The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill has now had a longer Committee stage in the House of Lords than any legislation taken there since at least 1945. The Bill is not a particularly complicated Bill when compared with, say, the last Labour Government's Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill. Labour's last constitutional Bill covered thirteen different areas of constitutional reform (including an AV referendum) and was dealt with in the Commons in a few days by use of a 'Programme Motion' (guillotine). The PVSC Bill has been subject to an extensive and well organised filibuster on Labour's benches abusing the ...
Been lucky today in meeting lots of good people. Round and about in the ward I was pleased to see a good turn out for Friends of Newham Grange Park doing the consultation on the next stage of the plan on the way forward. Lighting or not ? extension to cycleway ? Older People's exercise equipment ? and where is the right place for the wetland area ? Whichever way it goes it is because people have taken the trouble to work together to make the area better. In this case really good.I met lots of people on my rounds, ...
Obviously tragic event. Tragic for the victim, family, friends, perpetrator/s who will be caught and spend a great many years in prison, perpetrators families and friends. In the current climate potentially even tragic for the small businesses that have had to remain closed. The ripples are huge from such tragedies. One thing I will be asking about is having such huge unattended areas around Sainsbury's that appears un supervised. The changed reduced Sainsbury's opening on Saturday nights have resulted in much less supervision of their car park and the surrounding areas. If anyone thinks they have any information about this ...
The message from Cairo and other Egyptian cities could not be clearer: the people want octogenarian President Hosni Mubarak to leave. Already more than 100 have died in the biggest uprising since Mubarak came to power 30 years ago. They are fed up with the denial of true democracy and the reality of a police ...
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of Broxtowe Borough Council. A special welcome to the new readers that we have this week. 1. Sainsbury's, Kimberley Sainsbury's in Kimberley is to extend. Planning permission has been granted and the larger store will in future carry electrical items and clothing as well as the current range of items. 40 new jobs (some full time, some part time) will be created. 2. Victoria Street Car Park Kimberley The council is to introduce reduced prices for season tickets for Victoria Street Car ...
The campaign to save the cheque is getting underway, as the below article in the Southport Visiter shows. Please make sure to sign the petition which you will find at the bottom of the edition of 'Southport News' which should be winging its way through your door any day now!
[Originally posted on Bristol Running Resource, 29/01/11] It used to be so simple. For several years my running year had a clear shape. It was a tale of two cities. The Bath Half at Easter; the Bristol Half in September. Twin Peaks. Finish one Half and have a few weeks relatively easy running to recover. ...
I attended the exhibition on Thursday afternoon. Although there was not a lot to see, it was well attended. The developers told me they had not been sure whether 50 or 500 people might attend. They thought it had been somewhere near the latter. Their assessment of public reaction to their plans was that 80% of people they spoke to were supportive. Some queried whether Stansted needed yet more flats. One resident has contacted me asking that consideration be given to 'encouraging alternative, less car-orientated, more community-based use of the ground floor space - perhaps a new site for the ...
It's always good to have a good news story about matters in Bidston & St. James. Next Thursday at Wallasey Town Hall Wirral's Cabinet, made up of Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors will decide whether to spend £1.8 million on Cathcart Street Primary School. As reported on this blog last year the decision to close ...
Across the country many councils are closing libraries. In the neighbourhood that I was born Labour-run Camden Council is making cuts of 20% to its library services, a move which has been opposed by Lib Dem councillors who have argued that these cuts could have been avoided by making savings in other areas. I'm proud to say that in Reading we are moving in the opposite direction from many other councils - with the welcome news announced earlier this week that the Council is extending opening hours across the local library network. Opening hours at Caversham library have risen from ...
If you want a place to chat about local stuff, go to the East Grinstead Community Forum here. It's early days yet and mines the first post! But this could be a lot of fun. Let's get posting.
Cllr Sue Hope at the restructuredBadminton Station Railway Bridge The re-opening of a railway bridge is good news for Badminton residents, but people living in Acton Turville fear the return of heavy traffic to their village. Cllr Sue Hope (Lib Dem, Cotswold Edge) said, "Badminton residents will be pleased to see the Badminton Station Railway Bridge reopen after a complete restructuring. The contractors have worked closely with residents during the works to ensure everyone has been kept informed, but the road has had restricted access for over two years and been closed completely for a year." "However, Acton Turville Parish ...
Down on Bootle Docks a major project is being planned than will provide around 200 construction jobs and 50 permanent jobs. Alpines want to build a major biomass project with an investment of £300m. I have no idea whether this scheme is appropriate for the site but there are some encouraging features not least of all that most of the traffic bring raw material to the site will come by boat. In addition the low carbon fuel produced will supply the grid. They intend to recycle wood into pellets-the same fuel as we use in our stove at work. Those ...
One of the biggest battles in Southport in recent years has been over housing. For decades a plot of land at Kew has been identified for housing. In the town we have a desperate need for new affordable homes and this plot was always part of the overall plan. The Tories fought the most shameless and cynical campaign against the project. There candidate with the the support of some of their councillors were putting out leaflets and knocking on doors to oppose the scheme whilst in the council chamber they voted for it! If challenged they just got annoyed and ...
Recent newspaper comments have tried to portray the Liberal Democrats as a spent force in local politics. This has been encouraged by Tories desperate to shore up their own posiiton by claiming to be in coalition with us at all levels. The reality is of course that Lib Dem support is holding firm or growing while support for Hampshire's Tories is fading away. In the latest by-election Winchester Lib Dems held the Olivers Battery & Badgers Farm seat on the city council. For details see In the last five by-elections Lib Dems have held on to two seats, gained ...
Following on from my 'Golden Years of Music' blog post in which I reminisced of the songs from the 50s and 60s which I can recall from my childhood having been born the son to a 'Teddy Boy', a number of readers commented that what I left from my selection was a homage to the rock'n roll giants of the age. As a fan of this genre then, I felt it only right to blog on some of the rock'n roll giants of this time. Where do I start? Well, it has to be Chuck Berry hasn't it. From 1964, ...
Certainly in the first fifty years of the last century these two booklets -'We can Conquer Unemployment' and 'Ownership for All'- can claim to have been the most influential Liberal pamphlets produced. Although published only about ten years apart and of similar length the price doubled which by itself tell us something of the turbulent economic times which gave rise to them. I recall in the run up to the 1979 manifesto preparation Richard Moore announcing to the Policy Committee that he joined the Liberal Party in spite of and not because of its economic policy. In so doing he ...
60% Egyptian this time. Butwhataboutthemen? – Anton Vowl channels his inner Giles Coren Egypt Leaves the Internet – A look at how Egyptian access to the internet was restricted India's most expensive movie yields most astonishingly violent and demented action-scene in cinematic history – It's on BoingBoing, so you've probably seen it already, but just in case you haven't Revolution in North Africa – Jim Bliss has an interesting take on what's been happening in Tunisia and Egypt Everybody Loves Hosni – Justin shows just how popular a guy Hosni Mubarak is
It has been a busy time on the City Council with lots of meetings involved in setting our budget for next year. The leader of the City Council, Sian Reid, has written a short piece about the priorities and process for the Liberal Democrats on the Council on the Newnham LibDem website. Here it is: The council has been working very hard to save money and drive our costs down. We have cut our cost base by about £2m and we will continue this over the next three years to find over £3m more of savings. We are all dedicated ...
I don't know whether many of you saw the article in last week's Inside Housing from SAVE about the Welsh Streets. I have never read such absolute twaddle since I read one of Grant Shapp's speeches on housing. SAVE and ... Continue reading →
Today I had a meeting with the Chair of the Friends of Eldon Square Gardens in our usual meeting place...the fantastic Eldon Arms which lies at the heart of our ward. It was great to catch up and to chat to Anne who has been the landlady of this backstreet boozer for over twenty years who has been a good friend of mine for many years. The Gardens lie on the edge of busy London Road i Reading and these tranquil surroundings are enjoyed by thousands of locals and visitors every year. [IMG: ELdon Square] I launched the Group in 2008 with the strong backing of ...
This morning was another Saturday Surgery, back at the Longfield Centre from 10.45. After last week's "Stall War" excitement when the Labour Party turned up and plonked themselves in our usual spot, this week they were nowhere to be seen. They have clearly done their week's campaigning for the year, and so it was back ...
I've just seen the letter in the Advertiser from Ivan Lewis and Cllr Quinn. They are totally wrong in suggesting that the Longfield Suite closure is anything but a genuine threat. Mr Lewis suggests that it is a fake idea put together by the Tories to give the Lib Dems something to campaign against.How I wish it was. Sadly it is a real threat and I am campaigning against it vigorously along with my Lib Dem colleagues. Mr Lewis' conspiracy theories do him no credit. He accuses Lib Dems of being party to a fake proposal. This would mean us ...
I shall write a proper review of the full Council meeting held on Thursday which lasted until midnight. But for now let me concentrate on a side show-the Tory split. Now that the three most effective Tory Councillor have been suspended and have themselves resigned from Southport Conservative Association we all waited to see how that would play out. Well, if I were giving marks to the various groups I would say that for content on the night the dissidents score 8 and the official Conservatives 3.5, for presentation dissidents 9.5 and official Conservatives 2. Bonus marks must go on ...
Given the many hours of rhetoric and hot air that is expelled in the Welsh Assembly by Labour politicians in condemning PFI and private finance, I cannot overlook the irony of a Tory Cabinet Minister seeking ways to bring contractors to heel if they have made excessive profits at public expense under the previous Labour Government. The Daily Telegraph reports that Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, has claimed that many PFI deals were "ghastly" and imposed an unfair "penalty" on schools, hospitals and other public services. They add that it is understood that Cabinet Office and Treasury officials are ...
Secondary education in my area (Kirklees Metropolitan District) is now national news and featured on the BBC's "World at One" yesterday. Two groups want to set up "free" schools: the ruling group on the council pointed out that, if they are approved, then there will be 1000 surplus secondary places, which , in a time of cuts, is obviously idiotic. Michael Gove's contrition was to claim that there are always "vested interests, opposed to innovation." The proposals for "free" schools come from a group of parents living in a mainly white area of an essential multicultural district, and a former ...
It is news to me but I learn that there is to be a review of the Birkdale Conservation Area. Apparently the Council have a statutory duty to do an appraisal and it is Birkdale's turn. A micro website will be created and I will ensure the link id posted here. On Friday a process of public consultation was approved and local resident will have the chance to give their views
Just a quick post to give some publicity for a new project here in Colchester run by Ben Howard of Keep Colchester Cool and Marc De'Ath of the Creative Co-Op. As you probably wouldn't expect from that introduction, it's about cycling – Keep Colchester Cycling, a free cycle hire scheme making it easier to pick up a cool bike then go off and discover all that Colchester has to offer. All it requires from you is a £15 refundable deposit, and then you're free to head off on one of the many paths that you can find out about on ...
I've just been pointed at the new Police and Criminal Act Code of Practice and the Home Office have (I think without consultation with the community but I'm trying to verify that) produced new rules on searching Trans folk. This isn't in force yet and the document is still a "Final Draft", but my understanding is that it's probably too late to do much to change it. As it stands, they'll probably come in to force later this year, although they did reach me via the political process so perhaps there is room to exert some influence. Actually, the rules ...
South West London Housing Partnership This was a meeting of Housing officers and lead members from Kingston, Richmond, Croydon, Wandsworth, Merton and Sutton held at Richmond Town Hall. We received a presentation on the new affordable rents proposals and HCA programme prospectus from Ken Baikie of the HCA. Nigel Minto of London Councils then led a discussion ...
Part one here and part two here Part Three I have been looking at a couple of pamphlets that have a claim to be the most influential of the last century-We can conquer Unemployment and Ownership for All. There are of course others for which I could advance the same claim: Donald Wade's 'Our Aim and Purpose' 1961 which sold an amazing 100,000 copies, Greaves and Lishman 'Theory and Practice of Community Politics' 1980 or Jo Grimond's 'Growth not Grandeur' 1961. (1961 was obviously a very good year seemingly producing more than in the whole Thorpe/Steel era) But for the ...
The person who posted this priceless video on Youtube speculates that this journey was made to reach the National Festival and Rally of Boats held at Market Harborough held at 1950. That must surely be right: I can't imagine why else the canal basin here would be so full of boats in this era. Enjoy colour footage of the old railway swing bridge over the canal at Oxford and then the canal through city, with the campanile of St Barnabas easily recognisable. Then it is on to some some broad locks that must be on the Grand Union somewhere around ...
Emma's Imagination, known to her mum as Emma Gillespie, was the winner of Sky One's Must Be The Music, a much better version of X-Factor. Prior to releasing an album on a major label, she was a busker on the streets of her hometown of Glasgow. 'Stand Still' starts with the song that won Emma the competition, "This Day is Mine". The album version has been beefed up and over produced, watering down the laid-back optimism of the original girl-and-a-guitar version, a real shame. The rest of the songs though actually benefit from a slightly bigger sound the studio has ...
I recently started reading this John Wyndham book (the author of Day of the Triffids). It is an interesting book. I previously read Brave New World and 1984. These types of books really make you think. In this case the scenario is that a 'Dayout' occured in a small village in middle - england. People were knocked out by something within a mile radius and all of the women of child bearing age were suddently pregnant. Outsiders from the civil service gave hints that they should keep it quiet so that the media did not clamour. There are similes with ...
This is one of the best plays Big Finish have ever done. I had reasonably high hopes after reading the very connubial mutual interview between author Nev Fountain and star Nicola Bryant in the last Doctor Who Magazine, and even more so after reading Andrew Hickey's very positive and detailed review, and I was not disappointed. Nicola Bryant has been awfully good as Peri throughout the Big Finish run of audios; here Fountain has picked up on a number of the things that made The Kingmaker also one of the best Big Finish audios, and managed to both tie up ...
This week's PAD photos: Saturday A couple of blankets on a sofa, or the den of a clan of warrior cats? Sunday Bob's been to Maplins and bought us a Laser light cube in the sale Monday My pressie from the Maplin's sale - can you believe this wee thing holds 250GB Tuesday Burns Supper! Wednesday A gratuitous cute hamster photograph Thursday An enjoyable piece of writing homework which made us both laugh Friday My iPhone clearly isn't suited to taking photos in the dark. There is the outline of an Andrew Reeves there, but for decent photos you're going ...
It seems like there's only one item of news at the moment - Egypt. But how to say anything about the situation there that isn't being said in a thousand other blogs? Well, while I was watching the 'all Egypt all the time' news, I heard something that rang a bell. The Egyptian government had introduced a 16-hours a day curfew, meaning that people can only be out for eight hours. They're disabling mobile phone and internet communications, so demonstrators can't coordinate there actions. Where had I heard that before? A couple of days ago I wrote about how the ...
The debate over cuts to the county council budget continue with the ruling Tory group saying these are the inevitable result of the "current" economic situation and various left wing groups arguing that the response must be strike action. The Tories have of course run the county council for years and knew full well the economic situation. No-one except possible the far left of the Labour party can deny cuts are necessary what is debatable is the depth and speed of the cuts which appear to be decided on ideological grounds rather than sound economic sense. Hampshire Liberal Democrats are ...
Conwy has again been recognised for having the "Cleanest Streets" in Wales. This time we are joint 1st with Monmouthshire. This is a great achievement and I would like to thank all the staff in the Street Scene Department for their hard work. Up to 150 streets and roads are picked at random and inspected independently by inspectors from Keep Wales Tidy. They look for Dog Fouling, Litter and Graffiti. Litter is set into 4 categories, smoking related litter (SRL), drinks, confectionery and fast food. I am very pleased with this result as the staff have been working hard to ...
For years, the Daily Fail has been happy enough to run to the odious Director of Christian Voice, Stephen Green every time they wanted to indulge in a bit of gay bashing, even as recently as a fortnight ago. Melanie Phillips even had him as a sort of poster boy for poor persecuted Christians in a column 5 years ago. Her hateful column earlier this week which attracted such rightful opposition on Twitter and elsewhere (thanks, Johann Hari) Today they unveil him as a wife beater. I'm not sure why they care. As I wrote the other day, they don't ...
The Guardian reports: The country's most senior civil servant ... said the cabinet should have been told of the attorney general's doubts about the legality of invading Iraq before Tony Blair went to war. "The ministerial code is very clear about the need, when the attorney general gives written advice, the full text of that advice should be attached [to cabinet papers]", Sir Gus O'Donnell told the Iraq inquiry. The clear implication of his evidence is that Blair breached the code of conduct ministers have a duty to uphold. You can read the full story here.
Being the weekend, I generally have Saturday off, hence I have other things to do, so not wishing to check comments every hour or so, what with Labour being highly volatile, I introduced moderation.. Normal service will resume shortly.
In the increasingly anti-Lib Dem paper the Guardian, they have found some use for the Lib Dems in the Coalition, which is worth noting: The Lib Dems can justifiably claim to have made a difference on civil liberties, but that only goes to show they needed to. The resistance of the Conservatives to reform suggests ...
As I mentioned earlier, there was a meeting last night about this year's Colchester Carnival, which all seems to be progressing very well thanks to the efforts of Colchester Round Table. The main news from last night is that all the arrangements for the infrastructure of the carnival are in place, and it's now time for people to get involved. There was a brief discussion about whether there should be a theme for the carnival, but as it's a return it was agreed that just emphasising maximum colour and noise would be best, just to ensure it's a great spectacle ...
Here's your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate... Though he is often thought of as the father of the modern welfare state in this country, William Beveridge in fact had other views on the matter. As he said of the Beveridge report, the aim, "was not security through a welfare state but security by cooperation between the state and the individual". In other words, the state should assist people in achieving self-reliance (and so the contributory principle in the report) rather than being simply a benevolent charity writ large ...
Don't forget that Liberal England is now accepting guest posts. So far three have appeared: In praise of slow government - Simon BeardChildren and the surveillance state: Will the Coalition keep its word? - Terri DowtyStandards matter in higher education, not just participation rates - AnonymousIf you would like to write one yourself, please send me an email so we can discuss your idea. I am chiefly interested in political posts, but this blog is noted for its eclectic range of interests... I am also happy to receive suggestions of links to include in my regular Six of the Best ...
I have today highlighted the huge job facing the City Council with potholes in road and re-lining works exacerbated by the recent adverse winter weather conditions and described the £15 million funding from Scottish Government that has to cover all 32 councils the length and breadth of Scotland as "totally inadequate for the job." I have been in correspondence with the City Engineer over the extent of the work already undertaken and still required. He has advised : "Fraser The repair of potholes across Dundee has been ongoing throughout December i.e. repairing potholes that are identified through the online system, ...
i) births and deaths 29 January 1930: birth of William Emms, author of TV story Galaxy 4 (1965) and the widely forgotten Sixth Doctor book, Mission to Venus (1986). 29 January 1976: birth of Mark Clapham, author and co-author of various Doctor who novels and books. ii) broadcast anniversaries 29 January 1966: broadcast of "The Destruction of Time", twelfth episode of the story we now call The Daleks' Master Plan. The Doctor activates the Time Destructor, killing the Daleks, but also aging Sara Kingdom to death. Last appearance of Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom, though she comes back again as ...
A hint from liliaeth and some more googling found me the bande dessinée I was trying to identify: it is Autonomes, the first of a trilogy called Chroniques de fin de siècle, by Jan Bucquoy (better known as a film director, including of La Vie sexuelle des Belges 1950-78). There is a plot summary here; apparently the eeevil French invade the freedom-loving anarchist Walloons, and there are two more volumes after the one I read (which was published in 1985). Now that I've identified it I may try and track it down via the local comics shop.
Which? magazine reckons that the chances of getting caught by a fixed speed camera is a lottery because most of them are not operational. At the time of their study all of the cameras in Sussex were working but this figure was down to 10% in Lancashire. Road safety should not be a lottery but that suggests that fixed speed cameras make our roads safer. I'm afraid that I can't see the correlation. There is a camera on my road but that didn't stop me writing about a boy racer just two days ago. Speeding is unacceptable, and on Wednesday ...
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