(Basic Books, $15.95) Why does George Orwell matter? Frankly it depends who you listen to. Was he was hero or villain, socialist or conservative, patriot or traitor, modernist or misogynist? It has become as fashionable for the Left, feminist, postmodernist and contrarian alike to denounce him, as it has been for those on the Right to claim him as their own. It is into this confused and contradictory mess that Christopher Hitchens provocatively steps to recue Orwell in a brilliant and logical book. For many journalists Orwell has become a revered figure, the patron saint of factual writing. The sycophancy ...
Inspired by TV, I read Great Expectations whilst on holiday. The book was even better. But now I have something Dickensian on offer locally. "Dickens in Durham", an exhibition of documents, pictures and records showing Charles Dickens' connections to County Durham, has been organised by Durham County Record Office to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth. Apparently Dickens visited the county on at least two occasions and even took inspiration from a school in the area for one of his novels. Dotheboys Hall does not reflect well on the county's educational system, but I'm sure it has improved since ...
Much has been said on the subject of LDV's "Liberal Voice of Year Poll". Having read a good number of thoughts, on a range of blogs and posts, about who people think should (or shouldn't) get the vote... we thought we might lob our two-penneth in. It probably won't surprise you to discover that we think it should be Mark Littlewood, founder of and former contributor to this very blog. Why? Curiously NOT because he has easily been the most effective "free market freedom fighter" of the past year. That should perhaps count... but we think there are other reasons... ...
I'm too ill to write today (my blood pressure's increased. giving me an awful headache), but I found this on my hard drive when looking for something else. It's the first chapter of a science fiction detective novella I started writing. If people like it, I'll write the rest. Let me know what you think: ...
Yesterday evening's Acocks Green Ward Committee was a relatively quick meeting with only two substantive items on the agenda. The first was the usual look at current planning applications in the Ward. Of these the most contentious is the self styled "Regeneration of Tyseley" known to most residents as the Asda option in the battle of the supermarkets (with Morrisons having an a planning application in for the site by Spring Road Station). The main problem with this particular application is the poor transport (especially public transport) links to the supermarket site which will be accessed off Olton Boulevard West ...
On Prudhoe Town Council, I sometimes plough a lonely furrow. Every now and then I find myself in a group of one on a lot of issues. Its the most important meeting of the Town Council next Wednesday, when we set our budget for the year. Increasingly the Town Council is becoming an important body, both in terms of the amount of tax it raises as well as the range of activities it undertakes. Play parks, cemeteries, Christmas lights, floral displays, a view on planning applications, environmental schemes, town signage, funding for local charities and services such as the youth ...
The Planning Committee are to carry out a site visit to the end of Francis Road which is subject to a planning application (2011/06797/PA) for 10 x 2 bed houses, on the land between the last of the houses on the road and the canal. I believe this proposed development is over-intensive (too many homes for the size of the plot), which means the houses have very little amenity space, so it is good to see that the Committee have decided they want to see the site for themselves before making a decision. The site visit will take place on ...
Earlier today I blogged about the latest on Nick Clegg's Business Compact initiative to open up more jobs to people from all walks of life. Why does it matter so much? Because, as the BBC reports, "research suggests that more than a third of graduate vacancies available this year are expected to be taken by people who have already worked for the firm while they were studying". The Business Compact has got heavyweight backing from firms with a total turnover of over £500 billion and in this new YouTube film young people talk about the benefits it can bring:
Well said, Jenny, and well voted. Jenny Tonge on World at One today explaining why she voted against the government last night on benefit cuts. If you missed it, it's on I-Player here at 19 minutes 27 seconds in.
I had planned to do a few more New Year related posts this week, looking back at 2011 and forward to 2012, but time and priorities have, so far, defeated me. So instead here is a great song that kind of goes along with the optimism that I hope I am taking with me into the next 12 months. Gil Scott-Heron – I Think I'll Call It Morning:
Have you seen the news today? Four American soldiers were filmed urinating on the corpses of some members of the Taliban. Meanwhile, the Republican candidates are all competing to be the holier than thou Republican presidential candidate by using Christian far right views to win votes. I do not understand the contradiction of the American political and values system.
Wokingham Borough Council has its next full council meeting on January 19th. Bearing in mind that the most recent one was in mid-November, that the next one in February only deals with the budget, and the next one isn't until May, you might think that the ruling Conservatives might have a few things to put forward. But no. Lib Dem councillors have tabled 6 questions – on things like not using premium rate phone numbers for public services, recycling, and the Wokingham town centre redevelopment (we are only allowed one each, by the way). Conservatives councillors have tabled a grand ...
I've been quite bemused this week at the toing and froing between Edinburgh and London on the issue of the timing of the referendum on Scottish independence. David Cameron made a right dogs dinner of the situation.by attempting to put pressure on Alex Salmond and the SNP to bring forward the referendum to a time of Westminster's choosing. Westminster watchers need to remember who it was that won the election in Scotland back in May of last year. Not only did the SNP win that election, but they transformed the political landscape north of Hadrian's Wall by winning an outright ...
Finding myself in possession of the password for what seems to be an otherwise abandoned cricket blog, I have added some posts this week: Peter Roebuck and Basil D'OliveiraWho shot Ashley Harvey-Walker?Alastair Cook as a choirboy
I've seen some reprehensible individuals recently arguing that cutting disability benefits is necessary for the sake reducing the deficit and that no one should be exempted from having to share the burden, not even the disabled. But that's a load of crap. So let me put this in perspective for you. A friend of mine is Sue Marsh and I visited her this weekend. She suffers from a debilitating illness called Crohn's disease - essentially she regularly gets massive kidney stones in her bowels which need to be surgically removed and which cause all sorts of associated health problems such ...
A story in my favourite newspaper begins: One in four office workers complains of "chronic boredom", turning to coffee and chocolate to lighten up their day. People are also more likely to have an alcoholic drink at the end of a boring day at work, a study of office-based employees showed. Four out of five of those surveyed by occupational psychologist Sandi Mann said boredom caused them to lose concentration, and half believed it led to mistakes.Which is rather pleasing, because that story originates from a press released I sent out in the course of my day job. All media ...
While there is a lot of talk at the moment about the future plans for Chorlton Precinct, it appears that those in the know are dialling down expectations. No planning application has been submitted yet by the developers, Citybranch/Development Securities, with the NHS being blamed for dragging their feet. The local GP's are up for it but are frustrated by the time being taken for a decision to be made. It may well be months before a planning application is submitted, then time will be needed for consultation. This uncertainty can't be good for the businesses in the Precinct, particularly ...
[IMG: London buses] Odd news from Transport for London, where Boris Johnson decided to go ahead with fare increases on 2nd January but hold off increasing fines for fare evasion until 19th February. So for seven weeks or so, the law abiding get to pay more and the law breakers get away with frozen fine levels. As Liberal Democrat London Assembly member Caroline Pidgeon says: At a time when the Mayor is hiking up fares for honest passengers it is totally wrong that he is failing to take decisive action against those who are playing the system. The excuse given ...
Take Me Out is back on our screens and that means that for the next 12 weeks I will have 90 minutes of awesomely awful TV to watch each Saturday night. Once more Paddy is fronting the show in his own style and once more four men each week will come down that love lift to try and impress the flirty thirty to get a date on the love island of Fernando's. It was only episode one last week so it is hard for me to pick out my favourites yet as we don't know much about their personalities. We ...
As you may or may not know I have a handful of TV shows that I truly love. Things like StormChasers and Deadliest Catch. Last year saw MasterChef Australia walk into my live but two winters ago it was ITV's latest attempt at a dating show Take Me Out that got me glued to the screen. If you haven't seen it then the premise of the show is rather simple. 30 girls watch guys come down and try to impress them. If they want to go on a date with him then they keep their light on. If they don't ...
Over on the Social Liberal Forum's website, Lord Smith of Clifton has given a backbench peer's perspective on political events and where the Party should be going, opening with a warning; The Lib Dems are in a very serious state, possibly facing meltdown of the kind experienced by the Canadian Conservatives some time ago (though they managed a spectacular comeback), or the Canadian Liberals in last year's elections. The burning question is how, at the very minimum, to limit the electoral damage and hopefully to revive the party's fortunes. For more of his thoughts, the full article can be found ...
Today I've e-mailed Willie Rennie to discuss my concerns about potential Liberal Democrat involvement in any anti-independence "no" campaign. I accept that the Scottish Liberal Democrats, as a party, will not support independence. I understand that many party members feel that independence is not the kind of thing that a federalist party with a strong devolutionist history should be promoting. But I also feel that such a party should not support the only other option likely to make it onto the ballot form - that of the status quo. Some party members find that equally, if not more, objectionable to ...
Outside, as I write, a grey squirrel is busy collecting grass and dead leaves from the untidy margins of the garden. Stuffing it all carefully into a manageable, squirrel pillow-sized mouthful, she then scampers away along the fence with it. She makes a good half dozen runs within a few minutes so I think her dray cannot be too far away, perhaps in the neighbour's trees. On the bird table the robin is on guard, the squirrels and he are locked in a dirty swearing match over the bird seed, despite the fact that the seed is regularly topped up ...
I don't want to jinx it, but the news that MI6 are saying they didn't do any renditions without ministerial approval could be absolutely huge. This is the relevant passage:British officials have not sought to deny the involvement of MI6 in either rendition. Instead, they have stressed that each resulted from what they describe as "ministerially authorised government policy", raising the possibility that the new Yard inquiry will require the questioning of ministers of the last Labour government.I guess it's time to dig out this old picture again... [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
How Facebook's targeted advertising destroyed the life of a young man | Privacy International This is why I deleted all my friends from facebook, and when I have to use it for page maintenance, I use it in a browser that I don't use for anything other than facebook; this way the only thing they can track is that I use facebook.... (tags: facebook ) Government filthy tricks subvert parliamentary process | A Latent Existence I cannot believe that the stooping has gone this low :( (tags: bloodytories government ) NASA Tests Helper Robots Inspired By Star Wars And Powered ...
Thu 12th
15:21
"Twas brillig and the slithy Gove did gyre and gimble in the schools" [with apologies to Lewis Carol...
The Sunday papers were full of Education Secretary Michael Gove's bullying of parents, staff & governors of Downhills primary school all of whom overwhelmingly reject Gove's determination to force the school to become an Academy. The Observer reports [8th January]: In January last year 92% of Downhills parents who returned a questionnaire said: "I am happy with my child's experience at this school." Yet the Secretary of State, using one of 50 powers he has awarded himself under new legislation since the coalition came to power, claims to know better and is involved in a battle to force it to ...
We're incredibly excited to announce that QRpedia has made the shortlist for the Smart UK Project! [IMG: qrpedia shortlist] We are searching for the UK's Most Innovative Mobile Companies. Our aim is to celebrate UK innovation and showcase the best examples of UK mobile innovation. We'll be presenting at the competition oin January – if we make the final six, we'll be off to Mobile World Congress. Look out world! Here comes QRpedia! [IMG: flattr this!]
On 14th December, the decision of Egyptian student and pro-democracy activist Mikael Nabil's retrial was announced; his sentence was reduced from three years to two. The result of this retrial, leaving little room for further appeal, shows a serious miscarriage of justice, particularly when considering that despite being a civilian, Mikael was sentenced by military tribunal. Even before the Arab Spring began, Mikael was taking an active role in promoting democracy in Egypt. He was part of the International Federation of Liberal Youth (IFLRY) delegation to the 2009 Liberal International congress in Cairo. Since 2006, Mikael has used his blog ...
I was on the Wave 102 news today regarding the kite flying issue near Dundee Airport I highlighted recently:
The Eurosceptic Conservative MP Bill Cash has written a biography of the Victorian radical statesman John Bright, of whom he is a distant relative. Although there is no obligation on authors to write about subjects whom they find politically sympathetic, this might seem a bit of an odd match. Yet Bright's resistance to social and welfare legislation would no doubt stand him in good stead with some modern Conservatives. And he did end up as a Liberal Unionist party (after the 1886 split over home rule) which was in an electoral alliance with the Tories. George Eaton's review in the ...
The latest issue of the Journal of Liberal History includes my review of Liberal Intellectuals and Public Culture in Modern Britain, 1815-1914 by William C. Lubenow. (The content is only available by subscription online). This seems a good moment for one of my regular plugs for the Journal, this edition of which includes a review by Michael Meadowcroft and an articles including 'The King of Showland The unusual career of the entertainment entrepreneur and Liberal MP for Walsall, 1922-24, Pat Collins.' by Graham Lippiatt and 'The Lloyd George land taxes' by Roy Douglas. Subscription details here.
Yesterday, in addition to assisting with a number of constituent queries and problems, I also attended the latest meeting of the City Council's Local Economy Monitoring Group. This is a useful regular forum at which the four party group leaders on the council, the City Council Chief Executive, other senior officers and representatives from Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce discuss the local economy, initiatives to improve the employment situation in the city and other economic initiatives. At yesterday's meeting, representatives from the Federation of Small Businesses also joined the group - a welcome development. Yesterday's discussions included progress with ...
One from the 'it's not all bad' folder, an article from the Independent which points out that if one takes out the public sector the British economy is set to grow and that it already has beyond 2007 levels. 'New' Labour pumped money into the public sector so a degree of retrenchment here is not really surprising. The article also points out that the UK - assuming the self-destructive Scottish Nationalists don't get their way - will slump from being the fifth largest economy in the world this year to, er, the sixth largest in 2050. Well, hoard the bottled ...
Who indeed could disagree with this, from Labour's 'New Politics, Fresh Ideas' website? Except perhaps that it isn't new, or fresh. From http://www.fresh-ideas.org.uk/culture-media-and-sport. Hat-tip: Graham Neale
Unfortunately for Cricket 2012 is starting with further news to add to the cloud that has hung over the game for the past 18 months. On top of the convictions for Butt, Asif and Ameer/Amir, the former Pakistan cricketers who were found guilty of spot fixing in the Lords test of 2010, there is set to be another conviction, this time for a domestic Pro40 game. Mervyn Westfield, 23, has pleaded guilty having agreed to concede 12 runs in his first over of the match against Durham whilst playing for Essex in 2009. This "spot fixing" didn't effect the result, ...
Enjoy (but please, don't copy): PS No, she didn't win. PPS For some other horrors, see the strange political adverts here.
If there is one word that sums up Peter Hain, then it must be relentless. That is because once he has his teeth into an issue he will not let go. Normally that is a good thing, but sometimes you just have to admit defeat and move on, especially when you are not just swimming against the tide of public opinion but actually below their radar. In other words most people do not care less about the boundary review, are tired of MPs pursuing their own self-interest and would prefer their elected politicians to be fighting on more bread and ...
2012′s first Prime Minister's Questions started with a bit of a score draw about rail fares. It got rather heated as Ed Miliband said the government had allowed fares to go up by 11%. He said: The last Labour government saw that the train companies were taking advantage of consumers...we took away that power from them David Cameron retorted that: The power (to increase fares well above inflation) was given to them to do that by the last Labour government. Channel 4 News FactCheck, as usual, has an excellent analysis of this spat, concluding that they couldn't give either men ...
Late last year a new history of the Liberal Democrats and its predecessor parties was published. In this post William Wallace reviews it, whilst you can watch Paddy Ashdown, Julian Glover and Shirley Williams talk at the book launch here. I had not expected to enjoy this book as much as I did, or to learn as much from it. It covers the political history of 332 years in 372 pages, unavoidably gliding past major episodes with passing glances. Eleven chapters by different authors suggested a degree of incoherence. Yet there are some clear underlying themes, and a number of ...
Whilst many parties and media pundits are happy to concentrate on battles that We have lost in Coalition and even on joining the Tories in the first place, today I am going to trumpet a genuine Liberal Democrat triumph (doing my bit for Tough Liberalism) - and one brought about by Nick Clegg.Today he announced that Several banks and legal firms have signed a "Business Compact" to allow greater Social Mobility.So what does that mean? Well... The Internship program will be as transparent as possible and remove barriers for those from a poorer background. Advertise Internships - including Work experience ...
So I've finally caught up with BBC4′s new Danish import, Borgen – which is to coalition tangled-web politics what The Killing was to grisly tangled-web murders. And it's great. Really. I mean, the leader of the Moderates, Birgitte Nyborg, sparks a dose of 'Cleggmania' which actually works... she gains more seats, and forms a government. This is Lib Dem dreamland! Such a contrast to the UK whose electorate was briefly infatuated with Nick's appeal for a new politics, lost its bottle, then blamed my party for their own weakness. So I'm loving Borgen, along with 629,000 others. And yet. I ...
A bit late I know but what can I say, I'm a busy man. Anyway how did I do in last year's predictions I made for 2011. 1. Piersmorgan will win his twitter war with Lord Sugar and gain more followers on twitter. Because of his new job hosting the US talk show on CNN, replacing Larry King. Well this never seems to end, however Piersmorgan does have more followers now than Lord Sugar. So I believe I got this one right. 2.Labour will have more council seats than the Tories after the local elections this year. Gaining from Lib ...
2012′s first Prime Minister's Questions started with a bit of a score draw about rail fares. It got rather heated as Ed Miliband said the government had allowed fares to go up by 11%. He said: The last Labour government saw that the train companies were taking advantage of consumers...we took away that power from them David Cameron retorted that: The power (to increase fares well above inflation) was given to them to do that by the last Labour government. Channel 4 News FactCheck, as usual,has an excellent analysis of this spat, concluding that they couldn't give either men a ...
It seems that our esteemed leader, Mr Rennie and I had similar thoughts about our First Minister's grandstanding on the news last night, bursting forth with information about his preferred date for the referendum. My second thought* was along the lines of "what a bloody cheek, he should have told Parliament first." And so I tweeted: This is a special pet hate of mine because I used to get very, very annoyed when Labour ministers used to announce their plans on Andrew Marr or some other media outlet. It just smacked of disrespect for the Parliament the Government was accountable ...
Speaking tonight in a House of Commons debate on energy prices, Norwich South MP Simon Wright urged Ministers to continue to increase transparency and competition for consumers. Responding to the debate for the Liberal Democrats, Mr Wright highlighted his concerns about the massive price differences in energy tariffs particularly for non- internet based accounts. Following the debate, Mr Wright said: " Many of my constituents have complained to me about the rising cost of energy, and I share their concerns. "During the debate, I stressed how important it is that Ministers, Ofgem, and suppliers ensure that consumers are able to ...
TweetThe debate over silicone limps on in the media. France, for reasons unbeknown, have decided to replace every woman's implants if they have PIP. This could be a proactive stance on something that poses a potential risk (something the UK isn't too good at) or an acceptance of a guilty role in the PIP issue ...
The Evening Standard reports: Banks and law firms in London today backed Nick Clegg's campaign to open up recruitment to all social backgrounds. The Deputy Prime Minister announced that Barclays, HSBC, Credit Suisse, RBS and a string of other City institutions have signed up to his "business compact" on internships, work experience and recruitment... "This is an important step towards a society where it's what you know, not who you know, that counts," Mr Clegg said. "Working with the Coalition, the biggest hitters in the City of London are helping lead the way to a fairer, more open society. "By ...
The following is the contents of a briefing note provided for County Councillors on developments regarding the A14 (this is a public note we're actively encouraged to circulate). The full text is below; "THE A14 WIDER STUDY AND THE SHORT TERM MEASURES BRIEFING NOTE FOR LOCAL MEMBERS-22/12/11 Members will have seen in the media various reports about the A14 Wider Study and associated with that, the announcement following the Budget Statement of £20m of ring fenced money to assist key congested points between Ellington and Fen Ditton. Also included are measures to help traffic avoid congestion caused by accidents and ...
Goals Soccer Centres, the company which has been given planning permission to build a massive 17 artificial pitch soccer centre in the St Margaret's cover of Heaton Park appears to be having a few problems. The following statement was issued to investors yesterday, which certainly seems to imply that no more soccer centres will be built in 2012. Wouldn't it be great if that meant it was never built, and we get to keep our beautiful piece of parkland? Goals Soccer Centres PLC, the UK's premier operator of next generation outdoor 5-a-side soccer centres with 42 centres in the UK ...
My Kindle died suddenly for no apparent reason (gibberish on the screen, buttons not responding). So I tried the troubleshooting guide on the site: soft reset, hard reset, charge fully, hard reset again. Still got the same problem. Okay, fine, I used their "contact us" form to request a callback. Not quite believing the "Call Now/Call in Five Minutes" buttons, I expected to settle in for a long wait. No: the phone rang within a second or two of clicking the button, and I got a friendly young chap - in a call centre in the Philippines or thereabouts, I'd ...
I am super tired following a trip to the East coast last weekend and am trying to get as much sleep as I can before I head back again. This time, it's for my grandma's funeral and, as much as I'm looking forward to seeing family, it's going to be sad and hard. I also hope it will be a joyful occasion: my grandma lived to be 94 years old and had only really been sick for the last few months of her life. She had all of her mental facilities and was visited by tons of family and friends ...
