LibDem Blogs - Archived! - Friday 2nd November 2007

The T word............what exactly is the difference between Messrs H and C?

Paul Walters has just made a reference to Chris Huhne's position on Trident.....he quotes from Lynne Featherstone who observes on the recent hustings: "Chris then speaks and sets out exactly, clearly and coherently what position he takes on Trident which is that in the end, and dependent on the outcome of the multi-lateral disarmament talks in 2010, it is inconceivable that we would need to replace Trident in exact form and at the gargantuan cost of billions and billions" she neglects to mention the other part of his argument.........that of a belief that we may need "Son of Trident" .........this ...

Shropshire Pub Cat of the Day

Move over Skittles. Today's winner is Carlsberg who, at least for now, lives at the Swan in Ironbridge. The photographer obviously wanted a shot of Carlsberg looking at the cans of lager. But, being a cat, he insisted on looking the other way.

I Don't Fear Real Terrorists, Just Smart Ones

With its finger ever on the pulse of European news, the BBC Ten tonight reported the arrest in September(!) of a German convert to Islam on terror charges. But this was no ordinary arrest in the psyche of the War On Terror, because Fritz Gelowicz was the quarterback for the Ulm Barracudas. Between the home-grown element and the embracing of that quintessentially American sport, everyone appears

House Points: Defra questions

Today's House Points column from Liberal Democrat News. In my experience you cannot go wrong with fish-related humour. Fish business Ben Bradshaw ("The Haddock’s Friend") is no longer Minister for Fish. He has moved on to higher things at the Department of Health. I hoped that questions to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs last Thursday would show who has taken his plaice. But MPs insisted on talking about trivia like climate change, foot and mouth disease and floods, so fish never got a mention. Not all is lost. Thanks to the Scottish Labour MP Tom Clarke we ...

How to do Video campaigning #4

I've got a bit bored by US politics lately but I couldn't let this brilliant attack video from the John Edwards campaign pass un-noted. Its dirty and maybe unfair, and obviously I personally deplore negative campaigning and want to see a positive campaign fought on the issues. But you can't deny that its a thing of beauty. Maybe this race isn't quite dead yet.

Make a Noise (but in a library?)

This Saturday (3rd November) is Make a Noise Day in the South Glos libraries. Events will be taking place at all libraries and will include competitions, storytimes, IT sessions and a guest appearance of the Bookstart Bear. Oh yes, and you can return overdue items without having to pay a fine!

Street cabinets damage / cable phone update

Some phone lines are back on after the firework damage to the Virgin phone cabinet between Blaisdon and Woodchester about a week ago. However some people are still off - and one neighbour reports "If you ring my number you get a ringing tone but the line in the house is as dead as a dodo. Virgin have no idea when service will be resumed!" Isn't it about time Virgin sorted it out? Several local residents have said that they can't get any information from Virgin at all.

The perfect date movie? (Once)

Is Once the perfect date movie? Well given my disastrous dating history (pre:2006 obviously dear) I'm probably the last person to ask. But anyway I think it might be: 1) At heart its a classic story of mutual unrequited love . As with Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise (one of my favourite films of all time) it throws together two young people in a brief unconsummated love affair that ends

Come on Nick show us some leg

I still can't decide who to vote for. On the one hand I am completely turned off by Chris Huhne's sly manoeuvring on Trident. Blowing a huge dog whistle to the idealistic pacifist wing of the party with big headlines of scrapping Trident, whilst trying to placate those of us who live in the real world with quiet promises that actually he wants to keep a nuclear deterrent after all, really

The UK needs around 1000 more black and ethnic minority women councillors

This week I was invited to attend a reception to mark Black History Month hosted by Minister for Women & Equalities, Harriet Harman. Launching the findings of new research by the Government Office of Equality & the Fawcett Society, which I took part in, looking at why there were so few female BME women councillors. There are currently around 19, 700 councillors across England, and only 168 are ethnic minority women, so I'm one of a very rare breed! Cllr Shan Alexander from Stockport Council, and I were the only ethnic minority female Lib Dem councillors present. There are 2.4 ...

Red Corm it is

In an unusual move Southwark Labour Leader Peter John has pre-judged his own selection contest and also announced that Labour donor Cormac "Red Corm" Hollingsworth is likely to be the Labour candidate in the December 13th Riverside by-election. As we sit on a committee of a social housing body together, I wish him well, if not success.

Simon Hughes for Nick Clegg

The contest has just got more interesting! Right from the start we kept being told that Chris Huhne was the candidate of the 'left', and that Nick was on the 'right' of the party. Well, much as the media likes to bang on about the left & right, their initial analysis seems fairly flawed. Party President, Simon Hughes, who has always been described as the 'darling of the left' has now declared for Nick. Together with Steve Webb, they are key supporters who are not by any stretch of the imagination 'Orange Booker's' Traditional mainstream party politicians have always been ...

It’s Over

October has come and gone for another year, and for me this has been a month where everything has been tested. It is a month I will not be forgetting for a very long time. You see at the start of the month something happened and I heard something I never thought I would hear again – one of my relatives had cancer. Now out of respect for their anonymity I will not tell you who it was, or even how that person is related to me. I’ve waited till now that the all clear has been given, to even ...

What radicalism means?

Simon Hughes coming out in support of the Clegg camp is significant. I don’t know why, as party president, he’s allowed to support either side – but the fact that he has done means something, to me at least. Simon was elected in 1983, just a few years after I joined the Liberal Party. In the years that followed, especially while he was such a brilliant and innovative environment spokesman, he came to symbolise what radical Liberalism was all about. For me and many others. But some misunderstanding about what Liberal radicalism means has crept in since then. As if ...

Remembering Birmingham Hodge Hill - Absolutely stunning hypocrisy from Labour Minister Liam Byrne

Liam Byrne should hang in his head in shame tonight after being fined £100 for driving whilst using a mobile phone, and not just for committing this crime. Everyone ought to remember the disgusting personal campaign that was run by Liam Byrne's campaign team in the Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election only a few months before the last general election to see what an utter hypocrite he is. Labour's campaign in Hodge Hill turned from being about real issues in to a campaign about one thing, and that was Labour's attempts to smear lib Dem candidate Nicola Davies, whose job was ...

The only park-and-ride in London

Well, not every borough has a theme park which winds down its operations during the winter months. And not every borough attracts up to half a million shoppers a week in the run-up to Christmas. Each year Chessington World of Adventures offers its large visitor car park to drivers bound for Kingston for Christmas shopping and the January Sales. Parking is free...

Have you got the Lib Dem Facebook application?

Want to find prominent Lib Dems on Facebook? Advertise the party’s latest campaigns on your profile page? Find Liberal Democrat groups on Facebook? Help recruit members to the party? Boast about how many doors you’ve canvassed today? You can do all this and more with the party’s first official Facebook Application, launched earlier this week. It’s available [...]

More Classic Stuff From Biden

More absolutely classic stuff from Biden. I love the way he is eating a sandwich whilst doing this, it shouts disdain at crazy Rudy. I think this is clever stuff, all the Republicans are attacking Hilary and her response has been to ignore it, by hitting Rudy like this he is positioning himself as a [...]

Chris Huhne bests Nick Clegg

Well that is the drift from Lynne Featherstone on the Central London hustings. I have turned off comments so Linda Jack and Charlotte Gore can't respond. Only joking ;-) But it was the questions - that in my opinion - separated the men from the boys - so to speak. There were two key areas where I felt Chris outshone Nick. One was in overall tone and content of response. Chris is clearly able to

"How nasty the Liberal Democrats are quietly capable of being"

Guto Harri offers an interesting commentary on the two leadership candidates on BBC News Online: It is striking - within a party that's generally regarded as nice - how nasty the Liberal Democrats are quietly capable of being. The two candidates, now competing to lead the party have the kind of breeding and education that leads to public restraint, but the tension between them was easily

Westphalia Blogger Revealed!

My office and I have been raking our brains to work out who is behind the Westphalia-on-sea blog that tells the story of an elected Mayor and his vision for the area. http://westphalia-on-sea.bl...

Al Gore and the Gay Hate Church

What's the link between Al Gore, jet-setting environmentalist extraordinaire, and ultra-homophobic Westboro Baptist Church? Oddly enough, hellfire-and-brimstone pastor Fred Phelps, who is the man behind godhatesfags.com (currently down) and a series of remarkably distateful pickets at funerals, is a former Gore supporter. Phelps backed Gore's 1988 Presidential bid because he seemed like the candidate with the right views on homosexuality. Then in the 1990s, as Gore adopted a more liberal approach to homosexuality, Phelps withdrew his support. Interestingly enough Conservapedia, 'The Trustworthy Encyclopedia' call Phelps a "leftist liberal Democrat". Which planet are they on? You will no doubt have seen ...

Feet firmly on the Ground

I have decided not to be a floating voter any more. The various events and policy pronouncements of the past week have made me feel that the Party has the best future with Nick Clegg as leader. I don't expect to agree with everything he says on policy, and will contribute to the debates through the Party's proper channels at the appropriate time. I've gone for Nick because: He has the personal skills to really connect with people. I saw the way he got the East Midlands on his side in 1998 during his selection contest. It was going to ...

The Battle of the Communicators

After my previous post on the Huhne campaign not being conspicuously carbon-neutral, may I run the gauntlet of a Clegg-supporter giving the Huhne campaign another piece of advise? When your pitch is that the contest is essentially one of simply communicating our message, don't use a rare appearance on TV to use the adjective 'Gaderene'! Answers on a postcard, please. This suggests that it might be a Doctor Who reference? Or could he mean the Ancient City of Palestine? Those without the requisite Greek mythology were also left a little bemused by his comparison of the Lib Dems with Sisyphus ...

Gigbeth Day 2 - LIVE BLOG!

Inspired by Pete Ashton’s live GDFAF blog last month, I thought I’d have a go at blogging part of the Gigbeth festival from a promoter’s perspective. Although it’s just a club night tonight (ie no bands), there’s still a lot of work that has to be done. To set the scene - I run Distraction at the Nightingale Club and tonight is our Halloween Spooktacular. We’re also part of the Gigbeth festival, letting up to 50 wristband holders in for free. So come on down! 5.18pm - I’ve been at the Nightingale with my friend Mike setting up for the ...

And now for something completely different

Apparently there’s another leadership contest happening across the pond, and it’s attracting even more coverage than the Lib Dems’ two-horse race. The last few days have been tricky ones for Hillary Clinton, following her faltering performance in the Democratic Party’s Philadelphia debate last Tuesday. The John Edwards campaign has just released this attack video, The [...]

Five more MPs endorse Clegg

The list of MPs supporting Nick Clegg has grown to 33 with the news that party president, Simon Hughes, is among his backers. I understand the four other MPs who have endorsed Nick are: Norman Baker, Alan Reid and John Thurso (all of whom backed Ming Campbell last time), and Lembit Öpik. The Hughes news [...]

Emily Nakanda's X Factor withdrawal sends a strong message to the fame obsessed youth of today

Reports and surveys tell us that more and more young are over obsessed with fame, have little respect for the law, and are not prepared to work hard for a living. One reason for this is the apparent rise of celebrity reality shows, with Big Brother and X Factor often named as prime examples. So it is, perhaps, good to see that the X Factor is putting its foot down about contestants who have been involved in rather unsavoury behaviour. Earlier on in the series, one member of the girl band "Hope" was asked to leave the series when it ...

Secret Al Yamamah report should be published

Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh is demanding that a secret National Audit Office (NAO) report into the Al Yamamah arms deal is published. His call follows revelations that Sir John Bourn, the NAO’s chief who resigned days ago, has received hospitality from BAE, the firm at the centre of bribery allegations over the Al Yamamah deal. ‘We will be looking to bring the deal back on to the agenda, as a result of Sir John Bourn’s departure and his conflict of interest issues,’ Liberal Democrat MP John Pugh said. You can read more in Accountancy Age.

Fran Lyon on "This Morning" - ITV

The link is to Fran's story on "This Morning". Denise Robertson said:"I was scared because it seemed so cold so remorseless. I can't understand why the public are not rising up about what is going on. We know this is happening. We have talked about it. Fran's an example. The message that is going out there to young girls is "do not tell" because it will be held against you. "I cannot

Here’s an Idea: Free Membership

Can we reduce the minimum cost for membership to absolutely zero? Surely there’s a way we can have a ‘paperless party’ where the costs of administration can be successful absorbed by donations and contributions by Councillors? Society has changed to the point where people no longer feel that it is ‘normal’ to be a member of a political party. There’s no sense that they’re contributing to the momentum of a mass movement of opinion that will genuinely change things for the better. Even the smallest charge will act as a barrier to entry for people to get involved. So, if ...

Labour Minister "potential killer"

I am shocked at the leniancy of the sentence handed down to Labour Minister Liam Byrne

Polly Toynbee is basically a Lib Dem

Goodness - for a moment there I thought Polly Toynbee was becoming a Liberal Democrat (www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2203971,00.html) as she called for the fair voting system for the UK that the Lib Dems have always stood for. But then she said all parties were "greenish" and "relaxed about the filthy rich" and I knew that she hadn't yet internalised the fact that it is only the Lib Dems that stand for a fairer tax system and a zero carbon Britain. Furthermore Lib Dem leadership contender Chris Huhne has now said he would scrap Trident as a colossal waste of money. Surely Polly ...

The Byrne Mobile Phone Irony

It couldn't have happened to a more unlikely person. But my favourite minister, Liam Byrne, has been found guilty of using his mobile phone whilst driving. The BBC has the more complete story. The irony is not only that Byrne is a Home Office minister. Nor the fact he's an ex-police minister (for about 2 weeks). But that during the by-election at which he was elected in 2004, his campaign was based almost completely on attacking Nicola Davies because of her employment as a Council Liaison Manager with the Mobile Operators Association. Hoist by his own petard. Update On reflection, ...

Preview of Huhne’s interview with GMTV

An email from GMTV’s Sunday Programme pings into my inbox with the transcript of Steve Richards’ interview with Lib Dem leadership contender, Chris Huhne. Here’s a few snippets to whet your appetites. (The full interview will be broadcast this Sunday morning). On Chris’s comment that the Lib Dems mustn’t become a third Tory party: CH: What I [...]

'Parental Control' or 'Councillor Knows Best'?

Chris Huhne's manifesto is out, and to say that I am disappointed is a bit of an understatement. Now, don't get me wrong- I appreciate the position that Huhne is in. So far he has painted himself into a corner- he is said to substantially agree with Nick Clegg, while the latter is the better communicator. Even if Chris would get 8/10 for his candidacy, Nick would get 9/10 on the same basis. The only way that he can possibly take Nick on and win, therefore, is to open up some clear, yellow water between the two. Unfortunately, he seems ...

Election Results: Thursday 1st November 2007

Ashfield DC, Sutton West LD Fiona Asbury 873 (37.0; +37.0), Lab 560 (23.7; -3.7), BNP 321 (13.6; +13.6), Ind 275 (11.7; -38.2), Con 257 (10.9; -11.8), Green 72 ( 3.1; +3.1). Majority 313. Turnout 26.5%. LD gain from Ind. Last fought 2007. Bridgnorth DC, Brosely West Ind elected unopposed. Ind hold. Last fought 2007.

The politics of dancing

Is this the most generous salary you have ever seen for a job with an MP? Perhaps not having any party colleagues, Dr Taylor is unaware that the going rate for a staffer is ten pence? The Friday vid is Billy Bragg's Greetings to the New Brunette.

Councillor ‘cheated his way back into seat’

More on the allegations about Labour electoral fraud in Birmingham (including paying drug addicts to steal votes) with the start of an election petition trial: A leading Asian councillor cheated his way back on to Britain’s biggest local council by spreading untrue election-day rumours that an opponent had been arrested for fraud, a court was told yesterday. Read [...]

Why one of my constituents has to get written permission from the state to talk to me

It talks like a Control Order and it walks like a Control Order - but it's actually called an 'immigration bail order' - sod all difference I'd say. Mr W came to see me in his three hours of release from house arrest. During this daily three hours Mr W has to report to the police in the middle hour. He had had to get written permission to come and see me as his MP. Yes, that's right - someone living here has to get written permission from the state before they can meet their Member of Parliament. I am ...

Gulp Rebranding the Party?

Does anyone know if either candidate is planning on refreshing our “corporate branding” - the logo, the website and all that? It’s all starting to look a little dated and tired now, or is that just me being picky again? Getting people’s attention means confounding their expectations - giving them something that sparks their curiosity. I honestly don’t want to see a situation where we go into the next general election with the same design on the party’s website. That site is looking horribly out of date already. Moving out of my own comfort zone here, could a name change ...

City Council Meeting - Tuesday 6 November 2007

The agenda for the City Council meeting on Tuesday 6 November has now been published on the Democracy in Birmingham database. Items on the agenda include: the annual report of the Cabinet Member for Transportation and Street Services (Street Services means rubbish and recycling to you and me); andthe annual report of the Lead Member on the West Midlands Police Authority (Councillor Tanveer

If we want to REPRESENT we have to be REPRESENTATIVE

Unsurprisingly I was delighted to hear the news this morning that Simon Hughes will be backing Nick Clegg and I was also very encouraged to hear that his motivation for doing so was his confidence in Nick's commitment to diversity. Simon said - “I’ve decided to support Nick because I’m confident that his commitment to diversity and to building a party that reflects all of Britain is real. He knows that this is a priority for me. I will work with him on that task and we can move the party forwards together. Nick shares my ambition of a mass ...

Globalisation: a liberal response

The launch of CentreForum’s pamphlet, ‘Globalisation: a liberal response’, provided a platform for Sam Brittan and Vince Cable to sketch out the themes of a liberal perspective on globalisation. The speakers were united in their calls for free trade and relaxed immigration. Sam made a typically cogent justification for allowing EU migrant workers into the UK labour market. Vince in particular urged for an ending of reciprocity in trade: This apparently ‘tough’ or ‘common sense’ approach conceals a logic of remarkable stupidity: we insist on continuing to harm ourselves unless you agree to stop harming yourselves. The sound of the royal procession ...

Grand Designs face down the NIMBYs

I must admit to being a secret fan of Grand Designs. It puts forward an idea that is a very attractive pipe dream: the creation of a dream home, and as the subject of each programme meets the challenge of creating a home that expresses something of themselves, it allows the rest of us the fantasy that maybe, just maybe, we could do the same. Last night I watched the programme that showed the presenter, Kevin McLeod's favourite design. It was, as is often the way with the designs selected by the programme to be filmed, highly eco-friendly. It was, ...

My new entertainment, music, beer, whisky, sport and goodness knows what else blog

Receiving my 60,000th visitor here seems a good time to separate my political thoughts from other random thoughts on the world of entertainment, sport and the like. I have been suffering from a sort of split personality syndrome. My thoughts on GMTV sofa appearances, Hollywood, beer, rugby and Dan le Sac VS Scroobius Pip always seemed to sit uncomfortably besides treatises on the Single

Farewell

This morning one of my Lib Dem colleagues on Haringey has resigned from our council group and joined Labour instead. Catherine Harris was elected to the Council last year for Noel Park, along with my Lib Dem colleague Cllr Fiyaz Mughal, but has decided to help prop up the failing Haringey Labour administration instead. It's disappointing, of course - especially as I spent a lot of time last year campaigning in Noel Park to get Lib Dem councillors elected. I'm sure some of the residents in Noel Park will be annoyed, but they still have Fiyaz to represent them from ...

Conservative Mayor of Newbury categorically contradicts Richard Benyon MP's statement to parliament

The minutes of the Newbury Town Council meeting of 22nd October have now been published in draft form. These minutes provide more detail of the Mayor's statement regarding Richard Benyon MP's statement to parliament about Newbury Town Council and a welcome reception for returning troops. Mr Benyon's statement is covered in Hansard. I will not repeat any of it, because I think it may be legally

Hughes endorses Clegg

A real fillip for the Clegg campaign methinks. For me Simon embodies the `soul` of the party. So Nick has social liberals AND those of the more moderate wing.

Liverpool disenfranchised: Rennard sort it!

It’s sad to see that the whole of Liverpool has been disenfranchised due to the postal strike (along with a few other places) from voting for the MEP list here - not least because one of the candidates could be disenfranchised herself! Since the top three has to have at least one woman it could [...]

Gigbeth Day 1 - Conference

I made a lot of notes at the Conference yesterday but unfortunately my Gigbeth bag did a disappearing act! Luckily the iPod was in my pocket out of harms way, but it means a lot of what I wanted to write here will probably be forgotten. Still, from memory… An honest and passionate interview session with Ruby Turner. Amongst other things, she said artists shouldn’t be upset with illegal downloading, if it means those people learn to love their work. A panel of local kids (14yo girls) who highlighted the changing ways in which people consume music. More importantly for ...

Off to the Farm

Many may recall I wrote about Fordhall Farm previously, it was under threat and now is effectively owned by 8,000 members - more information is at http://www.fordhallfarm.com - as I have the day off to day I thought I would go out and visit it.

What the papers are saying

Today’s papers are dominated by the news that London’s Metropolitan Police force has been found guilty of endangering the public over the fatal shooting of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes. Lib Dem shadow home secretary (and leadership contender), Nick Clegg, is widely quoted calling for the resignation of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair: [...]

Ramos to deliver at White Hart Lane

This article on the BBC website was interesting... it might not reflect all that well on the club as a whole, but it does at least suggest that Juande Ramos is the man to make up for all that. I couldn't go to the cup game against Blackpool on Wednesday as I had a meeting at the council. It seemed from reports that the Seasiders gave a good account of themselves and it wasn't a massively impressive performance from Spurs. But, as they say, a win's a win and now we wait for the quarter final draw at the weekend. ...

Crossrail: Government delays mean Islington pays

Crossrail is coming at last. Of course we all welcome it. But the truth is that it is years behind schedule, and Gordon Brown could have unlocked the funding for it any time in the last decade. Crossrail provides a direct link from Berkshire to Essex via Heathrow, central London and the City - or [...]

Clegg and Huhne need to pare it down to basics

The Lib Dem leadership campaign is starting to get spiky. Good, it’s past time for a bit of frankness. And while Nicholas Blincoe’s attack on Chris Huhne over on Comment is Free is ad hominem enough to make even me blush (making up a pretend speech impediment and then taking the piss out of it is in the gutter even by my standards), his criticisms of Chris Huhne’s stance on the environment aren’t a million miles from my own yesterday. But he is wrong to complain of Huhne being schismatic. Or rather, he is wrong to express exaggerated concerns about ...

Good moves by Clegg

A week is a long time in politics and while that may be a cliche, some statements become cliches for a reason. I’m still neutral but in the past seven days Nick has done two things that have especially impressed me. The first is one that hasn’t cropped up elsewhere in blogland or the media. 1. Mid Sussex Constituency Dinner, last Friday. Nick’s [...]

Who I’m backing… for the Lib Dem Mayoral candidate

In all the excitement of the leadership contest, I’ve just realised that I never got around to endorsing anyone for the Lib Dem mayoral candidate. Since the deadline for ballots has been extended, there are possibly 2, maybe even 3 votes out there that haven’t been cast yet, so here goes. It’s a total no-brainer: it has to be Brian Paddick. The latest Metropolitan Police debacle says it all really. In that case Paddick showed excellent judgement under pressure - in stark contrast to his then boss - and was vindicated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission’s report earlier this ...

A Question Of Loyalty to the Party

I have been invited to consider adding the various official lib dem buttons to my blog - you know the ones, they appear all over the Lib Dem blogosphere. I am, after all, a member and shouldn’t I therefore do my bit to promote the party? But, on the other hand, would doing so make my blog suddenly feel less independent and more “official”? How will it influence how people perceive what I say, for example on the rare occasions I’m full of gushing praise? I mean, my Clegg button compromises my posts on the leadership election so would carrying ...

Ian Blair must go

When I logged onto Facebook a few minutes ago, I was surprised that there didn’t seem to be a group calling for Sir Ian Blair to resign, so I took the liberty of setting one up before I get invited to “Support Chris Clegg/Nick Huhne (delete as appropriate) and his heroic campaign to get rid of Sir Ian Blair”: {The Buck Stops Here} I’m utterly baffled as to why he isn’t already gone. Whatever happened to people taking responsibility for the organisation they are in charge of? The only person in public life who appears to have understood the concept ...

Deadline extended!

The party has granted extra time for members to vote in the London and European selection ballots, because of the lingering effects of the postal dispute. The deadline for return of ballot papers is now 12 noon on Friday 9 November. Please vote if you have not already done so, and please give me your first preference. The extension is great news as it gives me more time to get out and about meeting members and discussing the issues in this selection, which I have really been enjoying doing. And now it looks like we have one, if not two, ...

Stop the Cuts to Our Fire Service!

I am appalled to learn tonight that some members of Conservative Controlled Shepway District Council failed miserably to stand up for the district and are effectively acquiesing in the decimation of our local Fire Brigade. Utterly shameful. The proposals on the table from the Kent Fire Authority will cost lives. God help us should Operation Stack be in place on the night that a serious fire occurs. Rory Love et al., stop filibustering and stand up for the district and the people who elected you or resign your seats and allow them to be taken by people who will.

Day 2494: Vince Versus the King

Tuesday: Well done to Mr Power Cable for turning down a slap up banquet in honour of King of the Sauds, King Ablutions. I have to say, it was a bit of a CHEEK of his rude royal richness to have a go at Great Britain for not doing enough to combat terrorism, when a great many more terrorists appear to come from his country than from ours. (No need to mention the nationality of the World's Official Number-One Nutter and Winner of the "Which Cave Shall I Hide In" Award for the last four years running.) Saudi Arabia is ...

Day 2493: THE SARAH JANE ADVENTURES: Warriors of Kudlak

Monday: Warriors of the Kudlak… no, it is NOT about the Liberal Leadership candidates getting into a FIGHT CLUB situation, it is more good fun from Sarah Jane Smith. As always, Daddy Richard has the review, and spoilers may follow… With a title that is reminiscent of the first ever Tomorrow People story, "Slaves of Jedekiah" and a plot looking superficially similar to Jac Rainer's early ninth Doctor novel "Winner Takes All", you might worry that Sarah Jane was heading into a hole, but fortunately this third story is a lot better than that. Children are disappearing and Sarah traces ...

Friday 2nd November 2007

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