(Before I start, I *will* be doing my guest posts for Liberal England and Thagomizer soon, and will be posting a review of the Beach Boys gig, probably tomorrow, but I've had writer's block for a few days after finishing writing my last book while ill. But I needed to get this off my chest). ...
It seems that the Sunday papers will be going big on links between a whole host of MPs and News International. This could get interesting. In the meantime here is a sweetener from the Members' declarations of interest relating to former Home Secretary, David Blunkett: Advisory post for corporate social responsibility (volunteering and education) for News International, 1 Virginia Street, London E98 1HR. (6-month contract, £25,000) Corporate responsibility eh?
At the last Audit & Governance meeting the committee received a Fraud Briefing from the audit Commission. Fascinating. Pages 8-28 in the committee papers. It highlighted that fraud involving people wrongly claiming Single Persons Discount on Council Tax has been found to typically run at 4% and this would mean Southwark can expect to find another £400,000 of fraud if its looks. Illegal council housing tenancies – people sub letting or fraudulantly claiming things about housing that are not true. Southwark has found its the 3rd highest ratio of this compared to other local authorities finding 170/40,000 council let properties. ...
Welcome to Broxtowe Enews, brought to you by the Liberal Democrats and edited by David Watts, the leader of the Liberal Democrats on Broxtowe Borough Council. There hasn't been a huge degree of news this week, partly because things are winding down for the summer break, but three of the stories are particularly important. 1. Housing in Broxtowe The council's cabinet on Tuesday looked at proposals for where new homes might be built over the next 20 years. Four separate models have been prepared which all show that Greater Nottingham will need about 50,000 new houses over that period, and ...
I've just returned from MP John Pugh's Garden Party. The party was hosted by Councillor Haydn Preece. Due to the inclement weather most of the stalls were placed inside, although some protection was provided by 2 gazebo's (more of them later). Despite the bad weather we had a good turnout and plenty of time for a chat over a coffee and cake. Lots of stalls were manned and by the time the food was ready the weather bucked up and we were able to move outside. My highlight of the day was the performance we put into raising and lowering ...
Which Doctor Who companion features in this story? (I keep on finding more spinoff literature...)
Paul White's 10 year rule in Essex should be the subject of a public inquiry, says Lib Dem MP Bob Russell. The Colchester MP has also called on Essex Police to hand over responsibility for the investigation into corrupt practices at County Hall to another police force. Bob Russell pointed out that the public has a right to know what went on as more and more details emerge of the council's misuse of expenses. The council has formally stated that discovered possible wrongdoing over the misuse of a council credit card by the former council leader, who is known as ...
What a tremendous legacy which fell out of fashion - considered to have become an expensive luxury - that with the advent of such widespread internet access might take on a new format for mass grassroots participation in Liberal Democrat politics and to realise the experience and ideas, the initiative and involvement of the members and activists alike. No longer a forum for the London based good and the great but one which realises the liberal principles of participation and co-operative ownership; of the debate. Today, we have such things as web forums, webinars and You Tube that are accessible ...
I have had a very busy week, dealing with incidents, crime enquiries, and any of my free time has been spent on high visibility patrols. Summer holidays are approaching, we do get some reports of children going missing during the holidays, so I have taken the initiative to speak to the children at Bar Hill County Primary School on how they can keep themselves safe during the holiday period. The visit was well received. I would like to encourage parents/carers by reminding them to ensure that children in their care take appropriate steps to secure their mobile phones, i pods ...
V busy at work for the next couple of weeks, so blogging may be light. Almost as soon as I posted the other day that I was ready to start writing for Lib Dem Voice again, McGruder died. And I think this time she may be beyond dragging out of her grave. So, you know, for a while I shall have to fight Mat for computer time, and, uh, blogging may be light. Watched Crotchw00t the other day. It felt like GenericUSTVDrama #792, and not like Crotchw00t at all, and I wasn't that sold on Crotchw00t in the first place. ...
The battles between Israel and Palestine have been going on so long that to a member of my generation living in the west, excluded from the beginning and unable to understand the origins or the ongoing debates, the entire thing is confounding. Therefore, although I knew quite a bit about Palestine from an old house mate of mine who originated there, I wanted to know more about the conflict and potential resolutions. Therefore when the Royal Society of Arts notified me of an event entitled "Have the elite failed? Lessons from the Arab To bring for Israel and Palestine", I ...
I have become rather fond of this funny little building on the London Road in Leicester that used to house a cafe. How can you resist the slightly fantastical classical detailing and the remains of an advertisement for Iron Jelloids on the side wall?
Question from Councillor T Sadiq to the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Councillor M CurtisNHS cuts are expected to hit mental health services particularly badly with the most vulnerable people being put at risk. 6,000 jobs in mental health trusts are expected to be lost nationwide. Could the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing set out what measures are being taken to assess and mitigate the impact of funding cuts on mental health services in Cambridgeshire at a time when increasing demand for services is expected?Response from the Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Councillor M CurtisNHS Cambridgeshire (NHSC) ...
Sat 16th
19:53
Rupert Murdoch's biographer on select committee hearing: "He's pretty awful at this sort of stuff"
Here's a fascinating article from the Guardian on Rupert Murdoch's weekend preparations for Tuesday's Commons Culture select committee hearing. He's spending some of the weekend ensconced with 'multi-million pound advisers' including the PR guru who helped US TV star David Letterman extract himself from a potentially career-ending embarrassment. Someone who knows Rupert Murdoch very well does not rate his MP-facing skills very highly: Michael Wolff, Murdoch's biographer, said the media mogul would be seriously worried by what he was about to face. "He is awful at this sort of stuff. He is pretty inarticulate, mumbles all the time and is ...
The next Southport Area Committee meeting is on Wednesday 20th July, 6.30pm at Southport Town Hall. The agenda includes Bankfield Lane / Rufford Road, Crossens - Proposed Speed Management Route Action Scheme. If you would like more details on this scheme, please e-mail John Dodd.
Pictured above is John Dodd in the North Meols Civic garden in Cambridge Road, awaiting the arrival of the North West In Bloom judges. John is a member of the North Meols Civic Society.
I don't think I've had five minutes to think this week. In terms of productivity a fact sheet on automated numberplate recognition systems has managed to trundle off the factory line. The document will probably have another version, but it's a great start. A huge thanks to Gary who is running Manchester NO2ID, Kathy, and Guy Herbert the campaign's general secretary for their valuable input. We will get it hosted for download as a PDF shortly. Sadly the weather front put a halt to play today and I didn't get to try the fact sheet out at all. Instead I ...
Business Secretary Vince Cable has an interview in the Evening Standard, in which he discusses his declaration of "war" on Rupert Murdoch, his referral of the BSkyB takeover bid to Ofcom and Murdoch's role in the phone hacking scandal: ...the Business Secretary also reveals for the first time that he considered resigning from Cabinet during the furore when he said he was "at war" with the media tycoon. "I certainly felt rather low at the time because I was heavily criticised," he said at the end of a week that has seen the tables comprehensively turned between the two men. ...
After the rain stopped me from going earlier glad to see others braved the rain. Spoke to an Ealing police inspector who was encouraging locals to become police Specials (police who work a few days a month). There are now about 160. Target of about 210 for the Olympic Games next year. A few good ideas of reducing time in Chiswick mentioned. Great to meet up with fellow ward Liberal Democrat Councillor Andrew Steed. He reminded me why High Speed 2 (HS2) was a good idea for London and the country at large, like Crossrail. If you have any ideas ...
Dictators are rulers who always look good until the last ten minutes.At least I think it was Jan Masaryk. Some people attribute the quote to his father Tomas Masaryk, but - either way - I cannot find where it was said. I should also admit that I came across this quotation in the introduction to Gideon Haigh's Ashes 2011, where he applies it to the sudden collapse of Australian supremacy in cricket.
Just to start with a few lines on the brilliant TV adaptation of the first book of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. I thoroughly enjoyed it; the acting and staging were superb, and while I wouldn't go as far as Abigail Nussbaum in extolling its superiority to the original book, I certainly agree that it builds very effectively on what I felt was anyway an effective novel. It is going to be very difficult to select a single episode to nominate for next year's Hugos for Best Dramatic Presentation - Short Form, though I suppose ...
The politics programme starts at about 2 hours and 3 minutes in. Click here.
There was a suggestion on twitter that atheists can't be liberals, and I want to just put the record straight. Am I an atheist? No. I'm an agnostic, since I don't believe there's any evidence for or against the "God exists" hypothesis. The Dawkins position that God doesn't exist is just as absurd as the theist position that he or she does. Note, I don't believe in God and I don't not believe in God are both true for me. But that's where I make a further distinction from the atheists – I don't believe the question is relevant. There ...
The sign above has been giving people sore heads today. Chris was told by a local resident that it was a problem. When he came to take this photo another local resident has already banged her head on it. Chris has asked Herts Highways to give it urgent attention.
Watching the second half of Arsenal's game in China against Hangzhou Greentown it seems a case of more of the same. I am grateful, from the comments made on the video stream by the Arsenal commentators, that I missed the first half. I shall remain from commenting further on the fact that I am writing about a live football game in July. Arsenal battered poor Greentown for nearly all of the second half. The game was pretty much Arsenal camping outside their penalty area. This is, of course, familiar from last season. Despite that Arsenal didn't score. This is, of ...
Sat 16th
14:47
What made the Mail, the Express and the Telegraph keen to see Nick Clegg doing more of his job?
An odd set of messages this week from some of the right-wing press: the Mail, the Express and Telegraph all ran pieces criticising Nick Clegg for taking his children to school, while being essential to the smooth running of the country. In a classic bit of pandering/flamebait (delete according to taste), they variously criticise Clegg for not working 24 hours a day before concluding that he is "powerful", "Co-Prime Minister" and "the second most senior politician in the land". The Express's Virginia Blackburn likes to think of Clegg as "a commanding figure, a statesman, a diplomat representing his country on ...
I recall a classmate from my school days called Charlie. He arrived in 2000, from Zimbabwe, after Zanu-PF started a belligerent crusade against white farmers. Firstly, his family fled into South Africa after neighbours' house's were burned to the ground; ... Continue reading →
Garry Kasparov, world chess champion between 1985 and 2000, writes about his predecessor in the Daily Telegraph:I dreamed of playing Fischer one day, and we eventually did become competitors after a fashion, though in the history books and not across the chessboard. He left competitive chess in 1975, walking away from the title he coveted so dearly his entire life. Ten more years passed before I took the title from Fischer's successor, Anatoly Karpov, but rarely did an interviewer miss a chance to bring up Fischer's name to me. "Would you beat Fischer?" "Would you play Fischer if he came ...
There is an intriguing article in the Western Mail this morning, which reports that Hywel Dda Health Board has become the first in Wales to introduce a "restricted" medicines list, including painkillers and hay fever treatments, from which GPs cannot prescribe The paper says that it is feared that other health boards, charged with saving up to £1m a week each, could follow suit, undermining the Welsh Government's free prescription policy. Indeed the British Medical Association has already leapt in with both feet, describing the move as "immoral". Their argument is that this policy is inducing GPs to break their ...
Following my campaign against Territorial Army (TA) spending cuts, I was more than interested to read today's news about the Government's possible plans for the TA; let's see how that pans out - sounds like it could be good news. Meanwhile, BBC Radio 4's incomparable Week in Westminster, presented (sadly for the last time) by the peerless Peter Riddell, spoke more sense in thirty minutes about Murdoch and phone-hacking than other media have managed in thirty hours - highly recommended on the iPlayer.
So after all Vince Cable was right again. As he was over the economy. Whilst Labour and Conservative politicians courted the Murdoch empire (we all remember Blair flying across the world at the click of the fingers) Liberal Democrats have been raising concerns about the concentration and use of the media in this country. Now it has taken a scandal to get everyone lining up to attack.
Amongst the frenzy of the phone hacking scandal Philip Virgo has recalled operation Motorman. This investigation by the Information Commissioner and follow-up report What Price Privacy Now studies and provides details of the illegal trade in personal private information. Rather than being limited to the phone hacking scandal, the report suggests this trade was widespread between newspapers, private investigators and corrupt officials. This report was presented to the previous government that failed to act upon it and halt the illegal trade in personal information. It is with unfortunate irony that members of that previous government including Lord Prescott and Gordon ...
There's no denying it: the Guardian is on a roll. Not only is it busy engineering the fall of the House of Murdoch: it has won my prestigious Corrections of the Day award for this effort from this morning's edition: A light-hearted column ... attributed two quotations on ambition to Macbeth. The first, "vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself" is indeed from Macbeth. The second, however, "ambition is a good servant, but a poor (sic) master" comes from Laura Ingalls Wilder's These Happy Golden Years.
All, Many of you will have already read the story in the Stratford Herald on Thursday about councillors on Stratford District Council refusing to reduce the allowance they receive. Currently councillors get £4,500 a year for serving the public. It's not very much (although, I would say that – I'm paid a reasonable amount for my job as a Deputy Matron for two community hospitals) – and for that we get, in theory at least, a councillor to work for us every day of the year. So why do I support this level of allowance? Well, actually, I'd want to ...
[IMG: Illegal parking] A few weeks ago a constituent sent me and others the following message about parking problems on Addington Road and Erleigh Road in Redlands: "Just like to say these are the cars parked on double yellow line during my nursery walk to school at 11.30 am approx in the morning and 3.00 pm in the afternoon. The white van has been parked on the pavement most of the day. Red post van parked at the bus stop in the morning. In the afternoon whitevan still on the pavement, car being unloaded and black car on ...
The concerns about the governance arrangements at Merseytravel grow. This is a bit like Murdoch but without the criminality. One big beast who nobody wanted to confront is finally 'sorted' when the fear evaporates. Tony has more
It seems extraordinary to me, that hot on the heels of conference having, so recently, resoundingly rejected the marketization of the NHS and the concept of outsourcing to "any willing provider" – Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander yet again embrace an approach to delivering public services in the Open Public Services White Paper that flies in the face of Lib Dem policy and values. What is deeply shocking to me and I am sure many of you, is the assertion in the introduction that: We are not the first government to realise the power of open public services, others have ...
Your Move, Paris, © David Peats Take four minutes to enjoy this beautiful slideshow and commentary from David Peat. He sounds wonderfully young and peaceful (he's a 64 year old film maker diagnosed with a terminal cancer). The Scotsman has a nice little profile of him and his career here.
It's disappointing to see that less than two months into the job Labour's new Lead Member for Housing, Cllr Eden, seeking to make political capital out of Welfare in Get Reading this week, a tried and tested tactic of her Party. A lead councillor in Reading is calling on the town's two MPs to oppose plans to put a cap on housing benefit. Councillor Rachel Eden, lead member for housing and neighbourhoods, said Government welfare reforms could make 40,000 families homeless and put a huge burden on council finances. The reforms cap the level of housing benefit which would mean ...
Care of Berklee Music Blogs, and originally from Diesel Sweeties. This is very true. Hipsters, you are the death of all that is honest and joyful in the appreciation of music.
Lets be honest. When Gordon Brown stood up in parliament on Wednesday and started hollering across the chamber about the alleged incursions into his private life, how many of you actually want to tell him to "sit down" as many ...
As the House of Commons rises this Tuesday, the BBC's Gavin Stamp gives new MPs of all parties his end-of-term report. Here's what he has to say about the new Lib Dem intake: New entrants were small in number but still accounted for almost one in six of the Parliamentary party. No new MPs made it into the ranks of ministers or were asked to head up a series of backbench committees designed to help the party retain an independent voice on issues outside the coalition. However, Gordon Birtwhistle and Duncan Hames became parliamentary private secretaries, the latter also finding ...
Food 4 U is a new organisation in Consett aimed at providing food parcels for people in need with short-term financial difficulties. Potential clients will be referred by charities and agencies and will receive a parcel with a limited range of processed foods (see below) to minimise storage difficulties and for the ease of recipients. The group is also preparing to launch the provision of a simple 2 course meal for the same client group each Wednesday lunchtime from September. The organisation has been set up by local churches and the community in recognition of the difficult times faced by ...
Here's our latest Keeping in Touch leaflet being delivered to Cheadle & Gatley at the moment. C&G July 2011 a3
An interesting little story cropped up on the BBC news website this morning. I haven't seen that many people talking about it (or maybe I missed it in my work haze). Giving a speech on press freedom Nick Clegg said that ...
Sat 16th
10:00
Oakeshott obituary in Economist and a political legacy we must not forget (more added)
Robert Oakeshott died on 21st June. He was a great inspiration to many. In Liberal circles he will be remembered for taking Jo Grimond off to the Mondragon Co-operatives in the late 1970s. He was the John the Baptist of the modern employee ownership movement and along with Grimond set up what I think was then called Job Ownership Ltd- it became the Employee Ownership Association. His connection with Grimond went back further and he was the Liberal Party candidate in the Darlington by election in the 1960's under Jo's leadership. Grimond often called him in aide in his speeches ...
Today I bring you a doleful blog post. As you may have noticed, I've had one or two things to say in recent days about News International, Rebekah Brooks, the Murdochs et al. And I meant all of it. And I've had some very complimentary feedback too. But sadly, I've realised today that I have upset a friend whose partner works at News International. They have been very nice. They've not complained, argued, tried to change my mind. They've just slipped off for a bit. But I'm sad about it none the less. I guess it's a reminder that many ...
britishrailways.tv
Has anyone notice the remarkable resemblance between Rebekah Brookes and Judge Jefferies ? Of course the difference is that one of them took bribes...
It is a fifth trip to the ski station finish at Plateau de Beille, and while this ski station is the centre of cross country skiing in France if is anything but an easy climb for the peleton. Whoever takes the stage win today is most liely going to be a contender. Today's sprint come on the descent of the 2nd category Col de Portet-d'Aspet. Whether any of the green point contenders apart from Philippe Gilbert will be there to contest for points is going to decide this one. Thy might just hang on, but more than likely they will ...
Readers of LDV will have noticed that there is an announcement about Police Commissioner candidates - presumably placed by the English Party. Of course, none of us want these elections (and most councillors in other parties don't either) but it's in the Coalition agreement and so we are to an extent stuck with a particularly silly bit of the Tory manifesto. Such, I guess, is the nature of Coalitions. What is troubling, however, is the fact that the English Party has decided to play the centralist card: candidates need in essence to be approved like parliamentary candidates. One of the ...
Residents in Milnbank Road and Bankmill Road have complained to me about unsightly graffiti on the lock-ups in Bankmill Road - see right. I have reported this to Dundee City Council, at their request.
I simply do not have the time at the moment to blog. I have been very busy and simply cannot find the time to follow politics closely enough or indeed to blog about it. I have been more concerned about the situation with debt in Europe that the Murdoch scandal. I think this is a time bomb that will soon go off. I also think it's time for us Lib Dems to put the idea of ever joining the Euro firmly behind us. It's a non starter and we should admit that this currency can't really work for the UK ...
Poor to be banned from bringing spouses to the UK from overseas Damian Green says the proposals would encourage "better family migration" – I think he means "migration of 'better' families." The Tories are rapidly becoming a caricature of themselves. WHAT THE HELL, people? (tags: immigration politics) Letters: Truth and fiction on abortion rights | World news | The Guardian "Most NHS abortions are provided by Marie Stopes and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service - both not-for-profit organisations. The contention that they are biased because of a vested financial interest is misleading." (tags: choice feminism politics) Nadine Dorries, abortion and ...
The Story of Marli-hrair and the Black Rabbit of Inle Would you believe it? A Watership Down fanfic that sends a chill down the spine! (tags: sf fanfic) Sortition won't lie down: a blueprint for a truly representative House of Lords | openDemocracy A far better idea for reforming the Upper House than the government's current proposals. (tags: ukpolitics) Getting to Crazy - NYTimes.com (Paul Krugman) "A number of commentators seem shocked at how unreasonable Republicans are being. "Has the G.O.P. gone insane?" they ask. Why, yes, it has. But this isn't something that just happened, it's the culmination of ...
This is the first piece I have written on the dramatic events of the last week or so. The revelation that victims of crime may have been targeted by News of the World phone hackers turned a story which has been bubbling along quietly for some time into an inferno of public anger. So damaging was the story that Rupert Murdoch felt he had little choice but to close the offending publication, presumably in the hope that the sacrifice would protect the parent companies. Of course, that didn't happen. First his BSkyB bid was referred to the Competition Commission, and ...
Had some business in Winchester today - the first time I had been there since the by-election in November 1997. I came across this not inappropriately posh busking puppeteer on the High Street: But as it's Friday it's time for my Friday favourite. So this week's favourite is in honour of the Winchester by election and my last visit. The by-election was won by Mark Oaten by nearly 22,000 votes on 20 November 1997. It was sadly the last election outing of Lord Sutch before he committed suicide and the election where Labour scored less than 2% of the vote ...
