Jordan Michael Smith has written an article for the US-based Dissent magazine looking at the remarkable collapse of the Liberals at the recent Canadian general election. He suggests that it is not enough to blame it all on the leadership of Michael Ignatieff - former arts broadcaster on British TV ("the thinking woman's crumpet") and distant kinsman of our own Nick Clegg. Instead, Smith sees the party as a victim of its own success: "the success of programs initiated and implemented by the Liberals has been the very factor responsible for their downfall". He points to Pierre Trudeau's 1982 Constitution ...
The Evening Standard reports: George Osborne just made a historic announcement about the Royal finances. His reforms, signalled first in his Budget a year ago, pave the way for a first-born daughter of Kate and William to be Heir to the Throne. The heir is supported by £16 million a year revenues from the Duchy of Cornwall estate. At present the Duke is Prince Charles. But a girl cannot become a duke, so Osborne is changing the rules. "We propose to correct this anomaly by making clear that in future the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall will go to ...
This evening, along with the Lord Provost, the Convener of Education and the Leader of the Labour Group, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dundee Youth Council at the City Chambers on a number of issues including involving the Youth Council in wider decision making - including engagement with the City Council and Local Community Planning Partnerships - the City Campus, and the forthcoming Dundee Youth Council consultation with young people right across the city. Dundee Youth Council has hit the ground running and it is important that the City Council works well with the Youth Council, a view ...
Sure Start Children's Centres in Derwentside are inviting dads, and male carers to join them for a fun filled session. Stepdads, grandads, uncles, brothers, male carers and father figures of the under fives are invited to join the dads and male carers sessions on the last Saturday of every month for a fun filled session from 10.30am until 12 noon. Wriggle and Giggle, messy play and crafts will keep little ones busy. Sessions are free and children receive a healthy snack. Rachael Plews, senior family worker with Sure Start, said: "Come and join in fun play activities and meet with ...
With the school summer holidays fast approaching, this evening at Blackness Primary School (pictured right), I held my final surgery until the new school term begins in August. During the summer break I can be contacted as follows : Home telephone number : 459378 (any time) Office telephone number at Tayside House : 434985 (office hours Monday to Friday) E-surgery : esurgery@frasermacpherson.org.uk (any time)
No Liberal Democrats on this evening's Question Time doesn't mean a lack of political balance, the BBC claimed tonight, pointing out that while the guests may all be authoritarian illiberal egomaniacs, they're different colours (pictured). In previous years, the BBC justified multiple Labour panellists because they were the government. Now the Lib Dems are in government, 60% of tonight's panel consists of a Labour MP, a Labour-supporting journalist and a trades union boss. Pressed, a spokesperson apologised: 'When we said before that the Liberal Democrats were irrelevant and didn't deserve representation because they'd never be in government, we were wrong. ...
Further to my recent update about the West End Community Council website, here's a couple of further West End updates : * Community Spirit, the community group for the northern part of the West End (Pentland/Ancrum/Tullideph/Cleghorn and surrounding areas) has a new site at www.dundeecommunityspirit.org.uk. The site will be an excellent way to keep up to date with news in this part of the West End. * The Western Cemetery Association has a new blog at http://dundeewca.blogspot.com. The blog will be a great resource to keep in touch with the Association that exists - To promote sustainable development of the ...
14,000 UK border agency staff have walked out yet majority of flights are still on time and those flights that are delayed are only 45 minutes late? If the flights can still operate on time without the 14,000 UK border staff then why not get rid of them and save the state some money and pay off some of the national debt? A crowd gathers outside the Department for Work and Pensions head office in Tothill Street, Westminster to chant "DWP - pension thief". Department for Education says of state schools in England, 26% are closed (4,640 schools), 22% are ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black, will be holding advice surgeries next week. He will be in Neath Central Library from 5pm to 6pm on Friday, 8th July. No appointment is necessary.
This month's tally helpfully inflated by a few graphic novels, which are generally quicker to read. Non-fiction 5 (YTD 32) Robert A. Heinlein in Dialogue With His Century, Vol 1, by William H. Patterson Jr The Business of Science Fiction, by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg The Complete Book of Thunderbirds, by Chris Bentley The Spanish Inquisition: A History, by Joseph Pérez Questioning the Millennium, by Stephen Jay Gould Fiction (non-sf) 4 (YTD 25) Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood Hunger, by Knut Hamsun Fleshmarket Close, by Ian Rankin sf (non-Who) 8 (YTD 37) Blackout, ...
Yes, I have.
It's a shame that while the Conservative Controlled County Council, under it's new leader Nick Clarke, is busying itself cutting libraries, cutting maintenance on the roads, cutting adult social care, allowing our cultural herritage to moulder away to nothing in the vaults below Shire Hall, and allowing those allied with Conservative Cabinet Members to claim additional expenses for attending "ad-hoc policy groups" which are neither open or minuted (deep breath!) they are also spending money trying to persuade people to use Twitter to "beat traffic jams".Twitter? Seriously? How do they think this is going to work? Are people driving to ...
Well, I'm not going to do an Ed Miliband this week and shy away from the biggest public sector strikes for 5 years that took to the streets of London today. It seemed a half-hearted affair to me. I was in Whitehall this morning, and I couldn't work out why more union members weren't on the picket lines putting their case across and making more of an impact. At the Ministry of Justice and DWP, there were probably no more than six or seven people. By 2.30pm, with the march over, pubs in Westminster were spilling over with union members ...
Translated from the original French (Premieres fois), and also avalable in English (First Time), this is a collection of ten short erotic stories told in graphic form, all written by French author Sybilline (Sibylline Desmazières to her friends) and illustrated by a variety of artists. I have seen other reviewers wildly acclaiming Dave McKean's depiction of a visit to a porn cinema which closes the book, but I have to say it left me rather confused as to what was going on; the two standout pieces for me were the very first story, a sweet doing-it-for-the-first-time tale, and Cyril Pedrosa's ...
Today Britain has seen the latest in a long line of protests along with strikes from several major national trade unions. These protests and strikes have been in response to pension reform plans put forward by the government as well as on the issues of cuts, tuition fees and the NHS reforms. Estimates regarding those who have gone on strike range from 50% to 85% and potentially three quarters of a million workers had the option to go on strike today. Now we can discuss whether or not the strikes and protests were legitimate today, but as Liberal Democrats the ...
It can be difficult for the outsider to work out what is going on inside Leicester Labour Party. But a Leicester Mercury article looking at the declaration of expenses for the city recent Mayoral contest gives a valuable clue:The documents also revealed the donors to each candidate's campaign. Sir Peter's was funded by the three city constituency Labour parties. Leicester South and West branches gave £3,100 and £2,100 respectively. Leicester East's branch gave just £80.I think we can safely conclude that Sir Peter and Keith Vaz (Labour MP for Leicester East) are not exactly bosom buddies. The return of expenses ...
It's been a tough few days. Indeed, as June closes, I look back at what has been a distressing month. I've already commented about the sad and premature death of Andrew Reeves at only 43 of a heart attack and of my journey to his funeral in Edinburgh. The following week I attended the funeral of a well respected elder statesman of the Cardigan community who passed away in his early 90s. Over the course of the past week I've done my best to support Alyson as her family have prepared their farewells to her grandmother who also passed away, ...
From the Co-operative UK website: Co-operatives Fortnight is the annual campaign from the UK co-operative sector. It aims to raise awareness of how co-operatives offer a way of doing business in which everyday employees, customers and residents have an equal say in decisions and share the profits. This year, the theme 'Yours To Share' represents the shared ownership and the share in profits that makes co-operatives different ... Watch the film below from last year about what makes co-operatives different.
This is the letter I wrote to GOSH following the interview I did with BBC London. The program did not appear until later the following week. BBC London had succeeded in getting a full copy of the Sibert Report under Freedom of Information. The evidence is all in the report and the altered addendum. The addendum which was supplied to the 1st Serious Case Review into Peter Connelly's death. GOSH have responded to the letter below and I will post their response to my allegations over the weekend. It is on their website currently as well. Chair Great Ormond Street ...
TweetHow upset I'm feeling right now. Spidey was and will always be my best friend. Please read this Goodbye Spidey. I wish you well.
[IMG: You realize]
Ok, here we go, another hippy leftie soft on crime blog post from a bleeding heart liberal. Actually, I'll cheerfully own up to everything except the soft on crime bit. No, I don't think that householders should offer a full fry up and a nice up of tea to the thug who's plundering their worldly possessions, but nor do I have any time for Ken Clarke's latest wheeze - to "clarify" the amount of force a householder can use on a burglar. Being the victim of a burglary is horrible. Not only has somebody helped themselves to your hard earned ...
A long time ago I read Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds, and rather bounced off it; perhaps, in retrospect, it was because I read it towards the end of a long work trip and simply wasn't in the mood. Since then, the recommendations of friends and also amicable encounters with Reynolds himself at a couple of sf cons persuaded me to give him another try, and I was not disappointed. Chasm City starts as a space operatic story of the central character pursuing a grudge against an old enemy in the eponymous city, while also suffering flashbacks to the memory ...
I am no expert. I don't proclaim to be an expert. I am just some guy typing away at his computer and watching the news. However I sit here and type and look at the striking public sector workers and think they have totally misread the situation and in doing so have scored quite a spectacular own goal. The public hate bankers. We all know this. However the attitude of many in the public sector believing that bankers can alone pay back the deficit is one of sheer delusion. Let me play out this scenario that happens up and down ...
Thu 30th
18:06
#Inverclyde by-election: May the best woman win - but please, boys, stop using the F word
Every time Willie Rennie describes Sophie as a breath of fresh air, a bit of me wants to slap him round the head with a wet fish, because that's such a cliche. He's right, of course, but I just hate the phrase. Even George Lyon, our MEP, used the f-word yesterday when he said: "It is vital that Inverclyde residents get out and vote on Thursday, and that they vote for a candidate with the drive and vision to be a great MP for the area. Sophie Bridger has all of these qualities. "Inverclyde has been taken for granted by ...
I thought I could deal with anything. I was wrong. Even after rebuilding my life after the horrors of the last two years it seems there are some things which I simply cannot rid from my life despite trying as ...
Interesting news via Mark Pack on Liberal Democrat Voice: Labour MPs yesterday split three ways in a Commons vote on one of the government's key environmental proposals The committee vote came in the House of Commons on the statutory instrument (SI) for the fourth carbon budget, on whether or not to accept to accept the Committee on Climate Change's recommendations that total emissions in 2023-27 should be set at 1950 MtCO2 (a 50% reduction from 1990 levels). Labour MPs Dennis Skinner and Geoffrey Robinson voted against, Nic Dakin and Ian Mearns abstained and the other Labour MPs voted in favour, ...
Interesting result from a recent YouGov poll on drugs. The following question was asked: Suppose people use illegal drugs but have not committed any other crime. In general, should such people be treated as criminals and brought before the courts, or should they be treated as people who may need medical treatment and other forms of support? And the responses were: They should be treated as criminals and brought before the courts: 30%They should be treated as people who may need treatment and other forms of support: 62%Don't know: 7% So more than two thirds of those who expressed a ...
Julian Astle, Centre for Reform's intellectual-about-town, has launched a hugely important debate in the Guardian. It is a critical question for all of us in liberal politics. But I don't think he's got it right. He suggests that, for most of the period between 1997 and today, Britain has been governed by liberals - which is why the coalition agreement was so easy to hammer out. There are certainly elements of truth about this thesis, rather as Ian Bradley's 1985 book The Strange Rebirth of Liberal Britain argued that Mrs Thatcher was a liberal too. Liberalism is the prevailing philosophy ...
Paul Lawrence, who heads up Regeneration at Stockport Council, came to the Gatley Village Partnership on Tuesday. Although he didn't have anything new to tell us about progress on the Tatton site, this seems like a good opportunity to say where we are. Everyone in the village wants something to happen to the Tatton site, though as Pam and I speak to people around Gatley we come across many different ideas and disagreements over exactly what should happen. However, the site is privately owned (by Dickens Property Group) so forcing something to happen is very difficult. Dickens have spent over ...
In my second article on the Libyan conflict (read the first one here) I want to look at possible solutions and answers and creative ways that the international coalition can ensure that the war is brought to a quick and decisive conclusion. The central problem is that Resolution 1973 is not up to the task at hand and either needs to be circumvented or rewritten. Without the right mandate it will be very difficult to win this war. Creative thinking and diplomacy are urgently required. Supporting the Rebels One hundred days in it is shocking that this amateur and brave ...
The Cabinet Office has said that only 100,000 Civil Servants were on strike as of 12pm today. This is around a fifth of the total number of Civil Servants, equating to 75% of Civil Servants turning up for work. In a statement realised by the department, Minister for the Cabinet Office Frances Maude said: "What today has ...
Thu 30th
15:54
Want to know about what's going on with the Lib Dems? Sign up for latest edition of newsletter
[IMG: Newsletter screenshot] Issue number nine of my regular email newsletter about the Liberal Democrats is being put together by me at the moment. It will be hitting people's inboxes shortly. So if you want to be sure to receive it, sign up here now or use the form below. Not sure? Take a look at a previous edition to see the sort of thing you'll be getting (and here is my post explaining the thinking behind having this newsletter). You can unsubscribe whenever you want using the link on the bottom of all the emails, and I won't pass ...
Remember last week I was going to ask how long a "number of years" was? Wokingham Borough council is tonight going to allocate £300K for modelling the Winnersh relief road, with £50K to be spent this year, and the rest over a "number of years". So, I did indeed ask how long that was. The answer I got back was not specific. Which leaves us no wiser on the timescale for the new road than before.
It strikes me that Manchester's Labour politicians are muddled on the NHS reforms. Manchester Labour's been saying in the press recently that the changes to the NHS reforms do not "go nearly far enough" and that they want a "return ... Continue reading →
One of the highlights of the political calendar is the annual Local Government Association (or more correctly 'Group') conference. It's a bit like a party conference but people go to bed earlier. And there are other political parties here. And officers. Its formal function is to be the sovereign body of the LGG. It also allows exhibitors to exhibit, group leaders to network and national politicians to showcase. So we heard from David Cameron, the first serving prime minister to speak at an LGA/LGG conference. He told us sternly that pensions had to be reformed and that strikes would only ...
I'm afraid to say that I think the teachers' strike is rather pointless and ineffectual. I'm not going to make a judgement on whether they're right to strike or not because I don't actually have an opinion either way. However, consider the date they're striking on. It's nearly the end of term. Children have already sat their exams. All the strike does is ensure schools stay closed at a time of year when no teaching takes place anyway and when most schools replace classes with end of year festivities. So the actual impact of the strikes on childrens' education is ...
My US-based colleagues are attending the funeral today of the Chair of our Board this morning; he dies two weeks ago, aged 75, after a life of doing good both on the literary scene and in the humanitarian world. He created the New York Review of Books, helped found the London Review of Books, and also revolutionised Amnesty International USA's fundraising as well as helpign to set up Human Rights First and my own employer. He also was a near-namesake of a major figure in comics history. The last time I saw him, I asked if in fact he was ...
Paul Waugh from Politics Home has just tweeted the following: Osborne says Royals cost us 51p per person per year. I have no doubt that George Osborne's figures are accurate for the direct cost of the Royals*. But isn't it interesting how when Osborne is talking about something that he wants to spend money on (and you can't get much more Royalist than true blue Tories like our beloved Chancellor) it's presented in a way that tries to make it look miniscule? Almost as if it would be churlish to disagree that the Royals are worth every darn penny and ...
LIB DEMS CONDEMN 'PITIFUL' CUTS IN CARBON EMISSIONS AT COUNTY HALL After a recent meeting at county hall, the Liberal Democrats have investigated the county's carbon emissions targets. Figures show that the much publicised attempts by the Conservative Administration at County Hall to cut emissions have produced negligible savings, indicating that they are paying lip service to the environment. Resources Spokesperson Malcolm Cowan said: 'In 2010-2011, County transport is showing a pathetic 1% reduction in emissions and street-lighting a 2% reduction. 'It looks as though county council property will have managed a 4% reduction. 'These figures are pitiful. We suggested ...
Frances Crook, a Labour member and Director of the Howard League for Penal reform, has launched a stinging attack on the Labour Party's approach to penal reform calling recent moves by Shadow Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Sadiq Khan "shameful". Writing on the Howard League's website, Frances Crook said, I was so angry with the Labour Party I found it hard to put into words. For the record I am a Labour Party member and was a Labour Party councillor and I have been a huge admirer of Sadiq Khan, a man who has up until recently had an exceptional ...
Just when you thought that the cuts agenda could not get any worse the Justice Secretary announces that he is going to legislate to allow householders to stab burglars with a knife: David Cameron has promised that the new Justice Bill would "put beyond doubt that home owners and small shopkeepers who use reasonable force to defend themselves or their properties will not be prosecuted". Yesterday, Mr Clarke spelt out the sort of action that would be permitted under the new regime. He made clear that it would remain illegal to pursue intruders to attack them or to shoot them ...
On a day that meia impartiality and balances is under a (somewhat dimmed) spotlight you might think that the BBC would won't to ram home their political impartiality in the name of public service. Instead they have come up with a skewed panel for Question Time to debate the stikes. On behalf of the government will ...
The following is taken from a recent article in the Manchester Evening News about my campaign against breast cancer: Spicegirl Geri Halliwell has joined forces with a Manchester MP in the fight against breast cancer. John Leech, MP for Manchester ... Continue reading →
We were sitting on our riverbank recently, having a nice cup of acorn tea, watching the train line on the horizon and noting with some surprise quite how many different types of train were passing along it. There were blue trains with uncomfortable-looking seats, red and grey trains that looked like they were designed only for smaller riverbank animals, trains that were just boxes with doors (where presumably other animals provided live cushioning) and * lo! * at one point a magnificent silver beast shot through the countryside like a speeding bullet! What was this creature, with enormous seats, tables ...
I am a councillor in Southport. The last time I looked we were the constituency with the 8th highest concentration of pensioners. Regularly people turn up to our surgery asking about how they pay for social care for their relatives. John Pugh's offices deal with many more enquiries. The system is broken. It is confusing. The information is of poor quality and often wrong. The criteria for who qualifies is unnecessarily complex as local authorities struggle to balance their budget by rationing care. Some of the most heart rendering interviews I have conducted are with elderly folk in frightened about ...
Clegg spoke to the LGA conference this morning and got a pretty good reception. Mind you he was assisted by a particularly sycophantic question from the Leader of Portsmouth City Council that was so obsequious that it brought groans even form the Clegg supporters in the hall. Nevertheless he brought good news that will genuinely gladdened the hearts of all those who want to see the independence of local government strengthened. We will be moving to a situation where we can raise locally about double the money we do now. Clearly there needs to be a centrally governed equalisation mechanism ...
This is not 1926, the 70s or the 80s. The sky has not fallen and revolution is not in the air; the scaremongering failed to materialise the apparent 'chaos' predicted by the media. The two teaching unions and PCS are ... Continue reading →
The Forest Hill Ward Assembly Fund is now open for submissions from local organisations seeking funding for projects benefiting the Forest Hill ward community. With up to £45k available, we are keen to encourage as many suitable bids as possible and will favour ideas that support the Ward priorities and benefit the area in the ...
WalesOnline reports: THE Electoral Commission expressed its "regret" yesterday as it admitted providing the wrong information to one of the Liberal Democrat AMs disqualified from office ... Mr Roberts said he was given incorrect information by the Electoral Commission, whose official guidance for candidates said he could not stand if, at the time of the nomination, he held an office which was mentioned in the National Assembly for Wales (Disqualification) Order 2006. The Order that the Electoral Commission referred to was not the most up-to-date, and did not include the Valuation Tribunal for Wales as one of the bodies. That ...
Cross posted from Liberal Democrat Voice: A bit of a surprise at Prime MInister's Questions. I expected Ed Miliband to ask about public sector pensions and the strike tomorrow. It was a bit odd when he asked about the NHS. Cameron later said that Miliband couldn't fire off questions on the strikes subject "because he is in the pocket of the unions." He also rather cheaply accused Miliband of fighting shy of Greece "because his plan is to make Britain like Greece." Then, Cameron reach his climax with a line which must have been honed over much midnight oil in ...
Details of this planning application can be found by following this link: The case officer is Steve Isaacson - please email comments and objections to her at steve.isaacson, and don't forget to copy us in.
Details of this planning application can be found by following this link: The case officer is Steve Isaacson - please email comments and objections to her at steve.isaacson, and don't forget to copy us in.
Details of this planning application can be found by following this link: The case officer is Steve Isaacson - please email comments and objections to her at steve.isaacson, and don't forget to copy us in.
Details of this planning application can be found by following this link: The case officer is Steve Isaacson - please email comments and objections to her at steve.isaacson, and don't forget to copy us in.
Details of this planning application can be found by following this link: The case officer is Monique Wallace - please email comments and objections to her at monique.wallace, and don't forget to copy us in.
Details of this planning application can be found by following this link: The case officer is Gemma Barnes - please email comments and objections to her at gemma.barnes, and don't forget to copy us in.
Figures released to North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell show that nearly £3million has been spent by the Ministry of Defence on Typhoon infrastructure at RAF Leuchars in the last seven months despite the base being threatened with closure. The UK Government has confirmed that it spent £2.9million on redevelopment projects at RAF Leuchars since 1 November 2010. Commenting, Sir Menzies said: "These figures show that despite having the threat of closure hanging over it work at the base is very much continuing as normal. "It has already been demonstrated beyond doubt that RAF Leuchars is in the ideal ...
So I suspect you have all seen this. A stepmother has jumped in and decided to call out the future wife of her stepson for her manners. This e-mail has gone viral so you have seen it in other places. For me what gets my goat about this is mainly the fact a stepmother has got involved at all. It has nothing to do with her but she feels like sticking her beak in anyways. Some of these points might be more valid than most but honestly things like not writing a hand written note to say thank you for ...
Local councillors have started raising concerns over proposals by the Chinese Cottage to hold karaoke nights until 3 am – seven days a week. Chris White says: 'This is still a residential area and people do need to be able to get to sleep without this nonsense. I will certainly be objecting.'
The strategic location of RAF Leuchars is vital in defending the UK's airspace from attack and, in the event of an emergency, can be overhead "Tier One" risk targets such as Torness nuclear power station and Faslane nuclear submarine base in just a few minutes. This is the message which North East Fife's MP Sir Menzies Campbell has hammered home in a letter to the Defence Secretary Liam Fox. As an announcement about the future of the Fife base draws closer, Sir Menzies has been taking every opportunity to make the case for its retention right to the heart of ...
Jeremy Hunt is nothing if not a smooth operator. Today he has managed to hide his further approval of the News Corp takeover of BSkyB, with everyone's focus on public sector strikes. According to the Guardian, who funnily enough noticed the development, Hunt has approved the takeover on condition that Sky News is "spun off" ...
I love annoying people, because I'm a bit sociopathic like that. However, I do bow down to the efforts of the Labour Party in this regard, who appear to have engaged in a 15 year experiment on how much you can piss people off before they turn around and say, "Fuck you, we're voting for ...
This morning's Today programme was instructive, with Francis Maude, normally a reliable Tory operator, up against Mark Serwotka, unelected leader of the PCS, the main union behind today's strike action. Pretty simple for Maude to be the voice of reason, you might think. But no. Serwotka's straightforward questions about the government's alleged refusal to discuss key issues with the unions were simply not answered by Maude, who blathered and made a series of counter-claims which highlighted how difficult his position was. Maude was outflanked comprehensively by the union leader, supported by an increasingly exasperated Evan Davies. I have never had ...
Today you can make a difference in Inverclyde and vote for a real champion. Liberal Democrat candidate Sophie Bridger is just the sort of champion the community needs. She will work hard to bring jobs and much needed regeneration to the area, reversing the years of neglect brought by the SNP and their swingeing cuts and the Labour Government who allowed jobs to be cut and taxes raised.
Here are the five posts published on this blog between April and June that recorded the most hits: Taxpayers and 'the right to the city': alternative narratives on cuts to Housing Benefit (25 April) Groundbreaking economic finding during higher education policy development? (4 April) Up to the task? Dealing with housing market volatility (17 May) ...
Its always nice to learn that the Tories are the same old lags they always were, even if we're all supposed to be pally with them. Switching channels last night, I happened on Newsnight, which I try to avoid as the presenter is a pompous oaf lacking the wit to spot a news story even if it were 12 feet tall and painted purple, with 'this is a serious news story' tattooed on its forehead. But I digress...The reassuring sight was a Tory backbencher - name of no consequence - arguing with an eloquent Dutch MP about the merits of ...
Inspired originally by Journalism Grads: 30 Things You Should Do This Summer and prompted by Stephen Tall, it's become a summer tradition for me to run a list of 30 suggestions for would-be politicians, particularly those new to public office or seeking it in the next few years. As ever, a new summer brings a new lick of paint for the list, with a few updates here and there and my thanks to those who commented on the previous lists: [IMG: Sitting on a summer holiday] Look up a piece of legislation, read it line by line and keep on ...
FIFA aren't having the best of times in dealing with homophobia in their sport. When they awarded the 2022 World Cup a country where homosexuality is illegal, their 'elected' demagogue Sepp Blatter said, "I'd say they [gay fans] should refrain from any sexual activities." He said when it was rewarded that people were too concerned about a tournament that was 12 years away (of course FIFA had only just awarded their most advanced tournament deal that far in advance. He did try to clarify his position by saying: "You see in the Middle East the opening of this culture, it's ...
6There are many ways that the Tour de France which starts on Saturday has been captured in art. By far the most common way is through photography there are a great many images going back over the previous 97 races that can sum up the competition, the pagentry, the scale of the Tour. I have decided to just chose one of two of the leader in a close, physical battle on a mountain stage. In this picture Raymond Poulidor (who came up against the eras of both Jacques Anquetil and Eddie Merckx and never wore yellow in Paris) is taking ...
I was rather pleased at the prospect of the picture house coming under community ownership. A consortium of different groups managing the cinema would have ensured the community had an active participation with the business. It appears now though that Hebden Royd town council will be taking on the free hold. This hasn't been finalised yet, and is subject to a number of conditions being met. Amongst other things these conditions concern the repairs due on this listed building. Hebden Royd Town council has created a Picture House cinema committee to govern the picture house. The committee has delegated powers ...
Free dog health checks and microchipping are on offer at an event in Garston, and others across the City. The Garston event, which runs from 10 to 4, takes place at the Sports Centre on Long Lane, L19. You can take your dog along and talk to experts from the PDSA and other charities. Microchipping a dog means that if it gets lost there is a greater chance of you being reunited with it! Other dog owner roadshows are taking place in July. There's one on the 9th at the Wavertree Sports Park and one on the 17th in Sefton ...
Just to confirm that all is now on track for the history talks that will take place on Wednesday 6th, Thursday 7th and Saturday 9th July in St Mary's Church THEY WILL BE AT 7pm for 7.30pm AT ST. MARY'S CHURCH, ABBEY ROAD, KILBURN There is no charge but there will be a collection with all donations going towards the Historic Kilburn Plaque Scheme... There is a facebook group you can join: Kilburn History Festival 2011
Yesterday at the LGA Conference Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, made one of the most important announcements for local government that has been made in the last 20 years. He announced the return of the business rate to local ... Continue reading →
I went last night to an interesting event organised by the UK Task Force on Issues Facing Arab Citizens of Israel, about the work of Tsofen, an organisation that aims to accelerate and increase the level of Arab participation in the Israeli hi-tech industry. It was good to hear about Tsofen's valuable work and I am a great supporter of the Task Force more generally. When I first heard about it, I wondered why we Brits were setting up a task force to advise another country's government on its approach to minority rights? The answer to that question is that, ...
Thanks to Mary Reid of the Social Liberal Forum we have a list of blogs about our recent conference, including the interviews with Chris, Evan and Vince. The link to the list is here
I only caught the end of the experimental evening last night at the marvellous Retreat pub, thanks to an overrunning Federal Policy Committee meeting. Called 'Beethoven in the Boozer', it was an attempt to see classical music performed in this non-traditional setting. Helped by great musicians, both of whom play other genres than classical, it worked, by all accounts. The entrepreneurship and spirit of experimentation remains under threat, though. Every year, over 10,000 jobs are being lost through pub closures; and while some of these are down to lack of viability, many are perfectly viable pubs shut by predatory pub ...
Many people in South Manchester will know Hussein Al-Alak who does a lot of fundrasing for the charity Combat Stress. On 16th July at 2pm Hussein and others will be doing a zip slide off the top of the Imperial ... Continue reading →
Today in England and Wales, tens of thousands of public sector workers, many of them teachers, are expected to strike. Currently public sector workers largely enjoy more generous pensions than their equivalents in the private sector and the Coalition Government has acknowledged the growing difference in approach between the private and public sectors. The private sector long ago realised the rising cost and substantial risk involved in offering final salary schemes, based on years of service and end of career earnings, made them unsustainable. The Coalition Government has a responsibility to ensure that pensions in the civil service are both ...
Tesco's development seems to be going on rapidly. Almost everything is on programme and the new store is scheduled to open on 24th October 2011.
As France arms rebels in Libya, I wonder if Nato and Europe in general would be so swift to act on 'one of their own', per se, Belarus. Let us not forget that one of the chief reasons for invadin..cough, I mean, protecting Libya, was to protect the rights of democratic protests. In Belarus, political protests have begun with people walking calmly through the streets clapping. In response, police 'began assaulting random participants' and manhandling them into buses to arrest them, described as assault by the I paper. At what point does police and political intimidation of protesters become an ...
Via David Allan Green and Galleycat comes the earth-shattering news that, according to my colleagues along the corridor in the University's public affairs department, writers should, "as a general rule," avoid using the Oxford comma. What is the 'Oxford comma?', I hear (a handful of) you cry. Here I turn to Wikipedia: the 'Oxford comma' or the 'serial comma' "is the comma used immediately before a coordinating conjunction (usually and or or, and sometimes nor) preceding the final item in a list of three or more items". Most famously, it avoids the potential confusion by the apparently apocryphal (such a ...
Today's strike action, principally by members of the NUT (teachers) and PCS (public sector workers) unions, is a strike against children in defence of privilege. It is strike against children in the small sense of depriving many of a day of the education their parent's taxes have paid for. It is strike against children in the deeper sense that what the Unions demand is for future generations to carry the burden of their privileged pension commitments today. There are many detailed points of due process and politics that contribute to this dispute. Underlying it is a battle over two very ...
I am an advocate for the right of teachers to strike. I realise this is not a popular position in the party - but there we are. My first overtly political act was when aged 14, I wrote a letter to the Daily Mail (incensed by a series of pieces they wrote attacking teachers for threatening industrial action) defending teachers right to strike, which (on reflection, slightly surprisingly), they published under the headline 'Stand Up Teacher'. They also sent me a postal order for £10 (younger readers will be shaking their heads in puzzlement at this reference) and thus my ...
I have finally managed to get my new phone set up to post to LJ, so can catch up on a few books I have finished this week. Demontage is one of the many Who novels of Justin Richards, who has written more of them than anyone except Terrance Dicks. It is one of the better ones as well, takin the Eighth Doctor, Sam and Fitz to a space station which thrives on gambling with an underpinning of organised crime, but also features an art exhibition where the pictures are more than they seem; ideas which have been done elsewhere, ...
The then Chief Executive of Kent County Council, Peter Gilory, authorised payments to himself "not permitted in law" of £18,350 for running the 2009 county council elections. The minutes and agenda for a county council's Electoral and Boundary Review Committee are not normally top of the media's "must read" list, but the paperwork for this Kent County Council meeting of 21st June contains some damaging revelations about the council's former Chief Executive Peter Gilroy who, it is revealed, authorised illegal payments to himself from public funds for the 2009 Kent County Council elections. The chief executives of other councils in ...
Yesterday I blogged about Donald Trump's destruction of Balmedie beach in Aberdeenshire. The fantastic Jonathan Meades - one of the UK's unsung liberal heroes - of course got there before me. His 2009 film series 'Off Kilter' included an evisceration of Trump's plans and the complicity of the local council and Alex Salmond. It also contains one of the best (and rudest) insults against Trump's bizarre hair. I found it on YouTube's 'Meades Shrine' - thanks to Liberal England and I'd heartily recommend exploring their archive of his wonderful films. Anyway if you want to see what Meades says about ...
Alan Melton, Conservative leader of Fenland District Council, was chosen as my Idiot of the Day earlier this week. If you think I was being unfair, just listen to him defending his views on national radio...
Cambridge residents are being urged to resist provocation by the English Defence League when supporters march through the city on July 9. The plea comes from Cambridge Liberal Democrats who want to see business as usual to demonstrate the EDL's irrelevance to the city. MP Julian Huppert, Cambridge City Council Leader, Sian Reid, Mayor Ian Nimmo-Smith and Lib Dem city and county councillors have signed up to a statement which makes it clear that the EDL is not welcome. They have been joined by others across the city keen to impress upon the EDL that they are proud of their ...
The idea that Northampton once had an underground railway system is a harmless jest. But it turns out that there really is much of interest beneath the town's streets. In 2008 a feature in the Chronicle & Echo collected a series of rumours and reminiscences about the tunnels under the town of varying degrees of credibility. And last year the paper reported: Archaeologists have discovered what they believe to be the remains of a medieval Jewish synagogue underneath a town centre take-away. A survey of land underneath Kebabish and The Bear public House, both in Sheep Street, Northampton, has found ...
I have belatedly realised that my heroine, Melanie, was at Glastonbury. Here's a rather shaky clip which shows her on the Spirit of '71 stage with her son Beau-Jarred on guitar beside her. She's a legend. Of course, the song that she is singing here, "What have they done to my song, Ma" turned out to be profoundly prophetic when, a few years later, The Wurzels murdered her beautiful "Brand New Key" and sold the dead body as a recording known as "The Combine Harvester".
i) births and deaths 30 June 1978: death of David Ellis, who co-wrote The Faceless Ones (1967). ii) broadcast anniversaries 30 June 2007: broadcast of Last of the Time Lords, the 200th story and 750th episode (depending how you count) of Doctor Who. And so I reach the end of this project, after 350-odd daily posts. My inspiration for doing this was partly a genuine curiosity to get a sense of when in the cycle of the year Doctor Who and its spinoffs had been show, and partly also admiration for shsilver, who as long ago as 2004-2005 posted a ...
This afternoon I took the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, Alex Neil, and new Council Chief Exec, Sue Bruce, round the building site at Gracemount where we are building the first council in a generation in Edinburgh. The area was transformed from the muddy wasteland we cut the first sod at last November. We walked down a recognizable street and climbed up onto the roof of one of the blocks. The slates had been neatly placed on the roofs ready for attaching. Sue and I then managed to meet a couple of the local lads who as part of our social ...
Split EU Council decides to renew EU-Morocco fish pact - fishelsewhere.eu When it first came up in 2005, only Sweden voted against; when the renewal process began in February this year, five states refused to support it; that number has now risen to seven. And it still has to clear the European Parliament. (tags: westernsahara eu) The Smart Set: How Do U Say... - June 13, 2011 At one point, driving through a toll plaza, I figured I'd ask the toll-taker whether I was going the right way. I pulled out the iPad and said, "Is this the right road ...
I was disappointed to read the news that the chair of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the former chief executive of the Sage computer software company, went to government to stall a decision of the board which went against his views. He seems to have persuaded the government to postpone a decision until the board becomes dominated by colleagues from the tiny circle of North East business titans, including Greggs pasty tycoon Ken McMeikan, who back the alternative plan. The difference between the Sunderland Echos take on this to the Newcastle Journal is striking. The LEP has to ...
TweetThree years ago, when I left for Winchester, I had very little interest in local democracy, although i always followed with a level of disinterest. When i moved away my parents lived in the Kenton Ward of Newcastle, and now i've come back I do to. After three really positive years being democratically energised and seeing the power of local councils, it's time to start paying attention to mine. The ward is represented by three Labour Councillors, none of whom I know, or even knew who they were, that in itself is a pretty sad indictment of the quality of ...
Tens of thousands of public sector workers, many of them teachers, are expected to strike on Thursday, in England and Wales. Currently public sector workers largely enjoy more generous pensions than their equivalents in the private sector and the Coalition Government has acknowledged the growing difference in approach between the private and public sectors. The private sector long ago realised the rising cost and substantial risk involved in offering final salary schemes, based on years of service and end of career earnings, made them unsustainable. The Coalition Government has a responsibility to ensure that pensions in the civil service are ...
Salford City Council has been praised by the Deputy Prime Minister for taking an innovative and forward thinking approach to supporting complex families. In his speech to the Local Government Association, Nick Clegg gave the example of a particularly complex family of five that Salford City Council has worked with to get their lives back on track, saving tens of thousands of pounds in the process. Speaking about complex families at the conference, Nick Clegg said: "Their complex problems mean they can end up seeing dozens of professionals across public services – but those professionals aren't always joined up, making ...
