They are fond of their water towers in Northamptonshire. Every town seems to have one standing above it as you approach by road. This is Rothwell's tower, complete with bungalows clustered around its skirts. Geograph comments: "The most prominent site for some miles around, probably only still standing as a useful income generator for Anglian Water - a mobile phone mast." But they didn't have such a nice day for it.
[IMG: Parliament - Big Ben] The new today that Eric Illsley MP has been convicted of expenses fraud but may yet remain an MP has brought back to light the case of Garry Allighan. Illsley will be barred from being an MP if he receives a jail sentence of at least a year, but if he does not there is no automatic disqualification from being an MP. The Commons could vote to expel him using very rarely exercised powers. In fact, the last time an MP was expelled in this way was way back in 1948. Ironically, that case too ...
I've not got into the habit of writing my blog on this new site. However times have been busy here in Stockton as well as on the national scene.There has been a meeting of the housing partnership, looking at the "A fairer future for local housing" consultation paper. Some measures, whilst new and controversial could be good, but I am concerned about the lack of emphasis and understanding of the need for stability for people and their communities. Not one to winge and not do anything, I've done a full response and put it to the Council for them to ...
Well in straight forward terms it has been suggested to me that the leadership of Porter -Parry realised that the skids were under them and they were likely to loose the leadership on a vote of councillors (those that are left) after May. By suspending three senior members until after the vote they preserve their narrow majority. I am reliably informed Porter- Parry only snook in by one vote at the last count. Personally I cannot believe that Sir Ron, Tom Glover and David Pearson will acquiesce to their suspension. Some folk still with the Tory whip are openly planning ...
The regular meeting between the Police, partners and the community together (PACT) takes place in the foyer/coffee bar of the Empire Theatre at 5.30 Wednesday January 12th. As always you will be very welcome.
OK, I know it's a bit late but between Christmas and then escaping for a week at the start of the year I'm only just getting back into the swim. As we start 2011 many of the same issue overhang us as in Consett have done for the last eighteen months, with only the precise amount that there is (and is not) towards the Academy clarified; Academy, Sports Centre, Council presence in the town, the Masterplan all continue to be issues in the medium to long term. Other issues have been with us even longer like car-parking, job opportunities, housing ...
I attended tonight's Community Council meeting at Logie St John's (Cross) Church. In a shorter than usual meeting as there was no formal presentation/speaker this month, it was concerning to hear about a scam that resulted in an elderly West End resident being defrauded and about other scams including bogus window cleaners. Our local police were represented tonight and gave helpful advice. The council's Trusted Trader scheme is an excellent way of ensuring quality service from reliable and honest traders.
Having received concerns from residents about the length of time waiting to get through the temporary traffic lights at the junction of Riverside Drive and Perth Road (immediately west of Invercarse Hotel), I have raised the issue with the City Council who advise: "The lights belong to Scotland Gas Networks. I met their representative there last week to discuss the traffic management. The ongoing work is the repair of a gas leak. The leak is now fixed; reinstatement will be complete tomorrow and lights down at close of play tomorrow."
Today, Nick Clegg made a pitch for those voters that every politician is after: Middle England, the squeezed middle or hard-working families. Clegg has added a new term 'the alarm clock Britain'. Putting to one side the merits of the policy proposals, the question for those interested in the development of political ideas, is how does this fit with the modern liberalism that Clegg has been weaving of late? Clegg has said that the coalition's ambition to redefine the relationship between the citizen and the State. Am ambition he appears to share. Will his alarm clock awake liberalism, ensuring that ...
The BBC that in place of control orders the government is intending to have powers to do the following: ban suspects from travelling to locations such as open parks and thick walled buildings where surveillance is hard allow suspects to use mobile phones and the internet but only if the numbers and details were given to the security services ban suspects from travelling abroad ban suspects from meeting certain named individuals, but limited to people who are themselves under surveillance or suspected of involvement in terrorism Under the planned new orders, the security services would lose the power to impose ...
If you have a child due to start infant or primary school in September 2011 (born between 1 September 2006 and 31 August 2007) you need to get your application in by 15 January. You can make your application online and also view the Council's Admission to Schools booklet, which gives more advice on the process. If you do not submit your application by the closing date of 15 January 2011 your application will be treated as late. This will mean that all on-time applicants will be considered before your application is considered, which may make it less likely that ...
It is a truth almost universally acknowledged that for any public figure of the 1930s to be seen as a good egg they must have been on the same side as the Greatest Briton Ever, Winston Churchill. So in Tom Hooper's newly-released and much acclaimed film The King's Speech, when the Duke of York reluctantly ascends to the throne after his brother's abdication, who does he turn to for advice but dear old Winston? But did this really happen? Churchill was a supporter of Edward VIII in the abdication crisis in 1936. Indeed during it he suffered one of the ...
[IMG: one we sacked earlier] Still I had an interesting insight into what goes on in the mind of BBC managers and presume the organisation, when one of them told me that by plonking a weather sorry presenter, on the late news edition of South East Today, viewing figures increased by ten per cent. How shallow, the BBC gets its licence fee, in part by being unique, so we are told, so how about respecting presenters and journalists on the basis of experience knowledge depth rather than whether Muppets like you and I find a presenter attractive or not. Still ...
I was a supporter of the Coalition. I believe that the LibDem team that negotiated the coalition agreement and entered government with the Tories was - on the whole - sure footed. There is no doubt that without the LibDems in government we would not have seen (among other things) the triple guarantee on raising state pensions, tax cuts for lower and middle income families, measures bringing corrupt MPs to book, the scrapping of ID cards, and tighter regulation of the banks. And, of course, there will be an opportunity for this country once and for all to ditch its ...
Challoners High politics department were kind enough to invite me along today to talk to their A level students. There followed an interesting exchange with some pretty probing questions on tuition fees, Education Maintenance Allowance, AV, Europe, Lib Dem splits and u turns, how I got involved and even why I am a Lib Dem. Trying to answer all this really focussed the mind and forced me to define my political stance. Reflecting afterwards, I decided the phrase "Critical friend of the Coalition" sums up what I'm about, and I've made it the new strap-line for my blog. Here's what ...
The BBC seems to have had a well placed source pass them details regarding the future of control orders. There does seem to be some steps in the right direction but the areas that still concerns me is the rule of law, a fair trial and the practicality of the orders (or the new proposed ones) We are being told that the only people on the orders are really hard core terrorists. If there is evidence then they should be charged and brought to justice. What concerns me is that people will have their liberties constrained in a very public ...
Continuing my blogroll refresh, it's time to add Caron Lindsay's excellent Scottish blog, the eponymous Caron's Musings. The blog with the largest label listing this side of Vienna I suspect (watch out in the right-hand column)...
We have put out the following press relase, it doesn't seem to make sense to us, that residents can see roads that are gritted but can't get there ! Why not let residents groups have grit to help people get around.The recent wintry weather has again highlighted the need for more grit bins to be available for residents to use, according to Liberal Democrat Councillors in Bath.Snow and ice before
Joint statement by Councillor David Pearson, Councillor Tom Glover OBE and Councillor Sir Ron Watson CBE The majority of Southport Conservative Sefton Councillors have a significant disagreement with the Southport Conservative Executive, who comprise of less than 10% of the Party membership in the town, who are attempting to introduce an Agreement on a compulsory basis against the National Party guidelines which state specifically that any Agreement must be Voluntary and cannot be made Mandatory. You cannot have a Compulsory Voluntary Agreement. This has been confirmed by the Head of Local Government, the Chairman of the Conservative Councillors Association and ...
I have received a third letter from Ivan Lewis MP. Regular readers will remember that he first wrote to me a couple of months back, criticising me as a Lib Dem for the government's stance on tuition fees. He copied the letter to the Bury Times. I'm not sure he expected a reply (quite often, I've discovered, politicians just write letters for show), but I have nothing to hide on anything so I replied to him, explaining that I disagree with the government on fees. I concluded the letter by asking him what his position on fees was, since he ...
On page 270 of "22 Days in May" David Laws attributes the success of the coalition negotiations with the Conservatives rather than Labour to: "...a growing emphasis on the (Liberal Democrat) party's liberal roots, not least on economic policy, (which) was expressed in the influential Orange Book...( which he) edited....Although the Orange Book provoked a strong backlash from small c 'conservative' Lib Dem activists , it helped to shift the centre of gravity in the party..." Nice one, David. So Tony Greaves, Michael Meadowcroft, the late Maggie Clay and thousands of others who have toiled for years, many originally inspired ...
In exactly two months' time, we'll have seen the first couple of practice sessions of the 2011 season in the yawnmaking Sakhir international circuit in Bahrain. Last year's race belied the fact that the season was to be one of the most exciting ever, with the championship being decided by a(nother) Ferrari strategic slip up in the last race. Wouldn't have happened in Ross Brawn's day..... One thing which was almost perfect all the way through last season, and the one before that, was the utterly fantastic BBC coverage. On both radio and television, the BBC excelled themselves with, to ...
For the last couple of days I have been posting about Tory led Cornwall Council's upcoming decision on the future of waste collections. I have not been able to say what the plans are because the information was contained in pink (ie confidential) papers. However at today's full council meeting, Cabinet Member Julian German confirmed that the proposal is to move to what he called 'managed weekly collections'. This system involves the abolition of the weekly black bag collection. Instead, households will get a weekly collection of recycling and a weekly food waste collection. General rubbish will only be collected ...
Writing on Liberal Democrat Voice, Mark Pack reviews Which Way's Up by Nick Boles. "It is clear that for organisations like the Met police money has been no object on cases like these. The fact that those they were pursuing were generally well meaning people (whether you think they are misguided or not) - who provided no threat of violence - let alone terrorism showed a wasteful lack of prioritisation. One might say the Met had more money than sense," says Living on Words Alone, commenting of the PC Mark Kennedy affair. Which makes it interesting that Amelia's Magazine, which ...
Cornwall's 29 libraries are not safe beyond the coming financial year. This was the statement made by Council Cabinet Member Joan Symons at today's full council meeting and confirms what Liberal Democrats have been warning for some time - that branches may have to close in order to meet Tory budget needs. As I have blogged previously, the Council wants to make two sets of savings from the libraries and one stop shops budget. For the coming financial year, the plans are to make savings by moving one stop shops into library buildings and by buying books in a different ...
Tue 11th
17:03
Expecting a waitress to devote a month's pay to parking is 'reasonable' says Cornwall Council
The Cornwall Councillor in charge of parking issues has described the proposals to charge almost a month's take home pay for a season ticket as 'reasonable'. At today's full council meeting, I pressed Cllr Graeme Hicks on the proposed parking charges which would see season ticket costs rise from £195 per year to £600. I told him about the Launceston waitress for whom £600 represents a month's take home pay and asked him whether he considered such a price to be fair. In response to my points about this charge and the rise in the cost of hourly parking rates, ...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Over 660 party members have responded, and we're publishing the full results over the next few days. It's almost three months since Lib Dem Voice last asked party members what they thought about tuition fees. So we asked three questions to gauge members' views now the dust has settled ... a little. Part I: Demonstrations against the fee rises Part II: 51% to 49% backing for Coalition's policy on tuition fees ... ...
Awww, cute! We're going to get pandas at Edinburgh zoo, just down the road from us. Anna is already excited at the prospect and I suspect we'll be taking out a membership for the first time in a few years so we can keep tabs on Tian Tian and Yuanguang when they arrive. Especially if they take to heart the romance Scotland's capital city has to offer and produce some ultra cute baby offspring. So why am I not jumping for joy? Well, The Burd got there first, and she puts it very well: The burd is not some political ...
The kids of Glee were back on E4 lat night, and it was really rather good. Extending their repertoire to current hits, the cast blasted through VN favourites 'Empire State of Mind' and 'Millionaire'. The performances benefited from not having Rachel dominate last night, and the script was slightly less sickly than last season. A new female football coach was used to continue the theme of being an outsider. However, the star was still Sue Sylvester, who continues to have the best script in teen TV. Reeling off one liners, Sue was only challenged in the comedy stakes by cheerleader ...
Two blogs within an hour of each other? What on Earth is going on? Well the news that Jonathan Legard is gone from the F1 Commentary Box is one that deserves a fresh blog. Now I don't dislike Legard but I will admit that it just wasn't working with him and Martin Brundle and one ...
Tue 11th
15:48
Fire Extinguisher Student goes down - and rightly so - protesters should learn from this
Edward Woollard did a stupid thing in a moment of madness. That decision has cost him a couple of years of his life. It is a sad day that it came to this but he has no-one to blame but himself and the courts did the right thing. As I am sure most of you ...
It's often thought that the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats are much easier partners than the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, that we have a lot more in common. That's not the case. Certainly there are some aspects of social policy where we agree, but philosophically, we are a million miles apart. Both Conservatives and Labour have aspects to their basic rationale which turn my Liberal Democrat blood cold. With the Conservatives, it's their instinct to protect the rich and powerful at the expense of the vulnerable. Without the Liberal Democrats to take the sting out of them in ...
Does it matter if this country locks up a few children? Especially when it is in the right? Well, yes, it does. Nick Clegg has managed to persuade his Coalition partners that the children of asylum seekers should not be under lock and key like prisoners, a position vindicated in today's judgement: But there are many others who are locked up for committing crimes. Why not, you may ask? It's simple: does a two year old know the difference between right and wrong? Clearly not. Does a five year old? Probably not. A ten year old? Oh definitely. But ...
A few weeks ago a Labour Shadow Minister, Phil Woolas, was stripped of his seat in the first meeting of an election court for 100 years. This was because he had lied in his election literature about his opponent. Last week another ex-Labour MP was gaoled for corruption. And today we learn that Eric Illsely, still an MP but not deprived of the whip, has pleaded guilty to false accounting charges (see link below). Labour has tried to run around pretending to be politically purer than the Coalition Government. It has tried to say that it is the champion of ...
The first week of January was another very quiet week for council by-elections, with only one principal election in the Windsor & Maidenhead unitary authority. Park Ward is in Windsor itself, with the park after which it is named being Windsor Great Park. The ward's other notable landmark being Legoland. This was a disappointing result in a largely suburban residential ward that we held until four years ago. This ward had been consistently Lib Dem for many years before but our vote is down nearly 40% in the eight years since we last won there. Since the coalition was formed ...
Today the High Court have ruled on the detention of two children at Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre. They ruled that the procedure was unlawful. It is a subject very close to my heart after I visited the facility a few years ago. I recently blogged that it was a great Christmas Present when Nick Clegg announced the closure of the Family Wing in this centre. For years under the last Labour Government children were kept under lock and key. They were wrong to do so. It has now been ruled unlawful for two children held. Let this country never ...
And further to my previous post , as if by magic here is the formal planning application as detailed below:- Application number: 53492 Type of application: Full Date Registered: 11/01/2011 Applicant: Bury Council Location: Playing fields at Sandgate Road, Whitefield, Manchester, M45 6WG Proposal: Installation of play equipment Plans will be available to view on the Council's website within 2 working days from this date. Should you require further details please contact the case officer: Jennie Townsend on: 0161 253-5320 or reply by email. As previously mentioned please do not hesitate to contact either myself or Cllr Pickstone if you ...
Chris Williamson, the Labour MP for Derby North, has laid out why he is against introducing AV. Here is my response to his points: The central plank of the 'Yes to AV' campaign is disingenuous because its claims about AV being fairer than 'First Past the Post' are based on a false premise. AV will make no difference to a large number of constituencies where candidates secure more than 50% of the votes cast. Even in the last general election - where popular support for the parties was closer than normal - more than a third of the candidates had ...
Funding has recently been re-instated for a "Playbuilder Scheme" at St Josephs Field. This is for a new children's play area behind the football club off Sandgate Road. This would be built next spring/summer subject to securing planning consent. Residents are being asked to give their views. [IMG: groundwork] What are Play Builder schemes? For children of all ages Non traditional equipment Creative play - provides risk, challenge and excitement Play space close to nature Design fits in with natural environment Disabled and non-disabled children play together Free use St Josephs Field scheme - why is it needed? No other ...
First up the General Pharmaceutical Council has dropped cases against pharmacies who were/are allegedly advising people to use homeopathic remedies and "vaccines" against serious diseases such as malaria. This is the exactly the area of most concern when it comes to homeopathic remedies. The remedies themselves aren't any more dangerous than water (because they are aren't usually anything other than water). What danger they do contain is in stopping people from seeking effective treatments or vaccines. Homeopathic remedies won't protect against malaria, ergo your danger of catching malaria is that much higher than if you had taken an ordinary malaria ...
Councillor Alf Doran, the recent focus of press articles about the standard of Town Hall buffets, has shocked fellow councillors by leaving the Conservative party and joining UKIP, it was announced today in the Echo. Alf is one of the most honest and hard working councillors we have in Sefton. He may "bat for the other side" but I have always had a lot of respect for Alf. He recently finished his year as one of the best Mayors Sefton has had and I have always found him to be honest and professional. According to press reports it would appear ...
I am loath to make the distinction between different types of bankers at a time when the mood is to lynch them all but hey ho I made a new years resolution to be a little more controversial here so here goes. Bad bankers These are the ones who wrecked their corporate institutions through reckless behaviour and then ran to the state to bail them out (I will leave the rights and wrongs of the bail outs to others.) They are, as clouded outlook points out, the most well paid public sector workers in the country and if they want ...
For new readers you'd best start here and if you really want to catch up click on the 'tory squabbles' label at the foot of this posting. This morning's news that 3 Tories have been suspended and one resigned from the small Tory group on Sefton Council needs to be put in context. The collapse of the Sefton Tory group can pretty well be dated from the leadership putch led by Mrs Parry and the 'selection' by an out of touch cabal of Mrs Porter as PPC for Southport and deputy leader. Since then: Leaders Les Byron (quit) Eric Storey ...
This excellent poem was published in the Cardigan Tivy Side Advertister last week. In it, author Ron Waldron reminds us of the battle between Lord Rhys and the Normans and envisages, with a rugby analogy, which 15 Cardigan residents would be best placed to lead that battle if ever it were repeated. It is very much a poem for 'Cardis', as the names are all local to us but I was pleasantly surprised that I was included at Number 9 - Scrum Half! I've put a note at the bottom of the poem to explain who each individual is - ...
You may remember that a while ago I talked about a motion of no confidence in Nick Clegg as party leader which I had drafted. The deadline for submission of motions for spring conference is today at 1pm. Given the difficulty of finding the requisite ten representatives to sign the motion on such short notice I've decided to wait till autumn conference to submit the motion. In the meantime I will be spending my time at spring conference networking to ensure that I have the requisite support for the motion well in advance of autumn. Thank you to all of ...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Over 660 party members have responded, and we're publishing the full results over the next few days. It's almost three months since Lib Dem Voice last asked party members what they thought about tuition fees. So we asked three questions to gauge members' views now the dust has settled ... a little. Part I: Demonstrations against the fee rises Part II: 51% to 49% backing for Coalition's policy on tuition fees ... ...
More later but this morning rumours that have been circulating for days have been confirmed. there are now more 'unofficial Tories (3) in Southport than there are 'official@ (2). Mind you there aren't many of either! SEFTON'S Conservative party appeared in disarray today after three councillors were suspended and another defected to UKIP. Former Mayor of Sefton, Cllr Alf Doran, announced he was leaving the party after labelling its treatment of his fellow councillors "absolutely deplorable". It came after a statement from the Southport Conservative Association confirmed that Cllr Sir Ron Watson, Cllr David Pearson and Cllr Tom Glover had ...
Yesterday's post mentioned the PACT meeting this week. I got the date wrong when I said it would be today. It's actually tomorrow (although the venue and time are the same - 6pm at the community centre on Church Lane) so if you want some Wednesday evening action, you know where to go. Tonight is in fact a meeting of the Council's Licensing Committee, which decides whether applicants for taxi / private hire licenses are fit and proper to hold them if the evidence suggests that they might not be (e.g. if they have a criminal record). Rick
As the issue of the old Odeon building in Crouch Street has been in the press recently, I thought I'd point out some of the issues that the Gazette reports misses. The planning application to turn the building into a nightclub was submitted in 2006 and discussed by the Council's Planning Committee on 10th August 2006. This was before I was a Councillor (indeed, I was walking through Glencoe on that day) but I believe the Committee rejected (pdf file) the application unanimously. That decision was then appealed by the applicant and a public inquiry was held in early 2008 ...
Tue 11th
12:07
What the Arizona shootings have to teach us about the dangers of extreme political rhetoric
We've made our politics (more so in America, but it's also a creeping trend here in the UK) much more personal than perhaps it used to be.
From the BBC: Former Labour MP Eric Illsley has admitted he fraudulently claimed more than £14,000 in parliamentary expenses. He pleaded guilty to three false accounting charges over claims for council tax, maintenance, repairs and utility bills for his second home. Illsley, appearing at Southwark Crown Court, previously denied all charges. He was re-elected as Labour MP for Barnsley Central in May, but had the party whip withdrawn after being charged and now sits as an independent. The hearing has been adjourned for four weeks, for a pre-sentence report. If Illsley receives a prison sentence of less than a year ...
So you think the Lib Dems have lost their way? The Independent reports today that the government will announce plans to reform the daft control orders and that it will cut the time terror suspects can be kept in custody without charge from 28 to 14 days. Before the bluster starts about woolly minded Liberalism, in the so-called 'Land of the Free' (where guns don't killl people, people kill people - but that's another story...) terror suspects have to be charged within 24 hours - unless, of course, they are hauled off to Cuba to ensure they are beyond the ...
I was amazed by the spinning defence of Sunder Katwala to Alan Johnson's gaffe about NI. His main argument is that there isn't a correlation between the success of Chancellors and Shadow Chancellors and their specialist or economic knowledge. In his response to Mark Thompson's blog he states: `As that list catches, I think there ...
Eric Illslely, MP for Barnsley Central, has pleaded guilty in Southwark Crown Court to 3 charges of false accounting, relating to his expenses. Mr. Illsley was reelected as a Labour MP in May with a majority of 11,000, but has subsequently been expelled from the Labour party. He now technically sits as a Independent. Former colleague David Chaytor was last week sentenced to 18 months in prison for similar charges. Mr. Illsely could also face a custodial sentence, of up to 7 years. His sentencing would of course prompt another by-election, following the ongoing one in Oldham East and Saddleworth. ...
Happy New Year Everyone We're writing from our hibernatory riverbank (the only bank we trust), because whenever we dare poke the snout out the smell wafting from England's second city is ever less bearable. One local 'Disrespect' Councillor (and all too nearly successful Parliamentary candidate), having achieved infamy through an ill-behaved appearance on Question Time, now desperately needs help to clear up the rubbish she's left behind – the full, real, rotten, spreading putrid mess of it. Let us try to be helpful in the spirit of comradeship, despite the fact that Salma 'Psycho' Yaqoob's election campaign in May, widely ...
Yesterday I was the recipient of a letter that 200,000 other single people claiming Tax Credits received. It is not the first time I have received this letter so it did not come as much of a shock as the last time but I knew what was to come. The letter asks if you are part of a couple and describes what a couple is. When you have finished reading the letter you have to call them to answer intrusive questions about your private life. Now, during the call I was tempted to scrawl down all the questions but I ...
The Coalition government should be much more robust in refusing bonus payments to senior staff in the banks that are state owned. Quite simply I think the bank managements that created this mess should be asked to look elsewhere for work if they do not want to work for the large salaries they already get paid as they clearly could not manage the banks that well so why are they paying themselves bonus payments again?
The rapid appearance since the formation of the Coalition of Conservative MP Nick Boles's book Which Way's Up? is a tribute to the speed with which Biteback turns round books - recognising that the previous slothful pace of much political publishing meant books were no longer able to capture the political weather. Boles's book, by contrast, certainly does that and attracted immediate headlines about his support for a two-term coalition and for an electoral pact. The heart of the book, however, is about policy rather than political tactics. Boles himself has long been a Conservative moderniser - "a Cameroon before ...
All, At Shipston Town Council's meeting yesterday Ian Cooper, on behalf of the Stour Community Interest Company (CIC), requested Council support for an Enterprise Centre to be based in Shipston. As they say in their literature the Centre would: provide low cost, flexible office, meeting and conference facilities, along with business support services, support and training programmes, to support enterprise development within the region Councillors questioned Ian closely on the benefits for business in Shipston. In their initial planning the CIC had response from over 50 businesses, most based in Shipston, who would like to use the service. Personally, I ...
On Sky News on Sunday morning, it became clear during questioning by Dermot Murnaghan that the shadow chancellor Alan Johnson did not know what the rate for employers' national insurance is. It is 12.8% although Johnson seemed to think it was 20% at one point. This has been seized upon as a "gaffe" by the media and Johnson's political opponents. Often these situations when a politician makes a slip are hugely overblown by the media and on many occasions I have found myself lamenting the way such things are covered. However in this case I really do think it is ...
Having seen research, which established that the UK Coalition's MPs are the most rebellious since 1945, David Cameron will not be too happy this morning to read in the Independent that his Government will have the "smallest margin possible" for a vote concerning holding a referendum on significant EU treaty changes. The paper says that the EU Bill, which ministers say proclaims the sovereignty of the UK Parliament and guarantees no further transfer of significant powers to Brussels without a public poll, reaches its committee stage on the floor of the House: Rebel Conservative MPs have tabled amendments they say ...
Work on building the new Tesco temporary store at the Yate Shopping Centre will start on Monday, 24th January with the store scheduled to open on Monday, 28th February. First they will lay the foundations for the temporary store next to the existing toilet block in East Walk., then they will start assembling it on Saturday 29th January. Putting it together will take just two days as the store will be delivered pre-fabricated on a fleet of over 20 lorries. It's bound to cause parking confusion because the north car park adjacent to Link Road and Station Road will be ...
Updated! 2011-01-11 20:00 – see the response from the Metro. The Metro is a London-based UK newspaper national newspaper which is distributed in 33 cities across the UK. Around a year ago, I reviewed the Metro's mobile website. It wass a perfectly fine mobile site and I'm pleased to see that over the last 12 months it has undergone substantial improvements. You can visit it at http://metro.mobi/ This morning, I spotted this prominent QR code – placed on page 2 of the paper. [IMG: Metro QR Code] Photo by Benjamin Welby So far, so good. There are a couple of ...
Male IT geeks think they are "low status" males. | Geek Feminism Blog In "but what about the MENZ???" corner, we explore how geek men are the authors of their own misfortune, and tell them to stop blaming women and grow a pair. I can see this working... (tags: feminism) The Sunday Review: the King's Speech « Labour Uncut WARNING! CONTAINS LABOUR! Sion Simon, former Labour film minister, slags off The King's Speech because he failed to understand the premise of the film, and anyway, Colin Firth is a Lib Dem. The comments are fried gold. (tags: labour funny)
I recently spoke with a resident who lives just south of Perth Road in the Sinderins area. She was surprised to have received a mailing in the past few days from Digital UK about TV digital switchover when, like all other residents in the area, she had done this last August. Oh no, it doesn't - it happened last August! The mailing was aimed at occupiers of flats and it talks about switchover happening from May of this year. I queried this with Digital UK and am advised by their Assistant National Manager : "The simple answer is that constituent ...
Liberal Democrat Communities Minister Andrew Stunell has been laying out details of how the Coalition Government is intending to get more empty homes put to use housing people. As the press release says: Councils will receive powerful new incentives, with the coalition matching the council tax raised for every empty property brought back into use. Local authorities will be given the freedom to spend this money as they see fit. The government is also investing £100m in a fund for Housing Associations to bring empty homes back into use. There are around 300,000 empty homes across the UK, and local ...
It's time for a little update on the fight for marriage equality in the UK. With regards to last summer's civil partnership consultation, it looks likely that Lynne Featherstone, Lib Dem and Minister for Equality, will announce religious civil partnerships can go ahead. It's not really a massive announcement as the consultation was never really about IF they could go ahead. Both the Telegraph, linked to above, and Pinknews' follow up story on this suggest that the Government is also considering full marriage equality. I'm reluctant to completely believe this as the Telegraph story seems more to be drawing conclusions ...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Over 660 party members have responded, and we're publishing the full results over the next few days. It's almost three months since Lib Dem Voice last asked party members what they thought about tuition fees. So we asked three questions to gauge members' views now the dust has settled ... a little. Part I: Demonstrations against the fee rises Lib Dem Voice asked our sample of party members: In the last few ...
While I have been diligently logging anniversaries and rewatches, I'm behind with my logging of recent Who. Quinnis tells the story of how the First Doctor and Susan almost lost the Tardis, as mentioned in a throwaway line in The Edge of Destruction, and now at last told through the pen of Marc Platt. It's a good adventure - unusually penetrable compared to some of Platt's more complex scripts, and Carole Ann Ford (reprising Susan, and the narrative voice) and Tara-Louise Kaye (playing Meedla) successfully evoke an alien world with a pre-industrial culture, very peculiar architecture and even weirdly bird ...
If, like me, you have an Android phone through T-Mobile you are about to get your data limit slashed from 3Gb to 500Mb. You may have had the text message already, but even if you haven't, it is on the way. This will effectively make a whole pile of functions totally useless on your phone. Thios is a clear breach of contract by T-Mobile. Useful advice on how to deal with this before you are left
i) births and deaths 11 January 1995: death of Peter Pratt, who played the Master in The Deadly Assassin (1976). broadcast anniversaries 11 January 1964: broadcast of "The Ambush", fourth episode of hte story we now call The Daleks. The Doctor and friends escape the Dalek city, and the Thals are ambushed by the Daleks; the Doctor realises that the Daleks still have the mercury fluid link. 11 January 1969: broadcast of third episode of The Krotons. The Doctor and Zoe prepare to attack the Krotons, who still hold Jamie prisoner in the Dynotrope. 11 January 1975: broadcast of third ...
... I am proud to announce that this blog is now 300 posts old! And for those of you who like this sort of thing here's the trailer. It's not really my cup of tea but it takes all sorts - Enjoy! Andrew
One of the worst aspects of Labour's time in charge of the country was their approach to tackling crime. Labour's war on Innocent until found guilty, jury trials, privacy and the creation of over 4200 new laws, all had one thing in common which was Labour's desire for a quick soundbite and using the statute book to create press releases. It was nothing to do with practical measures* to keep people safe and everything to do with looking tough rather than cracking down on crime. In case we have forgotten this approach Labour MP Kerry McCarthy has popped up to ...
This Saturday, Warllingham 's 4th team captain Danny Gillespie had assembled 21 players desperate to run off the mince pies, after almost a month without a game. So, he was understandably spitting turkey feathers when our opposition Haslemere, cried off a few hours before the game. Fortunately the kindly Irish elf and third team skipper, Ciaran Byrne was back in Warlingham after helping out in Santa's workshops over that last few months, and he agreed to give a few of us a run out against Old Reigations. All we had to was wait for one or two of Ciaran's boys ...
The bizarre case of the undercover police officer who spent seven years with climate change protestors before his apparent switch of sides and the possibility that he was actually inciting protestors to break the law raises many questions - not just about police tactics and competence. It is clear that for organisations like the Met police money has been no object on cases like these. The fact that those they were pursuing were generally well meaning people (whether you think they are misguided or not) - who provided no threat of violence - let alone terrorism showed a wasteful lack ...
Should David Chaytor have been jailed? He was an "honourable" member of the House of Commons who decided to use the expenses system to steal around £20,000. It was a white-collar crime, not a crime against the person. I also understand that he paid back the money, he said sorry and he did plead guilty to save the taxpayer a lot of money. Surely a punishment like community service or a fine should be enough? On the other hand he did try to evade justice and find sanctuary in Westminster. He is not only a thief, but a thief in ...
BBC News - Sudan: One country or two? (tags: sudan) A Journal of Impropriety - My Thoughts on the editing of Huckleberry Finn "It can't be an important book without the n-word." (tags: books) Women will not be intimidated out of political discourse - Milena Popova "...female contributors, female bloggers, women who dare stand up and speak out are singled out for particularly vicious attacks all over the net. These comments range from the dismissive to the downright threatening. They are designed to undermine our confidence, make us doubt ourselves, to intimidate us and scare us. They are designed to ...
Dear friends, Bees are dying off worldwide and our entire food chain is in peril. Scientists blame toxic pesticides and four European governments have already banned them. If we get the US and the EU to join the ban, other governments across the world could follow, and save bees from extinction. Sign the petition and forward this urgent appeal: [IMG: Sign the petition] Silently, billions of bees are dying off and our entire food chain is in danger. Bees don't just make honey, they are a giant, humble workforce, pollinating 90% of the plants we grow. Multiple scientific studies blame ...
