Disgruntled Radical asks how many people the police will exclude from this autumn's Liberal Democrat Confernce. A clue to the answer may be that the Greater Manchester Police barred 24 people from last year's Labour Conference. "There can be no escaping that this result is a disastrous one. No amount of spin or massaging the statistics can escape the truth. Unlike in May, we can not even blame a further surge in the SNP vote for the spectacular collapse. The outcome is due as much, if not more, to our own weaknesses, failings and public perception of us than to ...
I seem to have a huge and growing blogging back log building up. This includes various things that need writing up from the Social Liberal Forum conference which was exactly a fortnight ago. Hopefully it won't take me another fortnight to get through them. One of them was to write about the "grassroots Liberal Democrat campaign, backing Nick Clegg's plans for elections to the House of Lords". [IMG: Thank you Andy! Leafleting #slfconf for elected Lords campaign] This is partly because, at the request of Mark Pack, I ended up helping to leaflet the conference on the campaigns behalf. So ...
On Monday, MPs will be asked to vote through £1 billion in windfall profits to existing nuclear operators for doing absolutely nothing new. The Lib Dems fought the last general election on the promise of opposing new nuclear power and ... Continue reading →
We had a good time walking the historic bounds of Gatley (or at least as near as we could get to them) and raising over £400 for St Ann's Hospice today. The route took us through Baxter Park, Hollyhedge Park and Gatley Carrs, then up Pendlebury Road, Saville Road, Leyland Avenue, Dunmore Road and South Park Road. We went along Kingsway to the Mersey, then to Marchbank Drive, along Micker Brook (the historical boundary between Gatley and Cheadle), back along Broadway and over to the High Grove Pub. Then we cut across to the golf club, along Styal Road and ...
Another of the novels by newly published authors included in the Hugo Voter package, this time a YA tale about the fifteen-year-old son of a small-town mortician, who has an obsession with serial killers, and then discovers that his mild-mannered neighbour is actually a man-eating demon. It is a little unpolished in places but I think the basics are there and that Wells will go on to better things.
Cherry Hinton Hall City councillors have decided not to go ahead with a city farm at Cherry Hinton Hall, but to go ahead with the masterplan for redeveloping it, which includes a walled garden, theatre and café. I believe this is a sensible approach, as a farm would have meant restrictions on the annual Folk Festival as well as encroached on existing uses of the park. I am looking forward to the other changes, particularly the theatre and café. There are many times when I'd have stayed a little longer if there had been refreshments available. A café would enhance ...
For decades it was clear where political parties stood. The Conservative party were non-ideological but driven by the values of tradition, family and Church. The Labour party was on the side of the workers and underpinned by socialist ideas. The Liberal party was described by Jo Grimmond as the party for the managerial professional class. During the 1970s, the Tory party became more ideological as it shifted from a paternalistic One-Nation view of the world to what was seen as a more free market approach. By the 1980s, the Labour party flirted with a hard Left socialism instead of the ...
Can be read here.
School books The Friends of Rock Road Library got together with Morley Memorial Primary School this afternoon to run a bookstall together at the Morley summer fête - with profits shared between library and school. As a Morley mum and a Friend, I enjoyed taking part. (Certainly safer than going in the stocks at the opposite end of the playground). Thanks to Jo de Pledge for running this. Some of the books had come from the last community event, the St John's Church Summer Fair and the leftovers from today are going on to OXFAM. Nothing is wasted round here! ...
Siegfried, opera in three acts and the third part of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen [The Ring of the Nibelung]. Performed at the Wermland Opera in Karlstad, 1 July 2011. With Siegfried the Wermland Opera continue a very fine ... Continue reading →
There was a three man breakaway from the flag dropping to mark the start of this year's Tour. They were Perrig Quemeneur (Europacar), Jeremy Roy (Française des Jeux) and Lieuwe Westra (Vaconsoleil-DCM). Three French teams and two of them making their debut in the Tour. There were a couple of minor crashes in the opening kilometers. But the three stayed away until 18 km from the finish, it means that they did take the big points at the only intermediate sprint for stage one (a new feature this year) leaving twelve point scoring positions at 87km. Roy, Westra and Quemeneur ...
This morning's Guardian contains the latest installment of Alistair Campbell's diary in which he details the full extent of the political interference in Government by the Prince of Wales. The paper says that Tony Blair believed that the Prince of Wales publicly interfered in sensitive areas of government policy in a manner that sometimes stepped over the constitutional boundaries historically respected by the royal family: Campbell writes that Blair, who was not invited to the royal wedding, became angry when the prince: • Made "deeply unhelpful" interventions during the foot and mouth crisis in 2001. Campbell wrote on 16 March ...
The Guardian appears to have completely exonerated Dominique Strauss-Khaun from any claim a sexual assault or attempted rape following prosecution's evidence that the witness is lacking in credibility. As I discussed yesterday, a great deal of the information that has been presented that does not relate directly to the alleged assault and should not be considered as evidence or proof that the victim is lying. More information is given in the Guardian than in yesterday's Standard, including evidence of lying about previous rapes, disputing evidence about her behaviour following the assault and the suggestion that she spoke to someone else ...
I have just returned from a very enjoyable afternoon at the Blackness Fire Station Open Day. The Open Day was very well-attended by local residents and, as well as displays and demonstrations by Tayside Fire and Rescue, there were numerous community group stands - I was on the Friends of Magdalen Green stand along with colleagues from the Friends. Here's a few photos from today : Some of the stands Burning Trays demonstration Young firefighter in action! Murray Nicoll on the Tay Rail Bridge Disaster Memorial Trust stand
'Liberal Democrats have long opposed any new nuclear construction. Conservatives, by contrast, are committed to allowing the replacement of existing nuclear power stations provided that they are subject to the normal planning process for major projects (under a new National Planning Statement), and also provided that they receive no public subsidy.' So declares the Coalition Agreement. However, as the Guardian reports, the finance bill due to be debated this coming week introduces a form of subsidy, and it's attracted opposition among the party: A large group of Lib Dems are concerned about clause 78 of the bill, which MPs will ...
David Haye talks. He talks a lot. He sells the fight well but he hasn't done a lot at heavyweight level. Wladimir Klitschko has 49 KOs at heavyweight and has been Champion for years. Looking at this you'd think I'd be going for the Ukrainian but you'd be wrong. This fight reminds me a whole lot of one of the biggest domestic superfights of the modern era – Nigel Benn v Chris Eubank. Eubank was brash and whilst having faced a decent calibre of opponents he didn't have a record that showed he was in Benn's class. However he had ...
In late May I blogged about concerns that residents from Redlands Road had raised with me about accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists on pavements. I followed this up with a question to to the Lead Member for Transport, Cllr Tony Page at Tuesday's full Council meeting. Mine was the first question to be asked which shows why it pays to be organised and get questions in to the Council early! QUESTION NO. 1 in accordance with Standing Order No.10 Councillor Benson to ask the Lead Councillor for Regeneration, Transport and Planning: Accidents and Cycling Network What record does the Council ...
None of us know if we will need care in the future, or how much it might cost. But we do know that 1 in 4 of us will face care costs of more than £50,000. What's more, 1 in 10 will be unlucky enough to face care costs of more than £100,000 in our older age. This is social care's nasty little secret. Right now, local councils decide how to spend money on care and support. As a result, there can be big differences between care and support in different areas. Access to support can vary depending on where ...
Earlier this week I tabled the following question to the Labour Lead Councillor for Housing: "What steps does the Lead Councillor plan to take to address housing need in the Borough after 24 years of failure by Labour to new Council homes in Reading?"I was attacked by Labour activists for 'bringing my political campaigning agenda' into the Council. I make no apologies for that - after all as an opposition councillor that is what I'm there for! I will continue to fight to get this issue on the Labour Council's agenda because lack of affordable housing is a real problem ...
[IMG: Clayton Walk rubbish] Today as part of our regular walkabouts around the ward I spoke to a resident on Clayton Walk off Hexham Road who took me to see this mess in the alleyway behind his house. He told me an absentee landlord had dumped the rubbish over a month ago and that despite reports to the Council's Housing Department it was still there. Residents should not have to put up with this. I have reported the issue to the Council calling on officers to clear up the rubbish as soon as possible and use the powers available ...
I know that two wrongs don't make a right, but when it comes to the ongoing debate about how best to engage (or, indeed, not engage) with extremists, I am pleased that Labour is now being asked the same questions that my party has long been asked. In other words, this is as much an issue for Labour as it might be for my party, which honestly gives me no pleasure, as this is a difficult and disturbing issue. While I'm in the neighbourhood, why is Peter Tatchell today giving quite unnecessary hype to a man who loves publicity? The ...
Buried amongst the furore caused by #harigate this week was a pretty damning ruling by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) against the Sun and the Daily Mail. The complaint in question was made in relation to the AV referendum nearly two months ago by Electoral Reform Services – the business arm of the Electoral Reform Society (ERS). The Sun and Mail were asked by the PCC to print letters apologising for some articles run during the AV referendum campaign. The article which ran on page 2 of the Sun and the front page of the Mail quoted George Osborne after ...
Corruption in sport benefits the few to the detriment of many, gives it a bad name and leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Examples are being more numerous and high-profile: in 2010 the cricket world was stunned when the News of the World exposed a £150,000 scam involving members of the Pakistani cricket team. Then just four weeks ago in Zurich, amongst widespread allegations of vast corruption
I came across this assessment of the two campaign which was published during the campaign. Some of the materials I hadnt seen before
It is sad news this morning that Northern Ireland learnt of the passing of Sir Oliver Napier. He originally joined the Ulster Liberal Party in 1969 before becoming a founding member of the Alliance Party in 1970 he led the party from 1972-1984 as the first leader. Indeed until last year had been the closest ...
If you want to get out and about in our area this summer, get your hands on a free walking booklet from South Glos Council. Each booklet contains easy-to-follow maps, photographs and historical information. They include a set of six walks around Chipping Sodbury, two books of Easy Access Trails, and of course the Frome Valley Walkway. You can order a free copy of any of the guides by ringing 01454 863592 or download them from the Council's website.
This wonderful Beeb report is the most read story on their website on Friday 1 July. Who would have thought the much maligned British roundabout becoming the way forward for international transport planning and a successful British export?
... We'd say a big thank you to the 39,604 'absolute unique visitors'* who read Liberal Democrat Voice in June. This brings our absolute unique visitor readership for the last year to date (1 July 2010 - 30 June 2011) to 522,590. The 5 top-read stories during the month were: Andrew Reeves passes away (38) by Mark Pack Response: Chair of Federal Conference Committee on increased security measures (153) by Andrew Wiseman Why Simon Kelner is wrong to defend Johann Hari (27) by Stephen Tall Opinion: Why you should be taking Lembit Opik seriously (61) by Richard Clare Liberal Democrats ...
We act surprised at the new Alastair Campbell revelations? During the premiership of Harold Wilson it was widely acknowledge, about Charles's interference and obstruction to domestic politics. The Prince of Wales has a narcissistic and ego-centric personality; his arrogance is ... Continue reading →
My Ceredigion County Council colleague Cllr Alun Williams blogged here yesterday about the Council's decision on Thursday to investigate opening up its public meetings to film recording after the furore surrounding Carmarthenshire County Council a few weeks ago. For those who missed it, Carmarthenshire County Council found itself in hot water for the way it dealt with a blogger who filmed a Council meeting. Jacqui Thompson's arrest after filming a meeting of Carmarthenshire County Council recently The blogger in question was Jacqui Thompson whose critical blog on Carmarthenshire County Council can be found here. The full story and details ...
Network Rail and the Association of Train Operating Companies have a £100M fund to improve stations across the UK. If you'd like to influence this please complete the survey at www.bettertransport.org.uk/take_action/improve-stations I've suggested getting rid of the few steps at the bottom of the ramp beside the East Dulwich ticket office.
Well now. Yesterday I got a comment on the blog asking ( and I'm paraphrasing here), 'if I was going to keep criticising the government, why didn't I go and join the Labour Party'. First off, my answer: because I am a Liberal and not a socialist. I am aware that my answer may well launch a thousand queries from the good readers of this blog as to what sort of Liberal I am, am I also a Social Democrat (can you be both at the same time I wonder) etc. Can we park that for the time being. So ...
Passage du Gois The Vendée Department of France is quite rightly proud to be hosting the start of this year's Tour de France as the above promo film shows. However, they have decided to start the Tour out at sea on the Passage du Gois. It is a causeway linking the island of Noirmoutier to the mainland. Which is only above water for fours hours at a time. As a result it is not being used as part of a prologue time trail but as part of a normal stage. Any one of the riders could pull on the first ...
This short book was published in 1919 but I think written some years earlier (the flyleaf states that it was originally issued as a bulletin of the U.S. Bureau of Mines, and the statistics and bibliographies have a 1913 end date) summarises the state of the art of American steel-making - none of the theoretical background which I studied in the Part Ia Crystalline Materials module of the Tripos, just a set of chapters detailing what happens if you add more, or less, chromium or manganese or nickel or vanadium to the mix and what it is then useful for ...
New bus shelters, as selected by residents, have been installed in Wallington High Street as part of the improvement works. The original bus waiting time indicators, known as 'Countdowns' had to be disconnected with the old shelters, but we were promised by London Buses that new Countdowns would be installed during the project. Now we hear that ...
TweetSince the coalition was formed, Labour/Lib Dem relations have hit rock bottom, they have had a wedge firmly hammered into them. Whilst many in the Lib Dems myself included actively dislike the Labour Party (I'm sure the feeling is mutual) it's prudent to think about our relationship for we may just need each other come 2015. The first step we need to bridge a language gap. There are many obstacles to stop the two parties working together, many of which am sure I've already explored but there is a problem that we both have...the use of language. The language i', ...
Details of this planning application can be found by following this link: The case officer is Geoff Whitington - please email comments and objections to her at geoff.whitington, 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.
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.
When I was one I had just begun When I was two I was nearly new When I was three I was hardly me When I was four I was not much more When I was five I was just alive But now I am six, I'm as clever as clever; so I think I'll be six now for ever and ever By A. A. Milne Yes it was indeed six years ago that I first sat in front a keyboard and wrote this. It was the aftermath of my first General Election as a Parliamentary candidate something readers would ...
A Google news search for "mother in law" comes up with 595 results from such global outlets as: New York Daily News CBS New Zealand Chronicle Straits Times (Singapore) KITV Honolulu Visit Bulgaria Top News Arab Emirates Perth Now Adelaide Now News Track India Washington Post Kansas City Star So, not only has this Mrs Bourne's email from Dawlish gone viral on Twitter etc, it has now got vast coverage on the world's MSM. If I were her, I'd now be consulting Max Clifford or one of his ilk. But all this is extraordinary. Just fifteen years ago, all this ...
Durham County Council are running a scheme to encourage businesses in Consett Town Centre to improve their shop fronts and other elements in an effort to make the town more attractive and attract greater usage. I have reproduced the leaflet in full so that I can't introduce any mistakes! WHAT WORKS WILL BE GRANT AIDED? The scheme focuses upon the general façade as part of a comprehensive scheme to improve the building/frontage. This would include the front façade (shop front and upper floor) as well as visible gable ends. Vacant properties would be eligible for either financial assistance to encourage ...
