Within the last hour, the regional internet registry for the Asia Pacific region, APNIC, requested two more blocks of IP addresses. This will trigger the previously agreed-upon final distribution of IPv4 addresses to the regional registries. Immediately, we will probably see very little technically from this although it will no doubt gain significant media coverage. Everything will keep working, despite some rather silly prophecies to the contrary. The regional registries will have enough space to keep on allocating IPv4 blocks to ISPs for a few months. But the clock is very much ticking and any service providers not already working ...
I am shocked at the BBC News making a headline at how the Government is making people worse off, and then finding further down the page that 500,000 will be better off by not paying any tax at all. It is the poorer people who benefit and the well off who will lose something. With misleading reporting like that I really do wonder. However it gets better. Tonight was a preview of Preston Hall's "Behind the Scenes at the Museum". A most interesting exhibition of items not normally on display. I was particulalry interested in a large piece of stone ...
A few weeks ago I blogged about Coalition plans to review approaches to tackling anti-social behaviour. A new website went live today which helps residents find out about crime in their area. The data available goes beyond previous websites and goes down to street level. It also points people in the direction of their local Police Team via social media as well as traditional beat meetings. The offences that are listed on the website will relate to the previous month and the website http://www.police.uk/ will also detail which Police officers are responsible for their area, have Twitter feeds, crime appeals ...
Test Valley's Liberal Democrats are backing the campaign against government plans to sell of national forests. The proposals, subject of a new government consultation, will allow the Environment secretary to lease or sell of vast tracts of publicly owned forestry land. An on-line petition against the plan has already attracted over 300,000 signatures. Local Lib Dem leaders have all signed the petition and we are urging our supporters to follow suit. The group also plan to raise the matter at the next borough council meeting with a motion in support of the campaign. The proposals are driven by ideology rather ...
As reported in tonight's Evening Telegraph, I have expressed concern about the events in Lochee Park last Friday night in which up to a hundred young people were involved in anti-social behaviour in the park, causing disturbance to neighbouring residents. It is very concerning that a number of the young people involved were as young as 12-13, and there was a considerable amount of alcohol involved - Tayside Police confiscated 40 litres of alcohol. I have been in correspondence with our local police inspector about the situation and am pleased at the proactivity of our local police officers with regard ...
Nicholas Watt reports on the Guardian website this evening (and in tomorrow's paper: A two-week standoff in the House of Lords between Labour and the coalition over a constitutional reform bill was partially resolved today when ministers agreed to a key opposition demand on shrinking the House of Commons. Labour agreed to abandon a filibustering campaign, which had forced peers to sleep on camp beds in committee rooms during overnight sessions, after the government announced that it would allow limited public inquiries when parliamentary constituencies are redrawn.Labour still want further concessions. Notably: Vary the size of the new parlimentary constituencies ...
It is a great shame the moral panic surrounding the governments cuts agenda has blinded people of the freedoms this government is granting. Under Labour localism, freedom were all put under pressure by the centralist state. Within sixth months of governance the Coalition has got to work with the most radical devolution of power in generations ...
All, Just a quick 'thank you' to all the residents of Shipston who signed the petition to save youth services in Warwickshire. Over 13,000 people signed the petition, easily beating the target of 5,000. More details can be found on the BBC here. Regards, Philip
Thank you for your input in part 1, all! If you think I've misquoted you, please comment and correct me. I had several offers of explanations for the purpose of companies. Alas, I didn't state my parameters as precisely as I might have; several people gave answers aimed at the legal entity of a "limited liability company" – to incentivise enterprise by reducing the personal risk in starting a business – correct, but not what I was driving at. Someone also mentioned the role of companies in absorbing ("internalizing") externalities- which I will have to try and read about (I ...
Funny really, the stresses and strains of modern life. Living in a big city, life seems to race away, threatening to leave you behind if you let it. On the Underground, or waiting for a bus in any London suburb, commuters stare at the platform indicator, wondering when that next Bank branch train will come, and why a minute of Transport for London's time feels like four of anyone else's. Actually, now I think about it, why is that? But I digress. All of that tension for a train that comes every three or four minutes? What's the hurry all ...
Fundamentally, a bus station should let people catch public transport and stay reasonably dry while they're waiting for it. The new Yate Bus Station fails on both counts. It's just been revealed that independent coach operators - who always used the old bus station - have been banned from the new one. They've been told to use the car park at the back of the Leisure Centre - no raised kerbs, so harder for older people to board the coach - or block roads while they load up at ordinary bus stops. South Glos Council said "The new Yate Bus ...
The film composer John Barry died yesterday at the age of 77. As his Daily Telegraph obituary says: Barry's most fertile creative period was the mid-1960s. The success of his scores for the Bond films (that for Goldfinger displaced the Beatles' album A Hard Day's Night from the top of the American charts) led to commissions for numerous other spy films, such as The Ipcress File (1965) and The Quiller Memorandum (1966) and later for the television series The Persuaders. The themes he wrote for these, however, tended to reflect the shabbier deeds of their heroes and made use of ...
I went to a consultation meeting tonight about the future of the library in Prestwich. Naturally, lots of the people there shared the concerns I have about the proposal to close the library on a Sunday. The saving to the Council (£16k pa) is clearly outweighed by the unanimous local protests, and to be honest ...
I hope you don't think it's an impertinence to ask such a thing. It's just that I was discussing the subject with some friends of mine at Andrew's wedding on Friday night. One of the participants in this discussion has so many pairs of shoes that one of her friends once thought it was appropriate to give her the biography of Imelda Marcos as a present. She probably has a pair for every weekday of the year. And I have to say, she chooses very well. I have never been that bothered about clothes and shoes. If I have money, ...
Today the Institute for Fiscal Studies published an analysis of the likely impact of the tax and benefit changes due in April, with a complicated and mixed picture summarised by its balanced headline: Rich to lose most from new measures in April, as 750,000 brought into higher rate tax. The media coverage however has been to latch onto the second half of that headline and bury the first part a long way down the story. Take The Independent, with its headline Teachers and nurses dragged into top-rate bracket. It goes on to point out how some tube drivers also will ...
Non-fiction: 5 The Hiſtory of That moſt Eminent Stateſman, Sir John Perrott Sisters of Sinai, by Janet Soskice For Noble Purposes, by Richard Porter Tyrone's Rebellion, by Hiram Morgan The Secret Life of Trees, by Colin Tudge Non-genre fiction: 1 The Undiscovered Chekhov, by Anton Chekhov SF (non-Who): 3 (4 counting comics) Titus Groan, by Mervyn Peake Gormenghast, by Mervyn Peake Titus Alone, by Mervyn Peake Who: 6 Heart of TARDIS, by Dave Stone Doctor Who Annual 1979 AHistory: An Unauthorized History of the Doctor Who Universe, by Lance Parkin Shadowmind, by Christopher Bulis The Scarlet Empress, by Paul Magrs ...
From the New York Times: Surveys suggest that less than 15 percent of [Wikipedia's] hundreds of thousands of contributors are women... Sue Gardner, the executive director of the foundation, has set a goal to raise the share of female contributors to 25 percent by 2015, but she is running up against the traditions of the computer world and an obsessive fact-loving realm that is dominated by men and, some say, uncomfortable for women. Her effort is not diversity for diversity's sake, she says. "This is about wanting to ensure that the encyclopedia is as good as it could be," Ms. ...
Today I took some time out to visit a number of staff working in Reading Borough Council's Community Care Directorate who work to support elderly and vulnerable people in Reading. I have wanted to do this for a long time but my work and Council diary have meant my free time has sadly beenlimited. As Lead Member my weeks tend to consist of a regular diet of officer briefings, both oral and written. These briefings are obviously necessary to get a thorough understanding of current policies and issues. However, if you are not careful as a councillor you can become ...
[IMG: Vodafone logo] A very helpful person from Poynt has been in touch following my post Poynt icon appearing on Blackberries. By pointing me at various reviews and awards for Poynt, he has reassured me that it is a legitimate enterprise. He's also drawn my attention to this official news release about Vodafone UK signing a deal with Poynt: Poynt Corporation (TSX VENTURE:PYN) ("Poynt Corp." or the "Company"), a leading provider of mobile local search services, is providing a preloaded icon for the award-winning Poynt mobile local search application ("Poynt" or the "App") to Vodafone UK's BlackBerry® smartphone customers. Note ...
When searching for miscreants the best advice, as every detective knows, is to "follow the money". Observers of the political scene should also take this advice to heart, even if the results are sometimes depressingly sordid. In the case of the government's misbegotten plan to privatise much of the Forestry Commission's estate in England despite massive public opposition; ...
Mon 31st
17:44
If half of young Americans can't even find New York, what hope for finding Egypt on a map?
When I posted this map – a screen grab from Fox News – a few days ago on Twitter, I had no idea it was going to go viral. Just two days later, it has had over 170,00 views, my Twitter inbox has gone ballistic and I've been inundated with crazy, right-wing rhetoric from those ...
NB: I am not a tax expert in any sense of the word, so salt needed when reading this. So, in case you didn't notice, after April some extra people will become higher rate tax payers (apparently around 750,000 of them). After decades of complaining that additional people fell into what was once intended to be for high, not average, earners, because the allowance did not keep up with inflation (fiscal lag) the government decided last year actually to reduce the higher rate threshold (has this ever happened previously?) So now, where you used to have to earn £37,400 to ...
Shocking that the circumstances around now former Cllr John Friary's sacking on Wednesday as a cabinet member for Southwark Council and resignation on Thursday have been revealed as suggestions of grooming a child for sex. But he was, perhaps still is, a school governor and volunteers at an after school club. I hope it's all a horrible mistake but I can't imagine the Police not thinking their absolutely sure. Appalling. Added to newly elected in May Labour Cllr Keadean Rhoden convicted of her second housing benefit fraud and forced to serve 200 hours community service. Added to newly elected in ...
Just one application in the ward in the weekly list of planning applications this week. It is for the "Erection of a one 3-bed dwelling at rear" of 412 Milton Road. The reference is 11/0050/FUL. You can get information from the City website in the usual way, and contact us in case of problems.
I was in Colchester Library this afternoon picking up some books and noticed a poster there from the County Council about a forthcoming consultation about reducing the opening hours of libraries to make budget savings. No real details on what's being proposed or consulted on, but the consultation's apparently not starting until February 14th – no details yet on the Essex Libraries website or the County's consultation portal, though. I'm asking around to see if I can get some more information, but for now I thought I'd put it up here to see if anyone out there knows anything about ...
Twice every year football fans get themselves worked up into a lather about football transfers. As the Transfer Window slowly comes to a close hope and panic are abundant amongst football fans and Sky Sports News sees their viewership go through the roof. Every football fan with Sky and a PC will have it on ...
The highest-earning households will lose most from the changes to taxes and benefits that are due to come into effect in April, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Full story at publicfinance.co.uk
Today Radio Cornwall was abuzz with news on the proposed White Elephant for Cornwall (otherwise known as a Stadium for Cornwall). The radio claimed that some sort of deal had been done but that this would be without Cornwall Council money. If so, that is good news. I have no problem with the idea of the Cornish Pirates - or any other private sector organisation or individual - building a stadium if they want. But such a project should not be subsidised by the taxpayers of Cornwall. We have already put around £80,000 into the scheme by funding a feasibility ...
It is unusual for a Cornwall Council Cabinet report to be good news, but, in the circumstances, that must be the view of today's decision over the future of waste collections. I've blogged in the past about the proposal to abandon weekly black bag collections and to impose wheelie bins. Those posts were based on the comments from the responsible cabinet member and briefings given to councillors. Now the Cabinet has made clear how split it is on the issue. There are clearly those on the Cabinet who are violently opposed to a move away from weekly waste collections. Other ...
It is a little known fact that I am married to the first, and so far as I know, only woman ever to be a member of the board of Lloyd's Register. And so, it might not have come as a total surprise that she was the only female contributor to the debate... Baroness Scott of Needham Market: My Lords, I am sure that the whole House will recognise the tenacity and commitment of the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, to this important issue. I am sure that he will understand that for the reasons expressed by the noble Earl it ...
Those of you who regularly read political blogs from Reading may have noticed that most of them seem to show similar levels of sophistication to the banter between two now ex-Sky Sports presenters. That's not the reason I don't link to any of them – that's down to me. But when I do, I'll only link to those where the level of debate rises above the sewer. This is and will remain a Sky Sports-free zone.... socialise this: [IMG: add 'A Sky Sports-Free Zone' a Del.icio.us] [IMG: add 'A Sky Sports-Free Zone' a digg] [IMG: add 'A Sky Sports-Free Zone' ...
There (apparently) was no structural deficit when Labour was in government and on Thursday night at the full Council Meeting we were told that they hadn't agreed a deficit reduction programme, nor would they have put up VAT (because Gordon Brown would let it happen-no doubt just like he stopped the abolition of the 10p income tax rate)etc. and what is more a good number actually believed that to be true. Let us begin with the denial of structural deficit. Nick Thornsby has all the detail. Ed Balls, speaking on The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday morning: 46.15 : "I ...
They've written an article here claiming that "Middle Britain's tax rates 'could rise to 83%'". I don't know about you, but anyone earning over £40,000 isn't middle class, they're upper middle at the very least. Average individual earnings are around £26,000. If you're earning that, you're middle class. I'm not interested in anyone who squawks ...
One of the first things I think about when I see scenes like those in Egypt and Tunisia at the moment is what the events are going to mean for women in the area. After all, what use is a new Government if it doesn't reflect the hopes and aspirations of all the people? The Huffington Post recently expressed concern that the situation in Tunisia could mean an erosion of women's rights, which are among the strongest in the Arab world. I had been concerned at the lack of women shown in various news reports, but apparently that is not ...
Back in November I mentioned that the North Whitley Neighbourhood Action Group was struggling. This Group covers the area south of Christchurch Road including Hexham Road in Redlands. From when the Group was originally set up I have actively supported residents who have got involved in this Group but for various reasons including the departure of a couple of key members it has struggled to continue. I heard today that this week's meeting had been cancelled and that the Police team are planning to hold a public meeting in March on the specific issue of crime problems around the Northumberland Avenue shops. ...
Via The Independent: A "lost" hoard of emails sent by senior executives in Rupert Murdoch's newspaper empire at the height of the phone-hacking scandal has been found, The Independent has learnt. Detectives from the Metropolitan Police are now expected to examine the database of emails in their renewed search for News of the World journalists who may have hacked into mobile phone messages or hired private detectives to do so in breach of privacy laws... The claim that emails had been lost was made by the News of the World's Scotland editor Bob Bird during the perjury trial of the ...
It was with great sadness that I heard today of the death from a heart attack, of composer John Barry at the age of 77. For me, 'Mr James Bond' is right up there with the 20th century's best when it comes to musical compositions. He won 5 Oscars and a BAFTA Fellowship and was awarded the OBE in 1999. Here are just a few of his finest compositions... RIP John Barry
Can be read here
Policy makers often refer to the potential of unintended consequences when debating new legislation or regulation. Politicians from all political parties seem to realise that whatever you do something will then happen that is unexpected. If we start to think about policy through the prism of the unintended, then our recent political history makes a lot more sense. Someone comes up with a brilliant solution to a problem, a majority back it, it is enacted and a little later a new problem pops up because of the solution to the first problem. A new solution then needs to be developed ...
As the potential Arab revolt rumbles on further, the events of last week in Russia have been forgotten by the media already. The "24 hour news agenda" by definition is not good at analysis or understanding. Yet the impact of the bomb at Domodedovo is still reverberating across the Russian body politic. It was a brutal and disgusting crime- and the bloody death toll and horrible injuries that the suicide bomber wreaked upon the innocent can only be condemned by any decent individual. There are no reasons and no excuses for the people responsible. Alas, that the failures of the ...
'a State, which dwarfs its men, in order that they may be more docile instruments in its hands even for beneficial purposes, will find that with small men no great thing can really be accomplished' J S Mill, On Liberty
Today is said to be "crunch time" in the House of Lords, with an attempt to put an end to Labour's efforts to scupper the referendum bill by filibustering. As I understand it Labour's publicised objection to the bill is not so much to electoral reform as to the reduction in the number of parliamentary constituencies for the Commons (although I suspect this may just be a convenient cover from their unreconstructed die hards.) However, if their publicised objection is genuine I have some sympathy for them. The case for electoral reform, even the feeble AV version, is overwhelming, whereas ...
My sister raved at me incessantly about Channel 4's Come Dine With Me for ages before I finally got around to watching it. The first episode I watched was the Christmas Special in 2009 which featured David Gest, Sherrie Hewson, Diarmuid Gavin and Hannah Waterman. I literally cried with laughter. If you haven't seen it before, the premise is that a group of people compete, over successive nights, for a prize of £1000, by hosting a dinner party for their fellow contestants. They are then scored on their efforts, and the person with the highest score gets the money. Of ...
Mon 31st
11:54
Abandoning e-voting and what Labour is really proposing in the Lords: posts of the week
Welcome to my weekly round-up of two blogging highlights from the past week: the post that I found most interesting or enjoyable to write and the post from someone else that I found most interesting or entertaining. A post from me...E-voting: why it was abandoned in the UK Back in the early years of this century, the UK was at the forefront of testing out e-voting for public elections. An extensive series of pilots were held and then ... e-voting fell out of favour, because the pilots were not a success for a wide range of reasons. The issue still ...
John Barry wrote the iconic theme for that secret agent, licensed to kill On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Although he never received an Oscar for Bond he did have five of the little Golden chaps. Two for Born Free (1966), one apiece for The Lion in Winter (1968), Out of Africa (1985) and Dances with Wolves (1990). He was classically trained as a pianist, but learnt to play trumpet before taking an interest in composing and arranging, it was during his national service that he began performing as a musician. His band the John Barry Seven had some hits including ...
Mon 31st
11:24
Merseytravel Budget meeting - Bidston to Wrexham line, increase to tunnel tolls, report into removal...
Merseytravel's budget meeting will be held this Thursday 3rd February at 2pm at 24 Hatton Garden, Liverpool, L3 2AN (which is open to the public). Due to the elections last year, instead of being a Labour-Tory (or Tory-Labour) run Merseytravel it is now run by Labour as ten of its eighteen councillors are from the ...
Lib Dem Voice, the Local Government Chronicle and the Daily Mirror all featured a story recently about council leaders reaching the end of their tether with Eric Pickles. The event was a routine meeting of the Local Government Group Executive (LGA to you and me). I was one of those quoted as hurling my toys out of the pram. The Tories were more muted at that meeting but have nevertheless been pretty vocal elsewhere in their hostility to the Secretary of State for Local Government. Surely it was ever thus? New Government comes in. Local Government gets its hopes up. ...
Labour myths answeredMyth: There is next to nothing of Lib Dem policy in this huge top-down reorganisation:Absolutely not true. The Liberal Democrat manifesto promised that new social enterprises would be created to deliver NHS services, that all types of providers - NHS, voluntary, or independent sector - would be free to deliver, the scrapping central, top-down targets, and cutting back on
2011 is a census year. Held at the end of March, it will be interesting to see how much the demographics have changed over the last 10 years. We are unlikely to get any interesting feedback very quickly as the Office for National Statistics tends to take a long time to process the results. However, now is a good time to see how officialdom saw Fortune Green 10 years ago at the 2001 census. The summary below was produced by the Council then.
Scotland on Sunday reported yesterday that the results of the Holyrood election in May will be delayed by a day while the UK wide fairer votes referendum is counted overnight on the Thursday. This has been met with outrage by some Nationalists, including SNP MSP Anne McLaughlin who feel that this is disrespectful to Scotland: The result of Scotland's general election in May this year is to be delayed for around TWO DAYS. Scotland will be left in limbo from 5 to 7 May not knowing who their MSPs are and, more importantly, not knowing who will be governing Scotland. ...
We have just heard about this lively looking event on Monday 7th Feb. Unfortunately, it clashes with our Area Forum (more details later). However, if that's not your thing - you might well be tempted by popping down to David's Deli instead.
As reported in yesterday's Scotland on Sunday, Scottish Liberal Democrats have highlighted nationally concerns that 70 000 houses are lying empty across Scotland and urged that efforts be made to bring them back into use. Further to my update last month on the subject of empty houses in Dundee, in today's Courier and in the Press and Journal, I have emphasised that the City Council, Registered Social Landlords and others must redouble their efforts to get empty housing back into use to help ensure that targets to tackle homelessness are achieved. It is clear from parliamentary answers from the SNP ...
Yate rail campaigner Chris Willmore with fellow Town Councillors Wully Perks and Mike Drew New glazing for station shelters was put to the test this weekend. As we reported recently, First Great Western have finally followed local rail users' suggestions and replaced the broken shelter glass with the metal mesh with small holes that has been used successfully on bus stops for years. And just in time too! Even during this weekend's plummeting temperatures, the renovated shelters were still warm enough for passengers to sit down instead of wandering around stanping their feet to avoid frostbite. And they're secure too ...
Recently the Labour Cabinet member councillors in Southwark went 'back to the floor'. It now appears whichever floor they each went back to is to receive significant cuts. Cllr Barrie Hargrove went litter picking - which is now cut back from daily to every other day for a 1/3rd cuts. Cllr Veronica Ward spent an afternoon on the mobile Library - it's now completely cut. So all those housebound residents previously served by the mobile Library will no longer have any such such service. Cllr John Friary spending part of an afternoon after school closing time out with Community Wardens ...
Lib Dem Voice polled our members-only forum recently to discover what Lib Dem members think of a variety of key issues, and what you make of the Lib Dems' and Government's performance to date. Over 660 party members responded, and we've been publishing the full results of our survey over the past couple of weeks. Today, in the final part of our survey, we focus on the performances of the leading lights of the Liberal Democrats — those of our MPs in the cabinet, those occupying ministerial positions, and other leading Lib Dems: How would you rate the performances of ...
I have written about the scaling question numerous times and for those who may wish to use it with their members to increase their participation in their local party here is an example of it, in a different context, but it is a similar principle. See how the scaling question can be applied to politics ...
Excellent news! ... And many congratulations to Caron on entering the highly exclusive "Three posts in the Golden Dozen in one week" club!
Last Friday I wrote about how Ugandan lesbian Brenda Namigadde faced deportation because a Court had ruled that there was no evidence that she was in fact homosexual. I really don't want to see us going down the route of the Courts making arbitrary judgements over someone's sexuality. Political Scrapbook had a story yesterday which alleged that the judgement had been made at least in part because Brenda had no literature relating to her sexual orientation. How ridiculous! And if she had have done, how would that have proved that she was a lesbian? It's just irrelevant, and I find ...
My column from this week's Ham & High: A room full of older people socialising, having lunch, talking and laughing - that's what luncheon clubs and drop-in centres deliver for our older residents. If it wasn't for such facilities - some older people might never even get out of their homes and wouldn't necessarily see another living soul from one week to the next. They might not eat properly. They might not get any exercise. And as many of those who use Abyssinia Court (near Crouch End) luncheon and drop club in Haringey told me when I visited last week ...
Which bus shelters should be fitted with equipment to tell you when the next bus is really likely to arrive, rather than the time printed on the timetable? That is the question being asked by one local Councillor after South Glos Council announced there wasn't enough money to fit all the new bus shelters with the equipment. Cllr Linda Boon (Lib Dem, Chipping Sodbury) said, "I was disappointed to learn that only a small proportion of the new bus shelters will actually be getting the 'real-time information' kit and I think it's really important to install it in the right ...
County councillors in St Albans on Thursday condemned the farcical processes employed by the Conservative led county council in identifying roads in need of repair. At a meeting of the Joint Member Panel, which brings together county and district councillors to examine road priorities, a report on four particular roads was produced. Normandy Road was described as having 'minor cracks and surface defects with no Cat 1 potholes reported filled in the 12 months prior to the deterioration'. Local member Chris White commented: 'This is simply untrue and it is noteworthy that the local highways team has in fact done ...
The Daily Mail And Stephen Green: A Torrid Romance – The Mail, as ever, is never afraid to eat its own in the interests of a good story The Wilkinsons and 'Christian' opposition to anti-discrimination laws – "If the Wilkinsons are truly naive and thought their B&B was just a private home, I wonder were they paying tax on the proceeds of their business, as well as complying with the fire and safety regulations that apply to B&Bs? If they were, they know fine well that the nature of their business meant that their home was, in law, treated rather ...
Today's Independent reports that Ed Miliband put himself through the obligatory GQ interview and escaped relatively unscathed: He was put to the test soon after becoming Labour leader when he was interviewed by Piers Morgan for an article in a men's magazine. Morgan put the predictable questions - "How many women have you slept with?" and "When did you lose your virginity?" - both of which Mr Miliband brushed away, somewhat immodestly, by saying he "would not boast about his sexual prowess". His reply contained a hidden dig at the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, who once told the same ...
Welcome to the latest in our series giving the human face behind some of the blogs you can find on the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator. Today it is David Boyle, who blogs at The Real Blog. 1. What's your formative political memory? I don't know when I became a Liberal, but found myself cheering the party on during the Sutton & Cheam and Isle of Ely by-elections while I was studying for my O Levels. In 1979, I interviewed the local Liberal candidate (Dermot Roaf) for a student mag and went straight off and joined the party afterwards. 2. When ...
Below is the text of a blog post that I have written for Liberal Vision: Over at Lib Dem Voice, Mark Pack poses the question: Was Beveridge right to oppose the Welfare State? This may seem an odd debating point as everyone credits William Beveridge with laying the foundation of the welfare system we currently have. In fact, Beveridge laid out a liberal blueprint to tackle want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness. The Labour Government under Clement Attlee took the report and responded by creating a centralised structure that became known as the Welfare State. The NHS, education system and ...
Last week, I raised the issue of representation and transparency within the Liberal Democrats, alighting on the English Party as a place where much of importance is decided, but where there is little light shone.Indeed, there is so little light shone that I can't find a website for it, or any sign that it actually exists for public consumption. So, I wrote to my fellow Regional Secretaries, to see what their view was on making at least the names of their English Council representatives available via their Regional websites. And, so far, this is what I've heard... South East - ...
On Thursday 17th February from 10.30 until 1pm, Arbury Community Centre will be hosting a Love Food, Hate Waste workshop for people interested in reducing the waste they send to landfill, and getting the most from the food they buy. It is aimed at our local recycling champions, who are volunteers, who work to increase our recycling and decrease our waste in their communities. The City Council is on the look for more, so if you are interested in either the workshop or becoming a champion please get in touch with me. (The organisers would like some idea of numbers ...
Mon 31st
06:55
Curtailing access to Employment Tribunals - a liberal approach to fostering economic growth?
There is little disagreement that the economic growth figures for 2010 Q4 were very poor. When set alongside the performance of other developed economies they look even more anaemic. The Government is promising that the 2011 budget will be a budget for growth. But the Government is already bringing forward more focused initiatives with the ...
i) broadcast anniversaries 31 January 1970: broadcast of first episode of Doctor Who and the Silurians; first appearance of Bessie. The Wenley Moor nuclear research centre is suffering from unexplained deaths and a tyrannosaurus in the basement. 31 January 1976: broadcast of first epsiode of The Seeds of Doom. A mysterious pod is found in Antarctica; it opens, infecting a nearby scientist. The Doctor and Sarah come to investigate. 31 January 1981: broadcast of first episode of The Keeper of Traken. First appearance of Sarah Sutton as Nyssa, and of Anthony Ainley though not yet as the Master. The dying ...
...now that I hope the subject line caught your attention, I should say that I have nothing particular against Vince Cable (at least no more so than any other politician who is supposed to be "leading" our country). I merely want to highlight that he is head of a government department which, in its former incarnation as the Department of Trade and Industry, Lib Dems were committed to abolishing completely. And we need to get on with it. And I see no reason why we can't given that a Lib Dem cabinet minister is in charge there. In 2001 the ...
Just a very quick post to say, that I do want the pace of spending reductions to be slower, but more important is a growth strategy, and not just by making the labour market more flexible (traditional response). As for the GDP figures released last week, I've seen many figures in industry and government stats, ...
Oh dear the Tory economic policies are coming under scrutiny again - I know the Liberal Democrats are part of the Government, but let's face it, they're running the economic show. Anyway, Richard Lambert, outgoing Director General of the CBI, has already raised the immigration cap being introduced, as bad for business, and is a view the Liberal ...
On Friday I was looking at how occupational therapists were being replaced by volunteers (friends and relations or anyone else who happened to be handy). Yesterday the question on the local edition of the Politics Show was whether volunteers could work in libraries. The answer is yes. We saw someone filling the book shelves in the correct order. I am sure that volunteers could say hello, point people in the right direction and stamp books in and out. Sometimes advice is needed but I think we should leave that to qualified librarians. The problem is where do we draw the ...
