Last updated Wednesday 22nd May 2013 07:00 BST
it's that time of the month again when the hosting meter needs a few more pounds to keep the site ticking. We need £25 in the next few days, else everything goes black. With over 150 blogs listed, if each author donated just two pounds a year the site would stay alive. Why not make this month the month you help out?
Many thanks
Back in February, along with other committee members of the West End Community and Sports Hub (WECSH, formerly WESHA), we toured the Riverside Pavilion to view the commencement of the improvement works provided by a Community Payback Scheme project. Last night, we held another tour to view progress with the works that are nearing completion and these are looking great. Here's a few photographs from the visit last night: New kitchen equipment installed Repainted changing rooms Repainted corridors - the floor is to be repainted after the football season ends New showers are hugely better than the old ones!
A new peak time bus service, jointly funded by the City Council and Angus Council, and to be operated by National Express Dundee, will start next Monday (27th May) providing direct links between Piperdam, Liff, Ninewells Hospital and the City Centre. The good news for the West End is that parts of the West Endincluding Guthrie Street, Brook Street, Milnbank Road, City Road, Tullideph Road and Ancrum Roadwill be covered by the new route. This is particularly welcome for those residents who used to rely on the former Stagecoach 74 service that was withdrawn back in 2009. The timetable can ...
I work in an open plan office; there are positives and negatives. On the plus side, at least I'm not confined to a cubicle and I can converse with many of my colleagues without leaving my chair. Less happily, when it's a particularly busy day and the phones are going off every few minutes and ...
Wales needs its own a whistleblowing hotline to allow NHS staff to be able to anonymously report their concerns. The Welsh Government Health Minister recently confirmed to me in a Written Question that there is currently "no whistleblowing hotline for NHS staff". Instead, staff are expected to contact a number, run by the Royal Mencap Society, that covers NHS and social care employees in both England and Wales. The Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling on the Welsh Government to introduce a free hotline that is available solely for NHS staff in Wales. It is absolutely critical that staff working within ...
[IMG: Lib Dem councillors are strongly opposing FCC's plans] Lib Dem councillors are strongly opposing FCC's plans Councillors and residents have been horrified to learn that First Capital Connect intends to fell many of the trees alongside the car park on Ridgmont Road. A letter was dropped to a small number of residents - but by no means all those who would be affected. Councillors were not consulted or informed. Lib Dem District Councillor for St Peter's Ward Michael Green said: "These trees provide essential screening of the train station for nearby residents and add biodiversity to a heavily built ...
Following this afternoon's vote in the debate on the third reading of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, Christopher Lovell has expressed his disappointment at Tim Farron's "abstention" today. It seems that Mr Lovell who lives in Leeds, not in Tim's constituency, feels that because there is no vote recorded by Tim Farron in today's [...]
So, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill has passed through the Commons and now goes on the House of Lords for further consideration. Step by step, we're moving forward to more a equal, a more civil society. It's not over yet - and the bill is not perfect, even before it's trip to the Lords - but this Government is making progress towards establishing Equal Marriage as a lasting social legacy of the 2010-15 Parliament. Many thanks are due to Lynne Featherstone for pushing this onto the Government's Agenda. For all Labour's self-congratulatory tweeting tonight, this would never have been ...
We've found a buyer for our house, and now I'm currently simultaneously negotiating to buy a house in the West Country, and looking for somewhere for us to rent in Edmonton for the next year. I prefer the Canadian conveyancing system to Britain's. The main difference is the length of time between an offer being [...]
This afternoon we have seen the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill pass its third reading in the House of Commons. Many people start claiming that Equal Marriage is home and dry. This is quite far from the case. The Bill ... Continue reading →
This afternoon we have seen the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill pass its third reading in the House of Commons. Many people start claiming that Equal Marriage is home and dry. This is quite far from the case. The Bill has passed its third reading in one of the Houses of our Parliament: it still [...]
I don't want to spend any time at all on my local MP, who voted the wrong way every single time, nor on the four Lib Dems who voted the wrong way, nor on those Lib Dems who abstained for whatever reason (some of whom we know are very much in favour of equal marriage but just couldn't make the chamber today, and others of whom are more... suspect). I do want to single out a few MPs, though, not just Lib Dems, who I feel gratitude towards for this getting passed today. 1, Lynne Featherstone - we wouldn't have ...
Norman Tebbit has added his voice to the split within the Tory Party. It's not Europe that has split the Tories time but same-sex marriage. Norman feels that a discussion of the possible effects on our royal line of succession is enough to carry the argument and cause the gay marriage bill to fail. His first problem is that he is concerned about what might happen "if we have a queen who is a lesbian". However, the Royal Family have enough problems already with their heterosexual partnerships and as far as threats to sovereignty are concerned I think a lesbian ...
The following is the substantive part of an email I sent to Norman Baker a couple of days ago: Dear Norman, ............. I should have written to you about the Fuel Quality Directive before now. After all, I am in a unique position as both a member of the Lewes Liberal Democrats, whose MP is [...]
This is the email that Tim Farron sent to all Lib Dem members on April 18th 2012 and why I'm so disappointed with his abstention today: Dear Chris,One of our fundamental values as Liberal Democrats is our firm belief in equality.This is why I need you to join the campaign for equal civil marriage.Our party has always stood for individual liberty and the right to choose how we lead our lives. This is why I am a Liberal Democrat. It's why the party came into being in the 19th century to protect the rights of religious minorities. It's why we ...
Last year I read something by Laurie Penny that really vexed me. I know that a lot of her columns do but this was one of the two that really got to me. It was about Game of thrones and the role of women and how it promoted negative stereotypes of women which stimulated a response from me that... Any way - it is here. I'd thought nothing of it in a long while until I was browsing YouTube and found the following video with definite role model Brienne of Tarth. I should really state *Spoilers ahoy* for anyone who ...
Earlier this evening, I attended the latest meeting of Blackness Primary School Parent Council. Mr Ferrier, Head Teacher, gave a very helpful update on impending building improvements at the school. It was also great to hear that the school has been awarded a Health Promotion Platinum Award, the first school in Dundee to reach the platinum award level. The school's PTA and Parent Council is holding its Summer Fete on Saturday 8th June, between 10am and 12 noon. The theme this year is recycling, with lots of activities including 'urban gardens' (a planting stall), 'water to wine' (win wine - ...
From the Bristol Post: Weston-Super-Mare Liberal Democrats have selected local councillor and businessman Mike Bell as their new Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (PPC). Mike was the party's candidate at the last General Election in 2010, increasing the Lib Dem vote by nearly 3,000 ... Conservative John Penrose won the seat in 2010 with 23,356 votes, Mike Bell came second with 20,665.The seat had a Lib Dem MP (Brian Cotter) between 1997 and 2005.
In a post the other day, I questioned the use of the term 'mad swivel-eyed loons' to malign Conservative party members. As if to disprove my point, Norman Tebbit has been interviewed in this week's Big Issue on the topic of gay marriage and his eyes seem to be rotating through 360 degrees: "The government discussed it for twenty minutes on the morning of its announcement," former Conservative Party chairman Lord Tebbit told The Big Issue. "They'd done no work on it beforehand. I said to a minister I know: have you thought this through? Because you're doing the law ...
I have been mulling something over recently. I think I am a reasonably good writer. I have certainly had positive feedback from others about the way I approach covering issues. I'm by no means perfect and I do sometimes look back on old blog posts and wonder if I could have done things a bit differently. I have written close to 1,500 posts for this site in the 4 and a half years it has been going which is close to an average of one per day. Which I think is a pretty good level of experience. I have won ...
Councillor Martin Curtis has been voted leader of Cambridgeshire County. The vote was taken as part of today's Council Meeting held at Shire Hall. Three nominees were put forward: Councillor Curtis (Conservative), Councillor John Hipkin (Independent Group) and Councillor Maurice Leeke (Liberal Democrat). Two rounds of voting were held. The first round results were: Curtis 32 votes, Hipkin 16, Leeke 13 and 8 abstentions. The final round of voting results: Curtis 32, Hipkin 16, abstained 21. Members also voted that the Council should change in a year's time from the current cabinet system of governance to a committee system. This ...
The House of Commons has passed the Marriage (Same sex couples) Bill at Third Reading stage with a whopping majority of 205. Next stop for this measure is the House of Lords after the recess on 3 June. There will certainly be challenges to it there but the momentum from the last two days of debate and the fact that it was passed by such a large majority bodes well. We can be sure that without the Liberal Democrats, the measure would not have made it even on to the Commons agenda, given the opposition from within Conservative ranks. The ...
Cynical brain: so that's how Yahoo are financing Tumblr - by screwing over photographers. Rational brain: so before, I paid $25/year for unlimited space with no advertising. Now (because my pro account lapsed without sufficient warning) I get to pay double for less space, and as an added bonus, the pleasure of providing Yahoo with an advertising platform. Forgive me if I don't understand which bit I'm meant to be impressed by? I guess the time has come for me to finally redevelop thisiskatie.co.uk as a portfolio website rather than a photoblog. (In the copious spare time I have between ...
I've been arguing, I hesitate to say fighting, for marriage equality for a very long time. Way back in 2005 I was rather distressed at the introduction of civil partnerships, and in 2007 decided that sitting around moaning about it wasn't going to get anywhere so I began writing to MPs and blogging on the various efforts to convince people that marriage equality was something worth fighting for. We are not there yet. But today was one major milestone in the journey. The Government's Same-Sex Marriage Bill passed through its third reading in the House of Commons by 366 votes ...
It's odd to be thinking, coming out of a Zombies gig, about the songs they didn't get round to. Odd because the Zombies, in their original incarnation, didn't even record enough songs to fill two CDs. Between 1964 and 1968 they released a decent album (Begin Here), a great album (Odessey And Oracle) and a [...]
Below are recently submitted Planning Applications in the Chorlton area. You can find out more information about any of the proposals on the City Council's Planning Portal at http://tinyurl.com/yv6lex or by contacting the South Area Planning Group Manager - Roger Hall; Tel: (0161) 234 4536; email: r.hall@manchester.gov.uk . You can also make a Planning representation (in support or opposition) to Mr Hall or the designated planning officer for each application. Please feel free to contact me on (07947383740; cllr.v.chamberlain@manchester.gov.uk) if you wish to discuss any application and please also send me a copy of any representation you make. 102219/FO/2013/S1 2 ...
Jeremy Browne is a Liberal Democrat Minister of State at the Home Office Under the Coalition Government, crime is at its lowest level since independent records began. That's fewer homes burgled and possessions stolen; fewer communities blighted by vandalism; and fewer people hurt, or killed in violent attacks. Lots of people predicted that in tough economic conditions, crime would go up, as it always has done in the past. But it hasn't and we should be proud of that fact. It has been achieved without excessive bureaucracy or increasing intrusion. Keeping crime and the fear of crime down is a ...
Come along and get your hands dirty down at the Grow For It Community Allotment in Chorlton. Help out... Learn... Grow stuff... Make things... Meet people... Share... Everyone welcome... Find us on Manchester Rd on the bridge near the swimming baths and Unicorn Groceries. Saturday 11am Sunday 2pm Wednesday 5pm See poster for details or call... 07973139068
Lord Bonkers was drawing our attention to The Telegraph story that Tory members were defecting to UKIP because of the so-called 'loons' smear. Now given Farage's reception in Scotland and given my distaste for banding around derogatory remarks usually aimed at people with mental ill health I got to thinking about loons It is, as I pointed out to his lordship, a perfectly good Scots word defined as: loun [lun] n. A youth, boy, fellow, rascal. dim. lounie, lounock(ie) You can hear it here in a poem, Co Education by John C Milne, written in the 'doric' the characteristic speech ...
Bootle Labour Councillor Dowd's legacy of extravagant waste 'the lack of prudence beggars belief'-Liverpool Post No apology, unrepentant and unreconstructed Mark Dowd sits on the Labour front bench at Sefton glowering his defiance. His colleagues protect him and rubbish every report issued that details his outrageous behavior describing them as 'tawdry and rubbish'. How much more is there to come out? When will the Labour party act . To date we know about what the Daily Post calls: ...............'the monstrous black elephant that is Merseytravel's monolithic HQ at Mann Island' which it describes as having 'entered the realms of the ...
Today's full council meeting was the culmination of two and a half weeks of negotiations and discussions on the shape of the new administration to run Cornwall. And it means I have a new role as one of ten cabinet members. Ever since the electorate decided that none of Cornwall's political groups should be given outright power, we have been working behind the scenes to form an alliance. The Lib Dem view from the start was that the new administration should be formed of as many groups as possible. Much has been said already about the decision by the Conservatives ...
Back some years ago the previous Labour Government (you will find Sefton Labour Party totally in denial about this) had a Regional Strategy which imposed a house building target on Sefton of 500 new houses per year. That Regional Strategy was abolished by the Coalition Government but just hold onto that 500 house building target as we move on. For a number of years Sefton Council has been developing what it used to call its Core Strategy (no one knew what that was) and now calls its Local Plan. In effect this is, at least the part of it that ...
From Mark Wallace at Conservative Home "Why should we reinvent the wheel when [the Lib Dems] did years of research and experimentation that we can learn from?" asks one parliamentary candidate."
So the biggest thing, weight-wise, that I find myself owning and unable to take anywhere, is a big pile of comics. Yay comics! Boo, comics are heavy. I can, and will of course, dump a pile of them on Goodwill and Housing Works, but I suspect they will never find someone to love and read them, so I thought I'd let you guys have a look see which you would like to buy. (I'd ask for shipping, and a donation towards the American Red Cross, the HI Fund at GOSH or another charity, should you not wish to donate to ...
A planning application has been submitted for a McDonald's two storey restaurant and drive-through on the site of the old garage, and more recently car wash, on Stafford Road in Wallington. The site backs onto gardens of residential properties in Blenheim Gardens, Charlotte Road and Hinton Road, with the entrance and exit to the site [...]
I just want to draw everyone's attention to this brilliant post over on the Social Liberal Forum which brilliantly highlights the problem with the current Lib Dem approach to coalition. Here's a quote but you should definitely go and read the original post in full:I don't mean that it's not a good idea to restrain the Tories. Of course it is. I don't mean that activists don't like to hear this. Of course they do. But the party's key messages have to be those that are relevant to, and strike a chord with, the wider audience. And the wider audience ...
Last night Nick Clegg participated in a question and answer session at the Institute of Directors, and once again found himself bogged down in a discussion over Britain's future in the European Union. He was clearly frustrated with the ongoing debate, and said that his Conservative coalition partners had "moved the goalposts" on Europe, a ...
As some of you may know I am involved in local Hospital Radio. For the past few weeks I have been recording some extra standby shows for when a presenter is unable to present his or her show and two of them I am extremely proud of so I thought I'd speak about them here on the blog and provide download links in case you wanted to hear them. Years ago there was a channel on the Sky EPG called 'Classic FM TV' which featured modern classical music from opera to instrumental. I used to listen to it a lot ...
Yesterday Anna told me she'd received full marks for a school essay on same sex marriage. She had been told to write a persuasive essay on any subject of her choice, so she wrote about something she feels really strongly about. With her permission, I'm publishing it below. It would be nice if MPs read it. She is not always tactful, and she challenges deeply held beliefs - but she's pretty perceptive and shows off both compassion and a passionate sense of justice. If you read no further, at least read her conclusion: A place where same gender couples are ...
[IMG: Houses] Today I participated in a conference organised by the National Housing Federation on the theme Affordable home ownership and intermediate tenure. I spoke in a session alongside Gavin Kelly of the Resolution Foundation and Owen Jones of the Independent. They discussed broad economic currents, in particular the trajectory of household incomes. They also considered the broad question of where housing policy currently features in the political universe, and how prominently it might feature in the General Election 2015. I focused more on some observations about shared ownership in this context. The text to go with my contribution is ...
Today's South Wales Evening Post reports on an important investment in my council ward with the news that a new school to replace two existing dilapidated buildings is likely to be built in the very near future. The Evening Post piece is slightly overspun by the Council officers who contributed to it but that does not change the fact that this is very good news indeed. As the interim Director of Education says: "The current Burlais school is split across two ageing buildings which need huge amounts of investment to bring them up to modern standards fit for the 21st ...
Over the last few months, Lib Dem activists have been increasingly urged to emphasise the things we are stopping the Conservatives doing. We are told to make a virtue out of being the brakes, or at least the gears, that...Read more ›
This post is an addendum to yesterday's post about the General Assembly's decision concerning the ordination of ministers in civil partnerships. It has been suggested elsewhere, something I forgot to mention in this original post. The structure of the proposal, which the General Assembly agreed, sits very uncomfortably with Presbyterianism. Matters of doctrine are intended to be able to be matters for the General Assembly to determine from time to time, within certain constraints. As a caveat to this, there is an acceptance that ordained ministers may personally dissent on matters which "do not enter into the substance of faith". ...
When looking for a nyc lawyer, we can consider a specialist. Even though many lawyers call themselves as general practitioners but it does not mean that they know much about a particular area of your concern. In one case, if you want to be an aspiring entrepreneur, you need a lawyer who has sufficient experience in small business law. You may have to pay a little more when hiring a specialist but since you can get real help, you will see that your money will be well-spent. In addition to considering a specialist, we need to do an interview to ...
St Albans police station is to become a half empty office block under plans sneaked out by the Police Commissioner just after the elections. There will be no front desk so if you need to hand in a document or speak to someone face to face, you'll have to drive to Hemel. Deputy Leader of the St Albans Liberal Democrat Group, Chris White said: 'There was a plan to get rid of large police stations and get the police closer to residents in shop fronts in various parts of the district. 'The closure of the front desk by contrast is ...
Patrick Troughton's Doctor - Victoriana - dark fairy tales - rewriting the whole of time and space... No, it's not the latest Doctor Who from Steven Moffat, but a fabulous story first broadcast forty-six years ago yesterday and, appropriately for John Stuart Mill's birthday, one of the most blazingly Liberal of all Doctor Who stories: a Dalek Faust. Last Christmas, I wrote two guest pieces about it for my friend Nick Campbell's blog: here's the full version of what I sent him, not one of my usual style of reviews but a series of questions and answers - and spoilers. ...
Isn't it exciting, one of David Cameron's friends possibly said something silly to some journalists in a bar? Guess what, he went to Oxford too?! Yes, Oxford! Hold the front page. Is this seriously what our politics has been reduced too? There are some substantive issues in this story. Does David Cameron rule via an ...
Paddy Ashdown has written a hard-hitting article for the Yorkshire Post in which he implores the Government to give Afghan interpreters who have helped UK troops the right to come to the UK. The interpreters and their families live under threat from the Taliban: These men are different from our troops in this sense: our troops can be sure that their families are home, secure and safe, in Britain, whereas they cannot. Their families live, day in and day out, threatened by mortal threat from the Taliban in Afghan society. Our troops come home every six or nine months, whereas ...
Yesterday's edition of The Sun claimed that foreigners would outnumber native British people in London by 2031. Well, whaddya know? It turns out that The Sun's claim is complete and utter bollocks. Full Fact has checked the facts and discovered a dubious form of statistical methodology: (Abuse of research + absurd extrapolations =) bollocks + malevolence + dishonesty = complete bollocks.Complete bollocks + desire to make money by feeding prejudices = complete and utter bollocks.
For a few years I've been banging on about Southwark Council funding a study about extending the Bakerloo line This approach by Greenwich Council about extending the DLR resulted in the Woolwich Arsenal extension. Funding such a report – not cheap at £50,000 – ensures some real depth occurs and hopefully will push the Bakerloo extension along by several years. It is brilliant in opposition to push policies and actions you want and see them adopted. Happy day.
Here's today's hand-picked selection that caught my interest... Cameron shouldn't blame our rowdy press for his own failings - Telegraph Blogs I think this is the first time I've said this: excellent and fair-minded article by Ben Brogan (on Cameron's traumas) http://bit.ly/14Kn079 UKIP, Pierre Poujade and a political class that's seen to be "out-of-touch". » Spectator Blogs Good stuff from @AlexMassie » UKIP, Pierre Poujade and a political class that's seen to be "out-of-touch". http://bit.ly/10Jmfew Send to Kindle
Episode 59 of the House of Comments podcast "Five Days in May" was recorded on Sunday and was out yesterday. This week myself and Emma Burnell were joined by Labour activist and blogger Hopi Sen to discuss Andrew Adonis' "5 Days in May" about the coalition negotiations from Labour's perspective, Loongate and the Tories incipient nervous breakdown over Europe and equal marriage. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here (note - this is a new feed so if you used to subscribe to the old feed a couple of years ago you'll need to do so again). Other ...
Saturday: A History of the Time Lord, as recounted by Lawrence Miles, Kate Orman & John Blum, Paul Cornell and Kate Orman again: "Once Upon A Time, the Doctor died, and because he was a time traveller, perhaps the most travelled time traveller ever, his body, or rather his "biodata", the "time DNA" of his journey through eternity, was a source of incredible energy, a fountainhead of information, a weapon of unspeakable power. And, by a quirk of fate, the Doctor crossed his own timeline to discover his body and fight his enemies to stop them taking advantage of it... ...
[IMG: BBC - Some rights reserved by Tim Loudon] A group of MSPs have declared that they're going to start monitoring BBC Scotland because they don't think they can deliver on their obligations! That should ring alarm bells! The SNP controlled Scottish Parliament Education & Culture Committee has published a report, critical of cuts at BBC Scotland, with the implication that the Scottish arm of the Corporation would be unable to produce adequate coverage of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the independence referendum. The Committee forgets that BBC Scotland is one part of a much bigger organisation. Indeed, the shiny ...
Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats have named their front-line team for the coming year including several new faces. Maurice Leeke takes over from Kilian Bourke as leader with Lucy Nethsingha continuing as deputy leader. Newcomer Ed Cearns, who takes his seat on Cambridgeshire County Council for Cambridge's Market ward following the recent elections, will be spokesperson for Localism, Climate Change and Social Justice. Another newcomer, Amanda Taylor, elected in Cambridge's Queen Edith's ward, will share the Resources portfolio with Ian Manning. Peter Downes continues as the spokesperson for Education and Children and Young People and Susan van de Ven continues in the ...
The BBC reports: [IMG: UKIP logo] A newly-elected UKIP councillor, at the centre of an investigation into a forged electoral nomination paper, has said he has not "done anything wrong". Jonathon Childs, who won a seat on Norfolk County Council, reported ahead of the 2 May election that the signature on his form was not his. The Eastern Daily Press has more on that quirk of the candidate themselves saying their own signature looked to be forged: Mr Childs has not responded to requests for comment, but on his Twitter page – @jonathon_childs – he wrote he had approached the ...
King of Google Eric Schmidt has written in The Guardian about how unfair it is that people don't think Google pay a fair share of taxes. He makes three pretty good points. Companies only pay tax on their profits. Politicians shouldn't make laws with loopholes. International laws need harmonisation. I agree with his second two points - although no-one is forcing Google to exploit the loopholes that it finds - but I am not sure I agree with the first. Fairness, so it seems, is hardwired into our brains and our societies. People naturally get very angry when they encounter ...
The only vote which had been published before I went to my bed last night was that on freedom of conscience for registrars. I've now had a look at some of the others in Hansard. In addition to the 11 who voted in favour of registrars being able to exempt themselves from conducting same sex marriages, there were two abstentions, from Vince Cable and Mark Williams. We had 36 voting in favour and Sir Bob Russell was telling. The next vote was on whether marriage between a man and a woman should be made a protected characteristic of a religion ...
If you really want to see a property bubble at work, then get into a time machine and go back to Tokyo in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was a fearsome business, impoverishing more people than it enriched and funding Japan's aggressive business expansion around the world as the bubble inflated land prices. Grandparent mortgages - paid off by the generation after next - and hugely expensive tiny sleeping tubes: that is what happens when property bubbles get out of control (so watch out, George). They also eventually pop. Japan's zombie economy was the result, and all the ...
Yesterday's announcement by the Education Minister that fixed penalty notices will be issued to parents whose children are regularly absent from school will prove to be counter-productive. The Minister's decision has been based on the results of a consultation carried out between November 2012 and February 2013. I believe this is a disproportionate response to a problem which requires a far more creative response than a fining system. Evidence shows that children from poorer backgrounds are more likely to play truant and achieve poorer educational outcomes. I am concerned that fining parents of truant pupils will cause them even more ...
A while ago I wrote that the radical economic policies of Japan's new government under Shinzo Abe would be an interesting experiment for the world. They were much lauded by austerity sceptics, such as Paul Krugman, who drew attention to aggressive monetary policies and fiscal stimulus, which they were advocating for other developed economies. I was sceptical. But early results have exceeded expectations. There is a good analysis here from the Economist, which also discusses the new government's nationalist tendencies. Is this evidence that the austerity policies being pursued by much of the rest of the developed world are mistaken? ...
In Andrew Neil's Sunday Politics interview with Danny Alexander, Neil asserted that we have changed our policy on an in-out referendum. Is he right? Our position in 2008, when we walked out the Commons after being refused a debate on an in-out referendum, was that we wanted a referendum to decide whether the UK should stay in the EU in the light of the Lisbon Treaty. The Conservative position was that a referendum should decide the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty itself. The difference was perhaps subtle, but it was important. If the public voted no in the Conservative referendum, ...
By a spooky coincidence, while the House of Commons was debating the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, Liberal International British Group (LIBG), in collaboration with Liberal Youth, was holding a long-planned meeting on LGBT Rights in Russia, at the National Liberal Club. Through a skype link we had a long exchange with a brave young [...]
Bury MBC has been announced as the 'winners' of a £1.8 million of National Lottery funding from Sport England as a trial area to test what works in changing the sporting habits of women and girls. Despite a big increase in the number of women playing sport regularly over the past year, women are still much less likely to be active than men. As the pilot progresses, Sport England will work with partners across community sport to make sure lessons coming out of Bury are put into practice across the country. Bury soap star and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Lisa ...
posted The Blood is The Life 20-05-2013 http://t.co/iK835EFHqG on #dreamwidth (tags: (from twitter) dreamwidth ) How Has Political Opinion Changed Since Before The Local Elections? Fieldwork May 17th-18th I hope the media are very proud. (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Cllr John Powley (Outgoing Chairman) The Chairman of Cambridgeshire County Council has performed his final public duty - handing over to his successor. Cllr John Powley's two-year term of office came to an end at the Council's Annual Meeting today (May 21) when he handed over to Cllr Kevin Reynolds. He was appointed as an Honorary Alderman at the same meeting. Cllr Powley decided not to stand for re-election to the County Council, bringing to an end nearly 50 years of public service. As Chairman of the County Council, he has performed over 400 public engagements - most of them ...
A new planning application has been received which is within Holyrood Ward as detailed below:- Application number: 56298 Type of application: Full Date Registered: 13/05/2013 Location: 127 Heys Road, Prestwich, Manchester, M25 1QB Proposal: Single storey extension at side/rear Plans will be available to view on the Councils' website here (use the planning application number to search). Any questions or if I can help please just get in touch. Tim
Thank you for people who have been in touch about the trees which have been cut down between Heys Football Club on Sandgate Road and the Motorway. After enquiries it appears that the work has been undertaken by contractors for the National Grid, who obviously need to ensure absolutely safety around electricity pylons and cables (which pass over the motorway at this point). Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have further queries on this. Tim
A number of residents have been in touch worried about the potential for flooding at the 'bottom' end of Tamworth Avenue. The area is where United Utilities have installed 'Interceptor Tanks'. I have discussed this with the Council who have ensured that the site is included in their list of areas for urgent inspection in the event of flash floods in the area like we saw last year. Tim
Study and play basketball at Stockport College, one of the top Sports Academies in the North West. Learn under John Brady, former professional basketball player with Manchester Giants and Junior International – and come out with a Level 3 National Diploma in Basketball – equivalent to three A-levels.
Last Tuesday was the 'Annual' Meeting of Bury Council. This is mostly a ceremonial meeting, but with two very important pieces of business: Mayor of Bury 2013-2014 Cllr Sharon Briggs – Photo Bury Council. Appointing the Mayor of Bury for the next year. Interestingly two bits of history were made as this was the first time in history that both the Deputy Mayor AND the Mayor are both women (amazing that it took to 2013 for this to happen, 95 years since women were given the right to vote....). It is also the first occasion that the Mayor is someone ...
My heart stopped when I just read the following words on BBC News (http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22605011): "In the Commons on Tuesday, MPs will vote on an amendment to the Marriage Bill, put forward by the Humanist Association, to allow recognised groups to officiate at marriage ceremonies." I didn't know that there was an MP called the Humanist Association - what party is s/he? I'm all for lobbying by groups like the Humanist Association, but MPs' role is to seriously consider such groups' competing arguments and then to reflect those arguments in proposed amendments. The reference to "an amendment...put forward by the Humanist ...
The Care Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the social care system. Currently there is a morass of legislation, confusing to those who work in the system and almost impenetrable to those in need of care, or their carers. It is leaving behind those who fund themselves to work it out as they go along. These are the most vulnerable in our society – the elderly and those of working age who are disabled and need care. The Bill focuses on people, not systems, and has received plaudits from all quarters. Today I will stand up in the chamber ...
Two new polls last night: the daily YouGov tracker and the first post-local elections poll from Survation. The spread is interesting: Labour: 35% (Survation 39% (YouGov) Conservatives: 24% (S), 31% (YG) Lib Dems: 11% (S), 10% (YG) Ukip: 22% (S), 14% (YG) As Anthony Wells points out, Survation asks whether people will vote Ukip (most other firms just ask about the main three parties and 'Others') so usually gets the highest Ukip poll numbers. This latest survey is in line with the bounce other firms have shown and which the perceived winner of an election often records. Unsurprisingly, it's Survation's ...
With next Monday being the Bank Holiday, all bin collections next week are put back a day.So, if your normal "bin day" is Tuesday , next week it will be Wednesday and .... well, I'm sure you get the idea. Next week is a green bin week ( ie General Waste ) Any questions please contact Northumberland County Council
Friends of Balgay now have a website that you can access at www.friendsofbalgay.co.uk. I'll declare an interest - Janet, me wife, has created it for the Friends, using a wealth of information Friends of Balgay supplied. Janet has used the very helpful BT Community Website Builder to create the site, having already set up at a site for the Dundee Branch of the MS Society.
My trainer talked me into running the Beat the Bridge 8K at the last minute. I know 8K isn't very long (in the grand scheme of, say, marathon training - it's a HUGE victory for others and I don't mean to discount that), but it would be longer than I've run since Eugene. To say that I've been very cautious/lazy about my recovery and amping back up the miles would be...generous. After stopping by Safeway for a bagel, I hopped the bus over to the University District from my house, although the bus was diverted, so we actually ended up ...
Further to my previous updates about the disabled access and other improvements at Blackness Library, I have received the following information from the council's Head of Library and Information Services : "We are now in a position to confirm details relating to the temporary closure of Blackness Library for the completion of the building works. The library will close from Thursday 30th May for a 6 to 8 week period. A reduced service will be provided from Logie and St John's Church from Monday 3rd June onwards. The opening times will remain the same." I am very pleased that a ...
MP Julian Huppert has called on the national Scouts Association to intervene so that the sale of the Little Abington campsite does not go ahead. He called on CEO Matt Hyde to look at the history and stop the sale from proceeding. And he told County Scouting Commissioner, Liz Craig that he felt that selling off the Little Abington campsite is not the best way to secure the long-term future of Cambridge scouting He said the sale of the land, originally donated by a local businesses and organisations, would conflict with the intent of that donation. In a letter to ...
First, an apology: This review was intended to be the climax of my "A Journey Through Texas" series, which sadly fell by the wayside a bit whilst I was otherwise engaged in March and April. As a result, it lacks the context I had hoped it would have. I have, though, opted to retain the track-by-track style of the entries I made for Southside and Mother's Heaven - and I still intend to complete posts for all the other albums... The album kicks of with the title track and lead single. In many respects it is reminiscent of the Texas ...
Tonight I just wanted to record some important words that I feel need spoken again. In January 1941 America's greatest president, Franklin Roosevelt, delivered his State of the Union address to Congress. It was to be one of the great speeches and one of the most important expositions of political liberalism. It is known as The Four Freedoms Speech. "...The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are: Equality of opportunity for youth and for others. Jobs for those who can work. Security for those who need it. The ending of special ...
I'm quite sure that in twenty years time, we'll look back on this as a really fractious period. Being in Government isn't easy, and being in a coalition is worse. Good, solid, LibDem members are faced on an almost weekly basis with things that question our morals and what it means to be a member of our party. For the most part, what happens is that people mull things over, agree, yet again, that we have to compromise and move on, and we continue to deliver leaflets, or phone supporters, or organise suppers to get our MP's and Councillors elected ...
An interesting snippet reaches LOWA towers about what can only be described as anti nationalist paranoia from the Scottish Lib Dems. The Yes to independence campaign asked the party's conference committee whether it could exhibit at this year's main conference in Glasgow in September - but bizarrely the Scottish Lib Dems objected claiming that it might lead to "threatening or otherwise unacceptable behaviour". However the UK (federal) party saw sense and allowed the Scots Yes Campaign "to exhibit at federal conference should they wish to do so. Allowing them a platform to express their views and engage in a debate ...
