As if taking disgusting liberties with his expenses and letting his children live in his second home at tax payers expense wasnt enough, Humfrey Mallins the ex MP for Woking has now it seems, accepted a £50k 'resettlement' payment after leaving office. The payment will no doubt be a rather large smack in the teeth ...
An update on Mohammed Saghir, the former Conservative councillor in Calderdale who went on trial for electoral fraud earlier this year: [He] has been found guilty of election fraud at Bradford Crown Court. Mohammed Saghir, 63, of Gibbet Street, Halifax, applied for five proxy votes in other people's names in the May 2008 local election... Saghir, who did not attend court for his trial, is thought to be in Pakistan. His son, Shakar, was standing as an independent candidate in the election. (Halifax Evening Courier)
Your browser does not support iframes. Ignore the item on Maurice Chevalier at the start when you click on the picture and are taken to a video on the British Pathe site. Skip to 0:32 and Will Rogers of Tur Langton. You remember Tur Langton. This newsreel film was shot in 1946, which suggests that Mr Rogers was born in 1866 and began work in 1881. More film of him at work, though without the patronising commentary, here.
Twitter tells me many things before I hear them on the news or in the newspapers and today was no different when i heard that the Pope's visit to the UK looks like it is now going to costs the UK tax payer over £12 million pounds. The fact that this figure is now almost ...
I am delighted that Edinburgh is to participate in the next phase of the No Knives Better Lives campaign. This multi-pronged campaign is aimed at reducing knife crime targeting the north of the City where a third of knife crime takes place. Based on a successful pilot in Inverclyde where the police recorded a 23% drop in youths carrying knives No Knives Better Lives incorporates youth diversionary activity, community engagement, advertising and a structured programme in schools. We have made great strides over the years in reducing crime in Edinburgh. Indeed assaults with an offensive weapon have reduced by over ...
.....Mr Jonathan Lord, Conservative MP for Woking. On May 6th 26,551 people in Woking voted for you to do work for them but by my reckoning and watching/listening, so far you haven't uttered one word in the house. So what did we vote for may I ask? Filed under: Spidey Says, Tory, Woking Tagged: jonathan ...
Heading home after dinner at house of commons with my friend Tessa Munt, new MP Wells
So we all heard today that the Building Schools for the Future programme was to be cut severely as part of the overall cuts in Government spending. It was to be expected, of course. But even so, I was very shocked to hear that there was to be no BSF funding for the new secondary school planned for North Kingston. (You can download the full list from the BBC site). This is not the rebuild of an existing school but an essential new school to meet the rising school population. So what happens now? I no longer have insider access ...
Part 4 of my blog of reading Atlas Shrugged for the first time. You can find the first part here. Chapter 4: The Immovable Movers The chapter opens with our heroine, Dagny, returning from a visit to a supplier of diesel trains, who had been unable to offer any real reason for his delay in ...
[IMG: Click here to vote in the Total Politics Best Blogs Poll 2010] Once again it is voting time - the time when you can choose your favourite blogs as part of the Total Politics Blog of the year poll. Of course, I would be dead chuffed if you would vote for this little old blog as one of your favourites. The rules are fully explained on Iain Dale's blog. But basically, you vote for your top blogs in order (you have to vote for at least five and no more than ten) and email them to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com
Unfortunately while thousands of people in the LGBT community were enjoying Pride in London this weekend, another nasty homophobic attack was taking place. Two gay men, aged 21 and 37, were walking along Heap lane towards Bradford city centre at around 7.30pm when the mob of 15 men and women began verbally abusing them. DI Ian Bryar of Bradford South police said the couple were "very shocked and upset " and confirmed the incident was being treated as homophobic. He said: "This was an unprovoked attack on two men walking towards the City centre. Because of the language used by ...
A bunch of Tory MPs are complaining that the referendum on changing the voting system is to be held on the same day as the English local, Welsh and Scottish parliamentary elections. What a bunch of losers these Tory MPs are. At a time when the government is trying to keep costs down, are they really suggesting that the referendum be held on a different date, thus costing millions more to administer ? The date makes sense on every level. Update : I am pleased to see Iain Dale agrees too.
I have just left the Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidates Association reception in Parliament and am heading back to the flat. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was the main speaker. Other speakers included Simon Hughes, Baroness Ross Scott, my former boss Chris Fox and Norman Lamb. I was there to do the photos which will be available for Lib Dem use shortly.I head home to Gateshead quite early
So...(subject to it clearing parliament) a date has been set for the AV referendum. The result of any such vote is far from certain, but before either side has even begun to get organised, there is already a lot of grumbling about the date. It seems that if you are in Scotland, it will 'overshadow' your parliamentary elections, and if you are in an English council who elect that day you are at an advantage over the areas that won't elect that day. Come on people, get real. It won't overshadow anything. It will be a separate vote, on a ...
In 1601 Elizabeth I enacted the 'Relief of the Poor Act' which, brought into effect after the Reformation, created a system of charity giving that enabled poorer members of society to get help where it was needed and thus began the British legacy of the welfare state. The poor in a particular area could apply ...
It's that time of year again, when Total Politics asks you to vote for your Top 10 favourite blogs. This is the fifth year of the poll. The votes will be compiled and included in the forthcoming book, the Total Politics Guide to Blogging 2010-11, which will be published in September. For the second year running, the poll is being promoted/sponsored by LabourList, LibDemVoice and Iain Dale's Diary. The rules are simple. 1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and ranks them from 1 (your favourite) to 10 (your tenth favourite). 2. Your votes must be ranked from ...
The contractors are on site for the Youth Cafe. There was a slight delay because site fencing across the South West was all tied up at Glastonbury but it is here now. The fencing is up, the digger is on site, and the first holes have been dug. The photo shows members of the Project Board, with chair Chris Willmore and members of Yate Town Council who are co-funding the project. on site, checking what the digger is doing on the first day. Paris (left) commented - "It feels real now we can see it!"
Like every other LibDem member, I received this email from Nick Clegg this afternoon. Dear Lisa, Today I announced that, for the first time, the British people will have a choice about the system they use to elect their MPs. On May 5th 2011, there will be a referendum on whether to adopt the Alternative ...
This blog has only been going for a year and in that time has had over 27,000 hits from people who obviously think that i have something of interest to say. Its been a fascinating and flattering ride for which I have never sought anything other than constructive criticism from people on the things that ...
...Or so my blog stats tell me. Of the top 10 searches on my blog today, FIVE of them are looking for my Twitter account as was. Give it up. I can see you and I know who you are Filed under: Spidey Says Tagged: nothing better to do, stalkers
To ensure that every MP is supported by the majority of their constituents voting at each election, we will hold a referendum on introducing the Alternative Vote for elections to the House of Commons. The words are from the Labour Party manifesto in May. I'm hoping that, unconstrained by the compromises forced onto governments, the Labour Party and our MP will feel free to stick to their guns on this one and back the referendum which the government has announced for May next year. I've written to our MP urging her to do just that. I hope you'll join me. ...
I love the Dutch (occasional flirtations with ultra-right-wing politicians aside). I've spent many happy times in the Netherlands over the years, enjoying their culture, their modern outlook on the world, their warm hospitality and the under-rated beauty of their countryside. And I've always been a big fan of their football team, so I'm delighted that ...
[IMG: Click here to vote in the Total Politics Best Blogs Poll 2010] You know I've spent too much of recent months asking people to vote for me. First there was the Westminster election. Then there was the shortlisting panel for Edinburgh Central who in their wisdom made for a very interesting contest (including me). Then it was the Liberal Democrats of Edinburgh Central and it may not be over yet of course. So therefore I'm all out of shamelessly asking people to vote for me. I know that in recent months I have been very busy with all of ...
[IMG: Click here to vote in the Total Politics Best Blogs Poll 2010] It's the time of year when the blogosphere is crowded with shameless pleas for votes in the Total Politics blog poll and I am not above asking for you to take five minutes out of your day to make this blog one of your choices - especially as the poll closes on my birthday. If you've enjoyed the posts I've written, charting the journey of a peace loving leftie hippy learning to love the Lib Dem coalition with the Tories, or about the highs and lows of ...
I have been fairly full throated in my support for the government regarding its changes to the electoral system recently. However there is one area where I think they need to give ground. During the debate led by Nick Clegg today he was repeatedly asked why the government was not planning to reduce the size of itself in proportion to the size of the new House of Commons (reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600). That's a reduction of around 8%. The government should have around 8% fewer ministers to match this, otherwise the executive will be even ...
It's always nice to see someone who knows what they're talking about rise to speak, and who better than an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation to contribute to a debate on transport... Here is Ros's contribution... Baroness Scott of Needham Market: I take this opportunity to congratulate the noble Earl on his appointment. In the short time with his brief he has already shown himself to be an assiduous Minister and I look forward to working with him on transport issues in the coming months and years. In his opening remarks he talked about the ...
I happened to be sifting through my email inbox and the thought occurred what ever happened to Thanet Labour supremo Clive Hart's regular Labour "Press releases" which use to make a break, from all those impertinent emails, offering money making schemes, Russian brides and ones which make insulting personal assumptions, offering suitable chemical cures and equipment. I then chanced on Michael Child's Thanet Press releases, and a quick nose through this handy local reference, I found myself once again engrossed in the wit and wisdom of Local Labour (like Labour but deeper in denial), I then realised that since I ...
Hi folks. It's been a while. Sorry about that. I expended a fair amount of hot air discussing the Coalition government's initial plans for fixed term parliaments, including the 'controversial' 55% rule, spun ludicrously by disingenuous Labour figures and the BBC. [IMG: Under the Coalition, Parliaments will be as fixed as the building they meet in.] Today, Nick Clegg has announced that the government still intends to introduce fixed term parliaments, but that the figure for dissolution will now be 66% - as in the Scottish Parliament, which Labour set up - and that if no government is formed for ...
Another of my Hay purchases was Chris Cook's A Short History of the Liberal Party 1900-1988. This was the third edition of the book, the first being 1900-76, the second 1900-1983. Since 1988 there have been editions for 1900-2001 and oddly enough a new edition is due out later this year. It is a well written book for the most part. If I was to be very critical I'd comment on three things: Often Cook mentions some important controversy without explaining the detail. Whilst this is fine for the Thorpe scandal (say), it is a bit more of an issue ...
Nick Clegg today made a statement in the House of Commons about three significant shifts in our electoral system. The first is to fix the date of the next election for May 7th 2015 - in other words to introduce fixed term parliaments with the proviso that they can still be ended early if two thirds of the House of Commons demands it or if a new government cannot be formed within two weeks of a no confidence motion. The second is to reduce the number of MPs. I'll blog about that later. The final announcement was to confirm that ...
So there we have it. Nick Clegg told a fractious House of Commons this afternoon that a referendum on the Alternative Vote system would take place on 5th May next year. That gives us 304 days to make the case for changing the voting system. Respect to Mark Reckons for coming up with the ultimate headline - May the Fifth be with you. Sometimes I wonder if this party isn't too full of geeks for its own good.... AV isn't what we Liberal Democrats want, but it's better than the rotten system we have. It can't be bad to expect ...
Today I popped down to my local Jim Garner MP for Labour Leader Headquarters, it was a little smaller than I expected and unfortunately no one was there but I will try it out on another occasion and see if they want my help then. Anyway here are the pics I managed to get.
The 2010 Birmingham Half Marathon has been officially launched and will take place on Sunday 24 October 2010 (you can see the video of the official launch above).The 2010 event will use Cannon Hill Park and the Pershore Road again, but it will not loop along Raddlebarn Road, which should reduce the inconvenience for local residents. You can download a pdf map of the route. Residents living near
Having the AV referendum on May 5th to coincide with the local and Scottish Parliament/Welsh Assembly election next year (as has now been officially declared) makes perfect sense to me. It will save millions of pounds as elections will already be taking place in lots of areas (including my own) and hence two electoral birds can be killed with one stone. It will also increase turnout for the referendum which surely is good for democracy whatever the result? Whenever the date was called there would have been objections from some quarters. You can always find problems if you look hard ...
This lady was first member of the public in the queue to use our new town centre library. She was soon joined a goodly crowd before Maureen cut the ribbon.Pictured below the Editor of the Visiter speaking at the opening of the Library. We need to thank the Visiter for the enthusiastic way that they have entered into this project. John Siddle the journalist who covered the story is seen chatting to the Mayor. John is very smartly dressed in a dark suit and tie as befits the occasion.
Earlier today the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, announced plans to cut the size of the House of Commons to 600 seats from the current 650 size. The Commons has often changed in size over the previous decades, but as this graph shows 600 would be the smallest number of MPs since the 1867 Reform Act and only the fourth time the Commons has been reduced in size. The cut however is smaller both in seat numbers and proportionate terms than that introduced after 1918: [IMG: Size of House of Commons since 1867] Cross-posted from the Mandate blog
Blimey. It all kicked off today. Examining the latter stages of this Indie report I note that Nick Clegg – what a star! – has neatly side-stepped the (stupid) row over the 55% dissolution rule by a little bit of clever finessing of the rules. Bravo Mr Clegg – you have my breathless admiration!: Mr Clegg also overhauled the Government's plans to enshrine fixed-term parliaments in law, renouncing a previous plan requiring 55% of MPs to vote for a dissolution. Under a Bill to be introduced within the next few weeks, Parliament would be dissolved and an election held if ...
Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg has announced the appointment of John Sharkey as chairman of the Liberal Democrats' Fairer Votes Campaign – the campaign for a "Yes" vote in next year's AV referendum. Nick Clegg said, I am delighted that John Sharkey has accepted this role. This is a vital campaign for the country and I can't think of a better person than John to run it for the Liberal Democrats. John Sharkey is one of Nick Clegg's closest advisors and a former MD of Saatchi and Saatchi, who worked on the Conservatives' 1987 General Election campaign. More recently, he ...
Mon 5th
17:07
On way to London to meet other Lib Dem candidates at House of Commons. Rumour has it that one of the...
On way to London to meet other Lib Dem candidates at House of Commons. Rumour has it that one of them wants to tell us how his new job in Downing St is going
Obnoxio today. Bad language alert (even by my loose standards). http://obotheclown.blogspot.com/2010/07/man-of-people.html
I criticised the Tory plans for a reduction in Commons seats because (a) they were being touted in the almost complete absence of any other reform and (b) Cameron insisted on always citing Orkney and the Isle of Wight, on which exceptional islands it seems to me absolutely ridiculous to base a policy for seat sizes for the whole United Kingdom. I support the seat size reduction review announced by Nick Clegg today because it is being conducted in concert with the voting reform referendum. I also note that my perception of some islands being unjustified exceptions on which to ...
Mon 5th
16:31
We can't justify asking the people of Wales to go to the polls three times in four months
Today's statement by Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, to move ahead with the referendum on the Alternative Voting system and constitutional reform is very welcome. The Deputy Prime Minister announced that the vote on AV referendum will be held on the same day as the Assembly election on 5th of May and that there will be a reduction in the number of MPs across the UK. The number of MPs will be reduced from 650 to 600, meaning a saving of £12million a year and holding the AV referendum on the same day as the Assembly election will save an ...
Nick Clegg has just made a statement in the House of Commons outlining the Government's proposals for political and constitutional reform, including plans for a referendum on the use of the Alternative Vote system in the UK. The statement included the announcement of two important dates: the date for the AV Referendum (in the Bill to be introduced before the Summer recess) is intended for 5 May 2011 and the next General Election on 7 May 2015. With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the Government's proposals for parliamentary reform. Mr Speaker, every member of ...
Shortly after being elected as a MEP for UKIP Nikki Sinclaire left their group and sits as an Independent. She has now been joined by Mike Nattrass.
In Nick Clegg's statement today: The Bill will require the Boundary Commissions to set new constituencies within 5% of a target quota of registered electors, with just two exceptions: Orkney and Shetland, and the Western Isles. So given that it is very hard to combine the Isle of Wight (or part of it) with the mainland, does this mean that it will be our size indicator for new constituencies? If so then the size must have the Isle of Wight within 5% of it. In 2010 the electorate was 103,480, so that gives a range of averages from 98552 to ...
Over at The Guardian's Comment is Free website, former Conservative, now Liberal Democrat, MEP Edward McMillan-Scott argues there should be a third option in the coming referendum on electoral reform - the single transferable vote. Here's an excerpt: I understand that the Electoral Reform Society and senior Liberal Democrats have concluded that the alternative vote option presented in the coalition agreement is the best that can be achieved at this stage and that any discussion on the issue will cloud the debate. ... Single party advantage has no part to play in what amounts to a change of constitutional significance. ...
[IMG: Click here to vote in the Total Politics Best Blogs Poll 2010] Right, this is the last-ditch attempt. Rules are over at Total Politics, and your votes would be appreciated, especially if you're not really one who blogs chiefly about politics; it's pointless trying to fish for votes among the various backslapping cliques, and Being From Not-London is a major handicap there too. This year you only need to list five minimum, and I recommend any that are on my sidebar, but of course YMMV. TBH, if this doesn't get nominated while some real worthless cack from all sides ...
Lots of news sources have the pictures of the CMB from the Planck telescope. See IndependentBBCand even The SunSame pic each time, although the Beeb did add a "show known features" option. The ESA web site has lots of pictures, and more on the science.
I don't think there's likely to be a Monday Linkblogging this week; more of a collection of shortish posts containing both links and opinions, because I actually have more of the latter than the former. As a start, I've had a few people ask me what I think about Wonder Woman's new outfit, and my reaction is mostly just to shrug. It's not like I can complain about it on style grounds, because that would put me in an awkward position, but it does lead me to my major objection: What in the names of all seven Hells is Diana ...
At the last Southwark Council Audit & Governance Committee the Audit Commission presented its charges. They've increased their charges by 4.3% since last year. Couched in terms intended to make us feel lucky it wasn't even more. The Audit Commission decides who we're allowed to have externally audit Southwark Council. They unilaterally decide the charges we pay and have decided they will be our auditors. The ultimate in monopoly. This has to be a regulation that needs to be zapped. Councils should have an obligation to have their acounts externally audited. Massive private companies, factors larger than us have this, ...
Last week I blogged about the payoff of £78,750 received by the former Director of Corporate Support, Peter Lewis. Just to recap - the Chief Executive put out a statement which seemed to imply that Peter left entirely voluntarily. I questioned why anyone who left of their own volition should get a payoff of nearly £80k. I have had a series of email exchanges with both Kevin Lavery (Chief Executive) Richard Williams (Head of Legal Services). The key information from these exchanges is as follows: - The reason why the amount paid to Peter Lewis has been made public, but ...
The following additional bins have been requested around Prestwich, following comments from residents: Dear Mick, These are the locations for the litter bins for Prestwich as requested: Kersal Road, Rainsough Estate - bus stop opposite the flats without a bus shelter next to the golf course Chapel Rd, Rainsough Estate - next to empty shops/phone box by junction with Halliwell Rd Heys Road - 2 bins Highfield Rd - 1 bin
I guarantee that this is the most entertaining thing you'll watch all week:
Local Liberal Democrats have accused Bury Conservatives of threatening the future of the town after big cuts were announced to Town Hall budgets last week. The Council confirmed a range of cuts to be made immediately, including a reduction in funding for children's services, playgrounds and roads. The decisions were made with immediate effect and without the involvement of Councillors or local people. We all know that cuts need to be made because of the huge debts left by the last Labour government. But this is the wrong way to go about making those cuts. In just a few days ...
Hey, internet, guess what? - Dinosaurs are awesome - Science is great. - I rock. That is all I have to say in this post :) This post is also posted at InnerBrat @ Dreamwidth where it has [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments. Feel free to join in the conversation wherever you feel most comfortable.
Local Liberal Democrat Councillors have called on the Conservatives running Bury Council to scrap proposed charges for the Fairfax Road. The planned charges will see motorists charged £1 for short-stay parking, and £2 for long-stay. Lib Dems in Prestwich have opposed the Fairfax Road car parking charges from day one. We voted against them, and have campaigned strongly against them since. We're worried that the £1 charge for short-term parking will be particularly damaging to local shops, whilst at the same time doing nothing to achieve what the Conservatives at Bury Town Hall say they want, namely to reduce all-day ...
This second volume is mercifully shorter than the first, a mere 348 numbered pages. It takes us right up to the point where Support Company have been deployed into the Bogside, contrary to the orders given to Colonel Wilford; and incidentally exposes his and his superior officers' "inaccurate and misleading information" on precisely what those orders were. Chapters 10 and 11 are fairly brief geographical introductions, with lots of maps which did not survive transfer to my Blackberry so I read them online. Chapter 12 starts off in much the same way, with detailed descriptions and maps showing where various ...
Saturday morning dawned bright and sunny, but whilst most people heading for London were on their way to Pride, or Lords for the cricket, or Wimbledon for the tennis, a few dozen hardy Liberal Democrats were heading towards the St Alban's Centre near Chancery Lane station for the first of 2010′s two meetings of English Council. Unusually, the first item on the agenda was a speech by the Party President, Ros Scott, who talked about the challenges facing the Party in the weeks, months and years ahead, as well as some of the work being done at Federal level to ...
On Saturday night we went for a meal at the Bridge Inn, Ratho,. Ratho is a small village just outside Edinburgh, next to the Union Canal. We went to celebrate Bob's birthday. We'd actually gone along last Monday night, which was his actual birthday, only to discover that the kitchen was closed for that one day and there was no food available. The Inn has recently been taken over by new owners, so this was a good opportunity to check out the new menu. The Bridge Inn's business is diverse - it's the pub at the heart of a community, ...
Bury Council has (due to the last Government) been forced to adopt a "Strong leader" model of Government. Ostensibly in practice what this means is that instead of the council having an "Executive" made up of 8/9 councillors as previously and making decisions collectively, the Leader of the Council makes the decisions or delegates to a cabinet member responsible for a particular portfolio. Whilst this is great for the leader of the council and may even speed up decision making, I'm not sure it exactly enhances democracy and accountability to local people. The problem is that the democratically accountable element ...
Following concerns raised by a resident about a trip hazard here, I raised the matter with Dundee City Council and have received the following feedback : "This has been checked by the area inspector who has reported that it is a raised gas toby cover and that he will [IMG: Bold] be raising an order for it to be made safe."
All those wet and windy days collecting signatures for the Save our Library campaign, all the meetings where Labour and the Tories ganged up together to frustrate our campaign were worth it. Today at 9.30am the Mayor Maureen Fearn was joined by Jean Alexander to open our town centre library. Jean played a crucial role in the successful campaign and it was appropriate she was the first resident to return her books to the new library. (Well actually, if we are being strictly honest, I was the first user as I was about to embark on a 6 hr+ journey ...
It's seven years to the day since Canon Jeffrey John was forced to withdraw from his appointment as Bishop of Reading, after the shameful reactions of a vociferous minority in the Anglican church. But the silver lining for Dr John's cloud was that he was instead appointed to the post of Dean at St. Albans Abbey and he has ...
The Telegraph reports that two junior ministers are having to use their own money in order to have a home in their constituencies. Both Edward Garnier and Hugo Swire have decided that their main home should be in London. Garnier's is said to be worth £2.4million and Swire's £1million. So when it comes to having a second home in their constituency, they are looking to rent using the new level of allowances. Both claim that the taxpayer-funded rent allowed is too low to be able to afford anything decent. As a result they claim they are having to pay part ...
It's that time of year again, when Total Politics asks you to vote for your Top 10 favourite blogs. This is the fifth year of the poll. The votes will be compiled and included in the forthcoming book, the Total Politics Guide to Blogging 2010-11, which will be published in September. For the second year running, the poll is being promoted/sponsored by LabourList, LibDemVoice and Iain Dale's Diary. [IMG: Click here to vote in the Total Politics Best Blogs Poll 2010] The rules are simple. 1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and ranks them from 1 (your ...
Today's launch of the Assembly Government's Economic Renewal programme, is very welcome. It is highly likely that the Minister will have all party support for this new way forward. While it is clear that Wales would have weathered the recession better if this approach had been adopted some years ago, few will criticise the Minister for finally taking Wales in this direction. The path to a brighter future for Wales involves a bigger private sector based on high value investment, tapping into the economic power of our Universities and ensuring dwindling public money is spent smartly on improving our infrastructure. ...
I know, I'm like a broken record. Over and over I go on the topic of marriage equality. No idea why. I was always against the very institution of marriage and heteronormative society. Why I grabbed this issue and ran with it as my personal mission is somewhat of a mystery. I suppose it started AFTER civil partnerships had been introduced. Before they were I was, quite rightly, annoyed that they were going to be separate and unequal (the idea they are equal to marriage is a fallacy, but I'll go into that another day, the more you look at ...
Did you know Dementia affects 750,000 people in the UK? Did you know over 2000 people are living with Dementia in Bury? Are you worried about your memory? If you would like to find out more about Dementia and its early signs pop along to the stand in the Millgate shopping centre on wednesday. There will also be information about caring for people with Dementia. Date: Wednesday 7th July Time: 10am - 5pm Location: Millgate Shopping Centre (outside Boots)
I've been meaning to watch a Moto GP race for a while, given the enthusiasm of some of the F1 crowd on Twitter for the sport, but it was only yesterday that I actually got round to it. I knew that watching 800cc bikes being ridden at 200 mph was going to be a bit wild, but I was quite unprepared to see riders, having been thrown off at great speed, scoot across the gravel with their bikes, get up, grab the bike almost before it stopped and get back on again. If that wasn't bad enough, there was one ...
I see it's over four years since I last blogged my appreciation of my favourite ever popular beat-combo, Neil Hannon's creation The Divine Comedy. High time to rectify the omission. Bang Goes the Knighthood, their tenth album, has (as usual) divided the critics, many of whom bemoan his career trope to mingle arch-camp silliness with poignant heart-rending lyricism. Of course it's exactly that juxtaposition the rest of us so love. True, it may be an acquired taste ... there are, after all, few pop songs abut the pleasures of visiting a National Trust home ("Lavinia loves the lintels – Anna, ...
[IMG: SEO graphic] I blogged previously about the Office for Budget Responsibility's website and how poorly it comes out in Google searches - so poorly in fact that I penned a blog post as a bookmark for my own use to find the site in future. One reason I blogged rather than saved a bookmark was curiosity about how high or low the blog post would the appear in searches for "Office for Budget Responsibility" or "Office of Budget Responsibility". In the event, the post appeared high up the first page of Google search results - and well above the ...
The Egregious Tory Tosser is running his Westminster Village willy-waving contest again. My aim in publicising this is simple. I want to get as many people as possible to vote for blogs written by people who don't have willies to wave, who don't concentrate on gossippy rubbish, and who actually have something to say. I'm not one for positive discrimination, as you know, but I am pig sick of the political blogosphere being painted as a self-congratulatory boy's own club which is obsessed with Westminster gossip. My method for subverting this, then, is to vote entirely for female-written blogs. YMM, ...
The power of an internet-based campaign! In just four days, the "Save the Forum" Facebook campaign has attracted just short of 2500 members while the editor of the Northern Echo has just tweeted that they have never had so many letters from the public on any issue. He's clearing a whole page in tomorrow's paper. "Extraordinary!" says Peter Barron, the editor.With a huge town hall rally planned
Mon 5th
12:20
Andrew Stunell at the Local Government Association conference: putting our ideas into practice
Three months ago, if I had said that the Liberal Democrats would be in government, and I'd be a Minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government, you would have laughed at me. Yet here we are. I've fought no less than eight general elections and at the first seven, all we did was tell people what the Liberal Democrats would do if we got into power. This time we get to show them instead. And with the Local Government Association Conference coming up this week, our priorities on local government will get their turn in the spotlight. In ...
The Hagley Road to Ladywood blog has been publishing a series of guest posts in the last few days from across the political spectrum to mark two months since the general election that has changed the face of our politics so radically. They have published a guest post from me today to contribute to this. It was formed from a number of questions that I was asked and responded to. I recommend reading the other contributions and have reproduced mine here: In the immediate aftermath of May 6, I was expecting the Lib Dems to have performed better. When the ...
The Local Government Association has organised an event specifically aimed at councillors to help them understand more about local government finance. In particular it looks at: how local government finance is allocated to councils roles and responsibilities, including the role of elected members current issues in local government finance how local government finance should be reformed It is being held on 10th September at Local Government House in Smith Square in Westminster. It is £150 for councillors from authorities who are LGA members. More details are available here.
Hidden cameras in Birmingham's Muslim areas are now to be removed. These are not just a few cameras but 218 cameras of which 72 were hidden and others were number plate recognition cameras. How did we ever let this happen? What with this and PVE (see my post here) how can Muslim communities every expect the government to trust them. Personally I can't believe a Labour government become this distrusting of what was a community that were more likely to vote for them. If I was Muslim I would never vote for Labour again. Residents said they were 'not consulted'. ...
Many thanks to the anonymous commenter who posted this in response to my plea for information on the current state of the Gaza Blockade. They didn't post a link, so it is reproduced here in full. As I suspected, there has been no real change in the Israeli strangulation of Gaza. By Vittorio Arrigoni, Gaza City, Gaza July 4, 2010 Ketchup, mayonnaise, thread and needles are the items that were included last week by Israel on the list of those few goods now allowed into Gaza. Farming tools, spare parts for cars, toys and make-up were added to the list ...
It's that time again - when Iain Dale at Total Politics wants to hear from the e-community their verdict on this year's blogs. You can see details here.
The Voice is only a success because of the interest and support from our readers. For many people just lurking and reading the site is all they want to do – and that's fine, we're grateful for people taking the time to read the site. You can though help us continue to produce interesting content for a growing audience. Here are three simple ways: 1. Let us have your tips for stories. Perhaps there's something outrageous going on in your local council? Or you're an expert in a particular area and have spotted a story other people have missed? Or ...
This short book (100 pages, 113 including front matter) is one of those made available to Hugo voters electronically because of its presence on the shortlist for Best Related Work. This prompted me also to read Hope Mirrlees' classic, Lud-In-The-Mist, last month; and for anyone whose mind was boggled by Mirrlees' novel, Swanwick's biography and explanatory material fills in a lot of gaps. Hope Mirrlees was born in 1887 into a wealthy family, and hung around the fringes of the Bloomsbury group; names like Virginia Woolf and T.S. Eliot pepper the pages of Swanwick's biography. Her masterpiece came out in ...
I am entirely in favour of civil service redundancies, and even more of local authority redundancies. We have a crazy economy, heavily dependent on vastly over-rewarded people who perform useless financial casino services for much of the world. The taxation this brings in goes to fund many more people who fill in forms all day relating to government targets. The number of people who actually make anything is miniscule. The entire economy is not sustainable. I suggested how to cut the foreign office here: and gave more general views on cuts here: I support redundancies. But I do ...
While in London last week I had the opportunity to attend a talk at the RSA by David Weisbach, Kearney Professor of Law & Economics at University of Chicago on the subject of Climate Change Justice. I am perhaps a rarity in the Liberal Democrats because although I do think that climate change is very ...
Good morning all. Regular readers (yes, both of you... hi Katie and Donna) might remember that I blogged here about the threat posed to social mobility and democratic legitimacy by the practice of employing unpaid interns as a first step on a political career path. This is a bad thing, I argued, because only the ...
Ok. So I am a little bit out of the gates with this one for obvious reasons but twitter knows the event well enough by now. I came home from a hard days work the other day to find all the streets of Woking closed off around the station and no buses running. Further investigation ...
If you want a reminder of how lucky we are to be rid of the bastards, just read Yvette Cooper in the Guardian.
It is a tough time to be a civil servant right now. A two-year pay freeze for many of us, pensions under threat, redundancy terms to be slashed, tens of thousands of jobs to be axed, who'd want to join an organisation under such circumstances? Making a case for civil servants is, I admit, a bit like trying to defend anthrax, but perhaps one should explain why some of my colleagues are so unhappy. On pensions, there was a covenant of sorts. The benefit that the pension represented was factored into our rates of pay, a point made during every ...
I grew up hearing of numerous clashes in Northern Ireland, they were often explosive and sometime incendiary both literally and metaphorically. Therefore it is interesting to see they are looking at avoiding one peaceful clash. The clash in question as I have pointed out before in on May 5, when all the devolved areas of the UK are meant to be voting only it will clash with the proposed referendum on AV. Now the Northern Irish electoral authorities are saying that having both a referendum on AV and STV elections on the same day 'could be confusing'. Bear in mind ...
I know we're not America, but across the pond there is something that maybe we should pay attention to. The stereotypical image of America is that taxes are lower than they are in Europe. I believe that is still very much the case. And last year, they went even lower. Democrats, foolishly in my view, ...
The Freedom Bill (previously known as the Great Repeal Bill) has been a Liberal Democrat policy for some time and now that we're in coalition government it's become the Your Freedom initiative – an online consultation to identify laws to repeal. In two respects this is good news – online consultation is becoming more of a habit for government and it's also becoming a welcome pattern to see long-standing Liberal Democrat demands move towards actual implementation by government. But in one respect I think the Your Freedom site does not address a key issue as well as the party did ...
For the fifth year in a row, Total Politics is running its 'Best Blog Poll'. The rules are as follows: 1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and ranks them from 1 (your favourite) to 10 (your tenth favourite). 2. Your votes must be ranked from 1 to 10. Any votes which do not have rankings will not be counted. 3. You MUST include at least FIVE blogs in your list, but please list ten if you can. If you include fewer than five, your vote will not count. 4. Email your vote to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com 5. Only vote ...
I presume that Israel's "agreement" to ease the Gaza blockade after the murders on the Mavi Marmara was just a ploy to influence the international media until the agenda moved on, which it now well and truly has. Is there any reliable and up to date information on the current state of the blockade, particularly as regards construction materials?
HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL TEMPORARY CLOSING AND TEMPORARY WAITING RESTRICTIONS IN A1081 HARPENDEN ROAD, ST ALBANS NOTICE is given that the Hertfordshire County Council intend to make an Order under Section 14[1] of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to prohibit all traffic from using the following lengths of roads, except for access and to prohibit all vehicles from waiting at any time on both sides of these lengths of roads whilst works are in progress:- 1. that length of A1081 Harpenden Road, St Albans from its junction with Batchwood Drive south eastwards to its junction with A1081 St Peters Street, a ...
[IMG: kukathas] Kukathas is a professor of political theory at LSE and has previously taught in the USA and Australia. He is a Malaysian Tamil in origin, and brings early memories of Malaysia into the book along with observations of issues around Aborigine rights into The Liberal Archipelago. The book is written in a specialist academic style, with large parts of it originating in journal articles on the details of recent political theory. Nevertheless, it does bring a personal passion and message with the specialist style. This book maybe the best work of minarchist inclined theory (that is the theory ...
Over at The Independent today, Lib Dem cabinet ministers Vince Cable and Chris Huhne argue that the Coalition Government's plans to set up a Green Investment Bank, announced in the Budget, are of huge significance for establishing a successful green economy in this country. Here's an excerpt: ... there is much to be decided about how this might work. Bob Wigley's comprehensive review of the issue, published last week, sets out one possible model - a commercially independent bank given clear overarching goals for green investment in new technologies and infrastructure. Innovative green financial products could give an opportunity for ...
I went with a Haringey deputation to meet with Lord Hill - the Schools Minister last week. In the deputation were: Cllr Lorna Reith (Haringey Executive Member for Children's Services), David Lammy, Tottenham MP, Peter Lewis, Director of Children's Services at Haringey and Tony Brockman from Haringey NUT. This was a timely plea to the Government to push our case for the outcome of the two options in the recently completed consultation on funding formulas for our schools to be the 'Hybrid' option. To all those locally who know how long and how hard I and the Liberal Democrats have ...
Information from Bury's Adult Care Services Department Did you know Dementia affects 750,000 people in the UK? Did you know over 2000 people are living with Dementia in Bury? Are you worried about your memory? Why not come along and find out more about Dementia and its early sign? There will also be information about caring for people with Dementia. Date: Wednesday 7th July Time: 10am - 5pm Location: Millgate Shopping Centre (outside Boots) If you would like to promote your service or have any information you would like displaying on the stand, please contact Laura Haworth on 0161 253 ...
I've been away for a week, but now I'm back. Apologies to anyone whose needed to get in touch. Tim
[IMG: Click here to vote in the Total Politics Best Blogs Poll 2010] It's that time of year again, i.e. time to vote for your favourite blogs of 2010. The poll is run by Total Politics (backed by Iain Dale) and for the second year running it is also being co-promoted/sponsored by Liberal Democrat Voice and LabourList. As with last year I am not above grubbing for votes! If you have enjoyed some of my postings this year and/or the BBC Question Time Live Chat that I run every week, and/or the House of Comments podcast for which I am ...
During the many and lengthy debates about the manifesto on FPC I found myself disagreeing with the notion that the theme should be fairness alone. Not because I don't believe in fairness, but because the concept only has any meaning when more clearly defined. After all, can you imagine any party campaigning on a platform of unfairness? The reality is that what I may regard as fair is more than likely to be totally at odds with what a right wing head banging Tory regards as fair. So, I unsuccessfully argued that we should be talking about fairness, freedom and ...
Mon 5th
08:20EXCLUSIVE: What Lib Dem members think of the Coalition Budget measures and that VAT increase
Lib Dem Voice has been polling our members-only forum this past weekend to discover what Lib Dem members think of the Coalition Government's budget, and what you make of the Lib Dems' and Government's performance to date. Almost 350 party members responded, and we'll be publishing the full results of our survey this week. First, we asked what Lib Dem members: Do you support or oppose the following budget changes announced by the coalition government? Here's what you told us: Increasing VAT from 17.5% to 20% from January 4, 2011 Strongly Support: 6% Support: 42% Total support = 48% Oppose: ...
Following on from my post on Friday, about Nick Clegg's Your Freedom site, where we're all invited to give our suggestions about what laws we want to see repealed, I thought I'd flag up another suggestion on the site. There are some special sorts of "pleasures" about being married to a health and safety adviser. For example, know how to tell when scaffolding is not erected properly, or when those working on it aren't wearing the proper safety equipment because it's just not possible for him to walk past a building site without having a look at what's going on. ...
Plaid Cymru AM, Nerys Evans' assertion in this morning's Western Mail that the Welsh Government's flagship Communities First anti-poverty programme should be scrapped if it does not shape up will certainly have many supporters around Wales. The problem is that £214 million of public money has been spent without any clear outcomes and in some cases, with dubious lines of accountability. She is right that there needs to be a thorough evaluation but it is doubtful whether the Welsh Government is capable of carrying out that review with any degree of objectivity or of setting down adequate terms of reference ...
It is a poor workman who blames his tools and thus it is also a poor Minister who lays the responsibility for his own failures at the door of his civil servants. And yet that is precisely what the former Minister for the Economy and Transport, Andrew Davies has done in this morning's Western Mail. Mr. Davies claims that previous plans to create a sector approach to business support had met with "total resistance" from some senior civil servants: Mr. Davies said that while he had been Minister for the Economy and Transport he had set up the Ministerial Advisory ...
Whilst I am catching up on yesterday's papers there was an intriquing article by Julian Glover in yesterday's Observer about Labour's reaction to the coalition government. Mr. Glover argues that the two governing parties must steel themselves against the bitter rage of an ousted and out-of-touch Labour Party. He says: If hollow outrage is all Labour cares to offer, then reason and calm explanation must be the coalition's answer. Outrage fails in the end. It poisons rationality, it repels the moderate, it frightens the balanced. It lures zealots into a world where everyone inside thinks the same way and no ...
The influence of the Liberal Democrats on the UK Government was evident yesterday with the announcement that Home Secretary, Theresa May, has ordered that a national police camera network that logs more than 10 million movements of motorists every day be placed under statutory regulation. The Observer says that her decision means that a "Big Brother" police database that currently holds a mammoth 7.6 billion records of the movement of motorists using more than 4,000 cameras across the country will have to be operated with proper accountability and safeguards: Each entry on the database includes the numberplate, location, date, time ...
courtesy of Wayne's world
i) births and deaths 5 July 1934: birth of Philip Madoc, who is Brockley in Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD (1966), Eelek in The Krotons (1968-9), the War Lord in The War Games (1969), Solon in The Brain of Morbius (1976), and Fenner in The Power of Kroll (1978-9). ii) broadcast anniversary 5 July 2008: broadcast of Journey's End, the last episode of Season 4 of New Who, with two Tenth Doctors, Donna Noble, Jack Harkness, Rose and Jackie Tyler, Sarah Jane Smith, Martha Jones, Mickey, Gwen, Ianto, Luke, K9 and the Daleks and Davros. After the brilliant cliff-hanger ...
The only thing we didn't do was give the guy a passport A Cypriot commentator on how the leader of the Russian spy ring skipped bail: "even by our own high standards of incompetence, what happened was incredible." (tags: cyprus usa) UrbanTick: New City Landscapes - Interactive Tweetography Maps density of twitter updates across New Yorkm London, Paris and Munich (tags: maps)
I was listening to local radio a couple of days ago and they were interviewing people in the street on their views about prison. They happened to interview someone who had just come out of prison and he said that life was too easy inside. They all have their own TVs and kettles and they spend time playing pool. It sounds quite a nice existence if you add on to this that meals and a bed are provided. I admit that my experience is limited but I have played a few rugby matches behind closed walls. The opposition players were ...
