Only recently was I introduced to the wonders of Nyan Cat. So here he is for hours of pleasure. Filed under: Blogging Tagged: Nyan Cat, youtube
TweetNewspapers are ready to report comments made my Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams comments upon the coalition. He is reported as saying the coalition was implementing "radical, long-term policies for which no one voted." and then went onto call the coalition "frightening" Quite simply my only response the Archbishop is but out. Get out of British politics. We as a nation whilst still technically a theocracy ruled by the head of the head of the Church of England, we pride ourselves on our secular values. We pride ourselves on the fact that we do not like church and state interfering ...
The Friends of Preston Park has come a long way since the Protect Preston Park campaign last year. Tonight's meeting looked at finalising our vision for the Park and Museum before publication. That's not saying it's set in stone - far from it. But the hope is that it will give a steer to the kind of developments and events that happen in the park. The danger that it's a vision held by only a
Sign the petition.
Liberal Democrat's rightly and instinctively believe in restorative justice. There is tons of evidence that shows short term prison sentences don't just not work, but actively make things worse. They give some prisoners a short, sharp, introduction to much more hardened criminals, and remove their stake in society, before releasing them back into that society having ...
There's been a tendency to label the momentous changes that have taken place in Egypt over the past five months as the Facebook Revolution, but as was stressed by the panelists at an excellent seminar hosted by ThomsonReuters at their Canary Wharf HQ this evening, although new media helped, the real victors were the Egyptian ...
Lib Dem MP for Somerton and Frome, Deputy Leader of the House of Commons and renowned cider-drinker, David Heath, has a very funny letter in today's Guardian: I can put up with your speculation (Report, 6 June) about the future ... Continue reading →
One simple tip if you visit the Pizza Express in Benbow House, Bankside: head up the stairs. Often heading up (or down) the stairs when you enter a Pizza Express takes you to the pokey floor of the establishment. Not so in Benbow House, because it takes you up into a light area with lovely views out over the Thames and of St Paul's Cathedral: One other tip: when you get to the top of the stairs, don't stop but walk towards the far end, for the tables there are more spacious. And then enjoy the pizza. So that is ...
Fascinating, isn't it, what happens before and after elections? Wokingham Borough had local elections this year. In the run up to the elections the fact that the Conservatives were about to spend a large amount of money (£6 million was the figure given) on Bulmershe School got a lot of coverage in the local press. The Conservative candidate wrote to the papers claiming the credit and saying how wonderful it was. Now no-one could say Bulmershe School doesn't need money spent on it. All Wokingham's secondary schools need money spending on them actually, after years of local Conservative neglect and ...
I have been copied into a letter sent to the Parish Councils of St Issey and St Tudy which outlines the possibility of the withdrawal of the mobile library service in the two parishes. The main part of the letter reads as follows: Due to lack of customer support for the mobile library, the service ...
Julia Donaldson has been appointed the new Children's Laureate and celebrated her achievement with a spectacularly silly statement. As the Indpendent tells it: the most successful recent children's books, marked her appointment as Children's Laureate yesterday with a call to arms against "pushy parents", describing them as "a pain" who take the enjoyment out of reading. "I don't believe you should push your children too hard. They are so sensitive," the author said. "If they are not ready to read it can be detrimental and it is more likely they will be worse off. I really find pushy parents a ...
Today's "Courier" covered the criticism by "Scottish Friends of Israel" of the motion I have placed on the City Council's Policy & Resources Committee next Monday. As I said to the Courier : "I have raised this issue in light of my concerns over the continuing plight of the Palestinian people and of the humanitarian situation caused by Israel's continuing blockade of the Gaza Strip. "The Gaza blockade by Israel has brought terrible hardship to Gaza's one and a half million citizens. I agree with the International Committee of the Red Cross which has made clear that Israel is in ...
The other day - Zap! - Vince Cable threatened the unions with new laws if strikes got out of hand. Today - Pow! - he threatened the banks. BBC News reports: Business Secretary Vince Cable has said the government is willing to take "further action with tax on banks" if they do not increase lending to small and medium-sized enterprises.It has been fashionable to say that Vince looks unhappy being in government. My theory is that he always looks like that and thoroughly enjoys wielding a bit of power.
On Monday night, a whole crowd of people met in Edinburgh to just have a few drinks together in memory of Andrew Reeves. We went to this really homely, comfortable, friendly bar, Joseph Pearce's on Elm Row. That place is rapidly overtaking my previous favourite pub, the Station Bar in Cowcaddens in Glasgow. Joseph Pearce's is the sort of place you can relax in. You can feel at home. You can celebrate there, or it's a safe retreat in times of trouble. And they always have plenty Hendricks Gin. Going in on the train, somebody said over Twitter to smile ...
On the 23rd May the Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network (WREN) elected its Board of Directors, the next stage in the plan to make the town and surrounding area a national beacon for electricity generation and the reduction of carbon emissions. I attended the event as an observer and was struck by the level of enthusiasm ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black has asked the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services to ensure that the financial difficulties of Southern Cross do not affect the elderly residents at care homes throughout Wales. Mr. Black tabled an urgent question in the Assembly Plenary today to ask the Minister to reassure residents and staff who face an uncertain future. He wanted more details on any safety net that was in place if the company goes under. In response the Health Minister said that she has met with local government officials to reinforce ...
The new Area Forum and Area Committee meeting that replaces the Area Assemblies for Crouch End, Hornsey and Stroud Green is on Monday 27th June at St Mary's Junior School Rectory Gardens in Hornsey. From 6.30pm there is the opportunity to meet Officers/report a problem surgery. The Area Forum starts at 7pm and from 8.30pm the formal Committee meeting. The first part of the meeting is similar to the Area Assembly. Information and topics will be presented and residents will have lots of opportunity to ask questions and put forward their views. The second part, the Area Committee is when ...
Wed 8th
18:53
Prevent 2.0 means money for Luton - but who is winning the argument within Government about the mean...
Yesterday the Home Secretary Theresa May announced the conclusions of the review of the Government's counter-radicalisation strategy designed to tackle home grown terrorism and violent extremism, known as Prevent, by the independent reviewer of anti-terrorist laws Lord Carlile of Berriew. Prevent was set up in 2007 and proved to be controversial. Both from many members of Britain's Muslim community who felt it unfairly targeted them and from others who saw the policy as being confused and badly managed. The coalition government has accepted much of this criticism blaming the previous Labour government for mishandling the policy, and much of yesterday's ...
Wed 8th
18:45
Lib Dems should not be threatening constitutional trickery to stop Scottish independence
A very good post from Dan Falchikov on Lib Dem Scottish secretary Michael Moore's comments on Scottish independence. Dan writes: By saying that a second referendum is needed (no doubt to be followed in quick succession by Labour and Tories) Michael Moore again allows the party to be seen to be on the wrong side of the debate and trying to illiberally block the expression of the will of the Scottish people. There is a danger that the Lib Dems north of the border have become part of the establishment - a sort of rural and suburban version of the ...
I've been looking for somewhere else to live over recent weeks and having gone through the rather rigorous application process for Sanford Housing Co-operative in New Cross, I've made it through the first interview stage and will be visiting on Sunday 12th to see if I like the current occupants of the one house with a vacancy this month, and vice versa. If we all like each other, and importantly, if they like me more than the other applicants for this month, I'll be expected to move in within two weeks - by Sunday 26th. I'm hoping I can offer ...
A guest post by Dan Haycocks Firstly, I'd like to thank Daz for allowing me to make a guest post on the Bracknell Blog. I don't run a blog myself, and I admire the effort and commitment it takes to keep a blog current as Daz and many others do, so having the opportunity to reach a wider audience through his hard work is very much appreciated. Right, on to the story at hand. Regular readers might remember me - I'm the amateur film maker/thorn in the side of the elected, who stood in the general election against MP's abusing ...
Cross-posted from Liberal Democrat Voice Pity poor old Ken Clarke. When your own side are saying you are too old for the job, then you know things are bad. Phillip Hollobone (Con) asked at Prime Ministers' Questions why magistrates have to retire at 70 years old while the man who appoints them, the Justice Secretary - Clarke, is 71 years old. With friends like that.... There was no prospect of Ken Clarke having one his dozes at PMQs today, that's for sure. Ed Miliband loudly said that David Cameron had "torn up" Clarke's sentencing plans. Perhaps he protesteth-ed a little ...
There was an interesting exchange in Plenary today in which one of the new Plaid Cymru AMs demanded to know whether the Welsh Government planned to go ahead with his party's plans for a badger cull in North Pembrokeshire. It seems that Plaid has learnt nothing from this controversy at all and intend to continue pressing for an poorly-evidenced solution that cost their own Minster thousands of votes last month. As the BBC reports Carwyn Jones was coy on the subject. He refused to say if his government will go ahead with the cull. He said instead that Labour will ...
If ambitious people in underdeveloped countries have no opportunities in their native country, they'll migrate to developed countries. If developed countries want to reduce migration, erecting border controls is not enough. There will still be ambitious people are still driven to improve themselves, and they'll cross borders illegally if that's what it takes. So developed countries need to work with underdeveloped countries to create the conditions that will remove the need for the ambitious to be economic migrants, and instead gives them a chance of self-improvement in their homeland. Take a look at this TED talk which describes a model ...
Like a lot of Liberal Democrat friends, I was inspired by Barack Obama's determination to build a long term movement for change across America. And for a couple of years I've been trying to copy his volunteer led approach to political organising, with some success.* One element that is crucial to motivating volunteers is to have superb candidates, who are themselves heroes to their communities. This, of course, is a large element of good traditional community campaigning. So I was delighted to see that in Peckham we are using our candidate's amazing life story as the main motivator of volunteers ...
I realise it can look a bit odd going round photographing dumping and litter, but here's a picture of some dumping I noticed in Cressington ward yesterday. I've reported it for clearance and the Council say it should be gone by the 15th ( suspect it will have grown by then)
Went to the second meeting of the Fairness Commission today. As luck would have it today was also the publication date for the report of the Islington Fairness Commission, and one of the members of that came up to share some of his experiences and advice. I'll post a link to the Islington report when I can. What I found really good about the Islington work is that the report's recommendations were easy to understand and were actually directed to somebody or to a particular organisation. These included Islington Council itself, the local chamber of commerce, the Mayor of London ...
"All the crimes Richard Nixon committed... are now legal."
Wed 8th
16:51
Doesn't this make you feel really proud of our fantastic House of Lords jobs-for-life system?
From Paul Waugh
One of the reasons that the economic crash in Britain was so severe was I believe because the dominance of one particular model of ownership. In this country-unlike others in Europe -the prime responsibility of Directors is to build shareholder value. In other words to make the fastest, biggest buck. There is no interest in the long term, little concern for the employees or the community. Here today and gone tomorrow if there is a quicker and bigger return on the capital This bonkers situation has long been opposed by Liberal in Britain. We have argued that other stakeholders interests ...
Richard Lillicrap was probably too little known in Lib Dem circles in the first place to be forgotten, but for hundreds (if not thousands) of committed football fans who are closely involved in running supporters' trusts or indeed football clubs themselves - like AFC Wimbledon - he was an inspiration. Richard was a key player in the supporters' movement, helping dozens of football (and other sports) supporters to organise themselves and take action in their communities to protect their teams from avaricious and uninterested owners. Richard was also a committed Liberal and saw fan and community ownership of football as ...
The last figures I saw suggested that to introduce a weekly bin collection in to Sefton would be several million pounds-significantly eclipsing the 'bribe' that it has been suggested the government was thinking of handing out. The story-originating in The Telegraph- has never been owned by the DCLG and therefore must be either an inspired guess, a deliberate attempt to put pressure on the Department to adopt the policy or plain mischief making. I know rumours abound that what the Department is actually considering is help in collecting food waste weekly. Sefton already has such a scheme so it would ...
It has been a busy morning. I visited the new Drum Brae Library and Day Centre site with Alex Neil, recently elevated to the Scottish Cabinet as Minister for Infrastructure. The building is coming on at an astonishing pace and it was amazing that a muddy field only a few weeks ago has been transformed into a recognizable building. It was amazing to walk around inside it and see where the local council offices would be, the day centre and each part of the library. You can see a video of the visit below. This was a part of the ...
Now there has a been a lot of fuss about Vince Cables Speech about strikes. As Jonathan Calder makes clear they key passage of his speech is not tirade of mindless Union bashing: We are undoubtedly entering into a difficult period. Cool heads will be required all round. Despite occasional blips, I know that strike levels remain historically low, especially in the private sector. In fact, until March this year the number of days lost through strikes was lower than at any time since 1931. And of course the right to strike is a fundamental principle. On that basis, and ...
Skipping lightly over the latest intriguing and potentially disturbing news story about my distant cousin Albert Einstein ("Tell me about your other grandfather," someone once said to Sir Clement Freud, to which Freud responded sonorously: "He was the father of psycho-analysis"), and turning to events in Syria, I've realised what's missing from the Syrian scenario. What's missing is nuclear weapons. The dilemma of deciding how best to respond to events in Syria (today defined by Prime Minister David Cameron as an issue of conscience), would surely be that much more complicated if Syria had a nuclear capability. So let's not ...
The day began with Ronnie and Joyce Fearn's Garden Party followed by our Birkdale Surgery at Birkdale Library and finally on to Lauren Keith's Thank You Party Photos by Mike Booth with thanks
Last week I met with representatives from Southern Gas networks regarding work that has been going on (and on) on the Riverdene Estate for too long. Residents were told that there would be workman on the estate during the summer of 2008 for essential work replacing old gas pipes. After the first contractor pulled off the site without warning, residents have been left with a patchwork of half
Such is the penetration of Lib Dem Voice that when this morning Chris White announced there that it was his 50th birthday and that as a special treat it had been arranged for him to visit Eric Pickles the man was ready and waiting with a cake. Now when I say cake let us be clear we are talking fairy cakes, granted that it had a yellow paper case and that the single candle was lit with a disposable yellow cigarette lighter, but it was still a small fairy cake. But there again Pickle is the sort of man who ...
...for adding me to your blogroll. As ever, much appreciated. Great blog too
Wed 8th
15:21
Wirral Council - Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee - Part 2 - 25/5/2011
An officer explained to the new members of the committee that it relates to licences outside the Licensing Act. The police also had a say over licence policy or conditions. This committee had to decide applicable licences that fell outside the delegated authority to officer. The Licensing Panel met monthly and mainly dealt with tax ...
Ed Miliband's leadership is catastrophic. The media's fascination in coalition politics portrays Liberal Democrat and Conservative backbenchers' as the main opposition to the executive. Due to the nature of coalition politics, there's always a new story waiting to be reported ... Continue reading →
Wed 8th
15:11Wirral Council - Licensing, Health and Safety and General Purposes Committee - Part 1 - 25/5/2011
Present: Cllr Bill Davies (Labour) – Chair Cllr Bob Wilkins (Lib Dem) Cllr Sue Taylor (Conservative) Cllr Ian Lewis (Conservative) Cllr Chris Blakeley (Conservative) Cllr Pat Glasman (Labour) Cllr Steve Niblock (Labour) Cllr Irene Williams (Labour) Cllr Chris Jones (Labour) The Chair asked for any declarations of interest. There were none. The Chair thanked Cllr ...
Bill Norman said the agendas had been published and papers would be provided tomorrow. The Mayor said there was no other business and thanked people for their attendance. The draft minutes and agenda for this meeting can be found by following the link Filed under: Mayor of Wirral, Moira McLaughlin
Nick Harvey, Minister of State for the Armed Forces, writes over at Comment is Free about potential threats to digital networks, and calls for a global consensus on cyberspace security: Threats do not just come from malicious viruses or organised criminals stealing people's identity or money. Digital networks are now at the heart of our transport, power and communications systems, and our economy as a whole. This reliance brings the capacity for warfare to cyberspace. The consequences of a well-planned, well-executed attack against our digital infrastructure could be catastrophic. In this way, a single networked laptop might be as effective ...
Wed 8th
14:51Wirral Council - Wirral Council 23rd May 2011 - Part 17 - speech (Cllr Steve Foulkes) on Conservativ...
Cllr Foulkes said that as the new leader that the Conservatives could put proposals which they would "be here all night over". The Chair was not likely to use their casting vote. If Jeff Green entrusted the leadership and executive this was churlish. Anything referred from the Employment and Appointments Committee would go back to ...
A few years ago we were told that gas prices followed crude oil prices as crude powered to $145 a barrel in July 2008 & gas followed. At that time the price of diesel was 129pp/l. By December 2008 the oil price had collapsed to $33 p/b and diesel was 95pp/l but gas had not moved down much. A few weeks ago crude was about $140p/b & diesel was 141pp/l. NOTICE THAT THIS FUEL COST IS 12pp/l HIGHER THAN THE PREVIOUS PEAK. Crude has now fallen back to $98p/b & diesel dropped by 4pp/l. SCOTTISH POWER ANNOUNCES A 19% PRICE ...
In her excellent New Statesman blog, Olly Grender asked last week why there are no Lib Dem columnists in the mainstream media. She wrote Right now, I can think of five journalists, all working in print media, all of whom at some point have been part of the Liberal Democrat party, but who would run a million miles before declaring themselves long-term supporters. For me, the problem goes wider than this and applies equally to the lack of public intellectuals - academics who write for a general audience, serious journalists and commentators - who identify with the party. I suspect ...
Business Secretary Vince Cable has told banks that he is prepared to take "further action with tax" if they fail to increase lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Speaking in front of the business select committee, he said that the low level of funding provided to SMEs is a "serious problem". I don't normally have much ...
Pity poor old Ken Clarke. When your own side are saying you are too old for the job, then you know things are bad. Phillip Hollobone (Con) asked at Prime Ministers' Questions why magistrates have to retire at 70 years old while the man who appoints them, the Justice Secretary – Clarke, is 71 years old. With friends like that.... There was no prospect of Ken Clarke having one his dozes at PMQs today, that's for sure. Ed Miliband loudly said that David Cameron had "torn up" Clarke's sentencing plans. Perhaps he protesteth-ed a little too much, even saying that ...
The sad news today is that Roy Skelton (pictured) has died. Who he? Well he was the voice of both Zippy and George on Thames TVs Rainbow from 1972-92 as well as many characters in Doctor Who from 1967-88 especially Daleks and Cybermen. It makes a third icon of the original Doctor Who to pass away this year after Lis Sladen and Nicholas Courtney. Here is an early 1972 song featuring George and the early Bungle, which many of you may not remember. Also there was no Geoffrey back then but David Cook, or Rod, Jane and Freddy but Hugh ...
Ever wondered what happens behind closed doors in Westminster? Come and listen to a new MP talk about his first year in Parliament. Duncan has had an extraordinary first year in Parliament since being elected as MP for Chippenham in 2010. He has become a Parliamentary Private Secretary to a Lib Dem Minister, and has seen more about how Government works in one year than most people do in ten. This lecture is in memory of Heather Larkins, a former Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Northavon who sadly passed away. All proceeds go towards sending a young person to experience Liberal ...
.. because Lynne Featherstone's constituency of Hornsey & Wood Green contains a chocolate factory: . [IMG: Casemir Chocolates, Fortis Green] Not, of course, to be confused with The Chocolate Factory which isn't a chocolate factory.
Likely of interest to few people, but I try to get parliamentary business about Trans issues "out there" as it's otherwise very poorly reported. Following a Statutory Instrument committee yesterday, the list of "approved countries and territories" under the Gender Recognition Act has been updated for the first time since the act was passed in 2005. What this basically means is that if you have gender recognition in one of these countries, you can get a UK GRC without needing all the proof and paperwork. The new list is here and the following countries have been added compared to the ...
The feminist mantra has morphed into a new generation and new movement: SlutWalk. The premise is women marching throughout cities across the western world; wearing provocative clothing to counteract the argument that women are, apparently, advertising rape. In 30 countries, ... Continue reading →
Yet again, Facebook have introduced a measure which really interferes with our privacy without telling us. They've introduced a feature which allows facial recognition software to suggest to you which of your friends they could tag in their photos. And to them, of course, what pictures of you they tag. That does not excite me. If my friends want to tag me in their photos, that's for them to decide for themselves. I don't like the idea that Facebook could suggest it to them - and potentially to people that I don't know. And there's obviously the potential for errors ...
The BBC reports: The Inverclyde Westminster by-election is expected to take place on 30 June, after Labour moved the writ in the Commons allowing it to take place. It follows the death last month of sitting Labour MP David Cairns, from pancreatitis, at the age of 44. Labour has a majority of 14,416 in Inverclyde, but holds the Scottish Parliament seat of Greenock and Inverclyde by 511 votes. The party previously said a 30 June date was "unlikely". Labour had said last week it was keen to avoid having a by-election during the school holidays and indicated its preference for ...
Sexualisaiton of children has been one of the hot topics this week. Unless you have been avoiding the media you will be aware of the report by Mr Bailey on the commercialisation and sexualisation of children. The report calls for government intervention in a range of areas from outside advertising to clothing. The underlying assumptions is essentially that parents need help from government to protect their children from the harm caused from exposure to sexual imagery and commercial interests. What the report doesn't really touch on is the concept that this is being driven not by some malign outside force, ...
Did I say two years, I clearly meant two weeks so Andrew Page was right when he tweeted to me that I'd probably be revisiting the issue of gay clergy in the Presbyterian Church sooner. Idaho sticker with the PCI's Union College in background Of course this week is the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI), the denomination that I currently attend though am not a member of, because of my sexuality. However, tensions have arisen from the fact that the outgoing Moderator the Very Reverend Dr Norman Hamilton reported to the General Assembly of the PCI ...
Common Sense has indeed prevailed. For all the wrong reasons, mind. But good.
The political pundits around Westminster and the blogosphere keep telling us just how strong the PM is and he's getting through policies that the Iron Lady herself could only dream about but is that true? I'm not so sure that it is. We have had the climbdown over selling forests, we have had the ongoing saga of the NHS reforms and now today Ken Clarke's plans to give more flexibility to judges has seemingly been shelved. Three unpopular policies. Two have been shelved completely and one has been watered-down to such an extent that the changes will seemingly be minimal. ...
This blog can now be found at: www.politicalparry.co.uk Please have a look! Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
The news that, whilst Mid Suffolk residents voted 3:2 in favour of a merger with Babergh, Babergh residents voted just as strongly against, comes as less of a surprise than might have been thought. On the doorstep, where there was mention of the merger, comment was fairly negative. However, for those who have little interest in the architecture of local government (and I understand that 99.8% of the public fall into that category), the promise of smaller cuts to services was key. The catch was, the pro-merger publicity didn't tell the whole story. Oh yes, the merger of back office ...
I have reported the unwelcome arrival of travellers on Taylor Street to the Travellers' Liaison Officer and to the Parks Department. There are plenty of places where they could have parked up (including a legitimate site), so choosing to park on the kids' 5-a-side pitch is an exceptionally unpleasant gesture and very anti-social. I have asked for them to be moved on immediately. There is no excuse for depriving kids in the area of their place to play.
Plenty of people have joined in the condemnation of the decision to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix, one of the nuttier and shameful sporting decisions I've ever heard about, so I won't add to the weight of opinion shouting THIS IS JUST PLAIN WRONG. And it seems the teams are now refusing to take part anyway, so this issue may have been resolved (though I see the teams are refusing to race for logistical, not ethical, reasons. Which is a shame in itself) But it does give me a chance to vent a little about that tired old cliche people ...
Babergh residents have voted against a merger with Mid Suffolk. In the postal poll, which closed on Monday June 6th at noon, 61% said No to the merger, whilst in Mid Suffolk 60% said Yes. It's a vote of confidence in Babergh District – staff and councillors should be proud of that. Both councils will now press ahead with integrating services in order to make the savings required of councils over the next few years. As usual, there is a lot of scaremongering about the level of future savings which will be needed (see East Anglian Daily Times article today). ...
Senior economists have expressed alarm at the Coalition Government's economic strategy - coinciding with the publication of gloomy figures, criticism came from sources as varied as the likes of David Blanchflower, to Sunday's warning over the direction of travel from a wide array of experts in the Observer. As we ponder the need for alternatives to the Coalition's policies, a Plan B, let's recap how Plan A came about. The Conservative party have always equated this crisis with the government's budget deficit. Their economic narrative, unchanged since well before the election, has been clear; public profligacy under Labour left us ...
It's been a while since I've been able to update the blog. Please accept my apologies for that. It's been a busy time, to say the least. As far as my personal life goes, I'm in the middle of arranging my wedding and also moving house. The real big news, though, is the release of Guilty as Sin a couple of weeks ago. The book is the sequel to Too Close For Comfort, and explores the seemingly unconnected cases of a missing seventeen-year-old girl and a murdered businessman. The book, extraordinarily, became another Amazon best-seller very shortly after its release, ...
Wed 8th
10:02
The Lib Dems need a change of strategy: A new way of understanding the fight in British politics
The Lib Dems have a problem: Communicating what the party stands for. This is vital now we are in Government yet this question enters people's minds. Equally, the problem for the Lib Dems is where our votes are going to come from. We hear a lot about Labour and the Tories taking voters from the ...
Campaigners have blasted the South Glos Tory Administration for their response to local people's concerns about care home closures. In March, local resident John Williams presented a petition to council with over 2,600 names, triggering a debate.The petition challenged the closure of Wapley Court Elderly Persons Home and other residential homes before the promised replacement homes had been built - planned for 2014. Mr Williams spoke of the failure of the Executive Member, Tory Councillor Matthew Riddle, and the Director to engage fully with residents, their families and staff in the implementation of the programme. Speaking after receiving a letter ...
PMQs has a reputation as an aggresssive, unpleasant, macho pantomime which does nothing to hold the government to account seriously, or tackle real issues. Occasionally, though, it can be poignant and relevant. There was a flash of that today. It's self explanatory. From Hansard: John Woodcock (Barrow and Furness) (Lab/Co-op): After four years, 15-year-old Alice Pyne, who lives in my constituency, is losing her battle against cancer. She has posted online her "bucket list", a simple wish list of things that she wants to do before it is too late. She wants to meet Take That, to own a purple ...
My fourteen year old daughter was reading the latest copy of Liberator magazine, when she came across Lord Bonkers' Diary. On reading the title, she pounced with zeal on what she believed to be a grammatical mistake – a misplaced apostrophe. no less. Fortunately I was able to reassure that the noble Lord is simply mad, not ... No related posts.
You need an expert. What do you do? There are plenty of different ways of going about finding one, I'm sure. But I bet you don't dig out the books from 20 years ago, look who was an expert back then, place the names in the hat and then pick out a name or two at random. That, however, is how the House of Lords works - and that's why I am unconvinced by those who argue that democracy has no place in one half of Parliament because 'we need experts'. Certainly there are some experts in the Lords. Just ...
Hooray Hooray Hooray Hooray Hooray And how about this for a manifesto? I'm in heaven.
The latest CBS production is the Disney version of Beauty and The Beast on at the Empire from Monday 13th to Saturday 18th June 2011. Ticket prices are as follows: Monday and Tuesday – 2 for £10 Wednesday £10, Concessions £8 Thursday 2 for £10 Friday, Saturday Matinee and Evening £10, Concessions £8 It promises to be a fantastic production – anyone who saw Snow White at Christmas knows what a good show they put on!
Last Monday evening, I was delighted to attend the Ceredigion Association of Voluntary Organisations (CAVO) annual awards evening in Aberaeron. Speaking at the annual CAVO Awards Evening I was present in my capacity as Vice-Chair of Ceredigion County Council, deputising for the Chair Cllr Catherine Hughes, and I was asked to help with the handing out of awards and certificates to the winning volunteers. It was a great evening in the Memorial Hall in Aberaeron and it was brilliant to see so many people of all ages, contributing to what is a vibrant community throughout our county. Handing out a ...
I am, it seems, knee deep in constitutions, Federal, State, Regional and Local Party, under fire for all corners merely for having the audacity to note that there are such things, and that they need to be applied. Due process, I think to myself, just a concept to be ignored as it suits, or something that underpins the notion of liberalism? Naturally, I can't go into detail, but it is enough to say that being the guardian of the constitutional word is not a comfortable place to be, especially when you're on your own, worse still when you're an increasingly ...
The WestFest brochure is now out! You can pick up a copy at the Box Office in West Wynd or read the calendar of events on-line at http://dundeewestfest.co.uk/whats-on/. A week of superb events across the West End!
A new poll on the NHS reforms captures the core problem: A large plurality, 45% to 23%, believe that "any changes the Conservatives make to the NHS will be motivated by a desire to help business rather than patients." Conservatives would stenuously deny this, of course, but the donations Andrew Lansley has received from private health care interests and his ties to the junk food industry provide a solid basis for believing it to be true. This is a real problem. There is a widespread and naïve faith in some quarters in the ability of choice and competition to reduce ...
i) births and deaths 8 June 1933: birth of Derek Newark, who played Za in An Unearthly Child (1963) and Greg Sutton Inferno (1970). 8 June 1940: birth of Carole Ann Ford, who played the Doctor's granddaughter Susan from 1963 to 1965 and returned for The Five Doctors in 1983 and more recent Big Finish audios. 8 June 1942: birth of of Peter Grimwade, director of Full Circle (1980), Logopolis (1981), Kinda (1982) and Earthshock (1982) and writer of Time-Flight (1982), Mawdryn Undead (1983) and Planet of Fire (1984). 8 June 1943: birth of Colin Baker, who played the Sixth ...
The title of this blog is meant to be "Care" homes. I'd be interested to know from any linguist in what language the first word is written and, from any knowledgeable computer buff, how to stop my machine playing this trick. A wise economist, probably Will Hutton but I'm not sure, pointed out a few yeas ago that there is no point in privatising something if it cannot be allowed to go bankrupt. This comment was made in relation to vital infrastructure enterprises such as railways and utilities. The care homes run by Southern Cross add a different dimension. Clearly, ...
Scientific Illustration: Archive Best tumblr ever? (tags: science illustration) The Periodic Table of Videos – University of Nottingham The university of Nottingham explains the elements through videos. (tags: chemistry science education) Women War Artists at the Imperial War Museum | Bad Reputation (tags: museums)
I can't go quite as far back as 1830, at least on the calculation website, MeasuringWorth, I use, whose data for the value of UK Sterling goes back to 1830, some two years or so after University College London started admitting students. But when it did, its fees were £28 10s and it was established with the aim of educating the children of the middle class. As an investment in one's future, I suspect that the best measure to use to value that today would be the "Share of GDP" measure - someone please correct me, with reasons, if I ...
Lib Dem Scottish Secretary Michael Moore has said that for Scotland to secede from the union a second referendum on the details of any independence deal would be needed in addition to a 'consultative' referendum on the principle. This is apparently because of some constitutional niceties about the powers of Holyrood compared with Westminster. The excellent Lallands Peat Worrier explains more. This move has been welcomed by the Queen of Scottish bloggers (among others) - Caron Lindsay - who has previously expressed her concerns about a single independence vote. Now far be it for me to disagree with such esteemed ...
So it turns out that my article about the DC 'reboot' was pretty offbeam. DC are now making it clear that it is merely a relaunch and won't apparently result in a significant shift in continuity. So essentially ignore all my guff about Geoff Johns' Corps Wars and Grant Morrison's Batman Incorporated storylines coming to a close and Damian Wayne possibly being written out of continuity. Not going to happen. I will still stand by the significance of DC's switch to same-day-as-print for its digital output, a move which is far more significant than any passing continuity change in any ...
Fantastic news announced earlier this week by Reading Borough Council that the percentage rise in the number of 16 to 18 year olds recruited in Reading over the last six months is the highest in south-east England. The official press release continues: "In the period July 2010 to January 2011 - the most up to date figures available - a total of 310 16 to 18 year olds began an apprenticeship in Reading . This is up from 155 for the same period in 2009/10. The impressive figures equate to a 100% rise in apprenticeships starts, almost twice as much ...
