I received information about the following advice sessions offered by the South West London Law Centres – a registered charity: Debt Drop in Sessions At Croydon Law Centre 79 Park Lane, Croydon, CR0 1JG Friday 23rd December and Thursday 29th December 10.30 am—2.30pm Struggling with bailiffs, having problems paying bills, rent or mortgage arrears or feel ...
Or at least the the last week of Sheffield trams until 1994. Part 2 soon.
It is always good to meet Andy as he is more open to discussion of policing matters in Ealing. Myself and two fellow Liberal Democrat councillors, Nigel Bakhai and Jon Ball, met with him so he can update us on policing matters in Ealing and also those of a London-wide nature. We also asked him some questions as well. The main points to note are: 1/ Crime is lower than expected in Ealing although there are spikes in certain geographic areas. 2/ Snatch victims commonly have iPhones taken so watch out when you leave the tube or rail station. Someone ...
David Boyle welcomes Nick Clegg's speech on the open society today because of its implicit recognition that Karl Popper is the critical Liberal philosopher of the 20th century: I kept saying so during the process that produced the Liberal Democrat philosophy document It's about freedom, but still failed even to get him a name check. But also because he is the central figure of Nick Clegg's important speech today on the open society to Demos (though again Popper only gets one name check). The speech is vague about Popper, vague about precisely why Popper said open societies work and closed ...
That really is what it looks like. Amazing. Hat-tip: Phil Reilly
Consultation with Dr L this morning. He says that the genetic abnormality C-MPL W515 occurs in 3-5% of the MPD/MDS cases, so that means 60-100 cases in the UK a year. There was an article about these cases in the US journal Blood in 2008 which he will email to me. At a first glance there weren't any relevant papers at the American Society of Haematology's annual conference this year. The only feature of this variant of the disorder worth mentioning is an increased risk of thrombosis, but as I'm already taking aspirin there's nothing more needed. Platelets were down ...
Jane Cunningham Croly (1829-1901), says the Encyclopaedia of World Biography, was probably the first female American journalist. For over forty years she held various editorial positions on newspapers and magazines. New York World 1863 tells us more about her career: in 1869, she and other female journalists were denied tickets to hear Charles Dickens speak in New York City. This spurred her to form the famous women's club, Sorosis - a "centre of unity" that had neither a charitable nor socio-economic purpose, but sought "collective elevation and advancement." As women's clubs began forming across the country, they became a center ...
Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to all readers of the Local Focus blog. Thank you for your support for our community campaigns and our petitions. Your Local Focus Team
I have been away for a few days – but catching up with some reading this afternoon I came across the Lib Dem Voice poll of members. posted last week. LDV asked: As a result of reduced growth forecasts, it now seems unlikely the Coalition Government will achieve its aim of eliminating the deficit over the lifetime of this parliament. Danny Alexander has indicated that the Liberal Democrats will probably need to go into the next election in 2015 promising nearly £30bn more austerity for a future government to balance the books. Do you agree or disagree with the following ...
Lord Bonkers writes exclusively for Liberal England: I fear our own Lord Oakeshott has made something of a fool of himself on the Daily Mail's electric website. He is quoted there as saying: 'Would I be right in guessing that you, at the age of 61, are like me one of the 500,000 top rate taxpayers who benefit from this farcical tax-free bung,' he asked Lord Freud at question time."'Why can't winter fuel payments at least be taxed like the old age pension. That would raise £220 million a year to help people in real need in our country?' And: ...
Mon 19th
18:58
The Independent View: The banking sector needs radical reform but too many cures will kill the patie...
For seven days before Christmas it has been an incredibly busy day for the financial services sector. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Draft Financial Services Bill has produced its wide-ranging report into regulatory reform; the FSA has published its Mortgage Market Review consultation; and, last but not least, the Treasury has published the Government's response to the Independent Commission on Banking. At least the latter was well leaked - what isn't these days? - and gave me time to think about the ICB. The ICB is actually something quite amazing, not to mention something entirely Lib Dem. Sir John ...
This new short film from Brian Paddick is just out:
I'm sure many bloggers and journalists feel self-conscious about writing in a public forum but this article on the passing of playwright and statesman Vaclav Havel from the Guardian's Comment is Free (but facts are absent?) section shows that literally any old tripe can get published. I can assure you that it isn't a parody and is one-hundred percent genuine. Here's a snippet: "Havel's anti-communist critique contained little if any acknowledgement of the positive achievements of the regimes of eastern Europe in the fields of employment, welfare provision, education and women's rights. Or the fact that communism, for all its ...
I like the speech that the Prime Minister made at Oxford's Christ Church Cathedral the other day. I like it not only because I agree with it, but because I think that it is very well-written. Its references to Christian values have been most noted in the media, but it is fascinating also to see the Conservative Party's leader saying: Frankly, we need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and a much more active, muscular liberalism. A passively tolerant society says to its citizens, as long as you obey the law we will just leave you ...
I know, I know, I said I'd stop doing this...but it's TOO good not to. H?T to Ryan Farrell, @LittleMarxist on twitter Anyway, I do feel like I've let myself down :-)
I have followed the career of Ricky Gervais since the late 1990s with great interest. I first recall seeing him playing an obnoxious character on Channel 4's 11 O'Clock Show where he seemed to be deliberately trying to offend as many people as possible. Not long after this there was an attempt at a parody of a chat show called Meet Ricky Gervais which is now largely forgotten but I thought at the time was a brave attempt to extend the "obnoxious persona" into the field of chat. Not least because again he retained his actual name rather than making ...
Is now up, on the Tenth Planet.
Imagine yourself in the coffee houses of 18th century Edinburgh, in the elegance of the New Town when it really was new, the civilization of those paved streets, and the intellectual excitement of the Scottish Enlightenment. It was there that the philosopher David Hume first cast doubt on scientific method, peering at ideas about what causes what and finding there was nothing there. All you can do, he said, is say that events tend to happen together. Yet, if we can see nothing causing things under the philosophical microscope, that hands the scientists a big logical problem. It doesn't matter ...
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has issues three-point plan for Japan's response to Kim Jong-Il's death that is the very definition of brevity. Instructions from the Prime Minister with regard to press reports about the Death of Chairman Kim Jong-Il of the National Defense Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Strengthen information gathering ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black, has called on the Deputy Minister for Social Services, Gwenda Thomas to closely monitor children's services in Neath Port Talbot following the publication of a highly critical inspection report. Although the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales said that there had been improvements in the Council's children and young people's service, they identified a number of factors which they said 'impact on the authority's ability to provide a safe, high quality responsive service.' These factors include the loss of experienced practitioners, a continuing high turnover of staff, the ...
Last Friday David Cameron, the Prime Minister, gave a speech on the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, which got a sprinkling of coverage in the weekend press. In it he sought the help of Christianity and church leaders in helping to restore the country's lost moral values, as evidenced by the summer riots, and Banking and MP's expenses scandals. My point isn't to criticise this speech – I just don't know where to begin – but to ask what such a speech says about modern politics. In terms of intellectual rigour it wasn't even trying. But many people, ...
The Conservative group, have just released the following Press Release ( Text below) from a quick glance it would seem that the new coalition government in Thanet consisting of Labour and group of Independent's will be expensive if Cllr Worrow and Cllr Cohen are to see their demands for free parking in Birchington, since to give free parking for thirty minutes will cost the council around forty grand. CAR PARKING REVIEW - Conservative Group Statement Amid all the recent angst and comment regarding parking charges across the island, it seems pertinent to remind all of the nature of the parking ...
...according to the Metro at least: I wonder what percentage of men manage to cook a festive meal without a mishap, how many of them make decent gravy, remember to defrost the turkey and know how long it should be cooked for. How much of the pressure is also applied by men doing it? I find it interesting that an article like this is published at the same time as a discussion in the letters page regarding a previous article and the attitude lad's mags have to women. I feel that stereotypes like the one above are just as bad ...
Continuing with my "blast from the past", the video below is an interview with me, by Sky News presenter Colin Brazier, where I took the government to task a few years ago over it's plans to increase tax on petrol and diesel. Also participating in the debate was Mike Rutherford from the Motorists Association and CONSERVATIVE MP Tim Yeo. While I think I made some valid points, this wasn't my finest performance (at one point I inadvertently inferred that Tim Yeo was a Labour MP, of course I knew that he was a Tory, as Colin had just pointed it ...
I've written before about how Consumer Affairs Minister Ed Davey is one of the Liberal Democrat ministers getting messaging right, packaging up different policies in a coherent liberal narrative, but this month has also seen the launch of an important new – and liberal – initiative by him, the Buy Better Together Challenge. Launched in conjunction with Co-Operatives UK, the challenge is designed to encourage communities to get together to buy together: The idea is a simple one – and an old one. When people club together, they can get things cheaper. Or afford better quality ... Perhaps my favourite ...
In the spring of this year a 'You Gov' poll found that only 13% of the public felt that Cameron's Conservatives was closest to women whilst 79% felt they were closest to the rich. More recently the equality campaign group, The Fawcett Society, published a report 'A life raft for women's equality' which identified a 23 yr high in female unemployment. Just to kick them harder there have been cuts to child benefit; maternity grant for low income families; reduced housing benefit and so on. It is estimated that £11bn of the £16bn sliced from the welfare budget affects women ...
"I've been spat on,punched,kicked,slapped-- I gave a tissue to a crying girl and she bit my hand" so is quoted paramedic Antonia Gissing in the Observer of 11th December. These people are not poor and underprivileged. They include trainee lawyers and other so called middle class professionals. It is estimated that it costs the NHS a minimum of £220 per drunk. Why should these people not pay at least this amount as an automatic levy? This is not what the NHS was set up to do & why should the taxpayer meet the cost and why should the paramedics have ...
Back in May here in my blog, I commented on how 2011 was turning out to be a bad year for bad men on the news that Bosnian Serb Military Commander Ratko Mladic had been arrested by his own Serbian authorities. As I said at the time... "After Osama Bin Laden's capture and death at the hand of US forces, Bosnian Serb Military Commander Ratko Mladic has been arrested by his own Serbian authorities and awaits a probable extradition to the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague."With Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi under extreme siege from NATO forces in Tripoli ...
The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch if you have any questions you would like to suggest. Today's Campaign Corner question: We know that there is more campaigning than leafleting, but our big problem at the moment is a shortage of deliverers. How should we go about getting more? [IMG: Letterbox] Don't just ask members: Asking your existing members is an obvious place to start. However, some people prefer to give money than time, and so see their membership sub as their contribution. Similarly, some people prefer to give ...
This post is to give residents of Winnersh advance warning of roads being dug up in the first 3 months of 2012. Scottish & Southern Energy are due to complete all their works around Watmore Lane and Maidensfield by mid-January. Their major works affecting Reading Road start on 2nd April. Starting mid-February Southern Gas Networks are going to be working in: Wedderburn Close, Sherwood Road, Annesley Gardens, Danywern Drive and Reynards Close. They are then moving on to Harefield Close and Deerhurst Avenue. Wokingham Borough Council will be working in Reading Road over the next few months replacing some lamp ...
I may have been quiet recently but that doesn't mean I wasn't very busy behind the scenes working on things for the blog (actually it means my PC is in the coldest room in the apartment and I haven't felt like writing too much recently) however over the weekend I was granted an interview with a senior banker at a major bank who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity and we spoke about several issues firstly the Euro. I put it to the banker that despite the people in the UK clearly not giving two hoots about the ...
There has been welcome news over the weekend on Banking reforms. Firstly Vince Cable confirmed that the Vickers report would be implemented in full. This is great news as it stops, to a large extent, the future prospects of our country being held to ransom by casino banks. Also welcome are the proposed restrictions on mortgage lending - to stop people being lent money they can't afford. But for people at the moment we have a real problem, with banks squeezing every last penny from consumers while they restrict their credit lines. Despite all the talk of banks being more ...
I may have mentioned this once or twice in passing over the past couple of months, but now the day is almost upon me, I am maybe just a tiny bit hyper. And this is why. Blogging will be light until Thursday as I'm going to be away in Liverpool, the city where the Beatles grew up and first performed, to see Paul McCartney play in his home town at the Echo Arena. I was doing ok (aye, right) until I read this blurb about the concert. I mean: As anyone who has seen it will confirm, the Paul McCartney ...
This week's planning applications include Cheadle swimming baths, Shiers Drive, want to install solar panels on their roof (48560) The planned Indian Take-away at 7 Church Road, Gatley applying for permission for a fascia sign and other amendments (48715 and 48716) Various other extensions and similar home improvements
The murderous socialist psychopath that was Kim Jong Il has died and there won't be many (real) tears shed for the man responsible for the death of millions while amassing several fortunes on the back of famine and oppression. So by way of celebration and in hope his son is less evil here is Kim Jong Il as portrayed in the wonderful Team America. Kim Jung Il was reportedly a fan of western movies - I wonder if he ever saw it? By contrast Cicero has a moving tribute to Vaclav Havel - who deserves remembering for all the right ...
This is one of my lunchtime series of blogposts. Yesterday I was reviewing the progress of the hideously flawed Welfare Reform Bill through the House of Lords and realised that I wasn't entirely sure about what was meant to happen next. Given that I'm something of a political anorak, it suddenly dawned on me that if I didn't understand what was going on then it was highly likely that most people wouldn't understand what was going on either. So this blog post will be dedicated to giving a very brief overview of the way in which parliament passes laws and ...
The motto of the Czechs- the truth shall prevail- has been used since the time of Jan Hus. Yet for much of that time, the ancient lands of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia have been subjugated to other Crowns. The Czech sensibility- cynical, non conformist and intellectual- is well captured in the English word "Bohemian" and is shaped by resistance to authority. Since the fall of the Winter King after the battle of the White Mountain in 1620, Czech leaders have often combined these rebellious qualities. Hus himself had previously embodied some of them, and so did the nineteenth century Czech ...
For a full text of the speech click here! Today Nick Clegg gave a speech at Westminster Methodist Central hall to Demos and the Open Society Foundation and spoke on the need for Social change and the creation of an Open Society. The main thrust of the speech is to look at Tony Blair's comparison of an Open and Closed society. Nick then puts it into context with today's society and how we, the Liberal Democrats want to (and are trying to) make this a much more open Society with fairness at its heart and that social mobility is possible ...
It seems that there will be an announcement of a possible resolution of the public sector pensions dispute later today. The strike on 30th November was not supported by Ed Moribund, Labour's beseiged Leader. In an illustration of just how little notice Labour members on the ground take of their Leader, many of them joined demonstrations and picket lines. Indeed, the people who were thin on the
A couple of months ago I was contacted by Joan Richardson of The SEO Co trying to help me get my website higher in Google. I laughed so much I wrote a blog about it An SEO linkbuilding masterclass - well nearly... but it seems as though ripping her e-mail to shreds wasn't enough for Joan as she's back again sending me the same e-mail two months later... [IMG: joan richardson the seo co] Joan Richardson from The SEO Co is back again... I'm gutted my back-links and number of pages indexed haven't changed in two months. You would have ...
In Gateshead each ward has a local community fund which can be spent on local projects, as long as it does not leave the council with an on-going revenue cost. The fund is not vast, about £40,000 per ward. In my ward, my two colleagues - Councillors John McClurey and Marilynn Ord - and I have put in requests for various schemes. One was to have daffodil bulbs planted on the grass verges leading
Back in March, after the Barnsley By Election and after reading a series of tweets and blog posts about the disastrous result, telling me not to panic and things were not that bad, I wrote a blog post espousing the notion that actually they were every bit as bad as they looked. I think I was right. And I think the May local election results (more than the AV referendum) indicated that I got that spot on. And there has definitely, since May, been a sense of shifting strategy and attempting to differentiate ourselves a little more. But it's not ...
Sunday: From Star Wars Lego Advent Calendar Day 18: Y-Wings... they date back to the Clone Wars, y'know
Over on Left Foot Forward, Mark Pack has blogged an infographic analysing the patterns of rebellion amongst Liberal Democrat MPs: Liberal Democrat peers used to be in a remarkably privileged position in the party. Not only because they have held office without the pesky need for elections but also because for many years the third party in the House of Lords has been the key swing vote when the government has been wanting to get legislation through... [However,] helped by the primacy of the Commons, revolts by Liberal Democrat MPs which could cost the government its majority are now no ...
As I watched the snow try to lay in Gillingham on Friday and the ice on the cars first thing Saturday morning I began to think, and worry, about the up coming winter and the possibility of really bad weather and my mind wandered to a past time when it was truly cold. I'd like to paint a picture of this winter for you. The snow's had been of no real surprise, in fact they had been expected by some and preparations had been sparsely made by some groups to keep them and their employees warm as the weather turned ...
Sometimes history hands you odd juxtapositions, as has happened just now with the deaths, within a few days, of Christopher Hitchens, Vaclav Havel and Kim Jong-il. Three deaths that make you think about conscience, freedom of speech and the choices people might make when history gives them more than just a walk-on part in the public life of their country. So, here we have Vaclav Havel - the thinker, writer, intellectual who had politics thrust upon him by an oppressive regime. I keep wondering: what would he have made of his life if Czechoslovakia had been allowed to turn its ...
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 19! Today we have my ...
Liberal Democrat Business Secretary confirmed yesterday that the Government would accept, in full, the recommendations of the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) Chaired by Sir John Vickers (see this video to see for yourself). Anticipating Chancellor George Osborne's formal announcement today, Vince told the BBC's Andrew Marr that the separation of retail and investment banks – 'something I and the Liberal Democrats have pushed on for a long time' – will go ahead, indicating that the 'angry heckling by banks' (Marr's words) had failed to blow the Government off-course. Indeed Vince went as far as to say that the necessary ...
It's simple enough: sign up to get my monthly email newsletter before the end of Wednesday and I'll put your name in the hat, with the lucky winner getting a brand new copy of Ann Treneman's Dave & Nick: The Year of the Honeymoon ... and beyond. The highly praised sketchwriter for The Times has collected her funny, acerbic and enlightening sketches from the last year in this one volume. As Matthew Parris puts it, Ann Treneman is brilliant. How does she do it? In a word, it's her deadpan. Not a sentence, not a phrase is permitted the tiniest ...
[IMG: Vince Cable] Lots will be said today about the government's plans for banking reforms. You can cut your way through all the public verbiage and find out what politicians really think with this simple guide: Liberal Democrats If Liberal Democrats like them, they are Vince Cable's reforms. If Liberal Democrats don't like them, they are George Osborne's reforms. Conservatives If Conservatives like them, they are George Osborne's reforms. If Conservatives don't like them, they are Vince Cable's reforms.
As Vince Cable announces that the Government will regulate the banks as per the Vickers Commissioned report we should be asking the question what else? Once we have implemented these reforms both the Tories and the Lib Dems will say these are a good think and take credit for their implementation but the Lib Dems ...
The City Council has published a useful information leaflet on winter maintenance priorities, along with winter weather advice that you can download at http://tiny.cc/dundeewinter. The City Council's winter weather advice page at http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/winterweather/. Winter weather e-help : If I can be of any assistance to any West End Ward constituent with a concern about winter maintenance matters during the wintry weather period, please do not hesitate to contact me at winter@frasermacpherson.org.uk.
Putting aside his blip over the Eurozone veto, Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg has had a good week in terms of profile and differentiating himself in policy terms from David Cameron. Putting aside the spat over tax relief for married couples, which frankly is an obsession on the part of my party I have difficulty relating to, the most significant Liberal Democrat victory within government is clearly the acceptance of the Vickers report on breaking up the big banks and the promise that it will be implemented in full. This act is the clearest sign yet that the Government has ...
In a speech to the Demos think tank today, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will use some particularly robust language about seeing through House of Lords reform: There is a typical Westminster village cynicism that Lords reform is never going to happen because it has not happened in 100 years. I have no doubt that the opponents in the House of Lords will use every wily trick in the trade to circumvent what is a perfectly normal and long overdue change to a legislature that is not transparent and not democratically accountable to the people... There should be no doubt ...
In between trying to repel the attempts of my colleagues to adorn my desk with Christmas decorations (one piece of tinsel is fine, thank you), I've been taking a look at the details of how Liberal Democrat MPs have been behaving in the House of Commons. With fixed-term Parliaments meaning David Cameron can no longer call a snap general election, the way Liberal Democrat MPs vote in the Commons is becoming one of the key features of the public policymaking landscape. The party is well used to its peers often being the key swing vote in the Upper House, but ...
A leading Cambridgeshire County Councillor fears that residents could be left in the dark by a new lighting scheme in his ward. Cllr Geoff Heathcock, who represents Queen Ediths, has welcomed a five year plan to improve lighting across the area; but he is worried that several old lighting columns in Spalding Way are being removed and not replaced. And he says the problem is compounded by a county council decision last year to save 10 per cent from the street lighting budget. "Residents have told me they are worried about how some stretches of the road are very dark ...
This next contribution is a song that is available to buy today that could be the Christmas number one. It is in the shops or available online so go buy it now, the money* goes to the Royal British Legion and SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association). Anyone who watched BBC's The Choir in October and November plus the Festival of Remembrance will know that these women have the REAL X-Factor this year. *50p will be donated from every digital single and 40p from every physical single.
I blogged earlier about a planning application for a coffee shop at 77 Garston Old Road (where the sweet shop used to be) This has been approved now. You can see (brief) details including planned opening hours etc at this link
It's the deadline on Wednesday (21st) for any comments as part of the BBC Trust's "consultation" on plans for how it is going to allocate savings across the BBC. The suggestion at the moment has BBC local radio, which includes Radio Merseyside, taking a significant percentage share of those savings. Given the relatively tiny share that local radio actually takes of the BBCs overall budget, this seems extremely unfair (I am sure we can all think of other things that could go!) Anyway, the link to the consultation is http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/consult/local_radio.shtml Cllr Flo Clucas and I tabled a Council motion on ...
As I've reported, it was announced on Monday that Kim Jong-Il, dictator of North Korea, has died - I've also been reporting on South Korea's reaction as it develops here. According to Yonhap News, South Korea's National Assembly has convened today, for emergency discussions on how to deal with the news of Kim Jong-Il's death. Parliamentary Speaker ...
UPDATE:- Find more information on the latest developments inside South Korea here - courtesy of Spineless Liberal. President Lee Myung-Bak of South Korea has apparently cancelled all appointments, and put South Korea on the defensive following the news of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il's death. All South Korean armed forces units are now on "emergency alert" and the Presidential 'Blue ...
According to Twitter, the BBC, Time, South and apparently North Korean media, Kim Jong-Il, the leader of North Korea has died, aged 69. He is believed to have died of an acute myocardial infarction, like his father, Kim Il-Sung. Believed to have suffered from a stroke in 2008, Kim Jong-Il's health has been far from ...
[IMG: Jamaica Village] Earlier this week I attended a Licensing Hearing at Haringey Council to help residents' set out their concerns about a planned 10 day event in Finsbury Park. Jamaica Village will take place during the Olympics from 3rd-12th August is a celebration of Jamaican culture and sporting achievement. Although the event sounds like a lot of fun, it is much longer than the usual 2 day events in the Park, and a number of residents who live nearby have concerns. They are worried about issues such as noise, alcohol, anti-social behaviour and the loss of access to a ...
