starts this evening, it's perhaps worth noting that England are already one up on the Aussies - not that either country will be proud of that achievement because it came in the World Cup voting. England scored a measly 2 votes in the bid to host the 2018 World Cup and Australia secured just a single vote in their bid for 2022. I have significant doubts about the two countries selected as hosts. Both had received dodgy reports from the technical assessments and neither country is exactly ideally situated to be hosts. Russia's bid relies on ...
Further to my update earlier this week about the effects of the weather on Friends of Wighton events, Sheena Wellington has now further updated as follows : "Saturday morning's Cappuccino Concert at the Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library, which was to feature Karen Hannah, fiddle, and Alan Small, accordion, has been postponed until the New Year. Also cancelled are Saturday's whistle and Gaelic Song classes."
You can read it here.
The employees at Botanic nursey should be offered the chance of taking over the operation themselves. Well that was the proposal I put to Sefton's cabinet on Thursday. The council had agreed that they could no longer afford to run the nursery themselves. Southport is proud of the floral displays around the town but sadly the market price is significantly lower than we have achieved in- house. For some time now we have been buying in bedding plants. There is a lot of competition out there and if the nurserymen want to make a go of the business themselves I ...
For the second year, Balgay Parish Church has created an excellent online Advent Calendar that you can view by clicking on the headline above. The church is happy that I promote the calendar to the wider West End community and as Rev George Robson says, "I have already clicked on Day 2 today - the only thing is, you get a Bible verse, but no chocolate!"
Following on from his wishy, washy letter I received last week, (although I should at least give him the credit for replying as the other MPs haven't) Simon Wright, Lib Dem MP for Norwich South, has now come out against the planned rise in tuition fees and will not vote against it next week.This is great news for everyone who has put pressure on the MP to do the right thing and honour the pledge
Having been around at the time that AIDS first came across our radar – every World Aids Day makes me remember those early and quite horrific days. Not only did none of us know how far back in our own histories this illness might reach – before showing itself – but there was the most terrifying of public information advertisements warning us of death if we didn't have safe sex. And everyone took notice – then. My fear currently is that with outcomes much better than in those days people have dangerously lapsed – both gay and straight – into ...
Following on from my last post, having looked through the social housing proposals, some of what the government wants to do is sensible and some of it is not quite as good. How you interpret it has a lot to do with whether you are supportive of the coalition, prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt - or, like most of the Labour party at the moment - utterly convinced that everything they do is evil and twisted. Remember that at the moment, all this is up for consultation, so isn't fixed in stone. So, let's have a ...
[IMG: Snowy car] A quick follow-up to yesterday's post about how this year is (fingers crossed) seeing the death of the myth that people shouldn't clear snow from outside their homes because the hounds of hell (aka being sued) will descend on them. It's always been mostly myth, but this year - helped in large part by stronger and clearer advice from the government - the myth is very much on the retreat. Now there is good news from the legal front too, particularly welcome as in the past lawyers have been some of the worst for talking up fears ...
I really don't like football. I make an exception where Inverness Caledonian Thistle are concerned, but other than that, every time a World Cup come round I check to see if there's another planet I can disappear to for the month. My dislike of the sport is probably fuelled by a resentment at the disproportionate amount of money, tv time and resources it gets. There are plenty other sports, not that you'd know it from the way football dominates the sports media. The thought of the biggest tournament on the planet taking place on British soil and the hyperbolic coverage ...
The Irish banks are hopelessly bust along with the property bubble they enabled. That is bad enough, but what happens next could be worse for the financial crisis has morphed into a crisis of democracy because of the Irish government's committment to bail out the banks. The difficulty is that the banks are so irredeemably bust that ...
It astonishes me that people like Ken Livingstone continue to lionise Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela. Wikileaks's latest revelations sadly come as little surprise to anyone who has read articles such as this.
Nick Clegg has recorded this greeting to the Jewish community for Chanucah. Happy Chanucah to everyone who is celebrating.
We are leading a call-in of the executive decision on Culverhay. CALL IN OF EXECUTIVE DECISION NUMBER E2181 We the undersigned wish to support the call in of the decision E2181 'A Review of Secondary Schools in Bath - Consultation on the proposal to close Culverhay School' taken by the Cabinet on 25th November 2010.
As of 4.50pm on 2nd Dec no Stockport schools have said they will be closed on Friday 3rd December. Pop back here or visit the Council website to check if that changes.
Kent Highways are reporting that as of now, all primary routes / roads in Shepway are open and passable with care. Crews are patrolling secondary routes and ploughing and salting as necessary. Snow drifting has been cleared at Court at Street, Aldington, and Shepway DC have assisted with some primary carriageway salting / gritting in Folkestone.
Really, the most interesting event for me today is the leaked news of evidence of life having evolving twice, independently, on Earth. I wasn't aware that the World Cup bid results being announced today and it looked like it was going to pass as one of those events that I only noticed because of the brief spike in Internet traffic and the Twitter discussion. But Qatar popped up as they're apparently hosting the 2022 World Cup. Qatar are on my personal "do not travel, except with either diplomatic passport or as a uniformed member of the armed forces" list. Here's ...
Over the last weekend I was fortunate enough to attend a 3 day conference in Manchester. The conference was a training course for Cabinet Members for Leisure and Tourism. The costs were carried by a government department and I paid my own transport costs. As is often the case at these events, the greatest gains were made when delegates were able to relax and chat over coffee and biscuits. I met councillors from locations such as Derby, London, Sheffield, Newcastle and Knowsley. The main topic of conversation was, not surprisingly, the problems faced in making a balanced budget and the ...
The man who leads the Hamas-controlled Palestinian administration in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, has given a press conference. The words he used are worth repeating. He told journalists: "We accept a Palestinian state on the borders of 1967 with Jerusalem as its capital, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and the resolution of the issue of refugees. Haniyeh said that a priority of his government was to avoid a military escalation with Israel by persuading other militant factions to preserve a de facto ceasefire." Now here is an opportunity, is it not? You can't make peace without talking to your enemies, and ...
I have just finished watching the 2018 World Cup announcement and am extremely dissapointed to see that we did not win the bid, with the FIFA Executive awarding the 2018 World Cup to Russia. But throughout the announcement and beforehand when the rumour mill was saying we had lost you couldn't help wondering whether the BBC's decision to go ahead with their Panorama FIFA expose' had damaged our chances. I suppose we will never know for sure but I remain convinced of one thing and that is that it will not have helped our chances at least. And that programme ...
What with winter starting so early this year — and the snow falling and making the landscape all pretty like — bright orange lights have appeared (some flashing) on most of my servers. On two of them there are also error message codes which, going to the manufacturer's website to discern their meaning, tells me that the motherboard temperature is out of operating range. The site also tells me how to cool the machine down, for example by checking that all eight of the internal fans are operating properly. Except my servers and the server room are all to clearly ...
ALDC is offering further training for next year's local elections with two Flying Start days in Bedford and Taunton. Both events are organised jointly with the regional parties and the Campaigns Department and offer basic campaign skills for new activists as well as useful refreshers for experienced campaigners. The programme includes basic campaign skills as well as more advanced skills, including Focus writing, winning organisation, canvassing and how to get out your vote. There will also be some mentoring of groups from different council areas to help you improve your campaign plans. Saturday 8th January at Richard Huish College, South ...
The problem for Ed Miliband, after the car crash interview he did on the BBC Today programme last week, is that he is beginning to get a reputation of being an unlucky politician. The cock-up of a tweet from his spokeswoman: " ''Hypocrisy of Cameron pimping himself out in Zurich..." is precisely the kind of silly unforced error that lucky politicians do not succumb to. Of course, if in a few minutes, England were to win then Cameron looks like a very lucky politician indeed, while Miliband looks, well, like a loser. UPDATE: well. I suppose, predictably, England did not ...
There are, it must be said, some terribly dull pieces of government. What follows is one of them, albeit one of the most important dull pieces of government there is... Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (David Gauke): Following decisions announced at the June Budget and the release of retail and consumer prices data for September, the Government has today confirmed 2011-12 rates and thresholds for income tax, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), and tax credits. The limit for Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) for 2011-12 has also been confirmed. A note containing this information has been deposited in the libraries of both ...
[IMG: null] People often think that councillors are more important than they are. I was reminded of this when this morning I tweeted as follows: Now I've seen everything!! 30something woman getting on bus at Langho with flask of coffee made to empty it by driver #Transdev #fail" #280 Now to be fair to Transdev there is a sign on the bus that says "no eating or drinking" and that's fair enough as I can imagine litter could end up as a problem as could the smell from those who decide to eat their fish and chips on a bus. ...
Israel's absorption (or dismemberment) of the West Bank continues apace, and the European Union does nothing to give practical form to its criticisms of a country with which it has a very close relationship. Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, says that Palestine (or the West Bank at least) will be "ready for statehood" no later than August next year. Presumably he will then call upon the UN to recognise a Palestinian 'state'. It's a great idea but I can't see it getting very far. The USA is alleged already to have told Netanyahu that they will use their veto. ...
For the last few months, I've been squirrelled away at IPC Media working on their Mobile Products. We've recently launched the Decanter World Wine Awards app on iPhone, Android, and Nokia (with BlackBerry coming soon). Thanks to the amazing team at Grapple for all their help. I'm now incredibly proud to announce the launch of IPC's first mobile sites – goodtoknow – Marie Claire – Now Magazine! Point your phone at them and feast on the mobile goodness. A selection of screenshots for your edification and delight. [IMG: 4] [IMG: 1] [IMG: 2] [IMG: 3] [IMG: now4] [IMG: mc1] [IMG: ...
We didn't so much "wheel out the big guns" in Zurich, for the England's 2018 World Cup Bid over the past couple of days, as haul out "bloody great canons". And had David Cameron been anywhere like as good during the General Election Leaders debates as he was today in the final presentation - he would have won the Tories a clear majority single-handed back in May. I am rather surprised and somewhat delighted that despite going into this process in second or (maybe even) third place, Cameron has had the balls to go for it. With all the talk ...
The Scottish Parliament threw out Margo MacDonald's End of Life Assistance Bill yesterday by a comfortable majority. The vote went 85 against with 18 for and two abstentions. The voting split across party lines. There was a rare free vote in Holyrood with MSP's I know, like and respect voting in different ways. The Right to Die Bill, as it became known, tried to address one of the last taboos namely whether some one has the right to decide if they can die when their quality of life deteriorates to a level that they can no longer bare it. While ...
Thu 2nd
14:04
Roads and buses getting to / from Shepway: update from Kent County Council [2pm, 2 December]
Operation Stack Phase 1 is still active. M20 coast bound non-commercial traffic is being diverted onto the A20 at Junction 11. M26 Coast bound closed between M25 and junction J2a, due to vehicle recovery. Road expected to re-open from 2.00pm.
I have been too busy this week to blog, however I have been reading the web so here is a selection of issues making headlines during the past few weeks. Local News Reading lanches it's new fleet hybrid buses - Hybrid buses to hit the streets - Bracknells has had green buses for quite a few years now. Thanks to Courtney Coaches pure plant oil powered buses. Bungalows to remain after plan defeated Cllr Kirsten's kicking when it comes to Olympic facts Tough targets for police amid cuts - 'Bracknell police will aim for the new targets despite Thames Valley ...
[IMG: Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform logo] I've started helping out look after the Liberal Democrats for Electoral Reform Facebook page. With many other sources of information about the Yes To Fairer Votes campaign, this page is deliberately more focused on information for Liberal Democrats. Speaking personally, I also think it is important that we keep an eye on the wider electoral reform agenda - delivering PR for an elected Upper House (as promised in the coalition agreement) and then pushing for wider use of STV in local council elections. So if you are a Liberal Democrats who supports electoral ...
I hope everyone is coping well in the snow. Once again it's making driving and walking difficult. I actually think the Council are doing as good a job as they're able in keeping the main roads gritted, but if your grit bin needs filling or they've missed main roads then let me know as that needs sorting. Last night I foolishly decided to spend the evening outdoors, at the football, watching Manchester City play a team from Austria. My worries that their familiarity with snowy conditions would help them came to nothing. At one point I actually stopped getting colder ...
Thu 2nd
13:44
Breaking news: it's okay to not agree with the tories. in fact it's blooming marvellous
The wonderful thing about the Tories is that their true character is just beneath the surface and it only needs a scratch to expose it. Thus the comments of the Tory leader of Oxfordshire County Council in response to students daring to step into his fiefdom in central Oxford - a public building owned by Council taxpayers to which students, as citizens, are entitled to enter, although not to disrupt - are entirely within the bounds of this negative, fearful, backward-looking party. Describing them as badly dressed and 'ugly', the good Tory later decried them on the radio, saying of ...
Earlier this week I posted about how expensive parking in Launceston will become under the Conservative administration's plans to increase charges locally. Today, a group of traders gathered at the One Stop Shop with a petition signed by more than 1100 businesses and their customers against the change. They were joined by local MP Dan Rogerson and Mayor of Launceston Paul O'Brien as well as Cllr Sasha Gillard Loft and myself. The petition was organised by Bryony Trueman and Marina Ellis who both work for Variety Insurance Services in the town. They did a fantastic job in a very short ...
Once again, our MSPs have shown just how out of touch with the public they are. By a considerable margin they have voted against the End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill which would have allowed individuals, in certain circumstances, to seek assistance to end their own life if they are unable to do so themselves. In recent polls over 80% asked (sample size over 1000) supported this idea. Just 16 of our MSPs agreed (13% of MSPs). So why have our Parliamentarians opted to reject the bill brought forward by Margo MacDonald despite support for it. The debate in the ...
FIFA are meeting right now to decide who will host the Football World Cup for 2018 and 2022. They are using the Alternative Vote (AV) to make the decision which is also the electoral system that UK residents will have a choice to change to in next May's Referendum.
Following on from my first two monthly reports on the usage of this site at the end of September and October, here is my third round of blog figures for anyone who is remotely interested in who reads my little blog. These stats come courstesy of google analytics. A new beginning After a busy first few months, November has seen me fall into a more regular and stable pattern of blogging on average just over once every other day. I've 19 blogs posts to my name this month - down from the frenetic start of 30 in September and 23 ...
The Met Office has issued an extreme low temperature warning for our area for tonight (Thursday 2 December 2010). Skies should clear during the course of the day. This will reduce the likelihood of further snowfall, but may mean that we experience very low temperatures overnight. Temperatures in Bury could be lower than -17oC by the early hours of the morning. Such temperatures are very rare in Bury. Temperatures this low could cause problems with water freezing in exposed pipework, leading to burst pipes tomorrow. Water companies are dealing with an increase in burst pipes, and warn that the snow ...
Thu 2nd
13:06
Gender pay audits: government to try voluntary route first, option for mandatory audits remains
In news this morning Home Office minister and Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone said that the government would be looking to get voluntary agreement from industry for gender pay audits, which would reveal cases of unreasonably disparity in pay between men and women. An attempt to introduce voluntary agreement previously fell apart under the Labour government. There is also unimplemented legislation on the statue book to allow for mandatory pay audits. The legislation was introduced by Labour, but not brought into force (nor were they any immediate plans from Labour to do so). Whilst the government is not moving straight ...
I was also on Wave 102 News this morning - again about the latest graffiti vandalism in the Perth Road area. Click "play" to listen. The Waste Management Department has advised me - "Fraser I'll also ask Rapid Response to visit the Perth Road for this fresh batch of graffiti reported at the start of the week." A number of us were to be undertaking another graffiti clean up day in the West End on Saturday - we've now had to cancel this because of the weather but hope to reschedule it for the near future.
Reading Station will be closed for redevelopment between December 27, 2010 and January 2, 2011 - this will affect many regular passengers. You can find out more on the First Great Western website.
From the Council's Street Services team: Refuse and Recycling Collections We are carrying out refuse and recycling collections today and Paul English, the Street Care and Recycling Operations Manager, will inform you of our success rate at the end of the working day and we will ensure that the website and media are updated. Staff ...
So it arrived big time last night at about midnight and in the space of three hours had dumped about six inches of snow on the village where I live. Trains and buses are non existent. South West Trains are ... Continue reading →
Yesterday saw the publication of the interim report from Will Hutton's Review of Fair Pay in the Public Sector, commissioned by the government. The bald headline from the report is one of modest reform: moving toward recommending the introduction of a 20:1 maximum ratio between the top and bottom salary in any public body. This ratio is more generous than existing pay arrangements, but it is more radical than that superficially makes it appear. First, the ratio has been increasingly and is likely to continue to do so, particularly with public sector structural reforms the government is planning. So introducing ...
Quentin Letts writes an excellent sketch of Ed Miliband's performance at PMQs yesterday. It includes this (for me) LoL moment: People around Westminster are starting to wonder about Mr Miliband's future. There is speculation that he will not make it to the general election. Is there anything more to him than a full spittoon, a blocked nose and trade union patronage? The voice was indistinct yesterday. Much fluff on the needle. If I were his chief of staff I would book him into an ear, nose and throat clinic at Christmas for a good old scrape-out. You can read the ...
I guess the Corporate, Community and Corporate Affairs Committee performance from Labour was as predictable as Tony Page complaining about paying a measly 20p to use Reading's swanky new toilets (annual cost to the council tax payer £230,000). It seems that even with the huge budget savings that the whole country knows have to be made because of the mess Labour left us in, they are quite incapable of controlling their bladders and seeming unable to stop spending a penny in public, especially if that penny isn't actually theirs, it is the public's. Forget the bank that likes to say ...
Did you know that you can say no to the gas price increases? No, neither did I. Read this article on the Yahoo Finance pages and save some money if you are willing to switch suppliers..... Unfortunately Blogger's link manager is down again today, so you will have to cut and paste the link into your browser
Winning Teams is a programme of events throughout 2011 organised jointly by the Liberal Democrat Campaigns Department and the English regional parties, with support from ALDC. It is designed to help any local party that wishes to take party build the sort of campaign team with the right skills that will help you win consistently in elections at all levels. It is based on the sort of work that was done in the parliamentary seats that had the most spectacular results in the May 2010 General Election, such as Redcar, Eastbourne and Ashfield. You don't have to be a massive ...
This morning's Welsh press contains reactions to the rather predictable over-the-top coverage of the Welsh tuition fees announcement by, amongst others, the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. They suggested that the move would create a tuition fees "apartheid" that would "punish" English students. Not only is this nonsense but it is dangerous nonsense. Devolution is about states doing things differently and if the English feel so badly done by then they can always change their own policies. However, in the spirit of constructive debate I felt it was important to address two particular myths with some facts of our ...
Up to 15 cm of snow fell overnight in Sutton. As a result all local schools are closed today. Train services are severely disrupted with many trains cancelled. The major roads and red routes in the area have been gritted and the light traffic means that vehicles are moving freely, although it also means that ...
Southeastern trains are advising on their website (www.southeasternrailway.co.uk) that they are operating an extremely limited number of services from a contingency timetable today, and that most mainline lines of route do NOT have any services.
At a conference last weekend, I realised that two of my fellow participants had the interesting connection that they had both been foreign ministers of their respective countries' governments back in 1994. My phone is still not behaving perfectly, but I did at least get them to smile for the camera: So, your challenge for today is: which two countries were these two gentlemen serving as foreign minister, sixteen years ago? (You may choose to answer on the basis of gut feeling, though a combination of various googling techniques is more likely to work.)
[IMG: mr puss in kitchen] Times are tough for all fat cats (even in the private sector), and questions have been raised about Mr Puss's mental state, lately he's seen big cuts in his private health insurance and luxury items like Tuna and despite reassurances, of a minimum income of two bowls of GoCat complete a day (with on demand top ups), it's understood the Puss may have slipped into a deep depression, not helped by listening to BBC Radio Kent, who've been constantly wittering on for the last few days about the flippin snow and little else. Concerns have ...
Things seem to be coming to a head with reforms of higher education funding. In the furore about the raising of the tuition fees cap, hovever, a crucial element of the reforms – changes in the repayment system – seem ... Continue reading →
The latest update from Kent County Council on snow and road condition updates by area - this mornings update advises that Shepway still has a "Snow Emergency in place" and that some local roads are closed and others only passable with extreme care. Update in full:
This Saturday 4th December at The Chichester Memorial Hall, Sandgate from 10am until 12 noon, the market will be celebrating our first year's trading with mulled wine, mince pies and a big thank you to our wonderful stallholders and loyal supporters.
Non-fiction 5 (YTD 66) Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - the Final Chapter, by Russell T. Davies and Benjamin Cook The Love Letters of Henry VIII The Cyprus Question and the EU, by Andreas Theophanous Shakespeare (the illustrated edition), by Bill Bryson Elizabeth and Essex, by Lytton Strachey Fiction (non-sf) 5 (YTD 48) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain The Thorn Birds, by Colleen McCullough Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai SF (non-Who) 6 (YTD 68) The Thunderbirds Bumper Story Book, by Dave Morris Analog ...
Liverpool LiNK, which is an organisation giving people the chance to have their say about the health service, is holding five meetings this month for people who want to go along and share their views. The organisation wants to get feedback about the NHS so that it can make improvements to meet the needs of local people. The meeting in South Liverpool is Monday 13th December 2010, 13.30 - 17.00 Bridge Chapel Centre, Heath Road Liverpool, L19 4XR You can find out more by e mailing info@liverpoollink.org.uk
Morning updates on road conditions received from Kent County Council. Police are once again reminding people that they shouldn't try to drive today unless it is absolutely necessary and should clear their cars properly before setting off.
The nominations for the 2011 Grammy's are out. Eminem leads the way with 10 nominations with the Gaga and genius Jay-Z both have 6. VN reckons Eminem should claim best album (for 'Recovery'), Jay-Z and Alicia Key's should get record of the year (for 'Empire State of Mind') and our beloved Florence and her Machine should get best new artist. If Bieber wins that, there is going to be trouble.... The full list of nominations is as follows: Album of the Year Arcade Fire - 'The Suburbs' Eminem - 'Recovery' Lady Antebellum - 'Need You Now' Lady Gaga - 'The ...
The news is reaching VN that the High Court ruling on the judicial review into the decision from the Oldham East and Sadlleworth election court will be announced tomorrow. After this it should become clearer when an election re-run, if it happens, will be held. VN believes there is still the risk that Woolas could continue appealing in Europe but, given his stance on immigration, appeals to foreign based bodies should be left well alone....
I have family commitments for the next few days, so there may not be many posts on Liberal England. While I am away, you can enjoy: Liberal BurblingsLiberal BureaucracyThe Contented Lib DemStumbling and MumblingEnglish BuildingsUnmann-Wittering Blog
You only had to open last week's Observer to realise what a lot the party leader has on his plate at the moment. As well as dealing with the 'Petition of 104', the constant repetition in the paper of the 'liar' tag was pretty unpleasant. Nick Clegg has managed to survive the battering with great dignity so far. But it is hardly surprising that the commentariat are currently writing off his party. I think they are wrong. But the health of the Lib Dems depends on staying on the correct side of the revolt. Just set aside the student demonstrations ...
I have an enormous amount of respect for Council staff, and their colleagues in other public and essential services, who keep things going through bad weather like we're experiencing this week. But could Bury Council be doing better? What do you think? Two things have annoyed me in the last day: Grit Bins Not surprisingly I've been contracted by residents from two parts of our local area in the last couple of days who want to see grit bins provided for their street. Obviously there can't be grit bins everywhere, but in both cases I thought there was an excellent ...
Conservative MP Rob Wilson's book on the formation of a coalition government in May 2010, 5 Days to Power: The Journey to Coalition Britain, plays up the drama of the events, talking of how "Gordon Brown and David Cameron were both determined to do whatever was necessary to secure the position of Prime Minister" as if the story is one of a cliff-hanging drama which could have gone either way. Whilst the outcome is certainly significant for British political history, what the book is far less convincing on is that there was really any serious chance of a Labour - ...
Just arrived in Ghana after a journey complicated by the snow in the UK. A few meetings this morning, then some thoughts on Wikileaks, Chilcot and the so called complicity in torture inquiry to come.
After watching this I have withdrawn my signature from the "Not Ashamed" petition and signed up, instead, for the Nick Baines, Bishop of Croydon fan club. When I signed the declaration on Sunday, at the behest of a friend, I was not able to read any contrary views on the subject – it was only yesterday that I could find such views appearing on the web. While the declaration in its narrow sense is fine, the accompanying campaign paraphenalia has an aura of mildly hysterical paranoia with which I do not wish to be associated. In future I will return ...
A relatively rare example of a historical novel in the New Adventures series, taking the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Benny to Haiti on the eve of the US invasion of 1914. It is a combination of the Tardis crew getting to grips with the setting and Lovecraft pastiche, done for shudders rather than giggles - the zombies turn out to be linked to the Great Old Ones (though there is also a character from New England whose name is Howard Philips). Clearly well-researched on the Haitian background, and good coordination of the three main characters doing what they are good ...
Ever since I had flu a couple of weeks a go I have been hving vivid dreams. I have no idea why? Anyway, last night I had a dream that the NHS would only deal with people who have a diagnosis. This is a thought provoking and ethical concept. I shall tell you why. Very often people will see and continue to see health professionls because they do not have or have not found a successful diagnosis. There was a time in my early 20s that I saw consultants and doctors for a my hand - they could never really ...
From the information which I have received, the Council wil be attempting its usual services, provided that it's safe. This means that the bin collection rounds will be attempted, but if particular streets pose a risk to the collectors then they will be missed. So the advice is to leave the bins out as usual (and take them back again as usual!). I will update when I receive more information.
Bin collections will continue in the snowy weather. Where it's not possible to safely collect a bin, it will be collected at the next scheduled collection along with any excess waste. That means if your bin isn't collected on its normal day, put it out next time round and leave anything extra in bags by the bin.
Here in Sutton we have had more snow overnight. Gritters have been out all through the night gritting the main roads, but many side roads are icy with a fresh coat of snow on top. So it is slippy out there. Travelling is going to take a lot longer than normal and trains are not running. TRAIN TRAVEL DIFFICULT TODAY According to the BBC "There will be no Southern services running south of East Croydon until further notice, while a limited service will begin in the "London Metro" area at 1000 GMT." There are no replacement bus services and Southern ...
The Derwent Valley Small Grants Fund provides a fund of £10,000 to which local community groups and partnerships can apply to help fund projects and events related to the current six Derwent Valley Partnership priorities. The Derwent Valley Small Grants Fund has now been launched and full details of the scheme including application forms and guidance notes can be found on the Derwentside CVS website at www.cvs.derwentside.org.uk The minimum amount of funding which can be applied for from the Fund is £100 and the maximum amount of funding which can be applied for is £1,000. Don't delay. Ten requests for ...
broadcast anniversaries 2 December 1967: broadcast of fourth episode of The Ice Warriors. Victoria is recaptured by the Ice Warriors; the Doctor also falls into their clutches. 2 December 1978: broadcast of second episode of The Androids of Tara. The King's android double is crowned; the Doctor apparently kills Princess Strella.
As Julien Assange and his merry men(and women) continue to release leaked US State cables to papers like The Guardian, El Pais, NY Times and Der Spiegel, it has been revealed that the Political Minister Councillor in the US Embassy in the UK sent a cable back to her bosses about Nick Clegg's foreign policies and a general biography of him. Here are some of the extracts: "Clegg, like many Liberal Democrats, is individually articulate, charismatic, and personable. Since taking over the leadership of the Lib Dems, he has become more nuanced and realistic in his approach to domestic and ...
Over 27,000 young people turned out to vote in this year's Kent Youth County Council elections. There were 145 polling stations at schools and youth centres and the elected members have now been chosen for each district.
When will some people learn that if someone is gay, one does not instantly find everyone of one's own gender attractive. There is one politician who is using the security pat-downs in use in America as a rod to beat those citizens who happen to be lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Eugene Delgaudio, a Republican representing ...
As I'm sure you know, Godwin's Law states that as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches. After lengthy study of The Guardian's Comment is Free pages, I can add the following variations: In any online discussion of an English Parliament the probability of someone mentioning Edgar the Atheling approaches.In any online discussion of climate change the probability of someone mentioning the measurements he has been taking in his back yard approaches.In any discussion of the economy the probability of someone mentioning the coming crisis of capitalism approaches.In any discussion of Christianity ...
It's not something I often do but in the light of comments made elsewhere on this web site it seemed handy to republish Chris Wells thoughts on social service to which he agreed. Margate and Cliftonville County Councillor Chris Wells, was the Cabinet Member for Children's Social Services during its last formal inspection in 2008, when it was adjudged to be one of the best in the country. The Gazette asked him exclusively what he though had changed so radically during the last two years........ 'The first thing to say is that inspections are not always the best measure of ...
Dear Surrey County Council I have just watched in utter amazement as a small car slid sideways down the hill where I live in Woking. The poor driver had absolutely no chance whatsoever of keeping the car in a straight ... Continue reading →
Last winter I wrote about problems caused by bad weather. People couldn't get to work. Well here we go again. I even heard that a university rugby team did not want to travel up the M6 because they could have been delayed getting home. These are possibly the same students who choose to walk across the antarctic as a hobby, but slow driving on the M6 is a bit too challenging. A year ago I called for a mandatory interview question. How would you get to work if it snowed? Are we really so unfit and so incapable that we ...
Back on 23rd October I wrote to my local councillors Ayoub Khan, Muhammad Afzal and Ziaul Islam to complain about the poor state of the Subway between Ashcroft Grove and Broadway Road on Birchfield Road. At the time of writing the subway had no working lights, was regularly not cleaned and a number of the stairs were in a poor state.
