LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Friday 5th October 2007

I’m a Councillor, get me out of here!

As one of the youngest members of the Liberal Democrat group, I’m one of our representatives in this year’s I’m a Councillor, Get Me Out Of Here! contest, which was launched today. Luckily for me, the school they chose to launch it at was St Helena, which is just a few minutes walk from my house. If you’ve never heard of IACGMOOH (no matter how silly the acronym looks, it’s still easier than typing the whole thing again), it’s an attempt to get young people interested in local democracy by taking six councillors (two from each of the main parties) ...

Colossus

It has been said that Dobson, the out of print pamphleteer, bestrode the 20th century like a colossus. This claim was first made by Dobson himself, when still a young man. At the age of twenty, he published a pamphlet resoundingly titled Why I Shall Bestride This Century Like A Colossus. It is a curious work, out of print of course, a thin tract with a picture of a whooper swan on the cover. It begins thus: I shall bestride this century like a colossus. My name will ring out like a clarion. In years to come, whenever two or ...

Liberal Assembly tomorrow

I don't know if it is a coincidence but the Liberal Party have their assembly tomorrow in Wolverhampton. Of course one person who won't be their is Michael Meadowcroft, as has been reported throughout the blogosphere, but first by Nigel Ashton. I met Michael many times when he was a Liberal MP - he came to speak at a public meeting in Orpington (when Jonathan Fryer was the PPC). I was a member

Allocation Of Hooting Yard Weeks

This is just a quick reminder that last week was Our Lady Of Pituitary Glands, this week is the Goon Fang Pinocchio Of Camshafts, and next week is the Complacent Herons Of Totteridge & Whetstone. Please ensure your beads and counters are correctly aligned, and that your cushions are appropriately embroidered. If you will be eating any figs next week, be sure to keep them in a covered bowl and tilt the bowl slightly on your shelf. You can do this by wedging a triple-folded cardboard bus ticket under one side of the bowl’s base. When all the figs have ...

Stand with the Burmese Protesters

{monks_crack2.jpg} Burma is ruled by one of the worst military dictatorships in the world. Last month Buddhist monks and nuns began marching and chanting prayers to call for democracy. The protests spread and hundreds of thousands of Burmese people joined in — but they’ve been brutally attacked by the military regime. I just signed a petition calling on Burma’s powerful ally China and the UN security council to step in and pressure Burma’s rulers to stop the killing. The petition has exploded to over 500,000 signatures in a few days and is being advertised in newspapers around the world, delivered ...

Tooth Review: 1556 & 1557 (obligatory spoiler warning)

A double helping this week due to illness and Labour conference. {Prog 1556} Cover (1556): A fantastic black, white and pink affair by Frazer Irving of the Hitman’s Daughter. The juxtaposition between the grown up assassin and the frightened child she used to be adds a level of poinancy to the image which might otherwise appear too stylised. {Prog 1557} Cover (1557): Dredd, old school style, courtesy of Keeper of the Flame Rufus Dayglo (2000AD was 2.0 before 2.0 was invented - the fans have been the content generators for some time now). An eye-catching image with a slogan with ...

David Cameron's conference speech

Brilliant.

Crossrail latest: Labour delays project by a year

You may have thought that Labour today announced they were going ahead with Crossrail (the cross-London train route), hurrah all round. Now, I’ve already pointed out the little problem Labour have with repeatedly making the same Crossrail announcement. But there’s another problem too. You see, if you look into the details today’s announcement was for construction work [...]

Strictly Come Election

Put away the anti-depressants, dust off the dancing shoes, get out the fake tan - Strictly Come Dancing is back. This year's line up is very strong. My great worry is that there isn't a girl I want to see leave. I love Kate Garraway. She's actually the niece of one of the stalwarts of West Lothian Lib Dems. They even got their photo in Ok magazine when Kate got married. However, even without the excruciating pain of Tendonitis, she probably isn't a great dancer. I don't think it matters because she's paired with the very funny Anton Du Beke. ...

I'll Be There For You

Thirteen and a half years after everyone else (well, I never was an early adopter), I have finally developed an addiction to Friends. I'd watched odd bits before but it never really did it for me. During the Holyrood campaign, my big thing was to come home and watch two episodes before I went to bed and I found that they could have me in absolute hysterics, laughing until tears rolled down my face. Everyone else had 10 years to watch every episode, but we seem to have managed it over the Summer. Amazon had a reasonable deal on DVD ...

Time to decide, Gordon

Gordon Brown may well be crying into his Horlicks tonight, wondering how he had managed to make such a spectacular muck up of the snap election. He's now taking a risk if he does and looks like a great big scaredy cat if he doesn't. I suspect it all started out as a bit of a ruse to try to get the Labour Party to behave itself and to think about an election either next Spring or the one after. The speculation was then allowed to get out of control and now it's going to be difficult to re-bottle the ...

STV Scottish by-election detail

I like the full information rather than just the summary already posted. Here is the detail of the Scottish by-election Argyll and Bute UA, Helensburgh and Lomond South LD Andrew Nisbet was elected at stage four. The percentage poll was 37.4% and the quota was 1060. 1st Round LD 642 Con 627 Ind 493 SNP 356 (SNP eliminated) Round 2 (with SNP votes redistributed) LD 752 (+

Welcome to Michael Meadowcroft

The news of the day is that Michael Meadowcroft, who was Liberal Alliance MP for Leeds West between 1983 and 1987 and later the mainstay of the independent Liberal Party, has joined the Liberal Democrats. Most of us got the news from Nigel Ashton's blog at midday. At 2.24 p.m. Liberal Democrat Voice posted the story, attributing it to dramatic sounding "well-placed sources". Lord Bonkers adds: And who is to do my weeding?

Has the election regained a little snap?

I'm still expecting an election this autumn. Why? Well, because of the nonsense with the Tory conference blip (please let me be right!), most people are betting against an election, so if Brown calls one it will, to a certain extent anyway, be a "snap" election after all. Counter-intuition and all that. Just a thought. Jonathan Wallace is with me.

Why there might be an election after all

The opinion polls do not looks so promising for Gordon Brown, but Alexander Chancellor points to the psychological factors that might yet tempt him to go to the country: there is another powerful reason that could push him into taking the plunge immediately. This is the oft-repeated view of his enemies in the Blair camp that he is quite incapable of winning an election. They have been saying this since 1994, when disbelief in his electoral appeal handed the Labour leadership to Blair; and they have been going on about it ever since. Brown, they claim, is not someone whom ...

Hill of the Week

Following the popularity of Titterstone Clee, I bring you Robin-a-Tiptoe Hill in Leicestershire. You will find it in the sparsely populated landscape of the North and East of the county - the area known as High Leicestershire. Legend has it that the hill, which was originally known as Howback Hill, got its name from a tall felon who was hanged there. According to which version you believe, his height made it difficult or impossible to carry out the sentence. I have always thought that "Robin-a-Tiptoe" ought to be an alternative name for Puck. Thanks to Sam Tait for the photograph. ...

New Sodbury car park to close at night

Following complaints from neighbours, Sodbury Town Council has decided to close the car park extension because of antisocial behaviour. Residents in High Street and Brook Street have complained about youngsters speeding, revving engines and playing loud music. The extension was opened last year at a cost of over £250,000. The Town Council also intends to extend the CCTV network to cover the car park. The extension is being closed for a trial period, but the old part of the car park will stay open. The Town Council says that it shouldn't cause a problem because the car park isn't used ...

Sunny afternoon in London.

One of my students asked me to accompany her to receive an Award at the House of Lords yesterday. We had an amazing day. The weather was lovely and we combined the ceremony with some sightseeing. I'm usually busy going here and there - so the opportunity to relax and enjoy the day was special. The Helena Kennedy Awards presentation was lovely too - on the Terrace at the Lords. We met organisers,

Environment Agency blocks Cranleigh Court kickabout area

Yate Town Councillors check out plans for the kickabout area In a shock move the Environment Agency has blocked plans for youngsters in Cranleigh Court to have a kickabout area on the school sports field. Local youngsters asked their local councillors, Mike Drew and Ian Blair for a kickabout area. Both schools agreed to release part of their land – in a win-win deal, where the school would use the surfaced kickabout area during the day and local young people could use it out of school hours. Residents backed it. Cllr Martin Monk, who lives within sight of the scheme, ...

I still expect him to call it next week

Don't get carried away with the shortening of the Labour lead over the Conservatives in the polls. It should have been expected anyway. Last week was wall to wall coverage of the Labour conference so that was likely to increase the poll ratings for Labour. This week it has been wall to wall coverage for the Tories. So Labour's artificial high has been deflated and the Tories have taken up some of

Why Jack is still not back!

I am so frustrated, you have no idea. I am still being denied access to the blogosphere from home. It's too long and boring a story, but it may lead to me leading a campaign to renationalise BT and nationalise Sky. Watch this space.................

Tony Benn, the Pensioner of Kensington

So, Tony Benn wants to be an MP again.... Actually, I rather doubt it. If he wanted to be an MP, he might get a better offer than Kensington, which needs an 8% swing from Conservative to Labour to win. If that happening in itself woudl be more of a miracle than Benn's return to Parliament. I don't think Benn's age is necessarily a problem. I've in the past run (successful) election campaigns for 84-year-olds, though for Councils rather than Parliament. I do however think this is much more story than substance.

Stand with Burmese Protesters

I've taken the next article from Maureen Rigg's Blog. The message is clear, please do take the time to look at this, sign it, and pass on to other people too. There's a huge on-line petition to try to get the Chinese government to exercise whatever influence they have over the Burmese dictators to stop the violent oppression and exploitation of that country and its people. The...

So, will he bottle it?

No, I don't know either. My money has been on a snap election for a little while though I did take the opportunity to lock in my profits and go all green a while back. The speculation has gone on too long - not holding an election now looks like a victory for the Conservatives. Of course, it's small stuff compared to all the headlines a Government can create in a few months of government, let alone a few years. I suspect that the relatively good coverage of Conservative party conference and the resulting closing of the polls is something ...

The first signs that Sony realise the PS3 is a flop

After months of hailing the success of the Playstation 3, despite poor sales showing it to be selling less than half the number of XBox 360's and barely a fifth of the number of Nintendo Wii's sold, Sony is showing signs that it cannot keep the facade of a "great success" going, and have announced a new cheaper and much slimmed down version of the PS3. Losing some of its more advanced functions, the ability to play Playstation 2 games and removing some connection points to be able to reduce the price to less than £300 might win a handful ...

BBC shooting the messenger

I have severe reservations about why Peter Fincham, the controller of BBC One, has had to lose his job. He claimed at a briefing for journalist that a forthcoming documentary would show the Queen storming out from a portrait sitting when he was unaware that the production company had cut the scenes together in a non chronological order. Now he was right to offer an apology to the Queen on behalf of the BBC, but I am at a loss to see what he has done to deserve losing his job. Peter Fincham comes from a background in the independent ...

Essex adoption case

The text here is from the Essex Enquirer which is available on the web, but only as a PDF which is quite difficult to negotiate. What it demonstrates is the court deciding that a child should be adopted after it had been confirmed that the parents were good enough parents for a newer child. This is one of the things that happens that I really do not think is right. Inept Social Services have

Graham's blog entry Friday 5 October 2007

Belated National Poetry Day Celebrations

There are lots of posts I intend to make on this blog, but to which I never quite get round. But this one sets a record in being a year and a day late. It was National Poetry Day yesterday, something I didn't spot until it was over. A shame because I intended to mark it with a posting, indeed with a posting I meant to make the same time last year. The day before National Poetry Day 2006, I found myself on Coventry Railway Station. I had been visiting my grandfather who was seriously ill and who died just ...

A sure way to tell if an election is in the offing

Headline no.1: “Crossrail link ‘to get go-ahead’” Headline no.2: “Crossrail gets the green light” Can you spot the difference? The first was in the run-up to the last general election whilst the second is from today, aka the run up to the next general election. Nice Labour spin, repeatedly re-announcing their commitment to the very same project don’t [...]

Lonely Planet on the move

I suffered a sentimental pang this week when I read that Lonely Planet has been sold and is being bought by BBC Worldwide. When I went off round the world a few years ago, Lonely Planet guides were my constant companion – without them I would have been completely lost (indeed until I did find them, I was lost!). Their books, at least the ones I was using, had a very distinctive backpacker style and ethos – they were definitely much more than just a guidebook. No doubt some of this was just good marketing to their audience, but I ...

(nonpolitical) Excitement!

I just wanted to register my general glee at the prospect of an Adam and Joe radio vehicle which I can actually listen to on an actual radio (not being a London person, I have not been able to listen to their previous efforts on Xfm, although their excellently funny podcasts made up for that a bit). You hear me, 6 Music? Make this happen as soon as possible, please. And that's probably it from

A song for the Conservatives...

I'm a child of the eighties in so many ways, and always struggled with the apparent heartlessness of the Conservative Government, particularly post-1987. And so, whilst listening to my copy of the Proclaimers 1987 album "This Is The Story", I thought that I would post a reminder of why I can't quite bring myself to trust what David Cameron and his boys would like me to... "Don’t get me wrong Don

Iraqi interpreters: 9th October meeting

The campaign over asylum for Iraqi interpreters who worked for the British armed forces and who are now in fear of their lives has organised a cross-party meeting in Parliament for 9th October - backed by Amnesty International, The Refugee Council and others. I'll be speaking, along with Conservative MP Ed Vaizey (a regular jousting partner on Radio 4's Westminster Hour!) and a so-far unnamed senior Labour MP. Will be interesting to see who pops their head above the parapet from the Labour side on this! There is some good lobbying advice over on Dan Hardie's blog (though I would ...

London tops corruption survey

Some league tables are good to top - and some are bad, such as being the worst financial centre for international corruption. And who tops this league table - step forward, London! You can read more on this story at www.corruptionisacrime.com - and whilst there do sign our petition about the Al Yamamah arms deal scandal!

Oh no please my sides are hurting with the pain of laughing

Apparently DRS e-Counting solutions have once again delivered results efficiently and effectively in Scotland Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha No please stop, I can't take ...

Michael Meadowcroft joins Lib Dems

Well-placed sources inform The Voice that Michael Meadowcroft, who (re-)founded the continuing Liberal Party in 1989 following the Liberal/SDP merger, has now joined the Liberal Democrats. And it’s now on his Wikipedia entry, too, so it must be true. Welcome aboard, Michael. UPDATE: Nigel Ashton has the full story.

Bill clinton interview in the Guardian - this is why I am backing Hillary

Bill Clinton is interviewed in today's Guardian. I know people are polarised on the Clintons, it is no secret I am a fan. Firstly I am backing Hillary because I beleive she is the only candidate that can raise the support, and in particular the funds to beat the GOP. But secondly this extract sums up why Hillary has to be the Democrat candidate: He says Hillary has asked him, if she is elected,

Welcome back Michael Meadowcroft

Posted by Chris: Nigel Ashton brings the best news of this month so far. Former Liberal MP for Leeds West, Michael Meadowcroft, has joined the Liberal Democrats. What an inspiration Michael was when he won Leeds West. He was everywhere at Liberal events in Yorkshire and the Liberal Assembly. I remember he was a tough questioner, along with David Shutt (now Lord Shutt of Greetland), on the panel when I first went for approval as a Liberal Parliamentary Candidate in 1978. I was very disappointed that Michael did not join the party after the merger but better late than never. ...

Treat me nice says the party girl

As Guido might say, “blogging will be light” for the next couple of weeks, because I am off overseas. Can you ask Gordon not to call an election? I don’t want to miss all the fun. This is a live version of Koka Kola by the Clash.

Has Gordon Brown screwed his own Autumn election?

While Gordon Brown has been claiming that he has been getting on with running the country and that it is others talking elections, it is clear that his aides have been spinning it like crazy for a long time now. You can tell by reading the Guardian that the machine has been stoking the election up. Common suspicion is that they have been doing it to unease the other parties. But they have had

The future of children's television

The BBC reports: Media regulator Ofcom has called for a national debate on the future of children's TV in Britain, saying just 17% of output is now homegrown."Calling for a debate" is what people do nowadays when they hold an opinion but are afraid to express it. So what Ofcom really means, I suspect, is that it thinks it is a very bad thing that so few children's programmes are British-made these days, but does not like to say so in case it upsets commercial interests or sounds racist or old-fashioned. So let's hear some less mealy-mouthed opinions. First, here ...

Is twenty plenty for Gardner Road?

I would say that the biggest practical difference in my life in the last five months since my election is the amount of post I receive! And this week my post-bag has had another couple of concerned letters about Gardner Road in it. At the moment there are no speed restrictions other than the regular 30mph limit on this road, which is increasingly becoming absolutely packed with residents’ cars on both sides. Added to this are the trucks and other vehicles going to and from FDK Kitchens, and I think a lot of residents are worried that it won’t be ...

More CCTV cameras does not mean more crimes solved

Dee Doocey has had some great coverage for her research on the number of CCTV cameras that each London boroughs has and the percentage of its crimes that are solved. Here is an example from ComputerworldUK: The city has over 10,000 publicly funded CCTV cameras in public areas, but only one in five crimes are solved, said Dee Doocey, a spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats political party on the London Assembly, the elected body which determines transport and policing policy for London's 32 boroughs and the City of London itself. Using figures obtained from the London boroughs, the Metropolitan Police ...

1million4disability

{disability-rights.jpg} Over a thousand people representing every EU member state gathered for a festive day of celebration and campaiging on disability rights in Brussels yesterday, with live musicians, street performances and a mass release of balloons. The aim of the event was to highlight the lives and concerns of disabled people in society and in the workplace, and to ask what more the EU could be doing to protect and enhance their rights. Since the European Disability Forum, which was held on 27 January, groups and individuals have collected a million signatures on a petition on disability rights, which was handed over ...

Darzi report on NHS means so much more to me now

This morning I handed in my notice at work, as I have accepted a new job. At the moment I work for Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council as a Senior Performance Improvement Officer, but the time has come for a change and I am leaving local government as a career to work for the NHS. I am joining Pennine Care NHS Trust as their Business Planning Manager. Pennine Care provide mental health services for most of eastern Greater Manchester, including Bury. I am glad to be staying in the public sector, and now with my professional and Council work I can ...

Thank YouTube It's Friday

YouTube has finally come up with the goods and I can present my favourite video of all time (four versions thereof, no less!) If the Public Information Film man didn't do it for you, surely Tomorrow's World's very own Maggie Philbin is authoritative enough? And in the interests of balance, here are the news reports of the day's events, proof positive that some things never change...

Crossrail to go ahead - again

I see that the decision to go ahead with the Crossrail project has been announced again. This makes me feel all nostalgic. For this decision - along with an end to safari holidays for young offenders - was announced at every single Conservative Conference while John Major was prime minister. It was received enthusiastically each time and no one thought to question why no tunnel was ever bored and to no track was ever laid. This explains the response from Geoff Pope, the Liberal Democrat transport spokesman on the London Assembly: "Nobody is questioning the crucial role Crossrail will play ...

Was David Cameron's "ad-lib" speech scripted?

Paul Walter has questioned the impression given by many in the media that David Cameron's speech was unscripted. He points to a Daily Mirror piece, written by Kevin McGuire which suggests that the speech writer was seen receiving congratulations from fellow Tories outside Euston station. Throughout the speech David Cameron was certainly moving his head from side to side, continuously, in the same way that speakers do when reading from an autocue.

Name of the Day

The winner is Kermit Roosevelt, who has an article on Comment is Free this morning. As readers of William Boyd's novel An Ice-Cream War will know, President Theodore Roosevelt had a son called Kermit, so I assume there is a family connection.

Sage Wholefoods to close

I’ve just received notification via their MySpace page that Sage Wholefoods in Moseley is to close. This is a real shame as Sage provides a unique offering not just in Moseley but in the wider Birmingham area. I suggest to anyone that’s yet to experience Sage to get on over to Moseley before they shut the doors for the final time on 31 October {:-(} From their MySpace bulletin: Sage Wholefoods has been severely struggling due to unexpected legal costs this year, and due to competition in the organics market from neighbouring supermarkets. Regretfully, we will be closing our doors ...

Stand with the Burmese Protesters

I don't usually make time for blogging in the middle of the day but this is so important, here goes. There's a huge on-line petition to try to get the Chinese government to exercise whatever influence they have over the Burmese dictators to stop the violent oppression and exploitation of that country and its people. The petition reads: To Chinese President Hu Jintao and the UN Security Council:

Policy free zone

CentreForum recently sought advice from a respected political commentator about when to launch our next publication."I'd be very interested in it," he said "but I will only be writing about election speculation until Tuesday."It is therefore no surprise that this blog, which is meant to highlight the interesting policy debates of the day, has struggled to find policy coverage in the broadsheets over the last couple of weeks.Today is no exception. Poll speculation continues take up all the column inches. Ironically, the most insightful analysis doesn't come from the newspapers at all, but the politicalbetting.com blog which has been given ...

Recycling Surgeries

Redcar and Cleveland Council's Recycling Team hosts a series of advice surgeries at libraries this month. Dates, venues and times are: Thursday, October 11: Loftus, 11am-noon, Roseberry Shopping Centre, Redcar, 2pm-3pm. Friday, October 12: Skelton, 11am-noon, Guisborough, 2pm-4pm. Tuesday, October 16: Marske, 11am-noon, Laburnum Road, Redcar, 2pm-3pm. Wednesday, October 17: Redcar, noon-2pm. Friday, October 19: Ormesby, 2pm-4pm.

New bus services have been given the green light

Plans introduced by the Liberal Democrat led Coalition before the Council elections in May are finally in place. Redcar and Cleveland Council hopes a new bus service to be launched next month is just the ticket for dozens of would-be bus passengers who have been left standing for over a year. The Council has been given the green light by the Traffic Commissioners to run the service, which will link the communities of Easington and Lazenby, as well as the villages of Liverton Mines and Skinningrove, into Redcar from Monday, November 12. The service will be operated by a 25-seater, ...

Shropshire Liberal Democrats

I attended a meeting of Liberal Democrats across Shropshire last night. I was one of four main speakers, I spoke a little about the forthcoming General Election and then gave my views on a number of international issues - one of which was China's role in the world.

BNP: Holocaust school trips are "discriminatory and racist"

The BNP deserves some sort of biscuit for this article on their website criticising secondary school trips to sites of the Holocaust in Poland. The BNP says this is "discriminatory and racist": Further to elevate just one of the many atrocities Man has inflicted on Man is in itself discriminatory and racist. Emphasis on the lessons to be learned from the horrors of the 1940s concentrates one

Cameron's unscripted remarks - writer takes a bow

Kevin Maguire in the Daily Mirror is on the trail of the writer of Cameron's "unscripted" speech: If David Cameron's audition to be a cable TV daytime host was unscripted, a line swallowed by many newspapers and broadcasters, can anyone explain why the "speech writer" was last night having his hand shaken by fellow Tories?A lawyer acquaintance waiting in a Euston station taxi queue at about 7.45

It’s all american

According to BBC News just 17% of Childrens Television broadcast in the UK is actually produced in the UK - which is nice. Ok so I know the PC thing to say right now is that children shouldn’t be watching too much television anyway and so if only 17% of hundreds of hours of programming a week is produced in the UK then that should be enough. But thats just bollocks. I have two young children, a six year old and a four year old - both of whom have the same healthy interest in television and being entertained that ...

London tops international corruption survey

“The City of London has become the number-one home for the fruits of corruption,” said Laurence Cockcroft, director of Transparency International UK on the publication of their latest index of corruption around the world. As the New Statesman reports: We may associate the word corruption with Russian oligarchs and African republics run by venal government officials, yet according to the watchdog, Transparency International, the world capital of dirty money is not Moscow or Mogadishu. It is London. You can read the full story here.

Quarter of households 'unable to afford their own homes'

The story (on 24 dash) underlines one aspect of the problems in housing today. It is worth me just linking to this story and not commenting for the moment (because I am too busy).

Michael Meadowcroft joins Lib Dems

Michael Meadowcroft has joined the Liberal Democrats. Michael is the former Liberal MP for Leeds West and has over forty-five years experience of Liberal politics at all levels. He is a former Chair of the Electoral Reform Society and has led, or been a member of, missions to thirty-five different countries, assisting in the transition to multi-party democracy.

So who pays for elections?

I'm not referring to the campaign costs racked up by each of the parties, but the actual administration costs of running a general election. Well, it is local Councils that have to administer elections, and they do get a grant from Government to cover the expenses. That still means that taxpayers pay for it. According to the BBC the 2001 election cost £80 million - I can't find the...

British guards 'assault and racially abuse' deportees

There isn’t really anything to add to today’s Independent front page: Hundreds of failed asylum-seekers deported from the United Kingdom have been beaten and racially abused by British escort teams who are paid to take them back to their home countries. The scale of the alleged abuse has been uncovered in a joint investigation by The Independent and a group co-ordinating the representation and medical care of failed asylum-seekers. A dossier of 200 cases, collated by doctors, lawyers, immigration centre visitors and campaign groups over the past two years, has unearthed shocking claims of physical and mental mistreatment of some ...

Tory vote COLLAPSES!!!

Since the Tories were making such a big deal about the by-elections last week, here are a couple of results that happened within hours of David Cameron’s conference speech: Leicestershire CC, Shepshed Lab 1217 (30.2; -12.7), Con 1074 (26.6; -10.2), LD John Popley 933 (23.1; +2.8), BNP 807 (20.0; +20.0). Majority 143. Turnout 37.3%. Lab hold. Last fought 2005. Windsor and Maidenhead UA, Datchet Con 799 (63.8; -8.6), LD Tim O’Flynn 352 (28.1; +12.0), Ind 102 (8.1; +8.1), [Lab (0.0; -11.5)]. Majority 447. Turnout 35.8%. Con hold. Last fought 2007. I’ve singled out the Tories here, but it isn’t such ...

Election Results: Thursday 4th October 2007.

Argyll and Bute UA, Helensburgh and Lomond South LD Andrew Nisbet was elected at stage four. The percentage poll was 37.4% and the quota was 1060. LD gain from Ind. Last fought 2007. Hambleton DC, Northallerton Broomfield Con elected unopposed. Con hold. Last fought 2007. Leicestershire CC, Shepshed Lab 1217 (30.2; -12.7), Con 1074 (26.6; -10.2), LD John Popley 933 (23.1; +2.8), BNP 807 (20.0;

A fixed term Parliment is Gordon's way out of this embarrassment

Posted by Chris: There is a way that Gordon Brown could save face if he does decide not to call a snap General Election, and risk becoming the shortest serving PM, by agreeing that there should be a fixed term Parliament. He saw the merit in handing over responsibility for setting interest rates to the Bank of England. This move, long advocated by the Liberal Democrats, distanced the Government from a lot of the flak associated raising interest rates. Having a fixed term for Parliament will work in a similar way. It would put a stop to the endless speculation ...

Corner of Perth Road and Ryehill Lane

Residents have mentioned to me the fact that the seating area (in front of the advertising hoardings) is looking untidy again and that the seating is in poor shape. Having contacted the owners (J C Decaux) I have been advised that they will ensure it is tidied and they will see what they can do to improve the seating.

A Panel

Any relation to topical discussion shows which I may or may not work on is entirely coincidental: In The Know: Situation In Nigeria Seems Pretty Complex

My New Look

OK It’s still a little bit of a work in progress but what do you think of the new look 5tracks? Content will still be the same mindless drivel but hopefully more of the same mindless drivel - just coming to you with a less threatening skin. I’ve been planning a re-design for a while but this comment from Cathy Keir spurred me into action. Hi - have just found your blog and it’s very interesting - but very hard to read. I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I find the pale colour on brown hard work. I’m ...

Stripping down the Tories' married couples' tax proposal

Still being a bit baffled by what it is that the Tories are exactly proposing for married couples, I, at last, found a very sane analysis by Unity on the Ministry of Truth, summarised thus: The policy here is all smoke and mirrors but when one wipes away the crap, one quickly discovers that all it actually amounts to is modest tax cut for the wealthy, and especially those with either no children

Fixed term Parliaments... please!!!!

There must surely, by now, be a growing demand for fixed term Parliaments. It can't be fair for local election dates to be fixed, Euro elections dates to be set, and yet the House of Commons to still operate on a system that hugely benefits the Prime Minister. And even if we ignore the fairness argument, this constant stream of articles (with the journalists being no more informed than anyone else) is driving me mad. There must surely be stories of more significance to be looked into. And when all policy announcements are seen through the lens of election date ...

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who supported the International Bloggers' Day for Burma yesterday. 11325 bloggers and web surfers signed up to support the Day. Google Blogsearch now has 6959 search hits for "Free Burma". Abstaining from blogging for the day was quite refreshing. I managed to get to 8.53pm without temptation. It was then that I saw the Guardian news about the polls. I got as far as

Osbourne's package will disappoint

7.10am today. Woken up with an electric cattle prod ruthlessly applied to my cojones...also known as a GMTV appearance by Edwina Currie, my all-time lift breakdown companion from hell. Trite, over-simplistic, ridiculously partisan, smug, arrogant, pig-headed....the list is endless. I resorted to the old "Hey Jude" humming trick as wifey wanted to listen to her, for some reason. I thought La

Hanging on the telephone

Sanddef reports on an article in Golwg, which alleges that Labour is turning its back on the Welsh language by making automated monoglot English telephone calls in the Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire constituency: According to Plaid, these "robo-calls" were monoglot English, even though over a quarter of the constituency's population speak Welsh. "Labour has been complaining about bilingual train announcements and chose not to be present at the National Eisteddfod," said Helen Mary Jones AM. "Now, they can't be bothered to translate a message for people in an area with a high percentage of Welsh speakers. "Obviously they have ...

Return of the Wispa

I had an email a little while back from the A Quarter Of... website mailing list. It's a website that sells sweets - a good place to get hold of Wham and Stinger bars and things like that. Anyway, the email was to say that the Wispa was going back on sale: And Cadburys are saying that they are bringing it back because of public demand… and in particular demand off the internet… which got us thinking… PS Stop Press... apparently the 'return' of Wispa is not totally what it seemed... it will just be a limited edition from what ...

More backing for fixed-term Parliaments

Two more straws in the wind: Ming Campbell on last night's Question Time and Lib Dem blogger of the year James Graham on his blog have both spoken out in favour of fixed-term Parliaments in the wake of the latest will-he won't-he dithering from Brown. Previous backers included Benedict Brogan of the Daily Mail and Samuel Brittan in the Financial Times. There might be a bit of a head of steam building up on this now - thank goodness!

Naming the day

If anything is going to make the Prime Minister pause this morning, it is the front page of the Guardian. They have a new opinion poll showing an eight point shift of views amongst the electorate that puts Labour and the Tories neck and neck on 38 per cent each. The Liberal Democrats are on 16 per cent. It looks very much as if Gordon Brown has missed his chance, He should have called a snap election the day after the Labour Conference. Now, not only does he have uncertain public opinion to contend with but he also must factor ...

National Poetry Day

As I was too busy to spend the time to do this yesterday I missed National Poetry Day, however I will make amends today with a poem by Edgar Allan Poe reflecting the day's theme of dreams: Dreams Oh! that my young life were a lasting dream! My spirit not awakening, till the beam Of an Eternity should bring the morrow. Yes! tho' that long dream were of hopeless sorrow,' Twere better than the cold reality Of waking life, to him whose heart must be, And hath been still, upon the lovely earth, A chaos of deep passion, from his ...

Hong Kong or Leith?

Kevin and Jennifer Lang should be living it up in Hong Kong on the holiday of a lifetime at the moment. Instead, they are at home in Granton, putting the final preparations to an election campaign. Kevin is the prospective Liberal Democrat candidate for Edinburgh North and Leith. When he and Jenni booked their holiday to see Jenni's sister in China in March, nobody could have predicted that there would be an election in November. They made the decision to cancel on Wednesday, the day before they should have left, when an election announcement next Tuesday looked virtually certain. Not ...

Milton Friedman on Prohibition and Drugs

Now that Bloggers for Burma Day is past, my attention has been drawn to an article written thirty five years ago by Milton Friedman as then President Nixon was preparing to step up the "war on drugs". I think it appropriate today as President Brown prepares also to step up the "war on drugs" here at home (at the same time as the Czech Republic apparently starts the process of decriminalizing). You'll find it, which I reproduce in full below, along with lots of other useful documents and research hosted at the Schaffer Library of Drugs Policy: Prohibition and Drugs ...

One in a thousand

This is post number 100 on this blog since it started in the middle of January. It's now attracting a regular readership (thank you all!) of over 300 visitors a month. According to Technorati, the blog search engine, this blog ranks at no. 97, 290 out of the 108 million blogs indexed worldwide - so it's in the top 0.1%. Can't be bad - mind you, I wonder how many of those are never updated? If you enjoy this blog, please tell your friends about it.

Day 2467: Whatever Happened to the Space Age?

Thursday: Happy Birthday Sputnik! It was fifty years ago that the very first artificial satellite was launched into space from a Soviet Rocket Range in Kazakhstan and began broadcasting its message to the whole world: "Bleep… bleep… bleep… bleep…" as Mr Leonard Nimoy says in Daddy's Civilisation Computer game when you invent satellites. Within four years a man had flown in space; within twelve years another man had set foot on the MOON. So how has it been, living in the future? Were we not all supposed to have JETPACKS and TELEPORTERS and trips to the MOONBASE by now? Since ...

Friday 5th October 2007

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