11:25 pm
Sifting through my post backlog this evening four items caught my attention. Two were from local estate agents (Oxford Apartments and Finders Keepers) suggesting I contact them because "the market for apartments is incredibly strong at the moment";One was from Inside Track, inviting me to a free introductory workshop, where I can "experience an exciting insight into the world of property
11:24 pm
Congratulations to the Doctor’s new companion, announced today and due to start next year – and don’t forget to tune in for the spectacular finale this Saturday, will you? It’s a tricky job, taking over from a much-loved star; to see it done brilliantly, on Thursday night BBC4 shows the Avengers episode that introduced Diana Rigg as Mrs Peel (7.10 tomorrow night / Midnight Friday). If you’ve never seen The Avengers, there’s no better place to see what the fuss is about: just make sure you tune in for the first seven minutes. Trust me on this. You’ll be hooked. ...
11:21 pm
I've been struggling with a bad back all week, which makes it difficult for me to sit down at a computer for any length of time. So I'll catch up on the blogging tomorrow, I hope. But those amazing guys doing the e2e4e cycle ride have made it into Scotland - in fact they have got as far as beautiful Loch Lomond. Last time I checked out their blog there was a rather interesting photo...
11:18 pm
Honestly, I go away for a week, and what happens? I return to find that a second Lib Dem councillor in Oxford has decided to defect from our group, this one choosing to 'cross the floor' to Labour. (The other is currently ploughing his furrow as an Independent.) Now, according to the Oxford Mail - which I've just caught up with - this has plunged the city Lib Dems into "chaos", journalistic
11:01 pm
Doctor Who having a new assistant is all very well, but the real question nobody seems to be asking is: that shirt David, what possessed you?!
9:48 pm
Today showers of rain have dramatically cooled down the temperature. Good for the flowers. It was fun dashing home in the rain after the heatwave of the past five days. Open the door in haste to avoid getting any wetter and stood on something squashy - yuk, it make me jump back. On the floor was just one envelope. Picked it up wondering what the heck it was. It was an energy saving literature pack - full of energy saving info (most of it already known). An A5 squidgy bag was included. Apparently it's something to put in ...
9:44 pm
Currently at work I am doing a lot of background research. This means that I spend a large part of my day using the array of online political resources. Today I was researching the progress of a Bill on the parliament.uk website. When you compare it to the likes of TheyWorkForYou and Public Whip it falls far short. Much of the information you want is hard to find and even when you do find it, it is often contains large amounts of parliamentary jargon. I can just about decipher most of it with effort but I wonder how those ...
9:39 pm
From the Shropshire Star: Drinker jailed after he shot himself
9:09 pm
It is ludicrous to say that John Prescott was not involved in the planning process for casinos. There were numerous links between Mr Prescott's department and the casino legislation. John Prescott chaired the Domestic Affairs Cabinet Committee, with links to the independent advisory panel recommending the location of new casinos to the Government. The ODPM was also responsible for establishing a new planning category for casinos and in its report makes detailed comments on the regeneration benefits of casinos. It is clear that there are still serious questions that require full and frank answers from Mr Prescott. Quite. Iain Dale ...
9:03 pm
The excellent week for the party continues. Three of our star players have put the ball in the back of the net. After Ming's superb intervention in the Enron case - where he *made* a virtual non-story into a genuine political issue - comes another score. Nick Clegg has been challenging the government's secrecy over just how much ID cards will cost. Taken with Chris Huhne's able tackle over the Thames Water story, it has been a great week for media coverage. Just shows the media can occasionally take notice. The key lesson seems to be that it's necessary for ...
8:38 pm
Someone found me whilst googling “Vegetarian members of the UK Conservative Party” I’m intrigued now. I don’t know of any. I do know lots of veggie Lib Dems, but not sure if I can think off the top of my head whether any of them are in the public eye.
6:21 pm
My thanks to the Hampshire Liberal Democrats website for the following: Conservative Councillors in Hampshire are set to close five older people's homes as part of a package of cuts that will hit the elderly and most vulnerable hardest.Charges for care services are to be hiked massively. If someone can't pay the full cost of care they will be left with just £1 per week to spend on 'luxuries' for every £5 they were previously allowed to keep.And the Conservatives who run the County Council are also looking at changes that will prevent many people from qualifying for care ...
6:21 pm
My thanks to the Hampshire Liberal Democrats website for the following: Conservative Councillors in Hampshire are set to close five older people's homes as part of a package of cuts that will hit the elderly and most vulnerable hardest. Charges for care services are to be hiked massively. If someone can't pay the full cost of care they will be left with just £1 per week to spend on 'luxuries' for
5:13 pm
Assembly Members like to talk about transport issues. Normally, it is trains but occasionally we can waffle on about cars as well. Yesterday was such a day. On the agenda was the deregulation of parking in Conwy and naturally a number of members used the opportunity to reminisce about their own experiences. Nobody is going to compete with the traffic warden who booked a speed camera van for obstruction and then reached a career pinnacle by giving a ticket to an empty hearse, that had been parked on the zig-zag lines of a pedestrian crossing whilst its driver got ...
4:40 pm
The order the Liberal Democrat candidates for the top up list for next year's election in the Lothian region have been counted and verified and the placings are: 1. Mike Pringle MSP2. Simon Clark3. Gill Cole-Hamilton4. Mike Crockart5. Charles Dundas6. Jacqui Bell7. Derek Young Quite a could wealth of experience and committment on that list. A good team to be going out to challenge for seats in Lothian. As one of the above stated on their election literature 100 years ago the Lothian region was largely represented by Liberals. Ironically the only seat we did not hold in the year ...
3:40 pm
In this post-Gitmo world where all deaths are to be presumed PR moves, what is one to make of this?
1:54 pm
New Labour, who have created the most bloated and unwieldy British government in living memory, are starting to bang on about the virtues of localism. Hooray. The latest convert is Ruth Kelly, who has stated her desire to strip back...
1:29 pm
At the risk of having my comments filled with swivel-eyed loons with an penchant for calling everyone who doesn’t agree with them a “c***”, I just thought I’d recommend Jonathan Freedland’s article on the Tories’ daft proposals on breaking up the UK. There are however, the points in this I take exception to: You don’t need to [...]
12:44 pm
After all the scandal John Prescott has been through, and this latest revelation, why has he not jumped before he is pushed? Probably because he realises that he is a lot to push.
12:35 pm
As a former resident of Tormohun ward I have followed with interest Susie Colley's intention to stand for election to Torbay Council next May. In announcing her candidature she states the need to bring truth, transparency and reality back to the council. Would this be the same Susie Colley who has assiduously promoted herself firstly in the guise of 'independent' candidate for the mayoralty,
12:14 pm
David Cameron hosted his Summer Party on Monday night but apparently he did not not keep his guests enraptured with his plans for a Conservative greener future. According to the Mirror during his speech: "he lost his audience the moment the words "climate change" slipped from his mouth and a murmur of chatter rose up. "Tories, it seemed, were more interested in filling wine glasses than reducing emissions." So for £400 a head it looks like you can lead a Tory to a bar but you can't make them think.
11:57 am
On the LDYS Policy Committee. Yes, yours truly, since this weekend. I missed out on VC Campaigns though, to Adrian Smith, who, let's be fair, deserved it as he has been doing the job for the past few months anyway.
11:04 am
The four most pointless trains ever? See Return? There can be NO RETURN. on Flickr.com
10:57 am
The editor of the Italian sports daily Gazetto Dello Sport must have been one of the Italians who partied shortest last night. When his nation won 2-0 against the hosts Germany in the World Cup he must have taken great joy in shouting the Italian for 'hold the front page'. Instead of the call to relegate 4 senior teams including Juventos and AC Milan he was able to celebrate the Italians regular
10:48 am
According to the report by the Healthcare Commission and Commission for Social Care Inspection there was "widespread institutional abuse of 200 people with learning disabilities living at a treatment centre in Falmouth and in 46 houses around Cornwall". Some of the abuse described in this report is horrific but sadly in my personal experience (I was until recently a director of West Berkshire Mencap) these are not isolated incidents. The NHS in other parts of the country has very real problems in dealing with people with learning disabilities. These problems may not be on the same scale as the proactive ...
10:44 am
You can win a day's campaigning from yours truly in the Bedford Liberal Democrats Promise Auction. Bedford Liberal Democrats is one of the local parties outside the West Midlands that I regularly help, mainly because my friend Christine McHugh is standing there for elected Mayor next May.
8:20 am
Anybody who has ever fought an election in Bridgend or had dealings with the Electoral Registration Office prior to 2004 will not be surprised at the outcome of this report into electoral irregularities there. It is not that they were unhelpful or inefficient, on the contrary they were always polite, courteous and returned calls straight away. It is just that one always had the feeling that they were not quite on top of things. I am pleased to say that this has now changed. My first experience of Bridgend was in the 1997 General Election when I was Kirsty ...
8:16 am
The impact of the Blaenau Gwent by-election was evident for all to see yesteday. The Government lost the vote to approve the business statement and the Culture Minister postponed the abolition of the Welsh Language Board indefinitely. To be precise Alun Pugh said that he has "decided to merge the board with the Welsh Assembly Government...through a single set of legislative changes rather than two." In other words he does not have the majority to do it now so he is using the extra powers available through the Government of Wales Bill as an excuse to delay the process ...
8:14 am
The new Doctor Who is about to reach season three plus have a spin off Torchwood and they are already reusing the actors. Torchwood is to have Eve Myles play a different character and now the new companion will be Freema Agyeman who only died last week!
12:01 am
Freema Agyeman will be joining David Tennant in the TARDIS for the 2007 series, the BBC has announced. You may remember her from such TV series as Coronation Street and The Bill, and from such Doctor Who episodes as last Saturday’s, in which she was taken over by the Cybermen, killed by the Doctor and [...]
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