LibDem Blogs - Archived!

At the Liberal Democrat Conference in Bournemouth last year I went to a fringe meeting where one of the speakers was Steve Sinnott, the new general secretary of the National Union of Teachers. Introducing him, the chair said that he was the first product of a comprehensive school to hold this post. From around the room there came little gasps of surprise and joy. Comprehensives have been the major form of secondary education in Britain for 30 years or more. It should by now be utterly unremarkable for someone who attended one to gain an important, but not earth-shattering, job ...

I suppose I ought to write this posting very carefully. Kingston Council has been awarded the Plain English Campaign's Gold Standard - one of only 17 councils to achieve it. The Gold Standard is reached when 50 documents have been awarded the Crystal Mark. Three years ago I dreamt up the Better Letters campaign in the Council. This was to encourage Council employees to use Plain English whenever they wrote a letter, even though the letters did not qualify for Crystal Marks. I was really pleased that this turned out to be a great success. ...

Tim Worsall has posted his latest selection of the best in British blogging. Soon to be a book.

The link is to 67 photographs from various sources on flickr.com The following also have photographs http://www.martinmullaney.co.uk/tornado.htm Councillor Mullaney's pictures http://www.martinmullaney.co.uk/tornado-july30th.htm these are Martin's from today which are the more severely damaged

Work continues in the aftermath of the Tornado. There is an information point as above. Clearly certain properties are unusable and may need to be demolished. I understand the local Housing Association (MDCHA) has had to rehouse about 20 families. When we contacted Government Office on Friday they were not interested, but I understand that the government recognise now that this is something

To the Albert Hall last night with various people from Southampton City Council. Cause for celebration was that about 20 young people from the SOuthampton City Orchestra were participating in the event. Some were playing alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra during Respighi's Pines of Rome and others were playing a piece they had developed themselves with the help of a group of musicians called

Just watching or rather listening to Call my Bluff on BBC 1 this morning. The word Wahala pricked my ears - surprised it's now in the dictionary. It's one of those convenient words that saves a lot of talking - can be used on it's own as a slang or exclamation - as a verb, noun, adjective etc - I still use it without thinking. Originally a Yoruba word but now generally used in West Africa (mainly Nigeria) - means complexed, mixed up, difficult to sort out, confusion, trouble, problematic, argumentative. It's one of my favourite words - descibes ...

Tony Blair's government is often accused of making policy "on the hoof" and railroading ill-thought-out bills through the House of Commons. Now it seems that one such bill has come back to haunt them, in most amusing fashion. Brian Haw has been holding an anti-war protest outside the Houses of Parliament for the last four years. Such a right to protest has long been part of British political tradition. But now, the Labour government has decided that such protests are simply too dangerous in this age of terrorism - either that or they simply don't want ...

The Wales on Sunday have made a big thing today about the cost to the Assembly, local Councils and quangos of running a modern day public relations operation. They have estimated that £4 million of public money is being spent on such activity around Wales, employing former journalists (including some who worked for the Western Mail) and PR professionals to put a gloss on the way that Wales is being run.The newspaper also lists what £4 million could buy in terms of medical treatment, police officers etc. It is an easy hit and entirely superficial in its simplicity. ...

Who says that the art of writing eye-catching press releases are a thing of the past? If this example from the Liberal Democrats Transport Spokesperson is anything to go by then we are just about to enter a golden age: Stonehenge bypass review must leave no stone unturned in bid for a solution ...Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Transport Secretary, Tom Brake MP said: "It is disappointing that the Highways Agency's initial estimate of scheme costs was wildly over-optimistic. The Government must leave no stone unturned in its bid to find a solution. ...

The England selectors have named an unchanged squad for Edgbaston. I think they are right: this is not the time for panic. That will come later in the summer. When it does, they could do worse than heed the words of Dave Podmore in yesterday's Guardian: So the first big question is, who's going to open the batting with David Steele? Chris Tavare and Kim Barnett are in the mix obviously, although some would go with Mark Lathwell to get us off to a flier.

Hello to The Apollo Project and perfect.co.uk.

Sunday 31st July 2005 - Many local residents have been shocked by the horrific murder of Huyton student Anthony Walker on Friday night. Let us hope the animals who committed this crime are caught quickly. Our thoughts and prayers are with Anthony's family and friends this weekend.

Well, it's been rather eventful since I last posted here... despite London bombings and other things... here's what's happened in the world of me: Conservatives accuse me of being 'homophobic' Yes, it's true. And apparently they're drafting a press release about it. Now, usually party literature a few months after a general election contains lots of information about how much work the MP has done so far - although considering our MP is Anne Milton, I can understand why they'd be so thin on the ground for content. I do hope that they sent the press ...

On Friday night, an 18-year old man was murdered in a park in Huyton, Liverpool. Huyton is where I grew up and where my parents still live. As a child, I played in that park. While all murder, especially a murder as sensless as this (it appears to have been a racist attack) is shocking, there's an added dimension of shock and disgust when it happens in a place you know well. It certainly makes me appreciate more the experience of those in London who have had to cope with the recent terrorist attacks; as ...