I've just heard from Sue Measures at the Sidings Community Centre that they've just won nearly £25,000 for each of the next two years to continue delivering their Youth Services Programme. I'll due to do a more detailed look at Sidings and its work - but this is a great vote of confidence in their work - and comes on top of the recent confirmation that they also have their core funding in place for the next three years.
It's been a day of surprises here on Planet Bureaucrat, none of which, I am delighted to say are work, or even politics, related. Ros and I are at Wroxton College, the United Kingdom campus for Fairleigh Dickinson University, a New Jersey based institution, hosted by their Director here, Nicholas Baldwin. Our visit here was founded on an opportunity to see Shakespeare performed live, and our show 'Measure for Measure'. I admit that, having studied Shakespeare at school, it only ever seemed to live when exclaimed, so I can't claim to be a huge fan. And when the performance began ...
I had three problems with the film:There weren't enough girls in it, and those there were... Well, they were only there to orbit the boys, to help them because boys are the ones who matter. I am weary of this trait in pretty much all forms of fiction - it's probably why I'm so addicted to Bones at the moment. Christopher Lee should never twinkle. It was unnerving how good he was at it. Gustav's resemblance to officer Crabtree from 'Allo 'Allo detracted from both the pathos and the menace of his character.Aside from those minor issues*, though, I really ...
Most eyes will be on the Feltham & Heston Parliamentary by-election, but there are also a handful of council by-elections being held including a double-header in near-by Kingston, where the Liberal Democrats are trying to take two seats off the Conservatives. We will update the site in due course with the results and party reaction, but for the time being here is a discussion thread...
One of the entitlements a degree gives you is the ability to use post-nominals after your name. In the case of my recent Open University degree an email I've received today tells me that once the degree is conferred on me (31st December) and I have received my certificate, I will be able to put BSc (Hons) Psych (Open) after my name. Except, of course, that very few people do so – especially if they have other post-nominals from other academic study and professional memberships. It would just make the whole process of writing your name too long and tedious. ...
Thu 15th
21:59
Election night: Feltham & Heston Parliamentary by-election & council election coverage
23:52: CORRECTION: Turnout was at 28.8% in F&H. ___ 23:50: The BBC News Channel has officially started its coverage of the F&H by-election. ___ 23:46: Sky News' Jon Craig has claimed that turnout in F&H by-election is at 31%. Also rumours of an increased Labour majority but it is still too early to know of ...
Back in June I wrote about the legend that Stamford once had a university to rival Oxford and Cambridge. Sadly, it turned out not to be true. But there was once an institution even nearer to Market Harborough that had some right to make this claim. As any one who watched Michael Wood's The Story of England will know, in the 18th century Kibworth was home to a Dissenting Academy. As the Kibworth History Society explains: Dissenting Academies had become established because nonconformists were barred from attending Oxford and Cambridge universities. The Academy rivalled the great universities of Oxford and ...
For the past year, a group of town and parish councillors, together with local Cornwall councillors has been working on a plan for how our town and immediate surrounding area can develop over the next 20 years. We have been putting together what is known as a town framework plan. It's the first stage towards a legally enforceable document to ensure that when a developer wants to build, it is the sort of development we want and in the place we want it. We've had the support of experts in traffic management, the historic environment, infrastructure and utilities and we've ...
The road I live in was on the East Midlands regional television news yesterday because the headteacher of the primary school around the corner has left his job after admitting altering Standard Attainment Test (SAT) papers after the children had completed them. I don't know Mr Grubisic and what he did was wrong, but somehow I find it hard to be too outraged. Today at work I was talking to someone about a primary school in Leicester that always gets outstanding SATs results. The reason, she says, is that it does little else but drill the children to take the ...
I was asked to speak at Occupy LSX (St.Paul's) today with THE Rev Jesse Jackson. It was an amazing honour to be in the company of such an important and historical figure. It was also a great privilege to have been asked by the Occupy Movement to speak. This is my speech. Good afternoon Occupy, It's an honour, a privilege to be here today. This is one of my favourite places in the world. I am here today to contribute to my future through debate and an exchange of ideas. I want to live in a country where the level ...
List everywhere you have spent a night away from home this year. Mark anywhere you went for non-consecutive nights with an asterisk. Chişinău, Moldova* Geneva, Switzerland Belfast, Northern Ireland* London, England* New York, NY* Washington, DC Loughbrickland, Northern Ireland* Strasbourg, France* Brussels, Belgium (!) Pristina, Kosovo Less hectic this year than most. Also two overnight transatlantic flights, and numerous other countries visited to change planes or drive through. (My one night in Brussels? Having dinner with friends and realised I had missed the last train home.) See previously: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006.
Last night BBC4 broadcast John Arlott in Conversation with Mike Brearley, an hour-long programme edited down from the three programmes originally shown in 1985. You have six more days to watch it on BBC iPlayer and I suggest that you do because it presents a terrific portrait of Arlott the man, just not Arlott the incomparable cricket commentator. If you want to know more about Arlott then I recommend the book John Arlott: A Memoir by his son Timothy.
Max Atkinson has a Christmas competition inviting you are inviting you to write a short speech outlining Mr Vladimir Putin's message to his supporters, opponents or both for 2012. There are books as prizes and the full details are on Max Atkinson's Blog.
This is all a bit third-hand because I refuse to take up a subscription for The Times. Their old £1 a day thing suited me, but they've stopped that. However, if you wish, you can pay for access and read the story here. Mark Pack has provided a snippet from the story: David Cameron's officials agreed to consult Liberal Democrats during last week's euro summit if there was a danger of Britain being left in a minority, it has emerged ... Although Mr Clegg's officials stayed up all night, no further call came until Mr Cameron rang Mr Clegg at ...
The FT reports: Nick Clegg yesterday made a very public display of engagement with business over Europe as the deputy prime minister convened a business breakfast with Business For New Europe, a pro-single market group. Mr Clegg, flanked by Vince Cable, Danny Alexander, Chris Huhne David Laws, wanted to get the message across that he had dusted himself down and was ready to begin work on rebuilding relations on the continent after a bruising week for Britain. But beyond the photo shoot and crafted media message lines, was a second, more exclusive meeting between Mr Clegg and the director-generals of ...
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 15! Today we move into ...
To everyone's shock, the 8th European Council summit of the year heralded something momentous, though it was not the prayed-for saving of the Eurozone but David Cameron's wielding of the mythical British veto like a modern day Excalibur. But we have to question why was a 'veto' used? The proposed modifications of the Lisbon Treaty were supposed to provide the legal certainty for a fully functioning fiscal union because the German constitutional court, amongst others, would not have accepted a halfway house solution using constitutional wheezes. British Ministers have been at pains to emphasise over the last year that Eurozone ...
A big Liberal England "well done" goes to the Northampton Chronicle & Echo for its: BREAKING NEWS: David Cameron evicted after neighbours complain of drunken anti-social behaviour, foul language and urinating in the streetAnd many thanks to the reader who nominated it.
I have never been a prolific blogger, in fact this blog never set out to post constantly, I have been silent for a week and a half. The reason is that I have been moving homes. I have had a week off work to unpack and try and create order from chaos. Normal blogging service will resume shortly.
This is the BBC's response to my complaint about the Sports Personality of the Year all male shortlist. Click on the image to emlarge. I suppose I'm quite impressed they replied so promptly. But I sense the volume of complaints led them to develop a set response.... Anyway, when you click on the first link, here's what BARBARA SLATER (yes, it's a woman in charge of this debacle) has to say. The 'why Nuts and not a woman's magazine' section is particularly weak... But make your own minds up. Complaint We received complaints about the lack of women nominated for ...
People who live in private rented accommodation rarely catch the attention of politicians or political journalists. It's odd, because so many people working for MPs or media outlets, particularly in London, spend a good number of years in shared private rented accommodation and normally the problem is that politicians place too much attention on people they are immediately familiar with rather than too little. The neglect of the private renter is seen most often when the housing market is discussed, where it is frequently not only taken as a given that home ownership is what it is all about but ...
Just to let people know that the long,long, long-delayed PEP! 3 *will* be coming out. I'm planning to get the Doctor Watson novella finished over the next week or two, and get a bit more done on Bigger On The Outside and the Beach Boys book, but when we get back home after Xmas I've ...
Is there a chance that out of all the economic chaos a Liberal opportunity might arise. There is little appetite for bureaucratic socialism and the failure of neo con market solutions that led to our present mess has meant folk are looking around for a different model. Thanks to all the people who sent me a link to this 'think piece' in the New York Times: Worker-Owners of America, Unite! - NYTimes.com: THE Occupy Wall Street protests have come and mostly gone, and whether they continue to have an impact or not, they have brought an astounding fact to the ...
Thu 15th
13:55
Lull in new house building will hit first time buyers hard says Welsh Liberal Democrat
A drop in the number of new homes being started in Wales will keep prices at unaffordable levels and add to the problems of first time buyers, the Welsh Liberal Democrat housing spokesperson, Peter Black has said. During April to June 2011, 1,205 new dwellings were started, down by 31 per cent on the same quarter in 2010 and down by 7 per cent on the number started during April to June 2009. The low level of starts over recent years has resulted in a significant decrease in completions. Numbers remained low for the first half of 2011-12, with the ...
Historian Niall Ferguson's threatened libel suit over a negative review of his latest book is discussed on David Allen Green's excellent New Statesman blog (if only his articles appeared in the magazine I might have renewed my subscription). The moral of the story is that those who make a living from the expression of controversial opinions (and for that matter Bloggers and the like who do it as a hobby) really shouldn't run to the libel laws when they find themselves criticised (however unfair the criticisms might seem). Last year when Professor Orlando Figes got himself in a spot of ...
I know that many party members across the country will be concerned to hear that popular former Edinburgh West Lib Dem MP John Barrett has recently had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his Colon. He's decided to talk about his experience in order to persuade others not just to leave the screening kit the NHS sends to over 50s to one side gathering dust, but to make sure they use it. He spoke to the Scotsman about what he's gone through and his forthcoming chemotherapy. It's obviously been a huge shock and upheaval, but he's recovering well from ...
I've blogged previously about the application(s) to turn the Greengrocers at 306 Greenhill Road into a takeaway (this is on the corner with Melbreck Road). Richard (my Lib Dem colleague) and I opposed this as, like many of the local residents, we worried about litter, traffic, noise, parking and so on. Anyway, we have now heard that the objections have had an effect and the second application is being turned down. We have already written to local people to make sure that they are aware of this. Thanks to everyone who was in touch with comments etc.
The work I have been doing to highlight "cash deserts" has had some publicity this week. The problem is that in some parts of Liverpool, and some parts of the country, there are virtually no ATMs (cash machines) that will let you take money out without a fee. When you think that the average fee is £1 75 you can soon see that for people on low incomes that amounts to a tax on poverty. Earlier in the year I did some work with the Liverpool Echo and their analysis showed that the problem is more pronounced in parts of ...
Thu 15th
13:26
Opinion: The coalition will now change; the Lib Dems must ensure it does so for the better
When, earlier this year, David Cameron sanctioned the Conservative-dominated No to AV campaign to attack his until then unfailingly loyal deputy, he precipitated the end of coalition phase one. It had not meant to happen so quickly, but the Liberal Democrat reaction - the strategy of differentiation - soon followed. The prime minister's actions in Europe last week are a similar turning point. By pandering to the extremes in his party - by acting as Tory leader rather than prime minister, as Paddy Ashdown put it - David Cameron has forced Nick Clegg to once again rethink the Liberal Democrat ...
Last night was the ceremony for Edge Hill University's admission to the Freedom Roll of Association (the equivalent for organisations of the Freedom of the City) I spoke at the ceremony as opposition leader. This is a picture of part of the ceremony.
Dicky Evans, the owner of the Cornish Pirates, has just put out a statement accepting that the club will not be playing in the Premiership next season. He says that the proposed stadium will not be built in time, and with no suitable stadium, the club cannot be promoted. I think this was bowing to the inevitable - however much of a disappointment that might be for supporters. Although I do not support the use of public money for a stadium, I fully support the ambition of the Pirates to be in the Premiership and that means having a suitable ...
Hidden away at the end of the Telegraph story today, speculating that Sir Fred Goodwin could end up facing criminal charges, is this little gem. Peter Sands, Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, was up before the Treasury Select committee yesterday. In his evidence he was asked about new rules governing bank regulation. To quote The Telegraph.. Mr Sands also warned that the bank faces a $500m (£323m) a year cost from the "avalanche" of new rules. Speaking later, Bob Diamond of Barclays said new regulations could cost the bank "north of £1bn" Apparently for the sector as a whole, regulation ...
Due to recent polling data, reflecting a cent amount of Liberal Democrat voters admiring and expressing positive sentiments about David Cameron, I feel inspired to start a new series entitled Liberal Conservatism: The Blue Liberals. These posts will reflect on centre right issues, which a significant minority of Liberal Democrats voters seem to be endorsing. ...
Wednesday: From Star Wars Lego Advent Calendar Day 14: Elephant and Mouse (Droid)
Recently I attended a presentation by a London law firm about social media and related legal issues. Turning to the internet for a funny and memorable example of how social media can clobber a company, the lawyers clicked on the YouTube clip from Dave Carroll, United Breaks Guitars. Carroll's sing song customer complaint has become a staple example, understandably so given the catchy tune, fun video and huge press coverage it got. But over two years on from it catching our attention, what are the real lessons from Dave Carroll's broken Taylor guitar? You do not have to be that ...
Certain groups opposed to marriage equality will like to tell you that marriage is defined as one man and one woman. They are clearly missing out on how the men of God were told to view marriage. Now clearly marriage has been redefined since the days of the bible and churches don't insist on parts of the law of Moses such as the rape victim having to marry her rapist. God chosen people and the line that bore Jesus were a line of polygamists and men with concubines. Just saying. So why when they say that marriage is all about ...
It's polling day in the other London by-election that will get no media coverage regardless of the result. With the media trained on Feltham and Heston - a seat Labour won comfortably in one of their worst years, with a scandal ridden candidate - the only question can be the scale of their majority. Coombe Vale should be far more interesting, a by-election caused by the resignation of an absentee Tory councillor who was working in the states while claiming thousands in local taxpayers' money and the swift resignation of his colleague a few days later. A double vacancy in ...
It is recognised that the Liberal Democrats offer their members the best and broadest range of conference training of all three main political parties. Training is delivered at Federal and Regional Conferences, through Winning Teams as well as at specific events organised by local parties across the country. However, we know it is not always easy for Lib Dem busy members to attend training, and limited resources mean that trainers cannot always reach as many people as they would like within the party. To extend the reach of our training offer, I have been working on sourcing, implementing and developing ...
Interesting to see (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16191266) that the European Parliament has voted not to extend a fishing deal with Morocco because, say MEPs, "the deal was illegal as it did not benefit the people living in the disputed Western Sahara, off which most of the fishing took place". According to the BBC: "Morocco annexed Western Sahara in 1976 but its claims of sovereignty have not been internationally recognised. The separatist Polisario movement fought a guerrilla war against Moroccan troops until 1991 and still seeks to be recognised as an independent state." Sounds familiar? And yet how often do we hear news of ...
Northern Democrat No 60 December 2011(function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();This is the latest edition of the Northern Democrat, the newsletter I produce for
[IMG: Nick Clegg] First, the good news for Nick Clegg, courtesy of page 17 of today's The Times. Clegg's line on last week's summit failure is that he agreed the initial negotiating position with David Cameron, but Cameron then messed up in the the talks themselves (abetted by some of the Treasury's civil servants also messing up, if the media reports are right). The Tory counter-briefing is that Clegg was more involved than this. And so the importance of today's story [£]: David Cameron's officials agreed to consult Liberal Democrats during last week's euro summit if there was a danger ...
Commenting on the end of US military operations in Iraq, Former Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Menzies Campbell said: "Although Iraq has slipped down the British political agenda it should never be forgotten that the cost of the disastrous decision to join the United States in military action against Iraq was and remains enormous. "Unjustified optimism based on inadequate intelligence and unthinking determination to remain close to the Bush administration led the United Kingdom into one of the most ill-advised foreign affairs decisions in living memory. "The only hope is that we have learned lessons from a badly judged ...
Over on his work blog, the Voice's Mark Pack has a post looking at three important stories which have been largely overshadowed by the domestic political ramifications of the prime minister's veto. Here's the first issue Mark identifies: The actual significance of the summit was the latest, most extensive and more desperate attempt to save the Euro. Judging from initial reactions by economists and the financial markets, this time a Euro summit may just have pulled it off. It has not already been written off as a failure which, compared to other summits on the same theme, already makes it ...
Bury's Full Council Meeting Last night was the regular meeting of Bury's "Full Council", the five or six times a year where all 51 Councillors meet together. Here's the highlights as I saw them: Announcements We got told a few pieces of information that will be news to most people: - Brown bins – current about 1/3 of people don't have a brown bin, but apparently we're ALL getting them, hopefully from April. I know some people will really welcome this, especially if you have a lot of garden waste, I know others will be concerned that they haven't got ...
City of Edinburgh is a major Housing Authority with a legacy of a large number of high-rise flats. They recognise that tenants in multi-storey blocks can often become isolated and lonely and this can produce or exacerbate depression. Some of those with pre-existing mental problems could find their conditions deteriorating, possibly leading to a suicide risk. Now the City Council has trained over 200 of its frontline staff to spot the warning signs. They have also set up a multi-agency mental health awareness group with members of the police, social services and the NHS. This works in parallel with a ...
If you're politically naive, then it's generally not a good idea to accept a public debate challenge from two veterans of local politics – but that's exactly what Geoffrey Berg (Salford's elected mayor petition organiser) did last night. I've written extensively on my blog about the elected mayor referendum that was forced by Mr Berg and his English Democrat sidekicks but as Salford approached the actual referendum date (and following some active letter writing for both the "YES" and "NO" campaign in the local paper), Councillor Norman Owen, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on Salford City Council challenged the ...
After months of campaigning, sites visits, meeting and communicating with with officers, responding to residents queries and now raising the issue via a formal question at the latest Full Council meeting, local LIB DEM ward councillor, Darren Fower, has secured an assurance that the Council WILL resurface the west side of the Lincoln Road footpath, south of the Cock Inn, during the 2012/13 financial year. Speaking at the meeting in the Council Chamber, Darren said: "Several months ago, the City Council resurfaced the footpath of the old Lincoln Road, south of the Cock Inn, but only on one side, that ...
Into my inbox yesterday came an email from London Liberal Democrat MEP Sarah Ludford, welcoming a sensible new decision which the European Parliament has made that will give the public better information and – thanks to that better flow of information – make the relevant market work more efficiently. Just the sort of good news that liberals should trumpet: giving people power and fixing market failures. But. And it's a big but. This triumph is over fruit juice labelling. Now, don't get me wrong. I like fruit juice. Some of my best friends drink fruit juice. Heck, I even drink ...
[Originally posted at Dale&Co, 13/12/11] The publication last week of the 2010 British Social Attitudes report made the headlines because it seemed to indicate that the British population is becoming increasingly self-reliant, self-centred or selfish - depending on your perspective – and more inclined to see poverty and disadvantage as either the fault of the individual or an overgenerous welfare state. As part of the survey respondents gave their views on whether they supported or opposed more homes being built in their area. The headline result that 45% said they'd oppose more local development reached many news bulletins. Less than ...
The BBC report that MPs are gathering in the usual place today to talk about their favourite subject, their own expenses. If it were not so serious, it would be boring. The suggestion is that MPs are seeking a return to the old system that caused them so much grief two years ago. The Members Expenses Committee, set up to oversee IPSA, the independent agency that administers members' expense claims, has suggested that a Commons body should be in charge of handing out expenses instead "because such a body would avoid imposing undue burdens on MPs and because it would ...
As an active member of the trustees of the Tay Rail Bridge Disaster Memorial Trust, I am pleased to advise of a fascinating TV programme to be first screened tonight. Molly Brown, Peter Yolland and Jennifer Leigh explore how their ancestors were all involved in the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879. It is on the Yesterday channel at 9pm tonight - Thursday 15th December - Freeview channel 12, Sky 537, Virgin Media 203.
Cambridgeshire transport chiefs have joined a national campaign to secure fair funding from the Government for its concessionary bus scheme. Cambridgeshire County Council has signed up to the Fair Fares campaign which was launched by neighbouring Norfolk County Council. The national scheme and the way it is funded has left Cambridgeshire County Council with a short fall of £900,000 to pick up. The Government gives the council a lump sum of £4 million to cover the scheme which does not reflect the actual number of journeys made. It costs the authority £4.9 million to run the scheme which provides free ...
I was hoping that today's advent calendar was hoping be a treat for the Friends of Dorothy unfortunately I couldn't embed Judy Garland's original film version of this song. Instead I give you Katie Melua's version from The Two Ronnies a couple of years back.
The problem with British government policy is that the civil servants are still working to the New Labour Playbook. "Eye-catching" announcements are made, usually with recycled, rather than new money which are supposed to give the impression that the government is purposefully shaping the agenda rather than simply waiting on events. Almost always these announcements involve spending, and whenever any idea of restructuring is mentioned, the necessary retrenchment is typically ignored. Except, of course, that Britain needs retrenchment. The reason why so many voters now believe the welfare system needs reducing, is because they have seen that it doesn't work. ...
Nowt added to council tax from t' county! Whichever way you say it that is the council tax rise passed for hard pressed council tax payer's at the county council level. I was listening to some people at the bus station the other day who seemed to think the county were pushing up their bills. I had to jump in and correct them! Northumberland Lib Dems have made history by not increasing the Council Tax this year. Despite having to make large cuts to balance the budget, I completely endorsed the approach. I have always opposed Council Tax as an ...
Last year the Lib Dems worked with the Council to get flooding issues fixed around Cheadle & Gatley. Problem spots on Longley Lane, Schools Hill, West Drive, Gatley Green, Old Hall Road, Gatley Road, Broadway and others were sorted. In several cases, significant work was done to improve the drainage. For example, the Cheadle Road entrance to Bruntwood Park now has a grill to catch debris that was causing flooding and drains around Gatley Green were repaired. This winter we've been going back and getting problems solved where they've cropped up again. The bottom of Schools Hill and West Drive ...
Whoever wrote the answer to my question at cabinet yesterday about difficulties in opening school playing fields up for community teams could open the batting for England: Officers from Sports and Leisure will work with colleagues in Children's and Young People's Services to encourage more schools to open their sports facilities to the community so that provision can be increased. We will also encourage Council members who are school governors to support this approach. There is an expectation from the way that Academies are set up and financed that they will offer their facilities to the community out of school ...
The Highways Agency are finally bringing forward proposals which the Lib Dems have long been campaigning for – major improvements to the slip road coming off the M60 onto Kingsway. The Lib Dems have a simple demand: help for people turning right at the Kingsway junction must be part of the plan. We want the cycle time of the Kingsway lights to be reduced from 3 minutes to 2 minutes, allowing 50% more vehicles to turn right from Cheadle and from Gatley which should make a big difference to the queueing. (Unfortunately, a dedicated right turn filter isn't currently an ...
I've taken on a new project whilst i'm busier at university and unable to blog as regularly as i'd like. That project is 21st century liberalism. I've written a short introduction, and would welcome input For the left, an obsession with the state. For the right, a worship of the market. But as liberals, we place our faith in people. People with power and opportunity in their hands. Our opponents try to divide us with their outdated labels of left and right. But we are not on the left and we are not on the right. We have our own ...
