This afternoon, at the Liberal International Executive at the National Liberal Club in London, I gave a presentation on my paper on Responsibility to Protect, which will be the theme of a day-long conference in the capital tomorrow. I argued that Liberals have to approach the subject from the perspective of their core values, such as ...
Last night, I participated in a very productive planning meeting for the Friends of Magdalen Green Coffee Morning, taking place a week on Saturday at Dundee West Church. At the coffee morning, the Friends' 2011 Christmas Card will be launched - designed by local resident Gerry Lavery, winner of the recent competition run by the Friends. Here's the excellent design - below - and cards will be available at the coffee morning, proved £3.50 for 10 :
"That the British Defence Minister holds frequent unrecorded meetings in the Ministry and abroad with somebody promoting the interests of foreign powers is much, much worse than a little cash-grubbing." Craig Murray looks at Liam Fox and Adam Werritty. "Don't let's pretend that it is really such a mystery why such modern institutions, targeted and standardised to within an inch of their lives, have become so inhumane," argues David Boyle on The Real Blog. Caron's Musings writes this blog a memo on the subject of Tim Farron. Is a battle for Stamford Bridge about to begin? asks twohundredpercent. Spitalfields Life ...
A London School of Economics study has shown thar the UK bicycle industry is worth £3bn a year and directly employs some 23,000 jobs. But even more significant are the public health benefits which weren't included I teat £3bn. With the main health benefits being reduced absenteeism with cyclists being 10% less likely to be sick from work. It also gives what they believe to be the main ways to gain very high cycling levels in northern European countries – preferential traffic lights, traffic calming, lower speed limits, strict liability collision laws and better cycle storage and parking. What do ...
In twelve hours time we should all be awake in front of the television cheering on Wales in the Rugby World Cup. Therefore I'm doing a special late night it's Friday to get us in the mood. First up we need a rendition of the Cwm Rhondda. However, me being me this isn't going to be straight forward so here is Only Men Aloud. Rugby separates the men from the boys, singing doesn't. Not really in Wales. So here are Only Boys Aloud! with an appropriate message, even if it is in Welsh. Now no doubt, unless you've sung with ...
Throughout History politicians and officials have taken responsibility for failure. Councillor Jarrett In 1809, the magistrate of Nagasaki, who had allowed the garrison fall from a thousand to a hundred committed Sepuku after HMS Phaeton shelled the defenceless port and demanded resupply.Admiral Byngg faced up to his court martial and execution for failure to relieve Minorca's Garrison from a French Naval assault.Lord North resigned as Prime Minister after the surrender at Yorktown 1781 which effectively ended the American War of Independence. However in Medway, it doesn't matter how big your failure is apparently. Councillor Wicks, portfolio holder for ...
Fri 14th
20:00
One good thing comes out of Liam Fox's political demise - a chance to relive the fantastic (later) s...
Well done Liberal Neil on Liberal Dose for posting "Fox on the run" by Sweet (in connection with today's political events). I had thought of posting a link to the same tune earlier but got carried away with other things. "Fox on the run" was issued during that phase in Sweet's life when they tried to put their glam "Little Willy" period somewhat behind them and turn to things a little heavier. "Action" and "Love is like Oxygen" were other singles in that same period. Brain Connolly and Mick Tucker, of Sweet, were in the same band as Ian Gillan ...
Hank Williams is one of the greatest songwriters of the 20th century. His songs are almost universally known about ten years after he wrote them - covered by Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jonny Cash and the Carpenters. But he died in the back of a car on the way to a gig on New Year's Day 1953 of alcohol posining. He was 29. Here is some YouTube footage of him on the Grand Ole' Oprey (probably in the 1940s) which deserves a wider viewing.
There is only one meeting planned at Blyth Town Council next week The Events Committee meets on Tuesday (18th October), 6pm at Ebor House This will make final arrangements for the Halloween Events over the weekend of 29th and 30th October , and I'll post confirmed details when they're known.
It really is quite difficult to see how Liam Fox got himself into the mess which saw him resign this afternoon. He's an intelligent man. A GP. He was repeatedly warned both by people in his own constituency, by the head of the armed forces (at the time) and his permanent secretary (at the time) about his relationship with Adam Werritty. And yet he ploughed on in a cavalier way. On the face of it, he would seem to have made repeated basic errors of ethical conduct which even a humble parish councillor would have avoided. It is quite incredible. ...
When the coalition cabinet was being forced in the early part of summer 2010 the political commentators were awash with stories that Paddy Ashdown was going to become Secretary of State for Defence but in the end it wasn't to be. For whatever reason Cameron & Clegg went in another direction and the dream died. In the past week or so that dream became slightly more possible and whilst hope was never really in a position to make a push up my emotions I could still daydream. That small isolated part of my brain that was dealing with hope for ...
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The seemingly inevitable resignation has finally been announced. Dr Liam Fox has resigned as defence secretary in the wake of a series of allegations and an investigation into his working relationship with former housemate Adam Werrity. In one of the least unexpected resignation statements in political history, Dr Fox admitted he had "mistakenly allowed the distinction between personal interest and government activities to become blurred". That certainly is one diplomatic way of admitting his guilt in allowing a friend and self-styled "advisor" to accompany him on at least 18 foreign trips. What it is not is an apology; nor does ...
Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable MP visited the Vauxhall commercial vehicle plant in Luton this week to launch the See Inside Manufacturing initiative designed to encourage young people to consider a career in the manufacturing industry. You can find out more about this visit on the BIS website and this is how the local media reported it.
Friday: And so farewell then, Fantastic Dr Fox, the Indefensible Secretary, who's resigned following revelations about his Best Man. It's been clear for a while that, whatever his capabilities, Dr Fox is an arrogant tool who thinks the rules don't apply to him, whether its collective responsibility and not leaking your letters to the Prime Monster during the spending review or the ministerial code that says you don't give your mates free access to your Ministry of Defence contacts and top secret diary. Questions that will probably remain unanswered now surround Dr Fox's links with the dodgy charity "Atlantic Bridge" ...
Fri 14th
17:50
What do you think was the second most important reason why people didn't vote Tory in the Cotswolds?
Between us, Stephen Tall (he of the Oxford Comma cartoon) and myself (purveyor of news about commas in election law and academic research), appear to be carving out a niche in political punctuation coverage. I fear it is all going to end in tears when someone puts our own punctuation habits under the microscope, but before it does I have exciting, related news to report. I have blogged before about the fall-out amongst Cotswold Conservatives following their big losses to the Liberal Democrats in May's local elections, including their fear that they are seen as "toffs legislating for toffs". Now, ...
TweetIn our (non political) office we have a wall chart courtesy of the Guardian. This chart shows ministerial appointments in the most stable coalition government this country has seen. There was excitement this afternoon as the headline broke that Dr Liam Fox has resigned and a furious attendance to the wall chart took place. Big ...
A friend alerted me to the news about David Gerbi, a Libyan refugee who recently returned to his homeland. AP reports that:When Gerbi entered a derelict synagogue in Tripoli and attempted to clean it he was warned off by authorities who said that if he did not leave, a mob would kill him. On the eve of Yom Kippur last week, a demonstration against Gerbi was held; protestors brandished placards that read, "There is no place for the Jew in Libya".You have to remember that there have been Jewish Libyans for thousands of years; these are not recent immigrants or ...
It's Friday. It's five o'clock. Here's a fistful of lists that sum up the LDV week: 5 most-read stories on LDV this week LDV Caption Competition | Hugh Grant and Nick Clegg "one for the family album" edition (17 comments) by Stephen Tall Ten tips for running a better local party AGM (7 comments) by Mark Pack What's the point of switching to individual electoral registration? (9 comments) by Mark Pack Sarah Teather MP writes: Pupil Premium - coming to a school near you (9 comments) by Sarah Teather MP Opinion: Theresa May's cat - why we should be proud ...
This Friday I'm just gonna geek out. So enjoy. If you're a geek these'll need no introduction.
So the news has come though that Dr Liam Fox has resigned as Secretary of State for Defence. As Dr Fox wrote in his resignation letter to the Prime Minister he had "mistakenly allowed" his personal and professional responsibilities to become "blurred". After a week of trying to defend himself more than the country over allegations that his best man Adam Werrity had unparalleled to the Defence Secretary and his contacts both at the MoD and on his overseas trips. He has finally fallen on his figurative sword. He claims that the consequences of the close access his close friend ...
Please donate today to support our campaign against 'faith' schools At the start of September, we launched our annual fundraising drive to enable us to continue to support the post of 'faith' schools campaigner for another year. We're now 40% of the way towards the target of £40,000 - but there's still a long way to go, and we urgently need to raise the money.If you are yet to donate, please do so today at http://justgiving.com/nofaithschools - and please encourage everyone you know to do likewise. Whatever amount, however small, you can afford to donate really can make a difference.Since ...
Hat-tip @RaynerSkyNews: Dear David, As you know, I have always placed a great deal of importance on accountability and responsibility. As I said in the House of Commons on Monday, I mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interest and my Government activities to become blurred. The consequences of this have become clearer in recent days. I am very sorry for this. I have also repeatedly said that the national interest must always come before personal interest. I now have to hold myself to my own standard. I have therefore decided, with great sadness, to resign from my post as ...
Always was a favourite of mine :-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dhZ2VjbxQQ
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Works on Chorlton Bridge, Stockport Road, Cheadle (by Jubilee Park and Chorlton Drive) will be ongoing for six weeks from 19th October 2011. This is maintenance work on the bridge. For one week, Stockport Road will be taken down to a single lane, with temporary traffic lights. This has been scheduled for the half term week (the last week in October) to minimise disruption. View Cheadle and Gatley in a larger map
Just what is it with politicians and parks? This is the first post that I have attempted from my blackberry. I am also waiting for a bus. Should I therefore succeed in putting this online, boarding the bus and not leaving my briefcase on the pavement, then this will be an exciting technological breakthrough. I am now in fact on the bus (which arrived on time, although the road ahead is now blocked by a dustcart) and shall endeavour to duly get off it (still with the briefcase) at the appropriate juncture, especially as the dustcart has now moved, and ...
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Yesterday I attended the monthly Cabinet Meeting at Bootle Town hall. Labour are now the largest party in Sefton and consequently it is their responsibility to set a legal budget for the next civic year. Much has been made of the size and severity of the cuts, amounting to a staggering £20 million this next year following the £44 million taken last year. Much has also been made of who we should blame for the state we find ourselves in. I do not intend to add to the "who's to blame debate" but I would like to reming Sefton's residents ...
There were four principal local council by-elections held on Thursday 13th October. There were two Labour holds and two Tory holds. There were no parish or town council by-election results reported to ALDC. [IMG: Get a copy of Winning Your Local By-election from ALDC as soon as you know or suspect they may be a byelection] In Sleaford West and Leasingham Division of Lincolnshire County council we ran minimal campaign, one leaflet, no canvassing and a candidate that did not live in the division. This is not normally a recipe for success and so it proved to be. Standing a ...
Fri 14th
15:08
Wirral Council Cabinet 13/10/2011 Statement of Accounts 2010/11, Annual Governance Report Part 6
Ian Coleman, Director of Finance said he agreed with the comments except the last comment. They had closed the accounts on the 4th July. Complying with International Financial Reporting Standards had been a lot of work. He said that 75% in the North West had not achieved the 30th September deadline. He said it had ...
This is the BIGGEST charity fireworks event in Chelmsford. Please RSVP and then Select your friends to invite. The more people who attend the better local charities do. Tell everyone! Thanks, Stephen Chelmsford Fireworks Display 2011 Samstag, 5. November um 11:00
In his Lib Dem Voice piece "Too male and too pale" - Why shortlists and the Leadership Programme are not the answer, Paul Head states that he is totally opposed to all-women shortlists (AWS) because they 'ignore the real problem' that this reflects in the party as a whole; and that we need to engage more with women and BAME people on a grassroots level and change from below. This is a sensible argument, and is something that we should strive for. However, I believe that there is a place for AWS in the Liberal Democrats, despite the fact that ...
Fri 14th
14:44Wirral Council Cabinet 13/10/2011 Merseyside Pension Fund Annual Governance Report, Statement of Acc...
Cllr Steve Foulkes referred to the "massive" training given to councillors with oversight of the Merseyside Pension Fund. He referred to continuity and how it was important that the same councillors learn. He asked if the learning could be transferred? Ian Coleman said it was a statutory requirement on trustees to comply with the national ...
Was with mum in Easons in Bangor earlier when this display caught my eye. It was the second of Terrance Bowman's books, this time moving on a decade it is Bangor in the Seventies. With over 500 pictures from The Spectator archives and reminiscences from people such as another Lib Dem from the town and the 1977 DUP Candidate for Ballyholme and Groomsport in the council elections. You may know them better as Lembit Öpik and Sammy Wilson. But as I carried on flicking through the pictures I kept seeing the odd person I knew here and there. Some I ...
Fri 14th
14:21Wirral Council Cabinet 13/10/2011 Job Evaluation, Merseyside Pension Fund accounts, Part 4
Chris Hyams, Head of HR & OD introduced Agenda Item 23: Job Evaluation. She said she sought Cabinet's approval for the implementation of stage 4 which covered the Heads of Service and Chief Officers. The costs were in Agenda Item 35 – Exempt Appendix – Job Evaluation. She wanted to complete the process and they ...
We have been testing some equipment this week in order to tackle the chewing gum issue and as you can see the results are an improvement in the appearance of the pavements, this equipment does not use any chemicals, it uses heated water and there is also adjustable pressure. Reality is that to take this forward I will need to work with different partners as this type of work is manually intensive. I have already had a business offer to pay for their frontage to be cleansed and I have asked to set up meetings with others. I will keep ...
A new Sunday Food and Craft Market is being launched in Bury on Sunday 16 October. The new market is a joint venture between Bury Market and the Mill Gate Shopping Centre and will take place on the third Sunday of each month. It will be held on the Market Square, next to the Mill Gate, and will bring a new group of quality traders to Bury town centre. Further information and details of trading opportunities are available from Bury Markets Management on 0161 253 6520 or by email burymarkets@bury.gov.uk
[IMG: Tim Prater] There is £10,000 available from Kent County Council for community groups in Folkestone West & Sandgate on 5th November. Any group can apply for up to £1,000 for projects that benefit the local area - and local residents decide who should get the cash! Lib Dem Tim Prater is the only County Councillor in Shepway to give local residents the say in where this funding goes. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 28th October. For a grant application form contact County Councillor Tim Prater tim@prater.org.uk or Allison Allan at allison.allan@kent.gov.uk All local residents are welcome ...
TweetBBC Radio 4′s Today programme covered the subject as one of it's headlines, 'today parents can protect their children from exposure to online pornography. Four major internet providers have come forward to provide people with the option of completely blocking all pornography through their smart phone or home pc. This coincides so neatly with the ...
TweetThe issue of womens' retirement age is a controversial one. The recent decision by the Government not to make such huge changes to women's pension age have been heralded a victory. The issue is largely because of the differentation between retirement ages for men and for women. When retirement ages were set in 1929, the ...
I've had a rethink. It will be Iain Duncan-Smith. The right-wing of the Conservative party will have nothing to complain about. IDS has impeccable right-wing credentials. He was in the Scots Guards and has a soldier's bearing, so the military will be happy. Indeed, IDS has a cross-service background in that his father was a highly decorated RAF World War II flying ace (Group Captain Wilfrid George Gerald Duncan Smith, DSO and Bar, DFC and 2 Bars) He's run a large department, DWP, albeit for a year. He's a safe pair of hands. The affairs of the Department of Work ...
Fri 14th
12:52Wirral Council Cabinet 13/10/2011 Child Poverty Strategy Action Plan - Progress Report Part 3
Cllr Ann McLachlan said [the Child Poverty Strategy Action Plan] was an "important piece of work" whose "natural home is the Children's Trust Board". She said she wanted to move a motion. Cllr George Davies mentioned Cllr Sheila Clarke and Cllr Mark Johnson. He said that they "owe it to the people of Wirral" and ...
This sign resides in Halifax Town Centre. Aside from the usual list of prohibitive activities there is a special extra. Any activity deemed to be a nuisance by the landowner is banned. Not only that but apparently the punishment for doing something deemed a nuisance is an arbitrary £50 fine. I'm tempted to write to the landowner to clarify what they do or do not consider a nuisance. Share this: [IMG: Share this page via Email] [IMG: Share this page via Stumble Upon] [IMG: Share this page via Digg this] [IMG: Share this page via Facebook] [IMG: Share this page ...
Two Folkestone groups are leading the race for a £6,000 NatWest Community Force grant! The "Ashford and Hastings" area (in which, for some reason, Shepway has been placed) will be giving the three most voted for groups a £6,000 grant each. As of today, two Folkestone groups are leading the competition netween the 45 organisations in the "Ashford and Hastings" area, each with around 140 votes. To support each of the groups, please take a few moments to vote for them and increase their chances of a grant to be spent on projects in the area: Guildhall Sports & Arts ...
Today most of the papers are reporting a story about two workers being fired because they are British (i.e. white). The Daily Express, predictably has turned this into the front page headline: "WORKERS BEING FIRED BECAUSE THEY ARE BRITISH!". Now, aside from the fact that this firing happened in the past and is not an ongoing thing as the Express headline implies, the headline might be bollocks for another reason. You see, the only source for this story is Henry Smith MP who said in parliament: "Recently, I have been dealing with a case on behalf of two constituents who ...
Clearly Oliver left his brains in his office. You don't throw documents into a park bin. No one should, let alone an MP with confidential government documents. What an idiot! Surely he has access to a shredder, what was he thinking of? Lets hope Oliver is not put in charge of green policy or recycling as he clearly couldn't careless about waste management.
When I began university in September 2007 I was, like everybody else, full of aspirations. I believed I would do well in my degree, have a wonderful time, graduate and find a job. Unfortunately things didn't go to plan, and when my boyfriend graduated a year ahead of me, and spent a year unemployed, I knew I was in for a bumpy ride. When we graduated we were each in £18,000 worth of debt (excluding interest) from student loans, and had no job prospects on the horizon. We sat down and worked out that my boyfriend had applied for over ...
I'm helping organise a community clean up of the Garston Cenotaph area (the bit around the cenotaph near the shops and row of houses and just around the corner). This is building on some work I did earlier, getting some reps together to see what could be done to help brighten up and tidy up. The planters on Long Lane are part of this work. Anyway, I'm working my way round with flyers to let shops and residents know more about how to join in. I'll post details shortly but if you want to get more involved, do please drop ...
Ask Oliver.
As ever remember that (a) these proposals are draft and (b) many a person has made a fool of themselves with crude projected vote figure calculations. Boundary Commission for Scotland: Initial Proposals (Pdf download – 15 Mb – available here.)
A while back I blogged about Cornwall Council regarding its cabinet members as 'volunteers' and suggested that someone who is given £28k per year should not be regarded as a volunteer. Since then I have pressed the Council about the way it monitors the work of cabinet members and whether any note is taken about how much time they give to their role. This isn't so much an attempt to have a go at any particular cabinet member (indeed, there are some cabinet members who work extremely long hours and one who regularly gets to the office before 7am). It ...
If you want to know why I remain a supporter of the coalition government and the Liberal Democrat participation in it, despite much of the disappointments and awkwardness, it is for things like this. On Wednesday the government published the final figures for the amount of the Pupil Premium paid to each school in England in this financial year. Each school is receiving and extra £488 for each child that they have that gets free school meals. This means that the school where I am a governor, the new Downside Primary, is to get £86,376 of funding targeted at those ...
In all fairness, apparently it is on the Times' website as well, but I can't get beyond the paywall! Anyway the story I'm talking about is: UK Government's Official Drug Advisers Want to Decriminalize All Personal Drug Use It is good to see that the advisory committee is waking up to the possibility that the current war on drugs may not be the best way of minimising harm to society. I am not sure I agree with the following however: "The council also suggests drug users could have their driving licenses and passports confiscated as part of a civil rather ...
The Last Hundred Days, Patrick McGuinness Frankly, some people are just too, too annoying: Patrick McGuinness is Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Oxford. He's also a published and award-winning poet, and this, his debut novel, was long-listed for the Booker Prize. He is also (I know him a little) charming and funny. Grrr. The book is an immersable pleasure. It is saturated with deliciously quotable lines ('Diplomacy: the ability to stare the future in the face without meeting its eye', 'you've got no idea, and I'm not going to explain to you, some gap-year deprivation tourist'), and piercing ...
The Liberal Democrats in England took an important step in 2007 when they decided to review the approval process for parliamentary candidates. The aim was to develop a modern system capable of identifying, supporting and developing the best possible political talent in order to ensure the Party could field candidates with the qualities, skills and values needed to build public support and win seats. Although change can take a long time in politics, four years on it is hard not to be impressed at what the Party has achieved. When I started working with the English Candidates' Committee and the ...
Every Government Minister complains about it of course, regardless of political affiliation, but love it or hate it, there is no getting away from the restraining influence of the Treasury on Government policy. The latest Minister to complain is Vince Cable who, according to the Financial Times is finding that his attempt to whittle away at the regulatory burden on business is being frustrated by the Treasury's unwillingness to take part in his "red tape challenge". The paper says that the red tape challenge was launched as an attempt to begin whittling down the 21,000 regulations on the statute books ...
Fri 14th
09:43Wirral Council Cabinet 13/10/2011 Declarations of Interest, Minutes, Child Poverty Strategy Action P...
Cllr Foulkes welcomed people to the Cabinet meeting and asked for declarations of interest. There were three declarations of interest. Cllr Ann McLachlan declared a personal interest in items 4 and 5, Cllr Harry Smith declared a personal interest in items 4 and 5 and Cllr Adrian Jones declared a personal interest in items 4 ...
Yes, it's 30°c and this is an entirely deserted beach. October hols rock. http://t.co/6LleTO2h # The amazing triple staircase of the Museo do Pobo Galego, Santiago. No resemblance to Hogwarts (I was told firmly). http://t.co/Uzi1l2L9 # Moral quandary: expected at family party, but I've just got hooked on Jilly Cooper novel. What to do? # @saturngirl Erm, no. My excuse is I'm on holiday. #nostreetcredleft in reply to saturngirl # @EnlightBystand That's my default party mode. in reply to EnlightBystand # @Lindylooz Sit up all night? What crazy talk is this? in reply to Lindylooz # @_Deborah_King Have videoed #xfactor ...
I am very pleased to see that the House of Commons voted down an amendment that would stop MPs using handheld devices in the chamber. This means I can continue to enjoy Julian Huppert and Jo Swinson's tweets. Why would anyone want to ban MPs from communicating? According to the BBC "Conservative Roger Gale said the use of Twitter would mean MPs could be subject to greater outside influence". That's very amusing in the current climate. If Mr Gale is so concerned about outside influence, I trust he will be putting in a call to David Cameron asking him to ...
Fri 14th
09:21
Write to Lords to change Welfare Reform Bill - my message to the RNIB Fringe meeting at Conference
Last Saturday at Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference in Dunfermline, I was honoured to be asked to speak at a fringe held by RNIB Scotland on the impact of the Welfare Reform Bill on disabled people. I was also really nervous - it felt like such a responsibility. There is some good liberal stuff in there, but some of the measures as they affect people who are ill or disabled have to be changed. I knew that I wouldn't have to win over too many hearts and minds because the audience would be in favour of that but I thought of ...
Having recently buried a much-loved cat, I can understand how the Conservative Leader on Swansea Council might be distressed at the sudden disappearance of his cat, Derrick. This is no ordinary cat of course. Derrick has featured on this blog before when his owner claimed that: "Much of the time spent in meetings in County Hall is an utter waste of time — pointless pontificating by councillors who know less than my cat about much of what they are considering." Of course now that the Evening Post has covered the story the whole of Swansea will be keeping an eye ...
Last Thursday night, I joined a hardy handful to sleep on the streets of Aberystwyth to help raise awareness for World Homelessness Day which was last Monday, October 10th. The 'Big Aberystwyth Sleep Out' was organised by the local branch of the homelessness charity 'The Wallich' and I had been invited as a County Councillor to spend 12 hours between 8pm last Thursday night and 8am last Friday morning, sleeping outside the Matalan store in town with little more than a sleeping bag and a number of layers of clothing to keep warm. I've often thought of doing such a ...
Fri 14th
08:57Wirral Council Cabinet 13/10/2011 Motions on Item 7 (Audit Commission - Annual Governance Report) &a...
There were motions on items 7 & 19 of last night's Cabinet meeting. The first was on item 7 (Audit Commission – Annual Governance Report) and the second was on item 19 (Report to the Corporate Governance Cabinet Committee: Independent Review). Both are included below (click on the images for larger versions). Motion on Item ...
Paul Robinson is a Tory Councillor on the East Riding Council who, in a former life, was a development worker in West Africa. Using this knowledge, and the fact he represents a rural seat, he has written an interesting post on his own blog regarding fair trade, freed trade and local sourcing. Well worth taking a couple of minutes out of your life to read Oh well, that is that deed done and a few more lefty friends drift away from me :-)
Yesterday Parliament voted by 206-63 to allow MPs to (continue to) tweet from the Chamber, by rejecting an amendment that would have gutted this proposal, subsequently passed: That this House notes the Third Report from the Procedure Committee on Use of hand-held electronic devices in the Chamber and committees, HC 889; and resolves that hand-held devices (not laptops) may be used in the Chamber, provided that they are silent, and used in a way that does not impair decorum, that Members making speeches in the Chamber or in committee may refer to electronic devices in place of paper speaking notes ...
Picked this University of Birmingham occasional paper from 1991 off the shelves, and digested it quickly. I am vaguely familiar with both Newman and Elgar, but I don't actually know The Dream of Gerontius very well; clearly I should try and get into it. The paper is a bit light on Newman, setting the writing of Gerontius in sequence with Newman's earlier work but without really explaining its importance. But it's very good on Elgar, looking at why he chose Gerontius and also at the difficulties he had in publication and production because of the strongly Catholic subject matter - ...
As yet more revelations come out about Dr Fox's friend, this song springs to mind:
Yep I know what you are thinking – why is Angela stating the bleeding obvious. Actually "pathetic and stupid" is how "health expert" Professor Philip James, from the delightfully named "International Association for the Study of Obesity" described the government's health strategy, announced yesterday. Prof James went on to say that the junk food industry "manipulated" individuals into consuming their products and that was why legislation was needed. Hmmm would the "International Association for the Study of Obesity" be the same group that has been accused of taking millions of pounds from drug companies who make .....oh..... anti-obesity drugs. You ...
The County Council has paid a heavy price for its cavalier decision last February to cut 100% of bus subsidies. No research had been conducted on people's transport needs, and there was no plan in place for those who lack transport of their own and would end up stranded, though the council said it expected Community Transport to make up the difference. In May an application for Judicial Review was lodged against the Council on several grounds, including lack of consultation. In July the Council's bid for £5 million from the government's Local Sustainable Transport Fund was denied, specifically on ...
Tomorrows scheduled meeting of the Fire Authority was originally intended to be the kick-off meeting to implement the cuts to the service. Fortunately Cambridgeshire Fire Service has had a stay of execution until next year in order for the Fire Authority to assess their Financial situtation - particularly with regard to changes to the grant settlement. The Liberal Democrat group on the Fire Authority have been working hard to safeguard the front-line Fire Service including opposing cuts to the number of fire-fighters. We have organised a petition to oppose the cuts and this petition will now be extended until the ...
Listening to Deputy Prime Minister's Question Time and also the Political and Constitutional Reform Committee's hearing this week, I was tempted to blog about how in a throwback to the worst of New Labour, many Labour MPs seemed to be confusing something being a "civic duty" with it being a legal requirement. After all, it doesn't say much for your idea of "civic duty" if you think it is synonymous with "legal requirement". I didn't have time to blog about this... but then today Sadiq Khan writes for The Guardian: The compulsory nature of our interaction with registration officers may ...
Last month it was the turn of English MPs to look nervously at the proposals of the Boundary Commission's re-drawing of constituencies — Scotland's turn has now come, with its national Boundary Commission yesterday publishing its proposals for public consultation. The Financial Times has undertaken a quick reccy to work out what it might mean: ... both Coalition parties are likely to lose out, with the only Scottish Tory and three of the 11 current Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs likely to lose their seats as a result of the boundary changes. Among the Lib Dems, this could provoke a tussle ...
With apologies to the Whitley Arts Festival, which kicks off this evening with what promises to be a spectacular event at St Mary's which I hope to be able to attend, there's really only one event this weekend. It starts at 9am Saturday. I shall be wearing red to show my support for the Wales team, and I hope others will too. socialise this: [IMG: add 'Cymru am Byth' a Del.icio.us] [IMG: add 'Cymru am Byth' a digg] [IMG: add 'Cymru am Byth' a Stumble Upon] [IMG: add 'Cymru am Byth' a FaceBook] [IMG: add 'Cymru am Byth' a Twitter] ...
In a parliamentary exchange with a Tory MP in 1866, J.S. Mill famously said: "I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative." But let us fast forward to 2011... The Daily Mirror have caught Tory Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Letwin disposing of official government documents and correspondence - some of which relate to intelligence and national security - in the bin of a London park. With such a lax and bumbling approach to the management of sensitive government information, it makes you wonder whether the Wikileaks phenomenon ...
The BBC are reporting that Northern Ireland's analogue TV transmitters will be shut down on 24th October 2012. [1] This date will also be the end of analogue TV in the UK as Northern Ireland will be the last region to switch to digital TV. I hope Digital UK will now start the marketing and information campaign in Northern Ireland to ensure that everyone will be prepared for switch-over and that older and disabled people are made aware of the switchover help scheme.[2] Information on how to receive digital TV is available on Digital UK's website.[3] [1] BBC News – ...
Parliament took another small step forward into the modern era this evening. MPs voted to allow the use of hand held electronic devices in the chamber of the House of Commons and in committee rooms. So MPs will be allowed to tweet from their mobiles, check their emails from their Blackberries(!) or i-phones and read ...
When Philip Hammond announced that he was in favour of raising the motorway speed limit to 80 mph, my instinctive reaction was "That's stupid". The immediate reaction was based on his reasons for doing it, the most prominently quoted of which, at the beginning at least, was that so many drivers on motorways exceed the limit anyway, that we may as well raise it. On that basis I look forward to him repealing the law on using mobile phones in cars and also voting for the legalisation of cannabis. No? No, I didn't think so. His other key reason makes ...
