Have just returned from a wedding in Brighton where this track was played and I thought it deserved repetition.
How about you? [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
The riots provided the perfect vehicle for breaching human rights through publication of people from CCTV. No one could complain about campaigns to 'shop-a-looter' across many papers. The majority of people were disgusted by the actions of the minority during a week of gratuitous crime in London. However, the Metro shows British Transport Police are now using their CCTV images to show suspected criminals on trains. A gallery of people who have not been tried by their peers equals a gallery of people who are being exploited by invasive CCTV footage, found guilty by proxy, yet are not found guilty. ...
Do you have stories to tell of what happened on the MOD site at Allen's West during the war? Did you work there soon afterwards and see the changes that happened? If you're in the Eaglescliffe area next Friday, Sept 2nd, then the industrial archaeologists looking at the site would love to hear from you. As local residents will know from our Focus leaflets there is a planning application being
Tim Montgomerie asserted in the Standard this week that social order restoration is imperitive after the Riots, and this is 'the ultimate test of Cameron's qualities as Prime Minister'. I would suggest in some ways, Montgomerie is correct. This is a test of Cameron. Is he as left leaning and open to his Liberal Democrat colleagues as he would have had us believe 16 months ago? In short, Cameron has been found wanting. He has professed a caring side, a social liberal leaning towards a better Britain, with democracy, decentralised government and people focused politics. His behaviour during and after ...
Much has been made of the damage being in coalition may or may not do to the Liberal Democrats. I'm not going to argue about that, though I do take encouragement from the fact that the latest ICM poll, the gold standard in terms of accuracy of making predictions, has us up to 17% in its latest telephone poll - a position scarce any different from where we normally are in the electoral cycle. But I think something that has been underestimated is the damage the coalition might do to the Conservatives. I think a prime example of this is ...
In my recent post on the film Bobby Fischer Against the World I mentioned the Soviet grandmaster Mark Taimanov, whom Fischer demolished 6-0 in a match on his way for qualifying for the right to challenge Spassky for the world title. Taimanov is a remarkable figure who deserves a post in his own right. Not only was he one of the world's top grandmasters throughout the 1950s and 1960s, but he was also a concert pianist. The recordings of duets he made with his first wife Lyubov Bruk are included in several collections of the greatest piano recordings, including the ...
Just as an update on yesterday's post, the "libellous post" that prompted Atos to issue the legal threats that resulted in the shutting down of the Carerwatch support forums has been identified. You ready for it? Here it is, in the words of Carerwatch: "It turns out to be a very old post and nothing to do with CarerWatch - only a link to another site."So, for this one link to one website, hundreds of carers and families of disabled people have been put through huge amounts of stress by having their one support group shut down. Atos is, as ...
What a great year for exam results - SATs for junior school kids as well as A levels and GCSE's. Well done students, pupils, parents, teachers, governors, support staff, council education staff. SATs – Southwark kids achieve the 13th highest joint English and Maths in London – that's 13th out of 32 London boroughs. Nationally that's 48th out of 128 English education authorities. My hunch is that with the economic situation fewer people are leaving Southwark meaning more stability of junior school populations. Eitherway its a really good result building on the last few years success. GCSEs – initial school ...
Further to my previous updates about my and parents' concerns about the removal of the 4S bus service by National Express Dundee, the line taken by the bus company and City Council transport officials thus far that "alternative buses" are available was shown for the nonsense that this is when, yesterday, the 26 service (a convoluted route that eventually reaches St John's High School but means pupils have to catch the bus at 8.05am and don't get home before 5pm) left Perth Road over 5 minutes early, failing to pick up any pupil. I have reported parents' complaints to the ...
I am not a fan of demonstrations. To me they smack of that group at a public meeting who shout loudly and then claim they represent the feeling of the meeting. I am especially not a fan of the EDL. ... Continue reading →
Just a reminder that "Love in the Pleasure Garden", a Jane Austen inspired concert takes place tomorrow in Dundee's Wighton Centre.
As Gareth Epps 'has not got through the stupid, authoritarian processing process for Lib Dem Conference', Michael contemplates how to fill in the form to register. It seems with regards to Passports, those who are answering cannot get it right.
I was horrified to hear about an American Muslim student at a Scottish university who, while not himself Pakistani, had a Pakistani flag in his room, and who was the victim of an incident that has been much-reported this week. Two drunk students entered the Muslim student's room in the middle of the night, urinated in his sink and "jumped on" him (whatever that means - it sounds awful), before one of them extracted a pubic hair from himself and rubbed it on the Pakistani flag. A court has heard that the two students shouted that the Muslim student was ...
From today's Liberal Democrat News. Them and Us. Changing Britain - Why We Need a Fair Society Will Hutton Abacus, 2011, £10.99 Fifteen years ago it was impossible to escape Will Hutton. His book The State We're In, with its call for a less short-term, less short-sighted capitalism, was everywhere - so much so that the New Statesman was later to claim that it had sold 200,000 copies. This, the magazine said, was by far the most for a book of its kind "since J M Keynes's The Economic Consequences of the Peace shortly after the First World War". And ...
North Ayrshire UA, Saltcoats and Stevenston First preference votes: Scottish Labour Party 1914 (48.7; +13.9) SNP 1306 (33.2; +1.2) Scottish Conservative 284 (7.2; -0.4) All Scotland Pensioners Party 211 (5.4; +5.4) Independent 114 (2.9; +2.9) LD Gordon Bain 56 (1.4; +1.4) Socialist Labour Party 43 (1.1; +1.1) [Ind (0.0; -6.8)] [Ind (0.0; -18.8)] Turnout 25.42% Lab hold Percentage change is since May 2007. Labour elected at Stage 5. For full details use the link: Bolsover DC, Shirebrook South West Lab 200 (47.8; +15.6) Green 103 (24.6; +24.6) Con 72 (17.2; +11.1) BNP 43 (10.3; +0.7) [Ind (0.0; -52.1)] Majority ...
Yesterday, I wrote a post about uneasily supporting a temporary ban on the EDL marching through Tower Hamlets based on a belief that I do not believe the police in any way shape or form will be able to keep order. I also believe their is a very real danger of race riots. After much more discussion today, i'm still not entirely happy with my opinion, it goes against everything I believe. However, I know that Theresa Mays decision to ban marches in 5 London boroughs for 30 days is beyond reasonable in any sense of the word. Now as ...
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was attacked last night in Glasgow with a blue paint bomb. The blue paint ruined Mr Clegg's perfectly good jacket and also hit Scottish party leader Willie Rennie. Predictably, the media were very keen to make the biggest possible deal out of the attack, which happened as Clegg was attending a meeting with Liberal Democrat activists in the city's West End. I really don't see what all the fuss is about. After all, I've had a lot worse things than blue paint thrown at me in certain areas of Glasgow. Sky News were quick to ...
Over the bank holiday, the Liberal Democrat (federal) HQ is moving from the old 4 Cowley Street address to: Liberal Democrat Headquarters, 8-10 Great George Street, London, SW1P 3AE Map here / Photos here Phone numbers and email addresses remain the same, so the switchboard is still 020 7222 7999. The old HQ at 4 Cowley Street has been the party's HQ since its formation in 1988 (and the HQ for the SDP before then). It's a lovely Grade II listed building, originally the London HQ for the North Eastern Railway Company. However despite an extensive refit just before the ...
The news that net migration into the United Kingdom rose by 21% in 2010 is another reminder why a 'get tough' policy on immigration is so easy in theory, and so futile in practice. It is wonderfully ironic that the key factors leading to the increase were an increase in migrants from the A8 Group in the European Union* (up from 5,000 to 39,000) and a significant decrease in the number of people leaving this country to live and work elsewhere, exactly the factors that Governments can't actually control. In this light, the Conservative policy of reducing net migration to ...
SNP MSP for Dunfermline Bill Walker, who has been widely dismissed as a bigoted homophobe by the national media and parliamentary colleagues alike, made an astonishing u-turn after unexpectedly attending a gay party in Edinburgh last Friday. Walker, who has in the past described gay marriage as "just not right" and a "contradiction in terms", had an amazing change of heart after he mistakenly entered one of the city's gay clubs while on his way to deliver a speech at the Brian Souter Appreciation Society's annual dinner. Mr Walker was witnessed talking "in a relaxed and animated fashion" to several ...
So HM's Principal Secretary of State for the Home Department has decided to ban all marches in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and four neighbouring London Boroughs for a period of 30 days. Why is this felt necessary? Because the Metropolitan Police applied for this ban as they consider that it would result in ...
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 Opinion: Time to give inheritance tax the chop (75 comments) by Rebecca Tidy Chris Rennard writes... Can we tell what will happen in four years? (16 comments) by Chris Rennard At his best and his worst: 5 thoughts on Tony Blair's analysis of the UK riots (15 comments) by Stephen Tall Opinion: the battle for the Electoral Reform Society (40 comments) by Simon McGrath 5 posts to read before casting your Electoral Reform Society council vote (10 ...
British politics is known for its name-calling and point-scoring rather than adult debate, and few sane voters find the bearpit of Prime Minister's Question Time very edifying. But since no party won the election, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have tried to do the mature thing, with neither getting all of what they want because the voters didn't give either party absolute power. The voters don't matter, though, to Tory Boy Tim Montgomerie, who today screams and screams until he's sick that "With every passing day the Liberal Democrats are dragging the Coalition further away from the Conservative manifesto". Well, gosh. ...
[IMG: The sun sets on Cowley Street] As the sun sets on Cowley Street, Lib Dem Chief Exec Chris Fox emails party members with the HQ's change of address and a brief look back, before taking "another big step for the party and our ambitious modernisation programme". (He also includes a handy list of contact details for other parts of the party.) Simon Cooper's sneak-preview photos show that for LDHQ, the future's bright: Chris Fox writes: Next week the Liberal Democrats are moving their Headquarters. Since moving into Cowley Street in 1982, the party and its precursors have seen many ...
Once again, girls have out-performed boys at GCSE. This, apparently, is a 'cause for concern.' By whom? Well, by men, of course. I'm sorry; that was a cheap jibe. But then like all women of my age I spent the first 30 years of my life being subjected to cheap jibes about women's intellectual abilities. I do have some background in all this. During my gap year, I spent 6 months working as a number cruncher for an educational research team on two significant longitudinal studies. It was quite a revelation to me when I discovered that the raw scores ...
British politics is known for its name-calling and point-scoring rather than adult debate, and few sane voters find the bearpit of Prime Minister's Question Time very edifying. But since no party won the election, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have tried to do the mature thing, with neither getting all of what they want because the voters didn't give either party absolute power. The voters don't matter, though, to Tory Boy Tim Montgomerie, who today screams and screams until he's sick that With every passing day the Liberal Democrats are dragging the Coalition further away from the Conservative manifesto. Well, gosh. ...
The Council has launched a consultation asking people in Stockport for their views on the future of sport and leisure facilities in the borough. There are currently 16 sports and leisure facilities throughout the borough, which are owned by the Council and run on their behalf by Stockport Sports Trust. To ensure it can continue to provide the highest quality leisure facilities which are sustainable into the future, the Council has undertaken full review and has drafted a strategy for meeting the physical activity needs of Stockport people through leisure provision. The Council wants to hear people's views on these ...
The polls are closed and the votes counted in our vote on where to run our e-campaign. We have a winner in the Old Town. Thanks to everyone who took part and thanks for the comments, they made interesting reading. We will be kicking off this mainly electronic campaign over this weekend and look forward to your continued interest. I promise to keep you as up to date as possible, considering anything published online can be read by anyone.
One thing we can be sure the Tories would have done had they been governing alone is taken the Human Rights Act and shredded it. The fact that these hard won freedoms are still there is down to Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats who will not let them be eroded. In the aftermath of the riots, David Cameron talked a load of nonsense about human rights.I have been waiting for Nick Clegg to slap him down to size and make the case for the Human Rights Act - which he has done today, in an article for the Guardian's ...
Welcome to the delayed 12:15 departure from Peterborough to Edinburgh Waverley. A surprisingly decent glass of riesling gewurztraminer by the left hand, I find myself struggling with the second Times Killer Sudoku, so why not give the world the benefit of my opinion for a change... One of the biggest advantages of being a Liberal Democrat is that, when exposed to Conservative stupidity, you are more likely to understand why it is stupid and the contradictions that exist in their 'thinking'. The likes of Tim Montgomerie (for example) are, thanks heavens, very vocal but not terribly thoughtful when it comes ...
"Shame on you! You have mellowed. Coalition's turning yellow!" Er, aye right. It got a lot more attention than it might have done. The media storm in a teacup over an incident involving some blue paint and a relapsed Lib Dem party member and a couple of politicians meant that this meeting of Liberal Democrats got noticed unlike the many others in recent days. Thankfully Nick Clegg and Willie Rennie took this infantile assault in relatively good spirit. I particularly liked Willie's response that he always wanted a blue streak in his hair but his mother wouldn't let him! Having ...
Throughout the 1930s, we managed to laugh and ridicule the likes of Oswald Mosley and William Joyce (aka Lord Haw-Haw) without resorting to authoritarian public banning orders. Subsequently, though, William Joyce did go on to commit high treason and Mosley was interned during the Second World War. But fast forward to the present, 2011, and ...
View Poll: Margaret Atwood's accent (Inspired by Chapter 19 of The Handmaid's Tale: "I sit in the chair and think about the word chair. It can also mean the leader of a meeting. It can also mean a mode of execution. It is the first syllable in charity. It is the French word for flesh. None of these facts has any connection with the others.")
I was reading in todays Metro that yesterday at a meet the party event two gentlemen forced their way in and threw blue paint over Nick Clegg and William Rennie, head of the Scottish Lib Dem party. Mr Rennie laughed it off with; I've always wanted a blue streak in my hair but my mother wouldn't let me. Nick merely said; These things happen in the job. It's no big deal. There are several things that could be read into this however. One of these is security. The way the country is at the moment and especially in the light ...
First they came for smokers, then they came for drinkers, now they are coming for obese – or more correctly "the potentially obese".The topic of the day – when not discussing the likely whereabouts of a certain Libyan leader – is the most recent "expert" report telling us that unless we tax unhealthy foods, half the UK population "will be obese by 2030". This headline grabbing report appears in the Lancet that is running a four-part series looking at the "global obesity pandemic" (yes that is right – pandemic) and how it believes it should be tackled.The answer it comes ...
Michael tells of the struggle for freedom in Uganda following a talk by Ugandan LGBT activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera in Belfast last night. (originally posted on Lib Dems in NI)
The Liberal Democrats bid goodbye to Cowley Street today. From Monday the party's national HQ will be at 8-10 Great George Street, still in Westminster. Simon Cooper has some pictures of the new offices.
Michael tells of the struggle for freedom in Uganda following a talk by Ugandan LGBT activist Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera in Belfast last night.
One of the things we're encouraged to do at work is set ourselves stretch targets. Originally, I decided I was going to aim for completing the final DD307 TMA this weekend, but as I've been sat at St. Pancreas waiting for my train to Derby to arrive, I've hatched a mad plan. Why shouldn't I attempt to do both the TMA and the EMA for SD226 over what looks like a pretty soggy bank holiday weekend? The positive aspects of such a plan is that it will give me more time to revise for the DD307 exam on 13th October ...
Daily Post column: Time for answers from Merseytravel about legal biIt seems that Cllr Dowd David Barlett writes: .......Merseytravel did not like the wording in a press release about the chairman's authorised personal spending on the authority's credit card. But what sets this case apart is that the taxpayer (you and I) are picking up part of Cllr Dowd's bill. How much will the taxpayer pay? We don't know because Merseytravel refuses to discuss it, ironically until the legal case is complete. The transport authority has seemingly made a decision about this, yet refuses to explain it. Why? Excuses about ...
I did start to try and write this last night but couldn't get around to completing it until now It is a pity that Stuart Rodger* felt he had to resort to such a cheap stunt a throwing an egg full of blue paint to try and get a message across to Nick Clegg. He is a bright and intelligent young man. Yes in his brief time in the Lib Dems I did get to know him and debate with him, both at that time and since he left. He has the intelligence to frame an argument against what the ...
My second blogpost for The Huffington Post looks at the difference been made by many young people in politics across the Western World.
A letter to the Evening Standard: Tim Montgomerie's attempt (David Cameron must get back to work on broken Britain, 24 Aug 11) to paint the Liberal Democrats as roadblocks to change is misplaced. In his speech of 13 August, Nick Clegg identified three priorities for government social policy - "gang culture; failing families; a welfare system that traps too many in dependency" - and championed the coalition's response, including the "radical welfare reform agenda." On the economic front, the Lib Dems have fully backed the essential deficit reduction programme, but more action is indeed needed to boost economic growth. The ...
Of all the problems and delays which have beset the Edinburgh trams, none was so avoidable as the unbelievably stupid decision taken by Edinburgh Councillors last night to stop the new line at Haymarket. The Chief Executive of Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce quite understandably described the decision as "bonkers". The brain cell belonging to the opposition councillors must have been in for dry cleaning or something. What use is a tram line that doesn't go to the City Centre? Who's going to want to use it if they have to change to a bus at Haymarket? And why would they ...
Fri 26th
11:39
"With every passing day the Liberal Democrats are dragging the Coalition further away from the Conse...
That is the title of this piece by Tim Montgomerie over at the Conservatives home. I rarely read any blogs or items by other parties (I know I should, but I don't get much time as it is so prefer to read the opinions of people who's opinions I value), however it is always good to read a piece like this. Even reading the title just shows why we were right to go into coalition with the Tories. It may be damaging to our reputation to be seen along side all of the Tory policies that we have compromised on, ...
Yesterday in Glasgow a protestor threw blue paint into Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's face, splattering not only him but the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Willie Rennie, and some policemen (the last of whom are expected to press charges). Clegg's team laughed off the incident, saying that as Nick has small children, he's ...
Open Rights Group, alongside 9 other human right groups including Amnesty UK, Liberty and Index on Censorship, yesterday wrote to the Home Secretary, Rt Hon Theresa May MP. We were responding to the Prime Minister's comments that the Government will "look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality". The letter was written to coincide with a meeting that took place at lunchtime yesterday between the Home Secretary and Twitter, Facebook and Research in Motion, to discuss what that might mean in practice. ...
Migration hits the tabloid headers again today, with the statistics revealing that 0.03% of the population is migrants. Of course, the tabloids prefer the number 239,000 but that's what it amounts to. It fuels racial hatred and xenophobia, further ostracises the communities accused of not integrating and plays into the hands of diabolical and dangerous groups such as the English Defence League. The Metro quotes Matt Cavanagh, who says that apparently the Lib Dems said before the election that immigration was out of control. Uh, No We Didn't. It should be noted that half of that number have a definite ...
[IMG: itseemsto] Well when I clicked the link on TDC's website to find the answer, it came up with this, [IMG: missinglink] so I'd been inclined to say yes, still maybe Cllr Simon Moores is helping out in IT, you know how tricky these links can be, remember this incredible mistake. I assume it will be sorted out soon. Still if you've ever looked at traffic wardens, particularly in London, if it wasn't for their uniforms you'd get the impression that they were fashion photographers as the wrestle to get the best angle's to "prove" a vehicle is half an ...
The Standard is sailing close to the wind over the squatter cases they are keen to talk about at the moment. There is borderline incitement to racial hatred in repeated articles about Romanian squatters that further villify a specific segment of the community. Last week they published articles on homes that were 'invaded' by eastern Europeans 'who claim to be there legally'. There is certainly an issue growing with squatters, but it feels like a relentless attack to me. The title, 'fears grow of Romanian network targeting capital', further adds to a furore. However, we only have the evidence of ...
Congratulations to my colleague Edwina Hannaford who has demolished the claims being made by the Conservatives on Cornwall Council as they try to justify spending £135,000 or more on hosting the Olympic torch for a single day. The Conservatives claim that Cornwall will get more than 10,000 extra visitors and each will spend £275 per night when they are here. Edwina has proved that visitors actually spend far less than that (just £94 per night in hotels and B&Bs and £54 per night in self-catering). The Tories seem to think that the mere presence of the torch will convince visitors ...
The dropping of the Dominique Strauss-Khan rape case has signified another nail in the coffin of rape victims. Joan Smith writes an interesting piece in today's I paper examining why a rape victim needs a flawless past. As she comments, '(this) is not the vindication of the defendant but the prosecutor's judgement that the accuser would not make a good witness'. Alleged rape victims are villified by the press at every opportunity, and this is magnified by the accessibility of peoples' lives through social media. In recent weeks you only have to reflect on alleged riot offenders' Facebook photos being ...
The more sociology terms I hear about the riots in the UK, the more I get fed up with the press and Politicians trying to sculpt the offenders into a schema of deviant behaviour. One indicator of maturity is the recognition that nothing is all good or all bad. Politicians and press seem constricted by a devil vs angel rhetoric. Why? Because it is extremely distasteful to admit that gratuitous criminality could be conducted by any one you meet in the street. A wonderful example in this week's Metro is the 70 year old man given a caution for theft. ...
How media clearly reflects sexism Interesting tale from someone who teaches film studies about the ingrained, unconscious sexism she finds in her students (tags: feminism media) Never before seen levels of political Bad-Assery! I think I have a new favourite politician: Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir YOU RULE. (tags: feminism politics) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
PIctured above are Councillor Simon Shaw and myself by the Marine Lake. As reported in an earlier posting, Simon and I visited the lake a few weeks ago to look into problems occurring due to excessive weed growth and litter. We were pleased to find great improvements to state of the lake. A coloured dye has been added to reduce weed growth and the lake has been topped up with fresh sea water at high tides. The smell, which was evident yesterday, was apparently being produced by a sewer vent on the promenade which vents a storage tank used at ...
Pleas Sir! was a fantastically good comedy series which ran on London Weekend Television between 1968 and 1972. It was written by John Esmonde and Bob Larney, who went onto write "The Good Life", amongst other gems. It starred John Alderton, Deryk Guyler, Noel Howlett and the priceless Joan Sanderson. It also made stars of the "pupils" who are on glorious display in the clip below the opening titles here:
Ha Tim Montgomerie's gone off on one. He wrote a piece in the Evening Standard the other day complaining about Lib Dem influence on government As I wrote then, if The Tories are complaining we're getting in the way, we must be doing something right. Anyway, Tim's not taking any notice. Which is fair enough. And now he's written a piece, entitled "With every passing day the Liberal Democrats are dragging the Coalition further away from the Conservative manifesto." So kick back everyone and take a well deserved 15 minutes off to consider just how right we must be getting ...
To sign go to: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/10262 Please share this with friends and colleagues.
@charlotteahenry Thanks for the #ff Straight back atcha – do follow Charlotte, folks, and http://t.co/vNxl56B in reply to charlotteahenry # I want to be totally clear. I did not just watch #xfactor I just happened to be in the same room while Ms Stephen watched it #gojanetdevlin # @alixmortimer Ah, Ustinov as Poirot... [IMG: :)] Dead Man's Folly was my fave as a kid. That's probably why I fitted in so well at school. in reply to alixmortimer # A fun day #youtoobling for old Liberal videos for next six @libdemvoice LDVideo posts. It's just how I roll. # Am ...
There are two stand-out articles from yesterday's press that show Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats have not lost their reforming zeal, nor are they going to be pushed around by the Conservatives. The first of these is Nick's determination to finally nail down reform of the way political parties are funded. According to the Independent, the Liberal Democrat leader is considering ideas including a £50,000 cap on individual donations to parties so they do not rely on rich backers. In return, parties could qualify for tax relief on small donations in the same way as charities. The paper says ...
PC Dave Wright (Heald Green) and PC Mark Shaw (Gatley) came to Cheadle Area Committee on Tuesday to give us an update on their activities in the area. On this occasion, we didn't have someone from Cheadle – it depends who the police can spare to send along on a particular evening. Although we didn't get a Cheadle update this time, we will shortly. The police have been busy with the rioting in recent weeks. In Stockport we didn't have any real trouble – a lot of intelligence work was done, some groups of potential rioters were met and sent ...
Potatoes and politics. Almost as good a combination as chocolate and constitutions. But potatoes and politics it is on 15th September when I'm heading over to Putney Library to talk about what's coming up on the Liberal Democrat autumn conference agenda. With issues such as Lords reform, drugs decriminalisation and ending the gay blood donor ban on the agenda there will be plenty to debate at conference. In addition to giving an overview of the likely main controversies I'll also be highlighting some of the less headline-catching but important ways in which people at conference will be able to influence ...
One of the reasons I enjoy following Tim Farron on Twitter is that when he lists where he's been on his constituency tours, it reads like my holidays all rolled in to one. Grasmere, Ambleside, Troutbeck...all conjure up happy memories. I go to the Lakes most years, and apart from the posters advertising where Tim is due to meet residents - the shop in Chapel Stile and the Britannia Inn in Elterwater are frequent favourites - one of the most common sights are the collection boxes and appeals from the local mountain rescue teams for donations. Because all the work ...
To go with the committee reports to Birmingham conference, here are the agenda (including the motions) and directory (including the fringe meetings) for the Liberal Democrat 2011 autumn conference: Liberal Democrat Conference 2011 Agenda Liberal Democrat Conference 2011 Directory
Of course, being half-Indian, I have the advantage of a heritage where a great civilisation was being developed whilst you were all painting yourselves blue and thinking that this was the height of fashion. Don't think that I pity you for it. But really, painting your politicians blue is so... well, yesterday. Seriously though, whilst I am vaguely sympathetic with the urge to protest, throwing blue paint at Nick Clegg probably won't have the desired effect. Indeed, it's hard to imagine something less likely to achieve anything. I've seen this sort of thing before, and it screams out one message, ...
The Northern sky of Estonia makes for a long twilight in the summer, and as the seasons gradually roll past I drive out from Tallinn in mid evening. The air is full of the smell of the new-harvested barley- a wholesome, delicious smell like fresh linen. The crickets are singing in the verges- the sign of late summer, as all the swallows have gathered and started their trek south. The storks too have already started for Africa, and before long the great ribbons of clanking geese will be seen decorating the sky. The late summer light- grey-white and flecked with ...
There are reports this morning about the often considered "fat tax" (in the Lancet ) Let me say a couple of things first. I should declare an interest here, as I am overweight (but not ashamedly so ) and would be hit by the tax should it be levied And secondly, perhaps the reporting of this has exaggerated the issue (not untypically these days ) by the BBC I'm all for tackling obesity and the health problems arising from it, but I'm still a believer in educating people on this, rather than taxing everyone the same, obese or not. A ...
There are two scheduled meetings at Blyth Town Council next week Both are at Ebor House, and both at the new starting time of 6pm Tuesday 30th August : Events Committee Thursday 1st September : Planning & Development Committee Just a reminder that with Monday being a Bank Holiday, Ebor House will be closed, reopening on Tuesday
On Consent, Sex Positivity, & Cultures of Color after Colonization Obviously triggering. (tags: rape racism) How media clearly reflects the sexism and the racism we cannot see in ourselves A teacher gives their students a collection of headshots and asks them to cast them. Predictable butsaddening stereotyping results. (tags: racism sexism media)
Case closed: "Climategate" was manufactured | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine A couple of the report conclusions are worth pointing out: We found no basis to conclude that the [Climategate] emails were evidence of research misconduct or that they pointed to such evidence. That's clear enough, I think. They also said: There is no specific evidence that [Mann] falsified or fabricated any data and no evidence that his actions amounted to research misconduct. A big claim by the deniers is that researchers were using "tricks" to falsify conclusions about global warming, but the NSF report is pretty clear that's not ...
We're a few yards from one of the most breathtaking views in the Isles of Scilly, on St Mary's, across to Tresco. Very advantageously we are also slap bang next to the islands' transmitter mast, guaranteeing a five bar signal. It doesn't get much better. Our affection for the islands has been greatly enhanced by the wonderful BBC TV series, "Island Parish". And, blow me down, within an hour of landing, I found myself standing next to the German vet lady in the butchers. My cup runneth over.
Nick Clegg has penned a powerful piece for the Guardian's Comment is Free, in which he lays out his perspective on the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights. I entirely agree with his argument, and indeed am delighted to see it clearly stated by the Deputy Prime Minister that there is, in fact, no right to fried chicken. The savings to the NHS alone will no doubt be enormous. What I find myself wondering, however, is how human rights arise in liberalism. It is historical fact that they do, yet at first sight it seems a ...
Labour want to increase the number of Apprenticeships available to young people. Read the BBC article here. These are my personal views – particularly on Higher Education. First off, Labour adopted a policy which stated that they aimed to achieve a figure of 75% (in their 2010 manifesto) of young people progressing to Higher Education. ...Read More
Isn't the internet wonderful! All I have to do to look at my previous blogs on any subject is to put in a few words into a search engine. I have written before about CRB checks and how the Soham murders were involved in the move towards greater checks, and how, ironically, they would not have prevented these murders. I have now reminded myself of what I have already written. For the record you can see blog entries on 13th October and the 16th December 2009 and 8th February 2011. However I haven't commented on who should pay for these ...
