Whilst the heavy defeat of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s party has dominated news coverage of the election results, there is also interesting news from the elections in the North West Frontier. The secular Pashtun nationalist party, the Awami National Party*, appears to be doing well, defeating several Islamist incumbents. This marks a move away from extremists [...] 
Whenever Barclaycard staff are recruiting new customers/borrowers/credit monkeys - usually at stations - I always turn them down on principle. The reason I give is that I already have one, which is true, but even if I didn’t I would refuse. Because Barclaycard are Evil. I am not, I confess, the sort of person to carefully pay off my balance every month and get the advantage of Nectar points/0% interest/cashback without paying any interest. For that reason, it’s all the more important that I have a sensible credit limit, so that I’m never tempted to book a round the world ...
As a Liberal Democrat I am supposed to say that I want to address the causes of crime and deal with the consequences of criminal activity. But sometimes I have to question whether I actually do. Especially when I read stories like the one I read yesterday in The Bath Chronicle (click link). Why is it that we seem to spend more time promoting the re-engaging of dis-empowered citizens from Britains poorest communities than we ever do promoting anything that can ever be remotely seen as a punishment What are we afraid of As a party we seem so pre-occupied ...
Looks like someone else isn't that keen on behaviour at PMQs either...
Meeting the Islington graffiti cleanup team last week reminded me of this lovely video made by the splendid Will Perrin. I defy you not to enjoy.
It's just turned 11pm and we're still going strong, busy nationalising Northern Rock. It's pretty scandalous really that the House of Commons has just one day (albeit finishing at midnight) to consider a complete Act of Parliament, dealing with tens of billions of pounds of liabilities, and then the House of Lords has one day, and then that's more or less it. Whilst we agree in principle that Nationalisation is probably the 'least worst' option - and indeed had the Government listened to Vince Cable we could have saved months of uncertainty - that still doesn't mean every dot and ...
I am a firm believer that all nations have the right to govern themselves, with complete autonomy from each other. That the concept of "countries" should be abolished in favour of allowing the individual nations and or states within those countries to be free to choose their own destiny. In essence, this is what Naytionalism is all about. It is not about nationalism, which in some part has been hijacked by the right. Naytionalism is also about individual nations working together to determine solutions to problems that affect them all. It is about creating an international, and to some extent ...
A regular absurdity of political opinion poll coverage in the UK is the way that media outlets often pretend that polls commissioned by other organisation do not exist. If a polling company carries out, for example, two opinion polls in identical ways for two different newspapers, then the newspaper that publishes the second poll almost invariably [...]
Well, that’s a generous spin at least, but we have climbed a statistically insignificant one per cent in the latest Guardian / ICM poll to 21%. The Tories are on 37% and Labour’s support stands at 34%, which isn’t bad considering the troubles they’ve had to go through in recent months, and might be a [...]
It seems that Gail Sheridan and her Father have now also been charged with perjury, bringing the total to six persons who face the beak over their 2006 libel trial evidence. Whilst having no sympathy or empathy with Tommy and his chums, I do wonder why no Police inquiry has been launched regarding the testimony of his former colleagues from the SSP as the Police seem to be saying that everything that he and his witnesses said was untrue. It'll all come out in the wash.
I can smell it now: (Hat-tip: Shane Greer)
Clowns to the Left of Me flags up (but is not too impressed by) an American revolt against "trendy math teaching". It puts me in mind of Punt and Dennis's take on a modern mathematics exam: Triangle ABC is larger than triangle DEF. How do you think triangle DEF feels about this
I am feeling particularly ecumenical today. Yesterday evening started with a meeting with Lynne Featherstone to talk about youth policy. This is a subject very close to my heart and as fellow FPCers will know I was disappointed it was not prioritised. In December I met with Annette Brooke and Stephen Williams to discuss how we could take forward developing a policy on the back of a spokesperson's paper. Since then of course Nick Clegg passed responsibility for youth to Lynne. Anyhow, I was impressed by Lynne's approach - looking to get something out quickly - with a strong campaigning ...
Todays announcement that a further 169 post offices in London - (thats a fifth), have been earmarked for closure has been met with anger and opposition. I was out today in Islington, outside the 2 post offices at either end of the Caledonian Road, which are set to close, following a speedy consultation due to end on the 2 April. Both had large queues, and were clearly well used by the local community. This comes in addition to the plans to close the crown post office on Essex Road, of which I have fond memories. It was where my late ...
It is interesting to note that despite the government supposedly being worried about energy supply to the UK and its future security and despite claims that they are doing everything they can to make sure we are all safe from terrorism, they are cutting £750,000 from the security budget of Bacton Gas terminal, Britain's biggest gas terminal, and the Ministry of Defence are no longer prepared to be responsible for its safety and protection from terrorism. This means that Norfolk Constabulary are picking up the bill, but it will also mean an 8.3% increase in the police council tax take ...
News from the US reaches me of a revolt against trendy Math(sic) teaching. Apparently parents can't cope with the fact that their little ones are being taught differently to how they where. Anyway not of much interest in and of itself, except to add to my list of stories that prove there is nothing new in the world, as the following song written in the '60s by a Mr. Tom Lehrer proves. PS.
Bruce Forsyth has revealed his love of the weekly dick swinging contest that passes for adult debate in this country: "Prime minister’s questions, that’s two guys getting it on there. At times it’s pure variety, pure vaudeville. "It’s all the people I used to work with, Frankie Howerd and Les Dawson. I love it, that’s why [...]
I was going to write something clever and topical (I know, that would be a first), about Fidel Castro, but the Half Blood Welshman beat me to it. It's well worth a read.
Let's get one thing straight immediately. I don't like the Council Tax and I want to see it replaced by a fairer system based on people's ability to pay. What else would you expect from a Liberal Democrat.But I do object strongly to people who deliberately refuse to pay their council tax in order to "make a point". I say this in relation to a gentleman in Norfolk who is now being sent to prison for 34 days because he has again refused to pay his council tax. If this man had a genuine problem paying his council tax, I ...
First Bus in Norwich decided to become slightly greener by running more of their fleet on bio diesel. There is, however, a major problem with the bio diesel they use. It freezes and won't work in sub zero temperatures. There is though good news on the horizon. With global warming sub zero tempertures will soon be a thing of the past so the buses running on bio diesel will no longer have this problem. I knew global warming would be good for something. P.S. Yes, I am joking about global warming being a good thing.
It's baseball's Spring Training, but there is sadness in the camp of the Philadelphia Phillies, as Kyle Kendrick is traded to Japan...
With great timing a new book I mentioned before lays bare most of the background you need to understand the Northern Rock imbroglio and what led to todays Nationalisation moves. I say almost, because for some reason the author, while discussing the events of Autumn 2007 (and indeed the previous few years) with considerable astuteness, utterly fails to mention either the warnings of Vince Cable or the other relevant interventions by economically superbly well qualified Liberal Democrats. He can hardly have failed to notice these as he has been the BBC Business editor since February 2006 and previously was City ...
You've probably heard that one fifth of all the Post Offices in London are to be closed. Of these six are in the Royal Borough. They are: Surbiton Park, 62 Surbiton Road, Kingston KT1 2HT Norbiton Common, 240 Kingston Road, New Malden KT3 3RN Burlington Road, 82 Burlington Road, New Malden KT3 4NU Plough Green, 380 Malden Road, Worcester Park KT4 7NL Hook Rise, 311 Hook...
It was the Porn Bounce that did it, according to technological legend. Way back in the great Videotape Format war that is, where VHS beat Betamax to become the de facto tape standard . VHS it seems was taken up by porn producers and this helped establish greater market share by boosting home sales of VHS video recorders But come the HD DVD wars, the alleged Porn industry preference for Toshibas technical Digital Video Disc standard has failed to outweigh the virtues and market tie-ins for the Blu-ray standard promoted by Sony. Toshiba today withdrew its product from the market ... 
The London campaign led by our excellent candidate Brian Paddick is making great strides in the media but we also need to communicate with people on the streets in the good old fashioned manner if we are to increase campaign message penetration and compete with the resources of Mayor Livingstone and Mr.Johnson. There are at least 4 ways in which you can help - and 3 of them you can do even if you are not in London. 1/ If you are in London get your local party to buy into the excellent literature and get it out as widely ...
Identity politics makes liberal democrats nervous; understandably, because as liberals we believe that every one is equal and it is the principle, the processes, the policies that count rather than the colour of our skin, our gender or our sexuality. Liberalism is about universalism. As Stanley Fish makes an argument in his NYT regular Think Again Column The history of liberalism is a history of extending the franchise to those who were once excluded from it by their race, gender or national origin. Although these marks of identification were retained (by the census and other forms of governmental classification) and ...
Last night's Full Council was pretty action-packed - I'm still reeling a little from the shock of Haringey Labour actually supporting two of our motions, on an investigation into the shambles of the lost personal data and on opposing post office closures. I'm on my way to chair a scrutiny meeting looking at the Council's 'neighbourhood management' function, but I'll try and blog later on in detail about what went on at the meeting. Just one quick thing though... you may remember that Haringey Labour opposed a simple motion we put forward recently to support the Crouch End 'Bag for ...
Over in the Commons, the Bill to nationalise Northern Rock is starting its rapid passage onto the statute book. Meanwhile, in the Lords, today has seen the start of a Bill to privatise what has, until now, been a public body. The Sale of Student Loans Bill is having its Second Reading today ( that's the point at which general principles are debated) and allows the Government to divest itself of the £18.1 billion currently sitting on the student loan book. I've never been convinced by the arguement that the increased earning potential of graduates is, in itself, a rationale ...
Last year former MSP and former Leader of The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) won £200 000 in damages from the News of the World in a libel action at the High Court in Edinburgh, after they had alleged that he was a serial adulterer, swinger and user of drugs. Four of his SSP MSP colleagues testified against him in the trial and one, Rosemary Byrne, in his favour. Sheridan and Byrne subsequently set up their own party Solidarity (calling a Trot faction by this name is a gross insult to Polish Solidarity) as an offshoot of the SSP. In the ...
Well - went to the ex-Haringey Council housing office in Crouch End - again - to do some media stuff over the discovery of piles of files containing personal data on 20,000 people. The files had been abandoned by Haringey Council when they stopped using the building - just left behind, unsecured. Now, after the news broke - the Council said they had then secured the files. But what happened when I turned up to meet the media One of the squatters came out and invited us in to see where the stash of private information in the files had ...
I'm off to Mozambique for a short trip to take part in a workshop organised by the African Liberal Network and the Friedrich Neumann Foundation. We've got about 32 representatives from a dozen or more different countries attending so it promises to be interesting. Will blog updates if I can find a plug adaptor that works - apparently different parts of Mozambique use three different sorts of plug - one of which is almost unique to the country.
Today's Western Mail reports that a move to allow Welsh Labours conference to discuss the war in Iraq and other controversial issues was defeated yesterday: Grassroots activists have long argued that rules stating only devolved matters can be discussed at Welsh conferences are an anomaly. The issue proved highly divisive at the 2003 conference, held just weeks before the invasion of Iraq. All discussion of the subject was prohibited. Three local parties, Neath, Cardiff West and Swansea West, put forward proposals to change the rules, but this was rejected by a 3-1 majority. The activists argued that other parties were ...
The latest round of Post Office closures is set to hit High Barnet ward again. A few years ago we lost the sub-post office in Wood Street. Now we are set to lose the sub-post office in Potters Road. The consultation period has already started and closes on the 2nd April. If you want to make your feelings known you need to contact: Anita Turner Network Development Manager C/o National Consultation Team FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM Email: consultation@postoffice.co.uk Customer Helpline: 08457 22 33 44 Chipping Barnet Liberal Democrats will of course be opposing the closure and making sure that residents know ...
Here in Oliver's Battery we can claim a direct link to the time of the Civil War. Current historical opinion seems to take the view that the iron age earthwork, now known as Oliver's Battery, was used as a camp by Cromwell's forces during the siege of Winchester in 1645. Last Sunday a group of re-enactors from Tillier's Regiment of Foote, part of the Sealed Knot, put on displays at the 
The US has a massive problem with powerful Unions who are directly harming the prospects of children in the country. The Teacher’s Unions stand opposed to anything which may upset their power base and deny them money. From forced membership of a Union and the Union decisions being binding upon non-members to arguing that teachers should [...]
I've written an article for comment is free, trying to make a liberal case for, well, liberalising our political advertising regulations. It's available here, see what you think...Update: Jon Bright from Opendemocracy has written a response here.
Six weeks into the year seems a strange time to think about hope in 2008. Maybe it is a better time than January, away from the pressure of New Year’s resolutions and with a clearer and more realistic view of the year ahead. So here are my hopes for 2008 Energising new voters Having recently returned from [...]
Fidel Castro has announced that he is standing down as President of Cuba, this follows a long-illness. His brother Raśl is likely to take over officially, he has been acting President since July 2006.
I doubt I will ever tire of these things what do you think about this And this And how extreme are you on that I think this! I think that! I, like, TOTALLY disagree with that. Ooh you are HERE on the political compass! You are a Liberal / Libertarian! Well bugger me. There is another, nu-compass, this time supposedly to cater for the rather fun US Presidential stuff. Same formula you say what you think about issues and it says where you are on the usual two-dimensional map plus it tells you which candidate you are closest to. Mused, ...
The agenda for the City Council meeting on Tuesday 26 February 2008 has now been published. This is the annual Budget meeting, so items on the agenda include: the Council Plan 2008-2013 (which sets out what the Council wants to achieve over the next 5 years); andthe Council Budget for 2008/09 (including, of importance to all Council Tax payers, the level of Council Tax - for the third
Last night's Panorama kicked off a campaign to cut down on the amount of bottled water that we drink in this country. It is pretty astounding that so much still water is bought when you think that tap water is perfectly fine. When you think about the carbon footprint of bottling the water and then trucking it for miles, its pretty scandalous. I can see the case for the fizzy stuff. Often you order that as an alternative to lemonade or coke. But still water When I go to the gym I simply fill the empty plastic bottle in my ...
I hope the information in this Echo story will get out to every community in the City. There are going to be loads of jobs on offer at the new shopping area (Liverpool One) in town. And this way of registering once and then being informed of all the vacancies sounds like a great way to make sure people know what's on offer.
There's been some ballyhoo up here about a couple of opinion polls in which the denizens of Berwick-upon-Tweed expressed their desire to leave England and become part of Scotland. One survey for ITV1's Tonight programme saw resident's vote by 1182 to 775 in favour of becoming part of Scotland. nother poll in the Berwick Advertiser saw 78% vote to leave England. The town has a population of 11 600 and is part of Lib Dem MP Alan Beith's constituency and has 13 Lib Dem Councillors to 10 tories and 6 Independents. It has been suggested that the pro-Scotland sentiment is ...
Galactus is Coming!
Following a BBC report into the state of Britain's toilets I thought I would try and find out just how many had closed in Taunton Deane because they were in a poor state of repair. I was amazed to discover that over the last 7 years Taunton Deane Borough Council has closed 10 public toilets. The toilets closed are; High Street, Goodland Gardens, Canal Road, Priory Bridge Road, Tancred Street, Kingston Road, Hamilton Road, Taunton Green Park, Wilton Lands (replaced by public toilet in Sand Wedge Café) and Eastwick Road (replaced by public toilet in Priorswood Community Centre). At the ...
Last nights Sherbourne Court and Warwick Street TRA was a success, I think. A lot of tenants and residents are frustrated at the lack of Six Town Housing response to their maintenance issues, and are considering the possibility of a formal complaint. I must say that I have a lot of admiration for the residents who put up with what seems to be quite a shoddy service at times from Six Town Housing. But they are not helped by some of the residents who share the block, who seem to be committing crimes and engaging in anti-social behaviour which is ...
Just back from speaking at the Cabinet (Traffic and Parking) Committee at the City Council - and there’s good news. George Beckett and the Council have listened to local people and local businesses on the proposed parking changes and decided not to press ahead with ‘Pay and Display’ instead of ‘Pay on Foot’. All credit to them. At the meeting, I took them through a survey we recently completed on parking: 94% of car park users that returned our survey were opposed to changing the system. People like the current system. It means they don’t have the same pressure to ...
Responding to the decision by the Government to nationalise Northern Rock, Ian Swales, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Redcar constituency, said: This decision is welcome but was also inevitable and should have been taken last year. Instead, Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling have been paralysed by their own indecision. They put off the only sensible course of action right until the very end. This is hardly a sensible way to run the Government. Had Labour followed the advice of Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable last year, the uncertainty that has been so damaging to Northern Rock and to the British ...
Early results from the parliamentary elections in Pakistan indicate sweeping gains by several opposition parties, notably the PPP of the late Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif’s PML (N). President Musharraf has said he will abide by the results and so far opposition fears of widespread vote-rigging seem unfounded. Voter turnout was below 40 per cent, [...]
There are two planning applications registered this week. The first is a Conservation area application to demolish Twerton Mill Lower Bristol Road Bath BA2 1EW. At the moment there is no application to build anything else on this site. This is the last of the old Woollen Mill buildings along this road the application number is 08/00490/CA. and you can view the application by...
President Pervez Musharraf's Pakistan Muslim League-Q party (PML-Q) has conceded defeat in the Pakistan elections. Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N appear to have won the elections with Benazir Bhutto Pakistan People's Party having also performed well.
The declaration of independence that the Parliament of Kosova approved on February 16th has been greeted by the international community with a certain weary resignation. The seventh country to have been carved out of the wreckage of Yugoslavia now takes its first toddler steps in the face of a certain ammount of international dismay. We are told that Serbia has lost the core of its history- yet, how true is this The province is named after the word for a blackbird in Serbian- Kos- in fact it is named after one particular battlefield: Kosovo Polje-the field of the Blackbirds. The ...
I approach this guest article for Liberal Democrat Voice with some trepidation, not least because when I introduced the launch of Liberal Conspiracy a few months ago, it was greeted with some scepticism amongst Lib Dem bloggers. Jonathan Calder called it “a conspiracy against Liberals”, Joe Otten calls us the Lefty Conspiracy and, at worst [...]
I am pleased to note that leading think tank the International Obesity Task Force, has backed my calls for a revolution in urban planning to halt the growing obesity epidemic (!!). In previous posts I argued there was a fundamental contradiction between the pressures put on individuals to take responsibility for their health and weight issues while the social structures which surround them act simultaneously to discourage exercise and encourage over-consumption. Decrying the "obesogenic environment promoted by most modern cities, the task force says simply encouraging more leisure activities is not enough to compensate for the sedentary hours we spend ...
Discussing the Northern Rock nationalisation on The Today Programme, former FSA chairman Howard Davies: "… the government has become a sovereign wealth fund" You can listen to the full 08.10 discussion here (MP3 format).
The basic reason that Northern Rock has to be nationalised is that otherwise the government has no control and has to pick up the tab. The worst financial position for the tax payer. The tories have without thinking through the end game decided against Nationalisation. First they talked about Administration. This is a fire sale guaranteed to lose the government the most money. They are now
Maybe I was only half-awake but I felt a bit frustrated by Ed Davey’s comments on the Today programme this morning re the Lisbon Treaty debate. Normally Ed is excellent at getting the key message out of any story. This morning he was up against a Labour Euro-sceptic backbencher and managed to sound as if [...]
I think Farmer’s Markets are great. Not because I shop at them much (I find them too expensive), not for environmental reasons (I don’t buy into the whole ‘food miles’ thing - its a very bad measure of environmental impact), but because its entrepreneurial. Producers and organisers have seen a gap in the market and have [...]
Mohamed Al Fayed. Where to start If you want some entertaining late-night reading, get hold of a copy of Fayed: The Unauthorised Biography by Tom Bower. It is very difficult to take the man seriously after reading of all his "fuggin" outbursts and, shall we say, distributive tendencies with cash. It is a scandal that this man's fantasies have led to millions of pounds of public money being
I have been rather busy of late with the day job - and things aren't going to calm down for a bit - which means I have neglected the blog. Then along comes this post from Alain Desmier, Is PR right for you, that neatly explains the stuff I have been up to and is an excellent read.
The Conservatives know all about nationalising banks. As Bloomberg reminds us, the last bank nationalisation was when, in 1984, Maggie Thatcher bought Johnson Matthey PLC's lending operation for £1. And in 1994 the Tories rescued Slater Walker Securities by advancing about 70 million pounds. Small beer compared with Northern Rock, yes. But these couple of examples of the Tories helping out
Well, theyre going to have their work cut out Lib Dem London mayoral candidate Brian Paddick is running this years London marathon, and is challenging his two opponents to pick up the gauntlet hes laid down. Says Brian: Running London is an extremely tough and demanding job and the Mayor needs to be mentally and [...]
Sunday: So, the Northern Rock is to be nationalised. Or, as Chancellor Sooty put it on the The Today Programme: "We're going to have to take the action that you know; we'll bring it under the control of well you understand; we're going to do thingie!" On the never-short-of-excellent "Boston Legal", Mr Brad Chase has a phobia of saying the word "lesbian". I wonder if Chancellor Sooty has the same problem. After all, it is just as WORD! All together now: "Lesbian, lesbian, lesbian! Nationalisation, nationalisation, nationalisation!" That wasn't too hard, now was it The Conservatories, meanwhile, are being stupid. ...
That will be the message from Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg later today when he addresses the National Farmers Union conference. And he doesnt mince his words: Im a liberal. I believe the market should set prices for goods. When that drives efficiency from farmers, and benefits consumers, I welcome it. But if it is delivered [...]
The grave of Hugh and Nora Gaitskell is one of the more promiment adorning Hampstead cemetery. As was the fashion and in turn with Hampstead's intellectual left tradition, Gaitskell lived here amongst the set that dominated Labour politics for much of the middle 50 years of the 20th century. He was leader of the Labour Party from 1955 to 1963 and has what can only be called a mixed reputation - further coloured by his early and untimely death. Much compared to Blair (often unfairly) and too often remembered for having taken on his left wing within the Party. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Gaitskell ...
Dear friends, Mr Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary, has bravely and generously agreed to offer us bloggers some of his time for an interview to cover the wide range of Liberal Democrat Foreign Policy! This is a particularly busy and exciting time for the foreign affairs team, with the European Reform Treaty that is passing [...]
Saturday: Wahey! Giant Fluffyphant playing with CARS does Mr Paul Cornell read my diary or WHAT! Mammoth pile-up {Posted by Picasa} courtesy Now that Dr Nick has sacked that useless waste of hair gel who hangs out with his bonkers ex-wife, I think there is a place for a Giant Fluffyphant on the TEAM especially one who has saved the boss!
Friday Those were Mr Mayor Ken's words to the London Assembly this week: "If anything goes wrong, the mayor is responsible." Then he had Lee Jasper suspended. "This casts serious doubt on Mr Ken's judgement," said Mr Brian, shocked at the escalation in the SCANDAL. "This goes far beyond the allegations made by the Evening Standard, which simply suggested that Lee Jasper had broken the rules, not broken the law." Is Mr Mayor Ken ACTUALLY going to take responsibility Well, forgive me if I suspect NOT. He does have a history of saying one thing and then denying it later. ... | < | February 2008 | > | ||||
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