To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the United Arab Emirates becoming a unified and independent nation, the London Embassy was bound to put the boat out — and that it well and truly did last night, at a massive reception at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in Bayswater. While an enormous ice sculpture celebrating the anniversary gently melted ...
I am pleased at the Government's decision to keep the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for those in care homes. Working closely with MENCAP the Lib Dems have fought to ensure the payment would not be scrapped. Lib Dem MP Don Foster was the first MP to raise the issue at Prime Minister's Questions in January 2011 and has had a series of further meetings with Ministers on the issue. Earlier this month, Lib Dem's backed Lord Low's independent review that stated DLA mobility is essential to meeting the personal mobility needs of care home residents. The ...
The Government has presented Bristol with a decision of profound significance. A choice that has the potential to transform the city's future. Next May we will be asked to vote on whether we want an elected mayor. Similar votes will occur in a number of other great British cities. The debate over the merits of a city mayor has yet to achieve a high public profile locally. But it will - or, at least, should - gather momentum over the coming months. I spent today at the Watershed at the Should Bristol have an elected mayor? event organised by the ...
Jack Smith, treasurer of the former Dundee West Liberal Association, and long-time resident of Windsor Terrace on Perth Road, has passed away in his 90th year. Jack was not just a stalwart of the Liberals in Dundee for many years, he had a successful business career in John Smith (Fruit Importers) Ltd of Dundee, was an officer in the Royal Navy during World War Two, and was a long-standing elder of Meadowside St Paul's Church. But above all, Jack was a gentleman, with a sharp mind and always good company. I pass on my condolences to his wife Kathleen (Dundee ...
Heard this in the car a few weeks ago and was stunned. Enjoy.
When celebrating the news that Northampton's hyperbrutalist Greyfriars bus station is to be demolished, I mentioned that the new on will be built on the site of town's Fishmarket, which is currently occupied by the Northampton Arts Collective. Reader's voice: But was does the Fishmarket look like? Liberal England replies: Look up, reader. Look up.
In my possession I have a reprinted copy of article* taken from the New Statesman arguing that as part of a programme of national recovery: Surplus 'students' of both sexes should be sold to Arab sheikhs for their harems, thus preserving our university art treasures...Surplus car-workers, politicians, steel-workers etc. should be eaten on a 'natural wastage' basis.So far as I know no one from the New Statesman apologised for what might be considered a deeply offensive article that is at once racist, homophobic and insulting to students and members of the working class. It's a bit late for an apology, ...
And ... after last night's superb West End Christmas Lights Switch On at Seabraes, earlier tonight, alongside Ann Prescott of West End Community Council, my ward colleague Richard McCready and the residents (and particularly the children!) of West Port, Palais Court and South Tay Street, we switched on the West Port Christmas Lights!
James Graham, who worked for the campaign himself, reviews Lewis Baston and Ken Ritchie's take on the 2001 AV referendum and the future of electoral reform in Britain on Quaequam Blog! "Reading the book ... made me realise how a number of what I regard are serious misconceptions are well on their way to acquiring legendary status. So with the referendum now more than six months ago, perhaps it is time I made another attempt to give my side of the story." Charles Lavery says the Leveson Inquiry "has succeeded in making me squirm in my seat on a daily ...
As part of West End Christmas Week, this afternoon around 25 of us had a superb historical walk round parts of the West End with Professor Charles McKean of the University of Dundee. Here's a couple of photos from a hugely interesting and enjoyable walk!
Well done to the BBC News pages for Hampshire & Isle of Wight: Lost puffin found at Winchester hospital sex clinic
A review of Don't Take No For An Answer by Lewis Baston and Ken Ritchie (Biteback Publishing, 2011) I've made several attempts at writing a review of Don't Take No For An Answer, Lewis Baston and Ken Ritchie's review of the 2011 referendum and the ongoing campaign for electoral reform. It is a highly readable and engaging book. For someone with less inside knowledge it will no doubt be highly informative. But it is flawed, and I've struggled with articulating how without just running down a pedantic list of misconceptions. As one of the main sources cited in the book, ...
Local LIB DEM ward counillor, Darren Fower tells us that he is hoping to be one of the Peterborough City Councillors who will be invited to attend a speed reading training event, run by the local authority, in the new year. According to Darren, a recent event run by South Cambs DC, has prompted officers at the Town Hall, to indicate their intention to hold a similar speed reading event, sometime during thefirst month of the new year. Commenting, Cllr Fower said: "I've already recorded my interest in attending the training event, if only for educational purposes! "Road safety is ...
So there I am. Laying on my backside throwing a mini American Football up in the air watching the news. The local news starts with a report on a group of protesters who have occupied the Art Gallery at Brighton University. They haven't decided how long they will occupy the building but have given a list of 14 demands to the university which would end this occupation. Some of these demands are what you'd expect, things like they want a guarantee that no courses will close at the university. Fair enough. That is the type of demand/protest that most people ...
Part of my role as Creeting St Peter's 'envoy to the world' is to represent us at area meetings of the Suffolk Association of Local Councils. Now I would be the first to admit that this does not appear to be high on the list of 'must see' events, but they are a valuable source of information. And last night's meeting was a fine example of that, as we were the rather concerned recipients of a presentation on the future finances of Suffolk County Council, fronted by the Deputy Leader of the council, Jane Storey. In short, it is going ...
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; Part II here; Part III here; and Part IV here. In part five, our final duo of bloggers - Alex Wilcock and, erm, me - give us the low-down on their Xmas faves... Alex Wilcock If you want to spend a ...
by Tim Farron, President of the Liberal Democrats Scotland punches massively above its weight in the UK. It has often been punished for having the audacity to be progressive by UK governments that are not - especially in the 80s and 90s - but it has also suffered at the hands of governments that have taken it for granted. Labour's record from 1997-2010 is a shameful one - their lazy assumption that Scotland would just vote Labour led to Scotland's interests being ignored. Scotland has progressive and radical heart, its strong sense of community makes it inclined towards social democracy, ...
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 In defence of Jeremy Clarkson. Yes, really. (43 comments) by Stephen Tall The Independent View: Autumn Statement makes the best of a bad situation (30 comments) by Ben Norman Opinion: How much smaller would Labour's cuts have been? (42 comments) by Nick Thornsby Opinion: Why Liberal Youth is worth funding (16 comments) by Tom Wood Ed Davey writes... Glass half full - or half empty? (31 comments) by Ed Davey MP 5 sample LDV Members' Forum threads ...
Wow. When I signed the petition a couple of days ago, it had a few hundred signatures on it. It's put on another few thousand today, presumably in response to messages circulating on the usual social networking sites and this email, sent by Marianne Cantieri, OUSA President, to all current OU students this morning. Dear Tim We don't send many communications direct to your mailbox since we're only too well aware of the frustrations of spamming. However we hope you'll agree that we made the right decision on this occasion since literally a couple of minutes of your time could ...
I've a choice of numbers to offer you about the numbers of people who read this blog. I can use the hits counter which tells me that in November the site had 23,641 hits where a hit is defined as "the number of unique visits to your website on a month by month basis. Please be aware that if a person visits twice within the same day, they will be counted twice." Alternatively I can use Google Analytics which tells me that in November 1,672 visits were made to the site by 690 separate visitors. The politician in me prefers ...
You may a recognised Saint and the brother of Saints Culain and Dairmid. You may have been an Abbot and Bishop of Ros-mic-Truin. You may also have written Vita Tripartita (The Life of Saint Patrick) about the patron Saint of the island of your birth and life. But the campaign to get the village in Ireland named after St. Eimhin has been deemed offensive by Facebook. The problem is that the Parish of Effin in County Limerick which Ann Marie Kennedy (pictured) tired to add as her home to her Facebook profile. All she got was the option of Effingham ...
We're into the final week of the County Councils bus consultation which will officially end at 4pm on Friday the 9th December. The consultation is still accessible through the website; Following on from the Conservative-controlled Councils disastrous decision to cut 100% of bus subsidies without any consultation this review was forced onto them as the only way of avoiding a Judicial Review. Once the consultation has closed the results will be published and then Cabinet will propose what to do next. It's unlikely the entire cuts will be reversed, but hopefully some of the key subsidised routes across the ...
We're into the final week of the County Councils bus consultation which will officially end at 4pm on Friday the 9th December. The consultation is still accessible through the website; Following on from the Conservative-controlled Councils disastrous decision to cut 100% of bus subsidies without any consultation this review was forced onto them as the only way of avoiding a Judicial Review. Once the consultation has closed the results will be published and then Cabinet will propose what to do next. It's unlikely the entire cuts will be reversed, but hopefully some of the key subsidised routes across the ...
Thursday: Day 1: A Teeny Tiny Republic Diplomatic Cruiser [IMG: Posted by Picasa]
This week, as part of the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, details of a Water Bills Rebate Fund were announced, with a £50 rebate to be provided on water bills for households in Cornwall and other South West Water areas from 2013-14. Along with fellow Liberal Democrats, I have long campaigned on getting a fair deal for bill payers in Cornwall after the botched privatisation under the Conservatives in the 1980s left us with the highest water bills in the country, and following 13 years of complacency about the issue under the last Labour government. As such, this rebate is fantastic news ...
I am working at a conference in Birmingham today, so am unlikely to be back in time. But it is worth recording that it is late shopping night in Market Harborough tonight. As the Harborough Mail tells it: A pair of reindeer will be one of the main attractions at this year's Late Night Shopping festival in Harborough. Sponsored by estate agents Andrew Granger & Co, the reindeer are sure to draw crowds of youngsters. Thousands of people are expected to flock to the annual event on Friday, December 2, 2011, for which the town centre will again be closed ...
Much has been made about the scrapping of the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) in England. Its replacement is £180m bursary scheme to children in the lowest-income households. LibDems and of course Conservatives say this is better as it targets those on the lowest incomes rather than giving money to the slightly better off who spend ...
In Scotland we have the announcement from the Church of Scotland (although almost certainly not "official" given the lack of oversight from their conference) that they will oppose marriage equality. Hardly a surprise, but another sign of the faithful joining forces to oppose religious freedom for other churches and individual freedom. Below we have a video of Wednesday's Scotland for Marriage rally, featuring some bizarre arguments against marriage equality. It seemed almost to be just a lot of talking for talking's sake. There are claims in the video that marriage equality will be destructive by putting off opposite-sex couples from ...
Tonight I was invited to give my views in relation to how Ealing Council conducts itself when the administration puts forwards its proposals and plans. Normally opposition political parties attend Cabinet meetings and are allowed to give their opinions on these plans. I do this as Leader of the Liberal Democrat party and either state my party's viewpoints or ask questions to get information to help determine whether a plan is one that will help the residents of Ealing. If my party or the other opposition party disagree with the Labour administration (perhaps some of their cuts which affect the ...
If we really want to reform party funding, we need politicians or trade unions to be brave. Transparency has failed. That is the lesson from the last decade of political party funding reform. Encapsulated by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act of 2000, the emphasis - with general cross-party support - has been on making it clear where funding for parties comes from. There has been some tinkering with who is allowed to give money and with how much parties can spend. However, the curbs on foreign donations has not ended the succession of questionable and controversial politician donors, ...
[YouTube Link] Pariah is out for limited release in the US over the holiday period.
London house prices are predicted to rise by 20% over the next five years. 20%! This is driven partly by lack of house building, which in turn is constricted by an inability to borrow, and also more demand with a planned rapid increase in London's population y one million people. A triple whammy for any Londoners wanting to stay in London over the long term. We need a London full of Londoners making long term commitment to work towards making London a better place for them and their families and friends. Not a dormitory London where most people pass through ...
So writes Martin Kettle in The Guardian: This has been a surprisingly successful autumn not just for the Tories, but the Liberal Democrats too. The Lib Dems have put their distinctive stamp on several progressive announcements in the autumn statement, not least the commitment to uprate benefits in line with inflation, on which Osborne vacillated. But the extra spending on work placements for young people, the targeted extra money for toddler care and the spending on infrastructure projects all bear the mark of Lib Dem pressure inside the coalition.
Congratulations to all who helped organise the Chorlton Green Lights Switch On last night. Rhonda and I joined an excellent turnout on a cold evening to see the event and listen to the carollers. Well done to Glor on a fine selection of seasonal pieces sung with great feeling. While there I had the opportunity to speak to local MP John Leech and Councillor Victor Chamberlain about the value of events such as these that bring communities together and benefit local commerce. We owe a great deal to our local heroes, who give up their free time to help organise ...
The local papers are running today the first campaign advert from Feltham & Heston by-election candidate Roger Crouch: Via @RogerCrouch1 / Twitpic Details on how to help Roger Crouch's by-election campaign are here and you can also follow Roger Crouch on Twitter or Facebook.
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Andrew Stunell MP writes... New Homes Bonus is rewarding communities that go for growth
Councils across England will receive a cash boost today with the provisional allocations of this year's New Homes Bonus money being announced by the Department for Communities and Local Government. Now in its second year, the New Homes Bonus is proving to be a powerful incentive for local authorities to drive development and build the houses that we so desperately need. Councils are rewarded for building new homes, and bringing empty homes back into use. Council tax on each home is matched by the Government for six years, with extra money for every affordable home. The key things Liberal Democrats ...
The Conservatives seem desperate to avoid having Cornwall Councillor Lance Kennedy as their candidate in the elections to choose a Police Commissioner next autumn. Two MPs from the region have been tasked with finding candidates to oppose him in the selection contest. George Eustice and Oliver Colville have been asked by Conservative Central Office to find alternatives to Cllr Kennedy. According to the Western Morning News: Mr Eustice, David Cameron's former Press secretary, said the party is keen for non-political figures beyond former MPs and councillors to take part in the primaries. A senior officer from the Armed Forces was ...
Campaign spending by the parties for the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections: SNP: £1,141,662 Labour: £816,889 Conservatives: £273,462 Liberal Democrat: £176,300 The usual caveats about declared figures from the Electoral Commission apply: they only cover items that need to be legally declared and so do not capture the full range of activities. In addition, the campaign spending figures do not include individual candidate returns. However, they do give a good idea of relative spending and resources.
It's an exciting time for political activists. The Eurozone is melting down, the economy is stagnating and people are getting angry about pensions. Well, that last one perhaps doesn't affect Liberal Youth members as much, but Liberal Youth Conference is a chance for young people to meet up, discuss policy and (perhaps most importantly) have fun along the way! Hosting Liberal Youth Conference is a great opportunity for your local party: 30, or even more, willing young activists to get out there and help you on a delivery round (at the last Liberal Youth Conference in Colchester, delegates delivered 2000 ...
Hattip: Aberavon and Neath Liberal Democrats
Over the last week or so, visitors to the Lib Dem Voice may have seen articles purporting to outline my position, and that of the government's, on the EU Fuel Quality Directive and the treatment of tar sands within it. These articles have been misleading to say the least. We in the Lib Dems have a proud history of fighting climate change and campaigning for environmental causes. This is no different in the coalition and no different to the approach I am taking on the Directive. I wanted to take this opportunity therefore to provide some facts which will, I ...
The Friends of Garston Park are going to be out planting trees on Garston Park next week. With support from the Mersey Forest, the session on 8th December will see shrubs and trees being planted by volunteers. Anyone who wants to turn up and help is very welcome. The group starts at 10 30 near the sports pitches on the park. If you have a spade do bring it along! This planting is the first of two sessions to introduce more trees onto the park and it follows the wildflower planting day of which more later!
My pre-show #xfactor prediction: Janet and Mischa in bottom 2. Based on this evening I should only be half right. (Notwithstanding Ireland.) # I think Carol Decker and Gary Barlow are making Harry Hill's job too easy. #fight # Marcus: nice guy but, ouch, that was off-pitch. Not Janet bad, but still. #xfactor # Phew, Christmas has been delivered. http://t.co/qDSXkWO6 # Though I have to say the cats were more excited by the boxes than the contents. http://t.co/2obrM7yw # 'In praise of ... Sir Michael Scholar' via @guardian http://t.co/8oiHVWDC. And more to the point: 'In justified rebuff to fact-lite Boris' ...
The old Spar shop on Holmefield Road is being taken over by Tesco. The company will be putting in some planning applications (to do with changing the entrance etc) It has also however put in an application to sell alcohol from 7 am to 10 pm Monday to Sunday. When the previous shop was open, people living nearby often reported problems linked to alcohol sales here. I understand that Tesco has written to some local people about their general plans but usually what happens with these licensing applications is that all that a sign goes up which most people don't ...
It's December which means for those who have them, it's time to get out those chocolate advent calendars! But for those of you who, like me, don't do such things anymore (and indeed for those of you who still do!), I thought I'd give my own unique little twist on this festive time of year with my Musical Advent Calendar countdown of my Top 25 favourite Christmas songs! I'm blogging a song a day, culminating with my favourite on Christmas Eve. So let's continue on our seasonal countdown... Cole's Musical Christmas Advent Calendar - Day 2! Today we have Wizzard's ...
We have not yet come to terms with how best to commemorate the work of Assembly Presiding Officers (if at all) - a framed photograph in the Pierhead perhaps? However, this does not appear to be a problem in Westminster, where it seems that it is acceptable to spend substantial sums of public money on a full scale portrait and a coat of arms. Today's Telegraph highlights the fact that the total cost of this extravagance has risen to £44,000 after some unaccounted for bills were unearthed. The portrait, by the British artist Brendan Kelly, cost £22,000 and will hang ...
Last night I attended the Chorlton Christmas lights 'switch on' at Chorlton Green with John Leech MP and Matt Gallagher. It was a really lovely event with hundreds of residents coming together to celebrate our community and the festive period. The Choir from St John's got everyone in a festive mood with their fantastic Carol Service. I would like to thank Mary Paul and the Beech Rd Traders for organizing a very successful event. Shops on Beech Rd will remain open late on every Thursday evening leading upto Christmas. Here's to a very Indie Christmas!Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.4
In the week of the Chancellor's autumn statement, LibDemVoice co-editors Mark Pack and Stephen Tall debate what it all means for the Lib Dems... Stephen Tall: So we now all know the painful financial reality. With growth forecasts revised down by the Chancellor in his autumn statement, austerity is here to stay. Both Lib Dems and Tories had hoped and expected that three years of painful cutbacks would be followed by a year or two of pre-election giveaways — the Lib Dems would press for a balanced mix of increased public spending on areas that had suffered most, together with ...
This Christmas I'm doing an online advent calendar of Youtube treats. There is one song from Love Actually that I really wanted to include but the embedding everywhere is disabled. So instead I leave you with this.
Having high streets which look pleasant rather than grotty should be an aim for local politicians others active in their community. There is the economic reason – businesses tend to do better. There is the safety reason – as the broken windows theory argues and evidence backs up – dealing with grime and grot helps cut crime. There is also a third reason which politicians in particular are often a bit wary of saying, but quite simply having our communities look more pleasant is a desirable end in itself. You do not have to immerse yourself in aesthetic theories to ...
I have watched up to episode three of this, and find myself really conflicted about it. On the one hand, I am loving the references to old horror films and "real life" serial killer lore, and Jessica Lange, Tate and Burnt-Face-Guy are all awesome. On the other hand, the central family are all incredibly annoying characters, and the performances of the actors are wooden (the husband), an elderly version of Alicia Silverstone sulky (the mother), and slappably irritating (the daughter). I have a small amount of telly time, and there are lots of Uhmerican dramas vying for my limited attention ...
