Well! After activating the cameras on 25th July and catching tens of thousands of motorists who were baffled by the poor signage and lack of road markings, Hertfordshire Highways have finally taken some action. Yesterday they painted two bright green sections of road showing where the short bus lane is, and written nice clear warnings in clear white letters on the green background. Oh, and they've nicely repainted all the white road markings that had almost faded completely away. The street signs that are obscured or poorly positioned are still where they've always been – but it's a definite improvement. ...
[IMG: Ed Butcher with the visitor permits that are about to become worthless] My colleague Ed Butcher has been demanding urgent action from Haringey Council to prevent parking voucher chaos following the imminent changes to the Finsbury Park Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ). Local residents have been given only 45 days (until 14th October) to exchange visitor parking vouchers, after which residents will find old vouchers are worthless and will be fined for their wrong use. The Finsbury Park CPZ is being divided into three separate zones following a consultation with residents. Haringey Council has informed residents of the need to ...
As I write this, the top headline on the BBC online news reads Acclaim for Bank Shake-up Plan. The report states that there is broad support for the Vickers' report's proposals to separate domestic retail banking and global wholesale and investment banking operations. This support extends to the Chancellor and the Prime Minister. What the BBC doesn't point out is that this a complete victory for the Liberal Democrats - particularly Vince Cable. When the banking crisis broke , we quickly decided that we had to ensure that the state couldn't be put in the position again where it had ...
Following my weekly surgeries this afternoon at the Mitchell Street Centre and at Harris Academy, I attended tonight's City Council meeting and various committees at which : * At the City Council meeting, I praised the work of the Dundee Youth Council that has hit the ground running in representing young people across Dundee. * At the Policy and Resources Committee, I sought assurances that the overspends in Social Work and City Development would result in a review of budget provision in 2012-13. * At the same committee, I also sought assurances that the planned rebuilding project at Harris Academy ...
Travelling to Edinburgh in a nearly gale- NOT assuredly a hurricane- reveals Britain at almost its worst. I travel in a diesel train, but we are forced to adhere to a 50 MPH restriction imposed on electric trains, even though the train is already 15 minutes late, so there are no electric trains immediately ahead of us- it is just "the restriction- for your safety". No, it is a restriction for insurance or for operational reasons or for signalling reasons. It is not for the passengers, it is for the company. Yet, despite the large number of passengers missing connections, ...
After four months James Gurling, the chair of the Party campaigns and communications commitee has come to conclusions about the failed AV referendum. Some of it can be guessed at, and were guessed at by those of us sat at counts across the country listening to the bad results roll in. Of course there are some things to think about but there is the part where Nick got it wrong too. According to the report one of the major fault lies was the Deputy Prime Minister's insistence that the referendum be held at the same time as the local elections. ...
SpongeBob 'may impair concentration' - What a load of nonsense! New Borders, new names? - Notes from my radio appearance on Sunday (and there is more to come on this). Five Paradoxes of Peace Operation, by Richard Gowan (PDF): 1) Military peacekeeping has grown in scale - yet lost operational impact. 2) Peacekeeping is cheap - but it is also still too expensive. 3) All peace operations are political - but not all are guided by credible political strategies and few peacekeepers are good at politics. 4) Peacekeepers promote democracy and justice - but democracy and justice don't always ...
... Not talking about it publicly is really REALLY hard. That is all. [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Now the Plaid Cymru conference has come to an end (with one blogger calling Ieuan's final speech as 'momentus', I'd hardly call it that). I thought I might share this excerpt I read from the annual edition of 'Lol', which ... Continue reading →
Today is the 45th anniversary of the debut of the Monkees' TV show, so I saved this piece on their masterpiece, which I was originally going to post on Saturday, til today. Which is quite handy, as I've been off ill with a migraine today and wouldn't have been able to write a proper post. ...
After a lot of very hard work the mySociety team (the people behind other successful websites such as TheyWorkForYou, WhatDoTheyKnow, ElectionLeaflets, etc) have just launched a new website that aims to allow users to report problems with their journeys on public transport.If you'd like to make use of the new service it can be found at;www.FixMyTransport.com
With breathless excitement I awaited the outcome of the boundary review. Who would be right- Patrick Wintour of the Guardian with his confident prediction of Lib Dems Norman Baker and Mike Hancock scrapping it out for a joint Lewes/Portsmouth seat, or commonsense which says that two place 50 miles apart are unlikely to be joined together given the large conurbation sitting between them. I won't beat about the bush. Commonsense won and Mr Wintour lost. Mind you, in both cases there has been an interesting outcome to the review. Portsmouth changes from being north and south to east and west ...
Total Politics has begun to announce its annual blog awards for 2011. The winners will be revealed over the next ten days. So far, we have the top ten green, non-aligned and media blogs. You can see who is in, and who is out, by clicking this link.
So far the Greens and UKIP have met. The TUC is currently gathering and after that it is the Liberal Democrats. They will be followed by Labour and the Conservatives close proceedings. For those people keen on politics it is all rather fascinating. Lobbyists normally get to go to all three party conferences and have the opportunity of seeing how the parties that run, and wish to run, the country function up close and personal. Most people aren't interested at all. Party membership is declining and for many the parties are a much of a much. Does any of it ...
The march of continual improvement at the Manor* is continuing (despite very turbulent times in Education in England) as this years results build on last years success.This year for the first time over 60% of the Manors' Students achieved 5 higher grades wit almost 50% managing the same achievement including Maths and Science.Given the significant areas of deprivation (some of the worst in the County) within King's Hedges and Arbury this is an impressive achievement. The overall figures are;5 higher grades = 61.3% - 3% up on last year,5 higher grades including Maths and Science = 48.4% - about the ...
Having written something almost complimentary about former Luton South Labour MP Margaret Moran in my last post here I thought I ought to redress the balance. Luckily this tweet appeared in my Twitter feed today thanks to @lordbonkers and I thought it needed sharing. This is how The Olive Press, "Spain's No1 English news website", reported the news that Moran is to face 21 expenses charges; "British MP who blocked public footpaths around Spanish home faces 21 charges of fraud" You can tell from the quotes in this article that British ex-pats who move to Spain soon lose touch with ...
Well, as expected, the reduction of seats from 650 to 600 nationally makes little difference to Suffolk, with its growing population. Indeed, we actually have better representation than we did before, assuming that these are accepted. Here's a summary...Bury St Edmunds - loses the Mid Suffolk wards of Badwell Ash, Gislingham and Rickinghall and Walsham, and the St Edmundsbury ward of Pakenham to West SuffolkCentral Suffolk and North Ipswich - no changeIpswich - no changeSouth Suffolk - no changeSuffolk Coastal - no changeWaveney - no changeWest Suffolk - gains four wards from Bury St Edmunds (see above), loses Newmarket to ...
The Boundary commission has published it's proposed changes across Cambridgeshire in order to make MP's constituencies roughly balanced with somewhere between 72,810 and 80,473 electors. At the same time the number of constituencies (and therefore MP's) will be reduced to 600, in England this will mean a reduction from 533 to 502. Whilst Cambridge remains unchanged in the proposals here in South Cambridgeshire the changes are pretty significant: In conjunction with St Neots (currently in Huntingdonshire) and roughly Gamlingay, Cambourne, Hardwick, and Bar Hill from South Cambridgeshire we will be forming a "new" parliamentary seat. For a commission apparently aiming ...
Phil Beesley on his discovery that the novelist once lived in the Leicester suburb of Aylestone and set his novel The Right to an Answer there. Over a pint of Tiger, somebody told me that Anthony Burgess used to drink in our pub. The story sounded implausible -- that Burgess had been a familiar face at the Black Horse, Aylestone in the 1950s - but I filed it away mentally.* The legend was that Anthony Burgess got drunk in the bar, chatting with the landlord, Bernard, while, his wife was keeled over in the lounge. Burgess's real life is difficult ...
Zac Goldsmith's continued career as an MP looks in doubt as a result of draft proposals issued by the Boundary Commission. They suggest linking his Richmond Park seat with Vince Cable's Twickenham seat. In 2010 Vince Cable had a majority of 12,140 and Zac Goldsmith 4,091.
The Conservative candidate in the Surbiton Hill by-election has issued a legal summons to his Lib Dem opponent accusing him of misleading the electorate about his and his party's position on a new primary school. The argument centres over whether Kilby has supported Lib Dem plans for a new school (now being built) on the disused Surbiton Hospital site. The Surrey Comet carries the full report. In a carefully worded letter Kilby claims he has, 'consistently been in favour of the provision'. However he failed to mention where he has consistently said this provision should be. The Surrey Comet also ...
I wrote about a month ago regarding the large amount of noise by people wishing to remove the 50p tax band, the talk of which hasn't appeared to die down. I wanted to bring this up again after reading an excellent piece by Simon Jenkins on the Guardian's website last week. In principle I am against high levels of income tax, however I agree that it is completely nonsensical to be reducing the highest rate at the moment (in fact I feel that 50% feels fair). A few points I want to pick out of this article: "The truth of ...
The Boundary commission has published it's proposed changes across Cambridgeshire in order to make MP's constituencies roughly balanced with somewhere between 72,810 and 80,473 electors. At the same time the number of constituencies (and therefore MP's) will be reduced to 600, in England this will mean a reduction from 533 to 502.Here in Cambridge there is no change at all the only slight exception to this being that Queen Ediths will now sit in a slightly reconfigured South Cambridgeshire. Cambridge will not change in the slightest.The brief, from Government, was for "minimal change" and that certainly seems to have been ...
.. is no change at all. In fact, in all of Berkshire the only proposal is that one ward in Slough becomes a ward in Windsor. Paragraphs 30 – 32 on p10 of the review for the South-East, for those interested. Apparently Nadine Dorries's seat will be split into four. Start the conspiracy theories now: she's proving to be an embarrassment and is being shuffled out the door... In principle, I support reducing the number of MPs. It remains to be seen how well we do it in practice. It's going to be extremely difficult separating the personal, political and ...
Labour councillors were left red-faced last Thursday after their NHS claims were exposed as rubbish by the Liberal Democrats.At the meeting of the Council Labour members accused the Coalition Government of cutting funds to the NHS in Redcar & Cleveland by £4.9 million this year.However, Lib Dem Group Leader Glyn Nightingale produced Department of Health figures which show that Redcar & Cleveland NHS Trust is getting nearly £7 million more from the Government this year.This contrasts with the Labour-run Welsh Assembly, which is cutting the NHS budget there by more than 5%.Cllr Glyn Nightingale said:"This Government is increasing funding to ...
All technologies have their drawbacks, of course. Make no mistake: I welcome the development of the mobile telephone and I am pleased to see that the latest ALDC guidance recommends its use over the conventional field telephone in all but the most compact urban wards. With it, however, has come the development of "phone-hacking" - an unlovely phenomenon, even if it has led to the welcome demise of the News of the World. There is, however, as I once observed in one of my more philosophical essays for the High Leicestershire Radical, "nothing new under the sun". Those of us ...
Where to start? We have seen the former Labour leader on the city council, Ross Willmott criticising Leicester's elected mayor Sir Peter Soulsby. The other day the Leicester Mercury reported that he could now face disciplinary action. You may also enjoy the encounter between Willmott and Soulsby that took place on BBC Radio Leicester the other day. You have another three days to listen. The part of the programme in question starts at about 2:25. While the issue at stake is ostensibly the city's need for a new gallery for contemporary art, you can hear the passions seething just under ...
Buried under boxes of STUFF, brb. Why do I have so many books? And DVDs? And mugs. Why the hell does one person need twenty novelty mugs? [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Mark Thompson uses the resurfacing of an allegation that George Osborne once took cocaine to make a direct hit on the hypocrisy of British drugs laws. Clearly many people in Britain seem to expect that a politician should resign for ... Continue reading →
When you go back to school, you'll find that you are given, courtesy of HM Government (for those attending fee paying schools please now jump to my blogpost "Why do public schools smell so bad?") brand spanking new text books, exercise books and, at some schools, a fantastic personal planner to make all your notes for the rest of the year. TIP #1: Don't put an unfastened bottle of Diet Coke in your school bag, so that all your new books are saturated in Diet Coke, so that one of your parents has to spend the weekend labouriously cleaning, drying ...
On Saturday Cllr Fred Weavers and myself attended the start of Southport's annual 24 Hour Yacht Race on the Marine Lake. I have stood on the promenade and watched this event in past years but this was my first "official" attendance. Fred was invited due to his involvement in setting up a dragon-boat race to support the Help for Hero's charity. The blustery weather made for ideal conditions for a fast race with many boats coming to grief as they jibed (technical term that I still don't fully understand) to get round one of the markers. We were both warmly ...
Over on his work blog, The Voice's Mark Pack has written about how the health issue is likely to be handled at party conference: The plan for the party's autumn conference was straight-forward: talk up the party's achievements in getting the Health and Social Care Bill changed, have a question & answer session to let people discuss but not disrupt the revised legislation and move on to talk about other issues. That plan has been under assault, however, from health rebels within the Liberal Democrats who do not believe the changes have gone far enough. You can read Mark's post ...
I've now stopped giggling at the news that Nadine Dorries Mid Beds constituency is scheduled for destruction in the proposed changes from The Boundary Commission and turned instead to my more immediate concern. Which is displayed below: Because, should the changes all go through as proposed, then here in Ham Common we are going to be part of quite a fight. Our constituency of Richmond Park is being merged with Twickenham - which means a heavyweight contest between Zac 'Lord of the Manor' Goldsmith and 'King Vince' is on the cards in a veritable Royal rumble. Putting aside any selfish ...
Cross-posted from the MHP Communications blog: The plan for the party's autumn conference was straight-forward: talk up the party's achievements in getting the Health and Social Care Bill changed, have a question & answer session to let people discuss but not disrupt the revised legislation and move on to talk about other issues. That plan has been under assault, however, from health rebels within the Liberal Democrats who do not believe the changes have gone far enough. Spear-headed by Shirley Williams and Evan Harris they have been pressing for further changes, with a debate at conference being the method to ...
There are 2 amendments to motion F9 that will be debated. I am going to reproduce the motion and show how each amendment would affect it. Deletions are shown in strikethrough and additions in bold The first amendment is from Andrew ... Continue reading →
Relying on a leaked list of the Boundary Commission proposals for the North West it seems the current proposals are that Bidston & St. James ward is to become party of Wallasey Constituency. Upton ward will move from Wirral West to Birkenhead. Wirral West constituency will be renamed Hoylake and Neston and will include Neston ...
Yesterday's Observer had a piece on future stars from the youth wings of the three main parties: Liberal Youth, Conservative Future and Young Labour. The young people from all the parties are an inspired and inspiring bunch, but it's striking from the magazine article's photos that Liberal Youth are the huggiest and most diverse. Ranging from "crisp-shirted" to "he of the elongated fringe", the Liberal Youth contingent are a mixture of ages and backgrounds. Sadly the Liberal Youth photo only made it into the print edition (magazine front page, no less) so the online version features the Young Labour photo ...
Mon 12th
16:42
An old Chinese proverb asks - if Schumacher wasn't Schumacher, would he still be wrong?
People who dislike Michael are numerous. Despite what you'd read in this countries' papers, numerous are his supporters too. I'm a fervent supporter – but note that I draw the distinction between supporter and fan. I'm a supporter in that I can say that he was appallingly out of order in Jerez 1997 against Villeneuve, and was right to be excluded. I also allow this not to cloud my judgement of ,statistically, the most successful driver ever in F1. For months, and justifiably in some areas, Schuey was criticised for not being up there with the big boys, and that ...
The Daily Mail write Put Clegg back in his box, Dave in which they give a positive assessment of where Nick Clegg is in his relationship with Cameron: Clegg has Cameron under his control, preventing him from taking decisions that Conservatives think are necessary.
This is a great article in the Washington Post from Steven Pearlstein, outlining how US conservatives are pretty much to opposed to everything that has happened, been discovered or been learned over the past hundred years or so. As he asks - what's next, quantum physics? In particular, he attacks what he calls the magical world of voodoo "economists" (the title of the article). While this is an attack on Anglo-Saxon conservative politicians (many Tories are also fond of the trickle-down delusion), it also reminds me of what I don't like about the Lib Dem conference agenda. My flabber is ...
The Boundary Commission has published its initial proposals for how the English parliamentary constituencies should change. In our area they propose: Cheadle constituency (which we're in here) gains the ward of Davenport & Cale Green, but loses Stepping Hill ward (which covers parts of Davenport, Great Moor, Heavily and Hazel Grove). Hazel Grove constituency gains Stepping Hill ward and also Poynton, which is in East Cheshire, but loses Bredbury & Woodley to Denton. Stockport ward gains Reddish North & Reddish South, but loses Davenport & Cale Green Bear in mind that these are initial proposals, and there follows consultation which ...
Mon 12th
15:53
The Independent View: Coerced, bullied and fighting back: living with Multiple Sclerosis and Welfare...
I am a 54 year old woman who has had Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis for around 6 years. It involves increasing pain and loss of mobility and, as there is no remission, only progression, it takes me all of my energies to manage. After the legion of neurological symptoms forced me to give up work I have had to endure the trauma of an Employment and Support Allowance "medical assessment" by ATOS Healthcare (a French private contractor), I have struggled to attend the mandatory Work Related Activity Group, which was not a safe place in my worsening condition. I waited ...
So there is breaking political news. George Osbourne apparently used to snort cocaine back in the day – that is according to a former sex worker who used to take it with him. First of all I must say in total honestly that I am no George Osbourne fan. There are some decent Tories (Ken Clarke, William Hague) then some pretty bad Tories (Michael Gove, Teresa May) and then you get to the dregs (George Osbourne, Nadine Dorries). Osbourne was the key man who shaped the #NotoAV campaign and was the man whom convinced David Cameron that he had to ...
Todays news will be dominated by the Boundary Review and George Osborne, what however may go unnoticed is this report from PoliticsHome. The report by academics at the University of Bristol states: It is because of these conditions that we question the normative legitimacy of the process by which Ed Miliband was elected. Legitimacy is clearly a contested and normative concept. A legitimate election, we believe, is one conducted under fair procedures and one in which participants consent to the result on the basis that the contest was handled on an even-handed and non-discriminatory basis, irrespective of the result. "In ...
Welcome to the latest in our occasional series highlighting interesting findings from academic research. Earlier this year I wrote about the merits of experimenting with increasing the number of polling stations: This is a greatly under-researched area, and has not ever been tested directly in Britain. However, aside from the common-sense thought that shorter travel distance to polling stations may increase likelihood to vote, there is also some practical evidence from an analysis of voters in Brent over 20 years: "we conclude that the local geography of the polling station can have a significant impact on voter turnout and that ...
What was everyone saying about the Lib Dems being the Conservative's 'lap-dogs'? First the a report is published which says that 75% of the Liberal Democrat manifesto is being implemented in government. Then we had the whole 'Yellow Bastards' nickname flying around, and now the Daily Mail and the Right are saying, or reinforcing, the ...Read More
I have to say that I read the Princess Royal Trust for Carers report on the effects of caring duties on older carers with a bit of trepidation. Two thirds of older carers have a long term health problem themselves, more than a third never get a break from caring and over three quarters said that their caring duties had a negative impact on their mental health. The report makes modest but practical recommendations: carer over 60 to have an annual check of their physical and mental healthlocal authorities to take into account the financial pressures on this groupGovernment to ...
ADVERTISMENT Sunday 18 September 18.15-19.30 Keeping the home fires burning: who's to blame for spiralling energy bills - companies, consumers or government? Soprano, Hyatt Regency Speakers: Rt Hon Chris Huhne MP (tbc); Richard Lloyd, Which?; Christine McGourty, Energy UK; Matthew Sinclair, The TaxPayers' Alliance CHAIR: John Springford, SMF 20.00-21.15 Pensions auto-enrolment: nudging to higher or lower savings? Fortissimo, Hyatt Regency Speakers: Steve Webb MP, Pensions Minister; David Nish, Standard Life; Dr Ros Altman, Saga; Dr Adam Marshall, British Chambers of Commerce CHAIR: Ian Mulheirn, SMF Monday 19 September 13.00-14.00 Success by degrees? Social mobility and higher education Chamberlain Suite, Council ...
The European Union is and shall remain a terribly controversial to both the left and right of British politics. Since joining the coalition the issue of our relationship with the EU has often sought to raise its ugly head. As the right of the Conservative Party battle against a more liberal minded David Cameron, both will be quick to blame the "Europhile" Lib Dems for anything which doesn't hit the populist button arising from the mainland. It's time we dropped that Europhile tag and became a bit more euro-critical. The problem in government is that we have allowed a Tory ...
Guido has details today of a story about how someone who knew George Osborne when he was in his early twenties is claiming that she saw him take cocaine on multiple occasions. Osborne has had these allegations made to him before and has always strenuously denied them. It is possible that this latest round of allegations will come to nothing too. It is not clear if there is a smoking gun. But if it turned out to be true would Osborne have to resign? If it was up to me he would definitely have to. Not because I think taking ...
Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in human history. Like many, I remember watching the Twin towers collapse - I recollect being numbed by the shock, stunned by the scale of inhumanity towards innocents and positively terrified of the new world that had just been created. Nobody could have been left in any doubt that in an instant the world as we knew it had changed beyond recognition; an era of relative confidence, global stability and innocence can crashing down alongside the symbol of American economic supremacy. What was clear in the immediate aftermath of the ...
Whoopie!!! It is hard to believe but finally, finally........... Cllr John Dodd, the Sefton Liberal Democrat representative on Merseyside Integrated Transport Authority (Merseytravel), welcomes Labour's proposals to reduce the committee structure at Merseytravel from the current 34 (including sub committees) down to 8. Cllr Dodd went on to say "this is something the Lib Dems have been requesting for a long time. I am glad they (Labour)have taken on board what the Lib Dems have being saying. This new committee structure brings Merseytravel in to line with other local authorities and will better serve the public of Southport and Sefton ...
[IMG: the future] It's sometimes said that no news is good news, well myself I'm not to sure, and reading this article from the Independent, which speculates on the future of Kent's local press. Some of you will be aware of Kent Messengers proposed takeover of Kent Regional Newspaper titles which include locally the Gazette and Times, many will not be aware because neither newspaper publishers have chosen to discuss it other than a bland notice, the outcome will almost certainly be decided with no reference to the public. While its understandable that local publishers would be reluctant to discuss ...
I was watching Neighbours, a 22-year old student, when I switched channels and watched 9/11 unfold live on my TV screen. I felt angry and upset, but also a strange sense of pride. Proud that the monstrous minority responsible could and should never be allowed to hold the moral high ground. Pride and respect for the bravery of ordinary Americans whose lives had been torn apart but responded so stoically. Pride too in the way that so many countries rallied unreservedly in support of America. I remember speaking to a friend that night, barely able to comprehend how many might ...
FOAL-Friends of Ainsdale Library are holding a Love Your Library Day this Saturday between 10am and 1pm. FOAL was formed by local Ainsdale residents aiming to promote and support the wide ranging work of Ainsdale Library. The aim of the day is to raise awareness of all the activities our local libraries offer-especially at Ainsdale. The day also demonstrates that the Big Society is alive in Ainsdale with local residents rallying to form FOAL and ensure Ainsdale Libraries membership and footfall are high with national government cuts a long term threat to the possible future of the library service. Ainsdale ...
This is a plug the briefing for residents of the Western Edinburgh Neighbourhood Partnership area. This event is being run by Lothian Centre for Inclusive Living and is supported by the grant from the Neighbourhood Partnership. Disability Benefits BriefingWest Edinburgh Presented by Grapevine - The One Stop Shop for Disability Information and Advice in Edinburgh. When: 29th September 2011 from 10am - 1pm,Where: Edinburgh Capital Hotel, 187 Clermiston Road, Edinburgh, EH12 6UG · Are you worried about what's happening with the benefit changes? · Do you get any of these benefits: Disability Living Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Income Support on grounds ...
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has hit back after two prominent clergymen condemned the idea of equal marriage. Over the weekend, Cardinal Keith O'Brien said that same sex marriage would shame Scotland. Today the Archbishop of Paisley has described the idea as "cultural vandalism". Frankly, I think that to allow equality in our marriage laws enshrines the liberal and tolerant values integral to our Scottish culture. No Church will be forced to offer marriage to same sex couples - that's an important part of the proposal accepted by the most fervent of equality campaigners. No Church has anything to ...
1233 ABC Newscastle takes our Headline of the Day Award by a distance. Judges' note: Having taken legal advice, we are not providing a link to today's winner.
In the occasional series highlighting the Whig element of the coalition, here is a link to a piece on the Guardian's website by Julian Glover. Glover describes Clegg as a "Whig grandee". You can read the piece in full by clicking here.
The Lib Dem conference agenda for Autumn 2011 includes policy motions on Science Not Stigma: Ending the Blood Ban (p39), Protecting Individuals and Communities from Drug Harms (p24), and Tackling Violence against Women (p30). Full texts of these motions and others, are found in the agenda (pdf). If you're going, and you have an electronic diary, then you may find this iCalendar file useful:
Last month I highlighted the threat to historic trees in Cintra Avenue in Redlands. This is just the latest episode in a battle we have fought over many years for trees in Redlands to be protected and replaced when they are removed. As soon as I heard about plans by the Council to fell trees in Cintra Avenue I raised the matter with Labour Lead Councillors - I am happy to work with anyone regardless of Party to ensure that ward matters are addressed. I was pleased to get a positive initial response from Cllr Tony Page, the councillor responsible for street trees. ...
I've recently been wanting to read more new science fiction books – mostly since discovering Charles Stross' writing last year – but I'm not sure what's actually good. I'm more than familiar with the genre from roughly 1930-1980 – I know all the classics backwards, and grew up reading Fred Pohl, Clifford Simak, Heinlein, Henry ...
New history of British liberalism published With all due deference to the many other wonderful events coming up at the Liberal Democrat party conference, there is one that has me childishly excited. Monday evening, Paddy Ashdown and Shirley Williams will be speaking at the Liberal Democrat History Group fringe meeting where we launch the new history of British liberalism, Peace, Reform and Liberation: A history of liberal politics in Britain 1679-2011. The book has been the History Group's intended next book for quite a while, so simply seeing it out and in print (thanks to the hard work of Duncan ...
Nick Clegg has paid tribute to David Griffiths, former Chair of the Liberal Democrat Federal Finance Committee, Treasurer of Liberal International and the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, who died earlier this month: David Griffiths who had served the Liberal Democrats loyally over the years passed away aged 70 on the 3rd September 2011. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the many years of dedicated service David gave to the party. His many varied roles included being Chair of the Liberal Democrat Federal Finance and Administration Committee and Treasurer of Liberal International a role ...
One of the great things about QR codes is they have built in error correction. This means if the code gets damaged or dirty, it can still be scanned. This means we can add images into the QR code to make it look prettier without negatively affecting the code's usability. Niteesh Yadav has created some QR portraits which feature famous faces superimposed on a QR code. I'm not overly convinced by the quality of the images nor the size of the codes – he uses a QR code containing a mini-biography. So, I decided to create a QRpedia code featuring ...
The architect said there were options such as triangular windows. An officer said it had previously been an old people's home. The function of these rooms had been bedrooms and a sewing room, the separation distance was 21 metres. The issue of separation distances and the previous function were established facts. Cllr Davies said the ...
With the Liberal Democrat (federal party) autumn conference starting up in Birmingham this weekend, here is my selection of five of the best fringe meetings being held. These meetings may not have the power to decide in the way that conference debates can, but they do often give a great chance to hear issues discussed in greater and more expert detail than the rather staccato main hall style of 3-5 minute speeches back to to back. So here are my top five (aside from the campaigning one already mentioned): Conference Rally, Saturday, 6:30pm Come and laugh at the Chief Whip. ...
A resident introduced herself as Jean Whalley and said she lived at the back. She said three houses would be affected by the dormer windows and there was a lot of concern in the local neighbourhood. The Chair, Cllr Elderton said they would look outside, but it would be decided tomorrow night. The petitioner said ...
Vince Cable has often used the analogy of an economic heart attack to describe the problems of the UK economy since 2008. I've just got back into reading economist Richard Koo's excellent book "The Holy Grail of Macroeconomics" where he offers another analogy: the broken leg: During a balance sheet recession, the problems resulting from too little fiscal stimulus are far more serious than those caused by too much. The latter are similar to walking with a cane even after a broken leg has healed; the former to walking, or even running, when the bone has yet to mend. Richard ...
This Planning Committee site visit was regarding planning application APP/11/00561 which has been decided at the Planning Committee meeting on 6th September. The site was a red brick former nursing home that was vacant. People present for the site visit went inside as it had started to rain. Cllr Elderton (the Chair) welcomed people to ...
The Lib Dems have been through a rough time in the last year and a half and particularly since the last autumn conference. The party have made efforts to improve the situation by changing strategy and some have argued there has been a slight improvement in the polls. However, there is still the familiar complaint ...
I felt that low political stuff, especially when it involved a certain amount of teasing, was not appropriate for such a sombre weekend of remembrance. It's Monday morning now, though, so I am quite happy to poke a wee bit of fun at Tom Harris, the Labour MP for Glasgow South. I reckon he'll be relatively untroubled by my comments, and I kind of owe him after he upset my baby last year. Tom announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Scottish Labour Party on Saturday after the decision by the Party's Scottish Executive Committee to allow MPs to ...
Richard Kemp has written to his old pal Eric Pickles asking him to turn his attention to Mark Dowd and the one party state that is Merseytravel. The Daily Post has the story: You may find it surprising that I am writing to you asking you to intervene in the running of a quasi-local authority," Cllr Kemp wrote to Mr Pickles."However, I have always believed that the Secretary of State needs to be the final back stop in case of problem authorities."I believe that The Merseyside Passenger Transport Authority is one such authority."Cllr Dowd used the credit card to fund ...
Last night David Walliams hit Ham. For everyone who doesn't know, he is attempting to swim the length of The Thames for Sport Relief. A truly momentous feat, made harder by the fact that he has been ill for most of the attempt with raging temperatures, vomiting and...well, you can imagine. We took the kids down to Teddington Lock where thousands of people were lining the bank and as you see that small flotilla edge up the river and spot the tiny figure in the middle tiredly putting arm over arm, you can't help but feel quite emotional. David got ...
This morning's headlines on the BBC that the Welsh Health Minister has "completely rejected the privatisation of NHS services" is bizarre to say the least. It flies in the face of what is happening on the ground and smacks of political posturing. I think though that the key lies in her choice of words. 'Privatisation' implies allowing the NHS to be run by the private sector, whereas what is actually happening, especially with orthopaedic services is that health boards are buying in operating capacity from the private sector to supplement their own. In fact the use of private facilities in ...
I don't know quite what else to say. Four of my efforts made the Lib Dem Voice Golden Dozen including the top two posts and it goes without saying that I'm thrilled. Thanks again. Makes all the tiptapping away on the train every day worthwhile. Cheers.
TweetThe Liberal Democrats are leveraging their position in the coalition to put pressure on the overtly rich in a way Labour never acheived. With the advent of savvy young robin hood groups like UK Uncut, the Lib Dems are actually implementing objectives addressing the social divide instead of sitting in shops quietly. The ipaper today encompasses two issues consistent with a Liberal Democrat ideology of fairness and greater accountability, less risk. Taxing the rich Huhne MP is resolute over the 50p tax bracket. Whining from Tory back benchers about misleading economics of productivity will not pressurise the Lib Dems into ...
Chancellor, George Osborne will be asked how he plans to reduce tax dodging today (Tuesday, September 6) when he is questioned by Liberal Democrat Cambridge MP, Julian Huppert. During Oral Questions in the House of Commons, Julian will ask Mr Osborne what steps he is taking to reduce tax avoidance by large organisations and wealthy individuals. Julian's question comes just days after the Swiss government agreed to tax money held by UK taxpayers in Swiss bank accounts while still hiding their identities. The deal is expected to see £5 billion a year handed to the Treasury by the Swiss authorities. ...
The first Stockport Film Festival is just days away, so get your tickets now for your chance to see some great new films and meet up with directors and producers at the Romiley Forum on Saturday afternoon. Iain has been invited to support the schools & colleges event on Friday, with over 300 students seeing – amongst other things – the film "Being Sold" – shot on Cheadle (mainly Marchbank Drive) over two days. As the Festival website says: When: 1pm, 17th September 2011 Where: The Forum Theatre, Romiley Stockport, Cheshire, SK6 4EA As part of the first ever Screen ...
Mon 12th
07:25New LDV members survey now live: your views on NHS, free schools, economy and life in government
The new LDV members' survey is now live. So if you are one of the 1,500+ registered members of the Liberal Democrat Voice forum - and any paid-up party member is welcome to join - then you now have the opportunity to make your views known. Questions we're asking this month include: what you think of 'free schools' and the NHS Bill; your views on the Coalition's approach to the economy, taxation and public services; your thoughts on policies both domestic and foreign; how satisfied you are with Nick Clegg as party leader, and leading figures within the Lib Dems; ...
The Sunday Post yesterday reported my comments about the low number of nominations thus far from Dundonians for the Olympic Torch Relay. With over 600 nominations across Scotland, to date only 19 come from the Dundee area and in the Sunday Post article yesterday, I urged Dundee folk to put themselves forward to carry the Olympic flame. You can read more about nominating a torchbearer, through the scheme promoted by sponsors Bank of Scotland, by going to http://tinyurl.com/olympicsdundee.
