Politics Graduate Not yet employed at age 21. Little skilled work experience. Graduate Trainee at a County Council. Schemes usually open until July. 2 – 3 year contract. Salary around £23,000 p.a. Trainee Accountant in local Government. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) match graduates (who do not need an accountancy degree) to vacancies, though the authority does the recruiting. Salary of a£17,000 t0 £20,000 plus CIPFA training costs to qualification. Social Work Assistant on a Graduate Scheme. The Barnet scheme opens in May. Salary from £26,500 to £28,500 p.a. Two years work gaining experience then supported ...
[IMG: Stroud Green School] The next Crouch End, Hornsey & Stroud Green Area Forum will take place this coming week on Tuesday 17th January. It will be held at Stroud Green School (entrance of Perth Road), starting at 6.45pm. There are a host of controversial issues on the agenda, including an update on the boundary review and on the parking controls, as well as discussion of the Council's plans to change our waste collections. Haringey controversially plan to cut weekly collections of non-recyclable waste later this year, with black bin waste only collected once a fortnight. If you want to ...
A segment of the the BBC's October 1974 election coverage - there is much more of it on Youtube.Robert Maxwell appears right at the start.
Former First Minister Henry McLeish today used The Herald to express his view that the Union is "unfit for purpose" and to distance himself from Labour's inflexible stance towards the independence referendum. Echoing many of the same sentiments and concerns I did when asking if the Liberal Democrats should be associated with "a coalition of negativity", Mr McLeish dismissed the approach favoured by current Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont - one of forming an anti-independence alliance - and instead urged Scottish politicians to rethink the Union rather than concentrate on "saving" it. He is of course right. The Union is ...
Sat 14th
21:20
It's full steam ahead for #HS2! But at a cost of £32.7 over 21 years, where are the benefits f...
It was one of the Government's worst kept secrets, and a project to which a recent poll shows nearly two thirds of population are opposed or in favour of better spending the cash, yet it is happening.HS2, the proposed high-speed line connecting London to Birmingham continuing on to Manchester and Leeds was officially given the green light this week and is to go ahead at a cost of at least £32.7
So reports tomorrow's Observer: David Cameron has been lobbied by the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, on the need to rewrite the government's flagship benefit reform to help children suffering as a result. Clegg proposed a series of changes to the £500-a-week cap, including exempting current claimants, in an attempt to ameliorate some of the worst consequences of the change, which critics claim will make 40,000 families homeless by making their current homes unaffordable. It is understood Clegg made his appeal during a meeting attended by the chancellor, George Osborne, and Danny Alexander, chief secretary of the Treasury. Cameron asked ...
A vote on Scottish independence is coming, there can be no denying Alex Salmond's popular mandate after winning a majority in the Scottish Parliament. The terms and conditions of said referendum, and how a split could happen can be argued till the cows come home, and indeed i'll leave those to someone more technically minded than myself. But there is an issue, a question that keeps coming back into my mind, should the entire union vote on Scottish independence? It's a question that's pinged around my mind a few times, and one I've instantly dismissed as silly, who knows maybe ...
...after the former Liberal Democrat leader. Or so the Daily Telegraph claims.
We tend to think of the Match of the Day theme tune as part of our national fabric. But this YouTube clip shows the opening titles of Match of the Day when the tune had its debut in 1970. There's also a short intro from presenter David Coleman. Wikipedia notes: The current theme tune for the series is called "Match of the Day" and was written especially for the programme in 1970 by Barry Stoller, and has become so ubiquitous in British culture that it is associated not just with the programme but football in general. By way of contrast, ...
This week Alex Salmond signalled his intention to give Scots the chance to vote on independence in Autumn 2014. This shouldn't surprise anyone. What it means in practice is that we will have to wait almost three years which is positive in the sense that it allows more than sufficient time for a reasonable debate, but is an unusually long time in which to plan and fight a campaign. I'm quite enthusiastic about taking the arguments to Scottish voters but even I have to admit that after 3 years I might feel a bit of campaign fatigue. No doubt the ...
One of the more absurd stories I've seen this week is from Aintree in Liverpool. It's a bite-size exemplum of local politicians slavish desire of media attention — and of the news media's slack-jawed credulity when presented with a too-easy headline. Especially one that allows them to print the word 'NUTTERS'. You can read the Liverpool Echo's story here: Aintree woman's fury over Liberal Democrat nutters leaflet 'slur'. Sounds quite bad, doesn't it? And then you read on, and discover the facts are: The Lib Dem leaflet delivery team in Aintree is called 'Nutters', has been for years. Those who ...
Day 14 In your own space, ask for help. Need a beta? Always wanted to learn how to make a vid? a fanmix? icons? Maybe you'd want to have someone cheering for you while you work on an upcoming big bang or fannish bingo? I've always thought that writing fiction isn't my thing - but over the course of this challenge, I've come to think that perhaps Bible!fic might be something I could manage and would enjoy (my undergrad degree was in theology.) So, if I were to try my hand at a few short pieces, who might be up ...
What the hell is wrong with Labour? I'm serious, they probably couldn't be a more incompetent opposition if they tried. The government has given them so, so many open goals, so many opportunities to utterly destroy their credibility - and I say that as a pro-coalition Lib Dem. Let me give you an example, last Wednesday, Ed Miliband faced off against David Cameron in Prime Minister's Questions. He could have hammered the government hard over cuts to disability benefits which the Lords were voting on later that night. He could have pointed out how unfair and unnecessary it was to ...
Friday was a tale of two letters. Word reached me that a letter from a single local resident to the education portfolio holder which criticised both me and another local figure by name had been read out at the Children and Young People's scrutiny committee. A few things strike me about that: Just how many letters has the portfolio holder received criticising the county council for their choice of site for the Academy, and their repeated refusal to listen to the people of Consett? I don't know the answer, but I'm pretty sure of the number that she's personally requested ...
There's no prize at stake - just the opportunity to prove you're wittier than any other LDV reader... Here's Tory secretary of state for education Michael Gove clutching a box of Star Wars lego. What do you think might be being said or thought by or about him? And the winner of our last caption comp is... Some fantastic entries for our most recent caption competition, LDV Caption Competition | Sir Bob Russell "snookered by Nick Clegg" Edition. The winner, according to The Voice's judging panel of one, was this one by Sesenco, with a highly commended offering by Rich ...
Where the heck is Transnistria? Villy Søvndal doesn't know. (tags: moldova eu ) secritcrush: Indefinitely British How one migrant stays in the UK. (tags: migration ) emily_shore: Kenny Everett and the Beatles The untold story - fascinating. (tags: sexandgenderandsexuality music history ) BBC News - Turkish Cypriot ex-President Rauf Denktash dies End of an era. (tags: cyprus ) jblum: A Scandal in Fandom: Steven Moffat, Irene Adler, and the Fannish Gaze Long thoughtful piece on "A Scandal in Belgravia". (tags: tv sf )
John Hemming, Lib Dem MP for Birmingham Yardley, is an unabashed iconoclast. The Independent this week sought to understand what makes him tick a little better. Inevitably there is some focus on his private life — most notoriously brought to public attention by his estranged wife's stealing of a kitten from his girlfriend's house — but also a lot of space given to his views on the UK care system and the economy. Here's an excerpt: Hemming is serious but funny, blithely overweight, and a stickler for detail. He sits surrounded by plenty of clutter, a frisky kitten and an ...
The Communities and Local Government Department has announced new funding of £47 million for new and refurbished Traveller sites, said to provide 617 new and 167 refurbished pitches over an unspecified period [http://bit.ly/zBjDjv]. Forty of the pitches classed a 'New', in Bolton and Bassetlaw, are actually refurbishments, so the actual total of new pitches is 577, compared with the shortfall as indicated by the number of caravans on unauthorised sites enumerated in the count undertaken for the CLG in July 2011. At the end of the day there would still be 3,420 families legally homeless [http://bit.ly/wLNbOU], and that's not taking ...
Dr L tells me that the particular mutation I have is C-MPL W515L, not the K variant. The only recent paper on MPL mutations is from the journal Blood for July 1, 2008, see http://bit.ly/xV1wI3. This describes 44 patients with MPL mutations of all kinds, doubling the number reported to that date in peer-reviewed journals. MPL, found at chromosome 1p34, encodes the thrombopoietin receptor that works in concert with thrombopoietin [http://bit.ly/xIsa7] for platelet production. Acquired MPL mutations eg, W515L and W515K are associated with severe anemia. [http://bit.ly/yN3G1w]
This post first appeared on Lib Dem Voice. There's no escaping history in our party, and current debates of nationalism, unionism and secession should prompt Liberal Democrats to delve back into the Gladstonian past. The Liberal Party split over the Union. Gladstone favoured Home Rule for Ireland, Liberal Unionists didn't, and ultimately joined the Conservative ...
Sometimes I dispair at the quality of political discourse and sometimes I read things like this and come close to wanting to just end it all!! This reminds me if the time we had a candidate who was a published academic in her early to mid thirties and Labour sent around a letter asking the public if they wanted "another young, educated female councillor." ( as opposed to the tired, old ex trades unionist incumbent) the public said yes please and promptly removed him for the young educated female.
As Myles Neligan's article in Reuters shows, the UK is already beginning to pay the price for David Cameron's Brussels histrionics last month. After the EU Summit in December Cameron returned home to a hero's welcome in the popular press and the House of Commons. This was always a bizarre combination of xenophobia and myopia. Forget how you feel about Europe for a moment. You are a member
I'm not a great one for quoting Burns, after he urged henpecked husbands to take a switch to their wife, but this line from To a Louse seems to fit. If you haven't already seen it, this Taiwanese take on this week's independence row is absolutely hilarious. They certainly seem to understand Scotland well - because we have spaceships fuelled on Irn Bru in our streets all the time, don't you know? And did you know that the referendum had timed to coincide with the 700th anniversary of Mel Gibson's death? When this was pointed out to the makers, they ...
Taking people from their families, transporting them to the other side of the world and locking them up without hint of charge or trial for years on end. Who would do that? Sickeningly, still the good old US of A. Obama promised to shut the place, but has only protected US citizens. Amnesty's campaign to protest against the US's grim military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay comes to Edinburgh today. From 12-3, they will be encouraging people to sign their global petition at the corner of Princes Street and North Bridge. I'm going to go in for a wee while. ...
Stockport is one of the local authorities chosen to pilot Neighbourhood Resolution Panels – in the Adswood, Bridgehall and Offerton areas. The Panels bring local victims, offenders and criminal justice professionals together to agree what action should be taken to deal with certain types of low level crime and disorder Stockport already has an excellent record of using innovative methods to reduce crime, and key to that success is partnership working between the Council, Police, probation service and other agencies. Here's more information on Restorative Justice. In criminal justice, restorative processes give victims the chance to tell offenders the real ...
After announcing the government deficit reduction strategy was "too fast, too soon" and drafting Labour's five point plan for growth, Ed Balls has performed a dramatic u-turn; he now supports Osborne's spending cuts and tax raises. Balls has not ruled out going further than the coalition in terms of cuts, due to the size of ...
I was going to write a blog today on parent power but as so often happens the nice Cllr Kemp got there before me and wrote a better one than I could have done! Erica, Tom and I think it ... Continue reading →
Petri dish chicken growth.
LabourList has been running a series of posts based on a good idea – asking people to propose policy ideas that don't cost money, under the banner 'What's Labour about when there's no money left?'. I was, ahem, a bit underwhelmed then to read one of the ideas – to strip away personal privacy from everyone and publish all income tax returns in full. Somewhat surprised, too, to find that former Labour MP, and when I've come across him in the past good egg, Alf Dubs was proposing the idea - his argument being that publishing figures in full would ...
In this podcast, John Stuart Mill biographer and now special adviser to Nick Clegg, Richard Reeves, explains why he thinks most people misunderstand the main message in John Stuart Mill's On Liberty. At under 14 minutes it is well worth listening to in full: Both On Liberty by John Stuart Mill and John Stuart Mill: Victorian Firebrand by Richard Reeves are available from Amazon. Hat-tip: Jonathan Calder
As far as I am aware, there are two meetings at Blyth Town Council next week Thursday 19th January, 6pm, Assets Committee ( This is likely to be "Closed Session" as staffing matters are being discussed Thursday 19th January, 6:30 Full Council, followed by Public Question Time Both these meetings are at Isabella Centre, Ogle Drive, Blyth In addition there is a Communities Engagement Working Group Meeting on Tuesday, at 2pm., at Ebor House but as a working group it may not be open to the public. (On this, I personally have no objection to the public attending working group ...
Striking a Pose (Women and Fantasy Covers) Jim Hines tries to get into some of the poses artists draw women characters in. (tags: gender ) Why Apple Will Not Be Part Of The Real Tablet Revolution This sounds dead on the money to me. (tags: apple ) Appropriate Attire * cackle * (tags: ) A Map of Woman's Heart: Rare Vintage Gem from the 1800s | Brain Pickings Lordy, this is hilarious. And would be funnier if some people didn't still think like that... (tags: gender maps ) Is Sherlock sexist? Steven Moffat's wanton women The comments on this are, ...
"Ed (Balls) will challenge Slasher Osborne and his mistaken programme of austerity that isn't working. He is aggressive, smart, passionate and a battler with a big advantage over the coalition - a really good understanding of economics. He will quickly challenge the ConDems' long list of broken promises - VAT, tuition fees and the slashing of public sector jobs nobody voted for. ........... Ed Balls is going to stand up for ordinary working people and challenge this Tory-led Government at every turn." David Blanchflower in the Daily Mirror 22 January 2011 Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, has moved to challenge ...
I oppose the coalition's spending cuts. Except I support them.
Here's your starter for ten in our weekend slot where we throw up an idea or thought for debate... The weekend debates have been light on foreign policy so far, so for those foreign policy buffs out there here's one inspired by our former leader. Over at Ted talks, Paddy Ashdown has been discussing 'the global power shift' from the West to the rest and in particular to the nations around the Pacific rim. He touches on a lot of areas, including what the future of global governance might look like, how long American power might remain dominant and the ...
Day 12 In your own space, rec at least three fanworks that you think would make a good intro into XYZ fandom. Rec a fandom overview, a introductory picspam, stories that define and shape the fandom. I've chosen Bible!fic for this, because I think people often have misconceptions about it - that it's always blasphemous (depends on your definition of blasphemy, really, but I think actually relatively few of them are, and the most edgy ones usually warn for it) or always about slash (all the fics I rec in this post are gen.) At its best, it casts new ...
Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name? Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same? Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen, and admit to what I mean in you and you in me? John L. Bell & Graham Maule This verse ...
Cambridge MP, Julian Huppert is celebrating victory after the government announced it will ban credit and debit card surcharges just days after he called for action during a Parliamentary debate. Julian secured the debate called 'Credit and Debit Card Surcharges' on Tuesday (December 20) in the House of Commons to highlight the problems people face with these hidden costs. He said that the surcharges had become a business model in their own right seriously undermining legitimate economic growth. And he warned that if the government failed to act, it risked stifling the country's fragile economic recovery. Julian has been pursuing ...
Across the Stockport West area (which includes Cheadle, Gatley, Heald Green and Cheadle Hulme), the latest police figures show a drop in several types of crime. Domestic burglaries are down 14.9% for the year to date (73 fewer victims compared to the previous year). Theft of or from vehicles is down 8.8% (41 fewer victims) Criminal damage (for example, to vehicles, houses, bus shelters) is down 23.3% (180 fewer victims) Anti-social-behaviour continues its decline – down 24.9% (813 fewer victims) However, crime overall is 3.1% up. This is mainly due to theft of all sorts of metal – grids in ...
Towards the end of last week, I received residents' complaints about the amount of rubbish lying about the Kelso Steps (see right) that run up from Blackness Road to Kelso Street and are well-used by local residents and visitors to Royal Victoria Hospital. I contacted the City Council's Environment Department asking for action and was impressed with the very swift response that saw the steps fully swept and tidied yesterday.
My friend and colleague Jim Tolson, formerly MSP for Dunfermline and West Fife, recently mentioned on Facebook that the No 1 hit in the week he was born (a couple of years after me!) was Jackie Trent's "Where are you now?" In my opinion, its one of the best hits of the Sixties - judge for yourself :
Today I was saddened to read of the death of Reginald Hill, one of my favourite authors, and perhaps the most literary of England's crime fiction writers. This evening, I raise a glass of Lagavulin (his fictional hero Detective Superintendent Andrew Dalziel's favourite tipple). Here's to you Reginald Hill, and thanks for all the pleasure ...
For the last 18 months Labour have been saying that the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition has been cutting too fast, they have stood along those in the public sector about their pay conditions etc. All the while many of us have asked what are their alternatives for this parliament then. When finally the Guardian have got to the bottom of the issue in an interview with the Shadow Chancellor today. Labour's alternative it seems is do exactly what is being done. Balls says: "My starting point is, I am afraid, we are going to have keep all these cuts. There is ...
