House of Lords Reform is dull. Witheringly tedious. It's like debating the the ethics of slavery 200 years after abolition. You have to be quite odd, indifferent, or self-interested to believe either have a place in the modern world. That is not to say many individual peers are not lovely, intelligent, gifted people who provide their expertise to the country at little cost relative to their market value. But that is not the point. That is also true of the bulk of talent in the NGO, political and voluntary sector. In no other sphere of public life do people expect ...
Lord Bonkers replies exclusively for Liberal England: It was clearly set out in the Coalition agreement. Now clear off down the garden and leave our dustbins alone.
I'm delighted that Willie Rennie decided to take the plunge and go for the leadership of the Scottish Party. As nominations closed at midday today, Willie Rennie was the only candidate for the leadership, so no all member ballot was required this time, unlike 2008. Willie Rennie chose the Fife coastal village of North Queensferry where, in the shadow of the Forth Bridges, he announced to the media that he had been confirmed as the new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Willie replaces Tavish Scott, who resigned 10 days ago in the wake of devastating Scottish Parliament election results. ...
Let me introduce you to Bernard-Henri Lévy. You might like him. Rather than joining the fashionable Marxist currents in the Left during and after 1968, he led a group of left-wing philosophers fiercely critical of the authoritarianism inherent in Marxism. ... Continue reading →
Who would have thought that the opening of a new shop would spark a riot? Usually communities and their political representatives lament the demise of the high street and welcome new investment. I don't want to go into the ins and outs of the whole Tesco in Cheltenham Road debate here, while community discussion is ...
I have just been reading through the statement of Nick Clegg on the Second Chamber, and the ensuing Commons debate this afternoon. You can read the Hansard report here and see the debate on the Commons TV service here. First of all here is a reminder of some of the main features of the proposed reform: -300 seat chamber – significantly smaller than now and about half the size of the Commons, making it distinctive and in line with established practice for most bi-cameral systems. -80% elected, 20% appointed by an indepedent, statutory commission -Additionally, 12 Church of England bishops ...
Over on the OurKingdom site, I've contributed the following thoughts to their debate on the future for political reform after the AV referendum result: Not only for years but for decades I've heard electoral reformers insist that campaigning for anything other than AV would be a mistake as AV, or a variant thereof, was the most that the Labour Party would stomach for the House of Commons and without Labour support nothing would happen. After this month's referendum that strategy certainly looks a failure, but the logic was not completely misplaced. Had the majority of Labour Parliamentarians backed a Yes ...
As my colleague Alex Folkes has already written, today's Annual Meeting of Cornwall Council is unlikely to be remembered fondly by the administration's Tory leadership. The Leader of the Council looked a little unsteady from the start, in all honesty. His jokes lacked their usual sparkle and you could clearly hear the murmurs of dissatisfaction ...
On the day the coalition announces its proposals for reforming the House of Lords to make it more efficient and accountable, it's worth highlighting the support for such reforms expressed by the Prime Minister in last year's first debate between the three ... Continue reading →
........ this morning. Yesterday evening I had a call from a very nice man called Scott who works for the BBC in Glasgow asking me to go on Good Morning Scotland today. As I had 3 children to get to school this morning (Anna and 2 regular and very sweet and lovely and welcome visitors), I wasn't in a position to go in to the studio, but they let me do it over the phone. It was a discussion with Glasgow student Lib Dem Ruaraidh Dobson about the future of the Scottish Liberal Democrats in general and Willie Rennie in ...
Interim Chief Executive Hugh Roberts, that's what. Edinburgh Zoo has recently been mired in controversy and now Hugh Roberts has been appointed to sort it out and bring some stability back to the zoo. There has been no-one in the Chief Executive role since November 2010 when David Windmill retired. Then, all within the last two months, two senior staff, Gary Wilson (Chief Operating Officer) and Iain Valentine (Director of animals, conservation and education) have been suspended while inquiries into anonymous allegations were carried out. Gary Wilson is now due to return to work after "There was no disciplinary case ...
As I mentioned in my blog regarding the recent council elections, my area bucked the national trend. It was therefore pleasing to read today that Labour have agreed to back a minority Liberal Democrat administration. I don't think I'm being to partisan by saying that this was the correct choice. There is a fair amount of policy agreement between the two parties at local level having seen the Conservatives do (what I believe to be) a poor job for so long and from my experience talking to people they did want a change. This should result in some pet projects ...
[This was originally posted before Blogger had its hissy fit a couple of days ago. Now it's back!] Another three events today sadly showed again the brain dead bigoted idiots rife in certain parts of Scottish football. First, a Hearts fan is arrested and charged in connection with the assault of Celtic manager Neil Lennon at Tynecastle last night. Then, this morning, two men were arrested in connection with sending bombs to Lennon, Celtic's QC Paul McBride, and Trish Godman, a former MSP and Celtic fan. Finally, this afternoon, another suspicious package arrived at Celtic Park. I'm an Aberdeen fan. ...
[This was originally posted before Blogger had its hissy fit a couple of days ago. Now it's back!] "There's been a murder, Sir." "No' again, Jardine. Where this time?" "Maryhill, Sir. Up near the canal, behind Firhill. It's a 28 year old male. Media's all over it like a rash." "Media.... Cause of death?" "Multiple cuts, Sir. Folks are blaming it on the English." "Why - I didn't think Alex Salmond was that young." "Naw, it's no' him. The body's no' that big. Apparently the victim just wasn't popular anymore. Something about not being original enough." "Did they try to ...
Here's Nick Clegg's latest email to party members: I'm delighted to let you know about two developments in government today – reinforcing our commitment to being the greenest government ever and publishing our plans for an elected second chamber. Our party has always been the greenest among the mainstream political parties. We put the commitment to put make Britain greener on the front cover of our manifesto. And I'm proud that we're living up to that reputation in Government – even in these difficult economic times. Chris Huhne and Vince Cable have today announced proposals for binding carbon targets in ...
Yet more refinement of the events of the Silmarillion, in various different formats; I'm rather glad that the next volume in this series takes us to Númenor and away from Beleriand. The most interesting thing in this volume (though unfortunately also the least readable) is Tolkien's casting of the Annals of Beleriand into Anglo-Saxon, a very visible piece of his commitment to reshaping English mythology by giving it new roots as invented by himself, though as it turned out rather a blind alley creatively. There is also some impressive forensic work on the faint pencil-drawn maps on which Tolkien planned ...
Cornwall Councillors today rejected a proposal to abolish the provision for a 'State of Cornwall debate' the has languished unused in our constitution since the inception of the new authority. I say unused, but when I made this suggestion at today's meeting, the Leader claimed that there had been such debate last year in the form of a presentation by the Chief Executive to councillors and there would have been one this year but, er, there won't be.... I suggested that this was a missed opportunity for the Council. For all that the Leader claims that he wants openness and ...
On the day the coalition announces its proposals for reforming the House of Lords to make it more efficient and accountable, it's worth highlighting the support for such reforms expressed by the Prime Minister in last year's first debate between the three party leaders. It's often said that David Cameron is at best ambivalent about House of Lords reform, but he is quite clear in his view in this video clip:
It seems to be taking an inordinate time for local councillors to agree on what sort of council, we will be getting, a clue as to what is going on comes from twittering Clive Hart (Thanet Labour), who failed along with his comrades to take control of the council, despite dragging in help from outside and trawling through the digital dustbin that is Facebook for dirt. [IMG: labourtwitter] Its an uncertain world and my view is that the next four years will be a complete dogs breakfast of bitter rivalry, petty political point scoring, backstabbing and wasted opportunity etc., so ...
A limit on the total amount of greenhouse gases to be emitted by the UK between 2023 to 2027 has been proposed, which would cut Britain's emissions by 50% from 1990 levels. Once again it highlights the Government's commitment to being the greenest government ever. Today's proposal, set out by Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne, is in line with advice from the independent Committee on Climate Change. It sets a fourth carbon budget of 1950 MtCO2e for the period that will span from 2023 to 2027, putting the UK on course to cut emissions by at least 80% ...
I don't think Cornwall Council's Conservative Leader Alec Robertson really enjoyed today's full council meeting. His reshuffle fell apart around him as, first of all, his Independent coalition partners rejected the concept of 'Cabinet Support Members' and refused to nominate a lead member for education, and then the council as a whole voted against his move to pay allowances to the new tier. Alec started off brightly enough. He had a couple of pre-scripted jokes (presumably the work of his new adviser George Eustice MP) but these hardly rallied the troops when they knew what was coming. As I blogged ...
Simon Beard is a philosophy student at the LSE and blogs regularly for ResPublica. Liberal ideology appears a mass of contradictions. To outsiders we are centrist, however we view ourselves as radicals, we believe in freedom but often propose new laws and regulations rather than opposing them. We are home to some of the strongest supporters of privatisation and nationalisation. Given these differences it is perhaps natural that we hide behind the notion of being a moderate voice in a conservative government. However this is not good enough. Both because nobody votes for moderation, people vote for what they agree ...
This is an old article I wrote, think it was for college, back in 2008. Reading back, it is quite interesting; so I've decided to host it. My memory is unable to calculate the reason for me writing this; some ... Continue reading →
Lynne Featherstone talks about what the Coalition has done and plans to do in an effort to push forward the evil gay agenda. (We're coming for your children next...) And ILGA-Europe published a "Rainbow Map" which gave the UK top marks on LGBT rights (when compared with others, no European country got full marks) moving up from joint 6th place last year. The fight for freedom continues... but we're closing in... If you feel benevolent and particularly generous, this writer always appreciates things bought for him from his wishlist
May Half Term Events A3
Willie Rennie in front of Forth Rail Bridge. Photo: G Littlejohn This was the scene in the Fife coastal village of North Queensferry today where, in the shadow of the Forth Bridges, Willie Rennie talked to the media after being confirmed as the new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. He replaces Tavish Scott, who resigned 10 days ago in the wake of devastating Scottish Parliament election results and was the only candidate when nominations closed at noon today. The venue was symbolic. Five years ago, on the day of the Dunfermline by-election, the Courier, the major regional newspaper, carried ...
Here are the key proposals for Lords reform according to the BBC: KEY FEATURES OF PROPOSALS 300 members80% elected - 20% appointed but with a provision for a fully elected chamberMembers to be elected for single 15-year terms under the single transferable vote system of proportional representationA third of members to be elected in 2015, a further third in 2020 and 2025Number of bishops to be reduced from 26 to 12Now, in case anyone's wondering, this is why each element of the proposals came to be. The 300 member limit is intended to reduce costs (which are currently huge) and ...
I would like to get on a constitutional reform soapbox now and I make no apologies. Clegg announced proposals today in Parliament to change to an elected House of Lords, amid speculation that he would be facing revolt by peers. The peers who are against the move are quoted in the I paper as saying: "'the supremacy and authority' of the Commons would 'inevitably be challenged' by an elected
Today is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, the date of May 17th commemorates the date in 1990 that World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from it's list of mental illnesses. Read that again. Until just 21 years ago the WHO still listed homosexuality as a mental illness, with all the consequences and stigma that label entails. The ...
The most popular tale on the BBC website today is that of the exploding watermelons in China. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13421374 Debate is raging as to the cause of this. Some blame chemicals added to help bring the melons along faster but other point out that melons not sprayed have been exploding. This brings me back to my experience of exploding food stuffs. One winter night in I decided to roast some chestnuts in the oven. I put the baking tray into the oven and then promptly forgot about them. A few minutes later I heard a sound which could only be described ...
It's now 14 years since a Labour government was elected after 20 years in the wilderness on a manifesto that promised an elected House of Lords and a referendum on changing the voting system. Despite the failure to fulfil those pledges despite 13 years of power, Labour still retains in its manifesto a commitment to an elected Lords. So too, funnily enough, do the tories. And the Lib Dems obviously have a commitment to an elected Lords as well which is evidenced by Nick Clegg's just-published proposals for Lords reform. There are now two options on the table. One is ...
The Iris agency has also worked for the Lib Dems in the GE campaign. No mention of the AV campaign that i can find on their website!
I am delighted to see that Willie Rennie is to be the new Scottish Lib Dem leader. I did make a plea for this in this blog just a day or so after the Holyrood elections. Willie is the right person for the job. He knows his way around Holyrood, is an excellent campaigner and has a terrific work rate. He also is a former MP and I am sure will build a constructive relationship between our Holyrood and Westminster parties and our councillor base. I wish him every success.
Today Willie Rennie spoke to the media after being confirmed as the new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. He chose to do it in the Fife village of North Queensferry. The symbolism of that goes back 5 years to the day of the Dunfermline by-election, when the front page of The Courier carried a fabulous image of Willie and then leader Nicol Stephen at the top of the nearby Forth Rail Bridge with the headline "Too Close to Call.". Today, 330ft lower down, Willie clearly had his eye on the tough climb back to the top. Here's Willie being ...
Yesterday evening the new Mayor was "installed", in front of about two hundred and fifty people in the Civic Hall at Wallasey Town Hall. The annual meeting which decides the Mayor is always well attended as Wirral Council send out invites. I took some photos (which unfortunately were rather blurred, I must start using a ...
OK, so it was more of a coronation than an election, but the right guy won. If there was any doubt, I've just heard an interview with Willie on Radio Scotland and it's clear he's really "up for it." It's a new era then, and time now for the Scottish party to move onwards. We do need to consider carefully where things went wrong and where we go now, learning from mistakes. Willie mentioned in the interview that you can't simply forget about the Coalition - it does affect our lives in Scotland, after all - but I still think ...
Notice anything about this 5-minute BBC report on House of Lords reform? While it talks of 'revolution in the air', every interviewee is a white middle aged man. Yet House of Lords reform could – if the Coalition chooses to make it so – prove a game-changing opportunity to promote the cause of gender balance at Westminster. Our Commons party consists of just 12% women and the Commons as a whole barely 22%. The reasons for this are complex and different in each party, but electoral volatility and a leaky pipeline of female candidates are two major factors for the ...
Willie Rennie is the new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. He was elected unopposed, which is hardly surprising in the circumstances. Rennie was for me the obvious choice to succeed Tavish Scott who resigned in the aftermath of the disastrous Scottish parliamentary elections. While he is new to Holyrood, he has served as MP for Dunfermline and West Fife; during his time at Westminster he became well known for his leadership on defence issues. He has also served as chair of the Lib Dem campaigns and communications committee - experience which should stand him in good stead for spearheading ...
As reported in this morning's Courier and tonight's Evening Telegraph, I am of the view that last night's decision by City Councillors to approve 3 "superfast broadband" cabinets in parts of the West End in conservation areas create an unnecessary blot on the landscape in areas that are historic and should be the subject of heritage protection. At last night's City Council Development Management Committee, I proposed that the applicant, BT Openreach, be asked to think again on the design of these large boxes, but my motion to do so was unfortunately defeated 14-10. The motion read : "The development ...
There is a nice piece over at The Spectator about the significance of The Queen's visit to Ireland and remembering the many people who have lost their lives in the conflict. On days like this I remember Miles Amos. Miles was the son of family friends, one of these people you see a lot growing up, and I remember my mother telling me about his death very vividly, and reading a copy of the valediction my father gave at his funeral. It was a very sad time and I still think about Miles, his sister Naomi and his parents Di ...
As one of the first Scottish Liberal Democrats to declare for Willie Rennie as our new party leader, I was delighted to learn earlier today that Willie has become Scottish Liberal Democrat leader. Here's the party's news release : Rennie new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats17 May 2011Willie Rennie has been appointed leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.He accepted the appointment at North Queensferry, with one of the party's oldest members and one of the youngest.Commenting, Mr Rennie said:"I'm delighted to be the new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats."We need to reflect on the disappointment of the Scottish ...
Talk about bashing a man when he is down. Today Nick Clegg published his white paper on the reform of the second chamber and the response from Labour MPs in the House? 'We hate you Clegg'. Sadly it's not an inaccurate representation of what happened. Sadiq Khan lambasted the Deputy Prime Minister and tried to open with a Avram Grant joke (it could have been clever and mildly amusing had he not fluffed his lines). He said that no-one cares and it is a waste of time as people only care about jobs, hospitals and schools. David Blunkett said something ...
When I came off the Welsh Assembly's protected e-mail system during the recent elections I discovered just how much spam and malicious e-mail is out there. Suddenly, I was receiving attached files masquerading as perfectly innocent and helpful messages but were in fact internet worms or worse and that is not to mention the special offers. Even so I was a bit taken aback by the revelation by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that that more than 20,000 "malicious emails" are sent to Government networks each month. He said that last year saw "hostile intelligence agencies" make hundreds of "serious ...
TweetWhen I joined the Liberal Democrats back in February 2009, I saw it as a party of youth, appealing to many students and younger people through its vote winning policies like scrapping tuition fees. And it would only be a logical conclusion to suggest that therefore there would be a strong campaigning youth branch of the party. To some already involved in Liberal Youth, this is the case, we do have that already. I disagree, wholeheartedly. Infact one of my first impression of Liberal Youth was the 2010 elections where an almighty row had broken out, and there seemed to ...
Me and Harriet Long outside Belfast City Hall earlier As I posted earlier todaay is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. I written a little poem to mark the day. A Poem for IDAHo I don't want my own private IDAHo.Nor do I want to world to know,Each tiny intimate fact of my loveWho I bestow it upon, what he does.But I still need to be vocal about who I amSo others can live a live that is calm.Free of phobia, bullying and hateSo they can be happy like Wills and Kate.So that they can kiss in public should they ...
Since 2003 I have had a Nokia8310. It served me well. I liked the little phone but for about the past two years it had shall we say stopped working. Basically if anyone rang me it was likely to both cause the battery to die and for the phone to lose connection. I kept with it as the new world of mobile phones was both scary and expensive (and deep down I'm a right tight arse) but recently I have loosened the purse strings somewhat. Having a phone that a) works and b) gives me access to the interweb on ...
Nadine Dorries is a loose cannon when it comes to sexual politics. But while it's easy to be offended by her outbursts, it isn't as obvious as it should be how much harm they can do. This terrific open letter ... Continue reading →
It was good to see a dose of Sunday afternoon comedy gold as Jo Lovelock vented her spleen on the BBC Politics show and said more than she should have. Not withstanding that Jo seems to have a poor grasp of how local democracy works - without a majority, the largest group has no more right to rule than a coalition, the simple maths of the results means that Labour has no more legitimacy to run Reading than a minority coalition. Labour got 39.8% of the vote, the coalition parties got 46.8%. On the other hand, if Labour agreed to ...
Jas Singh ran explains the highly sophisticated campaign that ran , using highly targeted ads and Search Engine Optimisation. And why they made very little use of Twitter
Video also available on YouTube. Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone lends her support to today's International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia and talks about the Government's work in this area.
Ouch. Yes to Fairer Votes – An Insiders View [published on Liberal Conspiracy http://bit.ly/lgw3Bk]
Last Saturday Erica and I had a wonderful international evening at the Everyman Bistro inLiverpool. The occasion was the XX (it had a 0 at the end!) birthday of our French next door neighbour Georgina. Georgina came toLiverpool as a ... Continue reading →
The Independent writes The Lib Dems' troubles may also blight the Conservatives which outlines some important strengths in the Lib Dems now they are in government which are worth highlighting: The one bonus of power for them is that they are listened to, for good or bad. Chris Huhne's driving licence would be of no ...
A schism exists within the Liberal Democrats, not as commonly thought between the orange bookers and the social liberals but between the national parliamentary party and the local branches. For a number of years the party could operate on a largely on local level. The belief in local decision making and democracy naturally led to variations in the approaches adopted in different areas. Campaigns, and priorities within the party mirrored the attitudes and political leanings of different regions across the UK. Parties are of course not homogeneous beasts, even if New Labour may have had a very good attempt at ...
I recall many holidays in Northern Ireland and the Republic as a child. Traveling to see family was always quite an ordeal in the early 90s; especially the security situation at Belfast International. Armed escort to and from the plane, ... Continue reading →
Chris Huhne's success in persuading the Government to set long term carbon reduction targets gives Britain leadership in Europe on climate change, it has been claimed. The Liberal Democrats' environment spokesman in the European Parliament, Chris Davies, described the Energy ... Continue reading →
Nick Thornsby regularly posts here on The Voice highlighting pieces elsewhere but there's one post of his own which fully deserves a similar plug: The progressive minority If there is one 'lesson to learn' from Thursday's various polls it is this: there is no 'progressive majority' in Britain. Let us be in absolutely no doubt whatsoever - as if we didn't already know it - that Labour is not a progressive, and most certainly not a liberal, party - and neither, in the main, are those people who voted for it. As the No campaign liked to remind us, a ...
It does not take great insight to realise the UK housing market is in a mess. Recently we've witnessed significant nominal house price declines and consequent negative equity, a massive contraction in the supply of credit, a private sector construction collapse, and social house building as a victim of austerity. Repossessions have risen. And that ...
It's not 1911 and not 1921, but 2011 and today, members of the British security services will walk the streets of Dublin, fully armed. It's an incredible occurrence that until only recently, would've been thought as wholly inconceivable. Yet today, as a new mark of a new political stability between the United Kingdom and it's nearest neighbour, Queen Elizabeth II will start a truly historic visit to the Republic of Ireland - a full 100 years since her grandfather King George V visited a then constituent part of the British Empire back in 1911. But following that visit a century ...
Girls - it's all their fault! Cath Eliot dissects Dorries' latest madness (tags: feminism dorries) The stars of modern SF pick the best science fiction Fascinating selections. (tags: scifi books)
This is the second of a short series of posts summarising how the council believes it's doing in meeting it's main priorities. It's a summarised version of a public report, which itself is a summary of hundreds of pages of reports, backed up by data, looking at every aspect of the 600+ services we deliver. This summary - and so any errors or ommissions contained - is my own. It comes from the 4th Quarter 2010/11 Corporate Performance Report which comes to the Council's Executive Committee on Wednesday. The report itself is publically available - you can read it from ...
Insignia of a Knight of St. Patrick Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the first monarch in 100 years to visit the the national capital of Ireland. Her Grandfather George V was last to do so in 1911. In honour of the occassion here is the official anthem for the sovereign in the language of this part of her former dominions. Dia a shábháil ar ár n-Banríon thiarcais, Fada beo ár n-uasal na Banríona, Sábhála Dia an Bhanríon: Seol a bua, Sásta agus glórmhar, Fada chun réimeas os cionn linn: Dia an Bhanríon shábháil. A Thiarna, ár nDia,chun cinn, Scaip ...
Tue 17th
09:34
3 ways to restore Nicks popularity. One he should do, one he won't, one that will turn your stomach ...
All Lib Dems probably take a few minutes every day to ponder how we might go about restoring Nick's (and thereafter, our own) popularity, and I'm no exception. He could of course take the excellent course of action suggested over at Jennie Rigg's blog - first class thinking and writing. Alternatively he could take a leaf out of the Bruce Forsyth school of how to win over the crowd. To quote The Guardian "Entering the arena to a cacophony of abuse, Brucie turns the catcalls into wild cheers within seconds. The band of the Royal Marines strikes up the theme ...
Avon and Somerset Police are looking for witnesses to the accident near the New Inn that closed the A432 Badminton Road today. More information can be found on the police website.
Rather than sneering at the shroud wavers, our legislators should be examining these major factors. They won't go away just by chanting "we need to reform". Looming demographic trends do not go well with misaligned incentives. A few months ago I told a health care protestor I'd take such chances as came my way to challenge the health care reforms. This piece ("Cameron's right on the NHS reforms") from Baroness Murphy popped up in my inbox. She makes the shallow argument that the NHS needs to change, therefore people shouldn't object to these specific changes. Whether she reads replies or ...
The story of May's election results is not one that can simply be told with numbers. There are too many tales of personal effort and loss for statistics to do justice to the crushing disappointment suffered by many who had worked hard for so long in hundreds of communities across the country. Nor do statistics do justice to the brilliant resilience in a precious few places - those with amazing gains such as in the Cotswolds and those largely unsung heroes in areas such as Eastleigh and Three Rivers who have got on with running councils and winning elections year ...
... in body, at least; a large chunk of the mind and spirit is still out there, I think. Thanks to those who sent good wishes for the journey. It was amazing, and it's going to take some time to process. I'll probably write up parts of it eventually, but it may take a while. Being completely unplugged from the Internet was good for me, too, so I will probably be around a bit less online, and I definitely won't be catching up on what I missed. My Blackberry is also playing up at the moment, so if you need ...
I know it's only the Lib Dems that get excited about the idea of constitutional reform. It's still a shame that our leading broadcaster chooses to cover the issue as if it were the pet project of a fringe group, and not a core principle of a major political party that garners millions of votes. Here's the BBC Deputy Political Editor James Lansdale on plans to bring the House of Lords into the 20th century1: In theory the government would like to be able to respond to the committee by the spring so it is in a position to put ...
The superinjunction takes another turn. Apparently superinjunctions are fine if blackmail is a component of the privacy issue.There are several issues with this. Firstly, blackmail is a criminal offence. Such an offence should be dealt with by the police and the CPS, not a rich man's playground. Again, we see a civil issue being hushed up, where as Joe Bloggs would have to go to the police who
Before you all ask what I'm doing in the 43rd State of the Union, it stand for International Day Against Homophobia and transphobia. Sorry for all my Trans friends that they are not included in the acronym but we love you anyway and want to end Transphobia just as much. Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Gilbert has sponsored a new early day motion in the House of Commons which reads: "That this House welcomes the annual International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia on 17 May 2011; supports those local authorities, police, health authorities and voluntary organisations who will mark this day ...
There is apparently a darker side to the proposed vote-winning military covenant from the Conservatives.Labour have accused the Tories of bringing out the proposal to hide a second wave of severe cuts to the Ministry of Defence. The MoD have unveiled a further 3 month consultation to chop resources.Given that the issues of body armour for troops have yet to be resolved, the covenant proposals,
There is a sense of marching slowly towards the enemy with rifles at our waists with the proposals for House of Lords reform but it is a long held belief so fingers crossed that this one gets past the Luddites and Tories. I just hope that Nick now walks around with 'you can't trust the Tories' written on the back of his hand... Those who defend the idea of sleazy patronage as a means for making laws in our country always point to the expertise in the House of Lords, which is true. However, there is little to be said ...
Inspired by this post: If I have a mortgage secured on my house, and then sell said house to you, but neglect to use the proceeds of the sale to pay off the mortgage, does the lender of my mortgage still retain a claim on the house which you have bought?
Today's post is a beautiful poem guaranteed to calm and sooth. Sit down, relax and let the words smooth away the worries of modern life. Silver by Walter de la Mare Slowly, silently, now the moon Walks the night in her silver shoon; This way, and that, she peers, and sees Silver fruit upon silver trees; One by one the casements catch Her beams beneath the silvery thatch; Couched in his kennel, like a log, With paws of silver sleeps the dog; From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep Of doves in silver feathered sleep A harvest mouse goes ...
broadcast anniversaries 17 May 1969: broadcast of fifth episode of The War Games. The Doctor infitrates the Chief Scientist's laboratory, but Jamie's raid on central control goes badly. 17 May 2008: broadcast of The Unicorn and the Wasp. The Doctor and Donna arrive at a house party in 1926 and, together with Agatha Christie, defeat the Vespiform.
Ashngton deserves better and we will deliver Yesterday, I went to Ashington in my role as portfolio holder for culture and customer services. I took a team of senior officers to have a good look round the leisure centre and Library, both of which need major investment. I just want to say that the council is 100% committed to funding a massively improved leisure facility. Senior officers have now set up a working party and we are getting a dedicated officer to push this forward. We are going to get a full options appraisal to look at all the options ...
Tue 17th
00:43
The Conservative mask is slipping: Or why I'm glad I didn't join the Conservative Party
TweetIn February 2009, my green party membership had lapsed after some 6 years on and off as a member, tired and disenfranchised with an ineffective party and with a changing set of beliefs I decided it was time for a reappraisal of my politics, and to look exactly where I was. I looked I considered, I generally took a great deal of interest in The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats (Even then i knew i could never join the authoritarian Labour party). It was the Tories traditional attitude towards LGBT issues, and appalling legacies such as section 28 that really ...
A trip to Dublin the day before the State visit of Her Majesty The Queen takes some interesting turns around the city.
I went to a constituency meeting of the Liberal Democrats yesterday and I managed to put fox hunting on the agenda. As you would expect, there was a balanced reasoned discussion. Some members of the committee were strongly against hunting but most were neither strongly for or against it. However, if we had a motion to vote on I do not feel anyone would support the hunt and the anti-hunt lobby would carry the day. I have only been a member of this committee for eight years so I also asked the older members if anyone had vociferously supported fox ...
