In reality I could provide you with a nice long fact based blog post about why David Cameron is wrong and we shouldn't introduce minimum alcohol pricing. Why the SNP is wrong, why Labour is wrong, christ, why our Scottish Party is horribly wrong. Instead I want to leave you with a quote, it's by David Laws, and tells you everything you need to know. If freedom means anything it must surely include the freedom to engage in activities which others may consider unwise. This includes smoking, overeating, not exercising, driving "off road" cars in cities, even winning goldfish. A ...
David Cameron's 'Big Society' is an oft used phrase, but its meaning and policy effects remain vague - wrapped up with localism and a rolling back of the central state. Last December Nick Clegg even suggested it was the same as community politics. Clegg is wrong about community politics - and I suspect his understanding of it is purely through its status within party circles - much like the vague understanding that Keynes or Beveridge were liberals. If he did know any of its detail he wouldn't have compared community politics to the Big Society and would have heeded its ...
(For parts one to seven of the good doctor's investigation, click on the Doctor Watson Investigates tag). Not only was I being accused of murder, the betrayal of everything that as a medical man I hold sacred, but the murder of Cynthia Travers, the very young woman I had sworn to protect. And Miss Travers ...
I was watching old Jonathan Meades programmes on YouTube, like you do, when I came across Brick and Mortars, his discussion of military architecture, from 1990. And who should turn up at 5:16 but a young Henry Porter? Much more from Jonathan Meades at the MeadesShrine. And Henry Porter has his own website.
via youtube.com Nick Clegg's Happy New Year Message arrived in my inbox today. The message says a lot about what's right with the Liberal Democrats' policies in government. It also says a lot about what's wrong with the party's communications. Nick says: We have had to make some very difficult decisions, but they've been the right ones for the long term good of our country. But [the] economic rescue mission is not over yet. That's why, thanks to the Liberal Democrats, the Coalition has been helping people get through these difficult times with measures to make life fairer and easier. ...
Over Christmas a couple of my family have had problems with mice. The good news is that for those who have mice or rats in their property, Durham County Council will tackle their problem at no charge. Funnily enough they'll do the same for cockroaches and bedbugs, but this time whether in the property or not, which caused me some flights of fancy. All the above are defined as "Public Health Pests". Other pests like fleas, moles, cluster flies, squirrels, ants, bees and wasps, defined as "Non Public Health Pests", are dealt with at a charge of £37.20.
The consultation on the BBC proposals closed last week. I sent in comments. This (below) is what I said: "I write to give my views as part of this consultation. I am leader of the Liberal Democrats on Liverpool City Council but am also a current lecturer in higher education and a former employee of BBC local radio. The main station I listen to is BBC Radio Merseyside although I am familiar with some others. To start with a point of principle, I am surprised that the BBC is asking for cuts from local radio. Local radio is a tiny ...
Wed 28th
18:29
Book review: Cedric Watts & Laurence Davies, Cunninghame Graham - a critical biography
Robert Cunninghame Graham (1852-1936) was an author and politician from a family of impoverished Scottish gentry. He was something of a celebrity in his day, and the anecdotes he brought back from his travels furnished characters for Joseph Conrad and George Bernard Shaw. When I ordered this book, though, pretty much all I knew of him was that he had been a Liberal MP who went on to co-found, successively, both the Scottish Labour Party and one of the forerunner parties of the SNP. That alone told me that he must have been quite a character. Just how much of ...
(For parts one to six of the good doctor's investigation, click on the Doctor Watson Investigates tag). I stood there with the card in my hand for many minutes, stunned at the latest turn in this grotesque business. There was now a second kidnapping – and, I feared, a second murder – alongside the first. ...
Here is one minute of Christmas fun. Hope you enjoy....
Today, the BBC released their Women of the Year. Twitter was immediately incensed due to the Panda Sweetie making it onto the list for well being a panda. Some were incensed because a Panda clearly can't be a women like somehow we are different species. As can be seen in this tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/Rosiecosy/status/152023899629043712 To be fair ...
Further evidence, if any were needed, of the slow fading of Livejournal: two years ago I was able to list 42 posts of the previous twelve months which had attracted 20 or more comments; last year I could only find 32 with at least 15, and this year it's a mere 26 posts with a lower limit of 12 comments. They were: 30 December 2010: What to read next year? - 41 comments 31 December 2010: 2010 Books poll - 20 comments 4 January 2011: Literary anniversaries - 22 comments 9 January 2011: Getting rid of Amazon; problems with The ...
Watching last nights Kennedy Center Honors Awards it was noticeable how few singers can really embody and interpret a song. Too many of them seem to just belt out the tune without really expressing the sentiment or nuances of the lyrics. Driving to work this morning Beth Nielsen Chapman came on the radio and both ...
Councillor Juby, Leader of the Libdem group Well, another batch of Focus' for me to deliver in the new year arrived last week and here is a review of what Councillors Geoff Juby and Shelia Kearney have done for you... the lucky people of Gillingham South! Well lets get the more mundane, less interesting but necessary stuff done first!Road re-surfacing in Canterbury Street, Balmoral Road and Duncan Road all of which needed serious attention. Rubbish clearance from Lock Street and Canterbury street and an alley way cleared between Balmoral Road and Franklin Road. A Salt bin has been approved and ...
This is the time of year when we look back at what the last 12 months have brought us, good and bad. I thought it would be appropriate to take some time to pay tribute to Liberal Democrats we've lost this year. We'll all know someone who has really made the difference to our lives as party members who is no longer with us. Please feel free to use the comments to tell us a bit about them and what they mean to you. For me, the worst moment of the year so far was not the heartbreaking election results. ...
If the internet could drown, it would have already done so under posts about cute cats, dodgy affiliate marketing 'tips' and advice for writers. But this set of five tips is extremely good. All are, when you read them, very simple. But that's the art of excellent advice – making achieving excellence a matter of following small steps, each easy by themselves.
In 1997 the Labour Party manifesto outlined that under a Labour government the House of Lords would be reformed so that "the right of hereditary Peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords will be ended by statute...". It was clear that change appeared to be on the agenda and the House of Lords Act 1999 provided changes to the rights of Hereditary Peers, removing the right for members to inherit their seats. This was achieved via a compromise which ensured 92 hereditary peers would remain in the House on an interim basis. Although these were necessary baby ...
I've long said that I want a Government to decide that it's going to sort out housing. During my years working for Willie Rennie as his caseworker, by far the biggest tragedy I could see unfolding before me was housing. Every week we'd have around 5 new families wanting, no, needing to be rehoused. Maybe their family had grown or two families had amalgamated meaning a current property was too small. Maybe they'd had to take a private let, sacrificing their priority on the local authority list, but paying out more than they could afford in rent. Maybe a relationship ...
[IMG: Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister] Today, via email and YouTube, Nick Clegg has sent out his New Year message. Baring some unexpected major political event, it will be his last national political statement of the year, so how does it measure up against the various points I've used to praise or criticise the party's messaging during 2011? Consistency A major problem with the party's messaging in 2011 has been its inconsistency, as I highlighted with the autumn Liberal Democrat conference pack where even within one enclosure there were different visual designs, different choices of message – and even different ...
Before anyone from Oz lynches me re the story in the Edinburgh Evening News below I know you don't get wombats in Tanzania! If you read my post below it does say Tasmania. Tasmanian Resident Journalism is a difficult profession, it is never easy getting everything absolutely accurate but you're 7000 miles out guys! I did wonder if the film loving journos at the News had been seeing to much Dickie Attenborough and not enough David. To be helpful I have included a spot the difference feature on this post. Tanzanian Wildlife
Those elderly and alone at this time of year need attractive alternative housing options. It is greatly to the BBC news team's credit that they continue to highlight the plight of those less fortunate as the majority of us look forward excitedly to Christmas. Following on from their piece on homelessness on Wednesday, on Thursday they highlighted the issue of loneliness and isolation among the elderly at this traditionally sociable time of the year. Homelessness and isolation in old age are two of the most pressing issues resulting from our growing and ageing population. The fantastic work of caring charities ...
An annual event is discussing the level of Council tax that should be paid by the owners of empty properties. I have blogged on this before (probably every year since the blog started) The Tories always say - The council tax is a charge for services. If no one is living in the property they are unlikely to use the same level of services, so are entitled to a discount, currently 25% (though
So once again the forces of darkness have been repulsed. My frenzied, naked dancing on the night of the winter solstice has defeated them and my constituents can look forward to lengthening days and a fruitful summer. As I recovered ... Continue reading →
There are spoilers in this, so if you're likely to throw a Twitter tantrum and block me if you find things out you don't already know, DO NOT read any further. In recent years, one of the highlights of Christmas Day has been to gather round the television in the early evening for the Doctor Who Christmas Special. It's certainly more essential than watching the Queen in our house. We've gone from the Sycorax running amok while the Tenth Doctor sleeps off his regeneration to the searing poignancy of the final build up to his farewell with a futuristic Titanic ...
Well, I know I've been a bit quiet lately so I'd just like to take the opportunity this lunch time to inform all my loyal readers that the hiatus is over and I will now begin blogging again with more regularity now that the holidays are out of the way. That said, unfortunately I can't think of anything to blog about right this minute so I'll just conclude by saying that the most unusual present I received this year was an adoption pack for an Indian elephant that my aunt has adopted on my behalf. Her name is Kiruna (or ...
I'm in love with my keyboard! The Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 is a dream to type on. Large, well spaced keys, split keyboard, and a whole host of extra media buttons. [IMG: Microsoft 4000 Keyboard] There's only one tiny problem. Two of the buttons don't work in Linux – specifically, the keyboard scroll buttons. This is a long standing bug in Linux, but luckily it is fairly easy to fix. Using Florian Diesch's tutorial at Ask Ubuntu, I've come up with this simple guide to get your keyboard working. Open a terminal. Sorry, this is all going to be ...
Peter Osborne explains why the whole idea might backfire On (December 20th) David Farham, a former miner, had a letter published in his local newspaper, The Shields Gazette. He wrote: "I am proud to say I was on strike for 12 months in the 1984-5 strike, when Thatcher used the full might of [the] state to defeat us. I would stand on a picket line now if it would prevent her having a state funeral. She had a near-pathological hatred of trade unions, and referred to us as the 'enemy within', but what did we do that was so treacherous? ...
As the Christmas festivities go the way of the turkey attention turns to the approach of a new year. Looking forward to whatever the future has to offer we cannot forget the momentous events of 2011. It will certainly be remembered as the year when dictators found out that People Power can overcome armies. That the repressive machines that maintain dictatorships can collapse overnight, and old certainties can be swept aside, with the relentless force of the tsunami that devastated parts of Japan in March. The 'Arab Spring' is far from over, and will continue to dominate the news cycle ...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 564 party members responded, and we are publishing the full results here over several days. Jeremy Browne, Vince Cable, Ed Davey and Lynne Featherstone are the four Liberal Democrat ministers to have significantly increased their standing in the eyes of party members over this year, according to the surveys of party members carried out by Liberal Democrat Voice four times in the year. When asked how satisfied or dissatisfied they are ...
Congestion in London can be grim – even with the Congestion Charging Zone. At this time of year, a fortnight of bliss, getting around town by bike or car with near empty roads is a cinch. But normally our roads are bulging with people travelling generating enough air pollution to kill 4,000 Londoners every year. The plans for London to grow by a million people will only make this beyond worse – calculated to be 20% worse. With precious few plans to increase public transport enough what should be done? A study about road pricing of the capitals roads has ...
He's being slated in some quarters for being too gloomy. How we'd all have mocked, though, if he'd come out and told us that it would all be fine and 2012 would see the economy turned around. We're not daft, he knows it and he's not in the business of spurting out the old bovine scatology. He's right to point out the changes we're making in the Government regarding pensions, the Pupil premium and raising of the tax threshold. These things are in effect now and he also throws in some longer term Lib Dem gains like the Green Investment ...
Visit Cornwall has just released four pretty stunning aerial films of Cornwall in a bid to market our area to people thinking about their summer holidays. But whilst these are great, there seems to be an over-reliance on coast and sea and there's a missing fifth film that should also have been made. In a sense, Cornwall is a pretty easy area to market to tourists. We have magnificent scenery, the best climate on the mainland and lots to do. But all too often we fall back on the caricature of bucket and spade holidays and surfing. The key task ...
Nick Clegg has published his New Year message to party members. He highlights how the Liberal Democrats have introduced measures to make life easier and fairer for people, lifting nearly a million out of paying income tax altogether and cutting taxes for 23 million people. The Pupil Premium and better pensions. He's clear that 2012 will be another challenging year for the global economy and contrasts the UK's relatively stable situation with the dramas in the Eurozone. He talks about the Government's "economic rescue mission" continuing. He highlights measures put in place to rebalance the economy and invest in green ...
Ikea will benefit from the giving and receiving of Christmas presents this year in the Campbell family - more books mean more bookcases to be bought...
Yesterday The Times ran a set of op-eds looking at how the parties did in 2011, featuring ConHome's Tim Montgomerie, Ed Miliband biographer Mehdi Hasan and The Voice's own Mark Pack. Here is a flavour of what Mark had to say: This year has certainly not been short of Harold Macmillan's "events, dear boy, events". Political and economic turmoil disrupted even the usually quiet periods deep in August and the final shopping days before Christmas. Yet at the end of the year the political rollercoaster has left all three main parties in remarkably similar situations to those in which they ...
Frankie & Benny's reject a student discount card 'because it is a bank holiday' but nowhere can this be seen online in any terms and conditions of the card or the discount. Michael starts his complaint process.
Dear Richard, This time last year I spoke about how the most important job for Liberal Democrats was dealing with the economic problems we inherited. 12 months on, that task remains the number one priority for our party and the Coalition. We have had to make some very difficult decisions, but they've been the right ones for the long term good of our country. But that economic rescue mission is not over yet. That's why, thanks to the Liberal Democrats, the Coalition has been helping people get through these difficult times with measures to make life fairer and easier. 2011 ...
The adventures of two Beatles obsessives and a Responsible Adult in Liverpool, Part Two (Part One of this merry tale is here) After a suitable break for Christmas, I thought I'd continue telling you about our adventures in Liverpool last week. The first thing I want to say is that we all pretty much fell in love with Liverpool. It's such a warm city. I don't mean in climate, as although the papers all said it was unseasonally warm, we spent most of the time freezing. The people are incredibly friendly and open, though and the cabbies don't try to ...
The link is to the judgment of the Irish Supreme Court on matters relating to the Hague Convention and adoption.A number of parents have won legal cases in Ireland which prevented their children being returned to England and placed in care on the basis that this would lead to adoption.This case was an interesting one because the children were not actually in care or even subject to a care order,
From the Mirrlees review into designing tax systems: Despite some predictions to the contrary, countries are not being forced inexorably to tax less in an increasingly globalized and competitive world economy. Between 1975 and 2008, taxes rose as a proportion of national income in virtually every OECD country. On average, the tax take rose from 29.4% to 34.8% of national income. In no OECD country was there a significant fall in the tax take over this period... Within the total tax take, we might expect that governments would find it more difficult to raise taxes from internationally mobile companies and ...
Slight break from the political posts, I got Harry Potter 8 on dvd for xmas and wanted to review it. I warn you that this might turn out to be a Kermodian rant on the movie as well. First port of call when you receive a DVD is to head straight to the Extras. (Or ...
Dear Paul, This time last year I spoke about how the most important job for Liberal Democrats was dealing with the economic problems we inherited. 12 months on, that task remains the number one priority for our party and the Coalition. We have had to make some very difficult decisions, but they've been the right ones for the long term good of our country. But that economic rescue mission is not over yet. That's why, thanks to the Liberal Democrats, the Coalition has been helping people get through these difficult times with measures to make life fairer and easier. 2011 ...
A call by Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats to fund better rural transport with commission from profit-making bus services has been rejected by the Tories. The idea would involve a Quality Bus Contract scheme which would allow Cambridgeshire County Council to introduce cross-company ticketing arrangements, introduce competition into a local monopoly and provide better connections with rail services. Lib Dem Leader, Kilian Bourke set out the plan in a motion which was voted down by the ruling Conservative group. Cambridgeshire County Council Cabinet member, Steve Criswell, said were already 25 operators competing in Cambridgeshire and this showed there was a lot of ...
On this, the 132nd Anniversary of the Tay Rail Bridge Disaster, its good to note that the Tay Rail Bridge Disaster Memorial Trust has issued its first newsletter in time for this festive season. As one of the trustees of the Trust, its really pleasing to see the progress the Trust is making towards its aim of a proper and lasting memorial to the victims of the 1879 disaster. You can read the newsletter at http://tinyurl.com/TRBMTnews.
Last week, the Evening Telegraph highlighted crime statistics for 2010/11 across the city. This indicated the apparently high crime rate in parts of the West End Ward. Beat 26 which covers quite a large part of the West End Ward has been highlighted in the past for its high number of incidents reported to and investigated but as it is a large area largely to the north of the Nethergate and Perth Road shopping areas right up to Pentland, it is important to emphasise that much of the area has a very low crime rate and that the total of ...
I actually have a lot to say about this run, but I was testing out the mobile app. to upload the photo from my iPhone. I'll add more soon.
The Daily Mirror has never struck me as being written by a group of cat-lovers. Their concern yesterday for the day-to-day comforts of Larry, the Downing Street cat, is not therefore convincing. This is especially so as they appear to have resorted to the old journalistic method of delivering a story despite the facts. They report that Larry is banned from the flat lavishly refurbished by David Cameron at No. 10 Downing Street: The Prime Minister publicly welcomed the tabby to No 10 earlier this year but he is not allowed in the family's living quarters, even though they are ...
2011 was a tough year for the party, no doubt. But that is not to say it was a year that did not prove beneficial to the party. It proved to be the best learning curve possible as we saw the true impact of Coalition on the Liberal Democrats. We were tested to the very ...
In the developing story of a few days' duration, or a foreign story, it is wiser to assume that the reader is a suburban Rip Van Winkle who has slept through all the stages now so familiar to the text editor who has been in the thick of them. - Harold Evans & Crawford Gillan, Essential ...
He's principled, passionate for his party and cares deeply about the poorest and most vulnerable people in our land.
