It seems a tumbling of small stones has started an avalanche on the blogosphere that has transferred to the real world as a local Labour blogger, Councillor Tristan Osborne finds himself under investigation for breaking the Council's code of conduct. Cllr Osborne has been accused (by other Twitter users - not me) of bending the truth or "spin" in the past but despite our differences in opinion (there have been a few, including my defence of Tracey Crouch's role over Social Media) his blog does have something to offer and does give a constructive critique from the opposition, although sometimes ...
Photo by Sabine J Hutchinsonhttp://www.virtual-shropshire.co.uk/ The mention of the haunted workplace in Six of the Best 230 put me in mind of this tale. This photograph shows Raynalds Mansion in Much Wenlock, where I went several times in the 1990s for the Festival at the Edge. The half-timbered front dates from the 17th century, but the building behind it is much older. One year I joined a guided walk around the town. Outside Raynalds Mansion we were told the story of some children who were evacuated to the town and housed here during World War II. On the first morning ...
I've been wanting to go to SF MusicTech Summit ever since I first heard about it. Brian Zisk, Todd Tate and the team SF MusicTech do a great job of bringing together visionaries in the music/technology space, along with the best and brightest developers, entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, journalists, musicians and organizations who work with ...
Just got back from seeing this, and... I ( really loved it... ) See this film if:You long for the glory days of sumptuous, Victorian-set Hammer HorrorsYou like creepy and spooky and every so often getting a shock that will jump you out of your seatYou want to spend a long time staring into DanRad'sbig blue eyesYou want to see a film with a lead female character who has agency and drives the storyDon't see this film if:You want ACTION ALL THE TIME and hate atmosphere-buildingYou don't like scary films; or indeed if you hate the Surly Native style of ...
We are going back a bit here but I was surfing YouTube earlier and found a video that has left me conflicted. It is a video showing a recording on a woman's voicemail by SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt who also fronts Golf on the worldwide leader as well as host his own radio show. Van Pelt has always come across as a pretty cool guy. Anyway he met a woman at a bar one night and then decided to give her a call. Listen to what he had to say. [IMG: Share on Tumblr] [IMG: Submit to StumbleUpon] [IMG: ...
A former Vestal Virgin "The cream of Scotland's Lib Dem blogosphere..." begins a post on A Scottish Liberal. But it gets better after that and reports a searching interview with Willie Rennie. "I don't like how the SNP has been cosying up to News International, nor how Alex Salmond is big chums with Rupert Murdoch these days. And I don't like how many SNP members/supporters appear to be falling into line and accepting this." A Burdz Eye View examines an unlovely development in Scottish politics. The Learning Spy asks who inspects Ofsted. It's a good question. Paganism did not wither ...
Tue 28th
21:45
New poll finds 60% of public backs Lib Dem flagship policy of tax-cuts for low-paid funded by tax in...
It's a month since Nick Clegg made a fresh bid to put the Lib Dems' flagship 2010 manifesto policy once again front-and-centre: further tax-cuts for the lowest-paid to be funded by higher taxes for the wealthiest. And today came news of what the public thinks of the Lib Dem approach to fairer taxes, with the Independent reporting the following ComRes poll results: A majority of people want George Osborne to raise taxes for the rich in next month's Budget in order to take more low paid workers out of tax, according to a ComRes survey for The Independent. Some 60 ...
Not having paid much attention to local politics recently I just had a quick read of the letter that Cllr Ian Driver has sent, to the Gazette and I have to say, what's wrong with councillors admitting they've made a mistake. According to Cllr. Ian Driver, Cllr Mike Harrison "described a woman who complained about being called love as a "frustrated dried up bint", I believe there is any interpretation of the word that isn't derogatory. I don't think Councillors should dig themselves a deeper hole by trying to explain such language, and I hope that Cllr Mike Harrison is ...
Tue 28th
21:06
Watson schools UKIP's Trevor Colman over 'tight fists' Schulz and 'sham, pantomime' Parliament rant
On Tuesday 21st February as part of his seemingly new weekly column for the Bristol Evening Post, UKIP's Trevor Colman went on a bit of a rant about European Parliament under the new 'regime' of German MEP Martin Schulz: (note the spelling Mr Colman)"We (that's you and me) have a new President in the European Parliament. His name is Martin Schultz. He's German and when speaking glares through his
There are many reasons to avoid personal blog posts, my main one is that my life just isn't that interesting. Work, Read, Student Life, Sleep about covers it. However, I thought some people might be slightly interested in the dissertation that I'm planning on doing for my masters degree! Provisionally I've called it for hashtag reasons on twitter my McDissertation, and this should give you some sort of clue. For my upcoming dissertation I shall be answering the following question: What would be the primary impacts and consequences in terms of Scotland's position in the world in the event of ...
Conwy has been awarded cleanest streets in Wales 3rd year running, Conwy County Borough Councils Environment Department signed up for further improvements during 2012.
The Budget is just three weeks away and the dividing lines are now clear on tax. I have always believed that tax should fall lightly on the low paid and heavily on unearned wealth. Entrepreneurs should be rewarded but speculators profiting from capital gains should not. At the last election the number one Lib Dem ...
View Poll: #1822666
Today Tom Brake, co-chair of the Lib Dem backbench committee on home affairs, justice and equalities, published a report on the future of policing. Trusted, Professional and Effective: British policing at its best proposes a number of changes to police forces in England around three key areas, which will change the culture of police for the better: more trusted - listening to local people and making policing much more responsive to communities' priorities;more professional - setting up the new police professional body with a key responsibility to recommend detailed national minimum recruitment standards for the police;more effective - making evidence ...
There have been a few improvements recently at Yate Bus Station. The lighting is now working, and the digital timetable display is now operational. Some of the arrival times are predicted based on actual bus locations, but other times are just taken from the timetable - not all buses have been fitted with the equipment yet. However many problems remain - the "wind tunnel effect", inadequate seating and so forth. Most of these points were raised by local councillors back in the summer, but what was installed wasn't what we were promised. A group of councillors met representatives from South ...
Here's a clip of former Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Menzies Campbell declaring reform of the unelected upper house — that century-old piece of 'unfinished business' — is an innate part of what defines Liberal Democrats: (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.
[IMG: There you have it, another political psychodrama is over. Julia Gillard remains Australia's prime minister, having soundly beaten her nemesis, Kevin Rudd, in Monday's ballot of ALP MPs and senators. Today's Guardian features an incisive analysis, by Richard Flanigan, of the serious personal failings that led Kevin Rudd's colleagues to evict him from The Lodge and, on Monday, to keep him out. And, in an excellent round-up, the Economist's Banyan blog notes there were almost no philosophical or strategic differences between Rudd and the PM. Now for the inevitable question: why, then, did the Rudd challenge get so ...
It probably won't be breaking news that we'll be expecting some protests. Well today whilst wandering through my university corridors, I was rather surprised to see this creative bit of artwork. I'm not sure which is more worrying; that conference is going to be protested, or that Clegg is actually an evil zombie child with puppet strings. Either way, 10/10 for artwork. I look forward to seeing them.
Oulu, Finland's 7th largest city, lies on the same latitude as Iceland, the southern tip of Greenland and Fairbanks, Alaska. It is however in central Finland and there's an awfully long way you can travel north. Students across the country are celebrating penkkarit marking their graduation from school with processions through the towns involving music, playing tricks on your old school and the throwing of sweets to the watching crowds. This ceremony is about a hundred years old and goes back to the time when the few students who expected to go on to higher education would have to go ...
Well done to our old friend the Ludlow & Tenbury Wells Advertiser: Man falls out of tree into a ditch in LudlowI hope is is OK: the report goes on to say it is "unclear what his injuries were". Later. A strong second is this happier tale from the Rutland Times: Cat rescued from tree in OakhamEven later. And then from BBC Scotland comes: 'Oldest sheep' dies after falling off cliff
On Wednesday evening, the best of the Scottish Liberal Democrat blogosphere and me had the chance to interview Willie Rennie. Sadly the Queen of Scottish Lib Dem blogging and interview organiser, Caron Lindsay couldn't make it although Gavin Hamilton did ask a few questions on Caron's behalf. I didn't know quite what to make of ...
My Grandpa used to say to me, particularly if I was on my way out the door heading to the shops, "By the way, if they're giving anything away for free make sure you ask for two!" Who wouldn't accept a free gift if it was offered to them on a plate? Well, thanks to the vagaries of the global clock, this Wednesday 29th February we're being given a free day. This is an additional 24 precious hours of campaigning time ahead of the elections that are looming on the horizon in May. Let's make the most of it, let's ...
Lib Dem councillor John Dodd has spoken out against Labour'sproposed budget cuts in funding for the Botanic Gardens fernery and aviary. John Dodd is fighting to save the Fernery John Dodd declared "Botanic Gardens is the jewel in Sefton'scrown. The fernery and aviary are two of the popular attractions that draw visitorsto the Botanic Gardens and to Southport as a whole. It is outrageous that, due to further budgetcuts, they may be forced to close. "The road-train and boats were casualties of previouscuts and again, last year, the Botanic Gardens took another tremendoushit. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! "I vehemently support the ...
Call us quirky, but a touch of culture, and a moment to reflect never does any harm. So, when Liberal Democrat Voice received this contribution, we wondered where it fitted. But then, why should a political website be entirely serious?... In a mad world, remember Denmark's Piet Hein. Theoretical physicist, poet, wartime resistance activist, mathematician and simply a human being in all its warmest glory. His short poems (Grooks) have a haiku-like quality, reflecting on the simple complexities of life, and as a consequence of real politics as it hits real people. I have cherished these gems for a long ...
This is a post that appeared on Lib Dem Voice yesterday. Michael is a Lib Dem member here in Southport-part of the Rimmer, Dodd Ashton team in Meols ward. Our peaceful occupation of land in England for leisure or gardening or amenity is the result of a century of struggles for land access. "He who controls the land controls the life of the people": and our native soil was alienated to landlords by the Enclosure movement and in Scotland by the vicious Highlands Clearances; and today such risks are still real. Fortunately Liberals began a defence of the people's land-rights ...
Squirrel in the snow with bird food and the snow-covered garden. This February, the garden has been covered in a blanket of snow, freezing fog and bitter wind, with some of the coldest temperatures I have noted in the last twelve years (-9.6ºc). So I am skipping straight to March, as last week's high temperatures (+17.4ºC) are much more in keeping with Spring than Winter and the sudden thaw and heat has bought about a transformation in the garden. Everywhere are buds; leaf buds, flower buds, green shoots and early spring flowers all desperate to cash in on the early ...
My colleague John Dodd has sent me a copy of a statement he has made about the Fernery in Botantic Gardens. I know John speaks for many people in the town on this issue-indeed over 2000 have signed a petition. I sincerely hope that this matter can be resolved. Her is John's statement Lib Dem Cllr John Dodd has spoken out against Labour's proposed budget cuts in funding for the Botanic Gardens aviary and fernery. Cllr Dodd declared "Botanic Gardens is the jewel in Sefton's crown. The fernery and aviary are two of the popular attractions that draw visitors to ...
Tue 28th
15:53Trusted, professional and effective: British policing at its best - Tom Brake MP on the Lib Dems' ne...
Today we have launched the new Liberal Democrats policing paper: Trusted, professional and effective: British policing at its best. It is my pleasure to be launching this paper, based upon which a conference motion will be debated by Liberal Democrat Conference in Spring 2012. Along side my Co-Chair Baroness Hamwee and the rest of the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Justice and Equalities Committee we are constantly working to define Liberal Democrat Policy outside the Coalition. Public confidence in the police has been shaken in recent times: by the riots, by phone hacking, and by the increasing state intrusion into our ...
Tue 28 Feb: Work. St John Ambulance. Wed 29 Feb: Work. Thu 01 Mar: Work. Slimming World. Fri 02 Mar: Work. Go see [IMG: [twitter.com profile] ] smescrater. Sat 03 Mar: Cuddles, DVDs, not much else. Go home in evening. Sun 04 Mar: 08:30 train to Brighton. Work. Mon 05 Mar: Work in Brighton. Tue 06 Mar: Work in Brighton. Wed 07 Mar: Work in Brighton. Thu 08 Mar: Work in Brighton until about 4.30pm. Slimming World. Train to Manchester. Fri 09 Mar: Sleep through day. Train to London. At 23:59, cycle from London to Brighton to raise money for ...
The Jerusalem conference which ended in Doha, capital of Qatar, last night produced a Declaration which referenced at least some of the issues raised in the conference's four working groups: (1) History of Jerusalem, (2) Jerusalem and International Law, (3) Israeli violations in Jerusalem, and (4) the role of civil society organisations in the defence ...
Trace the evolution of online copy from websites through blogs to social networks to micro-blogging status updates and you see two changes. Updates get quicker, and shorter. You can't get much shorter than zero words and that's the region which services such as Instagram and Pinterest now hover in. The user generated content is all about photos or highlighting other people's content, not about producing your own words (even if the zeitgeist spoilsports at Pinternet insist you enter at least one character as a description each time you pin content). Imagine having a faulty smart phone were only one letter ...
It's very possible to get a bit glum at the moment isn't it? All the talk is about cuts and the health service reforms with our opponents blithely ignoring the facts that they were a principal cause of the deficits and that they would have had to deal with the growing problems of the NHS. So when I am down a bit I think of the many good things that have been done by this government and work out how I can take full advantage of them both politically and for my community. Chief amongst these is the continued drive ...
I'm unfortunate enough to be employed in one of the most haunted buildings in Canterbury; what was once an Elizabethan inn, where three children died in a fire in the late 1500s. During interior renovations, in the early 2000s, workmen started to report eerily activity throughout the building – mostly on the stairs and a ...
Given how many false starts there have been, we're not quite sure whether to believe this, but we're assured that the demolition of Cheadle's Warwick Mall – to be replaced with a Sainsburys on the ground floor and fourteen apartments above – will start on 19th March. From the week before (12th March 2012), parking spaces in front of the Mall on Massie Street car park will be cordoned off as a works area, with disabled spaces relocated next to the old toilet block. We expect the development to take about a year to complete, after which the new retail ...
This morning's Independent contains the very disturbing suggestion that more than nine million households will be living in fuel poverty within four years unless the Government directs £4bn a year from carbon taxes to families in greatest need. The problem with these sort of predictions of course is that they often look like a bid for money, however there is no doubt that the basic premise of growing fuel poverty is correct, given the massive increase in prices combined with the stagnation of the economy and increasing hardship for many families. The paper says that a new study has revealed ...
"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy." - Ernest Benn
We often hear defenders of an unelected second chamber claiming that "These days, the House of Lords is broadly proportional anyway." Is this claim true? Let's look at the figures. House of Lords: 788 Labour: 239 - 30.3% Conservative: 218 - 27.7% Liberal Democrat: 91 - 11.5% Other parties: 11 - 1.4% (the numbers given do not add up to 788 because I've left out the Crossbenchers, non-affiliated Lords and Lords Spiritual) General Election 2010: Labour - 29% Conservative - 37% Liberal Democrat - 24% Other parties - 10% So the Labour proportion of the Lords is broadly proportional while ...
Observers of the local government scene, as well as readers of 'Private Eye', will be aware of events at Suffolk County Council since the 2009 county elections. A controversial proposal, badged as the 'New Strategic Direction', recommended that the Council divest itself of virtually all of its staff, leaving a core team of contract managers to supervise (and I use the term loosely) the delivery of services ranging from libraries to social care, waste disposal to highways. Under the leadership of the now notorious former Chief Executive, Andrea Hill, it was seen as a radical change of a local government ...
A full copy of their letter to MPs and peers can be found here.
The Daily Telegraph write Nick Clegg is clinging to the Coalition, but is his party starting to let go? which may give a particular view of the Lib Dems right now but has an interesting point about Nick Clegg at the end which is worth pointing out: Nick Clegg, though a better and braver politician than his ...
Welcome back to Liberal Democrat Voice's coverage of the House of Lords, our attempt to let you know what is coming up and when in the second chamber. Think of it as your reminder to lobby our Peers, or any others, in advance of the debate. And with no further ado, we'll turn to the legislative agenda... With the Welfare Reform Bill having gone through its final stages this week – and we'll be covering that separately – attention returns to the other items of unfinished business. The Report Stage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill ...
I see that Lord Lee of Trafford (a figure of such great repute that I'm sure you've all heard of him) is threatening to resign his Liberal Democrat duties because the party is threatening to fulfil a democratic promise that it's held steady to for a century. That of abolishing his cosy job for life (but no personal interest, of course). Anyone would have thought that this might be some cautionary tale about how even the Lib Dems have treated the Lords just as some sort of patronage-a-go-go by doling out peerages to every time-serving Tory who happens to join ...
Liberal Democrat peer John Lee has threatened to resign the party whip in the House of Lords. Being in coalition necessarily requires all the Parliamentarians involved to back policy sometimes that is not that of their own party but is from their coalition partner. But it's not being asked to back any Conservative Party policy which has caused John Lee to threaten resignation. No, it's a Liberal Democrat policy. Sometimes of course parties change policy and someone who may have been happy with a policy at the time they were appointed to the House of Lords then finds themselves strongly ...
The Coalition for Marriage was launched last week. And as many groups do to announce themselves to the world, they commissioned an opinion poll of public attitudes to equal marriage. Which is fair enough. But then, it appears, a thought struck them. The UK is, by and large, a tolerant nation, with the vast majority now accepting of gay and lesbian relationships being respected and recognised. So... how to pose an opinion poll question that could produce the result they wanted? Thankfully, ComRes (a member of the British Polling Council) did them proud. You can read it here. It is ...
With some satisfaction I have handed in 105 draft amendments to the European Commission's proposed new Common Fisheries Policy. I'm the lead spokesman for this issue on the Parliament's Environment Committee, and that makes me first in the queue to ... Continue reading →
Imagine if 10% of Facebook users defriended five of their friends on the social network each year. Both numbers static year after year. I suspect most people would describe that as defriending levels staying static on Facebook. Take it one step further. Imagine that it isn't 10% and five people, but each number going down – 10% and 5 people two years ago, 9% and 4 people last year, 8% and 3 people this yet. That sounds like a falling trend, doesn't it? But in both cases the percentage of Facebook users who have ever defriended at least one person ...
Here's my piece in The New Statesman yesterday. Do pop over to the NS to see the multifarious (and, for once, often supportive) comments. Obviously the Clegg/Williams letter moved things on after this - more of that later. Ed Miliband nearly got it right twice last week.First he said the NHS Bill was going to be the Tories' new Poll Tax. Then he said the same bill could become another tuition fees debacle for the Lib Dems.You can almost feel him groping for the right political analogy. He knows it's there, just eluding his grasp. So let me help him ...
As Nick Clegg stands in front of his en suite bathroom mirror brushing his teeth and washing his face he looks into the mirror and sighs. Just a few hours ago he had announced to the world that he had in fact found the cure to the common cold. It was the scientific breakthrough of the century. He thought that millions of people would rejoice. He thought the backlash of student fees would evaporate. His joy however was short-lived. After his announcement though things started to go swiftly pear-shaped. GlaxoSmithKline issued a Press Release saying that this news would result ...
A week away from Westminster offers our Parliamentarians an opportunity to travel. And whilst Ros Scott went north, as we'll see later today, Mark Williams headed towards the warmth of West Africa. He sent us this... If ever there was a justification for our coalition government's commitment on overseas aid, it was laid bare for me on a half-term trip to Nigeria as part of the All-Party Group on Global Education working with the charity ActionAid International. I will never forget the village school in Abuja with 700 children with absolutely no water supply, no toilet provision, no drinking water, ...
Last week, I received a letter from Tom Webster about the Didsbury Parsonage Trust. Check out their web page, Twitter account and Facebook page. didsburyparsonagetrust.org.uk Follow them on twitter @Parsonagetrust The dedicated facebook page is here I am happy to ... Continue reading →
Dear Chris, As you know, the Liberal Democrats fought for significant changes to the Government's original Health & Social Care Bill. We've succeeded in making a real difference. Thanks to those efforts, and if we are able to win amendments on competition and Foundation Trusts, the bill now going before the House of Lords should be allowed to be completed. Today we have written to all of our colleagues in the Commons and Lords. You can read the letter here (see below.) Later this week the House of Lords will debate Liberal Democrat amendments to ensure we rule out any ...
Tue 28th
10:50
Revealed: Tories & Labour in Coalition talks to grab "all paid positions" in Stockport
The Labour Party never misses a chance to attack the Lib Dems for being in Coalition with Conservatives, and the Tories are always telling us how bad for the country Labour are. So we were surprised when a councillor who's recently defected from Labour told us that secret coalition talks have been taking place between Labour and the Conservatives in Stockport. We asked the two party leaders whether there was any truth in the claims. At Full Council, the Labour leader denied meetings had taken place, whilst the Conservative leader suggested there had been meetings but did not expand on ...
Royal Commissions used to be governments' way of putting difficult problems on to the back burner until everybody forget about them. However, people are not going to forget about the NHS. For the present bill to go forward in any form whatsoever defies all sane analysis. It is opposed by almost all bodies representing the health professionals. It is hugely unpopular with almost all of the public and clearly a majority, if they were unwhipped, of members in both Houses of Parliament. It has already received over 1000 amendments, and another half dozen or so currently proposed by Nick Clegg ...
Yesterday former policeman Brian Paddick gave evidence to the Leveson inquiry, including these claims about the Met Police: Scotland Yard was accused today of leaking highly sensitive information about witnesses under its protection to a private investigator working for the News of the World. It was also accused of "tipping off" Rebekah Wade about key developments in the phone hacking investigation when she was editor of The Sun. Former deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick made dramatic claims that the Met was too close to News International – and refused to investigate even when the links were revealed. He said secret ...
CARE (Christian Action, Research and Education) is a Christian "charity" that is opposed to marriage equality, LGBT rights and abortion. It essentially wishes to impose its rigid orthodoxy and narrow-minded attitudes onto mainstream society, perhaps not unusually for a fundamentalist religious organisation. What does, however, distinguish CARE from similar bodies such as the Christian Institute is that it runs a parliamentary leadership programme that provides, essentially as a gift, interns to a number of MPs. MPs currently in receipt of such a benefit from CARE (or have certainly received such in the recent past) include Alan Beith, Andrew Selous, David ...
A sample: Mr Clegg's efforts may indeed soothe mutinous Liberal Democrat activists smarting from the compromises of coalition. But that would hardly be sufficient benefit to warrant such an uphill climb as constitutional reform. In fact, it is that sad rarity: a matter of genuine belief. Whether or not it is a vote-winner is irrelevant. With liberals in government for the first time since the war, Mr Clegg is resolved to make best use of the chance to conclude - finally - more than 100 years of attempts at reform. Not only is the Deputy Prime Minister to be applauded ...
Pixar finally do a film with a female protagonist (tags: feminism film ) The Racist Tree (tags: fic racism ) FBI Turns Off Thousands of GPS Devices After Supreme Court Ruling - Digits - WSJ This is going to affect the plotlines of NCIS, Bones, Castle, etc... (tags: ) What Happens to the Coke in Coca-Cola? Interesting factoids about a drink I can't even drink (tags: ) Meet the Governors Behind "State-Rape" Transvaginal Ultrasound Laws (It's Not Just Virginia) | | AlterNet (tags: ) Aggressive Secular Workplace Discrimination? | Sarah Brown's Blog Auntie Sarah punctures the myth of aggressive secularism ...
[IMG: House of Lords. Photo: Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament] Yesterday, the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill Joint Committee met for its last public session before retreating into report writing mode. And, as a special treat, they got an opportunity to savage the midwives of the proposed reforms, Nick Clegg and Mark Harper. It was perhaps unfortunate that their evidence was somewhat overshadowed by an interview given by Lord Lee of Trafford to the Financial Times, in which he claimed that, "There is absolutely no public demand for this at all, and pretty much ...
It is now over 3 weeks since the Tribunal hearing into two appeals concerning Moor End Road Bus Lane in Hemel Hempstead – and we still await an adjudication. I was told by someone who phoned the tribunal that over 300 people have so far been in touch to ask about progress on their appeals. I am taking this as good news. It seems to me that the Tribunal recognises that this is an important case and is taking great care about its adjudication. It is likely that the decision on these two cases will be of general application to ...
Over at ArtistWorks we spend a lot of time thinking and discussing marketing strategy and tactics. It's easy to become overwhelmed at the options; social media, email marketing, affiliates, SEO, display ads, content marketing, PPC, referral marketing, PR and events. In this talk Rank Fishkin from SEOMoz describes the difference between interruption marketing (when marketers ...
Writing for ConHome, Lord Michael Dobbs argues against reform of the House of Lords because elected peers would behave differently from unelected peers: I would demand more influence, a stronger voice, and that new power could come from only one place - the House of Commons. There's two flaws with that argument. The first, the most obvious, is the question of why, if such a transfer of power happens, should we fear it? Taking power away from elected politicians and giving it to the unelected is certainly often to be feared (though not always – judges and juries, not ministers, ...
The second of my selection of three performances from the various series of Let's Dance... is Rufus Hound as Cheryl Cole performing "Fight for this Love": Enjoy... and, as before, please visit the Comic Relief site to see the great work that the money they raise does. Andrew
On behalf of residents, I recently asked for a bus shelter to be provided on the north side of Blackness Road at Victoria Park. The site is exposed (see right) and a shelter would be a boon to bus users waiting at the stop. I am pleased to say that the City Council will be providing a shelter here and I have been further advised : " ... the pavement needs to be 'built out' to accommodate a shelter. The work has been ordered from Tayside Contracts. I would like to think a shelter will be in situ in the ...
The fall of the News of the World was a curious affair. It seemed to me at the time to be something of an over reaction to close the newspaper, even in the face of public outcry over the phone hacking scandal. It only made sense in the context of launching a seven-day version of The Sun, the NoTW's daily stable-mate. Of course that is now what has happened. However the "sacrifice" of the NoTW begins to make far greater sense now that we understand the seemingly far greater level of corruption that was going on at The Sun itself. ...
The Gulf state of Qatar may be one of the smallest countries in the world population-wise, but since Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani became Emir in June 1995, it has not only rocketed to regional prominence but has also claimed a place on the international stage. When I first started coming here 20 years ago, ...
The test for me is not about how much credibility particular heroes to the Liberal Democrat conference can lend to a particular position, but whether the changes to the Bill make it palatable, in the eyes of the professionals and the patients who raised it on the doorstep last May. This report, by someone who can hardly be regarded as a radical Liberal nutjob, can hardly give the Liberal Democrat leadership reason to sleep well:- This was the question I posed at Saturday's Liberal Democrat Regional Conference. (Can't ask questions and blog at the same time: male human design ...
This is clearly a question we have to ask if we want to make sure that money cannot buy influence, a question we need to tackle if we want increased diversity in parliament. I have been thinking about this for a while now, gathering some anecdotal evidence as I went along. Yesterday I came across an old article at Conservative Home which shows that the Conservative Party thought about this issue back in 2006 (hat tip to Alan Renwick, who linked it on twitter). Their calculation was that at that point, a seat was likely to cost more than £ ...
