Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick, GLA list candidate Shas Sheehan and I joined Paul Burstow MP, leading Sutton councillors and of course the Worcester Park by-election candidate Roger Roberts this evening for a final eve-of-poll push in that pleasant part of suburban South West London. The Liberals Democrats seem to have been running Sutton for ever, ...
Russian authorities in Siberia have banned a demonstration by toys, arguing that toys are not citizens and therefore have no right to demonstrate. Interesting that the real citizens are so scared to demonstrate that they have to use their toys as avatars.
Continuing a recent theme of this blog, tomorrow's Guardian reports: The Department of Health has apologised after documents sent to the Guardian showed that contrary to assurances given to parliament, more than 25 senior staff employed by the department are paid salaries direct to limited companies, with the likely effect of reducing their tax bills. In some cases, the documents show the named individuals are being paid more than £250,000 a year, as well as additional expenses. The department claimed the 25 were not civil servants, or technically even staff, although a large number have been employed by the department ...
The Serious Organised Crime Agency, having (apparently) solved and abolished all human trafficking, major gun crime, and industrial-scale money laundering, had some time on their hands. So, of course, they have started set about policing copyright infringement and taking down websites they suspected of distributing copyrighted music. The use of one of the most powerful ...
The Lib Dems have triumphed at the Dods Parliamentary Researcher of the Year Awards for the second year in a row. At last week's ceremony Tom Kiehl (pictured), who was nominated by Lord Shutt of Greetland, won Lib Dem researcher of the year and overall researcher of the year. Thanks to PoliticsHome for the info.
Mick Hume writes on Spiked: Greater Manchester Police (GMP) took the unprecedented step of impounding thousands of copies of a magazine on the street on Saturday morning. Was it hardcore porn? Did it contain bomb-making instructions? Hardly. It was a football fanzine on sale outside Old Trafford before the Manchester United / Liverpool game. A chief superintendent in the GMP decided that a satirical joke image on the back cover was 'potentially offensive'. Because of that, police impounded every copy they could find and warned that anybody caught selling the magazine or 'provocatively displaying the image in public' would be ...
Thinking Liberal considers the battle of ideas within the Liberal Democrats. "While many in the Tory party despise some of the positions Cameron has taken such as bashing the bankers, this isn't because of an influence by Mr Clegg but because that is what they think the voters want. The Daily Telegraph quotes one Tory Cabinet member who said: "David would be doing all this even if Nick Clegg wasn't. Differentiation is a sign of weakness. By embracing the Lib Dems, we place ourselves where the public is. And that is where we stand our best chance of winning in ...
I've had a bit of a technology detox over the last four days. No electricity, internet connection, laptop, mobile or even flushing loo. I was twenty foot up in the trees, in a tree house supported by eight Scots Pines, in the middle of Welsh Wales. ....All good fun... It's amazing how quickly the old fire maintenance instincts kick in again... [IMG: Post to Twitter] Tweet This Post
Lewisham council has recently conducted a residents' consultation in the south Kirkdale area about introducing a 20mph zone to assist traffic calming. The council report that they issued 693 questionnaires and received 100 replies, a response rate of 14%. Only 62 respondents were in favour of the proposed traffic calming measures. The highways team conclude: ...
Wed 15th
20:10
Sometimes, the best thing government can do is back off. (Or 'Putting an end to the dependency cultu...
By nature I'm an optimist. But sometimes, usually when reading The Guardian, I become depressed by the sight of intelligent people indulging in some form of middle-class dependency culture. Here's an example I came across today. It's an article by Paul Layzell, principal of Royal Holloway, University of London. Its title is pretty self-explanatory: 'Higher education needs clearer directions from the government' Yes, you read that aright. And the title is a fair reflection of what follows: As we approach the second anniversary of the current government, the time has come for real leadership to be shown by ministers. They ...
I see that senior Kent Conservative KCC Leader Cllr Paul Carter still continues to object to an inquiry into how Kent council left 2600 children at serious risk of harm. This weeks Thanet Times reports on how Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Trudy Dean is calling for an independent inquiry into the matter. My own personal view is this, Kent council endangered the lives of our most vulnerable, namely our children, and since Ofsted reported on the inadequate child services, Kent council have now spent millions on rectifying the situation, at no point has the Conservative administration offered any explaination of ...
Once again, I have been passed over. But congratulations to Professor Muffy Calder from the University of Glasgow. She has just been appointed as the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland.
Lib Dems on Suffolk County Council have been thwarted in their attempts to reverse cuts in education and public transport. At the budget meeting on Feb 9th the Lib Dem group proposed the following amendment to the Conservative budget: Re-instate Bury Road Park & Ride Re-introduce the eXplore Card with a £25 admin fee Allow those concessionary bus pass holders eligible due to disability to travel around the clock Re-instate the bus routes cut last year - including evening and weekend services Provide greater level of funding to the learning improvement service to allow for greater support to schools to ...
Suffolk County Council intends to place a temporary 7.5 tonne structural weight restriction on Sproughton Bridge, Lower Street, Sproughton A recent structural review has led to a prohibition of vehicles exceeding 7.5 tonnes maximum gross weight over the bridge for reasons of safety. This will remain in place until the bridge can be fully strengthened or reconstructed. Map, including alternative route is here: Spr bridge restriction
I have just a pleasant and instructive hour at Blackburne House with our Deputy Leader Simon Hughes MP and Claire Dove OBE. I never fail to be inspired by what goes on there and if the place didn't uplift then ... Continue reading →
North West England MEP Chris Davies is calling for Euro-MPs to face an expenses freeze until 2014. The Liberal Democrat wants the European Parliament to reject an inflation-linked increase in its administration costs, and says that MEPs should accept cuts ... Continue reading →
Why on earth would a political website carry a review of a book about amateur rugby? Well, in pitching my review of 'My Life as a Hooker' to the editors I make two points. The first is that the author - Steven Gauge - is a seasoned Liberal Democrat campaigner. The second is that the book itself contains lessons that reach far beyond the gates of Warlingham Rugby Club car park. I doubt the book will ever replace Milton's Areopagitica as the enduring symbol of Liberal values. But its underlying philosophy of self-help, communal activity, tolerance, respect and beer make ...
Kent Trading Standards received an enquiry from a consumer regarding a letter received from the Home Office asking the consumer to take part in the 2011/2012 British Crime Survey along with a book of first class stamps. A representative from the Home Office contacted the consumer and arranged a home visit to complete the survey. Having seen recent Trading Standards alerts regarding surveys the consumer became concerned and contacted us to ask if this was genuine. After speaking to the Home Office Kent Trading Standards can confirm that on this occasion the letter was genuine, the book of stamps are ...
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) is warning consumers about an email allegedly from National Statistician Jill Matheson entitled "Population Census: A Message to Everyone - Act Now" This email demands individuals provide further personal information, supposedly for the Census and threatens fines for non-compliance. This is a scam and hoax email, it has no connection with the national statistician or ONS. The ONS believes the email may download malware on to your PC if you click onto the link within the email, which could put financial/personal information at risk. ONS takes the protection of personal census information extremely seriously. ...
By Matthew Hancock and Nadhim Zahawi, (London, Biteback Publishing, 2011, 271 pages) ISBN: 978-1-84954-143-5 When in 2007 the world suffered the biggest ever crash of the financial markets, economic rules were abandoned and traditional knowledge of recessions were rendered useless, governments and states struggled to deal with the unfolding situation, and both failed to understand the underlying causes. Now in 2011, two Conservative Party MPs Nadhim Zahawi and Matthew Hancock have sought to write about the crash and the human psychology behind it, in their book Masters of Nothing: How the Crash Will Happen Again unless we Understand Human Nature. ...
The Stockport Express is reporting that workmen found human remains under the M60 J3 motorway bridge in Cheadle and police are investigating. No news yet on how recent – or ancient – the remains might be, beyond the find being "bones from a human skeleton". The police also don't yet know whether the bones are of a man, woman or child, nor do they have any idea how they might have come to be there. The slip road has been shortened (not entirely sure what this means – will see tomorrow morning, I guess) and we should expect a police ...
The launch of two new policy focused groups within the Lib Dems in the last couple of weeks has drawn a bit of comment in the party. But the striking thing to me is what all this says about how the party has evolved since it was formed by a merger between the Liberal Party and the SDP. The first new group, and the one that has drawn most comment, is the Liberal Left. This group's raison d'etre is opposition to the coalition with the Tories, now or ever. It is social democratic in policy instinct, and sceptical of economic ...
Good news for Honor Oak Park: the planning inspector has turned down Domino pizza's appeal against Lewisham Council's refusal of permission to convert the Old Bank restaurant on Honor Oak Park into a pizza outlet.
Phil Bennion has been officially confirmed as the new Lib Dem MEP for the West Midlands region at the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg this week. The Staffordshire farmer and economic policy expert takes over from Liz Lynne who stood down from Parliament earlier in February after more than 12 years due to the extensive travelling required in the job. He was elected to second place on the Lib Dem list of candidates at the last European elections in 2009. Phillip Bennion said of his new role, I am determined to fight for the vital interests of the whole ...
Been experimenting against with Pinterest today, the social network that is generating lots of buzz as the next big thing. One board I've created is for Liberal Democrat books, which you can take a look at here: http://pinterest.com/markpack/liberal-democrat-books/ As you can see, Pinterest does a nice job of presenting visually interesting information in a way that is easy to browse. How much of a demand there will be for such eye-candy social networking I'm not sure, but visual appeal has been a large part of Apple's success and isn't to be sniffed at. It certainly looks much nicer than aggregation ...
Cambridgeshire has one of the lowest records in the country for helping pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve their full potential. The county comes 12th from the bottom in league tables for achieving five A* to C grades in GCSEs including English and Maths; only 25 per cent of the pupils on free school meals achieve these targets. In a bid to close the national performance gap, Liberal Democrat Children's Minister has allocated an extra £600 per Free School Meals child, the Pupil Premium. With this money schools will be able to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds by providing extra one-to-one ...
Cambridgeshire County Council's long running dispute over the guided bus project looks set to drag on for another three years costing £9.5 million in interest.* A resolution of the case with contractor BAM Nuttall was expected to take place in 2013-14 but has now been pushed back to 2014-15. The Conservative administration expects by this time to have won 100 per cent of the court case and received a full settlement - including the cost of these interest payments plus an additional charge on top - from BAM Nuttall. But the delay means that the total cost of interest payments ...
Cambridgeshire has one of the lowest records in the country for helping pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve their full potential. The county comes 12th from the bottom in league tables for achieving five A* to C grades in GCSEs including English and Maths; only 25 per cent of the pupils on free school meals achieve these targets. In a bid to close the national performance gap, Liberal Democrat Children's Minister has allocated an extra £600 per Free School Meals child, the Pupil Premium. With this money schools will be able to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds by providing extra one-to-one ...
Ever since my unsuccessful council by-election campaign in November I've had a burning desire to ask more positive questions of the electorate in the run-up to my next council election in May. What kind of volunteering might you be interested in getting involved in? What kind of skills do you have that you might like to pass on to others in the community? What interests and hobbies might you like to share with your neighbours? I had notions of gathering this data together and then signposting voters to voluntary groups or suggesting they get together with others who share their ...
Those few of us who care about US sports will know a few stories inside and out. Jackie Robinson breaking the colour barrier in 1947 to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers is without a shadow of a doubt the most important. We all agree on that but other stories are told. For me the depths that Josh Hamilton plummeted with all the natural ability in the world but unable to deal with alcohol and drug issues and the comeback and that night in Yankee Stadium is one I read a lot about. The ongoing struggle as he continues to face ...
There are many who see the NHS as a shining example for the rest of the world. It is free at the point of access, a phrase that tells you that nothing is free but at least the recipient doesn't pay. However many decisions seem to be based on finance rather than patient care. My grandmother told me how the local community collected money to build a local hospital. Shortly after the hospital opened it was taken over by the NHS and years later it was closed because it wasn't efficient (she didn't get her money back). Hospitals need to ...
This: The racially-charged Super Bowl commercial put out by former Rep. Pete Hoekstra featuring an Asian actress speaking broken English has backfired and hurt the Michigan Republican's campaign for U.S. Senate, according to a new poll on Tuesday. ... In July, Hoekstra's favorability rating was 31 percent favorable, compared to 30 percent unfavorable (+1). It now stands at 28 percent favorable and 38 percent unfavorable (-10). While it is generally not unfair to suggest that electorates have been making increasingly poor choices for the last 40 odd years, it is nevertheless clear that no-one thinks less of voters than politicians. ...
Wed 15th
14:23
Lord Tyler writes... Only the Government's Bill can take the hereditary principle out of Parliament
There has for some years been a conceit in the House of Lords that the place could gain stature and authority simply by doing a bit of tidying up at the edges, and by ending the hereditary principle. There has been a further conceit that this work can be done without controversy or delay. Our own David Steel has been a doughty proponent of this approach, as a logical precursor to more comprehensive reform. Last Friday, he gave Peers their best opportunity ever to prove that it could work. Yet the Lords showed itself resistant even to the modest changes ...
Cornwall Council's cabinet today approved their budget proposal which will be voted on by the full council next Tuesday. They also approved a new housing investment strategy which is a tiny step in the right direction for Cornwall but has already been condemned by some as too little, too late. The budget itself is largely the same as was agreed by the council back in November. Two significant changes, however, are: the new duty to provide free childcare for two year olds in lower income families - the cost of about £1.8 million will be met by a government grant. ...
The historic Parish Church of St George in the heart of Belfast city centre is blending the ancient and the modern in a series of services during the penitential period of Lent, beginning on 26 February.
At Tuesday's Area Committee, it was reported that incidents of fly-tipping have fallen. Across Cheadle, Gatley, Heald Green and the northern part of Cheadle Hulme there were 7 incidents over the last month, compared to 14 last November. This looks like good news. After the new recycling measures were introduced in Stockport last year, there was some concern that it might result in increased fly-tipping and more rubbish being taken to our recycling centres. We've been monitoring this closely as the new system (which has so far saved Stockport over £5 million) bedded in. After an initial drop, the recycling ...
My good pal Gareth Epps asked the question last week...........so I thought I would answer it for him. We are at a hugely important juncture as a party - nearly two years in - with little prospect of the Coalition not continuing until 2015 and what appears to be the start of the leadership's "differentiation" campaign. Nick Clegg and his aides are spinning the line more and more that we are a "centrist" party - a clear desire to move us from the centre left position we have erstwhile held and which has served us well in the past given ...
You always take a bit of a sharp intake of breath if you see one of your lot mentioned in Private Eye. However, this time, our Jo Swinson is the hero of the story. The current issue drew my attention to her most recent victory over cosmetics giant L'Oreal although the article isn't available online. The Advertising Standards Authority recently banned another advert from the company, the third complained about by Jo. It featured actress Rachel Weisz and the ASA concluded that:Although we considered that the image in the ad did not misrepresent the luminosity or wrinkling of Rachel Weisz's ...
The Lib Dem scheme to have people on Community Payback regularly visiting key locations around Cheadle and Gatley continues to work well. We worked with the Council, the Probation Service and local residents to identify places where people on Community Payback could visit not just once but on a regular basis a few times a year, to clear rubbish and vegetation. Among the locations cleared recently are: The footpath section of Ashfield Road, past the library Work done on the fields at the end of Ashfield Road, by Whitegates Road The underpass at Kingsway, linking Broadway to Foxland Road. More ...
Being accused of being prejudiced is something that most of us would be immensely insulted over. However if we are being honest with ourselves we would realise that we are all prejudiced to some level. Take me for example. I know that I am prejudiced against Southampton Football Club. They could do the exact same thing as Portsmouth Football Club but I would look at it differently no matter what logic says. I am prejudiced towards ginger-haired women. The most gorgeous girl I have ever seen was a brunette but overall I will always look at a ginger-haired woman differently. ...
You always take a bit of a sharp intake of breath if you see one of your lot mentioned in Private Eye. However, this time, our Jo Swinson is the hero of the story. The current issue drew my attention to her most recent victory over cosmetics giant L'Oreal although the article isn't available online. The Advertising Standards Authority recently banned another advert from the company, the third complained about by Jo. It featured actress Rachel Weisz and the ASA concluded that: Although we considered that the image in the ad did not misrepresent the luminosity or wrinkling of Rachel ...
Since the introduction of the extra wheelie bins about 15 months ago, Stockport residents have saved £5.2 million, with more to come. That's big money and, tough as the Council cuts are, they would be a lot worse if our recycling was only as good as Manchester or Tameside. How do we get those numbers? For every tonne of paper, card, glass, cans etc. that we recycle rather than sending to landfill, we save £186. For every tonne of green waste that we compost instead of sending to landfill, we save £107. With 280,000 people in Stockport, that works out ...
I've just discovered MinutePhysics on YouTube... any pretence of being productive today has just disappeared!
On my way home this evening, I came across a copy of the Evening Standard. Not particularly surprising, as my regular train is a commuter special out of Liverpool Street which just happens to run all the way to Norwich. Reading through the pages about the Mayoral contest, I noted a letter condemning Boris Johnson because a six stop journey on the Central line costs £3.10. The letter was signed by one Miranda Grell and, being an ex-Londoner, that name rang a bell. Ah yes, Miranda Grell, the woman found guilty of a breach of the Representation of The People ...
I was chuffed to see that my suggestion to Southwark Council to discourage people using its Tooley Street HQ offices side doors has been taken up. The side doors are used by most people working at Tooley Street and when used these huge double doors let all the heat out. They cause such a draft that the council has huge heated blowers installed just inside them. So far one sign on one of the doors encouraging everyone who can to use the adjacent revolving doors. Revolving doors keep significantly more heat in so saving on the heating bills, reducing energy ...
Boris Johnson believes that Britain will never create Facebook until we learn to praise success. Like everything in life, things aren't that simple. Malcolm Gladwell explains brilliantly in Outliers why Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and others could create such incredibly dynamic companies. Of course, praising success and having an open market help. But it wasn't just about that. It was about time and place. Walter Isaacson's excellent biography of Jobs shows why Apple, Google and Microsoft happened. The areas that Jobs and Gates grew up had lots of computer engineers. They worked for companies that were supplying the US military ...
A man, an eaten banana, a door, a piece of string and the leader of a political party. Each of them on their own are quite normal. Put them together however and you have still the most puzzling moment in a political video I've seen. Sure, there are the strange adverts, the bizarre adverts and the baffling adverts, but watch this film and wait for the moment 30 seconds or so in: * Mark Pack is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and writes a monthly newsletter about the Liberal Democrats.
This caught my eye in The Spectator; An allege liberal President is, some what, influenced by economic liberalism. And this, apparently, makes 'Obama the Lib Dem'. Pardon my scepticism, but is Obama advocating his own Protection of Freedom Bill? No, this is the 'liberal' President who signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which allows indefinite ...
Have posted about this before (Ueli Steck record speed ascent of the Eiger). There was more, and different, footage of the ascent on this weekend's edition of Ski Sunday - 33 mins in. BBC iPlayer - Ski Sunday 12/02
There is a lot of talk about the Lib Dem strategy and whether we have got it right. But equally important is the Tory strategy and how this impacts upon us. Here is the Tory strategy, which they call a 'blended strategy', which makes for interesting reading and has implications for a counter-strategy beyond differentiation ...
Inspector Steve Gilbertson gave us an update on crime around the area. The good news is that – for the most part – crime continues to fall. Metal thefts, shoplifting and theft of vehicle registration plates remains a concern. Business Watch in Cheadle and Gatley is proving successful, with businesses sharing more information on shoplifters. These figures compare the 10.5 months from April 2010 to February 2011 with the same period a year later – April 2011 to February 2012 (i.e. the year to date). Burglary Area April 2010 – Feb 2011 April 2011 – Feb 2012 Cheadle 68 56 ...
Here is a brief account of human history: For the vast majority of human history, the size of the economy was small compared to the size of the biosphere. But over the last hundred years or so, this balance has changed remarkably due to the increase in the number of people in the world and the growth in each person's consumption of goods and services. [...] Due to economic growth, humanity now uses eleven times as much energy, and eight times the weight of material resources every year as it did only a century ago. The global economy is now ...
Love and Liberty: Things To Remember About Labour #3 (tags: ) UK Polling Report dissects the UK religion poll (tags: ) What I've Learned About Smart People. (tags: ) When the bias of our blinders changes the Bible (tags: ) Frank Lloyd Wright's Long Lost Doghouse (tags: ) BBC News - Panorama - America's homeless resort to tent cities (tags: ) Amazon.com: Zombie in Love (9781442402706): Kelly DiPucchio, Scott Campbell: Books Heh. Holly would love this. (tags: zombies ) Round Two: Favorite Stories Starring Women | women write about comics Ongoing girly comics carnical is ongoing. This topic inspires me ...
It is a bit odd that the House of Lords have voted down a proposal that encourages unemployed people who are under occupying a council house or housing association property to downsize. There are lots of people living in overcrowded accommodation. At the same time there are people who have spare space. It is as if those Lords voting for the amendment are not concerned about
Local residents are leading an application to see Sandgate Escarpment registered as a Village Green. Registration would add further protection to access to the area which has been open for years for residents and visitors to enjoy, on the wooded hillside below Shornecliffe Barracks and rising above Military Road, Sandgate. Kent County Council has now published details of the application and is inviting representations. You can read the full notice on the Kent County Council website. I'm delighted that last night, Sandgate Parish Council unanimously supported a motion I proposed to back the application and will be writing in support ...
A belated updated to my list of Liberal Democrat MPs on Twitter with John Hemming, MP for Birmingham Yardley and on Twitter for a while now. He is @johnhemmingmp. You can follow all of the Liberal Democrat MPs, or all of the Lib Dem peers, via two lists I curate: Liberal Democrat MPs (36 currently) Liberal Democrat peers (10 currently)
Yesterday over a thousand people marched from the Edinburgh University down the Royal Mile to the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood to make the case for the law to be changed to equalise the marriage laws for same sex and heterosexual couples. There was a healthy delegation from Liberal Youth Scotland who, generously, didn't mind elderly hangers on walking with them. It's worth bearing in mind that those opposing marriage equality could only manage 200 people just before Christmas at their event. At Holyrood, in the shadow of Arthur's Seat, the crowd was addressed by Green MSP Patrick Harvie and SNP ...
Labour leader, Ed Miliband faces huge problems in establishing himself with the public as a potential Prime Minister. The irony of course is that having got himself into the job of leading his party due to union support, his attempts at improving his electability are alienating that very constituency. Yesterday's Independent underlines that point. They say that one of the biggest union affiliates to Labour is set to debate its future links with the party after an "unprecedented" number of branches raised concerns: The GMB said a quarter of motions to its annual conference in June related to the union's ...
Yesterday it was Sarah Teather. Today it is a song about David Laws. This is actually quite good, sounding both sad and rather beautiful. You can read more about the song and the band in an article on This is Somerset.
Cambridgeshire County Council's long running dispute over the guided bus project looks set to drag on for another three years costing £9.5 million in interest.* A resolution of the case with contractor BAM Nuttall was expected to take place in 2013-14 but has now been pushed back to 2014-15. The Conservative administration expects by this time to have won 100 per cent of the court case and received a full settlement - including the cost of these interest payments plus an additional charge on top - from BAM Nuttall. But the delay means that the total cost of interest payments ...
The Friends of Arbury Library will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 29th February, 7.00pm (in exactly two weeks time). It is due to be held at the Arbury Community Centre on the corner of Campkin and Arbury Roads. The aim of the meeting will be to discuss what the future may hold for Arbury Court Library and it's open to everyone, not just existing Friends members. Local County Councillor Andy Pellew said "Arbury Library is absolutely key to our local community and while the threat of imminent closure has passed the Conservative-controlled County Council is still making ...
Wed 15th
07:50EXCLUSIVE: What Lib Dem members say about the party's direction and Nick Clegg's leadership
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. 70% say Lib Dems on right course, highest figure since July 2010 LDV asked: Do you think, as a whole, the Liberal Democrats are on the right course or on the wrong track? (Comparison with December's figures.) 70% (+6%) – The right course 21% (-6%) – The wrong track 9% (n/c) – Don't know / No opinion There seems to be ...
Councillors have approved plans to enhance Gatley Green – full details of the proposals are here. The plans include blocking off the cut-through road. There has been some concern over the resurfacing of the road, and no decision has yet been made on what that will be. There are quite a few options and we'll be aiming to find the best one that fits the budget. The work will only go ahead if money is available. We think it will be, but it's possible that will change (for example if the other parties on Stockport Council change the Lib Dem ...
Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats made another bid to save £2.7 million of county bus subsidies today (Tuesday, January 31) as the Tories met to rubber stamp their plans and press ahead with their flawed replacement transport plan. They fought to reverse the decision after winning the first round of their battle which led to the Tories backing down and putting £1.5 million back into subsidised transport. And they spoke out vehemently against the plans again today during a Cambridgeshire County Council Cabinet meeting accusing the Tories of scrapping 100 per cent of bus subsidies without a viable alternative plan. Lib Dem ...
There is much with which I agree in the "Founding Position Statement" of the Liberal Left.Our current leaders have indeed "taken the party's policy position to the right." We did claim before the election that plans to reduce the public deficit in a single parliament "would remove growth from the economy and their impact would fall disproportionately on those least able to afford them , increasing the gap between the rich and the poor and further dividing the country," and this is indeed "exactly what has happened." And much more. However, I disagree with them on three important points. First, ...
Residents may have seen the poles go up for the new vehicle activated speed signs on Schools Hill – we're just waiting for the supplier to deliver them now, which we hope will be in the next few days. At Area Committee on Tuesday, Councillors approved the moving of the bus stop around 50 metres west, next to The Downs. The benefit is that, without losing any parking spaces, the visibility for cars coming out of The Downs will be improved. We can also confirm that "Rippleprint" surfacing will be located on the downhill stretch of Schools Hill off the ...
Download poster here.
I'll be taking a little break from regular blogging for the next few days. I will be posting the next Mindless Who post on Thursday, but otherwise things will be quiet here for a while (I'll do a linkblog most days though). This is not because I'll have stopped writing – rather the opposite. I ...
I don't really do birthdays and christmas, and I don't do other people's anniversaries. But there are a couple of dates that are quite important to me. There's the date in early June when [IMG: [personal profile] ] magister and I first met, which is almost exactly coincident with the date four years later when we first had a "date", given that both happened at the FFW. Then there's the date in early October this year when we all moved in together to our lovely new house. Today, though? 15th of February? That's the anniversary of me first meeting [IMG: ...
When the Budget of St Albans City & District Council is discussed at the next Council meeting on Thursday 23rd February, the Liberal Democrat group will push for a freeze in council house rents, instead of the Conservatives' proposed 8.3% increase. The previous rules governing the amount that the Council can charge council tenants, which applied until recently, meant that the Council would have been penalised for variation from the formula set by Whitehall. These rules have been changed by the Coalition to allow greater local flexibility. While the Conservative administration at the District Council is content to accept the ...
