Next week two CDs by one of my favourite bands, alt-country pioneers The Jayhawks, are re-released in 'legacy' or 'expanded' editions. This gives me mixed feelings. I already own both CDs and in order to obtain the additional material included in the deluxe model have to buy them both all over again. Looking at the new material, a significant amount appears to be alternative versions of songs already released in some shape or form. So to obtain about 10 songs that I don't already have in my collection, I have to buy two separate CDs at a cost even via ...
Tonight I made one of my forays into the world of art, a favourite past time and went along to an advance preview of a forthcoming exhibition at the Lightbox in Woking. Described on the Lightbox website as "With pieces ... Continue reading →
So in 2013, there'll be a giant cock on Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth. Well, I suppose Boris had to end up somewhere.
britishrailways.tv
The BBC, the Guardian and other media are carrying stories about a new review which published in the British Medical Journal today. Three of the four authors of this study, Mary Fewtrell, Alan Lucas and David Wilson, receive funding from the baby food industry. Prof Lucas in particular plays a key role in advising the UK baby food industry, and has opposed the WHO recommendation for many years. In 2003 he went so far as to appear for the defence when one of the largest baby food companies, SMA Wyeth was successfully prosecuted for illegal advertising by Trading Standards. ...
When Andrew Tibbs tweeted this earlier today to say I was shocked was an understatement. "Tory @RichardCarvath makes some appalling homophobic comments on his blog http://bit.ly/eEwhji The Tories should get rid of him. Pls RT"This nasty individual has some very vile and disgusting views of gay people and the reason I am linking to his blog is to ensure that the Conservative Party dismiss him completely and that people know of this horrible individual. Although Richard Carvath stood in the General Election as an independent candidate, he proudly boasts on his blog that he is a member of the Conservative ...
Two and a bit years since my last post. It seems like an eternity. Charlie is nearly 4. All of the others are at school, and I am well into my late thirties. Politically we are just after the Oldham result, and what is going on? Quite simply too much to report. So I will resume blogging soon.It's been a long long time and we're on the road to somewhere. Families are complex but who knows what a family looks like sometime. Not conventional, and not like one would expect. I know I feel like a young yummy mummy sometimes ...
I have reached a video milestone. This is my first video to reach 200,000 viewings on YouTube. I filmed this in a former Soviet submarine base in the Crimea on the Black Sea. It was dug out into the base of a cliff. Until the early 1990s no westerner was allowed to visit this area. Now it popular was a destination for cruise ships.The next YouTube milestone I expect to reach is one and a half
It is time for the post-mortems on Oldham East & Saddleworth. Britain Votes crunches the numbers and finds: "Labour supporters will do well to notice that 'the coalition' still received more votes than they did and tactical voting against them is a new election dynamic that will need to address." On Liberal Democrat Voice, Chairman Tim Farron supplies the party line: "So, the rumours of our death have indeed been exaggerated - we have proved that in Oldham. I for one am still extremely proud to be a member of the Liberal Democrats, who for the first time in over ...
US gun control - US based radical liberal lefty supports the 2nd amendment The US and UK have radically different cultures. I can't blame anyone in the US countercultural left that doesn't trust the police to defend them and their rights. James Grant writes a fairly forthright (ie: he swears a lot) article defending the 2nd amendment and attacking the rightist loons who wrap themselves around it. (tags: gun-control us+politics 2nd-amendment)
Commenting on Sayeeda Warsi's interview on Today today, George Eaton of the New Statesman says: Even before today, Warsi was far from adored by Tory activists, many of whom resent being lectured by an unelected peer.What kind of Conservatives are these? Being told what to do by an unelected peer should give any consistent Tory a little erotic thrill. As I have argued before, the right-wing of the Conservative Party now owes nothing to traditional British Conservatism.
The latest Front Office statistics have been published over on my Cabinet colleague Cllr Richard Willis's Blog. Front Office is the system used by most councillors to record individual pieces of casework they do on behalf of constituents. It helps councillors and officers to keep track of issues once they have been reported to thee Council. It's also a useful guide to councillor workload. For most of the time between 2006 and 2010 I topped the list but I'm not ashamed to have been knocked off the top spot. If publication encourages a bit of healthy competition and councillors to ...
When I see a report which undermines breastfeeding, like this one today saying that introducing solids to a baby earlier than the recommended 6 months, I always look for the connection to the baby food industry. And I have never seen such a study where there is no connection. The study today suggests a link between delaying solids until 6 months to iron deficiency and allergies.These are serious allegations to make, which are going to worry parents. Headlines like "Prolonged Breastfeeding may harm Babies' health" in today's Herald are quite inflammatory - and unnecessarily so, as the experts today haven't ...
Despite the recent thaw, I have continued to receive concerns about the state of roads - and particularly pavements across the West End - with ice. I'm grateful to the Winter Maintenance team who have today responded to my concerns about the very icy cul de sacs in Invergowrie Drive. I have had a number of calls about the state of the path/steps from the Tullideph Sheltered Housing from Tullideph Place down to Logie Street. The elderly residents need to use this to get to the bus and several have unfortunately fallen. Also, Tullideph Street is still difficult for pedestrians. ...
The announcement of the engagement of Lib Dem blogger, Michael Carchrie Campbell and Andrew McFarland.
Having greatly enjoyed the first volume of this manga series, I am glad to say that I thought the second kept up the standard. It is the start of what may be an extended flashback to the 1630s, shortly after the plague that killed most of Japan's men. The young noble monk Arikoto, presenting his respects to the shōgun, is detained and learns to his horror that he is to become one of the shōgun's catamites; but of course, the shōgun is actually a young woman, her father having died though this has been kept secret. It is an intense ...
Well first of all congratulations to Debbie Abrahams for winning the Oldham East and Saddleworth by election yesterday. She comes across as a nice enough sort and I wish her well in her crusade to never break a political promise (I presume the Labour party manifesto will never be construed as such a thing!) I gave a few days of my time to support Elwyn Watkins, the Lib Dems excellent candidate and am naturally disappointed by the result. he would have made a great MP and been a real character in Parliament. Over at politics.co.uk there is a fairly good ...
(Another short fiction story written a couple of years ago.) Pen Pals I'm the first to admit it, I'm an average person. I have an average life. I have a steady job with a middle income in a middle sized insurance company. This has led to a nice house that my wife, Savannah, has turned into a home for our two kids, Alice and Jack. I'm forty three, in reasonable shape and my name is David. We have two cars and a mortgage that, with any luck, will be paid in eleven years time. We go on two holidays a ...
I've been blessed with a happy childhood. I had my ups and downs like any child but on the whole, I look back with great fondness at my formative years. There are certain things that take you back to those times in the past. Sights, smells, sounds - they can all conjure up a past memory, a sensation, a feeling. We all have them and I've just literally been transported back to a wonderful visual image and audio moment myself from the early 1990s. From the Crucible Theatr to David Vine to Jeux Sans Frontières I'd been doing some research ...
Fri 14th
18:00
Tim Farron writes... Oldham proves rumours of the Lib Dems' death have been greatly exaggerated
Last night, at 3am, I got to do the job of telling everyone how well we did in Oldham despite the fact that we lost... I'm aware that there are few things more clichéd than a politician who loses an election and makes this statement, but in our case it's actually true. This result provides a good stepping stone towards the Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament and English council elections. In Elwyn Watkins we had first class candidate and I am hugely impressed by the way he has handled this by-election and everything that lead up to it. By taking on ...
A study published in the BMJ today criticises the World Health Organisation and the Dept of Health for their recommendation that babies should only receive breastmilk, and no other food or drinks until 6m. I have already heard that the study has been written by people who have had to declare an interest because of the baby food industry. Not very surprising. La Leche League ( breastfeeding organisation) have been saying that babies only need breastmilk for the first 6m for the last 50 years, It is only quite recently that the other organisations have started to make the recommendations. ...
Yesterday's brilliant, inspiring memorial speech by President Barack Obama in Tucson, Arizona will, no doubt, be studied by students of speech, rhetoric and the presidency for years to come. What stood out for me was the way Obama exhorted the American people to rise above partisan bickering, to pull together and become better citizens. He told a powerful story. As Slate's John Dickerson put it, the president memorialised the dead and celebrated the heroes. He told their simple but value-laden stories: Judge John Roll, "the hardest working judge within the Ninth Circuit"; George and Dorothy Morris "high school sweethearts who ...
Fri 14th
15:59
The Guardian hates the Lib Dems but the party clearly aren't dead yet - and they won't be anytime so...
We all know newspapers have bias whether it's to the right or to the left. The Daily Mirror loves Labour, always have and always will. The Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph – well you know what you get with them. However the paper with the most political bias at the moment seems to be ...
Says a bloke riding past me on a bike around half an hour ago. Mmmmmm, thinks I, that's a different form of abuse but at least it has a minor witty flavour about it. Whilst that thought is going though my head he shouts again. " seriously mate, where's the job centre?" ( can he read minds?) Really goes to show that I shouldn't take all random shouting in the street aimed at me as abuse :-) Good luck in job hunting where ever you are.
Just when you thought that you'd had enough turkey to last you until next Christmas, up pops a debate on Turkey in the Lords, called for by Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece from the Liberal Democrat benches... Baroness Scott of Needham Market My Lords, I join the congratulations to my noble friend Lady Hussein-Ece on securing this important debate today, on her excellent introduction to it, and on giving us the opportunity to hear important contributions from across the House-in particular, from my noble friend Lord Sharkey, who I thought made an extremely good maiden speech. I know that the whole House ...
Today's meeting of the Car Parking Panel was the stormiest I have attended in my time on Cornwall Council. It featured two calls for the Cabinet member, Graeme Hicks, to resign and the words shambles and embarrassment were repeated often. The meeting was dominated by the new information that the Cabinet claimed to have received on the state of car parking finances. Some of this info was stuff which should have been obvious to anyone involved in local Government. For instance, Cllr Hicks told the full council on Tuesday that he was dismayed that the Council pays business rates on ...
As a Trans person, I get quite used to the view from extremist quarters that I shouldn't exist. Apparently, I somehow offend the natural order of the universe or some such nonsense. Fortunately, such idiotic comments are rare. I find some perverse amusement that this time, I'm being told I (Or rather we) should somehow no longer exist as Liberal Democrats rather than as a Trans person. This is according to Tom Watson over at Labour Uncut: The opulence of Carlton Gardens might calm his lieutenants tomorrow, but Clegg's crisis will not go away. His party no longer has a ...
I have been passionate about improving Council housing and services to Council tenants in Reading for a number of years now. I first became interested in 2005 when I began campaigning around Redlands and gradually my interest grew from ward level to Borough-wide through my role as Lib Dem Housing spokesperson (2006-10) and later Chair of Scrutiny (2008-10). So I was delighted when the Leader of the Council Andrew Cumpsty invited me to become Lead Member for Housing in May 2010 as this has given me a real opportunity to campaign even more strongly for better housing for Council tenants ...
The link is to the story in the Birmingham Mail today. This is where a Birmingham politician (not me) has said:"It's what I call the penguin complex among social workers. They live in a different continent to the rest of us, like Antarctica, and at the slightest criticism they all go into a huge huddle, turning their backs and shield each other."(Len Clark)In part the rest of society is to blame
Recently I've heard a lot of comments about the arguments being used by the No to Fairer Votes campaign. So I decided to examine these arguments a little further to see if they did hold up against evidence presented against them. One of the first things that is very clearly obvious is that there are ...Read the Rest
The Labour majority of just over 3,500 and 42% in a seat that could only be considered marginal when they were in Government is not a surprising result, nor a particularly good one. This was no reverse Brent East for Labour, or even a reverse Oldham West, the 1968 Conservative gain from Labour on a swing of 27.6%. Labour won, but cannot see this as a much more than a negative vote against the Government, rather than endorsement for their alternative, or Leader Ed Miliband. The new MP Debbie Abrahams, if indicative of the centre of gravity in the party ...
The surprising thing about last night's by-election result in Oldham East and Saddleworth is how strong the Lib Dem performance was compared to national opinion polls. The table below shows the national performance of all three main parties in May ... Continue reading →
But when the country as a whole is struggling with rising unemployment and stringent austerity measures and cuts to public services there will be precious little understanding as to why they should be paid so much. So I would add my voice to those caling for restraint on bonuses and preferably a switch from a culture of bonuses to more long term focused rewards such as shares etc While everyone clamours for the collective sword of damnation to wield over the banking industry we should not forget that the banking and financial services sector is a major contributor to our ...
The latest chapter in this seat's electoral history makes me wonder if there isn't something in the stars that stops it falling into Liberal Democrat hands. In 1992 a strong performance by Chris Davies in the former Littleborough and Saddleworth constituency made this look made this a prime candidate for a gain from the Tories at the next general election. The Lib Dems were in a close second place with a considerable Labour vote to squeeze. Then came the by-election following the death of Conservative MP Geoffrey Dickens. Although Chris Davies's victory was an important boost to the party when ...
Well that's what I believe anyway. Having spent the last few months like everyone else listening and watching the media stoking the fires of sensationalism and baying for LibDem blood, the result showed that actually, it wasn't that bad for us. Labour ... Continue reading →
Newspaper commentators and opinion-formers are largely united in their astonishment that massive bank bonuses in the state-owned banks, for state-owned employees, are likely to go ahead. Maybe there will be some kind of eleventh hour agreemenr, but it seems unlikely. So it is worth spelling out the reason the government seems prepared to take such enormous flak over this. It is that the Treasury is determined to sell their holding in the banks as soon as possible, and their ability to retain top staff depends on bonuses. So any shift in the government's position needs to tackle that point head ...
A very interesting article in the Local Government Chronicle (behind a paywall, unfortunately, though you may be able to access it through Google) about the Local Government Association's executive meeting this week, where Eric Pickles came in for some pretty heavy condemnation. I've been pretty heavy on Pickles here too, so it's good to see that others share my views both within the Liberal Democrats and without. Indeed, it's very hard to find any voices in local government willing to speak up in favour of the current regime at the DCLG and the article implies that the current mess is ...
I most sad for my colleague Signor Nutkins in OldSaddlebag who has been beaten up by girl with funny teeth. This no reflection on him and in many respects great result for Liberali considering he all exhausted by long process of proving previous Labouristi Capo have no honour. Plus our so-called new Conservatori friends who say they lend us muscle do little more than flounce around saying "We so local, we help you long time". So sorry then to see Signor Ali forced to return to hanging round local cinema fencing tickets. When out of hospital I hope we see ...
So an opposition party holds a seat with a swing against the government. Nothing to see here - move on. Well that's one way of interpreting 'Old and Sad', but not one I'd support. There's a worrying degree of complacency among Lib Dems about the result - probably as a result of the relief that it could have been so much worse. But this was an election the Lib Dems should really have won. Elections in individual seats have nothing to do with the national picture - other than a general perception about the state of the parties - and ...
This is a piece written by Sue Marsh which I'm posting here because I completely agree with her sentiments: I know there are lots of cuts happening all at once and group after group must be lobbying for column inches or news slots. Students, middle income child benefit recipients, housing benefit claimants frightened they are about to become homeless, nurses, fire fighters, police, local councils - we all want you to take our cause to heart, to tell people what is really happening on our behalf. But there is a group who might as well not exist. We have no-one ...
Look, I'm not going to beat about the bush. The cuts are unfair and they will hit some of the most vulnerable in our society. It's not right that ordinary people are being made to suffer for the greed and incompetence of a few but there's no alternative. Labour mismanaged the economy, failed to regulate the banks and spent all our budget surplus without heed for tomorrow. To be fair to them, when things went bad, they did do a passable job of stopping us from going into a new Great Depression but that's about it. Labour abandoned their principles ...
Erskine May is the House of Commons rulebook – but if you want to get a copy, it'll cost you £268.40 from a commercial publisher, and Parliament has said no to a request for a free electronic copy from a member of the public. The origins are typical of the British constitution. Erskine May started off as a unofficial guide written by an assistant librarian in the House of Commons. Over time it established itself as the reference work and is now treated just like an official rule book. But unlike Hansard – another Parliamentary publication which originated with an ...
Gyronny Herald contributor, Andrew McFarland, has just written an article on Faith and Pride. When you read the any book you have to be careful to read what it says, not what you think it says. This is particularly true when it comes to books that people quote from, like the Bible. Snipping a quote ...
freedom, fairness and responsibility The three words that we are told by the Liberal Democrat Federal Party website sum up the Coalition Government's Programme. However, I don't see how it is promoting any of those when you consider what has just happened to the devolved countries' finances. Read more at Gyronny Herald
freedom, fairness and responsibility The three words that we are told by the Liberal Democrat Federal Party website sum up the Coalition Government's Programme. However, I don't see how it is promoting any of those when you consider what has just happened to the devolved countries' finances. HM Treasury changed the rules Formerly, departments were ...
Took time off work yesterday to attend the Valley Forum. Good to some new faces as more local residents get involved: we all appreciate the hard work put in by the police, council officers and partners to improve things for residents. Discussed were some of the activities being run locally or planned for the future: ...
There's another Saturday Surgery tomorrow, so if you're free tomorrow morning between 10.45 and 11.45 pop down to the Lonfield Centre and say hello. There's only a few more weeks until the Council sets its budget, which is when our petitions to scrap Prestwich Parking Charges and keep the Library open on Sundays will be presented to the Council to make them think again. If you haven't signed them yet, tomorrow is another chance. We're also there to hear from you about any other issues you have, and hopefully we can try and sort them out. So if you get ...
Since the Planning Inspector agreed that Jack Allen holdings could have planning permission to build a waste plant in Garston (near the Cressington Heath and Cressington Grange housing developments) , residents have been worrying about how things would develop. (Efforts have still been going on to try to prevent this , including urging the City Council Administration to look for other sites, something I am told they are doing) However fears have been hightened this week by an incident at a plant in South Yorkshire. An explosion has led to a death and to huge amounts of damage. The plant ...
Yesterday teatime I was asked my prediction for the result of the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election, and I said that I predicted with some confidence that the Lib Dems would end up with no fewer MPs than they had yesterday. And I was right. Sadly, we ended up with no more either, but when I heard the result I was relieved that the doom-mongers were proved very much wrong. I think that after an incredibly intense campaign the result doesn't say very much. Certainly, predictions of disaster for the Lib Dems were completely wide of the mark. This is ...
Just a few more links on this subject, after my post on it the other day: Another Gazette article, which includes a brief comment from me – I said a lot more, but it was obviously edited for space! The Facebook group mentioned in the article A letter to the Gazette from my ward colleague Bill Frame who lives close to the site A comment from the owner of the building just over a year ago, setting out his position which is that he's only interested in opening a nightclub on the site, nothing else
Just over 12 hours since the polls closed in Oldham East & Saddleworth, much commentary has already been written – so I thought I'd add my own ponderings to the list, before I get distracted by something else. Having spent ... Continue reading →
An internet meme that does what it says on the tin. Read the story here to sample some of the funniest entries.
The spin-machines went into overdrive around 8 hours before the results came in, and hours before polling had even closed. So in the cold light of day, let's have a look at what last night's result in Oldham East and Saddleworth actually means for the three major parties. Labour were trying to make this about the Lib Dems. The Lib Dems were trying to make this about Labour. The Tories were trying to look like they were taking part. In reality this was about all three, but the extent of impact on the parties was always going to be variable ...
[IMG: Ballot Box] The Liberal Democrats confounded the gloomsters at the Guardian yesterday by holding their vote share (even increasing it somewhat) in the Oldham East & Saddleworth By Election. It was a fiercely contested campaign (one estimate was that Labour fielded nearly 700 workers yesterday) fought in cold and snowy weather across Christmas and the New Year. Ed Miliband - sometimes described as "the wrong leader of the wrong party" - put in hard work on phones and doorstep. Well, he was fighting for his political life, wasn't he? And with an energetic, competent and personable candidate, together with ...
I reported yesterday on the strange case of the Leader of Sefton Conservatives defending the repeated failure of Labour Cabinet Member, Councillor John Fairclough, to attend Area Committee meetings to listen to what the public had to say over the Council's failures on gritting - for which he is politically responsible The Crosby Herald reported the story yesterday, and the Southport Visiter carry a similar story today (headed "Grit boss absent"), except this now carries a comment from my Birkdale ward colleague, Simon Shaw. It is interesting to compare the approach of Lib Dem Councillor Simon Shaw. with that of ...
If you'd listened to the media in recent weeks, you'd have thought that the Liberal Democrats were in for a real routing in Oldham, barely reaching double figures. Conventional wisdom said that meltdown was inevitable, and our defeat would be followed by a challenge to Nick Clegg and ultimately the coalition would fall. Well, what a load of nonsense those predictions turned out to be. The result last night had us with a slightly higher proportion of the vote than we had in May, but unfortunately that wasn't enough to see Elwyn Watkins elected MP. The result in full was: ...
All parties strive to have a narrative that makes sense to the voters and gets across the key messages the party wants the voters to hear. The Lib Dems have a narrative – a story – about the economy, but it's not being heard by enough of the people the party needs to win back. One reason is that the story has a beginning and a middle but lacks a proper ending. The three main parties all have their economic stories for voters. The beginning of each is a tale of financial woe. In Labour's version (at least until now) ...
Yes, the burning issue here is the old one – is the plural referendums or referenda? First up, interesting news from Wales where there'll be a referendum at the start of March on granting new powers to the Welsh Assembly. The interesting part comes from the news that there may be no official referendum campaigns as it seems no one's that interested in being the official No campaign. This would mean that there would be no official Yes campaign either, but as that's supported by all four of the parties that sit in the Welsh Assembly, it's not going to ...
The Swedish Liberal Party (FP) has many parallels with the Lib Dems as it became the junior partner in a coalition government with the right-wing party (Moderate Party) following the 2006 election despite having an ideology of social liberalism. Their poll ratings dropped, as did the coalitions, only for the Liberal Party to recover their ...
This comes under the category of : 'you couldn't make it up' My old mate Jack Colbert sometime soldier, clown and Lib Dem Councillor, seen photographed here with Sir Ron Watson (recently suspended from the Tory group on Sefton Council and more recently resigned from Southport Conservative Association ) was invited to become chair of a local Conservative Club. The Crosby Herald and my colleague Tony Robertson have the story. The Herald report Jack's comments: "Last year a large number of the Conservative Club members asked me to become chairman because they were in dire straights and on the verge ...
Wednesday's Welsh Liberal Democrat debate on the PISA report that showed wales going backwards in educational terms under Labour and Plaid Cymru, was at times heated and confrontational. This was most evident in the contribution from Alun Davies, the Labour AM for Mid and West Wales, who blasted both the Welsh Liberal Democrats for doing their job as an opposition and staging the debate in the first place, but also the report itself which obviously hit home just a bit too inconveniently for him. However, when Kirsty Williams took him to task for his speech he reacted with all the ...
According to Pink News, public bodies have been asked to report on LGBT staff numbers. This on the same day that the Pink Paper report that workers in Bath have failed to provide these details when asked. Oops.
The outcome of the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election was a good result for both Labour and for the Liberal Democrats. Labour managed to avoid the pitfalls of defending a marginal seat in difficult circumstances and emerged with a respectable majority. The Liberal Democrats defied the doom-mongers who, only a few weeks ago said that they were going to come third and held on to second place and their vote share. In fact the Liberal Democrat share of the vote went up ever so slightly. It was an extra-ordinary performance in the face of supposed single-figure poll ratings and demonstrates ...
YouTube - WEAPON OF CHOICE.mov it's amazing what you can do with Christopher Walken and a wire harness... shame the music's so shit. (tags: vids) Girl signs Cee-Lo's song as her sign language exam. Best sign language exam ever. VERY VERY NSFW (tags: funny) Research - have you ever been to a convention? if you have, and would like to help my friend out with a bit of research, mosey on over to her blog and leave an (anonymous and screened) comment. (tags: helping) ILLUME :: Bollywood Bond Girl Furious Over Elle's 'Fair & Lovely' Airbrushing (tags: epicfail) Gotham High: ...
It's Friday, so here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week Those Oldham East and Saddleworth polls: what do they mean? (94 comments) by Stephen Tall By-election polls: Labour 17% ahead - or 1% (71 comments) by Mark Pack The Times' advice to voters in Oldham: "They should vote Lib Dem." (43 comments) by Stephen Tall Opinion: One good reason to vote Lib Dem (49 comments) by Richard Clare Vincent McKee suspended from the Liberal Democrats (43 comments) by The Voice 5 sample LDV Members' Forum threads STV Software Barnsley ...
So, it has been announced that Labour's Debbie Abrahams has won the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election. Labour unsurpisingly seem quick to try to describe this as some great victory. It isn't. Labour would be very foolish to consider this ... Continue reading →
Had totally forgotten this – my Total Politico questionnaire: http://bit.ly/e6Cm8L << All my likes and dislikes. # RT @markpack Great-looking, long one-page websites: three's a trend » Malcolm Coles http://bit.ly/hQoB74 << vv cool. # @alexfoster ref You can haz CUTE KITTENZ PICS http://bit.ly/ev1m0n and Leo's furry ear – he's a Selkirk Rex apparently: http://bit.ly/dL9FD7 # So much talent, so little purpose, even less direction #GosfordPark # I love Stephen Fry. But *ouch* for his appearance in #GosfordPark But great to be reminded of Charlotte Coleman's brilliance. # @maxatkinson Agreed. Ken Branagh or Hugh Grant wd have been fab. #GosfordPark in ...
Dundee City Council proposes to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating kerb realignment works. The Order is expected to be in force for three weeks from 7 February 2011. Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months. The effect of the Order is to prohibit temporarily all eastbound vehicular traffic in Perth Road from its junction with Riverside Avenue for a distance of 50 metres or thereby. Pedestrian thoroughfare and vehicular access to premises will be maintained where possible. An alternative route will be available ...
Yesterday's news that the Council was looking to get rid of 2,000 employees must have caused a lot of fear and worry in many homes in and around Manchester. It's also interesting because as yet no such decision has been made by the Council at all (something which was noticeably absent from yesterday's press coverage). In addition, the report itself which was being quoted was not available for Councillors to read, as it "hadn't been written yet". So what are the facts as we know them today? Firstly, the Council had already budgeted for the same level of cuts, but ...
The final results are: Labour 14,718 42.1%Lib Dem 11,160 31.9%Conservative 4,481 12.8%UKIP 2,029 5.8%BNP 1,560 4.5%Others 958 2.8% So Labour has a majority of 3,558 and just over 10%. First of all, congratulations to Debbie Abrahams who will be delighted to be the latest addition to the House of Commons. She fought a good campaign (certainly compared to her predecessor) and deserves credit for it. There is something for everyone in this result. Labour will (rightly) claim that it is a decent victory for them increasing their vote share by over 10% on the May 2010 general election result. Debbie ...
...it was a bye-election in which we beat Winston Churchill in his first attempt at parliament, and a secretary of a cotton workers' Trade Union who stood as a Tory (contrast with Debbie Abrahams' victory speech last night in which she reminded people of the birth of the LRC drawing the working class away from the Liberals!). The following year we lost one of the seats to Churchill, who then defected to the Liberals because we were the party of Free Trade. Around the same time the working classes used to sing songs against protectionism and pro-free trade. We had ...
Fri 14th
06:50
Whoniversaries January 14: Richard Briers, Paul Whitsun-Jones, Underwater Menace #1, Underworld #2
i) births and deaths 14 January 1934: birth of Richard Briers, who played the Chief Caretaker in Paradise Towers (1988) and Henry Parker in A Day in the Death (Torchwood, 2008). 14 January 1974: death of Paul Whitsun-Jones, who played the Squire in The Smugglers (1966) and the Marshal The Mutants (1972). broadcast anniversaries 14 January 1967: broadcast of first episode of The Underwater Menace. The Doctor and friends land on a marine volcano around 1968. They escape sacrifice to the god Amdo, but Polly is threatened with transformation into a fish creature. 14 January 1974: broadcast of second episode ...
No, we are not. Despite the best efforts of the United Kingdom's media pack, the Labour Party with their new leader Ed "I know nothing of the last 13 years" Miliband and even some whingers in our own party to destroy us during the Oldham East & Saddleworth by-election, they failed. They all failed. Our share of the vote went up, only a small increase, but it went up. Am I disappointed? Of course I am. I'm gutted for Elwyn Watkins and every single one of the campaign team, who gave their all, trying new techniques and some of the ...
Liberal Democrats in government are clearly getting may things right (on constitutional reform, civil liberties etc) and we shouldn't forget that, but I hope our drubbing in Oldham and Saddleworth will convince our leadership that we are getting things profoundly wrong on two counts. First and most importantly, the coalition's economic policy is wrong. It is wrong to over-egg the allegedly parlous state of the public finances, blame this on the "mess" left by Labour, and use it as an excuse for cuts in the public services which are clearly ideologically driven by the Tories, along with a rise in ...
So there's this meme going round in which you read out a list of words, and give names to things, so that random people on the Internet can find out what other random people on the Internet sound like. I'm a bit sniffly tonight, and I recorded this in a slightly echoey room, but this is approximately what I sound like. (I think I sound different in "real life", though.) Accent Meme by tajasel The words and questions... Your name and/or username: Where you're from The following words: Aunt, Roof, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, ...
The results are now in. Turnout was low, but Labour held the seat fairly easily with a substantial increase in their vote share. However, I'm not too worried about this result, for one very simple reason: the Lib Dem vote share also rose slightly. What this means is that, when we communicate our message effectively voters understand why we are taking the decisions we are taking and respect it. The challenge for the future is to achieve the same effect without having to bombard voters with literature for weeks on end. This sort of air war is something which the ...
The Oldham and Saddlesworth by-election result was certainly not the Lib Dem capitulation that the media were envisaging only last weekend. An ICM for Mail on Sunday poll scored: Labour 44%, Lib Dem 27%, Conservative 18% Meanwhile, a Populus for Sunday Telegraph poll scored: Labour 46%, Lib Dem 29%, Conservative 15% There was even talk of the Tories moving into second and the Lib Dems collapsing to 3rd to measure the similar low figures that we've been scoring in the national opinion polls recently. A good 2nd place In fact, the final result on a 48% turnout was: Labour 42.1%, ...
From a party news release: Commenting on the by-election result in Oldham East and Saddleworth, Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg, said: This was a very hard-fought contest but we were not able to gain this Labour seat on this occasion. I'd like to pay tribute to our superb candidate, Elwyn Watkins, and his team up in Oldham who have run an exceptional campaign. I am proud of each and every one of the hundreds of activists and volunteers who have brought the fight to Labour's front door in a way that will have confounded our critics. ...
1. If David Cameron and many members of the Conservative Cabinet had prevailed - by running an even lower grade Tory campaign, or not running one at all - the electors of Oldham East would now probably have a Liberal rather than Labour MP. 2. The purist Tory right believe they should fight hard, everywhere, all the time. This doesn't seem to apply to Northern Ireland. Despite the fact that the Tories consider themselves to be a Unionist party, they choose to not allow voters in one part of the kingdom to put an X in the Tory box.. 3. ...
There is quite a lot wrong with this story. (Daily Express link, also reported by The Sun and the local paper) I'm not sure what would typically be an appropriate sentence for such an offence. The way it's been reported, she's "got off lightly" but both papers have their own agendas. Transphobic reporting like this isn't itself news. But the quotes from the Judge, if accurate, worry me: I am in no doubt that you have led something of a nightmare existence as a transsexual for the entirety of your life. The result is you have walked something of a ...
The London Government Dinner really kicks off the calendar year in London politics. At least this year it was held in the second, not the first, week of January, so many people — including myself — were able to attend. There were fewer LibDems around than last time I was there (about four years ago), ...
You may be aware that the County Council has consulted on acquiring the University of Hertfordshire's School of Law premises on Hatfield Road in order to provide the opportunity to open a new 2 f.e. primary school in St Albans city centre. I am writing to let you know in advance that Hertfordshire County Council is about to make public the potential opportunity to open a new school in St Albans city centre. The University of Hertfordshire has already announced its intention to vacate the current School of Law building on Hatfield Road. The Local Authority is in early negotiations ...
I was sorry to hear of the recent death of Gerry Rafferty partly because I liked his music and partly because I read that he died after a long illness at the age of 63. I remember listening to him when he was part of The Humblebums with Billy Connolly but he will mostly be remembered for one song, Baker Street. And this was the motivation to write this blog. Gerry was receiving £80 000 in royalties each year for this one song. This sounds really good for a singer who was ill, but compare that with an average annual ...
GeoCurrent Events: Why Is Belgium a Country? Not sure if I agree with all of this: "Most western and northern European countries grew out of kingdoms or federations whose people gradually coalesced (more or less) as nations, gaining unity through common identity. Belgium, by contrast, emerged from a different regime of sovereignty, one in which territories passed among rival multinational dynasties, through war or marriage, with no regard to local desires or ethnic boundaries. The Belgian identity that began to develop after independence in 1830 was always precarious, and is now being shattered through regional resurgence made possible by European ...
Sunday: Let's face it: human beans are pretty badly put together in the BRAIN department. It's in your interests to cooperate, but you just don't. Instead, inside your little heads, you're all the heroes of your own story, as I said yesterday. You don't SEE other people except as BIT PLAYERS in your own PERSONAL DRAMA. The whole of American culture - and now, by extension, the whole of OUR culture - encourages this idea: "one man (it usually IS a "man") CAN make a difference". And the corollary: the government/big business/the bureaucracy/the Matrix/absolutely everyone else is venal, incompetent, corrupt. ...
