Today was the day that the PCT were making the decision on going ahead with the Clarence Street Surgery. We had put in detailed comments on issues that needed to be addressed, but had concerns that some of these were not properly addressed in the report, and were not at all pleased when we were told that we could not speak at the meeting. It was a very uncomfortable experience to sit there on a... 
A year ago, Gordon Brown announced his big idea of eco-towns amid the fanfare of his succession to No 10. The rehashing of the 1950/60s New Towns concept, dressed up with a bit of green spin, was the big idea to building Britain out of its well publicised housing shortage. Since then, like Brown's own leadership, the policy has fallen apart. The sixty initial submissions have been whittled down to a shortlist of fifteen (and two of these have now pulled out.) Up to ten successful bids (but probably less) will be chosen later this year. But most of the ...
No substantive post's due to a rather hectic schedule so sorry. Please don't let me slip into bad habits and become a irregular poster. Yesterday I attended Liberal Conspiracy's Blog Nation event which was very interesting. Apologies for late entry by the way courtesy of First Capital Connect. The event was very useful and worthwhile and it was nice to put names to faces; I did however feel it was slightly too short and I would suggest that as a follow-up a weekend event ought to be considered. I like Liberal Conspiracy alot both the concept and the site and ...
Antony Hook had a good posting the other day in which he sets the problems in Zimbabwe in historical and political context in terms of human rights abuses and comes up with some good suggestions, but he rightly notes that other human rights abuses have dropped down the agenda. In the interest of redressing the balance, here are some other human rights stories that you might have missed: Human Rights Watch condemns Russia's policies in violence-plagued Ingushetia Israeli doctors complicit in torture: rights group Rights groups reject extended detention period Uzbekistan: EU Maintains Strategy, Despite Worsening Rights Situation China must ...
Harriet Harperson's proposals to prevent frivolous lawsuits from people passed over for jobs because they (wrongly) perceive there is some form of gender or race discrimination are sensible. A firm should be able to, for example, pick a woman from an set of equally qualified people to counter an uneven gender ratio. Positive discrimination is picking a lesser-qualified candidate over a more-qualified candidate. While positive discrimination is still discrimination and is thus illiberal (it restricts equality of opportunity), Harperson's proposals do not discriminate on gender or ethnicity. Of course, if the burden is on the company to prove the two ...
Here's the latest list of local events from E-Focus - another busy round! Forget Glastonbury - there's a party in the park this Saturday, 28th June, from 11am until 6pm at Manor House Gardens. More details on Pistachio's website at http://www.pistachiosinthepark.org.uk/index.htm There'll be a fine food festival on Sunday 29th June from 10am until 4pm at Cornmill Gardens, opposite Lewisham Train/DLR station. Expect the finest local and fair trade produce. The Quaggy Waterways Action Group are holding a clean-up on Sunday 29 June. Meet in the Clarendon Rise Car Park at 1.30 pm Click here for more details. Waders should ...
NORTH East Lincolnshire Council has begun to issue penalty notices to parents of children and young adults who do not attend school on a regular basis.Since the council's cabinet agreed to allow penalty notices to be used as a deterrent from unauthorised absence, three penalties have been issued - for unauthorised holidays - and several more notices are set to be issued in the near future, some of which are for low school attendance. Penalty notices are set at £50 if paid within 28 days, or £100 if paid after 28 days but within 42 days. All three of the ...
I'm in Cairo for a political seminar, but this evening the organiser took me to one of the riverside restaurants on Zamalek island, right on the point, with a wonderful panorama of the Nile and its rivercraft. Being Thursday, and thus the start of most people's weekend, there were lots of lively parties going on [...]
I have spent hours tonight trying to change my driving license online via direct.gov.uk, the much heralded government website that is supposed to make our lives easier and simpler. Utter bollocks. Direct.gov.uk has to be one of the blandest most antiquated and user unfriendly website that exists anywhere, and no, it didn't allow me to do what I wanted to do either. The very fact that it will not even let you print off documents and instead allows you only to order documents to be posted to you is a sign of how little it saves the tax payer in ...
Lib Dem shadow shadow home secretary and two-time leadership runner-up Chris Huhne is one of the panellists on tonight's Question Time (broadcast on BBC1 and online from 10.35 pm GMT). The panel will also include the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Yvette Cooper, the Conservative shadow security minister Pauline Neville Jones, contemporary artist Grayson Perry and [...]
The unveiling today of the Equalities Bill is a microcosm of the whole New Labour approach to politics, showcasing both the best and worst of the way it does things. On the positive side, there is no doubt it is trying to tackle a serious social issue and its heart is generally in the right place. Much of the bill is worthy and therefore relatively uncontroversial. But on the down side, it illustrates this government's tendencies to try and solve problems through legislation, interfering in every area, engaging in pointless symbolic gestures which have no effect on the problems it's ...
Am I just stupid? Did you know about this? I never knew there were American nuclear weapons on our soil. I was alerted by this in finding out they're removing them. They've actually been there for 54 years, so have been part of our defense. Due to how the cold war finished like over 17years ago and it takes that long to move them away gradually. Apparently some places where the nukes were in Europe they were inadequately protected, with security guards with just 9months training. So the last 110 (!!!) American nuclear weapons have been pulled out of Britain ...
One imagines the conversation Iain Dale could have had if someone emailed him this photo to go on his blog about the Henley by-election: From: Eric Pickles MP To: Iain Dale Subject: Photo Howdy Iain! Crap day in Henley - as I was on the prowl for Chris Rennard to provoke I came across this at 5.30 this morning and took a sneaky snap! Hard to get a story out of this I know, but please try! :) It took ages standing there with a twig reaching up trying to make it come off the wall. I felt like a ...
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black, will be holding two of his regular advice surgeries in the first week of July. Mr. Black will be in Port Talbot Central Library on Friday 4th July from 3pm to 4pm. He will then be available at Porthcawl Library from 4.30pm to 5.30pm. No appointment is necessary.
The Big question is can we actually win in Henley. With Boris being the last elected MP for Henley it is going to be tough but many people have said that this one is in the Bag. I hope it is so we can wipe that smile of Gordan Brown's and David Cameron's face. The Lib Dems are the Best Party to sort the disaster Labour has made with the help of Conservatives but will the people of Henley help us Convay that message to the rest of the Country. I will be Analysing the results Tomorrow. 
June 27th 2008 is the first anniversary of Gordon Brown taking over as Prime Minister. Mr Brown has had 12 months in charge, but on the key issues for Britain he has failed to deliver. It has all gone horribly wrong for Gordon Brown.
Just over a year ago, Peter Black wrote of a possible slicing of £24 million from lottery funding for sport and good causes in Wales. Now it looks as if the shortfall on Welsh sport alone is going to be more like £60 million. Likely to suffer are such charitable sporting funds as the Community Chest. This is administered in Neath Port Talbot by the county borough council on behalf of the Sports Council for Wales. In the past, the Community Chest has provided grants up to £1000 each to organisations fro activities which encourage more people to be more ...
I have today been to the Royal Norfolk Show with my school, and I have to say, yet again, that it has been a thoroughly entertaining day out for us all. For all those who do not know what the Royal Norfolk Show is, put simply it as a massive trade and civic event which takes in business, commerce and charity stands around what is essentially a traditional agricultural show. The Royal Norfolk show, celebrating its 100th year as a 'Royal' show, is the largest two day event of its kind in the UK and is a traditional part of ...
Devil's Kitchen is having a tedious grappling match with Labour MP Paul Flynn over whether humans are causing climate change. I've read and posted on this before so, with a sinking sense of deja vu, I am going to wade back into the fray and make exactly the same points as I did last time. See, told you it was tedious! The devil is not in the detail of whether global warming is happening.
There are apparently going to be 26 names on the voting slip in Haltemprice and Howden on 10 July: Grace Christine Astley - Independent David Laurence Bishop - Church of the Militant Elvis Party Ronnie Carroll - Make Politicians History Mad Cow-Girl - The Official Monster Raving Loony Party David Craig - Independent Herbert Winford Crossman - Independent Tess Culnane - National Front Britain for the British Thomas Faithful Darwood - Independent David Michael Davis - Conservative Tony Farnon - Independent Eamonn "Fitzy" Fitzpatrick - Independent Christopher Mark Foren - Independent Gemma Dawn Garrett - Miss Great Britain Party George ...
The BBC reports that there will be 26 (count 'em) candidates on the ballot paper for the Haltemprice & Howden by-election. Not quite what David Davis had in mind when he resigned to fight his crusade, I suspect.
The Government's 'one size fits all' approach to schools is failing thousands of pupils by not providing a personalised education, says Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg.
The report that Furedi has written for the think tank Civitas has received a lot of publicity today. There is a good article on it by Furedi and Jennie Bristow on the New Statesman site, and you can find links to other media coverage on the Civitas blog. As that blog says: The dramatic escalation of child protection measures has succeeded in poisoning the relationship between the generations and creating an atmosphere of suspicion that actually increases the risks to children, according to a new study released today by Civitas. In Licensed to Hug Frank Furedi, Professor of Sociology at ...
Or so the Shropshire Star says: Staff from the Tern Hill Hall Hotel, which is located a short distance from the barracks, say it is likely the lights the soldiers saw were Chinese wedding lanterns, which had been let off at the hotel by wedding guests the same night. Hotel manager Stuart Willatt said the lanterns were let off on June 7 at about 11pm, just minutes before the soldiers claimed to have seen the lights.Mind you, the paper also reports that: Dozens of residents from all over the county say they have seen mysterious lights moving across the sky ...
The Government's new Equalities Bill hit the headlines today - primarily for its legalisation of 'positive discrimination' where employers are able to employ two equally able candidates. Lib Dem Equalities spokeswoman Lynne Featherstone has put forward her views on her blog. ... the media have made great hay with the bit which will allow an [...]
This is foolish of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. He bought a black case to all French MPs which included a tie in it. (Female MPs don't where ties in France either.) It was gift to mark the EU presidency coming to France. This was a stupid thing to do, but to be fair he isn't sexist like Berlusconi of Italy. Sarkozy has a good number of female cabinet members. However the French Parliament is only 18% female.
Hooray, I made it. To help in the Henley by-election that is. A 5.30am leaflet drop to remind people to vote in the affluent and pretty town of Henley that gives this large rural constitue...
For one moment I thought the man was on fire. I'll refrain from saying I was disappointed to realise he wasn't. That's Zhang Qingli the Chinese Communist Party Boss.Recently he said, ''The sky above Tibet will never change. The red five-star flag will always fly above this land. We can definitely smash the separatist plot of the Dalai Lama clique completely.' This was during a speech in the torch relay in Tibet.So the IOC criticised that and said it, 'regrets that political statements were made during the closing ceremony of the Torch Relay in Tibet'. In response China answered that ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7474475.stm The Scottish Leader of the Labour Party might get banned for one day from Parliament for breaking donation rules. Well at Westminster banning a Politician for money related crimes is a social taboos. It is great to see that something happening to politicians who think they can break the rules or scam the system and get away with it. But the question i ask is will this occur in Westminster so MP's that scam the tax payers money or break donation rules get suspended as well?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7474801.stm Harriet Harmon has set out plans on how she thinks the Labour Party can tackle discrimination in employment. Well i am a young man my self and i am finding it very hard like many other young people my age to find a job. Most Employers just look at your application and say you do not have enough experience but how can we young people have experience if no company wants to take us on to work. When leaving school you do not have a lot of experience and employers demand you have experience. This is discriminating to young ...
It's almost incredible, but the Post Office have announced the closure of another Islington post office. This time it's the popular branch on Goswell Road, EC1. Not only is it in a regeneration area, on the borders of Bunhill and Clerkenwell, but it's surrounded by large estates, small shops, and City University: all communities that [...]
We hear about fatal shooting in the USA way to often. 1 in 3 household in the USA have a hand gun. The US has 5.7 murders per 100,000 people in 2006. (Compare that with 2.03 in the UK, apparently 4.04 in Palestine, the big ones go to 50 and are mainly in Central and South America.) Washington DC took the right decision in banning hand guns to try and keep down crime. There has been a ban for 32 years. However the Supreme Court has said the decision was unconstitutional. Unfortunately they're right saying that. The second amendment to ...
A statement on Government plans to collect people's history on-line prompted a number of anecdotal contributions from members yesterday but none more memorable than that from David Melding: David Melding: This sounds like a splendid initiative and I look forward to being able to access the information on the internet. This reminds me slightly of Huw Lewis's call a few years ago for a people's history museum. We seem to have a virtual concept now of this. I am sure that that is fitting for the modern world. I remember that, after hearing Huw waxing so lyrically about the museum ...
There are just five hours til polls close in today's by-election to decide who will succeed Boris Johnson as MP for Henley. The widespread expectation is of a Tory victory - it is one of their safest seats - but there has been a great deal of energy behind Stephen Kearney and the Lib Dem [...]
According to Sam Coates of The Times, one Tory MP has adopted Alan Duncan's phrase to refer to some of the Conservative Party's more foaming-mouth members and their reaction to the Equalities Bill: Of the seven Tory backbenchers in the chamber, two were in favour - Paul Goodman and John Bercow and five - Philip Davies, [...] 
Have a read of this longish Atlantic Monthly article from 2005 on evolutionary dualism and God. Very interesting indeed.
An interesting interview with British author Doris Lessing, the 2007 Nobel Laureate in Literature has been put up on the nobelprize website, if, of course, you are interested in that sort of thing.
{Ming opening Gateside Hall} North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell formally opened the newly refurbished Gateside Memorial Hall on Sunday 22nd June.
{Ming at Post Office} North East Fife Liberal Democrats Sir Menzies Campbell MP and Iain Smith MSP have thrown their weight behind the campaign by the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters to save the Post Office card account (POCA2), which enables over 4 million people to access their pensions and benefits at a Post Office each week. The current contract for providing pensions and benefits is due for renewal by the Government and Liberal Democrats are keen that the Post Office is awarded the new card account. The National Federation of Sub-Postmasters estimates that the loss of this service will result ...
The Law Lords' decision that convicting people on the basis of anonymous witnesses is unfair is available here. The Lord Chancellor has announced that parliament will legislate to reverse the effect of this case within 2 weeks. I heard Lord Thomas, Lib Dem Shadow Attorney-General speaking against anonymous witnesses on Radio 2 earlier today. His main [...]
Today's the day! Or should have been. The Equalities Bill ''statement' today in the House of Common chamber came after loads of leaks and media on the subject. I can only assume that Ms Harman wanted the news agenda to herself - avoiding opposition criticism. Which is a shame - as the media have made great hay with the bit which will allow an employer who at interview has several equally qualified applicants - give the job to the one they feel fills a gap in the make up of their workforce. So - for example - if there was ...
i was waiting for a hairdresser appointment just now. so i sat up on gainsborough square. its interesting how the world looks at different times of day. the sun was out, trees whipping in the breeze and people seemed cheery on the summer's day. the recycling area is a lot less chaotic than it ever has been. i suspect thanks to the cctv now. nobody was in the childrens play area - but then it is a bit rubbish. if i was a child i wouldnt be terribly excited by it. it really needs an overhaul. perhaps as part of ...
Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, and what a pretty hopeless year it has been - in 7 key areas, all we have seen is failure: * Brown has failed to bring an end to Labour's assault on civil liberties * Brown has failed to grasp the nettle on climate change * Brown has failed to break open the poverty trap * Brown has failed to give power back to the people * Brown has failed to restore Britain's international reputation * Brown has failed to deliver economic stability * Brown has failed to deliver ...
There are many who campaign against trade. US politics seems to be dominated by NAFTA, not because its a mere parody of free trade, but because it is trade at all. Drew Carey points out that if you're worried about people doing work for less money, you should be worrying about machines, not trade. Don't worry though, [...]
This from today's Independent: A senior arms lobbyist is gaining access to ministers, MPs and peers inside Parliament using a research assistant pass allotted to a member of the House of Lords [Baroness (Angela) Harris of Richmond, Lib Dem] who benefits financially from one of his companies, The Independent has learnt. Though the Indy alleges no wrongdoing, [...]
Football and netball sessions on a new-look Grimsby housing estate are proving a hot shot. Scores of young people from Freshney Green, formerly the Yarborough estate, turn up for the regular Thursday evening sports academy at Yarborough Primary School.The project has been sponsored by housing firm Shoreline and also by the Ward Councillors, with a donation from the Ward Councillors Fund. Organisers are hoping to attract more firms to join the team to help tempt young people away from anti-social behaviour.The new academy was hailed a success by Shoreline neighbourhood manager Martin High. He said: "The academy is fantastic. It ...
At around 10 am on the 26th of June 2008 I was riding my bicycle along the Aylesbury road shared path in Wendover. As I was approaching the petrol station I noticed that the section of the shared path that is adjacent to the used cars dealer was blocked by two parking cars and I saw a woman with a double seated pram that was forced to walk along these cars in the road itself. I took a few pictures on my phone camera and immediately was confronted by a man who later on drove away in one of the ...
Visiting a Resident I went to visit a disabled resident at their house to assist them with some form filling. I am constantly amazed at the amount of forms disabled people need to fill in to obtain assistance with their needs. Many of the forms are virtual duplicates but for different agencies. It would be so [...]
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The Labour Party are trying to raise money to pay of debts by auctioning items that you can not actually buy from your local Shopping Mall. Imagine being able to Buy a game of Tennis with Tony Blair well it will be available to but as the Labour Party are going to hold an auction to raise money to pay of the debt that they have. How is the Labour Party is debt they always are in the news for crimes related to money and their MP's like Tory MP's are for some reason not declaring donations that they ...
A few stories out in the newspapers today in which I feature: Equalities Bill - the Guardian has coverage today, including: The Liberal Democrat equality spokeswoman, Lynne Featherstone, said: 'If the government genuinely wants to tackle equality, it must do more to end the growing discrepancy between the rules on pay for the public and private sector. 'Without compulsory pay audits for the private sector, these proposals will represent a very real victory for the hawks in the cabinet. Public sector equality rights are fast becoming an ivory tower that private sector employees can only dream of. A few tick-box ...
Today sees the launch of the Councillors Community Initiative Fund. This is basically a ward based fund that local councillors either do or don't agree to create. Local groups can bid for money from the fund depending on where they are based. That's the good news. The bad news is that if you are a group in Speke/Garston there is no fund for you! This strange state of affairs is a direct result of action, or inaction, by Labour's Councillors in the ward. The fund money comes from the cash already allocated to wards as part of the Neighbourhood Fund. ...
Hiatt, the company that manufactured the shackles used in Guantanamo Bay is to leave Birmingham. Hiatt is no stranger to controversy having previously manufactured 'Nigger Collars' during the slave trade.
Last night was the first time I had been to Corporate Services Committee. Executive Members go to the Select Committee that is most relevant to their area. As my portfolio is rather new and has quite vague boundaries, I go to two Select Committees - this one and Overview and Scrutiny. Last night's meeting was an eye opener about a lot of areas of work - although in some cases there was great news. What stood out for me was the work done by the people in the Benefits Maximisation Team. They have been helping Liverpool people get the benefits ...
On the way to the office this morning I decided to walk across part of my ward to have a look at an issue which may need dealing with. Like many environmental topics, its one thing talking about it, but a whole other thing seeing for yourself. So I thought a quick stroll would help me understand whether action is needed or not. Well the thing I went to look at may not be a problem, although I managed to find a few other problems en route. But no sooner had I got there but the heavens opened and I ...
{Cllr Nicholas Coombes BSc} Yesterday I graduated from Bath university with a degree in architecture. The Bath University Architecture School is recognised as one of the best in the country (Times = #2 in UK, Independent = #3, Guardian = #4) and architecture commonly held as one of the most difficult degrees ("archi-torture"), so I am very please to have successfuly graduated. Having worked in architecture practices on placement over the last few years, a full time job is much easier than an architecture degree; although despite its time demands student life did allow more flexibility. I now plan a ...
This week I joined Vince Cable and other MPs at a briefing held by Which? in Westminster. I heard from customers of Norwich Union and Prudential who hold 'With Profits' policies like endowment mortgages, savings plans and pensions - there are 6 million of them altogether - are you one of them? Local resident Andrew Edgington has been taking a leading role in the campaign on this issue, and he writes: 'The big insurers hold billions of pounds in 'inherited estates' within their With Profits funds. They want to transfer these funds away from ordinary policyholders and pass them to ...
I have noticed today that there is an item on the NELC website which attempts to explain the recent changes to the road layout at Bradley Crossroads which I have reproduced here for information only. If you have any opinions on the changes please let me know, and I will see that they are passed on:-Road layout changes have been introduced at Bradley Crossroads to address long standing safety concerns when pedestrians attempt to cross the dual carriageway from the Bradley Inn towards the shopping facilities.Accident studies have shown that pedestrians are particularly vulnerable at this location from vehicles coming ...
Much has been made of why the Irish voted No to the Lisbon treaty. However few have pointed out some of the fundamental changes in the Irish economy over the past five years. Ireland was historically a country where land ownership bestowed particular power, and it was on that root that the economic dominance of the Protestant ascendancy rested. Despite the gradual reduction in the power of the agricultural lobby which was the mainstay of the Republic until the 1980's, land and property has retained a talismanic role in the Irish psyche. It is one reason why property ownership in ...
Whereas I had great reservations about our campaign in C&N - I have no reservations about the Henley by-election campaign. Doing the Bette Midler work that I do `ring ring - from a distance!` you learn to get a real feel for the way a campaign is going. Each `tone`of a campaign is individual - this [...]
Below is a press statement from my Liberal Democrat colleague Councillor Caroline Roberts which leads me to ask the Question do the Conservatives care. Bath and North East Somerset's Conservative-run Cabinet has made little progress on its pledge to support the area's remaining Post Offices according to the response to a question tabled by a Liberal Democrat...
MEN'S health really does matter - that's the message from North East Lincolnshire Council's public health team as they launch a new Full Monty styled DVD aimed at getting men to talk more - and do more, about improving their health.The DVD tells the story of five men in a pub - and as the packaging suggests, their discussions cover the full monty of men's potential health issues, from high blood pressure to erectile dysfunction.Greg Gilbert, men's health programme coordinator, said: "If you've been looking for information on men's health - then here it is. The first of its kind ...
On the 'Centre Right' section of ConsHome this week appears a piece from Conservative MEP Charles Tannock entitled When Free Trade Becomes a Free-for-All. A brief synopsis - Conservative Does Not Like Consequences of Free Trade. Golly gosh gosh. Tannock begins with a familiar nineteenth-century history lesson: 'Traditionally Liberals adopted a more laissez-faire approach to external commerce and Tories tended towards protectionism'. Indeed, so they did, and still do. Conservatives wish to protect our economy from, for example, 'excessive immigration'. Tannock's piece is augmented by another Conservative linking in his own feature from a while back, in which he explained ...
Harperson's Equality Act has a sting in the tail. Positive Discrimination is still discrimination and it is wrong. Even in this limited way, endorsing discrimination perpetuates it, rather than eradicating it. It adds vast amounts of resentment for little perceivable benefit. Many studies have shown that the main reasons for gender discrimination are to do with children - women are still disproportionately the ones who do the childcare, and therefore employers see women as more of a risk. Career breaks to have children and going back to work part time are the major things that affect a person's earning potential. ...
A new posting on Face Book allows you to oppose the growth of Tesco in Bath and says. 'Actually, I would not like another Tesco in Bath, there are enough already!'. http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=16423489349 If you agree sign up to it today on Face Book.
For the last couple of years I have served as Vice Chair of the International Centre of Excellence for Local e-Democracy (ICELE). The Centre was funded by the Dept of Communities and Local Government, but managed (very effectively) by Lichfield District Council. ICELE's main work has been with local councils and regional bodies, providing training and advice on the use of modern...
A schoolboy error in today's Echo, with the headline, 'Council is criticised over terrible state of cemetary.' Note to Echo sub-editors: in order to spell it correctly, simply remember that late at night all the ghosts come out and go 'eeeeeeeee'! This does, though, lead to a depressing story, which follows on from a similar report earlier in the week about North Cemetery, about the poor
I was interested in the above judgment which was a judicial review of the failure to have a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. (see link for detailed judgment). If you are interested in these things it is worth reading the judgment. However, it can be summarised as:The decision not to have a referendum was made by parliament and cannot be touched by the courts. (which was my original expectation
Discovery Properties, the developers of The Oval shopping centre (please, Echo, stop calling it a mall: this isn't the USA) have moved to reassure us that their development is still 'quietly progressing' with a new target opening date of late Spring 2011, Apparently their website is down because 'we've changed our operator'. As someone who has always supported this development, I am very pleased
Good news for any gay daddies fearing repatriation to the Theocratic Nuthouse of Iran! According to the Hopeless Secretary, Ms Jacquie Spliff, there is NO DANGER of being executed to death by the religious police, so long as you remember to STAY DISCREETLY IN THE CLOSEST. Clearly, the 145 people since 1979 who HAVE been murdered by the Revolutionary Iranian State for the so-called 'crime' of being gay must be just KICKING themselves for overlooking this simple precaution. Or they would be if they weren't totally DEAD! Only a cynical person could suspect Ms Spliff of looking for LOOPHOLES in ...
Last night's Council meeting saw a number of interesting questions asked and answered. Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Tim Pickstone asked a very pertinent question about congestion charging. Obviously the Lib Dem Group remain passionately opposed to the charge, and one of the main reasons is its effect on some local communities. Simister, for instance, which residents won't be able to enter or leave without passing through the charging zone. And Parrenthorn High School, one third of the pupils of which live the other side of the M60. Local people in Prestwich might be penalised for very short journeys going ...
This is the speech I made to full Council last night proposing the Liberal Democrat motion to stop the government's plan to close five Post Offices in Bury as part of the national plan to close 2,500. The motion passed unanimously. "Thank you Mr Mayor. I am proposing tonight's motion on Post Office closures. The programme of closures sets government against local people. It puts Whitehall bureaucracy on a course against the residents of Bury. And it sends the message that the future of Post Offices is bleak and unsustainable. Mr Mayor, this is the biggest Post Office closure programme ...
The Liberal Democrat motion to full Council calling for a halt to the government's plans to close five Post Offices in Bury was successful last night, winning unanimous support from Councillors. The motion was brought to Council as a result of the government's plans to close 2,500 more Post Offices, having already closed one third of the Post Office network in the past ten years. It called for an end to the closure programme, the halting of consultation in favour of giving full support to rebuilding the network, and called for both of Bury's MPs to make amends for supporting ...
Last night's full Council meeting was used by the ruling Conservative Group to make the most damaging change to democracy in Bury for many years. Just eight weeks after taking control of the Council for the first time in two decades, and having already removed opposition membership from the Council's Executive, last night the ruling group voted disgracefully to remove the right of the public to ask verbal questions at Council meetings. The Tory proposals were part of a raft of measures to "improve the efficiency of Council meetings, " almost all of which were either damaging to the democratic ...
Good luck to Stephen and the team in Henley today! I have been frustrated by the fact that I can't get up there (family commitments and a big building project I have been managing outside my back door) but have been watching and reading every step with baited breath and sincerely hope that today we get a good result. The widespread impact of a win today for us would be a great boost for the party, a great help to us in Cornwall and a real boost to Nick's leadership also. It is clear that Stephen Kearney is the best ...
This time last year the news programmes were full of stories of terrible flooding problems across England. A Government-sponsored report out this week said that the scale of the flooding was such that they 2007 Summer floods were 'the most expensive floods in the world' that year. Several people lost their lives, tens of thousands lost their homes and - a year on - nearly 5,000 householders are still not back home. This week the Government published the 'Pitt Review' into the floods which contained 92 recommendations. One of them was a strong presumption against building in flood risk areas. ...
Newly refurbished and much enhanced we have the Flask Pub in Hampstead -a good old fashioned boozer with a great mix of residents, passers by and deliberate visitors. And with the refit and now with a new pub sign - there was lots of nervousness that it was about to become the new 'slug and lettice' (sic) - Ugh - happily it didn't! It been's The Flask for some considerable time now and the name is a hint at the earlier tradition of the Hampstead spring water - mainly from the Chalybeate spring in Well Walk. The pub was one ...
Last night was the Full Council meeting of Bury Council, this is one of the six meetings in the year where all 51 councillors meet to consider important business. Two issues dominated the meeting: Questions at Council Meetings The Conservative Group took control of Bury Council at the elections in May. They proposed a number of changes to the way questions can be allowed at Council meetings. We agreed with some of the things that they have been suggesting - in particular the fact that ordinary councillors will now be able to ask questions and address the Executive Committee on ...
Could you imagine George Osborne as Prime Minister? Robert Harris can, according to an in-depth profile of the Tory shadow chancellor in July's Prospect magazine, which is well worth reading if you have a spare 10 minutes. Though Osborne's star has shone since last October's Tory conference pledge to raise the inheritance tax threshold to [...]
Well yesterday's tale of mayo and the juxtaposed image of a male deli guy in place of the mum of the household has taken a rather sinister twist. Yesterday the Director of UK Corporate and Government Affairs, Nigel Dickie had been telling us the as was pulled because complaints to the Advertising Standards Agency and Heinz themselves had been about 'offensive', 'inappropriate' content in the ad
Far to busy to watch Wimbledon properly I am catching the odd news report in a state of puzzlement as I try to work out who all these strange tennis players are. I have of course heard of Andy Murray, Roger Federer and a few other of the participants but otherwise I am out of my depth and left thinking of the Wimbledon of my youth when Jimmy Connor, Bjorn Borg, Arthur Ashe, John McEnroe and Ilie Năstase were amongst some of the stars. Wikipedia tells us that Ilie Năstase was the World number one male tennis player World No. ...
I listened to this morning to a fascinating talk by Henry Jenkins of MIT which covered a range of issues including a model for a participatory culture which he defines as: Participatory Culture For the moment, let's define participatory culture as one: 1. With relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement 2. With strong support for creating and sharing one's creations with others 3. With some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices 4. Where members believe that their contributions matter 5. Where members feel some degree of ...
Best wishes to all the Lib Dems in Henley today, I hope polling day goes well. I'm sorry I'm not there to help, but I graduate on Friday, and I have to pack up my room to go home today/tomorrow. But anyway, good luck to you all, and let's hope the Tories get a bit of a shock come Friday morning.
A day of utter frustration with bureaucracy dominating over the needs of people. At my voluntary work I was at a meeting with some new people and we were asked to introduce ourselves with our name and what we liked to eat. Without thinking I said 'bureaucrats for breakfast' Things didn't get better as I got an e-mail from the PCT saying that as members of the public we were not...
A couple days back, James Wallis posted about the Interesting 2008 unconference and it sounded, well, interesting: Saturday was the day of Interesting 08, the second unconference organised by Russell Davies (no T on this boy) at Conway Hall in London. Thirty speakers gave talks on subjects close to their hearts, the only common linking theme that the topics were—and the speakers should be—interesting. Possibly it was the best not-a-conference conference I've ever been to.Today, he's posted a video of his presentation, and it is, quite simply, brilliant: Of especial interest to any and all science geeks, and any/all World ...
Well, the Henley polling day has arrived. I'm out and about all day but thought I would also blog to wish happy birthday to the Head of Press here (and London Campaigns Officer) Chris Leaman. The team got Chris a cake which was given to him at the Eve of Poll meeting last night. | < | June 2008 | > | ||||
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