Capital Gains Tax (CGT) was the focus of the first disagreement between the coalition in the run up to George Osborne's first budget in 2010. Lib Dems were committed to increasing its rate to that of the individual's income tax and Conservatives wanted it kept at the 18% it was reduced to by Gordon Brown. In the end a compromise was reached. A new top rate of 28% was introduced following Treasury advice that this would maximise tax take. But the marginal rate of CGT isn't really the issue. For those people investing in property there is something called 'Principle ...
[IMG: image] Some might call it mere coincidence, but I ask you... On the very day Nick Clegg announces his desire for the government to push harder and faster with tax cuts for the low-paid, I come home to discover my commemorative Coalition mug smashed to pieces. It could have been one of our cats. But to me it seems at least as likely to have been a Tory right-winger shaking hard with disbelief that tax-cuts could apply to anyone other than the wealthiest in society. Posts Related to The day the Coalition broke. Literally.Tory tax priorities: spend £6 billion ...
As an Ealing Liberal Democrat I do not feel the need to support everything the Coalition Government wants. But when it comes to the Government's responses to High Speed 2 (HS2), Crossrail, and to stopping Heathrow expansion, we are in favour. In fact nationally all three major parties are in favour of High Speed 2. I see the Ealing Conservative Leader recently admitted it was "progress". He is sitting on the fence trying to be in favour of High Speed 2 as well as acknowledging some local difficulties, using only flowery language. What is clear, is that in the short ...
Thu 26th
22:33
I am proud to have been a signatory urging Nick to accept the Lords' amendments to the Welfare Refor...
As reported in The Guardian today, more than 50 of us 2010 parliamentary candidates have signed a letter to Nick Clegg urging the party to accept the recent Lords' amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill. Read the full article here:
[IMG: Another week, another poll showing that the race for mayor of London is neck and neck. ComRes has found Conservative mayor Boris Johnson on 49% of the two party preferred vote, with Labour's Ken Livingstone on 51%. In 2008, the flamboyant Johnson edged out Livingstone, a controversial two-term mayor. Boris used a copybook "time for a change" narrative. The election had a subplot: Ken took the rap for the Brown government, which was moving rapidly down the popularity slide. And Tory supporters in the outer boroughs turned out to vote, to a degree not seen in 2000 or ...
I am told that the Liberal Democrats were overwhelmed by people wanting to join the party after Nick Clegg's appearance in the first of the leaders' debates. Sadly the party was not geared up to enrol them and by the time many of them were contacted after the election, they had changed their minds. This may be a Labour-inspired myth, but verily the party has always been rather hard to join. My
Lib Dem chief secretary to the treasury Danny Alexander was grilled by BBC Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman on Wednesday night about the UK's negative growth figures — here's what Danny had to say about the Coalition's economic strategy: (Available on the BBC website here.) * Stephen Tall is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice, and also writes at his own site, The Collected Stephen Tall.
Today I visited the building site on Lord Street where work on the former Arts Centre is well under way. The new building is certainly going to have a 'wow factor'. The new design has brought masses of natural daylight into what was a dark building. By opening up archways and long blocked up windows there are some striking long sight lines right across the building pretty well from the Cambridge Arcade to Eastbank St. We began our tour at 1a Eastbank Street (which regular readers will recall was the address of FJ Hooper the Town Hall keeper who was ...
[For part one of the story, click the "time detective" tag] So I should probably explain what it actually is that I do, shouldn't I? I'm a private detective, but I started out as a physics student. I was planning on a relatively dull career in academia, as a matter of fact – I was ...
It has been a day for Liberal Democrat bloggers to think the unthinkable on education. On Lib Dem Voice Tom Smith circles nervously around the issue of grammar schools. Too lib·er·al [adj.] has no such inhibitions: "Pupils, from low-income families, should have the ability to apply for a government certificate to meet the tuition costs of a private school. The poorest in society should not be excluded from the best private facilities in the country; we cannot achieve greater levels of social mobility if we restrict the poorest to the state sector." Basing police officers in schools was the sort ...
Thu 26th
21:03
How will Nick Clegg's call for more tax cuts be received by his fellow Liberal Demcrats?
At the last election my party promised to raise the personal allowance to £10,000 for ordinary taxpayers. And I am extremely proud that the Coalition is on track to do so over the course of this Parliament. We'll make sure that anyone earning £10,000 or less will pay no income tax at all and for those on middle incomes, the first £10,000 they earn will be tax free. For millions of basic rate taxpayers - ordinary, hardworking people - that means paying £700 less in income tax each year, around £60 a month. In the 2010 Budget we increased the ...
...form the habit of working a full morning ..., because this is the part of the day when you are freshest. Do not do minor chores in the morning. As for the rest of the day, you will wish to make your own choice between the afternoon and evening for work, but at either time ...
12th September 1995. I woke on what was already going to be an ordeal of a day, headed for the bathroom and as I passed the mirror realised that I spots were appearing all over me, almost multiplying before my eyes. That's what happens when you let the only member of the family who hasn't had Chicken Pox look after the child who's just come down with it. Around 3 weeks before, we'd been up for the weekend when my beautiful niece Laura, then just two, came out in spots. My sister was starting a college course the next day ...
The new Liberal Youth blogging platform – The Libertine – has just published one of my articles for its launch week! Read it below or at its original site, here. My post on whether Britain is a Christian Country or not – and claiming that Cameron simply needs to turn to human rights... When David ...
Amid all of the sound and fury surrounding the government's attempts to change the UK's benefits system, sight of the grand strategy of entitlement reform was lost this week. First, a recap. The dramatic interventions of the House of Lords put paid to a couple of the cabinet's initial skirmishes; plans to cap the benefits that can be claimed by a single household to £26,000pa were stymied by an amendment which has caused child benefits to be excluded, essentially rendering the policy pointless (as the £26,000pa cap is impossible to reach without child benefits being a factor). In a further ...
At last night's Southport Area Committee, ex-councillor David Cobham asked a question about the fernery located in Southport's Botanic Gardens. Part of his question highlighted the face that our fernery is the 2nd best in the country according the The Telegraph's list of the top 10 ferneries. It was decried as: A splendid example of one of the many public ferneries constructed in the nineteenth century. Opened in 1876 and recently restored, the walls are covered in tufa, steps lead up to viewing platforms above grottoes at each end, and mirrors reflect endless ferny vistas . In recognition of David's ...
The Legal Aid Bill prevents Gypsies and Travellers from getting legal aid in circumstances where they may lose their homes. With 2,000 Gypsies living in caravans on unauthorised sites from which the landlords are being given stronger powers to evict them. they will not qualify for legal advice on how to contest orders for their removal when they are trespassers, as so many of them are when it is made as difficult as possible for them to acquire land of their own, and there are no spare pitches for rent. But we did get assurances from the Minister who replied,Jim ...
In 5 weeks' time, the Scottish and Welsh parties meet for their respective Spring Conferences. The Welsh are going to Cardiff while the Scots head north to the beautiful highland capital of Inverness. As everywhere which meant anything to me as a child is within 20 minutes' walk of the Conference venue, I'm delighted to be going there. Although it seems a long way north, it only costs £10 return on the bus or £22 on the train to get there. Just one weekend later, Federal Conference takes place, for the first time ever, in Gateshead. So, why, I wondered ...
[IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
There's a bit of passing cloud here, but generally it's an excellent night for star-gazing. Via GoSkyWatch I have identified: The old faithfuls of Jupiter, Venus, the Moon (yes, even I can spot that), Capella and Belegeuse, plus Algol, Alpheratz and Procyon. [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Dog Control Orders can give powers to local authorities under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 to deal with the following offences: Fouling of land by dogs or failing to remove dog faeces;Not keeping a dog on a lead;Not putting, and keeping a dog on a lead when directed to do so by an authorised officer;Permitting a dog to enter a designated space from which dogs are excluded;Taking more than a specified number of dogs in designated areaThe proposed Dog Control Orders will replace all existing byelaws relating to dog control introduced in various locations across Bath and North ...
Youth Parliament election gives young people a voice Young people are being encouraged by Bath & North East Somerset Council to have their say on local issues that matter to them by voting in the UK Youth Parliament elections taking place next week. In Bath and North East Somerset, two Members of Youth Parliament will be elected on Thursday 2 February. One will represent Bath and the other will
Despite carelessly leaving my blackberry switched on overnight, the email to Lib Dems from Vince Cable at 6.19am didn't wake me. So an hour later when I was awake, I was even more awake after reading Vince's message. So, Nick Clegg was calling for an earlier implementation of the Lib Dem policy of raising the tax threshold to £10,000. Excellent stuff. What was of most interest however was
Thu 26th
18:54
Clegg's call for income tax cuts for the low paid is welcome, but will the Tories back him?
It's no secret that Nick Clegg is personally very committed to the Lib Dem – and now coalition – policy of raising the threshold at which people begin to pay income tax. It was one of the first big policies he argued for at conference after becoming leader, and was a key message during the 2010 election campaign. Clegg returned to the theme this morning, though, to call for the implementation of the policy to be speeded up. Personally I think this intervention is very welcome, not only because the policy is a good and liberal thing in itself, but ...
Congratulations to Andy Wilson for slipping this into a Guardian cricket report this morning: Swann, who grew up in Towcester, then popped up at Nottinghamshire.
At Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, David Cameron and Ed Miliband first clashed on the subject of economic growth (or, indeed, contraction). That entanglement was, more or less, a score draw. But Ed Miliband was much stronger during a later exchange on the NHS reform bill, culminating with this belter: I shall tell the Prime Minister what is happening in the NHS: waiting lists up, morale down. What does the majority-Conservative Select Committee on Health say about his reorganisation? It says that it will be a "disruption and distraction that hinders the ability of organisations to" release savings. Let us be ...
I am involved with a charity called the Powerhouse for women with disabilities. The women come to the centre twice a week by taxi. For some of them these are the only outings that they get. They can't work because they aren't able to. The charity has had its funding cut and are struggling to stay open. One woman asked me if she would still be able to attend craft making sessions. It is heartbreaking. A report called the Spartacus Report written by sick and disabled people who became more ill through lobbying for reform say that the reform must ...
It takes some bravery to stand up in court and tell people that you cannot write a team sheet especially when you are a football manager. However Harry Redknapp said "I am completely and utterly disorganised. I write like a two-year-old and I can't spell." He is brave because he did not need to use this sort of argument in his defence on a charge of tax evasion because I seem to remember that ignorance is not a defence in a court of law. He could have just said that he forgot. Maybe he is hoping for a sympathetic jury ...
Earlier today in amongst positive comments about the communications handling of Nick Clegg's speech, I also made some criticisms of the digital side. It's only fair to ask, "OK, but what would you have done?" so here is the web page I would have put together: Nick Clegg: More money back in your pocket I've deliberate kept myself to 30 minutes, using no-one else and spending no money; i.e. it's the sort of page that is realistic to produce even given the resource restrictions which the party has to operate under. That's a very important consideration. Saying things could be ...
No more please. I just can't take it any more PHOTOGRAPHERS FACE COPYRIGHT THREAT AFTER SHOCK RULING (UPDATE 26 JAN INCLUDES PIC
We were very concerned to hear of the Schools Hill accident on Wednesday evening. A 34 year old man was hit on the zebra crossing by an 79 year old male driver, and we understand the man is in a serious condition in hospital. We don't know if excessive speed played a part in this particular incident, but we know that it is a problem on Schools Hill and we are continuing the work to make the crossing safer and to slow down traffic on that section of the road. The vehicle activated speed signs will be in place in ...
Often when the Easter weekend arrives in Ireland I used to have a short trip to see the opening stage of the Circuit of Ireland. Scrutineering would often happen in Bangor Leisure Centre's car park before the cars would head off around Castle Park to get things started before the cars headed off out into the country for the stages over the next three days. Sometime returning to the Marine Court Hotel for the champagne celebrations. This year I will not have a walk to see the start, but I don't mind. This year the opening stage is starting within ...
Yesterday we learned that the head of the UK's statistics watchdog has writtena rebuke to Iain Duncan Smith over his department's handling ofstatistics in the immigration and benefits issues that Chris Graylingtried to make headway with last week. To those of us who have beenfollowing the Welfare Reform bill, and the DWP's attempts to shove itthrough Parliament, this will come as no surprise. The Department hasa policy of deliberate, calculated and persistent misrepresentationof what they are trying to do with the "reform" of benefits.Francesca Martinez's phrase "morally disabled" was never moreapt. SpecificallySir Michael Scholar, the head of the UK Statistics ...
The day the education results are published is always an odd one for me. I don't have children close to changing schools, I am no longer a County Councillor, nor a school governor but still I have a morbid fascination with the school GCSE results. First I pour over the top schools - I am not that sadistic that I start with the worst first - and this year I discover SIX of the top 200 school's for GCSE results are in Hertfordshire. Sadly they are all independent schools not easily accessible to the average pupil. In fact in the ...
Over on his work blog, The Voice's Mark Pack has a post looking at the extremely successful media coverage of Nick Clegg's speech on tax policy, with the party using the fact that much of the media is still surprised by the idiosyncracies of coalition to our advantage. Here's a sample: In a country used to coalitions, having the leader of one of the parties in government talk about their tax priorities a few months ahead of a budget would not be remarkable. With the British media habits, it had made today's speech from Nick Clegg to banner news - ...
Vince Cable's been in the news with his proposals for curbing executive pay. These amount to small increases in transparency and shareholder power, and have been vilified by both left and right, normally a proxy for good Lib Dem policy-making. George Monbiot wants to see a cap on maximum pay, set at a level amusingly ...
Yeah the weirdest story of the week in the Presidential race comes from Georgia, home state of Newt Gingrich.. It is there that Californian attorney and "birther" Orly Taitz has managed to get one justice to actually look at her one of her various lawsuits trying to ban Obama from the State Primary on 9th March. Others have failed. The court hearing is scheduled for today and Georgia Deputy Chief Justice Michael Malihi has subpoenaed the President to appear before him today n the grounds that his filings to Georgia's secretary of state fail to show why his attendance would ...
I'll be mostly absent from the internet for the next few days – I'm working odd hours today (4-10PM), then normal hours tomorrow, on Saturday I'm doing Lib Dem leafletting and on Sunday I've got to fill out my tax return for the money I earned from writing last year (what money, he said laughing ...
Some people say that capitalism can never be responsible, as it is inherently immoral and corrupt. This is to suggest that money and all the mechanisms around it are alive and make choices. The truth is, of course, that people make the conscious choices on how money is used and abused; which is the same as religion - how it's used makes it good or bad. The greatest irony is that money doesn't exist. Some say "but I hold a pound coin or a dollar note, its real!", however the metal and paper we use represents a concept. Technically speaking, ...
Thursday: Today, Cap'n Clegg will be calling on Master Gideon to ACCELERATE the increases in personal allowance, giving lower and medium earners more of their money back SOONER (paid for by taking MORE tax from the better off). This is a GOOD idea. It's giving money back to the people who are most likely to spend it, and more spending will help with the woes of a shrinking economy and falling high street sales. But cutting taxes for people IN work DOESN'T help the growing numbers of people OUT of work. People we seem to be ATTACKING rather than HELPING. ...
Under the headline "CBI welcomes report on risks and rewards from climate change" todays StockMarketWire.com reports: "Business leaders have applauded a Government report for highlighting the risks and rewards that climate change offers. DEFRA is right to highlight that, as well as the risks, there are opportunities to be had from adapting to climate change. For instance, the UK has much expertise it can sell in other countries, including advice on water efficiency, insurance and other financial products". Doesn't it occur to the CBI that we could and should ACTUALLY MAKE STUFF to deal with the risks & opportunities, & ...
Simon Wright, MP for Norwich South, has welcomed news that the Government is changing the law in a bid to tackle the increasing problem of metal theft. Mr Wright: "The laws surrounding the trade of scrap metal are out of date and unable to stand up to the growing problem of metal theft. I'm pleased that the coalition Government will ban cash payments for scrap metal trading, and introduce fiercer punishments for dealers that commit offences. "I've been lobbying Ministers to take action and I'm pleased that progress is now being made. Cable theft from railways alone disrupted over 35,000 ...
Just a quick note to say that if you are interested in the County Councils budget (which was released yesterday) then an electronic version of the full 650+ page document (as provided to Councillors) is available document is a 35MB PDF so you'll need the appropriate software to view it but it is searchable (well, mostly!).
In a fascinating story buried in the House & Home section of the Financial Times about the buoyancy of the multimillion pound property market in the UK, a buying agent in central London, Simon Barnes, is quoted: "The wealthiest international buyers may have one nanny per child, a chauffeur, chef,personal trainer & nutritionist.Often this team travels with them". Salary costs for this squad are upwards of £150000 p.a. One property at £12million comes with additional mews & flat property linked to the main building to accommodate staff. The only problem that I have with any of this is the level ...
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg told the Resolution Foundation today that Liberal Democrats will seek to aid those on low and middle incomes by raising the personal income tax threshold further and faster than previously assumed. Already a significant example ... Continue reading →
Alongside the news that the UK could soon see the establishment of 'new' grammar schools in Kent, Devon and elsewhere, and that Labour will be urging the Liberal Democrats to support them in blocking these plans, the Lib Dems should examine the implications – and adopt a distinctive stance – on this disagreement. The debate has gone over the usual arguments. On one hand, the pro-grammar Telegraph columnists imagine swathes of potential Nobel Laureates and curers of cancer who will irrevocably have their talents and spirits crushed if compelled to attend a comprehensive school. On the other hand, the anti-side ...
Shotley Bridge Hospital is great! No one looks forward to a hospital appointment, but one which takes place close to home and where you're seen quickly by very friendly staff who treat you as an individual is nearly good enough to make you want to come back for more. I talk to lots of people about their hospital experiences. Not all are good, but they nearly all are at Shotley Bridge. Which makes it essential that we all spread the word. If you need an outpatient hospital appointment, check and then double check whether you can be seen at Shotley. ...
Please do get in touch with any issues or concerns you may have. Email: warley@jd-baker.com Phone: 07817605162 Share this: [IMG: Share this page via Email] [IMG: Share this page via Stumble Upon] [IMG: Share this page via Digg this] [IMG: Share this page via Facebook] [IMG: Share this page via Twitter]
Hello All. After several months of shall we call it fun and games with 123reg I have migrated my site to Evohosting and hopefully that should mean that the site won't be down for several hours each day. I made the switch on Monday but these things take time to propagate across the Globe. I had forgotten that moving my site would mean all my posts would disappear so I had quite a panic on Monday evening when I logged on to my website and the new version loaded up with a sole 'Hello World!' post. Luckily a few minutes ...
Social cohesion is a term to evaluate, or describe, the bonds that unite individuals within society. Within this liberal and tolerant multicultural society there are still tensions and problems that persist; poverty is a phantom that still haunts Britain. Lloyd George envisaged a nation, in which poverty becomes an extinct animal and relegated to a ...
I saw this on Facebook earlier and thought this was terrific. Click on the image below to read the full story. [IMG: RAF Tornado Speeding Ticket?] Quality Newspaper Work... [IMG: Share on Tumblr] [IMG: Submit to StumbleUpon] [IMG: Save on Delicious] [IMG: Digg This] [IMG: Submit to reddit] [IMG: Share on Myspace] [IMG: Share via email] Tweet
Just a quick reminder that tonight the City Council's North Area Committee will be meeting at the Shirley School, Nuffield Road, Cambridge CB4 1TF - note that this is a change from the usual venue of the Manor on Arbury Road. The agenda for the planning part - which starts at 6.00 pm - is here. The agenda for the main meeting - which should start at 7.30pm - is here. The main meeting will start when the planning items are completed, if that's after 7.30. The main items on the agenda (aside from the planning items and the Open ...
At Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, David Cameron and Ed Miliband first clashed on the subject of economic growth (or, indeed, contraction). That entanglement was, more or less, a score draw. But Ed Miliband was much stronger during a later exchange on the NHS reform bill, culminating with this belter: I shall tell the Prime Minister what is happening in the NHS: waiting lists up, morale down. What does the majority-Conservative Select Committee on Health say about his reorganisation? It says that it will be a "disruption and distraction that hinders the ability of organisations to" release savings. Let us be ...
Nearly 70 years ago, when William Beveridge designed the welfare state he imagined a system that would give people protection from cradle to grave. Not one that would act as a crutch every day in between. The state must offer security in hard times. But it should not, he warned, 'stifle incentive, opportunity, responsibility'. In ...
In November, residents of Ashville Croft told us about the problems they were suffering due to cars parking too near to the junction with Sandbeds Road. We immediately set to work and the council have agreed to paint white lines at the junction, to discourage inconsiderate parking. Keith says, "Despite scarce economic resources, I have persuaded the council to take action due to the real difficulties being experienced by residents". Share this: [IMG: Share this page via Email] [IMG: Share this page via Stumble Upon] [IMG: Share this page via Digg this] [IMG: Share this page via Facebook] [IMG: Share ...
Boris Johnson has decided after two trials showed he shouldn't, to permanently open up 478km of bus lanes to motorbikes out of London's 580km of red routes. The trials showed an increase of 23% in motorbike collisions around bus lanes they were allowed on for the trials. The whole purpose was to reduce dangers to bikers not put them at more risk. The incidence of motorbike crashes near junction shot up 67% – guess drivers pulling out have less chance to see bikers in bus lanes. It also showed that collisions between motorbikes and cyclists shot-up by 250%. No reporting ...
And finally, to round off a trio of posts about Nick Clegg's speech today to the Resolution Foundation, here is his speech as a word cloud: UPDATE: Here's my one-pager summary of the substance of Nick Clegg's Resolution Foundation speech, in handy sharing-friendly format.
Work on the new allotments at Doctor Hill will shortly be under way and the Council has already had several applications for a plot. There are still a few left but hurry - they're going fast! Contact Keith James & Keith visit the site where the new Sandbeds allotments will be placed. Work on the scheme is due to start soon. . Share this: [IMG: Share this page via Email] [IMG: Share this page via Stumble Upon] [IMG: Share this page via Digg this] [IMG: Share this page via Facebook] [IMG: Share this page via Twitter]
Thu 26th
12:00
Liberal Democrats should continue to debate whether to support the Health and Social Care Bill
Despite the welcome and significant changes to the Health & Social Care Bill that Lib Dem parliamentarians have secured, there remain serious concerns both within the party, Parliament and the medical profession about the impact and timing of the reforms. As ... Continue reading →
Lots of talk at the moment about Sir Fred Goodwin's knighthood and whether he should be stripped of it or not. This week, it was confirmed that a panel of civil servants (the so-called forfeiture committee) is looking into it and that he may have to defend his knighthood in front of the Financial Services Authority. I can't help thinking what stripping Goodwin of his knighthood would actually achieve. It may be technically possible to do it. It may make people feel good. It would certainly relieve some pressure on politicians who are desperate to show they are doing something ...
Odanglesex County Council wants agile, flexible workers and has set a target head:seat ratio. How are they getting on? FROM: Kenneth Spotlessnob, Assistant Chief Executive and Director of Transformational Excellence and Strategic Vision TO: Hamish Carpenter, TransformationalExcellence Manager Hamish - could you drop into my office at 3:30 to discuss our response to the Intelligent Procurement draft? FROM: Hamish Carpenter TO: Kenneth Spotlessnob Kenneth: slight problem. I'm working from home to help reach our flexible working target. I could only drop into your office if I left immediately to catch the train. FROM: Kenneth Spotlessnob TO: Hamish Carpenter Great. Really ...
I am, somewhat unexpectedly, being educated again. Well, I say educated, in that I am part of an HM Revenue & Customs pilot study, testing the value of the NVQ Level 2 in Operational Delivery. I've met my assessor, Barry, and done the mandatory literacy and numeracy tests. And that's my first concern. The picture shows one of the sixteen numeracy test questions, indeed, one of the more difficult ones. Remember, I'm a tax official, working in an organisation that requires academic evidence of numeracy as part of our recruitment process. I have an 'O' level, two 'A' levels and ...
Commenting following the publication of the Scottish Government's consultation paper on a 2014 referendum on independence, North East Fife MP Sir Menzies Campbell said: "The constitutional battle has been joined. "Now that the date for the referendum has been set the whole country needs to get down to a serious debate about Scotland's future. It should be characterised by integrity and good temper. To review the constitutional arrangements of the last 300 years is an awesome task in which those of us of today have an enormous responsibility for generations to come. "If Scotland wants to go down the road ...
No reply. That's what happens a third of the time if a member of the public contacts a Liberal Democrat local party via the internet according to a 'mystery shopper' exercise I carried out earlier this month. Taking the publicly advertised email addresses for 25 local parties, I tried sending them all a test email from someone asking about joining the party. Just under two-thirds responded within 48 hours, which is a good response time. However, beyond that there were only a couple of further replies and the others have, after more than two weeks, not replied at all. It ...
This morning Nick Clegg is urging the Government to go further and faster in raising the threshold at which people start to pay income tax. One of the key demands made by the Liberal Democrats when we entered the coalition was that the tax threshold should be raised. Our manifesto commitment was that no one should pay income tax on the first £10,000 that they earned. This was accepted by the Conservatives and is being instituted in stages with the first £1000 rise happening last year and another £630 rise planned for this April. In today's speech, Nick Clegg says: ...
The Lib Dems in Government are leading the way in pushing for those on low and middle incomes to pay less tax, funded by those at the top paying a bit more. As the Lib Dem website explains: Imagine a mum who works 3 days a week as a teaching assistant – earning £10,000 a year or just over £190 a week. Under Labour she paid more than £1,000 in income tax and national insurance. Although she wanted to work more days a week she knew it was not financially worth it. Under Labour; once tax, tax credits and housing ...
Labour are once again spitting the dummy out over one of Nick Clegg's speeches. Should we bothered? No. Once again it is the symptom of a desperate party clutching at straws with a weak leadership trying to make itself sound relevant in the world and failing. You see, Labour are not at all impressed that Nick ...
Ask a Liberal Democrat what they think about the British media and chances are you will hear a complaint about how media habits developed during years of a two-party political system that generated one-party governments die hard. That makes today's speech by Nick Clegg on tax policy a smart move, turning those habits from a hindrance into an advantage. In a country used to coalitions, having the leader of one of the parties in government talk about their tax priorities a few months ahead of a budget would not be remarkable. With the British media habits, it had made today's ...
I am not a regular reader of The Telegraph but my attention has been drawn to the papers gardening column which lists the Top Ten Ferneries in Britain and the one in Southport's Botanic Garden is listed at No2 and is described thus: A splendid example of one of the many public ferneries constructed in the nineteenth century. Opened in 1876 and recently restored, the walls are covered in tufa, steps lead up to viewing platforms above grottoes at each end, and mirrors reflect endless ferny vistas My thanks to David Cobham for drawing my attention to this item. ...
Today Liverpool's Labour Leadership has acted in the most treacherous way imaginable since the dark, dark days of Militant. Labour is frightened to face the people with a referendum on a mayoralty and lacks the wit to work with us ... Continue reading →
http://bicom.org.uk/news-article/4900/ Surely the international community can find a way to help the Israelis and the Palestinians to keep talking in Amman?
I've written before about how the number and location of polling stations has an impact on turnout, but what about the candidate choices people make when they are in a polling station? A new academic study of 99 people suggests the choice of building for a polling station can have an impact on people's political outlooks: [IMG: Polling station sign. Photo credit: nilexuk on Flickr] The location of polling stations may influence how people vote with those near churches encouraging more conservative beliefs, researchers have claimed... A recent study has shown people are more right-wing and negative toward non-Christians than ...
...who thinks the Lib Dem blogosphere has been slightly too 'ra ra party policy' and not enough ' are you mad?' in recent weeks. And she's probably right. What's the point of being an unelected foot soldier pushing endless focus envelopes through doors if you can't point the finger at the leadership and say 'oi' every now and again? So sorry Charlotte. Because for me, today is the best day to be a Lib Dem since May 2010, with Nick's speech today marking out a clear, unequivocal and just plain right stand on tax policy, and a drive to taking ...
Andrew Lansley's proposed reforms of Britain's health service came as a shock to many Liberal Democrats, as they were not part of the Coalition agreement; in fact, there had been an assumption that there would be no major top-down reorganisation. So it's not surprising that the ensuing debate has been both extensive and contentious. Paul Burstow, as ...
Following on from yesterday's rumpus, it's important to consider why councillors, the press and public should have the right to use twitter during council meetings. I think there are three core reasons - it can help debate, it's an issue of free speech and it engages the public in what happens in their name. The first of these reasons was, ironically, shown earlier in yesterday's Cabinet meeting - before Cllr Robertson arrived. An item on the agenda concerned solar farms and the council's desire to invest the remaining £10m of their planned green energy pot into schemes that would both ...
Consider these two hypothetical scenarios for GDP in the economy: Q1: -0.7% Q2: +0.1% Q3: +0.1% Q4: -0.5% and secondly: Q1: +0.7% Q2: -0.1% Q3: -0.1% Q4: +0.5% The two scenarios are essentially mirror images of each other with the signs inverted. I am assuming that in Q4 of the preceeding year and Q1 of the following year there is positive growth. The curious thing is that the first scenario would not technically be considered a recession. There is one quarter of negative growth (-0.7%) followed by two quarters of only just positive growth (+0.1% each time) followed by a ...
We all have different ways of managing what we need to do. Sometimes we are more productive than others, some people have better systems than others, but the aim is the same: to get things done that demonstrates our commitment to making the area better and to the principles of the party. The solution focus ...
Thu 26th
09:21
In Praise of The Independent: Finding strengths in Chris Huhne, Vince Cable and Ken Clarke
The Independent write Somebody's got to stick up for Chris Huhne... in which they offer some praise for not only Chris Huhne but also Vince Cable and Ken Clarke which is worth highlighting: And what a shame for those of us who have come to admire the vulpine ultra-leaker not just for his work as Climate Change ...
In the second very encouraging example in 4 days of Them Inside the Westminster Bubble communicating with us lesser mortals a bit better, the Almighty Vince sent an e-mail to party members this morning to give us the heads up about a speech being given by Nick Clegg later today in which he will make the case for quicker tax cuts for low earners. This is exactly what the Liberal Democrats are for and the e-mail links to a site which gives lots of proper concrete examplesof how much we're helping ordinary people. Remember the Tories' big idea on tax ...
TRIGGER WARNING -- Example of a rape without NPD? — TRIGGER WARNING So, apparently it's better to be a rapist than to be gay. Something seriously messed up there. (tags: rape ) The Marilyn Meme » Sociological Images Words can't describe how much I loved this post. (tags: feminism ) The Pervocracy: Rescripting sex. http://www.uVery interesting article on consent culture.rbandictionary.com/define.php?term=consent%20culture (tags: feminism ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
If you haven't yet, watch Jonathan Meades on France. If you have, watch it again. You will need more than one look to absorb the pith of his eloquence and admire the eccentricity of his televisual imagination.
Today's Independent carries the reassuring news that the Government has lost its bid in the Court of Appeal to cut subsidies for solar panels on homes. They say that three appeal judges have unanimously upheld a High Court ruling that Energy Secretary Chris Huhne lacks the power to introduce the controversial "retrospective" scheme. Despite this Mr Huhne remains defiant and has confirmed that he will seek to appeal to the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land. Most people accept that the current tariff is too high and even those benefiting from the scheme were planning for it to ...
A victory today for the Daily Telegraph: Swingers sprayed stranger in face with bear repellent
Thu 26th
08:00
Andrew Duff Welcomes £800K EU Investment In Renewable Energy Infrastructure In Cambridgeshire ...
Andrew Duff MEP Andrew Duff, Lib Dem Euro-MP for Cambridgeshire welcomed the decision of the County Council (on 17th Jan) to invest in the renewable energy infrastructure across the county. The EU grant of £800,000 will be geared to help provide over £18 million of investment across the County. The EU-funded project Mobilising Local Energy Investments in Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough will set up delivery vehicles to manage the scale of infrastructure delivery above, including an energy services company that can commission, design, build and manage new energy generating schemes (community scale and larger), and a special purpose vehicle ...
Later this morning, Nick Clegg will be giving a speech to the Resolution Foundation (word cloud here) in which, after recent talk about wealth taxes, he is returning to the topic of income tax cuts. More specifically, speeding up the progress towards a basic income tax allowance of £10,000 whilst keeping the 50p rate. This is of course closely linked to wealth taxes as they are a way to raise the funds to pay for the income tax cuts. Aside from the numbers adding up – a very important consideration for tax policy – it also has the merit of ...
It was heartening at the beginning of the week to read headlines coupling "Bishops and Liberal Democrat Peers" in their alliance to block the benefits cap. Happy to see the party back on the side of,if not exactly the angels, at least their representatives on earth, as well as back on the side of rationality. Unfortunately this welcome sanity and consequent publicity, surely likely to make the party more attractive to all engaged professionally in the area, was spoiled by Clegg's appearing at least once on both radio and television, to say that he was in favour of a benefits ...
I have just received this mail from Vince Cable, trailing a speech by Nick Clegg later today. It seems the LibDem leadership are making a campaign out of getting tax cuts for low/middle earners into the budget – something that would be normally done behind the scenes. It's a newish tactic and one I welcome... As families face more of a squeeze, today Liberal Democrats are arguing for greater tax cuts for hard working people. Between now and the Budget, Nick and Danny and I will be arguing for faster tax cuts, giving you a reward for hard work. And ...
An application has been made to extend the timescale of the Raven's planning permission. Three and a half years ago Derwentside District Council gave permission for 17 houses to be built on this site, with a standard condition that work must commence within three years. Full details of the application of for an extension of the time limit can be found here.
Councillor Frank Little writes: There is a real push by Liberal Democrats in government, notably Business Minister Vince Cable and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, to move more quickly to take everybody earning £10,000 a year or less out of tax. It was a Liberal Democrat manifesto proposition in 2010 to do this, but the coalition agreement merely promised to achieve it by 2015. Now, however, there is a real chance that low- and middle-income taxpayers will benefit in the 2012 budget, and that the money will be found from the wealthiest - possibly from land, which cannot move abroad. ...
Towards the end of last year, I was pleased to report the introduction of a trial for Eurobins at the north end of Peddie Street, to replace the wheelie bin collection that was not working and that residents had asked for a re-think about. The trial has worked well and feedback from residents has been very positive but, as a number of residents have pointed out, the lack of concrete blocks to weigh down the Eurobins leaves the possibility of them being insecure - see right. Blocks are used at other locations to keep Eurobins securely in place. The City ...
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending a very enjoyable event at Dundee Contemporary Arts as part of the 10th Anniversary celebrations of TayScreen that has done so much good work to promote Fife and Tayside for media development and film and TV production, post-production and animation. My involvement with TayScreen stems from our joint interest in promoting local television for Dundee, wider Tayside and North Fife, a project now with great potential. Keith Partridge (right), a Fife-based adventure cameraman, gave a superb talk with dramatic film footage of some of his work. In his seminar session, Keith talked about ...
Those of you with long memories (or access to this link) will remember that I have discussed the enclosing properties of community before. I was delighted to hear Johnathan Meades express my view on the problem communities create for liberalism far more eloquently than I presently can. Although I expect the iPlayer link to disappear soon (and I will endeavour to replace it with a link to Youtube's Meades Shrine as soon as one is available), I shall present the argument here.
What better way to celebrate in London the first anniversary of the 25 January Egyptian Revolutionary movement than to join a stimulating crowd of fellow hacks, human rights activists, Arabists and UK-based Atab intellectuals at the launch of a new book about the extraordinary events in Cairo last year by Abdel Latif El-Manawy, who had the job of overseeing ...
Open webOS 1.0, Enyo 2.0, and fulfilling the revised dream
Those 57 Liberal Democrat MPs, whether on the Government payroll or not, are going to have some very tough choices when they come to vote on all the amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill. It's been suggested that the difficult position the Party finds itself in is all down to communications. Tell the world about all the concessions the Lib Dems have achieved, the spin doctors say, and all will be OK. But of course it's not. Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords were thoroughly unconvinced by this argument when they rebelled over ESA, the cap and CSA fees. ...
St Albans City and District Council has launched a new web service through which residents can view detailed information tailored to any individual address in the District. The new service is based on Geographical Information System data. From one web page you can see, for example, the planning history of your home and overlay map information to see details about planning applications related to properties in your neighbourhood. With specific reference to your address, you can check when your waste and recycling collection is due, find the name and contact details of your local ward councillors, find your nearest library ...
Shit Silicon Valley says
