A Government that cannot even run itself properly is attempting to micro-manage how we run our local services. At a "policy update" this afternoon we learn that the consultation on an Ambulance Trust is not about asking people if they want one or not - the Government has already decided that! Also, you won't be surprised to hear that there is a printing error and some of the questions are wrong...
Who would have thought ten years ago that a Democratic President of the US would refuse to condemn an Iranian Government's attempt to rig an election and to clamp down on the subsequent protest marches calling for more western style freedom? It's unimaginable that Clinton would have acted in such a way. Prior to the 2000 election, most of Clinton's republican critics were accusing him of being too interventionist while the liberal left's initial criticism of George Bush was that he had never left US shores and had no interest in anything outside its borders. It was 9/11 that jolted ...
Rumours are coming in that Lebanese Hezbollah (as opposed to the Iranian Hezbollah) are now on the streets in Tehran terrorising protestors and civilians (reports via Twitter). It is not yet confirmed, but would not be surprising, the Lebanese Hezbollah as bankrolled by the Iranian Government and inspired by the Iranian Revolution, their paymasters may well [...]
Sustainable Thornbury, a Town in Transition, is screening the environmental/climate change film "The Age of Stupid" at Cossham Hall in Chapel St, Thornbury this Friday (June 19th). It starts at 7.45pm and admission is £3. Refreshments will be available from 7.15pm when the doors open. Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father, Brassed Off) stars as a man living alone in the devasted world of 2055, looking back at archive footage from 2007 and asking: "Why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?" It will be followed by a Q&A with a panel made up ...
Dear Michael, You are now a Government Minister. Whilst I have congratulated you on your appointment, I am still uncertain why you have chosen, at this late stage in the life of New Labour, to align yourself even more fully with Gordon Brown. I am writing to you today, horrified to have learnt that you, the Government, have [...]
Today's final report from the Calman Commission is designed to plot a way forward for devolution in Scotland. The report itself is OK as far as it goes: it recognises that Scotland needs to be responsible for deciding a greater share of its own finances and it sets out a case for additional powers to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. The down side is that there are proposals for certain fairly minor responsibilities to be handed back to Westminster. I haven't yet read the full report, only the executive summary, so I don't know the Commission's thinking behind these, ...
Green shoots ? UK economy on the upturn ? Have the journalists gone stark raving bonkers ? The serious press is reporting a multitude of stories about the recession bottoming out. Take off the blindfolds dear scribblers. No, I am not going to deny the possibility of finding little upbeat stories – some of them are [...]
In two short debates this evening Parliament gave approval for the Money Resolution and the Ways and Means Resolution for my driving instructors bill. Those who have been listening carefully will know that my bill will bring in a power to suspend driving instructors convicted of sexual offences and the likes whilst their removal from the register is considered.The resolutions allow for the funding of a compensation scheme for those who wrongly suspended and to enable a charge to extend the scheme to trainee instructors. The Bill now goes to committee on Wednesday.
It's not often that I'll comment on Scottish, Welsh or indeed Northern Irish politics. This usually isn't of much interest to residents in Blaydon or the North East. Some will remember the doomed referendum in the North East about a North East Assembly. The North East roundly rejected the idea of a regional assembly. Friends of mine said that they weren't voting for it because it didn't have enough powers. They were right. I argued at the time that an assembly could act as a voice for the region and gradually gain more powers. If Scotland is anything to go ...
There is a phone-in on Radio 4's "You and Yours" tomorrow. More details on Liberal Democrat Voice.
I've been musing in the last week or so about how best to react to the BNP after they won their first seats in the European Parliament. At first I felt a swirling mist of anger and approved of other people's hysteria directed towards their overtly racist policies and ideas. I thought about the conditions that allowed fascism to flourish in Germany before Hitler came to power - unemployment and a recession - conditions which make racism seem all the more attractive for those previously only slightly swayed by that view. After that first swirl of anger it seems to ...
So Gordon Brown has decided to have an enquiry to "answer the questions" about Iraq. This is designed to restore the public's confidence in the Government, from the man who promised a more open and transparent form of politics. The members of the enquiry team are hand appointed by the prime minister, the enquiry will sit in closed session, the terms of reference do not permit it to apportion blame or express a view as to any potential criminal or civil proceedings against any person, no witnesses will be compelled to attend and evidence will not be delivered under oath. ...
I'm pretty sure much anti-market sentiment comes from a grave misunderstanding of the market. People view the market as something to be controlled from outside, to be regulated from outside, by the government and bureaucrats. By third parties. The reality is that a freed market will be regulated, but not by third parties. The regulation will be [...]
Last Friday evening we went with a group from St Barnabas to see 'The likes of Us' performed by Great Horton Theatre Company. It was the first musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. It was never performed until 2005. This production ...
Last night, as part of the FFW, there was a screening of a film called The Scar Crow, and a Q&A session with cast and crew afterwards. The film had great effects and was beautifully and creatively shot, especially given the tiny budget and shooting timescale, but it just REEKED of misogyny. I can't give specifics without spoilers, but I had many, many problems with the film. Now, you can say this about a lot of films, including many that I really love. But the classic Hammer/Amicus/etc. films get something of a pass due to being made 30, 40, 50 ...
Mon 15th
21:31
Perhaps one council close to our hearts Sould think again about how much it spends on consultants as...
Good to see Steve Middleton there tonight. Good for him to get some idea of what he will be doing next year.
Transit set alight – Swinton <!–Last Updated – 15th June 2009 at 04:06 PM –> Source Salford online At 2am on 14th June Agecroft station fire crew attended a call about a vehicle fire on a car park in Lyon Street. A spokesperson for GM Fire said: "The fire caused severe damage to the entire cab of a [...]
When a ICM Poll before the local elections put the Lib Dems into second place everyone was cheering from the top of their keyboards and the cyber debate turned to the opinion that the Lib Dems could become the main opposition for the Tories after the next general election but a new poll puts the Lib Dems in their place: CON 39 (-1) LAB 28(+6) LD 18 (-7) The 11 point lead by the Tories over Labour isn't a massive worry in my opinion and if Brown and Co. can save the economy by the general election or they can ...
The Conservative party have been getting their henchmen in Norfolk to read up about everything my good friend Nich Starling has ever written on his blog in hope to use it against him if he was to be the Lib Dem candidate for the soon to take place Norwich North by election. First of all I think the Conservatives are a coward party if they are going to use what a blogger has been writing against him. Nich writes his blog as a political animal not a politician what he says in the blog posts are not his opinions as ...
Heard on the radio the other day. Apparently Kirk Douglas's son was a stand up comedian and the story goes that he was in London and not performing very well on stage at a comedy club. He got increasingly angry at the audience's reaction and finally he snapped. "Don't you know who I am?! I'm Kirk Douglas's son!" he declared angrily. At which point a member of the audience got up and declared: "I'm Kirk Douglas's son!" A third person rose and announced: "I'm Kirk Douglas's son!" until the whole room was in uproar as they collectively declared themselves to ...
I have been an advocate of a more progressive approach to drug policy in this country for a long time. The current laws just aren't working and the fact that there are about 100,000% more heroin users now than in 1971 when the current drug laws came into effect is but one of a myriad of facts that prove this. However this is one area where politicians are terrified to say anything for fear of being painted as "SOFT ON DRUGS" by the press and their parliamentary opponents who seemingly never fail to oblige whenever one of them does briefly ...
From the BBC News: "Mr Mousavi, who was making his first public appearance since Friday's vote, believes results were rigged in favour of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The demonstrators gathered in Tehran's Revolution Square, chanting pro-Mousavi slogans as riot police stood by."
Mon 15th
20:03
Pity the poor Tory and Labour campaign staffer who had to read my blog from start to finish
I got an interesting text from a friend of mine with Tory connections who told me that my blog was almost certainly being read, in detail, in case there was something on me to use against me if I had stood in the Norwich North by-election. No doubt Labour were doing the same. I just pity the poor fool who was paid to do that.
It's great. Sad without Humph, but good to have it ...
At midnight the sky was fairly cloud free. In a Westerly direction the sky was that midsummer night, not completely dark, midnight blue. To the East it had the greenish-blue light of very early dawn. So yesterday's day nearly met up ...
Interesting piece on The Specatator's Coffee House blog; it looks at a report from the Taxpayers Alliance which looks into the question of MP's being given publicly owned accommodation. The benefits of this are quite obvious and I have seen no compelling argument against it; security would be improved by the concentration of MP's in one [...]
Mon 15th
19:02
Clegg on Iraq inquiry: "nothing short of a fully public inquiry - held in the open - will satisfy so...
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced there will be a private inquiry into the Labour Government's decision to go to war with Iraq. Beginning in July and reporting some time in 2010, the inquiry will cover the period July 2001 to July 2009 and be chaired by Sir John Chilcot. Here's Nick Clegg's response to the Prime Minister's statement: I would like to thank the Prime Minister for his statement, and join him in paying tribute to our brave service men and women who have served our country in Iraq over the last six years. And in particular to the ...
My mother was due to have an operation today. The operation had been scheduled for some weeks and was to be a "routine" thing, with my mother possibly staying in overnight, but possibly being allowed out today. However, that was before she encountered the mess that is the NHS. Having arrived early this morning, she was told she was number eight of eight on the list of patients for that particular surgeon. Then she was told there was not bed available, but if she waited, they might be able to find a bed. Note, this was a scheduled operation so ...
It was the chance to start rebuilding the public's trust in politicians, to carry out a wide ranging investigation into one of the most controversial decisions taken by a UK Government in recent years - that to join the Bush Administration's invasion of Iraq in 2003 which led to the deaths of thousands of Iraqi civilians and at the time of writing 179 UK soldiers. The decision to go to war was heavily influenced by a dossier suggesting that the Iraqi Government had weapons of mass destruction, which was later found not to be the case. What is the point, ...
I have previously given you Professor Strange's research into trainspotting and autism and the Victorians and modesty. This, his first column, is from October 2003 and looks at the dark side of Dr Barnardo. The secret that never was They don't let me out of College much these days, so I spend my time feeding the ravens and exploring the less-frequented shelves of the library. The other day I was reading the blurb of a book from 1994 which dealt with Barnardo's and other charities' practice of resettling orphaned children in Australia and Canada. It began: In 1986 the author, ...
As reported in tonight's "Evening Telegraph" (click on headline above to view), I have sought a meeting at the Dundee West Sorting Office with the sorting office manager - over continuing concerns over the quality of mail deliveries in the West End. I have continued to receive many complaints from constituents about mail delivery delays and inconsistent service. When I was last speaking with Royal Mail's public relations department, I received assurances that whilst there had been some build up of mailsort deliveries - mainly advertising mailshots - the problems were being tackled and that constituents should be experiencing a ...
So Gordon Brown proposes a secret enquiry into the Iraq war. He doesn't want to find out if anyone did anything wrong or apportion blame, just to learn the lessons from the Iraq conflict. Oh - and just to be on the safe side, it won't report until the General Election is safely out of the way. This is garbage. How are we going to benefit from those lessons? Is Gordon planning to invade another country on some flimsy pretext? Does anyone seriously think for a moment that lessons from a war against Iraq fought in 2003 will be in ...
I was very saddened to learn that Betty Letford, the Lady Provost, has passed away after a short illness. Betty was a very friendly lady who did a great deal of charitable work. On numerous occasions, she accompanied the Lord Provost when they attended West End Christmas Week events - the photo (right) is from the 2006 Christmas Week. Betty was a great ambassador for Dundee and she will be very sadly missed.
You have to admire Gordon Brown's brazen ability to 'utter untruths' between his teeth ! One day he promises open and transparent government, then not a week later declares that the delayed Iraq enquiry will be in private. A day before he reduces significantly the permisable scope of Freedom of Information requests, outlawing 'public interest' [...]
As soon as one set of elections are over another lot come along. We have two confirmed by-elections and three potential by-elections.
I attended the funeral service today of Graham Child, but as you might expect from his family it was billed as a Service of Thanksgiving. Graham died suddenly on 4th June at the age of 66 - far too soon. It is difficult to sum up in words just what he had given to this borough, but the fact that the church was packed, with an overflow in a hall next door, is one way of measuring his...
The Royal British Legion, the organisation that represents those who have served with valour for our country, has given Nick Griffin a good public egging. Well done to them!There is nothing patriotic about the BNP, indeed they are in complete opposition to those who fought against their brand of politics in the second world war.An open letter to Nick Griffin, Chairman of the BNP and MEP for North
LABOUR insiders are confident that Hazel Blears will survive a motion of no confidence in the wake of a tell-all interview in the M.E.N. What great news well for us any way! it will make it a lot easier to win.
So much for Gordon Brown's grand democratic renewal programme. It lasted for just five days. Today the PM announced a secret Iraq inquiry to be led by five establishment figures which will take until after the next General Election to report.This is the old politics designed to sweep this colossal error - to invade Iraq - under the carpet.The PM must change his mind.
What fantastic News, i can't get the bloody bins emptied in salford and we are importing crap. Well don't tell my Mrs she is getting fed up with our rubbish collections.
Mon 15th
17:22
Private iraq inquiry a "disappointing response to a catastrophic foreign policy decision" - menzies ...
{menzies-campbell-mp} Sir Menzies Campbell MP has called the Prime Minister's announcement that the independent inquiry into the Iraq war will be held in private a "disappointing response to a catastrophic foreign policy decision". Speaking in the chamber of the House of Commons this afternoon (Monday), Sir Menzies questioned the Prime Minister. He said: "I profoundly regret the nature of the inquiry he has announced. It is a disappointing response to a catastrophic foreign policy decision. "Can the Prime Minister confirm whether witnesses will be compelled to attend the inquiry and if the will be under oath when giving evidence? "Finally, ...
From The Times June 15, 2009
So we finally get our full enquiry into the Iraq debacle war. But quelle surprise, it will be held entirely behind closed doors. With everything that has happened over the last few months, with all Gordon Brown's promises to the people of this country about making politics more transparent and accountable, this announcement is nothing short of a disgrace. So here's an open message to Gordon Brown - Open up this enquiry and prove to the British people that politics CAN be open and transparant. There are questions that need answering - and any answers that are the result of ...
Political Betting reports about how the conspiracy theorists believe that Brown did not sack McBride instead he moved him out of Number 10 and gave him a job as an advisor to Brown via the Labour party and personally I think this does make sense. Why would Brown get rid of someone who he relied so much on? He wouldn't Brown and Co. have just covered up the whole issue by making McBride resign from Number 10 and making Draper resign as the Editor of LabourList could it be both have been given jobs as advisers to Brown and have ...
Good news on the Harroby Road pothole situation. The Highways department have told me that if the contractor working for the developer which dug up the road does not fix the problem soon then the council will do the work themselves and charge them for it.
Following complaints from numerous residents about the emptying of their pink(magenta)-lidded bins I've contacted senior officers about what seems to be a widespread problem (the bins on my estate weren't emptied until a day later than they should have been last week). Lawn Drive, Dryden Street, East Meade, Pendlebury Road and Worsley Road will be [...]
I've just read this post from Irfan Ahmed and I have to disagree with his statement defending his post supporting a Respect candidate: "I will suspect that many reading this will think that I am promoting a candidate from the Respect party but actually I am not promoting her I am actually just mentioning her as a candidate and making a point that Salma should get elected as the effect it will have on UK politics and the participation of Muslim's in phenomenal!" Look through our own party's growing list of PPCs and you will see a diverse range of ...
There's been a lot of discussion recently on Lib Dem Voice about our politicians, their quality and their background. Rick Muir said we need to pluralise the routes into politics and open up local party selection processes to bring in a wider diversity of people. Afzal Shaikh called for "wider BME representation to mirror our modern society" and Sara Scarlett kicked off this comment-a-thon when she said we should "make politics more attractive to the professional class." Have your say on further issues of representation: The Speaker's Conference on Parliamentary Representation has now launched an online forum, in order to ...
My Saturday nights have not been wild since I was a student through in Paisley - even then they weren't that wild. But last weekend instead of touring the pubs and clubs I spent a beautiful evening collecting wood with my good neighbour Duncan. You see Duncan has installed a - what seems like an industrial sized - wood burner in his garage to heat his house and water. It's so big I reckon it could heat the street. This wood burner is hungry and swallows up large quantities of trees. We would have collected the wood if we had ...
Across the whole EU those MEP's who are of similar persuasion to the BNP increased by 8. The Front National (France) lost 4 MEPs & is virtually bankrupt. Vlaams Belang (Belgium) went down from 3 to 2. Nick Griffin is described by one potential collaborator as "not very smart". To qualify for Group funding under EU rules they need to form a collaborating group of 25 or more from a minimum of seven different Member States. Because they can't agree on much except general hatred it looks like the best the far right group will do is 14 MEPs. [the ...
Mon 15th
14:01
George Osborne wants to re-enact the mid-1990's Canadian fiscal consolidation - so do I...
George Osborne writes in today's Times that he has been studying the methods used by Canada in the mid-nineties to consolidate the economy. He's young, and perhaps doesn't understand how the Canadians got to such a state. Of course, a better memory and a stronger grasp of history does help. So, for the benefit of George Osborne, perhaps a refresher course might help. First, just who was in Government in Ottawa between 1993 and 2000? Let me see, ah yes, Jean Chretien. You remember him, didn't like George W Bush very much, rode a bicycle, led the, on the tip ...
Salma Yaqoob a Respect party candidate has a Facebook group promoting her campaign for the next MP for Birmingham Hall Green. Personally I think that Salma needs to get elected as it would make a massive influence on politics in the UK and the participation of Muslims and then Muslim women. I will suspect that many reading this will think that I am promoting a candidate from the Respect party but actually I am not promoting her I am actually just mentioning her as a candidate and making a point that Salma should get elected as the effect it will ...
An encouraging sign for followers of the Keep Digbeth Vibrant / Noisy / Spotted Dog / Rainbow campaigns. Today a Lib Dem Lord is proposing a live music bill to clear up the bureaucratic minefield that is licensing law. In a letter printed in the Guardian, Lord Clement-Jones wrote: Back in 2003, ministers called the new Licensing Act "a licensing regime for the 21st century", yet where live music is concerned, they actually turned the licensing clock back more than 100 years. A case in 1899 (Brearley v Morley) established that a pub landlord could let customers use a piano ...
Celebrating Community Festival 2009 There is a local festival celebrating community running from 13th to the 28th June. For more information and a programme of events check here. The RSPB is asking people to support strengthening the Marine Bill in it's second reading so that highly protected sites can be preserved without the risk of future disturbance.
Eagle-eared listeners will have just heard BBC Radio 4's consumer magazine Your and Yours announce that tomorrow's Call You and Yours will be an opportunity for the Radio 4 listenership to quiz the Lib Dem leader. A reasonably fair introduction told us that the recent election results were OK but could have been better; and the worrying statistic that whilst people generally like Nick Clegg when they know him, up to 30% haven't even heard of the name. The programme will be 12-1pm tomorrow, Tuesday, and available afterwards as a Listen Again / iPlayer item. There are details with the ...
The Wales Online report is here. We understand that he wants to spend more time with his family and on his farm. Frank Little writes: I hope this resigning from the cockpit of daily politics does not mean that Mick is lost to party activity altogether. His contributions to Liberal Democrat conferences are virtually guaranteed to liven proceedings. Although his enthusiasm for wind power generation goes farther than I would, there is no doubting that he has given a major boost to green politics in Wales from a time when it was not as main-stream as it is now.
In the current tumultuous political times, both Labour and the Conservatives are clothes shopping, trying on different shades of a variety of colours. Labour has embraced the True Blue capitalist philosophies, and the Tories are trying to show themselves as champions of the poor and oppressed. Yet the Liberal Democrats are sitting comfortably in their well-worn pants of proportional representation and civil libertarian values. Sitting comfortably is not an option in politics. The issue of PR is being seriously considered by Labour, and the Conservatives are now attempting to portray themselves as the friends of liberty. This is a real ...
{ronnie} Being entirely obsessed with men kicking balls around a pitch, there is no way I can resist responding to Darrell Goodliffe's blog post on the Cristiano Ronaldo move. He cites complaints made by Labour MP Gerry Sutcliffe and the allegedly pernicious effects of "the free market" that they both seem to believe Ronaldo's transfer demonstrates. I say "seems" as, bluntly, it's in no way clear what they're moaning about. They issue concerns over "sustainability," without really citing what is not sustainable. Real Madrid's spending? Who cares? Money, it is acknowledged, does not necessarily equate to success in football, yet ...
As I wrote last week, my own MP (and I don't say that with any pride, believe you me) is up before Labour's star chamber because of certain discrepancies with his expenses. Since last week, the Sunday Herald have spent more time and money trying to track down the 66m of shelving Jim Devine's pub landlard received over £2000 out of office expenses to build. They were shown some potential suspects in the basement of a Blackburn pub, but they are not so sure these are the ones. Also, the local Labour Party backed Devine after hearing his explanation that ...
The release today of the final report of the Calman Commission raises interesting questions about the future of devolution in Wales as well as in Scotland. Its main, or at least its most headline-grabbing, proposals are to give the Scottish Parliament the ability to raise the final 10p on both rates of income tax. I will confess to only having read the executive summary so far, the full 260 page document may take a bit longer. Currently, the argument goes, Scottish Ministers are unable to influence public policy as well as they could because they do not have control over ...
Stephen Fry, arguably one of the most knowledgeable TV personalities, expressed a rather controversial opinion on the expenses row which for once, I am not entirely sure whether he is a genius or he just doesn't understand the severity of the situation. Fry states that it is ludicrous for journalists to make such a furor about MP's expenses because everyone has fiddled with expenses and it is therefore a so-called 'journalistic made-up frenzy'. Fry also remarks that we should be concentrating on the issues that really matter such as 'wars, things where people die' To some extent I can see ...
Mon 15th
12:24CommentIsLinked@LDV: Vince Cable - My lost appendix - and what it taught me about the NHS
Over at the Daily Mail, Lib Dem deputy leader Vince Cable reflects on his recent brush with A&E after he had his appendix removed. Here's an excerpt: My short experience told me that there is now excellent quality care in the NHS provided by some first-class people. I also sensed that the services are potentially fragile if put under financial stress. My own adventure began when I collapsed in a heap several times after dinner at a friend's house. The initial theory was food poisoning – a House of Commons crayfish sandwich eaten earlier in the day was chief suspect. ...
A Conservative party Muslim activist who campaigned for Boris in the London Mayor election has written a blog post for Tory Bear in which he writes about how people warned him that the Tories were a No Go area for Muslims and personally I agree with the people who warned him. The Conservatives have never been a party for the ethnic minorities they have always been a party for the middle and upper class white community in the UK and despite what many will tell a ethnic minority is only welcome in the Conservative if that person can get the ...
Many bloggers write blog posts for many different sites and blogs some even write articles for newspaper websites but the problem with all this is that nothing is collected in one placed and linked to and personally I think that is damaging. A blogger needs to create a profile for themselves if they want to succeed in blogging an example of someone who has created one for themselves is Iain Dale or even his "mini me" Shane Greer. Both write blog posts and articles for many different websites but they always link back to the articles on their own blogs/sites ...
The election of the Speaker has always been a private House of Commons event, but in the new spirit of openness it does seem appropriate that citizens should express their views to MPs. In many ways the job and role of the speaker has become a proxy for debate about reform of parliament. I fully understand why MPs may want a secret ballot on these issues. We are told that they fear the power of the whips. I can also see a downside. MPs throughout the last couple of years have always voted to obstruct freedom of information and left ...
Bit alarmed that other bloggers and Lib Dems are going soft on Labour. Seems that some think that because the Economy `is picking up a bit` we should cut some slack. The problem with that is huge. Who was it that helped get is into this mess in the first place? Who warned about all this [...]
{Ming Campbell MP} Announcing his intention not to be a candidate for Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Menzies Campbell MP said: "Since Michael Martin announced his intention to stand down I have been considering whether I should be a candidate in the election to replace him. "My taste for active politics is undiminished and my priority remains my constituency of North East Fife including being Chancellor of St Andrews University. At Westminster I retain my particular interests in foreign affairs and defence, and security issues. I value my membership of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Intelligence and ...
Here's part of the objection I have sent in to the plans by Jack Allen Holdings to build a waste plant at Garston Dock (and right by people's houses). I may well send in a supplementary too. If you are writing in and don't want to use a template letter, please make sure you say that you want to be informed of the date, time and venue of any relevant Planning Committee meeting **************************** Objection from Cllr Paula Keaveney to planning application 09F/1012 (from Jack Allen Holdings) Dear Ms Robinson I should like to formally object to the application to ...
For the past year or so there has been a "Greening Campaign" running in Oliver's Battery, see http://www.greening-ob.org.uk/ for more information. This is one of a network of such campaigns running in villages and towns across the south of England. This is how the Greening Campaign describes itself:The Greening Campaign was set up in response to the threat of global warming. Itis an innovative
ConservativeHome proudly announces the start of the Tory by-election campaign in Norwich North by posting Tories begin Norwich North campaign with attempt to kill off third parties. And this is how they plan to do it: {Conservative bar chart for Norwich North} Look at the heights of the bars – they don't even match the percentages. The Labour and Lib Dem results have been depressed and Green and UKIP have been artificially inflated. From ConservativeHome: Within minutes of Ian Gibson announcing his resignation as MP for Norwich North key Tory strategists including Stephen Gilbert, Oliver Dowden and Andy Coulson were ...
{Ming Campbell} Sir Menzies Campbell has written to the Ministry of Defence in support of a campaign which seeks to honour the Scottish aristocrat known as the 'Fairy Godmother of the RAF'. During the Second World War Lady Rachel MacRobert donated money to the RAF so that they could buy a Stirling bomber after losing her three sons (two of whom died in action). The campaign seeks to commemorate her links with Fighter Command and is calling on the RAF to name one of its new Eurofighters "MacRobert Spirit - Not for Self But For Country" which is the MacRobert ...
I have unusually strong feelings on this one, because last week's Tube strike coincided with a self-inficted foot injury. And, unlike some, I felt the need to hobble to work, rather than rest at home or play squash, say. A Tube driver's starting salary is £40k. Slightly more than a social worker at £19-26k. And the latter is going to need some qualifications, which means some debt that comes from studying for a few years. So, financially, it seems that Tube drivers are doing OK. Not as much as some workers, but greatly more than the average, which is somewhere ...
At about 7.40 this morning, Radio 4's Today programme had an interview with the parents of murdered teenager Ben Kinsella. Ben was stabbed to death nearly a year ago in a seemingly motiveless London stabbing. His killers were quickly identified by the police, arrested and have now been convicted of murder. We can all be desperately sad for Ben and his parents, family and friends. But should we also accord victims some special status - a seat at the top table when it comes to debating how to cut crime? I don't believe so. My brushes with crime have been ...
2 Big Stories Further outbreaks of violence in Tehran last night as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed victory crushes reform hopes in Iran. Hossein Mousavi, the opposition candidate, is appealing against the results and has called on the international community not to recognise the official outcome. Western governments have expressed reservations about the poll but so far stopped short of outright rejection. From the Times: "Mehdi Karoubi, another reformist candidate, said he refused to recognise the "illegitimate" President, but Mr Ahmadinejad compared the protests to those of football supporters whose team has lost. "They are not important," he said, adding that Iran's ...
I am probably slow on the uptake, as usual, but I was delighted to see last night that Kelly's ice cream has a proper national TV advertising campaign these days. I was brought up on Kelly's ice cream - it was always a real treat and seemed more golden and gorgeous than any other ice cream. But in those days, when I was a kid (about the same time as Noah) it was very much a county ice cream - you didn't really see Kelly's anywhere else but in Cornwall. This posting is not sponsored by Kelly's. Sadly.
Dunfermline and West Fife is increasingly seen as an alternative to Edinburgh to base your business. In the last ten years we have seen literally thousands of people from the capital opting for the pleasures of the ancient capital. Now businesses are following suit with Taylor Wimpey and now the Scottish Society for the Protection of Animals siting their HQs here. I had the pleasure of visiting the latter's new HQ in Halbeath on Friday. The modern offices are ideal for their animal rescue hotline, fundraising, marketing, education and PR functions. Their inspectors save thousands of domestic, farm and wild ...
I've had this slightly discomforting sense over recent weeks that, whilst the actions of previous governments of both red and blue persuasion were responsible for getting us into this economic mess in the first place, the response by the Government has been relatively effective after all. It's the little things, the comments by Paul Krugman recently that suggest that Britain is best placed to emerge from recession, the reported drops in industrial production and exports from countries such as Germany and Japan, the rebound of sterling against a basket of currencies. And yet the Government may still snatch defeat from ...
Yes, she was a star as a slip of a lass in the sixties and she's still in the limelight with the 125th anniversary telly ad for Marks and Sparks (click below). But that very advert reveals the astonishing fact that Twiggy was actually around in 1884. How else would a cheeky barrow-boy in a Victorian market recognise her and say "Awright Twigs?" ?
ITV's Kingdom was wonderful last night. Stephen Fry playing a sober solictor stoned on magic mushrooms - a joy to behold. Timothy Bentinck ("David Archer") played a wonderfully funny cameo as a judge in a extra-court hearing. How I laughed. And I've been to one of those things - it was not far off the mark for reality! And the ending of the episode was great too - you can watch the whole thing here. Oh, and there were some other gorgeous luvvies in it as well - like Colin Baker and Sandi Toksvig.
This morning's Guardian reports that one of Lord Carter's last acts as a Minister will be to publish a report, which includes proposals to take back some of the licence fee from the corporation and use it to pay independent production companies for regional news shows on the ITV network, which can no longer afford them. The cost has been estimated at between £40m and £100m. This is good news for Wales where successive reports have argued that the £130m digital dividend money available to the BBC should be redirected to guaranteeing a level of plurality in news and current ...
This morning's Western Mail claims that more than 50 Labour MPs may face deselection battles over their parliamentary expenses. The former Communities Secretary, Hazel Blears is the most high-profile of those who are in trouble with their constituency party though the paper also fingers Mansfield MP, Alan Meale as a possible casualty. There is no sign that any of these 50 MPs will be in Wales though we are aware of murmurings in the Bridgend constituency, where the local paper recently ran a two page story containing pictures and the price of the sort of furniture their Labour MP had ...
I would have never thought about this but thank god that political blogging has a Mike Smithson who would think about something like this and would write about it leading to my thoughts going wild on the subject. Their is no reason why Mandelson can not be a Peer and become a Prime Minister and neither is their a reason why Mandelson couldn't get a seat in the Commons and become a Prime Minister. Labour could easily have a vote in their party for party leader and if Mandelson gets elected then he could become the Prime Minister and would ...
It's not the voting that creates a democracy, it's the counting....
Longstanding readers will know of my affection for the children's writer Malcolm Saville (1901-1982). In particular, my early reading paved the way for my adult love of the Shropshire hills. Bear Alley shares my enthusiasm and has brought together a number of links concerned with Saville's work. In particular, this interview that Malcolm Saville gave to Books for Keeps in 1980.
I see that the Guardian today has interview Ed Balls, the scariest member of the Government and the Chancellor Brown never had. In it he argued that Labour is in danger of letting in the Conservatives by fighting themselves. The bout of infighting means that Labour are not scrutinising Cameron and his party. Balls, dare I say it, is correct. He is also correct in his assertion that parties that
I've handed in my resignation as Secretary of Borough of Brent Liberal Democrats, and the Local Party will be looking for someone to fill the gap until the AGM at the end of the year. No, I haven't gone off in a huff, it's simply that I wasn't able to do the job to a standard that I felt was appropriate. Given that I spent little time in Brent, and that I wasn't available to give much time to local campaigning or attend fundraising events, it seemed only fair to go, so that someone else could take over. Brent Liberal ...
Is this 'counting data' proof Iranian election was fixed? Looks pretty convincing to me. http://bit.ly/EDpoD via @ElrikMerlin & @MusicThing # Am sitting here thinking 'okay, it's the weekend. What now?' Tea probably. May well go to watch the town cricket team in Herts Cup later. # http://twitpic.com/7ddtc – # Hmmm. Test of sending photo to Twitpic worked, but the caption didn't send... that was a test photo, nothing very interesting. # Came home from cricket. Felt too visible, fewer spectators than fielders. Saw 3 balls of 2nd over, 1 wicket fell. No clue which team batting # We've been sat ...
I saw Terminator Salvation on Saturday. What can I say? I had time to kill. Anyway, here are a few things I really need to get off my chest. Don't read anything else if you're planning to watch this pile of poo: If you are about to coordinate an assault on the enemy, don't blab the plans out on unscrambled longwave radio. If SkyNet is so great at taking normal human beings and turning them into Terminators, why spend all that time and energy building hoofing great big Terminators that all look like Arnold Schwarzenegger? As an infiltration device, Marcus ...
If you know a small or medium-sized charity that deserves recognition for its hard work, tell them about the Guardian Charity Awards 2009.
