The threat of another all-night was too much for their Lordships, who have finally ceded to the Government's will and passed the Parliamentary Reform and Constituencies Act. Their was some parliamentary ping-pong for a bit tonight, with the Commons and Lords voting opposite ways and sending the Bill between the two places, with an amendment ...
I've had a sister, Elizabeth, for the last 14 years, who a few weeks ago casually (but entirely seriously) announced over dinner that they wanted to be a daddy. I now have a brother who we are trying to remember to call James. I've seen this coming for a few years so I'm not very surprised - James has been a tomboy since he had any autonomy at all and says he's known since he was about five or six. He's already seeing a psych at the local hospital's CAMHS unit, as he's mildly autistic, so my mum is seeking ...
From The Publican site: Communities should be given a six-month window to decide if they want to buy a threatened local pub, an MP has argued. During a Westminster Hall debate today, Lib Dem Greg Mulholland said the current government "right to buy" proposals would have no "substantial effect". A government consultation on what is now being called a community "right to challenge" was launched earlier this month - and ends on May 3. Mulholland said: "It's not actually a community right to buy, it's a community right to try." "It's a right to put a bid together. The question ...
Residents of Eaglescliffe ward might have noticed that recently we've been doing quite a bit of canvassing opinion, not just about which way you might vote in the council elections coming up but also about preferences for green waste bags, what's good and bad about the area and our voting system for MPs. Opinions have varied enormously, except for one thing: What's good about Eaglescliffe
So 2011 started with a bang. Quite literally; the bang of gunfire. Two hundred and nineteen dead, that's two hundred and nineteen. It makes the London tuition fees protests look.... tame? Let me introduce today's guest publication; The Life and Death of Democracy - John Keane It can be thoroughly recommended. Though, in light of recent events, it would seem Mr. Keane will need to rethink, because right now democracy seems very, much, alive. As the dēmos, in approximately 500BC, risked their lives to overthrow the powerful aristocracy in Athens, thousands of street protesters took to the streets in Tunisia, ...
It's fair to say Eric Pickles isn't the most popular minister in the coalition government with Lib Dems. I have been disappointed with many of his initiatives which often promise to devolve power but often take away power as much as they give. Ultimately, I just don't think he believes in decentralisation if it doesn't go the way he wants. If you decentralise power it will be delivered differently everywhere. That's not a bad thing. Both parties in the coalition (and apparently Labour too) believe in localism but too often national politicians cannot resist keeping control. The main freedom we ...
My Comment is Free article on yesterday's most important political story now has 154 comments. This is far more than I have received on that site before. And most of them are more sensible and more amiable than you usually get there too.
Individual cases of unfortunate citizens are often brought up at Prime Minister's Questions. A very powerful example of this was the subject of the first question today from John Mann (Labour). He cited the case of Gladys Hunt, whose care home fees have recently gone up by the staggering amount of £400 a week. Cameron replied that an extra £2 billion is going into adult care and that he'll look into Mrs Hunt's case. Unusually, a Conservative MP raised the next question about a constituent in dire straits. This was Millie d'Cruz, who suffers from metachromatic leukodystrophy, and whose family ...
Jock Coats, writing on his OXfr33 blog, find he is in danger of being convinced by the Big Society narrative. With the BBC trailing its new adaptation of the novel, Cambridge Ward Liberal Democrats from Southport offer a timely look at Winifred Holtby's South Riding. And they quote a killer passage from the novel: "But when I came to consider local government, I began to see how it was in essence the first line defence thrown up by the community against our common enemies - poverty, sickness, ignorance, isolation, and social maladjustment. The battle is not faultlessly conducted, nor are ...
More good local housing news this week - Council-owned housing in Reading has met Decent Homes Standard. The standard requires that social housing: Must meet the current statutory minimum standard for housingMust be in a reasonable state of repairMust have reasonably modern facilities and services.Must provide a reasonable degree of thermal comfort.From the Council's official press release: "In the last six years the Council has replaced over 2,000 bathrooms, 2,500 boilers and 2,600 kitchens in addition to over 1,300 homes fully refurbished in north Whitley under the Affinity PFI project. In 2000, the Government set local authorities a target to ...
I'm a bit late, but I wanted to mark the passing of Ken Olsen, founder and CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation. I ought to, he created the job which paid off about a third of my mortgage. CBR online has an excellent tribute to the man, concluding nicely as follows: Olsen had his faults, don't get us wrong – he was resistant to change, never got the PC thing at all, and possibly believed in himself knowing more what was right for his customers than was always true. But as an innovator, engineer, company builder, visionary and pioneer, he needs ...
This morning on the way to work I helped a young woman who collapsed in the street in front of me in on a traffic island on Caversham Road in central Reading. I did what I hope anyone would do in an emergency situation and stayed with her while I called for help. Although I am Lead Member for Health I am not a medic and I would like to pay tribute to the other passers by who assisted her and also to members of the South Central Ambulance Trust who on the scene arrived so quickly after I called ...
This road "repair" was done by Norfolk County Council outside the police station in my Taverham North Ward in Thorpe Marriott. Rather than doing a proper repair, all the bits of broken road were simply put back in the whole like a jigsaw. The "repair" was broken again within days. Is this what we pay council tax for ? I wonder if they fought over who put the last piece of the jigsaw in place ?
Further to the meeting of the Fairer Votes campaign that I recently hosted, this evening, I was pleased to visit the Dundee Fairer Votes Office at the Micro-computing Centre of the University of Dundee, on its opening day. Here's Robin Ford, who is leading the local team, at the office (right). Help the Yes to Fairer Votes campaign here in Dundee - call 0755 703 5535 or e-mail yesdundee@gmail.com.
The BSFA award for non-fiction is a peculiar pancake, as Sergeant Pluck might have said. Three of this year's nominees are blog entries; to be precise, seventeen blog entries, one by Abigail Nussbaum, four by Paul Kincaid and twelve by Adam Roberts. One is a book, and one a series of podcasts. My final vote will have to wait until I have sampled (or decided not to sample) the Notes from Coode Street podcast; I reviewed the book earlier this evening, and I look at the blog nominees below, with some further reflections on the shortlist as a whole. Adam ...
This morning's Guardian Diary trills: Campus envy likely in the Commons today when MP Chris Leslie unveils his 10-minute rule bill calling for an end to the practice of Oxford and Cambridge Universities giving graduates a free master's degree."Converting an Oxbridge bachelor's degree into an MA regardless of academic merit is unfair," says Leslie. "Two hundred thousand postgraduate students in the other 100 UK universities have to study, sit exams and earn their MAs."This will do nothing to reassure those of us who think this column used to be far, far better than it is now. Because the debate took ...
This morning, following the meeting about pedestrian safety at the Tullideph Road/City Road junction that local residents' group Community Spirit and I had with City Council officers on 2nd February, we had a follow-up meeting at the junction. It was a useful discussion about safety at the junction and City Council road safety officers have offered to attend a future Community Spirit meeting to discuss concerns with local residents. I then attended a meeting with Education officers about the building programme for the replacement Park Place Primary School, St Joseph's Primary School and Park Place Nursery School. Thereafter, I attended ...
This is a really interesting book, a light on an important period of history (the Soviet Union from 1959 to 1969) of which I knew much less than I had realised, looked at through the eyes of true believers in the economic system of Communism as it developed under Khrushchev, who were then bitterly disappointed as Brezhnev and Kosygin (and later Brezhnev alone) took over. I grew up at the tail end of the Brezhnev era, when the Soviet system seemed monolithic and permanent; subsequent events proved that in fact it was not nothing of the kind, and Spufford's book ...
10 canine commandments Worth remembering these if you are, or are thinking of being, a dog owner. Definitely a few that I forget at times. (tags: dogs) Moving Right Along - a Doctor Who fanvid. Very silly Drags in part, but rather well done. (tags: video Doctor+Who) Royal Wedding Sick Bags - have you throne up into one? Sold out, naturally... (tags: humour merchandising) Liberalism vs Multiculturalism - Jesus and Mo Does anyone have a definition of the word multiculturalism that all sides can support and agree on? It's one of those perpetual footballs that everyone uses to mean different ...
Yesterday a work mate mentioned to me Bill Bryson's (CPRE* Chairman) campaign to force Network Rail to clean up litter around their land. This is reported in detail in several papers as in the Mail here. Basically he (Bryson) wants rubbish cleared up, it sounds not unreasonable and he says "This is not a complicated or controversial issue" . Still assuming he gets his way and network rail clean up and every bit of track and stations are squeaky clean so as not to offend Mr Bryson the costs will be phenomenal and what will it solve long term. A ...
I was going to give a long ponderous opinion on the de-selection of Cllr Mark Nottingham as a Labour candidate, however as I said last night Labour are digging a big hole, it seems to me to be a big ask, even from Clive Hart to suggest than Mark Nottingham has not been a hard working representative for Northwood also Cllr Clive Hart must explain why he has not followed through with his pledge to resign. Also bewildered Labour party members must be asking what sort of strategy or thinking Clive Hart is following for the May council elections by ...
You know I'm no fan of the Government's plans for religious civil partnerships. But the reaction from the Church of England to the proposals is complete nonsense. The Government plans to open up the ability for those entering into a civil partnership to have religious readings, texts, etc at their wedding and perhaps even hold it in a religious setting (such a Liberal Synagogue). It is not forcing religions to change their beliefs or coercing them to perform civil partnerships. Yet the reaction from the Church of England would appear to suggest otherwise. Here's the latest: The Bishop of Blackburn, ...
Once again the 'Stun' and the 'Tory Mail' continue to hoodwink the electorate - the former with outlandish tales of Council's wasting money on "surveys, adverts, questionnaires, public meetings, letter drops, focus groups and adverts to explain the impact of budget cuts" and the latter leading with an article yesterday on " Doing your civic duty never paid so well: How councillors' payouts have soared as local services face savage cuts". It is somewhat galling for a first time campaigner like me to read this type of irresponsible journalism. Fact - the electorate WANT an open and accountable Local Authority ...
Michael Morpurgo gave the Richard Dimbleby lecture last night on children's rights. It was an inspiring lecture that really touched me. He referred to the UN Convention on Children's Rights. Some of the things mentioned in there are so basic that you wouldn't even think that there are children in the world to whom these do not apply i.e right to a name and a right to play. I take these things for granted. What Michael Morpurgo said reminded me of a scene from the movie called 'Kite Runner' where the children in an orphanage in Afghanistan had to hide ...
Disabled people who want to become MPs, councillors or other elected officials will have access to a fund to help them overcome the barriers they face, under Government proposals published today. A £1 million package, including training and mentoring programmes are planned, following the recommendations made by the cross-party Speaker's Conference in January 2010 on how to improve the representation of women, disabled people and minority ethnic people in the House of Commons. Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said, We are committed to cleaning up politics and restoring the trust of the people in Parliament. A key tool in doing this ...
Another argument from No2AV is that the Alternative Vote is a 'voting system that nobody wants'. This isn't true. Labour's manifesto [pdf] pledged a referendum on AV on the basis that the system will "ensure that every MP is supported by the majority of their constituents voting at each election". Press a No2AV supporter on this and they'll explain that they meant to say is that it wasn't in either of the Coalition partners' manifestos. This is true. The Conservatives have long advocated keeping the current First Past The Post system, whereas the Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for a ...
There has been a certain amount of heated debate today about the ruling by the Supreme Court that people on the sex offenders register should have the right to appeal being on said list. Do I think sex offenders should ... Continue reading →
Inspired by the example of 38degrees (who know a thing or two about these things), I've just signed up Flock Together to the excellent-looking uservoice system. Click on the 'Feedback' tab to the left, or go directly to the Uservoice site to have your say about how Flock Together can improve and I'll do my best (in my free time) to implement the suggested changes.
Eric Pickles has come up with another great wheeze - subjecting the pay deals of all local government employeess who get over £100,000 a year to a vote of all councillors. Unlike the LGA, I'm all for it. I think most councillors accept that we need to pay quite a lot to get people of top quality to run council services. But that does not mean that we need to pay over the odds. I'm certain that, if implemented nationwide, we could still get top notch people with the right experience to do a first rate job. When Cornwall Council ...
As you may know, the Yes to Fairer Votes campaign, who are trying persuade people to vote 'Yes' in the AV referendum on the 5th of May. They're doing well at the moment, with a recent poll giving the Yes campaign a 10 point lead and I fully expect us to win the referendum provided we keep up the good work. However, even if we lose I still think this campaign will have achieved something. In Surrey about 20 people (including myself) formed a local Take Back Parliament group (TBP is the campaign which organised, amongst other things, two massive ...
The Friends of Rock Road Library are organizing a meeting on Wednesday 2nd March to discuss the County Council's planned cuts to the Cambridgeshire library services and possible changes. They aim to come up with a strategy to preserve our local library and keep it open. The meeting will be 7.30 – 9.00 at the library. Your Lib Dem councillors will be present to support the library campaign, and so will Christine May, the Acting Head of Libraries, Archives and Information at the County Council. The Friends are also putting on a wine-tasting event on Friday 4th March. Further details ...
This link gives a story in French on Belgian TV about the protest on Monday and the forced adoption system in England. This is about 17 mins in.
The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Tom Elliott has today called for a transition in Northern Irish politics over the next 5 years to bring the system of mandatory coalition government to an end and to bring in an official opposition in Stormont. Tom Elliott - Ulster Unionist leader I find this report on the BBC website today that details his call a fascinating one as it goes to the heart of the delicate party political climate that currently exists in Northern Ireland. I have a particular interest in Irish politics as previous blog posts allude to here ...
Wed 16th
15:59
Planning Committee - 15/2/2011 - Part 9 - Change of use from business premises to residential, Tranm...
Cllr Kenny said it would not set a precedent as each application would be decided on its merits. Cllr Kelly said he was not overly convinced that a loss of a small unit would be harmful to employment prospects. He asked for advice regarding reasons for approval and said it had been better in Claughton ...
Lord Knight is gloating about the Lords' steadfastness in the face of democracy, as the 40% turnout clause is reinstated in the AV referendum bill. It's a little bit worrying that the unelected Lords insist that neither the elected House of Commons nor the voting public can be trusted in matters of electoral process. Lord Knight says, "They need to compromise." So, everybody, just how little influence in the running of the country do you think voters should settle for? Are the Lords aware that 40% is a very high turnout figure these days? Most elections (i.e. local, not general) ...
George Kendall's piece on Julian Assange was quite good. If it wasn't I'd scarcely bother replying. And no, I am not Mr Assange's spokesman, but as Mr Assange's spokesman is quite busy I thought I'd jump in and attempt a defence. Firstly I think Tunisia is a bit of a red herring here, and it would in any case provide only an empirical proof to say that Wikileaks is good or bad based upon one revolution or several. It would say nothing about the general morality. I'd much rather argue from general principles, as George Kendall then goes on to ...
Wed 16th
15:44Planning Committee - 15/2/2011 - Part 8 - Change of use from business premises to residential, Tranm...
Cllr Kenny sai he understood planning officers. However just a few yards away were residential properties. He said it was similar to item 10 and he had no objection to the application. He said exceptional circumstance dictated approval. Cllr Mitchell asked about proof. An officer said there was a difference between items 4 and 10. ...
The new markings on Bury Old Road fter a period of consultation the Council is to press ahead with a short strip of "no parking, no waiting, no loading" near to Sealand House (near Orange Hill Road) on Bury Old Road. The small area of no parking, on the attached diagram, will make it safer around the pedestrian refuge here, and avoid a couple of incidently where cars have hit the signs on the refuge in the middle of the road. Any comments please get in touch. Tim
Wed 16th
15:35Planning Committee - 15/2/2011 - Part 7 - Change of use from business premises to residential, Tranm...
The committee then considered item 4 – Change of use to two self contained ground floor apartments with single storey extension and rear staircase in Argyle Street South, Tranmere. The officer said that it was an application for a residence in an industrial area and there was not sufficient justification. Cllr Phil Davies (ward councillor ...
The committee then moved onto consider item 7 – the erection of a two storey rear extension in Greasby. The officer said the main objection had been from a neighbour at number 6. The objection had led to the relocation of the bathroom window which was now obscurely glazed. She referred to the site visit ...
It's the policies that matter, not the presentation. To be a director of strategy in politics is fraught with so many contradictions that the newly appointed Andrew Cooper will probably spend the first few weeks trying to define his role. Everyone, from the Prime Minister to Larry the rat-catching cat, will have a different interpretation of what that is. The military now understands that the traditional approach of "strategic" to "operational" to "tactical" is no longer applicable in a modern world. Instead they have accepted that due to the speed of global communication from mediums like WikiLeaks, 24-hour news and ...
Cllr Gilchrist asked about distances and whether the nearest house was less than 30m away. He also asked what materials the canopy would be constructed of as he would prefer it to absorb rather than reflect the sound. The officer replied that the material used would be glass and that separation distances don't apply as ...
1. At Prime Minister's Questions, I love the way that, whenever a Liberal Democrat MP asks the Prime Minister what might be called a constructively critical question, David Cameron invariably commences his answer: "My Honourable Friend makes a very important point..." 2. Today's World At One on BBC Radio 4 made the startling announcement that Iran is now part of "the Arab world".Who moved it? When will they put it back? This is the most dramatic development of the current crisis and raises all sorts of intriguing possibilities. Perhaps the next series of Spooks will revolve around a secret weapon ...
The 12 Star Gallery at the European Commission's London representation in London this lunchtime played host to a group of young single mums from Cumbria and Northumberland for the launch of a photographic exhibition that is part of a project connected to the 2010 European Year of Poverty and Social Exclusion. The idea of the scheme ...
An environmental health officer confirmed the petitioner's comments that there was an officer out tonight and that there was an event on tonight. A noise analyzer had been in place since 17th January, which would be left in an extra week. He said a crucial factor was whether it was a statutory nuisance or a ...
Looks like the collaborative spirit of the coalition has spread into fashion too, as Chief Secretary to the Treasury does a Hague and sports a baseball cap. Good spot Nick Thornsby!
[IMG: Visiting the site of the proposed new house] Local residents have only a few more days to have their say on new plans for a 5 bedroom house to be built on garden space behind Elyne, Quernmore and Stapleton Hall Roads in the Stroud Green Conservation Area. Following an earlier botched consultation by the Council where letters went to the wrong addresses, I've got the deadline for resident responses extended until this Monday 21 February. This new application follows a very similar previous application last summer, which was rejected by the Council following scores of objections from local residents ...
The architect Chris Taylor then addressed some of his points. He pointed out that the area had been previously used as a balcony. He said the design of the canopy wouldn't lead to an increase in noise. Cllr Ellis (ward councillor for the area) said he supported Mr. Johnson's concerns. He mentioned the house and ...
As we are seeing in Hull some cuts that are being made in response to the financial crisis are painful. But I am becoming increasingly amazed at some of the hyperbole that is around at the moment. Take my current top three. 3. The Leader of Manchester Council apparently believes the cuts in Manchester are more painful than the terrorist atrocity. 2. The TUC believe that the Big Society will turn Britain into Somalia. And the number one OTT statement goes to Mr.Alan Bennett 1. "Closing Libraries is Child abuse" - Yes child abuse, he is actually quoted as saying ...
It is certainly not the end, but it may be the beginning of the end of the long debate about parking charges across Cornwall, and in Launceston in particular. Cornwall Council's Cabinet this morning agreed the new set of charges that will apply from the beginning of April. In doing so, they ignored the protestations of thousands of local residents including many who attended the meeting to make one last push for fairness. The new charges will see average rises of more than 45% for those who pay by the hour and the season ticket prices will rise from £195 ...
The petitioner handed round a diagram to the committee members and told them his name was Steve Johnson. He told them his parents lived nearby and that he had two objections. He felt the application for a canopy was a change of use and referred to a previous application. He felt it was not a ...
So here we are a fortnight or so since Andy Gray was dismissed by Sky and Richard Keys followed him out of the door They are working together over on talkSPORT with a daily 10-1 show that is probably rather interesting. I will admit to not having listened to it but I think they've found ...
The meeting started with the Chair, Cllr Mitchell welcoming those present to the meeting. The minutes of the meeting held on the 25th January were agreed. Cllr Elderton declared a prejudicial interest in item 6. Cllr Johnson asked for a site visit for item 6 (Sheldrake's Restaurant in Heswall) and Cllr Keeley asked for a ...
It is not only Ed Miliband's policy book that is blank. Since becoming Labour lead he has failed to build a persona with which the public can identify him. Ask most people what they know about him, and they would probably say he is the one the beat his brother, and isn't married, i.e. they ...
Well, it's official. I'm now one of those slimy political bastards you'd do well to avoid - whatever you do, don't trust a word I say. And that includes that last statement. And that one as well. And that, and this, and oh bother I've confused myself. Right, let's start again. Last night I went to the Guildford Lib Dems' constituency office for an interview. As a result, I have been approved as a council candidate. I still don't know precisely where I'll be standing (though I do have a preference for Christchurch) and the party may not decide exactly ...
Last week saw much excitement when 90 leading Liberal Democrat councillors wrote to the Times criticising the leadership of Eric Pickles. I was not one of them. In 2009 I thought long and hard about the circumstances in which such letters are appropriate and as a result offer 6 tests: Is the objective clear? Is the objective likely to be more achievable as a result of the letter? Does it avoid attacking our own side? Is the timing appropriate? Is the medium appropriate? Does it avoid looking elitist and self-regarding? The letter to the Guardian from members of the Federal ...
I doubt if any of us who signed last week's letter to The Times imagined that it would leave its target, Eric Pickles, chastened. But his announcement today that the government will require councils to hold a public debate on any appointments of officers on a salary of £100,000 or more removes any lingering doubt. There are a few points that arise here. I have a gut feeling (though sadly not enough time to research) that in my working lifetime salaries of high earners and senior managers have gone up proportionately more than those at lower end of the salary ...
Sir, You report the No 2 AV campaign as claiming that introducing the alternative vote will require the use of expensive counting machines (Telegraph, 15 February 2011). There is only one problem with this claim: it is untrue. The alternative vote is used by many voluntary and civic organisations in the UK and for elections at different levels around the world without needing counting machines. Its close cousin, the supplementary vote, which also uses vote transfers, has also been used in cities around the UK without needing counting machines either. Moreover, the Electoral Commission has confirmed that it has no ...
I would never have thought previously that plans for the Council to provide play areas for local children could be controversial , but those before Bury Council's Planning Committee last night certainly became so. SEDGLEY PARK BALL ZONE This was the most controversial of the two. Plans proposed a multi-use enclosed ball zone situated on spare land at Sedgley Park School on Bishops Road, Prestwich. Main opposition came for the local orthodox jewish community that feared an increase in anti-social behaviour and anti-semitism. Officers responded to these concerns by placing a condition on the proposals that the site be monitored ...
A bit of a cheat today everyone as I'm a tad pushed; here's my piece from LDV on Friday. You can see the original with comments here. But you're here now so may as well read this one.... In my recent piece on LDV entitled "there are better adjectives for the Labour Party than 'progressive'", a fairly gentle poke at the rebranding of the opposition, two themes emerged from those with opposing views. They can be summed up as 'Why don't you lot ever disagree with the Tories' and 'get your own house in order first'. Well you know, I ...
The Council have only given the public one consultation event in which to have their say on the budget, despite it being the toughest we've ever faced. I think that' s ridiculous, but there's a loophole which I invite everyone to try and exploit if they want. The budget proposals have to go before the Council's ...
To help make your campaigning as easy as possible, we've gathered together some of the essential campaign tools, paperwork and information that you'll need as the campaign goes on. Do let us know if there is anything else that you need and we will add it in. Campaign artwork tools Liberal Democrat fonts: Helvetica Neue & Andrew Garratt only (zip file) Liberal Democrat fonts: other useful fonts (zip file) Liberal Democrat logos (zip file) Liberal Democrat clipart Liberal Democrat colours Buy PagePlus 11 software Buy PagePlus x4 software More campaign resources also available on the Liberal Democrat Members' Site Campaign ...
As a tax professional, it's not often people ask me about what I do in my day job. Sure, people will occasionally ask me about their personal tax returns, but UK corporation tax on foreign companies and branches? Not even my insomniac friends are that masochistic. So I was surprised to see my local party debating this very subject (or so it seemed) based on an article George Monbiot wrote in The Guardian. I was curious: I've worked in corporate tax for 17 years, for professional firms and companies, large and small, and contributed to consultations by HM Treasury and ...
[IMG: Christoper Fowler - The Water Room] Christopher Fowler's The Water Room is another outing for his Peculiar Crimes Unit and its detectives Arthur Bryant and John May, with London's lost underground rivers playing a central part. As with the other titles in the series, Fowler takes the traditional - even clichéd - murder mystery framework from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but gives it a contemporary and very London setting. That emphasis on the details of London is one of the book's real charms given how much detective fiction is dominated by American settings. In The Water ...
After weeks of the Lords filibustering with the Parliamentary Voting Systems and Constituencies Bill the House of Commons looks set to get it through in a few days, no doubt to cries from Labour of the coalition government bulldozing an unpopular bill through Parliament. In the wake of this rapid progress through the Commons comes ...Read the Rest
I've been reading about various self-published authors who are selling frankly obscene amounts of their books on the Kindle, and one thing they all have in common is that they sell at least one book for 99 cents. Now, I've been selling reasonably (though hardly enough to give up the day job), but I want ...
The executive met today to discuss the budget. What was very interesting was to compare and contrast with last week's coverage of Manchester's budget. Take Sure Start. Last week's coverage gave the impression that the Sure Start Centres were going to close. Prominent Labour Councillors were filmed taking part in demos outside their Sure Start centres holding placards. Today it was admitted, they are not going to close, though the Council is looking for new partners / new groups to share management. In fact Labour today stated that they'd never said that they were to close. Pity those Councillors on ...
[IMG: Wedding rings] The Marriage Act of 1836 (6&7 William IV, c.85) has been in the news thanks to the Government's decision to repeal the restrictions on when people can get married. The current requirement for marriages to be held between 8am and 6pm is set to go as part of the Freedoms Bill, but why was the restriction ever introduced in the first place? The answer to that is a neat illustration of how regulations do not exist in a vacuum but have to fit with the current social context. In addition to introducing civil registration of marriages, the ...
There was an interesting small piece in the metro today: "Ecstasy does not impair the mental abilities of those who take it, a new study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the US claims. In contrast to previous studies, it used volunteers who weren't substance users or ravers. It said Ecstasy does not cause cognitive impairment - provided it is uncontaminated." There wasn't even a headline to it, just in a small box sandwiched between a story on being able to tell an unhealthy lifestyle from your skin in just two minutes and a picture of a ...
Yet another email scam, which it looks as though the spam engines haven't caught up with yet. An email is sent claiming you've sent £6.87 to Parcel Monkey, and to click a link if you dispute this. Of course, you didn't send a payment, but the links go to a completely different web site, with goodness knows what software waiting there to trap the unwary. The full text of the scam is below. Hello, You sent a payment of 6.87 GBP to Parcel Monkey Ltd (parcelconnect@googlemail.com) It may take a few moments for this transaction to appear in your ...
The following video is from my comments at the launch of the West Midlands AV campaign.Visit www.yestofairervotes.org for more info and to get involved in the campaign for better democracy"
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Islamofascist dictator of Iran, has once again blamed Israel and others for orchestrating clandestine actions that inspired the demonstrations this week; refusing to acknowledge his rule is unpopular and administration is illegitimate – after preventing fair and ... Continue reading →
My gut reaction, other than revulsion, to yesterday's story on abuse of the elderly within the NHS was uh oh, 'research abuse' and 'policy by headline' alert. Digesting just the headlines, "Appalling neglect" – Telegraph "NHS to evict elderly" – Daily Mail "Ageist doctors" – Time and the grim details in the case studies in the Abraham report, this summary from the Daily Mash nails it: "NHS forcing old people into bare-knuckle boxing" But how many case studies are covered by the Report? The answer is ten. This out of around 1,600 'properly made' complaints to the ombudsman about the ...
You have to take off your hat to Tony Page for giving a breathtaking display of chutzpah that seeks to hide a party completely bereft of ideas. His latest lapse into losing touch with reality is his claiming the credit for "forcing" the council to have a public consultation over the problem of kerbside parking. Of course, it is nothing of the sort. There is no victory for Labour. It is a loss for local council tax payers and the local democratic process. What really happened is that as part of the consultation process all councillors were asked to consult ...
Listen to Liberal Democrats make speeches and there are frequent references to historical figures, but drawn from a small cast. Just the quartet of John Stuart Mill, William Gladstone, David Lloyd George, David Penhaligon corner almost all of the market, especially since Bob Maclennan stopped making speeches to party conference. Some of the forgotten figures deserve their obscurity but others do not. Charles James Fox's defence of civil liberties against a dominating government during wartime or Earl Grey's leading of the party back into power and major constitutional reform are good examples of mostly forgotten figures who could just as ...
The Opinion Leader Research discusses the importance for political parties, community activists and single-issue activists to work together for the benefit of political parties, communities and politics. When they got a group of different activists together they were asked what solutions they could think of which would improve the working relationships. So what can local ...
There has been much crowing amongst the Anti-Euro brigade in the UK over the past year. The structural problems of the single currency were said to be terminal, and there was much self-congratulation that the UK had managed to avoid such troubles by maintaining the independence of the Pound. Now, however, the swagger has gone out of the Euro sceptics. The reason is not hard to find: British economic performance and monetary management on almost any conceivable measure has turned out far worse than our real comparable states in Europe. For all the gloating over the travails of Greece, Ireland ...
Volunteer groups and residents across South Gloucestershire are once again springing into action and cleaning up their neighbourhood or open spaces, helping to transform South Gloucestershire as part of National Big Tidy Up campaign. Everyone can join in the South Gloucestershire BIG Spring Clean Campaign 2010 which runs from 1 March - 30 April 2011. Friends, families, neighbours, Parish Councils, community and voluntary groups, church groups, schools and students, youth clubs, scouts and cadets, brownies and guides, and businesses are all taking action against litter! It is an ideal occasion for anyone who cares about their local environment to venture ...
.....because Anna and I are off up to Inverness to visit my sister and her family until Friday night. Bob will still be here - and will have to cope with giving Benjamin his medicine. That'll be fun, I'm sure. If I feel the urge to tell you something, I'll have my iPhone with me, but I'll most likely see you at the weekend.
Labour plans will cost more and deliver less! Labour run Knowsley Council has approved plans to introduce FORTNIGHTLY bin collections as soon as money allows. The shock move was agreed by the Labour dominated Cabinet without any consultation with residents, many of whom will be surprised and opposed to Labour's plans. Local Lib Dem campaigner Dave Smithson said the move would lead to a poorer service and not be very popular with local residents. "Clearly we need to do more to recycle and reduce the cost of landfill for our rubbish," said Dave Smithson. "But to introduce fortnightly bin collections ...
One of the reasons – in fact, probably the main reason – why so many Liberal Democrats are relaxed about the Conservative Party leadership's enthusiasm for the Big Society idea is the overlap between the Big Society and the traditional Liberal Democrat belief in Community Politics. That's a topic I wrote about at greater length before Christmas, but what has struck me since is how little senior Liberal Democrats talk about Community Politics now. Despite the frequent media discussion about the Big Society, which provides an opening to talk about the Liberal Democrat alternative/supplement (delete as you wish), Community Politics ...
Anybody would think that there was no news to report. Larry-fever overtook the media yesterday with the poor animal being harangued from pillar to post by cameramen and photographers. The Independent reports that the taxpayer will not pay for his food. Instead he will live off the Downing Street rats and scraps founf for him by the staff. I will believe that when I see it. The BBC say that according to Downing Street, Larry has "a high chase-drive and hunting instinct", developed during his time on the streets. He has also shown "a very strong predatory drive" and enjoyed ...
[IMG: graphics tablet] graphics tablet After six months of struggling with mouse and keyboard I decided to invest in a graphics tablet for my design work. This arrived yesterday and was expensive but well worth it. The control you get over the brush is truly wonderful, work feels more natural. I would recommend anyone with the software to handle one of these tablets properly e.g. PhotoShop etc. to invest in one. Hopefully I will see benefits in both creativity and productivity.
Just to let those of you in Colchester know, the next meeting of the Castle Neighbourhood Action Panel will be on Wednesday 23rd February, starting at 5.30pm in the Town Hall. Any residents can come along and raise issues that they want the NAP to deal with, or if you can't make it to the meeting, then please leave a comment or email me with your problem and I'll raise it for you. For more information see the Colchester Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership website.
Hurrah for Larry the new Downing Street Cat! He used to be a stray and has a "strong pedatory drive" apparently. Look out you Downing Street rats!
I can't now remember the exact dates, but within the past 15 years I spent six years as the Liberal Democrat representative in the local Community Health Council, the body which monitored the local NHS. I started out as an enthusiast, eager to find out how the NHS worked and what its problems were, but soon found that, as soon as I'd begun to get the hang of things, the system changed, new jargon was introduced and I had to start all over again. So "reform" of the NHS is nothing new. The Labour government eventually displayed their indifference to ...
If you ever wondered what happened to the consultation about whether to revoke the closure notices on Moorside and Consett schools whilst the Academy position was sorted out – so did I. Well now it has been placed in the Members Library at County Hall so I was able to find out what was in it. Whether you'll ever hear anywhere else is uncertain. The consultation was pretty confusing because it only applied if Government failed to "confirm capital availability to the satisfaction of both the County Council and Durham University." So did it or didn't it? Certainly the University ...
How do I follow my A-Z of my CDs series? Well, it struck me tonight that I could do a series of tracks by artists whose material I don't own... Whether or not I do follow this route, here's Adele's amazing performance from last night's Brit Awards. This year's awards show was better than many of its predecessors - the format was revamped, James Corden's presenting was surprisingly good (he played it with a pretty straight bat, which worked better than forced jokes do) and there were a number of good performances from a diverse range of acts. But, for ...
i) births and deaths</b> 16 February 1945: birth of Jeremy Bulloch, who played Tor in The Space Museum (1965), Hal in The Time Warrior (1973-74), and is best known as Boba Fett in the first two Star Wars films. 16 February 1964: birth of Christopher Eccleston, who played the Ninth Doctor in 2005. ii) broadcast anniversaries 16 February 1974: broadcast of sixth episode of Invasion of the Dinosaurs; last appearance as a regular character of Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, though he pops up again later in the season and in the current BBC audios starring Tom Baker. The Doctor ...
Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of public sector cuts, at a Council level it is an unavoidable fact of life we have to deal with as government grants are cut or removed. Even though my proposals were announced last month I have not stopped trying to find more savings through back office services and efficiencies to protect the front line. This has already worked. If you compare the original proposals with the revised one you will see more money available to protect ex grant funded projects around supporting people, and more cash available for adult social care and some ...
Across the country, right now, local communities are holding meetings to discuss their reactions to the Localism Bill, to start the process of drawing up Neighbourhood Plans, and to talk about the decisions that could be better taken around the parish pump than in the Town Hall. My advice to Liberal Democrat councillors and activists ...
ECJ: Judgment in Case "Grunkin and Paul" — Conflict of Laws .net "The case concerns a child who was born in Denmark having, as well as his parents, only German nationality. The child was registered in Denmark - in accordance with Danish law - under the compound surname Grunkin-Paul combining the name of his father (Grunkin) and the name of his mother (Paul), who did not use a common married name. After moving to Germany, German authorities refused to recognise the surname of the child as it had been determined in Denmark" -> ECJ verdict against Germany and in favour ...
I was part of an interesting conversation a couple of days ago which helped modify my views on the piece of sculpture in Morecambe that is currently being debated. I started from a position that some people like it and some people don't. I am quite sympathetic to a lot of works of art and visit galleries frequently. However I also feel there is a lot of rubbish around. Others will explain in the strongest terms how an unmade bed has pushed the boandaries of art. I haven't got past the unmade bed stage. I thought that it was not ...
