I almost thought it was April Fools Day. Del Monte planning to sell bananas in a plastic cover at many outlets. I am not going to waste words on what a barmy idea, but will point out that this all adds to the waste that has to be disposed of by Councils trying desperately to cut costs. Apparently they will sell for around 62 p (each!), as opposed to around 15p for a "normal" banana. I doubt if they are Fairtrade - and just how much do we think the farmer will get out of that 62 p ??? I ...
Sorry I've not posted much in a couple of days – including owing some comment replies – I had to go to a funeral today, and various other things have been going on. I've got 3300 words of a post on Pet Sounds written tonight, but there's still six songs to go and I have ...
'I was forced to give birth on a chair in hospital waiting room' | News Well not me obviously. I think this kind of highlights the completely barmy plans to close A&E and the maternity unit at King Georges Hospital. If what we are left with is an overstretched and failing hospital at Queen's in Romford. Already we don't have enough maternity beds at Queen's, so how is that going to be improved by closing the other maternity wards at King George's. Where are they going to magic up the space and extra beds if King George's Hospital maternity unit ...
Continuing my regular monthly stat porn figures for anyone who is remotely interested in who reads my little blog, what stories they read and from where they read it, the monthly summary of my visitor stats according to google analytics is as below for February 2011. The busiest day on my blog last month was Friday 18th February, the day I blogged about the Conservatives European bedfellows being a bunch of homophobes. Last month I had 1,113 absolute unique visitors, a massive drop from last month. They made 1,317 visits and 1,657 page views. 14.88% of the visitors were through ...
A number of residents have expressed concern to me about the speed of some vehicles on Polepark Road/Brook Street near the Edward Street junction. I have raised this concern with Dundee City Council and have received assurances that the matter will be addressed with speed data analysed.
This evening I attended a meeting of the Lib Dem Council Group, which is the 8 Lib Dem Councillors who represent you on Bury Council. Normally we meet in Prestwich, because that's where we're all based, but tonight we met at the Town Hall and were the lucky recipients of a presentation on the Council's ...
[IMG: image] I read over the weekend, Chairman of South Thanet Labour party Alan Poole's, response to recent allegations by Mark Nottingham, in his letter published in last Friday's Gazette. Surprisingly rather than taking, a neutral stance, Cllr Poole's, letter seems to be in line with what Mark's reacted to. Alan Poole is claiming to be investigating complaints about Cllr Mark Nottingham, although for some reason he simply dismisses claims made by Nottingham that events around his de-selection, where not as open as one might expect. [IMG: image] It really is quite simple for Cllr Poole to resolve this issue ...
Members of the Selly Oak Neighbourhood Policing Team will available for you to meet and discuss local issues every Saturday throughout March between 1pm and 3pm at the Bournbrook Community Safety Project, 33 Dartmouth Road, Bournbrook B29 6DR.They will be able to inform you about events going on the local area (including the Neighbourhood Tasking Meeting), provide crime prevention advice and
Over the last week there have been two robberies in Gatley. Last week a man robbed the Co-op at the corner of Gatley Road and Oakwood Avenue, carrying a gun (which may have been a fake). I'm told he escaped by car, and the vehicle was later recovered by police in the Wythenshawe area. Last night a man (possibly the same man) held up Alaska Chicken, again with a gun which may have been a fake but you're really not going to wait to find out. The total amount stolen appears to have been just a few hundred pounds.
Tue 1st
20:24
Electrification decision a step forward but disappointing for Swansea and South West Wales
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black, has expressed his disappointment that today's announcement on the electrifying the main line from South Wales to Swansea has stopped short at Cardiff. Mr. Black was commenting on the statement by the Transport Minister this afternoon that he was proposing to invest in electrifying the Great Western mainline from London to Cardiff and in new trains to run from London to Swansea. "There is no doubt that even though electrification will not continue all the way to Swansea, passengers travelling to and from the city, Neath, Port Talbot ...
From the Shropshire Star: Bridgnorth's Cliff Railway has been put up for sale. Allan and Jean Reynolds are selling all the shares in the Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway Company, which includes the historic Cliff Railway. The couple, who bought the railway 15 years ago after taking early retirement, have decided the time is right to retire for a second time. Included in the asking price of between £700,000 and £800,000 is also a guesthouse, a tearoom and a flat."It will not necessarily be sold to the highest bidder. It will be sold to the most suitable bidder," says Mrs Reynolds, ...
You probably saw yesterday's newspaper story about the "Olympic-sized" swimming pool built by Portsmouth City Council that is two inches too short. The Rambles of Neil Monnery reveals that it was nonsense and examines the motivation of the Tory councillor with whom the story started. "Today's ruling by the European Court of Justice that insurance companies must not differentiate between men and women when setting prices for car insurance and other financial products is stupid and perverse," says Laura Spenceley. Chris Atkins, writing on the Media Standards Trust blog, writes about the many hoax stories he has planted on media ...
Matthew Oakeshott's departure as a Liberal Democrat spokesman for criticising the 'Project Merlin' deal with the banks over bonuses and the like may have got the headlines, but the real story is revealed by Anthony Hilton in the Evening Standard – all the members of the Commission threatened to resign in protest at government interference with their work. He writes: The Government offered to emasculate the Independent Commission on Banking as it tried to strike a deal on bank bonuses a few weeks ago. I am told it backed off only when Sir John Vickers, chairman of the inquiry, and ...
Continuing my attempts to broaden my historical knowledge, I've progressed from Sumer to Babylon and Gwendolyn Leick's interesting introduction. It's only a short book – about 160 pages – but provides an interesting overview of Babylonian history and society, and is enough to whet the appetite of the reader for more information about a people who in some ways lived lives that were very close to our own, but in others had a radically different way of looking at the world. Leick's good at just presenting the facts – or the best interpretation of the few facts that are available ...
Tue 1st
19:25
Tory Councillor wrong but was she trying to besmirch the Lib Dem run Portsmouth City Council?
When I read the story this afternoon that the £5million Mountbatten Centre Swimming Pool had been built two inches to short to meet International and Olympic standards my first thought was 'only in Portsmouth'. However as the story has made its way though the national newspapers today there seems to have been a dramatic twist. ...
Here's the first thing you'll see on No2AV's website today: I've pointed out three unequivocal lies that they are peddling. I'll go through them: LIE 1: The Electoral Commission (which runs elections) don't say we'd need buy expensive voting machines - Channel 4 News has looked into this and rated it as 'Fiction'. Even if we did, they wouldn't have to be bought from Electoral Reform Services Ltd (the commercial arm of the Electoral Reform Society, which has been campaigning for change to the voting system since 1884 and is helping to fund the Yes campaign). A quick Google found ...
OK, so I have avoided this for as long as I can for fear of ranting like a crazy woman but I can resist no longer. Who on earth takes a gun into work, shoots someone and then gets away ... Continue reading →
I've finally regained access to the British Airways staff travel website — my biological father worked for them for 22 years, and I get to reap benefits such as free flights until I turn 24. Now, I'm 24 in six months, and I'm sure I ought to get what I can out of it before my time runs out :) I can still travel on the cheap with them after that, but only with him. I've wanted to go to San Francisco for a long time, and... he's a Daily Mail reader, let's put it that way. (I know about ...
The following article is Baroness Williams' article from yesterdays Times detailing her opposition to Andrew Lansley and the coalitions plans for the NHS. My response to it was featured over at LibDem Voice. Some of the health service reforms are ... Continue reading →
Redcar & Cleveland's Liberal Democrat Group today abstained on the issue of councillors' allowances.The Independent Remuneration Panel which looks into councillors pay recommended no change this year.Lib Dem Leader Councillor Chris Abbott, who represents Newcomen ward, said:"We welcome the freeze in councillors' allowances. To increase the amounts would have been quite wrong in the current economic climate.""But there is a more fundamental issue here. Councillors should not be setting their own pay, and we have asked the Government to consider taking the decision away from councillors altogether."
Even though I am feeling like death warmed over with this chest infection, I awoke from my sleep this afternoon to see something that made me smile. A new first for me in the blogosphere and one I am very ... Continue reading →
Insurance is a difficult, not widely understood industry, in which equal treatment and markets collide. Pensions are very specific form of income insurance. What Insurance does is put a price on risk. It does that by assessing the different profiles of groups, across thousands of data points, and evaluates the likelihood of default. By nature this work is discriminatory. If for example it is the case that women generally have fewer motor accidents than men, they pay less for their car insurance. And this is usually a good thing. The differential pricing discourages higher risk groups from engaging in risky ...
Redcar & Cleveland's Liberal Democrat Group today voted against Labour's budget, calling it a "cop-out" which delays big decisions until after the May elections.Liberal Democrats have welcomed the Council's decision to set a 0% Council Tax rise. This has been made possible by a generous £1.4 million grant from central Government.But other aspects of Labour's budget are very concerning to Liberal Democrats. A major one is the lack of detail in the budget proposals.Lib Dem Leader Councillor Chris Abbott, who represents Newcomen ward, said:"We welcome the 0% Council Tax increase. In these tough economic times this will be a real ...
Nick Clegg has today once again run the gauntlet of Deputy Prime Minister's Questions. Although the chamber was significantly less full than the last time VN tuned in, some things haven't changed. Basically, this is half an hour when Labour get to shout at Clegg, and make themselves feel a bit better. Today they managed ...
Ekklesia, a Christian think-tank website, have written an excellent on article on the High Court non-judgment on the case of Mr and Mrs Johns, a Derbyshire Christian couple who want to continue fostering children. An organisation called "Christian Concern" sent me an email about this case entitled "High Court suggests Christian beliefs harmful to children". I have unsubscribed to their mailing list. I really don't think that sort of wild claim is helpful. On the subject of wild claims about this case, Gavin Drake has written an excellent analysis entitled: Misplaced outrage over High Court "ban" on Christian foster parents ...
One of the very reasons I became a Liberal Democrat in the first place was be cause of strong women within the party who held similar beliefs to my own. Baroness Williams is one of those women, but she has something else which is equally important in these times of coalition government. Shirley Williams has a wonderful way of saying that she disagrees with the coalition without it being dramatic or overly sentimental. In her opinion piece in The Times [£] she lays out her thoughts as to why she cannot support the coalition and its proposals for the National ...
As BBC Radio Cornwall's Graham Smith has reported, Cornwall Council has compiled a register of second homes in Cornwall but is refusing to make this information public. I can certainly see why it would be good to have this information in the open to use to help prevent electoral fraud. I can also understand why it might be seen as a burglar's charter. On balance, I agree with the Council's decision (also backed by the Information Commissioner) to keep it secret. But that is not the end of the matter. There is nothing to prevent the Council from using the ...
The other is that outside of welfare and benefit changes, the government is actually planning to be spending £2 billion per year more on public services than Labour was. You wouldn't guess from Labour's apparent opposition to each and every cut that outside welfare and benefit changes, Labour was actually planning to spend even less!"
Cornwall Council's priorities seem utterly at odds with what local people expect them to concentrate on. I have blogged before about the Chief Executive's £5,000 trip to New York and the £50,000 spent backing Plymouth's World Cup bid despite cutting library opening hours, services to homeless people and losing 2,000 staff. Now a new waste of money has come up. Cornwall Council is advertising for a timing system for eight running and cycle races each year at a likely cost of around £22,500. As the tender information makes clear, the Council wants to expand to organise more for other people ...
Three examples of lack of forward planning by the Conservatives. First example. Loddon Bridge park and ride. On page 109 of the agenda for the Executive meeting of 22nd February we read that the Loddon Bridge Park & Ride is to close on 4th February 2012. But there is nothing about replacement park & rides in the capital vision until 2015/16. A minimum 3 year gap. This gets more complicated. Because although the agenda says it's closing, maybe it isn't. The Lib Dems highlighted this last week, it's been picked up by the media, and I was on BBC Radio ...
[IMG: Reseeding grass verges] Hills Road verges were reseeded using EIP funds Liberal Democrats on Cambridge City Council have put £200,000 of council funds at the disposal of the Council's Area Committees, in order that the people who live there can take decisions on spending to improve the local environment. Suggestions for improvements go to the South Area meetings. Please let one of your councillors have your ideas for improving the local area. To start you off, in Queen Edith's environmental improvement grants have paid for: * dropped kerbs to help wheelchairs and pushchairs cross the road * tactile paving ...
Damn and double damn! One slip up and months of hard slog thrown away in minutes. I'll be absolutely fair to Birmingham though. They were up for it. Arsenal weren't.
Last week I was lucky enough to attend a talk by UK Justice Minister, and Lib Dem Leader in the Lords, Tom McNally. He was in town speaking at a conference on Freedom of Information. It was great to get a first hand account of the workings of the Coalition. He successfully scotched the notion that Ken Clarke was a Liberal. The joke doing the rounds was that in the coalition negotiations, David Cameron had said to Nick Clegg he could have five Lib Dem Cabinet ministers and he'd throw in Ken Clarke for free! According to his Lib Dem ...
Tue 1st
15:25
LibLink: Julian Astle - The real threat to the Coalition's public services reforms doesn't come from...
Over on his Telegraph blog, Julian Astle, director of the CentreForum think-tank and former adviser to Paddy Ashdown, argues that the real threat to the coalition's plans to reform public services comes not from European law, but more pertinently from the system of national pay bargaining. Here's an excerpt: Although the government is trying to raise standards across the board, its particular focus is on reducing the UK's intolerably high levels of health and educational inequality. But as Professor Alison Wolf has demonstrated, it is the system of national pay bargaining that locks these inequalities in place. Leave that system ...
This morning's Independent reveals that voluntary register of lobbyists is to be published today but already it has falled foul of accusations from transparency campaigners that it only features a small proportion of the controversial industry. They say that the UK Public Affairs Council (UKPAC) is to publish details of firms and individuals who work in lobbying alongside lists of their clients. But critics claim that up to 90% of lobbyists are shunning the register and so will not be included. This comes after years of demands for greater openness about who is trying to influence Government policy for whom. ...
To the great surprise of just about no one, the FA and referee Mark Clattenberg have ducked out of making Manchester United's Wayne Rooney face charges for his blatant elbowing of Wigan's James McCarthy at the weekend. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of the FA's somewhat strange procedure in cases such as these, it ...
Views differ in a discussion within the European Liberal Democrat group about future EU economic policy. A Swedish colleague puts the case for a "two speed" Europe and against too many common rules and requirements intended to ensure that the ... Continue reading →
Tue 1st
14:33
Putting a lid on it: say 'no' to new alcohol licences on Hills Road and at Cambridge Leisure?
Next Thursday's South Area meeting has some important issues, including crime and disorder problems on Hills Road and near the Cambridge Leisure Park. It will also be setting policing priorities and hearing about a city council policy on licensing lap-dancing clubs, after which planning applications will be determined. The meeting's at Homerton College and starts at 7.30pm. It is open to everyone, but will be focussing on issues relevant to the south of Cambridge, Queen Edith's, Cherry Hint0n and Trumpington. You can view an agenda on the City Council website. Extending the cumulative impact areas on Hills Road and at ...
This is a report that went to Stockport Council's Executive last November, detailing how the council was aiming to save over £16 million in the year 2011/12. It's (mostly) in plain English, so if you want to know how the money's been found, please take a look. The opposition Labour and Conservative groups did, of course, have this document from when it was first out. We've known of the need to make savings of around this scale since November 2009, and here are all the details. That means that, in addition to having 15 months to come up with their ...
Next Thursday's South Area meeting will be discussing some important issues, including a council policy for the licensing of sex establishments. The meeting's at Homerton College, open to everyone and starts at 7.30 p.m. You can view an agenda on the City Council website. Sex establishments Sex shops,pubs and clubs have to be licensed by their local authorities, which means they have to observe certain conditions. To date, sex clubs such as lap-dancing clubs have not needed a licence, but new legislation has given councils the power to regulate lap-dancing clubs and similar venues. Cambridge City Council is consulting on ...
Today's ruling by the European Court of Justice that insurance companies must not differentiate between men and women when setting prices for car insurance and other financial products is stupid and perverse. Responsible young female drivers will have to pay more to cover irresponsible young male drivers, who are statistically twice as likely to have an accident. How is that fair? My student daughter, a careful driver already feeling the financial pinch of rising fuel prices, will see the cost of her car insurance soar by 20-25 per cent, a blow she can ill afford and one she does not ...
[IMG: Letter from Mark Pack in Liberal Democrat News] Dinti Batstone (18 February) is absolutely right that the case to tackle discrimination is strengthened by remembering that we all lose out when discrimination occurs. If we miss out on some of the country's best talent in Parliament, or brightest at the top of our legal system or smartest running our largest firms then it isn't just those discriminated against who lose out. We all lose out from having a worse political system, an inferior legal system and a less healthy economy. Yours etc.
Cllr Alan Lawrance inspects the wall repairs The Safer Stronger Community Groups are where local people and community groups get together with local agencies (Police, Fire and Rescue, South Glos and local council officials, and local councillors) to try to solve local problems. The next meeting of the Yate Safer Stronger Community Group is at Poole Court this Thursday, 3rd March at 7pm (refreshments available from 6.45pm) The photo shows a Safer Stronger success - South Glos repaired damaged and dangerous walls at Abbotswood despite disputes over ownership. Please come along and take part in the meeting, whether it's to ...
Following the disgraceful accusations from the NO2AV campaign about the cost etc of moving to a fairer voting system I was pleased to see last weekends Independent on Sunday A leaked Treasury document highlighted in the IoS demolished a central plank of their case, plunging the NO campaign into chaos. The report showed a senior government minister admitting that the outcome of the referendum would not have ANY impact in terms of public spending: This fully rebuts the claims of the No camp, who have desperately claimed that a Yes vote in the AV referendum would jeopardise the lives ...
Whatever side of the debate you fall, most decent people realise that the now infamous No2AV baby adverts have gone too far. Interestingly, when I went hunting for them on the No2AV website, they were noticeable by their absence. However, they were certainly not absent in Birmingham, where the No campaign ran this in the Birmingham Mail ...
Full marks to Burger King for admitting they made a mistake in painting over a mural created by local kids. The My A'th Kar Newquay (MAKN) group had painted the mural on the side of the Burger King in Newquay. The fast food outlet then whitewashed over it without telling the kids. Cue a lot of angry recriminations. Now Burger King has admitted that it made a mistake and is giving £3,000 to the group and asking them to re-create the artwork. The full story is here.
According to BBC News, (Although they're not alone in using this quote) yesterday's decision to block a Christian couple from fostering because of their views on homosexuality is because "laws protecting people from discrimination because of their sexual orientation 'should take precedence' over the right not to be discriminated against on religious grounds." Although I agree with the end decision in this case, the quotation given is somewhat concerning. I'm worried about this idea that there is some sort of pecking order of oppression, that the gay community is somehow more oppressed than the religious community. That way lies Oppression ...
The accusation that this government lacks a mandate is frequently thrown around -- but what does it actually mean? A new Prime Minister walked into Downing Street, on less than fifty per cent of the vote. A predecessor went on the TV and suggested he "do nothing hasty, sit down have a cup of tea and a think". He did the opposite. Before the door had been shut at No.10, he had implemented the first new policy. Swift, radical, decisive. He didn't take it to Parliament for approval. It wasn't in his party manifesto. The action he took would affect ...
As my usual route into town takes me up West Stockwell Street – I'm normally headed to the Town Hall, and it's slightly less steep than North Hill – I've been able to see the progress of the work that's currently being carried out on the Stockwell Arms pub. There's clearly a massive restoration job going on there, and it's a credit to Robert Morgan, the new owner, that it's all to keep it as a pub, not turn it into flats and housing as many people had expected would happen when the pub closed a couple of years ago. ...
I explained in my previous LDV post a few weeks ago, why the Welsh Liberal Democrats are campaigning for a 'Yes' vote in the up-and-coming referendum on March 3rd. Well, how it's all going? Well, not too badly as it happens. Whilst in the 1997 devolution referendum, support came from the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Labour and Plaid Cymru (the Conservatives opposed it), now, all four are officially supportive of a 'Yes' vote. Across Wales, we have been helping with street stalls and delivering leaflets for the 'Yes' campaign. [IMG: Yes campaigners standing near a trestle table in a marketplace] Helping ...
Previously on the blog we brought you news of the goings on at Crosby Conservative Club. Much to Tory Councillor Martyn Barber's displeasure the members had turned to Jack Colbert a leading Lib Dem activist to take over the chairmanship of the club. News now reaches me that the Crosby Conservative Club is now called Crosby Village Social Club. The membership voted to pull out of the Conservative association -it has been a Conservative club since 1936. Jack (the one with his eyes shut) is pictured here with Sir Ron Watson
[IMG: ASA logo] The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is in the news today for two reasons - today is the day the ASA's remit extends in the online world and it's also in the news for (rightly) rejecting requests to rule on a controversial advert for May's electoral reform referendum. That its remit does not extend to such advertisements has come in for a fair amount of criticism and expressions of surprise, even though the ASA's decision last century to pull out from such regulation was not really controversial at the time. Why then did it pull out? A House ...
Fears are growing that Gaddafi could use chemical weapons on his own people as he still refuses to yield to protesters demands. The deluded BBC interview, in which he declares his own people "love him", might be ridiculously facetious but ... Continue reading →
All, I reprint the statement from the Lib Dems at County Hall about the recent budget announcement. A budget of missed opportunities Warwickshire County Council voted through its £66 million cuts budget yesterday, despite determined opposition by Liberal Democrat councillors. The ruling Conservative group used its block vote to defeat a Lib Dem amendment that would have eliminated the youth service cuts in 2011/12. Cllr. Jerry Roodhouse, Lib Dem Group Leader, said: "The legacy of past mistakes and missed opportunities by the Conservative administration meant that this budget was much tougher than it needed to be. "Over £1 million was ...
The lesson from David Meerman Scott's post The secret to getting 50,000 followers on Twitter is just as applicable in the field of politics, such as if you are a councillor wanting to communicate with residents via Twitter or a Parliamentary candidate wanting to build up an email list of constituents. The lesson itself? Simple: The secret is that there is no secret... You need to build a fan base one effort at a time over the long haul. The idea may have come from an American marketer via an initial music industry idea, but that's been my own experience ...
Figures just released by Salford Council show that last year, two events they hosted and paid for "on behalf of the city", lost almost £400,000 of taxpayer's money. The Proms in the Park which was held in Buile Hill Park and broadcast live by the BBC lost £199,500 in 2010 and The Ice Rink (which was moved to The Quays last Christmas in a last ditch, desperate attempt to stem the losses of previous years), lost £154,300. Neither the Proms in the Park nor the Ice Rink has ever made a profit for Salford Council and the cumulative losses for ...
One of four children did not get their first choice secondary school in St Albans and a total of 26 children did not get any of their preferences. This compares with Harpenden, where 90% got their first preference and where only 2 children failed to get any. Chris says: 'County are spinning this as a good news story. For may St Albans families it is a day of disappointment – further demonstrating the lack of suitable school places in the city.'
It is with some trepidation that I venture in my first Blog for March to take on two venerable British Institutions - Shirley Williams and the NHS. I have massive respect for Shirley and even remember being devastated when she ... Continue reading →
The weekend debate over on the Lib Dem Voice this week was on house prices - should we want them to go up or to come down? I am unsure whether or not I can look at this objectively, as it is in my best interests that they fall. I am a mid 20s professional with no realistic hope of being on the property ladder any time soon. That said one of the main reasons for this is the area where I have chosen to live. I can't imagine house prices around the Bath area falling no matter how much ...
Lord Mandelson the former Labour spinmeister has proffered his advice to the son of the outgoing leader of Hell: "I can hardly believe it" he told the Absolutely Unbiased BBC "If only he had called me for advice, as he usually does" "I would have made it clear that threatening to torch the whole Earth and drag mortals into the pit of eternal flame might have been presented differently" he said. "The Satanic Princeling and Lord of Pain might have suggested that warming the planet and offering a bespoke punishment service was, in the end, a net positive". "Colonel Ga-Devil ...
Never let it be said that self-referentiality is dead in Parliament. I give you Early Day Motion 432 for 2010-11 which calls for EDMs to be reformed or abolished. EDMs have come in for a fair degree of flack (and it's hard to see what the David Hasselhoff And Morecambe Winter Gardens EDM really achieved). However, many of the criticisms are easily dealt with by simple reforms, such as abolishing the expensive printing of hard copies of EDMs in large quantities. With a few such simple reforms, EDMs could be an effective, and cost-effective, part of our Parliamentary processes. On ...
Regular readers of this blog will be aware that I have rather a lot of form when it comes to internal Party debate on issues of diversity and representation. I've spoken in the last three debates and, when it became clear that we would have another debate next weekend in Sheffield, I did wonder whether or not to dip my toe in this rather stormy water again. I admit to being minded to sit this one out, but can't resist some comment. Perhaps it might inspire me to put a card in... who knows? So, let's dip into this confectionery ...
In eleven days time Liberal Democrats from across the country, including myself, will be gathering in Sheffield for the Party's Spring Conference. I thought I'd preview what we will be discussing. In the main hall I would hope to be in the hall for the debate on the new policy paper on the voluntary sector early on the Saturday morning. Later that morning is the first of the potentially controversial items as conference debates a motion that attempts to bring Liberal Democrat policy in line with the approach to the NHS announced by the coalition government. Although myself I am ...
The Independent Diary has news of the former Liberal Demcorat MP for Montgomery and his amibitions to be Mayor of London:: Still vainly chasing the Lib Dem nomination, Opik's latest gambit is an electoral ad entitled "Citizen Lem", which casts him in the same mould as Wolfie Smith of the revolutionary Tooting Popular Front. "An unemployed dreamer," says Wikipedia of Wolfie, "whose plans fall through because of laziness and disorganisation". Well, no one would ever accuse Lembit of laziness.And here is the video... Citizen Lem from Mancha Productions on Vimeo. The poet Burns comments: O wad some Power the giftie ...
The final transfers in the Irish election have been counted and the picture is now clear. Enda Kenny - The new Taoiseach in-waiting As had been expected from reading opinion polls leading up to the election and as I commented upon here and here in my blog, Fine Gael have soared to a historic victory. The economic meltdown has led to the meltdown in Ireland's main party of power over the past 80 years, Fianna Fáil. Whilst they crumbled to their worst result since 1932, all of their main opponents made hay in their place. Earlier thie week I predicted ...
At City Council meetings we have a half hour slot during which members of the public (representing groups or not) can make a statement, ask a question or present a petition. At a normal meeting this has proved more than enough (in fact on several occasions there have been no takers) However tomorrow's budget Council meeting is clearly very different. Large numbers of people have asked to speak, in fact are desperate to speak. Yet it seems to date that the Council is sticking to the 30 minutes, telling anyone other than the six who got in first that the ...
Baby-booomers are predicted to be in the news today, as the National Pensioners' Convention is to lobby parliament to point out that not all the retired are living the life of Riley by squandering their children's inheritance. Having been born before rather than after the war I am not strictly speaking a baby-boomer but in many ways I feel I have had even better fortune than they. Of course the war years and those immediately following were austere, but I wasn't old enough to realise what I was missing and as no one I knew enjoyed the luxuries of "normal" ...
i) births and deaths 1 March 1918: birth of Roger Delgado, the first Master (1971-73). ii) broadcast anniversaries 1 March 1969: broadcast of sixth episode of The Seeds of Death. The Doctor uses the weather control system to destroy the seeds, and draws the Ice Warrior fleet off course; the Earth is saved. 1 March 1975: broadcast of second episode of The Sontaran Experiment. Styre experiments on Sarah, but Harry sabotages his ship and Styre is killed; the Earth is saved.. 1 March 1982: broadcast of first episode of Black Orchid. The Tardis lands at Cranleigh Hall in the 1930s, ...
After Sunday's video about Schedule Five to the Government of Wales Act 2006 the least I can do is to feature this excellent video from the Swansea Yes Campaign. Kudos to local band Broken City Skyline, who provided the soundtrack. Two days to go! Don't forget to vote yes. You know it makes sense.
It's a very strange situation to be in, So much being said, much of it complete rubbish and not being in a position to comment. I can't see that continuing!
I freely admit that I am not a huge fan of things aquatic, the deal being that I stay on land, and the sharks stay in the water. However, I was persuaded to go for a gentle paddle, and encountered a number of these cute creatures. They're called sergeant majors and live in the shallow waters around reefs. Given that Montego Bay has reefs very close to the shoreline, one of which could be approached opposite our hotel, there was always a possibility that I might find something like this. There were some almost see-through pipefish and some small wrasse ...
Tidy Ted, street wardens and the county "Pride" team kicked off Consett North's Week in Action today at Consett Infant School. Enthusiatic youngsters greeted Tidy Ted and his message that litter is nasty and dangerous, and the team were greatly encouraged by the response. Later in the day the "Pride" team went on the first of several "walkabouts" which will take place this week. For full details of the week click here
I often use blog entries as the basis for articles in Focus leaflets. Today I will work the other way around and show you my email reply to a comment on Focus. You should be able to fill in the gaps and imagine the initial email. Anyway, here is my reply... Firstly, thank you for taking the time to read Focus and to respond. I am a Liberal Democrat and your involvement enriches politics. You are quite correct that tuition fees are not paid up front, but in the case of poorer students there would be no up front charge ...
