It's not clear if I am actually allowed to watch this week's #bbcqt as it is apparently an all female audience. I'll give it a go though and just put on a high pitched voice if anyone asks. Let's have a shot at still doing the Live Chat on here at 10:30. The panel includes the former Europe minister Caroline Flint, shadow communities minister Justine Greening and Lib Dem foreign affairs spokeswoman Jo Swinson. The broadcaster Monty Don and journalist Kelvin McKenzie will also be joining David Dimbleby on the programme broadcast from Dewsbury. Join us from 10:30pm below: BBC ...
Left Foot Forward has an eye-catching headline today: 2010 will be the "television election" say social media experts, and in some ways it's certainly a welcome change for internet pundits to be talking down rather than talking up an imminent internet-fuelled revolution in British political campaigning. However, I think the post (or rather the people who the post reports on) underplays two important issues. First, social media and TV aren't competing promotional tools - whether for parties or for companies - but are complimentary. The impact of the party leader TV debates will be felt, but that impact will be ...
I've written before about my continuing problem with radio phone-ins, and today I received the physical proof that it is bad for my health. The occasion was George Osborne's appearance on Victoria Derbyshire's BBC FiveLive morning show. Gideon has quite an effect on me, and not in a good way. He slithered into the BBC's Westminster ...
The Lib Dem leader is everywhere at the moment. The new issue of The Economist has an interview with him: Mr Clegg denies that his leadership amounts to a move to the "right" (Lib Dems, with a touch of sophistry, argue that such labels are anachronistic). The left certainly approves of his civil libertarianism and his (now diluted) policy to abolish university-tuition fees. Though he has not called for an end to the war in Afghanistan, he has pleased the left by "rattling the cage" over its conduct. Still, more than his recent predecessors, he is contemptuous of the idea ...
In today's Echo the Conservative agent in Darlington said the failure to include an imprint on the recently delivered Tory leaflet was a mistake made by the printer. So what's their excuse this time? The Advertiser has a wrap-around four page advert for the Tory candidate (Ashcroft's money being to put to good use, it seems). Yet again, there's no imprint. No "printed by...", no "published by..."
Well done to Vanessa Kimbell, an "incensed mum" complaining about the pool-side changing rooms at Market Harborough Leisure Centre in the Harborough Mail. She says the floor: looked as if a "Yeti had been attacked".
The NHS is often discussed in the abstract in the political debate, but for many of us, the issues facing healthcare in our country can be a much more personal issue. My grandmother is unwell, suffering from blindness in one eye due to cataracts, severely painful ulcers in her feet and her arthritis has been getting ...
See, we're not the only ones to love The Almighty Vince. This was the work of my friend James and it made me smile. Maybe the BBC should do something like this. Interesting as well that you seem to be able to pay your broadcasting fee in Sweden by putting in your personal number. I presume it's a bit like your NI number. It shows that it's possible for bureaucracies not to be complex, incomprehensible monolithic nightmares.
Since I previously wrote about what it was, and then wasn't, I feel it is encumbant on me to include here what the official line on homeopathy now is: A recent report by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee examined the provision of homeopathy through the NHS and called for funding by the NHS ...
I have been elevated to a project all of my own by Hopi Sen, a position of some responsibility, and one that if anything increases the pressure to opinionize on every thing that ever happens, economics-wise. Hence (again from Hopi) my views on a new letter calling for more fiscal stimulus. They are the same as ...
John Kampfner, former editor of the New Statesman, Chief Exec for Index on Censorship, sometime BBC reporter and Chair of the Turner Contemporary Trust has written a tract on a hollow and bankrupt (my view) political party which is all about self interest for activists at any cost and screw social justice and the likes of me and you. I got sent this email (see below) announcing publication of the pamphlet Lost Labours, a couple of days ago, sent to me as one of the benefits of belonging to the Liberal Democrats, I thought it might appeal to my fair ...
Now I'm a policywonk/nerd/geek, so when I say 'rather good' I do not mean 'they agree with me, unlike the evil/stupid/captured by the capitalist discourse people who don't agree with me'. Perhaps I am not political enough. I mean it is a good report; full of useful details, some excellent arguments, some clear proof that ...
MarkReckons has done a review of the event which I also attended see here. This was originally going to be attended by Iain Dale but he had to pull out due to the event being moved to a later time. Iain Dale was replaced by Paul Waugh from the Evening Standard who blogged on the event here. Steve Webb Liberal Democrat MP was also originally due to attend and he also had to pull out which meant that there was no Lib Dem representation at this event. I don't often attend these events as my blog does not only cover ...
What is it about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that has certain leading lights of the UK political left swooning? Andrew's written about the fawning motion tabled in the Scottish Parliament by 4 SNP MSPs and 1 Labour MSP which would not be out of place in the Order of the Brown Nose column in Private Eye. It's one really to file under "you couldn't make it up". Just to add to what Andrew said, another of President Chavez's best friends was Ken Livingston, who did a deal to have Chavez's oil fuelling the London underground trains. Ken had a wee ...
[IMG: nick_clegg_large1] Nick Clegg is the media darling today. Following his interview with the Independent , everyone is speculating that the possibility of a Liberal coalition (with the party "with the strongest mandate") is back on.... Well, perhaps not quite... What he appears to say is that all options are open "including a formal coalition with Liberal Democrats sitting in the Cabinet..". That did not seem to be feeling coming from Lib Dem high command previously. So a subtle shift towards the possibility of coalition (taking into account the 4 steps to fairness)? Certainly looks like it. Another interesting twist ...
Why does he do it? Why does Gordon Brown feel the need to constantly make things up? And worse, why does he tell flagrant lies? At yesterday's Prime Minister's Questions, Gordon Brown said: "expenditure of the Ministry of Defence has been rising in real terms under this government." It is a statement he repeated today on ...
The Identity and Passport Service has published details of its marketing and communications spend on 'voluntary ID cards'. The spend has now topped £1.3 million. According to ZDNET UK this works out at £300 for every ID card applicant so far. The figure covers both online and offline advertising in the north west of England and London so the figure is likely to be much higher when the rest of the UK is factored in. At a time of massive budget deficits I would have thought the government could have found better ways to use our money than propaganda for ...
Thu 11th
16:58
politicalbetting.com » Blog Archive » Forget voting intention: What about the country's ...
via www2.politicalbetting.com Today, politicalbetting.com has reported on a study by researchers at Manchester University of the public's mood across a large number of issues. This "macro-competence" measure is running heavily against Labour and is now about where it was in the party's locust years in the early 1980s. The researchers note that the Conservatives' "macro-competence" has been on the up since 2005, but not to the extent that Labour's has tracked downwards. This may help to explain why current opinion polls suggest that a general election held now would result in a hung parliament. But the Labour "macro-competence" chart also ...
In addition to his speech on Sunday, Nick Clegg is doing a Q+A session on Saturday at the Liberal Democrat spring conference in Birmingham – and this time with an added online twist: Straight after he comes off stage, he's keen to answer questions sent in from people who are unable to attend the conference. When: 13 March at 15.25 Where: Online, answers will be posted on his website, Facebook and Tweeted shortly after. How to take part: Post your questions on Facebook: Here, Twitter: Here or email: Here - online.hat.libdems.org.uk.spam.com (this is spam bot hidden email address, replace .hat. ...
It is rumoured that, in the event of a Conservative victory at the General Election, Lord Strathclyde, Leader of the Conservatives in the Lords, has let slip that there will be one hundred new Conservative Peers nominated so as to ensure a working majority over the other two political groupings. Whilst I'm not the least bit surprised by this cynical approach, it does have some pretty serious implications. Ironically, the past thirteen years have seen the House of Lords pass from having an overwhelming Conservative majority to being effectively hung, with the removal of all but ninety-two hereditaries, and the ...
A couple of months ago I wrote about how Anna and I were getting seriously engrossed in the Twilight books. I was determined that we wouldn't watch any of the films until we'd read the books. Helpfully, our local supermarket had the first movie on sale for pennies so we enjoyed watching that one rainy Saturday afternoon. The second, New Moon, which came out last November, was a bit more of a challenge. By the time we were ready to see it, it was only showing in 3 places within driving distance of here, Stirling, Dundee and Paisley. So, one ...
One for the techno-legal-political geeks amongst us (hello? anyone still there...?). Last year when writing about the issues with online imprint rules in the UK I made reference to Florida where: the Florida Election Commission has banned the use of Google Ads because they necessarily do not include the Florida equivalent of an election imprint - as there isn't enough room. That ruling is being contested, and may yet trigger a change in the law but it shows the risk of doing nothing and hoping all will come out okay. The ruling was indeed contested and it was decided that ...
Monday we had a meeting with Dr Sam Paul, a long time advocate for the rights of religious minorities and Dalits, who is Secretary of the All India Chrisrian Council. The AICC has provided assistance to the victims of communal violence in Orissa, , and cooperates with other groups working for peace and against impunity. Tuesday, spoke at a tea organised by the All-Party Group on Kashmir. We were all agreed that the resumption of talks between India and Pakistan was to be welcomed, and that the people of Kashmir should be fully consulted before any agreement is reached on ...
I have to praise Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. Whether he actually meant that there is a link between priestly celibacy and child sex abuse scandal that's inflicting the Vatican, or merely that the link needs to be examined, he has reopened the debate The Archbishop of Vienna, who is a protégé of Pope Benedict XVI and seen as a potential future candidate for the Papacy is hardly opening a can of worms. Although his hastily released clarification may well be a sign that the church is not prepared to publicly face that discussion. His original article in his archdiocese's magazine called ...
Now there are those of you who might wonder what sort of organisation would hold a fundraiser for by-elections in the run-up to a General Election. The answer is the Orpington Circle of the National Liberal Club, and I had the great pleasure to attend this year's fundraising dinner in the Lloyd George Room of the Club last night. Naturally, the Club was able to attract an all star cast, with Ros introducing the main speaker, Sir Menzies Campbell MP, Lord Avebury giving the toast to our candidates past and present, and Lord Steel of Aikwood taking care of the ...
It has been open season on the BBC of late. We all have our reasons for criticism: the incompetent decision to close 6 Music, the failure to manage budgets, the excessive salaries of performers and especially of senior managers create a climate of anger which serves only to underline the perhaps more important failures to deliver quality public service broadcasting. I have long been a critic of the 'Today' programme, which is overlong, too pleased with itself and too inclined to slide into its comfort zone of two party politics. Andrew Neil's political vehicle 'This Week', a weekly genuflection before ...
Beware the spin which is no doubt meant to divert the eyes and confuse but two recent documents from NHS Sefton issued today are very significant. Both can be accessed from our Website in the download sectionComments will follow.
It's clear that the coming election will be fought over adjectives. Specifically, the adjectives one likes to place in front of 'Britain'. Anyone with even a cursory interest in politics can't help but notice the proliferation of phrases like 'Blackout Britain', 'Breakdown Britain' and other pejorative epithets riding on the back of Cameron's 'Broken Britain' ...
Well, Well.. No sooner is my ink dry stating that a Cameron Mockumentary is on its way, I am told that we are to get a Cleggfest too, courtesy of good old ITV. Having deployed Piers Morgan and Sir Trevor to cover the other party leaders, we must surely expect an interrogator of the fairer sex to cover Nick Clegg's softer side (might as well tick gender balance while you are at it ITV). So will it be the uber sexy Katie Derham or Mary Nightingale perhaps? No tx date yet but watch this space....
Today's Daily Telegraph reports that Harriet Harman's buzzword to describe "a new cohort of well, active, healthy older people" has made the list of 250 words used by central government, councils and quangos that baffle people. They say that along with 'wellderly', other banned words include 'webinar', or an online seminar, 'goldfish bowl facilitated conversation', or having a conversation round a circular meeting table; and 'low hanging fruit', or going for an easy win: The equality minister and deputy Labour leader said earlier this year: "The change in the number of well older people demands a change in public policy. ...
Wolverhampton North East Liberal Democrats have selected Colin Ross as their candidate at the General Election.
Why Vote? by Jo Phillips and David Seymour is one in a series just published by biteback. Whilst the others promote voting for a particular party, such as the Liberal Democrat title reviwed here, this book is simply about encouraging people to take part in elections. It takes a rather curious approach because, as the book itself explains: [This book] wants to persuade you to vote but gives dozens of very good reasons why you shouldn't. On the positive side, it should give you a few laughs and provide enough trivial information to amaze your friends ... What we hope ...
[IMG: anna] I couldn't see this story elsewhere on LD blogs*, so thought it was worth a posting. Reports local meeeja Kent Online: "Britain's first female director of hardcore porn films is aiming to become Gravesham's MP. Anna Arrowsmith, 38, has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate ... at the looming general election." Quoted by The Sun, Anna says: "In this day and age people who live in a democratic society should be able to choose what they want to watch." "Personally the reason I have gone into politics is I was rather disgusted at the expense issues. "I ...
I received a nice letter from HM Government/Identity & passport agency yesterday. The letter and accompanying leaflet was extolling the virtues of the Governments Identity card scheme which is currently being piloted in Manchester and London. Of course they do make it clear its voluntary and they do eventually mention that they would like you to part with £30 for the privilege. Of course they don't mention the fact that the marketing campaign across Manchester and London is estimated at costing £1.3 million of taxpayers money. Money that could pay for 50 more Police officers (on basic starter pay) at ...
Why, talking politics of course: Make authoritarian MPs pay at the ballot box 8pm, Hall 8b, Birmingham ICC (Lib Dem spring conference) Many MPs have a record of repeatedly voting for authoritarian measures in Parliament. But will they suffer for that at the ballot box? Come and hear how we can make authoritarian votes in Parliament a vote loser for MPs on general election day - and see the new Liberal Democrat Voice website which will help do just that. Speakers: Paul Burstow MP (Chief Whip) Bridget Fox (PPC Islington South and Finsbury) Mark Pack (Co-editor, Lib Dem Voice) Alex ...
Is there a link between the availability of pornography in a society and sex crimes like rape? And does watching more pornography lead men to see women as mere sex-objects? It's a debate that's bounced back and forth for decades. Both sides have plausible explanations as to how their claims can be true. Perhaps, after watching pornography, men are more likely to feel agressive and commit sex crimes. If the increased availability of pornography over the last thirty years has led to more rapes and sexual assaults, surely there's a good case for our society being more censorious. Or maybe ...
I have on this blog drawn (favourable) attention to Martin Wolf's long-held view that not everyone can be Germany. In his latest: But Germany can be Germany - an economy with fiscal discipline, feeble domestic demand and a huge export surplus - only because others are not. To my initial surprise, I have read some kickback against ...
Just been looking at the party website, acting as an interested visitor would. In particular the pages on the spring conference. Lots of easily available information about conference in geneal but where are the easy clicks to find the Spring agenda, the reports and the speeches that may be made? Yes I do know where to link to the reports (and by the way at the time of writing the clearprint version of the agenda is in fact the plain text file repeated) but the only click-on link at present says 'training programme now available' or words to that efefct. ...
At one level the legal threats by Facebook against the Daily Mail are fairly straight forward: newspaper runs horror story about a firm, firm says story is all wrong and threatens to sue for libel. At another level though this story highlights how much difference there is about correcting a story in the online sphere. The Daily Mail has changed the text of its story but as The Guardian reports, that's not enough for Facebook who complained that a story supposedly about it was in fact about a different social network: The giant social networking site, which has 23 million ...
Last night there was a meeting in the Fortune Green Play Centre (sorry about the little chairs!!) for residents to talk to Camden officers about the problems in Fortune Green Road attended by your 3 ward Councillors, Flick, Nancy and Russell. One proposal put forward was welcomed as a first step which is to create a "loading/unloading bay" out of the very wide pavement by the new shops - don't forget there are 3 other shop units still to be taken up and they will all need some unloading facilities. In the longer term, Camden have agreed they will looks ...
Let me cut to chase. Here is the latest Monster's Poll calculation. CONSERVATIVES: 38% LABOUR: 25% LIB DEMS: 22% No changes from last time because of one simple reason: methodological change. But why so abrupt? Well, to get your attention, and then let you scurry off now without having to bother about explanations. Go on, on your bike! Still here? You ...
Reports of this major fire down in Bunhill on the City fringe have been coming through all morning. Richard was diverted on his way to work, texting me to report "Luckily was walking in as City Road closed but still had to double back and divert to get past. They have blocked off a huge area". A ...
My campaign for a fairer system on Criminal Records Bureau checks and Police DNA retention continues. Frequent readers will remember that I have been highlighting for a while now the injustices in the current CRB system, where rumours, hearsay and spent convictions are revealed on many people's disclosures. The campaign for reform continues, and I have heard from dozens of people unfairly penalised by the current unfair laws. A related topic is DNA retention by the Police. At present, despite the European Courts ruling the practive illegal, the government still allows the Police in this country to keep DNA records ...
The Council has revealed plans for combining the Sington Nursery with the Play Centre in a new purpose built centre. It will also involve moving the Sports Pitch / Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) nearer to the front of the site to make it more accessible for local young people. So far we are in a "pre-planning application" consultation (running until March 24), and Camden would welcome your views. There will also be a later opportunity to comment when the planning application goes in. It all sounds very exciting but no doubt there will some issues arising. One which has ...
One of the interesting things about the Bury North general election campaign is that two of the three major-party candidates are under 30 - the Labour Party candidate and me. This election is the first time people born post-Thatcher will be voting, and represents an election where new media, the internet and single-issue causes that are important to young people will have influence like never before. Liberal Democrat Spokeswoman for Youth and Equality, Lynne Featherstone today launched our party's 'Free to be Young' policy paper, which we hope will be of interest to everyone, but in particular to the young ...
The Development Control Committee last night gave outline planning approval for the refurbishment of St Helier Hospital. The Epsom & St Helier NHS Trust had submitted an application for a new, larger building replacing the existing Ferguson House, and a multi-storey car park to make up for the loss of surface car parking space. The new building ...
On 5th February I was contacted by a man who lives in my ward to ask for help with getting a dumped caravan shifted. It was near a first school and next to a playground. He had contacted the police who told him to contact Bradford Council; they told him to contact the police. You know the kind of thing. So he was a bit stuck as to what to do and phoned me. When I contacted Bradford's Cleansing Department I spoke to a very helpful official who said they had indeed logged the request and had been in touch ...
Hugh O'Donnell MSP writes for my little blog in response to my earlier posting about the 4 SNP MSPs and the Labour MSP who have tabled a motion praising President Chavez, Hugh has also tabled an opposing motion; "The indecent haste of some Members of the Scottish parliament to rush to the aid of the Chávez administration, by signing up to a sugary sweet motion in the name of Jamie Hepburn MSP reveals a naivety which beggars belief. While praising the 'achievement of the socialist regime, signatories conveniently ignore the increasingly dictatorial style of the President of Bolivarian Republic of ...
Politicians talk constantly about "lifting people out of poverty", mending our "broken society", giving people "equality of opportunity" and, more rarely "creating a more equal society". What none of them seem to be prepared to face is the fact that people are poor principally because they have less money than others; and that when poverty goes along with a feeling that it is not going to be possible, whatever one does, to get out of poverty, it does not matter what "opportunities" are provided - poor people will see through the pretence that the opportunities apply to them and will ...
Great story in today's Independent confirming what many of us have said for a long time, namely that David "Tony Blair lite" Cameron is much more conservative by nature than he acts, or than he is forced to be by political expediency. The man will say and do anything to get into power, and once in the mask will slip and it'll be back to the horribly divided, damaged, and destructive Britain of the 1980s. The ghost of Thatcher lives on... Oh hold on, she's not yet dead... sorry!
By now you will have seen that India's parliament approved a bill on Tuesday 9th of March to reserve a third of all state legislature and parliamentary seats for women. You would think from reading the UK press that this is an exceptional move but actually around 40 nations have some form of quota system in place for increasing the percentage of female MP's. The UK as a whole does not advocate the use of quotas, although the Labour Party has used this fairly unpopular device for a number of years, which resulted in the UK briefly rising the global ...
Now you're talking my language! Wouldn't it be wonderful if Darlington Borough Council acted on the LGA's suggestion and ceased using these 200 words and started writing in plain English. The ones I really hate are "Quick win", "Stakeholder", Sustainable Communities", "Third Sector", Step Change", Place Shaping", Funding Stream" and Benchmarking". No DBC report is considered complete without the
Today's Independent says the following about one party's clear, costed plans to reduce the budget deficit as quickly as possible: 'It is ironic that financial markets seem jittery over the fiscal consequences of a hung parliament because the Liberal Democrats, who could hold the balance of power in such circumstances, actually have the most detailed deficit reduction plans of all three main parties. 'The party's Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, has proposed scrapping Trident, a civil service pay freeze, abolishing regional development agencies and reducing tax credits for wealthier families - cuts considerably more extensive than anything Alistair Darling or George ...
Just a quick reminder that the next quiz night is actually this Friday at Longfords. Here are the details:- Our popular Quiz Night will include a fully licensed Bar, Raffle and excellent food available (including vegetarian option) The Quiz night commences at 8pm 12th March at the Longfords Suite (adjacent to the Longford Park Athletics stadium). The address is Ryebank Road, Chorlton Cum Hardy, MANCHESTER, M21 9TA
All this debate over the last week has again piqued my interest anew in the politics of Britain's defence budget (although as many who know me will tell you, I'm always pretty interested in it). Most notably, the comments which sparked this particular post came from General Lord Guthrie, one of the most senior and ...
After yesterdays post regarding 18 certificates for smoking in films one of my followers on Facebook sent me this link which is a rather comprehensive and passionate piece against airbrushing cigarettes out of history (and films.) Worth a read. H/T Peter Minns (no relation!)
Only 16 days to go! Are you going to switch off your lights at 8.30pm on Saturday March 27th to show your support for Earth Hour? I am.
For the third general election in a row, the run-up is seeing numerous meetings and articles asking whether this election will be the first internet general election. However, much - in fact, nearly all - of the discussion falls into two traps which are common across political journalism in the UK. First, an undue focus on the central, national picture and, second, an undue focus on the novel. Ask those involved in organising internet campaigning for any of the major parties about what really matters and you'll get two answers repeated. They repeatedly - and rightly - emphasise the importance ...
Love it or loathe it, many clients instinctively try to evaluate social media in ways similar to advertising. Whether it's because you want to justify social media on those grounds - or because you want to persuade the client why that isn't appropriate - you need to know the lingo. This three part mini-series introduces you to the main acronyms you might come up against. Part 2: AVE [IMG: Billboard poster going up] Can social media be compared to advertising? AVE or "advertising value equivalent" is a way of attempting to turn different forms of activity into a common set ...
The Voice is only a success because of the interest and support from our readers. For many people just lurking and reading the site is all they want to do – and that's fine, we're grateful for people taking the time to read the site. You can though help us continue to produce interesting content for a growing audience. Here are three simple ways: 1. Let us have your tips for stories. Perhaps there's something outrageous going on in your local council? Or you're an expert in a particular area and have spotted a story other people have missed? Or ...
I am dismayed at the BBC Trust's proposal in its Strategy Review to close BBC Radio 6 Music. To quote the BBC itself, the station "brings together the cutting edge music of today, the iconic and groundbreaking music of the past 40 years". Radio 6 Music is distinctive and valuable, and offers a place for exciting new acts to be heard. It provides its listeners with content that no independent commercial broadcaster offers, and has helped artists like Florence + The Machine reach greater audiences. At 3.4 pence per listener hour, 6 Music is also good value for money. Closing ...
Campaigning HQ : This is now located at 126 Conwy Road, Llandudno Junction. Already supporters are offering their help in the many tasks that will need to be done in the next few weeks.Please phone Christine Humphreys 07789964265 to offer your support or email mp4mp@aol.com
Last night, I attended the March meeting of Harris Academy Parent Council - it was a very informative and interesting meeting - the main item for discussion being the parent survey results. Both Jim Thewliss, Head Teacher, and I updated the Parent Council on the school rebuilding project. I am grateful to the Director of Education for giving me a progress report in advance of last night's meeting. The department is meeting with the Scottish Futures Trust tomorrow regarding the project.
Thu 11th
08:36
Can we rely on the media to convey science accurately and fairly? A UCL Human Sciences Symposium
[LONG, RAMBLING POST ALERT] Yesterday I attended a symposium with the above title, where four very distinct and interesting speakers gave their perspective on science reporting in the media. Here's my brief take on proceedings.The first speaker we heard was Professor Steve Miller, who described an international study he published in the prestigious journal Science regarding scientists'
This photograph from Photopolis shows a Hunter Street of old, hugely different to today's Hunter Street 'link road' between Old Hawkhill and the Hawkhill by-pass.
Yesterday was a day of meetings. First was with City West and the Police to address problems with crime on parts of the Valley. We've got a commitment for the police to provide more useful information to housing, and for housing to carry out more targeted tenancy inspections in the area to make growing ...
I attended an interesting event last night hosted by Lewis PR and Salesforce.com which focused on social media and its effect on politics. The event was hosted by Paul Evans, a blogger and local democracy freelance journalist. The panel were Conservative Shadow Secretary for Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt MP, former Labour minister Tom Watson MP, Deputy Political Editor of the Evening Standard Paul Waugh who is also a prolific blogger and Dan Burton from Salesforce.com. Dan Burton started by giving us a summary of how social media has helped in the US. He gave us an example of ...
"It is for other people to judge but I believe that character is not about telling people what they want to hear but about telling them what they need to know. "It is about having the courage to set out your mission and the courage to take the tough decisions and stick to them without being blown off-course, even when the going is difficult. "For better or for worse, with me what you see is what you get." Well that is what Gordon Brown is saying should be the judgement on which people base their decision for this election. So ...
This site is an excellent resource which allows you to compare Obama to previous US Presidents at the same time in their term of office. Obama is on Day 410, at 49% approval. On the same day, Ronald , one of the most popular US presidents, was three points lower.
Yes, you did read correctly, 4 SNP MSPs (Jamie Hepburn, Bill Kidd, Alasdair Allan and Bill Wilson) and 1 Labour MSP (Elaine Smith) have lost the plot it seems or just gone Caracas. These five MSPs have supported a motion in the Scottish Parliament praising Hugo Chavez, the leader of corruption-ridden and out of control crime-ridden Venezuela, that's before we even get started on Chavez's role or the lack of human rights afforded to most of the country's residents. The story appeared in yesterdays Scotsman, but hat tip to Graeme Littlejohn for spotting the Motion when it had been tabled ...
Good morning, and welcome to Daily View. Today is notable as the day before LDV's fascinating fringe event on how to make authoritarian MPs pay at the ballot box – do join us tomorrow in Birmingham to find out how. 302 years ago today, Queen Anne was the last British monarch to withhold Royal Assent from a bill of Parliament. In 1864, Sheffield saw a Great Flood when a dam under construction burst. The ensuing inundation wrecked a number of bridges, destroyed 800 houses and killed 270 people. People born on March 11th include Laurence Llewellyn Bowen, Harold Wilson and ...
The campaign for a rail link to be restored between Skipton and Colne certainly has my support. The Skipton to East Lancashire Railway Action Partnership (SELRAP) is leading the campaign. Many years ago my father used to advocate the revival of the ...
On Tuesday (9 March 2009), WalesOnline carried an article by Martin Shipton reporting on the collapse of a plan to develop a shared service of HR, payroll and training between local authorities in South East Wales. In my view, the main reason the project collapsed was because of a drive from certain quarters amongst the council officers involved to deliver one huge, exemplar project between all ten local authorities in South East Wales, even though the finances didn't particularly stack up. We should simply have never have tried to get one shared service up and running between nearly half the ...
Mary's story: In October 2009, I became very ill at home because I was hemorrhaging from ulcers in my stomach and round the base of my windpipe. I did not know I had ulcers because I was in no pain: I simply felt extremely weak. My excellent GP, Dr Friedman came to see me at home and immediately sent me to Whittington A&E. The doctors there saw me at once and, after some preliminary investigations, transferred me to a diagnostic unit .It was found that my blood count was only 6.5 when it should have been 12. I was put ...
Today is the day that Jim Devine, Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Lord Hanningfield are meant to walk around the corner from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Magistrates Court to answer charges of false accounting relating to their expenses. I say meant to because Devine was too ill according to his doctor to appear before an employment tribunial yesterday. It comes the day after it was announced that another Labour MP Harry Cohen is also to be investigated further by the police. The four appearing today The face charges of false accounting under section 17 of the Theft Act ...
As reported in today's Independent, Nick Clegg has been talking about what the Lib Dems would do in the event of a hung parliament, and flags up some of the announcements due at the party's spring conference in Birmingham this weekend. the Liberal Democrat leader also revealed that his party would try to calm jitters in the financial markets about a hung parliament by calling for a £10bn "repayment" to cut Britain's public deficit. It would be found from £15bn of spending cuts to be outlined this month. Mr Clegg declined to speculate whether his party would lean towards Labour ...
There was a well attended meeting of the Acocks Green Ward Committee on Wednesday evening. The main agenda item was passing the first, and biggest, tranche of Community Chest funding for the 2010/11 financial year. The following items were proposed by the Ward Advisory Board and approved by the Ward Committee: Security Gating £2,500 Gardening Scheme £7,500 John Gayle Soccer £20,000 Acocks Green Carnival £6,000 Extra Special Bulk Collections £8,000 Community Unity £1,200 New Domehawk Security Camera Columns £1,600 Improvements to the 260th Scout Hut £2,450 Acocks Green Village Christmas Lights £5,000 This makes a total approved spend of £54,200 ...
See film made by St Albans Review featuring local residents and Sandy Walkington and Chris White: [IMG: review-piece.jpg] http://www.stalbansreview.co.uk/
How are voters supposed to get to know the views of the candidates at the general election? Relying on the press has its difficulties. Their job is to sell newspapers and the news should not get in the way of the truth. There is often bias in reporting and editorials. In fact they blatantly support particular parties so I think we can disregard newspapers if we want to come to a sound conclusion. Television is better but it isn't perfect. Ask Alex Salmond. There are people writing blogs with very strong views about bias on telelvision. My view is that ...
Giles Wilkes writing on Liberal Conspiracy thinks that a hung parliament could sort out the public finances.Tabloid Watch highlights some class Express Churnalism.James Graham writes on CiF about the Lib Dems and the Digital Economy Bill.Paul Waugh on a rare admission of defeat from Ed Balls.
Further to the Countdown indicator strategy which I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about new system at Lewisham Council's Transport Liaison Committee last night. The man from Transport for London told us they're planning to charge 12p per text (plus the standard network rate) to find out when the next bus ...
The Lib Dems were the only party to oppose British involvement in Iraq, and are the only party recognising the important shift required in foreign policy over the next few years if we are to be a force for good in the world, instead of an Airstrip One, as we have become under the red-blue blue-red consensus. read more
aka "When Trev Met Dave" Following on from the lucicrous Piers Morgan "interview" with Gordon Brown, Andy Coulson's badgering of ITV (pre and post interview) has paid off. This Sunday we get to see "ITV Fuck Up - Part II", as Sir Trevor McDonald does his ITV duty and provides the Tories with a reciprocal "soft touch" mockumentary about Tory leader David Cameron.Word has it, its all Samantha telling us why Dave's her man, and various lovies concurring that "Dave's the man"....with lots of "exclusive access" words all over it. Er yeah right. Hmm....You see what happens when the Light ...
The luxury this morning was a meet up just along the road from my flat. Of course, this meant I was nearly late, but in fact the team all materialised in the right place and at the time. A lot of residents were out unfortunately, but I had some long and interesting conversations - I even went inside on one occasion (not often that I do that!) We took a break towards the end of the morning, and went down to Leigh Marshes to take a look at the works to tidy up the parking situation down there. In the ...
I learn, via the Heresiarch, that feminist porn director Anna Span is a Lib Dem PPC in Kent. How awesome is that? Between her and Belinda Brooks-Gordon I'm feeling pretty good about the calibre of sex positive feminists we're recruiting into the party these days :D My March sponsor is Mark Reckons, and I hope he's not blushing too much at being attached to this post.
There's only one place to be at 8pm on Friday. It's in Hall 8b at the Birmingham ICC for the latest in the legendary series of Lib Dem Voice fringe meetings*: Many MPs have a record of repeatedly voting for authoritarian measures in Parliament. But will they suffer for that at the ballot box? Come and hear how we can make authoritarian votes in Parliament a vote loser for MPs on general election day – and see the new Liberal Democrat Voice website which will help do just that. Speakers: Paul Burstow MP (Chief Whip) Bridget Fox (PPC Islington South ...
[IMG: Consett Scout Hut] Long time readers of this site will know that Consett Scouts have been needing to replace their premises for some time. Their well-used HQ building came to them second-hand from The Consett Iron Company in 1960 and 50 years later it has reached the point where it can no longer be repaired. Reluctantly they have decided that their earlier replacement plans were not achievable, and they have scaled them down to the still exceptionally daunting task of raising £200,000 to replace the building. Can you help them? They're looking for any kind of support they can ...
I am very concerned about a leaked letter that promises savage cuts to NHS Manchester and almost all in frontline services. Labour are promising £950m worth of NHS budget cuts in Greater Manchester. The Manchester Evening News uncovered this report, which Gordon Brown probably wanted buried till after the elections. Now a leaked letter reveals NHS North West have ordered health bosses to draw up plans for: 10 per cent cuts in primary, community, acute and mental health sectors by 2013 15pc cuts in acute and in-patient mental health care by 2013 10pc cuts in demand for hospital care by ...
As LDV reported early yesterday, former New Statesman editor John Kampfner – author of the fantastic Blair's Wars – has declared his intention to vote for the Lib Dems at the coming general election, and called on all fellow progressives who might once have voted Labour to join him. Later in the day, the party issued an email from John to all members and supporters explaining his decision: Today I launched my pamphlet, Lost labours, with Nick Clegg. As somebody who has a long involvement with the Labour party, including editing the New Statesman magazine, I have been able to ...
Given my two long-running struggles to get defunct utility cabinets removed from pavements (both finally successful but only after far more effort and time than any even half-baked system would require - see here and here), you can imagine my enthusiasm when I saw this: [IMG: Defunct utility cabinet, Holly Park, Islington] Tally ho and all that.
Wed 10th
20:25
So, why is HM Revenue & Customs so aggressive with football teams in financial trouble?
The recent high-profile clash between Portsmouth FC and HM Revenue & Customs has brought the taxman into the spotlight. On Monday, the Guardian published an interview with a senior recovery official.
guess where: sun, snow, Pike of Blisco, Bow Fell, beloved nephew to walk with. Fantastic. not arf
I used to love watching PMQ's on the BBC Parliament channel. It used to be great to watch the nations political heavy weights throwing political policy punhces at each other and trading words all in a friendly manner that did not descned into a comic book farce. Sadly these days it is more like watching to ...
[IMG: surrounding-communities-2.JPG] All, For my sins I'm helping the Transition Shipston team organise the Midsummer Festival, taking place on Sunday July 4th (the day after the last night of the Proms). If you'd like to book a stall for on the day (and there are different rates for voluntary organisations and businesses) then please click here for a copy of the booking form. The theme for the day is 'green and local' - and we are looking to promote local businesses, clubs and societies. There'll be more information nearer the time - but both the schools are getting involved, and ...
You have to admire the chutzpah of Sarah Palin. For months she has railed against Obama's healthcare reform plan as "socialist" and "downright evil", warning of "death panels". She has also criticised Canada's NHS-style healthcare system, saying: Canada needs to reform its health care system and let the private sector take over some of what the government has absorbed. So it is absolutely fascinating that Palin has now nonchalantly dropped the bombshell that she has, in the past routinely, when she was growing up, skipped over the border to Canada to take advantage of their publicly funded healthcare system. This ...
I spent today in the appeal over the Tatton cinema site. The developers were appealing against the Council's rejection of plans for a small supermarket and a care home. The short report is that the Inspector heard both sides, had a site visit and will make his decision in around six weeks time. Now for the slightly longer version. This was my first planning appeal - I had a general idea of what to expect, but no more. We gathered in Committee Room 3 at the Town Hall. There were five people from the developers' side, four councillors, a few ...
Nick Clegg will be holding a question-and-answer session at our federal spring conference in Birmingham this weekend, but for those who cannot make it in person, there is an opportunity to take part over the Internet.
BBC Scotland, Pacific Quay, Glasgow I've been lucky enough to visit Glasgow again. This time I was staying opposite the highly impressive BBC Scotland building on the south bank of the Clyde. It would perhaps be unkind to ask why they feel the need to have their lights on at night (see my photo above) when there are hardly any people in the offices. ...And all that glass must increase the heating bill. But it is a wonderful looking building. It has the largest studio in the UK outside of London and "is the most modern broadcast centre in the ...
1 The new main pool is 6.4% larger than the current main pool. 2 The new main pool is wider and shorter than the current pool. 3 The dimensions of the new main pool are those that are used for competitive swimming ie 25 meters X 8 lanes wide. This means that county swimming galas and school swimming matches can be held there. The current dimensions of the old pool are not the ones used for competitive matches. 4 The new learner pool is 77.1 % larger than the current learner pool. 5 A new area of 'confidence water' - ...
My day started early this morning with a breakfast briefing to Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidates at The Mansion House, hosted by the Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of the City of London Alderman Nick Anstee. The old Liberal image of beards and sandals was laid to rest here; around the table were an impressive crew of ...
Bridget Fox (PPC Islington South & Finsbury), Julian Huppert (PPC Cambridge) and filmmaker Obhi Chatterjee write: Several of us have submitted an emergency motion on Freedom, creativity & the internet for the Spring Conference. It concerns an issue which affects the daily lives of almost everyone on which the party appears to have no defined or consistent policy: the internet. A BBC poll shows that 75% of UK adults think access to the internet should be a fundamental right of all people. Our Parliamentary DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sport) Team has been doing a great job tackling the ...
In the Guardian – I think only online – is an adaptation of that blog post about falling murder rates in LA. As a self-confessed amateur of this topic, I have taken the opportunity of buying Chris Williams' book on History and Crime. I have seen an earlier chapter on the difficulty of extrapolating from crime ...
On Comment is Free, James Graham asks: Have the Liberal Democrats been taken over by the Flat Earth Society? To find his answer read here.
A fortnight ago I wrote of my disappointment in the state of the Digital Economy Bill, notably the internet blocking provisions, since then a couple of Liberal Democrat peers in the House of Lords have aided an amendment which has resulted in a lot of angst from PPCs members and bloggers alike. Whilst Lord Clement Jones ...
With the Government looking at future cuts to try to slash their deficit, it's no surprise that they might be trying to increase the amount of tax gathered in. Of course, if they took Liberal Democrat advice to stop the highly paid from side-stepping their obligations to pay tax it would go a long way, however it looks like the Government might have hit on another lucrative source of income. Hammering the lower paid. Having two paid jobs isn't just for the rich, indeed many of the lowest paid in society juggle two or three jobs to make ends meet. ...
I find myself in rare agreement with Jack Straw. It is staggering that the main constitutional reform that the Tories are proposing is a cut in the number of MPs, at the exclusion of voting and other reforms. They are basically interested in reducing the number of Labour leaning constituencies, full stop. Cameron frequently cites the examples of the Isle of Wight and Orkney and Shetland to support his argument, but they are the exceptions that prove the current rule. With O&S, to increase the size of the constituency you'd have to throw in a chunk of the mainland, which ...
There's been a lot of comment over the fact that Lib Dem PPC, Jeremy Hilton, has been 'caught' asking a fellow Lib Dem to send a letter to the local newspaper. Eric Pickles (no less) feels this is so important that he has written to Nick Clegg demanding (yes, demanding) that Clegg 'condemn' Jeremy Hilton. ...
Today's setting of the budget for 24 March means it's all but certain that the general election will be on 6 May, the date of the scheduled local elections. What that means in terms of deadlines for nominations, applying for postal votes and so on is detailed in this general and local elections 2010 timetable I've put together.
Ceri Goddard is Chief Executive of The Fawcett Society, the UK's leading campaign for equality between women and men. Fawcett's aim during the coming general election is to get women and the impact on women considered as part of mainstream policy development by the parties. Ceri explains more here ... This week Fawcett, with more than 40 other organisations are launching our pre-election campaign. Instead of the usual "manifesto" of policies we're turning the tables on the parties and literally asking What About Women? All the leaders, Nick Clegg included, have been courting women voters – noted by the mainstream ...
Glyn Tansley, a guest blogger on the Guardian's Cardiff pages, looks at the political landscape of Cardiff in the run up to the next General Election. You will be pleased to learn that he thinks Cardiff Central is "a pretty safe seat for the Lib Dems".
One of the consequences of the new deal between Royal Mail and the unions is going to be the inevitable rise in direct/unsolicted or junk mail that we shall all receive. Until now, the amount of unsolicited mail delivered by posties has been limited ...
Well, if John Higgins of Capital Economics puts his money where his mouth is: In the bearish camp is John Higgins, senior markets economist at Capital Economics. He expects to see the S&P 500 back down around 1,000 by the end of 2010 and cited several points to warrant caution Here is a reminder of how far ...
Yesterday afternoon I was at the House of Commons campaigning for peace and greater support for our troops, today I was out canvassing and delivering in the south of the constituency and this afternoon I was hard at work with local supporters preparing another round of leaflets to inform fellow residents about our campaign. Those of you who think the campaign only starts when the election is called, think again! Soon I will be at the Town Hall to meet with constituents and then will be off to canvass and deliver in the west of the constituency. While some candidates ...
An eye-popping report from the OECD says that children from poor families in Britain have a greater ...
To begin at the end, the Pine Woods are to be litter picked every six weeks and has been added to the schedule undertaken at weekends starting at 6am when traffic is much lighter, so the work will be done in future at weekends either Saturday or Sunday. I have been asked by a number of residents about the cleaning of Hillside Pine Woods. I don't usually write up casework on the blog but I'm happy to put on record the chain of events. One Saturday at the end of January I was emailed by a local resident asking if ...
Speaking to COSLA's annual conference last week Alex Salmond said: "This Government will not sit idly by and accept cuts imposed from Westminster." Looks to me like the no cuts message the SNP have been spouting for months. Yet on Saturday at his party's General Election launch he said: "Because at this election the message is simple. "MORE NATS MEANS LESS CUTS" It may be simple but it is not clear. He's been accusing the other parties and even in this speech of having the "axe sharpened and poised" yet for all his rhetoric he has just announced that even ...
When I covered the results of the Power2010 consultation on what political reforms it should promote, there was a brief discussion on this site and elsewhere about whether Power2010 would have the campaigning muscle to really make an impact. Today brings news of how Power2010 is trying to ensure that. Their news release says: MPs were put on notice today as democracy group Power2010 announced its plans to target those MPs who have consistently opposed cleaning up and reforming our political system. The Power2010 campaign, which has received almost £1 million from the Rowntree Trusts and now has paid organisers ...
In the opposition day debate yesterday on London Hospitals - the Minister Mike O'Brien said this: 'I do not see any justification for closure of the A and E at this time, and I would want to hear the case for closing it during the next Parliament. I have seen no such case.' Well neither have we! There is no case. There is no clinically led case. There is no evidence. However - not sure that stops the juggernaut of this travesty of a process. Lynne Featherstone: I welcome the Minister's remarks because, as he knows, the socio-demographic circumstances around ...
* Following residents' complaints about potholes at the junction of Riverside Place and Perth Road, I reported this to the City Council. I have now had feedback as follows : "An order has been raised by the area inspector for the filling of a number of potholes at the Riverside Place/Perth Road junction and this will be done within the next 28 days." * A resident pointed out to me that there is inadequate street signage for Hazel Avenue - signs are missing at the junction with Hazel Drive and there is only one, poor conditioned, one at the junction ...
I recently mentioned the excellent Photopolis on-line collection of historical Dundee photographs. With thanks to the City Council's Leisure & Communities Department, here's another fascinating West End one - the old Harris Academy in Park Place, that opened in 1885 but was replaced by the current Perth Road building in the 1930s :
£8 billion. That was the financial cost to the UK taxpayer of our involvement in the Iraq War - over & above what we were going to spend on defence anyway. It's £8 billion of additional spending. That's not my estimate. That is the figure that Gordon Brown himself gave to the Iraq Inquiry (to check that, click HERE and read the paragraph from line 10 to line 19 on page 84). £8,000,000,000. It is a colossal sum of money - enough, in fact, to employ over 20,000 nurses for an entire decade. Or almost 15,000 police officers, again for ...
There is a group trying to continue the event that Boris discontinued - to make UpRise: London United Against Racism happen. They are nearing a crucial stage of planning but their ambitions are currently being held back by funding - a factor they always knew would be our greatest challenge. They are waiting on the responses of funding bodies and seeking commercial sponsorship too, we are pushing to get those who have supported our campaign, understand what Rise stood for and have enjoyed Rise in the past to get involved. They have launched a fundraising drive in the style of ...
So David Cameron's latest claim is that the Tories won the cold war. That must have been the Tory MP for Berlin East in the by election night of 9 November 1989 in that case I'm sure you'll remember the night well. Peter Snow: Here are the new graphics for the Eastern reaches. Margaret Thatcher is looking to secure a big win here, with the help of Helmut Kohl and the late addition or Perestroika and Glasnost. Some opinion is that we shouldn't expect anything tonight. Some are saying that the Hungarian relaxation may take some time to whittle through ...
The Liberal Democrats have argued, and will continue to argue, for alternative means of funding higher learning institutions to meet costs without passing the bills on to our students. The amount of debt that a university student accumulates has spiralled and will continue to do so if firm opposition does not bring this trend to an end. The Liberal Democrats will scrap tuition fees for all students taking their first degree saving them over £10'000 each. This cannot happen overnight but must be introduced carefully. We have a financially responsible plan to phase out fees over six years so that ...
Hat Tip Stephanie Flanders, this is from the Bank of England. SF herself doffs her hat to Melissa of Lombard Street, who is another of those economists I read in order to appear more informed than I really am. The Bank has a whole paper on why our terms of trade – what we sell stuff ...
As I commute from a safe Conservative seat in mid Suffolk (Bury St Edmunds, majority 10,031), I am puzzled by how quiet it is in terms of campaigning. No leaflets from the Conservatives, none from Labour, and one from the Liberal Democrats (well, I did produce it myself, and I am the District Council candidate for next year). I suspect that I'm not alone in wondering, so where is this election one hears so much about? Of course, I am a political insider, so I have a pretty good idea what is actually happening. But what if I wasn't? How ...
Earlier this week I blogged about the NSPCC's 'I Stand for Children' campaign. Today the Luton and Dunstable express published a letter regarding my support for the campaign and why I firmly believe that everyone in our community supports the excellent work they continue to do for vulnerable children. I urge all residents to support their campaign and you can read my letter below: Dear Sir, There are many issues concerning our town and country today that lead to clear political differences, but at times there are issues which party politics should not play any part. One such issue is ...
Have a look at this cutting I found from the Wall Street Journal, 2nd March: Market has encountered resistance since hitting new highs Tuesday, natural in view of the sweeping rally up to then. Previous pauses in early Jan. and mid-Feb. were followed by renewed rallying; evidence this is a similar period of consolidation seen in pattern of declining volume on recessions, indicating line of least resistance remains upward. With the Dow today on 10,500 and the FTSE around 5,500, are we moving onwards and upwards towards a recovery? Nope! The date line on that cutting was 2nd March 1931. ...
Last nights meeting of Bury MBC's Environment, Economy and Transport Scrutiny Committee received a long awaited presentation about the state of council owned garage colonies. For some years now there has been growing concern about the state of many of these garages. Many have been badly vandalised or are a focal point for anti-social behaviour as more and more remain empty. Last nights presentation did seem to bear this out as it was confirmed that half the councils 77 garage sites were a "drain on resources" to varying extents. As part of the review to be undertaken the Council now ...
(From the Gwent Gazette, Mar 11 2010. Original story is available here.) NAME: Matt Smith PARTY: Liberal Democrats AT 21 it's fair to say Matt Smith will be amongst the youngest of candidates standing at this year's election. He says that his party are campaigning for a fairer Britain. He talked about giving children a fairer start in schools and about creating a fairer economy that would promote local accountable politics. "I am very grateful to the Welsh Liberal Democrats for the opportunity to represent their values of liberty and fairness, and their policies of fairer taxes, a better start ...
A year ago I led a scrutiny review into the private rented housing sector in Reading jointly with my Lib Dem colleague Cllr Ricky Duveen (who chairs the Environment Scrutiny Panel). Private rented housing is a big issue in Redlands - in particular HMOs and student housing, so it's something I've always campaigned on, even before I was chair of scrutiny. Our review made a series of recommendations to the Labour adminstration of Reading Borough Council - 99% of which they accepted in June last year.I made clear at that time that it was vitally important that the scrutiny review should not be a ...
(From the Gwent Gazette, 11 Mar 2010 - original story can be found here.) THE candidates for this year's parliamentary elections have come head to head for the first time. Current Blaenau Gwent MP Dai Davies met the four politicians who will be fighting for his seat in the House of Commons. They were Liberal Democrat Matt Smith, Labour's Nick Smith, Liz Stevenson of the Conservatives and Rhodri Davies from Plaid Cymru. All five candidates met at an event that was organised in the Beaufort Theatre by Access For All, the Blaenau Gwent forum for the disabled. Members of the ...
IED's are back on the political menu again this week in the aftermath of Gordon Brown's appearance at the Chilcot enquiry and his remarks on military's equipment. Indeed as I write this a rather abstract debate about that very issue continues in the House of Commons during Prime Minister's Questions. But, lets look at the ...
Sadly today I am Edinburgh for a roundtable at the Scottish Parliament, so not at the Salmon Youth Centre in Southwark with Lynne Feathestone to launch our Youth policy paper "Free to be Young". I had the great privilege to take over from Laura Willoughby as chair of the working group that produced what I think has turned out to be a brilliant paper! OK, we didn't get everything we wanted .........basically anything that cost anything (!) like 10,000 extra youth workers, but the principles that underpin our policy give us a sound foundation, and in my view the strongest ...
Interesting use of video on the front page of this candidate website. The content is very American ('I need your prayers') but the concept is an interesting one; it certainly got me to consume more information about his campaign than I otherwise would have. What do you think of it?
The former editor of The New Statesman, former Labour supporter, John Kampfner, has pledged to vote Liberal Democrat. His reasons are that in power Labour has, on the whole, not been on the side of ordinary people - but has sided with the rich; their ...
That is NI as in Northern Ireland. Yesterday Alistair Carmichael the Liberal Democrat Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary said "It's time for David Cameron to come clean about the position of his new alliance on policing and justice. "With the UUP saying one thing, and the Tories saying the complete opposite, voters will struggle to understand what exactly joint Tory/UUP candidates stand for. "What we're seeing is the Tories in complete disarray. When it takes George Bush to step in as the voice of reason, it's clear that David Cameron has dug himself a very big hole. "This raises serious questions ...
At last years party conference I attended the politics and prohibition fringe meeting. I touched on this in a blogpost after I returned from conference. One of the issues debated at the fringe was the issue of classifying films with an adult (18) rating if it contains smoking. Liverpool City Council consulted on this policy before rejecting the proposal last year. I thought, and hoped, that this would be the end of the story. Unfortunately it is not. Freedom 2 choose have stated that a Manchester Councillor wants Manchester cinemas to put an '18' rating on any movie where a ...
This week's Times-Populus poll of Labour - Conservative marginal seats tells us a bit more about voters' views of the three main party leaders, including Nick Clegg. Nick is perceived as the most authentic of the party leaders. Asked whether each leader "generally says what he really thinks, not just what spin doctors tell him to say", they gave Nick a spread of plus 25 per cent. For David Cameron the figure was plus 18 per cent. Both opposition party leaders were well ahead of Gordon Brown (plus 6 per cent). The Populus result ties in with previous polls that ...
As the issue of faith schools has often been debated on this site, and it's been back in the news with the question of sex and relationship education, we've asked David Laws to explain the party's approach to these issues: The recent Government climbdown over sex and relationship education in state funded faith schools has prompted further debate amongst liberals about what role, if any, faith schools should have in English education. Some liberals argue that in a free society faith groups should be free to deliver a faith education, and that parents should be free to send their children ...
The BBC report that the UK government has decided against selecting bilingual juries in certain cases on the basis it would outweigh the principle of random selection. The decision follows a consultation looking at, for example, trials where large amounts of evidence are in Welsh. It has been met with dismay by politicians who believed it could play a part in an increase in bilingualism in Wales. Eleanor Burnham, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Heritage Minister said: "This a clear set-back for the promotion of the Welsh language as one of the official languages of Wales. People should have the right ...
Put your question to local service providers? Continuing the commitment to consult with residents about local services, a forum event has been organised for Chorlton. The evening will allow you the opportunity to gather information from various services, including: Greater Manchester Police; and some Council services. This will be followed, at 7.30pm, with a panel made up from the service providers, where you can ask questions. The event will take place on Thursday, 11th March, 6.30 - 9pm at St Johns Parish Centre, Edge Lane. Refreshments will be available on the evening. For more information contact Katrina Keane, your Ward ...
I've had a hectic start to the week, somewhat more so that the usual week, but Monday marked a new stage for Bathgate. It was the laying of the first stretch of new track to link up Bathgate with Airdrie and to create another through route from Edinburgh to Glasgow. The platforms along the route are developing nicely. The new one at Bathgate will make my journey to the station change as the direct line down Mid Street will be more direct than my current journey down Hopetoun Street and St. David's Street. The BBC article mentions most of the ...
Ewan Hoyle has asked me to urgently cross-post this from his blog. He needs 10 Lib Dem voting reps to support the motion by NOON TODAY! Please help him if you can. I have already pledged my support as a voting rep. I have a very short amount of time to gather 10 supporting reps for this anthrax-contaminated heroin motion for conference:Once you have read it, approve of its content and wish to support it as an elected rep, please call me on 07817536149 to give me your backing. It needs to happen before noon I'm afraid. :(The last minute ...
In the latest in a series of Labour own goals, Brown's announcement this morning that the Budget will be in two weeks, meaning an almost certain May 6 election, is yet another missed opportunity. The polls have been narrowing. Labour have had almost wall to wall coverage. Economic figures have been revised in their favour. The ...
[IMG: A Barack Obama email. Photo credit: DavidErickson on Flickr] The 2010 general election campaign is already, in one respect, much like the previous two: it has plenty of pundits wondering if it will be the first internet general election. The reality is rather more subtle than the question implies. If you look at internal organisation and communications, the internet has long since become crucial to parties. Even back in 2001 turning off the internet would have caused campaigns to stagger near collapse. At the local level, the often unsung tool of email has also been putting in years of ...
I have a very short amount of time to gather 10 supporting reps for this anthrax-contaminated heroin motion for conference: Once you have read it, approve of its content and wish to support it as an elected rep, please call me on 07817536149 to give me your backing. It needs to happen before noon I'm afraid. :( The last minute nature of this is not my fault. Conference notes with concern: i) That at least 26 injecting heroin users have contracted anthrax infections from contaminated heroin in the UK since December last year, with 11 of these infections proving fatal. ...
Just read these excepts produced by Brad DeLong. Mill is debating whether gold-convertibility is enough to prevent damaging speculation. His insights into how speculation takes place are extremely advanced – no 'rational economic man' here: Speculation is almost always set in motion by something which affords apparent grounds for expecting either an extra demand or a ...
Interesting contribution to the debate from some of the major ISPs and other experts. "The Lords have been thoughtful in their consideration of the bill to date. It is therefore bitterly disappointing that the House has allowed an amendment with obvious shortcomings to proceed without challenging its proponents to consider and address the full consequences. Put ...
A message from John Kampfner : Dear Fraser, Yesterday, I launched my pamphlet, Lost labours, with Nick Clegg. As somebody who has a long involvement with the Labour Party, including editing the New Statesman magazine, I have been able to give a frank and honest appraisal of a decade and a half of New Labour. And in it I explain why I can no longer support them, and am instead turning to the Liberal Democrats. You can read a more condensed version in an article I wrote for the Guardian here. Alongside one million other voters, I deserted Labour in ...
Wed 10th
09:50
Official: records that would show full extent of Ashcroft donations have been destroyed
Hundreds of local records which would reveal the extent of Lord Ashcroft's donations to Conservative Party candidates during the crucial last few weeks of the 2005 general election campaign have been destroyed the Electoral Commission has confirmed. Although the Electoral Commission publishes records of donations made to political parties, donations made specifically to individual candidates during an election campaign are recorded separately. Those separate records are submitted with candidates' election expense return forms and stored locally after an election before subsequently being destroyed by the local council. The Electoral Commission also takes in copies of all these returns for its ...
I went to hear Slavoj Žižek speak at Cardiff University last week. He was certainly interesting, albeit at his most incoherent. I must admit I found the ideas he put forward contradictory and the lecture inconclusive. I blame Lacan. He gave us a critique of the racist imperialism underpinning Avatar, which was good fun, but I can't help thinking that his Marxism clouds his vision when the subject
The government plans to have all dog owners insure their dogs for third party. The new plans also give powers to the police and council to force dangerous dogs to be muzzled. Dogs will be micro chipped and dog control notices introduced (like a dog ASBO). Apparently more than 100 people a week go to hospital after a dog attack. I can well believe this as it happened to me. My bad dog experiences I was once attacked by two Alsatians dogs off the lead in Weybridge and had to have stitches in hospital. The owners were middle class and ...
Former New Statesman Editor John Kampfner has publicly backed the LibDems and sent me and others this note on why he and many more are choosing us. Dear Paul, Today I launched my pamphlet, Lost labours, with Nick Clegg.As somebody who has a long involvement with the Labour party, including editing the New Statesman magazine, I have been able to give a frank and honest appraisal of a decade and a half of New Labour. And in it I explain why I can no longer support them, and am instead turning to the Liberal Democrats. You can read a more ...
The former Labour minister Tony McNulty was one of the first MPs to get caught up in the expenses scandal when it emerged that he had been claiming expenses on a "second home" that was actually his parents house and which was only 8 miles away from his primary residence. As I blogged when this was first uncovered last year about his initial response to the revelations: (McNulty) has already launched a pre-emptive strike on the criticism he obviously knew he was going to get by firstly explaining that he has stopped claiming the allowance (as of January 2009) and ...
Notional 2005 Results:
With most polls showing the next election could result in a hung parliament, there has been various speculation about what the Lib Dem position would be. I think it's time for Nick Clegg to make an unambiguous statement that the party would not enter a coalition with either Labour or the Tories. Here are my five reasons why Nick should spell this out clearly and simply now ... 1. A coalition is a non-starter, so let's just rule it out now It's quite simple: the majority of party members will not for a single moment entertain the idea of a ...
We've all cracked jokes about the misguided bus and when it will open. Stagecoach themselves have an interesting new line in signs fixed to the side of their buses regarding the ever elusive opening date. Today however marked a new low point in the project with the release in to the public domain of the most up to date information. If you look at http://bit.ly/9MXEXC you'll find agenda Item 9 of the meeting papers for next Tuesday's Cabinet Meeting at the County Council. As a side issue you might like to know that all Cabinet meetings are open to the ...
Mentioning the Alderney Railway reminded that me that the island was at different times home to two of my heroes: John Arlott and T. H. "Tim" White. In his memoir of his father, Timothy Arlott recalls their first encounter, at a time when White lived on the island and the Arlott family was on holiday there: The first time they met, my father and Tim were so captivated by each other's company that they went out for a drink and did not return until late the following morning.That is a conversation I would liked to have eavesdropped on. If you ...
For the first time I can remember, I found myself in the back of a police car on Friday night. It's OK - I was on the side of the good guys. Beating crime and anti-social behaviour is very much a partnership activity these days. It isn't about just the Police or just the Council. It works best when the different organisations come together effectively. As part of that, councillors are invited to join the police and see what happens in these sorts of operations. (Police come to some our meetings too, though I can't help thinking they get a ...
Angela Wileman who is in Ireland has started a weblog. Her story is about how she and her children have been persecuted by the state because she was a victim of Domestic Violence.Sam Hallimond who is in Spain also has a weblog.The Cootes family who are also in spain have a facebook group
[IMG: Katherine and I outside the empty home in January] Residents of Nelson Road are furious with Haringey Council after a family council home that has been left derelict for almost a year has now been taken over by squatters. The home was taken over last week after the Council failed to act on promises to start renovating the house, at least 11 months after evicting the last tenants. One of the neighbours is an elderly lady in her eighties and I'm told she is quite upset by the situation, which will now probably take months more to resolve. I've ...
OK, now this ridiculous farce about the timing of the general election in the UK has gone on long enough. Why on earth should the incumbent Prime Minister have the power to call a general election at any time, up to the date of the final expiry of the Parliament? It is just another piece of the Royal prerogative that has long outlived its usefulness. It is blatantly unfair that an incumbent government should be allowed to decide for itself when its mandate needs renewing, with all the advantage in planning and party expenditure that this allows. The first sign ...
Writing on his blog for Sky News, Adam Boulton discusses John Kampfner's decision to support the Liberal Democrats at the forthcoming general election. A couple of choice quotes: it is a wake-up call as to just how important the Lib Dems and their vote are going to be in a general election.And: When I was in the North East recently there was much speculation that the LibDems could take the City of Durham from Labour. It is 23rd on their target list.
This is what John Campfner says of his reasons for supporting the Liberal Democrats. Today I launched my pamphlet, Lost labours, with Nick Clegg. As somebody who has a long involvement with the Labour party, including editing the New Statesman magazine, I have been able to give a frank and honest appraisal of a decade and a half of New Labour. And in it I explain why I can no longer support them, and am instead turning to the Liberal Democrats. You can read a more condensed version in an article I wrote for the Guardian here. Alongside one million ...
....as if you hadn't noticed. I'm really struggling this week to do more than the day job. This is a great shame because my head is full of things to write about. I bit off a lot more than I could chew over the end of last week, beginning of this and am paying the price. I ended up collapsing in a heap on Monday night, going to bed at 6pm and, bar one phone call which woke me up, sleeping till morning. Yesterday I managed a few hours' work but spent most of the day on the couch - ...
A couple of days ago I wrote: I was first attracted to Evelyn Cheesman by the suggestion that she had started her career as a governess at Gumley Hall near Market Harborough. To discover the truth of that I shall have to get hold of one of her two volumes of more straightforward memoirs. It turns out that the entry from Gumley in the Victoria County History of Leicestershire cites Cheesman's book Things Worth While as its authority for the statement that the woods there "contained many foxes and badgers". So that is the book I need to read.
It appears I have managed to upset some of the management at ASDA by tweeting about their packaging that cannot be recycled and how annoying this is. Apparently I am to be sent a big report - woooo. Seriously, I look forward to it because it isn't often a corporate giant responds to the little lone voice. Anyway, now from the corporate spin back to reality. Last night I decided on cooking chicken in a tomato and onion sauc served on a bed of leeks with roasted vine tomatoes and olives. The packaging the baby leeks came in states: "Bag ...
Alicia's story: PERSONAL THANKS TO THE WHITTINGTON A AND E DEPARTMENT My elder son developed acute appendicitis and we had to rush him in a minicab to the Whittington. He was in agony and every second counted. We were terrified that his appendix would burst but the A and E were wonderful and, I think, probaby saved his life. When he was badly beaten up on the Archway Road and his face was "like a football" because of the kicking he had endured, they were enormously supportive and restored him. My family are so grateful to the dedication and professionalism ...
The battle for Swansea West at the next General Election ia really hotting up as the possible 6th May date approaches. The contest is very much between the Welsh Liberal Democrats and Labour with Plaid Cymru and the Tories as also-rans. A particular area of controversy is the record of Labour candidate Geraint Davies who lost his Croydon Central seat in 2005 and has now been parachuted into Swansea in an attempt at succeeding highly respected local MP, Alan Williams. Mr. Davies, was the most expensive MP in his last year in Parliament, claiming £176,026 in expenses and costs, and ...
The latest statistics on ambulance response times show that only 58.5% of emergency ambulance calls were responded to within the eight minute target. This is the second successive month that these figures have worsened. Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Minister Peter Black said: "It is disappointing to see yet another fall in performance on the part of the ambulance trust. Patients are continuing to be let down by the failure to respond to emergency calls within the target times and lives are being put at risk. "I asked the Minister for Health during Ministerial Questions to tackle this problem urgently. ...
Me and Cllr Andrew Milton have been pressing officers of the highways department about the lack of gritting at sensitive locations in Lewisham Central during the recent snowy and icy spells and one welcome but rather peculiar reply we received from highway officers tells us that: The main entrance for Hither Green is in Staplehurst Road ...
Commenting on the spat over crime figures between Chris Grayling and Alan Johnson, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said: The Conservatives are wrong to say that crime is rising, and Labour is wrong to claim the credit as crime is falling in every western European country except Belgium. Technology and demographics are doing the work. On crime, Labour and the Tories try to make up the figures as they go along. Only the Liberal Democrats can be trusted to follow the evidence of what works to cut crime.
Serious concerns have been raised about Conservative plans for an £8,000 payment for residential care after figures released today by the Liberal Democrats have revealed that 3.5m pensioner households (66%) do not have assets of £8,000 excluding their homes. The figures undermine Conservative claims that their plans would enable older people to pass their homes on to their children as two-thirds of pensioner households would have to sell or release equity from their homes to pay for the private insurance scheme. 63% of pensioner couple households (1.4m) do not have non-housing assets of £16,000 (cost of insurance to cover both ...
I have added a word to my profile. It appears to be a nealogism. I'd like to see it adopted into the language. To me, a cad is someone a bit devil-may-care. The type of man who wears a cravat, and has a Beard of Evil TM; he drives a classic Jag, and never, EVER puts ice in his single malt whisky. He's not evil, exactly, but he doesn't have traditional morals. He's naughty. Oh yes, I'm definitely a Cadophile. My March sponsor is Mark Reckons, who isn't caddish at all, but I don't hold that against him.
Commenting on the news that UK exports took their biggest plunge in more than three years during January, Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor, Vince Cable said: "These are deeply alarming figures which suggest that British exporters simply haven't been able to take advantage of the big devaluation which occurred in the last year. They suggest that the long term decline and neglect of British manufacturing has taken its toll and that an awful lot more needs to be done to rebalance the economy to make it more competitive. "It is wrong to suggest that the British economy can escape from this ...
All, Transition Shipston, with the help of Shipston Town Management Partnership, are holding an 'affordable enrgy for all' even at Shipston High School on April 17th from 10am to 4pm. It should be a good day - there will be lots of exhibitors showing their renewable energy and high efficiency products, such as solar panels and high efficiency boilers. On top of this, there will be stalls where you can learn about simple ways to reduce your energy bills and people who will tell you what grants are available for energy conservation. On top of this Transition Shipston will be ...
That was one of Dave Allen's sayings. The great Dave Allen who passed away five years back today. He was one of the most astute observers of human nature, given to point out the absurdities and hypocricies of everyday life especially in religion ...
How would you feel if you were told that you had to take out insurance for walking down the street, just in case you had an accident? I think it would be strange. Accidents happen and that's why we have an NHS. What if you were told that insurance was needed to play a violent sport? You may or may not think that was reasonable, but what if it was a non-contact, non-violent sport? Private insurance gives peace of mind to those who can afford it but it is also there to support private insurance companies. There has to be ...
Out a civilised hour to talk to residents in Prittlewell with Mike Grimwade and his team. At eleven, Mike and I took a break to meet up with Ted Lewin to talk about some of the issues that affect both wards. We are back on the doorstep half an hour later, and find a good response again - but it is later than intended when we finish. In the afternoon, out in Blenheim again. This is a really good session. Lots of people are in and lots of people are keen to talk. Some are keen enough to volunteer to ...
