As you will know, one of the promises of the unitary council was to harmonise services across the council. One result of this will be that areas that previously had no street wardens will be getting them for the first time - and amongst those areas is Derwentside. The new "Neighbourhood Wardens" will have the same uniform, and the same powers, across the council. These powers include the ability to give fixed penalty tickets for litter, dog fouling and graffiti offences. It's also intended that they will get Police Accredited powers to help in tackling low level anti-social behaviour, such ...
I had a nasty spot on my back, and [IMG: [info - personal] ] matgb squeezed it for me. I thanked him, being truly grateful that he could do something so grotty without being squicked out by it. And he told me something that I had never realised... Did you guys know that there are spot-squeezing FETISHISTS? I mean, lookit this. Not to mention [IMG: [info - livejournal.com] ] zit_fetish. I mean, I'm not one to judge, and if it keeps people happy and doesn't hurt anyone then that's all cool. But Spot Squeezing? Eurgh. It's nearly as weird as ...
I have just written another post for The Corridor.
It is hardly unexpected that William Hauge has confirmed that David Cameron will tomorrow announce that the Conservatives will not be holding a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. No doubt UKIP will be delighted as they hover over all those voters in key Conservative marginal. Cameron will at least be pleased there will no official insurgency ...
With the news that David Cameron has decided he wants to change the name of the Department of Health to the Department of Public Health, it reminded me of recent sociological discussions at uni. Theorists argue that in line with the post modern era we have seen the emergence of an ideology called Healthism, which ...
CentreForum are hosting a major event on public spendng, on 12th November.
Anna has recently been chosen to stand for parliament just over the Tamar in the South West Devon constituency, which includes Plympton, Plymstock and parts of the South Hams. Described as "an extraordinary hard worker" by colleagues, Anna will be an active and enthusiastic campaigner across her home area in Cornwall and in the Devon constituency. You can read what the Plymouth Herald had to say about Anna's selection by following this link: http://www.thisisplymouth.co. uk/news/age-Westminster- politics/article-1479517- detail/article.html
All, Shipston Liberal Democrats had their Annual General Meeting tonight at Clark House. Richard Cheney was elected as Chairman, Myself as Secretary and Maurice Ribbans as Treasurer. For the first time we elected an Honorary President, Sheila Ribbans, in recognition of her many years of dedication to the Liberal Democrats, and more importantly the residents of Shipston and Ilmington. If you would like to know more about what we get up to, or get involved with politics locally - contact me. Regards, Philip
Tonight I attended a meeting of Logie Residents' Association meeting at the sheltered housing lounge in Lime Street. The topic for discussion was the possibility of establishing a new Neighbourhood Watch Scheme for the estate, similar to the successful one that ran in the area some years ago. Some thirteen residents in the area have agreed to be "good neighbour" street representatives and I think the proposal is excellent in an area with a large elderly population. The scheme will get good support from our local community police officer, who regularly attends Logie Residents' Association meetings and I have contacted ...
The most positive aspect of this afternoon's Full Council meeting was the new Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Chris Sims, coming along to present to the meeting. Its a welcome sign of increasing co-operation between the Police and the Council, after years when the old Chief Constable wouldnt attend Full Council meetings, even when invited. He cited official rules, but thankfully they dont seem to get in the way of our new Chief Constable's desire to get involved in discussing the issues of the day with the Council. Mr Sims has also helped co-operation by agreeing to align police ...
I've been a customer of the Royal Bank of Scotland for many years. We've had our ups and downs, but generally I've not been motivated to shop around and I did deliberately choose them in the first place. In addition, the RBS is the last bank left in my Ward. Every other bank has deserted Gorton, but the fact that the RBS is still here at least means that local people have some access to banking services. It seems that a lot of the RBS branches in England and Wales will be sold off, including their customer accounts. Now maybe ...
I have just been through a very unpleasant experience. In February of this year I attended a medical assessment in order that a doctor could assess my ability to work. I have chronic fatigue, was feeling particularly unwell at the time and was examined by an unsympathetic doctor who put me through all the physical tests despite my explaining that I would be able to perform them now but they would likely lead to fatigue later. In April, I was surprised by a letter through the door from the DWP explaining that I had not scored enough incapacity points and ...
Fresh Squeezings From the veins of the InternetBrennig Jones explains why he won't be wearing a poppy. I can understand his point, but the Legion does so much worthwhile work, and I don't think that can be tarnished by bad people trying to jump on the bandwagon. Blogtor Who has clips of the new animated Who. Who knew it was possible to make Tennant EVEN SKINNIER? [IMG: [info - livejournal.com] ] fracindy has a very thoughtful post on gay parenting. Uwe Boll has made a film about the genocide in Darfur. Yes, Uwe Boll has made a film about the ...
Finally, Steve Gilbert and the Cornwall Liberal Democrats hear from Caroline Righton, after she finally breaks her silence, the Conservative candidate caught up in the middle of a Twitter/email smear campaign against Steve Gilbert. Well, not entirely. As reported over on Matt Davies blog (do you know how much it hurts to link to a Spurs fan?) Caroline Righton has finally broken her silence, now the local Lib Dems have written to David Cameron, but only to a journalist over at This is Cornwall. Steve Gilbert's response to the journalist was; Mr Gilbert said: "I would like to think this ...
Alright, now I've been, what did I think? The pyramids at Giza are, in themselves, pretty impressive. A lot more eroded than one is led to imagine, but pretty impressive nonetheless. So, why in the name of Cthulhu would you put a bus park at the base of one of them? And, if you got a ancient boat to display, why would you put it in an astonishingly ugly building right in front of another one? Put it this way, if the ancestors come back, those responsible had better have an good apology ready. Giza has suffered from horrendous encroachment, ...
I wasn't the only Liberal Democrat in Cairo for the Liberal International Congress, and with a spare day on the Sunday, it seemed obvious to do something touristic. So, what to do in Cairo on a Sunday? Well, there were those funny looking mountains that we could see from the window of our hotel room... And so, we found ourselves in a car heading through the suburbs towards Giza with two other delegates. Our fellow travellers were Liberal International Patron and former President, the Rt Hon Lord Steel of Aikwood, and his former assistant, Atul Vadher. I find it, in ...
This afternoon's meeting of the Preston Hall & Park Management Committee was dominated by positive news for a change. Phases 1 and 2 of the refurbishment of the museum are under way. Taking advantage of the winter months with their lower visitor numbers some of the work on the park is about to start. The main field drainage will be the biggest most obvious work to be undertaken and should be
Interesting visit. Many ex service people, mostly men, can find themselves homeless. Often down to joining the services because of difficulties at home and then when they come out to civvie street finding it hard to cope. Also the services can make their employees rather dependant and a bit institutionalised. It's then tough to try and cope with life on the outside. Single men are often the ones who become homeless because local councils find it hard to house families and single men are low priority. The RBL try and help these ex veterans with housing.
Charlotte Gore has the Wikio top 30 blogs from October. And Archbishop Cranmer has the top 30 political blogs. (Since you ask, Liberal England is down one place at no. 27 in His Grace's list.) When the new rankings are up on the Wikio website I shall (unless someone else feels a strong urge to do it) publish a list of all the Lib Dems in the top 100 British political blogs.
This is a really simple recipe which gives really delicious results. It's certainly good enough to bag up and give as Christmas gifts. My daughter gives a bag to each of her subject teachers at Christmas - so much more personal (and cheaper) than traditional 'teacher' presents. Or you could just eat it yourself! There ...
An office in a Market Harborough backwater has been revealed as the headquarters of opposition to David Cameron within the Conservative Party. Well, not quite. But I did discover that the Tory East Midlands MEPs have an office in Harborough while out for a walk on Sunday. It is in Three Crowns Yard, just along from Quinn's Bookshop. And today one of those MEPs, Roger Helmer, is being quoted everywhere today expressing his opposition to David Cameron's decision that an incoming Conservative government would not hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. This is from the Daily Telegraph: Roger Helmer, ...
I've just recieved the following and thought I'd share it with you all. The average British soldier is 19 years old. He is a short haired, well built lad who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears and just old enough to buy a round of drinks but old enough to die for his country - and for you. He's not particularly keen on hard work but he'd rather be grafting in Afghanistan than unemployed in the UK. He recently left comprehensive school where he was probably an average ...
Take a peek at http://www.libdems.org.uk The site has had a revamp is actually good! Gone is the drab gray and ludicrous layout. Welcome is a fresh teal and yellow. Kinda reminds me of something I've seen elsewhere, hmm, can't quite put my finger on it... Oh well!
With climate change an increasingly important issue, and with the government trying to urge people onto the railways the news of the first ever £1000 First Class rail fare has shocked many people. It's not often I get to write about a story involving both Cornwall and Scotland, but the fare in question is from Newquay ...
The media is full of the HSBC job cuts. As yet HSBC don't seem to be giving many details, but it seems clear that Southend is going to be badly affected. The Echo website talks of 750 jobs going. That is terrible news. HSBC now seem to be eyeing the exit from the UK. They announced that they were going to move their senior staff to Hong Kong a few weeks ago. Now hardworking staff on modest salaries are going to be left on the scrapheap. This is a real blow to the town
I have been in London for a few days and took with me my laptop to edit a load of travel videos. I don't upload them to YouTube from the laptop as the files I create are so large that it would take forever (and cost a lot of cash). So I stockpiled them to upload now that I am just back from London. I thought I'd put them up before heading off to the Sunniside History Society meeting and pie and
Nick Clegg called today for a Government of National Unity in Afghanistan. He said: "Afghanistan will never see the dramatic change it needs unless Karzai works with his opponents to reach across ethnic and tribal divisions, stamp out corruption, and start to build the legitimate institutions of central government that the country so desperately needs." I'd have liked him to say, also, that he expected any Afghan Government to pay more than lip service to the plight of women in Afghanistan. It's appalling that 80% of women are subject to domestic violence, that they are forbidden from even leaving the ...
That opening lines meme, by sbp out of atommickbrane, and arbitrarily assembled by me thanks to the shuffle feature on my iPod. You know the drill, no Googling; 1) So wide, you can't get around it 2) I could have read a poem called Ozymandias to her instead 3) - The Auteurs, Lenny Valentino ( hano) 4) - Captain Beefheart, Big Eyed Beans From Venus ( nja) 5) - Magazine, The Light Pours Out Of Me ( nja) 6) - Gil Scott-Heron, The Bottle ( hano) 7) - Yes, Close to the Edge ( caerleon) 8) David's on piano and ...
Since its pre-recession peak in the first quarter of 2008, the UK economy has shrunk by a total of 5.6 per cent. As the tax take has shrivelled and unemployment benefits have surged, the budget deficit now stands at £175 billion. Unemployment now stands at 2.47 million. Rumours are circulating that Alasdair Darling is going to announce a further fiscal stimulus in the Pre-Budget Report, which is due in the next month. This would put a vast gulf between the Tories and Labour. George Osborne says the Conservatives will start to make cuts in 2010 if they win the election ...
There's a fantastic article in the Guardian today by Tanya gold which looks at the disgraceful way Liz Truss, the Tory candidate facing deselection after her local constituency association found out she had an affair with a Tory MP, has been treated. She goes on to highlight the numerous ways in which women in politics are demeaned in the media. She didn't, but she could have mentioned the horrendous treatment meted out to Jo Swinson by the Telegraph. If you think that women have got everything they ever wanted, this article will prove you wrong. And if you still doubt, ...
"Gentlemen, you are trying to negotiate something you will never be able to negotiate. If negotiated, it will not be ratified. and if ratified, it will not work" Thus spoke the British civil servant, Russell Bretherton, who had been sent to represent Britain at the Messina conference in 1955. The other six countries represented at that conference: Belgium, France, (West) Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands had sent their foreign ministers. The UK sent this relatively minor civil servant who essentially boycotted the discussions. It was the beginning of a continuously fraught relationship between Britain and the rest of the ...
Just under three weeks to go now – but there's still time to register for the feast of blogging talent and advice that is the Lib Dem Bloggers' Unconference. I'm pleased to announce that Tavish Scott, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, has agreed to give a Bloggers' Interview around lunchtime. Also joining us: Jo Swinson MP, John Barrett MP, Mike Crockart (newly-selected PPC for Edinburgh West), leading Scottish bloggers, Andrew Reeves (prolific blogger and Deputy Director of Campaigns for Scotland) as well as Lib Dem Blogfather Jonathan Calder and members of the Lib Dem Voice team. Venue: Edinburgh – ...
If you want to experiment with the consequences of failing to achieve growth, download my spreadsheet. All in all, don't bet on growing through devaluation.
Araith Eleanor Burnham AC yn nadl LCO'r Iaith Gymraeg: Bydd Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru yn cefnogi'r LCO hwn gan ein bod yn credu mai yma, yn y Cynulliad, y dylai materion yr iaith Gymraeg gael eu penderfynu. Bydd yr LCO hwn yn gam - er yn gam bach - i'r cyfeiriad hwnnw. Gan gadw hyn mewn cof, rwy'n cynnig y gwelliannau yn enw Peter Black. Er hynny, mae dau fater ynglŷn â'r LCO hwn yn peri pryder i mi ei gwmpas a'r broses o'i ddarparu. Rwy'n credu bod angen ar y Cynulliad hwn y pwerau ehangaf bosibl i amddiffyn a meithrin ...
One interesting impact of the Czech signature on the Lisbon Treaty will be the future of David Milliband. The possibility he will be the new European 'Foreign Secretary' throws up the need for a by-election in South Shields, just down the road from us in Gateshead (what a joyous early Xmas present that would be - not). It's enough to make any political activist wake up in the middle of the night
So the Czech President has signed the Lisbon Treaty which means it will likely to come into force in a few weeks time. The big political question now is what David Cameron will do. Apparently he will make an announcement tomorrow or later this week depending on who you believe. I had an interesting discussion with my fellow "House of Comments" podcaster Stuart Sharpe from off of Sharpe's Opinion on Twitter earlier on. I tweeted a couple of things asking what Cameron would do next given his previous "cast iron" commitment to a referendum. Stuart tweeted: "I don't really think ...
I've been nursing a sick little girl today, who woke up with a raging temperature in the night and a sore throat and a cough. Apparently 7 children in the other Primary 6 class are off with the same sort of thing, including the one she spent most of the weekend with. She eventually managed to come downstairs this morning and was ensconced on the sofa in her My Little Pony sleeping bag drinking hot chocolate. She may have outgrown My Little Pony, but the sleeping bag is so lovely and comfy. Bless her, though - she did try to ...
I have allocated another £500 of my local funding allowance to the charity Us In a Bus. [IMG: usinabussmall.jpg] Us In a Bus is a local organisation which works with people with profound and complex learning difficulties enabling them to connect with others through interaction, play and self-expression. To mark the 20th anniversary of Us In a Bus, it is organising a conference for commissioners, managers and front line workers to learn the Intensive Interaction techniques used by Us In a Bus. The money is to provide 10 bursaries for attendees such as family carers or volunteers who could not ...
The Czech signature on the Lisbon Treaty today now forces David Cameron's hand. No longer can he hide in a fog of meaningless statements. He will have to state his abandonment of a referendum or look completely ridiculous. It also means that the anti-European obsessives and headbangers in the Conservative Party will be going wild with rage at Cameron's climbdown. Should make for an interesting
Dan from Wikio has been in touch looking for a loving, tender home for the preview of their latest Overall Blogosphere. Some quick comments: The Craft blogs are taking over (a good thing)! Lib Dem Voice down, Labourlist up! Alex Massie on the rise! Mark leapfrogs me again, the rotter. So without further ado... 1 Iain Dale's Diary (=) 2 Guy Fawkes' blog (=) 3 Liberal Conspiracy (=) 4 Labourlist (+1) 5 Liberal Democrat Voice (-1) 6 And another thing... (=) 7 Tory Bear (+1) 8 Harry's Place (-1) 9 Old Holborn (+3) 10 Dizzy Thinks (-1) 11 A Spoon ...
Hello my lovely, liberal darlings. It seems a large part of the Liberal Vision cabal have found themselves flung to the far reaches of the planet this week. Julian Harris is in Holland, Angela is in Las Vegas and I'm in the sunny, little haven that is the United Arab Emirates. So in honour of this group effort to be on holiday (well, Harris is on a business trip but whatever) I thought I'd do a post to venerate my beach side reading. "Bloody Foreigners" by Robert Winder is actually a book I am obliged to read for my "Politics ...
I see that Matt Davies is reporting that Tory PPC for St Austell and Newquay Caroline Righton has issued an unpology. If fails to apologise for the email she sent in response to the Tweet that was reported to her but adapted somewhere along the way from Stephen Gilbert's original. All this while pledging to fight a clean and positive campaign. What I do find strange is that this A-Listista PPC should take two weeks to get to this stage and still not issue an apology, merely shuffling around that this is some misunderstanding. Cardiff Blogger (formerly of the same ...
During the European Elections of 1999 we had enormous trouble getting our completed, addressed election addresses back from the printers in Essex. But myself, and another Liberal Democrat activist, took a very large van down south, overnight, to collect the half a million addressed leaflets,and take them back to the Manchester sorting office. A very helpful man from ...
Following Melanie Phillips' ode to anti-scientific nonsense (that I blogged about here) in The Daily Mail yesterday there are two more pieces from that same publication that I have come across today. One by A. N. Wilson who seems to be making a fetish out of misrepresenting the scientific process (and also invoking Godwin's Law along the way for good measure) and another by Peter Hitchens in a similar vein. The Professor Nutt sacking seems to be bringing them out in droves. I started to wonder if I was going to feel compelled to spend more time today rebutting this ...
I suppose it depends how you look at it but with the launch of the BBC's Democracy Live site I now have the potential of posting video's of specific contributions in Plenary and Committee by myself and others on this site. I promise to use the facility sparingly.
Following my CommentIsFree piece today, I appreciate that I am always banging on about 'this recession is different from the 1980s sort'. But it is a VERY IMPORTANT point. However, I will shut up. Soon.
So, it's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new year... And we all know what that means, don't we? It's time for another round of SB's Very Prestigious and Entirerly Serious Blog Awards! There are ten categories, and I am seeking your nominations. Well, I'm not, because what sort of narcissistic idiot would award themselves an award? I want you to nominate people OTHER THAN me. You can email me or leave a comment to this post to nominate someone. Comments are screened, so don't worry, nobody will see who you are nominating for what. Each category ...
The celebrated Greek poet Constantine Cavafy (1863-1933)was born and died in Alexandria, though in between he spent time in Constantinople (Istanbul) and Liverpool (sic). He was part of that extraordinary ethnic Greek bourgeoisie which ran so much of the commerce in Egypt's main port city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, though he personally ...
I read a comment somewhere that the joint attack by the Welsh First Minister and the Secretary of State for Wales in this morning's Western Mail counts as the official start of the General Election campaign here. The two alleged that Tory plans to slash the number of MPs by 10% would have a catastrophic impact on Wales leading to massive constituencies and fewer AMs. Actually I am not sure that the latter charge is true as the reduction in the number of Scottish MPs did not lead to a commensurate reduction in the quantum of MSPs. Nevertheless, the charge ...
Regular readers may recall that last week we tried to get Bury Council to sign up to the 10:10 campaign to reduce carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. Despite dozens (and dozens and dozens) of Councils signing up across the country, along with hundreds of organisations and thousands of people, the Bury Tories blocked the move. Despite the Conservative Party leader David Cameron urging all Tory Councils to sign up to the campaign, following the leads of the Lib Dems and Labour, the Bury Tories blocked the move. And despite the fact that they could have shown real leadership, symbolised ...
Vaughan Bruce of Keighley and Ilkley Liberal Democrats, will be presenting a policy motion on the employment rights of disabled people at the Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Conference on Saturday. Nader Fekri, our Prospective Parliamentary Candidate will be summing up.
Ahead of the Copenhagen summit on climate change, Welsh Liberal Democrats have today called for all Welsh political parties to agree on more ambitious and scientifically relevant emissions reduction targets. Speaking to a press conference this morning the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Kirsty Williams said: "We're just weeks from the vital Copenhagen summit and the targets we have in Wales for tackling climate change just don't match the science. Industrial nations must reduce Greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2020 (1) if we're to avoid dangerous climate change. This is a huge challenge and failure is unthinkable, so we ...
Yet more textbook lazy journalism from Richard Littlejohn, the Daily Mail's spleen-venter-in-chief, in today's edition of the slyly racist Middle England comic. As the magnificent Kevin Arscott points out in his blog, today's 'Who do you think you're kidding Mr Darling' effort not only ticks all the boxes of idle formulaic tabloid journalism, it's also ...
Well according to this BBC article, "Feeling grump is good for you".
Today it has been announced that in order to satisfy competition rules Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB are to be split - my immediate thought was great bring back Williams & Glyns, and the Trustees Savings Bank! However, whilst it may not be to difficult to appreciate the need to split these banks up, it will be difficult for Joe Public to swallow the extra £30Billion needed for the exercise. At a time when most people are feeling the economic squeeze and political parties are falling over each other to promise greater public spending cuts, another handout to ...
Tue 3rd
13:24
Whatever A.N. Wilson has been taking, it isn't a dose of common sense or scientific understanding!
Yesterday, fellow LibDem blogger Mark Thompson gave Melanie Phillips in his own words 'a good fisking'. Her Daily Mail column was nonsensical, scaremongering and badly written to boot. Today A.N. Wilson surpasses Ms Phillips on the first two, even if his style is easier on the senses, then supplies the icing on the cake with ...
Tomorrow (4th November) the digital switch-over gets underway for us Granada area people. That seems to mean that BBC2 will vanish first. Ironic really, as I remember growing up with an old 405 line tv which could never get BBC2, so whenever a program on BBC1 stopped with the words "this will continue over on BBC2" that was it for me until we finally rented a colour tv set. I suspect that there are still people out there who haven't registered that the digital switch-over is happening so soon.
Commenting on Gordon Brown's congratulation of President Karzai on his re-election in Afghanistan, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said "Rather than simply congratulating President Karzai, Gordon Brown should insist that he forms a government of national unity."
"It seems that Mr Wilson has clearly never met any real scientists. However, he does appear to possess a great deal of straw from which he is able to fashion crude simulacra of them." Article comment Well, the story of the politicians versus the scientists is not abating, indeed various groups — like the Daily Fail — are whipping up their followers into a frenzy against reality, it seems. So let's look at the facts. In the same year that a few people died relating to cannabis mis-use, more than four times as many died connected to horse-riding. And many ...
No election campaign is complete without the health hazard that is a ride in an open topped bus. Roaring along the roads of Littleborough and Saddleworth, during the 1995 by-election, on the top of an open topped Southport bus, was something to remember. Chris Davies' campaign needed a bit of razzmatazz and so I was given the ...
Stroud Green Councillor Richard Wilson is on the track of ugly railings and needs our help to track them down.
It is easy to ridicule the Conservatives for being 'policy-lite' but when they do announce something substantive it is actually very clear why they avoid saying too much. Let's look at the much-vaunted health announcements yesterday as reported in The Times; Cameron 'guaranteed' £1.5 billion worth of savings from cutting 'bureaucracy'. However, in the next ...
Across the Granada region, which covers the whole of stockport and most of the North West besides, the analog signal for BBC2 will be turned off tomorrow, in most cases at 6am (some will be turned off later in the day). If you still have an analog TV just picking up the signal from the aerial with no satellite, cable, freeview or freesat, you will no longer be able to view BBC2. You then have a month until all the other channels are turned off, on 2nd December. For more information, and for help on going digital so you don't ...
No, not the ones which are ever-so-useful to many people on the television or at the opera, but the one on this blog. Initially I set it here to Mostly Harmless, a term used by some friends many years ago to describe me (long before the late Douglas Adams had used it) to someone who had asked them what I was like. Now I've used something much more reasonable for a blog: caveat lector. Heed this advice, dear reader!
Sunday: We know a SONG about this, don't we children: "Postman Pot, Postman Pot, Postman Pot and his black and white... opinions about drugs policy..." Minister for Misuse of Drugs, Mr Alan Johnson and Johnson must be wishing for a No More Tears formula today, or at least a no more RESIGNATIONS one, as by firing the Nutty Professor, he has gone from being next leader of Hard Labour to merely the next failed Home Secretary faster than it takes to say "My word, how very RED-in-the-FACE you've gone, Mr Johnson and Johnson; have you taken any DRUGS for that?". ...
I've now had an iPhone for over 15 months. If you spend over £50 per month with o2 you are eligible to upgrade 3 months early. If you take an average for the past 15 months I have spent over £50 per month, but of course o2 don't want to do that so they just ...
Cross-posted from The Wardman Wire: Although this summer's Parliamentary by-election in Norwich North kicked off much subsequent debate about the alleged benefits of Friday (rather than Thursday night) counts after it was counted on a Friday, a close reading of the Electoral Commission's report into the Norwich North by-election reveals that in fact the Norwich experience undermines the case made for moving to Friday counts. One of the arguments used for favouring Friday counts over Thursday nights is that the anti-postal vote fraud measures introduced in recent years mean that far more checking is required of postal votes than previously, ...
Having just blogged about the two week silence of Conservative candidate for St.Austell & Newquay Caroline Righton... shock news, she has finally said something after all! Unbelievably, however, it is not an apology. The explanation (such as it is) that she has sent to journalists is below. But the key points are:No apology to Steve or to local residentsNo retraction of the smear email to those she sent it toNo explanation as to why she was so irresponsible in not checking her facts (which anyone could have done on Twitter)Caroline Righton's explanation of the smear email, in full:" Two weeks ...
The world's largest reinsurer Munich Re is taking the effects of climate change seriously and is leading a consortium of German companies to promote large solar powerplant in north Africa. The consortium has put together a £250bn plan to build the plants and install HVDC cables across the Mediterrean to pipe the power to Europe. Unlike drilling for oil, solar power once installed will continue to provide power until it needs replacing. All oil wells on the other hand run out eventually. The technology has been demonstrated in the US and there are 50MW plants operating in Spain. Companies involved ...
"The worst enemy of truth and freedom in our society is the compact majority" - Henrik Ibsen In many ways, I guess you have to hand it to Peter Mandelson. Not only has his Machiavellianism and sheer stubborn unflushability taken him to the top of his field, sometimes he has been known to let the true intentions of the NuLab project fall from his lips where others would obfuscate it in managementspeak. And so it is with his announcement later today where he sets forward his "vision" for the future of Britain's universities. Strange, I thought higher education was the ...
In April, the Chancellor, Alistair Darling announced big reductions in future government spending to finance the paying back of the record levels of government borrowing. The impact on local government has now been calculated and for Wirral Council, this will mean between £64m and £76m of budget reductions between 2011 and 2014. To put this into context, ...
According to this Times leader and elsewhere: The classification of drugs involves many issues besides its harmfulness — the social context is important. But the ACMD's job is explicitly to consider social implications of drug use. That's why of the 28 members listed here: - 6 are police or probation officers or judges - 8 lead drug charities or work in social work - 7 are medical doctors or vetinarians (one vet and one dentist!) - 6 are what we might normally call "scientists" (3 psych and 3 chemists) - 1 is a school inspector (The 3 resignees are 2 ...
091118/FO/2009/S1 The Governors Of St Johns Rc Primary School St Johns RC Primary School Chepstow Road Chorlton-Cum-Hardy Manchester M21 1NQ St Johns RC Primary School Chepstow Road Chorlton Manchester M21 9SN Proposed single storey extension to form 2 classrooms and breakout space 091447/FO/2009/S1 Mr David Fletcher 2 Ringley Old Brow Radcliffe Manchester M26 1FR 569 Barlow Moor Road Chorlton-cum- Hardy Manchester M21 8AE Change of use from Building Society (A2) to Restaurant/Cafe (A3) including installation of flue to rear elevation 091509/TCA/2009/S1 Mr Quewitn & Mrs Sarah Cullen 63 Claude Road Chorltonville Chorlton Manchester M21 8DE 63 Claude Road Chorltonville Manchester ...
Oh dear, Olympic double gold medallist Rebecca Adlington has an agent and that agent has got her all prissy over a joke made on a relatively popular comedy programme last year. This has echoes of the Andrew Sachs business which about 9 people heard originally but which subsequently everyone found out about thanks to the media publicity which followed. Well, Ms Adlington needs to get a sense of perspective. She is now in the public eye and there will be jokes about her, many of them cruel. That's what happens when you're famous. Also, the comedian in question, Frankie Boyle, ...
It's now nearly two weeks since Caroline Righton, Conservative candidate for St.Austell & Newquay, sent out an email to local residents smearing the Lib Dem candidate for the seat, Stephen Gilbert - as you can read in my original blog post. Below is the actual text of the email she sent out to residents, so you can see it in full for yourself. And still no explanation or apology. So it seems that Caroline Righton thinks it is totally acceptable to send out emails which lie about her opponent. Brilliant. Steve has now given a quote to the local papers:"I ...
David Aaronovitch has a great article in today's Times nailing David Cameron over the company he keeps in his new grouping in the European Parliament. Conservative bloggers and commentators have been desperately trying to claw themselves out of a hole on this issue, deploying arguments that don't stand up to the lightest scrutiny, as I ...
Tee hee. There really is little to be said here, other than to point out how clearly Dave is simply a shaky bung - or plastic enclosure - in the neck of the toxic bottle that is the old Tory party. I wonder if his cork will pop before next May?
The latest "House of Comments" podcast with myself and Stuart Sharpe of the Sharpe's Opinion political blog is now live. The website for the podcasts is here and the third episode which we recorded on Sunday is available to download via this page here (raw mp3 file here if you prefer). You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here. The format as usual is to invite one or two other political bloggers each week and discuss a few of the stories that are making waves in the blogosphere. This week, we were joined by Mathew Hulbert of NetNewsDaily, and ...
So 'flipping' your main home to minimise tax and maximise expenses is fine and no action will be taken on it. But 'flipping' in order to get your child into the schoolof your choice is wrong and must be punished? I don't support lying in order to cheat your way into a school place (and having gone through the ...
The sacking of David Nutt has caused sensational headlines, media frenzy and middle class scoffing. Dr Nutt's advice to the government, that cannabis was not as harmful as other Class B drugs and should be downgraded, is reasonable, but just because he says so does not mean the Government is duty bound to take his ...
There are several free services which let you know if a website is up or down. This can be particularly useful if you're involved with more than one site but don't look that frequently at them all. My own favourite of these services at the moment is BinaryCanary. It lets you track up to five sites for free and offers a wide-range of technical options from the basic to the quite advanced, including a sliding scale of different escalation steps. At the simplest, you get an email alert if a site is down and then an email notification when it ...
There was a debate in the house last night which can be read in hansard here. It demonstrates that the government are not really listening on the issue of graffiti and low level crime. The punishment of "clear it up" is the ideal punishment for graffiti, but the government want to fine people. Quite a few cannot pay the fines so it becomes meaningless.Anyway here are some extracts:John Hemming
Park and Ride begins again this Saturday and operates every day until Saturday 16th January, except Christmas and Boxing Days. The bus runs every 10 minutes. You can park for free at the north car park at Chessington World of Adventures then catch the bus to Eden Street in Kingston. The return fare is only £2, which is much less than parking all day in Kingston. Under 16s are free, but other bus passes are not valid on this route. Although the service is mainly intended for people coming into Kingston from further afield, it can be pretty useful for ...
I didn't get the chance to ask a question of Alan Johnson on the sacking of Professor Nutt yesterday.In essence, however, he was sacked for being independent. It is clear now that government advisors, even unpaid ones, are not to be independent, but need to take the government whip.This, of course, raises into question all the independent advice that the government relies upon and quotes. If
My personal experience's dealing with Royal Mail recently leave me wondering why we bother with them and how they actually function. Forget the postmen and women and their issues with the whole modernisation programme that Adam Crozier and his cronies have thought up. I am talking about trying to actually get items of mail delivered through letterboxes. The main answer I got yesterday was the computer says no in the tone of Carol from Little Britain. I want to spend £5,000 with you - computer says no. Apparently because 24 hours passed the Royal Mail changes how it views life ...
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service want to visit your home, give you a home check on fire safety and supply and fit smoke alarms (where appropriately). And they want to do it at absolutely zero cost to you - completely free. Take advantage of this service by calling 0800 555 815 or visiting www.manchesterfire.gov.uk - I will be.
Last week I ordered six books and three DVDs from Amazon in one go. I expressly asked for the purchases to be grouped into one order to save on packaging. So far I have received five packets and a grotesque amount of packaging with one DVD still to come. What was the point of me asking for my purchases to be sent in one order? That sort of thing simply shouldn't be allowed.
I have a few things in common with Barack Obama: religion, politics and an inability to live without my BlackBerry. Many of us now handle our lives via some electronic form and the BlackBerry has become the mostpopular way to do it. When I was without mine for a week earlier this year, I felt far less ...
Sometimes I disagree with things that MPs and other representatives of my party say. Yesterday's debate in parliament about the dismissal of Professor Nutt from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs was not one of those occasions. Instead as each Lib Dem MP popped up to make their contribution I found myself feeling more and more proud. Alan Johnson the Home Secretary, Chris Grayling his shadow and most of the back-bench Labour and Conservative MPs who contributed were in agreement that Professor Nutt had to go and that the Home Secretary had done the right thing. Chris Huhne, ...
It's a strange feeling when a long standing government is in its last months and slowly drifts out of power. They can't acknowledge that, of course, but we are now all thinking of the days when Gordon Brown has moved on and asking ourselves who will be the next Labour leader, and what will David Cameron be like as Prime Minister? There is, of course, none of that euphoria we saw in 1997. The collapse of the Major government, after 18 years of Tory rule, sparked a national celebration, young faces at the top, Blair's babes, 'things can only get ...
That appears to be the "choice" Torylab present us with, in respect of the Nutt affair. As I astonished myself with my own readiness to listen to Smooth radio with Mark Goodier yesterday, I heard our Pontificater-in-waiting, D. Cameron, on Nutt. It was clear he would have done exactly the same as the current government concering this. Oh, but wait: he loudly decried the "unseemly spat" over the affair. He criticised Alan Johnson for "shouting" at Nutt over the airwaves. So, obviously, the"shouting" with a Tory government would be done behind closed doors.Grayling, presuming someone has had time to brief ...
The Half-Blood Welshman had a post the other day forecasting how Welsh seats will fall at the next general election. His conclusion: Conservatives win: Alyn and Deeside, Delyn and Newport East. Put up very good fights in Bridgend, Gower, Vale of Clwyd, Newport West, Cardiff South and Penarth and Montgomeryshire, possibly winning some of them. Liberal Democrats hold Brecon and Radnor and Ceredigion, pick up Swansea West, possibly lose Montgomeryshire on a bad night. Labour: have frights in Bridgend, Gower, Vale of Clwyd, Cardiff South and Penarth, possibly Caerphilly. Lose (of the marginals) Alyn and Deeside, Swansea West, Delyn. Plaid ...
r fewer? Today we consider the latest instalment in our Monster's Poll series. And the bad news for Labour is that nothing has changed: Conservatives: 40% (N/C) Labour: 23% (N/C) Lib Dems: 23% (N/C) The only thing that has changed, of course, is time. Labour now have one less month to tackle that major deficit. Naturally, they aren't going to overcome ...
This weekend I received the following press release from Bethlehem University. The story speaks for itself and shows the unacceptable treatment of innocent Palestinians by the Israeli military. I will be supporting their campaign. The Israeli military has gone one step further in denying a young Christian woman her right to complete her bachelor degree at the Vatican-sponsored Bethlehem University in the Holy Land. On Wednesday, 28 October 2009, we learned that Ms. Berlanty Azzam, a Bethlehem University student studying business administration and translation, was arrested by the Israeli military. On Thursday, 29 October 2009, we spoke with Berlanty via ...
An update on the tale of the six convicted for postal vote fraud in Slough, courtesy of the Maidenhead Advertiser: A pair of election fraudsters jailed for the ghost vote scandal which rocked Slough politics have failed in an appeal against their convictions. Tory candidate Raja Mohammed Eshaq Khan ... admitted conspiracy to defraud and perjury at Reading Crown Court in January and was jailed for three-and-a-half years. Mahboob Khan, 46, of Quinbrookes, Slough was convicted of conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and perjury and jailed for four-and-a-half years. At the Court of Appeal on ...
Today the Public Accounts Committee published their report into the latest public sector IT debacle. The C-NOMIS program was supposed to bring together the prison and the probation service's IT systems. The effect was supposed to create a single end-to-end management system for offenders. The PAC said: "The way the C-NOMIS project was managed and monitored was completely unacceptable. It is
Memo from the Home Office: From the Inquisition Chamber, Home Office, Whitehall, SW1 Effective Immediately. We have listened to scientific advise, and after a review decided that we know best after all, therefore in the this the year of our Lord Mandelson 2 we declare: The earth is flat and all globes shall be taken from schools and places of learning forthwith and beaten into a level playing field (Minster of Sport to be consulted about availability of these)This earth is at the centre of the Universe, the sun, planets and stars revolve around us. Anyone caught mentioning Galileo is ...
Edinburgh MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling is about to pump a massive £38billion into the Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland. The Government is keen to get these two banking giants to restructure and sell parts of their empire off - as Tavish Scott and the Liberal Democrats first demanded over a year ago, as we were in the run up to the Glenrothes by-election. One year on, in the run up to the Glasgow North East by-election the Labour government once again listens to the wisdom of the Liberal Democrats. So, the Royal Bank ...
Betsan Powys reports on her blog that today's statement on the Welsh Language Legislative Competence Order may not be the end of the long and tortuous process, which has so far failed to see the promised legislation get onto the statute book. She says that Assembly Commission lawyers will circulate legal advice to AMs befiore we vote tomorrow raising some very serious concerns about the Order as it is presently drafted: The concerns would appear to relate to the "test of reasonableness and proportionality" clause. "This matter does not include imposing duties on a person (other than on a Welsh ...
A while back, a Sudanese women, Lubna Hussein, was on trial for the crime of wearing trousers and was facing a flogging and lashes for wearing trousers. She resigned her UN job which would have afforded her immunity so that she could fight for Sudanese women's human rights. Ms Hussein wanted to force the repeal of Article 152 of Sudan's penal code, which orders a fine and flogging for women dressed in an "indecent" manner. She had been arrested with 12 other women on July 5 at a restaurant in Khartoum. Public order police rounded up the women and subjected ...
Suave yet not even slightly smug Loveable expenses rogues That earthy, common touch. Neck-wringingly Irresistabl And so many happy memories... (And no mention of Caroline Righton...)
In a masterful and courageous move, Labour has decreed that you do indeed get higher on cannabis than you do on mere class C drugs. Not as high as you would on a class A drug, of course, that is some serious shit, but if you find you only get a class C high, then I think you can report your dealer to trading standards. At least that is, presumably the message Gordon Brown is trying to send. This is all about message after all, rather than inconvenient reality. Unfortunately the message actually sent is that government drugs policy is ...
There is an advert on TV about benefit thieves. There are two actors or genuine benefit thieves who describe how they have carried out their theft. One person describes how he did some work but didn't declare it. The detail doesn't really matter as I don't think they are giving anyone ideas for lying about benefits. What matters is that these people are either actors and so they are lying, or they are genuine benefit cheats and this begs the question as to whether they are being paid as a result of their crimes. If they are genuine criminals then ...
"I did refer to the Holocaust. I was not seeking to equate what is happening to MPs with the Holocaust. I was simply warning that history teaches that the sentiments expressed in such emails can lead to horrendous consequences" ....... *sigh* I was already speechless at this man. However, I've just read that he's also now admitted to using taxpayer money to save face with his constituents after it was revealed that he claimed £100,000 on expenses to pay his own company. I've never heard a more baseless apology in my life. This guy being a Member of the UK ...
