John Hemming's efforts to challenge the inappropriate use of injunctions is mightily impressive. His blog has the full story.
For my sins I'm a bit of an Arsenal fan. Like the glutton for punishment I am, I also happen to be a Guardian reader (probably no surprise to anyone who's read my increasingly infrequent pinko leftie-liberal ranting on these very pages). These days it's becoming increasingly difficult to happily combine the two. I don't ...
Just to let you know about an AV debate that will be taking place this Thursday the 28th at the Dovetail Centre, Chandler's Ford. Peter Facey, a member of the national Yes to Fairer votes campaign committee will be debating Charlotte Vere a Director for NO2AV. I'm also going to be a panelist on the Yes side – and Andy Milligan from Chandler's Ford will be a panelist on the No side. The debate will begin at 7.30 pm on Thursday the 28th. It is being held at the Dovetail Centre, Chandler's Ford Methodist Church, SO53 2GJ. Hope you can ...
Good debate on Newsnight about AV, with John Denham making the very useful point that there is absolutely no evidence that AV leads to coalitions. In fact, countries which use AV have had fewer coalitions than the many we had in the 20th century under First Past the Post. If you add that to the lie that AV requires machines - Australia has used the system since 1918 with not a single machine - and you reflect on the desperation of the 'no' campaign requiring David Cameron to step in, the arguments against AV show themselves up as pretty weak. ...
It seems quite bizzarre to VN that former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have not been invited to the Royal Wedding on Friday. Both their surviving predecessors, Baroness Thatcher and Sir John Major, have been invited, and Major will attend. The case of Blair seems particularly strange, given the key role he played after ...
Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have welcomed news that the Guided Busway contract has finally been completed and the handover of the project has occurred, exactly two years late and £65M over budget. The project was initially supposed to open in April 2009, but is now expected to open in late Summer or Autumn of 2011 -- well over two years late -- despite strident promises from the Conservatives that the project would be operational earlier. The contract was initially budgeted to come in at £116M in total, but the soaring overspend has risen to £181M -- £65M over the budgeted cost. ...
This evening I was at County Hall for the recording of BBC Radio Cornwall's debate on the referendum to change the voting system. You will be able to hear the results in Laurence Reed's programme at Noon on Thursday, but for me there was lots of heat but very little light. Of course, I'm biased in that I support the Yes camp. But for me some of the stand out or jaw dropping moments were: - Former Labour MP Candy Atherton saying repeatedly that this was a 'miserable little referendum' and failing to recognise that her party had a pledge ...
The news of the death of one of punk's icons - X-ray Spex's Poly Styrene - is a sad loss. But by way of tribute here she is (and they are) at their melodic best with Germ Free Adolesence: X-ray Spex's other hits included the Lib Dem poster team fantasy 'Day the world turned day-glo', 'Identity' and 'Oh! Bondage up yours!' all of which are readily viewable on YouTube. I'd heartily recommend doing so as a reminder of the freshness and energy of punk at its pomp.
The speaking engagement in Henley was followed by a full day's campaigning in North Hinksey, meeting with our wonderful deliverers, all of whom are crucial to the campaign, a bit of delivering for me then finishing with canvassing, which is always a challenge but which provides regular rewards, whether it is the lady who stopped my introduction to tell me that of course she would vote for me, or the man who asked me for a poster to display, to ad to the growing forest of stakes and posters in the ward. It's encouraging to find so many people willing ...
Quality - The Sun today has 'cut out' Kate and William masks as a centre spread. OMG. Is this serious - although I was considering whether I would laminate them if I got a copy...food for thought mind! This has to be the worst Royal Wedding Special yet.....
We have been told that the whole roundabout has now been sprayed, so the grass will die off over the next week or two, before planting the seeds
Today proved to be a fascinating one. I was asked to speak to school children in Henley along with representatives of the Tories and Labour. As usual the questions from the students were of a high quality and really challenged us. Not surprisingly they rather laid into me as the Lib Dem representative, which I fully expected. If they heeded what the Tory leader of South Oxfordshire District Council told them, the Lib Dems are responsible for all the ills of the coalition, while the Tories agree with everything the students say. I hope those present saw through that approach. ...
Are you confused about voting by post at the forthcoming local elections and AV referendum on 5 May? The nice people at Reading Borough Council have produced this handy guide to help. As an enthusiastic user and supporter of social media to engage people in local politics I am delighted to see the Council using video to help more people to exercise their right to vote in these important elections. .
When I reached Wilbarston on a sunny Saturday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, all was peaceful. But life was much racier there in 1957, as a British Pathe clip will show if you click on this picture...
Three years ago I directed you to a Private Eye item listing the many prominent Guardian journalists who had been privately educated. And the list keeps growing. It wasn't such a surprise to learn that Marina Hyde attended the same school as Kate Middleton, but who would have thought that Bidisha attended Haberdashers' Aske's? I had assumed that she only had one name because her parents were so poor. It turns out it was pretension all along. Then this morning Richard Williams, discussing the overuse of the whip by jump jockeys, wrote: Future generations will look back in astonishment that ...
TweetGoing into any coalition talks, the Liberal Democrats had to be ready with a series of red lines. Points and policies that must be met to secure the full consent of the coalition. Choosing 3 – 5 points from the manifesto I'm sure that if you gave the Lib Dems an election under STV (It's our favourite thing to do), then it would be hopelessly split, no one would come up with the same exact set of priorities. Given that, going into the actual coalition talks the party leaders had to take several red lines into the talks, things we ...
Went and actually had a play on the bouldering walls at Rokt today. My cuticles are rammed with chalk and my forearms are aching, and I feel great. NEED to improve fitness quite a lot but... ( Here are some pictures: ) We met the two guys who own the place (Hello Leigh and Euan!) who had already read my previous blog post, and they were just as lovely and friendly as the rest of the staff. And then we went to Sainsbury's, cos, you know, fooooooooooooooood... [IMG: Dreamwidth] [IMG: Livejournal] [IMG: Blogger] [IMG: Facebook] [IMG: Tweet this] [IMG: Delicious] ...
"You arrive in Jerusalem at a moment when the situation can be considered reasonably bleak." The opening from the representatives of EU governments was nothing if not honest. "There is enhanced subjugation and dispossession of Palestinians," they continued. "The Quartet ... Continue reading →
Everytime VN promises not to cover the rather dull AV referendum again until the result something happens that means it can't be ignored. It is not the pathetic bickering within the cabinet that has caught VN's attention this time, but this: That is screen shot from a rather fab new Yes2AV site that is doing ...
Ed West, journalist for the Telegraph wrote a piece today called: "Why does Britain have an Islamist problem while America doesn't? Answer: the welfare state" No doubt, Ed believes this to be the case but he didn't take into account why people choose to go to a particular country. Imagine you were a muslim, would
Writing on the Spectator Coffee House blog, Daniel Korski looks at the tensions between the Coalition partners and its future after the AV referendum. He plays down reports that Liberal Democrat ministers are being excluded from important decisions: Having seen it up close, I know how much effort both Tory and Lib Dem ministers actually put in to keep each other informed of their work and policies. Tory-led Departments often consult Lib Dems. And the PM and the DPM seem to have a better relationship than most of their predecessors had. They are certainly more ideologically aligned than Tony Blair ...
I'm sounding like a broken record here I know, but what the hell is Gavin Henson doing? Reports from France today point towards his possible sacking by his new club Toulon, having only played 2 games for the fashionable French club since his sudden move from Saracens back in February. Gavin Henson on his Toulon Debut I wrote here about Gavin Henson's problems before launching an additional tirade against him here when he dropped Saracens for Toulon after only 3 months and 4 appearances at the club. Now, it would seem that having made only 2 appearances for Toulon, he ...
It doesn't seem like almost two years since I stood on the Mound in Edinburgh outside the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to show my support for my friend Rev. Scott Rennie. However, although the vote that day went in favour of Scott's calling to Queen's Cross in Aberdeen there was a later discussion that put a moritorium on openly gay trainees for the ministry and appointing openly gay ministers. News today that the Special Commission on Same Sex Relationships and the Ministry* is to report to next month's Assembly signals an end of that process and a ...
The former Unionist politician, Bill Craig, has died at the age of 86; see standard and surprisingly brief obituaries, no doubt written twenty years ago, by the BBC (with bonus video), the News Letter, the Belfast Telegraph, and the Guardian. Craig last won an election in 1975, wound up his political party in 1978 and fought his last election in 1982, and from the brevity of the obituaries so far (we may get more from the right-wing London papers) has clearly been written out of the standard summary of Northern Irish history. But he was, for good or ill (let's ...
Some confusion has reigned in the blogosphere about today's points of order. My objective was to identify the parties in the Vicky Haigh / Doncaster case where Doncaster tried to Jail Vicky for talking in Parliament.All the other details of the story are in the public domain, but an injunction prevented the parties being identified.Now they can be identified.Points of Order5.26 pmJohn Hemming (
Saturday: The Doctor, like Marley, was dead to begin with. Or didn't we do "A Christmas Carol" last time? So let's talk about death in Doctor Who. Death has been devalued in this series since 2005. Russell declared that the series was "steeped in death" but no one important ever actually dies. Or if they do, they're back again! Even the "death analogue" of "trapped in a parallel world" ends up being optional. There is just too much "in science fiction, no one is gone forever". Well they should be. It matters that you do not lie to your audience, ...
Police in South Birmingham are opening the doors of Bournville Lane Police Station for a community open day on Saturday 7 May 2011. The open day will start at 10.00am and run through to 2pm.This is an opportunity to meet local officers, see inside the police station and among other things:Visit the cell block and have your fingerprints takenJoin the Big Lottery Outdoor Play - scale the climbing
There are times when you really have to wonder. Labour have clearly succeeded in conning people into thinking that their green waste scheme was actually a green waste scheme. In that the waste is green I suppose they are correct. Except some of it is brown. And some of it isn't. But I digress. What we see here is Labour telling a lie so big that people believe it. They convinced a shadow minister to come to Reading, read from her script without engaging brain first and weep for the plight ofthe amazonian rainforests. "Why won't somebody please think of ...
In 2009 the LGA worked with the Treasury to undertake a fundamental review of the way that the public sector delivered services within our community. I have blogged on the 'Total Place' concept before as I have blogged about 'Community ... Continue reading →
I could not believe there is a "World Intellectual Property Day", which I discovered today. Established by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) it appears to be there to try and persuade us that knowledge, and information is very much not free, and that we should be grateful that the media giants and giants of industry who mostly act to stifle our creative juices are really in control. To celebrate, the Adam Smith Institute asked me to write a provocative piece for their blog. My first piece at ASI. Advertisement: read more
How Popular Are QR Codes?One common complaint I hear is that QR codes are just too obscure. I don't think that's true. Aside from continual use in newspapers and magazines, they're all over the city. Here are a few examples that I snapped while walking around London. [IMG: Grant Museum QR Code] [IMG: Comic Blog QR] [IMG: Bikeaton QR Code] [IMG: Heathrow QR Code] [IMG: Hamton Tube QR] [IMG: Sticker QR Code]
This morning the Environment Scrutiny Committee of Cornwall Council met to discuss beach management. Not the most important task one might think. But, in my view, an absolutely fundamental role for the Council and one on which Cornwall's largest industry depends. There are hundreds of beaches in Cornwall. Of these, many are owned or managed by the Council. Others are privately held but to which the public has access. The debate was about how much effort (and money) Cornwall council should put into keeping them clean. I argued to the committee that it was important that Cornwall Council cleans its ...
So, the new climbing wall in my home town has opened its doors, and yesterday me and my dad finally got around to having a look round. They have only opened phase one so far, and well-over half of it is still a building site. Of the bits they have opened so far, though, these are my favourites: [IMG: Dreamwidth] [IMG: Livejournal] [IMG: Blogger] [IMG: Facebook] [IMG: Tweet this] [IMG: Delicious] [IMG: Flattr this] [IMG: LibDig] [IMG: Bit/ly] [IMG: StumbleUpon]
Liberal Democrats keep you up to date. You have a right to know what we're doing all year round. Unlike other parties, who seem to forget they're electors exist between elections, we distribute regular copies of the Focus newsletter to keep you informed. The Focus is funded by donations and delivered by volunteers, not a penny of tax payers money is used. Our Focus Newsletters are designed
Before he received the office of First Lord of the Treasury, a humble Lord Palmerston defended his actions, as Foreign Secretary, and assistance for revolutions across Europe in the 1840s. When Disraeli, and others, engaged in several long nights in ... Continue reading →
Already I've covered the media braodcasts that the mainstream media have covered here for the Northern Ireland elections. But we are in a social media age, so some of the many Independent candidates have put up there own videos on YouTube. They don't have the big media budgets of the mainstream parties, so they don't always have the production values if the videos I have posted before. But here are the ones I have found so far. Starting in East Belfast with Stephen Stewart Charles Smyth standing in South Belfast on a Pro Capitalism ticket If you know of any ...
The real appeal of AV, and why Britain should vote for change, lies in the fact that it is more sympathetic to smaller parties. FPTP, a winner-takes-all system, may have served Britain well for many years because its politics used to split naturally into two big teams. They no longer do. At last year's general election, the Conservative and Labour parties won just 65 per cent of the vote. via ft.com This level-headed leader in today's FT sums up the main reasons why I am voting yes. Posted via email from Neil Stockley's posterous
It's a little startling to discover that I have actually got through an entire category of this year's Hugo nominations already. For the last few years, the Doctor Who episodes which made the shortlist shared their billing with episodes from other TV shows which I had not seen; this year, the two extras are a 15 minute animated film and a YouTube video, so I can jump right in and allocate my votes. 5) Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury. This is a joyous celebration of fandom and of the life of one of the great survivors of sf. I loved it ...
This month the UK starts collecting data, the first country in the world, on its populations happiness. 200,000 questionnaires are being sent out this week to residents by e UK Office for National Statistics. The questionnaire will include four questions: Overall, how satisfied are you with your life? Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday? Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday? Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile? With the resulting data government can then try improving the nations happiness based on evidence rather than hunch. It should also mean ...
This years census appears to be going as badly as the 2001 census. Both times its been organised by a council led by Southwark Labour. I'm sure its just coincidence... IF you've not filled in the forms please do. Census results can seriously affect our areas wealth as central government and other agencies decide where to spend based on the data. Equally businesses use some of the data to decidre where to invest and promote their businesses. If you have any problems and are a resident of East Dulwich please get in touch and I will put you in touch ...
This hilarious video by MJHibbet, available here on You Tube is worth watching for the animated Nick Clegg dancing alone, but it has some very down to earth reasons to vote Yes in the AV Referendum next week.
The issue of super injunctions and privacy law has been rumbling on for a while now, since hitting the headlines with the WayneBridge/John Terry fiasco, as well as other footballer's extra marital affairs. However, it is the less glamourous case of the BBC's former Political Editor Anderw Marr that really seems to have put the cat amongst ...
On the 5th of May, Scotland will go to the polls to elect members of the Scottish Parliament. This will be done by the method of election known as Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR). Incidentally, they'll also be voting in the AV referendum. Now, as we all know, AV is ridiculously complicated and the voters won't be able to understand it. But Mixed Member Proportional Representation is even more complicated so, assuming the dire predictions about the effects of AV are correct, we will obviously see the entire Scottish electorate in an even direr position than they would be under ...
The local elections and the fairer votes referendum are now only 9 days away, so it's all go on the campaign trail. I hope people had a nice Easter break, and if I bumped into you whilst out leafleting or knocking on doors over the weekend, hello again! There'll be more of the same over ...
Tue 26th
11:54
Why haven't the Liberal Democrats broken through and what is necessary for them to do so?
I recently answered a few questions for a student at Goldsmiths College writing a dissertation on the theme, "Why haven't the Liberal Democrats broken through and what is necessary for them to do so?". As it was a good set of questions, and my answers might also be of wider interest, here they are: 1. Is the short to medium term objective of the party to govern alone or to become what John Curtice describes as a "hinge party" or kingmaker of coalitions and why? Nominally the party's strategy officially has been to move from being the third largest party ...
Look at this cool little car! This morning Tavish Scott was in Inverness to see it off on a two day journey round Scotland to highlight the Liberal Democrats' opposition to the centralisation of Police forces. He was joined by Highlands candidates Christine Jardine, Alan MacRae, Angela McLean, Jean Davis and Thomas Prag. It carries the message that proceeding with Tory, Labour and SNP plans to merge police forces could cost 3000 jobs of bobbies on the beat. Even more importantly to me is that all the decisions on law enforcement will be in the hands of two people, a ...
Hemming welcomes Andrew Marr's turn away from the dark sideJohn Hemming MP has welcomed Andrew Marr's decision to let his injunction lapse. "Those people who live by the sword", he said"should be prepared to die by the sword.""I am pleased that he has shown his commitment to freedom of speech by turning from the dark side of gagging orders.""I hope that other people who have obtained injunctions
Few things have taken my breath away quite as much the picture on today's Google marking the 226th anniversary of the birth in Haiti of John James Aububon. The naturalist, ornithologist and painter's images of birds are stunning!
Be careful what you wish for - AV through the looking-glass Interesting speculation about what might happen after the referendum (tags: politics thought)
Over the last few days the Air Ambulance was called to two accidents in Yate, one at Eggshill Lane and one in Church Road. This made us think... Was the helicopter being used because of serious traffic problems?Will this become normal if all those extra houses come to Yate, bringing lots of extra traffic?How much does this cost compared to a normal ambulance?Will the helicopter be needed more when Frenchay Hospital closes and people have to be transported to Southmead?What happens when Filton Airfield closes? Of course we don't know the circumstances that applied to these two accidents - it ...
I am taking a day off from campaigning in Liverpool to clear up some business inLondon. As ever the work of local and national government grinds on more quietly whilst in election purdah but still remorselessly. I will be meeting ... Continue reading →
Tue 26th
08:50
Well of course Nick's a bit grumpy. He's probably suffering from a touch of 'Paul McCartney Syndrome...
Imagine this. You're the best paid actor on US televison - despite the considerable handicap that you are British and play an American character. You are also one of the best selling novelists in France. An excellent sportsman, you were a Cambridge rowing blue. Last year, you played piano on Meatloaf's new album, this year you've launched you're own blues guitar album, to wide critical aclaim. You are, by anyone's standards, a high achiever. And yet, as you lie awake at night staring at the ceiling, you know back at home, everyone still thinks of you as the less talented ...
In this morning's Western Mail, Friends of the Earth highlight the rather bizarre position whereby at least one Welsh Party leader is at odds with his own party's policy on nuclear power. Friends of the Earth's call for the abandonment of a replacement for Wylfa B in Anglesey comes on the 15th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster. The legacy of this incident still hangs over Wales, with 330 Welsh farms - and 180,000 sheep - under restriction because of radiation that swamped a wide area of North Wales after the blast on April 26, 1986: Director of ...
What may have started as a clever media ploy to appeal to core voters seems to be dissolving into a row where long harboured resentment brews. The coalition needs to appeal to core voters prior to May's election, with right wing ploys from the Tories and social left wing comments from the Lib Dems. However, while this may have worked if it were just a local election, the AV referendum is stoking
The A14 congestion continues to cause residents in Bar Hill and the surrounding villages problems getting around, especially travelling to and from Cambridge with large queues and slow-moving traffic. Problems are particularly acute in Lolworth where residents have to go North and at some times in the day take life in their hands. Liberal Democrat County Councillor and Girton resident Belinda Brooks-Gordon (pictured with Peter Fane, Liberal Democrat Candidate in Bar Hill) said "If only the Tories had listened to the Lib Dem plans for the A14 years ago many of these issues would have been addressed. Instead they wasted ...
My LibDem Haringey Council colleagues show exactly why people in Haringey are angry with the Labour council. As the audit committee report demonstrates in black and white - Haringey Labour are happy to they spend, spend, spend – and pay for their overspending by closing older peoples' luncheon clubs, children's centres and swingeing cuts to youth services. Less to do with government reductions – far more to do with being incapable of running a council within its means. Here is the news release: A special report released this week shows how Haringey Council continued to spend hundreds of thousands of ...
Being part of the government changes everything: not least our conferences. This was our first spring conference as part of the government. On Friday March 11, Julia Davies drove us to Sheffield. After settling into our respective hotels we went to the City Hall to register. Security was tight, similar to boarding an international flight. Once registered we picked up our goodie bags and headed to the exhibition hall. This was worth a visit. Lots of stalls with a wide variety of interests. We went to the main hall for the evening rally. This was fairly uplifting. Setting the tone ...
Last night saw a lengthy series of City Council meetings at which : * The Liberal Democrats made the case for the retention of local policing and fire and rescue services. Labour proposed single services for the whole of Scotland; the SNP proposed the merger of forces into two or three so-called 'regional' forces (for 'regional' read one-third of Scotland!) My LibDem colleague Cllr Helen Dick and I were grateful for the support of the Conservative Group and of Depute Lord Provost Ian Borthwick. Following defeat of the Labour single service proposal, the LibDem motions were unfortunately defeated 15-6. The ...
The AV referendum debate between DR Philip Lee, Conservative MP for Bracknell and Fiona McTaggart, Labour MP for Slough will take place at Easthampstead Baptist Church Centre on 28th April on Thursday at 8pm. Attendance is free. It will be held at South Hill Road in Bracknell RG12 7NS. I will be there to cover the event, do come and say hello.
It may not be as good as many of the previous episodes, but the latest from Simon's Cat is still worth a viewing. Enjoy! Andrew
i) births and deaths 26 April 1928: birth of Donald Cotton, who wrote The Myth Makers (1965) and The Gunfighters (1966) as well as the novelisations of both stories and of The Romans (1965), three of the best Who novelisations in the range. 26 April 1975: death of Kevin Lindsay, who played Linx in The Time Warrior (1973-74), Cho Je in Planet of the Spiders (1974), and Styre/The Marshal in The Sontaran Experiment (1975). ii) broadcast anniversaries 26 April 1969: broadcast of second episode of The War Games. The Doctor and friends, including Carstairs and Lady Jennifer, escape in an ...
Archbishop of Canterbury's Easter 2011 sermon Quotes Doctor Who (specifically "The Happiness Patrol"). Really. (tags: doctorwho religion) The Political Studies Association Alan Renwick's analysis of the Alternative Vote as an electoral system. (tags: avreferendum) LotR re-read: Concluding Thoughts | tor.com | Science fiction and fantasy | Blog posts Kate Nepveu has finished re-reading The Lord of the Rings. (tags: tolkien sf) The Valve - A Literary Organ | The Shakespeare-didn't-write-Shakespeare crowd Oxfordian madness and Adam Roberts. (tags: shakespeare) In Which I am Unconvinced by The Daughter of Time | Super Doomed Planet Wesley Osam looks at Richard III and Josephine ...
On Sunday I wrote about the traffic calming measures on the road between Lancaster and Morecambe. I don't know what all the roadworks are going to do but a small part of them revealed a traffic island to me on Saturday. Yesterday I noticed that there is a bus stop marked in this small section of the road with the island. I have seen traffic measures taken like this all over Lancashire and I am sure you can relate to this wherever you are, but when did the trend reverse from building bus stops so the bus moved off the ...
