Well, I've moved across the country and have started settling into my new life. This life involves a LOT of Ikea furniture. It also apparently involves me playing with my stamps a lot. So far, I've made a massive spreadsheet of all of my Yugoslavia and put them in chronological order - which is a really good idea, when the plan is to eventually accumulate enough to do a fairly decent rate study. I was shocked by how many of them I've managed to accumulate in a relatively short amount of time, given that they seem to trickle in a ...
The weekend draws to a close and what are the highlights? Too many to list but among them has to be the new Lib Dem policy on Education Credit, building on the Pupil Premium once resources are available. It will provide a wrap-around support service for the most vulnerable children and their families, helping with parenting skills, with providing computer access and high speed broadband, and
Tonight I lost you Mickey. I have no words. I will always be with you. I know we made the right choice. I could not see you suffer like that. I will always love you and no one or anything ...
On Friday a quote from the great Cambridge economist Joan Robinson was circulating on Twitter: Purpose of studying economics – to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists In fact, the full quote is: The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn ...
I appear to have become better at critical social psychology (orange line) and worse at biological psychology (blue line) as the year has progressed! However, if I somehow manage to end up with EMA and examination marks in both similar to the last TMA scores, I'll be very happy indeed.
Home in Mid Suffolk again (or rather, having never left Mid Suffolk in the first place because, as I have explained, I haven't gone to Conference...), we've been catching up on a little light gardening before the nights begin to draw in. Ros has been planning one of the borders for next year, and was poking about when she was slightly surprised by this... I presume that it is a common toad - it's a bit squat to be a frog, and we don't have any open water anywhere (given the size of our garden, I'm sure that I would ...
So, the blog post I've written this week which has generated the most social media buzz was about commas, abolition thereof (England only). I am in no way disheartened by the way commas have trumped political policy, technology or media matters covered in my more weighty posts. No way at all. At least not when I'm saying to myself, "Remember, this shows a refreshing interest in punctuation that puts critics of modern standards of English writing to shame". And so, next week it's on to semi-colons. I know what my audience wants.
My dearest darling Mickey How can I write a letter that you will never read or even understand? To be honest I don't know but I wanted to write it anyway so that somewhere in the world there is a piece ...
This is Welton's in Great Bowden, which bills itself as "Market Harborough's best kept secret". I like to think of myself as that, but never mind, because Welton's is worth a visit. As well as being the village post office and newsagent, it is a high-class delicatessen and tearoom. And it proudly says it is open every day except Christmas Day. Last time I was at Welton's it had been struck down by the same power cut that had affected Wartime Housewife's sale at the Village Hall across the road. Today it was back to its best.
As one of those shortlisted for one of last night's awards (best blog by a Liberal Democrat holding public office), I was somewhat disappointed to see the comments from one of Woking's finest which, I fear, smacked of bitterness. The accusation that the Awards are an opportunity for the Liberal Democrat Voice team to 'reward its friends' is a pretty serious one so, as someone who has worked with them in the past, has written for them too, but isn't actually part of the team, perhaps I should contribute a response. Ros's 2008 BOTY for best use of social networking ...
Welcome to the Golden Dozen, and our 239th weekly round-up from the Lib Dem blogosphere ... Featuring the seven most popular stories beyond Lib Dem Voice according to click-throughs from the Aggregator (11-17 September, 2011), together with a hand-picked quintet, normally courtesy of LibDig, you might otherwise have missed. Don't forget: you can sign up to receive the Golden Dozen direct to your email inbox — just click here — ensuring you never miss out on the best of Lib Dem blogging. As ever, let's start with the most popular post, and work our way down: 1. Prediction – Boundary ...
Someone was trying to send me messages through the ether today. I heard Billy Joel's "An Innocent Man" playing in two different establishments with an hour today. But I had already decided to choose a song by the Rassoodocks. Here they are playing Let's Go at the Musician in Leicester earlier this year. The band's name, of course, comes from the opening of Anthony Burgess's novel A Clockwork Orange: There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, and we sat in the Korova Milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to ...
Sun 18th
19:22
Another Salford Lib Dem success - Traffic calming for Seedley Park Road and Seedley Terrace
Regular readers of my blog and Langworthy Focus readers will remember the traffic calming campaign I spearheaded earlier this year for Seedley Park Road and Seedley Terrace. The original articles are here and here. With the help of local residents on Seedley Park Road I collected and submitted a petition to Salford Council which called for action on speeding cars using our streets as rat runs. I'm delighted to report that our community committee has agreed to fund the traffic calming measures I campaigned for on both Seedley Park Road and Seedley Terrace, the latter gaining some new full width ...
I am typing this on the train home from Lib Dem conference - the conference doesn't finish until Wednesday but I have work on Monday. I am in a fairly ecstatic mood due to the incredible victory we won yesterday in passing the ESA motion along with an amendment to it which strengthened it significantly. The full text of the version of the motion passed by conference, making it officially Liberal Democrat policy, is as follows: Conference notes: i) That eligibility for the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) benefit is determined by the Work Capability Assessments (WCAs) which are currently ...
Love is Blue was the superb Eurovision 1967 entry by Luxembourg, performed by Vicky Leandros, and pipped at the post by the UK's Puppet on a String by Sandie Shaw. However patriotic one is, its a bit of a no-brainer as to what was the better song. Vicky did win the day, however, in the 1972 Eurovision, with the winning song Après Toi :
Sun 18th
18:45
LDV Caption Competition | Hugh Grant and Nick Clegg "one for the family album" edition
So Hugh Grant dropped into the Lib Dem conference in Birmingham today. He met with Nick Clegg and then addressed the Social Liberal Forum's fringe event on the issue of phone-hacking, privacy and libel. He wasn't there to endorse the party, but as the BBC reports here Hugh did give us credit for our long-standing opposition to the murky practices of the tabloids: "You, more than any of the other parties, have a good bill of health. You have never been in bed with these scumbags." Here's the moment Nick met Hugh (I think it's that way round rather than ...
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted for www.dundeewestend.com in the recent Total Politics Blog Awards for 2011. In the Scottish category, I have made the Top Ten for the first time (18th last year; 28th in 2009) and in the LibDem category, I have also made the Top Ten (18th last year; 31st in 2009). I was 9th in the Councillor category in 2010 - the result in this category has yet to be announced. I'm awfully grateful to all who have taken the trouble to vote for this blog - very many thanks!
Now it's LibDem conference time, there have been some rather weak attempts to fan the flames of barely existent dissatisfaction with Nick Clegg's leadership. There was the loose allegation of Miriam Clegg's deal with Nick, and repeated reporting of Chris Huhne saying that Nick Clegg would make an excellent EU Commissioner. Despite all that, it is hard to remember a time when there was such little appetite to knock the leader. Andrew Rawnsley confirms this today: A curiosity about this conference is that there is no clamour to kill the leader who took them to this rather bleak place. The ...
Brief note this time. The Greek successors of the Byzantine empire gradually reincorporate its territory, and engage in an insincere reunification of the Eastern and Western churches.
Tomato & kidney bean soup Beetroot sandwich filling Burritos
From the film Bruce Almighty, here's a wonderful scene when Bruce, who has taken over from Morgan Freeman (who is actually God) goes to God's Prayer Inbox and finds 1,527,503 unread messages which have amassed in the few hours that he has been God.
This fascinating volume includes the answers given by 84 writers, mostly British, all in some way sf and fantasy writers, to two questionnaires about sf, circulated in 1989 and 2009. The 1989 survey answers are compiled and edited by Paul Kincaid, and the 2009 responses (rather longer due to more writers participating) by Niall Harrison, but structured in both cases as a series of conversations, relevant snippets sewn together to make a warm and friendly but thought-provoking whole. It's a book that deserves a much longer review than this, but just to pick three highlights: the fact that so many ...
A Labour friend of mine was smugly telling me about last week's launch of the Labour Creative Industries Network. Much of this reminded me of their 'Cool Britannia' efforts circa 1997. However, it also got me thinking about how the creative industries see us. We too have some nice words about creative businesses on our website – but do we really have a sense of how we want to support and promote this economically and culturally important sector? The DCMS is the only department where Lib Dems have no ministerial presence. There is a hair's breadth in arts policy between ...
Another advantage of not being at Conference is that I have no plans to do anything. This means that Ros and I can pretty much come and go as we please. So we have. We voted on the Lords Reform motion, I voted for, and Liberal Democrats for Lords Reform can find out themselves how Ros voted. Ros has been tagged by various people to talk about I know not what, whilst I smile sweetly and potter gently. I'm quite good at these things, if I say so myself. And then we had dinner, Indian, which was very nice, before ...
Many congratulations to Nick Thornsby on winning the Liberal Democrat Blog of the year award. Looking back on past winners of the BOTY is a sobering experience. 80% of the winning blogs are either defunct or haven't been updated for at least seven weeks: If the BOTY is supposed to encourage regular independent blogging, so far it has largely had the opposite effect. PS. I should add that Stephen Tall (of "A Liberal Goes a long way") has the Collected Stephen Tall which is alive and kicking.
Cross-posted from the New Statesman: Saturday at Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham was the scene for two party rebellions to surface - one opposed by the party leadership and one likely to bring the leadership benefits. The one opposed by the party leadership was the push by Evan Harris and the Social Liberal Forum to get a health motion restored to the conference agenda. There will be both a Q&A session and a "topical discussion" slot, but they also wanted a conventional motion and vote. Despite a rather poor speech from Simon Hughes opposing this attempt, it failed to get ...
I am not sure whether to laugh or cry. Simon Hughes is a wonderful, off the wall, force of nature – much loved (as we are told so often) by the party activists – but his interview with the Observer, published today, is a PR disaster on almost every level. That is nothing new. He has been making media gaffs and sending party press officers into tail spin for as long as I can remember. This was a peach even by his own fine standards. I wonder, on reflection, if he really meant to undermine the leader of Liberal Democrats ...
I am thrilled to say that 'A View from Ham Common' was awarded the title of 'Best New Blog' last night at the Lib Dem Voice 'Blog of the Year awards' This was far and away beyond my wildest expectations when I started my humble blog and I am very grateful to both the judges and whoever nominated this blog in the first place. And of course biggest thanks to everyone who comes and visits to see what I've been saying. It really wouldn't be the same without you! Commiserations to my fellow nominees, Andrew Emmerson, George Potter and Kelly-Marie ...
On matters of policy and strategy, the Liberal Democrat conference is turning out to be rather more good-natured and unified than journalists were expecting/hoping (as Sky's Sophy Ridge has had the grace to admit). When it comes to matters of party business, however, there is rather more spark than usual. It's not only the attempt to suspend standing orders – related to how the NHS is being discussed at conference – or the passing of a critical motion about the security checks for conference this morning. There has also been a noticeable surge in questions to party committee and two ...
This is my first post on this years Rugby World Cup. This is being held in New Zealand and that is part of my problem. I am usually asleep or at work when the games are being played! The initial group phase is half way through and has thrown up a few closer than expected games. In Scotland's Group both Romania and Georgia ran Scotland close while Argentina just ran out of puff against England. In other groups Wales were narrowly edged out by South Africa. The one point defeat was disappointing for them but it shows that they are ...
First of all, many congratulations to the winners of the sixth annual Lib Dem Blog of the Year awards. And at least as many congratulations to those short-listed finalists. [Cliche but heart-felt] You are all winners. [/Cliche but heart-felt] I was one of the six judges for the awards in 2011, together with fellow LibDemVoice.org co-editor Helen Duffett, last year's overall winner Richard Flowers, Olly Grender, Katie Razzall, and Martin Tod. For those imagining that we might have all gathered together over a sumptuous banquet, deliberating for many hours, arguing and dissecting, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint ...
The Voice's Mark Pack has been guesting over at the New Statesman again, this time pointing out how there are some party rebels Nick Clegg may rather welcome: Political pundits go on endlessly about how leaders should have "Clause 4 moments" when they pick a fight with parts of their own parties. In this case, the reluctant [Lib Dem peers opposed to Lords reform] have handily offered themselves up in opposition to Nick Clegg and democrats, providing an easy route for the Deputy Prime Minister to garner the benefits of a Clause 4 moment without its usual pains. You can ...
[IMG: alex salmond] One of the few reasons I still buy The Sunday Times, are the views expressed by correspondent Rod Liddle, who's words frequently, express what I feel. Today was no exception, Mr Liddle was affronted by the unexpected appearance of Scotland's First Minister on his television, "that smirking morass of Caledonian self-satisfaction Alex Salmond suddenly appeared on my screen during a brief news segment—a ball of flatulent smuggery........ Apparently the First Minister was wittering on about better employment figures than in England, however (no surprise) the great man failed to mention the contribution made by British taxpayers as ...
Yes, yes, long time no blog. Sorry, no time to dwell on that. So having sat through the debate this morning and watched with horror over 100 people put their hands up to vote for ammendment 1 (for all papers relating to this post, so you can read the motions and ammendments, go here; the ...
Tavish Scott wrote a piece in the Scotsman yesterday. Towards the end he says: Despite protestations to the contrary from BBC Scotland and STV, the average Scots voter's perspective on politics is massively influenced by "big" news. The national 10pm bulletins punch serious holes in Scots' understanding of what's devolved and reserved. This is absolutely
Sun 18th
13:25Exclusive survey results: What Lib Dem members say about the party's direction and Nick Clegg's lead...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 550 party members responded, and we're currently publishing the full results. Increase in members thinking Lib Dems on 'right track' LDV asked: Do you think, as a whole, the Liberal Democrats are on the right course or on the wrong track? • 69% – The right course • 22% – The wrong track • 9% – Don't know This gives us a net figure for 'right track / wrong course' of ...
I've just read Sebastian Payne's review ( http://tgr.ph/mQ0oea) in the Telegraph that reviews the Party's polling and found it quite interesting. It is true that Lib Dem popularity has collapsed somewhat since the heady days of last May. This can be laid at the door unpopular policies such as Tuition or the NHS. It is also to say it is fair that Nick Clegg has indeed been a "lightening rod" - somewhat unfairly at times, for the Coalition and any policy decisions not liked by the public. Indeed the results Mr Payne references in the Sun poll are quite shocking: ...
Yesterday, I paid a visit to the UK National Archives in Kew. Their amazing educational team have recently completed a stunning QRpedia installation. [IMG: National Archives QRpedia Domesday Book] The Domesday Book From their press-release: As part of this project to increase digital engagement we have used the QRpedia service to link some of our museum exhibits to articles on Wikipedia. In the on site museum at Kew, visitors can use their smartphones to scan QR (quick response) codes next to the exhibits. QR codes are barcodes that can be read by smartphones to link physical and virtual documents. The ...
Mike Beckett local community activist At last news from North Yorkshire County Council that the Thornton Dale and the Wolds By-election is scheduled for Thursday 27th October 2011. Mike Beckett supports local transport Michael Beckett said "I am delighted to be selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate for the putting the people of Thornton Le Dale, Rillington, Sherburn, the Wolds Valley and the villages around them first. We need a local champion who can push the Tory controlled County Council for a fairer deal for Rural areas. We need more support to help support workers and employers, too long treated ...
So asks Mike Elgan in an excellent article at Datamation.com, an IT trade publication. I do wonder about Facebook's long term future. I can see how it will have a long-lasting revenue stream, but a healthy and growing one? What do they really offer? I know some people go for the games such as FarmVille, but as far as I'm aware most people are like me - we use it because it is free, and our friends use it. None of that suggests we're willing to pay money for the privilege of talking to our friends. I won't be the ...
It was taking place in the cut indicated by the arrow. Last night on my way home I encountered a drug deal in progress. I'm 90% certain this is what was going on. As I walked up the back path between Valley Road up to Sturdee Avenue, I heard voices in one of the cuts and I glanced over my shoulder to see three youths stood talking loudly enough that I could hear them over my IPod. They seemed to be acting a little suspiciously and one was trying to conceal something hurriedly and I double took. "You better not ...
I am pleased to report that motion F9 passed as originally put to conference.
Whether you're one of the thousands of Lib Dem members busy at this year's conference, or you're one of those (like me) who're having to sit this one out, Lib Dem Voice will try and make sure you don't miss out on the action. Here's how Day 1 of the party conference has been making news... Nick Clegg: Lib Dems 'imposing will' on government (Also available on the BBC website here.) Danny Alexander: We need to make sure tax is paid (Also available on the BBC website here.)
Almost exactly 11 and a half years ago, we moved back home to Scotland. Having a young baby proved to be a great way to meet people. I went along to a local toddler group and met many of the people who are still great friends to this day. One of them was Anne McGinnigle. I discovered she lived 4 doors away from the house we'd bought but would have to wait until October to move into. Anne turns 40 today - something I can barely believe. The decade since her 30th birthday seems to have gone very quickly indeed. ...
Cigarettes give no benefit to anyone, except the people that make or sell them. Longterm smokers have a 50:50 chance of dying from a smoking-related disease. Not good odds, huh? You can try this at home. Spin a coin – heads or tails? Those are the odds. Did you win? It's really better not to smoke, isn't it. Don't start, but if you have, give up! At the very least you'll save a lot of money, and more than likely you'll also save the 11 years of life that, on average, longterm smokers lose. However, for those who haven't managed ...
Our Councillor of the Day Award goes to David Wimble from Lydd. This is Kent explains why: The head of community radio station RMFM has admitted it was "a big mistake" to falsely claim his Lydd Airport poll was carried out by a leading market research firm. David Wimble, who is also a Tory district and town councillor and owner of free magazine The Looker, has been accused of "scandalously misleading" people over the opinion survey carried out by the radio station he holds the licence for. In March, Mr Wimble claimed in The Looker that the survey was "an ...
Apologies for the slightly ineloquent nature of this entry. I write this still quaking with anger at what I witnessed in the hall just now. The number of people who voted for amendment one terrifies me, it really fucking terrfies me. Anyway, the motion was passed, sadly without amendment two, but it was still passed. This gives me some hope. For what it's worth, here's what I would have said had I been called to speak:Conference, those of you who know me will know that I don't like mornings. I really don't like having to get out of bed before ...
Today's Observer carries an interview with Simon Hughes: At a time when the Tory right is pressing David Cameron ever harder to follow its agenda and trample on the Lib Dems, Hughes is acting as his party's, and the coalition's, left-wing brake. "I think the useful role I can play is to be a guardian of the policy and traditions of the left of the party," he says... Hughes has a strong message for such Tories as they demand a more eurosceptic agenda and the end of the 50p rate of tax for those earning more than £150,000. He describes ...
Political Scrapbook this weekend has an open letter from Alistair Webster, the chair of the Liberal Democrat Lawyers Association, attacking plans for legal aid: If the true aim is to leave a skeleton and third rate public legal system, the government should make that clear and we can judge it accordingly ... I, for one, do not wish to be ashamed of the Party which I have supported since its foundation. This Bill is dire. It's a rather odd letter in some ways – both in its over-the-top rhetoric that is far more likely to put up the backs of ...
First of all thank you to those that nominated me for Best Post on a Liberal Democrat Blog and for Lib Dem Blog of the Year at the Lib Dem Blog of the Year Awards organised by Lib Dem Voice. As the title will hint we struck out both times missing out to Tory Boy Throws Toys Out of Pram: Not Exactly 'Man Bites Dog' by Alex Wilcock and Nick Thornsby's Blog by unsurprisingly Nick Thornsby respectively and well done to them both. It was an honour and a shock to make it to the shortlist – certainly for the ...
Goodness. Well, last night this humble blog was awarded Lib Dem Voice's annual Blog of the Year award. I was shocked enough when I found out I'd been shortlisted a few days ago, but I can't express in words my astonishment ... Continue reading →
I hate feeling like the Cassandra (whether my prophesies come true or not!) of the marriage equality fight. With each positive step forward made, I'm there to piss off everyone else by saying "Well this simply isn't good enough". I suppose it stems from what happened when civil partnerships were introduced. I was simply horrified at the implications of such a separate but equal institution whilst everyone I knew was busy celebrating and moving on. The insults and abuse (and I'm not over-egging that, four letter words and all) I got from the pro-civil partnership side for daring to question ...
I couldn't let that comment, or the context in which it was made, go. The BBC's new replacement for Laura Kuenssberg, who is kicking Robert Peston's backside over at ITN now, is Norman Smith. Yesterday, I was very disappointed to see him get into this "Miriam is a harridan who keeps Nick Clegg very firmly under her thumb" narrative. It's all to do with this piece of nonsense in the Daily Fail - a biography by Jasper Gerard which seems to be little more than tittle tattle and wild speculation. It is alleged that Miriam has put her foot down ...
Over on the Political Betting website Mike Smithson asks 'If ICM did the daily poll would Miliband be finished?' His point is that the only pollster that consistently has Labour above the 40% threshold is YouGov and that has only had the party below that level twice in its last 160 surveys. All the other polls are showing Labour struggling to retain their lead, whilst ICM, who have the best record in predicting UK general election results, has the Liberal Democrats making a significant comeback. Mike Smithson quotes his site's regular Labour columnist, HenryG Manson as saying: "There is no ...
Here's my preview of the Sunday at the Liberal Democrats conference in Birmingham. (To find out more about any of the motions I mention, or indeed the others I've not highlighted, see the full agenda for the Liberal Democrats conference.)
Cambridgeshire County Council Shadow Cabinet Member for Health, Geoff Heathcock, has expressed his concerns about changes to the way stroke patients are treated. Under a review of stroke services in Huntingdonshire, patients may no longer be sent to Huntingdon's Hinchingbrooke Hospital in the first instance. Instead, they would go to Cambridge's Addenbrooke's Hospital or Peterborough City Hospital and would be transferred to Hinchingbrooke Hospital when their condition stabilises. Cllr Heathcock is worried that, if given the go-ahead, the move would cost an extra £160,000 to pay for ambulance transfers and further care and rehabilitation. Cambridgeshire Primary Care Trust has launched ...
It's been and gone, and of course I was greatful to be nominated for Best Newcomer. It's always a great pleasure to write, and I just hope that you all enjoy my pieces. I'd love more interaction if you so care to comment below! There must be a special shout out to Richard Morris – The worthiest winner. Secondly, a huge comisseration to Caron M Lindsay who in this bloggers opinion, stands head and shoulders above the competition in all of the competition (Coincidentally, one of only 2 blogs I have on my RSS feed) So thank you all.
I was indulging on some Twitter observations as to which Star Trek monsters represented which political party Klingons - Tories The original pantomime baddies Ferrengi - the Labour Party Villains to start with, turned comical Tribbles - LibDems Because they are soft and fluffy. (Personally I voted for Harry Mudd to represent my party) The Borg - the SNP Non Nationalist thinking is not allowed - no one expects the Scottish Inquisition - mwah-ha-ha The Greens - that plant thing that shoots a puff of spores at you and takes over. You see - seem benign but control freaks at ...
Leeds United keeper, Andy Lonergan, saved a penalty today, at Elland Road against Bristol City. After the match he ran over and gave his goalie gloves to our Daniel, aged 7, who was delighted.
Saturday: For technical reasons, it appears that already being me means it couldn't be me again. Or something. Which sounds like a very silly rule to me. Thank goodness, then, that my DADDY ALEX wrote SUCH A GOOD POST about how all the Conservatories are just FROTHING at the mouth with how much the Coalition is really a LIB-DEM-LED government that he was given the shiny BOTY for bestest individual post. Wot he has deserved for absolutely AGES. So we are STILL an award winning HOUSEHOLD! My campaign to be nonimated blogger of the year again NEXT year begins HERE! ...
Posted by Chris: Redcar's Lib Dem MP Ian Swales is pictured with Glynis watching fishing tackle being set up for the free fishing day at Locke Park lake organised by Redcar and Cleveland Council's Neighbourhood Management team and sponsored by Coast and Country Housing. Local youngsters from the Closes and Roseberry Road area, who helped with the recent litter picking days, were invited to attend and provided with some basic fishing tackle and bait. The lake was freshly stocked by Glynis and I earlier this year, with carp bream and ide, using £3000 of our annual £4000 from the Redcar ...
Coalition is the only way forward for a country in such deep trouble, but supporters of its junior partner need to be reassured
