http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIKvTjgjTyQ
Cornwall Council has agreed to set up a review of the way it governs itself. In common with most larger councils, we follow the 'leader and cabinet' model in that we elect a leader to serve for the full four years of the council and give him or her the power to choose their cabinet. It is the cabinet which makes the key decisions with all other councillors restricted to quasi-judicial functions such as planning and licensing, to scrutinising decisions already taken and to voting on the budget once per year. Many councillors have suggested that this concentration of power ...
From the Guardian: Liberal Democrat activists have submitted an emergency motion on NHS reforms to their spring conference in a last-ditch effort to persuade the party leadership to oppose the bill. The motion calls for the entire section of the bill extending competition in the health service to be scrapped - as a minimum. The group is trying to row behind the Liberal Democrat peer Lady Williams, who has called for part three of the bill - devoted to extending competition - to be ditched. But some of the activists believe the bill is beyond repair and should be dropped ...
This weekend the papers were full of tales that Didier Drogba had stopped his Chelsea team mates in the tunnel before the start of the second half at Goodison Park last Saturday and gave his own team talk. Chelsea legend has it that Terry Venables would do this regularly in the 1960s. So much so that Tommy Docherty grew tired of having his orders countermanded and sold Venables to Spurs, buying my boyhood hero Charlie Cooke to be the team's playmaker in his place. This video of an FA Cup quarter final replay from 1966 shows Venables still at Stamford ...
Some time ago Liverpool City Council set up a Fairness Commission. This followed a considerable amount of pushing from a few councillors, self included, for a Poverty Commission to look at key issues across the City in a way that the Council on its own couldn't. The Commission got set up and has been having meetings and collecting in information. It also asked for comments from people or organisations. Today I had a look through the comments that had come in so far. My first reaction was that there were hardly any of them! This may well be to do ...
One of the core campaigns for the Lib Dems back in 2010 was the need to lift poorer people out of tax altogether. In the Co alition Government we've made a start on this and the tax threshold has gone up. The stated aim is for the threshold to get to £10,000. We believe this threshold needs to be got to quickly rather than more gradually so we've launched a petition to help our campaigners and Parliamentarians put pressure on the Chancellor. If you agree that the poorest of working people should be taken out of tax, do please sign. ...
RBS seems unlikely to be in a fit state to sell off any time soon. The very least the Treasury should do is investigate whether it might be more profitable, or more beneficial, if it was broken up to create the regional banking infrastructure the UK economy so badly needs:
Richard and I are off to meet managers from Liverpool Mutual Homes tomorrow to discuss issues affecting people in our area. Thanks to those who have been in touch with me to suggest items to raise.
Last week, Simon Hughes MP, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats joined us for some doorknocking in L19. As you can see from the picture it was a tad on the windy side! We got a warm welcome from people in Cressington Heath though.
Geoffrey Pearson's hugely influential Hooligan: A History of Respectable Fears was first published in 1983. It argued that concern about unruly youth was nothing new and was, perhaps wrongly, seen as arguing that unruly youth was nothing to be concerned about. Early on, Pearson showed how, in Coronation year, Teddy Boys had been treated as they personification as all that way wrong with British youngsters of the early 1950s. By the time of the Silver Jubilee of 1977, they had become part of the pageantry of our history. He quotes a local paper: Bradford Teddy Boys turned the clock back ...
Big Brother Watch has published a new report that shows local authorities have spent £515m on their CCTV operations in the past four years: There are now at least 51,600 CCTV cameras controlled by local authorities, with five councils now operating more than 1,000 cameras. In comparison, £515m would put an extra 4,121 police constables on the streets - the equivalent of Northumbria police's entire force.You can download The Price of Privacy from the pressure group's website. This is report is of particular interest to citizens of Leicester, as it reveals that their city has become what the Leicester Mercury ...
Louise Phillips, a former Lib Dem staffer, asks this question in the UK version of The Huffington Post. There have been a lot of sacrifices from the Liberal Democrats in the past two years. Tuition fees (obviously); mansion tax; free schools. But, and this is the argument I make in the pub whenever someone finds out I used to work for the party, the Tories are giving up more. They have sacrificed long held beliefs on taxation to allow the Lib Dems to raise the tax threshold to £10,000, putting money back into the pocket of most working people in ...
Before I start, I should apologise Several times a year I, with Stuart, put together the 'Focus' newsletter to keep you up to date on what we're doing. When the Football club decided to consult on whether they could move to Eastrop, in true Lib Dem style, I sent out a resident's survey. Calling it 'Football Focus' was automatic, if a little predictable. Here's a summary of the clubs
In fact, this is a piece about amusing titles. I chuckled at Lord Bonkers' Diary's title: Lord Bonkers' Diary: Fanny Craddock and the Great Train Robbery ...But I am one of that dwindling band of people who remember dear Fanny and her hubby Johnny – who was a sort of pre-Denis Thatcher. And then I saw that title at least equalled, if not trumped, by this one on Political Wire, a US website by Taegan Goddard which is so engrained in my daily routine that I want it somehow represented (possibly on an outsized iPad) at my funeral: Santorum Good ...
I always like to do the most minimal research for these things. John Maynard Keynes' ashes were scattered over the South Downs. Otherwise the title of this piece would have been: Hark! Is that the sound of John Maynard Keynes rotating in his grave? I refer, of course, to Greece. The Greek problem will go on and on and on until someone realises that to encourage growth you have to spend public money on public works. Build dams, roads, railways, leisure facilities, hospitals, schools, get people to paint stones white, dig up ditches and fill them in again – anything. ...
About six weeks ago my old hard drive started playing up badly, so I bought a new Western Digital one from Curry's/PC World. It took nearly a month to copy all the data across – so much of it was damaged and I had to run ddrescue on a lot of files. And then, yesterday, ...
In November I blogged about the case of the Revd Mark Sharpe, who was seeking to sue the Church of England for constructive dismissal after, he claimed, being driven from his post as rector of Teme Valley South by a campaign of intimidation. The Shropshire Star said he had compared his former village parishioners to characters from the television comedy The League Of Gentlemen. Today the Star reports that a judge has ruled that Sharpe cannot bring his case "because he is effectively employed by God".
Today Cornwall Council set its budget for the coming financial year. The central plank of the proposal is a Liberal Democrat one - to accept the government grant which means a freeze in council tax. The Conservative-led administration has also accepted Lib Dem demands on saving local bus services and protecting public toilets from closure - both of which are very good news. Astoundingly, the Leader of the Council made the claim that there had been no cuts to either leisure or library services in Cornwall last year or this. I challenged him on this, pointing out the cut to ...
More than a million young people, aged 16 to 24, are unemployed. That does not include students. Every single person included in that number is not in employment, not in education, and not in training either – the so-called NEETs. That is a shocking figure, and as well as having a profound impact on the lives of each of those young people, it also affects the rest of us. As Nick Clegg says, "Sitting at home with nothing to do when you're so young can knock the stuffing out of you for years. It is a tragedy for the young ...
Readers may be interested in the following 1975 extract from the journal of Derwentside District Council. Derwentside Journal from 1975 THE Council has been notified that the National Coal Board has made application to the Secretary of State for Energy to extract coal by open-cast working on about 240 acres of land to the east and south-east of Medomsley. It is understood that about 350,000 tons of good quality coal and 180,000 tons of fire-clay will be extracted and that the scheme will last some three years followed by a longer period of restoration. Vehicular access to this site would ...
Now, when I say "sneak preview", I mean, of course, as long as you don't know any Liberal Democrats on Facebook or Twitter else you will have seen this eleventy zillion times already. It's a preview of the forthcoming Lib Dem Party Political Broadcast to be broadcast tomorrow night. Party President Tim Farron sent out an e-mail to all Liberal Democrat members with it in too - and a very well constructed e-mail it was too; it was short, minimalist, to the point with a link to the petition calling for Lib Dem tax cuts to be fast-tracked and a ...
I was pleased that the prosecution withdrew the attempt to prosecute the three students who put a banner on the bridge between the Hyatt and the ICC during the Lib Dem Conference.I presume that the people who put the following banner on a bridge also won't be prosecuted.I was on the way back to Birmingham to give evidence for the defence, but was told on the way that the case had collapsed so I
You may have noticed that next to some people's comments is a small picture of themselves, such as: If you want a picture to appear next to your comments you need to do two things. Visit Gravatar.com, create an account and upload a picture. Post a comment, ensuring the email address that you've used on Gravatar is the same as the one you've used when posting your comment. Feel free to post test comments below.
Norwich South MP Simon Wright has asked the Minister of Care Services what the Government is doing to help identify and support carers in Norwich. The question Simon Wright put to Minister Paul Burstow today follows a meeting between Mr Wright and staff from Norwich & District Carers forum about boosting the identification of carers in the county. Commenting, Simon Wright said "Identifying and supporting carers of all ages is critical. The sacrifices they make to care for a friend or loved one is staggering, often giving up employment or retiring early. We need to recognise carers early so we ...
Broadcasters are taking mixed approach to Paddy Power's Transphobic ad, which is currently under referral by the Advertising Standard Authority. Read more about the current state of play on LGBT+ Lib Dems Northern Ireland.
There were four principal local council by-elections held on Thursday 16th February. The Lib Dems lost one seat to the Tories and held one seat. Labour and the Tories held one seat each. There was seven parish or town council by-elections results reported to ALDC six Independents and a Liberal Democrat were elected. [IMG: Roger Roberts the victor in Worcester Park] For those outside the metropolis London Liberal Democrats are building a great team spirit. One by-election at a time "Team London" are building towards the GLA and Mayoral Elections in May. The Worcester Park Ward by-election defence in the ...
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The News of the World is dead, long live the Sun on Sunday... starting from this Sunday. Here's how two Lib Dems have responded to the announcement by News International... Evan Harris: I'll buy SoS 'to see what it's like' (Available on the BBC website here.) John Pugh: Liverpool won't buy the Sun on Sunday (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.
1. Introduction 2. The Three Refuges 3. The Four Noble Truths The Eightfold Path: 4. Right Understanding 5. Right Intent 6. Right Speech 7. Right Livelihood 8. Right Effort Something terrible has happened! [IMG: My beaded Buddhism Practice bracelet - broken!] It's the wire - it just managed to snap one day in class, spilling beads onto the floor of one of the halls in the AMNH. I managed to retrieve all of them except one garnet bead - the opening bead on the bracelet, and its absence makes me sad. I have beads from other broken jewellery, though, and ...
Tue 21st
14:50
Tim Farron gives party members a sneak preview of tomorrow's Party Political Broadcast
Party President Tim Farron has emailed Lib Dem members with an exclusive preview of tomorrow night's Party Political Broadcast, with a reminder to sign the petition to fast track the Lib Dem £10,000 income tax threshold policy: The Liberal Democrats want to give tax cuts to millions not millionaires – to put more money back in your pockets and take the poorest workers out of tax completely. Tomorrow night you'll have the chance to see a party political broadcast about our plans to do this. In the meantime you can do two things: Watch an exclusive preview of the broadcast: ...
The Western Mail reports that Wales' First Minister Carwyn Jones has been pressing the UK Government to give the Assembly new powers over renewable energy projects. However, the Welsh Labour Government is limiting its ambition to having control over projects up to 100mw only, as opposed to the current 50mw and so far, has not set out any framework as to how applications for energy projects will be approved. Their stance lacks ambition whilst their failure to address the way that any further devolution will be delivered means that they are unlikely to have a very sympathetic hearing. As it ...
Residents and Liberal Democrat activists will take to the streets this Saturday (25 February) to continue their campaign against Redcar Labour's unnecessary 3.5% Council Tax rise. The rise, which will come into effect this year, is happening despite the government offering the Council £1.42 million to freeze the tax. The Leader of the Council has refused to meet with a cross party group of councillors to discuss the budget and seems intent on pushing through the proposals despite the extra strain this will put on local people. The activists will be joined by Andrew Allison, the grassroots co-ordinator of the ...
As of this morning, the speed signs are up and working on Schools Hill – they flash when a vehicle approaches too fast, but not when it's within the speed limit. Keith and Iain went to take a look, and both signs seem to be working correctly. We're very glad the signs have gone in, and now look forward to the rumble-strip style ripple paint, the bus stop move 50 metres to The Downs and, if we win our campaign, the puffin crossing.
Up until last August, Alex Salmond had met senior figures in Rupert Murdoch's now toxic empire some 25 times. His power schmoozing clearly had an effect. In 2007, Ian McWhirter rightly had a right go at the Sun for its Holyrood polling day front page of a noose and the words "Vote SNP today and you put Scotland's head in the noose". A charming bunch, they are, down at Wapping. In 2011, the delighted chuckles of SNP activists as the Sun endorsed Alex Salmond as first minister (although not independence) could be heard for miles around. And now Eck seems ...
In amongst the furore about the NHS Bill – of which more soon – there is increased scrutiny of Conservative Parliamentarians who stand to potentially profit from increased private sector involvement of the NHS. One of these is the hapless Reading East MP who has registered shares in Vital Interest, a private screening company. This information is not new, but it is now relevant. There are many more – including, it should be said, numerous Tory and plenty of Labour politicians, but hardly any Lib Dems. Shouldn't they all be declaring their interests and staying out of the votes? And ...
From time to time, it's instructive to look at some of the raw data behind polling. Sometimes this is to expose flawed methodology or leading questions, but in this instance it's because I don't want to support the Murdoch Paywall of Death, or give his racket any money, and the poll in question was done for one of his rags. As it was put to me, according to a YouGov poll (fieldwork 9-10 February) for the Sunday edition of a Murdoch rag, only 6 per cent – fewer than one in sixteen – of those who voted Liberal Democrat in ...
Tue 21st
13:12Andrew Stunell MP writes... "Creating the Conditions" - the Coalition's Approach to Integration
Today I was delighted to launch the long awaited Integration Strategy "Creating the Conditions" - the Coalition's blueprint for improving community cohesion and developing neighbourhoods and communities across the country. Last summer's riots gave a severe jolt to any thought that social alienation was a thing of the past. Couple that with the tide of marches and demonstrations by the far-right English Defence League and it is clear there are still enduring problems of cohesion and integration in communities up and down the land. If we fail to tackle those problems we not only face more flash points, we will ...
Chorlton Liberal Democrat MP John Leech, is today introducing a Road Safety Bill in Parliament under the ten minute rule. The Bill, entitled Road Safety No.3, aims to improve road safety by tackling four main areas; drink driving, compulsory eye testing, child safety and changing a vehicle's odometer, or "car clocking". John came up with the bill following consultations with local residents. Commenting on the bill, John said: "This Bill would save lives and cut accidents on our roads. I hope the Government takes on board some of my suggestions." adding that "The billl hopes to inroduce legislation that will ...
May 2011 wasn't the best month to be a Liberal Democrat. It was even worse if you were a Liberal Democrat Councillor that month. Plenty of good people up and down the country lost their seats on the back of a national backlash against the party for firstly daring to go into a coalition with the Tories and not winning the election outright but secondly and more importantly for the very public back down on student fees. A lot of these good men and women have been left dangling by the national party. What do the party have planned for ...
Tim Farron's just sent this around. And isn't it great that the members get to see this stuff first. Hats off @helenduffett!!
As if by magic... having highlighted some weaknessees in the recent Simon Hughes email and today's Nick Clegg film, the latest Tim Farron email in my inbox was great to read as its wording and design tackles the sorts of issues I raised. It is short, clear and designed around getting people to take simple, quick but effective actions. It even adds a little bit of glitter but promising a "sneak preview". Good work Tim and co. Here's the email: Subject: Sneak Peak Dear Mark, The Liberal Democrats want to give tax cuts to millions not millionaires – to put ...
In the UK, we are nearing 2 years in of the first proper coalition seen in over a generations. I will not argue here about the merits of specific policies, or how the coalition is managed (or not!) and will also ignore issues like tactical voting; I will assess the need for this type of government to not only continue, but to expand. For too long, we have been left with the option of 1 side or the other, the red or blue team. The US still has such an issue, and we see both the Democrats and Republicans fight ...
Tue 21st
12:27
Booking form for South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group Open Workshops on 7 March 2012
Booking form for South Kent Coast Clinical Commissioning Group open workshops on Wednesday 7 March 2012 on health commissioning plans for Dover and Shepway. Views and comments on the proposals are being sought. Workshops are in Dover and Hythe, and members of the public welcomed - pleae complete and return the form. Published and promoted by Tim Prater, 98a Sandgate High Street, Folkestone, CT20 3BYPrinted (hosted) by Prater Raines Ltd, 98 Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY
I usually don't post party propaganda, but this is probably one of the most coherent and worthwhile political broadcast in a long time. Plus, I like anything that involves tax cuts. However, I advocate a threshold of £15,000 for Income Tax because the median salary should be taken out of tax completely – not just ...
On 11 March we will debate at our Spring Conference in Gateshead an innocuous- sounding motion about Civil Liberties, but it needs to be looked at carefully to see if it is not more about letting people take liberties, than protecting our right to protest. I know the Liberal Democrats do not support anarchy and mob rule, but you could be forgiven for thinking they do if you just read the motion, to be moved by Dr Julian Huppert, the MP for Cambridge and summed up by Tom Brake MP for Carshalton and Wallington. I cannot see why the offence ...
As my regular blog readers will know, today is the day that I present my 10 minute rule bill on road safety. Once again, a big thank you to local people who gave me some great ideas. The bill aims ... Continue reading →
Organisers of Diamond Jubilee street parties in Kent are being supported by Kent County Council with a "free and easy" application process for road closures for quiet residential streets and cul-de-sacs. Organisers only have to complete a simple online form. There is no charge for processing applications, or for road closure signs that Kent County Council will provide. This means parties in quiet residential roads and cul-de-sacs can be held for free. Party organisers can apply for a road closure over any day during the extended four day holiday from Saturday 2 - Tuesday 5 June. The deadline for street ...
Nick Clegg on the Liberal Democrat approach to taxes (notice the references both to the "super rich" and also to what is being done, not just what is being wished for): It is a good short film, though it is a bit of a missed opportunity not to follow-up on the Simon Hughes email, such as by having the closing caption urging people to go sign the petition. For more about what the Liberal Democrats are achieving in government, see my daily posting over on Facebook.
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A Parliamentary Early Day Motion – the MPs method of saying "down with this sort of thing" – has been started. It was proposed by Caroline Lucas (Green) and seconded by Julian Huppert (Liberal Democrat) and Mark Durkan (Labour) so has cross-party support already, with the topic being the Sun's attempts to hunt down the trans man who recently gave birth. It's very timely that it's been released today of all days, with the Metro running a front page story on a 5-year-old child diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria. (A story complete with photo, full name and the names of her ...
Well, yes, of course we have. And it is us - remember, Tory manifesto = tax cuts for rich dead people and those in possession of a marriage certificate, Lib Dem manifesto = tax cuts for lowest and middle earners. As Louise Phillips points out in the Huffington Post, we've managed to achieve that without giving way on Tory plans to cut tax for the rich or the married. The amount of money you can earn before you start paying tax has gone up by £1000 since the Coalition took office in May 2010, giving basic rate taxpayers around £200 ...
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The Museum Libraries Archives Council released a report June 2008 stating how much library space they'd calculated areas needed per thousand population. I came across this report and have calculated their recommendations on Southwark. It is quite a shock. They recommend 25 to 35m2 per thousandpeople. Assuming an average of 30m2 then Southwark even with the new Canada Water library has4,914m2 public space in libraries suitable for a population of only 201,713. But Southwark's population is reported to be around 315,000. So we need more library space. Roughly 3,400m2. But clearly this doesn't reflect library opening hours and where the ...
Anyone who dips in and out of this blog from time to time will I'm sure have picked up on my love of classical music. It's a childhood thing that has stayed with me and indeed grown, throughout my 29 years. But it's only in the last few years that I have become an avid listener of Classic FM (it is now my bed-side radio station of choice). In particular, it is only over the past 2 years that I have become ingratiated into the Classic FM Hall of Fame Top 300 Countdown. Classic FM have been counting down the ...
Last Friday's Guardian-hosted #HElivechat on the role of the philanthropy in universities, on which I was one of the virtual panellists, covered a range of issues. One perennial issue that emerged was 'What makes for a really good piece of direct-mail asking for money?' I revisited the three principles of a good 'ask letter' that I blogged about here in September: 1) The opening line has to ask the recipient for a financial gift. This may sound obvious, but you would be amazed how long it can take 'ask' letters to get to the point. It's not rude to ask ...
Dave Winer is totally off base when he says "Hackathons are how marketing guys wish software were made." Perhaps it's different in his part of the world, but over here, hackdays are fun! All the hackathon / hackdays I've been to are, essentially, Scrapheap Challenge* for software people. *Note to Americans, Junkyard Wars is the US remake of Scrapheap Challenge. The last hackday I went to was about people learning, playing, relaxing, building, tinkering, bodging, faking, and innovating. All without a design document, manager, brand police, or scrum master. And here's the thing – no one was expecting quality software. ...
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The following post I wrote elsewhere in January 2009. I'm loading it on this site now partly to make sure it's preserved in with the archives and backups here but also because three years on I think it makes for an interesting piece of nostalgia. Events of course turned out rather different. I've been scratching my head trying to work out what Derek Draper is up to with the new LabourList site – and I think the answer lies with daytime TV. I start from the view that (a) it is clearly a major part of Labour's online strategy, and ...
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Baroness Warsi's recent comments about secularism showed her ignorance about how it can be religion's greatest friend, and should always be. Secularism, at its heart, represents a separation between religion and the state, which benefits both the atheist and the believer. For atheists, secularism gives us assurance that religion will not be an officially supported part of our government system. That we will have no direct religious influence over our Government, no bishops in the House of Lords, and no official religion. Of course, we can't stop people being elected who have religious beliefs, and their beliefs will affect their ...
The Derwent Valley Partnership Team will shortly be holding their second 'Big Brew' coffee morning to continue the Partnership's commitment to using and promoting Fairtrade products in the Derwent Valley. The 'Big Brew' will be held on Friday 2nd March 2012 from 10am until 12pm in Consett Methodist Church (Station Road, Consett), and will include free tea and coffee, a quiz and the chance to pick up information and goodie bags. There is no need to book a seat at the coffee morning, please just come along. Everyone is welcome so feel free to bring a friend, relative or a ...
Just a quick reminder that today at 7:30pm the Swavesey Neighbourhood Panel will be taking place at Willingham Primary School. If you have a policing issue to raise please feel free to attend.
Young people looking for education, training or employment would be entitled to free transport under an £80,000 scheme proposed by Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats. The scheme would be run by Cambridgeshire County Council Locality Teams and would cover all forms of public transport. Cllr van de Ven Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet Member for Transport, Susan van de Ven said, "Young people face unprecedented pressures, and the prohibitive cost of transport can be a blockade to opportunity. "It is unfortunate that the county council not only fails to provide supported transport for young people in this situation, but is actually planning to ...
In the United Sates as much as in Britain, the idea of a political elite attracts fear and loathing in equal measure. "Elitist" is a political insult in both political cultures. It is important for aspiring politicians that they sell themselves as normal plain folks. So it is that we get the uncomfortable spectacle of various politicians trying unconvincingly to mix it with the proles. Yet what are we to make of the latest twists in the bizarre saga of Sarah Palin? It becomes clear that as candidate for the second highest office in the United States, she knew so ...
LibDemVoice's surveys of party members signed-up to our discussion forum have been running for over three years now. (I posted yesterday the final set of figures from February's poll.) Our surveys are a way of testing members' views on a variety of hot topics. And as they've been running throughout the first 20 months of the Coalition they're also an interesting record of changing views on how the Coalition is regarded within the party. If you would like to take part in the LibDemVoice surveys, there are simply two steps you need to follow: 1) Be a current Lib Dem ...
Fanny Craddock and the Great Train Robbery I was sorry to see Anthony Worrall Thompson up before the beak for shoplifting, but there are so many chefs on television these days that they cannot possibly all make a living and some will inevitably turn to crime. I have no reason to think that they will be among them, but Michel Roux Jr would have only to give people a Hard Stare and they would hand over their wallets without complaint - much as he now persuades an egg to crack and separate itself simply by looking at it - while ...
Last November, I welcomed the recommendation by the City Council to cut the speed limit on Riverside Avenue and Riverside Drive, something I have long campaigned for to improve road and pedestrian safety. The council's Director of City Development has recently updated me on the consultation process as follows : "It is estimated that the Traffic Regulation Process (TRO) process for the roads identified to change in the speed limit review will start off in about 2 months as this has been added to the list of outstanding Traffic Regulation Orders that have to be progressed. As far as consultation ...
A pay freeze for Cambridge City Councillors is on the cards after Lib Dems stepped in to halt an increase in their allowances. The move would save taxpayers £26,000 this year. Cllr McGovern Cambridge City Executive Councillor for Customer Services and Resources, Neil McGovern said: "It was agreed last year our allowance scheme should be carried over for a further year while allowing for an inflationary increase. "But clearly a great deal has changed in the last year and this is the wrong time for councillors to take even an inflation linked pay rise. People are losing their jobs and ...
Let's Dance for Sport Relief is back on the tellybox, although I must confess I missed it on Saturday. For those unaquainted with the show, the format is simple: various comedians, actors, singers and personalities recreate classic dances - often for comic effect - in a televised contest raising funds for Comic Relief (the charity which Sport Relief is in aid of. (I may have mentioned it once or twice in the past...) I was discussing this with a friend the other day and we fell to reminiscing about various favourite performances from previous series. I've decided to share three ...
I was on Radio Tay news yesterday and quoted in the Courier about the lack of proper public toilet provision at Dundee House, the City Council's new headquarters. At the HQ that cost Dundee council taxpayers some £36 million, there is only a disabled toilet facility but no general toilet provision. It would have been a whole lot better if the Dundee public had been given some consideration. Although I have been told by the council's Chief Executive that elderly people and young children will be allowed access to the disabled toilet, I have had a complaint from an elderly ...
The members of the Merseyside Police Authority met to decide on the 2012/2013 Budget after their meeting last Thursday had been adjourned. There were two options to decide between. The first option was whether to accept a one-off Council Tax Freeze grant for 2012/2013 which equated to what they would have gained from a 3 ...
