LibDem Blogs - Archived!

Although this is supposed to be a good thing, my anti-authoritarian streak leaves me unable to suppress a sense of dismay at seeing people dragged from their homes by men in uniforms. It is a sight that can never truly be a cause for celebration, no matter what peace it may buy.

Another year, another bout of hand-wringing over the continued rise in A-level pass rates. Although the debate has thankfully moved past the "dumbing down" argument, there still seems to be no clear answer to why pass rates just keep on climbing. The notion that each successive year of students are just cleverer than their predecessors seems unlikely; were the trend to continue, eventually every child would be an Einstein or Hawking. If we conclude that the exams aren't getting any easier, then how can we account for the consistent rise in performance? The answer seems ...

If your idea of a good time is subjecting yourself to Stalinist abuse from North Korean propagandists, then why not try the KCNA Random Insult Generator?

Rhodri Morgan must be grinning like a cheshire cat at recent revelations about the exaggerated claims for cosmetics. After all, his spokesperson proudly told the Wales on Sunday that the First Minister does not spend a penny of public money on make-up to prepare him for his recent TV appearances. Indeed, many people would have stopped and paused for thought after reading passages such as this: Yesterday the French cosmetics giant L'Oreal was forced by the Advertising Standards Authority to withdraw a major ad campaign after making claims for two products, Anti-Wrinkle De-Crease face cream and Perfect Slim ...

I have been banging on for some time about the problems facing science subjects in Welsh educational establishments. The closure of the chemistry department in Swansea University is just one aspect of this. It was a particularly good example of what happens when market economics are applied to education. Disturbingly, it is the application of the laws of demand and supply to education that is accelerating the crisis in the sciences that faces the UK. The latest development in this is the emergence of a disparity between England and Wales in the amount given in bursaries for ...

After her fall, Madonna is still making music: UK spokeswoman Barbara Charone also said the accident would not delay the release of her new album in November. "Her LP is finished and is on course to come out in November with a single prior," she told the BBC News website. If any horses are reading this, and you get the chance to carry Mrs Richie, throw her off again. Please, for the sake of my

Saw an interesting news report that Haringey Council are planning to regenerate the old Hornsey Town Hall and hand it over to a Community Partnership to support and encourage the arts. Have to agree that it's a lovely idea. Hornsey Town Hall is an important 1930s Grade Two (star) listed building in the heart of Crouch End, owned by Haringey Council.The Council will be relocating staff from the town hall to its central offices in Wood Green, and is moving forward with plans to keep the Town Hall open for the benefit ...

by PeterLiberals are usually suspicious of the state - prepared to make use of it, but reluctant to give it more respect than it earns. Transcendent models of the state (like nationalism) cause Liberals enormous concern (and so they should). This carries over into Liberal thinking on international relations, where Liberals typically wish to clip the wings of the State. Three nineteenth century figures typify the different strands in Liberal thinking: Cobden, Gladstone and Palmerston.For Cobden, the essence of foreign policy was peace, and the way to achieve it was to minimise contacts between governments, and maximise the contacts between ...

As if the shooting of an innocent man were not bad enough, it now seems to be the case that the police may have lied about it. I say "seems to be" because, as I referred to in my first post on the subject, we can't be sure of very much about this case. However, what is truly disturbing is that things that we thought we knew now seem to be false. My original post referred to the "known facts" that Mr. de Menezes was being pursued by the police and vaulted a ticket barrier before boarding ...

Birmingham, in common with all great cities, faces more challenges as a consequence of the atrocities of 7/7 and attempted atrocities of 21/7. These are challenges we need to face together so that we develop a society based upon principles such as security and justice rather than sliding into intolerance and conflict. In the coming years, Birmingham will continue to become a more ethnically

Here is a short video about blogging for councillors. Click on the arrow to start it. This was created for the Local e-Democracy National Project.