...for only getting 91.6% of the vote in a one horse race. Surely corrupt, autocratic rulers of dubious entities should receive at least 100% of the vote in their elections?
I decided to be a bit more organised and register myself for the autumn Liberal Democrat conference today but I wasn't that impressed when I did and swiftly changed my mind. The email i received this evening made no mention ... Continue reading →
Most Londoners have no idea what the London Assembly actually does, even though next year electors in Greater London will be able to vote for its members for the fourth time (alongside the far more high-profile contest for Mayor). One hopes that political activists in the capital, at least, know that basically the Assembly scrutinises the ...
These are the two quasi-judicial committees of the council, making decisions about things that directly affect individuals and businesses rather than about policies that affect the whole borough or sections of it. Stockton council, rightly in my opinion, insists that members should be trained in how to make these decisions properly in accordance with the law etc. So today saw me sitting in a
TweetAnother guest post by Tom King, about the slip in the polls, it is not what I was expecting, and not a piece I agree with. However, it is always interesting to read a Labour perspective on just where the Labour Party is. Here it is. I was asked to write a blog about Labour losing its poll lead over the Conservatives. To be honest I was a little confused. It transpires that a ComRes poll puts us level with the Tories, meaning we aren't ahead for the first time in seven months. The poll still shows the Lib Dems ...
A post from Disgruntled Radical this evening: Today I received a message from Liberal Democrat HQ telling me that I must supply my passport (or other ID) details if I want to attend party conference. Guidelines on the website make it clear that the information will be passed to the police. They also make it clear that I may be refused "accreditation" presumably on police advice. There is nothing in our party constitution about accreditation. Local parties elect representatives and there is no power for the party nationally to choose which of these may attend. We must fight this illiberal ...
Expect this table to fill up as time goes on :D ( table behind the cut because it's rather large )
I've been thinking about the lessons the Lib Dems can learn as a party from last month's debacle at the council elections and the AV referendum, and have come to a few conclusions that seem a little different from the consensus on the 'blogosphere'. We need to concentrate more on constitutional reform Everyone seems to ...
You probably know how it feels. That feeling in your gut when you lose someone close to you. The sadness, the tears, those little moments when you catch yourself wondering how he or she is, only to remember that they have passed on. Depending on your beliefs you tell yourself that they have gone to heaven, passed into the next life or simply ceased to be.
Today I received a message from Liberal Democrat HQ telling me that I must supply my passport (or other ID) details if I want to attend party conference. Guidelines on the website make it clear that the information will be passed to the police. They also make it clear that I may be refused "accreditation" presumably on police advice. There is nothing in our party constitution about
With the permission of BBC Scotland, here's details of the forthcoming "WestFest Special" Brian Taylor's Big Debate ...
[IMG: a visual gem] I've got to give up reading the papers and watching the news I'm convinced that the constant exposure to bad news, cannot be good for me or indeed any of us, I'm sure life at one time life was simpler, a "suspected" mass murder/war criminal, such as Ratko Mladic was just that, these days we have to endure the preposterous pleading by relatives, that someone who could apparently order the mass killing of 8000 in Srebrenica, is too dainty to face a court inquisition or the chance to explain himself. With that on my mind I ...
Earlier this evening, I attended the latest meeting of Community Spirit Action Group, the residents' group for the north of the West End Ward including Tullideph, Ancrum, Cleghorn and the Pentland area. The City Council's West End Communities' Officer gave an informative presentation on the current consultation on the new Community Plan for the West End to cover 2012-14. There was also a useful discussion on numerous local matters including Balgay Park, graffiti problems and the forthcoming community graffiti clean-up next Saturday, damaged pavements, recycling, traffic lights and an overgrown tree concern. Community Spirit Action Group is an excellent community ...
Cambridgeshire County Council's Highways Department are currently proposing (plant and weather permitting) to perform some surface dressing of some of the more badly damaged roads across Cambridgeshire.I've attached the County-wide details.Of particular interest to residents in King's Hedges will be the work starting on the 4th June to fix up Northfield Avenue between Campkin Road and King's Hedges Road.As you can see in this picture taken just before the last election the previous round of street repairs have left the road in a far better technical condition (some of the potholes were beginning to be real danger to cyclists) but ...
Fewer than usual this month due to illness, watching Hugo-nominated films, watching longer-than-usual episodes of Old Who and reading Hugo-nominated short fiction. Non-fiction 4 (YTD 27) The Alexiad, by Anna Comnena Age of Atrocity, edited by David Edwards, Pádraig Lenihan and Clodagh Tait The Innocents Abroad, by Mark Twain Who On Earth Is Tom Baker? An Autobiography Fiction (non-SF) 2 (YTD 21) The Namesake, by Jhumpa Lahiri Sophie's World, by Jostein Gaarder SF (non-Who) 4 (YTD 29) Speaking in Tongues, by Ian McDonald The Shaping of Middle-Earth, by J.R.R. Tolkien The Lifecycle of Software Objects, by Ted Chiang Feed, by ...
Cambridgeshire County Council are currently running a consultation on the opening hours for Arbury Court Library, Histon Library, and the Cambridge Central Library which directly affect King's Hedges. The catchment for Milton Road Library *apparently* does not include King's Hedges. Looking first at Arbury Court (where I'm a friend of the Library) at the moment the library is open for 32.5 hours a week. The proposal is that this be reduced to 27 hours a week. This reduction is around 17%, substantially more than overall reduction of 7% being proposed for the entire service. Unfortunately the news for both Histon ...
"I am genuinely unable to comprehend how any reasonable person can oppose the simple principle that the people should elect those who govern them, and those who govern them should either have a limited period of time in office or should be required regularly to present themselves before the electorate for re-endorsement." Stuart Bonar, writing on Liberal Democrat Voice, has no time for the Lib Dem peers who oppose reform of the House of Lords. James Baker at Political Valley is not impressed by Barnsley's plans to outlaw swearing in its town centre. The Libertarian Alliance, in the person of ...
Stockport Council has recently moved to a new and enhanced website where residents can find out facts and figures about what the Council's doing, plus see agendas for meetings both current and going back to 2001 – it's all here. Want to know how Stockport compares to Manchester in staff numbers? The latest figures we have are from April 2007, which show Stockport employing 25.2 Full Time Equivalent staff for each 1,000 residents, with Manchester employing 42.18 (that's under the "Facts Figures and Finance" section). Or perhaps you want to track down what happened when a particular topic was discussed, ...
In my prejudiced view Facebook is for drunken teenagers to post pictures of themselves and their friends at parties. Look! Click on their faces and you can see pictures of my drunken friends' drunken friends too! But I am devoted to Twitter. So I was interested to learn from Mashable that Twitter is to make its own photo and video sharing service available over the next couple of weeks. The video above is Twitter's official introduction to the new service.
.......is every bit as tacky and cheesy as you would expect of me. I have been trying to find it for weeks online and today I succeeded and it's now happily on my iPhone. It's called Pegate (Spanish for get closer), by Treo. It's official video is here. My husband just looked sad when I played it to him. He finds my musical tastes entirely unworthy. You can't help what makes your heart smile, though. And Anna's comment when I showed her some of the moves that go with the song was "It makes my eyes hurt." I love my ...
Today we got the agenda notice through for the next meeting of the Traffic Management Advisory Panel due to be held next Thursday 9 June. On the agenda (which is circulated to councillors before it is published on the website so I can't attach the link) among other things is an update on the 'University And Hospital area study'. This study is looking at transport issues in this part of Redlands (in particular road safety, congestion and parking) and looking at potential solutions. Over the last four years these issues have been continually raised with us for action by many residents in the ...
Well there we have it. Sepp Blatter has been re-elected unopposed for a 4th term as President of FIFA. He was supported by 186 of the 203 member associations. Despite widespread anger and despondency at the shambles that is FIFA today, Blatter recieved a huge vote of support from his colleagues who clearly have their heads in the clouds. Only 17 associations abstained from supporting Blatter in the key vote. It didn't help that he was unopposed for the position after his rival Mohamed Bin Hammam, president of the Asian Football Federation, pulled out after being suspended over bribery allegations. ...
In the current issue of Sainsbury's Magazine (my copy was bought from their Market Harborough store earlier this afternoon) the three party leaders choose their favourite recipes. Nick Clegg plumps for pasta with peas and bacon - "it's a nice weekend lunch for three hungry boys". David Cameron chooses a pasta dish, while Ed Miliband goes for a tuna melt. That's right: a sandwich. Once again, the Miliband leadership is made to look a work in progress. It is hard to imagine Harold Macmillan agreeing to take part in such a stunt, but the fact that men now feel they ...
From time to time I am asked whether bonfires are allowed in private gardens. While they are a useful way to get rid of garden waste, the smoke can be annoying for neighbours. There is no specific law banning garden bonfires or the times you can light them. The Council can only take action if the bonfire is causing a statutory nuisance. According to the Environmental Protection Act of 1990 this would be 'smoke, fumes or gases emitted from premises so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance' Contact the City Council by ringing 457890 or emailing env.health@cambridge.gov.uk ...
The economy is in the news again (was there ever a time when it wasn't?). This time it's spending power which is slow, identifying the overall impact on trade, business and employment in the UK. Amidst the doom and gloom in the Standard, who actually use the term 'gloomy forecast', there is some light, you just have to look carefully. It has been observed many times there are more people
Cllr Nicholas Coombes has a new web site now which he shares with his ward colleague, Liberal Democrat Cllr David Martin to visit the new web site please use the following link ............ http://bathwick.mycouncillor.org.uk
Andrew Lansley's NHS Listening exercise has closed today. As I have said before, I'm note quite sure what he has to listen to – people don't like his plans because they are ill thought-out, and never should have been brought to the table after the coalition agreement. Unsurprisingly though, the Green party seem to have totally ...
Barnsley has taken the authoritarian step of banning people from swearing in it's town centre. Although swearing is now common and heard on TV all the time, if you do it in Barnsley you can get a fine of £80. On-the-spot fines or penalty notices for disorder (PND)were introduced by Tony Blair's new labour administration. It's my view that they create a para-judicial level of punishment where offenders don't have to admit guilt, but also don't go to court. I have always had quite significant concerns that punishing people without convicting them sets a dangerous precedent. This example shows the ...
Interest: feeling the wind in my hair
If so, then I heartily recommend this short BBC World Service documentary, about a tragic piece of history with which many people reading this blog will probably be unfamiliar.
Wed 1st
16:13
The Independent View: Why Liberal Democrat HQ needs to agree with Nick on unpaid interns
The advertisement for multiple unpaid internships on w4mp.org by Liberal Democrat HQ is unfair, unreasonable and irresponsible. It directly contradicts Nick Clegg's warning that the practice could lead to widening inequality in the UK. The party should follow the Deputy Prime Minister's lead and pay its interns a fair wage. London is an expensive place to live. The Evening Standard recently found that the average rent in the city had broken the £1000 per month barrier. The internships advertised on w4mp.org last 4 months. That means the cost of getting work experience with the Liberal Democrats could well reach £4000, ...
"There are lies, dammed lies and statistics," Benjamin Disraeli is supposed to have said. Perhaps years from now the citation will be modified - "there are lies, dammed, lies, statistics and Boris Johnson," for the Mayor of London has once again demonstrated a poor grasp* of numbers relating to crime. In his campaign literature for next year's Mayoral election, Boris claims that under his watch crime on buses has fallen 30% - an impressive statistic, but one that doesn't stand up to all that much scrutiny. According to figures from Transport for London, analysed by Liberal Democrat Chair of the ...
I've been a little light on the blogging - studying for my (hopefully) final ever exam has taken priority and there hasn't been a lot in the news that's taken my interest. It is always a lot easier to write a negative blog than a positive one and I haven't noticed a lot that I feel strongly about. One such matter though is that proposed by Nadine Dorries regarding the compulsory teaching of abstinence to girls in schools. This is absolutely ridiculous and Spidey get's it spot on in her post (here) and Sarah Ditum in the Guardian also has ...
Diggers Work has begun on the improvement scheme for the Wulfstan Way shops (see previous posts) and if you have visited the area recently you'll know that the excavators have arrived! Workers and council officers were there too when I was shopping this afternoon. The scheme will provide more attractive paving and pathways better linking the shops on one side of the street to the other, and there will also be a community noticeboard, extra parking, seating and lighting. Some money has been allocated to public art, and we are hoping to work with local schoolchildren to come up with ...
As a regional Welsh Assembly Member representing South Wales West I was concerned this morning to read this report in the Independent regarding a couple of small earthquakes in the Blackpool area. This seismic activity appears to be entirely unrelated to Blackpool's relegation back to the Championship and has nothing to do with the 4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire identified by John Lennon in a 'A day in the life'. It is altogether more serious than that. The paper reports that a controversial new drilling operation for natural shale gas in Lancashire has been suspended following a second earthquake in ...
What can you say? Whilst it might be over the top in the extreme as one of them isn't ruthlessly killing his people you do have to admire The Sun in a way for going there. Both are a disgrace to human existence in their own way and both will do anything to cling on to power. I personally have little doubt that Blatter is just as corrupt as Gaddafi but the only difference is Blatter is only corrupt for money and power whereas Gaddafi is not only corrupt for money and power but morally too. Oh wait so is ...
Over on Left Foot Forward, The Voice's Mark Pack has a piece highlighting the common, but outrageously undemocratic, practice of appointing defeated MPs to the House of Lords – just one of the many reasons that the second chamber needs thorough reform. And with those with a vested interest already lining up to oppose any changes, Mark makes the point that it is crucial that a grassroots group of reformers unite behind the finalised proposals, rather than making the mistake of opposing some reform because it is not total reform. Here's an excerpt: I can go to a polling station, ...
A second day with Rutland's most celebrated fictional peer. "Have you seen the results, man?" I demanded as I burst into the Deputy Prime Minister's office. "It's a disaster." "Don't worry," he replied, "I have the answer: Muscular Liberalism." Muscular Liberalism? I have my doubts about that. After all: one rarely saw L.T. Hobhouse in footer bags. We Bonkers were ever loyal, however, so this morning I enjoy an early breakfast and then hurry to the barracks of the Queen's Own Rutland Highlanders (of whom I happen to be Colonel-in-Chief) outside Oakham. And, you know, Clegg may be on to ...
TweetDear Mr Brine, When we first met, I believe we got off to the wrong start, it happened to be at a freshers fair where you were deifying Boris Johnson, pretending that he was some sort of God of the Conservatives. I remember quite distinctly telling you that I did not favour deifying homophobes because of this quote: 'If gay marriage was OK – and I was uncertain on the issue – then I saw no reason in principle why a union should not be consecrated between three men, as well as two men; or indeed three men and a ...
The main arbitrator of global peace and justice is nonchalant to the events in Yemen. Question: How many individuals need to die in conflict, before the United Nations even considers calling an urgent Security Council meeting?
Richard Jefferies, a hero of this blog and the subject of my Masters dissertation, gets a mention in the Daily Mail today. In the course of an article celebrating the strength of the community in his Wiltshire village, Mark Palmer writes: Richard Jefferies, author of Village Churches, wrote in 1875 that "in so busy a land as ours there is no place where the mind can, as it were, turn in on itself so fully as in the silence and solitude of a village church".Jefferies was a working journalist with a family to support, so he was quite willing to ...
Yes folks you heard that right. I am in fact going to have tea with Her Majesty The Queen. How did this madness happen? Well some months ago, my name was entered into the draw for people at RNID where ... Continue reading →
The playwright David Hare has an article in this morning's Guardian observing that right-wing art is flourishing in what he calls our right-wing times. He is chiefly concerned with the current revival of Terence Rattigan's reputation, though he argues that most of his fellow commentators are exaggerating the extent to which it had fallen. But I was most struck by an exchange he records later in the article: During the preparation for a BBC4 documentary to be shown this summer, I was asked a question which was implicitly far more insulting than anything Rattigan's enemies ever flung at him. The ...
I confess. I am usually a bit of a loyalist. I believe the time I invest campaigning for the Liberal Democrats is best spent publicising our good ideas and our opponents' bad ideas, rather than picking fights with fellow party members. On Lords reform however I feel forced to engage in an internecine war of words with some of our peers. The Times newspaper recently commissioned a poll of members of the upper house to gauge their views on reform. It's no surprise of course that our coalition colleagues, the Tories, are dead set against anything as vulgar as democracy ...
If the cabinet of October 1945 had taken a different decision then most of the issues that trouble us about the health service reforms would be looked at in a very different way. The issue facing the meeting was which model to adopt in the provision of hospital services. Across the country there were two sorts of hospital-voluntary and municipal. To a man (plus Ellen Wilkinson being the only women) they wanted to end the division for fear of 'a two tier system' -that old Labour stand by to enforce conformity. Predictably in the 'nationalise it under central control' corner ...
James Graham who was web and social media manager for the Yes campaign writes in the liberal magazine Liberator about the campaign. Particularly scathing about the Electoral Reform Society and their senior management http://www.liberator.org.uk/article.asp?id=221904177
I've never been a big Obama supporter; I preferred Hilary Clinton in 2008. However, after George W. Bush, and considering the uselessness of the McCain/Palin ticket, I was more than happy to see him elected. A breath of fresh air, I thought. But how disappointing he has been. I think the Liberal Democrats in Coalition in this country have managed to do more useful things in the last year than the Obama administration has managed since he was elected. Health care reform was a useless fudge, he has failed to close Guantanamo Bay or begin to roll back the worst ...
It's time to start thinking about Conference again; at Lib Dem Voice we're already putting together an exciting fringe programme for Birmingham, including the famous Lib Dem Blog of the Year Awards. More details to follow soon, but meanwhile, make sure you register early for the best rates and a hassle-free application process. Today's email from the Conference Team: Registration for Autumn Conference is now open. If you haven't already booked your place, we're offering fantastic early bird rates until Friday 10 June. Click here to register and for further details on prices and deadlines. New this year Whether you ...
Good letter on Lords reform last week from Paul Walter in Liberal Democrat News. If you agree with Paul, why not also send a letter for publication to Liberal Democrat News on ldn@libdems.org.uk? You can also sign up to support the grassroots Liberal Democrats for Lords Reform campaign on Facebook.
i) births and deaths 1 June 1947: birth of Jonathan Pryce, who played the Master in The Curse of Fatal Death (1999). 1 June 1991: death of Milton Subotsky, who produced and wrote Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966), the two cinema films starring Peter Cushing as Doctor Who. 1 June 2005: death of Geoffey Toone, who played Temmosus in Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) and Hepesh in The Curse of Peladon (1972). ii) broadcast anniversaries 1 June 1968: broadcast of sixth episode of The Wheel In Space, ending Season 4 ...
Sheryll Murray MP (left) and Dr Julian Huppert Whilst I am very grateful to the Radio 1 Newsbeat website for their mention yesterday, I find their choice of MPs' photos (to illustrate their article) interesting. Luciana Berger (hear that said by a Scouser – it's wonderful) and Zac Goldsmith. So, these two are held up as role model MPs to the (mainly) young Radio One audience. OK, I am not going to condemn them. But have a look at Luciana Berger's record. 'Whip fodder', would be a polite description of her main role in the Commons – certainly at Prime ...
It's been a while since we last had a Liberal Drinks event in Belfast, and in that time quite a lot has happened. So we've probably got lots to talk about... The Northern Ireland Assembly election The Northern Ireland local council elections The Referendum on the voting system as well as any other news items ...
...but today' front page is brilliant: If Fifa were a country, the UK would be calling for sanctions against it.
West Hampstead Spotlight Blog: West Hampstead and Fortune Green Area Forum Monday...: "The next West Hampstead/Fortune Green Area Forum (Area Action Group) is scheduled for Monday, 20 June, at the Synagogue Community Hall on De..."
First Capital Connect have written to Chris White to confirm that they will be paying higher rates of compensation in relation to last week's severe delays: Email from Chris White: Are you going to provide appropriate levels of compensation to those who were effectively imprisoned by you? Chris White Response to Chris White Dear Mr White, I can confirm that compensation will be paid beyond that normally given through Delay Repay. Best wishes, Paul Oxley Media and Stakeholder Manager
I recently had today's entry for this series in my head at work the other week and it prompted this exchange with one of my young colleagues.Me: I've got Madonna stuck in my head. Colleague: Oh, what song? M: Like a Prayer. C: Ah. I can take or leave Madonna but I don't mind some of her earlier stuff like Ray of Light... Cue much laughter on my part! Unfortunately "Embedding has been disabled by request" so here's a link to the video of Madonna with Like a Prayer. It always reminds me of going to the shows in Bo'ness ...
We have just received the following letter about our rearranged rubbish collections: Waste Collection Service Changes I wrote to you last week regarding the imminent changes to the domestic refuse collection service. This is just a gentle reminder that we will be removing the second waste collection from around 50,000 households north of the Euston Road. This will be taking affect from next Monday (6th June). Agreed by Cabinet in July 2010, this will reduce the number of refuse collections from two to one per week, saving a significant £469,000 per annum. Rounds will be reorganised over the five day ...
Jonathan Lintern, a student from Cardiff, wrote an interesting reply to my blogpost yesterday – regarding Europe. He articulated the concept of Europe very well and made reference to a common aspect among individuals, who automatically associate Europe as the ... Continue reading →
I know I criticise Cornwall Council a lot, but it's time to hand out some praise. Last week, a rushed and far too short consultation with members was held to discuss the Council's response to the Neath and Care Bill which seeks fundamental reform of the NHS. I think many councillors who were there feared that the formal response would end up being a whitewash and failing to reflect the deep concern that many of us (perhaps even most) at the proposed changes. But the letter sent by the Leader fails to live down to my fears. In fact, the ...
The Lib Dems increased the number of people voting for the party at the General Election but did not manage to keep as many MPs. A peculiarity or an opportunity to improve our campaigning? This graph shows where the support went compared to the 2005 General Election and we can see that the Lib Dems ...
Party President, Tim Farron recently published on this site a very well received piece reminding us that we have, close to hand, the greatest opportunity in the history of our party. He also observed that, "our biggest collective failure recently - from the grassroots to the cabinet - has been that too many Lib Dems have drifted from the sort of community politics that we have prided ourselves on in the past, or else been too busy to practice". Community politics is a much misunderstood concept practiced by many as an electoral technique and belittled by others as 'pavement politics'. ...
Thursday sees the first proper meeting of the whole Council since the Holyrood elections. One issue that is sure to cause raised eyebrows is the proposal by Tory Gordon Buchan to ban the practice of political parties erecting posters on lampposts. All parties are allowed to put these up on the Saturday before polling (which is always a Thursday in the UK). At midnight squads of posters from each of the parties scuttle around the city trying to get theirs above everyone elses. Many are unconvinced at the efficacy of it all and with party organisations being over stretched far ...
In our manifesto of 2007 Edinburgh's Liberal Democrats Councillors stated that we wanted "a council that has concern for people at its core." This approach and my liberal values have underpinned everything I have done since I became Health Social Care and Housing Convener never more so than in our achievements homelessness which we have cut by 13%. Our priorities were, and remain, to protect vulnerable people and to provide high quality care to meet rising demand for services. One of the ways we do that is by carefully planning and shaping our services and by getting better value for ...
We've reported a few pieces of graffiti around Gatley for cleaning up: The skateboard park on Gatley Rec The green comms box outside 9 Halstead Grove, Gatley The underpasses at the Cheadle Royal roundabout near Bruntwood Park.
Now even the brilliantly successful Apple Mac computer has been targetted by an effective Trojan. This particular malware is Mus Minim, a.k.a. "Black Hole Rat", apparently adapted from the "Dark Comet" Windows Trojan. It includes the generation of "Administrator Password" pop-ups to trap unwary users into entering their username and password, and could appear in the guise of software or games downloads. Note that a Trojan is not the same as a virus, which replicates by self-installing. Mac OSX cannot "catch" a virus as no software can self-install - a human http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifhas to click "OK" as a minimum. Ubuntu is ...
I have heard many irresponsible things in my time, but this letter to families at King's Park Secondary School in Glasgow is one of the worst failures I've seen in a long time. Its advice about school uniform contains the following advice: "We believe that an appropriate school uniform (eg school trousers, knee-length school skirt etc) protects children from being targeted by sexual predators."And what's worse, the BBC reports that it's not been written by some random ill-informed idiot at the school, but has the approval of Glasgow City Council. Apparently the advice is in response to the conviction of ...
I was pointed towards the excellent blog of Kelly-Marie Brundell yesterday and in particular her piece on nuclear power which is about as accurate an opinion piece as you can pen. As I wrote in the comments section: This is the key paragraph: 'There is significant strategic advantage in Germany's announcement too. If they are proposing to embrace renewable energy, as the first major country to do so, they will have the biggest share of this market going forward.' The planet needs us to embrace renewable energies but the economy needs us to exploit what will be the biggest sector ...
There is a sense of irony with this story because whenever Britain gets a sniff of an outbreak, whether salmonella in eggs or mad cow disease in our beef other European countries ban our produce within minutes. So, why does Spain think there is a sense of injustice with Germany over the 15 deaths and over 1,150 cases of suspected e-coli from Spanish cucumbers? The response from Rosa Aguilar, the Spanish agriculture minister was; "We want Germany to provide, without any delay and distractions, the necessary information of its investigation"What utter crap, Spain should be working hand in hand with ...
Here are the results of our Yate Bus Station online survey - thank you to everyone who took part. The majority of people (58%) preferred the "green" position for the shelter, followed by the "red" position at 39%. Blue came last at 3%. The KEY ISSUE is that shelters should shelter people from wind and rain. Most people wanted shelters to be 4 sided, see-through, with several entrances, going down to the ground or very close, and they should be vandal-resistant. Seats are wanted inside the shelters, 5 or 6 seats PER BUS BAY - quite a lot - with ...
Not many people will be aware that the county council's magazine Durham County News has been shortlisted for an award at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations annual Excellence Awards 2011. It will be up against strong competition in the "External Newspaper or Magazine" category from Rotherham's Round Your Place magazine and Specsavers Magazine amongst others. For myself, Durham County News is a publication I would happily be rid of. I have never seen it as part of a local council's role to spend council-tax-payers' money to tell them how lucky they are to have such a wonderful council. I ...
The two central arguments that the opponents of a democratically elected House of Lords are putting forward are beginning to emerge and it seems to me they are essentially contradictory. Argument one: you get smarter people in The House of Lords because the establishment pick the cream of the crop. Yes, all hubris aside, they really are saying that. Unlike the House of Commons, their argument goes, the Lords is full of experts on everything under the sun, and it is only by a process of appointment and patronage that we can expect the great and the good to deign ...
A rose by any other name, or a waste of time, money and expenses is a better description for coalition decision to appoint not Tsars, but supremos. A supremo for volcanic ash. Will we now get supremo committees to replace quangos? It certainly can't be said that tsars, peers or Mary Portas have aided votes in recent years. And I for one cannot see how any range of adverbs can alter
Back in 2008 the Report of the Party Reform Commission to the Federal Executive was published, more commonly known as the Bones Report after its Chair, Chris Bones. Both the process for drawing up the report and the report itself was not without its critics at the time (e.g. see here and here) but since then it has been a topic only rarely talked about, even amongst party administration insiders. So how does it looking, approaching its third anniversary, and does it set the right or wrong course for the party organisationally - or has it become an irrelevance? In ...
Wed 1st
08:02
Hicks seeking to cancel major Launceston road safety schemes because I blogged that councillors had ...
Cornwall Council Cabinet member Graeme Hicks has told officers that vital road safety works in Launceston should be stopped because of a blogpost I wrote in which I highlighted how unhappy councillors from all parties were with his failure to turn up to a meeting. Cllr Hicks also refused to turn up to a public meeting to discuss the adoption of Kensey Valley Meadow roads and sewers despite having promised to do so. The works - a new crossing on St Thomas Road and one on Western Road as well as safety works on Newport Road - were included in ...
TweetChris Huhne, has consistently been in the news since the beginning of May, the daggers are out for the coalition minister, one of the five Liberal Democrat cabinet positions, with various accusations being thrown at him ranging from electoral to speeding, I think it's now more crucial than ever that we keep Huhne in government. I've blogged a lot about Huhne and his antics over AV, ranging from ecstatic to dismay, he is a particularly infuriating member of Cabinet. He is certainly not someone I would have voted for at the leadership elections against Clegg. However, despite some of his ...
There is another post of alleged injunctions on Twitter. This time it is done by someone who associates themselves with "anonymous" - this is clear from the use of the anonymous mask image.For the avoidance of doubt I don't support putting up lists of injunctions. However, there are lots of issues with trying to stop this.Firstly, it is very easy for anyone who intentionally wishes to put
I've Gone and Done It Now: What It's Like Without the Muslim Headscarf Nadia experiements with takking off her hijab in Europe. (tags: islam)
You guys, I love the Internet! I posted on Twitter last week about the cost of hostels in San Francisco, and asked for CouchSurfing references. Within an hour, four different friends who know people in the Bay were asking about crash space on my behalf, and I had two offers, including one from someone who doesn't know me from Jack saying she stays with her partner a lot, so she can definitely offer me a couch to sleep on, if not her actual bedroom. And she lives right in the middle of the city, as best as I can tell. ...
Dear Polly Toynbee Today you sank to a new low for a 'champagne socialist'. Im assigning you this label gratuitously because you felt so free and able to do the same to Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece, the Liberal Democrat peer who ... Continue reading →
Alan has done an excellent job as Chelmsford Town Mayor North Chelmsford councillor ends busy year as Mayor (Chelmsford Liberal Democrats) chelmsford-libdems.org.uk Alan Arnot's term as Chelmsford Mayor has now ended. He attended over 300 different events and told the recent council meeting that this pace of events made it feel like the shortest year of his life. Cllr Arnot (Lib Dem councillor for Patching Hall ward) also raised over £30,000 for the Essex Air A
