As The Burd points out today there has been a trend of late for group blogs in Scottish politics. The left have Better Nation and LabourHame while those on the right now have Tory Hoose. I certainly welcome all of these as a way of improving the general quality of debate and frequently the posts ...
Friday saw a wee bit of Hollywood glam at the City Chambers with the filming of scenes for Cloud Atlas. Sadly no sighting of Halle Berry. The film is based on a Booker shortlisted novel featuring a number of stories in different times and places which are all interconnected. The City Chambers was turned into the Imperial Hotel and the entrance looked very grand indeed. As you can see 1930's cars and lorries were evident and I did feel for the extras who spend several hours standing around in heavy tweed suits. At least it wasn't raining! Still there was ...
Where I mostly talk about Patrick Troughton, for some reason. (This is the first of these I've written without the aid of caffeine. I wonder if it shows.)
This comes hot on the heels of a Republican debate audience cheering the prospect of an uninsured man dying. Salon has the full story here. Get your own valid XHTML YouTube embed code
At a lengthy session of Dundee City Council committees tonight: * At Education Committee, I asked questions about the proposal to move to a standardised 33 period week across the city's secondary schools. Specifically, I asked about the provision of physical education should such a proposal be implemented and I also sought assurances relative to the proposed Harris Academy decant - due from 2013-16 - to enable the Harris rebuilding project. * At City Development Committee, I sought assurances that the Hunter Street car parking improvement project - that would create additional parking facilities near to the University of Dundee ...
A fantastic report features on the Beeb website tonight that a series of virtual monkeys have almost completed the works of Shakespeare at nine characters a time. It's clearly a very good piece of publicity for Amazon - whose computers are hosting the event and the programmer concerned. But the best thing about the report is the fact that the Beeb shares with us the fact that 'Practical experiments show monkeys have poor keyboard skills'.
54% of people think Labour have seriously lost touch with the ordinary working people. 60% think Labour haven't faced up to the damage they did to the UK economy. 17% say they'd be delighted if Labour would be returned to Government with Ed Miliband at the helm. 41% say they would be dismayed. 26% say Ed Miliband is doing a good job. 62% say Ed Miliband is not up to the job of Prime Minister. 45% say they would have been better off under David Miliband 6% say they would have been worse off under David Miliband. (source; Tom Bradby's ...
Those most looked up to in society are those who do good for others rather than themselves. They are therefore called 'selfless', foregoing anything they may desire and instead doing something which benefits others. A clear example of this is giving to charity, sacrificing personal resources for the sake of others, presumably more needy. It
Mark Pack writes: The new (and in fact only) biography of Nick Clegg is very much a book of two halves. The first - a fascinating tale of Nick's multinational family; the second - a fairly standard recount of some ... Continue reading →
Sometimes looking forward to reading a book for so long can sometimes disappoint. Thankfully that is not the case with Tam Dalyell's autobiography The Importance of Being Awkward. Now you may ask how I as a Liberal Democrat could have been looking forward to a book by such a Labour stalwart. Well of course in 2005 I stood for the seat of Linlithgow and Falkirk East which took the majority of the retiring Father of the House's seat within its boundaries. As I wrote in a letter to Tam, which I intended to give to him on election night* if ...
As many of you will already have heard today was Norfolk County Council's full council meeting, which every member can attend. Up for debate was a motion tabled by Paul Morse, the leader of the Lib Dem group at County ... Continue reading →
There are two problems with a Liberal Democrat like myself blogging about Labour Party conference. First, as I've so often seen from the other side of the fence, an outside blogging about another party's conference frequently misreads what is really happening. And second, no blogger can compete with Hopi Sen and his cat. So caveats deployed and on to the confusion that Ed Balls's speech today left me in. For he had two messages: first, that Labour can't promise to undo the government's cuts and, second, that many of the cuts are wrong. Either on its own would be a ...
Greater Manchester Police have released a list of police station front desks which are to close, they are: Harpurhey, Grey Mare Lane, Plant Hill, Cheetham Hill, Colyhurst, Greenheys, Gorton, Elizabeth Slinger Road, Didsbury, Chorlton, Little Hulton, Salford, Denton, Stalybridge, Droylsden, Hazel Grove, Reddish, Astley Bridge, Farnworth, Westhoughton, Atherton, Bamfurlong, Ashton in Makerfield, Standish, Hindley, Urmston, Sale, Ramsbottom, Prestwich, Radcliffe, Littleborough, Heywood, Failsworth, Uppermill and Royton. The problem is that they have tried to close front desks before, but they do a useful job especially for those without transport who have to visit a police station in person (people on bail ...
Something that has struck me from watching the 'debates' at Labour Party conference so far is the anarchy of the system to getting called to speak. If you go with red hair, wear a red tie, jump around, dance in your place you may, or may not, get the eye of the chair. Now conference halls are big, but a lot of the people called to speak were called seemed to be first time delegates, maybe their had the enthusiasm to dance in place until they got called. As for 'debate' as I use the word advisedly there was very ...
On Friday, 16th Sep, there was a travellers gathering at Bar Hill, they were encouraged to move on by us and have currently located at Cambridge Services in Boxworth, leaving Bar Hill approx 17:30. Is believed that they came from Grantchester as a group and accessed some private land entering the golf course just before Thruffle Way in Bar Hill and set up a camp there. The gate at the golf course was unsecured and made it easier for them to enter the premises without causing any damage, after they had left Menzies Hotel has been advised to take measurement ...
Your local Cambridge City Councillor was fully involved in the recent Liberal Democrat Conference, here are some Press clippings; Cllr Neil McGovern On the new planning policy (from BBC Look East) Responding to the leader's speech (from BBC Daily Politics) Speech on IT policy (from BBC Parliament)
So Ed Miliband is doing another one of his twitter #AskEdM do dahs on Wednesday. My timeline has been filled with Lib Dems (and Tories if I'm being fair) tweeting questions using that hashtag that are clearly a) never going to be answered, b) pointless political point scoring and c) really rather sad. Here are some recent questions I have found doing a twitter search for #AskEdM #askEdM Ed, what do you think is to blame for the current crisis – sunshine, moonlight, good times or 'the boogie'? #AskEdM If you were to tie me to a bed, would you ...
well the wick road safety petition has firmly been presented. at the start of september i toddled off to the council house. thanks to the bus system i had to do the 1000m dash in 5 mins to make the slot for petitions. i made it. this as received and i await the response from the executive member. i hope that some good comes from this as road safety is such an important issue here in brislington. there are some very hilly bits round here and the traffic does get very congested in parts. we need to do what we ...
Thanks to a reader for this...
Top scientists and organisations come together to say: 'Teach evolution, not creationism!' Thirty leading scientists and science educators including Sir David Attenborough, Professor Richard Dawkins and Professor Michael Reiss, and five national organisations have signed up to a newstatement calling for the extension of teaching of evolution in school science and firmer statutory guidance against the promotion of creationism. We also have a new campaign website which calls on the Government to make statutory and enforceable the current, non-statutory, guidance that creationism and 'intelligent design' should not be taught in school science, while at the same time calling for the ...
I haven't been blogging for a few days because I'm on holiday, but I couldn't let the very sad news of the death of Mike Clayton pass without comment. Mike was deputy leader of the Independent group and represented Wendron division on Cornwall Council - ironically just next door to where I am staying at the moment. He was previously a councillor on Kerrier. Others knew him considerably better than I did, especially as his main interest was planning, a subject I don't really get involved with. However, he was the Chair of the Council's Electoral Review Panel and I ...
Unwelcome news arrived today that Mike Clayton, Independent Cornwall Councillor for Wendron, had passed away this morning. Mike was a long-time District Councillor at Kerrier and became a Cornwall Councillor with the switch to unitary in 2009. He was Deputy Leader of the Independent group and, in his capacity as Chairman of the Electoral Review ...
Last February in the budget papers for Wokingham Borough Council, the Lib Dems found a note that the park and ride was to close in February 2012 and that users would be warned about it in August this year. We were not very happy. We feel the Conservatives have completely mishandled the park and ride. They have failed to give people confidence by tackling the flooding concerns, have reduced the frequency of the buses and put the fares up. None of which was likely to boost usage. We wanted the park and ride kept open. It is a vital service ...
We have lost some waste bins and some man hole covers. Interesting the chronicle article something seems to be happening
Without doubt by far the best exhibition stand at the Liberal Democrat Conference in Birmingham last week was the one from the RNIB. They had created with great imagination and attention to detail a little old fashioned haberdashery shop. It was so realistic that at first I had mistook it for a real shop and was tempted browse and buy some yarn! The attention to detail was carried through to the publicity material they were handing out. I was given a leaflet the cover of which had been designed in the style of an old knitting pattern with a rather ...
At the opening of the Crossens 5-a-side pitch (l to r) Cllr David Rimmer, Cllr John Dodd, Alan Moogan of Southport FC and Elaine Price, Chair of Crossens Community Association [photo by Cllr Nigel Ashton] The new 5-a-side football pitch for youngsters at Crossens Rec was officially opened today by Alan Moogan of Southport FC. The new pitch, on Crossens Recreation Ground, was funded from a Playbuilder grant available for keep fit projects for youngsters. Crossens Community Association, supported by the local Lib Dem councillors, suggested a 5-a-side pitch would be the most popular attraction. This pitch is another improvement ...
It seems that I was a little hasty in commenting on Eds new tuition fees policy on Saturday evening as it has been unravelling faster than a cheap jumper First out of the starting blocks was the NUS President Liam Burns, who said "If they think this is going to be a manifesto policy, then I'm sorry - this isn't going to win support of students," Then shadow business secretary John Denham announced this policy probably wouldn't be in the Labour manifesto anyway. Finally, people start crunching the numbers and work out that this policy will only benefit people who ...
On the eve of the Labour Party conference, Ed Milliband announced in an interview with The Observer, that he plans 'to slash university tuition fees by a third', by reducing the cap on tuition fees to £6,000. It's a headline that appears to have been mistaken for a policy. These past 15 months Labour has being decidedly light on policy. This surprised no-one. It was said of the previous Brown Government that Labour had run out of ideas; no-one seriously expected the 'backroom boys' who picked up Gordon Brown's mantel to come up with new thoughts any time soon. However, ...
Some good news and belated common sense from Birmingham as Edd Bauer was released on bail after ten days in detention for the 'crime' of unfurling a protest banner outside Liberal Democrat Conference. While I don't agree with everything Edd has done, I utterly defend his and others' right to protest. I'm delighted that John Hemming MP was able to give evidence, and glad that I may have helped in some way to stop what was an arbitrary and totally disproportionate use of power. socialise this: [IMG: add 'Edd Bauer released' a Del.icio.us] [IMG: add 'Edd Bauer released' a digg] ...
According to James Forsyth.... "The Liberal Democrats are now the most interesting party in British politics...We are seeing the most radical attempt to reform what a party stands for in British Politics we've seen for a long time" Is he right? Well he said it a fringe event " Coalition and the changing Liberal Democrats". at Lib Dem conference last week. To allow you to judge for yourself, here is the full video of the whole discussion. Some very interesting, sometimes radical thoughts and ideas were offered at this session – not just by James.. To help steer your way ...
On Saturday as part of my regular ward visits I spoke to residents on Alexandra Road and Upper Redlands Road about a property that has been empty since February 2011. It lies at the top of Alexandra Road in the heart of the Alexandra Road Conservation area. Once a well-loved family home it now lies empty. This is a real shame - particularly when we know that pressure on housing in Reading is intense. I heard that this property recently become infested with rats and saw for myself how the garden had become overgrown through lack of attention. [IMG: 66 Alexandra Road Sept 2011] ...
"Our members will never forgive Labour if they let them down on this issue." Marvelous. How pleasant of the unions, holding the entire membership of the Labour party hostage.
Ok, so there's a cheap gag at the expense of the Labour Leader and the shadow chancellor, just because they share the same name. Of course, both of them have been talking a right load of old balls... This isn't getting any better is it? On Saturday, after an almost Trappist silence on the policy front from Labour, Ed Miliband announced that they would cap university tuition fees at £6000. This, as has been widely pointed out, will do nothing for those on lower incomes, and will only help those who enter the job market with a starting salary of ...
Mon 26th
16:05
Lib Dem members back Coalition on economy - but real worries about impact on public services
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. Large majority of Lib Dems back the Coalition's economic policies... LDV asked: On balance, do you agree or disagree with this statement: "In the long term, this government's policies will improve the state of Britain's economy"? 69% – I agree 19% – I disagree 12% – Don't know / No opinion By a wide margin of 69% to 19% our ...
I learned a valuable blogging lesson earlier this year... Cute pictures of kittens score over considered articles on politics every time in terms of reader popularity. Well, I'm not so desperate for readers — yet — that I'm simply going to pull a repeat trick. So instead here's something completely different. My pet terrapin (my first ever pet) recently turned three. S/he's called Robbie. Why? Because we've never been too sure of his/her sex, so chose a fittingly androgynous name. Anyway, here she or he is in action: (Available on YouTube here.) Share this on Facebook Email this via Gmail ...
While I was at the Liberal Democrat Conference in Birmingham last week I was asked to do a quick Vox Pop by WinkBall.com which you can see below. I think I sound remarkably "on message"!
WordPress appears to be publishing my draft posts without my consent, which when they're unfinished is pretty bad. Naughty WordPress.
CIPR TV is back in October with a political edition that looks at who won the communications battle at the party conferences. I will be on the panel alongside Iain Anderson, Cicero Consulting, and John Lehal, Insight Public Affairs. The live web broadcasts take place on Thursday 6 October at 5pm. You can watch it via this link.
Looking back over my preview of this year's Liberal Democrat Autumn Federal Conference held in Birmingham I am quite pleased to see that my week mostly went to plan. I did miss a few of the debates in the hall that I had intended to be at, but I went to some extra fringe meetings that I hadn't planned for. I will try to sum up the big picture political stuff that came out of conference in another post, but on a personal level it was a very positive and cathartic experience. It is no secret that having lost my ...
The NHS Emergency Motion which was not debated at Conference in Birmingham had a clause that stated the cap on Private Patient Income (PPI) by NHS Foundation trusts should be retained. Shirley Williams has since stated that this is one of four main aspects of the bill which she will be trying to change in the House of Lords. But Lib Dem peers would be wrong to press for retention of the cap. Even for those who want to preserve a strongly public sector provided NHS the retention of the Private Patient Income (PPI) cap makes no sense. The cap ...
Mon 26th
14:11
Election Expenses: 2011 (Wirral Borough Council) Claughton ward Candidate: Barbara Sinclair Agent: B...
Signature of agent: B Poole Date: 23.5.2011 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 must also submit ...
From a Belgian Carlsberg advert... Absolutely chuffing brilliant. In other news boiler leak will not be fixed today but maybe tomorrow or Wednesday. There is also a leak from the shower than will involve tiles being taken off. Landlord will not be pleased... Usual political postings will return after these messages (or the passage of time – one of the two...) Tweet
Sunday September 18, to Springhill Prison for the annual celebrations at the Buddha Grove there. It was the last to be attended by the present Governor Dr Peter Bennett, who is due to retire shortly after nine years as Governor of Springhill and Grendon Underwood. He has always been very friendly and encouraging to the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Angulimala, and in particular he has a good word to say about us at the celebration. This year we had a record attendance, and the event was led by a record number of monks. I do think Buddhism has a great deal ...
As usual I have been to a different party conference from the one the media floated through or above. The Guardian led the pack who expected Liberal Democrats to be downhearted and when we weren't decided that instead we must be deluded. Setting aside the joy of meeting old friends, the curious pleasures of debating and voting, we had other reasons for not despairing. There is the Tim Farron
A few days ago, I blogged about the pitiful state of the plants outside Derby Station and also complained to East Midlands Trains. This email has arrived today: Dear Tim Thank you for your email. As a follow up to my previous email, I can confirm that works are scheduled to commence on the areas of borders/gardens surrounding the main entrance to Derby station over the next few days. Kind regards ********* Customer Relations Officer I'm looking forward to the improvements!
Ed Miliband has announced that Labour's new tuition fees policy (if they are to be believe, after they were the ones who introduced it after promising not to and subsequently raised it after promising not to - I know we can't take the moral high ground here but it is worth bearing in mind) is to cap tuition fees at £6,000. Why? "Parents up and down the country are incredibly worried about their sons and daughters.'We want to take action to make it easier for people to go to university and not feel burdened down by debt.'If we were in ...
Cross-posted from Liberal Democrat Voice Many years ago I knew Tom Baldwin when he was a cub reporter on my local newspaper. He is now Ed Miliband's chief communications guru. He's a smart cookie, so I am surprised that Baldwin and Ed Miliband have decided to use the traditional opportunity for a trumpet fanfare for their conference week (i.e the front page of The Observer) to announce a distinctly underwhelming policy. "It's the economy, stupid" - no more so than at a time like this. So why waste your golden chance for a big media blast by returning, dog-like, to ...
Mon 26th
12:52
More economically responsible than Labour and more socially just than the Tories - but are we unders...
That phrase – that the Liberal Democrats are more economically responsible than Labour and more socially just than the Tories – is a catchy one. It also represents in quite a pithy way the strategy that the Lib Dems should ... Continue reading →
When I entered university in Aberystwyth, many years ago, the then Thatcher government had just ended housing benefit for students, were bringing in the poll tax, were slashing grants, and introducing student loans. We thought things could not get any worse. How very wrong we were. This weekend's announcement by the Labour party that they would have tuition fees of £6,000 completes the circle. Student grants are just a memory, the Labour government introduced tuition fees and then 'top-up' fees, the Conservative party want unlimited fees, the Liberal Democrats backed a policy of trebling fees, and now Labour are back ...
Mon 26th
12:50Election Expenses: 2011 (Wirral Borough Council) Claughton ward Candidate: Barbara Sinclair Agent: B...
Page 1/?? Election expenditure form for election to Wirral Borough Council. Claughton ward. Barbara Sinclair. 2011. Original form text in black, handwriting in red here (for emphasis) but not on B&W photocopy is in black. Mark as on candidates declaration C1 Return of candidate spending: Local government election in England and Wales Section 1 ...
I'm blogging a little after the event on the proposed boundary changes for England, which were announced a fortnight ago. The Government's objectives were to reduce the number of MPs by 50, to save £12m; and to equalise the number of voters in each constituency. For some Conservatives, this is their preferred flavour of electoral reform. They complain that it's unfair for the average size of a Labour seat's electorate to be 68,487 compared to 72,418 in the average Conservative seat. So, the Boundary Commission for England has spent months conducting a wonderful mathematical and cartographical exercise to equalise the ...
Following on from David Miliband's little brother promising to cap tuition fees if he becomes Prime Minister, a friend sent me an interesting reminder about old 'New' Labour and their previous promises on this thorny issue, lest we forget how trustworthy the PFI-loving, banker-worshipping warmongers were: 1997 election manifesto: 'we will not introduce tuition fees'. The new government introduced them within 6 months. 'Things can only get better...' Tories supported fees, the Lib Dems opposed them. 2001 election manifesto: 'we will not introduce top up fees and will introduce legislation to rule them out'. The re-elected Labour government waited a ...
Once again congratulations to Southport Camra for organising an excellent festival this year. Once again it was held in the Scarisbrick Hotel on Lord Street whilst we await the completion of the renovation to the old Arts Centre-previously known as the Cambridge Halls. On Friday night we were royally entertained by Gallimufry this year they had an additional fiddler and drum
Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, is doing the rounds of Labour conference apologising for getting some things wrong on the economy while they were in power. He has also launched a vacuous and wrong slogan 'Building schools and hospitals did not create the deficit', by way of non-apology over the government's structural deficit. Except that it did - and saddled the UK tax payer with expensive 'off book' PFI deals that transfer money out of public services and into the bottom lines of private construction companies for years to come. Estimates suggest that the tax payer will end up paying 10 ...
The Guardian is (or should be) one of the most friendly newspapers towards Labour leader Ed Miliband, which makes their choice of photograph on this morning's story about Labour's tuition fees policy all the more revealing. Superficially the photograph is fine: it shows Ed Miliband, free of odd facial expression, at party conference. There's a bottle of water at his side but no embarrassing backdrop. However... look again at the way the photo has been cropped. We've been given a small man, slightly to the side, dominated by white space, struggling for attention and looking out of his depth. Compare ...
"Want to hear the most ridiculous beginning to a political interview that you've possibly ever heard?" So starts a clip from BBC Surrey's breakfast show featuring an interview with Conservative Cllr Peter Martin, the person in charge of education at Surrey County Council. You can listen to the clip here. (Remember to listen all the way through to hear how Peter Martin takes a leaf out of Ed Miliband's interview book.)
.....then this post is not for you. If, on the other hand, you want to choose who's in the House of Lords, and think it's an anachronistic outrage that we don't already, you may be interested in what I have to say. Nick Clegg announced proposals earlier this year to elect 80% of the 300 members of a new House of Lords for a single 15 year term with the first elections taking place in 2015. I don't actually agree with these proposals. For a start, I want to see the entire House of Lords elected, and I certainly don't ...
On Friday Southwark Council confirmed its Food Safety Business Plan for 2011-12. Food poisoning can kill – lots of different horrible bugs, additives, etc. Ensuring the food chain in Southwark is good is critical to public health. The strategy is to ensure the highest risk food manufacturers, shops, takeaways, etc are inspected at the MINIMUM recommended rate. Category C & D premises are takeaways, cafes and restaurants. It proposes that 324 of the 1102 Category C premises will be inspected at the MINIMUM rate of every 18 months. That 's around half the premises that should be inspected during the ...
The autumn edition of Plessey Focus is being distributed now If anyone wants one, that hasn't yet received a copy, I'll forward your request. When I work out how, I'll scan a copy to a PDF file and post one here .....
David Steel writes in his memoirs of a time when Russell Johnston MP publicly rebuked the revered Liberal leader Jo Grimond at a Scottish Liberal Assembly, calling this "the Liberal equivalent of swearing in church". I am about to swear in church. Or possibly swear in synagogue. Or swear wherever agnostics meet to perhaps-not-worship. Would that be in a gazebo? Or perhaps at the Mock Bridge at Kenwood? Or on the other side of the pond that the frog never finishes crossing if, with each move, he covers half of the distance remaining before he reaches the other side? Anyway, ...
Back in 2008, this was our first major policy under Nick Clegg. The policy would've been financed by £20 billion cut to public spending; this was Nick's big pitch into Conservative heartland and appealing to Tory voters, who were unsure of Cameron. This pitch was a liberal intention of returning to Gladstonian pledge of low ...
Yesterday we had the last of the big "blow Downs", the demolition of three massive 1960@s tower blocks at Sighthill in Edinburgh. Built in 1966 these were visible from my bedroom window when i was a child and them not being there for the first time in memory will be surreal. This is part of the regeneration of Sighthill and getting these blocks into a shape where they would meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard was not going to be cost effective. It thus made sense to demolish and rebuild new and better homes. To view the spectacle I have ...
With the proposals for tougher drink drive laws, Michael asks if we will in future see sobriety checkpoints in Northern Ireland carrying out 'random' checks to meet policing targets? Continue reading »
Now I have had time to consider the Liberal Democrat conference as a whole I must confess to feeling rather... underwhelmed. The fact is that the party is falling into the same old habits as the other two. The characteristically over the top treatment of the Leader- fireworks, marching bands and all that is expected at the time of his speech, seems now to become an all purpose creep-fest for the entire conference all the time. Far from a genuinely interesting program of debates- with all the disagreements of the old Liberal Assemblies, we now have a uniform blandness and ...
Chris White, councillor for Clarence Ward, has called on the county and district councils to resurface the Alban Way. Chris said: 'I raised this issue at Thursday's scrutiny committee, looking at green transport. It is quite clear that the surface is unsuitable for cycles – in contrast to the section in Welwyn Hatfield which has been properly mettled. 'If we want people to be able to cycle both within and between districts then it has to have some money spent on it.' Chris was assured by officials that the county council would be interested if the district was. He commented: ...
.....sit them down, make them a nice cup of tea, confiscate their Blackberry and get them to take an hour and 16 minutes to watch the video below. It's the drugs policy debate that took place at Liberal Democrat Conference last week - but the principles behind the motion adopted have support across all parties, and this is one issue where we should all work together. Ewan Hoyle said in his opening speech that Nick Clegg should take this motion and put it on David Cameron's desk and make him take it seriously. The adoption of this motion is the ...
Mon 26th
10:57
Who is more attractive, Marge Simpson, Lois Griffin or Francine Smith? A Rambles of Neil Monnery inv...
So there I was last night laying in bed having flicked over to American Dad and a question struck me, 'who is more attractive, Marge Simpson, Francine from Family Guy or Louis from Family Guy?' A lay there for just a moment and decided that I would investigate and blog about my findings. Who says The Rambles of Neil Monnery isn't the go to site for the important issues...? We'll start with Marge Simpson: [IMG: Marge Simpson hair down] Marge Simpson hair up and hair down So Marge Simpson. She has been around on our television screens for nearly as ...
The dog that did not bark in the night-time was a key clue in the Sherlock Holmes's story Sliver Blaze; and in penning those lines of dialogue, Arthur Conan Doyle ended up giving the English language a much used turn of phrase to describe the significance of things that don't happen. Because they don't happen, it is often easy to miss their significance - and Ed Miliband's forthcoming speech to Labour conference is likely to demonstrate that. For here is a confident prediction about what it won't contain: there will be no announcement that Labour is putting down a no-confidence ...
Compare the speed with which Roosevelt rolled out the New Deal in 1933 with the terrifyingly slow nature of decision-making during our own crisis - when what we really need is green quantitative easing. Or was that what Vince Cable meant in his deft and opaque speech last week?
I follow politics and am quite interested in the European Parliament. Well, forgive my ignorance, but, until today, I do not believe that I had ever heard of Glenis Willmott. Who? She is Labour's leader in the European Parliament, apparently. She just spoke at Labour's conference. My never having heard of her surely underlines the extent to which nobody reports what actually happens in the European Parliament. How often does the media tell us what MEPs have done on a particular day? Hardly ever. This means that when people vote in European elections, they often vote simply for whichever party ...
[IMG: Overflowing rubbish bins] Ed, Katherine and I have launched a survey in Stroud Green to find out what residents views are on the Labour Council's plans to introduce fortnightly collections of non-recyclable rubbish next year Collection of recyclable rubbish would remain weekly. However, very few people are aware of the plan, because the Council are remaining silent on the subject, and have held no consultation with residents. Council flats and flats above shops will be unaffected, but all street properties will be covered – including the many houses that have been broken up into flats. My understanding is that ...
Following the recent controversy with Liberal Democrat conference accreditation, I have been doing some research into the Criminal Record Bureau's (CRB) own procedures into dealing with Trans folk. The procedure has been recognised as problematic by the CRB themselves as a recently published equalities impact assessment, dated October 2010, hilighted the issues with the current system. (PDF Link) From the CRB's own research in 2010, (PDF Link) there is evidence people are being put off – 91% of people overall would be "willing to to be CRB checked" for either voluntary or paid work, versus 65% for trans folk. It's ...
In the past £33,000 of devolved highway budget repairs and renewals was given to East Dulwich ward each year. For various nightmare bureaucratic reasons and screw-ups we still £26,000 to spend. This financial year no money was devolved but it has been agreed a devolved budget for next year which we can decide this November will be in place. Deciding so early for next financial year will help ensure its all spent before the Olympics blocks everything for the middle half of the year. To renew a road and both pavements works out at around £1,000/ metre in road length. ...
Many years ago I knew Tom Baldwin when he was a cub reporter on my local newspaper. He is now Ed Miliband's chief communications guru. He's a smart cookie, so I am surprised that Baldwin and Ed Miliband have decided to use the traditional opportunity for a trumpet fanfare for their conference week (i.e the front page of The Observer) to announce a distinctly underwhelming policy. "It's the economy, stupid" – no more so than at a time like this. So why waste your golden chance for a big media blast by returning, dog-like, to the site of your own ...
Today's Western Mail goes into detail as to why the UK Government has got its business case for not electrifying the railway from Cardiff to Swansea wrong. They say that heavy freight trains from the giant Port Talbot steelworks complex were omitted as was the "sparks effect", the boost to rail passenger numbers which follows each electrification project. This meant that the electrification of the line to Swansea was not credited with reducing traffic on the M4 and other roads: In the business case, the DfT says it "could not identify more than one train per hour becoming an electric ...
This is something that I come back to from time to time, mainly because it is something I've had to put up with for most if not all my life. Thankfully Sophie isn't Ginger... well yet, she has a little gingerish tint to her hair but not like me at her age. I was surprised that there actually is a term for it; "Redism." It is indeed a full blown prejudice and is on a par with elements of racism for example; Redheads beaten up at school for no other reason than their hair colour and mocked in the Media ...
Questions surrounding whether Tim Farron is positioning himself to become the next Lib Dem leader are everywhere at the moment with him having to come out and deny that this is what he is doing. But the fact that people are thinking about the person to come after Clegg raises some interesting questions around what ...
As this is the year that I should know all about Life, the Universe and Everything I'm continuing with the music that has got me this far in the hope that it may help provide the ultimate answer. There were a number of possible B's but there will Always only be one option.
Mon 26th
09:12
Lib Dems affirm that drug law reform should be based on reliable, independent scientific evidence
Cowardice has prevented successive governments from reforming the UK's illiberal and malfunctioning drugs laws - this was the theme of Ewan Hoyle's outstanding speech to the Liberal Democrat conference last Sunday, in which he moved a motion committing the party to an independent review of current drugs law and policy. Ewan's speech and entire debate - conducted in a heart-warming and mature manner without hysteria and hyperbole - is available here and is well worth watching. Ewan's motion (full text here) exemplified the sort of calm and rational approach to the harms cause by drugs that is required if any ...
Don't think I haven't noticed. The 'how many more posts can you get out of one interview with Nick Clegg?' type comments. You're bored, aren't you... So this is the last one. But I do have a piece of exclusive news at the end. To keep you interested. As my fellow bloggers have each written great pieces on their time with Nick, I thought it only apt to use the final post on this topic to link to them. So here's the Lib Dem Voices 'Blogger of the Year', Nick Thornsby, with Nick's answers to questions on progessive taxation and ...
Vladimir Vladimirovitch Putin has not been a notably successful leader of Russia. He made a significant strategic mistake in making the production of oil and gas the priority for his country. The result was a higher Rouble, which squeezed Russian industry and finance, and undermined the rest of the real economy: the economy where most Russians have jobs. Faced with a large number isolated of one company towns, instead of promoting entrepreneurship and trying to diversify their industrial base, he has simply subsidized the zombie company- it saved jobs in the short term, at the expense of undermining Russian competitiveness. ...
The detailed polling by Lord Ashcroft published today on ConservativeHome brings some encouraging news for the Liberal Democrats. In a set of key marginals held by the Conservatives and where the Liberal Democrats were second in 2010, there has only been a modest swing to the Conservatives since May 2010. In the eight seats polled, the Conservative Party has a lead of 8% compared to an actual lead in May 2010 of 2%. This swing of 3% is much smaller than national opinion polls show. The vote share figures are: Conservative 39% (-2% on May 2010) Liberal Democrat 31% (-8%) ...
I thought it might be a good idea, before they disappear into the big dustbin that Twitter puts all our tweets in after a while, to record for posterity the story of my first Federal Conference in 12 years. Thanks to the wonderful Storify, you can now see the whole thing from start to finish. Now, remember that tweets are often hastily composed and may contain (horror) spelling errors, or I may have missed off who said what, or I may have mixed up anatomical metaphors. But I hope you enjoy the rollercoaster ride through a brilliant five days. <a ...
We've received a warning of a pair of thieves – one male, one female – tricking their way into people's houses and stealing money. Several reports around Stockport and Manchester appear to be the same couple. Typically, one or both people introduce themselves to the householder as old friends. They ask to come in for a cup of tea and, although the (typically elderly) householder doesn't recognise them, he or she doesn't want to seem rude so invites them in. In one report, the thief asked to use the toilet, then a few minutes later said he had to go ...
Today's Independent carries an interview with Ed Balls in the lead-up to his big speech to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. Like many other politicians, he is using tried and tested methods to trail some of his major announcements; he gave the big interview on Radio 4's Today this morning, too. [IMG: Balls, safeguarding the economy] Basically the gist of his speech appears to be an attempt to claw back lost ground on the economy. He knows full well that Labour have lost their credibility on managing the public finances. He is therefore attempting, at long last, to take ...
TweetAs the Labour conference starts to dissolve, the great policy announcements have fallen on deaf ears, being seen immediately for what they are; grandiose knee-jerk oppositionalist statements which mean nothing. The proposal on capping student fees has to be seen to be ludicrous, as they have not taken into account the regulations on interest on ...
My friend Yalçın Vehit recommended this book to me a couple of years ago, and he was absolutely right; it is a fascinating history of a fascinating city. After the first chapter, which describes the immediate aftermath of its conquest by the Ottomans in 1453, the first half of the book looks at various aspects of the city's life - religion, hammams, the role of the vizier and the dragoman - and then the second half is an entertainingly meandering narrative of events from 1700 to the twentieth century. I have worked a lot on various former fringes of the ...
I am football before rugby. As a Welshman, this is almost slightly contentious. Having said that, as anyone who knows me will testify, I am sports mad and am a keen follower of the oval shaped ball's game as well. Life is only relative, after all. Being from deepest west Wales, you would think that my allegiances would naturally gravitate towards the Scarlets of Stradey Park. Most West Walians have supported Llanelli RFC over Swansea RFC although there are many honourable exceptions. I in fact, support neither. Or should that read, both? Because when it comes to rugby, my support ...
Some great news emerged amid Lib Dem Conference last week. The BIS Select Committee's third examination of the British pub sector in as many years concluded that as far as the pubcos are concerned, it's 'three strikes and you're out'. The pubcos are of course based on a flawed business model built on unsustainable debt levels and then seeing entrepreneurs penalised and often bankrupted, with demands for the taxpayer to bail them out. Haven't we seen that somewhere before folks? They have repeatedly failed to keep their promises to Parliament. And it is the community pub as a whole that ...
If you listen to Labour every cut the government makes should be opposed, stopped or amended. You would be forgiven for thinking that this is Labour policy but if you read today's Independent you will see We won't reverse Coalition cuts, says Balls So now we know. Labour's Fiscal policy is oppose everything but change nothing
Cambridgeshire County Councillor, Belinda Brooks-Gordon is fighting for a fairer deal for part-time university students under the government's education loans scheme as the government's Education Bill is debated in the House of Lords today (Wednesday, September 14). She has teamed up with Baroness Sal Brinton, former Cambridgeshire County Council Liberal Democrat leader to make sure part-time students are not discriminated under the scheme. For the first time, part-time students are eligible for loans to pay for their education; but they have to start repaying those loans after three and a half years before they have completed their courses. And the ...
Cambridgeshire County Councillor, Belinda Brooks-Gordon is fighting for a fairer deal for part-time university students under the government's education loans scheme as the government's Education Bill is debated in the House of Lords today (Wednesday, September 14). She has teamed up with Baroness Sal Brinton, former Cambridgeshire County Council Liberal Democrat leader to make sure part-time students are not discriminated under the scheme. For the first time, part-time students are eligible for loans to pay for their education; but they have to start repaying those loans after three and a half years before they have completed their courses. And the ...
The late Fred Titmus once said of a promising young batsman: "I'd like to see him make a bad fifty." By which he meant that anyone with a reasonable amount of talent can make runs when he is in form and the wicket is good and the bowling not too formidable. The real test of a professional cricketer is to be able to make runs when your are out of form or the wicket is bad or the bowlers are on top. Think of Paul Collingwood, whose batting often looked ugly but could be invaluable to England. The same is ...
Today, 26th September, is the European Day of Languages. But you knew that, of course. At the initiative of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, the European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year since 2001 on 26 September. Throughout Europe, 800 million Europeans represented in the Council of Europe's 47 member states are encouraged to learn more languages, at any age, in and out of school. Being convinced that linguistic diversity is a tool for achieving greater intercultural understanding and a key element in the rich cultural heritage of our continent, the Council of Europe promotes plurilingualism in the ...
In his G2 "review" of the Liberal Democrat conference (23/09/11) Alexis Petridis writes: "The moment when a lone voice shouts:'Rubbish!' as Danny Alexander suggests Gordon Brown spent too much turns out to be a dizzying pinnacle of insurrectionary excitement that the conference will never scale again." I am happy to acknowledge that the lone voice was mine and sad that no other Liberal Democrat was prepared to express dissent to a blatant distortion of the truth. The prime cause of the current expenditure deficit is not Labour profligacy but the collapse of revenues resulting from the financial crisis which in ...
