At a meeting of the Environment Partnership tonight there was discussion of two things which linked up in my mind: possible housing sites and the green infrastructure of the borough. Stockton's core strategy adopted last year was written during the height of the housing boom. At that time there was great hope that contaminated land could be cleaned and good modern housing built on it. Sadly,
Tomorrow, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, is expected to ask the United Nations Security Council for the world body to recognise Palestinian statehood. At least 130 of the 193 members of the General Assembly have already indicated that they will be voting 'Yes' if the issue goes there, which it could, if ...
I am just getting back into Hull train station after an afternoon / early evening trip to Grimsby. Now given that Grimsby is across the water my 5 hours of travelling (2 1/2 each way) is quite frustrating, tiring and bloody demoralising. 5 hours, 5 bloody hours I can go to Manchester and back in the same time. So, at this point in time a nice shiny new bridge for trains to the South bank seems like a glorious idea. Anyone want to get behind this radical, innovative and trailblazing idea? No, thought not :-) *Note to journalists and malicious ...
Those of you who have known us for a while will know that Miss Holly likes to have the radio on to go to sleep. Unfortunately she also regularly "forgot" to put the sleep timer on. Some weeks ago we hit on the idea of having her listen to Big Finish stuff. She loves Doctor Who, we have lots of CDs, and most importantly, each CD will finish after a maximum of 74 minutes... We started her with The One Doctor last week, which she LOVED, and has now listened to several times. While I was away at conference she ...
Kids for Kids UK is a national film festival and competition for children and young people which showcases the work of aspiring young filmmakers from ages 6-?19 years. The festival is Taking place in Consett but has links to an international film festival movement with others happening in Canada, Serbia, Finland, France and Greece to name but a few countries. Alongside the screenings of youth made films at the festival we also aim to provide an inspiring programme of film related activities to local children and young people to participate in, and valuable volunteering oportunities for students, graduates and other ...
TweetThe Autumn Liberal Democrat conference gave a lot of people the opportunity to demonstrate their unhappiness with the NHS bill produced in Parliament. The assertions, seemingly lobbied to be Social Liberal Forum that the bill is not in line with the coalition agreement will not improve health care across the UK and will potentially remove ...
And Sky Sports wins it for: Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas admitted his side had practised penalties after their Carling Cup win over Fulham."Admitted"? Wouldn't "confirmed" or "boasted" make more sense? Somewhere in the thinking behind this choice of words lies the explanation of why England generally lose in penalty shoot outs
Yesterday it was parrots. Today it is a sheep.
The party political conference season is in full swing. We have had the Greens, UKIP and the Liberal Democrats. Next up is Labour. Ed Miliband faces many challenges as leader of the Labour party but perhaps the biggest is that he rather likes his party. If one thinks of recent political leaders who have been successful, they all seem to be a touch distanced from their parties. This was true to a large extent of Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and David Cameron. Even Nick Clegg appears to be a few steps away from the beating heart of the Liberal Democrats. ...
Nick Clegg has made it clear that social mobility is a key part of his political agenda. He returned to this theme again in his closing speech at the Liberal Democrat conference. Clegg has also been weaving a modern liberal narrative for sometime. Early on in the conference week, he talked about the rich liberal heritage of the party. For now, he is arguing that the pupil premium will unblock the barriers to achievement for poor children. Social mobility could be his modern liberal narrative in action. Mill, a classical liberal, was keen on education for all. He wanted everyone ...
Another of our excellent female MP's Sarah Teather (well as long as she isn't doing her stand up routine), her full speech can be seen here (until Sunday 25 September) or read here. This was a strange speech however, for the vast majority of it there was nothing disagreeable, nothing bad but it also felt like there was nothing new. Watching it and reading it I didn't think there was anything to write about! However then she got onto the pleasing news that the Pupil Premium will be doubled from next year. It is important that even in these times ...
......... confronted on The World at One with a recording of the 12 Days of Coalition from the Glee Club. It is hilarious. It's at around 27 minutes here. What he neglected to tell Ms Kearney was that he was there. Whether he was there for that song, I can't say, but he was definitely there to lead Oh Flower of Scotland................ And, BBC, get this - if you are really aggrieved about something, you don't sing about it like that.
The Economist's pseudonymous political commentator Bagehot devotes his column this week to the Liberal Democrats, analysing the mood of serenity which prevailed at this year's party conference to the surprise (and chagrin) of the media. He notes that activists were cheered by the anti-Tory rhetoric that pervaded speeches by Tim Farron, Chris Huhne and Vince Cable, believing this differentiation will in turn demonstrate to the electorate that the party is punching above its weight — that Nick Clegg is, in the words of Tory MP Nadine Dorries, "the boss". Many Lib Dems argue that Tory-bashing is good politics, and long ...
Murray Rothbard wrote 'For a New Liberty' is the 1970s. You can download it for free by clicking on this link. Rothbard provides a critique of what he sees as a corporate capitalism and goes on to make the case for rejecting the State completely. His writing style is crisp and his descriptions of fractional reserve banking understandable, even for non-economists. While Rothbard is a classical liberal, he believes that the attempt by the Founding Fathers, and others, to limit government was mistaken. In his view it is impossible to control the State. According to him, it would be far ...
As a bureaucrat, you might not be terribly surprised by my headline. Bureaucrat and committee go together like gin and tonic (now, there's a thought...), or the House of Lords and old people who need a warm place for a nap. However, I am obliged to respond to my fellow parish councillor in Stansted, Essex, Daniel Brett, whose rather broad generalisation as to the value of committees reminds me that those white stilettos must be killing him (oops, that's an astonishingly broad generalisation about Essex residents, drawn from a very limited and extremely biased sample of experiences in Romford on ...
One of the few I saw live was the excellent Lynne Featherstone. The video can be watched here (available until Saturday 24th September) and read here. To be brutally honest she seemed a bit nervous at the very start. Of course, this was the first speech from an MP of the conference, therefore it was probably right that at the start she was a bit more general than some other ministers were. I think the main reason I like her is her passion, I know it is her role but I do really feel that when she started talking about ...
A BBC Autumnwatch film crew are coming along next Wednesday to the bat walk at Goose Green at 7pm. They wish to film the walk and interview participants. They are hoping to get people to ask wildlife related questions to the camera which will then be aired during the Autumnwatch 'unsprung' show, where the questions will hopefully be answered by the team. We are therefore hoping for a good turnout of local people and a handful of questions to ask. Here's what South Glos say about the bat walk: "Walk around Goose Green Fields and along the River Frome in ...
I don't tend to comment on Scottish politics as I am not the most informed, I feel like I am not qualified to respond. I feel like I should take more of an interest however. The Secretary of State for Scotland is of course Michael Moore. His whole speech can be watched until Wednesday 28th here, or read here. I have managed to find some extract from YouTube, basically his attacks on the SNP: As I've stated, I'm not the most avid follower of Scottish politics so this was my first experience of a Michael Moore speech (well at least ...
It's all good fun in the Republican Presidential candidate race. Last June, Governor Rick Perry was polling behind Barack Obama in his own state of Texas (yes, Texas!). I kid you not. But now he is leading the pack in most of the polls, although Mitt Romney is streets ahead in the state where he has one of his homes, New Hampshire. Sarah Palin isn't going to enter the race. Nor is Chris Christie, by the look of it. Tonight's candidates debate is in Florida, where Rick Perry is leading. Mitt Romney wants you to know that he is just ...
The full results of the Total Politics blog awards is now up on their site. Well done to all the bloggers. This year though I didn't make it. I am not sure if that means if I should post less, more or just continue.
The Glee Club is the traditional end of Liberal Democrat Conference get together. Hundreds of us cram into a room that's way too small and usually hideously hot, drinking lots of beverages for cooling purposes only and singing entirely respectful songs about our triumphs and tribulations over the years. Any similarity to the tv programme Glee is entirely coincidental. I doubt that resident hosts John Bridges, Gareth Epps and Richard Clein have anything in common with pyschopathic cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. Or at least not much. I haven't been to a Glee Club in 12 years. I was looking forward ...
There is a big secret in Britain today. Liberal Democrat activists know it. The media know it. And probably the Westminster village has a pretty good idea too. But the public aren't being told. It's not a scandal. It doesn't involve plots. It doesn't even involve constitutional reform. It's this: the Liberal Democrats are strong, determined, and inspired. This isn't just the Headquarters spin. It's actually true. Back in May, the Liberal Democrats had a tough time. We saw the defeat of the Yes campaign to which many of us had dedicated large amounts of time (and money). That was ...
It's party conference time, members of Liberal Vision are in Birmingham (though not me unfortunately) and the political positioning of the party is a matter for discussion. Strange to say LiberalVision sometimes encounters criticism of our existence in the Liberal Democrats, and this time of year tends to intensify that discussion. It is even sometimes said we are an elite force detached from party activism. I say it's strange because individuals connected with LiberalVision are enthusiasts for the Liberal Democrats, work for the party, and prefer it very enthusiastically to any other political party. We are all active in the ...
Derek Sivers, founder of CDBaby, has a cracking new book on the market which reads like a manifesto for the 21st Century entrepreneur. 'Anything You Want' is one of the best books on entrepreneurship I've read in a while. If you don't believe me here is what Tim Ferriss is saying about it: 'Derek is ...
Thu 22nd
19:13
Communities taking and using power: Kingston's contribution on community politics at Conference
Kingston Liberal Democrats submitted an amendment (amendment 2) to a motion on Community Politics at Conference this week. The motion was put forward by our Party President, Tim Farron MP, and our amendment was passed unanimously. This is my speech: When Tim Farron asked Kingston Liberal Democrats to support this motion we were initially very pleased that Community Politics was once again taking its central place in the party's narrative. But Kingston did not sign the original motion because - in the time honoured phrase - it did not go far enough. Before I talk about what is in amendment ...
I arrived in Birmingham at around half two on Friday and was leaving Birmingham at around half one on Sunday. So I was there for 47 hours but how was it? Getting off the train at Birmingham New Street my mind sharply returned to the last time I was at that railway station. It was the spring of 2003 and there was a girl involved. That is all I'm saying but she was nice however the previous night she had met someone else and that as they say turned out to be that. I found my hotel despite going the ...
I returned from the Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham yesterday. After the March conference, when things were already looking bad, I blogged under the title of "The Strange Cohesion of the Liberal Democrats". The cohesion is still there, but to that was added widespread cheerfulness. This was not expected, but widely commented on . This is strange for a number of reasons. The party's situation remains dire. The Independent's cartoonist depicts the party's bird logo as a dodo. Though I naturally believe the opinion polls showing the party at 17%, this still isn't that much better than what was achieved ...
On Sunday I gave a speech at Lib Dem conference supporting the excellent motion "Protecting Individuals and Communities from Drug Harms". The full motion can be found here, and essentially amounted to a call to decriminalise those affected by substance addiction while advocating a new drugs policy that was evidence-based and could more effectively tackle the damage drug misuse can do to individulas and wider society. My speech is below: I would appeal to Conference to support this motion which is well-written, carefully constructed and thoughtful in both its diagnosis and prescribed remedies for a problem that is responsible for ...
Once again it seems that Northern Ireland is going to be left behind by a Minister who has delayed policies in the past in another department. Today Edwin Poots MLA, our Health Minister informed the Health Committee in the Assembly that the lifetime ban on gay men donating blood was not going to be lifted, ...
My train arrived in Birmingham at 15:55 on Sunday afternoon. From then it was a race against time to get to my hotel to dump my bag and then to the Conference centre, through security and into the hall to see Party President Tim Farron's speech. I didn't quite make it for the start, so I've been watching it here on the iPlayer. You know that you'll get lots of fizz, froth and frivolity with Farron - but once he's got you laughing and relaxed, he'll come and kick your backside and make you want to work harder. He's good ...
Once again it seems that Northern Ireland is going to be left behind by a Minister who has delayed policies in the ...Continue reading »
SexyMP and TubeCrush now have a rival called Conference Crush. So far it's got Gordon Brown and Shirley Williams (plus presumably a bloke talking to Shirley Williams at the LibDem Birmingham conference – is it?). From little acorns....
During our party conference Dr Vince Cable said that the far Tory right were the direct "descendants of those who sent children up chimneys." It is something that can raise a chuckle and when you picture Peter Bone you could possibly believe it, even the rabid quasi rant that Nadine Dorries indulged in the other week was reminiscent of an Evangelical Victorian School mistress. No matter what you think of them though, the Conservative party have changed. David Cameron is not the grinning face of evil and his ministers do not look like the defendants bench at Nuremberg. Despite Ed ...
I regularly get contacted by recruitment consultants. Even though I'm very happy in my job right now (Hi Boss!) I usually don't mind being contacted. However, after having just had a particularly disturbing encounter with a recruiter, I thought it might be worth stating these rules up front. These are personal to me – but I expect they apply pretty broadly to most people. Don't email my work address. Tell me who your client is up front. Don't lie to me. Don't alter my CV. Let's take them in order. Contact Don't email me at work. You don't know if ...
[IMG: cutting art] This might well be a what is art? type posting, a pointless discussion of personal preference. Anyhow readers of the Guardian's Culture Cuts blog by Mark Brown, might have been mildly disappointed, to find that a selection of placards, used recently during a TUC "cuts" protest were not on display at the Turner Contemporary's latest show. [IMG: culture cuts blog] According to a posting in "Culture Cuts" blog (only the Guardian could have one), posters were to have gone on display from the London anti-cuts demo back in March. This apparently all changed when the gallery ran ...
[IMG: Featured on Liberal Democrat Voice] Birkdale Blog is once again in the Lib Dem 'Golden Dozen' this time for the with a report of Chris Davis's speech in the European Parliament about Mark Dowd and Merseystravel. I must admit that the high ranking of this post is all down to art of sub editing. Many other bloggers carried broadly the same report but with boring headlines!
As Ainsdale Ward councillor I have to question the whole Bellway consultation process concerning the St Thomas More site. I was the only Ainsdale councillor to attend all the available meetings and site visits. It was very apparent residents were tolerant of the 96 dwellings Bellway proposed but we had repeatedly a vociferous reaction about the proposed entrance/exit onto Liverpool Road. However, despite requests from residents to review the plans and put in a two entry/exit site, the original plans remained. Consultation in my view was a sop on this site as the original plans were not adjusted. So I ...
A couple of news stories have broken recently (one is actually old news but Andrew Lansley has brought it up again - maybe it's the first time he's recognised it). The first story highlights the waste in the old Labour government. : "A project to set up nine regional control centres for fire and rescue services in England was a "complete failure" and wasted £469m," Reading the pretty damning coverage it appears that this just shows an inability to project manage, whilst also a willingness to throw money at projects without giving them the proper consideration. As it happens I ...
Did you know you can subscribe to Lib Dem Voice using Amazon's Kindle service? You can do so either on their Kindle device or using their apps for iPhone, Android, Mac or PC. The link to Lib Dem Voice on Amazon is here. It will set you back a modest £1.99 a month. Of course, if you think the content we produce here is worth £2 a month, and you don't have a Kindle, you are more than welcome to cut out the middle-person and donate it to us directly by standing order. You can also donate money to us ...
Five Enterprise Zones have been announced across Wales, but the South Wales Valleys have been bypassed by the Welsh Government's "first stage" plans. Whilst I agree with establishing Enterprise Zones in Wales – it is time the Welsh Government made the best of their devolved powers on the economy instead of blaming the Westminster Government ...Read More
I've had a small trickle of casework referred by residents about Southwark Building control since being elected in 2006. They have usually been quickly resolved and communications seemed to be the common theme. Half a year ago I consolidated these issues into a question at full Council Assembly (question 21). The answer highlighted thatsignificant delays happen with a minority of cases. The cabinet member responsible Cllr Foley agreed to follow this up. For clarity this is a long term issue spanning numerous administrations. Lets not forget that Building Control is about helping to ensure new buildings and changes to building ...
Proper update later, but here's a very rare personal post. Some of you may have noticed the lack of posting recently. It's been because I've been working very hard for months, putting in a substantial amount of overtime, and I've also been feeling unwell for quite some time. On Tuesday I went to the doctor ...
A letter in the local papers this week, from someone who's clearly no supporter of the Lib Dems, accuses us of doing nothing for the South Park Road Estate. We disagree strongly, and we'd just like to go over some of what we've done: White lines repainted and some added on the Kingsway service road, Mardale and South Park Road Lights repaired and vegetation cut back Litter cleared several times, especially around the underpass Right of way changed at junction of the Kingsway service road and Braystan Gardens Worked with residents on Coniston Road, Brogden Drive and Brentwood Drive to ...
The Gothic Pub is due to re-open tomorrow (Friday 23rd September) as Piccolo Italian Restaurant and Wine Barstaue Because the previous owner had a valid alcohol licence, they were legally able to transfer it across without a full hearing. Although both the Lib Dems and the Council pressed them not to do this, they have decided to go ahead today. Although we wanted the public to be properly consulted, we hope that the new restaurant and wine bar are an asset to the community – we'll be keeping a close eye on proceedings.
I spoke at a number of Fringes at the Conference. This was with the Freedom Assocation about the first amendment.
This is what wordle makes of my conference blog posts: [IMG: Wordle: Neil's Conference Blogs] Nothing unusual there then.
I'm not one for hyperbolae normally, but the proposal to make electoral registration voluntary risks disenfranchising millions of people - women, ethnic minorities, the young - and changing the electoral landscape of this country forever. As a member of the Management Board of 'Unlock Democracy', I am asking you to write to your MP, urging them to support the retention of mandatory registration. I admit that the idea of mandation is a tricky one - some of my more libertarian colleagues might rightly question whether or not the freedom to exclude oneself from the democratic process is a good thing ...
The Financial Times blog has a useful guide to the role of Special Advisors in Government. There was once a time when Liberal Democrats saw those fulfilling these roles as devils incarnate. That was before we got into government. Indeed, I recall that around 2000 one Liberal Democrat MP ran a one person crusade against the growth in the number of SpAds, not fully appreciating that two of them in Wales and two in Scotland were in fact Liberal Democrats. The FT gives us an insight into the history of Special Advisors. They say it was Harold Wilson back in ...
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. Lib Dem members vote 43% to 37% against Coalition's NHS reforms LDV asked: The Health and Social Care Bill which will implement radical reforms to the NHS was passed on 6 September. The Bill was changed significantly to reflect Lib Dem policy proposals passed at the Spring conference. Critics say the changes do not go far enough to address concerns ...
Tweet A delightful Wordle, courtesy of @puffles2010
Over two weeks I spent a lot of time at two conferences at the Conference Centre in Birmingham. The first conference was the Nat Fed Conference and one of the key issues that I discussed with David Orr was the ... Continue reading →
I've been reading the reactions of the various health spokespeople on the position taken by the DUP's Health Minister Edwin Poots not to join his colleague in Wales and Scotland in following SaBTO's recommendations to introduce a 12 month deferral period on men who have sex with men (MSM) from giving blood. However, I am shocked of the reacation of the Health Spokesperson of the Lib Dems so called sister party here in Northern Ireland. Kieran McCarthy has said: "I am extremely annoyed that Edwin Poots is not going to lift a ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood. ...
Thu 22nd
12:54
Election Expenses: 2011 (Wirral Borough Council) Claughton ward Candidate: Stephen Foulkes Agent: Ge...
4 Signature of agent: George Davies Date: 26th May 2011 Submit this return to the returning officer within 35 calendar days of the day the election result is declared. It must be accompanied by a separate declaration signed by the election agent verifying this return. Within 7 working days of submitting this return, the candidate ...
Last night was the regular meeting of Bury Council's Executive Committee. This Committee brings together the eight Labour Executive members, together with myself and the other opposition (Conservative) Group Leader as "non-portfolio members". The Council has been 'touring' Bury with the Executive Committee, so it was a very sad coincidence that they chose to come to Prestwich, only to use the opportunity to close our last Council-run Elderly Person's Home in Prestwich. Redcliffe Elderly Persons's Home A couple of months ago the Council agreed to "consult" on closing the last Elderly Persons's Home in Prestwich (EPH) – Redcliffe on Hilton ...
One of the fringe meetings I spoke at during Liberal Democrat conference was Local / Social / Digital, along with Daisy Benson and Julian Huppert. Aside from producing one of the most caption-competition-friendly photos of Lib Dem conference, it also produced very interesting discussions about the use of technology to improve political engagement at the local level. Here are my main remarks: You can watch more of the event, including contributions from Daisy Benson and Julian Huppert via the On Road Media site.
Came back from the Liberal Democrat Conference in Birmingham early yesterday evening. Nick's speech had kept us all happy. Nick acknowledged the tough times we have gone through. But more importantly – he reminded us of the tough times the country is going through and our part in making sure we come through it. I think it is the balance between Liberal Democrat economic competence in making these hard calls (against a backdrop of constant vilification for doing so) and fairness. We retain our social conscience – thank goodness. For the Liberal Democrats it was a really good conference. We ...
I loathe committees, so perhaps local politics is the last thing I should be involved in. Councillors spend colossal amounts of time sitting in committees, time that could be spent meeting their constituents. Party activists will spend as much time in committee as campaigning. My attitude towards committees is best summed up in George Orwell's satire about the Soviet Union Animal Farm with Leon Trotsky – the theorist of the perpetual revolution – represented by the pig Snowball: Snowball ... busied himself with organising the other animals into what he called Animal Committees. He was indefatigable at this. He formed ...
Tory MP Peter Bone is a bit of a maverick. Fiercely Euro-sceptic, he asked David Cameron, on behalf of his wife, in June for an assurance that we'd never bail out any of these European types. The Independent says he described the NHS as not being of place in Stalinist Russia and once paid a trainee only 87p an hour. He's definitely one of the more untameable right wing Tories. So what on earth was he doing at our Conference? Certainly not meeting like minds. In fact, he was there to appear on Newsnight on Monday night to talk about ...
Max Atkinson detects one plus and two minuses in Nick Clegg's speech to the Liberal Democrat Conference in Birmingham. The plus is that he abandoned his attempt to imitate David Cameron's walkabout, apparently unscripted style of delivery: "If you want to look more like a statesman than a management guru, that's the way to do it." And the minuses are his decision to have people in the background as he spoke and his line "not easy, but right", which Max thinks sounded too like "right wing". Max also looks at the evolution of the staging of these events: Back in ...
This is an edited version of the speech I gave to the fringe event "Legal regulation of the cannabis market: How, why and when" yesterday: I said in my speech proposing the drug motion on Sunday that the documentary Killer in a Small Town was a major inspiration for me in my drug policy campaigning, but I do also have another personal motivation for my work that stems from my family's experience of insanity. I have a brother with schizophrenia and the effect of that upon my family is a major motivation in my wish that the government control and ...
Let me be clear: The values of trade unionism are as relevant as ever. Supporting workers. Fighting for fairness at work. But I don't think the unions should be able to buy themselves a political party I thought this was the most remarkable-and revealing-moment of Nick Clegg's conference speech. The Liberal Democrats seem to have ...
Press Release from NO2ID: Privacy campaign NO2ID [1] warns that today's announcement of the cancellation of the ten-year old, £12Bn, database project, the National Programme for IT, will not necessarily remove one of its worst effects on the NHS - the destruction of medical privacy. Despite both coalition parties' manifesto promises to give patients control over their medical records, the uploading of sensitive personal information from GPs' surgeries to central systems has continued over the last 18 months, without most people even aware of it [2]. Guy Herbert, General Secretary of NO2ID said: We've heard a lot about this scheme ...
Chatting to my friendly Federal Conference Committee representative after a typically raucous Glee Club at conference, it transpired that much of the reason for the establishment of the Iron Curtain is the presence of General Secretary Clegg at the event. Given that all members are equal, would it not make most sense for the FCC to use its unconstitutionally ordained right to exclude just one member, comrade Clegg, from future conferences, rather than randomly selected members of the public drawn out of a hat the terrorists who also happen to be party members? Unless some members are more equal than ...
South West MEP Giles Chichester has vowed to fight the latest proposal from the European Commission to inspect and vet all major energy deals between EU Member States and other countries such as Russia, labelling them as the "worst kind of meddling". But fellow MEP Sir Graham Watson has said it was no surprise "blue-in-the-face eurosceptics" such as Mr Chichester were "jumping up and down
Listen to me on Radio 5 Drive at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b014r5b1, giving my commentary on Nick Clegg's speech to Liberal Democrat Conference. I'm on during the first 16 minutes and again at 2 hours 33 minutes. The other Lib Dem is Matthew Gibson from Solution Focused Politics. Unless I can find a way to download it, it will be lost for all time next Wednesday.
Do you love dinner parties? Are you a great cook? The hugely successful Channel 4 show Come Dine with Me is returning for a new, prime-time series. We're looking for people over 18 years of age in and around Stockport with a passion for cooking and who want to demonstrate their skills. Over four days, four strangers, from all walks of life, take turns hosting the perfect dinner party for each other. At the end of the week the most impressive host wins a £1,000 cash prize. This is your chance to create the perfect dining experience! You also get ...
Total Politics have published their Top 100 UK political blogs, and Liberal Vision again features, this time at No. 72. Amongst Lib Dem blogs, Liberal Vision rates No. 7. Thank you to all our readers and to everybody who voted for us again this year.
I agree with Nick. Following the result of the General Election we had to enter a coalition with the Conservatives. I go further than him, though. Especially for those who have supported the party for decades, it was the decisive point for which we had long battled. Every Focus written, every door knocked, every pound raised, every campaign fought led us to that moment, that decision, that responsibility which, thanks to our hard earned votes in the House of Commons, we had been able to seize. It was always going to be the case that when our moment came it ...
"Labour's poor services do poor people down":
Exciting news from politics.co.uk: "A poll of branding experts carried out by EMR declared Nick Clegg's party, currently gathered for the Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham, to have by far the best logo of the three main parties." Jennie Rigg (aged 33¾) tell us what she did at Liberal Democrat Conference. "We know that Liberal Democrats are for drugs reform, but as Conservatives, we should be too," writes Joshua Lachkovic on Conservative Home. Living on Words Alone thinks people are making too much fuss about the proposed childrens' cage fight in the Greenlands Labour Club in Preston. The British Psychological ...
Picking up where I left off last time... The personal commitment aspect is a less tricky one. Frankly, in a small village, the volume of work is, relative to that of a district or county councillor, derisory. And as for metropolitan or unitary councillors, our 'burden' would be barely noticeable. That isn't to say that what we do is irrelevant, more that our powers are rather few. However, like at any level, the amount you do beyond the statutory minimum is up to you. It is, perhaps, the cultural element which offers the broadest challenge. What sort of parish council ...
There will be a Special General Meeting of DAGGER (Liberal Democrat Action Group for Gaining Electoral Reform) in Cheltenham on 12th November. The location is St Matthews Church Hall, Clarence Street, which is near the bus station, and proceedings start at 13:00. The Group, which has Baroness Nicholson and Liz Lynne MEP among its vice-presidents, exists to promote long-standing party policy of election to the UK parliament by Single Transferable Vote in Multi-Member Constituencies (STV), the system used in Irish parliaments, north and south, and in Scottish local elections. DAGGER says of Gender Balance in Parliament: "To get women into ...
The party leader's speech to Federal Conference 2011, with commentary by Mark Pack, is here.
Keep our Town Centres thriving with some of the specialist markets lined up around Bury between now and Christmas with quality food and gifts from local traders: 26 November Radcliffe Christmas Farmers Market & Festive Entertainment (Radcliffe Town Centre) 27 November Whitefield Christmas Farmers Market & Festive Entertainment (Hamilton Road Park, Whitefield) 3 December Christmas Craft Fair (Bury Tourist Information Centre, Bury) 4 December Prestwich Christmas Farmers Market & Lights Switch on (Longfield Shopping Centre, Prestwich) 4 December Ramsbottom Christmas Food and Craft Market and Festive Entertainment (Bridge Street, Ramsbottom) 11 December Ramsbottom Christmas Farmers Market (Market Place & Ramsbottom ...
[IMG: Huhne 11] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Liberal Democrats Following on from my post yesterday ( http://t.co/GMckdVwM ) about The Observer interview with Chris Huhne,I received this interesting tweeted reply from @saltneytoffee, which deserves a wider audience: I was at the interview, I thought Andrew Rawnsley was incredibly rude in that he asked that question several times.
Writing for the New Statesman, The Voice's Mark Pack has picked an unusual role model for the Liberal Democrats: What Prescott managed to do very successfully as a backbencher in the last years of the Labour government was both be a member of a party in power and also be consistently anti-establishment, especially in his attacks on some in the financial sector – and his mobilising of public support behind his campaigns. For a party such as the Liberal Democrats who have such a strong tradition of anti-establishment ideology and campaigning, pulling off that combination now is all the more ...
Thu 22nd
09:46Election Expenses: 2011 (Wirral Borough Council) Claughton ward Candidate: Stephen Foulkes Agent: Ge...
Page 1/13 Election expenditure form for election to Wirral Borough Council. Claughton ward. Stephen Foulkes. 2011. Original form text in black, handwriting in red here (for emphasis) but not on B&W photocopy is in black. 3 Return of candidate spending: Local government election in England and Wales Section 1 Details of candidate and election Local ...
It looks like the Stadium for Cornwall proposal is facing another headache - Truro City have been served with a winding up order by HM Revenue and Customs. I've no idea what the winding up order is for - it might be a VAT issue or to do with PAYE. It might be for a large amount or it could be a stand off over a comparatively small sum. Whatever the case, it's a problem for the advocates of the stadium as TCFC were set to be one of the anchor tenants along with Cornish Pirates. The planning application for ...
The Harborough Mail reports: A service will be held on Sunday to mark the 90th anniversary of the war memorial cross being unveiled in Harborough. The cross was given to the town by the War Memorial Committee in honour of the men who died during the First World War. As well as the fallen, the cross serves as a tribute to all those from the town and the Bowdens who served in the war. The memorial bears the names of 248 soldiers from Harborough who died in the war.Elsewhere on the newspaper's website, you can find film of the dedication ...
Voted lots, mostly against the establishment, sometimes on the winning side (once by just one vote) Tweeted LOTS (you can follow me on twitter here, if you like, and want to get spammed next conference) Got interviewed by Sky News, Winkball, and the Egregious Tory Tosser for LBC; and was seen on the telly lots voting, listening to debates and generally milling around conference. Asked Cleggy a question in his Q&A session Met lots of old friends and some new ones, including Daddies Richard & Alex, the lovely Caron, AC McGregor, The LGBT+ Lib Dems massive, Helen Duffett, Gareth Epps, ...
Started my own small business (consulting law firms) Got married Bought a house Was the election agent for the first time Was a Director of Political Development for a charitable trust Went to the Royal Garden Party Finished Diablo 2 (normal) in hardcore level (without dying once) with my Rawr the Barbarian Made new friends ...
It seems clear to me that a lot of people now recognise the benefit of having two parties working together. This is especially true at the present time of economic crisis. Even people who support neither of the parties in government, when pushed, will grudgingly admit that they prefer Coalition to either party governing alone. But watching Liberal Democrat Ministers give speeches at Liberal Democrat Conference (I wasn't there, but BBC Parliament did a sterling job), another benefit became apparent. These were the same Ministers as last year. That, in itself, is surprising, but it is a natural consequence of ...
When I say about, I obviously don't mean about anything Miriam has done, but the way in which the news channels of our usually high quality public service broadcaster treat her. Don't get me wrong, they are nowhere near as horrendous as the Daily Fail, but I expect better from the BBC. I wrote on Saturday how annoyed I was about the way reporter Norman Smith referred to her, but the straw that broke this camel's back was the comment by the News Channel's reporter on Nick's speech yesterday afternoon who felt the need to tell us all that Miriam ...
Nick Clegg said that the conference should be judged on whether Lib Dem members said at the end of the conference that they would start going out to knock on doors again; that he had given them a script to say and made them feel that they wanted to start talking to people again. So ...
Steve Webb, speaking to Lib Dem conference: I found out that I was, indeed, the 11th different pensions minister in the last 14 years.
Rethinking Privacy and Publicty on Social Media "The hyperbolic statements center around the idea that digital content is immortal and searchable by millions of others. While (mostly) true, it should also be noted that the vast majority of all digital content is seen by virtually no one. Maybe we just like the thought that everything we do is being recorded for all time, but the reality is very few people are looking at your latest tweet or photo. Sorry." Embark on a flyover of giant asteroid Vesta from the perspective of NASA's Dawn spacecraft This is amazing. Delivering the Book ...
I may have given the impression the other day in my post 'Desperate Times, Desperate Measures' that their offer of a FREE membership card to prospective members was less than generous. Having now received my annual membership renewal this week, I have discovered that we are no longer giving out membership cards to existing members. The Conservatives therefore do appear to have the edge on us here. Apologies for any confusion.
It's been a roller-coaster ride so far. Having been 42nd, 49th and 92nd on the list of the 100 top Liberal Democrat blogs when it was first published - we finally settled on 42nd - I had no great expectations beyond that. So, you can imagine my surprise when, on checking the list of the top 100 Liberal Democrat bloggers, I found myself in 20th place (which does kind of make you wonder why the blog is 42nd, but who am I to argue?). That's not bad, if I say so myself. After all, there are some damned good bloggers ...
So, now that the Lib Dem autumn conference has officially come to an end, it seems like a good idea to talk about my experience of it. This was my first trip to autumn conference as the only conference I had attended previously was spring conference in Sheffield earlier this year. All in all, the biggest differences I noticed were that the conference venue was bigger, security was lighter - probably due to the introduction of the controversial accreditation process - and the colour scheme for the auditorium was traditional yellow rather than the turquoise of Sheffield. The inside of ...
A parking review, which could tackle the problems of staff parking for free in residential streets around Cambridge's Addenbrooke's Hospital, has been welcomed by Cambridgeshire County Councillor, Geoff Heathcock. Cllr Heathcock, who represents Queen Edith's, has long campaigned for a solution to six day parking in streets around the hospital which causes problems for residents. Now a parking review of the south of the city will be carried out by Cambridgeshire County Council at Trumpington on September 19. "This is long overdue but the real proof of its worth will be to come forward with real solutions," said Cllr Heathcock. ...
Thu 22nd
07:55
LDVideo at Conference | CK on Nick, the DPM's last year, and party leadership contest rules explaine...
Were you at Birmingham and so missed out on how the Lib Dem conference was reported? Not at Birmingham and so missed out on seeing Lib Dem MPs and government ministers up close and personal? We hope these videos will help (re-)connect you... Charles Kennedy on Nick Clegg (Available on the BBC website here.) Nick Clegg's highlights over the last 12 months (Available on the BBC website here.) How do Lib Dems change their leader? (Available on the BBC website here.)
Liberal Democrat activists are certainly a hardy lot. In spite of the loss of about one third of our (their) council seats last May endless repetitions of our achievements in government: * pensions linked to earnings * 880 000 low earners out of income tax * the pupil premium * the green investment bank * loans rather than up-front payments for part time students et al were endlessly cheered. Surprisingly, fixed term parliaments, which I feel in the long run may be the most important achievement, weren't mentioned all that often. There were also, unfortunately, endless repetitions of the half-truths, ...
The Celebrate Age Network Forum is organising an Information Fayre in Logie and St John's (Cross) Church on Wednesday 28th September from 1pm-3.30pm. There is an opportunity for older people to get involved in the planning of the event - if you would like to attend or know of anyone who might want to get involved, please ask them to get in touch with Susan Gunn at Dundee Voluntary Action - telephone 305745.
A surprisingly quiet Area Committee looks to be in store for next Tuesday (famous last words, I know). It looks to be a fairly short meeting, so if you want to come along and see what Area Committee is about without hanging around for the whole evening, this could be the ideal meeting to dip your toe in the water. The meeting starts at 6pm and is in the Upper Rooms, above Tesco in Cheadle (access from the rear). We'll hear about the current issues the police are tackling, and about issues with graffiti and fly-tipping. Anyone present – councillors ...
I have just heard two NHS related articles on the BBC news. The first was about the PFI initiatives to build hospitals. By 2049 more than £70 billion will have been spent on the construction and maintenance of buildings worth around £11 billion. The second article was about the probable scrapping of the national NHS computerised records system. By coincidence this project also cost £11 billion but there is now little confidence that the project could be delivered and trusts will use their own computer systems. The PFI initiatives were set up to allow the private sector to help deliver ...
I do have some serious postings to write about the Liberal Democrat Liberal Conference but in the meantime here is the tale of Linda Jack and I on our journey from Birmingham to Belfast. After conference I went to collect my case from Nitenite the hotel I was staying in (all the rooms are windowless but then I was hardly in there). I was heading towards Linda's hotel when she said did I fancy a drink at the Hyatt. So I turned back went back past the Mailbox and made my way back to the Hyatt. We after a drink ...
Chris Huhne Part 1: Part 2: It was encouraging to hear the list of all of the new "green" areas where jobs are being created but distressing that further nuclear jobs will exist. I am not the most anti nuclear person ever, however it is not my first preference. It is good though that he is reiterating that there will be no public subsidy - this is definitely not an industry that we should be championing. It was refreshing to hear him mention China's desire for renewable energy. The press always paint them as a country that is just consuming ...
Danny obviously isn't that popular, like Tim I can only find him on the BBC's iPlayer (again, only available until Sunday): The full transcript can be read here. The transcript misses out the start of his speech regarding his Granddad, which made him seem a bit more human than I sometimes find him, usually when he's facing the media following a bad announcement by George Osbourne. For me there was a little too much anti Labour rhetoric. Yes Labour were culpable, it happened on their watch and Vince had warned them, but there were many other issues involved as ...
Here's Vince, Part 1: Part 2: The full transcript can be read here. He doesn't exactly have the charisma of Nick or Tim but that doesn't mean we should listen to him any less as when he opens his mouth the words that come out are incredibly sensible. One thing that really surprised me was the following stat: "Massive potential instability is caused by UK-based global banks whose combined assets are over 400% of GDP, by far the largest of any major country." I find this absolutely incredible. It is no wonder that we were effectively held our country to ...
Unfortunately Tim Farron's speech doesn't seem to appear anywhere other than BBC iPlayer, it's only available until Sunday 25 September 2011, but here's the link if you missed it: The full transcript can be found here. Tim is one of those people who when he talks, when I see him on TV/hear him on the radio, I stop and listen. He just has that enthusiasm that is so infectious, you can really tell that he is fighting for what he believes and if you were wavering draws you back in to fight along side him. He starts his speech ...
It's conference season, as such anyone who's anyone in a political party wants to be at their respective conference - it seems that almost all of the bloggers and all of the politically related Twitter users I follow have been at the Lib Dem conference in Birmingham. Unfortunately for me, I've been in work. This has left me scrabbling around to follow what I can from a distance - which has been remarkably easy thanks to social media. I spent large chunks of my weekend following BBC Parliament online, watching the conference live although I missed most of the speeches ...
