Back from rehearsal, had my bowl of pasta, and time for a few hours kip before doing the 5am round of "good morning, please vote" leafletting. Scanning the newspapers online before turning in, I'm a bit disheartened to see the above cartoon in The Telegraph. Although it's kind of funny, too: if I were a terrorist, I think I'd prefer FPTP. You only have to scare a small minority instead of aiming to persuade the majority. If the polls are correct, then it will take some time yet. But after a few more parliaments it will become painfully apparent that ...
Make your vote count in the local council elections: A local candidate Not aligned to either of the two large groups on the council Will not enter into coalition with either group if no overall control Will act fairly in ... Continue reading →
The annual UACES* Prize recognising good British journalism about European affairs seems to be attracting an ever stronger list of nominees. This year's shortlist included Tony Barber of the Financial Times for his series of articles on Saving the euro, Btonwen Maddox of Prospect Magazine for her piece on How the Greeks Broke Europe and ...
I just tried to delete, from my ebook reader, the music directory, so I could put some different music on it. I typed, as root, rm -rf /media/disk/Music I now have no MP3s by any artists beginning A-Bea . 'Luckily' the Beach Boys directory was so huge that it was the last thing to be ...
YouGov have announced the final polls before polling day tomorrow, which finds in favour of a No vote by 60% to 40%. While we're poll dancing, VN's much loved daily tracker reads tonight: Con 36% Lab 40% Lib Dem 11% (with Government approval at -21). The full results of YouGov polling are here. Apparently an ...
Evil giant spiders! Sarah Jane Smith! Ludicrous action sequences! New Age philosophy! There's something for everyone in the latest Doctor Who DVD, Planet of the Spiders. First broadcast from the Fourth of May, 1974 this is the climax to Jon Pertwee's adventures as the Doctor: not so much an epic as a 'greatest hits' mash-up; what was great about Pertwee, and not so great. Yet there's something so awesome about the way this Doctor faces The Last Enemy that I can forgive the story anything. Oh, and there's a Mr Clegg who's destroyed by contact with something hard and blue... ...
Al Queda was nice and neat. For an instant gratification audience as we have all become. Now their figurehead, the equivilant of Caeser's Eagle, has been killed (whether fairly or not), the West, and predominately America with their pedestal black-and-white politics, will struggle to sculpt another nefarious character. The Western World with their hyperreal wars are fixated on establishing a
Hi! Please vote "YES" tomorrow in the referendum. You don't need your polling card. If you vote yes, you're voting for candidates to reach out past their core vote, and voting for them to appeal to a wider bunch of people. You're voting for a more consensual politics – less point-scoring and more constructive debate. If you don't vote this chance may be lost for a generation. Please make me happy – vote YES!
I'm in Vienna, and doinga separate blog for my time here. Good luck to all the LD candidates in the elections tomorrow. And I'm crossing my fingers for the referendum, but not very hopeful.
This is a poll about letters and symbols which should look like a lower-case letter 'h' with a horizontal stroke through the top. View Poll: #1738030
Many people reading this will find little to object to in President Carter's Washington Post article about the Fatah/Hamas unity deal. For me, this article demonstrates not only the benevolence, optimism and fairness that got President Carter elected in 1976, but also the wishful thinking and blindness to ugly realities that got him thrown out by the same voters four years later. I urge people to read President Carter's piece and then to listen to Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev on the BBC's PM programme (24 minutes, 25 seconds in) explaining (in an interview, in which he is fairly grilled) ...
With all the arguing over AV and the rubbing of hands by Labour over the local elections one might be forgiven for having forgotten the by-election occurring in Leicester South. Sadly the news emanating from there today is disturbing at best. It would seem someone has decided to use the Lib Dems very good record on LGBT rights against them among the more conservative (small-c) voters of Leicester South. That it can be regarded as a smear to promote the Lib Dems record on LGBT rights is probably the most disturbing part. Lib Dem Voice and Political Scrapbook have some ...
I've just caught up on a superb, brilliant programme on Bob Monkhouse recently broadcast on the consistently wonderful BBC4. It's called "The Secret Life of Bob Monkhouse" and is available here on BBC on iPlayer until 8th May. It really is an exceptional programme which gives a fascinating insight into the life of a fascinating man, who was an exceptional comedian. In the summer of 1977, after my schooling ended, I was a dishwasher at Butlin's Minehead. That was in the days when Billy Butlin was still alive and Butlin's was run, we were led to believe, by his son ...
TweetI get the feeling that many of the Labour voters who are voting No to AV tomorrow are doing it to give Clegg a bit of a kicking (A completely absurd reason) for going into coalition with the Conservatives. Many of the posters say wipe the smile of Nick Cleggs face, using the false miserable little compromise quote. Except what it doesn't mention is that wiping the smile of Cleggs face means putting a smile on David Camerons face. So the very people who are aiming to give someone a kicking for joining the Conservative party in coalition are ready ...
Campaigning in 2011 is very different to that in 2001; blogs, Twitter and Facebook have all changed the way that candidates interact with the electorate and, coupled with traditional means of engagement, this surely promotes the democratic ideal. It is with this in mind that we can further enhance democracy within the United kingdom by taking the next step towards Proportional Representation and voting YES to the Alternative Vote tomorrow at the ballot box. For Labour voters in seats where the contest is normally between ourselves and the Tories, then YES tomorrow is very likely to improve their return and ...
Wed 4th
20:17
May the Fourth be with you, says John Cleese #yeswav #maythefourthbewithyou #starwarsday
Now you can't argue with that, can you?
In years to come, I shall tell my (as yet non-existent) kids that the moment my broadband speed became truly terrible was the moment that I received a letter from BT telling me that they were 'up-grading' my service and promising much faster speeds. To those living in areas that can only dream of anything above 2 minute page loads, I apologise. But before the 'up-grade' I was getting between 5 and 8 meg download. Now I'm lucky to get 1meg and suddenly watching BBC IPlayer is an exercise in staccato speech. Am now totally unconvinced by anything BT say ...
May 5th is Polling Day. Blogging has been light during the campaign, due to, well campaigning. However it is clear that this election is going to be very close between my colleague Wendy Helsby, who is an excellent hard-working Councillor who has done a great deal for Gorton and Abbey Hey and a Labour bloke whose main argument in his last-minute leaflet is that he's not a Liberal Democrat (never thought he was) and in his other leaflet described himself as a "New Generation". (No offence, but if he really is 10-20 years younger than Wendy as the term implies ...
Martin Brookes, chief executive of New Philanthropy Capital, has been stirring it up again: Fundraising in the UK is 'not very good', Martin Brookes tells MPs, reports Third Sector. Back in February, I chaired an Institute of Fundraising conference on major donor fundraising at which Martin delivered the closing plenary speech. His message then was pretty much the same: that the charitable sector in the UK is hopeless at major gift fundraising. As so often with Martin, there's a sizeable grain of truth in the observation which is unfortunately obscured by the typical sweeping assertions that get so many people's ...
With polls opening in mere hours, Yes to Fairer Votes held one final rally in a push for votes last night. All the campaign's stars were rolled out...and Ed Miliband turned up too. The message from everyone was clear: vote 'Yes' now, as we will not have the chance to improve the voting system for ...
It's a two horse race in Basingstoke. We're the only alternative to the Tories here. You don't want the Council to spend £11m on an office makeover - we're on your side You say you don't want flats built on our car parks - we're on your side You want your bin emptied weekly - we're on your side You don't want your village ruined by over development - we're on your side You want your
The local council election on Thursday May 5th is about choosing the best person to fight for our local area. Nigel Ashton is an experienced, hard-working campaigner who gets things done. Our local Liberal Democrat team has a long record of action. They are a team that works together, a team that listens to residents, and a team that keeps in touch. Many local residents say that they appreciate getting the Lib Dem FOCUS newsletters, which are delivered regularly throughout the area. In fact, the Meols Focus has been going for over 25 years, proving that Liberal Democrats don't just ...
Ed Miliband's office has written an article in his name in the Standard neatly setting out why people should vote Yes to AV. This is a simple re-statement of the arguments for voting Yes, all the better for not overstating the case. Very simply, I think that the Alternative Vote is a better system than is First Past the Post, which is why I urge people to vote Yes to AV. When I stood in Hendon last year, Matthew Offord was elected as the Conservative MP with 42.3% of the vote, just ahead of Labour's Andrew Dismore on 42.1%. Under ...
Call me sad but it feels like xmas eve. Because I invariably find myself in work on xmas I am resigned to the excitment of polling day for my excitement. At least I can gauranttee that if I ask for this day off I will invariably get it! So yes, all is building up. I've had pre-election anxiety for several days now. Wondering if we have done enough in the ward. Will it come off? Is there one more leaflet that could have been sent? Nail biting continues until the bitter end when results will be learnt at 3am Friday ...
We need to see a lot more of Dan Snow in the future. He's good.
Tomorrow is polling station and the polls are open from 7am-10pm. Here is a list of polling districts and polling stations in the Langworthy ward and remember, you do not need your polling card to vote (although it makes it a bit easier for the poll clerks to find and identify you on the voting register). QA Langworthy Cornerstone, 451 Liverpool Street, M6 5QQ QB Fit City Clarendon, Liverpool Street, M5 4AY QC Fit City Clarendon, Liverpool Street, M5 4AY QD Temporary Building, Visitors Car Park, Willow Tree Primary School, Greenland Street, M6 5TJ QE Temporary Building, Lower Seedley Road, ...
Was it right to have killed Osama bin Laden in cold blood? Because that's what the good men of SEAL Team Six did - they were given a kill order and they executed it, no pun intended. It's a complex question and gets tangled up in a lot of other problems, both emotional and intellectual. This post aims to unpick some of that. Was it legal? Many will hardly care whether it was legal or not, arguing that right and wrong are not always reflected in law. That's a fair point, but legalities are still important, if only because they're ...
Anne Milton says in today's Evening standard that she'd like to ban CARS on Sundays so that children can play in the streets. I agree that we should ban cars on Sundays. And Saturdays. And weekdays too, while we're at it. Oh, and I'd only ban petrol cars. And I'd make it come in in 5 years, to give people a chance to upgrade to an electric, and stimulate electric car production. So, in summary, I don't really agree with Anne Milton, the junior health minister, who, as the Tory MP for my hometown, is my archenemy and nemesis, at ...
Poltical Scrapbook reports: The Leicester South by-election has turned dirty. A leaflet purporting to be from the Liberal Democrats and featuring a picture of two men kissing has been distributed in an Asian area of the city. The materials, which campaign organisers have confirmed as fake, are clearly an attempt to inflame anti-gay sentiment in the largely Muslim Spinney Hills area. The leaflet [full size] features a version of the party's equality policies as channelled by the Daily Mail. If the lack of an imprint (text required by electoral law) or contact details doesn't raise suspicions, the text erroneously describe ...
What can we turn a debate on cheerleaders into? A reason not to vote to retain First Past the Post is a good start. Cameron declared vociferously to Humpreys on Radio 4 yesterday that America uses the outdated voting system to elect it's senators. And it is these senators that condone a court laying precedent that a cheerleader 'forgoes her constitutional right to free speech'. Just wow. Or
OK, so Osama is now officially a stiff, although it turns out that his influence was waning anyway. It should not take away from the skills of the Americans who raided the Bin Laden compound and finally laid the ghost that has haunted the United States for over a decade. It should also not take away from the steely-eyed way that President Obama faced his country's national nightmare. One more thing we now know: it is probably a very bad idea to play the President at poker. Yet I can not be the only one who finds the descent of ...
Don't forget to vote tomorrow – your polling station should be on your poll card, but you can vote without it if you've lost or misplaced it. The polling stations for Castle ward are: Friends Meeting House, 6 Church Street (next to the Arts Centre) if you're in St Mary's, Lexden Road, the west side of North Hill, Sheepen Road/Place and Rotary Way (AE polling district). Castle Methodist Church, Maidenburgh Street if you're in the Dutch Quarter, Town Centre, Abbeygate Street, Priory Street, Roman Road and Castle Road (AF polling district). Celtic Rose Centre, Guildford Road (formerly St James' Hall) ...
I'm afraid that I've only just picked up on the sad news of the death of Ken Taylor, father of former Truro MP Matthew. Ken was a screenwriter of some renown and will be best remembered for adapting The Jewel in the Crown for TV, although I recall he was also rather proud of The Camomile Lawn which dealt with rather racy themes (for 1982) and got dubbed Camomile Porn by some wag. Tim Pigott-Smith has written a good obituary in the Guardian, concentrating on Ken's professional career. I knew Ken and his wife Jill through Matthew and because they ...
An hilarious and entertaining explanation of AV using cats and dogs:
Following the decision by Doris Ansari to step down as the Liberal Democrat Leader on Cornwall Council, my colleague Jeremy Rowe has been unanimously backed to be the new group leader. Jeremy was formerly the Deputy Leader and I also received unanimous support to take over that role. Jeremy said: "At a time when the Conservatives are fracturing at every turn and seeking to depose their leader, it is in marked contrast that the Liberal Democrats are united in our desire to campaign for a more open and fairer deal for the residents of Cornwall." "Doris Ansari did a great ...
When the Prime Minister first made reference to this new doctrine, I was deeply impressed and inspired. Multiculturalism does provide benefits towards a society but, in the case of Europe, it has failed to deal adequately with religious extremism. Governments ... Continue reading →
The majority of the people, the majority of the time, either have a government or an MP that they don't support – for many, it's both. Just think about that for a second. Under our electoral system, only a small ... Continue reading →
Tomorrow is local election day in Bracknell and in many parts of the UK. Please when you vote, do so on local issues and try to choose the best candidate or candidates you can for your borough and town council. It's a big shame when local councillors work hard for you and lose or indeed don't work hard and win based on national issues, which are out of their hands. Please remember that this is a local election and should be about local issues and about the qaulity of the can, this is the best way to get the best ...
So Ian Tomlinson was unlawfully killed. From what I have seen of the evidence, that was the right decision to come to. The officer who struck him changed his version of events during the inquest, and accepted under examination that what he saw on video of himself and Tomlinson was not as he had recounted it himself. He may or may not be telling the truth, he may or may not be deluding himself. His case is now under consideration by the CPS, as it should be. He is also to be subject to a gross misconduct hearing, which will ...
Another election campaign nearly reaches its end. This has been a longer than expected campaign, we have been canvassing for over two months now and the good weather has meant we were out almost every evening. As always it has been an enjoyable experience, discussing politics with people, and as always there have been some surprises. At the very start, we were told by the media and others that everyone hates us, Nick Clegg is the most unpopular politician since Oswald Mosley, and that we should go canvassing with crash helmets on. Naturally this was all nonsense - canvassing in ...
One of the good things about campaigning is the range of issues we uncover or hear from voters. Here is a small selection from the last few days: The number of HGVs ignoring weight limits in Chipping Sodbury - like the massive lorry that miraculously managed to get round the corner at the War Memorial end of Hatters LaneThe problems people have trying to find bungalows that will accommodate a large wheelchairThe lack of public loos that will take a motorised wheelchairThe number of people who don't look outside their front doors regularly. We've knocked on a few doors to ...
Articles like this on the Independent's website really annoy me. It is a small article that uses a few pieces of data to infer a correlation/causation. These data points (from a sample of 1,500 5-15 year olds) are: 1. 15% of children can't swim2. 10% are unable to ride a bike3. 25% have never run a distance of 400m4. Around 50% of children have surfed the internet5. A third don't own a bike6. Two thirds own a mobile phone7. 75% own a games console. From this selective data they have inferred that children are being raised as couch potatoes. I ...
Well, I'm nipping out to the wonderful Guitar Works in Market Place, Reading, to find out how my bass feels after Julian has given the set up a once over. This trip will also mark the last city centre outing of the Yes to Fairer Votes T-Shirt. I shall be in a full on "hoping for the future" mood at the band rehearsal tonight! I'll also be wearing it tomorrow a.m. as I do the early morning get-out-the-vote leafleting, taking every last chance to influence an undecided soul. Unfortunately it looks likely the country overall is going to vote in ...
In December 1920 the Government of Ireland Act* was first placed before the House of Commons. It made provision for a split in one of the historic provinces of Ireland. The second paragraph stated: "For the purposes of this Act, Northern Ireland shall consist of the parliamentary counties of Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone, and the parliamentary boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry." The act was voted through on 3 May 1921 and gained Royal Assent the following day so on the eve of an election to a Northern Irish Assembly we mark the 90th birthday of Northern Ireland, ...
This is the last post I will make on this blog until, probably, Saturday. This is because I will be *busy*. In a couple of hours, I will be making a two-bus journey to a target ward. There I shall deliver a couple of hundred leaflets, to go with the 500 I've already delivered this ...
Wed 4th
12:54
Newsletter number seven is out: Electoral reform, Ed Balls, the coalition's future and more
You can read the latest edition of my newsletter about the Liberal Democrats here and if you'd like to receive future editions direct by email just sign up here.
So, tomorrow (Thursday) is election day. Millions of people will go to the polls to vote for their local Councillors, in the Fairer Votes referendum, and in various other elections in various places across the country. I urge everyone to go out and vote. I don't mind if you don't vote for me if you ...
I have marked the start of my pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela by having my back crunched by my chiropractor and going to Mass. At around 5pm, I will be meeting boxcat at St Pancras and then getting on a Eurostar to Paris, followed by a sleeper train to the Spanish border, another train to A Coruña, and a bus to Ferrol. (Yes, it's possible to fly, but a slower train journey felt more in keeping with the spirit of the thing, and more time for processing is no bad thing.) Starting on Friday, we will then walk 120km to ...
My 7th reason to vote YES! to the Alternative Vote tomorrow is quite negative again; that's what often happens with lower preference. But as negative campaigning sometimes works... For goodness' sake, just look at the No campaign! The BNP. Rupert Murdoch. Labour's authoritarian dinosaurs, with all the Labour reformers voting YES! And most Conservatives - with all the No campaign's vast cash outspending change coming from the usual Tory millionaires. Why on Earth should the people who have always screamed to stop any change in the history of ever be lying to make you scared of change? It's a toughie. ...
Unlike the rest of the United Kingdom, voters in Northern Ireland are required to show identification when in the polling station to get their ballot papers. Perhaps this should be brought in across the UK as a whole? Polls are open from 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m., ID that is valid includes: A UK, Irish ...
Wed 4th
11:45
Yes to AV rally:Last night Ashdown, Miliband, Eddie Izzard, Iannucci at al were all great. But Jonat...
I attended the final Yes to AV camapign rally last night and there were some great speeches from some great speakers. Eddie Izzard was funny (though apparently exhausted). Armando Iannucci was funnier and made excellent points ( plus a good joke at our expense - I guess he couldn't help himself). Lord Ashdown was passionate, Alan Johnson was historical and spoke very movingly about the birth of the Labour movement, and (bravely) Andrew Boff had a right go at the No campaign in general. Ashdown even offered to adopt Andrew Boff if the Tories no longer wanted him (Boff didn't ...
Must be true, look the graph say so with its 'statistically significant' correlation. (The need to have a model within which to understand numbers is even better demonstrated here - and shows how you can't do maths isolated from an understanding of the outside world, but of course once you do let judgements from the outside world in that means maths can be both technically correct and horribly wrong in its apparent lessons or predictions.)
A disgruntled voter asks.................
So Ian Tomlinson was "five times over the drink-drive limit". I didn't know that there was a drink-drive limit for walking in the street. Next time I am walking on the pavement, will I be arrested for walking without a driving licence and without valid car insurance?It is easy to be cynical about Daniel Barenboim and his concert in Gaza. But at least he's a person of good will and at least he's trying, even if peace won't be created by initiatives like this, it will be created by the hard people on all sides eventually being able to do ...
It is a long established tradition in Oxfordshire - and I assume, more widely - that the Tories will put out a nasty leaflet in the last few days of a campaign. These leaflets, if held in the threatened Botley Library, would be filed under 'fiction' since they always play fast and loose with the truth. Indeed, that seems to be the approach of the Tories to the elections this year, as the 'No to AV' campaign demonstrates. Be assured that there is no coalition here in Oxfordshire. In North Hinksey, we have a humdinger of a leaflet which bears ...
One thing I have managed to achieve in the last few months is to get shot of my personal bank account with HSBC. I have had once since I was fifteen, when I shook hands with the bank manager in Maida Vale (the branch has been closed for years) and was then very proud of it. When the closed their branch in Crystal Palace a few years ago I vowed I would leave, but it has taken me rather a long time to 'move my money', as the Huffington Post urged so successfully last year. I feel rather good about ...
Reading Twitter this morning you get the impression that the Yes2AV campaign is being run by Eddie Izzard, Armando Iannucci and Stephen Fry. What has happened to the politicians? Ed Miliband, for instance, has been next to invisible. He has declined to risk his authority as leader by trying to persuade unwilling Labour MPs to support AV. He has only begun to sound impassioned on the subject when the campaign has already been won and lost. It wasn't always like this. Back in 1975 the European referendum campaign featured major politicians on both sides of the debate. It wasn't left ...
Ed Miliband said at the YES to AV election last night that the Mayor of London is elected by AV. I think the Mayor is elected by SV (Supplementary Vote). Which isn't the same thing... I'll get my coat...
Wed 4th
10:29
Campaign Scaling Question: A technique to win over swing voters a soft opposition voters at the fron...
Door to door campaigning is one of the most successful techniques of increasing your vote yet there are some dilemmas in door to door campaigning when it comes to who you should focus your precious campaigning time on. When someone says they are undecided it is tempting to spend time with that person persuading them ...
Down to my 6th reason to vote YES! to the Alternative Vote tomorrow, and all of my preferences are still looking pretty good! This one sounds nerdier, but it's important: one of the key reasons AV means fairer votes is that it stops tactical voting. And that makes it much fairer to the voter - instead of having to decide whether to vote for the candidate you most agree with, or just try and guess who's best-placed to stop the one you most disagree with, you vote honestly, positively, and if your favourite doesn't make it, your next choice might. ...
The BBC has this graphic for its summing up of the arguments on the AV Referendum. Clearly the pencil has more than two faces but only two are available to the voter - yes or no. The graphic so neatly sums up the problem with First Past the Post that I'm surprised the Director-General Mark Thomson didn't ban it as the BBC banned the use of the word "Reform".Caroline Lucas was of course right
A while ago I wrote a post titled Lessons from successful politicians: How Canada's junior coalition partner went on to win more votes and seats. Now the Canadian result is in we can see that The leftwing New Democratic party, led by Jack Layton, nearly tripled their strength to 102 seats, emerging for the first ...
Would Lamb be the "Stop Huhne" contender? So, IF Nick Clegg gets decapitated, which can't happen (hello, party constitution), Norman Lamb might be the one to bet on? Sorry, I'm just going to have to go get a needle and thread to sew my sides up... In the unlikely event that Clegg DOES go any time soon, I'd like to see Tessa Munt give it a go. And in five years time I reckon I'll be riding the Swinson bandwagon... (tags: libdemmery funny) Why Doctor Who's Falling Overnight Ratings Are A Good Thing Golder lays into the Daily Fail and ...
...............you will remember how energetic, compassionate and hard working this man was when he was your MP. So many were shocked when he wasn't re-elected last year. An 8% swing in his favour, on a night when everyone in Scotland was clinging onto Labour like it was a security blanket, was quite impressive and indicative of the high personal regard in which he was held. While in Parliament, Willie fought against turning Rosyth into a nuclear sub dump. He introduced a law protecting learner drivers. He helped over 9000 people with over 20,000 separate problems in 4 years. He fought ...
North East Fife Liberal Democrat MP Sir Menzies Campbell has written to the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Secretary of State for Scotland to restate the case for retaining RAF Leuchars in its current role. Sir Menzies said: "With the decision on the future of RAF Leuchars expected soon after the election on 5th May now is the time to set out once more the compelling case for keeping the RAF in Fife. "The base and its personnel remain eminently qualified and equipped for the role which they have executed with ...
I read with interest Cllr Jeff Green's letter to Cllr. Steve Foulkes (Leader of the Labour Group). In the short time I have left as candidate in Bidston & St. James I will address some of the points it raises. Firstly, what are Labour's plans? Well, from a leaflet from my local Labour candidate, they ...
Recent decisions by the Conservative administration on South Glos Council have tilted the balance well in favour of developers. Firstly, they've allocated the Frenchay Hospital land for housing in their Core Strategy. This not only means that there would be no hope of getting a hospital back there, however much our area grows with all the new housing they propose here. It also means much more traffic on the routes to the main employment areas for our town - Bristol and the North Fringe. So it'll take you longer to get to work, and a lot longer to get to ...
Being not a celtic troublemaker means I've only ever been asked for my democratic opinion through public plebiscite on one occasion before. And how embarrassingly wrong I was to reject the entirely inevitable collective response to an increasingly globalised world. ... Continue reading →
Dear Neighbour As campaigning for the local elections draws to a close, I thought I would thank you for the very positive response I have received on the doorstep as your Liberal Democrat candidate. People have been so positive about the Lib Dem team's record of local action, cleaning up our area and working with residents to tackle anti-social behaviour and crime. Many people have said how much they appreciate seeing us working all year round, not just at election time. My colleagues and I have worked on 1600 items of casework in Redlands since 2006, each one helping to ...
I'd found the Royal Wedding an entirely good experience, and as my natural disposition is to find something to be grumpy about, this is all rather unsettling. We went up on the day. As you can see, we had a great spot. The kids loved it, the atmosphere was brilliant, everyone was jolly, it was all, in short, good fun. Plus the police didn't kettle anyone. (Copyright: Freya Anderson) When I left central London I saw street parties galore and everyone in a state of good natured contentment, helped, no doubt by a bonus day off. Then I read that ...
The news that New York has chosen a Nissan as the new model for the famous yellow cab brings back memories of when we had endless debates surrounding the type of black cabs we use here in Edinburgh. The issue in Edinburgh surrounded thew turning circle, the ability of the taxi to turn on a sixpence. The council discussed this repeatedly with arguments ensuing about operating a closed shop as, if my memory serves me right, only one manufacturer made the cabs with the turning circle. I think I voted for the status quo believing that in very heavy traffic ...
"Our libraries are saved" said the headline in the East Anglian Daily Times on Monday. As library protesters have discovered, however, the devil is in the detail – and at present there is no detail. I was asked to write a piece for wordblog which is repeated here: At first I believed that the County Council had completely changed its mind about the divestment of libraries to "communities". Excellent, I thought. As ever the small print revealed a different picture. The transfer of libraries to a Community Interest Company raises a further series of questions and surely means this is ...
A new timetable of bus subsidy cuts have been worked out by the Tories to avoid potentially damaging their county council election campaign. Instead of cutting the buses year on year over a four year period, they have revealed that the next cuts will take place this autumn followed by a two year break to avoid the sensitive election period. Once the 2013 election is over, the Tories will cut the rest of the bus subsidies under their plan to save £2.7 million. The change of plan has been revealed by Cambridge Liberal Democrats and comes just weeks after the ...
The author of a leaflet currently being put around Tilehurst ward on behalf of Labour candidate Rose Williams, who is a former Mayor of Reading, not that this seems to have elevated the words used in her campaign. Again it contains a number of demonstrably false statements for which an agent, one Ben Zielinski, is legally responsible. Maybe Mr Zielinski is new to agenting and hasn't done much of his agents' training. Two false statements come in the first couple of paragraphs of this leaflet. Ms Williams claims (the piece is written in the first person) that the Pensioners' Working ...
i) births and deaths 4 May 1912: birth of Peter Bathurst, who played Hensell in The Power of the Daleks (1966-67) and Chinn in The Claws of Axos (1971). ii) broadcast anniversaries 4 May 1968: broadcast of second episode of The Wheel in Space; first appearance of Wendy Padbury as Zoe. The Doctor is incapacitated and Jamie makes a new friend. 4 May 1974: broadcast of first episode of Planet of the Spiders. The Doctor investigates a clairvoyant; Mike Yates and Sarah Jane investigate a meditation cult under the control of spiders.
Without a doubt this photograph is one of my favourites of Kilburn of yesteryear. Full of character and style - all brought about by a number of features - the wide dress, the still left arm - the kinked elbow resting on the cushion holding a white lace hankerchief, the bold buckle, the bodice under the blouse, the formal black collar (matching the belt) and the tight stylised hair with one small hanging curl... And an apparently emotionaless gaze - slightly pensive and whilstful and yet charming. Taken in a small smudio room in what was Bennett James the photographers. ...
I feel like I've already posted an entry for this as I didn't have anything to post for the letter "I" when I was doing my A-Z of my CDs series... As you may recall, I featured a band called Ice, Sea, Dead People - you can read that post here. The artist and song I've chosen today is mentioned in the comments to that post. As I said there, this song always make me think of my Grandad - here's INXS with Suicide Blonde: Enjoy! Andrew
Please vote John Brace (your only local candidate) on Thursday May 5th. The local Liberal Democrat Action Team works all year round, not just at election time. Many people have said they appreciate our regular Focuses about this area and what's going on. If you are unsure of your local polling station (as many are) ...
Scoring the pundits - Crooked Timber Auditing experts' predictions - avoid law school if you want to be more accurate! (tags: internet knowledge) #AE11 Prediction competition... Predict the result of the 5 May vote! (tags: northernireland)
As Wales prepares to go to the polls the South Wales Evening Post has come up with a timely reminder of how poor Labour-run councils really can be. Welsh Labour Ministers often cite Neath Port Talbot as an example of how it should be done, but there is no Welsh Liberal Democrat-led Council with £20 million of taxpayers money tied up in Iceland and with no idea of when exactly they will be getting the money back. The paper says that millions of pounds of taxpayers' money frozen in Icelandic banks for three years will remain there until at least ...
The other official titles given to the couple by The Queen on their wedding day, are The Earl and Lady of Strathearn and The Baron and Countess of Carrickfergus. from Clarence House website accessed 4 May 2011 at 0030 Oopsadaisy! I think that Clarence House means: The other official titles given to the couple by ...
It is quite obvious that the BNP are against AV - as common sense suggests they ought to be. AV is not proportional representation. AV ensures that nobody gets elected without having the support of 50% or more of the voters in a constituency, something the BNP are extremely unlikely ever to have, so it would effectively consign them to political oblivion. This of course doesn't stop the 'no' campaign from pretending that the BNP would benefit from AV and that they support it. is a typical evidence-free post on that theme. "I have scoured the BNP website to ...
