Thank you for your letter of 19 February, about the imprisoned Baha'i leaders in Iran. I share your concern about reports of the recent transfer of the two women Baha'i leaders to another prison unit. A senior Government official expressed our concern to the Iranian Charge d'Affaires in London on 18 February, requested further details of the reasons for the transfers, and sought assurances that they would be protected from harm. We remain in contact with the Iranian authorities about this case. The Iranian Government has not responded to consistent messaging from the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council (HRC) ...
The regional news this evening showed welcome footage of the units for the new day care unit arriving on site at St Luke's in Market Harborough. This report from a few days ago, recorded when those units were still sitting at Tilbury Docks, shows my old friend Phil Knowles and reveals that the local primary care trust has been no more forthcoming with the Harborough Mail than it was with the Leicester Mercury.
Text of a letter of March 14 from FCO Minister Jeremy Browne MP: Thank you for your letter of 1 February, about religious intolerance against Shia Muslims in Malaysia. Freedom of religion is enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution, albeit with some limitations. Malaysia is a Federal state with a complex juridical system which includes the use of Shariah courts. In 1996 the Malaysian National Fatwa Council issued a Fatwa declaring Shfa to be a deviant sect. As this Council is under the Governments Islamic Advancement Department its decrees are de facto law. In December, the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) ...
This evening the House of Commons overwhelmingly supported of international action against the Gaddafi regime in Libya. Only 13 MPs voted against the motion and no Liberal Democrats were among them. I too support the motion, as it would have been more than I could stomach to see Britain sit back and do nothing while Gaddafi massacred his opponents How things will turn out in the long run is, of course, far from clear. But the current action does expose the dishonesty of Blair's argument over Iraq that no policies are available in such situations other than mounting an invasion ...
Before we start, I'd just like to apologise for the lack of replies to comments recently, especially on part 2 of this series. My life recently has been... not bad, but full of incident, and it's taken all my spare energy to get even the few posts I've managed up. Those of you who've followed ...
9.30am Stanley Park High School Project Board I attended this project board meeting to receive an update on progress with the new build and the compulsory purchase order for the access road. 12 noon Cobblers Awl, Wallington Cllr Hall & I had made an appointment to speak to the owner of this shop in Woodcote ...
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has apparently announced plans to scrap the system whereby local government staff transferred to private companies to continue doing their old job keep their original terms and conditions. The system, known variously as the 'two-tier code' or TUPE, ensures that the private firms cannot force employees to accept much worse pay and conditions or lose their jobs. Contrary to some press reports, the vast majority of local government staff are not overpaid fat cats. They earn above minimum wage, but they are not raking in the six figure sums which make the papers. The concern is ...
I have to admit that campaigning for real has involved learning a lot of new skills. As a paper candidate, you aren't expected to deliver anything in your own patch and, if you do, it is generic in nature. However, as the leaflet designer for the Stowupland campaign team, I've had to master PagePlus, learn to write succinctly - not an easy thing to do when you're a bureaucrat - and match pictures with prose. It's also got to be done quickly too, even more so as the campaign reaches a crescendo. I prefer to e-mail my leaflet to my ...
Department of Cardiology King's College Hospital ESS 02 March 2011 Dear Dr Mukhopadhyay Lord Eric Avebury, DOB: 29-09-1928, Hospital No: D442931, NHS No: 4644474150 26 Hodden Road, Camberwell, London SE5 9LH Diagnoses: 1. Peripheral Vascular Disease - EVAR 2. Maltoma excised by Mr Michael Marrinan in 2006 3. A Road Traffic Accident creating a Colonic Laceration requiring Laparotomy - 2001 4. Barrett's Oesophagus 5. Anaemia of unknown aetiology 6. GTN Medication: 1. Domperidone 10 mg BD 2. Bisoprolol1.25mgOD 3. Ramipril1.25mgOD 4. Omeprazole 20 mg OD 5. CalcichewD3x1BD 6. Solifenacin 10 mg OD 7. Furosemide 20 mg OD 8. Amlodipine 5 ...
Almost a year in to this car crash of a ruling Coalition we're facing another budget, this one a growth budget from Boy George and his posh mates. It'll be aimed at getting the small to medium businesses employing the thousands of public sector workers thrown on to the altar of free enterprise. Enough talk of cuts, now we focus on getting back in the race and back on top. From where I sit, its a pretty funny race we're hoping to compete in. The world is changing and the old sureties about Europe and the West are changing with ...
A couple of arguments I have heard against the Alternative Vote system (AV) this week that I want to respond to. Firstly - you wouldn't want to go to the Olympics and see the following 100m result: Usain Bolt: 9.69seconds Tyson Gay: 9.72seconds Asafa Powell: 9.76seconds Only for Asafa to be awarded the gold, Usain the bronze and the silver to go to someone who finished in 10.1seconds. No of course you wouldn't - and you also wouldn't want the gold medal to go to someone who was leading after 60m! In an AV election the finishing line is once ...
*drum roll* The prize for least surprising story of the year is.... Pick your jaw off the ground, the FT have revealed that the former Downing Street spinner Andy Coulson has set up privately as a communications consultant. After his departure form Number 10. it was really only a matter of time. Whatever one things ...
On Radio 4. According to the programme, Blue Labour might be pro-mutuals and so non-Statist in that sense but keen on economic intervention and managing immigration.
[IMG: image] I see elsewhere on the internet revelations have been made linking me to nobility, I'm disappointed Thanet's latest fantasist didn't expose my association with Lord Lucan and his pals Aspinal, Goldsmith etc. or my role in smuggling "Lucky" out of the country. What next, I wonder, perhaps I'll find myself as Clive Hart's best mate, along with Thanet Labour's "old boy network", perhaps praising Senior Thanet Labour bods for honesty, integrity, and openness in dealing fairly with colleagues. I get the impression that for some reason local editors have been warned off, reporting on Labours, goings on, still ...
Cross-posted from Liberal Democrat Voice. "Justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done." That famous aphorism is commonly quoted, though perhaps not in the courts that hand down hyper-injunctions whose very existence ... Continue reading →
Usual rules: bold if you've read, strike through if you hated, italics if it's on the shelf waiting to be read. Both these lists are from Ian Sales. The first is his list of "Mistressworks": 1 Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (1818) 2 Herland, Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1915) 3 Orlando, Virginia Woolf (1928) 4 Lest Ye Die, Cicely Hamilton (1928) 5 Swastika Night, Katherine Burdekin (1937) 6 Wrong Side of the Moon, Francis Leslie Ashton (1951) 7 The Sword of Rhiannon, Leigh Brackett (1953) 8 Pilgrimage: The Book of the People, Zenna Henderson (1961) 9 Memoirs of a Spacewoman, Naomi Mitchison (1962) ...
You might have read in the papers about grids being stolen around Stockport – for their scrap value. Where they're stolen, the Council is replacing them with non-metal grids which have no resale value but at £200 a time, the costs are still mounting. Now we've spotted grids stolen in Cheadle. Two on The Downs had already been reported, and Pam spotted more on Schools Hill (opposite 76, near South View Gardens), Daylesford Road and Daylesford Close. Pam's reported them – they should be made safe quickly (e.g. with a traffic cone put in) and then a replacement grid put ...
I was going to write a long post about how our currently overly complex tax system is crying out for simplification and that despite the fact that there will doubtless be some anomalies that need to be ironed out, the putative harmonisation of NI and income tax rates would be a good thing. And then I came across this post on the Adam Smith Institute blog with this table describing NI and tax rates when currently taken together that illustrates more eloquently than I could articulate in words why the current situation is crazy:
Well today see's the start of delivery of my first leaflet constituency wide and my team and I have been busy working on three other leaflets with maybe two more to follow. We have our office up and running in Llandudno Junction and plans are now in place to step up our Welsh Assembly election campaign.
Here are some selections from today's debate in Parliament so far on the United Nations resolution on Libya and subsequent military action which touch on the questions of international law, the Liberal Democrat position, what is happening in other countries and the question of Iraq: Bob Russell (Colchester) (LD):In view of the obviously barbaric attacks by Gaddafi on his own people, does the Prime Minister agree that those officials and military chiefs who are still standing firm with Gaddafi stand every chance of being hauled before the war crimes tribunal? The Prime Minister: The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. ...
I'm pleased to see that, following my last update about pedestrian safety at the Blackness Avenue/Hawkhill junction, the City Council has erected the agreed six bollards at the footpath edge on Blackness Avenue and immediately to the east on Hawkhill. These will emphasise to drivers not to drive too close to the pavement along Hawkhill, where pupils are walking to and from school.
Signpost International has asked that I highlight their upcoming superb night at the Apex Hotel in Dundee, to benefit the many impoverished communities in India, Uganda and Philippines that Signpost works in. See below for further details, call Dundee 660072, or e-mail enquiries@signpost-international.org.
I was saddened to learn of the death of Mr Douglas Lang of Perth Road, who died last Friday in an avalanche, whilst climbing in Glen Doll. My thoughts are with Mr Lang's family at this sad time.
In an earlier post today I said I would come back to the question of AV. I have already discussed the up and coming referendum and suggested various things one should consider when deciding how to cast your vote. What if the public vote no to AV? Conventional wisdom says this would be bad for the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg and possibly the coalition. It is worth repeating the rule that the worse things get for the Liberal Democrats the more likely they are to stay in the coalition. They will be looking for signs of economic recovery and the ...
"Justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done." That famous aphorism is commonly quoted, though perhaps not in the courts that hand down hyper-injunctions whose very existence is kept secret on the pain of imprisonment. This incredible situation was exposed in Parliament by John Hemming MP, whose work deserves to be widely read. When you read a hyper-injunction what strikes you is the sheer sweeping arrogance of the way they make themselves almost totally secret. One of the many questions raised these injunctions is how they can be compatible with the right ...
According to a tweet from Peter Bedford, Leicester City Council's planning committee has turned down the application to build sports facilities on Aylestone Meadows by six votes to five.
Today the County Council issued a press release, announcing some of the results of the consultation on Care Homes. However they insist on calling it a "conversation". As the Cabinet papers have not yet been released, we don't know what they will be recommending. Three options were put forward: Sell all the homes as going concerns Close six of the homes and sell the other ten Close all the homes More than a thousand responses were received. Here's an extract from the press release: 53% of people favoured selling homes as going concerns 31% said they did not agree with ...
As you know, I've been tweeting and writing a lot about Authors for Japan, Keris Stainton's imaginative project to raise money for those who have lost everything as a result of the natural disasters in Japan. Bidding closed last night and in 5 days, the site raised £10,962.25. I managed to get signed copies of Shine and Glitter by Kate Maryon, and a character name in her fourth book, which I'm sure Anna will appreciate. Keris has put a huge amount of work into this and can be very proud of how it's all turned out.
Yesterday's BBC Politics Show included a feature on Lembit Opik's hopes to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London. It's still available online to watch (see here; it starts at 47:42). Most notable was the news that no Liberal Democrat MP, GLA member or council leader in London is backing him, that he would hold a referendum on asking the public to pay considerably more in order to fund a 24-hour tube and that he twice described his political views as libertarian.
An MEP has attacked a "cover up culture" in the European Parliament for creating opportunities for political corruption on a massive scale. UK Liberal Democrat Chris Davies says that allegations that three senior MEPs had taken money for tabling amendments ... Continue reading →
There was another interesting piece in the Lib Dem voice last Friday regarding tax reforms, in particular the potential combination of National Insurance and Income Tax. I know this has been mentioned for quite some time but until I saw that blog I wasn't aware it was so far up the agenda. As someone who worked in tax for a few years (and now no longer relies on it's complexity for my living) I have to say that in general this is a welcome reform. The actual contributions basis of social security has long been irrelevant whilst it will prevent ...
There were two principal council elections held on 17th March. Labour took a seat off the SNP and we took a seat off the Tories. There were no parish or town council by-election results reported to ALDC. In the Pembury ward of Tunbridge Wells council we last won a seat in a 2005 by-election. Since then it had been solidly Tory. The Tories put up a candidate from outside the village, who was planning to move even further away and had lost two local elections in the previous 12 months in other wards. We stood Claire Brown who is a ...
Following the public meeting last week at South Reading Youth and Community Centre to discuss ongoing anti-social behaviour problems by the shops on Northumberland Avenue when I raised serious concerns with the Chief Executive of the Council and others I have received the following response from officers. 1. Parking Several people said that there were issues with people parking anti-socially outside/opposite Northumberland Avenue shops and cars being dumped. Officers have confirmed to me that Streetcare officers will look at the abandoned car (and Affinity have confirmed they are aware and dealing appropriately). Officers will raise this matter with the Police. It is believed that the planned controlled parking zone may ...
There are now officially 150 things worth reading on the internet. The people disarmed – Chris Bertram's take on the Libyan no fly zone. TPA – Sinclair the Shameless – An excellent post from Tim Fenton of Zelo Street on the many ways you can describe Matthew Sinclair of the Taxpayers' Alliance. Cosmonaut Crashed Into Earth 'Crying In Rage' – The fascinating story of Vladimir Komarov's death on Soyuz 1, his friendship with Yuri Gagarin and the Soviet politics that surrounded them. (via) Warning: there's a pretty nasty picture of human remains at the start of the story. Let's look ...
London Liberal Democrats really need to pull their finger out on the selection of a new candidate for London Mayor. Labour have already had their selection process done and dusted between Oona King and Ken Livingstone. Even though Boris delayed his decision we now know he is the Conservative candidate. So what's taking so long? I read at Lib Dem Voice that this is because the party were focusing on the GLA list of candidates for the London Assembly. But I don't see why this should hold up the candidate selection for Mayor. In order to have a cat in ...
I never thought I would be writing these words about a British court, but here goes. In this country a court can make an injunction that not only prevents those involved in a case from talking about its details or ... Continue reading →
The think tank Reform is a master of guerilla tactics. It claims to be one of the most influential of right-wing think tanks, but it cannot be described as heavyweight. It flits from one subject to the next, making eye-catching claims and recommendations based on very thin research. Its reports contain thought-provoking insights alongside assertions based on air, amid lots of right-wing waffle. Its most recent offering Off Balance, which looks at economic growth, is a case in point. Based on its headline claims, I had intended to use it as base to blog on the subject of the conflict ...
Thanks to the excellent prosnooker blog which I heartily recommend to all snooker officianados, I have seen within hours of the draw, the 2011 Snooker World Championship First Round fixture list for the competition at the Crucible between April 16th - May 2nd. What a tournament it is set to be! Wales Resurgent Of particular interest to me is the fact that there will be 5 Welsh players in the tournament proper this year. In my near 20 years of watching snooker, I can't remember when Wales last had such a complement in the final 32 in Sheffield - if ...
This post about the Railway Alphabet has some interesting history of the typography of our railways and hospitals (yes, really - subtle design decisions can have a huge impact on what we see around use every day) but it's also well worth reading through to the end for some great lesser used tourist signs.
It goes without saying that the geopolitical landscape has shifted dramatically in recent weeks. VN won't take up time here analysing that too deeply, accomplished foreign policy commentators have done so already in fascinating detail, but it is worth looking at the domestic political implications of it all. Although it has had it's faults, the ...
When the public is searching for information about prominent politicians online, one of the most common things looked for is their Twitter account – so says the data from search engine giant Google. Chances are you've noticed that as you start typing a search term into Google's search box, it tries to guess what you are typing, suggesting several ways to complete what you are typing in. Those guesses are derived from Google's huge data set of what people having been searching for online, so seeing what Google suggests also reveals what the most popular searches made by other people ...
The BBC has the story. This is the first that I have heard the term. I don't know how much support it has but it is an interesting analysis of the social democratic consensus. It rather enforces my point that there are non-Statists in all three parties and that there is now a Statist and non-Statist dividing line in British politics.
Julian Glover has an excellent piece in the Guardian today on what is keeping the coalition together. That is the coalition between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives not the newly arranged anti-Gaddafi coalition. He raises the issue of AV and the referendum. More of that later and its impact on the two parties. But one thing he doesn't say but does imply. The worst the polls are for both parties the more likely it is that they will see out a five-year term. This is especially true for the Liberal Democrats.
First evidence of Gaddafi's human shields comes to light...
You couldn't make it up! Nottingham City Council allocated Council Houses to people who shouldn't have had them and when the Auditor exposed the practise they came to a cosy agreement with the police to let them investigate themselves Nottingham City Council communications before local elections in 2007 bore a striking resemblance to Labour slogans. The Auditor accepted Council assurances and did not seek a court ruling on the lawfulness. When I discovered a document suggesting Officer involvement in Council and Labour communications the Auditor agreed to let the Council investigate this itself. Nottingham City Council is employing a consultant ...
We've moved into the opening few days of open confrontation between the UN-mandated forces and the Libyan authorities under Gaddafi's command. I blogged here last week about my support for the UN-led action on Libya but now, as we look at the repercussions of the opening days of conflict, it's worth casting an eye to the end-game. How's it going so far? What is the aim of the UN-sanctioned action in the first place? Well, it is too safeguard the Libyan civilians who are opposing Gaddafi's rule. So, how's it going so far? Well, by all accounts it seems to ...
An interesting debate over on the Crooked Timber website on the wording of UN resolutions authorising armed interventions. Basically, the protection of civilian lives is coming more and more to the fore and resolution 1973 (2011) apparently breaks new ground. The key statement in resolution 1973 is this: 'Member States that have notified the Secretary-General, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, and acting in cooperation with the Secretary-General' are authorized 'to take all necessary measures , . . . . . to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including ...
I find myself simultaneously amused and saddened slightly by the language in this article in the Independent. The piece reveals to us that some security guards now have the power to "request a name and address for a string of offences including criminal damage, begging and anti-social behaviour" around Victoria Station as part of a trial into increasing the power of security guards. "Request"? The security guards have always had the power to request this, just as I have the power to request the name and address of the person sitting next to me on the Clapham Omnibus. As long ...
This is the second in our series, Why Vote Yes, where prominent Liberal Democrats explain the importance of voting Yes in May's referendum on the UK Parliamentary voting system. Yesterday, Charles Kennedy described A chance for change we cannot miss. Today, Paddy Ashdown writes: Fellow Liberal Democrats - I've been in politics for a long time. There's nothing wrong with people of any age getting involved, from a teenager to a centenarian. We can all make a difference. But when almost every politician at the top of the "No" campaign was already a dinosaur by the time I was first ...
This comment from the BBC 'Breaking News live comment stream' summarises some of my concerns on the Libya operations. Wing Commander Andrew Brookes from the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London tells the BBC World Service the air strikes on Libya have "degraded" the country's defence system "very much". He says: "The trouble is that Libya is not a target-rich environment for that sort of weapon. So you probably end up very shortly with them running out of those concrete, bunker-type facilties. So the rebels are getting protected, Gaddafi's defence infrastructure is being hit. But if, as some suspect, ...
It's easy to become obsessed with the local elections (if you're a candidate in them, if for no other reason), but don't forget that on May 5th there's another vote as well – the Referendum on changing our electoral system. We have the chance to vote to move away from the First Past The Post ...
One of the favourite taunts our political opponents (on every side of the spectrum) like to poke us with is 'naivety'. This is usually in response to a piece of creative thinking from the Lib Dems which has led to an unusual slant on policy, that gets dismissed out of hand by the other parties - and quite often adopted by them some little way down the line as they see the thinking is more effective, differentiating and popular. Naivety is an interesting 'insult' - as I think naive thinking is often the best sort of thinking. Having grown up ...
The contracts are signed, the first grass sod has been turned, and the development of the new Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre in St Albans is underway. Willmott Dixon, the Council's building contractor began work on site on Monday 21 March, following initial work to prepare the site in January and February. The first grass sod was cut by the Mayor of St Albans, Councillor Maxine Crawley, the ceremonial head of the Council, in a recent groundbreaking ceremony (pictured). It is hoped that the centre, which is due to be completed in summer 2012, will encourage increased participation in physical activity ...
The headline in The Sun this morning: I do conclude, and acknowledge, The Sun is quite enthusiastic and nationalistic on foreign affairs and gives passionate support to the forces in general. However, let us not romantise the arena of war. ... Continue reading →
As I mentioned in a blog post here a fortnight ago, I've had a real conundrum to deal with, with regards to the Cardigan Primary School planning application. The issue as stated previously is that whilst I sit on the Governing Body of the school, the plans and the impact of the new entrance onto Pont-Y-Cleifion in particular, have aroused concerns from local residents. As their local Councillor, it is my duty to represent those concerns at the necessary level. However, as a Council appointed member of the primary school's governing body, I have had a clear conflict of interest. ...
A couple of weeks ago, Jeff over at Better Nation started off a petition to get Patrick Harvie of the Green Party included in the leaders' debates in the run up to the Holyrood elections, building on a post written the day before by James, who works for Patrick. This campaign has garnered quite a lot of support since from people like Lallands Peat Worrier and The Burd. Much as I can see their point, to be honest, I've been a bit rhett butlerish about the whole thing so I thought it was maybe time to explain why, frankly, I'm ...
Mon 21st
10:49
Possible city centre congestion management ideas outlined to retailers ahead of planned summer consu...
Options for congestion management in St Albans were outlined at an informal meeting with city centre retailers on 28 February. Measures being proposed include: · Restricting private vehicle access in St Peter's Street at certain times of the day · Improved bus transport · Innovations to bus fare payment options including by mobile phone · Metro-style bus routes on arterial city routes · Mini park and ride sites · Walking and cycling schemes including a green ring around the city · An Abbey Flyer tram route · Car sharing and car clubs · Measures to encourage electric vehicles (16 charging ...
So far, events in the Ivory Coast have received far less attention than those in Libya, even prior to the military intervention in the latter. Ivory Coast may not have the proximity to Europe of Libya, or a ruler to match the eye-catching nature of Colonel Gadaffi, but it has a President who has refused to leave office after losing an election and who has refused to cooperate fully with the UN. UN troops have already been deployed to the country but a political stalemate has ensued as the UN has not been willing to authorise further steps, such as ...
A new site has been launched in order to foster better engagement with politics. It is called 'Jolitics' and you can access it by clicking this link.
With limited resources, few volunteers, and restricted time it is important for a party to know what is effective in increasing the vote. Large amounts of time and money have gone into knocking on doors, posting mail, and organising events but do we know how effective these are, if at all? Looking at some experiments ...
Saturday afternoon, at the Secularist of the Tear event. This year's award winner was Sophie in 't Veld MEP, who spoke very well about the work she has been doing in the Dutch Parliament. She is a member of Democrats 66, part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
I spent a good part of Saturday evening helping to record the first podcast on The Pitstraight site. I don't know quite why I persist in trying out these new methods of broadcasting when it's patently obvious I'm best at writing, but I thoroughly enjoyed spending an hour or so chatting about one of my favourite subjects with some nice people. Clearly podcasting gets round my "face for radio" issues, but it isn't perfect. When I write and I mess something up, I can hide it so you'd never know. Unfortunately, my gob doesn't have a backspace key, so there ...
Martin Johnson. socialise this: [IMG: add 'The one person in need of an English Defence League on Saturday.....' a Del.icio.us] [IMG: add 'The one person in need of an English Defence League on Saturday.....' a digg] [IMG: add 'The one person in need of an English Defence League on Saturday.....' a Stumble Upon] [IMG: add 'The one person in need of an English Defence League on Saturday.....' a FaceBook] [IMG: add 'The one person in need of an English Defence League on Saturday.....' a Twitter]
A few people have mentioned that they've had trouble posting comments on the blog because the Captcha anti-spam mechanism is foiling them. It is a pain and some of the words can be difficult to read. The reason it's there is that, before we had it, we were flooded with spam comments – well over a hundred a day. Now it's down to 10-15 a day. I'll contact the technical people and find out if there's an easier captcha option that might get us a bit more spam but also make it easier for genuine commenters. In the meantime, two ...
Yate Town Council and Dodington Parish Council have agreed to take the lead on a new community effort to tackle issues in "Priority Neighbourhoods" where it is felt that extra activity and investment will benefit a specific area. They will be forming a Community Lead Group with South Glos to co-ordinate the involvement of local people and to bring together other local organisations, plus agencies such as the Fire and Rescue Service and the Health Service. They hope to build on the many examples of positive work undertaken by the three councils and local community groups including Yate in Bloom ...
At least one former Labour Government Minister is prepared to stand up and point out where her party is getting it wrong. According to today's Daily Telegraph, Labour's former Communities Secretary, Hazel Blears told the BBC Politics Show that her party should be "explicit" about the cuts it planned to make. She said: "I think we could be pretty explicit about where we had plans to cut. We said we would cut the deficit by half in four years, and I think we should absolutely stick to that and be clearer about what that means. "The public expects us to ...
Coalition to make squatting a criminal offence - Telegraph Oh for fuck's sake. Why are they calling it "the coalition" for this one when this is so clearly a Tory policy? I mean, the landed property owning classes really NEED protecting against the homeless, don't they? * headdesk headdesk headdesk * (tags: government bloodytories) Target novels republished with original Chris Achilleos art, no less! (tags: doctorwho)
Labour's Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Peter Hain goes over the top this morning with yet more headline-seeking claims that don't stand up to scrutiny. This time he is arguing that the scrapping of three big infrastructure projects by the UK Government has resulted in cuts equivalent to nearly £17,000 for every resident of Wales. He says that decisions not to proceed with the Severn Barrage, the defence training academy at St Athan and the Energy Island project on Anglesey together represented a loss of an astonishing £50.7bn for the Welsh economy - or £16,900 for every man, woman ...
There was a story in Pink News last week about trans pensions which struck me as slightly odd and has generated interest in some circles. From just the opening couple of paragraphs you could be forgiven for assuming that this was the problem of Trans women who turn 60 now not getting pensions because they're unable to get a Gender Recognition Certificate. Certainly I'd be very concerned (And firing off emails and letters to all sorts of people) if they government had rejected any notion of fixing this as I'm hopeful the forthcoming Marriage Equality Bill will resolve a lot ...
Mon 21st
08:55
LibLink... Danny Alexander: We are on course to deliver all four of our manifesto priorities
[IMG: Four key Lib Dem manifesto commitments] At the start of Budget week, Danny Alexander writes at Comment is Free that the coalition government is about more than balancing the books, but about enacting reform with a foundation of economic recovery. He returns to the commander's intent of the Liberal Democrat General Election manifesto, restating its four key policies - Fair taxes that put money back in your pocket A fair chance for every child A fair future, creating jobs by making Britain greener A fair deal for you from politicians - and appropriately for Budget week, majors on tax: ...
Meeting with Grant Shapps, Housing Minister Our two local MPs Paul Burstow & Tom Brake had arranged a meeting with the Housing Minister to include myself and council leader Sean Brennan together with Frank Berry of SFTRA (Sutton Federation of Tenants and Residents Associations). At the meeting we acknowledged the favourable Decent Homes settlement Sutton had recently received, ...
i) births and deaths 21 March 1915: birth of Ian Stuart Black, author of The Savages (1966), The War Machines (1966) and The Macra Terror (1967). 21 March 1923: birth of Peter Pratt, who played the Master in The Deadly Assassin (1976). 21 March 1936: birth of Roger Hammond, who played Francis Bacon in The Chase (1965) and Dr. Runciman in Mawdryn Undead (1983). 21 March 1946: birth of Timothy Dalton, who played Rassilon in The End of Time (2009-2010). 21 March 1983: birth of Bruno Langley, who played Adam in Dalek and The Long game (2005). ii) broadcast anniversaries ...
Using Nick Clegg's description of those hard working individual on a mediocre salary, never more than one pay cheque away from an overdraft, the Lib Dems in coalition have secured a fantastic tax concession for 'alarm clock' workers in Britain.From 6th April this year, the threshold for which basic rate tax is collected will rise to £7,475 (from the current £6,475) meaning that in West Sussex alone 1,750 people will no longer pay any income tax at all whilst a further 58,300 will pay £200 a year less! As the concession is restricted, unlike tax breaks introduced by previous administrations, ...
Bit surprised to read in Saturday's Nottingham Post that councillors are due to discuss whether there will be a Tesco East Side at Wednesday's Development Control Committee. I've read the papers for that meeting, and this isn't due to be discussed. It is, however, a fascinating agenda. We will be considering a huge variety of different planning applications. A police warehouse changing to student digs. The building of a new aerospace hangar at the University of Nottingham. A renovation of a block in the Lace Market – including cleaning the dingy brown bricks to reveal that they are, in fact, ...
If you don't like what the government is doing then shouldn't you say what you prefer? It seems obvious to me that an opposition should set out an alternative way forward but the Labour Party is reluctant to say anything because this leaves it open to attack. In 1992 the Tories advertised Labour's tax bombshell which would cause everyone to pay £1000 extra in tax per year. According to Margaret Beckett it would be wrong to give too much detail about their plans. "It'd be folly to try and make proposals that are too detailed now", she said. But their ...
Tuesday: My mum died and the universe ended. We are made of stardust. In the Doctor Who episode "The Big Bang" there is a Richard Dawkins who believes in stars even when there are none in the sky. But our Professor Richard Dawkins, in his book "The Ancestor's Tale", says: "It's hardly surprising that we see stars when we look up into the sky at night, because stars are a necessary prerequisite for organisms that see." He means that the elements necessary for life - carbon, nitrogen, oxygen - are only created through nuclear fusion, and thus only in stars. ...
