The Ministry of Sound is used to revving people up at its base in London's Elephant and Castle, but this evening the throbbing crowd was somewhat different than usual in that it was made up of Liberal Democrat activists, in party mode. The event was the launch of the LibDems' London2012 election campaign, compered by ...
[IMG: Stolen pug] Many people will have read about the case of the pug dog that was stolen during a daytime burglary in Stapleton Hall Road. Thankfully, Molly the dog was returned to her owners after a twitter campaign – see picture. However, at tonight's local police panel meeting it was revealed that this is no isolated event, and Stroud Green has become a real burglary hot spot. Our local police sergeant told us the ward is currently averaging one burglary a night and has more burglaries than any other part of Haringey. They are particularly common in the streets ...
This evening I attended another consultation event with young people fro Launceston, Bude and Callington. Many thanks to Chris Marsh and everyone from the youth service for putting it on. The main part of the evening was a 'speed dating' style conversation with small groups of young people around various subjects. Talking about transport, young people highlighted the high cost of getting around as the biggest issue as well as frequency and difficult to read timetables. On the subject of the image that young people have, they suggested using the local press more to generate a better impression by highlighting ...
Sorry, but all things considered after what has been an incredible 24 hours for English football...I just couldn't resist!
New Orbit site All, Orbit are attending the Town Council meeting on the 13th February to discuss a proposal to build more housing in Shipston. The proposed site is next to Angela's Meadow, which saw a number of affordable homes built last year. Details are non-existent at the moment – we will know more after Monday. Although there are calls from local people for more housing, the District Council has indicated (in the draft core strategy – more on that next week) that this should be 'an area of restraint.' Whatever your views, the Council meeting is open to the ...
Well done June Tabor who has swept the boards at the BBC Folk awards. I first saw Tabor thirty years ago when she pitched up with Martyn Simpson to support the great Silly Wizard at their Playhouse sell out concert. With support of that calibre the main act had their work cut out for them. They did not disappoint. For my money the finest Scottish Folk Band ever here is a reminder of just how good they were. .
There has been many comments on the new Liberal Left group that's been set up, I think my thought is pretty much summed up in the idea that whilst the Social Liberal Forum, as much as I disagree with them, have a valid ideological position and a good sense of pluralistic policies, the Liberal Left group is entirely a divisive measure created foster divisions. Even though my view is negative, I believe their could be two roles for them. Firstly, they could provide a good lure for those disaffected Lib Dems who joined the Labour Party. Secondly, I may dislike ...
Cornwall Council's Monitoring Officer has written to all councillors to say the following: "Blogging and Tweeting from Council meetings You will be aware that the Leader indicated at the last meeting of the Cabinet on 25 January that blogging and tweeting from meetings of the Council was covered by the Broadcasting Code of Practice ("the Code") approved at the last meeting of Council on 17 January and that prior approval for undertaking such activity was required in accordance with the Code. At the request of the Leader, I have reviewed the position and although the issue is arguable, I am ...
Two days ago I wrote that Fabio Capello's authority had been undermined by the FA. It looked like the authority for naming the England captain rested with the FA and not the manager. As well as a lack of responsibility Fabio could not speak his mind. Now he has resigned but it sounds to me like constructive dismissal. Maybe I am wrong and Fabio took the job with his eyes open. Maybe Fabio knew he couldn't name the captain or speak his mind. Let's hope the next manager is able to say what he thinks and manage the whole team. ...
That is how it was described on Twitter today by a prominent LibDem blogger. And that followed a post yesterday evening by another prominent blogger who offered a particularly derisive response to the news that Liberal Left will be holding an evening session at Spring Conference. The basic position was that those responsible for Liberal Left should get back to the Labour party where they belong. It is unusual to see such disrespect and naked tribalism. Liberal Democrat Voice today carries a rather more measured post by Paul Ankers arguing that the most important coalition of all, from the Liberal ...
From the Manchester Evening News: A battle of big-hitters could be sparked in Manchester by a by-election in one of the most coveted Labour-held seats in the country. The M.E.N revealed yesterday that Manchester Central MP Tony Lloyd is set to stand for election as Greater Manchester's first police commissioner. If successful, it would mean having to give up the seat he has held since 1997. Today, we can reveal that Lucy Powell, a senior aide to Labour leader Ed Miliband, is among those expected to go for the seat.
Around 300 Liberal Democrats packed out the campaign launch for London Mayor candidate Brian Paddick, Lib Dem London Assembly leader Caroline Pidgeon and the rest of the team. Here's the video that was shown at the launch:
Liberals and Liberal Democrats have always rejected a simplistic left right political spectrum so a group calling itself 'liberal left' is somewhat of an oxymoron. The group is made up of the half a dozen malcontents who wrote to the Guardian last year backing the frankly bonkers, sub trotskyite, Compass 'plan B' economic policy. Liberal left claim this plan B is "in line with the scope and timing proposed by the 2010 Liberal Democrat manifesto." They clearly have not actually read the manifesto they claim to be so attached to. What it said on the economy was as follows: "The ...
Ken Livingstone has for the millionth time made the headlines for yet more outrageous headlines, this time saying the Tory Party is riddled with gays. He is simply unfit for mayoral office. Now after both Boris and Ken have made disgusting comments about gays, now is the time for Lib Dem Brian Paddick to break through, can he? Firstly, Ken Livingstone is unfit for office, of course, we have the comments previously mentioned. Ken, is arguably a smart man, so he obviously knows the implications of the word 'riddled' in common parlance. At best it's horribly misguided to associate gay ...
Liberal Left, a new Lib Dem internal pressure group, was launched today with a website and a sympathetic article in the Guardian. Both are liberally scattered with the hurrah words "progressive" and "radical". I have never been quite sure what the former means, but from what I have seen on Liberal Left so far, there is nothing radical about it. It seems dedicated precisely to avoiding hard questions. You can explore the group's website for yourself, but take this quotation form the Guardian article. Speaking of one of the group's leading figures, the party's former policy director Richard Grayson, he ...
Party people who are looking to organise a street celebration to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee or the greatest sporting show on earth can do so without paying a penny to Cambridgeshire County Council. After the success of street parties to celebrate the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton last year, Cambridgeshire County Council is encouraging residents to start planning celebrations for the Queen's Jubilee and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The County Council has made the road closure application process easier for anyone who wants to get their community together for a street party - and for ...
Surely cinema's greatest ever film-score composer, John Williams, celebrates his 80th birthday today. His compositions are instantly recognizable and act as a veritable walk through of a 'Who's Who' in late 20th century and early 21st century cinematic history. He has won 5 Academy Awards (47 nominations) and 4 Golden Globes (22 nominations) and 20 Grammys (59 nominations). His 47 Oscar nominations makes John Williams the record-holder for the most Oscar nominations for a living person and is the second most nominated person in the history of the Academy Awards behind Walt Disney's 59. Forty-two of Williams' Oscar nominations are ...
Press cutting from the Southport Journal 6/2/52 More on the by election later but in the meantime happy 81st birthday Ronnie
I read with some concern NCCLOL's post that he has received a letter from solicitors acting for the District Auditor following posts he wrote about various issues concerning Nottingham City Council and the District Auditor. He states quite clearly what has happened, and you should go and read it. The way the political system in ...
"Controversy continues regarding the £10.5million regeneration scheme for Pontypridd. A series of Freedom of Information requests by RCT Welsh Liberal Democrats have uncovered that the Council has no idea of how many new businesses have set up in the area over the last twelve months. With the Labour Cabinet recently launching an economic development strategy ...
Lib Dems have been campaigning for years for improvements to the crossings and lights at the corner of the Hook Centre. It has been a huge struggle because the Hook Road is managed by Transport for London, not by Kingston Council, so the local councillors have no direct influence. And it has not been helped by the complete lack of action by the person who represents us on the London Assembly. To start with the problem - well, two problems, actually. When the traffic lights were installed at the junction of Elm Road with Hook Road, they did not include ...
A nimble two-step from The Guardian: 1. Polly Toynbee sends tweet encouraging all and sundry to take part in an open-access online poll being run by the BMJ. 2. The Guardian reports result of said BMJ poll. Then only thing missing, alas, is: 3. The Guardian then realises that reporting a voodoo poll which its own staff have been encouraging people to take part on is low grade self-referential journalism and pulls poll report. Hat tip: Anthony Wells * Mark Pack is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and writes a monthly newsletter about the Liberal Democrats.
So how are you going to get locked pawn chains and a big kingside attack now, punk? After my article on chess in schools for Comment is Free was published yesterday I was chatting to Charles Crawford on Twitter. Charles mentioned that when he was stationed in Moscow he was friendly with the leading Russian grandmaster Yuri Averbakh. This led me to look up Yuri Averbakh on Wikipedia, where I discovered two things: he is the oldest surviving grandmaster and he is 90 today. So happy birthday, Yuri. I have particular reason to wish him well, because I had great ...
I'll keep this short because frankly I am upset and I have a meeting to go to. I would much rather curl up under my duvet and cry if I am honest because I am fed up with being treated like a second class citizen because I have a disability. I have a problem with my ...
Would rent controls be the worst method of controlling housing benefit aside from all the others? With its mixture of good ideas and painful ones, the Welfare Reform Bill going through Parliament is causing more anguish among Liberal Democrats than anything since... Well, since the last horrible compromise the Coalition Government came up with. The logic is relentless: Labour wrecked the economy and stiffed us with the bill; government is still spending vastly more than it has coming in; the NHS and benefits dwarf all other government spending; the Coalition is committed to NHS increases; benefits need to be cut. ...
"I'll stop running cyclists down when they stop jumping red lights." The response, apparently, of a good portion of British drivers to the current cull of cyclists by the haulage industry. I'm not going to go into the arguments about whether cyclists breaking the rules of the road is justified. Those arguments being, briefly, that ...
I have been staring at the faces of Lib Dem councillors for days as part of a piece of work I have undertaken. Although the highlight has been finding out Cllr Ken Ball has managed to wangle Deputy leader of Chorley Council despite leading a group of him and one other Councillor, my abiding thought is that I could have a stand up row with each and every one of you. And I wouldn't mind a bit of it. That's what being a LibDem is all about. However, news of yet another splinter group from the left of the party ...
Just some quick looks at a few stories that have piqued my interested How can Ken riddle anything with LGBT people positively? - Not the best phrasing although maybe not as nasty as it seems after a second reading. Silly Ken though. Riddled is definitely not the best choice of phrase. Court overturns California gay marriage ban, appeal planned - Brilliant step forward in the fight over Prop 8. Unfortunately it's not the end of the fight. Onwards and upwards. Falklands issue to be taken to the UN - This issue has been causing me to shake my head in ...
Veteran US pollster Charlie Cook says that Barack Obama's political fortunes have taken a distinct turn for the better: In short, this campaign is at a new and different place: The odds of it being a very close race have gone up. A lot of Democrats didn't want to admit how much of an uphill battle Obama faced for much of last year, but he really did. Now, signals are more conflicting. Many GOP strategists express concern that the situation has gone from one in which they were cautiously optimistic to one of uncertainty as to where it is headed. ...
Ben Birnberg is the name of a Liberal Democrat party member unfamiliar to many, I suspect. However, the names of the clients he has worked for during his legal career are very familiar: Derek Bentley, Imran Khan, Richard Branson and Vanessa Redgrave amongst others. Ben was the guest speaker this week at the Lewisham and Beckenham North Liberal Democrats supper club and his talk was a fascinating tour through his political and legal career: from being a trainee lawyer and a member of the Communist Party through to being a distinguished retired lawyer and an active Liberal Democrat. You can ...
Peterborough Youth Council members undertook an annonymous survey of young people aged 11-19 between July and September 2011 for those who either lived or were being educated/trained or employed in Peterborough. One of the questions posed to them was: Q: How would you like to get information or advice or find out about services and activities for young people? The results were as follows: Website updates - 21% Facebook - 73% Twitter - 18% Directly via phone or text - 18% Local media radio/newspaper/magazines - 22% In person schools/college/Connexions/other - 18% Commenting on the findings, Lib Dem councillor, Darren Fower, ...
Yesterday I spoke at the Scrap Metal Theft backbench Debate. In Manchester £1m of damage has been caused to Church roofs in the last five years (including Southern Cemetery here) it has also had a huge impact on railways costing Network Rail ... Continue reading →
I see that Liberal Left have launched their website today, which includes a look at their values. To be fair after my tirade at Charlotte Henry last night I'm going to look at those values against the party's constitution and other sources. Bearing in mind that my membership of the Social Liberal Forum already in the eyes of some places me to the left of the party. If I really wanted to work closely with Labour I would already have taken up one of their many invitations to work for them. Therefore I've taken a look at the entire values ...
Ann Widdecombe does not support the Winter fuel allowance and from what I heard on The Daily Politics today her main argument is that the allowance goes to any household in which there is a pensioner irrespective of the amount of money going in. This is a principled position but one which could be opposed on principle. Some may say that means testing is complex and adds to the cost of the benefit and if it is not universal then the benefit may not get to those who need it due to the complexity of the process. Ann is looking ...
Seriously, he does. And he doesn't care what anyone thinks, either, as he said to Sky News yesterday. Thing is, as we all watch the uncomfortably inappropriate close ups, his dad dancing and numerous other cringeworthy snippets, we are compelled to listen to what is actually quite a good song by the Good Suns. A very clever marketing ploy, I think. Enjoy, or whatever. Just don't charge the Voice for any post traumatic stress counselling you might need. * Caron Lindsay is Wednesday editor at Lib Dem Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
This morning I found myself planting trees in Fox Hollies Park. It was bitterly cold, but the exercise kept us warm. Pupils from nearby Oaklands Primary school and Saltley College, came along to help out with the planting, organised by Birmingham Trees for Life. We planted about five hundred trees of seven different species from Oak to Beech. It was a very successful event that saw the pupils from the schools engaging with the environment and wildlife in the area. At the end of the session the children were all cheering that they wanted to come back and plant more. ...
The Association of Scottish Liberal Democrat Councillors (ASLDC) is to hold its AGM during the Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference on Saturday 3rd March 2012. Their guest speaker is the Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Willie Rennie MSP. The Annual General Meeting of ASLDC will take place in the La Scala Cinema of Eden Court Theatre in Inverness on Saturday 3 March at 6.45 pm. The agenda is as follows: Apologies Minutes of 2011 AGM Matters Arising therefrom Convener's Report Treasurer's Report Election of office-bearers Election of Committee AOCB For more details of the ASLDC AGM contact ASLDC's secretary Caron ...
After the huge demonstrations in Moscow over the weekend against the rule of Vladimir Putin, it is clear that the regime is plotting a come back. Although the bused-in supporters of the regime were heavily outnumbered by the spontaneous opposition, it is clear that the supporters of the regime are trying to respond to the growing contempt for the current government with manufactured anger against "outsiders"- chiefly Americans- who they profess to believe are seeking to undermine the return of Vladimir Putin. Given the assistance that Moscow is offering to the brutal and discredited regime in Damascus, one could hardly ...
Wed 8th
15:50
Campbell receives damages settlement after suing hacker represented by his brother-in-law
On the day on which Alastair Campbell, one-time director of communications to Tony Blair, settles his claim for damages against News Group Newspapers, it's worth noting an interesting family connection between Campbell and the lawyers involved. Gavin Millar QC – ... Continue reading →
So, hipsters in coffee shops with MacBooks. This is a thing, and it has been for years. I'm wearing jeans and a blazer, and sitting in a quirky little teashop working on my laptop. Dangerously close to hipster territory. Except for the laptop; a stone age Dell Latitude D520, a monolithic object that doesn't even feature a widescreen. Although, it is kind of retro, and hipsters like retro. Oh god. What is becoming of me? [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Thomas Docherty has courted controversy since he was elected as Labour MP for Dunfermline and West Fife in 2010. He certainly has a novel approach to winning friends and influencing people. First of all, he had a go at certain of his fellow MPs whose attire, he felt was too casual for the Commons. Then he was a leading voice in the campaign to have a statue of Tony Blair at Westminster. During my four years working for Willie Rennie when he was Dunfermline's MP, I can safely say that neither of these issues were ever raised with him by ...
I accidentally had 13 hours' sleep and only got up an hour ago, so while I'm hoping to at least get the next chapter of Time Detective up today, I might not have anything properly blogged today (I'm also writing a short story today, but am going to try to submit that to a paying ...
On my new (ish) mobile Android phone, I've got this Shazam app which can sample any 30 seconds of music and pretty much without fail, instantly tell you what song is being played and by whom. Loads of people have it or a similar such app of course but that doesn't stop me from showing it off at any given opportunity! Having said that, I've rarely actually used it for it's proper purpose. Most of the time I use it to decipher a song I already know to show those with me at the time how it works. But last ...
Anything new the Labour Party claims they'd do if only they were in government now? It's a great big lie. They had a booming economy* and absolute power for thirteen years**. So if they gave a flying fuck about it, they'd have done it. *Later revealed to be a debt-fuelled disaster that'll probably take another thirteen years for the Libera-Tory Coalition to repair and pay off Labour's bills. **The Labour Party, on its own, had massive Parliamentary majorities, so they could do whatever they wanted - and did. Even though the large majority of people voted against them each time. ...
Thomas Docherty has courted controversy since he was elected as Labour MP for Dunfermline and West Fife in 2010. He certainly has a novel approach to winning friends and influencing people. First of all, he had a go at certain of his fellow MPs whose attire, he felt was too casual for the Commons. Then he was a leading voice in the campaign to have a statue of Tony Blair at Westminster. During my four years working for Willie Rennie when he was Dunfermline's MP, I can safely say that neither of these issues were ever raised with him by ...
Today's Telegraph reports that despite strenuous efforts by the English Local Government Minister to freeze Council tax, 18 councils, including some in the Conservative heartlands, have rejected an offer of central government money that would allow them to deliver the policy. They say that official figures indicate that 199 local authorities, about half of all councils, have so far unveiled their proposed levels of council tax from April: Some 181 councils have agreed to freeze their levy but 18 have already warned they will increase the tax. They include Tory-controlled Surrey, Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and East Cambridgeshire. The Government has introduced ...
Lib Dem Voice has polled our members-only forum to discover what Lib Dem members think of various political issues, the Coalition, and the performance of key party figures. Some 570 party members responded, and we're publishing the full results. 59% of Lib Dem members back benefits cap at £26,000 or lower LDV asked: Under the Coalition government's proposal the cap on benefits will apply to the total sum of all benefits a household receives, including income support, jobseekers allowance, child benefit and housing benefit. The government is setting the maximum at £26,000, the average earnings of a British family after ...
A 93yr old friend is dying a horrible and painful death. It was the end of November when it became clear that he was approaching the end but he still was mentally sharp and neither he nor his family wished for anything more than events taking their course. Those wishes were respected. He did not have to risk friends, family, carers, being prosecuted and having to jump through an array of 'safeguard' hoops in order to receive the care he needs. He has so far voluntarily succumbed to just over two months of constant pain despite the wonderful efforts of ...
It may sound like a stupid question, but few campaigners know the value of this member of staff - or even that they exist... A researcher, as the name implies, is the person responsible for researching for an MP. What the name doesn't imply, however, is the sheer gravitas of this position within an MPs ...
I had hoped to do a blogpost this lunchtime but I've found myself (once again) without enough time to do so. So instead please go and read my article over on LibDemVoice and perhaps consider engaging in the debate in the comment thread underneath :)
Wed 8th
12:30
It's about time we recognised SOME male bishops for what they are - misogynistic, scared little men.
The Church is changing. A large number of people are finally realising that they don't follow the ultimate word of God - love for all. Love for all does not mean you have the right as a man to oppress women. That's it. Nothing to do with God. Or scriptures. Or Jesus. Men who want "traditional" male-only bishops are sexist. That's it. I'm not being shocking, or rude. That's as simple as it gets. The notion that sexist male bishops claim it's right to hold down women start with "Oh the bible says..." clearly forget the bible was written in ...
Wed 8th
12:18
You remember how smug I was when the Iowa GOP result changed. Let me tell you about Florida...
Just as with Iowa, where everyone moved on after the caucus and forgot that they hadn't actually counted the votes yet, everyone has moved on to the latest polls, and forgotten that Florida is not yet a done deal. While no one is disputing the result, the 'winner takes all' allocation of convention delegates does seem to be open to appeal as it directly contravenes GOP rules. So the share of votes in Florida could change quite fundamentally. After last nights amazing results for Santorum, if Florida changes - and this will be decided fairly quickly -then the race is ...
No campaign worth its salt gives up at the first knock back. I understand why Lord McNally answered the question regarding Alan Turing's pardon the way he did, but how can we tell other countries that they shouldn't have anti-gay ... Continue reading →
The wall on the Liberal Democrat Voice office has another postcard, this time from Dr Cristian Ghita, a visiting scholar at Edinburgh University who hails from Bucharest. Here he takes us behind the current headlines. On Monday, February 6th, The Romanian Prime Minister resigned, following nation-wide protests. The BBC reported that "In a statement, Mr Boc, 45, said that in a time of crisis, his centrist government had not taken part in a popularity contest but had acted to save the country." Wonderful statement, and one that would have befitted a Prime Minister leaving his office! A pity, therefore, that ...
I was catching up on my podcasts recently and I came across an interview with Robert Rogers, the new Clerk of the House of Commons, on Radio 4′s Westminster Hour. He has an interesting, possibly unique, perspective being very much a Commons insider, he is one of the chaps in grey wigs who sit in front of the Speaker when the House is in session, but also, by definition, being neutral and outside of the party political arena. In the interview he had insights into how the role of an MP has changed over the past thirty years, the nature ...
Meols Ward Lib Dem Councillors John Dodd, David Rimmer andNigel Ashton are holding their next monthly advice centre on Saturday 11th February,from 11 am to 12 noon at St John's Primary School, Rufford Road, Crossens. We will be there to meet you and discuss any Councilproblems you may have. No appointment necessary. Just pop in. We hold our advice centre every month (except August) on thesecond Saturday of the month at St John's School.
My regular column for the Prestwich Adverister Nowadays, in this part of the world at least, we are lucky enough to expect a longer life than our ancestors were able to. Life expectancy in the ward I represent, Holyrood Ward in Prestwich, is a pretty impressive 88 for women, 84 for men - almost the highest in Bury. Longer lives means more older people, in fact parts of Prestwich have MORE older people than anywhere else in Bury. You would think that this simple fact would mean local councils would change their services and priorities to that changing need. But ...
[IMG: Lib Dem manifesto cover] Over on the Facebook page for my monthly newsletter, I'm doing a daily posting of a Liberal Democrat achievement in government. Each day brings a new posting highlighting one policy from the 2010 general election manifesto which is now being implemented, along with a link through to further information. Do go visit and click "Like" if you would like to have the daily item pop up in your newsfeed on Facebook automatically.
Southwark Council have had a traffic counter installed on Camberwell Road near a bike shop. It been carefully installed to not count people cycling in the cycle lane. But not so carefully installed to allow all cyclists to cycle past safely – you can see the tubes are across the road surface and proud by several inches near the kerb and are a side way slip hazard just inside the cycle lane. Anyway else spotted such hazards? Irony is this has occurred the same week the council leader has committed Southwark to The Times cycle manifesto which includes recording cyclists ...
"The right place for a terrorist is in a prison cell. The right place for a foreign terrorist is in a foreign prison cell." However, in order for me to agree with this is to change the quote to: "The right place for a CONVICTED terrorist is in a prison cell. The right place for a CONVICTED foreign terrorist is in a foreign prison cell." Her quote was relating to the Abu Qatada case. There seems to be no doubt that he is part of al-Qaeda and he is wanted world wide. However the UK doesn't do detention without trial, ...
The Voice is only a success because of the interest and support from our readers. For many people just lurking and reading the site is all they want to do – and that's fine, we're grateful for people taking the time to read the site. You can though help us continue to produce interesting content for a growing audience. Here are four simple ways: 1. Let us have your tips for stories. Perhaps there's something outrageous going on in your local council? Or you're an expert in a particular area and have spotted a story other people have missed? Or ...
South Glos is carrying out a Community Governance Review, also known as a Parish Review. This is a legal process where the Council consults electors and other interested parties on the most suitable ways of representing local communities. It is an opportunity to review parish boundaries and the electoral arrangements within parishes and to consider whether Parish Councils should be created in the currently unparished areas. At this stage, they are asking for suggestions of which areas should be reviewed. The deadline is 12th March. You can find out more on the South Glos website.
Queen commemorates over 60 years on benefits Harsh but fair. (tags: funny ) 10 actors with roles in both Doctor Who and Star Trek - Den of Geek (tags: doctorwho ) The 25 Most Awkward Cat Sleeping Positions Dogs are cuter! (tags: funny ) How to: correctly report numbers in the news Useful fof bloggers as well as paid journos IMHO (tags: ) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
Referendum on Independence Now that we know that a referendum will definitely be held on Scottish independence, I am committed to working with the Scottish Government to ensure we have one that is fair, legal and decisive. A few weeks ago I launched a consultation to seek views on how we could achieve this and I want to encourage Borderers to take part to make their voices heard on this incredibly important issue. Following the launch of the consultation I have also met with the CBI, Scottish Engineering and others and I plan to meet with many other Scottish businesses, ...
(Thanks to Giancarlo Conti)
"I think, if you make a lot more money than most people - like I do - you should pay more tax and subsidise people who work just as hard as you, but don't earn as much."Daniel RadcliffeNow find a political party that's not afraid of a return to progressive taxation !(By the way, voting Labour won't do it).
Glaring inefficiencies in Cambridge County Council's Park and Ride contract are to be addressed thanks to the Liberal Democrats. The move will save money for the taxpayer and could see the sites used more widely as rural bus interchanges potentially providing better services for travellers. Lib Dems revealed a deal between the council's Tory administration and bus operator Stagecoach that cut departure charges for Park and Ride buses by 25 per cent for the duration of the contract in return for a freeze on ticket prices. But after the first year, Stagecoach continued to increase ticket prices above inflation while ...
I wrote a little while ago that "If I lived in Iran I'd possibly think that they needed nukes...", one of the main arguments for this was "Iran is basically encircled by either the US's allies, countries the US are currently occupying/have a strong military force, or nuclear armed countries." Yesterday, one of my friends posted the following picture on Facebook, if this is correct then I think it emphasises the point even more. So now remind me again - which country is the more aggressive toward the other? If you put someone in a corner, do you not expect ...
Early last year I briefly reported on the shocking comments about the alleged rape of a child made by one of its Glasgow councillors, William O'Rourke. The case has now finally worked its way through the system and he has been banned from holding public office: A Glasgow Labour councillor has been banned from holding office over alleged comments he made about a case involving the alleged rape of a nine year old. William O'Rourke, who represented the Greater Pollok ward, was suspended from the party last March after he allegedly suggested that the young victim may have been a ...
Stockport Council is encouraging interested parties to give their views on the proposed specification of green space maintenance. The Council is creating a new Public Realm Service which will commission a wide range of services including the maintenance of public green spaces. A draft contract document has been produced and the Council welcomes comments and suggestions from interested parties. The two week consultation starts on Monday 6th February. People can view and comment on the document at www.stockport.gov.uk/haveyoursay The document includes: • A framework outlining the relationship between the Council and Solutions SK (the service provider). • General and specific ...
Last week, I mentioned that, at the Community Spirit Action Group meeting, there was a presentation by the City Council's Chief Architectural Services Officer on the proposed capital investment on Blackness Library. As I indicated, what is proposed will provide proper disabled access to the meeting rooms on the first floor, which is to be welcomed. However, in my view it falls short of what is really required to create a proper community resource for the West End. In addition to the proposals, we really need to see provision of a base for community groups, upgrading of the library and ...
Decent song. A video best watched with the screen switched off.
As tomorrow is an in-service day at Dundee's schools, Blackness Primary School is not open so my ward surgery there cannot take place this week. I can, however, be contacted at any time on Dundee 459378 or by e-mail at esurgery@frasermacpherson.org.uk.
I have two policies with A Very Large Insurance Company. When I moved to Canada in '06 I sent them a notice of my change of address. They promptly changed the address on policy A but not policy B. A year or so later, I discovered this and wrote again. By this time they'd put ...
