I have spent the last few days at my mother's house helping her as she has just had knee replacement surgery. The situation, as we agreed, was rather like an Alan Bennett play. Because of the peculiarities of Market Harborough topography, you get East Anglian regional television on that side of the town rather than East Midlands. (Here erecting an aerial involves more than just pointing it at Sandy and hoping for the best.) And over those few days Look East, the evening regional news programme, was obsessed with protests against rises against tuition fees by students at Cambridge University. ...
The news is full of doom, gloom, cuts, betrayals, leaks and cold weather. However tonight was a welcome break with Kate Fox News. Brilliant comedienne and poet, and Yorkshire too. Before that a solid session of advice giving at voluntary work, meeting about the Mayors Music Fund (now sorted, what was needed was some proper information, and now I am happy), issues around transfer...
Before tomorrow's vote on student finance, I wanted to reflect more widely than the fierce debate which is - rightly - raging in Liberal Democrat circles at the moment. If Reading East had elected me as its Liberal Democrat MP in May, Reading would now have an MP voting against the Government student funding proposals on Thursday. It didn't - so it has another Conservative MP voting for a massive increase in student debt. No change there. I assume (though have not got it confirmed) John Redwood whose constituency includes (more accurate than saying 'who represents') a significant chunk of ...
Wed 8th
22:37
Labour's Alan Johnson MP: We should be proud of our brave and correct decision to introduce tuition ...
Back in September, Labour's Alan Johnson MP gave some advice to the newly elected Labour leader Ed Miliband via The Independent. "We should be proud of our brave and correct decision to introduce tuition fees. Students don't pay them, graduates do, when they're earning more than £15,000 a year, at very low rates, stopped from their pay just like a graduate tax, but with the money going where it belongs: to universities rather than the Treasury." So, what does Aaron Porter and the NUS say to that? Or are they still silent on what Labour say/do just preferring to attack ...
This evening I was invited to a meeting of members of the South Reading GP Consortium - local GPs and practice staff from 18 practices across South and West Reading who between them serve nearly 100,000 patients. The Consortium of practices was set up in 2006 and is led by dynamic local GP Elizabeth Johnston, who I was delighted to meet. Under the Coalition Government's plans local GPs will have more power as PCTs and SHAs are to be abolished. Today the Department of Health announced that the South Reading Consortium is one of 52 groups of practices chosen to ...
The state pension will rise for single people from next April, it was announced today. Liberal Democrat Pensions Minister Steve Webb said the pension for a single person will rise by £4.50 to £102.15 a week. Single people on the pensions credit would receive an above-earnings increase to their minimum guarantee of £4.75 to take their weekly income to £137.35. For couples, the increase on their minimum guarantee would be £7.30, taking their new total to £209.70 a week, Steve Webb said in a Commons statement. Mr Webb had earlier told MPs: "At a time when the nations' finances are ...
For the last nine years I have been proud to serve on the Board of the Edinburgh International Film Festival. I have had the joy of working with so many talented and creative people. It has always been a Board of the highest calibre whose members have more fingers in pies than fingers! The Festival has recently morphed into the Centre for the Moving Image by merging with the Edinburgh Film House, the UK's most successful art house cinema and Edinburgh's best Cafe/Bar by a mile. After nine years as a Director and with the new structure beginning to take ...
As I have mentioned before KCC, spends an awful lot of your money on PR and press. A typical example of this concerns the Turner Contemporary gallery, in what looks to have been a carefully controlled media event, KCC handed over the gallery to the Turner Contemporary Trust. As someone who has taken an interest, I am surprised that todays event or milestone has no mention on Turner Contemporary website and wonder is this a result of KCC's obsession with the media. John Kampfner the chair of the Turner Contemporary Trust, is a media bod himself, also Chief Executive of ...
I'd like to announce a change in your regularly scheduled programming. I am not Alan Beddow. My name is Luke, and today I'm going to be your guest columnist. I am twenty-one years old. I am a student. I am also Alan's son, and should point out that the views I express here do not necessarily reflect those of my father. Earlier this year I voted, for the first time, in a general election. I was riding on an orange-coloured wave of enthusiasm. I hoped, without daring to believe, that this time things might be different. Political hope was a ...
I am really proud of what we have achieved in cutting crime and anti social behaviour in Edinburgh but one area which has stubbornly plateaued is that of domestic abuse. When I heard from Shakti and Edinburgh Women's Aid that the SNP government were going to cut their budget I was only too pleased as a Council Convener to write to the Scottish Government in support of their work. I was delighted to learn yesterday, all be it from a Labour source, that Alex Ne, the Communities Minister, had announced in the House that the funding was secure. I think ...
Our superb Library has an improved children's area, which is bright and well stocked. The following picture illustrates it quite well, despite the lack of a wide angle lens on my camera which would do it more justice: [IMG: acocks-green-library-8dec10.jpg] The work has been done as part of the scheme to put the new Neighbourhood Office in the Library. When this was planned some people feared, despite reassurance, that this would lead to the loss of the children's area. These pictures show that those fears were unfounded and we have a great new area that our children can enjoy for ...
It has been a very busy day and - again - helping residents with winter maintenance issues dominated this. There are still significant concerns about roads and pavements needing ploughing/gritting in the West End, and, in addition to raising every issue with the City Engineer, I also spoke with the council's Chief Executive this afternoon about the use of mini-ploughs. Also this afternoon, I attended the City Council's Scrutiny Committee at which : * I asked questions about parking for parents of pupils at Park Place Nursery School. Good progress here, particularly with the provision of a new school crossing ...
An update to my earlier post - Chris Huhne earlier this evening said, Nick Clegg and I have decided the importance of the talks in Cancun mean that I have to stay here to finish the vital work we have started. It is hugely regrettable that Ed Miliband's Labour Party has decided to put short-term political point scoring ahead of the long-term interests of the planet. They are putting the next two days ahead of the next two generations. These vital talks have denied me the chance to support the Coalition Government's progressive proposals to give financial security to our ...
I'm happy to hear that the threshold for repayment will be rising annually rather than every 5 years. But the other announcement that the government will be paying the first year's fees for every student that received free school meals and that universities will pay for the third has left me rather befuddled. This measure might encourage the school leaver's attendance at university but it will only benefit their situation several years after they leave university if they are working in a well-paid job. This is a benefit tht will essentially be paid to a relatively affluent individual who 10-20 ...
How Beer, Oprah and Sergey Brin Can Help Cure Aging Aubrey De Grey is cool, and thinks the first thousand year old human is alive today. Plus, he likes decent beer, and is openly poly. Jennie likes his beard. (tags: beer health) Defecting by Accident - A Flaw Common to Analytical People PRetty much agree with this one. One of the biggest problems I have generally when talking about economic stuff is not to come across like some rabid right winger, economic language is so dry and analytical, it can make you sound heartless. But using exact terms is necessary ...
"The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money." That was how Rolling Stone journalist Matt Taibbi introduced his article on Goldman Sachs last year. There was something rather thrilling about the words, as if someone had finally told the full truth about the banks. Every generation has its own blind spot about moral outrage. In the eighteenth century, it was slavery. At the beginning of the ...
[IMG: Forget your history and lose your way] Interestingly Labour hasn't always had the easy ride it's now experiencing, I found this summation of its problems when having introduced fees they then decided to tripled the charge to students a bit like todays controversy however for Labour time is a great healer as the forget their past to stir up things up a bit. Labour and Ed Milliband must think we are all stupid and we probably are. Labours militants for now are doing well, in manipulating students, who if nothing else, ought at least learn the lessons of history ...
Still too sick to write properly – more on comics as soon as my head feels less ready to explode. Meanwhile, some links. Bob Temuka on the life and death of Middenface McNulty. A new poll shows a clear plurality in favour of a yes vote in the AV referendum. The Aporetic on 'the real ...
Its one of the things that really gets my goat about politics. The backroom deals that go on in parliament in order to get something done when simply letting democracy take its place will do. With Chris Huhne stuck in ... Continue reading →
This business of it being decades since important milestones happened continues to bewilder me. Surely it can't really be 30 years since John Lennon was shot dead in New York - although it would have been 30 years tomorrow morning since I found out by listening to the Today programme on Radio 4. I thought I'd share with you four things to mark the occasion, 3 songs and an article. Tom Brook was a young BBC reporter and one of the first on the scene at the Dakota Building. Here are his memories of that night. Obviously it's very poignant, ...
You'd have to be a hermit of the St.Ossian scale not to have heard about the turmoil of tuition fees... And now it is the eve of the vote. The spotlight is on. So, what should the Liberal Democrats do? 1. The Vote Yes Campaign: So, Clegg and Cable are frantically urging Lib Dem rebels to 'walk through the fire' and support the proposal. And it has been announced, by Clegg himself that all 17 Lib Dem Ministers will vote for the proposals. Obviously, one should do this if he/she believes the proposals will indeed create a 'significantly fairer and ...
49) Ludwig Wittgenstein, Über Gewißheit/On Certainty (Oxford: Blackwell, 1969, ISBN 0631169407. Dual language edition; English tr. Denis Paul and G.E.M. Anscombe.) This book is an absolutely fascinating insight into Wittgenstein's thought process. It was compiled by Elizabeth Anscombe and G.H. von Wright after Wittgenstein's death from jottings he had left in Anscombe's house, where he lived for extended periods during the two years before his death - and by jottings, I mean no more than a sentence or two at a time, a paragraph at most. They were not originally intended for publication, but to help him figure out a ...
I have read and heard plenty of comment of the lack of Ed Miliband profile and exposure. I think this is not all down to Ed's leadership. He has taken two weeks paternity leave after all (and so he should). But what I have noticed is the lack of Labour comment and stories in the press in general. If you do not follow the political programs where Labour are represented but are only a watch/reader or listener of the news reports then your hard pressed to find any Labour representation or comment. I don't think this is down to simply ...
Wednesday: Once upon a time, back when HE was Climate Change Secretary, Labour Leader Mr Potato Ed said it would be "profoundly irresponsible" to use one "mistake" as an excuse not to act. Well, today we learn that he won't let THAT get in the way of EMBARRASSING the Liberal Democrats. Mr Potato Ed is REFUSING to allow the Liberal Democrat Environment Secretary, Mr Chris Huhney-Monster, a "pair" for the Tuition Fees vote tomorrow. So Mr Huhney-Monster has a choice: come home from the VITAL Climate Change Summit in Cancun OR miss the vote and risk letting the Government LOSE! ...
Saturday 4th December dawned and at long last the snow and ice had cleared from the streets of Camborne! It was pretty chilly as I was out with Julia Goldsworthy chatting to local residents in the morning around Rosemellin and North Roskear. We stopped off for some re-fuelling at Tyacks Hotel in the form of their daily specials menu and then it was off in to town to finally get round to buying some Christmas presents and to enjoy the Camborne Christmas Lights Switch-On afternoon. Music, Santa's grotto and refreshments were all available, with entertainment from local bands and Pirate ...
We're in the middle of a dramatic week on the Cobbles of Coronation Street. On Monday we saw a great tram crash in Coronation Street. Last night we saw the first frenetic efforts to help those trapped in the rubble and no doubt that will all intensify this evening. It will all culminate with the soap celebrating its 50th birthday tomorrow, 9th December with a live 1 hour episode. To pay tribute to the world's longest current runnning soap, I'm blogging a quote a day from Corrie's past up until the big day. Today, it's Rovers Return landlord Alec Gilroy ...
The tuition fee debate is far from over and one of the consistently loud and clear voices against tuition fees and for our party policy is Susan Gaszczak. Here is her personal view on what tomorrow's vote means for her and her family. On the eve of the Tuition Fee debate in the House of Commons I start the day with a heavy heart. In my own household the discussion around degrees and aims, goals and dreams of my own children has caused much tension and worry. My teenagers have not protested, but they have worried and stressed about the ...
A few months ago I gave my clear views on the whole tuition fees debate as stated here in my blog. My position has not changed now we find ourselves on the eve of the big vote. It must be said that the package which is being voted on tomorrow has some very good elements to it. But there's one significant part of it of course which is causing great distress to Parliamentarians and grass-roots activists alike - the rise in fees. It's the fact that a pledge was signed before the election by each of our 57 MPs to ...
So much for getting study done today; I got plenty of sleep and then went off to the dentist, but the amount of lidocaine used has sent me all woozy and weird and I spent about three hours sleeping it off. I have managed to read the relevant part of the coursebook for tonight's tutorial, and do one of the associated activities; I'll just have to go back to the previous chapter when I've got time. I have a couple of weeks 'off' over Christmas (from study, if not work) so I can hopefully catch up then. I'm supposed to ...
According to today's paper Ed Milliband is to honour the Labour Party manifesto promise to support a referendum on a reform of the voting system by adding his name to the leadership campaign. Good or him, and what a pity the rest of Labour's MPs, who all fought and were elected on this manifesto, haven't the same integrity. At the same time Ken Clarke has decided to ignore the Tory manifesto promise to make imprisonment the automatic punishment for carrying a knife. Good for him too. Mandatory sentences are a nonsense. We have magistrates and judges to decide on the ...
Confused about the Coalition's proposals for tuition fees? Here's David Cameron's speech explaining them in detail, including the repayment arrangements.
If you see a headline that says "Wikileaks Cables: Lockerbie Bomber freed after Gadaffi's Thuggish Threats" it does sort of imply some sort of causality between the latter and the former. It implies that the Libyan Leader basically sent the boys round to Bute House and Alex Salmond meekly complied with their wishes. Bad taste this may be, but it does amuse me that anyone could think this was even remotely plausible.There are mental images going round my head that will keep me amused for hours on that one. Seriously, though, if you actually go read the full report, it ...
Ay yi yi! The Prime Minister - he of the expensive private and Oxford education - was defending student fee changes today and he said of them: "We want more people to go to university, not less". Its 'fewer', Dave. It's 'fewer'. If Dave is planning to take us all to Hell in a handcart, you'd think he could at least condemn us grammatically correctly as we slide to our collective doom. No doubt these days Hell is spelt with a 'Haitch'...which, if you think about it, would be entirely appropriate.
Our ref: RM/223159 Chris Mills 8 December 2010 Dear Chris Mills and colleagues Thank you for your email to Vince Cable MP, about the Government's proposals for reforming student finance. We have received a very large amount of correspondence on this ... Continue reading →
The obvious answer is that there are two lots of protesters out on our streets, the UK Uncut bunch who are protesting over tax avoidance and the students with regard to tuition fee increases. But it goes beyond that; both are totemic of higher than ever levels of discontent with our political machine, and we are in ...
I guess they can be called growing pains. The rather messy debate in the Lib Dems over tuition fees has well and truely put us in the spotlight. There is a significant lesson here: don't make unrealistic commitments. Given that all our other commitments were properly costed and realistic, questions have to be asked as to how it was that such a generous spending commitment (phasing out tuition
On Monday, in a speech Lib Dem Care Services Minister Paul Burstow announced plans to make psychological therapies available to more people suffering mental health problems via the NHS. This is very welcome news indeed - particularly when we know that one in six people are likely to suffer from a mental illness and an estimated one in four people out of work claiming incapacity benefit are experiencing mental health problems. In his speech, Paul Burstow referred to his recent visit to an innovative "Talking Therapies" service at Shinfield Health Centre, within our local PCT area, Berkshire West, earlier this ...
I'm not going to defend Wikileaks. There is always some information which it is being wrongly withheld from a wider audience but there is also some which it is not constructive to disclose. However when we look at the list of locations of facilities that the USA considers vital to its' security and you find a snake ant-venom laboratory in Australia listed you have to ask a question about dangers to the world created by US paranoia.
By Nick Hollinghurst: Advice from Shadow Chancellor to Labour Leader goes Unheeded. Just found this gem from Alan Johnson written in the Independent of Sunday of 26th September, 2010. Alan Johnson in a "Gissa job!" piece (which worked!) wrote a "letter" to Ed Miliband the newly elected leader of the Labour Party in which he gave Ed six pieces of advice. The final one went, "Oh, and for goodness' sake, don't pursue a graduate tax. We should be proud of our brave and correct decision to introduce tuition fees. Students don't pay them, graduates do, when they're earning more than ...
And Another Thing - Tom Harris goes up to 12 in the month he gives up blogging Alex Massie goes up to 37 The Cute Greek Baby slides gracefully downwards to 52 now he has also stopped blogging. It's been a sad month, having to say goodbye to two giants of the Scottish blogosphere. Subrosa falls to 55 I fall to 56 - better write some decent stuff this month Underdogs Bite Upwards uniquely seems to be in twice, falling to 75 and rising to 81. A mistake somewhere, I think Andrew Reeves rises to 85 Better Nation rises to ...
An unusually frank e-mail has just landed in my in-box from the Farmers Union of Wales. Apparently, a recent survey has found many farmers cast down in unseasonal gloom: The lack of adequate broadband in several rural areas of Wales could be one of the reasons why farmers hate Christmas shopping, the Farmers' Union of Wales stressed today (Thursday, December 9). Responding to a new survey which found a fifth of farmers detest Christmas shopping, FUW president Gareth Vaughan revealed he cannot access broadband services at his farm near Newtown. "Most of the farmers I know do not have access ...
While the atmosphere at Westminster heats up in advance of The Vote tomorrow night, our attention has been diverted from the fact that something else is warming up - the planet - and unless concerted, global action is taken soon, we are going to be at the mercy of some cataclysmic changes. In order to try and avoid that, the latest UN Climate Change Conference is taking place in Cancun. At last, in Chris Huhne, the UK finally has an effective Environment Minister who knows what he's talking about and could play a major role in bringing people together. Or ...
It seems that another concession is being made to try and buy MPs' votes on tuition fees tomorrow. In fact the coalition's original proposals seem to be in such tatters that we have to be careful where to walk in case we trip over them!With this further concession, which only has an impact if salaries do not rise in line of inflation, then surely it is time to prospone Thursday's vote and spend
Following my post last week about our ambitious plans to transform adult social care in Reading, Cabinet has agreed to go out to public consultation on the proposals. This consultation will last for 3 months ending on 27 February 2011. The Council is keen to hear from as many residents as possible - including people who currently receive services and carers before making future decisions on adult social care. Reading residents can take part in the consultation online at www.reading.gov.uk/adultsocialcareconsultation or call (0118) 937 3747 to requests copies of the consultation. Officers will also be consulting on the plans at ...
First of all, be careful out there! Roads have been treated by WSCC and although some are icy, they all seem to be passable. Southlands was the worst I found this morning and that could be driven with care. Car parks have been cleared by MSDC. Pavements have been cleared in the town centre by the Town Council, but there is no council resource to clear pavements in residential areas. So it's down to people who live on residential roads to clear their own patches. I would therefore urge anyone with access to a shovel and some spare time to ...
Wed 8th
14:08
Whoniversaries 8 December: Jennie Linden, Nightmare of Eden #3, Enemy of the Bane #2, John Lennon
i) births and deaths 8 December 1939: birth of Jennie Linden, who played Barbara in Doctor Who and the Daleks (1965). ii) broadcast anniversaries 8 December 1979: broadcast of third episode of Nightmare of Eden. The Doctor realises that vraxoin comes from roast Mandrel. 8 December 2009: broadcast of second episode of Enemy of the Bane, concluding the second series of Sarah Jane Adventures. Sarah, Luke and the Brigadier force Mrs Wormwood and the Sontaran into a portal concealed in a stone circle. iii) real event featured in Who f 8 December 1980: John Lennon is assassinated, despite the efforts ...
If you're buying presents online, then have the presence of mind to shop safely this Christmas. It is estimated that £22 million was spent by UK consumers ordering Christmas presents online this Monday (November 29). But for most of us, there is still much more to buy and Hertfordshire Trading Standards is offering advice to ensure shoppers know their rights when surfing the web. - Always use reputable firms for online shopping, whose details you've checked out in advance, including their full company name and address - Try typing the name of the firm you're thinking of using into a ...
It seems like central government is beginning to become concerned that local councils are planning on making huge cuts to Library service provision as a means of balancing the books. Ed Vaizey, the Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative industries, has taken the step of writing to Councillors to remind them that they have a statutory obligation under the Public Libraries & Museums Act 1964 to provide a "comprehensive & efficient" library service. This should server as very timely reminder for Cambridgeshire County Council. The Conservative-controlled body has yet to announce the results of it's review into the Library Service ...
The Manchester Evening News report here that local MP John Leech will oppose a rise in tuition fees, honouring a pledge he signed in the Spring. This is a position I back of his. John has corresponded with me on the issue and I include (edited) highlights of his points on the issues. John: My concern over the Browne Review and the Government's response is the impact that higher tuition fees will have on discouraging students from deprived backgrounds from applying to University, for fear of the debts they will accumulate. Under the current fees most students are leaving University ...
Chris Huhne, who is leading the British team at the Cancun Climate Change Talks, is having to fly home early to take part in tomorrow's tuition fees vote because Labour is refusing to 'pair' an MP with him. Pairing has been around for hundreds of years for good reason. If two MPs each know they are going to vote in opposite ways then if they both agree not to vote the end result is the same as if they had both voted - but such pairing agreements allow, for example, a seriously ill MP to avoid having to come in ...
It has emerged that the Labour leader is refusing to pair Energy & Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne for tomorrow's vote on tuition fees, forcing him to return from the key climate change summit in Cancun. Pairing is the process whereby the absence of an MP who is whipped one way but can't attend a vote is negated by an opposing MP not voting too, and is agreed by the partys' teams of whips. By refusing to pair Huhne, Ed Miliband is acting cheap and playing politics. He knows that Huhne must now come home and vote yes or resign. ...
Wed 8th
13:30
Marked registers lost, votes counted up wrongly - but Returning Officer judged to have met performan...
Over at reports that the Returning Officer in Wolverhampton comes out as having met all the performance standards save for the one on accessibility of information to electors, despite it turning out that parts of the marked registers from two different Wolverhampton constituencies were lost and the votes in one of those constituencies, Wolverhampton South West, were counted wrongly (with the numbers still not adding up even after a post-election investigation).
Snow arrived in Southwark over a week ago. None of the official London Cycle Network was gritted but fortunately warmer rain on Saturday resolved most of the snow and ice. No thanks to Southwark Council this time round. But some key parts of that network still have snow and ice as they are over bridges - which stay colder as they have cold air above and beneath them. This is a picture of LCN23 on Greendale. This is the main spine cycle route south to north in Southwark. At this point you have to get of and walk. How many ...
Following requests by residents and the Council looking to see if it meets the requirements, we're considering a proposal to have permit parking on Hall Street , Ernest Street and Crescent Road, plus double yellow lines at the junction of Hall Street and Brook Road. You can see the plans from page 137 of the Cheadle Area Committee minutes (see below). In summary, the proposals are Permit parking on the whole of Crescent Road and Ernest Street Permit parking in front of houses on the north side of Hall Street Double yellow lines at the junction of Brook Road and ...
I'm pretty agnostic about whether Julian Assange did commit an unspecified sexual offence against a couple of Swedish girls; all I can really say at this distance is that in interviews he comes across as something of a twat. This is all anyone not directly involved in the case can say at this point, but ...
Campaigners have spotted sub-clauses in the UK government's new bill that effectively remove respect for individual liberty when prohibiting particular drugs The plan to remove the requirement for scientists or experts on the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) as proposed in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill is controversial for the reasons set out on this blog yesterday. But further study of the bill reveals more cause for concern. Another shocking proposal in its pages seeks to shift the target of selective drugs prohibition from a duty to protect society from the harmful effects of drugs, ...
If you have a spare 10-20 minutes - then I strongly recommend the thoughts from the man behind the last big leak: What interesting to note is that Daniel Ellsberg's behaviour can hardly be said to have brought the American hegemon to her knees. Ultimately he didn't put US civilians at risk and he didn't put US troops at risk. In fact, what he did contributed to the end of the Vietnam war. I'd say that's a win on the side of the people. All that liberals have to look out for now is whether the authorities treat Assange any ...
I have struggled with the student fees issue more than any other but its important to be able to decide so here goes. I fought the election having agreed the pledge to oppose a rise in tuition fees: the LDs didn't win the election, we came third. I work for a university, albeit not in a teaching area. I had a free education - but no support grant and the first year of loans to deal with. I did a Masters which was paid for by my parents - thanks Dad. I have never quite lifted myself from the debt ...
Today sees the launch of Labour Yes! - the Labour Party's Yes to Fairer Votes Campaign, together with a well branded website in line with the main Yes! campaign website. One of the things that caught my eye was Get involved The Labour Yes Campaign is looking for volunteers to be Labour Yes Champions in ...
Here are the Liberal Democrat entries in the top 100 political blogs as ranked by Wikio: 1 (7) Liberal Democrat Voice No change 2 (40) Jack of Kent Down 14 3 (51) Craig Murray Up 4 4 (56) Caron's Musings Down 5 5 (57) Liberal England Down 1 6 (62) Mark Pack Up 2 7 (73) Liberal Vision Up 4 8 (77) Nick Thornsby Up 8 9 (82) Liberal Burblings Down 10 10 (85) Andrew Reeves's Running Blog Up 5 11 (88) Miss S B Down 6 12 (94) Stephen's Linlithgow Journal Down 31 13 (99) Lynne Featherstone New 14 ...
As you've no doubt seen both Nationally and Locally students are up in arms about the coalition governments proposed changes to Tuition Fees. The first thing to say that's worth noting is that Julian Huppert, the Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge, will be voting *against* raising the cap on Tuition Fees. He signed the Student Pledge during the election campaign and then re-signed it after the Coalition Agreement was signed. Julian *will* be voting against these changes. The NUS pledge was not merely one against raising the cap, it also committed its signatories to work for a "fairer alternative" to ...
One of the few arguments that Lib Dems members, who are accepting the rise in tuition fees, are making is that this decision is acceptable because we are a (minor) player in a coalition government and not all our policies can be made into law; it's about give and take. Well looking back at the coalition agreement it does not mention anything about increase in tuition fees.The agreement states:We
Recommended reading for Lib Dem councillors and local campaigners from the last seven days. In a fairly key interview over the weekend in The Independent, Nick Clegg tells us: No apologies. No regrets. No shame It is always interesting to see what other people think of us. Here's the BBC's take on The different tribes of Liberal Democrats For a fairly impartial view of what the impact of the proposed new system of funding higher education is on individual people, we found this from the Money Saving Expert.com: The argument over student loans could kill the next generation's education In ...
The think we should be told- according to today's Southport Visiter our town is a top terrorist target: THE United States fears Southport could be targeted in terrorist attacks, secret Whitehouse documents reveal.A $52m telecommunications hub in Kew, where trans-Atlantic cables link Europe with Canada and North America, is listed as a key site for the country's homeland security.Our sleepy town is one of 12 places in Britain listed in confidential documents released on whistleblowing website, WikiLeaks.The 7,300-mile undersea fibre-optic cable makes landfall at a huge station based at Southport Business Park, on Wight Moss Way.Owned by US firm Hibernia ...
Okay, normally you would not expect to find a miss-spelt word on Gyronny Herald, but today you do. That word is Finanance The quotation comes from the headline on one page of the Ulster Unionist website, as shown below... For those who can't see the picture: Finanance Debate seconded by Leslie Cree 07/12/2010 Let us ...
Philip K. Dick is best known for his novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sleep that was turned into a successful feature by Ridley Scott and titled Bladerunner. For science fiction fans, Dick is probably rated more for The Man in the High Castle. Many of his novels and short stories have been turned into films. Several recurring themes run through his work: nothing is what it seems, authority can never be trusted and power will always be abused.
As clever as the Welsh Government's solution to tuition fees for Welsh domiciled students is, it is becoming apparent that there are still risks and unanswered questions as to how it will work and what the impact will be on Welsh Universities. This morning's Western Mail encapsulates some of those issues when they focus on how the tuition fee deal would be funded. The Government say that they will pay for tuition fee grants or a waiver by top-slicing the Higher Education Funding Council teaching grant by around 35% by 2016-17. Additional income will also be available to Welsh universities ...
Today the National Union of Students and other organisations will take to the streets of London to demonstrate against the Government's proposed university funding scheme. There will be Liberal Democrats amongst them and I understand why they are there. Their position is straightforward - our party policy is in favour of phasing out tuition fees and they want to see us in Government do more to bring that about. I'm not sure how realistic that is, but there is a logic there and one I sympathise with. The position of the NUS is more complex. There is a certain irony ...
I've read, seen and digested the views and opinions of students, politicians, parents and commentators on the new tuition fees proposal. After much deliberation I believe that the Liberal Democrats who are Ministers should vote for the new tuition fees, those outside the Government can vote as they wish, but preferably for or abstain. The ...
The Governments proposals on higher education funding and student finance etc. are to be debated on 9th December. The two briefing notes on this, available on the House of Commons website, run to 37pages. It is a measure of the failure to communicate the content of these proposals that tuition fees have grabbed all the attention. Liberal Democrat MPs at last seem to have sorted out how they are going to vote in this debate. That question should never have been allowed to grab so much air time. Those Lib Dem MPs in the Government should vote with the Government ...
There are many thousands of people imprisoned in Uzbekistan alone who should not be imprisoned and who suffer much worse conditions than even the genuine horrors of Wandsworth being visited on Julian Assange. But the Assange case has implications for ever deteriorating Western freedoms which should not be overlooked. Then there are many war criminals who ought to be in jail and who are not. Most prominent of these are Bush, Blair, Cheney, Straw and their crew. A minor figurewho ought to be in jail is Anna Ardin. Here are two tweets she published after being "raped" by Julian Assange: ...
In case you missed it, the PPB on broken promises is here.
Comments on my not totally effusive post on Good Omens have revealed that my tastes are not the same as everyone's (I know, imagine my surprise, etc). There is of course only one possible way to establish definitively which are the best novels by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, and that is to conduct a poll. So without further ado: View Poll: #1654536 Feel free to justify your choice, or query others', below.
Kent Trading Standards is advising that they are aware of a "warning" email being circulated currently. Like many others, it is a hoax - below is an excerpt. Do not bother forwarding it if you should receive it - just delete it.
Cheadle Area Committee is on Tuesday 14th December 2010, starting at 6pm at the Ladybridge Park Residents Club, Edenbridge Road, Cheadle Hulme. Our area committee is for the three wards of Cheadle & Gatley, Cheadle Hulme North and Heald Green. The meeting is open to the public, with opportunities for you to ask questions of councillors, the police and others (if you want to ask a question to the councillors, you need to submit it in advance by contacting Steve Fox: stephen.fox@stockport.gov.uk). Sainsburys development Sainsburys at Cheadle Royal are planning to expand their store - something I've reported on before. ...
Last night I attended the AGM of Chinese Liberal Democrats in Camden Town Hall, hosted by Hampstead Councillor Linda Chung. The group has been active in fund-raising, as well as organising excellent events at LibDem Conferences, but it is also increasingly addressing political issues of relevance to Britain's Chinese community. That community is itself quite ...
Today saw the publication of a piece of "research" from the union "representing" University Lecturers, the UCU. According to them Edge Hill University is on a danger list of Universitites at "high risk" of going out of business. Leaving aside the first time anyone at Edge Hill, including those who are union reps, knew about this report was when the media got in touch, the lack of thought and consideration by UCU is breathtaking. Firstly, the material in the report is innaccurate. The Edge Hill Vice Chancellor, who ought to know a bit about the finances, told staff the following ...
[IMG: Katherine asks a Weston Park shopkeeper to fill in the survey] Katherine and I have helped launch a survey of local businesses to find out what support they need in today's tough economic times. The survey is going out to businesses across Haringey as part of the Lib Dem "Be Local" campaign to encourage residents to support local businesses and voluntary organisations – particularly over Christmas. Katherine and I launched the survey in Weston Park in Stroud Green ward, speaking to a number of shopkeepers about the issues they face. In Stroud Green sustaining and improving our local shopping ...
A couple of comments on the report that Asbestos was found in the collapsed roof at Junction Farm School led me to get further information from Stockton Council Officers. Rather than post as responses to the individual comments I'll put them here where they might be more visible to all: There was some asbestos within the roof void of the collapsed ceiling at Junction Farm, however this was
On Saturday 11th December there will be a ceremony to officially open some new allotments in Rhos on Sea (off Tan y Bryn Road). There are 72 plots in total including 12 that are DDA compliant, I have been informed that most plots have been taken up and that we have 7 DDA Raised plots left. The event starts at 10am and finishes at 2pm. I am in attendance but will be whisked off to feed some "Camels" at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, this is to do with some of our green waste. I will update on this after the ...
I have written this letter to Mr. Iain Duncan Smith, my constituency MP and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, regarding the proposed shake-up of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and the relegation of scientific advice in the formulation of drugs policy. I decided to write the letter following the publication of an Early Day Motion tabled by Julian Huppert MP (Lib Dem, Cambridge); should you feel inspired (!) by what you read, please copy/paste the letter, alter as appropriate and send on to your MP using the funny little box below courtesy of MySociety.org as ...
Whilst there has been a lot to ponder over of late - tuition fees and the spending review merely top the list - it is easy to lost track of those acts which have truly reflected a uniquely Liberal Democrat view of society. For all of the figures, click here, but here are some of the key numbers; Personal allowance up £1,000 to £7,475 (up 15.4%), Basic rate band reduced from £37,400 to £35,000 (down 6.4%), Starting level for the 50% rate band frozen at £150,000 So, what does this mean? Firstly, it should be borne in mind that indexation ...
Wed 8th
07:45
Should one interrupt celebs in public places and say things like "I'm your greatest fan"?
Pat Shortt with two "ts" is, I learnt last night, a very popular Irish comedian. I learnt this because he was in the same restaurant as moi, as confirmed by several "recces" to the loo by several independent witnesses. "Would you like me to introduce you to him for a photo to put on your blog and increase your popularity with your Irish readers (sic – "reader" that should be - in a good week) ?" I was asked by a good friend. No thanks. – Don't like interrupting celebs anyway. Even if it was my hero Billy Connolly (i.e ...
As the result of diplomatic pressure, we are told, the Ambassadors of perhaps 50 countries will not attend the award ceremony to give the Nobel peace prize to Liu Xiaobao. The Chinese are claiming something of a success. It is all rather disappointing, it means that China lines up with some of the very nastiest regimes on the planet. China has refused to let any close relative collect the prize, so for the first time since 1935, when the Nazis prevented Carl von Ossietzky from receiving the prize, the ceremony will not, in fact see the prize actually awarded. That ...
The star of this week's blog was going to be Australian. Unfortunately the record company the artist is signed to has requested You Tube disable embedding. So instead of a video, here's a link: this week's artist What, you mean that's not what you were expecting? Well, the album was a gift from my sister on her return from being down under and one of my favourites. Andrew
[IMG: Rubik's Cube] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Олександр The tuition fees puzzle I do wonder. After spending 19 years fighting the Tories and everything they stand for, the main thing making coalition with them palatable was its inevitability. – The fact that the UK would have disappeared down a plughole of falling shares into the cesspit of economic dog mess if we had not done it. Now the only thing that makes the whole sordid graduate contribution tarradiddle worth it, is that fact that I don't see anything alternative to the course Clegg and co. mapped out last ...
A year ago the Council was planning for a possible £40 million cuts over three years - we knew then that money was going to be tight. If you've a particularly good memory, you might remember Labour trying to persuade everyone of a "£40 million black hole". In fact, the Council has been working hard since then to plan for how we can make the cuts we'll need to. Under the Coalition plans, it looks like we'll need to cut around £50 million over four years (instead of £40m over three) and those cuts are "front loaded" - the biggest ...
The passing of the Welsh Language Measure in the Assembly today and Plaid Cymru's failure to vote for the best possible outcome is a betrayal. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have consistently argued that this legislation does not go far enough to protect and promote the Welsh language but our protests have fallen on deaf ears. The Labour-Plaid Government promised to confer official status on the Welsh language. Instead, what we have ended up with is a dog's dinner of a measure that falls far short of the clear, unambiguous statement of official status campaigners were looking for. Having posed as ...
I suppose the only person rubbing their hands with glee over tomorrow's vote is likely to be Lord Mandelson who commissioned the Browne report to avoid Labour having to make a decision on Higher Education funding before a General Election (and they still haven't got a policy so far as I can tell), but this tuition fees bruh-hah-hah is a complete shambles. It won't come as any surprise to anyone who remembers my campaign for the Lib Dem Federal Policy Committee in 2008, for me to say that I would have preferred a completely free market in Higher Education phased ...
Wed 8th
02:54My video: Demonstration against austerity budget outside Irish parliament earlier tonight
It's not often I find myself at the centre of events in such a dramatic way. With colleagues we were dropped from our minibus one side of the Irish Parliament in Dublin this evening. We had to make our way across the entrance of the parliament to our restaurant for the evening. We wended our way through a spirited, noisy but apparently peaceful demonstration against the Irish austerity budget, announced earlier, in the afternoon. As we went past the gates to the parliament, I found myself having to work myself through a few lines of Gardai saying "Excuse me". I ...
At the time Labour brought in fees, my husband was working as a history lecturer at an ex-polytechnic university in a midlands town. Following their introduction, there was an immediate drop in applications, particularly from mature students. My husband's job was at threat from that point on, and he was eventually made redundant in 2004, when the university temporarily stopped offering a single honours history degree. The opposition to tuition fees was not a significant factor in my joining the LD's. That had more to do with Iraq and civil liberties. But, I never questioned the policy, and certainly supported ...
A drawing by a Darfuri child, showing their village being burnt and villagers being shot as they flee. copyright - waging peace I was in London on Monday to attend a meeting of the Lib Dem European Group, which works with other European Liberal Parties. I had the chance to go to a Liberal International British Group (www.libg.org.uk) lecture from Rebecca Tinsley, the inspirational chair of Waging Peace, (www.wagingpeace.info) a small NGO that works to collect testimony an help people suffering persecution in Africa. A lot of its work is in Darfur and in Southern Sudan. I don't know a ...
Day One: Ten things you want to say to ten different people right now. Day Two: Nine things about yourself. Day Three: Eight ways to win your heart. Day Four: Seven things that cross your mind a lot. Day Five: Six things you wish you'd never done. Day Six: Five people who mean a lot (in no order whatsoever) Day Seven: Four turn offs. Day Eight: Three turn ons. Day Nine: Two smileys that describe your life right now. Day Ten: One confession. Day Seven: Four turn offs. Deliberate ignorance. Ignorance and apathy alone are each only mildly irritating, but ...
Our friends in the desert - TheHill.com "A less-than-accurate narrative is saleable as long as those to whom it is sold don't discover that it is little more than fiction. Controlling the narrative becomes even more important when few Americans are familiar with the facts. " (tags: westernsahara) African poverty: Falling faster than you think | vox - Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists Our main conclusion is that Africa is reducing poverty, and doing it much faster than many thought. * The growth from the period 1995-2006, far from benefiting only the elites, has been sufficiently widely ...
In a parliamentary debate today, led by Brandon Lewis MP (Great Yarmouth), MPs from the region highlighted challenges to overcome in order to achieve East Anglia's potential in the energy industry.
If you take a look at a road map of Lancaster and Morecambe you will notice that there are quite a few roundabouts to negotiate. On one of these roundabouts the road markings have changed in recent years. Locals did get used to the changes but strangers are not aware that the markings don't follow the Highway Code. Even the locals have to be aware that the driver in front of them may not know the area. You may think that if you want to go straight on, as if you were following the road between Lancaster and Morecambe, then ...
I recently compiled a list of websites which could be useful for anyone who has addiction issues relating to alcohol, drugs or tobacco.
