Following his relaunch as erm, well the same person but trying to be more popular, I thought I'd list some of the reasons I wont be voting for him (the ones that came to mind whilst I was watching it): He bemoans that the next government will start with a deficit. He jumps on any bandwagon. He is potentially scaring students away from University. He was Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change between 2008 and 2010. He lets Ed Balls speak.Explanations: His economic policy is so hypocritical - he's happy to throw the global climate ...
Westminster politicians have begun to cluster under the Unionist banner in an effort to save Scotland from what would undoubtedly be the very grave error of independence. Across the boarder, Alex Salmond has bunkered down and already violated the law by setting a referendum date he had no right to decide on. This shot across the bows of the Union has provoked the British parliamentary parties into campaigning in Scotland personally in order to show Scotland how much it means to the rest of us. This is a mistake. The principle of self determination is at what's stake here: Scots ...
One of the America's richest men, Warren Buffet, recently complained that he wasn't paying enough tax. He pointed out that he was paying a lower marginal rate than his secretary. Fair enough, said arch conservative Senator Mitch McConnell, if you are feeling guilty, send in a cheque. Another Republican Sentator, John Thune, sought to introduce a new column on tax returns to allow the rich the option of paying more to help ease the national debt. Now it looks as though Mr Buffet (worth around $45bn) is going to call the Republican bluff. He's offered to match every contribution that ...
In some ways I'm rather encouraged by today's announcement by the education secretary that he wants to see a greater emphasis on the teaching of computer science in the schools curriculum. But I think the suggestion that he seems to be making, or at least the media interpretation of it, that teaching someone how to use popular computer programs like office suites (his definition of ICT) is no longer worthwhile and what should be taught instead is how to program them (his definition of Computer Science) is an unproductive dichotomy. Let me explain. Back in the mid to late 1980s, ...
This is an issue of the excellent Philosophy Bites podcast devoted to an interview with Richard Reeves, author of John Stuart Mill: Victorian Firebrand. The interview concentrates on Mill's On Liberty. Note in particular Reeves' important point that the widely quoted 'harm principle' is not the core of Mill's argument in the book. If you enjoy this interview you may want to watch a video of a lecture Reeves gave on Mill at the University of Richmond, Virginia, in 2009. You could even read an old Liberator article of mine, Why John Stuart Mill is the greatest liberal, that owes ...
A report in tomorrow's Guardian claims: Alistair Darling, Charles Kennedy and the former Tory leader in Scotland, Annabel Goldie, are being lined up as the main faces of the pro-union campaign in the referendum on Scottish independence, sources in the three parties confirmed Wenesday [sic] night.The report also says that Labour and Liberal Democrats have expressed the hope that David Cameron will adopt a lower profile in future. Will Charles and co. be enough to save the Union? Certainly, the rise of the SNP has been greatly eased by the way that almost all the considerable figures in the other ...
PM David Cameron effectively announced a war on the "great big health and Safety monster" . He said he'd "cut back rules and how their inspected" and that no health & safety rules would apply for the self employed. I think he's been hanging around with to many company board directors in private clubs and not spending time with people actually doing work in the field. Has he met someone injured from work or families of employees killed at work – I very much doubt it. The Health and Safety Executive shows that in 2010/11 171 people lost their lives ...
I meant to get the next Who post for Mindless Ones up today, but I've got a blinding headache, so you just get links. The post will probably be up tomorrow. Teatime Brutality had a great post about Doctor Who and canonicity. I only followed the parts of the discussion that showed up on his ...
TweetAnyone with an interest in public policy will come across Social Return on Investment (SROI). This is the measure through which investment by this date can be measured as to what they have prevented happening in the future. For example, with Cameron's 150,000 problem families, by investing in them now they can prevent generations of ...
Out of the mouths of babes ans satirists........ Everyone apologises for everything
Cambridge MP, Julian Huppert has called on the government to take action to protect shoppers from credit and debit card surcharges as internet shopping grows. He secured a debate in the House of Commons, entitled 'Credit and Debit Card Surcharges', in order to highlight the problems people face with these hidden costs. These surcharges have become a business model in their own right, he said, seriously undermining legitimate economic growth. And he warned that if the government failed to act, it risked stifling the country's fragile economic recovery. Julian said that a recent study by Which? magazine found that in ...
Tonight the government suffered a massive triple defeat on elements of the Welfare Reform Bill that would have removed support from disabled children and cancer patients and that would have limited to one year the length of time seriously ill and disabled people could receive support for, after which they'd be denied support unless they had a household income of less than £7,500. While it's brilliant that we won on this, and that the principles supported unanimously by Lib Dem conference in September triumphed in the lords, the fact is that this was no thanks to Lib Dem peers. Only ...
The Government has suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords tonight on various aspects of the Welfare Reform Bill. The House of Lords was discussing amendments relating to the Employment and Support Allowance. The Guardian reports that 3 Liberal Democrats, Jenny Tonge, Matthew Taylor and Roger Roberts voted for an amendment which protected young people's right to claim Employment and Support Allowance. The Government was also defeated on their one year time limit for claiming Contributory ESA. This was increased to two years by the amendment. The Liberal Democrat rebels were Dee Doocey and Jenny Tonge. The ...
As you might know, I have been very concerned at the Government's proposals to limit contributory Employment and Support Allowance for those in the Work Related Activity Group to one year. Well, the BBC News Channel has just reported that the House of Lords have defeated this proposal - and by a fairly whopping majority, 234 to 186. Let's hope the Government has the sense not to try to bring this back and finds another way to save the money that doesn't involve taking it off people who are too sick to work. I don't know if and how many ...
As a mental health social worker, I have been trying to keep up with the debate, both within and without the party, on the progress of the Welfare Reform Bill. There are many commentators far more expert than I able to say how many different aspects of the legislation accord with party policy, or wider liberal views about the freedom and agency of the individual, or how far it falls short in respect of protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities. This post is not about the detail of that. I want to pose a question to LDV-reading colleagues ...
Filed under: Blogging, OU
The Guardian faces both ways on the approval of the plan for a high speed rail link from London to Birmingham, with eventual extensions to Manchester and Leeds. A leading article, "Big ticket transport" (11/01/12 - the "link" thing is not behaving itself) gives reasonably enthusiastic support, whilst their columnist Simon Jenkins describes it as "A triumph for all rail nerds (and) money beyond all sense" (also 11/01/12). I find myself comfortably on the side of Jenkins and, for the first time in my life the self-styled Taxpayers' Alliance, who I believe have described the scheme as a "rich man's ...
Day 11 In your own space, ask for recs. Something as simple as "I like XYZ (where XYZ is a kink, a pairing, a trope, etc) - please rec me some." I like lots of things, but one thing that often hooks me is some sort of religious, metaphysical or mythological twist on a fandom that is not canonically about those things, even if it's not a fandom I normally follow (so long as I can figure out roughly what's going on). If you have anything like that bookmarked somewhere, rec away! This entry was cross-posted from Dreamwidth, where there ...
New Chief Executive Having been officially confirmed in her post at full council, Deborah Cadman began her role as Chief Executive in the last week of December. I look forward to working with her. One of her first acts has been to address the issue of long-term 'interim directors' at the top of the council. As both the Directors of Children and Young People and Adult and Community Services are interim appointments, a recruitment process is now under way to appoint permanent postholders on fixed salaries. Libraries The Conservatives who run Suffolk County Council have decided to change the structure ...
This week the NHS has come on board in a three way partnership with local councillors and Go North East to bring a return of Sunday buses between Consett and Durham. The service will provide public transport access to their local hospital to the people of Consett and Lanchester each Sunday, as well as shopping opportunities and access to rail services. As readers of this blog know, I have been working for months to reach the point where a number of local councillors and the NHS would enable the buses to run again. We were simply delighted when the University ...
PEOPLE who live, work and shop in Suffolk are being urged to show their support for the Better Broadband for Suffolk campaign. A new survey has been launched which asks residents and consumers if they're interested in superfast broadband, what their current internet speeds are and what speeds they'd be interested in getting. The survey only takes five minutes to complete and is an essential part of the campaign's work to prove to ministers and potential suppliers how much superfast broadband is both wanted and needed. Suffolk currently has one of the poorest broadband networks in England. The average broadband ...
What do we want? Section 503. When do we want it? Now. Oh, you want to know what Section 503 is? Read here.
There's a fair bit of praise out there for the Secretary of State today. Mr Moore made a good fist of things yesterday. His tone was conciliatory, measured, reasonable and, above all, it presented what looked like a cast-iron legal case for allowing Mr Salmond to conduct a binding referendum — but only if he agrees to including only one question on the ballot paper, restricts the voting to the over-18s and allows the Electoral Commission to oversee the poll.Alan Cochrane, Telegraph Given that Mr Moore has struck a measured tone and Mr Salmond is relatively conciliatory, there must be ...
This pack of sausages had to be withdrawn from sale and redesigned. What do they pay these marketing people ?
REPORT TO PARISHES, Mid-Samford Ward: January 2012 Sue Carpendale and Kathy Pollard, District Councillors Budget items from Strategy agenda The budget for the financial year 2012/13 is nearing decision time, and will be the subject of Strategy Committee's meeting on 12th January and also a special Council meeting on the 26th. Various options have been considered, the key elements being: whether or not to take the one-off extra 2.5% government grant; whether or not to introduce short-term parking charges; whether and how to use the New Homes Bonus and/or reserves; and whether to try to generate additional income from the ...
I've blogged before how about how I think we need, as a party, to get better at understanding the 30 sec political ad. Because like it or not, that's where a lot of great campaigning is going to head to Today I was sent this ad. I don't agree with it's message. I wouldn't vote for the candidate. But you know who it's for. You know what he believes You know what he's going to do if he wins. And if you're in any way inclined to support him - this will probably push you into the polling station on ...
The following e-mail arrived today and needs wider circulation.Checking out at Tesco, the young cashier suggested to the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.The woman apologized and explained, "We didn't have this green thing back in my earlier days."The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation
Londonkds has a grim reading of what happens to the Thals in Who Canon.... ... which I think is disturbingly plausible (tags: doctorwho ) Qwghlm on why narrow focus is bad in teaching. He talks specifically about code here, but I think this could apply to pretty much any subject area; teaching kids to think and problem-solve is more important than teaching by rote. (tags: education ) Andrew Ducker corrects a commonly held misconception. Labour do not tend to win elections because of Scotland (tags: politics ) Chinese Britons have put up with racism for too long I'm shocked but ...
Wed 11th
15:58
Haggis, Neeps and Liberalism special: Dramatic independence referendum duel in London and Edinburgh
It's been a torrid few days in Scottish politics. Since the SNP won an overall majority in the Holyrood elections last year, there has been much talk of the independence referendum they pledged to have in the second half of their term. They have been tight-lipped on their plans. There has been uncertainty on the legality of such a referendum. Even respected legal blogger Lallands Peat Worrier, himself an SNP supporter, has expressed that the terms of the Scotland Act may not allow it. And amid all the bluster of this blog post from senior SNP strategist Stephen Noon is ...
Last week saw the publication of edition number 15 for my monthly newsletter about the Liberal Democrats, including stories which subsequently got picked up by The Guardian, The Independent, Daily Mail and Radio 4′s Today programme. If you missed out at the time, you can now read what got all their attention here - including my favourite scenes of political canvassing from the TV screen. If you would like to receive the next edition of the newsletter direct to your own inbox, just sign up here. It's free! You can unsubscribe whenever you want using the link on the bottom ...
For us all, the home we live in is one of the most important factors in how we live our lives. Whether it be a house, a flat, shared accommodation, or - as it is for almost a quarter of a million people in the UK - a 'Park Home'. Park Homes are modern, bungalow-style residential properties usually sited on private estates. The park home industry is a billion pound business. There are over two thousand park home sites within the UK, primarily but not exclusively centred in rural areas like my constituency in Cornwall. For the vast majority of ...
Last night saw a well-attended meeting of the Chorlton Civic Society at Chorlton Library. Guest speaker was John Leech MP, who gave an excellent talk on the Localism Act. The Act, which was passed late last year, is due to come into effect in April and will have a number of implications for the way Local Authorities are run. John talked about the various sections of the Act, and gave his opinion on the pro's and cons. There are certainly a number of aspects of the Act that will need tight scrutiny as they are implemented, and John was frank ...
The work to put down the new Church Road pavement in Gatley – a Lib Dem initiative – will start in the week commencing 23rd Jan 2012. The new section of pavement will run along one side of Church Road from the junction with Gatley Road (by the old Nat West) up to the Prince of Wales and Gatley Green. The Lib Dem team pressed for this work to be done to fix a section of pavement long in need of proper repairs, and we look forward to seeing it completed.
David Laws is interviewed in the current issue of Attain, a magazine focussed on the independent schools' sector, where he has the following to say on the issue of whether free schools should be permitted to make profits: I think it is important that the people who come in and deliver the education should be seen to be doing so for reasons relating to education and delivering an improved quality of education. And I think that the public would be far more suspicious of the free school development if they felt it was about people coming in to make profit ...
Mark Reckless MP for Rochester and Strood was the third most rebellious Conservative MP in England. He has defied the Government line 20 times - mostly over Europe but also over Tuition fees. Tracey Crouch has "rebelled" twice and was absent/abstained for the Tuition fees vote and Rehman Chishti has not rebelled once. When asked about this dubious honour he said; The Conservative Whips in action. In the short term it probably is a trade off [Against a Ministerial job] but in the long term its important to stand up for what you believe in and what your constituency want. ...
The always entertaining Rory Sutherlandgave a Ted Talk in 2009 about his concerns over the £6 billion being spent onthe High Speed upgrade between London and The Tunnel (or HS1 as we must nowcall it). As he said at the time... "It strikes me as a slightly unimaginativeway of improving a train journey, merely to make it shorter. What you should infact do is employ all of the world's top male and female supermodels and getthem to walk the length of the train handing out free Chateau Petrus for theentire duration of the journey. You'll still have £3billion in change ...
One of the great benefits of democracy over totalitarianism is its ability to criticize openly and scrutinize the major decisions of government. If weight of public and political opinion is against a particular decision, there are inevitably dissenters within the machinery of government. Whilst this doesn't prevent damaging and foolhardy decisions from being made, it does strengthen the hand of these dissenters within the government hierarchy. This usually has the effect of limiting the damage, and speeding up both the reversal of the decision as well as the learning of lessons. This was apparent in the case of the Iraq ...
Castle Rock is back this year. It's happening on July 7th and confirmed bands so far include The Patrick James Pearson Band, The Sum Of, Motherload and Suite Noir. You can find out more information on their website or on Facebook or Twitter. I understand that the events may not be confined to just the Saturday, so check the website for updates on a regular basis. Tweet
The report in today's Telegraph on Labour's relaunch must surely undermine that party's opposition to the UK Government's austerity measures. The two Eds appear to have moved on from blind opposition to a stance of saying that Labour may be forced to go further in cutting parts of public spending than current Coalition plans. This recognition of economic realities is welcome and should put paid to the antics of Labour activists and trade unionists around the country, including Peter Hain, who believe that all they have to do is to oppose everything the Government does to get re-elected: 'The party's ...
TweetFix my Transport have published my letter to Southeastern requesting better services. You can support the campaign here. I am a High Speed Train user and travel daily from Ashford to St Pancras. However, I have observed the continued problem of overcrowding. This is exacerbated on both specific days and specific times. To give you ...
ALDC is currently recruiting for a Communications Officer (Hebden Bridge) and 2 x Development Officers (location flexible). Deadline for applications is 6 February 2012. Following the receipt of new income from the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Ltd, and after an internal re-organisation we are currently looking for three new staff members to join the ALDC team. This includes a Hebden Bridge based Communications Officer who will lead the development of our communications, particularly online and social media, as well as taking forward our councillors' website platform "myCouncillor". We're also looking for two new part-time Development Officer posts to work on ...
The Office of Fair Trading has nodded through the takeover by Amazon of the Book Depository, the only UK competitor capable of taking them on. We are in danger of becoming miserable supplicants to the new monopolies. Do we want to be cooked Tesco-style, Amazon-style or Virgin-style? And what can we do about it before it is too late?
Dear Mr Cameron In the light of efforts by opportunistic politicians in Scotland to break up the highly successful union between England and Scotland which has existed for over 300 years - benefiting both countries - as well as the continuation of the appalling constitutional settlement which has been foisted onto England by Labour since devolution, I would like to know when your government plans to enact legislation to ensure that all residents of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are given the chance to vote on the potential break up of the United Kingdom in advance of any such ...
Being a nurse is a tough job, and we all admire those who have a calling to care for others. But when a loved one is sick in hospital we quite understandably worry and want the best for them. One of the most important tasks of government is to ensure that good standards of hospital care are maintained wherever people live and whatever their needs. To make progress on this key issue we must free-up nurses from red tape and allow them to carry out the work they're trained to do. As a Liberal Democrat health minister I have seen ...
There are few things that genuinely annoy me - I'm a fairly placid soul at heart. But one thing that really does irritate me is commercial spam comments on my blog. Last week, I blogged about an Indian chartered accountant turned standup comedian. So far, so commonplace. However, in my inbox is notification of a comment, reading as follows; "For your peace of mind, Gordons Knight www.gkcadvice.co.uk offer a 100% Guarantee on our chartered accountant london services in the UK." Now, I don't know the firm myself. However, their action in spamming my blog gives an impression that they are ...
Lots of news reports in the last few days, rather a large number of which tell you more about the previous views of the journalist and their editor than about the substance of the news they are reporting on. Which makes this post over on the LSE's blog, pulling apart some of the details, well worth a read. In particular, The MAC has chosen to present its results for the whole period (from 1995 to 2010). But if it had chosen instead to separate the two - for example, to look at the period 1995-2008, and then separately at 2008-2010 ...
I've spent the morning in the monthly Ceredigion County Council planning committee here in Aberaeron. Once more we've seen the latest chapter in the on-going saga that is the Bath-House development which I have commented on in this blog numerous times previously. I called-in the application before the full committee because of the concerns in town and in the area about the slippage on site on the plateau which has been built to house the proposed Sainsbury's supermarket. We've already been told that the plans are 12 months behind time because the cut and fill land is not stable as ...
My colleague Richard and I do e mail bulletins with bits of local news and information in them which we send out every month. It is mainly about stuff in Cressington ward but we do include other material too as obviously people don't suddenly lose interest in things once they get to a local authority ward boundary. If you want to subscribe to these, there's a form
Britain should stop undermining EU foreign policy Fails to identify key UK contribution to the problem! (tags: eu ) Les vraies cartes de la France France as seen by various insider and outsiders. (tags: maps funny france ) Disabled people listened to on welfare plans? UK government targeting the weakest in society. (tags: ukpolitics disability ) The Strategic Europe Yardstick: Making Foreign Policy Strategic in a Union of 27 "The EU's foreign affairs apparatus is about as incohesive as it can possibly get." (tags: eu )
The City Council is setting up a panel of people it can consult about various services. I am told the first consultation will be about how it communicates! If you are interested in taking part, there is a link to a form here
If your child was born between 1 2007 and 31 August 2008 you only have until midnight this Sunday (15 January) to apply for their school place for this September. The easiest way to make sure your application arrives in time is to
There was a lot of interest in my recent post about TfL's QR statistics. Today, I present to you three very different QR codes and their statistics. These are all taken from the Metro newspaper on Tuesday January 10th. WowcherFirst up is "Wowcher", a big quarter page advert on page 28. [IMG: wowcher qr metro] Wowcher's statistics show a consistently good performance with QR codes. Between 30 – 80 scans per day, and 87 yesterday. [IMG: wowcher qr metro stats] SparksNext is a QR code for "Sparks Marathon" tucked away on page 50. [IMG: sparks qr metro] Sad to say, ...
My article for Total Politics on a favourite old book is now on-line here or your can read it below: Catch-22 remains my favourite book of all time, brilliantly capturing the daily horrors of war through the comic- tragic adventures of a group of airmen flying missions in the European theatre of World War II. Heller mercilessly sends up the bureaucracy that hampers so much of the American armed forces and undermines morale, whether it is the dead man in Yossarian's tent, who the authorities refuse to acknowledge or the promotion of Major Major by an IBM machine with a ...
After a few weeks without any planning applications this week there are two to report to you.Firstly the Jenny Wren pub on Campkin Road has applied for a "new pitched entrance canopy to existing main entrance." The planning reference number is 11/1567/FUL, or click on the link to go to the online planning system of the City Council. The second application is at 347 Milton Road and is a retrospective application (meaning work that has been made without permission and the applicants want to make it legal) for "front boundary wall, fences and gates". The reference number is 12/0008/FUL, or ...
Tomorrow night Radio 4 In Business is doing a programme focusing on the worker owned businesses of Mondragon in the Basque Region of Spain. Jo Grimond and Robert Oakeshott visited these successful enterprises. Today over 100,000 people work in these worker owned businesses. The mutual bank they set up has been described as the most successful entrepreneurial support system ever. Grimond and Oakeshott returned and together set up a group to promote employee owned businesses. For generations this has been central to Liberal Party thinking . The model of shareowner capitalism under which Britain suffers need radical reform and employee ...
Yesterday I published the final poll of polls for the New Hampshire Primary. Here's what it said: Mitt Romney 38% Ron Paul 18% Jon Huntsman 14% Rick Santorum 11% Newt Gingrich 10% And here's the result (as it stands) Some variation from the prediction - Romney did slightly better, Paul broke through the 20% 'barrier', marginal shift between Gingrich and Santorum. But in a nutshell - just what everyone predicted. Oh, for a surprise in an election...
It's a while since I've posted about favourite places. Here's one a bit further afield (for me - not for the Ukrainians reading this blog). Last year but one I went to Poland for the first time in my life. My main aim was to see new birds, and for that the outstanding area was the north-east corner of the country, but I wanted to spread my wings wider - so I sought to book with a nature tour provider for the first week to visit the Bielowieza Forest and the Biebrza Marshes before heading south to Krakow, with a ...
Wed 11th
11:00
Scotland's Independence Contest - Salmond knocks out Cameron, faces tougher task with Moore
The BBC got it right yesterday when they promoted the issue of the potential Scottish independence referendum to the lead slot in their broadcast - above the announcement of the High Speed 2 rail line. Both are big stories, but the future of the UK is surely worthy of top billing. The Speaker of the House of Commons got it wrong by giving the railway top billing. The debate will rumble on for many months or years (as will that over High Speed 2) but already seems to have settled into a reasoned conversation between SNP Leader and Scottish First ...
The Leopard (Il Gattopardo), Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa I read The Leopard before discovering it was Nick Clegg's book choice for his desert island (honest)... which is probably as well because this is the story of a corpulent, indulgent prince (Don Fabrizio Corbera) who presides over a declining kingdom, recognising that he represents an old order incapable of initiating the change he knows is both inevitable and right. Perhaps, then, Nick identifies better with the prince's wayward nephew, Tancredi, an ambitious man of action who joins Garibaldi's Risorgimento... though he does so the better to protect the establishment — "If ...
Beveridge went to school in Birkdale. In the 1945 election he wrote supporting our candidate :'I am more than sorry not to able to visit Southport during the Election because I will miss re-visiting one of the scenes of my childhood. With my sister I was left for three years in a small school in Southport from an age of 4 to 7 whilst my parents were in India. If, as many psychologists say, these are the most critical formative years of life, then Southport is largely responsible for everything I had done, including the Beveridge Report! Yesterday John Pugh ...
I have been asked to pass this on anonymously about experiences with the NHS-run Havens service in Paddington, largely to reassure people that they know what they're doing if they find themselves in the unfortunate position of needing their services. I won't say it sounds like a positive experience because of the reasons one might go there in the first place, but it is at least not negative. The content below deals with the aftermath of a sexual assault. Some readers may find this triggering. The text below is precisely as I received it and has not been edited or ...
This is a cross posting from my colleague Simon Shaw with Lib Dem Voice. It has certain sparked a lively exchange. The Chief Executive of the Lib Dem-controlled London Borough of Sutton, Mr Niall Bolger, has been in the news recently, flying a kite on the possible relaxation in the current statutory limit of 30 on class size for Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, i.e. Key Stage 1 within primary schools.Mr Bolger has subsequently clarified the situation by saying: "Increasing class sizes is not a Sutton Council policy or something that has been discussed at a political level.". However, ...
It is common to use two political spectrums to sort out where people or parties sit ideologically: the left-right spectrum and the authoritarian-libertarian spectrum. The latter is important in explaining the politics of the coalition's formation, as it was a defence of civil liberties against New Labour's post-9/11 authoritarian streak that both saw senior figures in the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives often co-operating in Parliament and also carved out a large area of policy agreement between them. Since the coalition's formation, its importance has rapidly dropped. Some of the reasons are straightforwardly good ones – such as delivering on several ...
In response to the Statement the Scottish Secretary Michael Moore MP made in the House of Commons on a future referendum on Scottish independence, North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell said: "The present political, economic and social uncertainty is unacceptable and against the interests of the people of Scotland. An early referendum is essential to resolve this uncertainty and to give Scotland the opportunity to decide its own future. "If the SNP are so confident why are they so reluctant to put their case to the test? Could it be that the Bravehearts are no longer quite so brave?" ...
Wed 11th
10:00
Who are Lib Dem voters? How do they compare to Tory voters? What should we do to attract more votes?...
Ever had to convince someone recently that the Lib Dems have not sold out, stand for nothing, and are making a positive difference to the country? As Clegg says, it's not easy. A recent poll by the The Independent (YouGov) showed an overwhelming majority of those polled thought companies should value people over profits and it seems 2012 ...
Holiday reading and reflection has certainly sharpened my political sense of direction. I see housing and property ownership generally as being a critical issue here in Britain. Hence today I have published an opinion piece in Lib Dem Voice. We need better housing for a better Britain. I will expand on this theme in future blogs here.
The antics of David Cameron over the last week on the Scottish issue have been very disheartening. A slow motion car crash. There is nothing more guaranteed to increase the popularity of Alex Salmond than David Cameron playing the Home Counties Fool. Indeed, David Cameron has pulled off a rare feat. He has managed to make Alex Salmond sound humble and reasonable even to English ears – on Today this morning. I have always felt that if the Scots want independence they are welcome to it. It's a metter for them. On balance it would be nicer to keep the ...
Want to make a real difference to the country's problems? Commit serious resources to social housing. Being in government doesn't half expose the difficulties of politics. The easiest things for politicians to change are laws, taxes and benefit entitlements. But these seem so ineffective against the major problems that our society faces. Reforming taxes does little to rebalance inequality - an inadequate treatment of the symptoms that does nothing to change the causes. Raising benefits does little to help the wellbeing of those trapped in poverty. Cutting them does not so much restore incentives as kick people while they are ...
Cambridge City Council is preparing to bring residents' views centre stage to shape the future of their own communities. In their budget proposals, they plan to invest in a new post of Community Engagement Officer to organise the processes. Over the past year the council's Area Committee covering the nothern part of the city has experimented with methods of involving residents more in setting the agenda for its work. One of the successes was receiving the contributions of nearly 700 people to the setting of priorities for the city council and other agencies. The LibDems are now making sure that ...
Here's details of a couple of courses currently on offer :
When I was growing up Pop Music, whilst not entirely Verboten, was not exactly encouraged in our household. Sounds of the Sixties on the wireless was allowed, though... As a consequence, I grew up with a love of sixties music but largely oblivious to the trends of my childhood - punk and the new romantics. It wasn't until I was a teenager (from about '87 onwards) that I took to listening to the radio for myself, going to bed with Radio Scotland's nightly music programming. As a result, the period covered by the last few (and next few) NOW! albums ...
Keith Holloway and Cllr Pam King at Ashfield Road, cleared by the Community Payback Lib Dem initiative The Community Payback people were in action yesterday, clearing the overgrown vegetation near Cheadle Library on Ashfield Road. This came from a local Lib Dem initiative which is seeing people on Community Payback working across Cheadle and Gatley to pick litter and clear vegetation around the area. Local campaigner Keith Holloway said "This Liberal Democrat initiative has seen the Probation Service and the Council working together to improve our local environment, saving taxpayers money in the process." The Liberal Democrats, working with local ...
David Cameron and the British Government have been playing silly-buggers with our Union and it's pissing me off. We all knew, after the election victory of the SNP last year, that a referendum on Scottish independence was inevitable in the next few years. And if you're a grumpy old unionist like me, then you've known it was on the cards ever since Labour's poorly thought out devolution (I favour a clearer, federal structure). Given this, I think it's a little thoughtless for the British Government to turn around and tell the Scottish Government when and how they can hold this ...
Tonight's cabinet meeting was quicker than usual. I understand one of the administration wanted to watch a football game on TV! As usual there were lots of interesting topics but one I thought was very important... Advice Services: The Council spends lot of money in many forms to provide advice to residents. On a related matter there has not been a CAB (Citizen Advice Bureau) in Ealing sadly. The Council tonight agreed to spend £200,000 on providing advice services (financial, housing etc) and reviewing a lot of the current advice services that they and other bodies offer in the borough. ...
I was away in the week of the very high winds, so can claim no credit for this remarkable shot of the ill fated Academy sign at Belle Vue. I can't say that I will miss it, and would be delighted if the county read the omens and got on with building the Academy on a site we could all get behind.
Hat-tip to Jason J Hunter.
