Today's meeting was at the STEPs part of Stockton Council, described as "a stepping stone approach to employment" where people with different disabilities are supported, encouraged and given confidence on their was to employment. On their course at STEPS they learn many new skills in a supportive but working environment, and produce some wonderful work. It is not often that we have the opportunity to meet in the midst of products of the agenda of the meeting, but there were some really good cards made by those who went to the centre. Also we were told (but did not get ...
My cute friend here is suddenly a minor celebrity in these parts, having appeared in the latest Stowupland Focus, as part of a story about the threat to our local nature reserve. Yes, it's time for another Focus, with stories on buses - bad for Stowupland, good for Creeting St Peter, waste disposal and local government reorganisation, and Ros, Jamie and I were out in the brisk south-westerly winds, delivering them across the ward, and I'm delighted to say that we've very nearly finished, with just a few outliers still to deliver. It's funny, but I actually enjoy delivering leaflets ...
[IMG: Power Cut 17-02-2007 00-44-42] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Glen Bowman - An interesting evening. No electricity – due to a little local difficulty which took three vans, a dirty great trench, some impressive-looking high-tech additions to a 1950s cable, a lot of sucking-in of breath from some very battle-hardened electricity engineers and 18 hours to resolve. Ho hum. Time to use one's special "tripod torch" and loads of candles. The non-news bits from Saturday's Guardian absorbed an hour or so. I also, impressively, rigged up a Heath Robinson system whereby we could listen to digital radio from ...
Agnes Allcock, Director General of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London, this evening hosted the now traditional New Year reception at Whitehall's Banqueting House for several hundred guests, complete with acrobatic lion dancers and a small Chinese classical orchestra. Mrs Allcock cited the purported qualities of those born in the Year of the ...
Ten days ago the Leicester Mercury reported a setback with the provision of new hospital facilities for Market Harborough: Health bosses in Market Harborough have been given the bad news their long-awaited new day care unit for the development of the St Luke's Hospital site has been damaged on its journey from the United Arab Emirates. The problems were discovered when the purpose-built sections arrived at the docks in the UK. However, health chiefs insist the damage is merely "cosmetic" and are planning to check out the problem first hand by visiting the port in the next few weeks.This report ...
About a fortnight a story emerged that BBC journalists had been sent an internal document from the top brass demanding that their staff stop describing "electoral reform" as "electoral reform". I raise it now (late) because having missed the revelation at the time I assumed "word had got out there" about it, so I let it pass. I am however surprised to find how few people who are usually "in the know" – don't know. Here are the basics.... In an internal BBC memo leaked to The Independent, Ric Bailey, the corporation's chief political adviser, said: "Please can we make ...
As reported in tonight's Evening Telegraph, Tayside Police took proactive action on Friday night and over this weekend at Lochee Park following the youth disturbances and under age drinking concerns the previous weekend. Having raised residents' concerns about the disturbances and concerns about young people under the influence of alcohol in the park, I'd like to pay tribute to the police for their proactive and prompt response - and for the co-operation of the police's partners - Community Wardens and the City Council's Anti-Social Behaviour Team. I am assured that the police will continue to put resources into addressing this ...
I have today launched by February 2011 update to West End Community Council. This covers a number of local issues including stair lighting, the impending re-opening of Thomson Street and flooding at Pinegrove. You can read the update by clicking on the headline above or by going to http://tinyurl.com/weccfeb2011. The Community Council meets tomorrow evening (Tuesday) at 7pm in Logie St John's (Cross) Church Hall - all residents welcome.
Very sad to learn of the death of the superb blues rock guitarist Gary Moore yesterday. Although he'll be remembered best for his key role in Thin Lizzy and for iconic numbers such as Parisienne Walkways, Empty Rooms and Still got the Blues, my personal favourite is The Loner :
Please vote for the Roman Baths Museum which has been long-listed for the Art Fund Prize 2011 -http://bit.ly/eVPE6q
At the time of the release of Ali Abdelbaset Al-Magrahi, there was considerable anger. Those who believed in the verdict of the court were outraged. This, like myself were angry because the release ensured that evidence that might have been used in his appeal of his conviction would not be presented in open court. As a result, the conviction of one man acting alone- which seems at best implausible- will now continue to stand. However, at the time I was prepared to defend the British government, since the release on compassionate grounds had both the force of the legal system ...
It's true isn't it? I had a piece of battenberg today for the first time in quite a while and that marzipan never fails to deliver! I was a big fan as a child and I'm still the same now at the age of 28. The origin of the name is not clear, but one theory claims that the cake was created in honour of the marriage in 1884 of Queen Victoria's grand-daughter to Prince Louis of Battenberg, with the four squares representing the four Battenberg princes: Louis, Aleaxander, Henry and Francis Joseph. A bit far-fetched? Maybe. Anyway, do kids ...
Received today from the City Council : Dundee City Council proposes to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating redevelopment works. The Order is expected to be in force for twenty nine weeks from 14 February 2011. Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months. The effect of the Order is to prohibit temporarily all vehicular traffic in Guthrie Street from its junction with Horsewater Wynd for a distance of 65 metres or thereby in an easterly direction. Access to premises will be maintained where possible. ...
Don't panic I haven't suddenly seen the light, by winning here, I don't mean like, me here at Flaig Mansions, taken up Mark's brand of Labour politics, my life long allegiance to Liberal politics, remains, at the time of blogging has Clive Hart confirmed his resignation (NO), it's just here in internet space, checking out, Wikio rankings I see that Mark's bloggin rates highest of all, here on the Island. Wikio Rankings for Feb 2011 From one end of Kent 669 Bignews Margate 762 Thanet Press Releases 1122 Thanet Online 1201 Thanet Star 1275 Thanet Life 1699 Promote Thanet 2714 ...
For the datageeks amongst you, Lewisham has recently published the latest in its monthly series of borough-wide public realm statistics: You can see the trends in burglaries, house prices, children taken into care and unemployment rates, amongst other series.
In today's Times, David Laws, Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil and former Chief Secretary to the Treasury , argues that the coalition must live with increased taxes on the rich as part of its deficit-reduction programme, but that reforming Britain's complex and unfair tax system must be undertaken in earnest. Here's an excerpt: Under the last Labour Government tax policy was characterised, in the words of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, by "drift, punctuated by poorly thought-out changes". A 10p in the pound rate of income tax was introduced and abolished. National insurance changes were made for political, not economic, ...
There were three principal local council by-elections that took place on Thursday 3rd February 2011. The Tories held a seat, Labour took one off the Tories and an Independent took one off the SNP. In the only parish or town council results reported to ALDC Labour held two seats. [IMG: Christine Headley was our candidate for the Rodborough County division] In Gloucestershire we fought the vacancies at district and county level caused by the death of a Tory councillor in October. The Tories held the Stroud district seat of Amberley and Woodchester, the more Tory area of the Rodborough county ...
Details of this planning application can be found by following this link: The case office is Amanda Ghani – please email comments and objections to him at amanda.ghani, and don't forget to copy us in.
i) broadcast anniversaries 7 February 1970: broadcast of second episode of Doctor Who and the Silurians. A mysterious creature escapes the caves, kills a local farmer and terrorizes Liz. 7 February 1976: broadcast of second episode of The Seeds of Doom. Chase's men attack the base, but the Doctor manages to destroy the Krynoid by exploding the generator hut. 7 February 1981: broadcast of second episode of The Keeper of Traken. Kassia is under the influence of the Melkur; she orders the arrest of the Doctor, Adric and Tremas. ii) dates specified in canon 7 February 1894: birth of Tommy ...
The UK Government is consulting on planned cuts to Legal Aid in England and Wales. My friend Juliette Frangos, a solicitor working with the Chesterfield Law Centre, spells out what these cuts would mean in practical terms, reducing access to the law for the most vulnerable, and invites us to take part on the consultation which closes next Monday, 14th February. In November 2010 the Government announced its plans to reform Legal Aid in England and Wales and a consultation is currently being undertaken by the Ministry of Justice. The proposals set out by the Government are wide reaching and ...
The local press is reporting that the Stadium for Cornwall has been given 'a shot in the arm' by the commitment from the owner of the Cornish Pirates to fund a facility for a guaranteed 10 year period. The Cabinet member is quoted as saying that: "positive discussions have taken place with our partners and their commitment to working with us to deliver a venue that will promote sporting excellence in Cornwall." Bear in mind that the Council has expressed its concerns about the plans by refusing to allocate any funding for the coming year and councillors were told that ...
[IMG: 1688 - The First Modern Revolutoin by Steve Pincus - book cover] 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...1688 - The First Modern Revolution by Steve Pincus The traditional picture of 1688 is of a rather English revolution - one much politer, less violent, more limited and rather more sensible and rational than the bloody versions of revolution seen in other countries. In this work ...
I keep banging on about the fact that there's a fairly obvious programme in place by the Labour Party to steal our natural positions, both philosophically and in policy (see my article on LDV or my recent blog post). Their latest moves to 'own' the term progressive are another case in point. However, as a branding expert (and a Lib Dem) I do find the news that Ed Miliband is considering rebranding the party he leads as 'The Progressive Labour Party' pretty funny – and wrongheaded. There are essentially three reasons why an organisation rebrands: Costs savings through economies of ...
All, Just a quick update – Shipston Safer Neighbourhood Team (that's the Police to you and I) have released their latest newsletter. You can read it by clicking on this link. The Police come to the Shipston/Stour Forum every quarter and give local people the chance to set their priorities for the next 3 months. I'll be posting details of the next Forum later – so please keep an eye out for this and come along. Regards, Philip
Here are the Liberal Democrat entries in the top 100 political blogs as ranked by Wikio: 1 (7) Liberal Democrat Voice Up 2 5 (25) Jack of Kent Down 3 3 (37) Caron's Musings Up 11 4 (55) Mark Thompson Up 13 5 (56) Liberal England Down 4 6 (64) Mark Pack Down 5 7 (72) Nick Thornsby Up 12 8 (76) Liberal Vision Down 14 9 (80) Miss S B Down 1 10 (87) Liberal Burblings Down 7 11 (88) Millennium Elephant No change 12 (92) Andrew Reeves's Running Blog Down 11 13 (96) Peter Black Down 14 Craig ...
Apart from the sex-by-deception case that's in court again this week, there's another sex-related case doing the rounds of the internet at the moment. I find this one very interesting for the liberal dilemma that it raises, being the case of the man "banned" by the court from having sex (The Telegraph) because his IQ is "too low". Firstly, let's refer to the exact court report to clear up a few bits that have been misreported elsewhere. Most notably, he appears to be bisexual, not gay, but towards the homosexual end of the spectrum. Secondly, it's not specifically his IQ ...
There is a new facility for residents in West Lindsey to get their voice heard. The new e-petitions website is now ready. The new website will allow the quick and easy collection signatures to get pressing matters discussed at the council. Cllr Kristan Smith (Gainsborough East) commented "This is good news for the residents of West Lindsey, it will allow pressing matters of local concern to be raised for debate at full council. Although the council has set a 300 signature threshold for triggering a debate, as your councillor, I'm happy to raise motions for debate whenever my residents feel ...
Mon 7th
13:54
Cameron to make statement on Megrahi - a reminder of what Scottish Labour said at the time
I don't know what David Cameron is going to say when he makes his statement about the release of Megrahi later, but the BBC reports that it will be very embarrassing for Scottish Labour, who could not have been more condemnatory of Kenny MacAskill at the time. Update: more than speculation, if the Herald is to be believed - they say the report by Gus O'Donnell says Labour did all it could to help Libya secure the release of Megrahi. You have to ask yourself what Iain Gray would have done if he had been the First Minister who had ...
I have blogged a number of times about the need for anti-social behaviour to be tackled more effectively. Locally it is is something I have campaigned on simply because over the years as a councillor residents have contacted me about it many times. My interest in this area led me to be elected on to the LGA Safer Communities Board where recently I had the chance to meet Louise Casey, Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses. She has some straightforward, common-sense things to say which I think government(s) have need to hear. As a landlord, Reading Borough Council has a responsiblity ...
A few days ago I went to speak at the University College London's Constitution Unit about how the Liberal Democrats ended up in coalition with the Conservatives and the progress of the coalition so far. UCL has now put up its film of the event - enjoy watching! The Liberal Democrats and the Coalition - Mark Pack from Department of Political Science on Vimeo.
We've previously covered Labour-run Knowsley Council's controversial payments of over £250,000 during the last dozen years for official presences at the Labour Party conference. During that period the council never paid for presences at other party conferences saying that, "Knowsley does not attend any other party political conference, it attends the Labour Party Annual Conference as the party in power." However, despite the change of government last autumn Knowsley Council continued with its payments for Labour's autumn 2010 conference and did not make any appearance at the conferences of either of the two parties in power. Knowsley Council has now ...
Week 8 in the ongoing saga of whether Ivan Lewis MP has anything pro-active to say on university funding, and the answer still appears to be "no". 8 weeks ago he wrote to me criticising the coalition's view on tuition fees. He wanted to make political capital and get people to vote Labour. I engaged with ...
Mon 7th
12:56Something Eurovisiony to brighten your day: Josh and Niamh Kavanagh singing "Fairytale"
Just to brighten a very dreich, dark and dismal Monday lunchtime for you! It was snowing when I came back from Zumba this morning. This did not please me one little bit, particularly as it was lying a little and I need to go into Edinburgh tomorrow. It had better have gone by the morning. Anyway, first thing I saw when I checked my e-mail was that I was being followed on Twitter by @eurovisionicons who are making little avatars of this year's crop of contestants as they are announced and publishing them on their Facebook page. They will actually ...
Mon 7th
12:55
Homophobic Government adviser sacked - a victory for liberal thought. Just don't expect any credit!
When the then Labour government sacked a member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), Professor David Nutt, for daring to speak out against unscientific policy making on drugs, the then Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, was rightly condemned as illiberal (who'd have thought?) and accused of deciding drugs policy on the basis ...
Bury Council, in partnership with Mark Group, are promoting an energy improvement programme aimed at owner occupiers and private tenants in St Mary's ward. The scheme commences today with introduction letters delivered to households. Authorised installers, Mark Group, will carry out follow up visits to offer a free survey to identify what insulation measures are suitable. Householders ...
This morning's Daily Telegraph reports that David cameron is poised to release a dossier of previously secret documents today that will show that the former Labour Government was "complicit" in Libya's efforts to secure the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi is the only man to be convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. He was freed from jail on compassionate grounds in August 2009 following claims that his prostate cancer meant he had no more than three months to live. He is still alive more than 17 months later. At the time I wrote: 'I believe that ...
David Cameron has faced criticism today that public sector cuts are undermining his "big society" idea. I would have to agree, but the problem doesn't stem from the cuts, the problem stems from an idea that wasn't thought through fully before it was announced. I remember watching David Cameron's speech to the Conservative party conference last autumn (not something I'm known for watching I should add), and I was amused to see the ranks of bemused and blank expressions when he came to his passage about the "big society". If he knew exactly what he meant - they didn't and ...
There's a Love Gorton event at the Monastery on Sunday 13th February. It starts at 12 noon and should go on until 4. Lots of local groups will be there and it should be a great event.
The National Association of Voluntary and Community Associations (NAVCA) has praised the Lib Dem- Conservative Coalition Administration of Reading Borough Council for its decision to increase funding to the voluntary sector in Reading, whilst some other local councils are cutting funding to community groups. Kevin Curley, Chief Executive has written to the Leader of the Council, Andrew Cumpsty: Mr Curley wrote: "The voluntary sector makes a vitally important contribution to the quality of life, especially for disadvantaged people in every part of England. This is especially true when economic conditions are harsh." He said it had proved "all too easy" ...
Earlier today, Anton Vowl linked to this advert for trainee reporters at the Daily Mail. I'm not looking for a job at the moment, but something about the phrase "200 words on why you think you could be a Mail journalist" got my attention. And so, this: Waking up this morning, I discovered I'd slept 16% less than the previous night. Extensive research of my prejudices revealed that this was due to a new European directive on sleeping, and I immediately called several self-appointed experts who slammed this decision to wake up early. I skipped breakfast, having discovered scientific studies ...
Check out our sister blog - WestHampsteadSpotlight.blogspot.com for details.
Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Lord Oakeshott said:"Non-dom status is the biggest tax loophole in Britain," ."We must redouble our efforts to make non-doms pay a fair share.""The £30,000 non-dom poll tax is a joke - it's only the tip they give the waitress after drinks in the directors' box at Chelsea or Manchester City."
I wrote the other week about how I'd become a Godmother - not to a cute wee baby, but to a UN Agency promoting women's rights and gender equality. I've done my first godmotherly duty - adding to my MP Graeme Morrice's inbox. He's been good at replying to me so far - very positively on Gamu Nhengu's charity single for the Aberlour Trust and thoroughly, even if I didn't agree, on AV. Here's the letter I've sent him today asking him to support the Godmothers' aims to see UN Women properly funded. I think that our Government should lead ...
Charlie Brooker has an absolutely brilliant article on the Guardian's Comment is Free. You should go and read the whole thing but here's a highlight to tantalise you: Here's an idea: get Ed to seal himself inside a featureless metal cube and insist on conducting all political business from within it. And vow never to be seen in public outside the box. No nerdy face for us to judge, no wet mannerisms to chortle at. Nothing to get a glib critical foothold on. Just cold, blank steel. Ditch the name Ed Miliband and insist on being referred to as "CUBE ...
Linden Wates (West Hampstead) Limited have submitted a Planning Application with Camden for the Gondar Gardens Reservoir site. Details here. (Note: I'll be raising with Camden the error on the website that says that comments closed a few days before the application was submitted!) At first glance it looks the same application that they've discussed with residents over the last few months ie 16 x 4 bedroom homes. However, only very minimal details are available on the Camden website at the moment (it normally takes them a few days to get the associated documents viewable) so residents and councillors will ...
As the Federal Party prepares for the Spring Conference, in Nick Clegg's homeland of Sheffield, Liberal Democrat policy making, now we are in Coalition Government, is proving pointless. The award of a National Defence medal, to hundreds of thousands of veterans who have been prepared to put their life on the line to keep the Nation safe and secure, was the first policy motion approved by the Liberal Democrat Party since being in Coalition Government. A veteran's medal fund ensures there is no cost to the public purse surrounding this policy. A review of service medals was contained in the ...
We are told party membership is in decline and a healthy party is a healthy membership and so this decline means all parties are in trouble. Party members struggle to cite positive aspects of being a member of the party and so it will be even harder for non members to find reasons to join; ...
I had a tweet from my friend Nikki the other day letting me know I'd had a mention in an interview Edinburgh Liberal Democrat Councillor Paul Edie had given to the Guardian about his blog. It's a really interesting chat with Paul. He talks about how blogging gives people a much more rounded view of politicians. This is certainly true - even Labour MPs have been found to be human via the medium of blogging or Twitter. Tom Harris always had his love of Doctor Who as a redeeming feature, for example. He was asked what other blogs he liked ...
There has been some discussion on politicalbetting.com over the past few days about the differences between the political culture of the Nordic countries and that of the UK. Contributors were highlighting the higher levels of education in the region versus the vituperation that is the norm in the British political discourse. It is customary at this point to make some kind of self critical comment about the destructiveness of the highly personal and adversarial politics in the UK. However I don't entirely feel that this is justified. The fact is that the high seriousness of the debate in, for example, ...
Alistair Campbell is to appear just up the road from the Yes! to Fairer Votes offices in Belfast today to speak to students at Queens about his new book People and Power. Speaking in today's Belfast Telegraph he says Northern Ireland's peace process was "one of the most compelling" issues of his Downing Street career. Whilst for Alistair it is compelling for those of us who are living with the new threats of security alerts all over the province in recent days it is still ongoing. Admittedly what Campbell's boss, Tony Blair, enabled here in Northern Ireland has taken us ...
Yesterday I learned that one of my regular customers at work had passed away when I was off sick. Geoff was in his nineties, but very fit. He would come in every sunday, on his bike; a little unsteady on his pins when walking, but fully at home and at speed when cycling. He was one of the few customers who would get automatic hugs when he was leaving, and I shall miss him. The other death of note is, of course, gary moore. I'm composing this on my phone, so embedding a load of you tube videos is difficult, ...
According to the Independent former Home Secretary, David Blunkett claims that his mobile phone was illegally hacked by journalists while he was in charge of police, prisons and anti-terrorism at one of the most sensitive government departments. David Blunkett is widely credited as being the architect of some of Labour's most illiberal laws, undermining the liberties of ordinary citizens and bolstering the surveillance state. That does not justify any journalist illegally tapping into his phone after juicy gossip or anything else of course. That sort of activity is wholly unacceptable and perpetrators should be prosecuted with the full weight of ...
The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2005 that the UK's ban on prisoners voting was unlawful. The matter has now wended its way forward in time to a need for action. So – should prisoners get the vote? As far as my own vote on Thursday (in what is a debate accepted by the Back Bench committee) I will vote for prisoners to get the vote. It is not one of the issues that exercises me hugely – but I understand from the tabloids that it is an issue that does exercise a lot of people. Apart from ...
The news reported yesterday that apparently Ed Miliband is indicating he does not want to share a platform with Nick Clegg in the AV referendum campaign, despite the fact that they will be campaigning for the same side has caused a bit of a stir. Some of my fellow Lib Dems seem a bit put out. As far as I am concerned though this is fair enough. The Lib Dems are below 10% in some polls. Miliband's suggestion that Nick Clegg is politically "toxic" is taking it a bit far but equally he is hardly flavour of the month either. ...
Paul Staines, who blogs as Guido Fawkes, really is a cunt. Sorry for the strong language but he really is such a twat that I think it's justified. The reason that I say this is because, in addition to the raving right wing nutters who hang out in the comments and such delightful behaviour as the spreading of false rumours about William Hague that resulted in his aide being forced to resign, today he saw fit to post on his blog the following, charming picture: Now, I'm not one of these humourless morons who sneers at political cartoonists, or even ...
Over on the Open Rights Group blog, Jason Kitcat has recounted the recent meeting hosted by the Cabinet Office about the government's plans to improve data sharing across the public sector in order to improve electoral registration, particularly as we shift to individual registration (the benefits of which I've blogged about here). These plans could range from the helpful (such as giving people the option when, say, telling the TV Licensing Authority that they have moved also to have the information sent to update their electoral register entry) through to the very different (such as linking up tax records with ...
[IMG: Mobile World Congress Logo] It's nearly time for Mobile World Congress – the glittering jewel in the European mobile tech scene. I'm going along with WAC and will be presenting and schmoozing on their behalf. This blog post – and all others on this site – is personal commentary and does not reflect the opinions of WAC or its members. With that said – here are my top five predictions for what we'll see at Mobile World Congress 2011! 1 – Nokia To Announce Android HandsetAll the engineers at Nokia are busy pouring their hearts and minds into MeeGo. ...
1. Alex Massie is the new King of the Scottish Blogosphere at 34 2. I rise to 37, but I have had a very good month in terms of Lib Dem Voice Golden Dozens and they also did a profile of me. Can I keep this up in February, with a school holiday in the offing? 3. Subrosa falls to 52 4. Underdogs Bite Upwards is only in once this month, falling to 77 5. Better Nation rises to 89 6. Andrew Reeves falls to 92, but he has had other things, like his wedding, on his mind 7. Lallands ...
The link is to the judgment for a Court of Protection Case where costs were awarded against the local authority.It is nice to know of judges who don't mind taking against the local authority. However, the processes here are too complex for what are relatively straightforward issues which should be litigated by exception rather than of a matter of course.
Apparently we have a Ministry for Tourism and it is thinking of abolishing the May Day bank holiday and replacing it with one in October, possible to be called UK Day (ugh!) or even Trafalgar Day (double ugh!) In my view if any of the spring bank holidays is to be abolished it should be exactly that, the Spring Bank Holiday. This was originally the Whitsuntide Holiday but was replaced to a fixed day (since Whitsuntide, like Easter, is a movable feast)by Harold Wilson's government, hence it was know for a while as "Wilsontide." Since it no longer has any ...
One of the things I'm really excited about at the moment is the forthcoming introduction of University Technical Colleges. The aim is to have 20 of them up and running but 2012 with up to 40 eventually being established. In brief, these are establishments for students aged 14-19 which will focus on more vocational style education with a heavy emphasis on science, engineering, technology and mathematics. They're to be sponsored by universities, FE colleges and local businesses in addition to state funding, which should help improve the educational system. Anyone who wants to will be able to choose to go ...
Political Reform It is my firm belief that nothing in this country can significantly change for the better without two key obstacles being removed. One of these is our political system. Our political system is an obstacle due to the way that it fails to represents what the people actually want. Roughly 65% of the votes go to Labour and the Conservatives between them which translates into roughly 80% of the seats in the House of Commons. However, over 80% of constituencies haven't changed hands since the Second World War and only 6% of voters decide the outcome of the ...
Fan Translates 139,000-Word Russian Rewrite of The Lord of ... "In the 15-year-old book, Yeskov re-wrote Tolkien's masterpiece from the point of view of Mordor" (tags: sf) 'New era' as Prince Charles visits Belfast Catholic church - Northern Ireland, Local & National - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk Not just Prince Charles, but Peter Robinson too! (tags: northernireland) The lost rivers of London I love this sort of thing! (tags: geography history england) mevennen: Melissa Mia Hall What the British system is really like. I'm not myself its biggest fan - it seems to me that the Belgian system, which has a minimal charge ...
David Cameron tells us that multiculturalism has failed. Well that's the headline and that's the bit everyone will remember. Mr Cameron mostly speaks about terrorism and is at pains to ensure that he says the right thing. He tries hard not to criticise any particular ethnic minority or any particular religion. Unfortunately he does. "Nevertheless, we should acknowledge that this threat (terrorism) comes in Europe overwhelmingly from young men who follow a completely perverse, warped interpretation of Islam". So it's alright to criticise young Islamic men then. He tells us that part of the problem is that "these young men ...
