LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Wednesday 24th October 2007

Drop Jonathan Ross altogether

Yesterday I suggested that the BBC should drop Jonathan Ross from Film 2007 and give it to the far more interesting Mark Kermode instead. That would leave his chatshow. For some entertaining vituperation against that, read Tam Cowan in the Daily Record: In the same week that 230 job losses were announced by BBC Scotland, I wonder how many Beeb employees smashed their TV screens within the first five minutes of the Jonathan Ross show on Friday night? Believe it or not, the man with the infamous £18million contract asked his guest, the captain of the England women's football team, ...

Hooray for Democracy

I was so pleased to get a message today that the House of Commons has accepted the Liberal Democrat amendment to leave elected executives for out of the new Bill. This is excellent news for Councils throughout the Country, that it will not be one of the options presented to them, sounding attractive, but luring them into a scenario that could produce an unworkable cabinet and second class...

Ming packing up

Chanced upon this Bremner, Bird and Fortune clip on YouTube. It was a shame to see Ming go as he did - he just didn't get a fair run in the media. But, I'm sure he would raise a smile at this too.

上海、西安欢迎！

同志你们好！欢迎读我的网络随笔，但是我想你们不会喜欢我的自由心思！也许你们会改革政治事务在中国。你们的批评的朋友，魏涛

Chris says ambitious renewable targets needed to fight climate change

It seems the leadership contest isn’t quite taking up all of Chris’s time at the moment as he still had time to make a statement in his role as the Party’s Shadow Secretary for the Environment. He said: “The Government must not go back on the ambitious targets recently set by European leaders. It is only by aiming high that we can make real progress in tackling climate change. “There are major projects such as the Severn barrage scheme that, together with micro-generation, can and must deliver increases in renewable energy. “Only serious targets will concentrate minds enough to ensure ...

Gordon Brown says no to Frenchay Hospital Review

At Prime Minister's Question Time Gordon Brown has refused to consider an independent review of the Frenchay Hospital decision. See Steve Webb's blog entry here.

Shameless Grell soldiers on

Waltham Forest Councillor Miranda Grell, suspended from Labour, sacked from her job as aide to Nicky Gavron, and convicted of breaking election law for running a vicious paedophile smear campaign against her opponent in the 2006 election appears to still be in denial over the verdict of the court. She... sorry her 'friends and family' have set up a self-serving 'campaign' website to raise a fighting fund for an appeal against the verdict. The website includes such astonishingly dishonest claims such as "People who campaigned with Miranda in 2006 remember nothing but a happy, vibrant and exciting local election campaign ...

Skittles the Stiperstones Inn cat

I was pleased to find that Skittles, whom I mentioned the other day, also features in the Shropshire Star's review of its restaurant: Walking into the Stiperstones Inn is like stepping back in time. There is a roaring coal fire in the middle of the lounge with a cat, called Skittles, lying lazily in front of it.And later: We called in on a Friday night and the pub was jam-packed. We made our way through the lounge — taking care not to trip over Skittles — and were shown into a small dining room.I would only add that in my ...

Why is Wednesday a bad day for blogs ?

I was looking trough my stat counter the other day and was surprised to see that my worst day for hits is consistently a Wednesday. I then clicked on to a couple of other blogs that have public stat counters and they also showed similar figures. So why is it that Wednesday is a bad day for blog hits or is it just a quirk of my blog and a couple of others ?

Steel's views on abortion

David Steel's views on abortion were considered to be front page news in The Guardian today. The former Liberal leader, who was the architect of the 1967 Act which legalised abortion, is quoted by the paper as saying: "Everybody can agree that there are too many abortions." Yet if you turn to the actual interview which prompted the news story, he actually says something very different. There, he states: "I don't think we had expected anything like those numbers," he concedes, "but when people say there are 'too many' I say: 'All right, you give me the right figure.' And ...

Lorely Burt elected chair of Lib Dem Parliamentary party

Congratulations to Lorely Burt on being elected chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary party. Reproducing the party press release, Lib Dem Voice reports that she defeated Andrew George and John Thurso to win the post. The press release does not reproduce the voting figures. One bonus for Lorely is that the press will consistently call her "the chair of the Liberal Democrats" even though there is no such post.

Reinventing the State Chapter 6: Liberalism and the search for meaning

David Boyle's chapter is a fierce attack on secularism. Why this is appropriate for a book about social liberalism is clear to him, if not to me. The first big problem here is that the word secularism has two pertinent meanings: 1. Not being religious, an absence of religion 2. The idea that the state should be neutral with respect to religious questions - that the state should not discriminate

The amazing vanishing envoy

Anyone who read Jonathan Freedland's piece in The Guardian today on the proposed Middle East peace conference might have noticed an interesting omission. Nowhere in his piece does he consider it worthy of mentioning the efforts of the peace envoy to the Middle East, what's his name again? Oh yes, Blair. Anthony Charles Lynton Blair. You might have heard of him. Anyone who can shed any information on his whereabouts should get in touch with the White House, as I'm sure they'd be interested in hearing all he's done in this vital position before holding the conference. It surely can't ...

Pharmacy & needle exchange plans withdrawn

Southwark Primary Care Trust have announced that the application for the 100 hour pharmacy and needle exchange on Crystal Palace Rd has been withdrawn. This is a sensational turn around due, in large part, to the hard work of local people, notably the Barry Road Residents Association (BARA). East Dulwich Lib Dem, Cllr Jonathan Mitchell, also deserves credit. Apart from speaking out at the public meeting, manning campaign stalls, making the case against the government sponsored plans in the press, he also put in hours behind the scenes working with local campaigners. Local Pharmacies to extend opening times Of course, lots of people do want extended ...

Bus improvement from UWE to our area?

It''s not easy to get home by bus if you study or work at UWE. There's an hourly-ish service 581. For example, it leaves UWE at 1621, 1726, 1834. There's also a 680 - one journey a day in each direction - leaving UWE at 1722. Spot the flaw? It's only 4 minutes different from the other one - and lots of lectures at UWE finish on the half hour, so you would miss both of them. It is possible to get back back another way by changing in Frenchay, but we thought there would be the demand for a ...

Different elections should be on different days

There has inevitably been a lot of criticism about the conduct of the Scottish Parliamentary Elections earlier this year. Some have tried to blame the electronic counting, some the use of STV and some the layout of the ballot paper. I won’t go in to the issues of electronic counting as Joe Otten has already written on this, and he has a far better understanding of the issue. But one of the recommendations that has emerged is something that I have long thought sensible anyway - having different elections on different days. To me the logic is simple. If you ...

New cycle track proposed from Sodbury to Peg Hill

Red line shows proposed cycle track View Larger Map Finance has been found for a cycle track from Chipping Sodbury, near the Millennium Garden, parallel with Wickwar Road inside the playing field hedge, up to the junction with Southfield Way, where a new crossing will be installed. The project will be funded by Chipping Sodbury Town Trust, South Glos Council and Hansen Aggregates, who operate the quarry. The proposal is out for public consultation at the moment. Cllr Paul Hulbert, of the Joint Cycleways Group, said "This isn't just a link for Chipping Sodbury children to reach the Peg Hill ...

Lorely Burt wins election contest

No, not that election contest: the one to decide who will chair the Parliamentary Party, a post from which Paul Holmes stood down on his appointment to the Lib Dem shadow cabinet. Hearty congratulations to Lorely; commiserations to the runners up, Andrew George and John Thurso. Here’s the full party press release:

Ouch! - red faces at Team Clegg

Many Lib Dem members - and The Voice was among them - might have been a tad surprised today to discover an email from ‘teamclegg’ signing them up to Nick Clegg’s e-mail list. Perhaps compulsory e-mail conscription is a first step towards moving the party out of its comfort zone, we might have thought. The truth [...]

Cars before heritage?

We notice that the Conservative Club in Hatters Lane now has a newly surfaced car park. Pity they haven't attended to Tudor House itself - this Chipping Sodbury landmark has rotting windows bereft of paint and cracks in the masonry. Let's hope that's their next priority.

...and while I'm on the subject of New Labour...

Oh yes ! One of the politburo, possibly one of the Millibanden, has now advised us to read to our children when putting them to bed. Good lord, I'd never have thought of that if he hadn't suggested it ! But then this is the government which thinks it's all right for me only to see my children once a fortnight. (Sorry, Barry. Some readers may have noticed some (shall we say) mildly critical

South Glos goes text friendly

Following a suggestion by Lib Dem councillors, you can now text South Gloucestershire Council with general enquiries about services, thanks to the launch of a text messaging service. By saving the number 07950 080 111 to your mobile phone, you can text in your enquiries - maybe to tell South Glos about a problem while you're out and about. The new service will also help people with hearing impairments. Texts will go directly to the council's customer services contact centre where staff will try to answer your enquiry and respond by text during the next working day. Texts may be ...

Guiliani the traitor

Let me know if I have missed any nuances here. I am more of a cricket fan (or at least I know where Silly Mid-on is). I would have thought that the one thing Rudy Guiliani would do is stay true to New York. It's the city he walked around on 9-11, for goodness sake. But in order to try to be US President, he has, horror of horrors (apparently - so I'm told) said that he is rooting for the Boston

Yate Tesco planning application finally submitted

Tesco have finally submitted the planning application for their new Yate store to South Glos Council. The proposal is for a two-storey supermarket built on stilts above car parking. The new building will be a Tesco Extra with three times as much floor space. This plan is a result of two consultations over the last year. The proposals also include a revamp of the bus station to provide improved facilities for buses and community transport. The plans will go out for public comment shortly - we'll let you know where to find them online. The Gazette reports the story here. ...

PMQs: Vince tackles Gordon on renewable energy

Acting Lib Dem leader Vince Cable is proving a pretty effective performer at the weekly charade of Prime Minister’s Questions. I’m not sure he exactly relishes the task - making good use of the two questions allotted to the leader of the third party, who must put his case without the prop of the despatch box [...]

Ming's masterstroke

David Cameron has now hoisted himself by his own petard. He's had to admit that once Brown/Parliament have ratified the latest EU Treaty, it will be 'too difficult' to hold a retrospective referendum. So, that's that issue neutralised, in that Cameron will be unable to use it as a campaigning issue in the run-up to the general election. Also he is now under fire from the Europhobes in his party

Is it just me or is the world mad (3) ?

Now, I admit that I may have dreamed this, as the Today programme does sometimes send me back to sleep. According to a government spokesman, they are planning to send a letter to parents to tell them if their children are fat and what to do about it ! A doctor responded that it was much better to reinforce positive behaviour. That's the plan, the spokesman said. The government will actually

So just why do we bother to go to the seaside once a year to make policy if our MPs just ignore us?

Jo Swinson introduced her 10 minute Rule Bill Packaging (Reduction) yesterday in House of Commons and seemed to forget the amendment to her motion passed at the Brighton Conference. The amendment called for a plastic bag tax similar to that in Ireland and was passed overwhelmingly. But yesterday Jo seemed to forget the party’s commitment to a plastic bag tax altogether because this is what she says: Disposable plastic bags are a highly visible symbol of wasteful practice on the part of supermarkets. An estimated 17 billion plastic bags are given away annually by United Kingdom supermarkets, enough plastic to cover an area the size ...

New insulation scheme for Borough residents

A new insulation scheme is available to all residents within the Borough of Redcar & Cleveland which offers - - Insulation measures FREE to householders in receipt of benefits - For those not in receipt of benefits, costs are as follows : Cavity Wall insulation £99 Loft Insulation £99 (if existing insulation is less than 75mm) Loft Top-ups £199 (if existing insulation is more than 75mm) Hot water tank Jackets £10 To take advantage of the offer call Warm & Well on 01642 777976. This scheme's funding is limited so ACT NOW !

Brown Lost All Credibility Today

Today's PMQs has been rather overshadowed by the speaker having to call for temperate language from Gordon Brown (over an issue, by the way, on which Cameron was quite simply correct; there is a much greater responsibility incumbent on the minister who took a decision than on the parties who didn't object, which the report (pdf) makes pretty clear). But I thought it was just worth pointing out

United Streets of Birmingham

This week and next week are the second phase of the United Streets of Birmingham programme (originally launched in July 2007). United Streets of Birmingham is the name given to ‘all out days’ involving the Birmingham Community Safety Partnership and its partner agencies, including Birmingham City Council and West Midlands Police, and residents, taking part in community safety activities

Hyde Park Community Shop

Its always tempting to assume you know everything about an area and refreshing when you discover that you are wrong. Ergo can I plug this excellent little charity shop which operates from the side of the Hyde Park Methodist Mission on Woodsley Road. It sells ( and needs) Babies and Childrens Clothes, other Clothes, Books and Household Goods. Its open Mon, Tues, Weds, Fri 1pm to 3.30pm and Sat 10am to 2pm I popped my head round the door the other day and it was full of decent folk trying to do there bit for the locality. The funds raised ...

Public Opinion

The high point for the Lib Dems in the last 2 years was at the 2005 General Election. Then, support for the parties stood at 36% for Labour, 33% for the Tories and 23% for the Lib Dems. (Source: YouGov, Voting Intentions post 2005) YouGov’s last poll, taken for the Sunday Times in October, had Labour up 2 pts at 38%, the Tories up 8 pts at 41%, the Lib Dems down 12 pts at 11%. It appears that the recent highs the Tories experienced are down to very recent - and probably temporary - swings to the Conservatives from ...

My vote goes to Nick Clegg

So why am I backing Nick Clegg? Well I suspect that this will be a two horse race with an extreme outside chance that it might just become a one horse race! I assumed that Steve Webb would also stand but he has now thrown his weight behind Nick Clegg. Last time I gave my second preference to Chris Huhne and unlike previous leadership elections where there has always been one candidate (usually the winner) whom I would not give a preference to at all I would not have a problem if Chris was elected. I don't believe that there ...

Should we holiday at home?

Holiday in the United Kingdom or even closer to home! Owning a backpackers hostel and campsite on the north Norfolk coast, I love people who want to holiday in the UK and I’m pretty sure most people would describe that as a vested interest. However after the season we’ve had it would appear lots of other people think that the UK, or at the very least Norfolk, is a great place to escape to for their leisure time. Long may it last. However is holidaying in the UK really greener than holidaying overseas? There is a lot of guilt about ...

Are LED lights the future?

Low energy bulbs are becoming the standard, and if you are still using old style tungsten bulbs then you are just throwing away money. But there is a new bulb on the market, which really is revolutionary. It’s still under development, still not got all the options, but it is definitely worth looking at if you have any form of spotlight or downlighter in your home or place of work.

Google Maps

Here's an excellent use of Google Maps for emergency response. It's a detailed map of the San Diego fires, evacuation zones, evacuation centres, road closures and so on.

Trekkies of the world unite...

Yesterday was the 100th day of the One Wales Government and as a consequence there was a two hour debate on their programme. This was very welcome especially as it was marked by some deft use of a computer by the former Plaid Cymru MP for Ceredigion, Simon Thomas, now employed as a Government Special Advisor. Mr. Thomas produced a series of 'lines to take' for the Plaid Cymru Group in response to the raft of amendments tabled by the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Unfortunately, he managed to send it to all of our support staff, a gaffe that was not ...

Hypocrisy?

It is well worth quoting in full the question asked of the Leader of the House by Labour Torfaen AM, Lynn Neagle, yesterday. Although her intervention received quite extensive coverage on the BBC for some reason the Western Mail failed to cover it this morning. How strange. This is what she said: Lynne Neagle: Will the Leader of the House consider providing time for a debate on Welsh Assembly Government advertising? Members will be aware that this institution pays the Media Wales Group in excess of £3 million per annum on advertising for Assembly jobs. However, Members may not be ...

Have the government looked on Ebay for cheap ministerial red boxes ?

The astonishing figure of £50,000 has been spent by the government on ministerial red boxes in the last few years, as has been revealed by answers to questions asked by Lib Dem MP John Hemming. Some red boxes cost up to £750, although others costs less than half this. It seems to me that if the government want to pick up a bargain then they should do what millions of others do and do a search on ebay.

Teachers get long holidays

I am constantly told how lucky I am as a teacher that I get long holidays. Of course, people ignore other things associated with ling holidays. let me elaborate. Firstly, given that I am on half term holiday this week, you would imagine that I have sat around all week with my feet up or playing on my Nintendo Wii. That is not the case. I am now having a five minute break from writing out maths plans for next term. I hope to have them finished by teatime and that will be the first three days of my holiday ...

Nick Clegg is just right, right, right

From Nick Clegg’s speech at NLC `…. there must be a radical transfer of powers and resources from central government to local government. This is a vital step in reversing the stifling grip of Whitehall-centred Government. … crucially, we must move to create a sense of daily empowerment in the way in which people use public services. Our objective isn’t simply to bring power closer to people. It is to give power to people.` Great - this is what i want to hear. We need to flesh out those bones though! I want to hear how we’re going to speed ...

Angels on pinheads

I came out of the ballot this week for a question to the Prime Minister, so I thought it would be worth asking him about Frenchay Hospital. Earlier in the Summer, health secretary Alan Johnson had said that where his NHS review implies hospital 'reconfigurations' (ie closures) he will routinely allow an independent review if requested by a local authority health scrutiny committee. Following this announcement, my Lib Dem colleagues on South Glos. health scrutiny initiated precisely such a request. The health secretary has now written back to say we can't have a review because the decision over Frenchay was ...

"Tell me the time not how the clock works"

An old Buckinghamshire saying apparently (well as old as clocks if not as old as Buckinghamshire). Basically a version of the seven second rule for FOCUS writers. Make your point so the message gets across before it is binned. The 'soundbite' is the pornographic version of this. Ming probably never gave a soundbite in his life - one of his character strengths and a reason why he would have been an excellent Prime Minister but not a good guerilla leader. One feature of the current leadership dance is an (apparent) attempt to claim for each candidate the positive discipline of ...

I’ve changed my mind

As with all things in life - a decision over who to vote for in a Liberal Democrat Leadership Election is open to change - and I’ve changed my mind. Last Thursday I wrote a post called “Um… Leadership” where I said that I couldn’t decide who to vote for because I couldn’t get interested enough in the whole affair. Then on Friday 19 October I wrote a post called To Nominate or Not? where I was in two minds as to whether I would nominate Chris Huhne or not - this was mainly down to the mass of support ...

Red Boxes on BBC Website

The BBC are looking at the failure of the government to answer questions. (and hte cost of red boxes)

Abortion - only liberalism has the answer

The New Scientist has an interesting article this week all about abortion, which seems to be back in the news in a big way today. You can’t read it all online unless you have a subscription, but the nub of it is: Tellingly, the number of abortions fell almost exclusively in rich countries where terminating a pregnancy is both legal and safe. In poorer countries, where access to abortion is often restricted or illegal, there has been very little progress in reducing the number of abortions, says Shah. In such countries, women are prepared to endanger their lives to terminate ...

Dave becomes Bryllcreem Boy

Our Dave unveiled a new look at his press conference yesterday. Slicked back hair. As with everything to do with Cameron's presentation, there must be some sort of significance of this move, but currently the precise nature of it eludes me.

Evidence, Law and Medicine

The link is to a summary from the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine's levels of Evidence (from May 2001). This looks at the question of how reliable evidence is. Much of the "evidence" in the courts is from the lowest level (5) of certainty viz: "Expert opinion without explicit critical appraisal, or based upon physiology, bench research or "first principles"."

Lichfield's Tory Mayor guilty of assault in pub brawl case

Michael Fryers, 60, Mayor of Lichfield, has been convicted of assault following a pub brawl and given a 12-month conditional discharge.

Rachel Pullen's Petition

The link is to a petition in the House of Commons tabled last night. This raises a number of interesting question as to how capacity is determined and who should be allowed to determine capacity. If you have a number of parties to a court case it appears to me as wrong that one party should be able to pay someone to give an opinion which strikes out the capacity of another party. I am also

A nation held it’s breath

I believe that Liberal Democrats should support Nick Clegg’s campaign to be their next leader. He has consistently impressed in the Home Affairs brief, appearing bold, confident in his liberalism and wary of the sort of cheap but expedient positioning the party may in the past have dabbled in. In a portfolio traditionally seen as challenging for the party, he has shone and quickly established a tough profile. Even at this early stage in the campaign, I’ve been struck by the level of excitement he generates in the liberals I respect, and by the mild panic he seems to provoke ...

Botanic Gardens

The news yesterday that the University of Dundee's Court has pledged to keep the botanic garden open, ending months of concern about its long-term future, is to be greatly welcomed (click on headline above to view story in the Evening Telegraph). The City Council (along with the University itself, Dundee College and the Friends of the Botanic Gardens) played an active role in the Working Group set up to put together a workable strategy to secure the long-term future of the Botanic Gardens. The University will be paying some £75 000 less per annum towards the Botanic Gardens and in ...

Putin's self defeating ordinance

I see that Vladimir Putin has decided to impose food price controls. Not only will it not work, it will start to distort the rest of the Russian economy- the emergence of a Soviet style black market is one real possibility, the other is increased smuggling as producers naturally seek a better market price overseas (and try to avoid the excess tariff). This political meddling in the most basic market will cause more problems than it solves. It also warns us that the gains of globalisation are fragile. On the other hand, with such economic illiteracy prevailing in the Kremlin, ...

The new Northern Ireland?

In reaction to the killing of Paul Quinn by suspected former IRA members, the Unionist politicians in Northern Ireland have been fairly muted, talking about needing to wait for the investigation's results etc etc. This is a welcome contrast to the pre-deal era when, by now, our blood would have been curdled by Ian Paisley in classic "IRA/Sinn Fein outrage" mode. I suppose this reveals the

Hurray for the new Poland!

Working with and liking numerous Poles, I am delighted that Poland has, in the words of the Guardian, rejected "populism and xenophobia in favour of pro-Europe liberal conservatives". Well, anyone except Kaczynski is great in my book. I'm reminded of Duncan Borrowman's piece on the contribution made by Polish pilots in the Battle of Britain. We have a lot in common with the Poles. It's great

Chris calls for more powers for Scottish Parliament

The Scotsman reports on Chris launching his campaign in Scotland, where he proposed that the Scottish Parliament should have more powers, specifically over the seas, so as to allow for a marine bill to protect Scotland’s coastline. There’s also mention on the article of a video interview with Chris, but nothing appears to be displaying on my screen. Anyone seeing anything?

How the MPs are lining up

This is, as I understand it, the current state of who’s backing whom: For Chris: Tom Brake Lynne Featherstone Sandra Gidley Paul Holmes Martin Horwood David Howarth Susan Kramer Mark Williams For Nick: Danny Alexander Colin Breed Jeremy Browne Malcolm Bruce Alistair Carmichael Ed Davey Tim Farron Don Foster Julia Goldsworthy Nick Harvey Mike Hancock Mark Hunter Paul Keetch Norman Lamb David Laws Michael Moore Greg Mulholland Mark Oaten John Pugh Willie Rennie Paul Rowen Sir Robert Smith Sarah Teather Steve Webb Stephen Williams Phil Willis (Do let me know [...]

Sobering reading

Yesterday was a particularly frustrating day in relation to e- communications - no need to go into detail here but suffice to say that if anyone was waiting for an e-mail or phone call yesterday evening I apologise. However, before things went totally wrong I'd come across this blog written by a young Iraqi woman now living in Syria. Actually, my life is a doddle and may I never forget that

The Very Model of a Modern Post Master General

I always marvel at the relevance of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, the latest Making Money is about Moist van Lipwig who we first met in Going Postal when Lord Vetinari appointed him the new Post Master General for Ankh Morpork. He has now been given control of the biggest bank and mint in the city because he has turned around the post office making it reliable, efficient and profitable. As

Rent-a-quote strikes again

Plaid Cymru's Adam Price is a politician of substance, who has made a remarkable and valuable contribution to Welsh politics, however he is in danger of becoming just another rent-a-quote politician as his latest pronouncement illustrates. Mr. Price has called for the scrapping of the Wales Office and for its budget to be given to the Welsh Government instead so as to be spent on front line services. Putting aside the fact that Peter Hain's total budget would not even make a dent in the £280m that we appear to have lost from the block grant due to a 'technicality', ...

Nick Clegg web site sorted

The emergency battleship grey background has gone. All the normal web site bits are now there. It's even got different pictures on the home page when you come back to it after going deeper into the menu! Oooooooo! Well done Team Clegg!

An electoral travesty

Whilst the report into the Scottish election shambles was bound to be damning, it is quite refreshing that it has also turned out to be very frank and honest as well. According to this mornings Times' newspaper, Labour ministers on both sides of the border treated voters as an “afterthought”, preferring to concentrate on “partisan political interests”: The report says: “What is characteristic was a notable level of party self-interest evident in ministerial decision-making (especially in regard to the timing and method of counts and the design of ballot papers). “In considering the circumstances surrounding the planning, organising and implementation ...

Another one bites the dust

He took over the top job in January last year and didn't have the best of starts. Almost immediately, he faced questions about his age and experience. Although his performances did improve somewhat, he slipped back and ultimately he lost the confidence of his supporters. His time in charge will probably be looked upon as a period of failure and now, in October 2007, after less than two years in charge, he's out of a job. No, not Ming - Stephen Staunton.

Birmingham Hodge Hill Liberal Democrats Constituency Dinner

The Birmingham Hodge Hill Liberal Democrats Constituency Dinner will be on Saturday, November 17, 2007 starting at 7.00 pm.

Day 2485: Poll of Poles

Sunday: Bye bye "Law and Justice" in Poland. Of course it is NOT "Anarchy in Poland", as Mr Balloon might say, but the election of a new Polish Government following the collapse of the right-wing coalition that has been in power and generally scaring everybody for the last two years. In Polish, "Law and Justice" is "Prawo i Sprawiedliwość" or "PiS" for short, and who could take the... Mickey out of THAT? Despite having roots in the Solidarity Trade Union from the Communist era, (or perhaps BECAUSE of their roots in the Solidarity) PiS policies are based heavily on CATHOLIC ...

Wednesday 24th October 2007

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