My ears are fine. That's one of the things I learnt today. One of the less well-known things about party conferences is the exhibition. What is it? It's lots and lots of stands run by companies, organisations, charities, and so on, who have something to say to people attending party conferences. One of them this year is Specsavers Hearing Centres, and they used a video otoscope on me... which basically let me and some bloke whom I assume knew what he was doing look into my ear. I was told that it was all good. I also had a hearing ...
Is here. Incidentally, the need for overtime at work is dying down slightly now, so I might be able to get more posts up here, too. Tagged: mememememe
Cllr John Dodd has welcomed the proposed speed managementscheme for Bankfield Laneand Rufford Road. Reductionin speeding traffic should provide a safer environment for residents andvisitors to the area. Measures are proposed to address vehicles travellingat high speed following 22 accidentsthat have occurred along Bankfield Laneand Rufford Road. In addition, there have been several collisions resulting indamage to property, particularly at the bottom of Bankfield Lanebridge. Cllr Dodd went on to say that automatic traffic counts have shown thatspeed is high along the route, with 1 in 7 vehicles travelling at over 36 milesper hour on Rufford Road. Cllr Dodd said ...
The more I read about protests and campaigns against the Government/establishment the more and more I see people using the N word. Nazi is a word that is thrown about too much. That and Police state. A lot of protesters throw out these insults as the Police try to establish order or carry out a Governmental order but I'm not sure they know what it means.Nazi is an abbreviation of for the German National Socialist Workers' party which was established after the First world War and taken over and transformed by Adolf Hitler. After the fall of the Third Reich ...
You know how it is, you are out somewhere and you need to get home. Or perhaps you are at ...Continue reading »
This may just be a bit of a late night rant, and may be possibly the silliest question I've ever asked, but the discussion on Lib Dem conference has me a little baffled. Every policy, motion or amendment that originates from the Lib Dems seems to get attacked as illiberal or too liberal. The obvious answer is that it's our guiding principle, liberalism. It is also in our name. Liberal Democrats. So I expect some discussion around what exactly is Liberalism in the 21st century. It seems weird to have so much attention on our policies, something that many Lib ...
So reports the Huffington Post: Senior Liberal Democrats have accepted that the party may need to resort to all-female shortlists or other tough measures to increase the representation of women and minority groups among its MPs... Tim Farron MP ... said that he was "utterly embarrassed" that only seven of the party's MPs were women. He said: "Over the years we've had several debates on the crushing lack of women in the House of Commons, and our zero lack of representation from black and ethnic minority communities, and the debates we've always had are about the practical way to create ...
London Councils has set up a website: London Recovers which brings together useful information for businesses and communities affected by the Summer riots. In particular it details the financial support that may be available.
Step forward....... Lynne Featherstone, Equalities Minister. And served him right, too for going on about how our poll ratings were the lowest ever. Nonsense. Does he not remember 1989 when I was one of the components of an asterisk in the polls? He was being completely negative and deserved his good humoured ministerial put down at the Guardian debate. Another high quality performance from Lynne, Vince, Paddy and Farron. Shame on Simon Hoggart for trying to be funny and getting it badly wrong "I'll get a serious blocking if I don't let a woman ask a question soon". A facepalm ...
So the faux libertarians are going a bit bonkers on twitters, and the red tops are going to be up in arms in the coming days. Apparently, the Lib Dems just did something terribly 'illiberal'. We just voted to ban page 3. Except we didn't. The conference debated motion F26 – Tackling violence against women, which can be found on page 30 here. As part of that motion there was a substantive amendment added and agreed which can be found on page 33 here. Part b) of the amendment says "Tackling the projection of women as sex objects to children ...
Decade on decade, the UK has been getting richer. For the most part, people today are materially considerably better off than they were back in the 1970s; however, statistics stretching back all those years show that our satisfaction with our lives has barely improved. We have more money and we're pumping out more carbon emissions - but we don't appear to be getting much pay-off for our own wellbeing. Fortunately, the Liberal Democrats have recognised this problem. For over two years, a working group has been studying the evidence to see whether Government can actually do anything to set us ...
A year ago, thanks to Oxfam, I was in New York, where the Millennium Development Goals Summit was taking place. I was based at the 92nd Street Y, in the digital media lounge of the first Social Good Summit. This week the second summit is having to rub along without me. According to its website: The Summit unites a dynamic community of global leaders to discuss a big idea: the power of innovative thinking and technology to solve our greatest challenges. It ignites conversations between a live audience in New York City and thousands around the world participating via Livestream. ...
It is hard to imagine a more pitiful figure than that of Margaret Moran as she attended court today. Compare this photo, at the height of her political career, of her proudly wearing a hat with a large red flower in it, with this photo of her today in the Evening Standard. Indeed, the Telegraph helpfully shows both photos side by side here. Then have a look at the video below of her departure from the court. She was obviously crying throughout, as she did, reportedly, throughout the five minute hearing. The referral of charges were apparently delayed because of ...
I have mostly spent the last almost 27 hours wandering around Liberal Democrat Federal Conference awestruck, a bit like an enthusiastic puppy in a way. It's grown a bit in my 12 year absence. The mood is more upbeat than I thought it would be. People are realistic but there's a sense of pride in what we are achieving in Government and the party's full of fight. The highlights of my trip so far are: Arriving in the hall to see the end of Tim Farron's speech. Full of spirit and fizz and froth and fun - but some hard ...
Looking at the media coverage of the last 24 hours at Conference, it's all been about tax, boardroom pay and jobs - tackling Labour's economic legacy. But yesterday in the Main Hall, and today in many of the fringes, delegates have also been debating another theme – social mobility, or as Sarah Teather, our Education Minister, powerfully put it - the challenge of breaking the link between the circumstances of a child's birth and his or her fate. The fact that in this country the richest 16 year-olds are three times as likely to get five good GCSEs as the ...
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[IMG: new turner] Marvellous, joyous and er ... well no doubt a few more superlatives could be thrown in the direction of Turner Contemporary with their second Exhibition "Nothing in the World But YOUTH" Unlike the "Revealed" show this one has more than one contribution from an artist, I, in my somewhat sheltered life have heard of. Turner again was represented, with some oil painting, and 4 watercolours/sketches anyway being the latest Thanet blogger to comment I'd go to Michael Child for an expert opinion, Luke Edwards mentions one of his faves (Dexter Dalwood) being exhibited on his Thanet Waves ...
BBC World Service just asked what I think about what might or might not happen at the UN this week. Please click here if you are interested in what I had to say.
As I previewed a while ago disgraced former Luton South MP Margaret Moran appeared in front of City of Westminster Magistrates' Court today to face 21 charges of fraud and forgery related to her for parliamentary expenses. She is next due to appear at Southwark Crown Court on October 28. There has been no indication whether she will plead guilty or innocent when she does so. Here are some press reports: Ex-Luton MP Margaret Moran in court on expenses charges Ex MP Moran heard to cry in court Sobbing former MP in court over expenses
After failing to even discuss marriage equality during their 13 years of power (and then playing catch up during last year's summer of marriage equality movement), Labour still don't appear to have learnt their lesson. Yvette Cooper says ""We have called for and support same-sex marriage and we welcome this shift in government policy." Hmm... when has Labour (as a party) called for it Yvette? It's still not even party policy. You may support the Government's recent announcement but did you really call for it? Yvette Cooper's, and thus I assume Labour's, issue with the announcement is not the fundamental ...
On Sunday – almost exactly a year since I last did so – I spent 40 minutes with Nick Clegg, interviewing him alongside 3 fellow bloggers. It was interesting to be able to compare the September 2010 Nick with the ... Continue reading →
The part of Cheadle Road running past Cheadle & Marple College is to be resurfaced, starting on 21st September with work lasting for up to a week. The Council we will be resurfacing the carriageway on Cheadle Road from approximately Orrishmere Road to The Spinney. This work will be carried out by our Streetscene Alliance Partner J Cooney Ltd.
Its not often I ask you for anything, today is an exception, I post this stuff and some of you indulge me, with comments etc, of course, some just click through to see how rude or critical I may have been, in the last week or so. [IMG: macmillan] As you get this gratis, maybe you could do something, this month Macmillan hold the "WORLD'S BIGGEST COFFEE MORNING" on Friday September 30th perhaps you could go along to one of their events, or if not donate some wonger here. I doubt that anyone reading, will have been untouched by cancer ...
PC Richard Stanley gives us a different perspective: Whilst on the cordons themselves there's not a great deal to do so I watch the delegates float about and try to spot the 'celebs' of the Liberal Democrat party, or at least people who I think look sufficiently like them for me to cross them off my list.I also watch the other police units move about their business and it is only by doing so that I get an idea as to how big an operation policing the conference is. Planning takes the best part of the year and I've seen ...
TweetThere has been much dissatisfaction with the accreditation process for the Liberal Democrat Conference in Birmingham this year. It is well known that as a party we have defended civil liberties to a significant extent, being very anti the introduction of ID Cards and against the introduction of data storage to the extents proposed by the Labour Government. Yet at our own conference, the requisite for entry was photgraphic ID to passport prescriptions, and in addition, passport or driving licence details. Much has been blogged on this and the subsequent accreditation motion passed at Lib Dem Conference on Sunday, so ...
Wandering into conference yesterday I was accosted by a man in a bright blue blazer, who said he was from the Telegraph. On reflection I have no idea if this is true. But anyway... He said 'can I ask you three questions' - it will take a minute' . 'Righto', said I. He whipped out his camera phone.... The three questions were: 1. What is your name? 2. Where are you from? 3. What are your three favourite achievements in government I answered the first straight off. no ummimg. no erring, got it in one. Question 2 was trickier. Where ...
These are dangerous times for our economy. There is much uncertainty. But I am absolutely certain that, at such a moment, the country is stronger for having two parties in coalition working in the national interest. When I joined up I had very mixed feelings about this coalition, like many of you. I looked for good precedents. I thought of Attlee and Bevin working with their Tory opponents - Churchill and Beaverbrook - setting aside their political differences in a common cause. That coalition unleashed the great Liberal reformers: Beveridge and Keynes. Now, you could say: that was war; that's ...
TweetThe Daily Politics are doing a poll at conference. Take a yellow ball and decide which party you'd rather be in coalition with in 2015. Labour and Conservative. I wonder if that is how it will be reported, or instead be used to identify who we Lib Dems identify most with.
Going through some old papers I came across support for my opposition to HS2 at the design speed planned and, consequently, along the route proposed. The report also cast serious doubt on the business needed to achieve both environmental sustainability and financial viability. The study by the Booz Allen Hamilton consultancy warns that building and operating a new 300 kph (185 mph) line from London to Manchester over a 60-year period could produce more CO2 than if passengers went by air. HS2 would need to be extended to Glasgow or Edinburgh and win a 62% market share for such travel ...
The owners of Yate Shopping Centre have submitted a planning application for a Marks & Spencer Simply Food store in East Walk at the Yate Shopping Centre. They would occupy two of the four new units proposed for the extension to the rank where Superdrug is. The new shop would also sell some non-food goods. It is hoped that the new store will be open by late 2012. The Shopping Centre has ambitions to attract other major brands now, perhaps to the other two nw units.
Sarah Teather, Liberal Democrat Minister of State for Children and Families, gave this speech yesterday to Liberal Democrat conference: "Education... beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of men, the balance-wheel of the social machinery." The quote is from HoraceMann, the great 19th century American reformer. But it speaks to the instincts of liberals here with as much resonance as then. The scandal is that though it should be true, it isn't. You will hear many people talk this week about the shocking state of the nation's finances that was Labour's legacy. I want to talk ...
The political underworld of the internet has been working itself to the bone over the last week or so trying to figure out predictions of what the new political map of England could look like if the boundary redrawings go ahead. Using the predictions of one specific pollster, there is something interesting about the new number of seats where Lib Dems are predicted to win and Labour are expected to come second: there are only seven of them. If you ignore the seats where the predicted majority is over 10%, there are only five. The quoted article from PB questions ...
Writing in today's Independent, Mary Ann Sieghart says, The as-yet-untold story of British politics at the moment is that space has opened up again in the centre - for the first time in two decades - and that the Lib Dems are in the best place to fill it. Yesterday, Danny Alexander quoted his predecessor as Highlands Liberal MP, Russell Johnston: "Liberal positioning in politics is like the nose in relation to the rest of the face: somewhere in the middle and out in front." The "out in front" has always been one of the most attractive elements of the ...
Last night I attended a church service to mark the launch of Fair Trade Corstorphine. This was hosted at the Old Kirk in the village. The event was well attended and the local Minister, Moira Robertson, ably demonstrated how easy it was to buy good quality Fair Trade goods. She had managed to get all sorts of quality purchases on display from retailers such as Scotmid (the Co-op), Boots, M&S, Tesco and Sainsburys. The idea is to get Corstorphine tagged as a fair Trade Community by encouraging more traders and restaurants to use some fair trade products. The Council has ...
I wandered past this scene this morning. The council blog describes this as a curious cat. I thought it was petrified myself! When I saw it it was being helped by a kind member of staff as it was to scarred to wander past the big beast on its own!
This is to thank all of you who voted for my blog in the Total Politics Blog awards 2011. I was delighted to make my debut in the lists and come in at Number 54 in the Lib Dem blogs - thus allowing me to use the button on the left. The approach I have taken on my blog is not to repeat Lib Dem policy, indeed I have often disagreed with it, but simply to put forward my opinions. Others will, of course, have their own opinions - that's what makes politics so interesting. I am simply a Liberal ...
Over at The Guardian, Lib Dem president Tim Farron acknowledges the bumpy ride of the first 15 months of Coalition, and stresses the centrality of community politics to the party. Here's an excerpt: The Lib Dems have led the way in the practice of community politics since, serving local communities across Britain in a way that engages them in the political process. Community politicians immerse themselves in their communities - empowering people to take action over the issues they face rather than the alternative, where politics is "done to" communities. Community politics is not just what liberals do, it's part ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14967061
Not many things can tear me away from a weekend of sporting action on the tellybox but when I was asked if I wanted to interview Nick Clegg my diary suddenly became very clear. 58 hours later I found myself in a nice suite up at the ICC in Birmingham where the Lib Dem Conference was being held. Plenty of people wearing a suit or a shirt and tie or at least a shirt and then me. In the photo below I don't think I'll actually be that hard to spot. Looking back it feels as though they've let through ...
I'm currently at conference, so I have limited internet to do some research on this and it's come as a complete surprise. I'm pleased to hear that the Home Office is planning to consult on passport gender markers. (Warning: Daily Mail link, but it surprisingly includes some good content.) There's also this article from the Telegraph, if you're allergic to Daily Mail content. I have not seen anything official yet, but the summary seems to be that it's a "wide ranging" consultation, not just gender markers and the options being considered are allowing "X" for Unspecified as a marker, or ...
I've just watched the debate at Lib Dem conference on the 'Facing the future' policy paper and am deeply uninspired. In a conference of grassroot rebellions, the one that mattered - overturning the timid 'Facing the future' document - was passed with ease (helped by an excellent summation from the underutilised Norman Lamb). There is an iron law of British politics - everything connected to David Owen is inevitably overblown hype that ends in failure. So borrowing the name from the said Dr's book was probably a mistake, but more indicative of the contents than the authors might have wanted. ...
For a full transcript please see [ Unfortunately I wasn't at the Lib Dem conference, I also missed the BBC Parliament's televising as my television decided to lose reception randomly - One can only assume that it doesn't agree with Nick but does with my wife who said she wanted to watch the Kryptonfactor instead. I can't really talk about the delivery however I have read the transcript and will instead talk about the content. It reads very well and has several themes that he keeps coming back to. One of the key ones is family. We as a ...
Security at the conference this Autumn has crossed the line from reasonable to plain daft. On the way in this morning I had a small padlock confiscated. I carry it on my laptop bag so I can lock my bag when on the tube. The conference organisers had instructed security not to allow locks (even small ones like mine) in case I chained myself to anything. I wouldn't mind, but I have already been screened by the Police and sent in a note from my mom, so you would have thought any delegates finally allowed in would be considered safe. ...
As a rookie at the grassroots level of local politics (and trust me, there is no lower level than a small parish council), it is fair to say that I have discovered a number of advantages. Firstly, you can't kill anyone, no matter how badly you screw up. Yes, I might miss a subtle nuance on a planning application, or forget to submit my thoughts on a consultation on primary school provision, but I don't actually have any powers over such things. We could turn off our nine street lights, or let the grass on the village green grow until ...
Mon 19th
12:05
LibLink | David Laws: The Lib Dems must serve not as the government's brake, but as its engine
Over at the Guardian, Yeovil MP David Laws sets out his hopes for how the Coalition will be remembered by 2015 — as a movement for fixing the economy and promoting economic change with the Lib Dems in the vanguard of both. Here's an excerpt: We must use our precious years in government constructively, to reshape Britain - to sort out the economic mess, tackle Britain's unfair and broken society, and clean up our environment. Securing growth and reducing bloated borrowing remain top priorities. We helped create "Plan A", and we will stick with it. Now is not the time ...
In Birmingham yesterday, Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference carried a motion calling for an independent panel to review current drug laws. Commenting, Co-Chair of the Home Affairs Parliamentary Party Committee, Tom Brake MP said: "Drugs can have a devastating impact on individuals and families and can fuel organised crime. Evidence shows that our current drug policy is costly, ineffective and it is the poor and marginalised who suffer most. "Today, Liberal Democrats reaffirmed our support for an evidenced based drugs policy, calling for an independent panel to review current drug laws. "We want to ensure the Government has a clear focus ...
You would honestly believe we hated being in government. The first conference, after the formation of the coalition, we were gleefully praising the Conservatives for giving us this opportunity. Liberal Democrats even dared to describe Cameron as "liberal" and an inspiration for liberalism in the United Kingdom. Now, ministers are falling over each other to ...
See Nick Clegg's interview on The Politics Show here.
[IMG: theyre on to me] Crikey! I hope the comments (re Alex Salmond) in my previous posting don't result in an international arrest warrant, courtesy of the Scottish Parliament, too late to backtrack. Sometimes in an idle moment I trawl through, details from "sitemeter" which give details of vistor numbers, page visits and all that malarkey. Also attached to the detail are search word terms used to arrive via google etc, assuming its not one of my regulars.(incidentally this does not give information that would identify someone but does occasionally identify large organisations like BBC, News International etc.) [IMG: search ...
So my New Statesman piece was up for 10 minutes before I got the first complaint that I hadn't revealed much about what Nick said to me, Nick Thornsby, Matthew Gibson and Neil Monnery in our 40 minutes with The Leader (as everyone seemed to call him) yesterday. Of course not. I'm a blogger. I have to eke this stuff out. So, dear readers of A View from Ham Common. You get first dibs. My first question. Driven by the ad man in me. Nick: you've spoken a lot in recent weeks and months about how we should use Liberal ...
I have just been listening to Ed Davey give a major platform speech in Birmingham. He talked about three major new policies that he is implementing as Minister. First, he made it clear that no more post offices would close. Labour actually closed more POs than Margaret Thatcher, which is shameful for a Labour Government which was supposed to stand up for the disadvantaged. He then announced that he has plans to make post offices the 'front desk for Government, national and local". This is an excellent plan to breathe life back into Post Offices and once again give them ...
Reading the newspapers at Liberal Democrat Conferences are always a joy. It is as if the journalists have turned up to a different event. Nevertheless, this morning's offerings indicate that the message of real achievement in government is starting to get through. The contribution that is causing the most satisfaction amongst conference representatives though is in today's Sun: 'The Sun asked two days ago if the Lib Dems knew what they stand for. Today we ask: Who the hell do they think they are?' It is nice to know we are making an impact.
This review contains spoilers. Please do not read on if you are not familiar with the story and intend to see the film. I had not been quite this excited about seeing a film in quite some time. There are remarkably few occasions on which a work of art has been assembled in such exemplary fashion: a cast that is beyond stellar, a director (Tomas Alfredson) who is beyond fashionable, and a story from a series that is arguably beyond rival in its genre, both in purely literary terms and in terms of historical realism and accuracy. Perhaps the last ...
I was listening to Ed Davey MP on Post Offices, some of the changes make sense. No one wants to see any more Post Offices close, but going from a "nationalised industry" to a "mutualised cooperative" is something I'm sure the unions won't be happy with. Taking nearby Hoylake Road Post Office as an example, ...
At Birmingham and so missing out on how the Lib Dem conference is being reported? Not at Birmingham and so missing out on seeing Lib Dem MPs and government ministers up close and personal? We hope these videos will help re-connect you... Hugh Grant presses phone hacking issue at Lib Dem conference (Available on the BBC website here.) Don't forget our LDV caption competition — Nick Clegg meets Hugh Grant — is still open for entries... Nick Clegg: Immoral to drop 50p tax (Available on the BBC website here.) BBC South viewers pick a party animal (Available on the BBC ...
Mon 19th
10:35
#ldconf Sunday: In which we discovered we weren't married to the Tories, just sharing a flat with th...
Danny tells conference we should aim for £12.5K income tax allowance Sarah tells conference the Pupil Premium is to double Vince tells conference that excessive high pay should be tackled Danny (again) tells conference that the richest will be made to pay their tax And Tim even tells conference that we're not married to the Tories All in all it's a bit like the old days, lots of agreement about the things the Lib Dems would like to see happen to make our country a better, fairer place. The difference is that now the Lib Dems making these announcements are ...
I'm a big late with this but Total Politics top 100 Lib Dem Blogs was announced last week and Birkdale Focus was in at No 16 up from 23 last year Congrats to everyone on the list in particular to the blogs we feature Liberal England up to No 3, Jonathan Fryer up to 29, The Disgruntled Radical (unplaced last year) in at 45 and 56 Meols Lib Dems
Mon 19th
10:25
Local news: Teenager stabbed to death in Wirral Partnership Homes flat (Corporation Road)
I noticed the Birkenhead News and Wirral Globe story about the death of Darren Brewster (aged 17) from a knife attack last Thursday in Corporation Road. The photo next to the article shows the block of WPH flats between Jamesbrook Close and the junction with Beaufort Road/Patten Street/Price Street. Police have arrested and charged a ...
Congratulations to our friends in Radical Venstre who have made big gains in the Danish General Election. To read the British press you would conclude that the success of the Left Alliance was down to Kinnock's daughter in law Helle Thorning-Schmidt and the Labour Party's partners in Denmark. The truth is somewhat different. The full result is here and you can see that the Helle Thorning-Schmidt's part actually lost ground and that one of the big gainers were Radical Venstre
My first conference as a representative for Northern Ireland may be in Birmingham but this morning it started to feel a lot like being back in Belfast. As I was leaving my hotel to head towards the secure zone there was a report of seven arrested for suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism in the UK. It feels strange that after yesterday opening my remarks about my forty (almost then) two years association in Northern Ireland that I had never had to be accredited to go shopping behind the security zones, to fly, go ...
From a party press release: Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference [Sunday] passed Protecting Individuals and Communities from Drug Harms, which calls for an independent panel to review current drug laws. Commenting, Co-Chair of the Home Affairs Parliamentary Party Committee, Tom Brake MP said: "Drugs can have a devastating impact on individuals and families and can fuel organised crime. Evidence shows that our current drug policy is costly, ineffective and it is the poor and marginalised who suffer most. "Today, Liberal Democrats reaffirmed our support for an evidenced based drugs policy, calling for an independent panel to review current drug laws. "We ...
Lib Dem party president Tim Farron's conference speeches have quickly established themselves as must-see events: bluntly honest and genuinely funny, Tim always gets a reaction. And not just from Lib Dem conference-goers if the media reaction is anything to go by... Coalition divorce inevitable, says Lib Dem Tim Farron (BBC) Tim Farron lining up as post-election nuclear wasteland candidate (Guardian) Lib Dem president Tim Farron calls for Nick Clegg to pull plug on coalition with Tories (Mirror) Farron brings the hall to its feet (Spectator) If you missed Tim's speech you can catch up with it here. Full text follows... ...
In August I wrote about The "Government Cuts" phoney war, in which both the coalition partners and the opposition are pretending that the government is cutting spending, when in fact both know that spending is rising – in real terms, if the government hits its inflation target. Thanks to Danniel Furr, I can now provide a graphic for those of you who prefer to take information in visually. So, can any MP explain how "cuts" result in a graph curving upward?
I've blogged before about the usefulness of the Oxford comma in avoiding inadvertent confusion. But sometimes a picture is worth many words. (Hat-tip: this tweet from @Peterc.) And there is glorious comments thread here for those who relish grammar pedantry that only teh Internets can unleash. Share this on Facebook Email this via Gmail Email this to a friend? Send this page to Print Friendly Tweet This! Share this on LinkedIn Get Shareaholic
Committee members received the cup and five certificates from award winning TV broadcaster, author and horticulturalist Toby Buckland At their first attempt Yate and West Dodington in Bloom have scooped a total of five awards in this year's Royal Horticultural Society South West in Bloom. They not only won a Silver Award in the St Bridget Cup category, there were also Neighbourhood Awards in the morning for Abbotswood Primary School, Jacobs Well Community Garden and the Friends of Kingsgate Park. There was a particularly exciting moment when it was announced that Abbotswood School was being given a discretionary composting award ...
Congratulations to Dublin who edged out Kerry by a single point to clinch the All Ireland Gaelic Football Championship in front of the largest crowd in 50 years yesterday. This was the Dubs first title since 1995. Pictured is Dubs forward Paul Flynn holding aloft the Sam Maguire Cup which must be one of the largest in sport!
The New Statesman have approached a few Lib Dem bloggers and asked them to contribute their views on how conference is going for their on line blog, The Staggers. I believe our new 'Blogger of the Year' Nick Thornsby is contributing, and so am I. We are butting heads with the mighty Charlotte Henry who is doing the same thing at Total Politics. It's like a family fist fight. Here's my first missive. I wrote the piece but not the headline or sub header. As regular readers will know, I like writing a good headline, so I miss that. And ...
In what has become a regular of party conference season, the Daily Telegraph has published a list of the 50 most influential Liberal Democrats assembled by "Iain Dale, Brian Brivati and a team of Liberal Democrat insiders": As one MP put it, the year has been "about the rise of the left". Confidence in the party outside Westminster has grown even as polling numbers remained minimal. Liberal Democrats seem to have discovered that even in government the world does not end if you disagree. And this has given rise to a new breed of rebel, personified in Tim Fallon, Lib ...
Alas I am not able to get to Birmingham for the Liberal Democrat conference this year. I suspect that the party will rally round, but I notice the venom of the Mail and the Telegraph is already rising- the slightest thing that they consider likely to make the Lib Dems unpopular, from set decoration to tattoos is highlighted, while the body of good policy making and good speakers will- of course- be ignored. The vituperation coming from the right wing press is almost an affirmation: it underlines the new power that the party now has. Nevertheless, there are many things ...
What happened on Sunday in Birmingham at Liberal Democrat conference and what to watch out for today, Monday: (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.)
I have highlighted complaints from constituents about the state of the ground on Dundee's Technology Park at the entrance to the City, having received many concerns about the untidy state of the ground running along Riverside Avenue, just east of the Swallow Roundabout. It is important that it is tidied as it is a prominent entrance to Dundee and in its current state looked unsightly. I have been in touch with Scottish Enterprise who own the Technology Park regarding the state of this ground. The most prominent untidy area is adjacent to the now empty former Aviva offices (Norwich Union) ...
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
I was 'minutes taker' at the recent committee meeting of Friends of Magdalen Green, at which we discussed a number of issues affecting the Green, including litter bins, the new cycle path and the BBQ tables to be installed in the near future. We also decided upon the winner of the Friends of Magdalen Green Christmas Card competition. There was an excellent standard of entry and many thanks to all who entered. We will announce the winner of the competition at a presentation during our forthcoming coffee morning at Dundee West Church Hall on Saturday 22nd October - more details ...
Kevin (not his real name) drives his son Danny to the shops. Danny pops in and emerges with various items in a bag, for which he has paid. In his pocket there is a packet of biscuits which he trousered while collecting the other items. CCTV spots the fact that he has done it and he is prosecuted for shoplifting. A few weeks later, Kevin's garage makes contact and says that the Government has issued an order that he take his car into the garage to be adjusted so that it can do no more than 30 miles per hour. ...
Yesterday I discovered that I am, at least according to the Total Politics: Guide to Political Blogging 2011 the second most popular Northern Irish blog. That means that I am the top individual blog in the land of my birth and current residency. Considering the role I had in Northern Ireland for half of the last year restricted me a little in what I could blog I think this is no mean feat, and speaks volumes for what I wrote when I was able to express myself fuly. So once again thnaks for voting for me.
Nick Clegg has come to Conference determined to make the 50p tax rate a totemic Liberal Democrat issue. As the Independent reports the Liberal Democrat Leader has vowed that it will only be scrapped if it is replaced by another levy and the burden on the poorest is reduced further. In fact Ministers are now saying that a £10,000 tax threshold is not enough, people should not start paying tax until they are earning £12,500. That is quite right. The paper says that in an interview on the Andrew Marr show Clegg made it clear that he would drive a ...
Tim Farron's speech to Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference Speaking at Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference on Sunday, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said: So, well done – you all got past security clearance! Incidentally I'm very grateful to the police, they've now provided me with all the detailed personal information on party members that I need in order to conduct a Stalinist purge. Basically anyone who actually passed security clearance without sign of being a subversive will be erased. Its been a busy six months since Sheffield. And I'm going to start where I should. At the bottom. And Mays ...
It is only technically the end of day two... and it is now just after one oclock on Monday morning (technically you could refer to it as day 3). Whilst some of you at home may think this is just a big talk shop, I guarantee it is anything but and the announcements being made are evidence of that. On Monday - The announcement by Lynne Featherstone MP that we had managed to secure a deal (out with the coalition agreement) to have a genuine Gay Marriage consultationwas much welcomed by the party. Im sure it will cause a stir ...
The winners of this year's Liberal Democrat Voice Blog of the Year Awards can be found on Lib Dem Voice. Congratulations all round. But, as Liberal Burblings points out, most of the previous winners are no longer blogging, or at least no longer blogging in their own right. It seems the Curse of the BOTYs (which I can claim to have discovered) is still in operation. I have some ideas why this is so, which I may share in a separate post some time. A link to David Boyle and Simon Titley's Really Facing the Future - on sale from ...
