Despite an impressive three goals in the away replay at Dunfermline, Montrose went down 5-3 earlier in the week. Worse than that, another of my teams, Dundee, have had their 25-point deduction confirmed, sending them in an instant from contending for promotion to fighting against relegation. And Coventry City are off the boil just now. But this is where supporting four teams comes in handy. Watford are doing rather well at the moment - as one might expect given that they are managed by a Scot.
At some point in the middle of his premiership (and 9/11 is as good a date to choose as any) Tony Blair lost interest in domestic policy. Modernising the constitution and reforming public services suddenly seemed tame to him when set beside geopolitics. This had two effects. First, he loosened Gordon Brown's reins and allowed him to divorce Prudence and spend, spend, spend. With results we see all around us today. Even if you blame all of the current deficit on the bankers, you have to accept that this increased public spending severely limited the government's room for manoeuvre once ...
It's been a long time, forty-six years to be precise, since I was born a Londoner. Most of my childhood was spent in North London, the dramas of my first marriage were played out in inner South London, before a shuttle first north, then south, of the river. Virtually all of my politics was done in a city where I had an almost anorakish knowledge of public transport options, and my family, the UK resident part at least, remain snug and warm in North London's suburbia. If you had ever said that I would leave, and of my own volition ...
When the Guardian broke the News of the World phone-hacking story in July 2009 I wrote that it "could be a huge political scandal". So far that has to count as a bit of an overstatement, but the affair did for Andy Coulson today. The case against him was always as I expressed it in that original post: as Andrew Neil explained on Newsnight yesterday evening, it is inconceivable that Coulson would not have quizzed his reporters about their methods when they came to him with big stories. An editor has to be able to judge the truth of a ...
"I didn't join the SDP and then the Liberal Democrats to always be in opposition, to always be watching on while others played politics. I want us to be in power - again and again - to put into place as many of the policies I believe in." Keith Nevols enjoys seeing the party in power. Sara Bedford at Always Win When You're Singing suggests that Nick Clegg should take advantage of the transfer window to sign Clarke Carlisle. He is the new Chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association and appeared on Question Time last night. Living on Words Alone ...
Last night, djm4 and I saw Black Watch at the Barbican with our eldest and his best friend. It's about the experience of Scottish soldiers in Iraq, and it is emphatically Scottish - all but one of the characters speak with strong Scottish accents, there are bagpipes and saltires, and Alex Salmond even makes a video appearance - but it is also about the archetypal squaddie in the archetypal war, except that one of the things it draws out very well is that Iraq is not the kind of war the Black Watch are used to fighting. The whole play ...
Well, one has to admire Andy Coulson's timing. He's waited a while since the last acute attack of phone tapping stories in the papers, he's nicely snuck the resignation under the media storm over Alan Johnson and he's chosen an excellent day to bury bad news – Blair's second appointment with the Chilcot inquiry. But the fact that Andy Coulson has finally resigned proves that David Cameron made an extremely poor decision to hire him in the first place. It would be rather tiresome to re-rehearse the reasons why Cameron fouled up, but they were brilliantly summarised by former journalist, ...
The last 24 hours of this week have bee so dramatic, that Monday through to Wednesday seem utterly insignificant. Shadow Chancellor Alan Johnson has resigned his role, citing personal problems. These are believed to be an affair between his wife, and one of the police officers meant to protect them. He will be replaced by Ed Balls, who spent most of the leadership campaign pitching for this job. He will move into Ed Miliband's suite of offices in Norman Shaw South in Parliament, and there will be a combined Shadow Chancellor/Leader media operation. The sons of Brown are well and ...
Video also available at BBC Democracy Live. Liberal Democrat Lord Goodhart has called for legislation to stop filibustering in the House of Lords. From the BBC: In a debate on the effect on Parliament of coalition government on 20 January 2011, Lord Goodhart said the recent tactics of Labour peers during consideration of legislation to set up a referendum on the alternative vote (AV) for Westminster elections and reduce the number of MPs represented a "serious constitutional crisis". The 11th day of committee stage debate on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, which got under way just before 4pm ...
Following residents' raising with me concerns about problems with the sewer in City Road (between Blyth Street and Milnbank Road), I immediately raised the matter with Scottish Water. Waste water appeared to be pouring from the ground. Scottish Water has responded very promptly and advised me : "I can confirm we will be attending tonight to remove a large ball of rags which is causing the sewer to choke. We will also carry out a clean up of the area. I can confirm the sewer has not collapsed."
Earlier this week, my LibDem colleague Alison McInnes, MSP for North East Scotland, met with Graham McKee, the project leader for the V&A at Dundee initiative. Alison said after the meeting, "I have followed this project with keen interest and it was useful to get an update from Graham McKee on the next steps. We discussed the winning design and viewed the model of the innovative design currently on display in an exhibition at Parliament. The stunning design for the new centre for design innovation has been created by Kengo Kuma and Associates. "The V&A at Dundee is a welcome ...
Monday I recorded a piece for Radio 4 on the persecution of the Ahmadis worldwide, and rge threat posed here in the UK by the religious hatred organisation, the Khatme Nabuwwat (KN). They have a single objective, which is to eradicate the religious beliefs of the Ahmadis, if necessary by murdering them. They say that the Ahmadis are 'wajib ul Qatl', worthy to be killed, because of the Ahmadi belief that the founder if their religion was the Messiah, predicted both in the Bible and the Qur'an. The KN say this contradicts the doctrine of the finality of the prophethood, ...
Congratulations to County Councillor Susan Shotter for a fantastic result in this election, we knew from the feedback on the doorstep that we were going to win, if the vote came out and thanks to the wonderful people of Marl, they did!! Percentages as follows: Turnout 31.3% Susan Shotter Welsh Liberal Democrats 40.4% Julie Fallon Conservative 28.1% Mike Pritchard Labour 22.5% Jason Landy Independent 9% This is a Welsh Liberal Democrat Gain from the Tories. Sue in her acceptance speech acknowledged her opponents and thanked her agent Christine Humphries and all the team that assisted her in this great victory. ...
I spoke earlier today on Radio Tay news criticising the above-inflation council house rents increase in Dundee being proposed by the SNP council administration. You can hear this by clicking on 'play' above. The SNP Housing Convener says that the 4.5% increase is the lowest of the options on the table but what he conveniently forgets to tell tenants is that I proposed that the council also consult tenants on a lower increase - a full 1% lower - and the SNP blocked this to prevent any real consultation on genuine options. Instead tenants got SNP inflation busting options only ...
I see from the excellent UK Polling Report that the Lib Dems are back in double figures. The dizzying heights of 10% to be exact. I wrote back in September about the experience of the various liberal/centre parties that had formed a coalition with the modernised Swedish Tories, and how all three had lost votes and seats to their larger coalition partner over the last four years. I thought it might be interesting to see how they're fairing four months in to the second Reinfeldt administration. The trends won't surprise you, but the figures might: Moderates, 35.1% (+4% since the ...
There's another Saturday Surgery tomorrow, at the Longfield Centre from 10.45 until 11.45 or so. Pop down and join us. As the Council's budget vote nears, our campaigns to scrap parking charges, keep the library open on Sundays and the new one to save the Longfield Suite will really gather momentum. You can join us ...
There's plenty of political news today. For Labour Alan Johnson has resigned as shadow chancellor, Ed Balls is the new shadow chancellor. Tony Blair is back in the hot seat of the Iraq inquiry. For the Tories, Andy Coulson the prime minister's communications chief has resigned over further News of the World phone hacking allocations. And plans are being drawn up for a massive change to the management structure of the NHS. So on the face of it it appears to be a better news day for the Liberal Democrats. But wait..... Breaking News Bracknell Blogger has decided that today ...
Cross-posted from Liberal Democrat Voice Wow! A Liberal Democrat MP asked the first question at Prime Minister's Questions this week. Andrew George spoke in English, rather than Cornish - which he has been known to speak in the Commons chamber. (Well, all right then, it was only for his maiden speech, I grant you). Anyway, Andrew's question implied some scepticism about the government's NHS reform plans, saying it involved a "gamble" which might give "private companies the easy pickings". Ed Miliband picked up the PM on the disappointing unemployment figures, especially those for youths. He said they were caused by ...
[IMG: Olly Grender] Continuing the gradual updating of my blogroll, really pleased to hear that (at last!) Olly Grender is taking up regular blogging. She's doing so over at the New Statesmen: http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/olly-grender Best of luck Olly.
Another busy week is finally at an end. On Monday Cabinet agreed to my recommendation to merge Edward Hughes, a care home run by Reading Borough Council with Tanfield, another local facility. It follows a public consultation and detailed options appraisals by officers. Recommending this course of action was without question one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my Council career as I had to balance the needs of current residents, alongside best use of Council resources and the needs of future dementia care clients. People suffering from dementia are some of the most vulnerable ...
Becky Harvey was the founding Vice-Chair and later Chair of LDO and had a tremendous impact in getting the party to take the internet seriously in the late-90s and early-00s. Unfortunately, she was plagued by ill-health in recent years and died yesterday after a long illness. Fellow LDO exec member, Jon Ball, has written this memory of Becky I first met Becky online in the late 1990's on CIX, which in those pre-FaceBook, pre-Lib Dem Voice days was where Lib Dems congregated in cyberspace. Becky was one of the team of volunteer moderators and used a mixture of her charm ...
It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week Oldham East and Saddleworth results thread (79 comments) by The Voice After Oldham: what does the result mean for the party's targeting strategy? (82 comments) by Stephen Tall Tim Farron writes... Oldham proves rumours of the Lib Dems' death have been greatly exaggerated (71 comments) by Tim Farron MP The Independent View: Confusing, exciting and terrifying times for those on the liberal left (97 comments) by Neal Lawson "By-election was a hard-fought contest" - Clegg (61 comments) ...
Those in the area willl know that my time has been taken up elsewhere this week (Germans, wind, factorys & stuff!) So there has been little time to blog. The last few days have been exhilarating and exhausting in equal measure, three things have come together (2 local and 1 national) that makes me want to drink from the keg of glory tonight. What are these fantastic headlines I hear you ask? Well enjoy a small review of the week........ POW! - ID cards to be scrapped at midnight tonight This pointless waste of money that would not have kept ...
There were four principal local council by-elections that took place on Thursday 20th January 2011. The Lib Dems held one seat and gained one from the Conservatives. The Tories and Labour held one each. There were no parish or town council results reported to ALDC. [IMG: Cllr Mike Priestley congratulating new Cllr Sue Shotter] In the Marl ward of Conwy Council in North Wales we gained a seat from the Tories. In 2008 we only stood one candidate in the two-member ward our candidate Mike Priestely, won handsomely together with a Tory. The Tories recent resignation triggered the by-election. We ...
The BBC soon changed the headline on this report, but it remains in the RSS feed.
In contrast to the divisive nature of the planned EDL rally, this month marks the first birthday of Luton in Harmony. This campaign was launched at beginning of last year to celebrate all that is positive about the diverse and vibrant community of Luton. Those running it have been very active, it seems to have developed a high profile within the town, and so has had a successful first year. I signed up to the Luton in Harmony pledge early on, joining over 13,000 other people who have done so, and I have been wearing my badge with pride ever ...
[IMG: Marl councillors Mike Priestley and Sue Shotter] Photo: Marl Councillors Mike Priestley and Sue Shotter. Also available on Flickr. Liberal Democrat Sue Shotter gained Marl in Conwy from the Conservatives last night: LD Sue Shotter 389 (40.4; -10.1) Con 270 (28.1; +5.7) Lab 216 (22.5; +14.2) Ind 87 (9.0; -9.7) Majority 119 Turnout 31.3% LD gain from Con Percentage change is since May 2008 New councillor Sue Shotter said: This result was achieved through a combination of Mike's hard work over the years building up the Lib Dem vote, teamwork, ALDC campaigning methods – and the ability of our ...
'Progress' can often be a double edged sword.. But in the medical world, 'progress' more often that not has positive conotations. Brenda Jensen Today, the BBC reports here of another medical 'miracle'. Over the years, the boffins with brains have found how to translplant various organs in the human body to enable the continuation of life. The first successful organ transplant was of the cornea in 1905. The kidney was first successfully transplanted in 1954, the pancreas in 1966, the liver in 1967, the heart again in 1967, the hand in 1998, and the first full facial transplant ...
Today (21 January 2011) Bournemouth Borough Council met with Fibrecity to discuss serious concerns surrounding the firm's work. The meeting with Fibrecity's Board of Directors was called by Cllr Michael Filer (portfolio holder for Environment and Transport). At the meeting the Council set out the concerns of both residents and businesses, and demanded action to repair damage caused to the town's infrastructure during the works, as well as a date for when works will recommence. Councillor Michael Filer, Cabinet Member for Environment & Transport, said: "It was largely a positive meeting and Fibrecity have assured us that the recent management ...
Yes, I'm going out on the town tonight. Not for any drinking and partying, but because we've been getting several complaints from residents about noise levels causing huge amounts of disturbance to them, so I'll be out pounding the streets from about 11pm tonight to see what it's like. It's been a while since I've spent time in the town on a weekend evening, and the last time was more concentrated on the central streets rather than the residential areas around it, so it should be an interesting experience, and may well generate some amusing Tweets as well. So if ...
Given the announcement last week of my engagement to Andrew, and that our civil partnership and covenant of commitment will be over the weekend Fri 6 to Sunday 8 May, 2010, posting will be lighter than it has been in recent months. We have a lot to organise. And yet not as much as you ...
LDV has been bringing you the words of our new representatives as they speak for the first time in the Houses of Parliament. We bring you maiden speeches from new MPs and new members of the House of Lords. You can find an archive of all maiden speeches we've published by clicking this link. If you think we've missed someone, do please drop us a line - alex.hat.libdemvoice.org.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. with @ and remove .spam.com for the real one). Lord Sharkey: My Lords, it is a great privilege and a great honour to ...
One day the Liberal Democrats will be back in opposition. We'll be back to raffles and quiz nights, back to local campaigning to keep libraries and post offices open, back to being ignored by the media, back to watching our two big brothers make all the important decisions. Oddly many members would prefer this. Many deserters may even drift back once they no longer have to dirty their hands with power and responsibility. Those who told me 'I didn't join the party to form a government' will be relieved. But why can't we make the most of being in government ...
It is odd to see Dr Owen re-position himself again, this time as a tribune of the left. His erstwhile colleague Lord Skedesky (who if my memory serves me correctly took the Tory whip in the Lords under Thatcher) has been writing in the New Statesman and this week Owen joins him to attack Lib Dems for departing from Beveridge. If anyone wants to buy Owen a present Beveridge's 1948 Voluntary Action, A Report on the Methods of Social Advance, would be good. It has the virtue of being written whilst he was a member of the Liberal Party rather ...
What unfortunate timing. Andy Coulson has managed to announce that he's quitting as David Cameron's Director of Communications at the same time that sees Labour reeling from Alan Johnson's sudden resignation, when Tony Blair has had to confront the Chilcot Inquiry once more, and when a suspect has been arrested. for the murder of Jo Yeates. A coincidence? Pull the other one. News of The World Phone Hacking Coulson resigned as Editor of the NOTW back in 2007, saying that he took ultimate responsibility for the scandal that resulted in Royal reporter Clive Goodman being jailed for conspiracy to access ...
Fri 21st
13:54
Andy Coulson resigns as Downing Street Communications Chief, but he never should have been appointed
David Cameron's Communications Director Andy Coulson has resigned his job. He had been under growing pressure, as the New of The World phone hacking scandal refused to go away. This shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone, VN commented earlier this week that we thought he was on his way out. David Cameron has said he is "disappointed" by Coulson's decision, he also tried to convince him to stay. Cameron should though be questioning his own judgement in appointing Coulson in the first place. It isn't that Coulson wasn't qualified, or talented, - he was both, supremely so - ...
A rare thing happened today; I put out an official press release about the council's online consultation Residents can submit their own money-saving ideas and find out about how services are being prioritised, on the Sefton Council website.New pages have been posted on the site which give people the chance to see how services may be affected by cuts in Government funding of around £68 million over the next three years. In December, councillors agreed a number of measures to help identify savings. Part of that process was to agree services which are deemed to be "critical" or 'frontline;' those ...
The unexpected and rather unfortunate departure of Alan Johnson from the Labour Shadow Cabinet has plunged Labour back into rather familiar territory. Suddenly, we find that the top jobs have been taken by acolytes of Gordon Brown and the Blairites are out in the cold. Today's Daily Telegraph though highlights other consequences of the elevation of Ed Balls to the Shadow Chancellorship. They say that despite coveting the role he has now inherited, Mr. Balls was rebuffed by his newly elected leader only three months ago. Speculation is that this was due to the fact that the two former aides ...
During the campaign for the Labour Party leadership Ed Balls contributed an article to the Guardian which aptly summed up the Keynesian position on the economy. He appears to be one of the few politicians in the country willing to spell out the truth about the economic situation, viz: the public finances are not in crisis. The current deficit is large but not unprecedented the deficit is largely the result of a fall in tax revenues rather than Labour profligacy we are not in danger of an attack from the "markets." Our situation is very different form that of Greece ...
At times I sit alone on an island. The whole world says one thing and I say another. The war in Iraq and the statement that Tony Blair is a War Criminal is one of those things. History shows that Iraq didn't have WMDs. Not much more can be said about that. However hindsight is ...
Having started proceedings by wishing everyone a happy new year it seemed that every other item on the agenda was doom and gloom at last nights meeting held at Butterstile School. LONGFIELD SUITE FACES CLOSURE The meeting was dominated by the news that Bury Councils budget proposals would see the end of the Local Area Partnerships and closure of the Longfield Suite. In particular the news that the Longfield Suite is facing closure again so soon after the last campaign to save it drew an audible gasp from those present. As mentioned yesterday I along with colleagues continue to oppose ...
The admission by a senior civil servant that the Labour government had lost control of public expenditure in three departments shows how the example I gave in December was but part of a wider pattern: A significant increase in the pay of some Returning Officers was quietly introduced by the then Labour government ahead of this year's general election but no estimate was made as to what the costs would be ... The government has admitted in response to a series of freedom of information requests that no trace can be found of any calculations being made as to what ...
It is now about a fortnight until the rally planned by the English Defence League in Luton for the 5th February 2011. This unwelcome event is causing anxiety within Luton's communities and requiring considerable work from local agencies and bodies. So I thought I would post a brief update with the latest information I have about this event. Firstly, earlier this month a letter, signed by all three party leaders on Luton Borough Council, was sent to the Home Secretary expressing concern about the event and asking for a ban on any march that might take place. The letter said; ...
[IMG: Top 5 picture] Cross-posted from the Engine blog, my monthly round-up of five stories to read: Welcome to the latest monthly collection of 5 weblinks that you shouldn't miss, put together by the Digital Leadership Group at Engine. Thanks to everyone who contributed suggestions this month. Mashable's 2010 awards: http://on.mash.to/dlg110101 The best of the digital world in the last year, as voted for by Mashable's readers - including best social media management tool, best social media campaign and best new gadget. Can Twitter make your smarter?http://bit.ly/dlg110102 Yes. A survey says so; it must be true. Quora: http://b.qr.ae/dlg110103 One of ...
Like most of the people I follow on Twitter, it seems, I watched Channel 4′s new Ten O'Clock Live last night, which is their latest attempt at a regular humorous news show. I could write a review here, but my friend Doug managed to sum up just what I would have said: #10oclocklive needs to allow guests to speak, cut audience noise and have longer discussions. Less bits more depth & let smart folk be smart Of course, many people will describe it as an attempt to do a British version of The Daily Show, because there's never been any ...
Fri 21st
11:42
Only a council could consider putting up leisure centre prices during economic downturn to be a good...
Cornwall Council has just put up its leisure centre costs at a time when local residents are suffering from the economic downturn and despite a shortfall of around £290,000 in their expected income this year. I, and my fellow Liberal Democrat councillors, have condemned this decision which is likely to see even fewer people using Cornwall's leisure facilities over the coming year. As my colleague Nathan Bale put it: "There isn't a business in the country that sees an economic downturn as a good time to raise prices" Put simply, if people do not have money in their pockets then ...
Almost ten years ago the School of Oriental and African Studies, (SOAS) awarded me a small research grant to go to Tunisia with the aim of charting her growing relationship with the EU. Algeria, Morrocco, ultimately Libya joined an EU free trade deal to open markets and democratise instutions. Ten years on these initiatives have grossly failed in a hail of bloodshed and crack down. The countries of the Maghreb have been given the benefit of the doubt by France, the US and the UK because the Tunisian President Ben Ali – who took power in a coup d'etat in ...
Last night one of my former council ward residents was a panellist on Question Time. But Clarke Carlisle's appearance soon became of far more interest to me than his previous residence in Abbots Langley. The former Watford, now Burnley defender had been asked to appear in his position as the new Chairman of the Professional ...
Cornwall Council has admitted that there is a need to 're-balance' localism staff in order to correct the shortfall in support given to the East of the Duchy. The pledge was made by Assistant Chief Executive Paul Masters during a scrutiny discussion of the administration's plans for the localism service yesterday. Localism is the term used for the support given to the different parts of Cornwall following the move to a unitary authority two years ago. The Liberal Democrats viewed this as an essential part of the restructuring to stop all decisions being made in Truro. Unfortunately, the first act ...
It's notable that the highest Liberal Democrat governing body, the Federal Executive, is deemed so important by the governed, that their page on the party website has not been updated since July 2008. To get some sense of who is on it today you might go to the internal election fan siteof Councillor Colin Rosenthiel, or find a back-issue of Lib Dem News, the equivalent of hiding the results in a locked cupboard marked 'Beware of the Leopard'. So effective is the Federal Executive, that the Leadership set up an appointed Chief Officers Group in 2008 to get stuff done, ...
The confused situation in Tunisia has seen a provisional government formed from which the country's liberals, the Social Liberal Party, has been excluded. Only representatives of socialist groups and the former ruling party have been given places in the new government, The Social Liberal Party is a member of Liberal International, which has protested at its exclusion and pointed out that a functioning democracy cannot be formed while all but one part of the political spectrum is omitted from the process. The party's website is in Arabic only. Liberal International's responses can be seen here. Ronald Meinardus, director of the ...
Yesterday at Full Council we had a presentation on The Wellspring, a charity helping homeless people in Stockport. They're doing fantastic work helping thousands of people but desperately need funding: £365 a day, 365 days a year. If you can help - perhaps if your company can sponsor one day or week of the year - please take a look at their website. The Wellspring is a resource center for homeless and disadvantaged people. The project is on Harvey st, behind Robinsons brewery in the town center. The Wellspring is dependant on donations from the general public, businesses, schools and ...
Yesterday Alan Johnson decided to call time on his career in frontline politics, resigning his role as Shadow Chancellor. Mr. Johnson had been a surprise choice for the role, bur was seen as a safe and uncontroversial pair of hands by newbie leader Ed Miliband. He will be replaced by failed leadership contender Ed Balls, whose wife Yvette Cooper replaces him as Shadow Home Secretary. Balls worked closely with Ed Miliband as Gordon Brown's henchmen at the Treasury. Both, but particularly Balls, are cited as key reasons for the failure of a Lib/Lab talks after the elections last May. The ...
Alarmingly, so far, the various documents (Cabinet, Foreign Office etc) quoted at the Chilcot Enquiry, seem to have considered how to deal with Saddam without any reference to what would be the impact of military intervention on a) Iraq, b) relations with the Muslim world, c) terrorism, d)the system of International law built up since WW2. Perhaps that's all in the papers we're not allowed to
Just wanted to clarify something after seeing this article in the Gazette, and especially the headline on the print version which may have given the impression that the Council is somehow planning to restrict the right to protest in Colchester. I can state quite explicitly that we're not considering that at all. What happened was that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition – who's also Deputy Chairman of the Crime and Disorder Committee – decided that he wanted the Committee to discuss the student protests in the High Street because he didn't like the disruption they caused. However, after listening ...
From midnight tonight, ID cards may no longer be used to prove identity or to travel in Europe. The documents are to be scrapped by the government under the Identity Documents Act 2010. Tom Brake MP, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Policy Committee on Home Affairs, Justice and Equalities told Lib Dem Voice, After yesterday's annoucement of the cut from 28 to 14 days pre-charge detention, this is the second really big step in restoring the balance between civil liberties and security concerns. This delivers yet another Lib Dem commitment in Government. All personal information supplied during the process ...
For all of the noise Labour's making about the EMA, you might not realise that it was their idea to scrap it. Before he was an ex shadow chancellor, Alan Johnson was Secretary of State for Education and in April 2007 he made it clear that Labour was planning to scrap the EMA. An incentive scheme that rewards 16- to 18-year-olds for staying in education post-16 will be abolished when the leaving age is increased to 18. The Secretary of State for Education said last week that education maintenance allowances (EMAs) would no longer be necessary when the age is ...
Neil Lennon in the green of Northern Ireland For the nine years I was over in Scotland I supported Livingston Football Club. In that time I of course got to see many of the Northern Irish players both senior and junior plying their trade. Of course one of the ones I saw in the SPL days and in several cup ties was Neil Lennon. Now I admit there is a certain level of animosity towards Neil from all sorts of Scottish fans, must of that is non-sectarian. If you ever saw him being interviewed on TV post game there is ...
Questions for Dr Phillip Lee MP. In a few weeks time I will be speaking to local Bracknell Conservative MP Dr Phillip Lee about what it's like becoming a new MP and how this has changed his life. I will be asking him a few other questions on general policy such as the NHS reforms. If anyone has any other question that they would like to ask him then please post them in the comments below.
i) births and deaths 21 January 1978: death of Geoffrey Orme, who wrote The Underwater Menace. 21 January 1993: death of David Blake Kelly, who played the captain of the Mary Celeste in The Chase (1965) and Jacob Kewper in The Smugglers (1966) ii) broadcast anniversaries 21 January 1967: broadcast of second episode of The Underwater Menace. The Doctor causes a power cut and Ara rescues Polly. Zaroff explains that he intends to destroy the Earth. 21 January 1978: broadcast of third episode of Underworld. The Trogs rebel against the Guardians; the Doctor and Leela prepare to infiltrate the Citadel. ...
I've added three new useful links on the left hand side of the page: Reporting a faulty traffic light. These aren't dealt with by Stockport Council: right across Greater Manchester it's Greater Manchester Urban Traffic Control that deals with them (unless they're temporary lights for roadworks). New planning applications goes to the Stockport Council site with the latest planning applications received by the Council. In our area for 17th Jan, for example, there's an alternation to the Gatley Green Co-op (DC045850) and a two-storey side extension at 15 Windsor Avenue, Gatley (DC046273). Traffic scheme consultations. This is updated by Stockport ...
I had the opportunity recently to interact with the British Computer Society (BCS). It reminded me strongly why I don't want to join them. [IMG: BCS Banner] Last night, I attended the BCS Event "Are You Social or Anti-Social?". (The fact that I can't link directly to the event should already show you the BCS's attitude to good web-keeping). Before I get on to the even itself, I'd like to go through a little history. Last year, the BCS found itself in a bit of a kerfuffle. It was trying to reorganise and found itself up against a hostile membership ...
With police time focussed on terrorism over the last decade the American mafia has thrived until the arrests yesterday of members in seven families FBI arrests 127 in its biggest ever Mafia crackdown But the life, glamorised by the 70's film the Godfather has a fascination for us all, even apparently the mafia members who strive for the godfather lifestyle too - in every home that is raided by police there is always a copy of the Godfather on the shelf..
SPONSORED POSTBrian Badonde, Facejacker's eccentric art critic at large, has launched his new web-based series entitled "The Art of Technology." The series follows Brian Badonde in his quest to learn more about how technology can enrich his already extravagant life with the help of Bing. This week's episodes feature Badonde furthering his quest to harness the power of technology using Beautiful Bing. Along the way he gets to know a Bing engineer a little better and ventures across the pond to the Bing offices in the U.S of A, all in the name of finding life-enhancing technology. Brian Badonde, comments: ...
[IMG: Warwick Mall, Cheadle] Work is planned to start soon on the redevelopment of Cheadle's Warwick Mall site (pictured).Back in 2009, the site gained planning permission to be rebuilt as a three-storey building with a retail unit on the ground floor and fourteen flats on the first and second floors. You can see the planning permission here for details (it was before my time on the Council). The developers have put in an application for minor changes (which is fairly normal - small aspects do change as plans are developed) - you can see this new application here. This includes ...
DC Women Kicking Ass - Batwoman #1 confirmed delayed until April I CAN'T WAIT TILL APRIL!!! DAMN YOU DC!!!! Tis a gorgeous cover too. (tags: noooooooo comics) Quitting the Trade Union movement Applause and whistling for Mr Epps from me. (tags: libdemmery)
The Guardian's splash about the first meeting of the party's newly elected Federal Executive makes for rather generous coverage of a completely unexceptional decision by the FE. That the first meeting of the newly elected committee, faced with deciding what motion to put to the Spring Conferences, goes for saying that the party should fight the next general election as an independent party is about as unsurprising an outcome as you could expect. But if The Guardian wants to give heavy coverage to the Lib Dems and Conservatives not being one and the same, that's not exactly the worst the ...
The Financial Times magazine on Saturday 15th January ran a fascinating feature discussing how the disciplines of safety engineering for nuclear power stations could and should be applied to the kind of financial engineering that provoked the financial meltdown. It was a persuasive thesis. But there is a a fundamental difference. If you are in charge of a nuclear reactor that goes haywire, then, guilty or not, you are likely to suffer serious personal consequences - even death. If you are in charge of a failed bank - even if you are guilty as hell, you will emerge richly rewarded. ...
Is the Daily Express really giving away a bottle of cod liver oil free with each copy? Different way to make readers vomit, I guess. # @themsley Erk, you were made to read both Express + Telegraph? Human rights case much? in reply to themsley # @Bubbalou Only if he could use liquid nitrogen and a foam syringe. #heston in reply to Bubbalou # @alexfoster It's Stiegg for me. #rocknrollinwivmekindle in reply to alexfoster # Trying out the audio version of The Economist's iPad app. First impression is yay [IMG: :)] # Listening rather than reading Economist is enabling me ...
My friend Jenny was lucky enough to get to go to Nick Clegg's Town Hall meeting in beautiful Boat of Garten in the Highlands last night. This is her account, written on her train journey home. A word about "party hacks" - they're ordinary people, just like the rest of us, only with not as much free time and even less sleep. Hi to all Caron's readers and to those of you who don't know me, I'm Jenny - hello! I'll come clean straight away, I'm a party hack, but I'm not speaking as a press officer, just an observer. ...
The departure of Alan Johnson in sad personal circumstances has done little to help the credibility of the official opposition. Ed Miliband's credibility was already strained after his decision to give the now disgraced Phil Woolas a shadow ministerial position and by his appointment of Johnson as Shadow Chancellor, a man who was clearly struggling to master his brief however able he was in other ways. The lack of talent means that Balls was in some ways the obvious replacement. Even if he is on the thug wing of the Labour Party and can thus shake the Coalition tree a ...
It may annoy some recent commenters on this blog, but this is a potentially important and interesting programme. From the BBC Two website: David Cameron and Nick Clegg seem made for each other: Eton and Oxford meets Westminster School and Cambridge. But does the return of public school boys to the top of our politics say something worrying about the decline of social mobility in Britain? Andrew Neil goes on a journey from the Scottish council house he grew up in to the corridors of power to ask if we will ever again see a prime minister emerge from an ...
After a great deal of work from a cross-party working party and a thorough consultation, Stockport councillors last night supported the views of the majority of local residents and voted to abolish Offerton Parish Council and Offerton Parish.
Wordle of words from the Coalition Agreement (create your own wordles here) Whereas last year we had Cleggmania, Bigotgate, Ginger Rodents and Toxic debts this year has started a little slower but with new words freshly briefed and older ones reemerging its time for a quick run down of whats what.Tory-led: Scrub coalition its a Tory led government. Ed Miliband thinks he's doing himself and the Liberal Democrats a favour by making sure that the world knows that the Tories have majority control and lead the Government. Indeed Ed the maths don't lie, but come on even your EX-shadow councillor ...
So far this week I haven't had much time to update the blog due to the number of meetings and work I've had to do but I thought I would post links to a couple of videos and blogs I've enjoyed reading lately. They are on the subject of that much misunderstood, much maligned beast - the modern politician. They feature perspectives from two commentators who are not themselves politicians but who have worked closely with them particularly on communication and polling. The first is from Matthew Taylor, former Downing Street Adviser under Tony Blair and now Chief Executive of ...
I am on the electronic mailing lists for public events held by the University of Leicester. When, a few days ago, I heard that Baroness Warsi would be giving a lecture, I asked for a ticket. I never dreamed that this event would be the lead story on the seven o'clock news on the morning it took place. For some reason the Daily Telegraph decided to splash on some unremarkable remarks by Warsi as though there was something startling about them: Islamophobia has "passed the dinner-table test" and is seen by many as normal and uncontroversial, Baroness Warsi will say ...
In my photography blog you can see photos of York as I was there a couple of days ago. I live near Lancaster and if I had to choose between the two cities I would take into account how much there is to do and the historic buildings. York wins hands down. However my preference is for Lancaster. I know that as a Lancastrian I am biased but bigger isn't always better and the big difference for me is the physical geography. There is another dimension to Lancaster with its rolling hills. I may not have convinced you but Lancaster ...
Congratulations, Mr Karimov! | European Voice My friend Andrew pens a hilarious (but deadly serious) letter to President Karimov. (tags: uzbekistan) Former missionary from Meath who helped southern Sudan win freedom I had lunch with him back in April - quite a character. (tags: sudan) Aspiring Aid Worker Interview "But I have a Masters Degree! I have been to Africa! I have a white arm band! Can I be an Aid Worker now?" (tags: work)
