Via Iain Roberts on Lib Dem Voice, I spotted Simon Titley's article in the latest issue liberator about the failure of the Liberal Democrats to build a larger core vote. Unfortunately, Simon does his usual trick of spoiling some interesting arguments by descending into Pythonesque ranting: If you have ever held back from proclaiming liberal values because you were afraid it might offend someone, it's your fault. If your Focus leaflets are a politics-free zone, full of hackneyed slogans that haven't changed for thirty years, it's your fault. If you think "we can win everywhere" is a satisfactory strategy, it's ...
The Electoral Commission has published the accounts for the main political parties and so far the focus has been on the failure of the BNP to submit its accounts and possible legal action as a result. However the Electoral Commission also includes accounts of the various constituency parties. And the entry for Richmond Park Conservatives makes fascinating reading. In it we find the party has a property portfolio - through the shadowy Thameside Property Trust - worth more than £2 million. This investment income was worth more than £60,000 in 2010 to Zac's campaign. Line 11 of the accounts includes ...
Michael Crick has just left the BBC after 94 years to join Channel 4 News. This evening Newsnight showed some of his finest moments, and this confrontation with Lord Archer of Weston Super Mare was certainly one of them...
Yes, it's a good idea to increase intercity passenger rail capacity. Yes, it's a good idea to get people out of cars and out of the sky. But it doesn't make sense to design a railway that's 21% faster than Eurostar and nearly every high speed continental line. Why? Because, since the power requirement goes up as the square of the speed that means 46% more power for the additional 39 mph – and if trains ever ran at the proposed maximum design speed of 400 kph (252 mph) it would probly be greener to fly. And the super high ...
At Thursday's Ealing Council scrutiny meeting, Lib Dem councillor Jon Ball, quizzed Empire Boss Justin Ribbons about the reasons for Empire's prolonged delay in rebuilding Ealing Cinema. Mr Ribbons said he was committed to building the cinema and blamed the Council's planners for the delays. Planning officers said Empire had been slow to respond at every stage. Lib Dem Jon Ball said: "What matters is looking to the future and not the past. Mr Ribbons needs to make good his pledge to proceed with the cinema, which is what everyone in Ealing wants." I think actions speak louder than words ...
"Since World War II every single liberal President has reduced the national debt, while every single conservative one has increased it," writes Contrasting Sounds. And he has a wicked graph to prove it too. Kathy Pollard has to deal with the bitter legacy of Suffolk's controversial former chief executive: "people still want to talk about Andrea Hill. It's not a topic I raise with them - many are still irate about the salary, the cost of personal photo-shoots, coaching, expensive hotels, etc. This unfortunate saga seems to have cast a long shadow over Suffolk and has badly affected the reputation ...
And so they came to Ludlow, which some say is the fairest country town in England. In the twelfth century its wall were pierced with seven gates of which only one now remains, but everything else about it today is overshadowed by its magnificent castle, a memorial to the days when its courtyards echoed to the ring of steel and armoured knights rode over the drawbridge to fight the marauding Welsh. Below the castle walls, at the foot of the cliffs, the lovely River Teme half circles the town before tumbling under two bridges on its way to add its ...
More on Merseytravel's 'Gravy Train' On Thursday I reported how the BBC in the North West were starting to take a serious interest in the "Gravy Train" antics of the Labour Chair of the Merseyside Integrated Transport Authority (MITA), Bootle's very own Councillor Mark Dowd. Arif Ansari, the BBC's Political Editor for the North West, reported the latest news on Cllr Dowd's £47,665pa position, which makes him one of the highest paid councillors in the country. However, I now learn that Cllr Dowd received rather more than that (pretty impressive) £47,665. In fact, his pay and expenses for last ...
Another content drought from me, I'm afraid. I'm surviving! I'm just paddling like Hell to stay above the water. But I am able to bring you a guest post from the accomplished blogger neo_prodigy, who blogs on LiveJournal and on the minority-focused entertainment blog Ars Marginal. I've been a fan of Neo's for about a year, now, and he's always got something worth reading. So obviously I jumped at the chance to have him write a guest post for me as part of the promotion for his latest book: Hollowstone, from an author's perspective on writing for the non reader. ...
Having written one or two rather critical articles about Louise Mensch in recent days, it seems only fair to say that A) I think her response to some muck raking by a so called' investigative journalist' is brilliant, and B) I think by putting the record straight on what she said about Piers Morgan, she's done exactly the right thing. I also think David Allen Green raises some interesting issues about just who this investigative reporter is. More there than meets the eye perhaps. Anyway, now we can all concentrate on the real DCMS Select Committee issues. Huzzah.
David Cameron's choice of Andy Coulson as his Communications Director is considered by many to be evidence of his poor judgement in choosing advisers. Perhaps so, but perhaps we should be generous and allow him the odd lapse of judgement. But what then are we to make of Steve Hilton, his Strategy Director's latest outburst? According ...
Collected links from around the webHow cool is Louise Mensch MP? Dear tabloid hack: burn she's a Tory I mostly disagree with, but she's doing some sterling work on the DCMS committee, and this answer is great. Oh, she married recently. To Metalica's manager. (tags: from-phone) Automatically posted from Delicious using [IMG: [personal profile] ] matgbs updated Delicious Glue script.
Yesterday afternoon, I had the pleasure of attending the Annual General Meeting of Blackness Area Residents' Association (BARA) at the Corso Street Sheltered Lounge (right). There was a good turnout of residents and a presentation by our West End Communities Officer on the new local plan for the West End. Afterwards, there was a bingo session, with yours truly as bingo caller. I will not be considering a career move in that direction, but a good time was had by all!
So the press have dug around into Louise Mensch MP's past and discovered, shock horror, that she 'probably' took some drugs at a nightclub when she was in her twenties. Why this is news is frankly beyond me but why this has come out now, is not. The press are doing their thing, taking on someone that has taken them on. The 'probably' is a bit of a give away. There are lots of 'probablys' floating around the News of the World scandal. True or not, a 'probably' can hurt. In the case of Louise Mensch I doubt it will ...
Tories apologise to local Lib Dem leader, Councillor David Kendall Brentwood's Lib Dem leader Cllr David Kendall announced this week that he had won an out of court libel action against the Brentwood & Ongar Conservative Association. Cllr Kendall mounted his legal challenge following the distribution of a Conservative leaflet last year across his County Division entitled the "Big Lib Dem Let down". In the leaflet which related to a Standards Board case brought against his colleague Lib Dem Cllr Barry Aspinell it said the "Lib Dem leader condones misleading of local residents" It also inferred that Cllr Kendall was ...
Excellent news from Stockport Council: A 2011 survey of 14-16 year olds, commissioned by Trading Standards North West and released this week, reveals that the number of school-aged children in Stockport who drink alcohol every week has halved since 2005, and more young people say they don't drink at all. The main findings of the survey, which is carried out every two years in North West local authority areas, shows that, for Stockport: The number of young people drinking alcohol once a week or more has fallen by half since 2005, to around 3 in ten; The number of frequent ...
It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week 80 dead in Norway shootings (1 comment) by Alex Foster Opinion: Verdict from the first Mayoral Hustings - it's a two horse race (40 comments) by Simon McGrath How do we build the Lib Dems' core vote? (63 comments) by Iain Roberts News International's William Lewis, BBC's Robert Peston, and the alleged act of theft which aimed to bring down Vince Cable (13 comments) by Stephen Tall Opinion: Why David Cameron will not be Prime Minister in ...
It is one of the most enduring human characteristics to try and see patterns in the world around us. We don't like the idea of random events. People even pore over lottery numbers. After the awful events in Norway last week, it is only natural that people try to make sense of them. The most common is that it is part of the rise in right-wing hate politics – for example Timothy Egan in the New York Times or Matthew Feldman in the Independent. A more original alternative, from Joan Smith, also in the Independent, is that it is part ...
Enfield LBC, Bush Hill Park Con 1108 (44.5; +6.1) Lab 668 (26.8; +2.0) Ind 230 (9.2; +9.2) LD Paul David Smith 177 (7.1; -12.3) Green 100 (4.0; -6.5) UKIP 70 (2.8; -4.1) BNP 61 (2.5; +2.5) Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship" 45 (1.8; +1.8) The English Democrats – "Putting England First!" 29 (1.2; +1.2) Majority 440 Turnout 23.83% Con hold Percentage change is since May 2010. Blackburn with Darwen UA, Beardwood with Lammack Con 1097 (63.8; +3.4) Lab 572 (33.3; +0.1) LD Salim Lorgat 51 (3.0; -3.5) Majority 525 Turnout not known Con hold Percentage change is since May 2011. ...
This is a really brief contribution to this week's Feminist Friday and it poses more questions than it resolves. As mother of a 12 year old daughter, I have huge concerns about the pressures she'll be under in the next decade of her life. These years will see the greatest pressures on her to conform in terms of looks and attitudes to what an unforgivingly misogynistic culture expects. Boys her age are already watching freely available internet pornography in which the women are portrayed as mere receptacles instead of equal partners. That is bound to affect their expectations of how ...
Recommended reading for Liberal Democrat councillors and local campaigners from the last seven days: This week the government launched the 'Big Society Bank' which will help fund social enterprises and charities. The government has also launched the Draft National Planning Policy Framework, to mixed reviews. This framework will see the scrapping of Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) and various other documents and advice, with just one document. The latest set of Enterprise Zones have been officially announced by the government for Sheffield, Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds. The Liberal Democrats in the Greater London Assembly have announced plans for electric vehicles to ...
Reading Councillor Warren Swaine has had his Liberal Democrat membership restored after being accused of making a racist remark about a Labour MP in February – but will have to complete diversity training if he wishes to be an officer for the Liberal Democrat council group. The Reading Chronicle reports: The Lib Dems' South Central office announced today that Reading borough councillor, Warren Swaine, who represents Katesgrove ward, will have to undergo diversity training if he wants to be a spokesman for the group in the next two years. The decision comes more than five months after Cllr Swaine was ...
This morning the National Museum of Scotland re-opened its doors after a refit that's taken more than 3 year and cost £47 million. Anna and I went along - although we couldn't stay for too long as she had her final Glee Week workshop to get to. The Museum was one of our favourite places to visit - a real treasure trove for an inquisitive mind. We've really missed this part of it. Anna's never been as absorbed by the exhibitions in the new building. When we arrived in Chambers Street around 9:30, there was already a fair sized crowd. ...
Some of you will have read the JC's account of a cross-party visit to Gaza by some British Parliamentarians, including the Liberal Democrats Lorely Burt and Baroness Falkner. I am quoted in the story as supporting the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition Government's policy of (as a government) not engaging with Hamas until it meets certain conditions. That is indeed the case; I support the Government on this (and if the policy were to change as circumstances change, I could presumably support that as well). Individual Parliamentarians can make their own decisions on whether, and if so how, it is useful to ...
It is all very well and praiseworthy for the LibDems to support the Prime Minister when the issue is one of policy to which we have agreed,(more or less & probably reluctantly). However when the issue is his personal competence, judgment & style, typified by the Andy Coulson affair, the LibDems - even the Deputy Prime Minister - OWE CAMERON ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. He completely, unashamedly & ruthlessly shafted us over the AV vote. The NewsCorp scandal, & Camerons closeness to those in charge, should be payback time & LibDems should be going for him hammer & tongs & not let ...
Sigourney Weaver on the Legacy of 'Aliens' & Her Sequel That Hollywood Won't Make - The Moviefone Blog Sigourney Weaver, still awesome. (tags: feminism) Dirty Whoers: Boring Figures Announced, but Idris at Last. YAY Idris! (tags: doctorwho)
Many of the fire engines that put out the serious fires in Cottenham and Madingley Hall this weekend look set to be axed - according to worried Lib Dem Councillors. According to Fire Chiefs, up to 10 engines could be scrapped including fire engines from Burwell, Ely, Soham and Swaffham Bulbeck. Without these vehicles, the Lib Dems fear that two serious fires at the same time could stretch Cambridgeshire's Fire Service beyond breaking point. Councillor Nigel Bell, the Lib Dem leader on the Fire Authority, said: "These two serious incidents on Saturday highlight the importance of protecting frontline services in ...
I went out last night to bid farewell to a fabulous former colleague of mine, Elspeth, who is going to Hull to live with a boy. I didn't get to see Reporting Scotland but had a text message from a friend to say that Bob was on it. So, I checked when I came home - and he was, too. He didn't have a speaking part, but the look on his face was of someone who was thoroughly fed up with the world in general and Scotrail in particular. You can see him by watching the video that's about half ...
This is an issue that has particularly irked me over recent months. Read any news article about Liberal Democrats and you'll be reminded about how we're 'stagnating' or 'flatlining' or 'bumping about' anywhere between around 9% and 13% in the Voting Intention polls. This, to borrow a phrase, is a load of codswallop. They correctly state that we got roughly 24% of the vote in the last General Election. They make either some unforgivable misjudgments or have malign political motivations, however. First things first: are we at 9% in the polls? The short answer is - YouGov think so. Over ...
I was going to headline this post "I am not human and I want your blood", but I decided that, whatever the circumstances, that might be a little strong. However, according to major media outlets in several countries in recent years, it is indeed the case that I am not human and want your blood (and your children's blood as well). This is being broadcast on television, including on educational programmes for children. Have a look at this and draw your own conclusions about the serious problem presented by the broadcasting of such bile.
This article is published on behalf of David M Gibson. Watching a humbled Rupert Murdoch address the select committee earlier this week made me think of dinosaurs. The earliest of the 'thunder-beasts' were small, forgettable creatures, living in a dangerous world of high interspecies competition. At their peak, they had reached awe-inspiring heights, seemingly untouchable through their bulk alone. By the late-Cretaceous era, the reality was that evolutionary arms race was being lost and that, despite their intimidating weaponry, real competition was going on underfoot, as smaller creatures feasted on their eggs and contributed to their fate. A similar cycle ...
I'm in a little bit of a dilemna. On the one hand Peter Mandelson's autobiography is available on Amazon for £13.29 and I really want to read it. On the other hand, I don't want to put money into his pockets by buying the book. So this is the moral dilemma which I am currently struggling with. The problem is, of course, Mandelson himself. On the one hand he's a terrible person and incredibly slimy. But on the other hand he's so charming that I can't help but like him. Hence my predicament in deciding whether to put money into ...
A quick blogpost to give props to Louise Mensch MP who has shown how to deal with the media head-on. Miss Mensch was on the Select Committee who questioned the Murdoch's last week and within a few days she was e-mailed to say that an investigative reporter was digging into her past and had found some things that might well make good tabloid material. Instead of getting an injunction or denying the allegations she just answered them. You can read her thoughts over here. So whoop-die do a twenty-something took drugs. I couldn't give a rat's arse and nor could ...
There's a great piece over at Lib Dem Voice today about Charlotte Henry's view on what they hope to see from Nick in the next parliamentary term. It's excellent and I recommend you take a gander. But there's something I'd add to it. We need once again to be radical. To be creative in our thinking, suggest things no one's thought of before, really force people to sit up and take notice. To start suggesting the type of policies that the other parties initially dismiss as naive nonsense, and then quietly adopt themselves. Because it's thinking like that which makes ...
To be fair to Lembit Öpik he is a good communicator when he tries as this article on Alex wilcock's blog makes clear. Alex is a London Liberal Democrat and has asked the four contenders for the party's nomination as London Mayor the same questions. He has subsequently published all four answers. I do not need to be so balanced. I have set out Lembit's response below because I think it is the most impressive of the four: What do the Lib Dems uniquely stand for? The Lib Dems' unique quality giving a voice to the voiceless, and defending citizens ...
When Vince Cable launched his plan for a 'mansion tax' on homes worth more than £1 million, there were howls of dismay from LibDem activists in places such as Richmond Park and Kensington & Chelsea, where even quite modest dwellings are now worth well in excess of a million, thanks to London's absurdly over-priced property market. There ...
The play areas on the Ridgegrove Estate are being worked on and new equipment is being installed. This has been a long running saga, but the out of date and crumbling swings are finally being taken out and replaced. It's not ideal that the work couldn't be completed before the school holidays, but the Council felt it is better to have the work done now than to wait until schools re-start in September. It is hoped that the top play area will be completed by the end of next week. Tweet
Can be read here.
If Nick Clegg is to continue his pursuit of 'muscular liberalism' at the Lib Dem party conference there are two ways he can make it work. While the term 'muscular liberalism' was used by the deputy prime minister to describe how the party would differentiate itself to its coalition partners, it is how that is done that will lay the ground for the party's electoral proposition in 2015. It is commonly accepted that there is a rough divide in the party between social and economic liberals. This is crudely seen as a difference of opinion between liberals who favour social ...
Votes at sixteen – quite possibly the foundation of a real democratic society and then perhaps seconded by a proportional voting system. In 1969, the Representation of the People Act was amended, reducing the minimum voting age in Britain from twenty-one to eighteen, but why did Harold Wilson not take the necessary steps and make it sixteen? There was much support for ...
The self-proclaimed Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is by no stretch of the imagination a liberal organisation. Its catch-all name has enabled this organisation to corner the market in pro-Palestinian campaigning, although I know many Liberal Democrats who have realised its true nature and so chosen not to actively engage with it. In stark contrast to the charmless PSC, I was delighted to receive an email from OneVoice, an Israeli/Palestinian conflict-resolution group whose approach is surely that which should most recommend itself to Liberal Democrats. There is an alternative to the politics of anger, shouting and one-sided denunciation. I reproduce the ...
So Guido Fawkes is launching a campaign to reinstate the death penalty and my heart sinks that little bit lower. I like to think that most people in this country are level-headed and open-minded, I say I like to think that but of course whether that is true or not I have no idea. He links to a poll that says that 50% of people would be happy to see people hang for murder. I just had a shiver run down my spine. I know many of you reading this will think that I'm just a bleeding heart liberal but ...
Just for the record, the name of a Liberal Democrat MP did not come to my mind when I read this quote from US Republican Senator and wearer of plaid shirts, Lamar Alexander: Consider yourself in trouble if you say, "And now in conclusion", and the audience starts to applaud. I'm sure none came to your mind either.
It's summer holiday time at the moment for MPs, a time to reflect on what has been achieved this parliamentary term, and what can be achieved in the next parliamentary term. For Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats, the answer to these questions could have a profound effect on the future of our party. Clegg showed strong, considered leadership over phonehacking, and must use this position of strength (and David Cameron's relative weakness,) to influence even more policy than is currently happening. Key to this of course will be the economy. Slow, steady, growth figures will not be enough for ...
The launch of the government's new e-petitions service has inspired Britain's leading political blogger and libertarian Guido Fawkes to launch a campaign for a vote to restore capital punishment for "child and cop killers". "We shall at least see which MPs believe salus populi suprema est lex, and those that put the welfare of child killers above the wider community. Let them be counted." He believes such a move would have popular support, and may well be right, instinctive sympathy for murderers is in short supply. That though should not be enough for a populist liberal or libertarian commentator to ...
I have recently been told off for not doing enough children and pets updates, so here's one. Yesterday Holly and my dad and I went to Rokt. Dad and me have been lots, but because we normally go lunchtime (cos it's cheaper) Holly is usually at school and doesn't get to come with us. She's on summer hols at the mo, so yesterday she came along. She's an absolute natural. She was doing stuff with her leg positioning that I had to be TAUGHT. She didn't want to go very high, only managing about ten feet up a roped wall, ...
One thing I've learnt in life is that nothing is true. So many of the assumptions that one has about life, art and politics turn out not to be true after all, once you subject them to much analysis. I then end up talking about these things with friends who, when I question an assumption, always say "But I thought...". A classic example of this is plastic bags. I used to think (or, rather, not think - that's the point) that plastic bags were definitely bad news and so we should presumably have a tax on them like Ireland's. Then ...
I've just heard that the Natwest bank are running a new Grants Scheme for local groups. In each of their local markets they are offering three community projects the chance to win awards of £6,000 each. NatWest won't be deciding the winners, but it will be up to local people who know the projects and what will benefit your area most. If you know a local charity, organisation or group which you think would benefit, please ask them to register at: www.natwest.com/communityforce by 4th September.
A news story that has brightened up (what is a miserable Friday morning) for me is that Christopher Jefferies (the former landlord of Jo Yeates) has accepted "substantial damages" from eight different newspapers following articles that they ran after his arrest in December 2010. He was of course proved to be completely innocent, as the Attorney General Dominic Grieve said that had Mr Jefferies been charged the articles could have prevented a fair trial. This is an issue I feel quite strongly about. I blogged about it previously here. In the UK we have a presumption of innocence. As such ...
Last night the Rev David McIlveen didn't turn up to GLYNI (Gay and Lesbian Youth Northern Ireland's) even for the Belfast Pride Festival entitled "Hymn or Us". It was a look at can homosexuality and being LGBT co-exist. Earlier in the week on BBC Radio Ulster's Wendy Talks Back while discussing the non-appearance of Jim Wells at the "Pride on the Hill" David McIlveen and Simon Rae the secretary of Belfast Pride both showed that Rev McIlveen was more than welcome to return to Pride in the debate that was due to happen last night; he'd appeared at a similar ...
We the people petition the government to demand a mature and sensible debate on the legalisation of drugs.
Anyone looking for things to do in Stockport over the summer holidays, especially if you don't want to spend a lot of money, could do a lot worse that check out Stockport Council's website and it's handy events calendar. Today, for example, you might want to to see art by Manchester College students – at Bramall Hall. Or Our Sporting Life, the free exhibition of Stockport's sporting history at the Hatworks. There's childrens' quizzes at Bramall Hall (there again), the Stockport Open Contemporary Art Exhibition at Stockport Art Gallery, Telling Tales: Story Scrolls from India and Mad About Books, both ...
Weighing in at 550 pages, including a long and detailed index, Jad Adams's biography of Tony Benn is just the sort of traditional and detailed work of biography that befits a politician who was an MP for half a century and who became a government minister, won promotion to the Cabinet and served his last day as a minister all before most of the current generation of ministers were even in Parliament. Tony Benn's career was not only lengthy, it was high profile and - at least before the twilight years as 'the nation's favourite retired politician' - deeply controversial. ...
Local residents have been concerned about the accidents at this junction for some time. Obviously driver speed may be a contributory factor but they also wonder whether the design of the junction is partly to blame. I raised this issue with the police at the last Area Committee and subsequently with the traffic engineers. My colleague Richard Hands went to have a look himself and spoke to local residents whilst he was there.
It is difficult to disagree with the Welsh Conservative's Economic Spokesperson when he says in this morning's Western Mail that the Welsh Government's business and enterprise department has "left Welsh business in limbo" and that major decisions have been "kicked into the long grass". He is right when he says that the Welsh Government is "sending out mixed messages on enterprise zones, confusion reigns over grants or loans for business support, Techniums are under review, while major decisions on the future of business rates, broadband and the Welsh capital Infrastructure Fund are all pending." He has hit the nail on ...
With the race between the four potential Liberal Democrat candidates for London Mayor hotting up, I've put the question to each of them that I most want to know from any Lib Dem seeking my vote. I've previously asked it to everyone I can from local hopefuls to Party Leadership candidates, and now I have answers from Brian Haley, Lembit Öpik, Brian Paddick and Mike Tuffrey. If you're a London Lib Dem, perhaps they'll help you make up your mind; if not, I hope they'll contribute to the debate on what the Lib Dems stand for. What would you say? ...
I have rather a liking for bullet points. Sure, I've suffered near death by PowerPoint many times. But the anti-bullet point style of big photo and a few words can be done pretty badly too. It's a tough call: too many bullet points or irrelevant photo and unreadable caption; which is worse? I also have a liking for Tim Harford's writing, so when I saw he had penned a piece in defence of PowerPoint I expected to be entertained and to end up agreeing. On entertainmnent, he scores full marks. As for agreeing ... well, half of his argument I ...
Today's Guardian has an excellent new parlour game in which they rewrite the plots of classic movies by adding in modern technology. In truth it is a just a new slant on the Orange cinema adverts that urge us not to let a mobile phone ruin our film viewing experience. They say that nowadays, most directors 'won't pretend their characters lack the most basic, obvious information-gathering and communications skills, because it leaves such a gaping hole in the middle of the story. This is particularly true when younger, tech-savvy audiences are the target market. Resentment of the long shadow cast ...
This morning F1 along with BBC and Sky Sports released the following statement: All races, qualifying and practice sessions live on Sky Sports across TV, Online and Mobile and Tablet devices Half the races and qualifying sessions remain live on BBC TV, Online and Mobile including key races such as the British Grand Prix, Monaco Grand Prix and the final race of the season. Extensive BBC highlights on TV, Online and Mobile, of all races and qualifying sessions that BBC is not covering live Build- up coverage of each Grand Prix on BBC News, Sky Sports News and Sky News ...
NatWest have got in touch with us as your local Councillors to let us know about a new Grants Scheme they are running for local groups. In each of their local markets they are offering three community projects the chance to win awards of £6,000 each. NatWest won't be deciding the winners, but it will be up to local people who know the projects and what will benefit your area most. If you know a local charity, organisation or group which you think would benefit, please ask them to register at: www.natwest.com/communityforce by 4th September.
RIP Amy Winehouse: tragic waste. # RT @lordbonkers Amy Winehouse: 1983-2011 – Telegraph http://t.co/8xz4vth via @Telegraph < 1983-2011: such a short span. # RT @mjryandaly @stephentall Does Lembit even have a chance? < Am not a Londoner, but my guess is not. # RT @sarabedford: I thought I was in strange position of agreeing with @IainDale but actually it was @stephentall [IMG: ;-)] http://bit.ly/qcUMEk # @sarabedford No, the idea's def bonkers, not you! Generally tho I was impressed by Simon's report. Sorry, The Hughes Report. in reply to sarabedford # @sarabedford Even the foreword only got to 'fifthly' rather than ...
There has been talk for a long time about the divide between the ruling elite in the Lib Dems and the grassroots. There have been mistakes taken by those at the top of the Lib Dems, in direct contrast to Party policy. There has been a growing unease by many in the Party which has ...
On Sunday 24 July, my husband Andrew delivered a talk in All Souls' Church, Belfast as part of the inaugural Faith and Pride event during Belfast Pride Festival. The talk was entitled Jonathan Loved David, and the text is available for download here. Andrew was heard on BBC Radio Ulster as part of William Crawley's ...
Greater Surbiton | greatersurbiton.wordpress.com | Readability Trouble at the Henry Jackson Society. (tags: politics islam) Fighting Capitalism Through Children: The Story of the Treasure-Seekers | Tor.com "Frankly, my sense is that The Story of the Treasure Seekers may be entirely wasted on children." (tags: books) What's The World's Favorite Number? : Krulwich Wonders... : NPR What is your favourite? 7? 37? 10/√2? (tags: mathematics) tansyrr.com» Blog Archive » My Daughter's Doctors "I remember watching Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant with her already, experiencing the show through her eyes... but she was three and four years old, and she doesn't remember ...
Here's an interesting thing, courtesy of Paul Krugman's link to a piece by Bruce Bartlett (senior policy analyst under Reagan). In the context of describing Barack Obama as effectively being a conservative, Bartlett makes the argument that two Republican presidents were effectively liberals: Eisenhower and Nixon. This is becomes particularly interesting when you combine it with a chart of the US national debt (from Wikipedia). Combining these two sources, since World War II every single liberal President has reduced the national debt, while every single conservative one has increased it. Here's the chart: It's worth noting that his argument is ...
Trading Standards - a spotlight on energy We all want to do our bit to save energy around the home - to be 'green' and to save money. However, at Cambridgeshire County Council's Trading Standards Service we have seen an increase in queries from residents about 'cold callers' selling energy saving schemes, particularly loft insulation and solar energy, so below we offer some advice to help you. Solar EnergyBefore you start it's worth taking a look at the information provided by the Energy Saving Trust on www.energysavingtrust.org.uk or speaking to an advisor on 0800 512012. For supplier/installer information, the Microgeneration ...
Cambridgeshire Lib Dems have criticised a glaring oversight in the Conservative administration's plans for the county's libraries, which means the Libraries Review has to be completely rebooted. The Conservatives initially planned to make savings of up to £1M by converting the libraries to "Trust status". This would have made the libraries eligible for dramatically reduced business rates to central government and was the core of the council's plan to make savings. However, forthcoming changes to taxation, which would see local government keeping the majority of business rates, mean that the Trust idea simply would not work any more. Savings made ...
So, let's get this straight. John Boehner, GOP Speaker of the US House, can't get his own representatives to support his own plan, let alone find agreement with some Democrats. That's where we are. Stephanie Flanders explained yesterday that passing the deadline with the debt ceiling intact does not mean automatic default. But we have here a political game of chicken which has, at its centre, not a malfunction of US fiscal management, but the political dysfunction of the Republican party. In short, it is not actually one party any more, it is two parties. NPR sums it up nicely: ...
Having had complaints from residents in Clovis Duveau Drive recently about the poor state of the street nameplates, I reported the matter to the City Council and have now received the following positive feedback : "I checked the Clovis Duveau street name plates and agree they do need replaced. Replacement signs will be included in the next street name plate order. There is no timescale available at present however I will update you once this becomes known."
Disabled vets see an employment hot spot in the Bay Area There's something poetic about people who gave their health fighting for oil-interests overseas, working now to reduce their cuontry's dependence on oil. (tags: politics disability)
At last night's Council Scrutiny meeting Liberal Democrat Councillor Andrew Steed presented the case for Ealing Council to review its decision to force the user groups of the Priory Centre from where they have been for decades. Councillor Andrew Steed said that the 60 or more community groups need to be guaranteed community space in Acton before they move from the Priory Centre whilst the new primary school is built. The meeting discovered that the Liberal Democrat idea of renting the Magistrate's Court in the short term had not been investigated. This would allow the current Priory User groups to ...
Michael wonders what the issue in Sandown Free Presbyterian church was that kept Mr McIlveen from the 'Hymn or Us' debate as part of Belfast Pride tonight.
I half-heartedly started a 'Song of the Week' thread on my blog the other week. I'm setting myself the challenge of continuing with this each week (although I can't guarantee it will be the same day of the week). Essentially, it'll be a song that I love. It might be particularly significant that week, it ...
