Members of the House of Lords are bedding down for the first ermine sleepover in recent Parliamentary history as peers debate the government's plans to hold a referendum on electoral reform. [Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill] After eight days of the Bill at Committee Stage, there are still 165 amendments of the original 275 remaining for consideration. From the Financial Times: Labour peers are braced for the prospect of all-night sittings in the coming days in what the government has condemned as unprecedented "filibustering" by the opposition party. Officials were setting out camp beds in several rooms in the ...
Very busy week at work this week, it's my fifth wedding anniversary on Friday, and I'm still putting the finishing touches on Sci-Ence! Justice Leak!, so don't expect any major posts from me until the weekend at the earliest. But I'll try to keep the linkblogging up... Caligula's tomb has been discovered According to the ...
It is unlikely the Prime Minister's cliché-ridden speech today will go down in any anthology of great political rhetoric. It was at any rate reported mainly in the context of a story about groups representing powerful vested interests expressing concern their power would be diluted, prior to the release of a Health White Paper, later this week, that will suggest diluting their power. The speech was wider that, it attempted to paint a picture of what the Coalition government will be doing to 'modernise' public services across the board. Broadly more opportunities for user choice, professional innovation, competition between providers, ...
Although delayed by the recent winter weather, it was good to see road resurfacing work start today in Hillside Road. Many residents had complained to me about the poor road surface and the road improvements will be welcomed.
Last Thursday for the first time, I opened a debate on a motion I put down on 'The Economic and Strategic role of Turkey in Europe and the Middle East' You can read the complete debate here. It was an extremely positive and comprehensive debate, with around 20 Peers from across the House taking part. To me it highlighted the level of expertise and knowledge in the Lords, that all too often is not available in the Commons. Instead of the often narrow ill informed rhetoric of some MPs, we heard from people with decades of experience, many who have ...
Today, my LibDem colleague Cllr Helen Dick and I had a very useful meeting with the City Council's Chief Executive about a number of current issues. Later this afternoon, I held my two weekly ward surgeries at the Mitchell Street Centre and at Harris Academy. At tonight's Development Management Committee, I moved approval (against the officer recommendation) of an application for a further 25 student studio apartments at Taymills in Brown Street. This is an ideal location for further student housing, close to the University of Dundee, Unversity of Abertay Dundee and Dundee College campuses. The application received support from ...
A few people have been doing this, so here is my contribution: Instructions: 1.) Your name and/or username 2.) Where you're from 3.) The following words: Aunt, Roof, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting Image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught, Orange, Coffee, direction, naturally, aluminium and herbs 4.) What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house? 5.) What is the bubbly carbonated drink called? 6.) What do you call gym shoes? 7.) What do you say to address a ...
Best Watership Down merchandising ever? I know, I know, but there were too many serious links today. (tags: funny films rabbits) Flying robots build stuff to order, design it themselves. How cool is this? We are living in the future. Give them a target, they work together to build it autonomously. I WANT MY FLYING CAR (tags: science robotics engineering cool) Tabloid Watch: Recommended reading on Liz Jones and Jo Yeates Ye gods, this may be a worse bit of journalism than the Hezza interview. I mean, I know it's in the Fail, but... This link goes to Tabloid Watch, ...
Mon 17th
20:46
Why does Alan Johnson want the government to have a plan for something Ed Miliband says isn't going ...
At the weekend, there was a flurry of activity online (such as here) following Ed Miliband's interview on the Andrew Marr show where he denied having said that the government's policies would cause a double-dip recession and various people pointed out how this was contradicted by his own website (and also, though less noticed, by the Labour Party website too). If you look at the dates of who said what, there seems to be a fairly straight-forward explanation: Ed Miliband and others in Labour were expecting (or at least willing to talk in public as if they were expecting) a ...
I've not seen this mentioned anywhere so I thought I'd let people know that the if you are unlucky enough to have any Low Energy bulbs that have stopped working then you can recycle them. I spotted this recycling unit in the recycling centre behind the Council officers on Arbury Road (in the Arbury Court car park). Given the incredibly cheap price of these bulbs at the moment (one large DIY store I was in earlier today was selling them for 10p each) it's good to see that recycling is now possible as that should remove one further reason for ...
I have just written something for the cricket blog The Corridor to draw attention to a post by a fellow Lib Dem blogger.
Consulting my calendar recently, I was astonished to see that I visited the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election for the first time on 17th and 18th November. A long time ago. I don't mention this to boast (oh, all right I do!) but to highlight that the Liberal Democrat campaign started in earnest very early. I remember wistfully that "GUILTY" tabloid - that word in red dominating the front page in size 94 font (I think). A classic of understatement. My return for a couple of days at the beginning of last week confirmed that our campaign was as good ...
Large numbers of Wycombe residents took to the streets this evening to protest at the Council backed plan to build a new Rugby Stadium for London Wasps. Many residents were attending a demonstration for the first time. These are not your average protesters. They have been forced to take action because the Conservative leadership on the District Council has refused to listen and allowed its own consultation to be heavily influenced by non Wycombe residents. Many of the residents are from Booker which is Wasps preferred location. A substantial amount of green belt land (200 acres according to the campaign ...
I was worried that those nice people at Liberal Democrat Voice would never speak to me again after I ate all Mark Pack's chocolate and Sara Bedford's cake the day I guest edited it last October. They have forgiven me sufficiently to run a profile of me in their regular Meet the Lib Dem Bloggers spot. They have printed everything I sent them, but the first draft was twice the length and I had to become very good friends with the delete key. It took me a good chunk of last week to do as, typically, I spent ages trying ...
The decision of Hugo Swire MP to extend the legislation which prevents the public from finding out about donations to political parties in Northern Ireland is shameful. This is not reasonable. As the Northern Ireland Liberal Democrats said in our submission to the Northern Ireland Office on this subject late last year, 1. A fair, ...
After my post on Pevsner and Rothwell Congregational Chapel I received an email from Susie Harries, who is writing a biography of the great man - Bringer of Riches: A Life of Nikolaus Pevsner. She wrote to me: Pevsner was aware of his weakness where Nonconformist churches were concerned. Part of the problem was that his county trips were limited to university vacations and he worked to a fairly hectic schedule, based on research from existing sources, which were much more comprehensive for the CofE ...His wife was indeed a fast and erratic driver; in one car (a Ford Prefect) ...
Aaaaaaaargh! Apparently men and women are going to be allowed to split maternity/paternity leave between them under new proposals by Nick Clegg! The horror! How dare he suggest that men should be allowed the same opportunity to look after their children as mothers are! It's going to destroy the economy! That, at least, is the gist of the Daily Fail article linked to above. According to them: Parents will be allowed to divide between them almost all of the existing 12 months of maternity leave. They may even be able to split the time off into stretches as short as ...
Cornwall Council has announced that it will salt one car park in each town in future icy weather. A number of residents had complained that, whilst they pay for season tickets, in icy weather the car parks can be inaccessible. In Launceston, the car park to be treated will be the Cattle Market. That is good news for residents who leave their cars overnight, but may not be such good news for other drivers unless there is a commitment to salt the roads and (particularly) pavements which access the Cattle Market. After all, there's no use having an ice free ...
UK Debt passes the trillion mark. At least, according to this website which sets out a strong case, and quite a lot of useful information, from the 'debt is a bad thing' side of the argument.
I was planning to blog this a few days ago but have been beaten to the punch by Caron's Musings who wrote an excellent critique for why Ed Miliband's latest invitation for Lib Dems to join the Labour Party should be rebuffed. To follow Caron's lead on this, what would I rather do than join the Labour Party? Become a Tottenham Hotspur fan (I loathe them);Walk along a mountain face precipice, Italian Job style (I suffer from a mixture of vertigo and claustrophobia);Wind the clock back and go to school naked as happened far too often in those bizzare dreams ...
Keynes and the coalition's economic policies are in the news at the moment but unfortunately I am too busy (marking exam scripts under a tight schedule) to comment. However, for those who'd like to follow the argument at a higher level, Vince Cable has an article in last week's New Statesman arguing that Keynes would have approved the coalition's policies. Unfortunately you can't download this article, but have to pay £3.50 for the issue, which is a lot more than I used to pay as a regular reader in the 1960s, and the This England column seems to have disappeared. ...
[IMG: Network cables] That's the title for the fringe meeting the Liberal Democrat Voice team is putting on at the Lib Dem spring conference in Sheffield. Libel law reform campaigner and former MP Evan Harris, website pioneer Mary Reid and Jim Killock of the digital rights champions Open Rights Group will debate recent issues about free speech and the internet, and I'll be chairing. It's at 8pm on 12 March in Sheffield. More details on Facebook and Flock Together. Hope you can make it.
[IMG: The Tourist Policeman] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Son of Groucho An Egyptian policeman – only of many The Observer yesterday suggested, on its front page and its leader article, that the Tunisian revolt may well be repeated in other Arab states with long term leaders, such as Egypt. One of the features of the "Jasmine Revolution" was the unexpected collapse of the police, said the Observer. The folliowing is just an anecdotal observation based on recently holidaying in both countries. In Egypt, there were police and soldiers on every single road junction in the rural areas and ...
Twenty five years ago, or thereabouts, on 20th January 1986, the US celebrated Martin Luther King Day for the first time as a federal holiday. Civil rights activist Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech has a place in history as one of the most moving speeches ever made. If you have time, it's worth watching the whole thing: If you don't have time, those nice people at the BBC have a copy in full here. I also found this site, which has 5 things you may not know about Dr King, really interesting. I particularly liked this quote: ...
Danny Alexander was right to mention work within the government on getting fairer fuel prices in rural areas where people have little choice but to drive and emissions are lower per mile travelled. As Local Authority budgets are pressed further, there will be increasingly less public transport (witness the decision to have no subsidised buses on Sundays in County Durham). Danny Alexander was particularly worried about remote areas such as his own patch in the Highlands where petrol prices are much higher than the norm. But any scheme must remember isolated parts of the North East, such as North and ...
Nick Clegg announced today that maternity leave is, in effect to become parental leave. A mother who does not use up her full entitlement for leave may pass it on to the father. This is very welcome, and emphasises the whole family unit, not just the mother-child relationship. The proposal is, in fact, based on plans drawn up by the last Government, and I'm pleased to see that such a good idea was not lost in the transition. But Clegg referred, rather oddly I thought, to Edwardian attitudes to work and family life. Odd, because I can recall very similar ...
The following dropped into my Facebook inbox earlier and quite frankly I feel it needs a wider airing. Well done Dave, Richard, Bronwyn and Phil. Charles Cracknell 17 January at 11:41 Reply • Report Four of Hull's young entrepreneurs are featured in a national website called YHP ( www.yourhiddenpotential.co.uk) which is a UK based leading platform dedicated to promoting and showcasing young entrepreneurs and talents, so we profile and conduct interviews on the hottest start-ups and talents around the world. YHP is there to encourage, educate and motivate young Entrepreneurs to set Targets, be more dynamic and reach higher goals. ...
Well I can't pretend I wasn't disappointed with the result. I didn't get a chance to help in person but I did make some phone calls and it was encouraging. More so than the newspaper would have had us think. Some had asked "are the Liberal Democrats broken" well to that question - the by election results in Oldham East & Saddleworth clearly shows the Lib Dems are NOT broken. The Lib Dem vote seems to have held up very well but more people voted Labour - congratulations to Debbie Abraham the Labour candidate who one. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12187965 As I've said ...
The title line is from the county council's press release about the opening of the new "customer access point" in part of the former Woolworths store on Front Street. When someone at County Hall was explaining to me how lucky Consett was to be getting the first such customer access point in the county I suggested that, seen through the eyes of many people in Consett, what we are getting is "half of Woollies" in exchange for a Civic Centre. I'd be interested in your views. The new site is more central and will be good for bus users and ...
I was chuffed to hear Nick Clegg speach earlier this month confirm much stronger Freedon of Speech and civil rights are going to be reintroduced. Frankly its' been embarassing that Britain has become a mecca for claiming libel due to our laws not supporting such freedom's. It's even started to interfer with scientific research. As a Liberal Democrat I'm proud of our tradition of speaking out for liberty and freedom. One of the key ways in which I hope the Liberal Democratic contribution to the coalition government will be acknowledged is by its record on civil liberties. This doesn't always ...
Perhaps it is the reincarnation of a previous Number Ten inhabitant. Any ideas who?
Eight months into the coalition government's term, I thought it might be interesting to try and get a discussion going about how the government as whole is working, how individual departments and ministers are performing, and who people would like ... Continue reading →
A No vote this 5 May is more than a vote against AV. It's a vote in favour of our existing electoral system, first past the post. But we've yet to hear the No campaign clearly explain the merits of the system they're campaigning to uphold this May. I delivered a letter this weekend to the president of the No campaign, Margaret Beckett, challenging her to an honest debate about FPTP's merits. Help make that debate happen by signing up to my petition for a debate now: http://www.yestofairervotes.org/Debate-Challenge We're inviting Beckett to name the time, the day, and the place ...
This is an open letter to myself at 17 years of age. Hello Neil, It's you from the future – ten years into the future as a matter of fact. I'm writing to tell you about how our lives panned out and will give you the option of deciding whether you want the same for ...
The Ramblers Association is offering free training to people who want to be part of their exciting new Get Walking Keep Walking Durham Project which is funded by "Changing the Physical Activities Landscape" (CPAL). It will encourage less active people to start walking, both during a series of led walks and through independent activity. They are looking for Volunteer Walk Leaders and Volunteer Route Developers who will help to lead walks, plan routes, run walking workshops and celebration walks in Teesdale, Wear Valley and Derwentside. Volunteers don't need any experience as full training and support will be provided, they just ...
This blog is resolute in its devotion to Vince Cable, not just for his acknowledged economic brilliance and the manner he wiped the floor with George Osborne in the run up to last year's General Election, but also for his love of all things Strictly. We got to see his talent on the dance floor during last year's Christmas special. He danced a beautiful foxtrot with Erin Boag with excellent footwork and skilful leadership of her around the dancefloor. Erin is a bit of a stickler for precision and perfection and the Foxtrot is not an easy dance to master. ...
Research reveals that many voters think that the Lib Dems joining the Coalition Government showed that the party was "prepared to take real responsibility, not just oppose from the sidelines." And 64 per cent of voters who considered voting Lib Dem, but actually decided not to, think that the party is "making an important contribution to the government of Britain" The detailed private research was commissioned by political enthusiast and lifelong Conservative Lord Ashcroft, former treasurer of the party, who poured huge sums into the Tory general election campaign, so his personal comments are particularly interesting. He writes: " Before ...
It's always a pleasure to meet Liberal Democrats from other parts of the country and meeting those in Ceredigion was no exception. Before and after the hustings, I met some new faces and answered questions - I was surprised to meet a former history lecturer from my university days. I also tried to calculate how much support I might get - to this end I was a little disappointed not to see more students present. After the returning officer had arrived, it was down to business. I was first up and all eyes were on me. Like I said in ...
Southport are at home tomorrow against another former Football League side, Wrexham. There was some speculation whether Matty Mc Neil and Shaun Gray could play or whether their suspension would have started. I think this posting on the club website suggest that they can and that they can turn out against Wimbledon.
Pam and I are working to tackle a problem with rubbish on the private stretch of road behind the Co-op at the corner of Church Road and Oakwood Avenue. Actually, there have been several different problems. First, several cases of bin bags building up - we've had them removed on more than one occasion. It's not clear to me yet whether these are legitimate bin bags from the people in the flats above the shops that aren't being properly collected, or whether it's fly-tipping, or a bit of both. Second, broken glass along the stretch of road behind the Co-op ...
The internet is a regular topic on LibDem Voice and one of the most incisive comments I've seen about the how the internet applies to the Liberal Democrats was written here: ...at a local level - whether for council or parliamentary elections - email and Facebook, blogs and Twitter, websites and YouTube can each make a real difference to an individual candidate's campaigning efforts, offering them the chance to motivate supporters, and communicate directly with voters. None of these are a replacement for regular Focus leaflets and door-to-door personal contact; but they are an increasingly essential addition to our traditional ...
I noted recently how local Green Party councillor Andrew Cooper posted a response on his blog to a letter, published by the Huddersfield Examiner, from a Dr David Hill. Dr Hill intends to stand as an independent candidate for the ... Continue reading →
Just to pass on the information that there'll be a public meeting about this year's Carnival – which is set to take place on the 16th July – on Friday 28th January, starting at 7.30pm at the Straight Road centre. More information on the official carnival website here.
Over the weekend, the country of Tunisia has seen its president decamp to Saudi Arabia following a populist uprising against more than 30 years of autocratic rule. There has been bloodshed but, proving that his last decision was at least the right one, former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali saw the writing on the wall early and weeks or months of bloody violence may well have been averted. Various commentators have been quick to jump on the bandwagon proclaiming that a number of other dictators or autocrats across the arab world will be worried that their time too might well ...
Another day in London – another sighting of a QR code! This time, on a poster for high-brow art-house flick The Mechanic. [IMG: Mechanic Poster] Quite close to the bottom of the poster – so low, I had to kneel to scan it – is a QR code. [IMG: Mechanic QR Closeup] Scan it and it takes you a mobile friendly trailer on YouTube. IssuesIt wouldn't be a Terence Eden blog post if I didn't criticise the approach taken by the advertisers. QR code is far too low down – who wants to stoop to scan (other than nerds like ...
I'm very pleased this government is going ahead with Labour's idea to let the father take up any remaining unpaid leave if the mother goes back to work early. The government also plans to consult on a "proper" system of shared parental leave. This is something I very much support see Paternity leave a personal view. If couples can share maternity leave then there is less reason to disgriminate against mother's by employers as dad's can also take time away from work. If used wisely then shared maternity leave could help the income of the family like reducing the cost ...
It's that time of the month again, when Ed Miliband issues yet another invitation for disaffected Liberal Democrats to join Labour. He claims that thousands of Liberal Democrats have joined Labour since the coalition was formed, without giving a shred of evidence to back that up. Even in Scotland our membership has risen by over 16% since the coalition was formed so we're in good shape as a party. Ed really is full of the old charm - insinuating that those of us who don't take him up on his offer are not "courageous". It's not persuasive by any stretch ...
Exclusive: Vince Cable - "Keynes would be on our side" That is the headline in the New Statesman in which Vince argues the case "The outgoing Labour government was already planning a fiscal tightening of 1.5 per cent of GDP in 2010/2011," he writes. "The difference between its deficit reduction plan beyond 2010/2011 and that of the coalition amounts to roughly half a per cent of GDP per annum: well within the forecasting error We will return to this issue again shortly.One of the great concerns that many Liberals have is that some in the party(including LDV contributors) have swallowed ...
PUBLIC MEETING Thursday 20th January, 6.30pm Butterstile Primary School School Grove 6.15pm - Meet councillors, Police and other LAP members The agenda includes: Community involvement in Prestwich Library Sheltered housing provision Health priorities for Prestwich Updates from Police and Fire Service Public Question Time - 7.30pm where any issue or concern can be raised Everyone welcome Prestwich LAP is made up of community groups, elected local councillors and service providers. It deals with local issues and services. It meets 6 times a year and all meetings are public. For further information contact your local councillors or Rose De, LAP Manager ...
Over the last week I have carried a number of stories highlighting the imploding nature of Southport Conservatives. One of our regular readers has now been in touch to draw my attention to a leaflet they found on an interesting little website called electionleaflets.org. This is a leaflet issued by the Conservatives in Birkdale in Spring 2010. The good news is that the local Conservatives are united after all, for this is what the leaflet says: SOUTHPORT CONSERVATIVE UNITY; WORKING FOR OUR TOWN TODAY! Conservative unity grows from strength to strength, not only on a National scale but also locally. ...
There are few more exciting things in the known universe than the intricacies of local council governance arrangements, so I am a lucky boy indeed to be spending this evening debating them. And you are lucky readers getting to read all about them here. I have been invited to the Council's Overview Management Committee in my role as Chair of the Scrutiny Committee, to give my thoughts on how well scrutiny is operating at the moment. One of the last acts of the last Labour government was to change how Councils are run, placing all the power in the hands ...
I write this article after months of campaigning by students all across the UK to save the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) - a financial incentive for students from lower income families to stay on in education. Around 647,000 of England's 16 to 18-year-olds receive the EMA, which was introduced in 2004. Through the allowance, teenagers receive £10, £20 or £30 a week depending on household income. The money is intended for use on books, course equipment, and travelling to school or college, and is stopped if students do not work hard or attend class regularly. Ever since the announcement that ...
A thought struck me as I was looking at the Cricinfo archive yesterday – what if the Ashes hadn't stayed as purely England vs Australia series, but – when other countries started playing Test cricket – had been seen as an accolade everyone could play for? Googling didn't reveal any cricketing equivalent of the Unofficial Football World Championship which traces its origins back to the first England vs Scotland international and then proceeds in a 'man who beat the man' style to have Japan as the current world champions. So, I decided to waste some time and work out who ...
Well, I'm back, and I seem to have survived my Zumba class. It was great fun. It's kind of like that end of night thing they do in Spanish hotels when they get everyone up on the stage and do some daft dances, only less chaotic, more structured and without the influence of Sangria. The class was well enough paced so that I lasted the whole hour. I wouldn't say that I even mastered a quarter of the choreography, but I don't think that mattered. I also wasn't always on the same leg as everyone else, but I guess that ...
I thought this was really good: Peel Precinct by Aoife Mannix The woman in the bright pink scarf says the square is empty now but back in the fifties this market was buzzing with barrow boy bargains. Live eels wriggling with soon to be jelly bravado. Stallions shivering outside the horse butchers though she never knew any but the French to eat such meat. A string of pearl shops where people echoed your name, your family, the county you came from back in the old country. Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Killarney, Kildare, Kilburn. Their music transferred to an alien city, ...
Mon 17th
11:25The Independent View: Confusing, exciting and terrifying times for those on the liberal left
These are confusing, exciting and terrifying times for those on the liberal left. By the liberal left I mean those of us who want to see people flourish, to make the world as they see fit - to do it individually but also collectively and therefore democratically and all that requires in terms of greater equality of power and resources. The confusion is that few of us saw the Conservative-dominated Coalition coming and even fewer are aware yet of its effect on each party and British politics. But it will be profound. Looking back I find it incredible that my ...
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 currently publishing the full results. The Lib Dems have been in Coalition with the Conservatives for some eight months now — so we thought it would be interesting to find out who our sample of party members think is 'hot or not' among our Coalition partners. LDV asked: Which of the following Conservative ministers have genuinely impressed you since the Coalition Government was formed? ...
Manchester United ended the weekend at the summit of the Premier League, but only on goal difference. The Reds went into their clash on Sunday with three games in hand on their closest rivals Manchester City knowing that all three points would end Tottenham's slim title hopes, as well as put them firmly ahead of the other challengers. At the other end of the league however things remained as they were prior to the weekend. On a grey, rainy afternoon, the football action brightened things up. Chelsea returned to winning ways with a two nil victory over Blackburn Rovers. Ancelotti ...
It's getting scary isn't it. First you discover John Howarth is still lurking around behind the scenes of the local Reading Labour party and then it gets worse. Just when you thought you'd seen the back of the two faced hypocrite, the fishy former MP for the Greater Reading area is back (virtually that is) and sticking his oar in dispensing advice. Rachel Eden appears to be a nice enough person so she should think twice of listening to the man who petitioned to save the Reading Sorting Office, took the Communications Workers Union members' monies to pay for his ...
Nick Clegg is absolutely one hundred percent right to want to make the parental leave arrangements more flexible, so that both parents can divide the time up in a way that suits themselves and their family. It is not right for the state to dictate that women should stay at home and look after the kids while Dad goes out to bring home the bacon. That may well be the way that most families will arrange things, but they shouldn't be compelled to. The current situation just encourages discrimination against women of child bearing age. I know that's supposed to ...
My good friend Peter Hough, a great 'Victorian', has joined the swelling rangs of blogging Lib Dem councillors in Sefton. There are now 8 active sites. Welcome Peter. I have added the site to my blog roll on the right hand side of this page.We all expect great things from Peter as in another life he is a successful author so we expect a very high standard ! He began by issuing the following release: Cllr Peter Hough has just announced he has just launched his own blog site: peterhoughblog.blogspot.com "Communication with residents is vital as a councillor. Whether its ...
It reveals naivety on my part that it was only after the polls had closed in Oldham East & Saddleworth that I learnt that no opposition party had lost a by-election in a seat it held since 1982, when Labour was beaten by the Conservatives at a time when the latter were riding the crest of the wave after Britain had recaptured the Falkland Isles. Had I known this beforehand I would not have placed a small bet on the Liberal Democrats to win, even with the odds at 10-1 against. We campaigned to win OE&S. There may have been ...
I saw this ages ago but forgot all about it until I saw Caron Lindsay's interview in Libdem voice.
On thursday I was at the North Area Planning Committee meeting. One of the items was an application to build 25 houses on land behind 240 - 254 Holtye Road and gain access by demolishing one of the houses. Despite advice against, I voted to reject this application. I deplore the demolition of a period house in this fine run of houses on the approach to East Grinstead. Adding another entrance to already dangerous stretch of road seems quite foolhardy. Even West Sussex County Council agree on the dangers presented by this stretch of road. Argus article I welcome this ...
This morning's Guardian contains a very disturbing article on the increase in child sex trafficking in the UK. They say that trafficking of British children around UK cities for sexual exploitation is on the increase with some as young as 10 being groomed by predatory abusers. A report by Barnados reveals that the average age of victims of such abuse has fallen from 15 to about 13 in five years. Despite this Anne Marie Carrie, the charity's new chief executive, says that victims continue to be missed as telltale signs are overlooked "from the frontline of children's services to the ...
I hope you're not looking for political analysis this morning as I'm just briefly looking in here before I head to my first ever Zumba class. I'm sure my ears will be burning at the laughter this will cause amongst all my friends when they read this, but you have to start somewhere, and I like to think that I'll brighten their Monday mornings. I am more unfit and heavier than I have ever been in my life. Being ill has meant that the problem has just got worse and worse and I haven't had the physical ability to do ...
The Longest Journey - Oldham East & Saddleworth, AV and political dialogue Penny outlines the case for AV in clear and concise terms, with Old and Sad for an example. (tags: libdemmery) krabbe: Dear facebook, go to hell. An interesting rant on Facebook's walled-gardenness (tags: facebook thought) Minorities in video games - The Something Awful Forums There's some interesting discussion in here that feeds into the argument I had about women's sport on twitter today... Even though I wanted to scram WOMEN ARE NOT A MINORITY all the way through, it's worth reading. (tags: games sexism feminism) JulesDR: The Dream ...
Welcome to the first in our series giving the human face behind some of the blogs you can find on the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator. Today it is Caron Lindsay, who blogs at http://carons-musings.blogspot.com. 1. What's your formative political memory? Watching Roots when I was nine. I was shocked to the core by the cruelty towards the slaves, the very idea that people could be bought and sold and, I think crucially, by the fact that such abuse can be stopped if good people take action. 2. When did you start blogging? September 9th 2006. 3. Why did you start ...
The Scottish "Obtaining sex by deception" case with Samantha Brooks that I reported on last year is back in the news again, as the defendant was in court on Friday. Although it's been reported in the usual gay press, their reports are third-hand with the primary sources appearing to be The Daily Record and The Scotsman as their stories were published first and give more detail not mentioned by other outlets. To summarise, there is no mention of any transgender angle to the case in the reporting and I'm sure given there appear to be at least two independent sources, ...
This press release hit my inbox late last night. It was also posted in Forum Jar, nothing yet on the Edinburgh Capitals website or Forum though - not entirely surprising though! Although it is the only posting in the Edinburgh Capitals forum on forum jar and if you google Roger Soles Media, the provider of the press release, nothing comes up on the first page of google! So, is this a fan hoping, a complete wind up or a new weird discreet way of announcing major news? Or just R Soles Media? When things sound too good to be true, ...
In May 2009 I caused a bit of a stir when some analysis of the expenses scandal I published on this blog suggested that there was a correlation between the safety of an MPs' seat and their likelihood of having been involved in the expenses scandal. Now we are less than 4 months away from what is likely to be the date of the Alternative Vote referendum, and given the noise the No to AV campaign are making about which MPs are against change I could not resist having a look at the data to see if there was any ...
broadcast anniversaries 17 January 1970: broadcast of third episode of Spearhead from Space. Meg Seeley brings the swarm leader to the Doctor, Liz and the Brigadier; meanwhile General Scobie is confronted by his own double. 17 January 1974: publication by Target Books of Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion by Terrance Dicks and Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters by Malcolm Hulke, based on the 1970 stories Spearhead from Space and Doctor Who and the Silurians, kicking off the Target novelisations which remain the single biggest sequence of Doctor Who books. 17 January 1976: broadcast of third episode of The ...
Dear Mr Miliband. I told you before – if you want to sell me a new roof please make sure you quote accurate figures. I don't want any `hidden costs` later on you sneakily failed to tell me about. Why do you either put a blank sheet of paper through my door or vague guestimates ...
New winter weather plans implemented by St Albans City and District Council have led to an improvement to its refuse collection service and path clearance following heavy snowfalls. A year ago the Council was forced to suspend its refuse collection and recycling service due to severe winter weather. However, following snow in December 2010, the Council this winter maintained refuse collection schedules for green and black wheelie bins throughout the disruptions and by Christmas Eve only a few rural roads were left outstanding. Although the period of severe weather experienced this winter was shorter than last year, schedules for collection ...
You often hear that politicians don't go into politics to make cuts, but this is exactly what is happening almost everywhere you look. How do you decide which areas should be saved from cuts? The NHS is often put forward as a sacred cow but I think there is room for saving. I am not entirely convinced of NHS priorities and some people wait longer when a greater priority comes along. These greater priorities are often other medical conditions but they could be financial restraints too. Education is another area that could cope with cuts. I have written previously about ...
The Earth Beneath Her Feet - How Slippery? If you really want to know the meaning of the Dutch phrase, "zo glad als een aal in een emmer snot", click on this link. (tags: languages) How not to do business: Holyrood's Scotland Bill Committee « Devolution Matters Dubious goings-on in Holyrood. (tags: scotland) Language Log » Ben Ali speaks in Tunisian "for the first time" On diglossia in Tunisia. (tags: languages)
