Local Liberal Democrats have reacted with anger to the news that the 3.5% increase in Council Tax in Redcar & Cleveland is the highest in the country. The rise, which will come into effect this year, is happening despite the Government offering the Council £1.42 million to freeze the tax. So far no council in the entire country has voted to put up council tax by more than this. Councillor Glyn Nightingale, Leader of Redcar & Cleveland Lib Dem group, said: "This is a slap in the face for hard working families. At a time when the Council should be ...
Godwin's Law is the internet rule that means anyone raising the spectre of the nazis or fascists as part of an internet debate is automatically deemed to have lost that debate. So I am somewhat saddened to have received the following missive this morning: When the votes are counted on Friday 4 May, it'll take only a small change in votes from last time to defeat the BNP and elect myself to the London Assembly. To make that happen and kick the BNP off the GLA we need to raise more funds for our campaign. It will only take a ...
... and you can find it here. Pop over and join in if you fancy it :) [IMG: comment count unavailable] comments
After my weekly surgery at Blackness Primary School this evening, I attended tonight's West End Local Community Planning Partnership meeting at the Tartan Coffee House in Perth Road. There was a presentation on the draft local housing strategy consultation for Dundee and I made the point that, in terms of improving privately rented housing in the city (and a lot of it is in the West End), resources must be put into improvements to privately rented housing including controlled entry systems, environmental improvements and proper factoring arrangements. There was also an excellent presentation by Fiamma Dobson of the Bus Stop ...
Councillor Jarrett Medway Council is tonight announcing their budget for the following year and the cuts that look to be levied upon the citizenry, the raised charges as well as confirming the sale of Nelson Court and the Outsourcing of the other Care homes. These are all really important to the people of Medway and believe me I am going to come to those at some point in the near future. I didn't make it to the Council meeting tonight as it is my wife's birthday and I wanted to spend the night in with her, though I have been ...
Tonight was the Budget meeting at Wokingham Borough Council. I will post about that tomorrow. For tonight, let me post about the other main agenda item – the new Council Vision. There is a copy of it in the agenda papers for the Council meeting, if you really want to see it. You can find the agenda here: The vision apparently cost £90,000. As one of my Lib Dem colleaques said: if this is what they got for their £90,000, that's value for money fallen by the wayside. I'm afraid I wasn't terribly polite either. This is what I ...
Life in a small village has its charms, and I would be the last to argue otherwise. However, it does come with challenges, as I've noted in the past. For example, the church needs to be maintained, and the pool of people available to provide funding is a small one. The chances are that your church costs pretty much the same amount to maintain, regardless of the size of the parish, as churches don't tend to wildly vary in size until you get to metropolis of a thousand or more. To make matters worse, with congregations in decline in some ...
Southport's MP John Pugh has voted against the Government over the need to relese the national Risk Register on the NHS Bill.Speaking in Parliament in the debate on the NHS Bill yesterday, John Pugh MP said:"Another day, another Health Bill debate: it is a groundhog day, déjà vu experience for many of us. On these occasions, I often find myself sounding like that irritating little man with the flat cap and glasses who was in Harry Enfield's programmes and went around all the time saying, "You don't want to do that." It is a matter of record that I have ...
Much to my surprise, I ended up on the BBC World at One today. This involved a surprisingly stressful ride across town and a run into a studio in Gildea Street to do an interview 'down the line' with only minutes to spare: The feedback on Twitter has been encouraging – and some of the interview is included in tomorrow's Guardian.
There are two tragedies about the government's adoption of payment-by-results in public services, as I explained in an article in Local Economy just after Christmas. First, that they will inevitably end up like targets, with a huge bureaucratic hinterland. Second, that Whitehall seems blissfully ignorant of this - imagining that it was some new method of controlling outcomes, rather than the same old idea with knobs on. I wrote the article after attending an internal seminar in one of the big government departments a year or so ago. Having been told that their policies included ending targets and starting payment-by-results, ...
Fear-mongering about the NHS is commonplace now, although it is largely lacking in content. "Don't Let the Tories Privatise the NHS" screamed the headlines. The message that the proposed reforms that has all but eclipsing very valid argument towards reform. There is a principle that the NHS is steeped in bureaucracy. Very few people will ...
An interesting reflection on the foreign policy challenges facing the UK's Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition Government and the politics thereof, including Iran, at: One reads that, on Iran, Foreign Secretary William Hague "is in tune with the views of Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister, who insists there should be no attack until all other options have been exhausted". I am in tune with both of them. That kind of being the point of tough sanctions - to exhaust all other options, in the hope that military action never becomes necessary. I heard someone the other ...
Liberal Democrat MP Andrew George voted on Wednesday to publish the NHS "risk register", a document containing a detailed analysis of what could go wrong with the proposed changes in the health service in England. Here he explains why, and that though the Health Bill is now "less bad" he is yet to be persuaded it should go through: (Also available on the BBC website here.)
Thu 23rd
21:30
Government announces next steps towards scaling up Corporate Responsibility and Open Business
In September 2010 I reflected on the merits of the Government launching an Open Business Responsibility Deal. Today at the BITC Summit in London - with our new Minister for Corporate Responsibility Norman Lamb looking on - I was delighted to see the idea developed into two distinct strands as the Prime Minister announced: - Open Business Forum: This will "bring together companies and organisations who, like government, believe in the power of transparency and are eager to embed openness in the way they do business. It will explore how businesses can become more transparent, without making life difficult, and ...
Abolish party conferences so everyone can look at me on television instead.
I'm a Republican so I don't care. But I do like this as well. Miss J. Hunter Dunn, Miss J. Hunter Dunn, Furnish'd and burnish'd by Aldershot sun, What strenuous singles we played after tea, We in the tournament – you against me! Love-thirty, love-forty, oh! weakness of joy, The speed of a swallow, the grace of a boy, With carefullest carelessness, gaily you won, I am weak from your loveliness, Joan Hunter Dunn. Miss Joan Hunter Dunn, Miss Joan Hunter Dunn, How mad I am, sad I am, glad that you won, The warm-handled racket is back in its ...
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the ...
Lord Bonkers writes exclusively for Liberal England... This time last year I offered to answer problems sent in by my young readers in Liberator magazine. As the exercise was widely agreed to have gone Rather Well, I thought I would repeat it. To refresh your memories, here is the advice I gave: Introduction to my problem pageHas the ALDC Gone Too Far?Disposing of unwanted soilIs it worth attending the Liberal Democrat Conference?AV reaches RutlandAdvice to Asteroid BoyAs I pointed out last year (in all modesty), I have unparallelled political experience and I can also claim to be a Man of ...
(This is my speech in Council today on the Corporate Plan)"This is a good plan and shows awareness of the challenges in our city. It is fine as an internal document, but not so much as an external document, for people out there.There is something missing and that is politics. We shouldn't be afraid of politics because that is democracy. Democracy is going through tough times.So I urge you to
(my budget speech in Cardiff Council today) The Lib Dem Executive and the officers of the Council have demonstrated that they can manage finances well at a difficult time. What I see across the benches is a game to reduce council tax to zero, no matter what that means for services. It is fascinating to see that other parties have bought into Angela Merkel's fetish for fiscal austerity. I
I've been following the online debate about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) with some confusion. I am automatically distrustful of senior officials who tell us that everything is going to be all right; and I have noted with dismay some of the wilder predictions about how the ACTA agreement will result in the police cutting off your internet if they think you have installed μTorrent. The European Parliament has an info page which, typically, concentrates on the Parliament's own role; but it also has its own study (PDF), commissioned from Maastricht, which raises a number of questions about the agreement ...
Along with most of the population of Reading, I was not informed that there was a public exhibition coming along on the latest proposals for redeveloping Station Hill. I suspect most people in Reading were similarly unaware. So I've had a good look at the proposals online at http://www.stationhill-reading.co.uk – and filled in a feedback form. While the plans are not the worst architectural scheme I've ever seen, they are completely out of scale and proportion for a site of this nature, and make the same mistakes as previous designs. This is largely due to the ineptitude of Reading Council ...
Bear with me. I know the headline comes out in green ink, but this is seriously not as irrational a question as it might sound. I base my theory on a conversation with a friend of mine who was complaining bitterly about the over-long subject line on Tim Farron's e-mail yesterday. You know, the one about the tax cuts Nick Clegg wants for the lowest earners. (BTW, if you haven't signed the petition on this, please do so here). "Over long subject line?" I said, "Are you having a laugh?" Because, you see, mine said "Sneak Preview." I discovered that ...
The following e-mail arrived in my inbox earlier today: Dear Neil When the votes are counted on Friday 4 May, it'll take only a small change in votes from last time to defeat the BNP and elect myself to the London Assembly. To make that happen and kick the BNP off the GLA we need to raise more funds for our campaign. It will only take a small increase in the Liberal Democrat list to elect myself - and to push the BNP below the threshold for winning a seat. Any donation you can make really could make the difference ...
I'm not used to learning anything from the weekly pantomime that is Prime Minister's Questions. Sadly, though yesterday's session brought me the news of the death of Marie Colvin, the veteran Sunday Times reporter whose often heartbreaking reports from war zones I've been reading most of my adult life. Both David Cameron and Ed Miliband paid tribute to her work, the latter calling her brave, tireless and an inspiration to women in her profession. More tragedy followed as Sajid Javid, the MP for Bromsgrove, asked the PM to join in with sympathy for those killed and injured in the bus ...
Whatever did or didn't happen in Strangers Bar last night, it is nothing when set against the events of 1893 as Gladstone's second home rule bill was going through the House. As I wrote in an old Liberal Democrat News column about my hero J.W. Logan, the former Liberal MP for Harborough: On the night of 27 July, as he waited for the throng to clear, Logan crossed the chamber and sat down truculently beside Carson on the Conservative front bench. Hayes Fisher, a Tory MP, pushed him away. Logan elbowed back and was grabbed by more Tories, whereupon the ...
I have been interested to notice the launch of fifty-fifty festivals in the last few days. The concept is simple: since the readership of SFF is fifty-fifty male-female, and the writer base is fifty-fifty male-female, panels at cons should be fifty-fifty male-female too. I'm VERY interested in Paul Cornell's response to this, and the responses to his ideas. While I agree that it's dispiriting that nobody pays attention to equalities measures till a man joins in, and Paul's method might be a bit of a blunt instrument, and yes, he has a bit of a reputation as a White Knight... ...
Me and Soph are currently celebrating, as we (or me) writes. Fame awaits us... Hi there, An article you wrote in 2011 titled Globalisation and responsibility has earned your blog a nomination for a Fascination Award: 2012′s Most Fascinating Librarian blog. The comments posted in response to your post prove that your content not only inspires your audience, ...
The 29-day siege of the Russian fortress at Brest is, at least outside the old Soviet Union, a largely forgotten piece of Second World War heroism against the odds. It has no easy heroes (fascists besieging communists) and had the additional misfortune of only being revealed by an investigative journalist after the Cold War was already firmly under way. Unlike the heroics in places such as Stalingrad, referred to in many a Hollywood film, the siege of Brest as a result has not achieved similar international cinematic fame. However, the 2010 Russian film Fortress of War does it and its ...
It is becoming a fixture on the political calendar, that as spring approaches so too does another Liberal Democrat conference debate on health. Cue headaches for Liberal Democrat party managers and nervousness among Conservatives. What will the Liberal Democrat grassroots demand? How much will Cameron and Lansley be prepared to concede in response? The procedural steps are fairly straight-forward. The Liberal Democrat spring conference meets from 9 to 11 March in Gateshead (or, as the tourist authorities would prefer us to say Newcastle Gateshead). The NHS is not on the conference agenda, but there is an early Sunday morning slot ...
I'm not used to learning anything from the weekly pantomime that is Prime Minister's Questions. Sadly, though yesterday's session brought me the news of the death of Marie Colvin, the veteran Sunday Times reporter whose often heartbreaking reports from war zones I've been reading most of my adult life. Both David Cameron and Ed Miliband paid tribute to her work, the latter calling her brave, tireless and an inspiration to women in her profession. More tragedy followed as Sajid Javid, the MP for Bromsgrove, asked the PM to join in with sympathy for those killed and injured in the bus ...
Yesterday evening the first public debate in the run up to May's Mayoral Referendum was held at the Council House. Several hundred people braved some pretty foul weather to hear George Ferguson and Mark Weston argue for an Elected Mayor and Barbara Janke and Deborah Hallett argue against. I did an opening talk to set the scene. The text of that talk is below, if you're interested. Much of the event was taken up with responding to questions from the floor. These questions mixed the insightful and important with the slightly beside the point and the political point-scoring. Key issues ...
Cut national insurance contributions, says Liam Fox. Cut capital gains tax, says David Davis. Give tax breaks to married couples, say Stewart Jackson and others. Back wealth taxes to cut taxes on "families and employers", says Tim Montgomerie. There's no shortage of Tories suggesting taxes for George Osborne to cut when he delivers his budget. Yet it's the junior party in the coalition which is leading the debate on tax cuts – a curious situation which no doubt shocks Tories as much as it infuriates them. The reasons the Lib Dems are leading the way on tax cuts are straightforward. ...
Thu 23rd
15:25
Licensing Act 2003 Subcommittee Wirral Council 22/2/2012 Part 2 North Star, 294 Laird Street, Birken...
The meeting resumed after lunch with the same panel (Cllr Bob Wilkins (Chair), Cllr Eddie Boult and Cllr Steve Niblock) and officers as before, with three members of the public/press, a solicitor and two people involved with the licence. The report on this agenda item can be found here. Cllr Bob Wilkins welcomed people to ...
Last night's Party Political Broadcast talked about something I was really proud of in our 2010 manifesto; the Liberal Democrat pledge to raise the tax threshold to £10,000 to take the lowest earners out of tax altogether. So far, 800,000 of ... Continue reading →
In order to help the more vulnerable in society, the government has been running its Warm Home Front scheme, this campaign offers grants to those on disability support, pensions, income related ESA and JSA and those with children under 5 ... Continue reading →
I had meant to follow up my earlier post in this series with an analysis of the praxeological approach taken by the Austrian school, but have yet to have the time to properly read Mises. While On Human Action is on my bookshelf awaiting attention, it seems unfair to criticise praxeology without full familiarity with ...
At 13:00 today I came downstairs from my bedroom to have some lunch. There was nothing on the doormat. Fifteen minutes later, food made and consumed, I went back into the hall to go back upstairs, and there was a pile of post on the doormat, including a red card that claimed at 12:55 the postman had attempted to deliver a parcel for me, but there had been nobody in. This happens probably once a week or so, and I am getting a little hacked off with our postie's inability to ring a sodding doorbell. We have one, but they ...
A Play Van full of toys, games and activities will offer free play opportunities in Cheriton Rec this summer. All children and young people from 0-18yrs are invited to join in the fun and games. Cheriton Rec will see free Play days on July 26th, August 9th and 23rd. Sandgate's Military Road Rec will see free Play days on August 2nd and 30th, and Fremantle Road Park on 16th August. 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
Cornwall Council Chairman Pat Harvey has announced that she will be hosting a special civic event in Truro Cathedral to celebrate the passing of the Olympic Torch through Cornwall on May 19th.Pat writes: "I would like to open the Civic Event up to those who would not normally have the opportunity to attend such events. I am therefore asking all 123 Members to send in nominations. Please could you nominate members of your community that you believe deserve the opportunity to attend this event. I am not restricting the number of nominations, but should we exceed expected numbers, all names ...
Cross posted on LGBT+ Lib Dems Northern Ireland Remember the defense used by Paddy Power about why they wished to continue showing the Transphobic advert for Cheltenham: Several members of the UK transgender community are cast in the ad, and it was also cleared by Clearcast [which pre-vets TV ads] before airing. This ad is simply a bit of mild-mannered fun in the runup to the Cheltenham festival.Well Clearcast have now issued the following statement: Last week we approved a tv ad for Paddy Power featuring references to transgendered people. When making our decision to approve the ad, we took ...
Today (23rd February 2012) questions were raised in Parliament concerning Airport capacity and national plans to increase capacity. MIA? Medway's MPs The general thrust was that there would be no expansion to Heathrow but that expansion was indeed needed. I get the impression that this is going through committees and looked into by the Government in general. There was also a lot of weight put on HS2 as a solution to many of the problems of internal transportation and should a successful railway be put in then a weight of pressure would be relieved from the airports and cut back ...
For those who have followed the Paddy Power issue, approval for the advert has now been withdrawn by Clearcast, the body that approves broadcast adverts in the UK. It now cannot be aired on any UK broadcast or Video on Demand service. Here's what ClearCast have said: Last week we approved a tv ad for Paddy Power featuring references to transgendered people. When making our decision to approve the ad, we took into account the fact that the advertiser had sought a view from the Beaumont Society (a body run by and for those who cross dress or are transsexual) ...
Local ward councillor for the South Werrington and North Gunthorpe says Liberal Democrat plans to increase the income tax threshold would save working people in the area £700 a year! Lib Dems have had a longstanding policy to increase the income tax threshold to £10,000. Commenting, Darren said: "In tough times, like those we're going through at the moment, this policy makes even more of a difference, and that's why the party is campaigning to have the income tax threshold increased as soon as possible. "This Liberal Democrat plan would save working people £700 a year -that's an extra £60 ...
As someone familiar with cutting edge science and those who work at the frontiers of medical research, I have always been struck by the backward totalitarian nature of public health. In a world in which hard science and enlightened medical opinion is positively buzzing about personalized medicine and the benefits of treating people as individuals, public health continues to push ideas that are more in keeping with early 20th century totalitarian doctrine then 21st century medicine. ASH is of course one of the biggest culprits. Completely closed to the concept of constructive debate it spreads its misery through quasi-religious adherence ...
South Manchester MP John Leech has called on the Syrian Ambassador to be expelled following the Syrian Government's systematic attacks on their own people. An estimated 6000 Syrians have lost their lives, and in recent days Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin lost her life following a Syrian Government attack. John Leech MP said today, "I agree with the Foreign Secretary that the presence of a Syrian Ambassador , who is a direct representative of the regime, 'contradicts the British principles of democracy and humanity'. The logic of that position is that we should expel the Syrian Ambassador." John added, "I ...
Most of the UN news as the bloodshed in Syria continues has been a case of too little, far too late. This, however, is slightly more promising: A United Nations panel has delivered a list of Syrian officials who could be investigated for crimes against humanity. Experts commissioned by the UN say army officers and government officials are responsible for human rights violations... The evidence against some senior Syrian army officers and government officials is such that the team has sent a list of their names and their alleged crimes to the UN human rights commissioner. (BBC)
How can culture help Europeans take a more optimistic view of the current state of affairs, despite the eurozone crisis and other economic woes? Uffe Elbaek, Minister of Culture of Denmark (which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency) and the EU Commissioner for culture, Androulla Vassiliou, offer the following view: While it is impossible to ...
When people ask me which QR generator to use, I usually suggest Google Charts. However, recently I've become dissatisfied with its limitations, so I've decided to write and release my own QR encoder. I'm still looking for a catchy name for it (suggestions welcomed) – so for now it's called "QR Generator PHP". It's available on GitHub or you can use it directly. So, how does it compare to Google Charts? FeatureNew QR EncoderGoogle Charts Image Formats PNG, JPG, GIF PNG Maximum Image Size 1480*1480px 547*547px Unicode Support Yes No Downloadable Images Yes- to a specific filename No Open Source ...
Widespread competition was introduced to the NHS by Labour's 2006 National Health Service Act, but without the public debate that is now taking place. The 2006 Act opened up the NHS to the risk of EU competition law being applied in a way that leaves commissioners unable to choose the best way of delivering services. Labour's legislation meant private providers were favoured over NHS hospitals and paid millions for work which they never did. Very simply, Labour's 2006 Act does not put patients first. In the Lords, myself and colleagues are working hard to plug the loopholes left in Labour's ...
And who can resist an ad based on Moonlighting?
As an admirer, and proud support of Occupy Wall Street (not the Marxist rent-a-mob in London, though), I was slightly startled and amused by this story in Telegraph today; Fed up with long queues for ladies, Li Tingting led 20 women into a men's public bathroom in the southern city of Guangzhou carrying colourful placards ...
Douze points for freedom Petition for release of political prisoners in Azerbaijan (tags: azerbaijan ) European parliament should be abolished, says Jack Straw Straw's mask slips; much better if EU run by chaps like him without any scrutiny. (tags: eu ) Straw Poll on Future of European Parliament Former European Parliament official hits back: "The record of Mr Straw and his colleagues in office was to campaign halfheartedly at best during European elections" (tags: eu ) Abolishing an elected European Parliament is no way forward - a response to Jack Straw Jon Worth was actually at the meeting and reports ...
Over on the MHP Communications blog, Lib Dem Voice's Mark Pack has been pondering what will happen next on NHS reform: It is becoming a fixture on the political calendar, that as spring approaches so too does another Liberal Democrat conference debate on health. Cue headaches for Liberal Democrat party managers and nervousness among Conservatives. What will the Liberal Democrat grassroots demand? How much will Cameron and Lansley be prepared to concede in response?... At the moment, there are three different options for changes to the NHS Bill which different Liberal Democrats are pushing (I've yet to encountered anyone in ...
The 47-nation Council of Europe is little known and much misunderstood, particularly in Britain, where the populist media is in a state of permanent warfare with anything 'European'. As I hope most readers of this blog already know, the CofE is a completely separate body from the European Union and embraces all of the countries ...
I have been very much dismayed to see the story of Zach Avery plastered all over the papers this week. For those who don't know Zach is a five year old who has been diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder, born as a boy Zach feels like a girl. As such I have seen lots of comments, many supportive of letting the child live as they want, as they have been clearly diagnosed. However lots have been critical, either due to their ignorance/prejudice of the condition in general or of the parenting claiming that it is their responsibility to raise the ...
What is going on in the deaf community? And what can deaf Liberal Democrats do to help more people participate in politics? And if Mark Pack needs more examples of the power of social media today look at the sudden emergence of the Limping Chicken website. This is how the new website explains its odd name Earlier this month, BBC3 broadcast a documentary about five deaf teenagers. In one scene, a university note-taker told a deaf student that she couldn't take notes for the whole lecture because "my chicken is ill." The note-taker's only fault was being too honest (read ...
Thu 23rd
09:15
Labour's new approach to education: 'Evidence, evidence, evidence'. What can the Lib Dems learn from...
I'm going to do something now I haven't had cause to do in a good few months: praise a Labour policy. Here's why. On Tuesday night, I went along to listen to Stephen Twigg, Labour's shadow education secretary, deliver a speech to a ProgressOnline debate on raising standards in education. (The event was in parliament's Grimond Room, so I felt reasonably at home.) The theme was 'Evidence, not dogma', and Mr Twigg stayed true to the spirit of it, announcing a heavily-trailed proposal that Labour will establish an Office for Educational Improvement. You can read his speech here, and here's ...
[IMG: Parliament - Big Ben] Responding to Patrick's Dunleavy's contention earlier this week that a break-up of the coalition and a general election can be expected as soon as 2014, Mark Pack argues that David Cameron would actually be too worried about giving Ed Miliband an electoral fillip and an easy entry into Downing Street, which in turn could result in a Tory leadership coup and send the party into a tailspin. Some opposition leaders have the natural gift of looking Prime Ministerial even if they have never previously held the lowliest of ministerial ranks for the briefest sliver of ...
The Consolation of Art Holly has a fabuolous way of describing things in a very evocative manner. This is her waiting for a bus... (tags: awesome ) Why internet piracy happens (contains one v rude swearword) (tags: copyright ) The Future Is Gender Distributed - Charlie's Diary Interesting article; interesting comments too. Note that "interesting" means interesting, not "I agree with everything said here" (tags: ) The creators of Doctor Who were a scandal Fascinating stuff about very early Doctor Who (tags: DoctorWho ) Google to Sell Heads-Up Display Glasses by Year's End - NYTimes.com Hot damn, I want. (tags: ...
The Liberal Democrats are campaigning for no one to pay tax on the first £10,000 of their income – an extra £60 in your pocket every month. You can sign the petition "Fast track the Lib Dem £10,000 income tax threshold policy" here: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/28640
A planning application is due to be submitted for 29 new houses on the former Village Lighting premises, Old Wool Lane, Cheadle Hulme. The site is on the edge of the Demmings Industrial Estate, near to Brookfield Road and Demmings Road. There will be a public display of the proposals at the Cheadle Golf Club on Thursday 1st March from 4pm to 8pm. (To get to Cheadle Golf Club, turn down Shiers Drive as if going to the Village Hotel or the swimming pool, and just carry on along the road). View Cheadle and Gatley in a larger map
This morning's Independent reports that former shadow Home Secretary David Davis has accused David Cameron of "shamelessly courting" the media mogul Rupert Murdoch. They say that the Conservative MP for Haltemprice and Howden, has urged the Leveson Inquiry into press standards to look "as much at the behaviour of political leaders as at the behaviour of newspaper editors". Mr Davis said that the Prime Minister was part of Britain's "crony capitalism" problem and that his Government had become "far too close" to big business: "Crony capitalism has also characterised political leaders' relationships with the press. Prior to the phone-hacking scandal, ...
Earlier this week, Tim Farron emailed Lib Dem members with a sneak preview of the latest Party Political Broadcast. Here's the full version in case you missed it on TV last night: Video also available on YouTube.
Cambridgeshire County Council has signed a private finance initiative (PFI) with Balfour Beatty to replace and upgrade all the street lights across Cambridgeshire. As you can imagine that's quite a large undertaking and the process of updating all the lights isn't going to be done quickly, and it isn't going to be done everywhere all at once. Councillors received a presentation on the project which I've attached, as with all PFI schemes the cost over the long term to the County is quite significant, but the savings brought about by replacing the existing lights, cutting 10% of the number of ...
Thanks to Chris Matthews for tweeting a link to this 1969 film made by the Greater London Council to encourage workers and businesses to move out of London. As so often with films of this type, it is a strange mixture of the nostalgic (as a little boy in the 1960s I lived in the new town of Hemel Hempstead) and the modern - buildings of this period still look modern, though cars of the same era look ridiculously old fashioned. It is also a mixture of the benign (light and air for children to grow up in) and the ...
Cambridgeshire County Council has signed a private finance initiative (PFI) with Balfour Beatty to replace and upgrade all the street lights across Cambridgeshire. As you can imagine that's quite a large undertaking and the process of updating all the lights isn't going to be done quickly, and it isn't going to be done everywhere all at once. Councillors received a presentation on the project which I've attached, as with all PFI schemes the cost over the long term to the County is quite significant, but the savings brought about by replacing the existing lights, cutting 10% of the number of ...
Yesterday, Dundee Liberal Democrats took part in the 2012 University of Dundee Volunteering Fair - it was a great event and here's a couple of photos from the day: With some of the Dundee LibDem Team Official Volunteering Fair opening
As ever, it's three things to remember: "What you won't hear from me is easy cheap lines bashing financiers" (Evening Standard, 28 September 2008), He also thought such talk was a "lurch to the left" (PMQs, House of Commons, 21 February 2007, on calls for curbs to city bonuses), And he said criticising bonuses is "Not sensible, not sensible at all" (Sky News, 26th September 2008). * Mark Pack is Co-Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and writes a monthly newsletter about the Liberal Democrats.
Residents have contacted me regarding water flooding down Old Hawhill during the past few days, within the University Campus - see right. I am pleased to advise that the University Secretary assured me yesterday that the problem has been resolved by their contractor.
Last night was Bury's Budget Council, where councillors get to set the budget and level of Council Tax for the new financial year which starts on 1 April 2012. Getting the good news out the way, the rise in the Council Tax from 1 April 2012 will be 0% (no increase). This is thanks to a grant from the Coaltion Government for the second year running to keep Council Tax at 2010-11 levels. The rest of the budget was more challenging. As with the whole public sector, budget setting is not an easy task at the present time following the ...
When Twitter lights up with the news that an MP you have taken on in debate has been arrested and in the Strangers Bar in Westminster itself, you want to have it confirmed. So it was that Sky News were the first TV news to confirm the rumours. It appears the MP from the constituency next to the one I stood in, who I took on in two of the hustings for Falkirk, as agent, while the candidate was unable to get out of work commitments. Falkirk's Labour MP Eric Joyce, a former Army officer, allegedly headbutted Conservative MP for ...
I am simultaneously a resident of Alberta, home of the tar sands, and a member of Lewes Liberal Democrats. This unique combination gives me a strong interest in the issue of the implementation of the EU Fuel Quality Directive, which should ban tar sands oil from entering Europe, and Norman Baker's role, which numerous environmental ...
Today's debate on the county council budget went entirely as expected. Carefully costed Lib Dem proposals which would have enabled some extra investment in Libraries, neighbourhood wardens and related services, the training of engineering apprentices, funding of community centres, and road and footpath repairs were noisily voted down. The money would have come from reductions in the communications budget and councillors' mileage and special responsibility allowances, as well as ensuring that we achieve better savings from recycling as the Twin Bin system we have used for years in Derwentside is rolled out across the rest of the county. We would ...
