Not again poor Omagh Not more young life wiped out. Not in our name most people say Except some who don't see what we're all about. We don't want this continuity We want a shared future, we want it now What we want is normality. Is that too much to for our children to know? There are those standing side by side They've stretched their hands across the divide They are working together for the peace of all They rise up today, together appalled At a life so young, so fresh in his new job Wiped up by the undemocratic ...
I finally got to the end of TMA02 a few moments ago. As with TMA01, I don't think its the greatest essay that I've ever written – in fact, I know it's not the greatest essay I've ever written, but frankly, it's going to have to do. But I do sincerely believe that it's good enough for a pass 2 grade. If the return of TMA01 was anything to go by, I shouldn't have long to wait to find out if it was. As it is, I've spent so long on TMA02 that I'm now exactly where the course calendar ...
The importance of being LiberalLady Bracknell: What are your politics ?Jack: Well, I am afraid I really have none. I am a Liberal Unionist.Lady Bracknell: Oh, they count as Tories. They dine with us. Or come in the evening at any rate.
A few days ago I was telling you how Mike Harding's audience viewed the big society. This week the Arts Council announced cuts in funding to many organisations including Ludus Dance based in Lancaster. The cuts are significant and it is difficult to see how this group could survive but they do have a year or so before the cuts really begin to be felt. This was the main headline in our local paper on Friday 1st April but it was no joke. However there was good news for "More Music in Morecambe". I have attended their guitar classes and ...
You don't have to visit the Welsh border to find a tin church. We have one in Leicester. This church on Abbey Lane is now occupied by the Mormons. It was built as a mission hall by St Peter's, Belgrave. Which means, as you will see in due course, that worship continues in Abbey Lane but not at St Peter's. In the mean time, you may enjoy the Tin Tabernacles website.
oh dear, I'm nearly speechless now. Still able to get on with things, and hte coughing and spluttering was when I read a certain piece of literature put through some people's doors. I'll say no more for now ...
[IMG: Yes to Fairer Votes] This morning we launched our peoples' campaign for Fairer Votes, and a few friends dropped by to lend a hand. I didn't want you to miss this momentous occasion so we've filmed it for you - after all, it's your campaign. Watch the highlights to find out why our Vice Chairs Kriss Akabusi, Amisha Ghadiali, Eddie Izzard, Greg Dyke, Rowan Davies and Martin Bell are saying Yes to AV. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADJ6sQMBp8M You and I both know that this campaign launched months ago; but with just four weeks to go, the media and wider public are waking ...
Alamein Community Assocoation working in partnership with the Turnaround project are in the process of completing a "Reaching Communities" lottery application for fundimg of half a million pounds over 5 years to be spent in Alamein ward. We would like your help to give us an idea of what is missing in the area, what is needed and to help the funding application. All completed quationaires will be put int a draw to win a family ticket to Milestones Museum (2 adults, 2 children). Deadline for questionaires is 5th April 2011. Please help us to finalise this application by completing ...
However not for a week or two, I had a couple of days off last weekend, and enjoyed a quick break away. Monday will be posting an announcement. In the meantime, Bill Furness (Thanet Liberal Democrats) has some interesting thoughts Margate: the ghost town on the isle of concrete Margate was unkindly labelled "Britain's top ghost town" recently by the national press. However did this come about? It was the present Tory-controlled Thanet District Council and the previous Labour administration that badly let down the residents of Margate - a lack of leadership and vision have failed us all and ...
So Spidey has been rather quiet on the blogging front due to the utter madness that is the campaign trail and all that it entails. I barely have a moment to myself but in many ways that isn't a bad ... Continue reading →
It was great to see ordinary Suffolk people in revolt against the Tory run County Council's plans to "divest" libraries on the march in Ipswich today. I and other Lib Dem councillors joined them to protest. Hundreds turned up and it was great to hear from people with no party political axe to grind, who greatly value the library service and don't want to lose it. Last Tuesday I attended Capel St. Mary's annual parish meeting where the main topic was the future of the village library. Around 200 people turned up to the meeting. It was interesting to listen ...
May 5th will be a big day in the local political calendar with local elections across Stockport and the referendum on fairer votes. For the local election in Cheadle & Gatley, Pam will be standing for the Lib Dems. Pam's an excellent councillor for Cheadle & Gatley and has been both an inspiration and a great help for me in the 18 months I've been a councillor. Pam and I will be working hard over the next few weeks to persuade the good residents of Cheadle & Gatley to vote Lib Dem on May 5th (or earlier, for those with ...
Nick Clegg was in Leicestershire yesterday. After his visit to Hinckley, Matthew Hulbert and his fellow local Liberal Democrats "left the meeting feeling cheered, invigorated and ready for the political fight ahead". Elsewhere in the county, reports Mark Pack, Martin Cartwright, councillor for Groby, has left the Conservative Party and joined the ruling Liberal Democrat group on Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council. Groby, incidentally, is pronounced "Grooby" and featured on Time Team a couple of weeks ago. "The Olympic ticket system is a disaster, biased in favour of the rich. The small print means that many richer people will end ...
Well the deed is done. My nomination papers have been submitted and accepted as valid by Uttlesford District Council Electoral Services. I am therefore now a candidate for the district council elections due on 5 May. I am very grateful to Brenda Scarr MBE of Stansted and Phyllis Harrison of Ugley for proposing and seconding me. They have both have fine records in serving their local communities. I will be seeking a fifth term of office, having been first elected in a by election in May 1998. I am under no illusions that it will be a tough fight. Stansted ...
Sat 2nd
18:43
In which Ed Milliband invites me to write his manifesto and is usurped by a Mexican design company
I got a letter from that nice Mr Ed Milliband today inviting me to tell him what my "hopes and concerns" are. I had hoped to post a nice scan of it but unfortunately it didn't get past Mrs. LibCync so is now ripped into little bits. In a show of dedication to my readers (Sid and Doris Bonkers) I have retrieved it from the bin and done my best: The text of the letter reads as follows (a lot of references to "people"): Dear LibCync, Over the past few months I have been meeting and writing to people up ...
There is still time to register to vote or apply for a postal vote for the local elections on 5th May. Registering to vote To vote, you must be on the electoral register. If you have moved in since 15 October last year, you will need to re-register at your new address to be able to vote there. If you are unsure if you are registered to vote please contact the helpline on 01454 863030. The deadline for applications to vote at these elections is 5pm on the 14th April 2011 but it's best to make sure you are registered ...
Reacting to the news that a 25 year old police officer has been killed in Omagh by a booby trap car bomb, local party chair, I said: I condemn utterly the actions today of the terrorists who have carried out this atrocity. They must be aware that the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland [...]
Reacting to the news that a 25 year old police officer has been killed in Omagh by a booby trap car bomb, local party chair, Michael Carchrie Campbell said: I condemn utterly the actions today of the terrorists who have carried out this atrocity. They must be aware that the vast majority of people in ...
In case you weren't bored enough already by the previous statistical post, here's another. This time, it's where people came from in the first quarter of 2011 and where they left to go to if they clicked on a link on this blog. [IMG: Q1 2011 - referring sites] Q1 2011 - referring sites In some ways it's no great surprise that facebook tops the list this time. I'm now finally on there myself and it also seems to have replaced a lot of the chatter that used to happen in the FirstClass forums in previous years. These are still ...
Well, there's a headline that will cause equal consternation among both Lib Dem and Conservative supporters... and doubtless prompt some no-surprise-there snarks from Labourites too. But what's more interesting than the stark headline (prompted by this Telegraph interview) is Norman Tebbit's reason for admiring Nick Clegg over his own party leader: He says he is more of a Conservative than David Cameron. The Big Society is just a "buzzword. It's a logo looking for a product". He wants to turn the party back to being nationalist and jokes that he would like it to go into coalition with the UK ...
The Times Editorial, behind the paywall, has come out against hyperinjunctions. The editorial is a good general one, but I quote from the last paragraph."When recently giving the annual lecture to the Judicial Studies Board, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, the Master of the Rolls, acknowledged concerns about how superinjunctions had developed into an "entirely secret form of procedure". The courts
Pillar box Anyone away from Cambridge or unable to get to their local polling station to vote may vote by post - a method that's becoming increasingly popular. There is still two weeks to apply, as the deadline for postal vote applications is April 14th. The AV referendum 'Yes' campaign has been sending out application forms for votes in the referendum. This is very proactive, but lease be aware that these forms will get you a vote in the referendum, but not for the local elections. If you want to vote in the council elections at the same time, you ...
As many residents now know, the West End community now has a meeting/community base resource at the historic Vine building at the bottom of Roseangle (43 Magdalen Yard Road). Residents and local organisations are invited to a social event at the Vine running between 5.30pm and 7pm on Tuesday 5th April - an opportunity to meet some of the organisers of this year's WestFest and to view the library and garden of the Vine. Wine, soft drinks and nibbles will be available. We are hoping that many local people and organisations will come along - all welcome!
After a morning's campaigning with Alison Burns, Scottish Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Dundee City West, we both attended the Dundee launch of the Yes to Fairer Votes campaign in the City Square. This was a well attended event and in addition to a good turnout of Liberal Democrats, it was good to see both Labour and the Greens represented as well as people of no party political persuasion. For more details of the campaign for fairer votes, take a look on the campaign website. Here's a couple of photos from the launch, together with a short video I took ...
... We'd say a big thank you to the 52,224 'absolute unique visitors'* who read Liberal Democrat Voice in March. It's three months since last the Voice indulged in our statporn, so here's 2011 figures so far: January (44,998) and February (40,206). This brings our absolute unique visitor readership for the last year to date (1 April 2010 - 31 March 2011) to 766,283, almost double the equivalent figure for 2009-10 of 395,014. Incidentally, if you're wondering why we publish our readership figures — is it show-off vanity, or pedantic statophilia? — I came up with a few reasons at ...
Channel Fife TV has produced this excellent report on the recent highly successful Gael's Fire fundraising event at Balgonie Castle for the Tay Rail Disaster Bridge Memorial Trust :
I read that there will be in excess of 11,000 free tickets being offered for the olympic games to various organisations. It seems to me that as these games have been largely funded by public money then we should be seeking to sell every ticket possible. Certainly the Mayor of London's office does not need 2,000 freebies. I think all these should be withdrawn and put into the public lottery for sale. The Mayor of London will be a guest at the opening and closing ceremonies and that should be more than enough free tickets for the post.
I can't quite believe that I managed to reach the age of nearly 44 without having read this brilliant children's fantasy, though I had fond if vague memories of Dorothea Brooking's 1974 BBC adaptation. Tom, sent to stay with his aunt and uncle after his brother develops measles, discovers that when the clock in the hall strikes thirteen in the middle of the night he is able to visit the garden as it was in the past, and makes friends with Hattie who lives in that past time, though they argue about which of them is a ghost. For the ...
Leicester, with the by-election writ due to be moved any day now, was the scene of Nick Clegg's latest Town Hall meeting last night. Around a hundred people from Leicester and surrounding areas attended the event, hosted by Capital FM at the Showcase Cinema De Lux in Highcross Lane. Subjects covered in Nick's Q&A session included electoral reform, taxation, the NHS and the conflict in Libya, but it was Capital's Anna Tyler who uncovered Nick's musical and media preferences, as only a music station interviewer can: Anna: You've obviously been really busy this week: Mexico, Washington DC - what do ...
Some of the arguments being deployed against the Alternative Vote smack of desperation, none more so than the claim that it will help extremist parties. It is after all self-evident that if an MP needs to secure 50% of the vote or thereabouts to get elected then he or she has to build up a fairly broad base of support. So far none of the extremist parties have demonstrated that they can come anywhere near to that threshold and I cannot see why that will change under a different system. In this regard, Kriss Akabusi who labels himself as a ...
There's no prize at stake - just the opportunity to prove you're wittier than any other LDV reader... Here's former Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy sharing a Yes2AV platform with Labour's Tessa Jowell and Green leader Caroline Lucas. What do you think Charles or his companions might be thinking or saying? The winner of our most recent caption competition, The "Webb's Wonders" Edition, according to The Voice's judging panel of one, was this one by Tabman. Got a photo of a prominent Lib Dem you think would work well for a future caption competition? Then please email us at voice ...
My humour is very much centred around that of the 1980s and 1990s. Not surprising really as it was this era that coincided with my childhood - they were very much my formative years. The humour of the day rubbed off on me and such programmes as Beadles About, which was then then modern day equivalent of Candid Camera, held me in an awe-ful state of suspense. In the 1990s, this could be witnessed every Saturday night on Noel's House Party. I'm not ashamed to say that I was a fan and why not? For a decade, it was one ...
1. Is the news that the Daily and Sunday Sport are going into receivership an indirect win for gender equality in the UK?I for one am delighted that my newsagents will not be adorning borderline pornography in the Newspaper aisles, now I can only hope for the same fate to become of Nuts, GQ etc. 2. When we impose democratic regime on other countries, does this include lack of tolerance of freedom
I joined the Liberal Democrat party less than a year ago & people i meet ask why i joined especially people who are angry at the government cuts. I don't agree with everything the government is doing but then with a coalition government I wouldn't expect to. So why did I join the Liberal Democrats,
The Guardian has some rare praise for Nick Clegg today showing that he has some strengths which he is building on he seemed to be on a pretty successful intellectual and trade exchange... to the extent it differs from official government policy - it's a licensed philosophical disagreement within a coalition government... He was without ...
It is all still to play for in the tug of war over the NHS Bill. Last night Radio4 six o'clock News led with Lansley's friends asserting that things had gone too far to turn back whilst reporting Cameron is keeping his options open. From the Tory point of view part of the de-toxification process was to hug the NHS close. The Spectator Coffee House Blog has a bit today which clearly suggests- on the back of an article by Andrew Grice-that the Tories are alive to the public perception that we are the good guys in the coalition: Everyone ...
Sat 2nd
11:55
LibLink: Julian Astle - 'Lib Dems to change their logo, their name, their direction and their leader...
Julian Astle, former Paddy Ashdown adviser, has blogged his reaction to a piece in last week's Sunday Telegraph which claimed that the Liberal Democrats are planning to change – as Julian puts it – "their logo, their name, their direction and their leader". Of these, Julian speculates that there is a possibility that the party's logo may change in some way during this Parliament. However here's what Julian has to say about the latter three – as one might expect, he's pretty sceptical: The Liberal Democrat party was created by the merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic ...
One of the clearest examples of Liberal Democrats having a positive effect in government as part of the coalition has been the introduction of the Pupil Premium. According to just published figures the three schools in King's Hedges are estimated to benefit by the following amounts; That's a staggering £46,440 for the Manor, £51,600 for King's Hedges Primary School, and £24,940 for the Grove - over £120,000 in total for raising the aspirations and attainment of those who are disadvantaged in our community.
As the Sturdyblog points out the real problem is a deficit in humanity. My personal problem is "Can I remain a member of the Liberal Democrats ?"
Together with activists from Yes to Fairer Votes members of the Liberal Democrats in Northern Ireland will be attending the event at Belfast City Hall at 1pm. Last May three of Belfast's four MPs were elected on a minority mandate, without the support of a majority of their constituents. More than 70,000 votes were wasted, ...
Councillor Groby Martin Cartwright has left the Conservative Party and joined the ruling Liberal Democrat group on Hinckley & Bosworth Borough Council. He is also a parish councillor and has been joined in his switch by fellow parish councillor Ted Hollick. Both will be standing for the Liberal Democrats in May's elections, boosting the Liberal Democrat campaign to retain control of the council. Cllr Cartwright said, "There comes a time when an ordinary working bloke has to stand up and be counted. I'll be better placed to continue my fight to preserve and improve our village from within the ruling ...
Congratulations to those who worked out that my Friday morning blog post was an April Fool. I left enough clues in there... and none so obvious than that the first letter of each paragraph spelled out APRIL FOOL! And shame on those who were so desperately hoping that it was true that they fell for it hook, line and stinker. I know who you are. Even worse were those who believed it it to be true without having read it! I might pass the names, emails and voice mails to Mick Spreader for public humiliation :-D But it does raise ...
Councillor Haydn Preece has been consulting residents on Liverpool Road and Heathfield Road, Ainsdale about the proposed new Bellway housing estate. He has been dealing with road safety issues primarily on Liverpool Road and the concerns of Heathfield Road residents about a couple of plots being very close to existing buildings. What has also come to light is the mystery behind the imposing white statue, inset into the exterior of the St Thomas More front building. Residents have requested Councillor Preece to consult with the planners to preserve the statue on site. Councillor Preece is very hopeful this can be ...
On Friday I visited Mitchell House on Lorna Grove in Gatley with Pam King and Mark Hunter. Mitchell House is Jonnie Johnson sheltered housing – always very friendly. On this occasion, children from Lum Head Primary and North Cheshire Jewish Primary had got together and made some special tiles to go on display at the home. The children went in last year and asked residents what they enjoyed about the garden, then created tiles based on the answers. And the tiles are fantastic! They've been up for a while, on two wall displays, and yesterday was the official unveiling (although ...
Sat 2nd
09:40
£134,860 spent by Tory allies in 2010 election to try to scare us about a hung parliament
Remember this leaflet? They were delivered far and wide in the days running up to last year's May General Election, under the name "The Young Britons' Foundation". Well, the Electoral Commission has now their detailed expenses for the last election. They spent £134,860 as follows: Third Party Name Types of payment Payments made England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland TOTAL UNITED KINGDOM The Young Britons' Foundation 113,044.00 11,350.00 7,218.00 3,248.00 134,860.00 The money was spent on full page colour adverts in The Sun and The Times plus 800,000 of those leaflets (above) printed in Swansea by DAS group. Donations records were ...
Sat 2nd
09:35
"You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done wi...
Last week's council meeting produced some interesting and revealing moments. There were three motions on the order paper and we shall return to the first two later but for now let us look at the one moved by my fellow Birkdale Councillor Simon Shaw. We trailed this motion earlier in the week. It charted Labour's abdication of responsibility over the budget in Sefton. They have voted against almost all the proposal for reductions and championed every aggrieved lobby group without moving any coherent alternative. The question that is inevitably raised by such conduct in the context of Sefton's all party ...
Come with me if you will to the Council Offices in Badger's Drift where the planning committee is assembling: 'Right gentlemen can we come to order. Have we any apologies? No' 'Let the minutes show that Major Smythe (Chairman), Mr Algernon Moncrief, Mr Ernest Bunbury, Rev. Dr Canon Chasuable, Mr Jack Worthing JP, Mr John Rimmer, Mr Oscar Ball ' 'Our first item is consider a petition from Mr True-May. He urges us to maintain the unique character of our English village and to put the interests of those who have lived here for generations in front of incommers' . ...
The 1911 Parliament Act, introduced in the wake of the rejection by the House of Lords of Lloyd George's People's Budget and the two general elections of 1910, was the first successful reform of the powers of the upper house and gave constitutional supremacy to the elected House of Commons. One hundred years after the 1911 Parliament Act, the Liberal Democrat History Group's fringe meeting at Sheffield Conference examined the development of Lords reform since and looked forward to the Coalition's plans for the most far-reaching changes to the House of Lords since the Liberal governments reforms of 1911 ended ...
[IMG: Sanjay At Noranside Prison]
I had previously read the first volume of Cyril Falls' Military Operations Macedonia, with its forensic and detailed account of every action fought by British troops in the Macedonia campaign of the First World War (the Great War, as he thought of it in 1933), in which my grandfather was involved. I turned to this book also for family history reasons, though concerning a much more distant ancestor, and expected it to be a similarly detailed and map-heavy account of the major engagements of the period - Kinsale, the Battle of the Yellow Ford, the Battle of the Biscuits, etc; ...
Oranges and Sunshine, the first film directed by Jim (son of Ken) Loach, has just been released. It deals with the work of the Nottingham social worker Margaret Humphreys on behalf of adults who were sent to Australia from the British care system as children. Much of the discussion of the film is predicated on the idea that Humphreys had uncovered a secret or hidden scandal. As Germaine Greer pointed out on The Review Show last night, this is nonsense. My fictional alter ego Professor Strange (a sort of Lord Bonkers of the senior common room) also pointed this out ...
i) births and deaths 2 April 1934: birth of the great Robert Holmes, script editor from Robot (1974-75) to Image of the Fendahl (1977), and author of The Krotons (1968-69), The Space Pirates (1969), Spearhead from Space (1970), Terror of the Autons (1971), Carnival of Monsters (1973), The Time Warrior (1973-74), The Ark in Space (1975), Pyramids of Mars (1975), The Brain of Morbius (co-author, 1976), The Deadly Assassin (1976), The Talons of Weng-Chiang (1977), The Sun Makers (1977), The Ribos Operation (1978), The Power of Kroll (1978-79), The Caves of Androzani (1984), The Two Doctors (1985), The Mysterious Planet ...
Having commented adversely previously about how little attention has been given to the spiralling humanitarian disaster in Ivory Coast by Parliament, it's only fair to mention that it was the subject of an urgent question in Parliament this week and the previous lack of Parliamentary interest in the issue from Liberal Democrats was broken by Simon Hughes: Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD): As well as encouraging Ministers to persist in their efforts to resolve the conflict, may I have an assurance that they are keeping in touch with the small but not insignificant community here in order to ...
Last night I went to Ashford for Any Questions. It was, unusually, an all women panel: Margaret Beckett, Laurie Penny, myself and Anne McElvoy, public policy editor of the Economist As ever – because you never know what questions might come up – there is a lot of ground to cover in preparation. Of course – you can make an educated guess as to what those questions might be. My guess was: Libya, (because it is the key news issue), AV (because Margaret Beckett is Chair of the 'No to AV' campaign), the protests over cuts and the policing thereof ...
Well I think it was European Committee "B". These are interesting committees that debate reports of the European Commission.For example this week I raised the issue of peak oil and energy prices in a debate about European Growth.
Garden waste collections (brown bins) will restart next week following a winter break. The fortnightly collections will resume on Monday, 4 April, with householders receiving leaflets giving details of their specific collection day. The following items can be placed in garden waste bins: Small branches Flowers Leaves Grass cuttings Weeds Prunings Hedge clippings Bins should be left out for collection by 7 a.m. on the specified day.
Clerics in city of Mazar-e Sharif had urged people to protest over last month's burning of a copy of the Koran by small time US pastor Terry Jones after this was shown on TV. Resulting in the murder of 14 people at a UN compound. Pastor Terry Jones is a total idiot. He has some issues that need to be looked at starting with a good hard look in the mirror. I hope he's happy with himself as he he partly responsible for these deaths. However why did this crowd think that some unrelated staff at the UN were somehow ...
USATODAY.com feature (tags: space) EUobserver / EU-Morroco fish deal a 'failure' for all concerned "A controversial fisheries partnership agreement between the EU and Morocco has provided very poor returns to the European tax payer, and failed to bring about tangible benefits in the north African country, according to a report sponsored by the European Commission." (tags: westernsahara eu) UN Revealed to be Gigantic 66-year-old Hoax "I can't believe it lasted this long," said "US Ambassador to the UN" Susan Rice laughing, "who would really believe that there is this magical agency that would, like, be responsible for solving all the ...
Homophobic bullying is something that many if not most LGBT people have suffered at some point in their lives. The recent report by The Rainbow Project on which I commented last week helped to highlight how LGBT people do not feel able to be themselves at work in Northern Ireland. I've just seen the video [...]
