As per Early Day Motion 2427, it's Labour MP Tom Watson who has got it right and Lib Dem MPs Mike Hancock and Bob Russell who are wrong. Sigh. Mind you, at least Jeremy Corbyn and Keith Vaz are in the wrong camp too. Them also being right might have just been too much to cope with [IMG: :-)] Hat-tip: Stratagem XXXVIII
At the start of this year, all six writers who had won a single Hugo for one work and a single Nebula for another were alive. Now we have lost both Joanna Russ and Anne McCaffrey. All good health to Robert J. Sawyer, Lucius Shepard, Suzy McKee Charnas and Brian W. Aldiss.
Local residents are trying to spread the word about the Boundary Commission consultation on whether Stroud Green should move out of Hornsey Constituency and into Tottenham. The deadline for people to have their say in the consultation is just 13 days away. The Stroud Green Residents Association is holding a public meeting tomorrow (Thursday) night to discuss the proposal. The meeting is at 7pm upstairs in Stroud Green Library. And even better, local community group GreenN8 has made a film about the issue, speaking to lots of local residents, as well as Lynne Featherstone, Katherine Reece and myself. I've just ...
We'd all like everyone to like us. We'd all like everyone to think everything we do is great. Unless we're very lucky, that doesn't tend to be how things are in real life. But apparently it is in CLG-land. I invite you to have a quick look at this news item published by CLG today, summarising the responses by "housing groups" to the long-awaited housing strategy launched on Monday. You will have spotted two things about that post. First, the reported responses to the strategy are unanimously positive. And there's no reason to doubt that is the case. For example, ...
How pleasing to find local Labour actually has something positive to say, good knows we've heard enough doom and gloom from leader Cllr Clive Hart over the last few years, it sounds to me, as if, when he's not moaning about Cliftonville, he's done pretty much as is possible to dampen expectations in Thanet. So far during his leadership, local Labour has fought against affordable social housing, (someone ought to tell Cllr Matterface who seemed unaware in last weeks Gazette), fighting jobs in a shabby U turn on Manston, fighting inward investment for new upgraded rail infrastructure, including a new ...
Another day another sod cutting! Yesterdays was in Currie where Link Housing Association are building 30 flats onto the side of Lanark Rd. The steep slope they are building onto will ensure that the residents have stunning views onto the Water of Leith and mature woodland. It stuck me last week when I was helping to cut the first sod at the Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre that my Great Grandfather came over from Ireland to dig the canals in the 1860's and probably worked on the Union Canal near the centre. It struck me that 150 years on here ...
There's a lot of fuss in the media about the entirely tasteless antics of St Andrew's university students in burning an effigy of Barack Obama. It's a crude ritual that really should not happen in a modern, liberal society. No matter how much I disliked someone, carrying out some mock execution on their likeness is not something I'd consider doing. I don't think these things should be banned, but I have no problem in calling out the perpetrators for being small minded, intolerant idiots. I do wonder, though, where the media were last year when the lefties were hanging effigies ...
Tonight I have been attending the launch of Boyling Point 2 celebrating the works of Evenings news Cartoonist Frank Boyle. Frank's cartoons are always perceptive and really funny. He is the best political cartoonists in Scotland by a mile. Frank told of how he grew up with Giles annuals as a kid and that drew out his interest in becoming a cartoonist. I suggested to him later that he might like to draw Council Leader Jenny Dawe as Grandma Giles. She was not amused. I fear a career as Trams spokesperson beckons!!! As Frank was speaking the various original cartoons ...
Did you know you can now contact Cambridgeshire Constabulary on 101 for all non-emergency calls? The 0345 456 456 4 number will remain in use alongside 101 for several months to allow people time to get used to the new number. According to the police: "The change comes part of a national programme to make 101 the single non-emergency number in England and Wales, giving residents an easy-to-remember number to contact local police wherever they are. "The call system is designed to recognise where you are calling from and connect you with the local police service. If you did not ...
I'm pretty sure that no Liberal Democrat members volunteered time and money to put people into Parliament so that they could join notorious crook/idiot Keith Vaz MP in trying to ban computer games But this month Bob Russell and Mike Hancock co-sponsored an EDM essentially calling for a ban on Call of Duty Modern Warfare ...
Come along to Gatley for a festive evening of fun and late-night Christmas shopping on Thursday 1st December. Twenty shops are opening late, up to 8.00pm. This is combined with a Treasure Hunt, starting at Callaghans Estate Agency in Church Road from 6.00pm, Community Carol singing from 7.15pm at Gatley Green and starring Father Christmas who will be switching on the Christmas Lights at Gatley Green at 7.30pm. So come along, get some shopping done and have a great time.
The Daily Mail rightly gets indignant about a letter of "apology" sent by a 16-year-old burglar to his victims: "I don't no why I am writing a letter to you! I have been forced to write this letter by ISSP. To be honest I'm not bothered or sorry about the fact that I burgled your house."Basicly it was your own fault anyways. I'm going to run you through the dumb mistakes you made. "Firstly you didn't draw your curtains which most people now to do before they go to sleep. "Secondly your dumb you live in Stainburns a high risk ...
Apologies for the absence of the last few days – computer problems have made it necessary. I do, though, now have a semi-working computer thanks to my sister (sound card's not working, probably because I moved the hard drive over from my old machine so it thinks I'm using the old sound card – a ...
What presents are you looking forward to giving or receiving this year? That's the question LDV posed to a group of Lib Dem bloggers. All this week we're revealing what they told us, with link-throughs to Amazon for your shopping convenience (and 'cos the referral fees help support LibDemVoice: so get clicking and ordering). Part I is available here. In part two, our second trio of bloggers - Caron Lindsay, Andrew Hickey and Mark Valladares - give us the low-down on their Xmas faves... Caron Lindsay Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography There's always been an affinity between Lib Dems and Doctor ...
Don't forget the first meeting for the Garston Park art project. It's 6pm tomorrow (24th) at the leisure centre. You don't have to be good at art - all you need is ideas.
Update from Cllr Ward regarding Tree Works Application and other suggested improvements at the MiltonRoad junction of Woodhead Drive. Theimprovements to Milton Road/ Woodhead Drive junction, relate to trees with aTree Preservation Order (TPO) (38/1988). These are unusual circumstance in thatordinarily the Council would not TPO its owns trees, however, when the land wastransferred to City Council ownership, this also transferred the TPOs. Asworks were proposed, an application was considered on the basis that the CityCouncil was an external applicant, and the Council therefore followed theestablished process for determining TPO decisions. Attachedbelow is a link, which shows the proposed works, ...
Doctor Who is forty-eight years old today, and one of the series' finest stories took place one hundred years ago (probably not today). On TV, Pyramids of Mars scared the daylights out of me when I was four as an inexplicable force drew Tom Baker's Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith to the year 1911 to find a sinister priest summoning the awful power of an ancient god; then I grew up pleasurably terrified by Terrance Dicks' novel, now gloriously read in audiobook by Tom. Both versions cast long shadows through today's Doctor Who, for TV, other stories and toymakers alike. ...
OK, first of all let's get this out of the way. OK, I have lived in Berkshire most of my life. The last time I lived in Cornwall in any sense of the word, was when I was seventeen. A long time ago. I am Cornish. I was born in Bude. Yes, actually in Bude, not a hospital in Devon. And I have actually bothered to trace my family tree on my surname's side back to Henry Walter whose baptism is recorded on the first page of the first volume of the Kilkhampton Parish Register in 1550, the same year ...
Please print off this petition, Sign it, ask friends and family to sign it, put it in an envelope and return for free (no stamp required) to Matt Gallagher, Chorlton Liberal Democrats, FREEPOST, RSHA-AKBC-UXTU, Manchester, M20 5NF. It would be fantastic if we could get as many parents and suporters as possible to sign this petition to Save all the Crossing in Manchester as this would show the Council how strongly parents and local residents feel. Thanks very much!
The Shropshire Star reports a tribunal hearing into the case of the Revd Mark Sharpe, who claims he was driven from his post as rector of Teme Valley South by a campaign of intimidation: At a pre-tribunal hearing in Birmingham yesterday, the 44-year-old compared his former village parishioners to characters from the television comedy The League Of Gentlemen.The hearing continues. Later. There is a fuller report, though it is missing the reference to Royston Vasey, in the Guardian.
Thanks very much to the nice Mr Moridura for having the presence of mind and the technical know how to put our Lallands Peat Worrier blogger Andrew Tickell's tv debut up here on You Tube. Here he is, in glorious, floppy haired, rock star technicolour. Enjoy.
This consultation is important, it will allow the council to move on travellers on to the authorised sites, currently moving on travellers takes a long time.
I for one welcome the High Pay Commission's new report looking at the quite extraordinary remuneration enjoyed by UK executives. For Directors of FTSE 100 companies pay soared by an astonishing 49% over the last year but just 2.7% for the average employee even as the companies involved have mainly delivered distinctly pedestrian results. Click ...
For those of you who aren't Liberal Democrats (which includes my father, although he's fairly gracious about my political affinity), here is a piece published on Liberal Democrat Voice (apologies for the lack of linkage, but I can't do that when posting by e-mail from my BlackBerry)...It's a long way from Creeting St Peter to Palermo, which partly explains why this piece comes to you from Linate Airport in Milan. But if my eight hour journey feels arduous, it is as nothing compared to the journey back to stability that is the mission of the Eurozone's finance ministers.In the midst ...
It's been a long, long time since I was last in Italy, more than thirty years, in fact, and one's memories do play tricks as senility sets in, but I had always had an impression that Italians are rather more stylish than the rest of us. Given my occasional tendency towards self-image doubts, that makes the prospect of a journey via Milan, Italy's style capital, slightly fraught. However, times change, and I have to say that Linate Airport is a ghastly reminder of what flying used to be like before proper architects started designing airports. Yes, it does have the ...
Wed 23rd
17:23
Vince Cable sets out employment law consultation to establish 'culture of dialogue - not confrontati...
Cross-posted from Liberal Democrat Voice In a speech today to the Engineering Employers' Federation in London, Business Secretary put forward a wide range of items for consultation aimed at reforming Employment Law. He said that the aim of the exercise is to change to: A culture that establishes dialogue rather than confrontation as the norm between employers and employees. That trusts people to do the right thing rather than relying on regulation to deal with every single issue that arises. And that ensures businesses have the confidence to hire the talented and committed workforce they need in order to thrive. ...
Pregnant woman miscarries after being pepper sprayed by police
Labour MSP Ken Macintosh comes over as a quiet, thoughtful man. He's certainly always been very mild mannered whenever I've seen him interviewed. I'm not sure he would be impressed with the actions of one of his staffers at today's anti fees march at Holyrood. Edinburgh University Students Association organised the protest against the University's decision to charge students from other parts of the UK £36,000 for their degrees from next year. Ken Macintosh turned up at the demonstration to show his support for the students, saying he didn't want universities to become the preserve of the rich. Of course, ...
A nasty problem stalks those who think about public policy, especially here in Britain, and in the US. It goes under the general name of "inequality" and is mainly about the growing disparity between the very rich and everybody else. There is a lot of anger (think of the Occupy protests) and shaking of heads, little convincing analysis and and even less in the way of convincing policy ideas. It's worth everybody taking a few steps back and asking themselves what is going on. Of course the debate about the justice of inequality is as old as political philosophy. But ...
A wish or inclination not strong enough to lead to action. Don't say you never learn anything from this blog. "Velleity" is one of the nicest words I've learnt in a decade, and applicable to so many of one's vague wishes. But don't let adult education be one of your velleities! At Consett Library on December 2nd, between 10.00 and 2.00, there will be an open day where you can find out all about the learning opportunities across the county. You can find out which courses are available, discuss your training needs, check on course fees and enrol as a ...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
It's a long way from Creeting St Peter to Palermo, which partly explains why this piece comes to you from Linate Airport in Milan. But if my eight hour journey feels arduous, it is as nothing compared to the journey back to stability that is the mission of the Eurozone's finance ministers. In the midst of this crisis, ELDR (the European Liberal Democrats) delegates from across Europe (and I'm beginning to appreciate just how far that might be) are gathering in Sicily's capital to discuss the European Union's budget for 2014-2020. I'm here because you sent me (or at least ...
Wed 23rd
15:24
Vince Cable sets out employment law consultation to establish 'culture of dialogue - not confrontati...
In a speech today to the Engineering Employers' Federation in London, Business Secretary put forward a wide range of items for consultation aimed at reforming Employment Law. He said that the aim of the exercise is to change to: A culture that establishes dialogue rather than confrontation as the norm between employers and employees. That trusts people to do the right thing rather than relying on regulation to deal with every single issue that arises. And that ensures businesses have the confidence to hire the talented and committed workforce they need in order to thrive. There are well over a ...
I have not been well this week. Pretty average bug for this time of year, but it's played merry hell with my plans to get organised for Christmas. I am being sensible and resting as much as I can. Spending Monday afternoon in bed, too wiped out to even feel sorry for myself, I missed the Twitter furore over the "#womanontheleft". When Hugh Grant was giving his testimony the other day to the Leveson Inquiry, some people noticed a woman listening intently. Now, apparently it's the law that any woman in the vicinity of Hugh Grant must clearly fancy him. ...
I'm always interested what my local councillor, Cllr Harry Smith is up to. According to a Wirral Council press release he's been photographed at Greasby Junior School in an event run by Merseyside Police and Wirral Council. Cllr Harry Smith was there to learn about speeding outside Greasby Junior School. A group of adults speeding ...
Introduction by Regional Organiser, Cllr Mathew Hulbert. Hello everyone and welcome to the brand new East Midlands page, here on the Social Liberal Forum website. I recently took on setting up and organising the regional branch of SLF here in ... Continue reading →
Wed 23rd
14:27Opinion: Lib Dems should welcome and put into practice most of the High Pay Commission's recommendat...
Some bald statistics before the ranting begins: In 1979 the top 0.1% of earners took home 1.3% of the national income; by 2007 this had grown to 6.5%. In 1979 the top 1% took home 5.93% of the national income; by 2007 this had grown to 14.5%. In 1979 the top 10% took home 28.4% of the national income; by 2007 this had grown to 40%. In 2010 alone, executive pay in FTSE 100 companies went up by an average of 49%, against a 2.7% rise amongst employees in these firms. Top bosses now take home nearly 7% of total ...
If one thing has become clear from the Leveson Inquiry, it is that the unsaid understanding by many people that the illegal interception of voicemails was "much more widespread" than just the News of the World. The Independent reports that Mark Lewis, who represents some of the victims of phone-hacking, told the Inquiry into press standards that illegally accessing the phones of celebrities and other people in the news was "too easy to do" for journalists: He suggested that reporters, at least initially, thought of the practice as no worse than driving at 35mph in a 30mph zone. Mr Lewis ...
Wed 23rd
14:08
Employment & Appointments Committee (Wirral Council) 23/11/2011 Part 2 Minutes, Delivering the I...
Chris Hyams was going to respond but Cllr Jeff Green carried on talking. He asking if he would be hearing soon and referred to comments made at a previous meeting by Jim Wilkie, Chief Executive that they would be moving ahead with the timetable. Cllr Adrian Jones asked if they were ok and happy for ...
Big Brother Watch have conducted a survey of local councils and have found that Cornwall Council is among the ten worst when it comes to losing personal data. Cornwall's response to this - that data loss is inevitable in today's information driven society. I find this response very disappointing. I accept that mistakes sometimes happen and I don't think we should unnecessarily condemn. But we need to give the message to residents and businesses that we will treat their personal information with respect and take appropriate precautions with it. And where the loss is because of a fault by someone ...
Sefton Council's Tourism Service could be abolished as part ofthe next round of cuts. The Council are carrying out a consultation to find outwhat people think. It is important that the Council hears from as manyresidents as possible. Have your say here The Tourism Service supports the Sefton Visitor Economy(worth £374 million), of which 74% (£278 million) is spent in Southport andgenerates 5,300 jobs in the town. Proposals could cost 1,000 jobs Sefton Council itself says that: "At least 22% ofSouthport's tourism expenditure is directly enabled by Council destinationmarketing, events, conference sales and contracts - and is therefore at risk ...
At Cheadle Area Committee we spent over two and a half hours discussing the propose Allocations Development Plan for the Local Development Framework: looking at what sorts of development we want to see in different areas around Cheadle, Gatley, Heald Green and Cheadle Hulme. There's a lot of detail I could go into, but most readers would be asleep pretty quickly so if you want to know about the sort of employment we want to see on Cheadle Royal, the extent of primary frontages in Cheadle and Gatley or any other issue, then do get in touch and I'll be ...
The Lancashire flag is flying at Southport Town Hall tocelebrate Lancashire County Cricket Club winning the County Championship. Lancashire won the Championship outright for the first timein 77 years and the flag is being flown to recognise the club's achievements.The flag will be seen for a week, coinciding with Lancashire Day which falls onSunday, November 27. The idea of flying the Lancashire flag was agreed by theCouncil following a motion put forward by the Liberal Democrats. The motionalso congratulated Southport and Birkdale Cricket Club who drew record crowds to their Trafalgar Road ground for the Lancashire match.
Wed 23rd
13:17Employment & Appointments Committee (Wirral Council) 23/11/2011 Part 1, Declarations of Interest...
Present: Cllr Jeff Green Cllr Lesley Rennie Cllr Peter Kearney Cllr Mark Johnston Cllr Paul Hayes Cllr Adrian Jones (Chair) Cllr George Davies Cllr Steve Foulkes Cllr Phil Davies Officers present: Chris Hyams Andrew Mossop (Committee Clerk) Tony Williams Kevin Adderley Others Cllr Adrian Jones (Chair) said "Good evening" and asked for declarations of interest. ...
At the raising of the Lancs flag to celebrate the victory of Lancs County Cricket Club at Southport Town Hall today The photo shows Warren Hegg Lancs cricketer, The Mayor, IBB, Hadn Preece etc
The safety of our children travelling to and from school is PARAMOUNT and school crossings are a vital road safety service. I was appalled to learn recently that Manchester City Council plan to cut the School Crossing Patrol service. When my colleague Matt Gallagher and I learned about this we contacted the Manchester Evening News who have joined us in asking the City Council to think again. I'm joining the Manchester Liberal Democrats in calling on the Council to change their mind at the next City Council and I am proposing the motion that funding is found for this vital ...
The latest email from the campaign group 38 Degrees hit my inbox earlier this week and shows signs of the organisation responding to previous criticisms made of it – but not all of them. One criticism made by others (including many people active in other pressure groups) in the past has been about 38 Degrees talking up its own role, with very little if any mention of other organisations campaigning on the same topic. That's not the case in the latest email, which starts with a quote from Greenpeace and goes on to explicitly name a range of other groups. ...
To be told that you or a loved one has cancer is likely to be one of the most gut-wrenching moments of anyone's life. To be further informed that the chances of survival are low is devastating. But if more people knew they could live a fuller life for longer, we could ease the impact of that devastating time. Last week I commissioned health officials to conduct a scoping exercise into early diagnosis across the health service. The plan is that research will help us to understand what, if any, evidence exists as to the extent of delayed diagnosis and ...
A report has been published this morning concerning the quality of personal care for the elderly in England and Wales. It sets out findings that suggest that about 50% of those it quizzed are receiving a quality of care that is unacceptable. That, of course, is extremely unfortunate. However there are several features of this report which render its findings questionable at best and useless at worst. The first is the author of the report is the Equality and Human Rights Commission. This is a statutory body that "promote[s] and monitor[s] human rights and.. protect[s] enforce[s] and promote[s] equality across ...
Last week there was an opportunity for parents and local residents to have a first look at what Winnersh Primary School's expansion plans might look like. The council intends to increase the school intake, so that eventually it will have 1 1/2 times the pupils it currently does. It is one of three schools they have identified for expansion, to meet the potential shortfall in primary school places that they are predicting. The last two years have seen difficulties over primary school places due to more children coming through than expected and this trend seems to be set to continue. ...
Willie Rennie has been talking to STV about his enthusiasm for the forthcoming in London next year. You do get the air of excited child in a sweetie shop from him - and for somebody who loves sport as much as Willie does, lots of them being played at the highest level on the same island must feel like all his Christmases have come at once. I'm not sure I quite buy the idea that he'll actually be watching all of it. I can't imagine him sitting still for long enough to do that. He tends to do rather than ...
I've just read a wonderful insightful and witty letter by a Steve Melia in Local Transport Today... " Inspired by Philip Hammond's launch of the consultation on motorway speed limits, and the successful campaign by motorists' groups against speed camera, I am pleased to announce the formation of a new organisation: the Campaign for Ethical Looting. We believe in the principle of policing by consent. Through history, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the recent riots in British cities, a substantial proportion of the population has always responded to social crisis by looting. If significant proportions of the ...
Yesterday two of the families who had their phones hacked stated that the phone hacking stories had led to a suicide in their respective families. There is of course no way of proving this 100 percent. But it does seem very plauseable. The Leveson inquiry has heard from the parents of a schoolgirl murdered by a classmate in 1991 who claim press coverage of her death had contributed to their teenage son's suicide. Margaret Watson said articles were ill-informed and inaccurate. Former Blackburn footballer Garry Flitcroft claimed that he was persecuted by the press after he obtained an injunction preventing ...
Wed 23rd
10:28
St Piran's Day holiday could be worth £35m to Cornwall - and it's the right thing to campaign ...
The local papers are reporting the study carried out by Cornwall Council which shows that a St Piran's Day bank holiday could be worth up to £35 million to the local economy. But, as a tweet colleague of mine points out - we shouldn't be doing it for the money. We should be campaigning for St Piran's Day to be a public holiday in Cornwall because it is the right thing to do. This issue came up because the government is considering moving the May Day bank holiday. They have held a consultation with the options being put forward including ...
Sergeant Dave Lithgow and his colleagues came to Cheadle Area Committee to update us on policing issues. There have been a spate of wing mirror thefts from Mercedes cars (so far, mostly in Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme). The Cheadle & Gatley Business Watch is starting to work well – it aims to tackle the spate of shoplifting in the villages. Anti-social behaviour is down 34% in Cheadle (year on year) and 12% in Gatley. Burglary is down 2.3% – this reverses a spike in August and September. Serious violent crime in Gatley has fallen 100%! This reflects the improvement of ...
Wed 23rd
09:54Was there a Clegg coup? Review of The Clegg Coup - Britain's First Coalition Government Since Lloyd ...
Many book titles reveal little about what their book contains, either providing but a banal name for its contents or a clever, clever name which obscures rather than reveals. However, The Clegg Coup - Britain's First Coalition Government Since Lloyd George by Jasper Gerard has a title which is revealing in two aspects. First, the way general accuracy in the book is marred by detailed slips - for whilst the general point of the title is true, with the May 2010 coalition being the UK's first peacetime coalition in Westminster since before 1939, the title does not use the word ...
Proposals from the Committee on Standards in Public Life for state funding of political parties were kicked into the long grass by all three major players before the report was even officially published. Reaction from various interested sources and commentators has been almost unanimously opposed to the idea with some, notably the Taxpayers' Alliance, outraged by the proposals. The key thrust of most of the arguments against the plan is simply that the time is wrong to burden tax payers with state funding of politic parties at a time when so many budgets are being cut, jobs being lost and ...
The High Pay Commission, an independent inquiry into top pay in the private sector, published its final report yesterday. Here's how The Guardian reports its key conclusions: The commission sets out 12 recommendations to tackle high pay. The main reforms include: • Greater transparency in the calculation of executive pay to end the "closed shop" on pay decisions. At present, many people do not understand until it is too late how a vast salary - often composed of as many as seven different elements - is worked out. • Putting employees on remuneration committees, a move included in the government's ...
A call for a change in the law which would almost halve the drink driving limit is being supported by Cambridge MP Julian Huppert. Julian is backing a Ten Minute Rule Motion in the Commons tomorrow (Tuesday, November 22) which aims to reduce the permitted blood alcohol limit for drivers from 80mg per 100ml of blood to 50mg. It would also give the police the power to suspend a driver's licence while assessment is carried out to see whether he or she is suitable to drive. The motion is proposed as the country marks national Road Safety Week. "This would ...
The West End Christmas Week Brochure rolled off the presses at local printer Urban Print on Perth Road yesterday afternoon and a number of us were present to see the brochure launched. A download of the full brochure will be available at www.dundeewestend.com shortly! Barney's Fund, the charitable fund established by Barnetts Motor Group, is kindly sponsoring the West End Community Fayre on Saturday and it was great to welcome Barnetts' representatives to the photocall yesterday, along with some of the Christmas Week committee members who could manage along :Above from left : Susan Sherriff of Barnetts Motor Group, Andrew ...
A press release from Sefton MBC This follows on from the motion I proposed last month at the Southport Area Committee which arose from a question from Geoff Carter. The flag at Southport was donated by Brian Birch of Birkdale A special flag is flying at Southport Town Halls to celebrate Lancashire County Cricket Club winning the County Championship. It was the first time in 77 years since the county won the championship outright and the Lancashire Flag will be seen flapping above both civic buildings in recognition of the cricket club's achievements. The flags will be seen for a ...
It being the 48th birthday of Doctor Who today, I thought I would start a brief series of posts about my favourite stories in various media for each of the Doctors, which hopefully will encourage fellow fans to explore a few more books or audios (or maybe even check out some TV stories with a fresh eye). 1) TV I have the unfashionable view that The Daleks' Master Plan celebrates a lot of what made Old Who great and also looks forward to later stories where the Doctor becomes a man of action. It has Daleks, pyramids, Mavic Chen, Sara ...
Last night, I was minute-taker at the latest Friends of Magdalen Green committee meeting. We had a visit from the new Police Inspector for the West End, Inspector Graham Young, and a useful discussion about issues around the green. We also had a debrief discussion about our highly successful coffee morning, possible new committee members, attending the West End Christmas Week Community Fayre this coming Saturday and the West End Sports and Heritage Association (WESHA - of which Friends of Magdalen Green are part) "visioning exercise" and the sales of our Christmas Cards - going very well!
The new non-emergency number for contacting the police across Greater Manchester has gone live today, 23rd November 2011. From now on, just dial 101 to speak to the police, or 999 if it's an emergency. When to call 101? You should call 101 to report less urgent crime and disorder or to speak to your local officers. For example, you should call 101 if: your car has been stolen your property has been damaged you suspect drug use or dealing in your neighbourhood Or to: report a minor traffic collision give the police information about crime in your area speak ...
Following complaints from residents about pink chips lying across the pavement of Perth Road at the corner with Ryehill Lane, my thanks to JC Decaux, the advertising company who own the corner site. They have, at my request, replaced the wooden edging to their site - see right.
Wed 23rd
06:20Clegg and Farron on party funding: yes to action now, no to more taxpayer contributions
Sir Christopher Kelly's report for Parliament's Committee on Standards in Public Life was published yesterday, Political Party Finance – Ending the big donor culture: you can read it and the evidence considered by the inquiry here. Here are the main proposals: A cap of £10,000-a-year on donations from any individual or organisation — including trade unions — to any political party with at least two MPs or two representatives at the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies. Trade union affiliation fees could be counted as a collection of small individual payments, but only if members are required to ...
On Monday my letter on the threat to School Crossing Patrols in Manchester appeared as lead article in the Manchester Evening News. On Tuesday the issue hit the front page of the paper, with the editorial describing the proposal from Labour as a 'cut too far'. The lives of our children are PARAMOUNT and their safety should be the first consideration of every adult, particularly those in positions of authority. No other civic duty should come before this. I joined the Greater Manchester Police in 1978. Then School Crossing Patrols were deemed so important that when a warden fell ill ...
Liberal Democrats from Richmond, Kingston and Hounslow — plus a number of supportive interlopers from other parts of London, such as myself and the increasingly ubiquitous Mark Pack — took over the Park Hotel in Teddington last night, for a highly successful fundraising event for the South West London GLA constituency campaign, which embraces the three ...
