Having received concerns about flooding in the area around the west of Perth Road recently, I raised the concern with the City Engineer - who has responded earlier this week as follows : "Fraser A member of the Road Maintenance team has visited the site and inspected the gullies in the vicinity of Invergowrie Drive / Perth Road / River Crescent. At least 2 or 3 of the gully gratings are partly choked with leaves and other debris. As such, all of the gullies at this location are to be cleaned and jetted. This should improve the drainage at this ...
That's the question the Indy's Steve Richards asks in a persuasively argued column today: David Cameron's leadership of his party is often compared with Tony Blair's during the period up to the 1997 election. ... The comparison is one of the most misleading in British politics. ... [Cameron is heading] for the election leading a party that proposes tax cuts for the well-off and married couples, massive spending cuts whether or not Britain is out of recession, withdrawal from the social chapter and a renegotiation of the Lisbon Treaty. ... The trajectory of Cameron's leadership is much closer to another ...
Wirral Borough Council (WBC) deserves the criticism it has received for its 'flawed' Strategic Asset Review (SAR), and the decision to close 11 of the Boroughs libraries. The Report by Sue Charteris, makes it clear where and why the SAR was an unsound and unsatisfactory process. But while there will be much pointing of fingers ...
Monday night's council meeting saw a motion to fight the mooted closure of the accident and emergency departments at both the Whittington and North Middlesex Hospitals, proposed by my Lib Dem colleague Nigel Scott (Alexandra ward councillor and opposition spokesperson on health). I am pleased to say that the motion got unanimous support from both sides of the council chamber. As I have previously blogged (and local Lib Dem MP Lynne Featherstone has also blogged, in much greater detail), it is vital that A&E services remain at the Whittington and at the North Mid. These are two essential services for ...
I don't have much time to blog today. Fancy that, I've been busy... But my initial reaction to Obama's plans for Afghanistan was not really a surprise. It was obvious he was planning a major escalation of the conflict. I'm glad he appeared to take some time to think about it, because he will make no ...
... having a go at several people who didn't deserve it because I was exhausted and cranky. And stuck in the bastard roadworks on the bloody M1 again. And smashing glasses so that they explode into my face AND Craig's beer AND two autovacs. And randomly bursting into tears Because I've spent two nights freezing my arse off on an airbed which I am certain has a built-in refrigeration system and I'm exhausted and I missed my Mat and my Holly and my doggies and I still have no money and... yeah, well, you get the picture. So, you know, ...
The appeal for toiletries for our troops came to an end on Tuesday and we handed over many Hundreds of items to The Royal Welsh, this appeal has been hard work but one that I am pleased to have been apart of. I would like to thank all that have contributed to this appeal and I pray for a safe tour for our troops. I think the picture says more than I could write, if I can do anything to assist these great people, I will.
Of the reasons I moved to study at Manchester aged 17 was its connections to the Industrial Revolution, its role the growth of our nation's democracy, its role in the foundation of the Trades Union Congress, Friederich Engels, Dennis Law, and of course Coronation Street. I loved it, it was funny, earthy, and "real". Sad then to tell of the death of actress Maggie Jones who has died aged 75. She was best known for playing Weatherfield's Blanche Hunt, she had a wicked tongue on her and some withering put-downs. Here are a few of Blanche's finest, courtesy of the ...
Deacon Jack Sullivan from Boston USA, who was cured of a crippling spinal disease after praying to Cardinal Newman, founder of the Oratory Church, visited Ladywood earlier this month. The only TV interview he gave was to local project TNT News. He told TNT how the Vatican earlier this year approved the cure as a miracle and Newman is likely to be made a saint next year. This is of special interest to me due to my ongoing involvement with the Cardinal Newman Project. The Deacon spoke to one of the project team and his input (and particularly the video ...
[IMG: World AIDS Day Birmingham] Events to mark World AIDS Day took a welcome new direction in Birmingham this year. On Monday a free gala concert was held at the Town Hall featuring singers, dancers, comedians, cabaret and theatre from diverse groups across the city. On World Aids Day itself, students from South Birmingham College staged a fashion show in the iconic Selfridges store, which was immediately followed by a red lantern parade. Despite awful weather, I joined about 100 hardy souls on the parade route from the Bullring up to Birmingham Cathedral, where a short (non-religious) service of remembrance ...
Peter Preston is running a story, which I picked up via Paul Walter's blog, that the board of RBS was threatened to resign on mass if Darling doesn't let them award £1.5 billion in bonuses for this year's performance. Firstly, the State owns 70% of this rubbish bank so we're perfectly within our rights to not give RBS bankers a bonus. Secondly, and most importantly, why has the bank made big profits this year? Because the market isn't competitive. Their profits are not earned through hard work providing excellent services in a competitive market, they are caused by their oligopolist ...
Wardman Wire has the overall rankings and Subrosa the political rankings. I'll do the Lib Dem list when the new rankings go live on the Wikio site.
There's no doubt today's PMQs belonged to Gordon Brown. It's not necessarily that he answered the questions any better than usual – that seems to be an acknowledged superfluity for the Prime Minister – but his performance was miles more energetic and confident than usual. Mr Brown was also helped by an over-defensive David Cameron, who seemed to have no quips prepared for the inevitable assaults by the Prime Minister on the Tories' tax cuts for millionaires, and the tax-avoiding non-dom status of Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith. Especially effective were the Prime Minister's withering put-downs – "The more he talks, ...
After a lovely weekend in Aberdeen visiting my old school friend Suzanne (more on that tomorrow...), Monday night's Full Council meeting was a lively affair, as usual. We started by hearing from the two co-chairs of the Haringey Youth Council, Fumni Abari and Areeb Ullah. They were probably the most impressive speakers we heard all night, giving an interesting account of all the work the Youth Council has been doing. I was tempted to ask them if coming to meetings like ours made them more or less likely to want to become local councillors themselves... But at any rate Fumni ...
Olivia arrived this afternoon after her long flight from Auckland, and Lindsay went with Kina to pick her up from the airport. She did get some sleep on the flight, but quite understandably went to bed early after an hour or so. I've got to the stage of walking the whole way round the park, about half a mile, which is OK if I take it slowly. The leg doesn't hurt except at night when its just uncomfortable enough to stop me going to sleep. I'm still having to sleep on my back, and it doesn't feel natural.
It will be quite a party in Sittingbourne & Sheppey at the next election as now we will have six candidates battling for the votes. Today UKIP announced Ian Davison as their candidate. I suspect Mr Davison and I would agree about a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU but suspect we would vote differently. Still, a welcome to Ian. And the BNP have recently announced an intention to put up a candidate. No surprise, really, as they got 15% of the vote in Sheppey at the county council elections this year. The Conservative party and the Loonies ...
A pretty comprehensive story in today's Independent shows how split the Tories are on Copenhagen and climate change policies. The article is refreshing in that it names names, most of whom are the usual right wing suspects. For quite some time Nigel Lawson has been touring the Country pushing his Climate Change denial message and he seems to have drawn some heavyweight Tories with him (if you can call John Redwood, Peter Lilley and Ann Widdicome heavyweight). David Davis on the other hand in a two column article produces a much more balance view. When you have waded through all ...
Number of Al Quaeda fighters in Afghanistan: 100 Number of US troops which will be in Afghanistan next year: 98,000 Sledgehammer and walnut anyone?
The Guardian's Notes and Queries section has long ceased to be required reading for me, but I did like an answer in today's column: Do any other animals, apart from humans, experience adolescence? Yes, sheep do, but it's shortlived. For a few weeks the lambs skip and play, keeping well in sight of Mum. Then suddenly they seem altogether more muscular. The look in their eye changes. They escape under gates and over hedges, and hang about in small groups on the corner of lanes. The stance is unmistakable: huddled, heads together, mostly backs to the road and casting surly ...
Many residents have been greatly inconvenienced by ongoing problems involving First Capital Connect's service on the former Thameslink route. In light of this, I have approached First Capital Connect and requested a meeting with someone senior to discuss what is being done to improve the service and solve the problems. I am pleased to report that the company has emailed to say that they will arrange for me to meet one of their directors soon. I'll report back on that when there is news. Do please get in touch if you have anything in particular to report about your experiences ...
Today we've launched our online petition against the suggestion promoted by Dari Taylor and Ingleby Barwick Independent Society (an unholy alliance) to put Egglescliffe School in Preston Park. No-one wants the children of Ingleby Barwick to be denied accessible school places but it must not be at the expense of the Green Lung of Eaglescliffe, a tourist attraction for the whole region and the
Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has pledged to put fair taxes at the heart of the party's message to the British people. The party's new tax plans will see tax cuts for millions of people, paid for by closing tax loopholes, making polluters pay and introducing a 'mansion tax' on homes worth over £2m. ...
[IMG: SHOUT Festival 2009] On Sunday the closing party of the first ever SHOUT Festival took place at Birmingham's Nightingale Club, featuring lesbian comedienne Clare Summerskill and the brilliant talent of singer-songwriter Declan Bennett. The LGBT cultural festival was the brainchild of the Birmingham LGBT Trust and has been run as a pilot with a view to sustaining a permanent event. I was asked to join the steering committee over a year ago because of my involvement in founding Birmingham Blaze Football Club in 2005 and running the Distraction alternative club night for three years. I was quick to accept ...
The move by Labour to legislate for a referendum on electoral reform will throw some interesting light on the position of the dinosaur "socialist" brethren in Labour's ranks who share the Tory horror at changes to the voting system.In strong Labour areas, such as the North East (admittedly Labour are not as strong as they used to be), the tendency amongst Labour members is to support the existing
[IMG: Birmingham German Market] A few weeks ago the German Market arrived in Birmingham - Christmas is officially here! Selling the usual trinkets, toys, gifts, food and drink, the market has already drawn huge numbers and we've only just entered December. Despite the price rises there seems to be a friendlier, more jovial atmosphere at the market this year, perhaps people getting into the festive spirit after a troubled year? There had been complaints from local publicans that the market takes trade away. But what happens when the market closes at 9pm? People make their way to the pubs! The ...
Luckily, I have absolutely nothing to do with the Cambridge candidate selection, although I am picking up the odd rumour as to who might be applying. It would certainly be fair to say that there has been a rush to seek approval, as those who have ignored Valladares's First Rule of Candidate Approval (never assume that, just because there isn't a vacancy now, one might not unexpectedly appear) seek to remedy that. Indeed, three assessment days took place last weekend, with three more scheduled for this one coming. Once nominations have closed, I'll have a look at what happens next, ...
Today I had no meetings and spent it reading, writing and amending the councils budget for 2010/11
There's a bit of a rumble about a man who was Fined £550 - for leaving wheelie bins out. The story has made its way into the Daily Mail as an example of little beurocrats pushing people about. Now there are two reactions to this. A knee-jerk "But that's outrageous" and a sensible "That's really weird, there must be more to it." There is. Gareth Robinson has been fined £350, plus £200 court costs. But not for simply leaving a bit out for a week or so. He claims they were left outside for "two days at the most". It ...
It's been a busy few weeks for me and I've fallen behind with my blogging, so here are some of the things I missed from around the Jewellery Quarter: [IMG: Shout Festival projection on to Big Peg] As part of Birmingham's SHOUT Festival, 30 LGBT artists from around the world saw their work projected on to The Big Peg (image above!). The Birmingham Queer Open drew entries from around the globe and selected artists represented countries as diverse as Canada, USA, Russia, Israel and Italy. The Jewellery Quarter's farmers market, 24 Carrots, continues to do well. The Christmas special market ...
This coming Saturday in Glasgow there will be thousands of people marching to support the fight against climate change including many Scottish Liberal Democrats with Alison McInnes MSP, Robert Brown MSP and George Lyon MEP. The Wave is going to be sending a message to our government that they have to take climate change seriously and stop setting silly targets and just talking about it. I am very conscious that I play a very small part in this fight against climate change, but every little bit really does help. I recycle, in fact we only throw out two carrier bags ...
Ladywood's current MP, Clare Short, has said that taking part in House of Commons votes is "pointless". New figures show Clare took part in less than one in eight votes over the past 12 months. She is quoted in the Birmingham Post: "Most MPs automatically vote for the government or against the government depending on which party they are in. "I am often in the building when a vote takes place. But everyone knows the Government is going to win the day whether I take part or not. "I will vote on an issue where it is a matter of ...
I sent out the following press release today in response to the news that Robert Key is standing down as Salisbury's MP: Responding to the announcement that Robert Key has chosen not to stand for re-election as Salisbury's MP for health reasons, Prospective Lib Dem MP for Salisbury, Nick Radford, said: "I am sure I speak for many in Salisbury and South Wiltshire when I thank Robert Key for his 27 years of service to our area. "Although our opinions differed, he was always willing to listen to another point of view. In all my dealings with him I found ...
The economist and political thinker Henry George (he of land value tax fame and in the above image) made a key distinction in categorizing taxes. There are two types of tax: tax in from and tax in substance. A tax in substance is a tax which is in place for no corrective or increased efficiency or communal benefit reasons. An example of this would be income tax on the lower and middle income groups, or sales tax (VAT) on most goods and services. The logic of a tax in substance is just to raise revenue for the Government, for whatever ...
With the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference happening soon I thought it worth comparing controversial statements issued by two senior politicians. Firstly, there is the famous claim by now-outgoing First Minister of Wales, Rhodri Morgan who back in February 2007 told Assembly Members that climate change would not be "entirely unhelpful" if it brought summer weather similar to California's or Spain's. He will be uncomfortable to find that he is in agreement with the former Secretary of State for Wales, John Redwood who wrote on his blog in March 2007 that 'We will benefit from the better weather for tourism, agriculture ...
Camden Council has arranged a programme of events across the Borough in the run up to Christmas to promote local independent traders and to promote "shop local" message generally at a number of town centre locations - including West Hampstead. The "Festive Float" will be by West End Green btwen 11.0 and 1.0 this coming Saturday. Come and join the fun! (Details below) The Council says: "The Festive Float and Events programme is aimed at promoting the vitality of town centre businesses and visitor economy during these difficult times. It will build on the recent initiatives including: "love your high ...
This month Lord Browne began a review into student university fees with the focus on how to ensure "all students with the ability and motivation go to university." The problem is universities are desperate for more funding, and as the recession is forcing government to cut back spending this extra funding would have to come from students. Without extra funding the standard of research intensive universities, such as Oxford, will decline most. This might not actually be a bad thing, as it would improve universities in the middle and bottom of the league tables. After all it is not the ...
This post covers everything, badly, that you can read in the title.
Today, before notifying me, Durham County Council put out a press release. I responded with one of my own. You can read them both here. From Durham County Council Consett Academy Court Ruling Durham County Council has received notification from the High Court that, on November 27 2009, it refused permission to Cllr Owen Temple to proceed with his challenge to the County Council's Cabinet decision (July 31 2009) to select Belle Vue as the site for the new Consett academy. The court observed that none of the grounds for the challenge had any substance and that there was no ...
Darlington Friends of the Earth hosted a showing of the climate change documentary film, The Age of Stupid, at the Quaker Meeting House last night. Following what can only be described as an avalanche, or melting glacier, of publicity from FoE directed at councillors, half the cabinet turned up, while I and a number of members of the local Lib Dem executive were also there. Sadly, no-one from the
After EJ. Thribb 17 1/2 So. Farewell then. Charlotte Gore. - Gone from LibDem Blogs But not gone Gone "I'm a libertarian" -That was your catch phrase You were a very energetic supporter of the Cleggster in his leadership campaign Keith's mum liked the cats at the top of your blog Er....that's it (Whatever happened to Ir....no don't mention him – Ed)
The United Arab Emirates celebrates its National Day today, though Dubai's financial woes continue to dominate the headlines. As one British Sunday newspaper put it graphically, the World — the over-the-top real estate development on reclaimed land off Dubai's coast, shaped like a map of the world — is slowly sinking back into the sea, ...
I'm going to write about something incredibly trivial that winds a lot of people up. Many justifiably. In recent years supermarkets have come up with an innovation, parent and child parking spaces. As a parent with a baby I have found these spaces incredibly useful. Sure I could cope without them, but they do make life a whole lot easier. However there is a tendency for people to use these spaces when they don't have a child of any sort with them. Lets be clear we're not talking about disabled people unable to get a disabled space, or at 10pm ...
Ever since the expenses scandal broke and people started to question whether the safe seats gifted by our rotten electoral system might have had something to do with it, senior politicians have been doing their best to look like they are doing something about it. The thing is, the reforms implemented and planned really do not abolish the safe seats. The Conservatives have gone for Open Primaries (or more usually caucuses) where they give the opportunity to voters within a constituency to select their candidate. There are numerous problems with this approach. One of the main ones from my perspective ...
Oh dear....and that's from the immaculately reliable Robert Peston. One is reminded of a well-known riposte from a certain Mr Harry Callahan: "Go ahead, make my day". [IMG: Callahan shootin'] [IMG: Creative Commons License] photo credit: Smeerch
Having successfully recovered my pc from a near fatal crash (note to self to actually DO backups rather than think about doing it from time to time).... I am back. So what's been happening whilst I have been off line? More hung parliament discussions (if I hear one more Noddy "explanation" as to "what that means in laymans terms" I'm tempted to do some real damage to my pc backup or no backup), more thoughts and declarations on Copenhagen, and, yes, the Lib Dem tax launch. It was, of course, almost impossible to cut through all the headlines about "u ...
Last night I put in a number of Freedom of Information requests to Manchester City Council, GM Police, GMPTE, Department of Work and Pensions and the local NHS trusts asking about a number of Chorlton issues such as local truancy and crime rates. So far the Police have acknowledged my request but still waiting to hear back from the rest. I will keep you updated about how I get on.
Last night I put in a number of Freedom of Information requests to Manchester City Council, GM Police, GMPTE, Department of Work and Pensions and the local NHS trusts asking about a number of Chorlton issues such as local truancy and crime rates. So far the Police have acknowledged my request but still waiting to hear back from the rest. I will keep you updated about how I get on.
Yes, after the best part of four weeks undergoing repair for a wonky mouse wheel, I am reunited with my beloved BlackBerry. This means that I have e-mail on demand, the ability to blog as I walk or ride the Tube, and all sorts of other things that are terribly exciting. On the flip side, the display is completely different, all my settings have been lost, as well as my contacts, and there are some new features that, to be honest, I don't understand yet. However, on balance, it's good news. Next task, to find out how Twitter works...
Seems that not all the local tory members in St Austell were pleased with the conduct of the Cornwall Conservatives during the recent by election loss to the Lib Dems. If this is true it will hit Tory PPC Caroline Righton's campaign hard. There's not a lot that can throw a campaign of track as much as a demoralised local activist team. Definitely not a problem the Lib Dems have round those parts! Also shows the danger of parachuting in a candidate for a by election. Labour have tried it in Leeds and it backfired and it looks like the ...
...and the Work for an MP site has the advent calendar fit for all political anoraks. View it here.
The Social Work Task Force report published yesterday, provides a long overdue and much needed insight into the profession, but why has it taken so long? These changes should have been made following the tragic death of Victoria Climbie' nearly 10 years ago. And, whilst very welcome the big question mark surrounds funds available. Cash strapped local authorities are already struggling to pay the kind of salaries to attract social workers and they will undoubtedly need to know that extra resources will be made available to provide the professional development, training, support and salary packages that need to be provided ...
I have blogged elsewhere about what I think the shape of Carwyn Jones' new cabinet will be. However I have not attempted as yet to consider what impact he might have as First Minister. On accepting the result Carwyn Jones announced that Welsh Labour party members knew there was "a difficult task ahead" but the "fight back" had started. What is not clear is what impact he can have in the subseqent General Election campaign to make that 'fight back' an effective one. The General Election campaign will inevitably focus on the UK Government and the person of the Prime ...
On Monday night I spotted the streetlamp I'd reported a few weeks back - on the path between Belmont Road and South Park Road - still wasn't working. Turns out it was marked as fixed by the Council, so now they'll take another look. This morning I was out delivering more leaflets, including invitations to our public meeting next Tuesday evening to discuss traffic problems at the junction of Schools Hill and Wilmslow Road in Cheadle. I delivered to Lynton Road, and parts of Gatley Road, Wilmslow Road, Schools Hill, Park Lodge Close, Valley Road and Valley Close. On the ...
We are overfishing and killing our seas. You think the EU's common fisheries policy is responsible? You should hear the enlightened views of some of those calling for its reform. A public hearing on outline proposals to reform the policy has just taken place in the European Parliament. Consider these thoughts: From the representative of the Italian fishing cooperatives: "We want to safeguard jobs. The policy of decommissioning fishing vessels has been a failure." What does that mean - more boats, more overfishing? From the representative of fishermen in Sicily: Control of fishing policy should be devolved to local fishermen ...
Blackwater (now rebranded XE) and the intense use of mercenaries in Iraq has, unsurprisingly, opened the door for copycat rent-a-thugs hoping to get rich off Iraq's destruction. Watch the Russia Today propaganda video below to see former Russian soldiers training for their upcoming mercenary work in Iraq. Unfortunately, such parasitic behavior occurs world wide. Reductively, first a country is smashed up (and somebody is paid to do it) then it is rebuilt (and somebody is paid to do that). There is only net misery for the population and profits for the destroyers/rebuilders. Iraq is the supreme example of "broken windows". ...
Briefing note from the county council There are approximately 2500 highway structures on the local road network in Hertfordshire of which 1700 are owned by HCC. The remainder are owned by third parties such as Network Rail, British Waterways or District Councils. Highways Structures typically include for Bridges, Culverts, Retaining Wall, Gantries and Tunnels. Hertfordshire Highways has a dedicated structures team to look after County bridges stock but not responsible for the condition survey of the private bridges. For the County bridges, every structure is visually inspected on a biennial cycle. The inspection results are recorded to nationally agreed standards ...
Wed 2nd
14:54
Salisbury's Robert Key, the so-called 'Colossus of Roads', is to stand down - Lib Dems cheering?
Robert Key is a well-respected and effective MP for Salisbury and his retirement will in many ways leave a hole where a very substantial MP previously sat. He has one of my favourite nicknames, because of his portly stature and because of his ministerial position at the Department of Transport he became known as the 'Colossus ...
In one of his last appearances as First Minister in the Welsh Assembly yesterday, Rhodri Morgan did not deny the difficulties the NHS in Wales had in supplying drugs. Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams put it to him at First Minister's Questions that suppliers were diverting even some essential medicines from Wales because they were able to receive better prices elsewhere. Far from disagreeing, Mr Morgan even added the example of New Zealand, another country which had a tough drug pricing regime. He did not propose a way out of the trouble, clearly preferring to leave it to his successor-elect, ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8389844.stm The government have just asked police forces to find more than £500 million in savings each year up until 2014. Suggested solutions include cutting overtime and making officers patrol alone "to make them more accessible" There is another option for saving money, a policy that could reduce acquisitive crime by over 50% and domestic burglaries by around 80%, thus freeing up tens of thousands of police for joint patrols or other priorities. Bringing drugs under the control and strict regulation of government gives us an opportunity to make heroin and crack users able to feed their habit without having ...
Kirsty Williams dismisses empty promise by the Secretary of State.
Birmingham Council's policy is to offer free on-street parking on Sundays, Bank Holidays and Christmas Day. This year Boxing Day will be free for on-street parking too, making it free for the four days from Christmas Day to the Bank Holiday Monday inclusive. Normally Boxing Day, which is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, is a bank holiday so parking is free anyway. However this year Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, delaying the bank holiday to the following Monday. Following the Council's stated policy, Boxing Day would therefore be a day when you would have to ...
There was another briefing this morning on the proposed Affordable Housing PFI bid. Many members had significant concerns and wanted the Full Council to be able to make the final decision. The only concession made by Housing Cabinet Member Mark Kaczmarek was to hold a meeting where he said all councillors would be able to have their say and ask any questions they wanted. That meeting was today and a large number of members turned up and wanted to ask many questions. All was going well until Cllr Kaczmarek walked out of his own meeting saying that we had had ...
December 5th will see the Copenhagen climate change summit get underway, for two weeks of talks that must lead to a successor agreement to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and perhaps something as binding and successful as the 1987 Montreal Protocol that led to the phasing out of harmful CFC and HCFC propellants. The talks are a long time coming; 2009 is the tail-end of the deadline for agreement already set by world leaders in Bali in 2007. But we're already seeing problems with what is being proposed. China and the USA, between them responsible for 42% of the world's CO2 ...
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 sixth episode which we recorded on Tuesday 1st Dec 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 Harry Cole (AKA ...
The following is the Press Association release made about comments from the leader of the Labour MSPs Iain Gray: Devolution may have benefited "elite" groups more than the general Scottish population, Labour leader Iain Gray has said. His comment came as he prepared to deliver a lecture on 10 years of devolution at Edinburgh University. Mr Gray warned that politics must shift from "identity to values" - and hit out at the SNP's "obsession" with independence as a solution. Now that makes interesting reading for a number of scores. One just under 80% of the time spent under devolution, Scotland ...
An update type of post on the highly improvable state of trade in Hither Green. First piece of news, according to a very reliable source of information a Cafe (!!!) will open on Hither Green Lane in one of the empty units next to the chemist by February next year! The other units will be occupied too, ...
The displays outside a newsagent in Hebden Bridge produces almost daily amusement with the headlines from the local Halifax Courier or Hebden Bridge News. As a result, a work colleague has now started the Hebden Bridge bill boards photo album on Facebook. Today's headline though is a real classic: Here's a quick run through of the older ...
Saw this on Iain Dales blog. Anyone who knows me will probs realise that I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to elections and politics so I'm sure it won't surprise anyone when I say I think this book looks amazing! It seems like the equivalent in politics to the Wisden cricket guides. You can buy it here.
As the Lincolnshire Echo has published a full and frank report into the Planning Department problems, I can now comment. On Monday of this week, there was a stormy council meeting, when Cllr Reg Shore (Leader of the Opposition) called upon the Leadership of the Council "to be transparent". Unfortunately the Leader of Council himself was not at the meeting due to hospitalisation and I wish him a
Eurovision swing jazz meets ska! Have to say this has totally floored me – I've no idea what I think of it apart from – well it's there! btw Raul Malo is a bit of a bear hunk. Grrrrrrrrrrr!
Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg this week pledged to put fair taxes at the heart of the party's message to the British people.
[IMG: Crime is a real concern in Hampstead and Kilburn, and I have been working hard to make our area safer, save local police stations and put more police on our streets] Crime is a very real issue for many residents in Hampstead and Kilburn. In January, I raised the concerns of residents in Swiss Cottage about street lighting and crime prevention with the Borough Commander, Dominic Clout, and Camden Council's then-Head of Community Safety, Tony Brookes. Read more on this issue here I am always keen to help and campaign on behalf of local residents and businesses - so ...
[IMG: FSB Logo] Today The Federation of Small Businesses officially announced their full support for Mark Hunter MP's "save the cheque" campaign. The organisation, as stated on their website, is 'the UK's largest campaigning pressure group promoting and protecting the interests of the self-employed and owners of small firms. Formed in 1974, it now has 215,000 members across 33 regions and 230 branches.' Top consumer group Which? have already given their backing to the campaign, and with the support of such an established business organisation, pressure is mounting more than ever on banks to give up their commitment to scrapping ...
I see that Prince Charles is to 'attend' the Copenhagen conference on Climate Change. I say attend, he has been invited to make an address during the opening of the conference, in total he will be in the Danish capital for all of four hours. Which asks the question how will he be getting to conference? Is this a flying visit in both the literal and figurative senses? Indeed how will anyone be getting there? Obviously some of the long haul delegates will have to fly, but with High Speed Rail links across Europe surely the Europeans should be making ...
The LGA Lib Dem office is holding a session on budget setting on 7 January aimed at finance portfolio holders or those responsible for setting opposition budgets. Gerald Vernon-Jackson (Leader of Portsmouth City Council and a national IDeA peer) and Derek Osbourne (Leader of the London Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames and an IDeA board member) will provide advice on the detailed goals and parameters required for a budget that will withstand the intense scrutiny of press, opposition groups and others. The session will be held at Local Government House but there will be webcasting and teleconferencing facilities for those participating remotely. ...
Wed 2nd
11:54'Weren't they disbanded after the Battle of Waterloo?' - The Press Officer's Guide Lesson 9 - Create...
Whilst sitting in a bar discussing the recently selected candidate for the local Conservatives we couldn't quite get over his name; Warwick Lightfoot. Warwick, as I have explained, was Chief Economist of the Royal Bank of Scotland, and his experience in advising government was quite extensive, which was a great variance to the Cornish credentials of ...
The average length of Parliamentary by-election campaign has shrunk by four weeks since the 1970s, sharply narrowing the chance for the public to find out about the candidates presented to them and stiffling openness in the candidate selection processes which frequently now have to be run at break-neck pace. The legal timetable for a Parliamentary by-election between moving of writ and polling day has some scope for variation, but essentially is three weeks. However, there is no fixed time between a seat falling vacant, e.g. due to an MP dying or stepping down, and the writ being moved. In the ...
The Wallington South Safer Neighbourhoods Team hold street surgeries throughout the ward to give residents the opportunity to drop in and have a chat about any crime or safety issues they may have. In December the street surgeries will take place in the following locations: Street briefing Thursday 03/12/2009 – 13:00 – 15:00 St. Elpheges car park Drop-in surgery Thursday 17/12/2009 ...
Violent rapists of from Haworth, Bradford and Driffield have been sent to prison. They attacked a little girl and forced another girl to watch. My heart goes out to the children. But at least these thugs are in the best place for them now. Keighley News Report
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Cross-posted from the Mandate blog: As part of the recent Social Media '09 conference, twenty-four people were asked to make their predictions for 2010. The full set of predictions, including three from colleagues in the Engine Group, are available on http://predictions.socialmediaekspert.com/ but here are my own predictions: Mark Pack's social media prections from Simon Grice on Vimeo. You can vote on these predictions over at http://predictions.socialmediaekspert.com/2009/11/mark-pack/
[IMG: John Barrett MP at Lib Dem Bloggers' Unconference] Just two weekends ago, we helped run a moderately successful Bloggers' Unconference in Edinburgh, the guests of the Scottish Liberal Democrats at their HQ in Clifton Terrace. The Scottish Lib Dems were generous with their facilities and their time, giving us a room for a day, feeding us, and making sure lots of interesting senior Scottish Lib Dems came to talk to us. In the end four English bloggers made the journey north to meet three Scottish bloggers(*). An "unconference" is supposed to be a little anarchic, and participant driven, and ...
The government's economic recovery policy consisted of two tracks: "fiscal stimulus" and "quantitative easing." The former was discredited decades ago, but now the latter, too, appears to be failing, despite it being the tool-of-choice of the neo-liberal consensus that dominated macro-economics since the 1980s. My latest article at the IEA blog spells out why.
Was this advert really a good idea? It certainly got a lot of attention! I think the most interesting part of this whole episode is the use of new digital advertising boards. If this is to carry on during the general election it could allow for some really responsive adverts all the way through the campaign and mean a very fast moving campaign. The question is will the media, and more importantly, the public be able to keep up?
I see that Charlotte Gore, shortlistee for this year's Lib Dem Blogger of the Year, has decided to call it a day, as a Lib Dem Blogger at least, she states her reasons here. I think it is sad that she no longer considers herself able to consider herself a Lib Dem blogger, though I notice that her membership of the party when it is due for renewal is still a matter of debate. I'm going to rise as probably one of her least likely champions for her to stay. There have been times when I have disagreed with the ...
In stark contrast to the woeful 'Today' programme, today's Independent offers fascinating analysis of the travails of the Tories as Dave's halo slips further. Most interesting is Steve Richards' piece on how Dave should not be compared to Tony 'the Liar' Blair but to William 'please like me' Hague when he was Tory leader. Richards concludes that the essential ingredient for the Tories' poll rating is not their achievements or commitments but the unpopularity of the government. This is nothing new as the old saw has it that oppositions don't win elections, governments lose them but it is another hole ...
Offenders convicted of domestic violence are facing longer and longer waits for their court-ordered programmes. According to research by the Liberal Democrats, Teesside has one of the worst records in the country. Offenders are waiting an average of 42 weeks for their programmes with the longest waits being over a year and a half. In the whole of England only Essex has a worse record. A full regional breakdown is attached Commenting, Liberal Democrat prospective MP for Redcar, Ian Swales, said: "The Teesside position has worsened dramatically in the last few years. The Government is about to introduce yet more ...
[IMG: gedc0487.JPG] Many of my LibDem colleagues have reacted with surprise that Chorlton gets two Christmas lights switch ons. Last Thursday, local traders switched on the lights in the centre and yesterday, local musician Badly Drawn Boy rurned them on on Chorlton Green. Both events were good. I was concerned crowds were down in the Centre this year. I can't remember the equivalent event on the Green (or even if there was one) last year. It was good to see Dave Bishop there. He is the Chair of Friends of Chorlton Meadows and he has been unwell recently.
Brilliant morning on Radio 4's 'Listen to us, aren't we clever!' programme today. Perhaps the most striking moment for me came at around 8.45 when a local issue I have long had a bee in my bonnet about came on the programme. I had better not mention the issue but I have recently asked if we could take some action locally as it would greatly enhance our profile in my bit of the world, where we are going to be taking Dave head on. Unfortunately, the LDs were wary of taking any action, especially in the face of swingeing Tory ...
I was down in Devon with my other half recently trying to decide whether we could live down there on a small holding one day and if so where exactly we'd want to be. We hired a car because: a) we were almost killed last time we went down there on our bikes; and b) Devon is big. We drove 502 miles in ten days and used 39.25 litres of diesel. Driving around was all a bit of a shock to me because I gave it up years ago. Actually I didn't do any of the driving - she did ...
[IMG: A questionable development on Stapleton Hall Road] Stroud Green has finally caught up with other parts of Haringey and is now forming a Conservation Area Advisory Committee (CAAC) to try to prevent inappropriate development in the area (like this ugly new house in the picture). A CAAC is formed and run by local residents, with Council support, and would have a formal role in advising the Council on planning issues in the conservation area. There is information on the Council website – link here. The Stroud Green Conservation Area stretches from Mount View Road in the north to Stroud ...
There's a few people now who produce the stats on their blog to show how popular it is and what sort of search terms are used to find it. Whilst I do occasionally look at my own as it's always interesting to see how many people read your blog and how they find it, I've ...
Did anybody else notice that in yesterday's reshuffle Alex Salmond made himself job-share Mike Russell's old non-cabinet level brief with Fiona Hyslop? So Alex Salmond is now not only MP for Banff and Buchan, MSP for Gordon and First Minister of Scotland, he is also Secretary for Constitutional Affairs. The last being the only portfolio of the major manifesto big pledges that is still currently standing, even if like the others looks unachievable. Wonder if he will demote himself for failure to deliver like he has done with Ms Hyslop?
The ViaMichelin route planner site has an interesting feature: it allows you to plan your route, anywhere in Europe, by bike or on foot in addition to driving. I've been giving it a test drive, and it's not bad - but far from perfect. In my testing, the cycle route planner directs you down smaller roads when the route's the more direct, as you'd expect. It also picks up on at least some places where a bike can go and a car can't, such as where two roads connect but bollards prevent cars passing through. Essentially, it seems to pick ...
Yesterday it seemed that Ming Campbell had announced that the Lib Dems had given up the idea of holding an "in or out" referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union. Sadly, it seems that Nick Clegg been taking rather a different line. "Sadly", because it would be better if we did drop the idea. And here are four reasons: Europe should be one of the great issues in British politics. By quarantining it through promising referendums and then not holding them, the parties have done much to being politics into disrepute. Let's debate Europe at general elections.By advocating an ...
David Cameron's embracing of 'green' policies when he first became Conservative leader was one of the key strategies to 'decontaminate' the Tory brand. But it seems increasingly that he is the only person in the Conservative Party who actually believes that climate change is being driven by man-made greenhouse gas emissions, or at least the ...
Today the Equality Bill returns to the floor of the Commons on which I lead for the Liberal Democrats. Report stage brings back key issues that didn't get voted on at Committee Stage and also gives an opportunity for the whole of the House to table amendments to the Bill. Sadly - the Government organises business in that it is quite clear from the order of the amendments and New Clauses chosen that the Government does not want the issue of equal pay to get an airing. It has been moved down the list to the point where, in the ...
2 Must-Read Blog Posts What are other Liberal Democrat bloggers saying? Here are two posts that have caught the eye from the Liberal Democrat Blogs aggregator: The whole Isle of Dogs appears to have an opinion on Zac Goldsmith, at least if this entirely random and representative sample of two is to be believed. I wonder whether they're for or against? Lynne Featherstone reminds us just why World AIDS Day is still so important. UPDATE: Another must-read blog post: who wears the (frilly) knickers at Cowley Street? Spotted any other great posts in the last day from blogs that aren't ...
Perhaps because Central & Eastern Europe is a relatively obscure topic, I often find myself asked to comment on events by different television channels. It is an interesting contrast. For example, Bloomberg television is very high-tech, CNN far less so, while BBC Television is positively spartan, not even having a "green room" where one can wait before being interviewed. Over the past few days the events in Dubai have caused the global markets to examine the finances of Greece and Hungary. As a result I have been called by several media outlets. Yesterday I did the early morning slot for ...
The breaking news of this morning is that the five British yachtsmen who had been held in Iran for encroaching their territorial waters while heading from Bahrain to Dubai for a race have been released. Luke Porter, 21, from Weston-super-Mare; Oliver Smith, 31, from Southampton; Oliver Young, 21, from Cornwall; Sam Usher, 26, from Scarborough, and Bahrain-based David Bloomer were on their way to take part in the Dubai-Muscat race on the 25 November when they strayed into Iranian waters by mistake. Hours after foreign secretary David Milliband spoke to his Iranian counterpart this was the accpeted tale of events ...
With such a decisive victory Carwyn Jones' first task as First Minister, that of appointing his cabinet, may well prove much easier than he had anticipated. In truth though having so much room for manouevre could also prove more of a curse than a benefit. It means that his options are greater and he may have to be a bit more ruthless in rejecting one or two of them. This is an entirely speculative post, based on no inside information whatsoever. It is my thoughts on what may happen rather than my preference. The chances are that I will be ...
It appears that the SNP instead of being able to run a government are an unruly rabble. When threatened with the Lib Dem led vote of no-confidence in the Education Secretary that was Fiona Hyslop, they had threatened to resign en masse to force an election. They have threatened to do so before, indeed it is a constant refrain come budget time, indeed you would expect to hear it again soon, only they have already shot that bolt. However, while the price of a child's education may be measured in monetary terms it appears that the keys to Bute House, ...
My thanks to Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidates Association Chairman Martin Turner for this photo, taken at the National Liberal Club in October. I don't often get to be in the photos as I am normally on the other side of the lens. So I thought it would be amusing to post up this one of me taking a photo of Nick Clegg.
One of the tasks to perform yesterday (Tuesday) was to help plant trees at Washingwell School and on the Watergate Estate in Whickham. The Mayor Cllr John Eagle came along as well. My colleagues Councillors Peter Maughan, Yvonne McNicol and John McClurey (and his dog) joined in as well, despite the freezing weather.Inevitably I turned up with my SLR and my new video camera. A few of the photos
Berry Edge Residents Association are celebrating the completion of the transformation of the Berry Edge Gardens to the rear of the Demi. Aided by a generous grants from Durham County Council, Derwentside District Council, Awards for All, the Project Genesis Trust and support from each of the four councillors at the time (Mary Westgarth, Alex Watson, Clive Robson and Owen Temple) they have been able to transform the area with the help of Groundwork. If you'd like to join them, and share a mince pie and a cup of mulled or ginger wine, they'd be delighted to see you at ...
Our latest tabloid in Blaydon constituency has been hitting the streets over the past week. My village, Sunniside, was delivered today. This edition contains a mix of stories both national and local.The lead is about the closeness of the result in the constituency last time. There is also coverage of the Lib Dem plans for education, Vince on the economy and a fair deal for our troops. On this
There is a rumour (possibly vicious) that Simon Cowell is a smoker who smokes in the studio in a place which is not designated for smokers. He is fined for doing so but continues to smoke and pay fines. I don't know if there is any truth in this rumour but there are many examples of fines that are not related to income. How many rich sport stars hire top lawyers when they are in court? Not only is a fine nothing to them in comparison to the average wage earner, but top lawyers mean less convictions. Tiger Woods is ...
