In less than a fortnight the biggest Heavyweight boxing fight in eight years will be going on. After jawing for a couple of years and quite honestly ducking the Klitschko brothers, David Haye looks set to turn up and fight on July 2 in Hamburg to fight the younger of the brothers. A few weeks ago they faced off with HBO's Max Kellerman and the video was released this week and it is to be frank awesome. Wlad is seriously pissed with Haye and the Englishman looks a wee bit scared. The full video is below. Watch and enjoy. As ...
TweetSeems a simple question doesn't it... However, it isn't. Especially when I add the following words to it. Why despite every measure I can think of telling me I am a success do I feel a failure? For those who ... Continue reading →
This afternoon a few of the Battersea and Tooting Lib Dems headed to Thamesfield in Putney to help out with the by-election there. [IMG: Richard Davis canvassing in Thamesfield, Putney] Richard Davis canvassing in Thamesfield, Putney The level of activity is fantastic, there have been a load of people from all over London down over the weekend, delivering, canvassing and helping out with the clerical work. Plus I have spoke to a few people who haven't been able to make it down, but have been phoning on behalf of the campaign. So what are the issues? There are a few ...
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Lib-Dem Group on Broxtowe Borough Council. A special welcome to the new readers that we have this week, on what has undoubtedly been a good week for the Lib-Dems. We have had big wins this week on NHS reforms, delivering what we as grass roots members of the party had demanded, and we also managed to fend off a proposed backward step on recycling which Eric Pickles had been trying to force on local councils. Over the last few years ...
'What Nick can do next...' is a blog post over on Lib Dem Voice by Stephen Tall, the site's Editor. The article looks at a question posed by The Guardian's Michael White on the future of Nick Clegg as Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick's image and the next General Election in 2015. The original ...
Cable was besieged by the press when he arrives at City University in London. A notable rebel within the Liberal Democrat Party, his appearing to speak was covered live on the BBC News and afterwards I was lucky enough to get an interview with him and a number of other Liberal Democrat bloggers. I wanted to get an overall feel of how Cable's approach was to both the economy and the coalition. My first question was thusly phrased "Do you consider yourself to be an economic Cassandra?" Cassandra is a member of Greek mythology who was punished for not loving ...
Democracy is a word that gains and loses political currency very quickly. The case of Brian Haw is a prime example, illustrating a man who determinedly maintained his belief in a right to peaceful protest in spite of all attempts to evict him. Indeed, his leaving of Parliament Square was due to a terminal illness, for which he had a deputy, rather than being driven away by persecuting legal orders issued by Conservative Authorities. It was very saddening to hear today of this wonderful man's demise due to lung cancer. No government likes to be reminded of it's failings, but ...
Vince was on good form yesterday. He was determined to stay on message and not discuss a Plan B, instead he shared with us some thoughts on what could be added to plan A, A++ as he called it. Others have reported on Vince's speech so I will not dwell on it here, suffice to say it was good to hear that land tax and robust banking reform were firmly in his sights. One other key element on which he put great emphasis was 're-balancing the economy'. This is usually understood to be moving away from the financial sector being ...
According to David Howarth's excellent essay in Reinventing the State we are all - even David Laws - Social Liberals now. David Hall-Matthews, Chair of the Social Liberal Forum, echoed Howarth's view when summing up the SLF conference. The SLF is not a movement on the fringe of the Liberal Democrats, it is the mainstream of the party. Nor are Social Liberals the same thing as Social Democrats
So today is Father's Day and I wanted to write about the dynamic for son's that work with their dad's. I manage my father's musical career so we usually speak on the phone every day and our conversations can cover everything from tour routing and decisions about offers from promoters to tunes he's considering playing ...
The Business Secretary Vince Cable's speech to the GMB annual conference last Monday received significant attention. Some media coverage would have us believe that the senior Lib Dem had brazenly threatened trades unions with serious curbs on their strike powers. In fact, Cable had qualified his brief hint of this possibility with the admission that present circumstances merited no government action. Within the context of unions' criticism of government cuts to jobs and services, Cable's introduction to the table of the possibility of changes to strike law may have been a strategic manoeuvre intended to dissuade industrial action planned for ...
From July 2011 Wandsworth Council will start charging children to use the adventure playground in Battersea Park. [IMG: Details for the Battersea Park Adventure Playground Charges] Details for the Battersea Park Adventure Playground Charges This is an additional tax on families in the area which will hit the poorest in society the hardest. Today some of the Battersea Lib Dem team were down at Battersea Park talking to parents and children to see what they think of the charges. One local Battersea woman we spoke to said that with the charge the Adventure Playground will become the preserve of the ...
Nothing more to add.
...listening to Vince Cable talk yesterday at the Social Liberal Forum. When he started talking about what we have been doing in government and what we would continue to do in the economics session of the forum, I was ...
Secretary of State for Scotland Mike Moore addressing the event Its been a very busy Sunday - starting off with the Scottish Liberal Democrats' Members' Forum in Edinburgh (or - for me - half of it!) Its been a difficult time of late for Scottish Liberal Democrats but what was so very encouraging about today was the large turnout of members, their robust input and the positive views about the way forward. I spoke during the debate stressing the importance of the 2012 local elections and the need for the party to be fully prepared. Via St Andrews to drop ...
We live in a world that demands simple solutions to complex problems. There's a problem with feckless dads not supporting their children. Simple fix, according to David Cameron – stigmatise them. They're as bad as drunk drivers. Problem solved! Some employers might be reluctant to take on disabled people. Simple fix, according to another Tory MP – make them work for less than the minimum wage. Problem solved! There are too many teenage pregnancies. Simple fix, according to Nadine Dorries MP – give girls abstinence lessons in school. Problem solved! Family relationships are breaking down. Simple fix, accord to John ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 226th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (12-18 June, 2011), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. I apologise; this ...
My spouse is threatening to record me yelling at the television and podcast it. These blogs are simply a more linear extension. While yelling at Andy Burnham on this morning's Politics Show, I noted he said that Gove's Academy Programme was completely different from Labour's. To be precise, Burnham said Labour's Academy programme was based on changing schools that had systematically failed to acheive basic levels of education for students. So, that's exactly as Gove proposed then. Changing the lowest performing schools into Academies. I may not necessarily agree with Gove on Academies, for I believe in consistency to education ...
Inspirational peace campaigner Brian Haw died today aged 62. Haw is famous for his determined and courageous efforts to lead his protest in Parliament Square against military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, in spite of vigorous and legally questionable attempts to remove his "peace camp". Whatever one's views of Mr Haw, no reasonable person could possibly question his commitment to civil liberties, his personal bravery or the role he played in reminding Parliament that actions have consequences. For many years he was a constant presence outside Westminster: while some considered his peace camp an "eyesore" or complained about the condition ...
Being asked to do a bloggers interview with a leading figure from the political party of which you are a member can be daunting at the best of times and even more so when the man in question is the ...
Unemployment has fallen by 88,000 in the 3 months to April, to 2.43 million. The fall reduced the national unemployment rate from 7.9% to 7.7% and represents the fastest three month fall since the summer of 2000. The fall was caused by a continuing rapid growth in private sector jobs which has more than outweighed the fall in public sector jobs. In the past year private sector employment has grown by 520,000, compared to a fall in public sector employment of 143,000 leaving overall employment up 376,000. While its early days, the fall appears to represent a significant vindication of ...
Thats it. The nasty party is back. I have been saying from the start of this coalition that we should have left the Tories to go into minority control and let them hang themselves. I relate my comments to a terrifying diatribe by Philip Davies who outrageously and calously infered that disabled people should work for less. As he believed that they would get overlooked for jobs. This is wholesale social injustice in glorious technicolour. Thank god he's not my MP. I immediately wrote to No 10 asking for the Tory party to withdraw the whip. Alas they probably have ...
Councillors welcome traffic safety initiative in Odd DownCouncillors Steve Hedges and Nigel Roberts welcome the addition of the 30 mph slow down sign on the Wellsway in Odd Down.The sign that was bought from the council's ward councillors initiative has been installed recently.Cllr Nigel Roberts said " We wanted this sign to be put in as there is the nearby junction to Old Fosse Road and the
I can understand that the party is in government now, and that we need to be careful. I can understand that people who have not been to conference before are an unknown quantity, and could cause trouble, perhaps even worse than trouble. I can understand that the police and insurance companies and venues like this kind of stuff, and we are under pressure to accept it. What I don't understand is how CRB checking every conference attendee will achieve anything that the physical checks on the door won't. I don't understand why anyone could possibly think this is necessary or ...
Back in March, Mark Pack reported on a momentous move in the Lib Dems: from the EARS election software to Voter Activation Network, or VAN, which is used by Democrats in the US and the Canadian Liberal Party, amongst others. EARS has done sterling service for the party over the years. I first used the DOS version of the software in the mid-nineties, when it had already been around for a few years. Younger readers may not have encountered the joys of the paper "Shuttleworths" that were used before EARS: sheet after sheet of knock-up lists, laboriously hand-written onto carbon-copy ...
Since my last post on the new data requirements for Liberal Democrat Federal Conference (I refuse to call them security requirements, because I have no reason to believe that they provide any extra security), there has been some movement on the issues raised. It seems that the decision to exclude anybody from conference will be ...
Another week, another good letter backing Lords reform in Liberal Democrat News, this time from Paul Holmes. If you agree with him, 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. [IMG: Paul Holmes in Liberal Democrat News supporting Lords reform]
I was talking to a man the other day, he asked about NHS reforms. He was worried about reform, I was worried how I would explain it. I started explaining the ageing population, increasing demand, patient choice etc. His eyes glazed over and then he stopped me mid sentence and said "If I need an operation , will I have to pay for it?" - I replied no. He said "that's all right then" and walked off
Back in April, I waxed lyrical about Northern Ireland's finest golfer and the leap of faith that Rory McIlroy needed to jump to join the immortals of golf. That was prior to his final round at the Augusta National where he led by 4 strokes and was on the verge of a historic US Masters, green jacket victory. I watched on in dismay as he imploded on the back 9 and the dream vanished. How would he cope with such a crushing disappointment? US Open Records - Smashed Well, quite remarkably, his form this week in the US Open has ...
We woke up this morning to the following front page of The Sunday Times claiming that the BBC has axed F1. [IMG: Sunday Times Front Page 19/06/11] Sunday Times Front Page 19/06/11 Now I'm not saying that I have a better knowledge of the inner workings of the BBC than one of the most famous media publications in the world but in this instance I do. The figures and conjecture in the piece are wildly inaccurate. The contract is worth £200m over five years and not £300m over the same period. That is a whopping £100m inaccuracy just to open ...
Trade Unions are organisations committed to getting the best possible deal for their members. Public sector pensions have been a sensational deal for some time, funded as they are by committing future taxpayers to the bill. The politics then pit a constituency with no votes against one that can mobilise thousands in mass protests and impact millions through economically damaging strikes. For politicians to resist that movement, instead standing up for the rights and living standards of our children, is extremely brave and should be supported. The coalition proposal to raise contributions and the retirement age is right. Chief Secretary ...
Yesterday Chris Huhne spoke at the Social Liberal Forum's conference on smart regulation for the energy sector: It's a pleasure to speak at the first conference of the Social Liberal Forum. We Liberal Democrats have always prided ourselves as a party of ideas - and they're needed more than ever now that we're in government. Whatever your view of The Orange Book back in 2004, it did at least trigger a debate about Liberal ideology, about what it means to be a Liberal Democrat in today's Britain. I was pleased to contribute both to The Orange Book and to its ...
I blogged yesterday about the power of projection; why working out that Gordon Brown was seen as a Volvo and David Cameron as a BMW was in itself nonsense, but working out why people think that and taking appropriate action was a valuable tool. However, the mistake people make in projection is that, having spotted that everyone thinks you're a skunk, you then start trying to dress yourself up as as something altogether more cuddly and attractive. Because the world spots that you're stll a skunk, you're just wearing ridiculous bunny ears. Or as Mark Ritson puts it in his ...
Today in the news, on Fathers Day, David Cameron has sought to speak out about absent fathers by likening them to drink-drivers. BBC News "Writing in the Sunday Telegraph to mark Father's Day, he said it was not acceptable for single ... Continue reading →
Yesterday was our first Social Liberal Forum Conference. In a few short months we went from worrying about whether there would actually be enough people to attend, to having standing space only! (You can find out more about the SLF at http://www.socialliberal.net/) Some great speakers (Will Hutton in particular was excellent - he struggled to get there and then spoke without any notes). It was good also to be able to hear from, and question, Vince Cable, Chris Huhne and Simon Hughes. We made a point of not just inviting Lib Dem speakers and I personally was particularly interested to ...
Sheila with me, Geoff, Viki and Jean at Nightingale Park last August Last Thursday, Jean, George and I and our respective husbands and wife went to Corpus Christi College for the annual Cambridge City Council Mayor's Dinner - to celebrate the mayoral year of the outgoing mayor, Cllr Sheila Stuart. After a civilized aperitif in the college gardens, we filed into the dining hall for a feast, with the learned men of bygone ages looking down on us. On my own table were councillors old and new, with their partners - on the other two tables were people who have ...
—God is my Father! If you meditate on it, you will never let go of this consoling consideration. —Jesus is my intimate Friend (another re-discovery) who loves me with all the divine madness of his Heart. —The Holy Spirit is my Consoler, who guides my every step along the road. Consider this often: you are ...
The Social Liberal Forum — a group of Liberal Democrat members who advocate 'that a democratic and open state has a positive role to play in guaranteeing individual freedom' — met yesterday for their first conference on a high note: their mobilising role at the party's spring conference is widely credited with having strongly influenced the Coalition's changes to the controversial NHS reforms. Here's how the Independent on Sunday, with an inevitable nod towards stereotypes, reports the gathering: Welcome to the first annual conference of the Social Liberal Forum - the home of "proper" Liberal Democrats. Not the quasi-Tory, Oxbridge-educated, ...
The Guardian writes Making the Tories a bit less nasty won't save Clegg's skin which highlights some strengths for the Lib Dems which is interesting in tat it shows the strategy the Lib Dems took a while ago is paying off The negotiations in recent weeks over Andrew Lansley's botched NHS reforms have shown that ...
7 January 1949 - 18 June 2011 lib·er·ty/ˈlibərtē/Noun 1. The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life. 2. An instance of this; a right or privilege, esp. a statutory one.
Drinking my coffee and reading the BBC news on digital teletext this morning (does life get any more exciting than that?), I was startled to see that Haleh Sahabi had died. Ms Sahabi died some weeks ago and I blogged about it nearer the time; someone in the BBC's teletext factory clearly today pressed the wrong button and put the story up again as if it was a new one - it's now gone. I used to work in a teletext factory myself (an experience that later enabled me to be possibly the only person ever to make a speech ...
I enjoyed an absorbing 'Kennedys evening' of TV on BBC2 last night. Between family archive film footage, the second in the controversial 8-part Kennedys mini-series and an intelligent discussion on it and JFK's Presidency, I was glued to my sofa all evening. I found The Kennedys fascinating. Though it plays in much part on historic licence and in some places has to be taken with a great heft of a pinch of salt, I found it compulsive viewing simply down to the excellent casting and acting (particularly Tom Wilkinson as the patriarchal Joe Kennedy Snr). It must be said that ...
It's been a long time coming, but work will finally be starting in the next few weeks on replacement play equipment on the Ridgegrove Estate. I've been working with local residents for this for some considerable time and battling to prevent the loss of the only accessible play area for local children and families. I'm delighted that this is finally getting the go ahead. The old equipment on both the upper and lower play areas was pretty dated and has either been taken out or is on the verge of being ripped out on health and safety grounds. Officers have ...
The death has been announced of peace campaigner Brian Haw. Mr Haw was famous for being a pain in the arse for the Mayor of London, for the Government and for the Police. Ten years ago, Brian Haw set up camp in Parliament Square and, despite numerous attempts to have him moved, his tent remained until his death. Haw would regularly harangue MPs as they entered the Palace of Westminster and his displays of pictures of the effects of war were rarely short of shocking. Whether you agreed with him or not, Brian Haw was someone you had to admire. ...
Those who argued that Britain should not enter the Eurozone are no doubt feeling vindicated this morning as the Greek financial crisis threatens to bring the currency crashing to the ground. The fact that we are not in it owes something to politics but also to the economics of entry. Put simply the circumstances under which we might consider joining the Euro were never right. However, that does not mean that the project was wrong-headed or even that we should not consider signing up at some stage in the future if both the British and the European economy meet stringent ...
Brand new Zumba classes in Gatley, Heald Green and Cheadle. Run by Drew Hubbard, trained dancer, qualified fitness instructor and accredited Zumba Instructor. Zumba is a Latin inspired dance-fitness suitable for all abilities. It's easy to pick up and loads of fun. Mondays- Cheadle Social Club, 7.15-8.15pm Wednesdays- Heald Green Methodist Church, 7-8pm Thursdays- Gatley Hill House, 7-8pm. £5 pay as you go. For more information and current offers, visit www.GatleyZumba.co.uk Ditch the workout and join the party near you!
The BBC report that Peace campaigner Brian Haw has died after "a long hard fight" against lung cancer. Mr Haw, who was 62, is famous for having set up a camp in London's Parliament Square in 2001 in protest against UK and US foreign policy. His tenacity and his commitment turned him into a minor celebrity as he defied attempts by Tony Blair to legislate his protest out of existence. His peace camp was a major thorn in the side for the Blair government and a constant reminder of the significant opposition that existed around the country to the Iraq ...
The parent of one child treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital writes: The problems at Great Ormond Street go deeper than just one person. Our first appointment there set the tone, when an arrogant receptionist looked up at a young couple who had travelled down from the North East with their baby and said casually: 'Oh, didn't anyone tell you - your appointment's been cancelled.' They were distraught. We endured doctors who never read the case notes, returned phone calls or responded to emails. One consultant cared only about a special diet at the centre of her research. Another lost ...
Mid-Bedforshire MP, Nadine Dorris, has been invited to join the Playboy Club according to her blog.
My mother came round a couple of days before her 80th birthday, demanding to hear the Urban Voodoo Machine. This was a gap in my musical knowledge. It turned out that they had been on Loose Ends playing their song Go East. I cannot find a good recording of it online, but Goodbye to Another Year is in a similar style. I like their "bourbon-soaked gypsy blues". They even remind me a little of Moldova's finest.
After the Social Liberal Forum which attended yesterday, and more about later, I have added to my blog role, the three other bloggers with whom I was lucky enough to interview Dr Evan Harris yesterday. Mary Reid at Mary Reid who ...
girls and gaming: wizards of the coast show how fast they can learn Now if only they could start actually doing good things instead of just stopping doing bad things if someone notices... (tags: gaming) Sainsbury's customer service WIN this guy deserves some kind of award. (tags: lovely)
The Guardian write Nick Clegg is doing better - but will it be enough? which raises some positive points about Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems which are worth highlighting Nick Clegg turned out as the guest of the Commons press gallery lunch yesterday and delivered a polished performance - more relaxed and less defensive ...
The above photo was taken of one of the highlights during the brilliant Airfix Air Show element of the Big Event which will continue today with the stunning Red Arrows, apologies for picture, I think I and my camera were a little unfocused me because of working a night shift friday and the camera who knows. As I have stressed earlier, there is something for everybody at this event, I myself spent a pleasant half hour or more, absorbing the performance given by the band Riveras in the Marine Gardens just up from the clock tower. Anyhow events are listed ...
Three years ago a mysterious black "panther-type" animal was seen on Wenlock Edge in Shropshire. Now, says the Bridgnorth Journal, a "raccoon-like" creature has been sighted there. The truth, however, may be less exciting. The paper quotes John Hughes from the Shropshire Wildlife Trust as saying: "I would imagine that what was seen would have been a polecat as they have similar facial markings to a raccoon. They were in decline after being hunted by gamekeepers but their numbers are starting to creep back up. "They are making a comeback across the Midlands and I would expect that in time ...
During the week I spoke at a Camden Liberal Democrats event along with London Assembly candidate Bridget Fox about the future of the coalition. The three main points I made were that: As with the NHS reforms, the Liberal Democrats need to carefully pick issues that matter to the public and on which there is a chance of successfully pushing for big changes - with banking being an obvious future one. We need to show coalitions can work but we can do so whilst having adult debates in which differences show in public. We also need to avoid getting into ...
The week-long Gatley festival kicks off next Saturday, 25th June 2011, with the carnival and fun day on Sunday 3rd July. Events during the week include taster sessions for Zumba – along with other fitness and wellbeing tasters at the Tatton Studio, a nine mile bike ride, a seven mile walk around the bounds of Gatley, a farmers' market, stream clean, folk music night, wildlife walk and morris men. For more information, see the Gatley Festival website.
The question is repeatedly asked of the Coalition and its economic policy of deficit reduction: do you have a Plan B? (It is, by the way, a ludicrous question to ask — Steve Richards, the left-leaning Independent commentator, has acknowledged as much: 'The debate is silly because no Chancellor can acknowledge an alternative route in advance.') But if the question's going to continue to be asked, let's at least do it the justice of turning it round: does Labour have a Plan B? The thought was in particular prompted by this excellent post — unambiguously titled, Labour must stop fighting ...
During the long years of Soviet occupation, most of the coast around Estonia's capital, Tallinn, was off-limits to the local population, as a military, 'frontier' zone. From viewing platforms in Tallinn's magnificent old city (now thronged with tourists), they could look out across the sea towards Finland, but otherwise the city and its inhabitants were ...
It is amazing how technology has moved so fast during the last 110 years. My grandfather (my mother's father) grew up with parafin lamps in Polruan, Cornwall. The only telephone in the village was in the pilot's office. You had to sign in and out to use it. But at the end of his life, he was eagerly using Ceefax and enjoying all-day colour TV, having lived through a whole slew of new arrivals: electricity – wow! Cars! Tractors! Diesel engined ships! Radio! TV! 625 lines! Colour TV! Teletext! (As an aside, one summer afternoon my Grandad (who was called ...
i) births and deaths 19 June 1916: birth of George Pravda, who played Alexander Denes in The Enemy of the World (1967-68), Jaeger in The Mutants (1972), and Spandrell in The Deadly Assassin (1976). 19 June 1997: death of Julia Smith, who directed The Underwater Menace (1967) but is of course better known and the creator of EastEnders. ii) broadcast anniversaries 19 June 1965: broadcast of "The Death of Doctor Who", fifth episode of the story we now call The Chase. The Daleks construct a double of the Doctor to try and infiltrate the Tardis crew. (This also features the ...
Neighbourhood Watch week takes place 18th – 26th June 2011. It's an important opportunity to promote Neighbourhood Watch generally in this area. Neighbourhood Watch is a proven crime prevention and reduction weapon. Now it brings with it a free voice messaging system called "Voice Connect" which allows Durham Constabulary to send out timely crime prevention information and advice relevant to particular areas, together with appeals for information, good news stories and community events. Neighbourhood watch increases community safety, helps reduce crime, encourages community spirit, and may even entitle partners to a reduction in their home insurance premiums. Full details of ...
Regardless of the concerns over conference security, I want to add to my Grassroots Liberal Democracy series to talk about party conferences – what they're for, and how to get the most out of them. There are two main types of conference in the Liberal Democrats – Federal Conferences, for the entire party, and State ...
