Whatever your views on Stockport's new bins, the story in the Stockport Express this week criticising the Council for spending over £7 million on new bins is a very silly one. The spend of £7 million is since 2003 – i.e. over a period of eight years. The Council – and so taxpayers – are currently saving nearly three million pounds a year thanks to the bin rollout and the greatly increased recycling rates that have resulted. So you do the maths. Would you like a council to invest £7 million over 8 years for a return of nearly £3 ...
I knew the police station in the TV series Life on Mars was Stockport Police Station, but I didn't know until today that the building where Sam Tyler throws himself off at the end of the series is the roof of Stopford House – one of the Council buildings next to the Town Hall. Today for the first time I went onto the roof and,suicidal time travellers apart, the view is fantastic. Here are a few photos I took. [IMG: stopford view 1] [IMG: stopford view 2] [IMG: stopford view 3] [IMG: stopford view 4] [IMG: stopford view 5]
After the young journalist Philip Geddes was killed by an IRA bomb at Harrod's department store in 1983, an award scheme for aspirant journos was set up in his memory and in recent years there has been an annual lecture at his alma mater — and mine — St Edmund Hall, Oxford. Previous years have seen some ...
Intriguing to hear BBC1's 10 O'Clock News report the good news that MI5 is now better than it used to be at sharing information with Special Branch - Special Branch hasn't existed for years. It merged into Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) a mere five years ago.
Colchester Council on its website claims that is serious about sport and is committed to securing a lasting legacy from London 2012. Can Uttlesord claim the same? Given that Stansted Airport will serve as a gateway to the Olympics is located within the district you would think so. There is also direct rail access to Stratford from the Airport and Stansted Mountfitchet. Despite repeated requests made by myself and colleagues there as yet been no recent meetings of the Council's Olympics Task Group. What a sorry contrast with the record of the Liberal Democrat administration between 2003-07. A task group ...
Stiperstones C of E Primary is a good school. The very positive ethos rests on deeply held Christian principles about the value of every child. As a consequence, school staff show great warmth towards pupils, and take good care of them.The school focuses as much on pupils' personal as on their academic development. It is not surprising therefore that the pupils are happy, and greatly enjoy being at school. There is a good partnership with parents, who readily endorse the school's values. One satisfied parent wrote that her children were very positive about Stiperstones C of E Primary School because ...
On Saturday 19th February, in Dundee Library's Wighton Heritage Centre, there will be a cappuccino concert performed by traditional musicians, Carol Anderson and Martin MacDonald. After a relaxing and sociable coffee and newspapers, served from 10.30am, the hour-long concert will begin at 11am. Carol Anderson is an energetic and sensitive fiddle player from Aberdeenshire. She has been playing since the age of ten and was taught by Jean-Ann Callender. Over the years she has played in many bands, and is currently working with accomplished musician. Martin MacDonald, a Lewisman and piper, whose fingerpicked guitar and 5 string banjo is extremely ...
Fri 18th
20:47
Carwyn Jones response to Assembly election timing offer is petulant and childish - Black
Responding to the announcement by the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, regarding Assembly elections and the subsequent comments by the First Minister, Peter Black, Welsh Liberal Democrat AM said: "It is encouraging that Westminster is now taking a leaf out of Wales' book and legislating for fixed term parliaments. This modest reform is long overdue. It is not right that in an election, one of the contestants gets to fire the starting pistol. "Whether Westminster chose four or five year fixed terms, there would be an issue with clashes with Assembly elections and indeed with Scottish and European and other ...
As reported in tonight's Evening Telegraph, both I and my ward colleague Richard McCready have condemned the shocking assault last Sunday on a 23 year old man who was hit by a vehicle at the junction of Shaftesbury Road and Seymour Street. He was unhurt in the initial collision but then suffered a broken nose and two black eyes following the driver of the vehicle assaulting him after the collision. This area of the West End is a very pleasant part of Dundee and this sort of dreadful assault is highly unusual. As I indicated in the Tele tonight, whilst ...
I met with Amey this week and discussed a number of issues with them about their management of the Highways Maintenance contract (which covers roads, pavements and everything on them including street lights and street trees). There have been a few glitches in their responses to queries from resident groups in Acocks Green recently and I wanted to make sure this was addressed quickly. It was a good meeting with the following outcomes / points to note: Some of the delays in responding to queries made by councillors on behalf of residents, have been caused by a rather clumsy process ...
The Daily Telegraph has what purports to be a photograph of a mysterious creature surfacing from Lake Windermere. No doubt it will turn out to be a crude fabrication - an attempt to cash in on the fame of the better known monsters of Loch Ness and Rutland Water.
The new Liberator is landing on subscribers' doormats even as we speak, so it is time to spend another week with Rutland's most celebrated fictional peer. One of my proudest boasts is that I was among the first people to grasp that the moving television was here to stay. The investments I made in those early days proved gratifyingly profitable - whoever it was who described commercial television as "a licence to print money" was not so far off the mark. It happens that we Bonkers know all about licences to print money, for we were granted just such a ...
We all knew it was going on really, but Newsnight's Michael Crick has finally revealed just how low key that Convservative by-election campaign was. They not only spent less than the main opponents, but were also outspent by UKIP. The final totals are: Cons £39,432 Lab £97, 085 Lib Dem £94,540 UKIP £43,855 Tim Montgomerie ...
Salman ibn Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa can usually be seen by westerners gladhanding around his Formula One racing circuit, with his soft spoken chirpy English accent, in the new Grand Prix season opener. But as Crown Prince of Bahrain he is also deputy supreme commander of the Bahraini defence force. Seen on an interview on Al Jazeera tonight, he is either not in control, unable to prevent his forces firing on protesters, or he is mincing his words when he calls for those shooting to stop. A final weekend of race testing is due to take place at the ...
Last night the Liberal Democrats gained the Quarry and Coton Hill division of Shropshire Council from the Conservatives in a by-election. Liberal Democrat Voice has the full result: LD Andrew Bannerman 356 (41.8; +5.7) Con 268 (31.5; -12.1) Lab 197 (23.1; +23.1) Ind 30 (3.5; -2.3) [Green (0.0; -14.4)] Majority 88 Turnout 30.47% LD gain from Con Percentage change is since June 2009.And Shrewsbury Liberal Democrats will tell you all about our winning candidate: Welcoming the Result Dr Charles West said:"Andrew Bannerman has lived and worked in Shrewsbury and for Shrewsbury for many years. He cares passionately for the town ...
[IMG: New Shropshire Councillor Andrew Bannerrman] Photo also available on Flickr here. From the Independent: Liberal Democrats celebrated a gain in the latest council by-elections from Tories who, however, defended two other marginal seats and control of South Cambridgeshire District. Andrew Bannerman triumphed for Lib Dems at Quarry and Coton Hill, Shropshire despite a strong intervention by Labour which did not fight last time. The result in Quarry and Coton Hill: LD Andrew Bannerman 356 (41.8; +5.7) Con 268 (31.5; -12.1) Lab 197 (23.1; +23.1) Ind 30 (3.5; -2.3) [Green (0.0; -14.4)] Majority 88 Turnout 30.47% LD gain from Con ...
There was a post in the Guardian on Monday by George Monbiot regarding what he seems to believe is an attempt to turn the city of London into a giant tax haven from what appears to me to be a simplification of legislation. This was picked up by Max Teuerman in the Lib Dem Voice on Wednesday. What the actual issue boils down to is that previously a multinational who had a branch overseas would have to declare the income/expenditure in order to be taxed in the UK whilst receiving relief for the tax that they had paid in country. ...
I'm not sure whether to be amused or bemused at the coverage of Nick Clegg and David Cameron's speeches on the AV Referendum today. I mean, all the headlines seem to have the word "clash" or some variation of it. Is this because people would much rather read about people having a row than a well mannered debate? There was never any obligation for Clegg and Cameron to take the same side on this issue, nor any expectation from anyone in either the Conservatives or the Liberal Democrats that they would. Today, just 36 hours after the Act allowing the ...
There hasn't been time to update the blog so far this week, but the House rose yesterday until Monday week, giving me the opportunity of catching up with the rest of my life, including half an hour on Skype with Victoria and Alan in Cambodia this afternoon, and the same with Maurice in New Zealand just now (20.00). We had two late nights this week on the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill, which the Labour Party has tried so hard to scupper. They didn't want the size of constituencies to be equalised, and they are now against a referendum ...
Death certificate of a 22-year old who was killed at one of the demonstrations in Bahrain this week. So far at least 7 people have been murdered, and no inquiry has been announced by the government [IMG: Posted by Picasa]
As a supporter of the Coalition, I can't help liking David Cameron as Prime Minister, even if I disagree with him completely about the Alternative Vote - I'm campaigning for a Yes vote in the referendum. I think he is pretty reasonable as Tories go and I like his style. I like his simply saying "no" when Ed Miliband asked him if he could honestly say that he was happy with his forestry policy. I like the fact that people who disagree with him don't appear to be taken out and shot in the way that they were under New ...
Last May I wasn't overly keen on the prospect of entering into a coalition government with the Conservative Party. However, like many Lib Dems, I could see that whichever road Nick Clegg took was fraught with danger: a "coalition of the losers" would have posed serious political risks and any "supply and confidence" deal with a minority Tory government would in all likelihood have led to another General Election within the year in which we would almost certainly do badly. There were many other reasons why entering into coalition with the largest party was the correct thing to do, and ...
I'm backing the campaign for fairer votes. Find out more how about you can get involved in the campaign at Yes to fairer votes. The Reading Yes 2 AV campaign is launching, find out more details about the launch event from the the Reading Yes 2 AV team below:- "Our grand launch will be on Tuesday 1st March from 7pm. We will carry on until late in the evening. Come to The Rising Sun Arts Centre, 30 Silver Street, Reading, RG1 2ST. It's just five minutes from the Oracle car park. Head up London Road and cross over at the ...
At the start of the week Caron Lindsay blogged about the case of Conservative MSP Bill Aitken: The Tories are usually very supportive of victims of crime ... Unfortunately, their sympathy for victims doesn't seem to extend to the crime of rape. Shadow Tory minister for Community Safety in the Scottish Parliament Bill Aitken has apparently asked the Sunday Herald whether a victim of an horrendous rape in Glasgow earlier this week was a prostitute. This woman was dragged down a lane by 3 men and raped. This was the latest in a series of similar assaults in Glasgow. As ...
I am a firm believer of the positive role effective scrutiny of Council policies and services can. Scrutiny plays a key role in terms of developing policy, improving services for residents and holding elected politicians to account. Sadly some politicians use it to score political points which isn't very productive. For many years in Reading councillors have led the scrutiny process and I am pleased that the Coalition Administration of Reading Borough Council is doing more to open up the Council to the public - the people the Council is there to serve for example making Council spending more transparent. ...
It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week Lib Dem council leaders attack Pickles over speed and scale of cuts (42 comments) by Sara Bedford Eight former Liberal Democrat candidates take part in Labour's policy-making process (47 comments) by Mark Pack Jeremy Browne writes: Why liberals should support the Big Society (42 comments) by Jeremy Browne MP Opinion: Taxing stuff - what George Monbiot got wrong (35 comments) by Max Teuerman Paul Scriven writes: we cannot let Labour off the hook on Council cuts (52 ...
It's spending season in the public sector as workers attempt to use up their budgets by the end of the financial year. Sometimes seeing black can make me see red. It's that time of year, as February races into March, people look at their budgets, spot an under-spend, and scramble like crazy to spend it all before the end of the financial year in April. Take a look at most budgets in Whitehall, especially those spent on perceived luxuries like marketing, advertising and PR and the annual spike in expenditure in February and March is clear. Traditionally, if you didn't ...
Good news today as Reading Borough Council has announced it is introducing a new 50p short stay tariff for visitors to the Farmers Market. This follows concerns being raised with the Council by market traders and residents that parking charges were deterring customers. I have been to the Market a number of times - it is a fantastic asset to the Town. This new rate is a significant reduction on the £1.50 parking rate previously charged when the Council was Labour-controlled. It is yet more evidence that the Liberal Democrat-Conservative Coalition Administration of Reading Borough Council is committed to listening ...
While a recent surveys suggests that one in five in the UK doesn't know that unprotected gay sex can spread HIV, a television show in the US shows that discrimination on the grounds of HIV is very much still alive.
A nasty personal smear campaign against Lib Dem campaigner Carl Cashman in Whiston North has backfired on the Labour party with one voter calling their tactics "a disgrace". Carl has been running a very effective albeit critical campaign against Labour in Whiston North and it would appear his opponents are resorting to desperate tactics to counter his hard hitting criticism. In response, instead of engaging Carl in legitimate debate on policy issues and Labour's record of action for local residents (inaction surely? - Ed) they are scraping the barrel and turning to personal attacks. But it would appear their tactics ...
Bernie Ecclestone has to face a decision he really doesn't want to have to make. He has to pull the F1 Bahrain season opener. The Bahraini Royal Family and ruling Sunni elite in has reacted in a disgusting way to ... Continue reading →
The future of Prestwich's Household Waste Recycling Centre ("Prestwich tip") is hanging in the balance after the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority revealed plans for its closure. We believe the Clifton Road facility is a vital part of allowing people in Prestwich, Whitefield and other areas to recycle waste in a responsible way. Lib Dems in Prestwich are demanding that it stays open. If this is about saving money then its the wrong way to do it. It'll be counterproductive. It won't increase recycling rates, and it'll make it a lot more difficult for local people to do their recycling ...
News from Andrew Wiseman, chair of the Lib Dem Federal Conference Committee: The Conference Agenda has been finalised and is now available online, together with accompanying policy papers and consultation papers. For those members who registered for conference before 30 January, hard copies will be arriving through the post very soon. We have planned an interesting agenda with a variety of debates including one on the NHS and another looking at the strategy of the Party. Representatives will also have the opportunity to participate in two Q&A sessions, one with the Party Leader and the other with members of the ...
It emerged this morning* that the Guardian newspaper has realised that the way it writes is unsuitable for the web. *Source: Guardian Newspaper, 18/11/2011, page By using non-specific language, I have introduced a degree of ambiguity which makes it hard for reader – both in the present day and the future – to understand the ideas I am trying to convey. For example – the above text doesn't state which of the many Guardian newspapers is under discussion. The words "this morning" are highly subjective depending on timezone – and the date at which the article is read. Finally, ...
Hattip to David Civerton
Today's Financial Times carries a piece by Secretary of State for Business, Vince Cable, on the coalition's strategy for economic growth. However, as Vince points out, a government 'strategy' can only do so much. The main weapon in the government's armoury is – perhaps counter-intuitively to some – to actually do less, particularly, for example, in terms of burdensome regulation, which is often a particular problem for small businesses. The best thing the government can do is create a situation in which it is more likely that businesses will invest and grow; this will be the route to sustainable, lasting ...
The BBC has just announced that an alcohol label campaign has just been launched by the partner of former Stereophonics drummer Stuart Campbell. Campbell died after a heavy drinking session in 2010, choking on his own vomit. His partner, Rachel Jones, has launched a campaign aimed at bringing alcohol labels into line with stark warnings on cigarette packets and has secured the help of Llanelli MP Nia Griffith to achieve this. On Wednesday Ms Griffith raised the issue with David Cameron during PMQs. Cameron referred her to plans to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol (a bad piece of policy in ...
True to their word, last Friday I received a copy of the funding letter from Government to Durham University setting out the Academy funding offer. Somehow this article failed to get onto the website, but better late than never ..... After two months of trying I suppose the letter itself was always going to be less revealing than one might have hoped. Be that as it may, readers who want to judge for themselves can make what they can of it. That's what transparency means. The Secretary of State wrote to you on 6 August explaining that the funding for ...
Ridgegrove Lane will be closed near the junction with Dutson Road from March 14th to 18th to allow new water connections to be made. This closure will be a significant inconvenience to residents of Ridggrove Lane and for those who use the road as a way of avoiding the congestion of Newport. Local residents should receive a formal notice about the works and the diversion will be via Dutson Road and Homeleigh.
Every year in Hackney, around 6 cyclists are killed and 150 seriously injured. There have been so many accidents recently that the local newspaper has launched a safer cycling campaign. Our Labour Mayor has claimed to support the campaign, but the borough's new Transport Local Implementation Plan has been released - and it won't do ...
A little late, but welcome nonetheless, the Post has finally brought up the issue of safe standing at football. To Stand or not to Stand at Reading FC September 2008 Safe standing areas at football matches are current Lib Dem policy.
Ah the joy of a Cup weekend, where the cliché factor is high and the attendances are low. The usual flam is trotted out about the romance of the cup followed by the almost perpetual complaints, usually from professional commentators ... Continue reading →
The boys are back. Enjoy!
Well after a gruelling six hour budget meeting, and in spite of Liberal Democrat attempts to save the following services, the Conservatives at Suffolk County Council voted to go ahead with swingeing cuts to frontline services and refused our calls to save: School crossing patrols Libraries Full time cover at Felixstowe Fire Station The eXplore student discount card Many evening , Sunday and Bank Holiday bus services Youth clubs 7 Household Waste sites including the award winning Chelmondiston recycling centre Full time manning of the Ipswich Aerial Appliance Retention of Fire control in Suffolk Bury Road Park and Ride There ...
There were three principal local council by-elections that took place on Thursday 17th February 2011. The Tories held two seats but lost one to the Lib Dems. There were no parish or town council results reported to ALDC. [IMG: Cllr Andrew Bannerman our winning candidate] In Shrewsbury the Quarry and Coton Hill ward of Shropshire Unitary Council consists of Shrewsbury town centre plus the Coton Hill social housing estate. In the past we have represented parts of the current ward in different county divisions. Following the Tory resignation we surveyed the ward, leafleted and canvassed hard. We knew we had ...
Honestly, I am astounded that these views are still being peddled by senior politicians of David Cameron's European bedfellows, Poland's Law and Justice Party. The Guardian carries the story today that; "Professor Ryszard Legutko has been chosen by MEPs of Poland's Law and Justice party to stand for the chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), the Tories' anti-federalist group in the European parliament."The election to pick the new leader is due to take place on 8 March and is expected to be close run. Will David Cameron remove the Conservative whip from Timothy Kirkhope who is standing against ...
Bad financial management is not confined to the Public Sector. Some years ago a major company in financial difficulties 'economised' by doing away with the ladies who toured their offices with a tea trolly! The number of Directors remained unaltered. What on earth justifies a Council Chief Executive being paid more than the Prime Minister? At the risk of being accused of assorted phobias and discrimination one has to ask if a Council REALLY needs THREE separate Officers, costing upwards of £30k each to deal with Gay Men's; Lesbian and Ethnic issues? During the week there have been a number ...
A quick update to my previous post about the Green Investment Bank, where I wrote: Largely unreported there has been a heavy debate over whether the Green Investment Bank will in effect simply by a pot for government grants or whether it will have the ability to operate much like a traditional bank. The more bank-like the Green Investment Bank can be, the more it will be able to do with its initial funding if, for example, it is able to issue bonds and underwrite loans. Helped by the backing of some Conservatives, such as Oliver Letwin, Chris Huhne seems ...
The 'Merlin' is a bird of prey and it certainly seems that the Banks have successfully preyed on the Government. The Banks did agree to extend more credit to particularly small & medium sized businesses but there is no sanction if they fail and nothing about the simplicity and competitiveness of the loans (or lack of it) that they can impose on the borrowers. Also in the small print this is based on 'gross lending' so that banks can call in existing loans as quickly as they make new ones so it's not really an 'extension' at all. Nothing significant ...
Here are the official agenda (including full text of motions) and reports from party committees for the Liberal Democrat federal conference coming up in Sheffield: Liberal Democrat Spring Conference Agenda and Directory 2011 Liberal Democrat Spring Conference Reports 2011
Fri 18th
13:23
Alan Partridge is Back with Mid Morning Matters on North Norfolk Digital Radio! (episodes 1-3)
I love my comedy and it doesn't get much more surreally entertaining than the leg-end that is Alan Partridge. Now admittedly, Armando Iannucci and Steve Coogan's famed concoction isn't to everyone's taste but he certainly is to mine. Alan Partridge and his Knowing Me, Knowing You chatshow and 2 subsequent series made him in my book, one of the greatest comic creations of the 1990s. But until today, I was wholly unaware that Alan is still going strong in 2011! He's now hosting Mid Morning Matters on North Norfolk Digital Radio (with sidekick Simon). For anyone like me who wasn't ...
Well, perhaps not quite, but if you follow the logic of DCLG minister Bob Neill's latest comments that's where you end up. What he has done is attack 'Crazy non-jobs like cheerleading development officers' in local authorities. Now my council does not employ any cheerleading development officers, but ever supportive of the coalition government I'm keen to engage with how Mr Neill's comments might more generally be applied. Let's reason through why a local authority in its misguided, non-job friendly kind of way, might create such a post. I imagine it has something to do with promoting physical exercise, health ...
Took this photo in New Zealand at a railway station One of the things I enjoyed most about New Zealand was the lack of deposits left by dogs. Only 1 pile was spotted in 3 weeks. During our stay we visited friends outside Wellington. They owned a large doberman(pictured below). What amazed me were the restrictions and rules placed on dog owners. Each household is only allowed to have 2 dogs. All dogs must be chipped. Households pay approximately £30 to have dogs. If responsible dog owners fail in their duties this fee goes up. Poo bags are dispensed on ...
Since I was first elected to the District Council in 2003, I have been campaigning for Milton Grove in Prudhoe to have it's road surface and pavements sorted out. This road was completed in 1940 and hasn't been resurfaced since! The problem is that it is a concrete road and these surfaces are so robust they don't suffer structural damage. But Milton Groves road surface is now very tatty, with cracks all over its surface and the pavements, which have no foundations, have sunk below the level of the road in some places. These pavements are now wobbly and hard ...
Here is an article I had published yesterday in Lib Dem Voice on the disgraceful behavior of political leaders over the recent Supreme Court ruling. Things didn't get any better after I wrote the article on Wednesday, judging by Theresa May and Jack Straw on Today in Parliament. Lib Dem politicians are just keeping their heads down, it seems.
William Hague, today: [AV] is the worst of all worlds. Even if one was going to embark on changing the electoral system this would certainly not be the system to move to. You can argue for the current system, as I do, on the grounds that it is decisive. In the vast majority of elections it produces a clear decisive result with the party getting the most votes in the country becoming the government. Or you can argue legitimately for a proportional system, as in Germany for instance, where the seats won by the parties in Parliament is in pretty ...
Today Nick Clegg has made a speech outlining his support for the Alternative Vote. The Deputy Prime Minister said: "First Past the Post is out of date and it is at the heart of so many of the reasons that people don't trust in or care about politics. It means most MPs are elected without ...
[IMG: thekingoflimbs] 1. Bloom Challenging. Mesmeric. Tinkling and repetitive piano over a skittery drum pattern. Thom is singing in a lower register than usual and it is surprisingly powerful. A wordless section with some falsetto cooing. It is reminiscent of b-sides like Melatonin and The Amazing Sounds of Orgy. 2. Morning Mr Magpie The old webcast version had a 3/4 acoustic guitar figure but this has been jettisoned in favour of a jittery 4/4 beat, almost like surf music. It sounds like the band is having a lot of fun with this one: the guitar work is sort of Talking ...
With May's AV referendum finally passed by Parliament this week, both Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg have been taking to the public stage to argue for a Yes vote. Nick Clegg's speech today majors on how the alternative vote will hold politicians better to account: Under the Alternative Vote, politicians will need to aim to get half of their constituents to choose them. That means they will have to work harder to appeal to more people than before. It means they will have to reach out to people who were ignored under First Past the Post. It means they will ...
[IMG: David Hasselhoff] Despite their flaws, I'm quite a fan of Early Day Motions (especially if the EDM process is reformed) but even I would have to draw the line at this EDM: David Hasselhoff And Morecambe Winter Gardens That this House notes that David Hasselhoff visited the precincts of the House on 8 February 2011; further notes that he pledged his support for the reopening of Morecambe Winter Gardens; believes that this demonstrates the international significance of the Winter Gardens; further believes that reopening them would reinstate an important part of the UK's heritage and bring vital regeneration to ...
I had the dubious pleasure of attending a debate on AV this week. The Yes side featured Jonathan Bartley (founder and co-director of Ekklesia) and David Aaronovitch (the Times columnist); the No side featured Jane Kennedy (former Labour MP) and Charlotte Vere (failed Tory PPC in Brighton Pavilion). The event was chaired by Jeremy Vine. To summarise: the debate generated rather more heat than light. However, speaking to neutrals afterwards, there was a general consensus the Yes side had relied more on logical argument and the No side on emotion. There was a clear majority in favour of AV at ...
Am I getting a reputation for being someone who blogs about MPs doing silly things? I suspect I may be, as I had a couple of people point me at this piece from "This is Gloucestershire". That a Tory MP thinks storing everyone's DNA is a good thing probably comes as no surprise, but it's baffling that Liberal Democrat MP Martin Horwood also apparently came out in support of this idea. Being a Liberal Democrat, it's no surprise that TheyWorkForYou.com lists him as voting very strongly against introducing ID cards. But if you collect the DNA of everyone in the ...
A man in the states has just had another tattoo added to his collection I think that may be the amount of ink on his arms had made it impossible for him to turn the page to Leviticus 19 and verse 28 where he will find: 'You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD.' New American Standard BibleIt just shows how taking a word from the bible in isolation can really show up the hypocrisy of narrow mindedness. When Christ was asked what is the ...
A number of issues have been missed from the debate about whether or not convicted prisoners (as opposed to those imprisoned for default, contempt or on remand) should have the right to vote.Firstly, the European Court of Human Rights did not offer any compensation. Secondly, the court looked at the third article of the first protocol to the European Convention, not the original
We have recently contacted by members of the London Cycling Campaign about various aspects of the council's approach to cycling. After following up their points, I am happy to report that Camden is doing fairly well. Under the watchful eye of Cllr Paul Braithwaite, Camden's cycling champion (and Lib Dem colleague from further south in the borough), Camden is one of the few London boroughs to sign up to help improve lorry drivers' awareness of cyclists. Camden are certainly aware of the massive rise of the numbers of cyclists on our roads - see the extract below of a recent ...
What I have tried to do is to identify where the parties stand on AV. For example the Tory Party is mainly against it, but there are some tories that support it. The Labour Party are split, but probably more support it than oppose it etc.I have then put the party logos onto a chart indicating where I think they stand. If anyone thinks I need to adjust the location of any particular political
As someone who has often responded to government consultations on legislation, either on behalf of the party or as an interested individual, and even sometimes got the law changed, I've often been disappointed how few people respond to those consultations. In very technical areas, that may not matter too much, but there is a huge swathe of legislation where wider input can provide sensible ideas. It is, after all, the outsider to a system who can often spot what has become second nature to those in the system but no longer makes sense (if it ever did). So it is ...
The Gatley Carrs Conservation Group are working to improve the biodiversity of Gatley Carrs pond as large areas have silted up and open water has been lost. (Unfortunately the last time the pond was dug it wasn't dug deep enough and the Great Reed Mace flourished). The GCCG have worked very hard to raise money for the improvements from a variety of funding sources. The project aims to remove as much of the silt at the pond edge as possible in order to increase the volume of open water which will increase the opportunity for pond life, such as amphibians, ...
Remember the above poster. Of course you do. It was the embodiment of the absolute, unshakeable promise that David Cameron made with the British people. We're going to cut the deficit as hard as we can - but the one thing we won't touch is the NHS and in particular its front line services. which means doctors and nurses jobs are safe. What's the word I'm grasping for to describe this phenomenon. Oh yes, I know. Its a PLEDGE. So the news that two London hospitals are cutting jobs across the board, including doctors and nurses seems to be an ...
According to PressTV (I use the word "press" lightly) anti-government protesters are American influenced, financially backed by Israel. But really, as we can see, these are ordinary Iranians demanding true representation from a belligerent, fictitious theocratic regime..
Up in Llandudno First Minister, Carwyn Jones has promised to invest £25 million in creating 4,000 jobs, each of which he claims will be "a real job" available to the hardest-hit young people who are struggling to find work. In fact it is another job creation scheme that will take somebody off the dole for six months and then send them back again. There is nothing wrong with getting somebody that sort of work experience of course, but what the Welsh Government needs to be doing is helping to create permanent jobs in the private sector, not more publicly subsidised ...
This week in a Scrutiny panel I was chairing, we were discussing the new draft set of performance indicators, local and national, Reading is due to adopt. There are supposed to be fewer of them as part of a culture of setting local government free. There is still a long way to go. One new target sought to measure the number of 'flying objects'. I am told this related to museums, but just in case, we have sought clarification..... socialise this: [IMG: add 'Unidentified Flying Targets' a Del.icio.us] [IMG: add 'Unidentified Flying Targets' a digg] [IMG: add 'Unidentified Flying Targets' ...
South Glos had planned to resurface the A432 in three phases over three weekends late last year. The two sections around the Stover Road junction were completed, but Network Rail have to allow the Council to work around their bridge structure and the live railway and it has proved difficult to arrange. Add in the December weather and the final phase has been delayed. It will hopefully be carried out early in the new finanical year. In the meantime, the Council will try to keep the road as safe as possible until more permanent repairs can be carried out.
Last night I went along to one of the youth service review meetings organised by the City Council . There've been five in the five districts of Liverpool, but this one was specifically to look at City-wide services (which by their nature are often also specialist). The idea was for young people, youth workers and others interested in the youth service to have their say and ask questions. This was a tad problemmatic as many of the questions actually couldn't be answered. We were told that the review was about how the decision making about the future of the youth ...
Have your say - are you registered to vote? The district and parish council elections take place on Thursday 5 May. Are you registered to vote? Have you moved home since the register was published 1 December 2010? Whenever you change any of your personal details, such as your address, you will always need to re-register, even if you are still within the same local authority area. Did you know that being on the Council Tax list does not mean you are registered to vote? A student can register to vote at their term-time address as well as their home ...
David Kessler commented on my post about prisoners' right to vote.He noted that I offered no evidence that removing the vote lacks penal value. The point about human rights is that the presumption must be that everyone gets them, not just people of whom we approve. If anyone wishes to remove someone's human rights they have to rebut that presumption; THEY have to produce the evidence. I heard
Fri 18th
09:12
Increasing Voter Membership: building on what people think is an ideal political party
If you were going to form a political party, what would you want it to look like? Recent research by Opinion Leader has asked political activists (political party activists, issue-based activists and community activists) what their ideal party would look like producing some interesting results. If we are to attract more people to the Lib ...
Via my Feedjit bar I notice that someone has found my blog by googling "Hull Youth service cuts Warren." Apart from the standard notice letter that the Council sends out at this time of year putting organisations on notice that they may lose funding no decision has been taken yet with regards to the level of funding for the Warren, or for that matter the wider sector. There do seem to be quite a few rumours about regarding this area so let me tell you what the budget allocates and what the plan is for the week. This year the ...
I recently tweeted the OU's "Four in Ten" campaign with a question asking about the current situation of England-based students who were studying with the OU who wanted to carry on paying for their modules in advance, as many of us do at present. They answered this question in a blog post yesterday. Yet again the answer seems to demonstrate the lamentable way in which the 40% of us in part-time tertiary education are being misunderstood and/or ignored by Willetts and Cable. This is the comment I submitted in return, after a contributor called Tina had vented before I had ...
[IMG: You can now choose Civil Union as your Facebook relationship status] Facebook has updated its list of options for displaying a user's relationship status. You can now choose "In a civil union" or "In a domestic partnership" from a list which previously consisted of single, in a relationship, engaged, married, it's complicated, in an open relationship, widowed, separated and divorced. (And, of course, you can choose not to display a relationship status at all.) The options appeared from yesterday for users in the UK, as well as in North America, Australia and France. To display your relationship status on ...
William Hague outlined government policy on arms sales this morning (Today programme). He says we don't sell arms for internal repression nor where they will be used in regional or international conflicts. Apart from the fact that this will come as news to Israel and, of course, the Bahreini government, what the hell do we sell them for ? Hunting rabbits ?
Fascinating to listen to the Today programme presenters dancing carefully around the banned word Reform as they discussed the referendum on AV this morning.Interesting also to hear William Hague's defence of First Past the Post. Responding to the point that 2/3 of MPs were not elected by a majority of their constituents, he commented that many were elected by just under 50%. Shall we then
I support reform of our electoralsystem and urge you to vote Yes in the forthcoming referendum. But don't just take my word for it, here's some useful information from the Yes to Fairer Votes campaign. Link.
@oflynnexpress erm, what about the freedom not to be on the DNA database if you're innocent and don't want your data stored? in reply to oflynnexpress # Might not look much to y'all but a fresh-painted kitchen is my achievement 4 today. Now just need the kitchen. http://plixi.com/p/76787179 # Forget the #Baftas I'm currently watching (+ trying to make head or tail of) Spain's 25th anniversary #Goyas # Drinking habits: Global alcohol consumption http://t.co/KU0SU22 via @theeconomist < a north-eastern hemisphere thing, it seems. # Chocolate orange on special offer at Tesco bought: that's Valentine's Day sorted, then. #lastoftheoldromantics # Death ...
I only wonder, because it's a bit odd if the Ben Summerskill who last September said it was too soon to decide on whether or not to support gay marriage as he would not be "jumped into" expressing a view on proposals (on what is, after all, hardly a new issue) is the same Ben Summerskill who is now complaining that the government is not moving quickly enough on the issue? Though if I were a minister, I'd be tempted to write to him, "Yes Ben, we're not moving at the speed you've strongly argued for previously. We're moving much ...
Thank you to everyone who has returned my recent Swallowfields survey. I and your town councillors are currently working on the issues raised and will report back in due course. Several of you mentioned the missing road sign at the junction of Swallowfields and Cricketers Way. This is the second time in two years that the sign has gone missing. I am pleased to report that a replacement sign has been ordered and will be installed in the next four weeks. Council staff have also been out to clear rubbish dumped in the nearby stream. We will continue to monitor ...
I have never been enthused by the Alternative Vote system, but the arguments from the No people have been so weak that I am rapidly warming to the idea. And this video is rather stylish.
Last week, the UK got to see the Rocky Horror Glee Show, which aired at Halloween in the states. It was, quite simply, brilliant. It has also left me with various tunes from the show running round my head and wanting to see the film again. Until I get a chance too, however, I guess I'll have to make do with the Bunny Parody: Andrew
Happily I was never bullied at school, nor did I bully anyone else, so I'm not really sure of the techniques. However, I suspect that if you can't bully the biggest boys you turn your attention to the lesser fry. That is exactly what the government is now doing twice over. In the first place it is continuing Labour's failure to tackle the tax evaders and avoiders and instead focusing attention on the benefits recipients and the unemployed at the bottom of the pile. Way back in the early 80s a Tory (sic)MP protested that forcing people relentlessly to apply ...
i) births and deaths 18 February 1989: death of John Bailey, who played the Commander in The Sensorites (1964), Edward Waterfield in The Evil of the Daleks (1967), and Sezom in The Horns of Nimon (1979-80). 18 February 1993: death of Jacqueline Hill, who played the First Doctor's companion Barbara Wright (and actually says the first audible line in the very first episode) from 1963-65, and returned in 1980 to play Lexa in Meglos. ii) broadcast anniversaries 18 February 1967: broadcast of second episode of The Moonbase. The Doctor works out that the Cybermen have been poisoning the sugar. 18 ...
Back in May I promised to let you know the cost of the changes made at Broomsdene Tip. It's taken ten months to get the figures but here they are: Total amount = £105,156.68 This includes for the following main items: Civil engineering work = £78,346 New signs = £2,652.21 New welfare cabin = £12,468.50 Other costs include items such as communication/advertising costs, staff time, refurbing of existing gantries and skips and compensation paid to the site contract holder/operatives for loss of earnings during the closure.
Centre for European Reform: The EU's new politics of movement The freedom enjoyed by EU citizens to live and work in each others' countries is a unique liberty. It is the basis around which European governments have tried to build a single border, a compensatory system of co-operation between police, judges and immigration officers and a common refugee policy. But hardening attitudes towards immigration in many countries and widening policy disagreements between governments and the EU's institutions are exposing fault-lines in this structure. As the cracks threaten to widen over the coming months, policy-makers face some tricky dilemmas. (tags: eu) ...
Lots of good liberal things happened in the last 24 hours - all of which have been highlighted elsewhere by bigger and better bloggers than me. And my view is that there's not much point in simply aping someone else's view. So I'm happy to leave the grown up stuff to the others (some of whom you can catch on my favourites over here --->) Tonight I'm sticking to celebrating with a good tune with some lyrics that sound vaguely appropriate... Mike Flowers Pops cover
Trolls. More than anything in the world they have a real knack of upsetting the status quo and making life difficult when they have no damned right to. I blog on politics and other such things. I speak as I ... Continue reading →
I was watching The 10 O'Clock News Live tonight on channel 4. As part of it they had a supposed debate about AV. For the No campaign there was a former Tory minister and for the Yes campaign you had Sally Bercow. Bercow proceeded to butcher the arguments for AV and even went as far as to claim that no one was particularly enthusiastic about it. Well I, and thousands like me, would beg to differ. If we were apathetic then why did you have thousands of people on the streets demanding electoral reform as far back as the 8th ...
Back in January, Parliament voted to scrap the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) cue the now predictable and familiar cries of outrage and betrayal from many people. However, before joining the growing chorus of opposition, I urge people to look at the subject in more detail before making a judgement. The EMA was firstly introduced in 2004 by the previous Labour government to encourage youngsters from deprived backgrounds to stay in education and training beyond the age of compulsory education (currently 16 in England) and depending on the income of their households, youngsters received a weekly allowance of £10, £20 or ...
When would you blow the whistle? I once met David Shayler but never asked him when he was moved him to pass secret documents to the Mail on Sunday. I had it in the back of my mind that the prime mover may have been finance which does take some of the gloss off an honourable quest for truth. However money is important if you don't want to live in squalor. I was talking about whistleblowing today with a couple of people. One thought that whistles should be blown at the first opportunity, but when I explained that whistleblowing involved ...
