As I write this I am currently struggling to motivate myself to actually write an essay about the legal doctrine of frustration. However, having made some progress, albeit limited I decided to write a short update on the past month and to write my first piece of 2012. I have enjoyed a somewhat busy, yet ... Read more
Meols Ward Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, David Rimmer andNigel Ashton are holding their next monthly advice centre on Saturday 14th January,from 11 am to 12 noon at St John's Primary School, Rufford Road, Crossens. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Councilproblems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in. We hold our advice centre every month (except August) on thesecond Saturday of the month at St John's School.
...get a quintessentially English prime minister from a priviledged background to issue an ultimatum to an autonomous small nation with a fear of said quintessentially English background. Then couch it in legal and constitutional terms that allows the populist (and popular) government to reject it in layman's terms that make their opponents appear to be arrogant and out of touch. No doubt the champagne has been flowing in SNP headquarters today. Given the utter uselessness of the non-SNP parties in dealing with the SNP government in Edinburgh I'm not sure the timing or question of an independence referendum matters. Salmond ...
One word to describe this – brilliant. Regardless of your political ideology, this is truly a work of art.
ReadingResponsible Reform today was like going back to the 80s, to the dayswhen the government did its best to give a kicking to any poor,marginalised people it could think of (think Norman Tebbit). I havefelt until now that this government is better than that, particularlywith the LibDems in it to curb the worst excesses of right wingfervour. In some ways we have been pretty successful at that. We havewon some and we have lost some. Unfortunately for some of the mostmarginalised people in the country, the Department of Work andPensions (DWP) has been one place where we have failed - ...
My son gave me this film on DVD for Christmas, and I fell in love with it. Lars (Ryan Gosling) lives in a remote Wisconsin backwater, in the garage of the property he co-owns with his brother Gus (Paul Schneider). His mother died in childbirth, leaving him with abandonment issues that are dramatically triggered by the pregnancy of his sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer). Inspired by the dodgy websites his co-worker tries to get him to look at, he orders a life-size doll - anatomically accurate, as Karin can't resist verifying - and begins introducing her as his girlfriend, Bianca. The ...
Following my weekly surgeries at Harris Academy and the Mitchell Street Centre, I participated in tonight's City Council committee meetings. At the Environment Committee, I welcomed a further extension of recycling facilities but emphasised the need to provide additional recycling facilities (such as plastics and aluminium cans) at neighbourhood recycling centres. At the Housing Committee, I sought assurances that the City Council will obtain a District Valuer's valuation on 24 council houses in Clepington that it intends to sell off on the open market before marketing them and not sell them below that valuation. The Housing Department wishes to sell ...
In just 200 days time the waiting will all be over. The countdown since the announcement in 2005 that the games of the 30th* Summer Olympiad had been awarded to London. Therefore as we are in 2012 with less than 30 weeks to go you may be asking what are the rules of Taekwondo, or how many races are in an Olympic sailing regatta, or who is the most winning water polo team (the last is Hungary). So where can you find all these answers and more? Well one book I've picked up recently is by David Goldblatt and Johnny ...
When trying to decide where to put ones attention, on the state of the world or at a more local level, it pays to bear in mind this wisdom. Also expressed in the ancient Chinese saying "if you want to change the world, change the state. If you want to change the state, change the family. If you want to change the family, change yourself."
I realised this afternoon that it was three years to the day since my last day as an employed person. Three years and four days ago I quit my job as a Sports Editor to become a freelance contractor. Leaving a world with a safety net was kind of scary in all honesty but it was a move I had to do for my own sanity. I won't knock my former company but we had different ideas for the future of my project and it got to a point where both sides wanted me to move on. The fact they ...
Leading Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrat campaigner, Clare Blair has received assurances that national changes to the Blue Badge system, designed to prevent fraud, will not affect existing users. Clare contacted Cambridgeshire County Councillor, Ian Manning, who represents East Chesterton because she was worried that existing disabled users might have to immediately changeover to new style badges leaving them without their permits. She said: "It can take a long time to get a new or replacement badge and I was worried that the changes could have meant users having their service interrupted while the new badge was sent. "I've received assurances that ...
As I am not a great admirer of David Dimbleby - his career surely owes more to family connections and bladder control than talent - I was intrigued to come across this account of the demise of the popular BBC1 programme Nationwide under the editorship of Roger Bolton. It was written by Ian Jones in 2002 and a revised version now appears on Off the Telly:The climax of this, however, and the twist which in hindsight sealed Nationwide's fate, was the enlistment of David Dimbleby as a new host in January 1982. This was solely Bolton's doing. Dimbleby had been ...
At the end of last July things looked bleak for local news coverage, when it was announced that Kent Messenger were in the process of acquiring rival newspapers owned by Northcliffe media and right now things are not that chipper. The Office of Fair Trading took the decision back in October to refer the proposed take over, to refer the matter to the competition commission since clearly the deal would result in market domination of news and advertising media in Kent by one company. Anyhow as things have turned out it seems that Northcliffe Media who own the Thanet Times ...
I've been running LibDemBlogs for over 7 years now and it's displayed advertising to a) help pay for the hosting costs and b) put some cash back in my pocket for the hundreds of hours I've spent on the site. Originally I used GoogleAds and was one of the first political sites to run with the MessageSpace network. Now whilst both have brought in money, recently it's not been enough to cover the hosting costs. To ensure that the site could continue to run it has the begging box each month asking for donations to help meet them, and happily ...
In partnership with Starbucks, UK Youth has launched Youth Action, a project that supports young people to improve their own communities. Starbucks Youth Action aims to encourage and inspire a generation of young people to take action and create positive local change. Starbucks has joined up with UK Youth and the Irish Youth Foundation to provide training, support and funding to young people from 10 cities in the UK and Ireland. The grants offer 16 to 24 year-olds from Manchester and nine other cities across the UK, the chance to receive grants of up to £2,000 to run a community ...
This is the lead story on the front page of the current Harborough Mail: A large black panther-like creature was spotted running across a field at Foxton in the latest sighting of the infamous 'black beast'. Schoolgirl Sarah Burdett had a shock when she saw the beast from her bedroom as it moved from the cover of a hedge off North Lane in the village. She rushed to the field with her dad's partner Lora Cannon, but the large cat was no longer anywhere to be seen. However the pair found what they believed were its prints and droppings, which ...
I suspect the Democrats can't believe their luck. Mitt Romney saying "I like being able to fire people". High Fives have been reported at Democrat HQ. It just goes to show that Mitt Romney's biggest enemy is himself. [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Last night's Sherlock gave us a secret research station on Dartmoor. A novel idea? Not quite. Here are trainee journalist Dan Sturt and his mother talking in Malcolm Saville's 1955 children's book Saucers Over the Moor: Mrs Sturt put down her cup."You know as well as I do, Dan, that there's some secret place atop of the Moor. Folk round here all know it but they don't talk about it." "That's true enough. It's something to do with atomic stuff, I b'lieve. I asked one of the warders from the Prison in the train once but couldn't get much out ...
It will be interesting to see how much progress will be made in this Parliamentary session on the Coalition Government's ambitious programme of constitutional reform. This will be the crunch year for a breakthrough on House of Lords reform. I suspect regulation of lobbyists will hit the statute book but a deal on party funding ...
Finally, the candidate focus in the US republican primary is turning its attention onto runaway favourite Mitt Romney and he suddenly looks vulnerable. The story of the primary to date has been how one challenger after another has risen up in the polls, overtaken Romney and then fallen away through a mixture of media scrutiny and the sledgehammer of un-regulated attacks ads paid for by the slush fund loosely connected to Romney. First there was Michelle Bachmann, the Tea Party favourite who won the opening bout when she topped the poll in the Ames Straw Poll last summer. Admittedly, the ...
The good folk at Liberal Democrat Voice have been kind enough to post a piece by yours truly explaining why we should name Mohammad al Bouazizi as the 'Liberal Voice of the Year' for 2011. If you have 30 seconds to pop over there, read the piece and them vote for Mohamed - you'd have my thanks! Much appreciated.
In London and across the country, preparations are reaching fever pitch. As Minister for the Olympics in the Foreign Office, I have been involved in the planning and preparation since May 2010. While many people are excited about the torch relay across the country and the huge variety of sporting events, the Olympics also offer a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase our country. It has been 64 years since the Games was last held in the UK. In 1948, fifty-nine nations attended. This year, over two hundred teams will be representing their countries. This is an opportunity for Britain ...
The top story today is how David Cameron is trying to coerce the Scottish parliament into holding the putative independence referendum early. There is also talk of him trying to influence the question on the ballot paper, and whether a "devo max" option is allowed. The thinking seems to be that because only the UK government can sanction a "binding" referendum that Cameron has leverage here to try and impose his will on the way the plebiscite is held. Without the binding aspect, he seems to think that the Scottish government would not want to proceed. But that approach seems ...
This post comes to you live from the X90 Oxford-London coach, marking the start of my commuting life. Today was my first day working as Development Director for the Education Endowment Foundation, the offices of which are in Millbank Tower, SW1. My partner began working in London last August, so we travel in together. Some people think we're mad, and I guess our daily itinerary offers some evidence for this claim. For those interested here's my morning routine: 5am: rise and shine 5.30am: leave house, drive to Thornhill park-and-ride 6.00am: catch bus 7.35am: arrive at Victoria coach station, walk to ...
As I said in my entry of 5th January, I am concerned that someone is submitting thousands of entries for the Lea Hall / Garrets Green entry in the Proceeds of Crime Act vote in the Yardley Constituency – to the detriment of the Acocks Green entry, which would provide much needed funding for the Fox Hollies Community Association project at the Fox Hollies Forum. Currently the Lea Hall / Garrets Green project is winning decisively, despite the Acocks Green project having a very impressive 1,659 votes I have now received the following response from the police, which confirms that ...
Can be read on the CIPR's Conversation.
Our party is becoming one of a few, select voices. Many members, which I include myself alongside, are quickly cementing our position as liberal radicals - those that choose not to define ourselves in the centre, nor on the left, but merely as those who wish to seek to form policies that will aid many in society. We will let history decide which end of the political spectrum we allegedly sit on. Along the way, we may be asked for more radio or TV appearances, or be asked to write articles for certain websites or newspapers. This is good for ...
The subject of local bus services will be at the centre of the annual community network debate taking place in Launceston Town Hall on 26th January from 7.15pm. I'm delighted that Cabinet Member Graeme Hicks and Assistant Head of Transportation Tim Wood will also be present. The community network is the forum for Cornwall Council, local town and parish councils, agencies like the police and health service and the public to come together to discuss issues of importance to our town and the local area. We meet formally four times a year with a themed meeting on a key issue. ...
Given that hearing loss is one of the most untalked about od the disabilities, its always refreshing when someone who is in the public eye is brave enough to stand up and talk about their own experience. The BBC's John Simpson talks about his hearing loss in the Daily Mail and gives a frank insight into how his ...
So much for an open, transparent consultation process about HS2! The past few days have seen a concerted pre-briefing of and by its supporters, and the release to journalists (not the general public yet) of a Network Rail report which purports to prove that strategic alternatives to HS2 will not be sufficient. I had hoped that Justine Greening MP, the new Transport Secretary, would be an improvement on her predecessor by bringing logic and rational argument to the fore in her evaluation of the HS2 proposal, but it seems I was mistaken. As we now wait for the seemingly inevitable ...
After a long hiatus it is time to bring back some of my random thought processes that don't really deserve their own blog. 2012 has been quite a year so far with several ups and seemingly one down. Overall you can't argue with those statistics though. Anyway on with the blog. *Just went into my local shop to buy batteries and the woman asks me, 'hows you?' and I reply 'I've had better days' and it completely flummoxed her. We are just so used to saying/hearing something along the lines of 'yeah I'm ok how are you?' that when someone ...
The BBC report that a report by the Commons science and technology committee, which is calling for a review of all government guidelines on alcohol in the UK has suggested that pople should have at least two days a week completely clear of alcohol. Does this mean that the House of Commons' bars will be closed for two days each working week? I eagerly await the details.
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: How do we get more people to our next campaign session? 1. Cater for different sorts of people: Some people prefer to get a task and then go off and do it on their own; others prefer group activity. Some prefer talking to people; others prefer leafleting. Your possible helpers vary in all sorts of ways, so plan a range of different ways that people can be involved. ...
Whilst the Liberal Democrats on Cornwall Council want to discuss a new scheme of low interest loans for low income families whose homes need urgent repair, it seems the Conservative and Independent administration is more concerned about their own pay. An item on the council agenda recommends that an independent remuneration panel be set up to look at the full range of councillor pay for after the next election. That's fair enough. Everyone has always agreed that the scheme should be looked at once every four years and there's no problem with setting things in motion now ready for May ...
It never gets old that I went to the Buckingham Palace Garden party and was presented to HRH Prince Phillip the Duke of Edinburgh, so here is a picture the lovely Janine Roebuck sent me from the DVD of our day. Janine is worth a massive mention because she is a Mezzo Soprano opera singer, ...
Next Tuesday sees another regular full council meeting - the time when all 123 members get together to discuss key issues of policy and budget. It's the time when we have the chance to quiz all the cabinet members as well as to put forward ideas about how to make life better for local residents. For next week's meeting, the Liberal Democrats are putting forward a motion in favour of a low interest loan scheme for householders who are on a low income and facing large bills for repairing their home. It's always better for people to be kept in ...
FROM: Kenneth Spotlessnob, Assistant Chief Executive and Director of Transformational Excellence and Strategic Vision TO: Edelbertha Spengler, Chief Executive cc: Conor O'Connor, Director of Human Resources Development Ed: Transportation and Settlement are arguing, perhaps a little combatively, that our new Statistical Unit overlaps with the Statistical Services and Processes function currently placed in that directorate under Neville Potts. It is clear that our statistical work needs direction management and a coherent approach to deliver the Council's objectives. Would you agree that the following would be the best way of resolving this little problem? * A new post of Head of ...
Here is our summary of the composition of councillors, by authority-type and party, facing election in May 2012. This list represents the best of ALDC's knowledge at time of publication but may be subject to change, for example due to by-elections and defections prior to the election. If you would like to report any amendments to the figures presented here, please let us know by emailing john.bridges@aldc.org. Councillors up in 2012 - At a Glance Councillors up in 2012 - In Detail
The Commons have already passed, and the Lords are currently voting on, the Welfare Reform Bill. It contains provisions which will scrap the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and replace it with the Personal Independence Payment (PIP). It also contains changes to time limit receipt of contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) (a sickness and disability benefit) to a maximum of 12 months. As has been pointed out by Lib Dem blogger Caron Lindsay, the change to ESA is utterly destructive and senseless. The arbitrary time limiting of ESA is, incidentally, also directly against official party policy as set out in ...
You can put strings on a puppet and make it dance to your tune. You can't put strings on a real boy and expect the same to happen. So says the tale of Pinocchio. First let's clear something up. All this talk of Westminster legislating for a "binding referendum" on Scottish independence is total nonsense. There is no such thing as a binding referendum in the UK constitution. All referendums are advisory. Their force is only political and not legal. Westminster could legislate for a Referendum bill which gave specific instructions to begin a process to settle independence in the ...
The Making of Jupiter Moon by William Smethurst Had not heard of this show. Fascinating. (tags: sf ) The Red Giant (Five Reasons Facebook is Over) | The Reformed Broker Why you should not buy Facebook shares... (tags: facebook ) Ode to Joy - Ana Rucner Brilliant Croatian tourism video (tags: video croatia ) The Story Behind the Best NYT Correction Ever Good to see some journalists still have professional standards. (tags: autism journalism ) The difficulty of predicting the Scots independence referendu It's all to play for... (tags: scotland )
Mon 9th
13:53
Opinion: Scottish independence - bleak consequences for LibDem and Labour Westminster representation
It seems to me that murmurs in political circles regarding the Scottish desire for independence are on the increase. It's a very tangible situation. – Not least with the SNP as a single-party government in Holyrood and some polls showing a strong desire to break away from the UK. (I should point out, that many polls show that the English are more in favour of Scottish independence than the Scots). What, then, are the consequences for Liberal Democrats and the composition of Westminster, should Scotland secede from the Union? On first investigation, I'd say 'bleak' at best. Scotland has provided ...
Open Mouth - Insert Foot Last week I think I was pretty ruthless with Diane Abbott regarding a poorly worded tweet and then what counts as an apology. I don't think anyone believes Ms Abbott is a racist, the problem for me was that she didn't see anything wrong with her tweet (which was wrong in context as well as out of it) - as far as I'm concerned she only did so because she was ordered to, directly by Ed Miliband (which makes his tweet rather unfortunate - though I'll give him a break with regards that.) As such ...
The next Cheadle Area Committee is on Tuesday 17th January 2012. Some of the items on the agenda are: Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue presentation on their Corporate Plan consultation for 2012-15 Presentation from FLAG – the organisation that helps people find the right advice on adult health and social care issues locally in stockport. One planning application (48533 – an extension to 55 Linksway) Amendments to parking regulations in the Oak Road area of Cheadle (not Cheadle Hulme, as the agenda wrongly says!) following consultations. A small amendment to pull back the yellow line on Frances Street, Cheadle near ...
Disability campaigners, including Diary of a Benefit Scrounger author Sue Marsh have today released a report, Responsible Reform, which is highly critical of the Government's plans to reform disability benefits. Under the plans, Disability Living Allowance will be renamed Personal Independence Payments, one level of support will be removed altogether, the qualifying period you have to be ill for before you can claim doubles from 3 to 6 months and there's a new assessment procedure. And we know how well the assessments for Employment and Support Allowance work now, don't we? Not. The Report, Responsible Reform, alleges that the Government ...
I cant help but be struck by what appears to be blatant hypocrisy on the part of David Cameron and his Conservative party on the matter of a referendum over Scotland remaining in the UK. Only a few months ago, Cameron and others whipped their MP's into an utter frenzy over the prospect of an EU ...
Writing in The Times, Danny Finkelstein (here for subscribers) predicts that the Coalition Government will stick together in 2012 and that those who think there will be a general election this year are wrong. I agree. The coalition will survive and there will not be a general election. But I hope that the coalition will look rather different. The Liberal Democrats need to be running a big spending department responsible for a key public service. A problem that the party faces is that it struggles to explain to non-politicos what the Liberal Democrats actually do. People see our ministers nodding ...
To mark the start of 2012, last week we ran a series of posts on the main challenges for the Liberal Democrats in 2012. Here in one handy recap is the full list: The Budget May's elections Treating supporters as active participants Wealth taxation Communicative ministers A coherent narrative And don't forget the four priorities for the party's new Chief Executive, Tim Gordon.
In the first part, I solely focused on legal mechanism that could help to provide accountability and restriction on the amount of spending a British government might facilitate. Providing Parliament with vocal skills and authority to hold the executive to account was the principle of Part One; now we focus on two other areas - ...
The following excerpt from Debbie Linton (Manchester Evening News) will be of interest to Chorlton residents.The proposal is long-overdue, as Council Lib Dem Leader Marc Ramsbottom points out. He is also right to insist that the existing facilities remain open until the new facilities are in place. We know only too well that this Council has an agenda to close libraries and leisure centres but often meets stiff opposition from local residents (as they found out in Levenshulme last year). I am just a bit wary that they will close the library and leisure centre in Chorlton, then find some ...
Happy New Year. The piece of print media called the Daily Express, has got stuff all over it's front page about very entrepreneurial benefit exploiters making £60k+ a year.They are costing us poor taxpayers £15m a year. WOW. Of course this is wrong & should be corrected. But I wish I could understand why we poor bloody taxpaying infantry get so worked up about it. It plays into the hands of the REAL rip off merchants. Just one example of scores where we are being seriously ripped off by the rich & powerful. Liberal Democrats calculate that some £750million is ...
The great work of reforming the House of Lords, started by the last Liberal government in 1911,grinds slowly onwards. Paul Tyler, a member of the Joint Committee on Lords Reform, has posted telling arguments for more than 300 senators today. He also raise the question of the role of the reformed chamber. Here's a suggestion.Some years ago one of the think tanks, DEMOS I believe, suggested a
The Iron Lady is an Oscar film. Aside the meticulous performance of Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, each scene is constructed to elicit an emotional response. All art is contrived but great art can misdirect and hide what it is doing. What makes the film work is Streep's performance. She has the voice, the mannerism and the physicality. She gives the role a humanity as we watch Lady Thatcher look back at her life. In some ways, the film makes its central characters ordinary. If it was set in North London and centred around a middle class family, this could ...
The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. So speaks the first few lines of our constitution. They should be enshrined in everything we do - for if we're not fighting for this, then, as Liberals, what are we fighting for at all? So when I think about who should be the Liberal Voice of the Year, I think about who has done most to make those ...
The Newbury Weekly News reports: A former Newbury mayor, local school teacher and pillar of the community has died, aged 89. Frank Harvey Graham was Newbury's first Liberal councillor and was town mayor in 1965 and 1966. With the passage of time, it is easy to forget and ignore the contribution of people like Frank Graham. Bear in mind that when he became mayor of Newbury, Jo Grimond was Liberal Party leader and we had just nine MPs. Frank was the first Liberal councillor in the town. We've moved on to bigger things. The Liberal party's successor party, the Liberal ...
According to a conference that is being held in Orangefield Presbyterian Church I am a leper. The conference in organised by Core Issues who encourage reparative therapy for LGBT people who struggle to reconcile this with their faith. The opening quote inside their literature make horrific reading (emphasis mine) Failure to live out the reality of Jesus Christ's presence in the common life of the church with those who struggle with same sex sins is a disease of epic proportions, a malignancy that spreads throughout the Body and resurfaces as the Evangelical, Biblebelieving church attempts to deal with other sin ...
As Stephen Twigg, Labour Shadow Secretary for Education, recommends more school hours in order to steer kids away from gangs, provide a "haven" from chaotic home lives and prepare students for the world of work, the Spineless Liberal looks at why this is simply a band-aid for deeper problems.
An oldie but a goodie.
Mon 9th
09:53Paul Tyler writes... Second chamber must have more members than the government proposes
Happy New Year. As all the political 'look back at 2011' newspaper supplements make their way to the recycling bin, I am risking a bold prediction that their 'look back at 2012' successors will report the first serious attempt by any Government to introduce elections to the House of Lords. When David Cameron and Nick Clegg published their draft Bill back in May last year, the reaction was predictable. Snorts of derision from the refuseniks, cavilling about detail, accusations of plain stupidity. You know when people are losing an argument if they claim that those who disagree simply don't understand. ...
Nice chap, well intentioned, successfully implementing internal party reforms and mostly getting coverage not for his ideas on the future of the country but for questions over the future of his leadership. Remind you of anyone? Verily, Ed Miliband is this Parliament's Ming Campbell.
Edward Lucas has highlighted an interesting article on the ERR website by a former RFE correspondent, Ahto Lobjakas. The basic thesis is that Estonia has, as it did in the 1930s reoriented its foreign policy away from Britain and towards Germany. Then, as now, such a reorientation is a function of new trade and economic patterns. In the 1930s, Germany overtook the UK as Estonia's biggest trading partner, and over the past few years, the creation of the Euro as increased the significance of Germany to Estonia equally dramatically. To my mind, though there is more to it than a ...
The Lib Dems have lost almost 50% of voters between elections only to pick up new voters to replace them. We have obviously been good at attracting new votes but not so good at retaining them. Now we are in Government it may be that this fact is our achilles heal? It is rare for ...
Liberal Democrat Councillor Duwayne Brooks, the only witness to Stephen Lawrence's murder, talked movingly to Radio Four's Today programme this morning. He described some of the effects of his post-traumatic stress disorder following the murder, praised the police for the conviction of two of the attackers and expressed some doubt that the other attackers will ever be brought to justice. You can listen to the full interview here.
The desirability of free capital movement is an article of faith for the international organisations that seek to govern the global economy. The perspective is shared by the governments of most developed countries. Liberalisation of capital markets is typically part of the medicine prescribed to ailing countries. A weakened country might consider imposing capital controls in a bid to gain some relief from a battering in the global financial markets, but international treaties can stand in its way. This is part of the challenge currently facing Hungary, as discussed by Frances Coppola here. A month ago I blogged On the ...
Patrick Minford, a Cardiff University Economist Professor, argued yesterday in the Western Mail today that Welsh families would be 'better off' outside the European Union. Unfortunately, this is a matter 'Well he would wouldn't he'? Patrick Minford has been a ... Continue reading →
Cllr Shona Johnstone has recently reported back to all County Councillors that the Overview and Scrutiny Management Group has recently concluded it's review of public participation in the Overview and Scrutiny process and published a document regarding Public Speaking at Overview and Scrutiny meetings. There is a lot in this document that's good. It does tend (slightly) towards the overly bureaucratic - I have yet to attend an Overview and Scrutiny meeting where a member of the public raising their hand in the public gallery and being called by the Chair wouldn't have been a sufficient notification for public speaking ...
It's been a busy week for "race" and ethnicity in the media. We've had the Stephen Lawrence verdict as well as Diane Abbott's wayward tweet. The latter of these was analysed in a frustratingly blasé manner by the press, trivialising the issue of racism after it had been covered so thoroughly in the wake of the Lawrence trial verdict. Gary Dobson and David Norris had finally been put behind bars for the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence, bringing a degree of closure on what has become a dark stain on the conscience of both the Metropolitan Police and the ...
The link is to a story from Northampton where a mother was given a 28 days suspended sentence for putting information about her case on Facebook.RSC Schedule 1 Order 52 states:(2)If the court hearing an application in private by virtue of paragraph (1) decides to make an order of committal against the person sought to be committed, it shall in public state -(a)the name of that person;(b)in
Diary of a Benefit Scrounger has picked up my post from the other day about writing to Lib Dem peers ahead of the vote on time limiting contributory Employment and Support Allowance in the House of Lords, scheduled for this coming Wednesday. What's really useful is that a lovely and beautiful person has, in the comments to that, put in a list of peers' e-mail addresses, ready to cut and paste. We know that this can be effective - the votes on the Welfare Reform Bill have been very tight, and changing the minds of even a couple of them ...
Barbara Dymock Friends of Wighton's first Lunchtime Recital of 2012 takes place at the Wighton Heritage Centre, Central Library, Dundee on Wednesday 11th January when the guests are Barbara Dymock and Friends. Barbara, one of Scotland's finest and most distinctive singers, will be joined by flute-player Kenny Hadden, guitarist Chris Marra and fiddler Karen Hannah to present some very tasty arrangements of traditional and contemporary Scottish songs. Admission is free (donations are welcome!) - recital starts at 1.15pm, lasting around 30 minutes. Barbara and the Band will be appearing at Glasgow's City Halls on Friday 3rd February as part of ...
Janet and I spent Christmas and the New Year in Australia visiting our younger son Greg and our daughter in law Karen, who live in a very sunny Melbourne. It was a super holiday and great to see Karen and Greg - and - what's more - we had a White Christmas, with a few minutes of torrential hail on the afternoon of Christmas Day. With the wonders of Broadband, keeping up to date with constituent enquiries was no problem although I am sure residents were wondering why I appeared to be sending e-mails at 2am! Here's a few photos ...
There is a meeting regarding the Council's recent review of Household Waste Recycling Centres scheduled for 6-7pm on Thursday 12th January 2012 at Citizens House, Station Road, Consett, DH8 5RL. Officers from the Council's Neighbourhood Services team will give a short presentation, then there will be an opportunity for you to put your questions to them.
